Lyra's grasp on the newspaper was concrete, she couldn't stop shaking.
It was real.
The worst had happened.
Her father had escaped and was coming to kill her, there was no doubt about it. Sirius Black was no longer an inmate in the world's most secure wizarding prison, perhaps the most impenetrable building that existed on earth, and everyone knew about it. It wasn't just a piece of family trivia anymore, it would be the one thing that defined her to anyone she came into contact with. Her father's unknown whereabouts and potential motives became scalding hot gossip and the top leading news story on everyone's lips across the country — maybe even the entire world. One of Lyra's darkest nightmares became her reality the moment she looked up from The EveningProphet and saw Danielle staring at her in apprehension when they were sitting back in the silver Ford in the service station car park. Ted's owl had been trailing their car for a while, waiting for the appropriate time to interrupt their journey, and delivered the newspaper alongside a letter asking them to come back immediately.
Lyra didn't know what to do, or to say, or even how to feel. She was completely numb from head to toe and the panic attack that encapsulated her inside the petrol station still hadn't released its vicious grip. She rolled down the windows, attempting to get as much oxygen to her lungs as she could, but it was a muggy windless night and she only made her jagged breaths worse. The tears were going to explode out of her at any second but she didn't want to worry Danielle anymore than she already had. Her hands were trembling in her peripheral as she tried to switch the car on, her keys jangled relentlessly. She couldn't say anything out of fear of breaking down. She had only just started healing and now…
Now he's ripped me open again… that fucking ARSEHOLE!
"Hold on, sweetheart, we'll be back with Andy and Ted in no time," Danielle murmured, pushing the speed limits of the carriageway they thought they had left behind. She risked a glance down at the mute teenager beside her and frowned at the front page she was glued to.
Danielle went to grab it. "Maybe we shouldn't read that—,"
"No!" Lyra snapped, holding the news just out of reach, "I need to… I need to know what everyone else knows, I can't be the last one to find out again…"
Danielle placed both hands on the wheel once more and accepted her answer graciously, her reason was more than valid.
Lyra blinked hard so she could focus and took a brave plunge into the article flashing up at her, urging her to read the important top story for her own safety. The blinking arrows and exclamation points were distracting but the content was more than enough to keep the readers' attention, her stomach churned throughout.
BREAKING NEWS: Amelia Bones, Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, has issued an official statement this evening declaring that the mass murderer and infamous prisoner of Azkaban Sirius Black escaped in the early hours of this morning.
'It is with great concern that we can confirm that Mr Black is at large,' Bones states, 'Due to an unforeseen circumstance, we are unable to disclose the approximate time as to when Mr Black escaped his cell at Azkaban but rest assured that this is our first and only incident of a breakout. I must urge the community NOT to approach Black if you suspect a sighting but to instead report it immediately. Only Hit Wizards are permitted to engage with this dangerous individual.'
This issued statement came directly from the Ministry of Magic after the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, gave an exclusive interview this afternoon when the news first broke. Here's what he had to say:
'The security systems in place at Azkaban prison have been increased tenfold, provisions are being arranged to protect the community as I speak, do not be afraid. I can guarantee you that no other prison in the world is as impenetrable as Azkaban, but we must all remember why Sirius Black was imprisoned in the first place. This is a deeply disturbed and malicious person whose moves are unpredictable, but with our premier Aurors and spectacular staff members here at the Ministry I have no doubt that Black will be caught in the coming week.'
It bears repeating for those of our readers who have been sending us owls asking for more details that this is a breaking story, more information will be released as the story develops.
Black was originally imprisoned in November of 1981 for the murders of 12 Muggles as well as his school friend Peter Pettigrew, his wife Giselle Black, and his daughter Lyra. But, of course, as our regular readers already know, his daughter's name has been struck from his sentence as she has been alive and living as a Muggle for the past 12 years unbeknownst to Sirius—
"Idiots! If he didn't already know, now he does!" Lyra scoffed, flicking the paper in disgust, and Danielle side-eyed her. The streetlights were few and far between as they slipped back onto the country farm roads, and Lyra had to stop reading for the meantime before she strained her eyes.
"Know what?"
"He knows I'm alive, but if he didn't then he does now because they've mentioned me in the article," Lyra explained for her benefit as she doubted she'd read it yet, and Danielle almost crashed.
"He knows you're alive?! How do you know this?!"
"Hagrid told me that when he went to Azkaban, Quirrell started yelling about me, he thinks that he heard it all… and by the looks of things, he did," She continued, grimacing at her lap. She folded the paper to shield herself from her father's bored mugshot and hugged her body for warmth.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Danielle muttered, vehemently concerned for Lyra's wellbeing now, and they finally turned into Thistledown Hill.
"Because I didn't think it was important! Everyone's always telling me that he was locked up in an inescapable jail cell. I didn't think he could escape so I didn't want to worry you for no reason," she justified, giving in a little to her bottled-up emotions by raising her voice. "IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE! HE KNOWS I'M ALIVE AND HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"
"It does matter, and he isn't going to be able to get within one mile of you," Danielle swore, remaining calm and caring as Lyra freaked out.
