March 2009
Nomaj Manhattan, New York
Saturday Afternoon

Lyra laid on the couch in her small apartment pretending to read a book. She had wasted her entire morning pretending to do stuff and she was sick of it. She had spoken to Almitra that morning who confirmed that she and Kira had an idea that could be helpful to them, but Draco had outright refused to let her go with him to the Nagini House in case it was a trap. Lyra would have liked to roll her eyes and accuse him of being paranoid, but she wasn't that kind of person anymore after...everything.

He'd been gone for hours and she was a nervous wreck. She was about to slip her transfiguration bracelet on to her wrist for a little 'bear time' when her floo came to life and Draco stepped out of it looking smug, and carrying takeout.

Lyra dropped her bracelet and lept off the couch. She helped him with his things and inhaled the rich smell of curry. Her stomach growled in anticipation.

"Oh my god, baby. Thank you!" She said, kissing him on the lips. "Where did you get this? Did you go to Vikrams? In Nomaj-land? Alone? Take me now, you rogue." She twittered happily setting dishes on her tiny dining table.

Draco loosened his tie and sat down across from her, grabbing his yellow curry and pushing the red out towards her, smirking nonchalantly.

"So?" Lyra said expectantly, nibbling absentmindedly on a piece of bread.

"So...what?" Draco replied, feigning innocence.

"So what was it?! What did they say? Did they offer you a job? You are quite the looker, you know," Lyra joked.

"It's a vanishing cabinet," Draco said plainly.

"It's a what now?" Lyra replied. She had no idea what the hell that was.

Draco reached into his jacket pocket on the chair behind him and pulled something out. He set it on the table in front of her. It was a train. It was Scorpius's toy train. The one that made the smoke. It was his favorite possession in the whole world.

Lyra looked at it confused and picked it up. "Does he know you have this? Draco! He's gonna be lost without it!"

Draco smiled. "He gave it to me. He says you can borrow it, but he wants you to give it back before he goes to sleep tonight."

"What?" Lyra gasped.

"I had lunch with him today. In London. He wants to see you," Draco replied. "The vanishing cabinet. You can think of it as a kind of controlled long range floo, if you like. The house here shares a set with Almitra's in London. It means we can go back and forth. No planes. No waiting."

Lyra's jaw dropped.

"It's an old, finicky sort of magic that I have some experience with. I can teach you and we can use it to go back and forth," he explained.

Lyra furrowed her brow and looked down at the train in her hand.

"Sweetheart?" Draco inquired. "Are you alright?"

Lyra nodded and tried not to cry into her lunch.


March 2009
Wizarding London, England
Saturday Evening

Lyra and Draco made it to Astoria and Nott's London home just after eight, London time.

"Scorpius, maybe this is them," Astoria's voice soothed from another room.

"Scorpius," Lyra called gently

"Don't be shy, darling. She's here! Go see," Astoria encouraged.

Lyra saw a little blonde head peek out from an adjacent room and disappear again.

"Hey, kiddo! It's me. I brought you something," she said.

He took a few tentative steps out into the sitting room and looked at her shyly.

She sunk down on both knees and produced his train.

He walked over to her but didn't take it.

"I heard you missed me, spider monkey," Lyra said with a smile.

"No," he lied, looking away.

"I missed you...everyday," she said seriously to him.

He looked up at her and leaned his little head onto her shoulder.

She stood up and hugged him to her, pacing gently around the room, whispering to him.

Draco looked back and saw Astoria standing at the entrance of the room, dabbing her eyes. She had come out hard in support of Lyra after her arrest. As public opinion turned in their favor, Astoria became a sought after authority by the media and society types due to her proximity. The boost in her profile endeared Lyra to her even further and she had been absolutely thrilled when Draco asked if they could stop by.

"Where?!" Scorpius said, lifting his head off of Lyra's shoulder.

"With your dad. We can have them in a minute. I haven't seen you in like five months! I'm not done hugging you yet!" Lyra protested as he wiggled in her arms to have her put him down.

She freed him with a grumble and Scorpius ran over to Draco yelling about crumble-crusts.

Lyra looked back at Astoria and made a 'What the hell?' face that had the blonde witch in stitches.

Nott strolled in and shocked Lyra by picking her off the ground in a gripping hug.

"Draco's not feeding you?" He joked.

Draco shot a look of pure venom over at him, but Lyra laughed. "There's no food left north of the equator after your breakfast, Nott. You know this," she said pinching his stomach, which was hard as a rock, but no matter.

"There's crumble-crusts," Scorpius, protested, prying his little fingers into the box her mother had sent.

"Well, yeah. There's those," Lyra conceded.

"Sit down, Scorpius. You can have one. Only one and then bed," Astoria told him.

They stuffed their faces with pastry and chatted. Lyra and Astoria put Scorpius to bed, the two of them alternating back and forth as he skillfully manipulated them for more stories. By ten o'clock though, both women put their foot down and left him to sleep.

"He's so much bigger," Lyra said to Astoria with a pout as they walked away from his bedroom.

"Gods, I know. And he never wants to have a cuddle anymore. It was like he turned four and everything changed. Trust me, that little disappearing act he did with you earlier is par for the course, I'm afraid. The only time I can get him to hug me now is if he's sick or upset," the blonde witch complained.

