By the end of Lyra and Veralidaine first year, they had taken their exams and passed with high marks. The two had grown close because their schedule was almost identical. They spent their time studying in the library and having deep discussions in their room. Veralidaine would talk non-stop about her hopes and expectations for their second year. It made what Lyra was about to tell Veralidaine difficult.
Lyra invited Veralidaine over to Malfoy Manor the summer before their second year. She had an important thing to share with her.
"My uncle wants me to transfer to Hogwarts."
Veralidaine almost fell off her bed. "NO LY, LY, YOU CAN'T! YOU JUST CAN'T GO!"
Lyra was Veralidaine's only friend. If she lost Lyra, then she would be alone.
"Ly, Ly how could you be so...so calm about this, didn't our friendship mean anything to you? We have spent their entire first year together, studying in the library, having deep discussions, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, everything was going so well, and then...and then you just flat out tell me that you are is transferring to another school?" Veralidaine finished as she sat back down and took deep breaths. She had said everything that was on her mind in a few short breaths.
Lyra gestured toward the cup of tea in front of Veralidaine, knowing that she would need something to drink after her speech.
"Veralidaine, you mean a lot to me." she answered her question. "I am transferring to Hogwarts by my uncle's orders. I cannot refuse him."
Veralidaine eyes were watery. "Take me with you...I can help you! And – and I'll never tell anything. I swear!" she begged.
Lucius Malfoy silently sat on the wing back chair in his study, contemplating what his niece had asked him. She wanted to take her friend, Veralidaine, to Hogwarts with her. His first response to this would be no.From what he had seen of the girl...she wasn't fit for what he has planned. Lyra was the only one who can do this, because he could hardly count on Draco. The presents of Veralidaine would hinder his niece and put his plans in jeopardy. Lucius turned his gaze to Lyra, about to answer her but she spoke first.
"If I can't have her with me than I'm not doing it."
Lucius stared down at Lyra in anger, which was a rare emotion he had ever felt towards her. She was always so obedient and never gave him any cause to scold her, unlike Draco.
"Very well." Lucius said. He knew that if he didn't let her have her friend, she would not do as he asked.
"Thank you." Lyra said before she excused herself and left the room.
Lyra was met with a tearful Veralidaine, who was anxiously waiting for her in her bedroom. Veralidaine hugged Lyra after she was told her the good news.
"We need new names." Lyra told Veralidaine.
"New names? Why do we need new names for?"
"To start our new life."
"When we go, we will no longer be who we are. In Hogwarts, we will play the parts of witches who have never lived the life that we have lived. The people we know now, we must not know once we step foot on platform 9 3/4."
Many questions were forming in Veralidaine's mind, but she dare not ask, for if she were to know the answers to them then Lyra would have already told her.
"I'm not sure what I want my new name to be." Veralidaine said, warming up to the idea of going to a new school and pretending to be someone else. She also loved that Lyra introduced the idea to her by referencing Shakespeare's peom, All the World's a Stage, knowing how much she loves the half-blood author's works. "There are so many! Ly, Ly have you thought of a name for yourself yet?"
"No, I have not." Lyra answered truthfully. "Let's leave that for later then. I'm going to be a Muggle-born, you?"
"You're going to be a Muggle-born?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Those at Hogwarts would be more sympathetic if I were a Muggle-born and less suspicious."
"Oh." Veralidaine nodded, "I think I want to be a Muggle-born like you, because if I go as a pure-blood then we might not be able to stay together."
"All right." Lyra said, "If we are both going to be Muggle-born then we must do some research on them first."
"Okay!" Veralidaine cheered. She loves studying.
Veralidaine didn't have a hard time convincing her parents to transfer her to Hogwarts. She told them she was helping Lyra cope with what her parents did. Lyra was going to meet and befriend the children of her parent's victims. They were disguising themselves because Lyra was afraid to reveal her identity. Veralidaine's parents were understanding of Lyra's situation and agreed. They had met her on a few occasions and liked her.
Lyra and Veralidaine visited their first Muggle store to purchase Muggle attire with Lyra's Aunt Narcissa. The young witches were excited at the sight of the Muggle robes, but Narcissa was less than impressed. Not only was she disgusted by the decor of the shop, but she felt nauseated from what she called "muddy air".