They pulled up in front of house number two, their car flooded with orange light as the front door was already open, and Lyra tentatively glanced around at the neighbours. The silhouettes of people standing in their own front doors as they eavesdropped on their neighbour's drama confirmed more of Lyra's fears — everyone knew. Everyone was going to be watching her whether she liked it or not.
The second the engine rumbled to a stop, Danielle reached over and swallowed her in a tight embrace, stroking her back in soft patterns. Lyra didn't want the hug to end and she inhaled the luxurious scent of Danielle's hair oils in the hopes that she would remain locked in this moment. More eyes were staring into the car than she expected, Tonks wasn't the only one who came back from the Ministry tonight.
"You shouldn't have found out like this," were the first words out of Tonks' mouth when Lyra pulled herself together and exited the car. She raced down the path first and pulled her into another warm hug, apprehension written all over her face.
She smelt very strongly of coffee and industrial disinfectant, and Lyra noticed the dark bags under her eyes and the grey tinge to her purple pixie cut. Still dressed in what she considered to be appropriate work attire (although the punk safety pins decorating her leather suit suspenders said otherwise), Tonks wanted to be the first to comfort her since she had been supporting the Aurors with the Black case for a little over twelve hours now. The Ministry forbade her from leaking the news before it became public despite her family connections and she struggled internally with her superior's commands all day. Her hug proved her words true, Lyra knew it wasn't her fault.
"Are you ok? Our owl didn't scare you, did he?" Andromeda gushed next, kissing Lyra's cheek before ushering Danielle into a hug that she didn't realise she needed.
"We're ok," Lyra mumbled as she pried herself from Tonks' hug, "it's lucky we needed the bathroom or else we would still be driving back unaware." She recognised the lady standing behind her cousin immediately and gawked, experiencing a strange sense of whiplash having read her statement what felt like moments ago.
"Oh!"
"Hello, Miss Black," said Madam Bones courteously, and she offered her hand, "I apologise for the circumstances here that have forced us to meet, but it is a pleasure nonetheless." Unlike the photograph in Lyra's backpack, Amelia Bones had a dark grey bob that was cut bluntly at her square chin; she no longer had the roundness to her cheeks but her features were still soft, she could pick out her niece in her freckles and kind eyes. A group of what Lyra could only suspect to be Aurors gathered behind her, all of them taking turns sneaking glimpses of Lyra as though she was oblivious to their presence. Heat filled Lyra's cheeks as she shook Amelia's hand, feeling the pressure to make a good impression.
"Hi," she tried to smile but the muscles on her pink cheeks never moved, "it's nice to meet you too, I've heard wonderful things."
"As have I, Susan has told me about her new friend in Gryffindor, I think she is rather fond of you," Amelia graced her with pleasantries before switching back into business mode. "We don't mean to take up much of your evening as I can imagine you would much rather ignore what's going on right now but unfortunately we do have to talk."
Lyra shuffled awkwardly on the spot, figuring out if she could politely reject her offer. She didn't have the emotional capacity to talk about her father in-depth but when she felt the Aurors' gazes again she considered the positives. What if they had information the public wasn't allowed to know? What if she could help them?
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Lyra asked bluntly, and Madam Bones shook her head.
"No you don't, but I promise we will be swift."
Her voice had an extremely authoritative twang, it was louder than she expected and Lyra rather admired the trait. Being head of her presumably male-dominant department, she had to command respect. Being the loudest in the room certainly seemed to work for her as her employees fell in line the second she turned to face them.
They retired to the living room and Lyra fidgeted in her seat as the Ministry workers filed through the door after their boss. Sensing her nerves, Danielle and Tonks perched on the arms of Lyra's chair as though they were protecting her, and Lyra made sure she gave Amelia her full attention. The sooner this was over with, the sooner she could lock herself in her room. The eyes watching her were becoming too much and the pressure in her chest was growing by the second.
"This is only a courtesy visit, please do not worry," Madam Bones commenced, clasping her hands together as she addressed the youngest in the busy room. "As you are aware, your father has indeed broken out of Azkaban, and we do not know his whereabouts."
"Mhmm," was all Lyra managed. She bit back the sarcastic comment as she caught Danielle's nervous eye. "So I've heard."
"I'm sure you must be anxious by the news, but I am here to reassure you, on behalf of the Ministry, that your father will be recaptured as soon as we find him," she continued, "but due to your current housing situation we thought it would be best that you remain here under your aunt and uncle's care. No offence to you, Miss Greene, but Muggle protection isn't enough," she added when Danielle's eye twitched.
"None taken," she replied stiffly. She didn't sound it, and Lyra sneakily gave her hand a squeeze. That's not fair, you haven't given her a chance!
"Do you really not know when he escaped?" Lyra blurted out, feeling a bit defensive now. A few of the Aurors grumbled under their breath, one particular man with deep-set eyes and a lopsided scarred smirk scowled at her, but Amelia didn't take her tone to heart.
"We do not, and I'm trusting you here Miss Black so please do not share this information with the press, but we do not know how he escaped. We are aware, however, that he managed to retrieve his wand from the wand vault inside the prison — the vault is guarded by our security on-site at all times, it should have been impossible for him to sneak past the Dementors," she revealed, and Lyra's harsh expression melted in wonder. She'd been waiting for someone to mention the mystical guards of Azkaban, they were the most interesting part of the whole saga.
