The morning of the first of September was, as expected, absolute pandemonium in the Weasley household.

Trying to organise a burrow full of rambunctious kids who were dying to return to their magical school wasn't an easy task, despite the promises that were made the night prior their trunks still weren't packed by the time Molly and Arthur called the children down for breakfast and the wait for the bathroom had doubled. Running at least an hour behind schedule, the Weasleys and their temporary wards zoomed off towards London in their trusty family car, desperately trying to beat the Muggle rush hour that was determined to slow them down. Eventually they squeezed into a tight parking space outside King's Cross station with barely any time to spare.

"We have no time to mess about right now, I mean it, you all need to be on that train in less than five minutes," Molly announced, swinging her car door open before Arthur had a chance to apply the handbrake, "grab your trunks and head straight for the barrier — Ginny, stick with me."

Ginny restrained herself from rolling her eyes but she swiftly followed her mother and Percy from the front bench, leaving the remaining five who were crammed on the back row to battle with unloading the luggage.

Lyra nudged Ron out of her way (he was too busy playing with Lyra's Walkman to pay much attention, she could hear George Michael's muffled tones through the headphones so she decided not to interrupt his musical self-discovery) and she dashed after the twins who had been avidly avoiding her all morning. Fred and George still hadn't given her their super special prize for introducing them to Kreacher and she was intent on seeing their bet through to the end. They couldn't get away with disrespecting the rules of their deal and she was prepared to be as overbearing as physically possible to get what was rightfully hers.

"Oi!" Lyra yelled as she ran, steadying Apollo's rattling cage on top of her trunk to prevent any owl-related injuries, "you're gonna have to give up some time soon, you know! You can't hide from me forever! I know where you live!" It was easy to keep track of the vibrantly ginger, striped-shirted twins through the swarming crowds within the enormous train station. Lyra squeaked out a hurried apology when she accidentally rolled her trunk over an angry businessman's foot as she barrelled through.

"We're still thinking about it!" George called over his shoulder, bolting through the crowds, "give us a second to breathe, Black!"

"You've had all summer to think about it!" Lyra countered, "but if you really don't want to give me this supposedly awesome prize then that's fine, you will never see Kreacher ever again."

"Hey now," Fred immediately slowed down to frown at her, clearly taken aback by her threat, "don't start saying silly things you don't mean, that's not very nice."

"No, what's not nice is you guys breaking your promise to your favourite cousin, talk about being disrespectful to the best person in your life," she pouted up at him and George, doubling down on her stance as the victim in the situation, "I feel used."

Fred and George swapped the same look of disconcern. They were truly struggling with the idea of parting ways with this mysterious object, but as Molly's shrill nags came into earshot they made their minds up with a united nod and they herded Lyra through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, keeping their grumbles to a bare minimum.

"Of course we're not breaking our promise to you, little cuz, you'll get your prize soon enough but there are some terms we have to discuss before we hand it over," Fred reassured her as they breached the brick wall, but most of his affirmation was lost to sounds of the heaving wizarding platform around them. Last minute stragglers were clambering onto the scarlet steam train, parents and guardians prepared their final goodbyes as they hugged their children in the open doorways, but the piercing whistle that reverberated around the platform signalled the imminent closing time gap, they really needed to go. Through the clouds of steam Lyra spotted the rest of her group storm through the barrier, soothing the panic that was currently dancing around in her stomach at the thought of someone getting left behind, so she followed the twins who were beckoning her to join them.

The familiar musty scent of the Hogwarts Express greeted Lyra like a warm hug as she caught her breath in the corridor and her mood rocketed; they hadn't left London yet but she already felt like she was home. As though proving their word, Fred and George helped Lyra with her belongings as they shuffled down the train's halls in search of the right compartment.

It didn't take them long, they bumped into Lee, Angelina, and Alicia in the first carriage who were ecstatic to see a surprise addition to their group. It had been a summer of changes for them too. Lyra complimented Lee's decision to buzz off half his dreadlocks as it made him look like a handsome viking chief, and Angelina proudly showed off her new nose piercing to the group, bragging about how little the procedure hurt. But the biggest change by far was Alicia's bold pastel blue pixie cut, all of her enviously long blonde hair was gone.

"Wow! Alicia!" George exclaimed, throwing his trunk carelessly on the floor to address his friend's dramatic change in appearance, "I was gonna say you look even more like an elf now but it actually suits you, nice job kid!"

"Thanks, I guess?" Alicia laughed, accepting one of Lyra's many hugs as they settled into their seats. The rumble of the pistons under the floorboards grew louder as the train pulled away from the station but as they picked up speed the roaring locomotive noises subdued and faded into the background, leaving the passengers to swap summer stories in peace as the busy concrete city view beyond the windows blurred.

