Lyra tilted her head back and roared with laughter, careful not to spill any of her firewhiskey as she laughed at a terrible joke that one of her friends had just come out with. It was a horrendous joke but it didn't fail to make Lyra smile as she currently sat round a small camp fire surrounded by several friends all of them in very high spirits because of the Quidditch World Cup Final. Ireland had won and the atmosphere was electric, it made Lyra glad she had come. Her friends had managed to get their hands on some tickets and Lyra had tagged along as she needed a distraction. It had been a little over six weeks since she had seen Draco and she was still hurting from that encounter and since then she had buried herself into her work. But right now? Lyra didn't have a care in the world as she was surrounded by friends, the sound of raucous singing in the background as the Irish celebrated in full swing. It was amazing yet completely insane with so much noise, Lyra couldn't remember the last time she had felt so alive. It had been such a long day but she wasn't tired, Lyra was convinced that she could drink and dance until the sun come up. Her life may have been a mess but right now Lyra was as content as anyone could be.
"You really need to work on that sense of humour of yours Jonno." Lyra chuckled taking a sip of her drink as she glanced over to her friend Jonathan Banks who she knew from the Ministry, they worked in different departs as Lyra was an auror and Jonno worked in the department of magical transportation. Friends made up a big part of Lyra's life and had become sort of a surrogate family yo her. Since Lyra didn't have much in family in terms of being disowned by them, she only had her Aunt Andy, Uncle Ted and her cousin Dora who had been disowned years ago because her Andromeda had married Ted who was a muggleborn. They had taken Lyra in when she had been kicked out of the family but that didn't mean that they replaced Lyra's parents and brother. However they made the ache in her heart hurt a little less.
"If it's so bad then why are you laughing?" Jonno quipped and Lyra opened her mouth to respond with a quick comeback, a trait she seemed to inherit from her father's side of the family – a rather acid tongue if provoked. However Lyra was distracted by a noise coming from behind her. A loud bang and it couldn't help but capture Lyra's attention, causing her to look over her shoulder to see what was going on. "What is it Malfoy?"
"I don't know, I heard something…" Lyra quietly murmured.
"It's probably just the Irish…" Jonno tossed out in amusement and Lyra shook her head, it wasn't the Irish as she couldn't even hear them singing anymore. No one was singing but the campsite was as noisy as ever and Lyra could see bright flashes and the sound of people yelling. It wasn't the Irish. Something else had made that sound, something was going on. Lyra slowly rose to her feet, dropping her glass of firewhiskey in the process as she reached for her wand which had been tucked into her waistband. Something was wrong, that much Lyra could tell. Through the loud noises, jeering, laughing and the yelling, the screaming soon followed and people were running towards them. Countless people running towards them as countless people were running towards them. Yet there were some who were running in the opposite direction, towards where the commotion was coming from. Lyra knew they had to be from the ministry.
"Get out of here, it's not safe…" Lyra murmured to her friends.
"What are you going to do?" Maggie Collins, one of Lyra's friends questioned.
"My job." Lyra replied no longer feeling the effects of all the alcohol she had been consuming, no longer was she off duty. Something was wrong and as an auror she had to help. There were children here. There was no way she could do nothing. She had been trained to handle high intensity situations like these, even if it may not involve dark wizards of witches.
"Lyra…"
"GET TO SAFETY!" Lyra barked as she ran off through the crowd, past all the screaming people and headed in the direction of which the commotion seemed to be coming from. Lyra pushed past people as she continued to run, not caring for niceties as she shoved people out of her way as there was no time for that. As she got closer to what seemed to be causing the issue Lyra caught sight of something in the air, a small group of muggles whose bodies were contorted in the air and below them, there was a group of people gathered who were laughing and apparently the ones behind it all. The group were hooded figures, cloaked in black who were wearing masks with snake like eye slit that were covering their face. They were Death Eaters. This wasn't good, this was the furthest thing from good. Death Eaters were here and attacking innocent people and starting a full-grown riot. Lyra wildly look around as something needed to be done but she was one lone person, there was no way she could take on all of this on her own. As looked around Lyra caught sight of a dark haired man with broad shoulders who was bald and had a single gold earring in one eye. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt, a fellow auror who Lyra had worked closely with ever since she had qualified.
"Kingsley!"
"Lyra your here, good…" Kingsley replied in manner which was calm and collected as Lyra reached him and saw that Kingsley wasn't alone, he was with a group of other wizards. Some were aurors, others were not such as Arthur Weasley. Distantly related to Lyra from her mother's side of the family and instantly recognizably by his red hair along with the rest of his family although her father held him in massive disgust as the Weasley family were blood traitors. Lyra knew for a fact that her brother did not get on with the youngest Weasley boy. But that didn't matter.
"What's the plan?" Lyra questioned ready to jump into action.