"I won't tell The Prophetif that's what you're worried about," she scoffed, instantly warming up to Amelia, "so are you the one who is in charge of the Dementors? How does that all work? I've always wondered…"
"Not quite, nobody is truly in charge of the Dementors," Amelia humoured her, admiring her attitude to the deeply horrible situation she had to deal with, "to be frank, I believe they're incredibly angry at themselves for letting this happen."
"They're only found at Azkaban, right? Like that's their birthplace and natural habitat, no one really knows where they came from," Lyra began to monologue, losing focus of the reason why the Aurors and the department head were here, but Tonks fell prey to her questions and happily joined in.
"Yeah, it's pretty strange. The popular theory is that they manifested from the misery of the prison inmates but some people think they predate Azkaban altogether—,"
"Thank you Nymphadora," interjected Amelia, making her employee blush, "but the Dementors will be leaving the isle on which Azkaban sits to support our search efforts. They will not rest until your father is back where he belongs."
"You knew my father, didn't you?" said Lyra, but she covered her mouth with her hand and winced at the face Andromeda was pulling in the background. She didn't mean to say that.
The room grew awkward for a few moments as Amelia stared back in surprise, but like any decent person in a position such as hers, she didn't feel the need to brush past the tension her answer would bring. Madam Bones seemed like a reasonable woman and one that openly speaks her mind.
"I did, and your mother, and most of your family in fact," she responded politely, and Lyra stifled her gasp when she remembered that the majority of people surrounding her knew her estranged grandfather. Definitely don't bring that up, you're not supposed to know.
"We should hurry this along, Fudge is expecting us back soon," one of the older, rougher-looking Aurors prompted in a deep voice, peeking at his watch, and Amelia followed suit.
"Feel free to send me an owl if you have any further questions, Miss Black, but before we go I must ask you if you have had any contact with your father?" She pressed on, pursing her lips as she studied Lyra's face.
Immediately she faked a gag, offended that she would even insinuate that she was helping Sirius in any way.
"Ugh! Hell no! He tried to kill me!" She exclaimed, "Do you honestly think I'd help him or something?"
"This is just part of our procedure," Tonks rushed to explain.
"They asked us the same question, it's because we're family and nothing else," Andromeda piped up too, leaning on Ted's shoulder as he rubbed her back. Lyra accepted their answers and nodded, offering Madam Bones a shy smile.
"Sorry, Danielle says I have an attitude problem but I'm working on it," she told her with a shrug, and Danielle pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment.
Amelia hid her smile behind a strategic cough and took to her stiletto-donned feet, evidently happy with her answer and the investigation. Lyra suspected it may have gone quite differently if she hadn't just survived the worst year of her life so far, she was sure that Professor Dumbledore told Amelia what went down. Her gaze held something more than sympathy whenever she caught Lyra's eye.
"I will leave you all with a warning that TheDailyProphet may try to bother you, and as the head of the department leading this manhunt I will encourage you all not to speak with them," Madam Bones directed loudly, reverting back into her usual booming approach, "they are like vultures and I don't believe they're going to leave any time soon."
"I, uh, I could try and speak to my father to see if they can back off?" Danielle spoke up, her voice quivering with nerves as Amelia paused in the living room door frame. Some of the Aurors stared at Danielle in curiosity, as though trying to place the face of her relation, and their boss looked back in delight.
"They never listen to us so do try if you can, see if your father has any sway with that leech of a woman they have reporting for them," sighed Madam Bones wearily, "it's not even been a full day and she's already gotten on my last nerve."
"Skeeter has never pertained any sense of class or respect, you shouldn't be surprised Amelia," chuckled Ted, gladly leading the party out of the room, and Lyra heard the Aurors chuckle and swap their worst stories concerning the notorious conniving leading reporter.
Lyra sank back in the armchair and deflated from relief, coming to grips with her new normal, but before she asked to be excused to her new bedroom, Tonks jumped up from her seat and turned to Danielle.
"As soon as they're gone, we can Apparate to Weymouth and collect both of your things," she said brightly, and Lyra snickered at her key worker's new expression. She looked as though she'd rather chuck herself off a cliff.
"Can I come?" Lyra wondered, poking fun at Danielle, but all three women spat out a collective "No!" before they even considered her proposal. Her heart sank into the pits of her jittery stomach. That wasn't a good sign.
"Why?" She frowned.
"With your father on the loose we can't risk having you needlessly out in the open," Andromeda reasoned first, smiling sadly at her.
Lyra pointed at Tonks, an actual Auror in training. "But—?!"
"Sorry darling, but you're too valuable," Danielle agreed, sharing her family's outlook of putting her first, "you should stay here."
"It sounds like you're suggesting that I'm going to be locked up all summer?" She scoffed, not quite believing what she was hearing. "He doesn't know I'm here?!"
"But he knows we are, it's for your own good," Andromeda said firmly, using her motherly tone on her, and Tonks snuck a smile, proud that she wasn't on the receiving end of her nags this time.