"I thought your mum didn't want you to cut your hair?" asked Fred, searching through his trunk like a hyper puppy digging through mud as he inspected Alicia's cut, but her smile faltered as she ran her fingers through her new chopped locks.

"Yeah, uh… she didn't," she admitted, "and uh…" whatever Alicia was trying to say troubled her. It was painfully obvious by the quick forming sweat on her brow, and Angelina nudged her leg, urging her to get on with it.

"Just say it," she encouraged, "they're not the ones you should be worried about telling."

"I'm quitting the team," Alicia blurted out, her face crumpled with guilt as she slumped back in her seat, and the twins were gobsmacked.

"You're what?!"

"Alicia!"

"I don't want to, but I have to," Alicia explained, scowling at her crossed arms to avoid her teammate's disappointed freckled faces, "I almost failed two classes last year and Mum is blaming my slip ups on Quidditch, she doesn't want me getting distracted from my school work. I almost changed her mind but then the blue hair kinda pushed her over the edge…"

"Aw, Alicia I'm so sorry," muttered Lyra sympathetically, offering her another hug, and Alicia accepted it with a tearful sniff.

"It's fine, I should have known when I saw that tiny D on my report that it was going to bite me in the arse," she heaved a weighty sigh and shook some sense into herself, "but I am terrified… how do I tell Oliver?"

"Aw man Wood is gonna kill you!" cackled George, not sounding compassionate at all, "good luck with that!"

"You're better off telling him sooner rather than later, you know he's probably planned the first few practices already," warned Fred smartly, still rummaging through his belongings, "so off you pop, Spinnet!"

"What? Tell him now?" squeaked Alicia, terrified at the very thought, "you're joking! Give me some time to plan what I'm going to say!"

"I never joke," said Fred without a flicker of humour, "if you tell him now then you can carve off a good few months of hostility from Wood, but if you wait until tomorrow then you might as well say farewell to your friendship with Oliver now."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" snickered Angelina, calling Fred's bluff, but he simply arched a brow.

"This is Oliver Wood we're talking about, right? The same Oliver who repeatedly kept telling us how fine he was that Harry missed the final last year and then he ate three whole tubs of ice cream in one sitting? The same Oliver that throws a hissy fit if we even suggest taking up a second extra-curricular activity? Who made everyone swear not to leave the team last year? Scottish lad, about this height? That Oliver?" said Fred, and Angelina paused, mulling his words over as she thought of the future of the team.

"On second thoughts, let's go and tell him now," she suggested, gently prying a reluctant Alicia from her seat with a nervous smile, "I'll come with you."

"Aren't you sweet?" teased George, holding the door open for the girls and flashing Angelina a cheeky wink as she stuck her middle finger up at him. Lyra helpfully waved them away with a cheer of good luck for their treacherous journey.

"I suppose this means there's an open spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year," drawled Fred, catching Lyra's eye as she shut the compartment door, "and a Chaser position, no less…"

"I'm way ahead of you dude," giggled Lyra, puffing her chest out as she stretched out on the girls' empty seats, "that position is mine!"

It was like clockwork, the moment Alicia announced her departure from the team Lyra automatically pictured herself in her place, smiling and cheering with the rest of the team like the photos of her mother in Hogwarts' trophy room. It was a biological need, it was coded into her DNA and she knew that the Gryffindor Quidditch team would accept her into the family with open arms. Harry is gonna freak out!

"That's our girl!" George high-fived her, exceptionally proud of his baby cousin and he dared to pinch her freckled cheeks to prove it, "you've got this in the bag. I already can't wait to watch you destroy everyone at try-outs."

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong," mused Lee, turning to face Lyra with an inquisitive stroke of his chin, "but I could have sworn that there are usually four of you? Where's Ron and the gang?"

"Lee, I don't know how to tell you this," Lyra murmured, placing a hand on his arm with a solemn pout, "But Ron died years ago, you've been imagining him this whole time—,"

"Found it!" announced Fred, thrusting a tatty piece of parchment into the air as though it were a treasured trophy, "phew! For a second there I thought I left it at home." George looked disturbed at the very idea of leaving the mysterious paper behind, but Lyra couldn't hide her disappointment from overtaking her expression.

That was it? All this fuss for a blank bit of parchment?

"Wait, you're not giving that to her, are you?" spluttered Lee in shock, clearly upset with the twin's idea, and instead of calling off the bet entirely Lyra closed her mouth and waited for an explanation. The paper must have been extraordinarily special, Lee looked heartbroken.

