Chapter 5

American Dumbledore

Lyra Marks was extremely angry, she didn't know the last time she was so frustrated with Tessra.

This wasn't the first time; Lyra was thrown into something bizarre without a moment's warning. This was the nature of being a member of the 27 Coven. After you became a member, you grew vastly in the core career line you picked, there was no doubting that. However, no member was allowed to work on a full-time basis anywhere. Every member was given to their workplace on a consultancy basis. Which meant, they had to prioritize coven missions over and above any other professional commitments. Most workplaces, who were desperate for members of the 27 usually agreed to these terms. Of course, the remuneration they received was much higher than their counterparts at the same level. They were after all the most sought-after group of witches and wizards, able to perform feats at levels above the ordinary.

Tessra could feel the energy Lyra was radiating as she led her out of the hall, worried the woman would simply combust in front of everyone. The minute they stepped outside the hall, she did.

"What the fuck, Tessra!" She snarled lighting a cigarette.

Tessra decided to approach this with a cool mind. Although, infuriated by Lyra herself, she needed the woman to listen.

"Lyra…"

"No! This is absolute bullshit…I have three open cases pending at work…and you want me to babysit some absolute idiot, who had some stroke of bravado!" Lyra yelled loudly.

"I am going to return to America tonight…this is well beneath my capabilities…why can't someone else do it?"

"Because you were specially requested."

"Are—you kidding me right now? Please tell me this is some stupid joke!"

"Lyra!"

Her temper refused to allow Tessra to get a word in.

"I have bigger things that require my attention!" Lyra snapped.

"The absolute idiot…is your niece." Tessra spoke calmly.

Lyra who had been ready to retort with something scathing and rude, instantly withdrew. She frowned at what Tessra had just said.

"Your niece wrote to you weeks ago, but if you'd raised your head out of your own world once in a while, you would know! Not having received any communication, she reached out to me as last resort!" Tessra snapped.

"She…reached out…to you?" Lyra asked now much calmer. Tessra could feel the anxiety and tension building in the younger woman's heart.

"She did. She even reached out to Reginald Smith, her godfather. MACUSA got involved. And for your information, someone else was the first thing I offered when I couldn't locate you as usual! However, she declined it straight away…saying she didn't believe in anyone else from the coven to help her cause—I have no idea what you've filled in that girl's head about the others, but it wasn't appreciated!" Tessra scolded.

"I had to pull Erasmus out a wretched tomb in the Rockies, to come find you immediately, before this turned into a bureaucratic nightmare! All because you are always so late!"

"I'm not late. I arrive when I am needed." Lyra said taking another drag of her cigarette. Tessra looked at the burning stick in disgust.

"That child needs you…are you interested in helping her at all?"

"She hasn't left me with much of a choice now, has she?"

Tessra stayed silent, watching Lyra pace and hurriedly smoke the rest of the cigarette.

Finally, after she had managed to calm the storm in her heart, Lyra threw away the cigarette, crushing it under her boot.

"What is required of me?" Lyra asked calmly. If she had to be a part of this, she was going to treat it as a mission.

"Lyra…this is a person you love and care about…not some…task…that…"

"Not really feeling the love and care for her at the moment."

"Lyra…"

"I know. I know…okay! I just…I am just—trying to process this."

"Don't treat this like a job Lyra. That child is scared and confused. Give her strength. Be the one she looks up to. Be the mentor she needs, not just wants." Advised Tessra wisely.

Lyra stood there listening with her head bent as she contemplated her next move.

Tessra continued to brief Lyra about the tournament and the people she would be dealing with.

"—And please behave yourself!" Tessra stated in finality as she held the woman's hands and took a long look at her.

"And try to not die!"

"Or kill my niece…?"

"LYRA!" Tessra snapped finally glaring at her, an strict and amused smile played on her lips.

"Go…join your family."

Lyra sighed as she turned to the doors of hall. She turned to look at Tessra for one final time, but the woman had already disappeared leaving only mist behind.

"Show off!" Lyra muttered to herself.

Lyra walked back into the great hall as once again heads turned and whispers rose. Excited giggles and awe flooded the hall in whispers as Lyra walked up to the staff table. Athena stood again as she had before, bowing gently at her. Lyra chuckled at the customary display of respect for a member of the 27 Coven. She knew her aunt hated that she had to bow her head to her incorrigible annoyance of a niece.

However, as much as Athena loved Lyra, she was still a pretty big stick-in-the-mud. Which made it even more tempting for Lyra to pull her leg.

"Bow any lower Thee-Thee and you might get a catch in your back." Lyra smirked at her aunt, who glared at her.