"Look at this place," Narcissa sneered as she looked the shop up and down, "no one is measuring us and none of the sales people are even asking to hold our belongings."
"Aunt Cissy," Lyra said, "do you really want these...people touching you or your things?"
Lyra was training herself to not use the word Mudbloodor any other offensive words anymore.She knew that Mudblood was a hateful word to Muggle-born witches and wizards. She would be one of them soon and so she would need to act disgusted whenever she hears the word. Thought it was a hard habit to break, after hearing the term being commonly used since she could remember.
"NO!" Narcissa shouted, wrapping her arms around herself and feeling for her wand.
Spending all her life surrounded by negative Muggle propaganda, Narcissa was more apprehensive than she lead on. She was on the edge of panic, having never been close to so many Muggles before.
"Come on Ly, Ly! Let's go look over there!" Veralidaine suggested as she pulled on Lyra's sleeve like a small child.
"All right."
Lyra let Veralidaine lead her to a rack of Muggle tops and began looking through it, trying to find one she liked.
"Ly, Ly look, what do you think about this one?" Verlidaine asked as she held out the garment.
"Pretty." Lyra responded and that was all it took for Verlidaine to pull the garment from the rack and decide to purchase it.
Veralidaine continued to search through the rack while Lyra would glance at Narcissa every so often. Lyra was worried about her aunt. Somehow a crowd had managed to gather around Narcissa. Lyra noted that her aunt's face was looking paler and paler by the minute. Looking up, Lyra curiously stared at a pair of large red banners hanging from the ceiling, above the crowd and Narcissa, with the words FINALand SALE!written upon them.
Nacissa cringed as she side-stepped to the left to avoid touching a Muggle woman, who was walking past her, and then she took a step back to avoid another Muggle and then another. A mob was gathering around her.
They know!Narcissa screamed in her head. They know that you're not one of them! They're conspiring to steal your magic this very moment!
Pulling out her wand out, Narcissa desperately searched for an exit. Taking deep breathes, the witch told herself not to panic. No matter what, don't panic. Being born a pure-blood, Narcissa was raised to remain composed at all times, to never show a hint of emotion. After taking a few more deep breaths, Narcissa made her way through the crowd, trying not to make physical contact with any of them. It was bad enough that they were tainting her new robes. Robes that she would burn as soon as she is home - NO! It would taint her home then. She would have a house elf purchase newer and cleaner robes for her and bring them to the carriage, then burn the ones she has on, after taking a hot bath to wash away the filth. Frustrated, she began pushing the Muggles out of her way, only to be pushed back into the center of the crowd. She was about ready to use her wand and hex all of them, when she felt a hand grab hold of her wrist. Narcissa shrieked, thinking it was one of the Muggles, but relaxed when she saw that Lyra's face had materialized through the crowd. Her niece smiled warmly at her and led her out of the shop and back to their carriage, where Veralidaine sat waiting for them.
"Ly, Ly," Veralidaine said, looking up from her book of listed Muggle names, "what do you think about Lisa? Do you think I look like a Lisa?"
"No."
Veralidaine nodded and continued her search of her new name on the other side of the bed.
Lyra lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and contemplating what her new name should be. She, unlike Veralidaine, was not using a list of names to form her new identity. She decided that she wanted to think up one herself. But it was proving to be more problematic than she thought. So for the time being, Lyra thought of her real name and what it meant and represented. Similar to many members of her mother's side of the family, her name, Lyra, was a constellation. It seemed to Lyra that the Blacks either name their children after constellations or things related to nature.
Lyra is a constellation directly under the constellation Draco. It didn't surprise Lyra too much that her family had chosen Draco as her young cousin's name. He was a boy. He had to be above her. Every culture has their own favored sex, which mainly consisted of males, and the Wizardry World is no different. After mentally laughing at the thought for an unknown reason, Lyra continued musing about her name.