"No, we're not dumb," laughed Fred, dismissing his best friend's worries, "but we are loaning it to her. We were thinking about creating a bi-weekly schedule so it's not like we're never gonna use it again."

"We'll have it for two weeks, and then Lyra can have it for the following two weeks, et cetera, et cetera," explained George, revealing his wand from his jeans pocket before pinching the paper from his brother's fingers. Lyra bit her lip and stared, waiting for something magical to happen.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," declared George. The second the tip of his wand touched the parchment an intricate web of ink bled onto the page and it grew, twisting and turning until a magnificent, dark title beamed up at her, introducing her to its mystics. The tips of her fingers prickled, enlivened as she held the map for the first time, and she instinctively unfolded the enchanted sections as though she knew they were there. She immediately recognised the halls of Hogwarts castle by the familiar door placements and centimetre high scribbled inscriptions from the creator and she let her hands fall into her lap. The twins exchanged sweet expressions of success at her awestruck reaction.

"You're telling me that you've had a map of Hogwarts this whole time and you didn't tell me? You didn't think to show me this when I kept complaining last year about getting lost?!"

"Getting lost builds character, we did you a favour," Fred justified their behaviour, "you had to earn this map, because trust me when I say that this thing is the greatest map on Earth and we needed to be sure that it would be safe in your hands." He tapped on the footsteps trailing through the dungeons and Lyra blinked at the name Severus Snape.

"No… way… guys!" Lyra gasped, her nose an inch away from the live feed of her insufferable potions master patrolling the dingy depths of the school, "is that actually him?"

"You bet your arse that's him! This map will show you everything, you can see what anyone is doing at any time, and no one except the people in this room knows that this map exists," revealed Fred, and Lee snickered as though an old memory had been sparked.

"You can't fathom the things we have seen on that bit of paper, and it's gotten us out of countless detentions," he said, and Lyra's mind ran wild with all kinds of potential mind-blowing revelations she would uncover now she had a live tracking device at her fingertips. Sneaking out after curfew was going to be a walk in the park, she was never going to get caught again! She pulled another flap and squealed even louder, giddy at the sight of the Forbidden Forest. Thank you Wizard God!

Fred and George continued to explain how they got their hands on the map as they showed her how to use it properly. They didn't create the map but instead stumbled across it by pure luck, and they swore their meeting was a miraculous intervention from the prankster Gods. There were dozens more secret passageways than Lyra assumed in places she would never even think to look ("The Whomping Willow? Who came up with that idea?" she scoffed incredulously, and the fourth year trio grumbled as they admitted they still hadn't figured out how to access that one) and her stomach fluttered with exhilaration when she spotted that a few of the trails continued beyond the map. Out of Hogwarts entirely. The improvident, illustrated heading exuded a lot of clues as to who the inventors of the self-titled Marauder's Map were, and Lyra could tell by the chaotic organisation of the authors' many notes and doodles scattered across the pages that they were hers and the twins' kind of people.

"Does this exceed your expectations, milady?" drawled George, expecting only the best response from his younger cousin, and she didn't disappoint. Lyra leapt up and smothered them with hugs and many cheek kisses, hoping they understood how truly thankful she was that they were entrusting her with the one-of-a-kind item.

"The wait was worth it, you were right," she professed, "you can use Kreacher whenever you like."

"As always, a pleasure doing business with you Black," the twins agreed, tousling her hair to downplay their boyish blushes.

Once Angelina and Alicia returned, visibly shaken from their tough conversation with Wood, Lyra wished the group a pleasant journey and finally set off to find her friends who she prayed had bagged themselves an empty compartment. Sage green fields replaced the dull grey scenes of the city, the countryside whizzed past as Lyra poked her head into different carriages, hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar face. It wasn't until she pushed her way into the third train cart that she spotted Hermione's anxious face up ahead.

"About time, I've been looking for you!" she called, rushing over to help Lyra carry her things, and they shuffled into their new home for the next few hours. Hermione glanced down the corridor, the concerned crease between her brows never leaving as she searched, and Lyra worked out who she was looking for when she realised that the compartment was empty. Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's—?"

"No idea," shrugged Hermione, abandoning her search to continue reading Voyages with Vampires, "I've searched everywhere for them but I couldn't see them. It's really busy at the front of the train so I might have missed them. Where have you been?"

"Settling a bet with Fred and George, the usual business," Lyra sighed, sneaking her new map into her backpack before Hermione caught her. She wanted to show off her latest prize when they were all together. The map deserved a bigger audience so she grabbed her diary and sunk into the cushioned seats by the window instead, hoping to pass time talking to Tom.