"Don't call me that!" Snapped her aunt blushing angrily, worried someone might have heard her.

"Where is the brat, who is the cause of this utter chaos?" Lyra asked her aunt, taking off her aviators placing them in her pant pocket.

"At that table, hiding behind her friends, trying to finish breakfast." Athena replied pointing out to Sarah.

"Fucking coward!" Lyra muttered in amusement looking straight at her niece, who was hiding behind her friend.

"You find this amusing, don't you…?" Athena snapped at her.

"Yes, upending my life to participate in MACUSA sponsored death games is exactly how I had envisioned spending the rest of my year!" Lyra retorted sarcastically as she was about to light herself a cigarette.

"LYRA! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" Athena snarled at her, pulling the cigarette out of her mouth.

"This is a school…with children here…they're looking up to you!"

"Never asked them to…" Lyra shrugged dismissively.

Athena tsked aggravatedly. She then sighed and turned to look at the staff table. The entire table had been listening in on their conversation, with rapt attention and amusement. Athena glared at Minerva who was chuckling over her porridge behind a newspaper.

"Come with me." Athena snapped as she walked to a man with an extremely long beard, who was speaking to an extremely upset looking moustached chap.

Lyra followed her aunt as Athena cleared her throat. The two men turned to the two women.

"Mr. Crouch…shall we fulfil the formalities…?" Athena asked with a pressing smile. Lyra's eyes darted from her to the short man. Why was Athena sucking up to this old moustached chap?

"There is…just…Athena…you know this is highly unsportsmanlike of AIMS…nothing against you of course, Ms. Marks…but you're just so…"

"I am too what?" snapped Lyra. Athena held her back.

"Too accomplished for this…" snapped Mr. Crouch little peeved by her tone.

Lyra laughed loudly, this took him by surprise.

"I completely agree with you." She replied smirking arrogantly at him.

Mr. Crouch seemed to have been shocked by her answer.

"This is what it is Barty." Athena stated tiredly. She was absolutely done with this conversation with him.

"I know the rules…but…"

"You gave us an extension…you spoke to Tessra Jones…you spoke to the minister in London. Don't force my hand Barty…please…I don't want to bring that girl's father in again!" Athena sighed tiredly.

Mr. Crouch considered her threatening plea and gave in.

"Very well…Dumbledore…I assume we will be calling a meeting in your office after lunch, seeing that classes are about to begin." Said Mr. Crouch, the man with the long beard gave the man a gentle nod. Mr. Crouch then walked away muttering.

"Come on…" Athena snapped at her niece pulling her hand, before Lyra could say anything to the other man. She nodded apologetically to him and was dragged away. He smiled at her in acknowledgment, watching her aunt yank her away from him.

Athena transfigured a chair next to her as Lyra sat down, her phoenix returned to perch herself on the back of her master's seat. She picked up a piece of bacon to feed the bird.

Lyra noticed the many curious eyes on her, she ignored them the best she could, until she met a pair of familiar green ones. Lyra sat straighter as she noticed the woman's face. She smiled at Lyra. Lyra was about to ask for an introduction, but Athena beat her to it.

"This is my youngest sister…Minerva." Athena offered as she noticed the two women looking at each other.

"Minerva…this is…your…this is Lyra…" Athena added dismissively, earning herself a glare from her sister.

"The mysterious third sister." Lyra said silkily, shaking hands with Minerva over Athena who grumped indignantly.

"My mom…your sister…used to tell us stories of you when we were younger…my brother and I…we kept hoping you'd visit." Lyra said trying to start a conversation.

"Oh…I…"

"I'm sure you were busy…being an auror…how'd you go from that to being a professor? Also, what do you teach?"

"I seized being an auror a time long ago. I always had a knack for transfiguration…so I decided to…"

"She's not just some teacher, Lyra…she's also the deputy headmistress." Athena offered.

"I am sure she can talk, Thee-Thee!" Lyra stated rolling her eyes.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Athena snarled murderously shoving her fork into her eggs.

Lyra chuckled nastily as Minerva joined in under her napkin. Athena glared at her as if saying this is all your fault!

"Excuse me, ladies…I see my culprit trying to make a run for it." Said Lyra half standing from her seat. She turned to look at her phoenix who understood what was asked of her. She took flight. Lyra jogged to catch up.

The phoenix blocked Sarah's way.

"Oh, come on Burst…move!" Sarah hissed at Burst waving her hand at the bird that squawked at her playfully.

"—In a rush, darling?" Lyra said looking at her niece's back. Sarah froze on the spot.

Sarah then turned to her aunt and looked up at her.

Lyra had her arms crossed as she looked back at her.