Lyra was another form of the word lyre, a stringed musical instrument. It resembles a harp, but instead of plucking the strings with their fingers, the player strums it with a plectrum. The irony was that Lyra was able to play the lyre. She took it upon herself to learn how to play it after realizing that it was her name. Lucius ordered the finest lyre to be made for her and hired the best musical tutor money could buy when she told him that she wanted to learn. Lyra was able to play over ten different songs and was highly praised by her aunt and uncle. They bought her an assortment of gifts, which irritated Draco, causing him to steal her lyre and break it. Lucius was angry and made him go to bed without supper, but not before taking her and Draco to a famous Quidditch shop. He told Lyra she to pick any broom she wanted. Draco was made to stand against the wall and watch. Draco was furious at her by then, and as soon as they were alone he vowed that he would never speak to her again. That didn't even last a week.
"Lyra?" Veralidaine called.
"Yes."
"What do you think about Daphne?"
"No."
And with that, Veralidaine continued her search.
The constellation Lyra had an eagle or a vulture carrying a lyre representing it on a map...Lyra mused. An eagle? Ravenclaw... Ravenclaw was one of the houses in Hogwarts. Its mascot is an eagle. Lyra discontinued all thoughts about Hogwarts and its houses. There would be time for that later. For now, she needed to focus on her name.
"Lyra, what about Megan?"
"No."
Lyra closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence until she heard a word being echoed from the deepest depth of her mind.
Hermione.
"Hermione?" Lyra said as she opened her eyes.
"Hermione?" Veralidaine repeated, looking up from her book. "What about it?"
"Hermione is my name." Lyra found herself saying.
"Hermione," Veralidaine said, "as in a Shakespeare's The Winter's tale?"
"No." Lyra replied. "Hermione. The Iliad."
"Oh! Hermione! Helen and Menelaus' daughter - Hermione the orphan-" Veralidaine covered her mouth with her book as soon as she said the word. There were words that upset Lyra. Orphan was one of them. Veralidaine learned that early in their friendship.
"'In my childhood I had no mother; my father was ever in the wars—though the two were not dead, I was reft of both.'" Lyra quoted one of Hermione's speeches. She had read the book so often that she thought the words were forever carved in her heart.
Veralidaine was too frightened even speak, let alone breath. She wasn't looking at Lyra but the objects around Lyra. Lyra was sensitive about subjects involving her incarcerated parents. She didn't express her displeasures with her voice or body language. Her true emotions manifest through her magic. The evidence was inside Lyra's dorm room at Durmstrang. Every morning, strange marks appeared on the stone walls. They were long and deep, almost as if something repeatedly and violently sliced through them. Veralidaine thought the school's ghosts were pranking new students and ignored them. Lyra's and Veralidaine's two other roommates were disturbed by it and requested to move out. The markings disappeared afterward. The stones had no signs of damage.
On Veralidaine's last day of school, she was inside the dorm to pack her things. Lyra's four-poster bed stood in front of her with its curtains closed. It was when something occurred to her. Not once had she seen Lyra's curtains open. Curiosity got the better of her and Veralidaine found herself pulling the curtains. One tug and the fabric fell into pieces to reveal the mangled columns and cracked wood. The frames had multiple markings lined and overlapped. Just like the stone walls but worse. Lyra's bed was barely held together by the bases. Veralidaine realized that Lyra did this because she had caught her staring at the walls with cold eyes. She hid her pain behind the curtains.
When Veralidaine first met Lyra, she had owled her father and told him about her new friend. He warned her to stay away from her. He had said that someone who had felt such emotional torment at a young age, as Lyra, would eventually explode from her calm and composed façade. She'll hurt all those around her. Veralidaine thought she felt her heart broke that day, after hearing what her father said. And that was the day that she knew that she had to stay with Lyra and save her from herself. She decided to be Lyra's friend and fill her up with happy memories, so she would forget all the harsh things that had happened in the past.
"I'm not angry with you. I was informing you."
Veralidaine relaxed and lower the book from her chest. "You chose Hermione as your new name?"
"Yes." Lyra said.
Seeing as Lyra was lost in thought, again, Veralidaine returned to her search. But no matter how she tried she could not. All she could think about was the name Lyra had chosen. Hermione. Veralidaine thought of the Iliad and the parts associated with the character Hermione. A particular passage came to mind.
So when Helen and Paris left Hellas as lovers, they, not wishing to renounce gold, put most of the Spartan property on board before they sailed away to Troy. But Hermione—the nine years old daughter of Helen and Menelaus—they left behind.