"They might be with Ginny," Lyra suggested, filling the front page of her diary with a dozen stars to stir his attention, "have you seen her? We were in a rush getting on the train and we all got split up."

"I saw Ginny mingling with the other first years a few compartments down," Hermione informed her, smirking at the corridor beyond the glass doors, "I didn't want to interrupt her. Making friends on the first train journey is vastly important so I left her to it."

"Right you are, although if she starts a food fight then don't blame me," Lyra hurried to discount herself from any mischief that Ginny may potentially inspire, but Hermione decided not to comment in an attempt to dissuade her friend from having any unsavoury ideas of her own. She remembered their previous year with a shudder and buried her nose in her book, her actions spoke louder than words.

"You'll never guess what I've got," Lyra wrote once the diary's front page was sufficiently crammed with messy stars, and Tom hurried to write back.

"Asking me to guess what you've done is like asking a Muggle to accurately predict the future — impossible," he countered, "what have you done now?"

"My cousins gave me a live map of Hogwarts that tells you who's where in actual time," she gloated, drawing Tom in further, "and not to brag but I can track anyone I like, and no one knows it exists."

"...You never cease to amaze me, Lyra."

His words appeared at a snail's pace, and Lyra had to hide her lip-bitten smile behind a curtain of hair, desperately trying not to blush. She wished she could show him the map in person but her premature daydreams of meeting Tom were abruptly shooed from her mind when Hermione snapped her book shut.

"Have you read Gilderoy Lockhart's books yet? They're fascinating!" She thrusted the thoroughly read copy towards Lyra with a dreamy smile, "I've read this one three times already and I can't wait to reread it again, we're so lucky to have him as our professor."

Wrinkling her nose to prevent her snort of laughter, Lyra politely took the book and pouted at the front cover. The vampires looked nothing like Snape and her unconscious bias towards her own vampire theories damped any desire to actually read what Lockhart had experienced.

"These vampires are way too good-looking, what happened to their grotesque features? And why does Lockhart look like a Ken doll? No one's skin is that smooth, zero out of five stars for misleading the audience," she rated the text solely on appearance, and handed it back when Hermione looked offended on behalf of the book.

"You need to read them regardless, they're a part of the curriculum. You'll fail Defence otherwise," she began, "Look, I thought they were going to be bland at first but they're incredible! Lockhart truly cares about creating and maintaining harmony in the Wizarding world and his achievements are profoundly significant in today's society, he's technically a pioneer. He travels the world helping these unfortunate villages and sometimes individuals who have been shunned from the community, and he generates peace from these awful situations! He's undoubtedly the most impressive wizard I've read about and I'm shocked that you're not as excited as I am!"

Hermione flicked through the book until she landed on a particularly dignified photograph of Gilderoy shaking hands with a dazed-looking vampire with the shiniest blonde hair Lyra had ever seen, "I think he's a bit of a thrill-seeker, you two have a lot in common."

Lyra couldn't deny it, Hermione was one hundred percent correct in her assumptions and she snatched the book again, taking a closer look at the photograph. Teaching a vampire how to eat lettuce instead of blood felt cruel but the caption assured her that Stav the Greek vampire was perfectly well with his new-found vegetarianism. Lockhart looked like some sort of superhero compared to the pale mythical being and she found herself reading snippets of the adjacent page, intrigued by his practice.

Considering the only wizarding celebrity she knew was Harry (and maybe Dumbledore but honestly Lyra wasn't sure what he was famous for) and he was the polar opposite of Lockhart, she was fascinated by Lockhart's public image curation and questions concerning fame management started to pop into her head. As Harry's self-proclaimed manager she wanted only the best for her helpless friend, and maybe Gilderoy would be willing to expedite some of his wisdom.

"See? The other six books are just as gripping so please read them, I have so much to discuss with you," pleaded Hermione, continuing to draw Lyra into her literary world since the other half of their group wasn't there to distract her, "I found some amazing books while I was in France, you need to read those too. We managed to pass through a partially magical village when we drove to Lyons and I found a bookstore dedicated to magical studies around the world. Sadly Dad said I couldn't buy all of the books I wanted because that meant transporting most of the shop's contents back through customs which would cause some problems, but I did purchase a few on global wizarding traditions around the world. Gilderoy always hints in the last chapters of his books what he plans on doing in the future and, from what I've found during my own research, he's only scraped the top of the barrel."