It's not like you don't have a secret method of escaping without a trace. Just agree, it'll be easier.
Maybe she should listen to them, Sirius sounds dangerous and we really don't want him getting involved…
Lyra was annoyed that her brain was teetering on the edge of hearing them out, and she pouted, crossing her arms in a huff.
"…Fine, you have a point," she muttered, "just please make sure you grab everything, I'm going to need a lot of activities to keep me entertained all summer by the sounds of it."
"That's the spirit!" encouraged Danielle, taking Tonks' arm, and Tonks flashed Lyra a cheerful wink.
"Back in a jiffy!"
CRACK!
Lyra flinched as the whip-crack sound of wizard apparition filled the living room, she had gotten so used to house elf apparition that she had forgotten how loud it could be. She thought of Kreacher and her stomach fluttered in anticipation — she couldn't wait to talk to him about all of this.
"Lyra? Are you absolutely sure you're ok?" Andromeda spoke up, pulling her out of her thoughts, and Lyra tilted her head. Andy knew about the trauma she was dealing with through her counselling sessions, she was there at Hogwarts that day when the truth about her relationship with Tom, so she didn't feel too shy in telling her how she really felt. Why bother lying?
"I dunno… this isn't the only thing I'm struggling to process at the moment, this couldn't have happened at a worse time… but I think I'll be ok in the end," she replied, trying to reflect, and Andy looked somewhat relieved.
"Good, but just know that it's ok not to be ok. From one Black to another, I want you to promise me that you won't let anyone else's opinion define you — especially the papers," Andromeda expressed, coming over to Lyra to grab her hands so their vow was cemented.
"I'll try my best, but I can't promise that I won't write to them," Lyra shrugged, being straightforward with her aunt. Andy's face dropped slightly, and she rolled her eyes.
"You know what, I'll give you that. Your retraction letter to Skeeter was highly entertaining last time and I wouldn't mind if you yelled at her for bringing you up so much. She should know better since she has to be careful not to mention your grandfather, maybe you could request a gag order yourself?" Andromeda suggested casually, and Lyra laughed at the idea.
"Nah, I love the attention way too much," she admitted, "I'd much rather cause a scene."
"So would I," Andromeda sighed, a hazy glimmer in her eye as though lingering on a fleeting thought, but she shook her head and dismissed it.
Ted returned moments later with a torn envelope in one hand, and a handful of what looked like floo powder in the other, and he bounded straight over to their brick fireplace. Andromeda zoned in on the trail of powder he left behind and instantly began to clean while Lyra watched Ted in curiosity.
"I found Errol outside in our peony bush," he elaborated, leaning back as he threw the powder into the embers, "I think it's best if I check in with the Weasleys alone, I don't want to overwhelm you with more company."
Lyra's heart whooshed in gratitude and she thanked him with a weary smile. She'd love nothing more than some peace and quiet right now, she loved her redheaded cousins dearly but they would swarm her questions she wasn't up to answering. Not to mention Fred and George's jokes, she wasn't quite in the right frame of mind to act cool about her murderous father potentially hunting her down.
"Give them my love and tell Ron that I'll floo him tomorrow or something," Lyra rushed to say before Ted stuck his head through the wall of emerald flames igniting the hearth. She thought about her friends and how she was going to go about talking to them. A lot had happened in the past twelve hours, they needed to know she wasn't at Coles. Ted at least had Ron covered but that still left two problems.
"Andy, do you have a phone by any chance?" Lyra asked politely, her fingers crossed in her lap out of view, and her stomach twirled when she nodded.
"Ted keeps one in his workshop, would you like to use it?"
"Yes please!"
The pungent smell of motor oil hit Lyra in the face as Andromeda led her through the overcrowded garage towards the shiny yellow dial-up phone screwed into the wall above Ted's dishevelled desk. Piles upon piles of spellbooks covered most of the surfaces in sight, some sort of wheeled metal contraption was spinning by itself in the corner, and Lyra tried not to knock anything over as she perched in Ted's chair and wound in Hermione's home number. There was so much to look at, being a Muggle-born Ted was sure to possess some cool pieces of technology but the phone barely rang twice before she heard her best friend's frantic voice, bringing her back to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Thank God you're awake, I've only just noticed the time," Lyra sighed, cringing at the late hour flashing on the cuckoo clock nearby, "were you waiting for me?"
"Of course I was," said Hermione, softer than usual, "as soon as I saw the news I thought about calling you, but then I remembered you were visiting Tonks today and thought it would be best to wait. How are you?"
Lyra snorted. She already hated that question. "Rubbish, I'm still at Tonks' now, I have to stay here for the rest of summer."
"Oh! Well, that's good at least," encouraged Hermione, "it would be best if you were under the protection of wizards, just to be safe."
"Nooo, not you too!" Lyra groaned in disappointment. She should've suspected that Hermione would agree with the overprotective stance, "I swear I'm fine! Nothing is going to happen!"
Hermione lowered her voice, Lyra had to push the phone harder against her ear to catch her whispers. "But what about what Hagrid told you? You've got to be careful, Lyra, please don't be reckless about this. If your dad knows you're alive then who knows what he's planning."