Veralidaine couldn't grasp the idea of how a mother could chose gold and wealth over her own flesh and blood. The thought truly sicken her.
Sometime later, also her father sailed to Troy though his trip was no love cruise, but a bellicose enterprise engaging many kingdoms of Hellas, which, having gathered a huge fleet, were determined to obtain by any means the restoration of both Helen and the property. Thus Hermione remained in Sparta, deprived of both her parents and being raised by her aunt Clytaemnestra, for the time the Trojan War lasted, that is, ten years. And for that, she laments
"In my childhood I had no mother; my father was ever in the wars—though the two were not dead, I was reft of both."
Lyra and Hermione are in a similar situation. It must've been why Lyra read the tale so often. Lyra could relate to what Hermione felt. Abandoned. Their parents were taken far away from them. They were under different circumstances, but it was the same. Both were orphans, yet not, in the sense that their parents are still alive but they are unable to be near them.
Lucius placed his hand under his chin as he held his wand with his other hand.
"How could you do such a thing Lucius?" Narcissa demanded, "How could you!"
"It's necessary Narcissa." Lucius drawled.
"Necessary?" Narcissa exclaimed. "It's necessary to do such a thing to myniece!"
"Narcissa, you do forget. She is myniece as well."
Lyra stayed seated on her chair as she observed her uncle and aunt's developing lover's quarrel. She felt guilty, being as she is the cause for their current argument. She hated when this happened. Whenever they argue, it meant that she would be right in the middle and have to choose a side. She knew that she had to do something to stop this before things got ugly.
"Lucius! I have about enough of this!" Narcissa declared.
"Narcissa, I understand. But we can't let her enter Hogwarts as she is."
"Oh! My poor Lyra!" Narcissa sobbed as she pulled Lyra to her. Running her fingers through Lyra's new redish, brown hair and held the lose strands up. Narcissa stared in horror at them once more. "Why? Lucius! Why? Why must you choose such a hideous color to glamor her hair! Russet! Oh!"
Lyra held her aunt close, since she looked about ready to faint.
Lyra and Lucius were in the middle of forming her Muggle-born disguise, when Narcissa entered the study, wanting to see how things were progressing. She gasped and placed her hand over her heart. She was distraught by her husband's color choice. Narcissa wondered if Lucius noticed this, but he glamored Lyra's hair the same as the color of his desk. She didn't want to point it. It would upset Lyra. Lyra would think that Lucius thought of her as a common item in the manor. Narcissa had tried her best to make Lyra feel as loved as possible. It was working too. The last time Narcissa checked Lyra's bedroom there were no scratch marks from her magic.
Be that as it may, Narcissa still couldn't get the image of Lyra's bed in Durmstrang out of her mind. She and Lucius received owl from Durmstrang after Lyra's first night there. The school was requesting payment to replace Lyra's bed. It was magically damaged beyond repair. The couple thought it was preposterous and demanded to see the bed themselves. They went to the school and were speechless by what they saw. The bed was completely destroyed by a slicing hex. It's was one of Bellatrix's favorite hexes. No doubt, she taught it to Lyra.
Igor Karkaroff, Durmstrang's headmaster, believed that Lyra wasn't aware that she did this to her bed or the walls. It happened while she slept and her dorm mates thought the school ghosts were to blame. Narcissa asked Igor to take care of the matter. She paid him to replace the bed and walls every time Lyra did this. He had to keep Lyra from knowing what she did. She had to protect Lyra the best way she could, by keeping her unaware of her special abilities in dark magic. Lyra maintained an image of maturity. Nothing seemed to bother her. In truth, it did. She was hiding it by keeping her pain to herself.
What if she loses her sanity like her parents!
"I like it." Lyra said, causing Lucius to nod in agreement, "But can it be redder and less brown, like cousin Cedrella's husband's hair. What was his name again?"
"Lyra!" Narcissa and Lucius exclaimed. They all knew very well that Cedrella Black was disowned and burnt off the family tree for marrying Septimus Weasley. Both were outraged that she would ever speck their names or even acknowledgethem as family.
"Bite your tongue young lady!" Lucius scolded her.
"See what you've done Lucius!" Narcissa cried, "She is traumatized by what you've done to her hair - she's obviously become delusional!"