Lyra's brain seemed to open up like a blossoming flower head when Hermione introduced the concept of there being witches and wizards in every corner of the globe, and she tried to focus on one train of thought at a time. She was overcome with fantastical visions of a broader Wizarding world and her interest in Gilderoy Lockhart's adventures appeared like a sudden cold shiver. He was a cultured man of many arts, she knew the knowledge he possessed was valuable… more valuable than Tom's? She highly doubted it but she still needed to know.

Enraptured by Lyra's growing interest, Hermione unearthed her newest collection of books and the two girls got lost within their pages, mesmerised by the ever-expanding world they were still getting used to. Lyra found out that there were at least a dozen other Wizarding schools across the world that were just as prestigious as Hogwarts, and the pair riled each other up at the prospect of there being a foreign exchange programme in their future school careers. Lyra wasn't at all surprised when Hermione revealed her extensive theory notes on what Gilderoy's next book could potentially be about, and Lyra had to hide her giggles with a few fake coughs when she spotted the tiny love hearts around their professor's name in Hermione's book. Ah, now I understand the sudden fixation…

"His pattern is quite desirous if you really think about it," Hermione explained, her tone suggesting that she was a Lockhart expert, "the areas he focuses on are, according to Muggles, usually ecologically impoverished or lacking certain agricultural amenities. Most of these places are in third world countries, these are places that really need his help and he offers his services free of charge." Her brown eyes melted in admiration and she heaved a dreamy sigh, "Like, come on! Could he be any dreamier?!"

"It sounds to me like he's a very successful salesman," Lyra mused as she flicked through her own copy of Wandering with Werewolves, "where do you think he's gonna go after Hogwarts?"

"He talks about wanting to explore the labyrinths underneath Warsaw in Poland a few times in this book," Hermione tapped her front cover with care, "apparently the cultural traditions over in the East are wildly different to our Western point of view, I read that the emergence of cults that are loosely based in Muggle theology started in Northern Russia back in the early sixteenth century. There was a huge increase in wizards and witches who believed that the Muggle presumptions of deities are one hundred percent accurate and this amalgamation of wizarding theology and Muggle mythology is still present in these countries today. I wouldn't be surprised if Gilderoy tackles a mystery in that region next."

"Wait, theology? Are we talking about Gods or ghosts?" Lyra asked, needing clarification before her head exploded with wonder.

"I would say both," Hermione decided with certainty in her smile, "the ancient Muggle civilisations of this world were somewhat accurate with their theories, if magic is real then I can believe that there is some truth in the basis of every Muggle myth. Dragons exist, why can't ancient Gods and Goddesses exist too? It makes religions like Christianity and Islam more believable."

"I can't think of a reason why not," Lyra agreed wholeheartedly, lighting up as more wild theories came to mind, "I mean, we know that mermaids and werewolves are real so theoretically every myth should be true to a certain extent. Jesus was definitely a wizard, and I bet Buddha dabbled in the arts too. Do you think the Tooth Fairy is real?"

Hermione looked horrified. "I really hope not. Some cultures revere teeth but I don't think there's a literal fairy that collects children's teeth and dispenses gold coins," she said more to herself than Lyra, "and I wouldn't class the Tooth Fairy as being in the same group as Jesus and Buddha, that feels a little sacrilegious."

"I bet there's a weirdo out there that worships the Tooth Fairy though," Lyra giggled, disregarding Hermione's opinion, "people are complex, there's a religion based around StarWars so this isn't totally out of the realm of possibility."

"True," Hermione shrugged, her lips pursed in scrutiny, "there are people that worship all kinds of specific entities, I read that there's a cult in Southern Australia that pray to a gigantic spider that supposedly created the world by spinning the universe like a web."

"Awesome!" Lyra gasped, moved by the Australian poetry, "I mean, it's slightly terrifying but still, awesome! I bet that spider is a woman."

"Of course the spider is female, they always are," smirked Hermione, "but then again, there aren't many legends about women who haven't been wronged or tricked by a man to relinquish her power, even in the Wizarding world. Why is it that women always suffer in these types of stories?"

"Ahhh, it's good to know that good old fashioned sexism has been thriving all over the world. We can't catch a break," Lyra sighed, her disappointment in men worsening by the second, and Hermione looked equally as exasperated.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The trolley witch appeared out of nowhere at their compartment door with her cart stuffed with mouth-watering treats, and Lyra put in her order as she scrambled for her purse.

"Gosh, is it that time already?" Hermione glanced at her watch, disturbed by the late hour, "surely they're not lost…?" She didn't sound confident in Harry and Ron's abilities to navigate a train that only had one corridor, a task that could be achieved by a three-year-old, and Lyra hurried to swallow her mouthful of zesty orange pastry.