Her concern was appreciated deep down, Lyra understood where she was coming from, but the fury festering inside her didn't like it. She wasn't about to lose her human rights because of her lunatic father! It wasn't fair! He was the bad guy, why should she have to be punished?!
"You're not going to do anything reckless, right?" Hermione repeated, growing anxious the longer Lyra held her tongue, but she eventually gave an answer to evade suspicion. She was going to do something reckless, but she didn't know what that defiant act was yet.
"Right, I won't do anything reckless that will result in me being caught by my deranged dad," Lyra droned, and she rolled her eyes when Andromeda eavesdropped and nodded proudly. Was this her life now?
"Good! I am truly sorry though, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but remember that I'm here for you no matter what," Hermione reassured her despite her yawn, "try and forget about your dad, he's not worth it."
"Thanks, Hermione," Lyra murmured, genuinely touched, and she hid her own yawn behind her sleeve, "I'll ring you tomorrow, I've got a lot of time to fill now so expect to be sick of my voice by the end of the week."
"If it means that you're staying inside where it's safe then that's fine by me!" Hermione laughed, and the girls wished each other a good night before arranging their next phone call date.
"You know, I've always liked Hermione," Andromeda chirped as she led Lyra back into the living room where Danielle and Tonks had just arrived, Lyra's trunk and empty owl cage in tow. Lyra tried not to pull a face as she stared back at her aunt.
"Huh, I wonder why."
"Apollo wasn't home when we arrived but I'm sure he'll find you in no time," Danielle puffed, dragging her own bags through to the balconied mahogany stairs curving around the entrance hallway, but she gave Tonks a thankful smile when she enchanted her luggage to float up the stairs for her.
"He's a smart boy, he'll know where to find me," Lyra assured her, dragging her feet behind them and finally retiring to her bedroom. It was fast approaching midnight and everyone was fatigued from their hectic evening of family drama.
Andromeda and Ted reassured their new guests that they could help themselves to anything they took a fancy to and blessed each of them with a cheek kiss before ambling up to their master bedroom on the second floor. Danielle departed to the guest room soon after, but not without a knowing look at Lyra that screamed 'Don't you dare stay up late'.
Tonks, however, lingered on the threshold of Lyra's bedroom for a few minutes to ask, yet again, whether she was actually ok.
"I'm fine, I promise," Lyra insisted as she started to unpack her neatly organised trunk to keep her hands busy, "I know you guys probably don't believe me but I swear I am."
That wasn't strictly a lie, the news hadn't fully settled in yet but the prospect of her nightmares somehow getting worse was daunting. The last thing she needed was her dad teaming up with Tom and torturing her over and over again.
"I know, you're a fighter, we have that in common," sighed Tonks, trying to wipe the sympathy off her face and treat her like an adult, "but I just wanted to double-check, I'm only carrying out my duties as your fun older cousin who happens to work at the Ministry… You know, someone who has insider knowledge about what's going on…?"
Lyra snapped her head up when she caught onto what Tonks was inferring, and the multitude of questions she secretly harboured bubbled to the surface.
Oh, duh! She can tell me everything I want to know!
Tonks was staring pointedly at her and batting her eyelashes, waiting for Lyra to catch on, and a huge grin spread across her pink lips when Lyra gestured for her to come inside and close the door. The girls jumped onto the large, plump bed and crossed their legs, giddy for their impending gossip session.
"So you honestly don't know when he escaped?" She uttered, cautiously glancing at the door, and Tonks used her wand to mask the sounds of them talking.
"No one knows when he escaped but it's been assumed that he snuck off sometime this morning because — and obviously I know you're going to tell your mates but no one else can know! — there was a prison riot that disrupted everything," divulged Tonks in a dramatic whisper. Lyra's jaw dropped.
"What?! Why?! What happened?"
"Nobody knows for sure, it's been causing so many problems with this investigation already but we've been told that the public must not find out about it at any cost," Tonks murmured, habitually playing with the buckles of the suspenders holding up her pinstripe work trousers, "but from what I've gathered, the riot began somewhere near the lower floors and spread upwards through the prison. I managed to get a hold of your dad's file this afternoon for a split second, and I know his cell is located on the top floor. That meant he had to sneak through every level without getting caught by the Dementors, but I suppose the riot helped him somehow."
Lyra's heart was thumping wildly and she was shocked Tonks didn't comment on the racket it made. "Do you think he could've started the riot as a distraction?" Lyra quizzed, but Tonks shook her head.
"That's the thing — he couldn't have. It was one of the newer inmates, a load of cells freed up a few years ago due to a dragon pox epidemic that killed some of the prisoners, and we've been filling those cells in the bottom floor first," She continued, using her hands to map out the layout visually to her clueless cousin.
"Basically, your dad was all the way up here," she held her hand at least three feet from her lap, "and the riot broke out here," she traced a square on her lap, nowhere near her hypothetical father floating in front of her.
I think we know who caused it, let's be honest here. It was him.
Lyra, it's Quirrell.
THIS FUCKING GUY?!