Lucius was taken back by what his wife had said. Merlin! What if she goes mental like her parents? He thought as he remembered what she did to her bed."Dobby!" He shouted.
"Yes, master." the house-elf popped in.
"Quick! Summon the healer! Lyra is ill!" Lucius commanded.
Draco peeked outside his door as he watched his parents fuss over his cousin. A house-elf had told him that she had become ill and his father had summoned their family healer to see to her.
"She's probably faking it." Draco scoffed. As if she would ever get ill!
"I'm sorry Cissy. I never should've done that." Draco heard his father say to his mother as he held her in his arms, walking her back to the master bedroom.
After he was sure they were gone, Draco went across the hall to his cousin's bedroom and entered without knocking. She was laying on her four poster bed, with the curtains closed on one end and opened on the other so she could look out her window. Draco looked at the closed curtains for a second before he stepped forward.
"I thought I told you to knock." Lyra said to Draco, not looking away from the window. Her room was warded in a way that informed her whenever someone entered, the lamp on her nightstand, near her window, would light up and the name of the person would appear on the base. The lamp was proof to Lucius that that Draco was the one who trespassed into Lyra's room and broke her lyre. Although, the lamp wasn't necessary since Draco was the obvious suspect. It wasn't likely that the house-elves would dare do something of that nature.
"I did." Draco lied.
"No. You didn't."
Draco stomped toward her bed and moved the curtain aside so he could see her. "I heard you were ill."
"I'm not." Lyra said as she turned form the window to look at him.
"I knew it!" He pointed at her in accusation, "Liar!"
"Were you worried about me?" Lyra asked, catching Draco off guard.
"I was not!" Draco shouted.
"Oh." Lyra said, but they both know he was lying.
Draco hated it when she would remain so calm, while he was frustrated. "I hate you!" he shouted. But they both know he didn't mean it.
"Too bad," Lyra softly replied, causing Draco to fume, "because I love you."
Draco blushed at her words and took a stepped back. "You're only saying that because you know it bothers me!"
"No. I said it because it's the truth." Lyra said, "I do love you... as a brother." Lyra finished with an innocent smile.
The last time Lyra had called Draco her little brother, he had a fit. Draco was an only child, which he was proud of. If Lyra claimed she that loved him as a brother then he would have to acknowledge her as an older sister, which he would never do. If he did, then it would mean that his parents had another child, and he would no longer an only child. Lyra knew of Draco's odd logic and enjoys teasing him about it.
"You're not my sister!" Draco shouted.
"Shh..." Lyra pressed her finger over her lips, "Draco, if you shout any louder. The house-elves might think you're trying to attack me and tell uncle Lucius."
Draco nearly jumped at what she said. "You're threatening me?"
"I'm not. I'm just being honest." Lyra informed him, and decided to change the subject. She thought she had teased him enough for the day. "I pretended I was ill so that Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy would stop arguing."
"Oh." Draco said, secretly glad the subject was being changed. He and Lyra had known each other long enough to be able to forgive and forget one another in seconds. "Why? If they argue that means we'll get twice the presents we normally do." Draco said as he sat on her bed and nodded toward the box of assorted chocolates on her nightstand.
"It's not good if they argue." Lyra said as she took the box from the nightstand and offered them to him.
"Says you." Draco said and swallowed a caramel filled one. "What else did you get?"
"A grand piano is arriving in an hour." Lyra answered.
"Another instrument?" Draco asked, "Why couldn't you get something Ilike?"
"Uncle Lucius is going to take us to purchase new brooms tomorrow."
"Nice one." Draco said in approval. "What did you say or do to make them think you were ill?"
"They thought it was a mental illness. I told them I wanted to change my hair to Weasley red."
Draco burst out laughing and nearly choked on the piece of chocolate he was chewing on. Lyra began to laugh as well and soon both were holding their stomachs, rolling on the bed.
"I can't imagine the look on father's face when you said that!" Draco said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"What a miserable excuse for a robe shop this is." Lucius drawled. "No wonder your aunt couldn't return to this."
On their second attempt to purchase Muggle robes, Lucius escorted Lyra and Veralidaine in place of Narcissa, since she nearly fell ill the last time she was there.
Lyra and Veralidaine exchanged glances but didn't say a word.