"Maybe they're hanging out with Draco," she guessed, wiping crumbs from her lips, "maybe Ron is finally addressing his crush and they're down the other end of the train working through their differences?"

When Hermione looked unconvinced Lyra swung her backpack onto her shoulders and smirked, assuming the worst. "Or maybe they're brawling with the Slytherins and we should go and help them."

"You read my mind, let's go before half of us are trapped in the prefects' carriage for the rest of the journey again," teased Hermione, and the girls set off down the train with their wands in their pockets as a precaution.

To Lyra's knowledge, the Slytherins camped out at the very back of the train together. None of the other houses bothered to venture to their section as they were incredibly territorial and never yielded any of their compartments. It took the pair a while to wriggle their way through the scattering of students lingering in the corridor but Lyra enjoyed the adventure as she passed some familiar faces that were happy to see her.

The rest of their fellow second years spared a few minutes catching up with them, swapping snappy summer anecdotes and gossiping about their upcoming classes with Lockhart. Everyone was keen to see the famous wizard in person and Lyra had to hide her laughter when Lavender, Parvati and Sally-Ann squealed with Hermione as they gushed about the golden haired, pearly toothed icon. Sadly they left their housemates without gaining intel on Harry and Ron's whereabouts, they hadn't the boys either, and they continued their trek with more butterflies in their stomachs than before.

"I've got a horrible feeling that they're not on the train," murmured Hermione as they approached the snakes' hidey holes. Her usual glowing complexion paled as though she had suddenly come down with a fever and Lyra noticed the quiver in her bushy brow.

"I can't see them in there," Lyra pointed out as she glanced through the window overlooking the first Slytherin-guarded carriage, "so I don't know where they could be."

"Are you certain? What if they're hiding under Harry's cloak?" asked Hermione, but Lyra waved her concern away. She couldn't see the familiar static-like shimmer of the invisibility cloak anywhere, they weren't in there.

"I don't think they are, but I've got a plan," Lyra asserted, taking her hand and dragging her back to their compartment. Once they were alone, Lyra cleared her throat and sent Hermione a confident smile. "I know how we can find them — Kreacher!"

Pop!

"Is that a house elf?" Hermione gasped, gawking at Kreacher who didn't seem fazed by his new surroundings. He was finally getting used to his new mistress. His rags were a lot cleaner than the last time Lyra had called him and she shot him a pretty smile to motivate him, proud that he wasn't being mean to Hermione.

"Is that a Mudblood?" he snapped, recoiling from Hermione who just started back in confusion. Lyra groaned and smacked herself in the face. I spoke too soon!

"That felt racist, what's a Mudblood?" she wondered, and Lyra rushed through the introductions, wanting to get the painful part out of the way.

"Kreacher, I already told you never to say that word," she said firmly, pointing her finger at her misbehaving elf, "this is Hermione, she is one of my best friends, possibly the smartest witch in the world, and an all-round great gal so she deserves your respect."

Hermione offered Kreacher a polite smile and potential handshake but Kreacher looked deeply affronted. He wouldn't dare touch a Muggle-born, "and that M word means exactly what you think it does," Lyra added as an afterthought, but clearly Hermione didn't need the confirmation.

Hermione rolled her lips together and nodded, coming to her own conclusions as she dropped her gaze to the floor. "Great, there are more slurs I have to worry about?"

"I'm so sorry Hermione, he's from my dad's side of the family and I'm trying my best to work through these issues with him," Lyra moaned, her cheeks sizzling with shame, "my grandparents brainwashed him."

"Kreacher has not been brainwashed, Kreacher simply knows his self-worth," he objected in a croak, looking Hermione up and down with repulsion in his beady red eyes, "Mistress should take note."

"Mistress should give you some clothes, how about that?" grumbled Lyra, scolding him with a single death glare, and Kreacher flinched, getting ready to throw a huge tantrum.

"Kreacher will not accept those clothes," he shot back, challenging her, "Mistress is being a Mudwallower again."

"Huh, that's a new one," Lyra pondered, mentally adding it to her list of insults, "and you're being racist again, tell me something I don't know."

"I don't think you should blame him for his preconceived notions about Muggle-borns. He was brought up in a very toxic environment, from what you've told me about your grandmother this isn't surprising behaviour whatsoever," Hermione concluded, analysing the house-elf that was grumpily stamping his feet and thrashing his arms about, like a young child who wasn't allowed one more candy treat.