"Aww come on!" Lyra growled, flopping her face into her hands so she could knead the oncoming migraine, annoyed she was right, "Was my old Dark Arts professor in one of those cells, by any chance?"
Tonks looked both apprehensive and inquisitive, but her own impish grin was very telling. "You know, I used to think that I was the chaotic one in the family until I met you," she sighed, "yes, as a matter of fact, your crazy ex-professor was in one of the cells inciting the riot. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," Lyra grumbled, but she sat up straight again and flashed Tonks her own impish smirk. "Quirrell and I have an unusual friendship, the kind where I hate his guts and he's weirdly obsessed with me. You know, your usual student-teacher dynamic."
"Yeah I heard he was a weirdo, and that You-Know-Who possessed him too, and you were part of the reason why he's in there," she said without realising, and Lyra almost laughed.
"Oh yeah! Wow, I wonder who's gonna be possessed by Voldemort this year? Probably the new Dark Arts Professor, let's be honest," she verbalised her impulsive thought and rushed to say sorry when Tonks choked.
"Merlin's stache, girl! You can't say stuff like that," she cackled, clearly not taking it too seriously, and Lyra shrugged.
"I'm a severely dysfunctional girl going through puberty, I'm not responsible for what comes out of my mouth and I refuse to apologise for it," she stated, making Tonks laugh harder.
"I hope you're going to take advantage of your dad being on the run while you're at Hogwarts. I always wanted my aunt to escape while I was there so I had an excuse to skive Potions," she said dreamily, wiping away a tear without smudging her eyeliner, and Lyra looked ecstatic.
"Oh boy, Snape has no idea how annoying I'm going to be this year! I'll make the most of it for the both of us," She giggled, and Tonks looked extremely endeared.
As her cousin climbed off her bed and stretched, signalling that she was about to turn in for the night, Lyra jolted as one more question popped into her head. It had been gnawing at the back of her mind ever since she spoke to Amelia, and it certainly wasn't one that would've been answered by anyone else. Tonks treated her like her equal, she trusted her with the truth.
"Before you go, I just want to ask for my own peace of mind…" she blurted out, catching Tonks off-guard. She paused at the door and flashed her a finger gun.
"Shoot," she replied, clicking her tongue.
"Has my granddad mentioned anything at work about all this…? Like, has he expressed any interest at all in whether I'm ok or…?" Lyra croaked, losing all confidence in herself as she trailed off awkwardly, and most of the humour vanished from Tonks' perky expression. She lowered her arm and swallowed hard, struggling to find the words.
That's a big, fat no, then! Lyra pretended her silence wasn't a sharp stab to her heart, and she jumped up from the bed, trying to find something to do.
"Forget I asked," she said stiffly, turning away to shuffle through her backpack.
"I'm sure he does care about you, Lyra, but don't worry about Crouch, ok? You don't need him, you've got me, Mum, and Dad now," Tonks tried her best to comfort her and Lyra appreciated her attempt despite its failure to soothe the icy hole in her chest. She couldn't help that his distance stung so badly, especially when they were both suffering through the pain of losing Giselle. She was his daughter's daughter, she was of her blood, and she was the last remaining piece of evidence that proved his daughter was once a real person. He couldn't have cared less.
"Yeah, I dunno why I asked," Lyra forced a laugh, dismissing the whining in her stomach. "I'm cool, I've got you guys."
Once Tonks closed the door and Lyra was finally left alone, she abandoned her backpack and collapsed face-first onto the bed. She wanted the mattress to swallow her whole, she didn't want to deal with any of this.
Tap tap tap tap!
Her wallowing in self-pity ended before it even began as the clicking of a bird's beak against glass caught her ear, and her entire mood shifted when she spotted Hedwig perched on the windowsill, blinking her orange eyes patiently at her with an envelope clipped to her leg. It was like Harry knew she was about to spiral, he couldn't have written to her at a more perfect time.
"Sorry, Apollo isn't in at the moment but I'll make sure to tell him you stopped by," Lyra greeted Hedwig cheerfully, swinging the chequered glass open so the snowy owl could hop inside. She noticed Hedwig scanning the room for her friend and she hooted sadly. Upon noticing that Lyra had recently refilled Apollo's food bowl, however, she perked up and pecked at the fresh offerings.
"Help yourself, I won't be long," she told her out of politeness, and bounced back into her bed, swinging her legs as she tore Harry's letter open.
Lyra,
I'm not even going to bother asking you if you're ok because you're just going to moan at me for asking—
Lyra cackled. She heard his complaints inside her head as though he was next to her, reading his letter out loud to her. She didn't know if she would remain as calm as she was if he started to badger her with questions, but out of everyone, he was the only one who would know how she felt. The thought of her grandfather floated away and was replaced with Harry's detailed recount of his boring day to distract her. He knows me so well!
Unfortunately, just as Lyra expected, her free will diminished as she got used to her new routine of living with the Tonkses. As each day passed, another issue regarding Sirius' breakout gave Andy and Ted the chance to forbid her from going out and exploring the area. At first, Lyra was courteous and obeyed their rules, but by the end of her first week, she was starting to lose her mind.