"I can explain…" Sarah began looking around as people were staring at them.

"You better have a very good explanation…"

Sarah licked her lips in apprehension.

"Can we…can we go somewhere private please?" Sarah offered.

Lyra shoved her head towards the door as Sarah walked guiltily out of the hall followed by her aunt.

Sarah had confessed her stupidity to her aunt, after trying to blame her bravado on her. Lyra had instantly shut her down, saying that she had asked her to be more assertive, not to put her name in the fucking death games!

Lyra now sat in an office that could give hers a run for its money in regards to how messy it was. It was a huge office though. The walls were filled with sleeping portraits. A shiny silver sword sat behind the desk. The desk itself rested on a large platform, with three comfortable armchairs and a large wing-back chair for its owner. You couldn't tell what the desk was made off, it was filled with parchments, envelopes and other things, like candy bowls used as paper weights. There was even a pair of rather colourful socks in one corner.

Lyra walked over to the cabinet that held interesting contraptions. She was most impressed with the collection. There were somethings that seemed like they were handcrafted, there were somethings that Lyra had never even seen in her life. What really fascinated her the most was the sleeping phoenix who Burst had perched next to and was trying to poke awake. Her phoenix had never met another of its kind before, so she was intrigued by it.

Lyra had been sent to the office to relax until the others could gather for the meeting, that was meant to start soon. For moments she twirled her wand in anticipation, then she walked up to the window behind the desk, watching the sprawling grounds of the school. A thought crossed her head, would she have attended Hogwarts if her birth parents hadn't given up on her? She was after all born in England.

"Your phoenix seems to have taken well to mine." Said someone in the back. Lyra turned around to see the man she had met earlier. She obviously knew who he was, there was not a magical soul in the world who didn't. The great Albus Dumbledore. The man her brother had an unhealthy obsession for.

"She hasn't ever seen another phoenix before." Lyra replied walking over to him.

"Burst…come!" Lyra stated offering the bird her shoulder. The phoenix looked at her and cocked her head. She then went back to her ministrations of the older phoenix, who seemed to be trying to push her away with its large wing.

"That's a fascinating name…" Albus said amused. Lyra chuckled.

"I found her when my father took my brother and me camping to the Smokey's. My dad loves excursions…he's a magizoologist, my brother was always fascinated by beasts but never of the great outdoors. I found Burst fallen on our trail path, she was close to her burn day, and was hurt possibly by poachers in the area. She burst into flames in my hands. I was horrified, but then from the ashes formed this tiny helpless chick. My dad helped me nurse her back to health, along with my godfather…Newt…and she just never left my side after that." Lyra said looking at her phoenix.

"A strong bond between your beast is a clear sign of why the 27 chose you into their fold." Dumbledore replied intelligently. Many members of the coven had their own beastly companions.

"Possibly…but definitely not what Tessra saw in me…" Lyra smirked to herself.

Dumbledore looked at her closely as if trying to place her somehow. It wasn't as if he didn't know anything about the woman. She was a well-accomplished auror and healer. He knew of her career graph through the various articles that the papers carried. He understood Barty Crouch's apprehensions of letting someone like her mentor a champion. It was indeed unfair to the others. She may have been younger than them all, or as old, but she had so much more experience under her belt. However, that was not what Albus was struggling with. It was the way she…she looked. The newspapers did not do justice to her features. Nothing was ever clear in black and white. But now that he saw this woman in the flesh, she had a strange sort of familiarity. Albus shook it away, it was possible that he could relate to her personality. She was after all raised by Margery McGonagall. Albus knew what the McGonagall family were like as people. He decided to chalk it up to that.

"Merlin…if my brother knew I was speaking to you right now…he'd have such a meltdown!" She said smirking as her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Why do you say that?"

"Oh…my brother idolizes you…he went for one student conference held by the International Confederation of Wizards…as a student and fell in love with how you fought some case. He's definitely got an obsessive crush on you. If you ever meet him…this year…which I have a feeling you will, since he can't keep away from his daughter for a second and let her grow up…I suggest you tread carefully."

"I believe…I already did meet him. Although, the poor man was so harrowed by this mess, that we had no time for formal introductions." Dumbledore replied disappointedly.

Lyra laughed shaking her head.

"I must say Ms. Marks…you are taking this better than I expected…" He said studying her with a smile.

Lyra sighed and crossed her hands behind her back.

"Please…call me Lyra." She said smiling.

"I am…taking things as they come…this wasn't part of my agenda for the year…or even the week. However, I do love my extremely spoilt niece, very much…having had a lot to do with spoiling her myself. She's very important to me and I would do anything for her…I would die for her, if it comes to it, she knows that. Which is why I am still here, professor Dumbledore."