"I don't," Lyra sighed, pouting at her friend, "it's just very frustrating. I haven't even introduced him to Danielle yet and I don't think I'm going to, can you imagine how he'd react to meeting her?"

Hermione nodded furiously, nauseated by the thought. "Yeah, maybe keep him away from her… just in case."

"Kreacher, I need you to track down Harry and Ron," ordered Lyra once she managed to keep her elf's attention for more than ten seconds, "we can't find them."

All of a sudden Kreacher's spirits rose, he was delighted by the news.

"Has Potter gotten into trouble? Kreacher hopes so, and hopefully he takes the blood traitor down with him, one less ginger for Kreacher to worry about."

Hermione let out a small laugh, blindly taken aback by his remark, but Lyra pushed past the morbidness of his inference and shrugged.

"I don't know, either way they're not here so please can you find them?"

Pop!

The wait for Kreacher's return, thankfully, didn't last long. Lyra and Hermione sat back and nervously tapped their feet in the hopes that their fluttering guts would subside, and they jumped to their feet the moment they heard the second pop!

"Where are they?" Lyra spat at the bothered-looking Kreacher, whatever had occurred soured his mood further.

"They're in that wretched car again," he croaked, unamused by the whole affair, and Lyra felt a numb wave of disbelief roll down her spine so fast that she collapsed back in her seat. They WHAT?!

"Without me?! What the hell?!"

"I don't understand, why are they still in Mr Weasley's car?" asked Hermione, trying to add logic to the strange turn of events, "are Mr and Mrs Weasley with them?"

When Kreacher acted as though he hadn't heard Hermione, Lyra shot him another death stare and he winced, conforming to her silent order.

"They are alone, they're flying not far from where the Hogwarts Express is now, and they almost crashed when Kreacher appeared," he explained. Lyra and Hermione stared at each other.

"What do we do?" whispered Hermione, her brain whizzing a mile a minute to think of a plan, "why on Earth have they stolen the car?"

"And more importantly, why weren't we invited?" Lyra added, needing to get down to the real important issue at hand.

"I read that house elves possess very powerful magic… do you think there's a possibility that we could…?" Hermione glanced at Kreacher's spider-like hands, and Lyra caught onto her thought process straight away.

"It's possible, let's go," she decided with a determined nod, and the girls held their hands out, "Kreacher, please take us to them."

Holding in his retches as he held Hermione's hand, Kreacher complied to her wishes and apparated the two girls out of the train and into the flying car that was trailing a few miles behind the scarlet steam train.

Pop!

It was a lot brighter in the car compared to the train, Lyra had to shield her eyes as they appeared in the sweltering backseat of the Ford. Bursts of cold wind rushed through the car as they adjusted to the steady fast speed, but the howling in her ears was quickly replaced with the soulful singing of En Vogue that was pumping from the stereo. Lyra grasped Hermione's arm out of excitement when she realised that the boys were singing along to the radio, but the pop of Apparition scared the pair and Harry rushed to change the station, acting as though they were never that invested in the song.

"So," Lyra began, gawking at Harry in disappointment as he spun around in his seat to greet the speechless girls.

"We can explain," he stammered, holding his hands up innocently, "the barrier sealed itself, we couldn't get through and we had no other choice."

"You had no choice but to steal a car?!" Hermione repeated, hoping they both heard how stupid it sounded, but Ron guffawed and caught her eye in the rearview mirror.

"Hi Hermione, nice to see you too," he said sarcastically, but Hermione barely blinked, staring back at him with a poker face.

"Your parents are going to kill you," she said frankly, breaking his stride and the tops of Ron's ears burned as he concentrated on driving again, choosing not to reply.

"We had to do something," Harry tried to defend their actions, but Lyra defused the situation by asking everyone to take a deep breath, and she jumped into action when they fell silent.

"As awesome as this is, I don't think we should start this year off on negative house points," she proclaimed, cringing at the prospect of Professor McGonagall berating them in front of their classmates for the second year in a row, "so let's come up with a plan to sort this out. We have Kreacher so getting you on the train isn't a problem, but I haven't a clue how to teleport a whole car back to London so…"

They all glanced at Hermione who pursed her lips, miffed that she was their last resort.

"We can't use magic outside of school or the train, we can't do anything," she reminded them, gazing at the scenic view of the countryside below them as though it might spark some inspiration.

"Can't Kreacher do something to the car? He can teleport us, surely he can teleport a car as well?" Harry thought out loud, side-eyeing the house elf who was actively trying to scoot away from Hermione as though she was contagious with dragon pox, and Lyra gazed hopefully at her elf. He was their only chance, Harry had a point.