Andromeda reasoned with Lyra and gave her permission to venture out into the local town centre with Tonks for a day of fun adventures and shopping. Everything seemed to be working out great at the start, Tonks introduced Lyra to her favourite Muggle clothing store that sold the latest rock band t-shirts and the pair bonded over the temporary tattoo displays, inspired to pull a hilarious prank on Andy.
It was going so well until they headed to the local park for an ice cream break, where they were immediately swarmed by a bunch of DailyProphet reporters and their incessantly flashy cameras and demanding questions.
"Lyra! Any word on your father?!"
"Over here! Do you know where he could be heading?"
"How are you feeling? Are you afraid to return to Hogwarts knowing he is at large?"
"She is a minor! Seriously, you have no self-respect!" Tonks yelled first, shielding her younger cousins from the onslaught, but Lyra poked her face under her outstretched arms and glared at them.
"No comment! Please respect my privacy at this time!" She exclaimed just as Tonks swept her up in a side hug and whisked her back to Thistledown Hill at the turn of her heel, leaving the hungry reporters in their dust.
CRACK!
Once Lyra and Tonks relayed what happened in town, Andromeda was resolute in her decision to restrict Lyra from leaving the vicinity of their hamlet.
Thankfully the neighbours were more than happy to help them out by keeping an eye out for snooping journalists encroaching on their land, looking for a story to sell, meaning Lyra was free to roam around the area alone. There wasn't much besides two steep hills that surrounded the valley, and a quiet but enchanting forest full of wild magical creatures with a hidden pond somewhere deep in the centre, but as her summer roamed on Lyra made the most of what she had. The views from on top of the hills were beautiful and she was allowed to fly around a little, she'd give the cosy hamlet that at least.
And, of course, Lyra had the secret pleasure of having Kreacher, her powerful, apparating house elf, around to keep her company when she wasn't under the watchful eye of her family. With Tonks working almost every day, and Andromeda and Ted working concurrently as well as maintaining their house, Lyra came to notice how much free time she actually had. Whenever she could, she snuck off and summoned him for a chat, enjoying the sunshine as well as his charm.
Since opening up about Regulus, something changed within Kreacher and he transformed into a much more content and stable version of himself. He honoured Lyra in ways she never thought possible, with kind references towards her friends and protective stances whenever he suspected a threat was nearby. He was actually smiling at her now! She truly couldn't believe it.
"Do you reckon Andy and Ted would let me keep you if I told them about you?" Lyra wondered aloud as she sunbathed, wiggling her toes along to the cool, relaxed melody of an IceCube song blasting from her red Walkman acting as their portable radio.
They were relaxing on top of the shorter of the two hills eclipsing the lush valley, lying on separate patterned blankets, wearing matching sunglasses and sipping Andy's iced tea through the most convoluted silly straws Kreacher could find. Lyra couldn't resist when she saw the bright yellow aviators in Tonks' favourite shop window, she knew Kreacher would look fabulous in them, as well as herself of course.
"Kreacher thinks that Mistress will deliver a concise and persuasive argument if Andromeda objects, but Kreacher thinks it won't be a problem," he answered, his deep voice sounding more like an elderly cat's purr as he soaked in the sun, and Lyra graciously agreed.
"Duh, naturally," she boasted, sitting up on her elbows and glancing at him, "but legally, she can't do anything?"
She felt stupid for not already knowing, she hadn't dived into the book on House Elf lore Hermione bought her yet. Kreacher's wrinkled lips curled devilishly.
"My mistress is the head of the Black family, she has the only say. Kreacher will only leave if his mistress tells him to go."
"Sweet!" Lyra cheered, clinking her glass against his, "Then I suppose we've got a busy night ahead of us! If I do introduce you today, though, make sure you don't mention tonight's plan to them. I don't want them to worry."
"Mistress won't be in danger of seeing that wretched scum tonight, Kreacher wouldn't let his mistress go if Kreacher thought otherwise," he informed, and like clockwork Kreacher slipped his sunglasses down his long nose and scoped their surroundings as though watching out for her elusive father.
"Good, I highly doubt he'll be anywhere near us but still, thank you for being my bodyguard," Lyra sighed and continued to sunbathe.
It was Harry's birthday tomorrow and Lyra took a lot of liberty in planning the best surprise possible for him. Her original idea was to take him to the seaside in Weymouth as he had hinted over a hundred times that he's never even seen a funfair on a pier before, but since her father decided to ruin any chance she had of being happy — that wasn't possible anymore.
But, with the power of Kreacher on her side, she found a way to make it happen anyway! Harry had no idea that she was planning on sneaking Ron (Hermione outright declined her offer and encouraged her not to follow through with the plan) and herself into Little Whinging this evening to smuggle the birthday boy out of his aunt's house for a night full of candy floss and rollercoasters. Lyra knew for a fact that the carnival rides in Weymouth stayed open till midnight during the summer to account for the influx of tourists, and she couldn't wait to watch Ron go insane at the spectacle that was a tacky Muggle ghost train. Note to self: pack more camera film.
"Ice Cube is right, today is a good day!" She sighed, twizzling the volume knob on her Walkman and head bobbing along with the beat.
Lyra carried this sentiment into the afternoon but her stomach began to flutter when the sun started to set on yet another blistering day.