"Barty Crouch wants us to try to avoid a full blown duel if we can, we can't risk the muggles getting hurt…" Kingsley dryly replied and Lyra couldn't help but grimace as that was going to be harder said then done given that the crowd around the death eaters was getting larger then ever, tents were being burned and people were fleeing in their masses, running in every direction and screaming with terror. Lyra wordlessly nodded and the small group of people who worked for the ministry, her included began to try and make their way towards the Death Eaters who were in the center of the chaos but it was with great difficulty. The masses of people gathered all around wasn't helping and they couldn't risk performing spells at the moment as they didn't want to harm the muggles anymore than they had been. Last thing they needed was the deaths of a few muggles at the Qudditch World Cup, that would be very troublesome for everyone involved.
It took a while but it seemed like they had finally gained some traction, some of them were going to keep the muggles safe and prevent them from falling, whilst the rest of them were going to try and deal with the Death Eaters such as Lyra and Kingsley. They were definitely going to have to use the shield charm but how long that would last was anyone's guess as Kingsley had once told her, most dark wizards don't aim to stun. They aim to kill and had qualms about using the killing curse, which was the only spell that the shield charm couldn't defend against. Out of nowhere curses started coming out of nowhere, bouncing off the shields and it was like all hell had broken loose. All around there was chaos and people running around everywhere, there was a mass of colour everywhere which was probably a good reason why they were trying not to get into an all right dueling battle as there were too many people around. Spells could get rebounded and end up hurting innocent people. Lyra had just deflected a spell when she felt a burning sensation across her cheek as her shield had shattered and she got sent flying to the ground as received the last ends of the curse that shattered her shield.
A red headed man, not much older than Lyra and covered with freckles and no doubt a Weasley because of the vivid shade of his hair held out his hand to her and Lyra took the offered hand and allowed him to help her out, giving him a small smile when she finally got to her feet.
"Thanks Weasley."
"No problem Malfoy."
Lyra couldn't help but grin despite the situation until she spotted a Death Eater out of the corner of her eyes and she quickly spun on her feet and disarmed the Death Eater. Allowing herself a moment to briefly wonder if that was her father she had just disarmed. Lyra had heard the stories, she knew that her father had apparently been one back in the war but had avoided going to prison because he had argued that he had been forced to do the dark lord's bidding because of the imperious curse. Lyra wasn't sure whether she believed that, although now wasn't the time to think about this as quickly moved out of the way of an incoming curse, pulling the freckled Weasley with her.
"Didn't expect you to repay the favor so quickly."
The magical exchange continued to go on until everyone was distracted by a bright green light that had appeared out of the sky. Brightly illuminating the sky until it took a rather sinister turn and the green light took on the form of a large and monstrous skull that had a serpent protruding from it's mouth.
It was his mark. The dark mark of Voldemort.
Never before did Lyra feel she had the weight of the entire wizarding world on her shoulders as she walked out of the meeting she had been summoned to twenty minutes earlier. After what had happened at the Qudditch World Cup Final, Lyra like many of the ministry officials who had stepped up that night had been called to give an account of what happened and be given a debrief over what had happened. Lyra had been praised for her actions for what she had done that night but she had simply brushed them off as she had only been doing her job and nothing more. She had been praised for that night whilst the ministry was being heavily criticised because of the lack of security at the Final and because of what had happened. It made Lyra grateful that she was only a lowly auror as she politics wasn't really her forte so she was very much glad that she didn't have to deal with that. Although she did have to deal with part of it given the Death Eater situation and the appearance of the dark mark in the sky. It had been the first time that Lyra had seen it like that and if she was honest it had sent chills down her spine. Lyra had been told back before Voldemort's downfall, he and his followers used to send the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed someone. People had been terrified to come home in those days, scared to come home and find the dark mark hovering over their house. The idea that her family had been involved in this made Lyra sick and reinforced the fact that she had best possible choice in turning her back on their sick ideals. However it did make her wonder whether her father was involved in what happened at the World Cup Final.
Lyra probably should have headed back to the Auror Office but she didn't instead, she made her way to the atrium so she could just sit down for a moment to gather her thoughts. There was something coming, Lyra wasn't exactly sure what it was but with someone conjuring the dark mark into the sky, it was a sign that a storm was brewing. As she aimlessly wondered through the atrium, neither coming or going through the ministry Lyra caught sight of a familiar face that she had been thinking about lately. Lyra would recongize the pale blonde hair and cold grey eyes anywhere as they were traits commonly associated with her family. Seeing her father here at the ministry wasn't unusual as quite often he had business here and on those rare times when Lyra actually saw him, she didn't do anything. Her father had made things perfectly clear to her and so Lyra never approached him, normally… However after the events of the World Cup, Lyra needed answers so she walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him along with her so they could talk.
"Unhand me girl!" Lucius sneered and Lyra just ignored him as even though he was her father, she no longer lived under his roof and had to put up with his high and mighty attitude.