"I think Mum and Dad would have noticed that the car has been stolen by now though," Ron interjected, but Lyra combated his pessimistic comments.

"But the car has an invisibility modifier, the car could have malfunctioned and it was actually there the entire time," she suggested, "Kreacher can put it back and activate the switch, that will totally work!"

But the subtle side glances from the pair in the front seats drained Lyra of all her confidence, and she slumped in defeat again.

"What now?"

"The boost isn't working, we're not invisible right now," admitted Ron, and Hermione squeaked, looking faint.

"Wait, please don't tell me you flew this car near any Muggles? The boost was working in London, right?" she interrogated them, her nails digging into the leather cushion of Ron's headrest, and they shot them a guilty smile.

"It was working fine in London," Harry confessed, but after a gulp he added, "…but it may have run out over Leicester."

"Well," Lyra sighed, relaxing back in her seat and propping her legs up beside Harry's head, "it was really nice knowing you, boys."

They were screwed, Lyra couldn't think of a way to get them out of trouble and she took great pleasure in knowing that she wasn't involved whatsoever. Being the innocent one for once felt strangely nice. Serves them right for leaving me out!

The boys' faces dropped, Ron's freckles virtually darkened as he lost all colour in his cheeks, and Harry cupped his face in shame.

"It's fine, we'll deal with the consequences ourselves," he moaned, stifled by his palms, "we were thinking about hiding the car in the forest and then try to sneak in with you guys." It wasn't the worst plan in the world but Lyra felt a pang of guilt when she saw how worried they looked.

"I'm sure you won't get expelled. Like you said, the barrier sealed itself so you had no choice," she encouraged them, softening her smug smirk into a supportive smile, and Hermione agreed, hoping to cheer them up.

"Make sure you tell the teachers that too. That's awfully strange that the barrier would do that, though, I wonder what happened?" She voiced their shared concern and the four spent the rest of their journey discussing the irregularity at the train station.

Travelling to Hogwarts by car instead of train had its pros and cons, Lyra enjoyed the spectacular scenery as they entered Scotland. The highlands were so much prettier from above and she made sure to snap a few pictures before the sun set, but the limited room and lack of bathroom made her rather antsy.

"You better go, I think we're close," Harry finally interrupted their rowdy game of I Spy when he spotted the distant twinkling lights of Hogsmeade up ahead through the mountains. Kreacher, who had been forced to stay with them throughout their journey, let out an enormous sigh of relief and snatched the girls' arms with slightly more force than necessary.

"Remember to change into your robes," Hermione reminded them, "and camouflage the car as well, the blue paint will stand out in the forest."

"I dunno if we're gonna have enough time to paint the car, Hermione," Ron snickered, "how are we supposed to do that?"

"It's a forest, Ron, hide it in a bush," she said as though it were the most obvious piece of advice in the world, and he turned away to hide his glowing face, grumbling that he already knew that.

"Good luck!" Lyra chirped, "and whatever you do, don't let Snape catch you."

"Thanks Lyra, now he's definitely going to catch us!" Harry moaned, shooting daggers at her for jinxing them.

With the final pop! of the evening, the girls vanished from the car's backseat. Their deserted compartment hadn't changed, but at their sudden appearance Apollo jolted awake and hooted angrily at them, annoyed that he had been abandoned for Kreacher. The elf found his newest archnemesis up on the racks above him and growled, backing away from the owl.

"You can go, Kreacher," Lyra blocked her elf's malicious eyeline and affectionately patted him on the shoulder, hoping to break his nasty mood.

Pop!

"He needs some serious help," Hermione evaluated her first impression of Kreacher in a single sentence as she drew the curtains, shielding them so they could change. Lyra could only nod, feeling extraordinarily guilty for allowing the cycle to continue.

"I'm trying my best, I think my ancestors abused him, he's deeply traumatised," she muttered, pouting at her boots as she re-tied them. Even though she was wearing her precious Gryffindor robes again she still felt the sting of sadness from watching her house elf act out, "I really want to help him."

"We will," said Hermione firmly, tugging on her tie with an air of absoluteness around her words, "and now I've met a house elf I can safely say that it's just wrong. Something about the whole system doesn't sit right with me. We should look into this more, but I just know there are loads of house elves just like Kreacher who need help."

"Amen sister, we've got a lot of work to do," Lyra sighed, using Hermione's spirit to counteract her negative thoughts. She knew for a fact that Kreacher wasn't the only house elf with severe issues, a chill prickled the back of her neck when she thought of Draco's poor elf Dobby, but she dismissed the churning in her gut and continued to swap notes on house elf lore with her friend for the rest of the journey.