"If I am to call you Lyra…please call me Albus." He said smiling at her as he offered his hand. She shook it nodding pleasantly.

"Would you care for a smoke, Albus?" Lyra asked opening her silver cigarette case filled with white sticks.

"I…I haven't had one in a really long time, my dear…" He said looking at the sticks.

"I suppose one…won't hurt really." He said picking it up. She smiled at him devilishly and offered him the light from her muggle lighter.

He then asked her questions of the many cases she had been on, which she happily began telling him. However, in the middle of a rather intriguing tale about a small vampire coup, was when the others began piling into the room breaking the comfortable space that they had built, while smoking cigarettes together.

Minerva was the first to enter the room as Dumbledore quickly put the cigarette out, looking extremely guilty to have been caught in such an openly compromising position, that was different from what he portrayed to the world.

Lyra who had her feet up on his desk while they were chatting, heard her name being called out sharply while she was in the middle of a drag.

"LYRA! What are you doing?" Athena snapped glaring at Lyra and then at Dumbledore.

"You asked me to stay in the office…that's what I am doing…" She replied finishing her cigarette, unlike Dumbledore.

"What were you talking about?" Athena hissed at her sharply as if accusing her of fraternizing with the enemy.

"Merlin…Athena…he's the headmaster of the school…not a fucking criminal…can you chill?" Lyra snapped at her aunt. Athena glared at her and pushed her feet off the desk. Lyra grumbled and stood.

Athena was looking at her sister distastefully. All Minerva was doing was speaking to Dumbledore in a hushed voice, he was looking at her rather guiltily, she seemed to be pretending to not to be bothered by it, but the frustration was evident on her face of him forgetting himself.

Lyra found all of this extremely odd. Athena's displeasure, Dumbledore's guilt, Minerva's pretence...whatever this was, it wasn't her problem.

"Shall we begin?" Mr. Crouch asked as the room full of people settled down.

"Everyone, as you are aware, we have been graced by Ms. Lincolns mentor, Ms. Lyra Marks. We can finally, begin the tournament with full gusto! However, it is best if all our mentors and champions are acquainted. Headmasters, if you will, please." Said Mr. Crouch offering the floor to the two men.

Lyra noticed the first man, a tall man with a sharp goatee, wearing a burly brown warm jacket offer her his hand. Barring his yellow teeth, he introduced himself.

"Igor Karkaroff. Headmaster of Durmstrang." He spoke. Lyra looked at his hand as a familiar tattoo peeped through on his hand.

"I wasn't aware Russia was so progressive…with hiring criminals in their education system?" Lyra said looking at his hand. He instantly grew conscious and pulled his hand back.

"Lyyyra!" Hissed Athena from the side warningly. Lyra rolled her eyes.

"This is Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion…and his mentor Ivan Chomsky." Karkaroff said proudly. Lyra shook hands with Krum and his mentor. They spoke about Krum's performance in the quidditch cup. A laugh was shared when she told Krum, that he'd have still obliterated the American team even if they had been any good to begin with.

It was Dumbledore's turn to introduce his champions.

"As you know. Hogwarts has two champions in this tournament." He began.

"Meet Mr. Harry Potter and his mentor, Professor Alastor Moody." Albus said as a young man looked up from his feet.

Lyra's ears perked when she heard his name. The boy was just about a teenager. If Lyra remembered correctly though, his story was legend. She had first heard his name, when she had just about joined the coven. She could not help but look at the lightening scar on his forehead sticking out from under his messy hair. He seemed so out of place in the group of champions. Lyra felt sorry for him, Tessra had filled her in about, how his name had magically appeared in the Goblet, something that wasn't possible. But surviving a killing curse as a baby, that was something that was pretty impossible as well.

Lyra offered him her hand as he shook it, giving her a small smile as he looked at her with slight awkwardness mixed with a glint of teenage weariness.

Lyra's eyes then moved to his mentor in question. Shaking the man's hand, she thought, that it was rather rich that Mr. Crouch had said she was the most accomplished mentor here. Alastor Moody wasn't just a nobody. He was a decorated auror. Someone whose cases were used as examples to teach, young aurors the world over. Lyra's record may have been impressive, but his qualifications and experience as an auror were far superior to hers.

The man limped towards her looking at her through his magical eye. Lyra flinched as she shook his hand. She didn't like the way his eyes rested on her breasts. He even had a creepy smile on his face. She found that rather odd, but shoved it at the back of her mind, calling it a possible side-effect of his eccentricity. Arnold Bugsy, had a magical eye, he was a member of the 27, and notoriously rumoured to have used his eye to look through women's clothes, the old pervert!