"That's bull. There should be some kind of spell to keep them cute and pliable forever," Lyra quipped.

Astoria laughed. "That would be cruel, and we should absolutely do it."

Lyra smiled at her as they rejoined the men in the sitting room.

"Ready, sweetheart?" Draco asked.

"Sure," she replied, going over to him. She turned back to their hosts. "Thank you so much for letting me see him," she said.

"You're welcome anytime," Nott said, shaking her hand.

"Draco's mother is planning a ladies tea for the Gratiot Society's spring affair, so expect a card for it soon," the blonde witch said warmly, kissing her on the cheek.

"I'm gonna be honest here and tell you that I heard the very British words you just said and will have Draco explain them to me as soon as we get home," Lyra replied, kissing the blonde witch back on the cheek.


March 2009
Nomaj Manhattan, New York
Saturday Evening

Draco and Lyra flooed back to the Nagini house in London and used the Vanishing Cabinet to return to the house in New York. Kira invited them for a drink in the parlor so they could get to know each other a bit better.

Kira's mother was British and liked to go back and forth between the houses for work. She and Almitra had been friends since they were little and they kept in touch.

They had a drink or two and got to chatting with a few of the ladies. Most of them knew Almitra or at least knew of her and were interested in meeting her daughter. Lyra saw no reason to maintain the secret from the people in the house. This was their home and she and Draco would be passing through it regularly in the future. She figured that they had a right to know why they would have access. Lyra was having a good time commiserating with one of them about midtown traffic when someone startled her by calling out to her boyfriend by name.

"Draco?" A flowery voice rang out, causing both Draco and Lyra to look up.

A blonde witch with chocolate brown eyes and a sexy plump figure walked over to them. She looked lovely in her sheer gown and was only a few years older than Lyra. Draco had been with his fare share of women, but he recognized her instantly...and so did Lyra. Draco got to his feet and took her hand as she arrived at their table.

"Olivia? How are you here? I mean, what..." He trailed off, shaking her hand awkwardly.

She laughed warmly. "I work here. You're in my house now," she said, her voice accented prettily with French.

"Right," Draco replied.

"You ok, Lyra? You look a little green," Kira asked.

Lyra tore her eyes away from them and looked back at her host. "I...no, I'm fine, sorry." She turned back to the witch she had been talking to and tried to carry on, hoping no one else heard the quiver in her voice. "The closest I will get to that mess is Port Authority. I take the A or the C towards Inwood, get off at the terminal and then walk. It's faster, I swear. Wait though, you come from Queens? Take the E. Same difference," she babbled, trying not to eavesdrop on Draco and the blonde witch as they conversed quietly.

"This is her! That's wonderful!" Lyra heard Olivia exclaim.

Lyra turned her head back to the woman, who was absolutely beaming at her. Lyra inhaled warily and swallowed her insecure resentment. This woman has done nothing to you. She owes you nothing. In fact, you owe her. Ugh...she's so pretty...of course she is.

Olivia sat down in Draco's seat next to her. "You don't know me, but I..." the blonde began.

"I got your message. I..." Lyra cut her off, the heat rising in her cheeks.

Olivia reached out and took her hand.

"Thank you," Lyra sputtered out quietly. "It was...I mean, he was...thank you," she said, blushing deeper.

The blonde witch smiled and squeezed her hand. "I'm so glad," she replied. "She is every inch as beautiful as you said she was," she said, looking up at Draco who looked like he was in one of the more intense circles of hell.

"How long have you worked here?" Lyra asked, trying to make small talk.

"Five years," Olivia replied. "I can't believe it! You're Almitra's daughter too! I mean, now that I look at you, of course you are. Just gorgeous," she twittered, causing Lyra's blush to return. "He never told me you were American! Can you imagine the look on his father's face? The old bleached rat!"

That got Lyra's full attention. "I don't have to imagine it," she replied with a grin. "It was amazing."

The blonde witch and Lyra shared a laugh.

"Uh...are you ok? Now you look a little green," Kira asked Draco who had just been standing there with his mouth open watching his girlfriend and the witch who taught him how to fuck make witty smalltalk. He knew they would probably get along if they ever met, he just figured that would never conceivably happen...ever.

"I need a drink," he answered, making for the bar.

Lyra and Olivia were fast friends, because of course they were, and Draco was clearly being punished for the sins of his ancestors. If he didn't know better, and of course he DID know better, he'd say that by the time they left, Olivia was openly flirting with his witch. Oh come on...

He had to pull them away from each other to get Lyra in the floo to go home. Why is this happening to me...

By the time he got her back to her apartment, she was ready for sleep and he steered them directly towards the bedroom.

Lyra could sense his uneasiness about the interesting turn the evening had taken. She was dying to rib him about it, especially since Olivia had quite obviously been hitting on her, but she decided to give him a break. As they brushed their teeth, Lyra congratulated Draco on having found them a way to get around that was so complicated, it would put any public-transit seasoned New Yorker right at ease.

"Quiet, witch," he admonished, his mouth full of froth.

She leaned up on her tiptoes and pecked his neck a few times. "I love you," she said sweetly to him and bounded into the bedroom, leaving him to finish brushing his teeth with a daft smile on his face.


Author's Note - I am betting that I have about 8-10 or so chapters left on this fic. For those wondering about Olivia, her story will be part of the prequel. Thanks for reading, please review! -MM