"Where were you the night of the World Cup Final after the game ended? I know you, mother and Draco were at the game and I've heard that Draco was in the woods that night so I would like to know where you were." Lyra demanded in a hush tone of voice as she didn't want people to overhear this conversation as she knew it wouldn't be pleasant or cordial. Things never were when it came to Lyra having dealing with her father. She had long stopped being the little girl who was too afraid to speak up to her father and defy him, that girl had grown up and got a grip over herself several years ago. Lyra was no longer intimated by Lucius Malfoy and would not be bullied into submission by him because she didn't live up to his ideals and support his way of thinking.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Lucius said in a cool manner although the venom was clear as day in his voice and even though Lyra had expected her father to be difficult about the manner, she couldn't help but feel her jaw harden at her father's lack of co-operation.
"Do not pretend you do know I am talking about father, every one knows what happened that night. It's all over the ministry and in the Daily Prophet so don't play dumb with me. There were Death Eaters at the campsite who attacked a muggle family and I'm assuming that one of them was responsible for the dark mark appearing in the sky. None of them seemed to stick around for much longer after that so I am going to ask you again. Where were you father?"
"Are you asking me in an official capacity." Lucius asked seemingly cool as a cucumber, he didn't seem faze by any of this. That confident that he would never be caught, self assured enough to think he would get away with all of this. But he was underestimating Lyra as she knew enough about his history, sure she didn't have enough to put him in prison but she knew enough about her father to know that he was no saint. She knew enough that her boss would be very interested in what she had to say and there would be an investigation into him. Somehow bound by a sense of duty towards the family that had disowned her Lyra had never said anything, when people asked her about her family and their involvement in the dark arts, she had kept quietly. Mostly because she didn't know very much and secondly to protect her brother, Draco may hate her somewhat but she didn't want him to be forcefully taken from their parents.
"No. I'm asking as your daughter."
"Then I think you'll find yourself highly mistaken as I have no daughter." Lucius sneered and Lyra wasn't surprised that her father had come out and said something like that. Lucius made out he only had one child and that child was not her. Lyra literally had been burned of the family tree, disowned and was a taboo subject in the family circles. They were not to speak of her traitorous act. It used to hurt Lyra when her father said things like that about her but in the years that she had been alone after being disowned she had developed a thick skin about it all. She knew deep in her heart that she had done the right thing, despite how much she loved her family the way they lived and the way they viewed themselves and the world was not right and Lyra refused to live that way.
"If I roll this sleeve up, what am I going to see?" Lyra demanded as she pointed to her father's left arm and she didn't know how she knew it but Lyra knew he was involved in what happened at the World Cup. Lyra couldn't prove but she was certain that if she rolled up her father's arm then she would see his dark mark, that would no longer appear on the inner part of his left arm as a faint mark, almost like a vivid red tattoo. A symbol of an inactive dark mark. Lyra was pretty sure that if she did pull up her father's sleeve then maybe his dark mark would be regaining it's dark colour again, a sign of an active dark mark and Death Eater.
"You wouldn't dare…"
"Why not? I've already brought shame to the family name already so I can't do any worse to embarrass you than marrying a blood traitor or a muggle born. But I'm not going to do it, as you'd probably find a way to wiggle yourself out of any trouble. You may be my father but that won't stop me from putting you in Azkaban one day. You made your choice years ago and you'll have to live with that for the rest of your life when the day comes when your held accountable for your actions. But I swear to Merlin that if you get Draco involved in any of this then it won't be enough for me to send you to Azkaban. I will actually kill you…" Lyra hissed matching her father in the amount of malice that he had been using towards her.
"You don't scare me Lyra, you are just a child throwing your weight around and trying to pretend something that you are not. But I will tell you what you are and that is an abomination. Still calling me Father? Still clinging in hopes that I'll forgive you for the traitorous act that you committed against our family. All of this arrogance you seem to have about punishing me is just act, you are nothing more than a pathetic little girl desperately seeking approval and forgiveness from her family which you will never get. You are not worthy of holding the Malfoy name and assure you that, it will not be me but you who will be held accountable and punishable for your actions and I will gladly watch with satisfaction." Lucius sneered and Lyra glared at her father who returned the glare back for a few moments before shaking himself free of Lyra's grasp and walking away. Lyra just stood there for a few moments watching her father disappear into the crowd and even when she couldn't see him anymore she still stood there until she felt a hand on the small of her back. Lyra turned her head to her left to see that it was Kingsley.
"Are you okay Lyra?" Kingsley asked Lyra had to force a smile onto her face for her co-worker and mentor's sake rather than her own. She wasn't okay, that scathing dressing down she had received from her father had stung a bit. But that wouldn't stop her, in fact it had made her rather determined about all of this. She would put her father in Azkaban if it was the last thing she did.
"Never better."