"Let's go look over there." Lyra said.
Lucius followed them, close enough that he could see them but far enough to give them their space. He knew how witches were when they shopped, insane. As he stood there, he noticed a few Muggle women whispering and looking his way. He ignored them and continued to watch over his niece.
"Lyra what do you think about this one?" Veralidaine asked.
"Try it on." Lyra told her.
With that Veralidaine skipped to a room with the words Fitting Room over it.
While Lyra was looking through the Muggle robes, a little Muggle girl came and pulled on her sleeve.
"Mary?"
Lyra looked at the girl.
"Sorry." the girl said sadly, "I thought you were my sister." and then girl began to cry. "You dress...like…her!"
"I'm dressed like her?" Lyra asked.
The Muggle girl nodded her head, crying even louder.
Lyra looked at herself in a full length mirror nearby. She was wearing what she thought was plain and appropriate for this trip, with a dark coat and long skirt. She then looked to the girl and studied her attire. The Muggle girl was wearing a very shiny coat that made her look like a crystal ball, her hair was tied up by various colorful ornaments, and her trouser, blue with designs of rainbows and unicorns sewed on them.
"How old are you?" Lyra asked.
"Six!" the Muggle girl choked out.
"Where is your mother?"
"Work!"
"So you're here with your sister?"
The girl nodded with snot and tears staining her face.
"Do you want me to help you find her?"
The girl nodded again, sniffling as she did so.
After Lyra found the girl's sister she returned to where she was waiting for Veralidaine, who was in one of the fitting rooms. Suddenly she heard a muffled cry from under a rack of Muggle robes next to her. Curious, Lyra walked to the rack and pushed aside the garments to find Veralidaine hugging her knees and weeping.
"Lyra!" she sobbed, jumping up and hugging her. "I thought you left meeeeeee!"
Upon exiting the fitting room and not seeing Lyra, Veralidaine assumed Lyra had abandoned her. She had hid under the rack of clothes and began crying.
Lyra patted Veralidaine's back and reassured her that she didn't leave her. After Lyra had finished telling her what really happened Veralidaine stopped crying, but continued to cling on to her.
"Uncle Lucius," Lyra said, "Veralidaine tripped and hit her knee. We should go home and see to it."
Lyra didn't want her uncle to know what really happened or else he would use this as leverage against Veralidaine, proving that she wasn't capable of going to Hogwarts. Lucius was too distracted by the crowd of Muggle women seemingly surrounding him to noticed Veralidaine.
"All right." Lucius said.
"Lucius how was it?" Narcissa greeted her husband as he returned home with Lyra and Veralidaine.
"The Muggles knew I was not one of them and were conspiring against me." Lucius told his wife. "Possibly to steal my magic and give it to their offsprings."
Lyra wasn't certain if that was what the Muggles were up to, but remained silent. She excused herself and took Veralidaine to her room.
"Oh darling!" Narcissa embraced Lucius. "It must've been awful."
"Have Dobby burn those robes." Lucius said, pointing his cane at the pile of discarded robes. Not wanting to taint his carriage with Muggle filth, he magically discarded his robes after they had left the Muggle shop and magically replaced them with new ones. He would have destroyed them himself but didn't want to taint his wand.
Lyra and Veralidaine were back in Lyra's bedroom to do more researching. Lyra suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"I've got it. My Muggle parents will practice dentistry. Those who practice dentistry are healers of the teeth. No pure-blood knows what it is and few half-bloods care to speak of it. Only Muggle-borns know of it."
"Teeth?" Veralidaine cringed as she said the word.
"See how uncomfortable it made you? Just think how confused the others would be."
"Oh, I see." Veralidaine said, "But Ly, Ly, why teeth?"
"I want my Muggles parents to have a career that no one would care to know of or even talk about. I've narrowed my choices down to dentist, cardiologist, healers of the heart, or a gynecologist, those who study the health of the female reproductive system." Lyra said, "I picked dentistry because no one wants to talk about their teeth, especially those in England. I don't want my Muggle parents to be cardiologists. What if someone has a heart attack? People would expect me to do something about it. I don't want to touch anyone and what if I make their condition worse. As for gynecologists, I think that is going much too far. Not only will they be uncomfortable so will I."
"That's brilliant."