"Now…that's a world class auror, Potter…" He said gruffly, smiling at Lyra, he turned to look at his ward.

"Seems like Potter's not the only celebrity we have to deal with this year…we've got the American Dumbledore on our hands as well." Whispered a baritone in the back as Chomsky chuckled darkly at the comment.

Lyra looked towards the man who had made the snarky comment. She gritted her teeth; she really despised that nickname. The English newspapers had started this trend and the papers from the world over had suddenly started calling her that. Michelin had said it was a great honour to be called that, he'd obviously say that! But Lyra thought differently. Her name was already a question mark in her mind. But they had changed her identity to suit one of the greatest wizards in the world. It took away from her achievements, and it certainly took away from Dumbledore's too. After all, he was a living legend, and she was just an auror doing her job…supremely well. Lyra thought, it was because she was a woman, that the chauvinists of the world could not digest the fact that a woman was able to perform magic at such a feat, and needed her to be compared to a man, who was by far greater than her, so that she could be put in her place.

Sure, she had some respect in the American press, but worldwide, they treated her like she was a fancy name to fill their gossipy tabloids.

"Meet Mr. Zeus Shorthorn, the official champion of course, as you may have heard, and his mentor…professor Severus Snape." Dumbledore introduced them quickly trying to contain the comment. He shot a look at the professor who rolled his eyes.

"Hello ma'am…I am a huge fan of your work…in healing I mean…some of your cases are truly worth studying!" said Shorthorn looking at Lyra with wonder. He seemed to be rubbing his sweaty hands on his robes to make sure they were dry before shaking hers.

Lyra looked at the young man kindly. Noticing his blonde hair, grey eyes and handsome face. He was most certainly a pure-blood wizard, but seemed to be struggling with his status. However, she didn't deduce that from just his looks. Instead, the signet ring that he wore on his finger. It had changed fingers multiple times, the scratches on it clearly indicated that he didn't care for it very much.

Zeus Shorthorn's mentor and the man who had made the comment was next to shake hands with Lyra. She looked at him carefully. He was a tall man, dressed in black teaching robes, he didn't smile…in fact he had no emotion on his face. His dark brown eyes looked challengingly at her bright blue ones. Lyra was intrigued by his demeanour. She was also slightly threatened by him, not because of the comment, no, she had a perfect comeback for that, ready to leave her lips the second he would let go of her hand, but because he was the first-person Lyra could not read. The others were easy, but this man was clean. Too clean for Lyra's liking. He had no tell, no emotion, no expressions to help indicate anything. He looked like an elitist pure blood with his aristocratic features and crisp dressing, but his other features were softer, like his silky jet-black hair that framed his strong jaw line, his freshly shaved face. He was lanky, but the strong grip on her hand told her, he was muscular under those robes. He wasn't eccentric like the many other pure-bloods she had met, but he was rude and seemingly witty. He was disinterested, yet seemed highly intelligent.

Lyra bit her tongue as he kept her hand held and her eyes on his. As if challenging her to say something, which he would indeed find stupid. What bothered her through those seconds was that however hard she tried, whatever cues she searched for, she couldn't read him. And if she couldn't read him, she saw him as a potential threat. Lyra did not like feeling threatened. She was not used to it. She liked being in the know. Judging people by observing small cues was a skill she had picked up as an auror. She was excellent at it, so what made this man, so unique!

Athena cleared their throat in the background breaking their staring contest.

He pulled his hand away, but she caught it, pulling him towards her. He hadn't expected it, he leaned forward.

"Do you know my name?" She asked smirking threateningly. He looked affronted by her question.

"It's not American Dumbledore…it's not The Marks Girl…it's not anything your silly little newspaper tells you. It's Lyra Marks…what's your name?" she sneered arrogantly, as if to say his name held no value. He glared at her angrily before opening his mouth to answer her question, but she cut him off before the words left his mouth.

"Wait! I don't need to really know it. Because…remember this…whatever it is…in this tournament…it will always come second to mine."

"Lyra!" Athena objected hissing once again. Lyra finally let go of the man's hand. They glared at each other for a few more seconds.

Dumbledore then continued to try and defuse the tension that the two mentors had created between them by introducing the rest of the committee, which was mostly made up of the Hogwarts staff, who would be working closely to make this tournament a success. As Dumbledore's voice echoed in the background and Mr. Crouch relayed the happenings of the next few days, Lyra's eyes never left Zeus Shorthorn's mentors, and his never left hers.

Readable or not. There was already a growing rivalry between them. And Lyra was ready to show this man his true place.