She didn't know when to bring up the fact that she had developed a fantastic friendship with the grouchy Black family house elf that insulted Andromeda the last time she saw him, it wasn't exactly an easy topic to start and just blurting it out of the blue seemed a bit harsh. Lyra considered slipping it into the conversation when Tonks came home from work and asked her what she had been up to, but she chickened out and made up a story about hanging out with the Kneazles in the woods out back instead.
It was a lot harder than she thought. She didn't know why she was so scared! What if they hated him? What if her domain over Kreacher didn't work?
DING DONG!
Fortunately, the opportunity never came up.
"I'll get it!" Lyra called out first, using the doorbell as the perfect distraction.
The Tonkses and Lyra were hanging out in the dining room, lounging at the table amidst an impromptu game of exploding snap where Ted promised to show Lyra how to win every game with his party trick. Lyra had spent the last ten minutes struggling to find a segway into mentioning Kreacher between their hoots of laughter as Tonks continued to fall for her father's ruses without fail, but she gladly jumped up and skipped off when the jaunty chime echoed throughout the house. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.
"If it's Sonya from number five then tell her the potion will be ready tomorrow morning!" Andromeda called out after her, too engaged in the game to join. Lyra went to yell to confirm that she heard her but her voice caught in her throat when she spotted the shadow of their visitor through the frosted glass. Sonya from number five, from what Lyra could remember, was a tiny lady and the visitor was at least a head taller than her… and they're carrying an owl cage?
Lyra's stomach somersaulted — the flash of purple illuminating the silhouette sparked a distant memory, but it vanished in a blink. Was that the Knight Bus?
Without considering the fact that this may have been some elaborate ruse, Lyra tore the front door open and was astonished to find Harry and Hedwig waiting on the doorstep, both of them looking frazzled and a bit dishevelled.
Harry was considerably dressed up compared to his usual attire she came to expect. Beneath his black hoodie she could see that his nicest plaid green shirt was buttoned up and wrinkle-free, he was wearing actual fitted trousers that weren't made from denim, and it looked like he attempted to polish his trainers. When he pulled down his hood, however, Lyra smirked as his untameable hair looked as messy as ever. The Knight Bus zoomed off into another dimension the second she opened the door, leaving behind a cloud of dust and rough tyre tracks up the hill.
Lyra didn't know what to say, she was speechless. Hedwig helpfully hooted first, encouraging her owner to stop gawking at his best friend and spit it out.
"Hi," Harry croaked, shifting his owl's cage from one arm to the other, "sorry—,"
Lyra swiftly stole Hedwig from him, placed her on the floor, and launched herself at him, still in shock that he was actually there. She needed to make sure he was real. Harry groaned in pain — he was definitely real.
"What the hell are you doing here?! I'm the one who is supposed to drop by unannounced tonight, not you!" She exclaimed, wrapping him into a spine-cracking hug, and thankfully Harry managed to catch her just in time
"I was— Wait, you what?"
"Ron and I were planning on kidnapping you— whatever, it doesn't matter now. Are you ok? What are you doing here?!" She asked, giddy that her best friend was here, "Oh my God, hi!"
"I kinda blew up my aunt," admitted Harry, appearing rather rosy-cheeked as they pulled apart, and Lyra blinked at him. WHAT?!
"Not that aunt, the one I wrote to you about, my uncle's sister," he clarified but Lyra only blinked harder. That didn't explain anything.
"As in, she exploded?" She asked dubiously. There was no way in hell he would look as clean and put together as he did if that were the truth, and Harry looked horrified.
"No! Jesus, no, I meant that she blew up like a balloon and sort of floated away, she's still alive… I think," he explained, "which, now I'm saying it out loud, sounds just as bad."
"Nah, that sounds hilarious!" Lyra cackled, picturing Harry's aunt who she assumed was just his uncle in a blonde wig flying with the wind like a child's lost balloon. From what he wrote about her, Lyra held no sympathy in her heart whatsoever, "serves her right!"
"I'm glad you think so because I think I've been expelled for it," Harry muttered saltily, but Lyra instantly dropped her grin and accepted the reality of the situation. He couldn't be expelled. The panic glaring back in his eyes was hard to miss as she pulled him inside, but she refused to match his energy in order to keep him calm. He was breathing pretty heavily and she spotted his clenched fists, he wasn't ok.
"Lyra? Was it Son— oh!" Andromeda popped her head through the door and gasped, "Harry! What are you doing here?"
Harry's entire face flushed cherry red and he immediately dropped Lyra's arms as though suddenly realising he was still holding her.
"Er—,"
DING DONG!
Lyra glanced back at the door where two more silhouettes appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The figure on the left was much taller than their partner, although she could tell the person on the right was wearing a hat of some kind as their head bulged slightly. Lyra dragged Harry and his belongings out of the way as Andromeda rushed to see who else was springing a spontaneous visit on them tonight, and Lyra tried her best not to stare but she couldn't help it. Harry was trying not to panic beside her and for good reason.
Oh shit! Has Harry been expelled?!
"Good evening Mrs Tonks, I do hope we're not intruding," greeted Cornelius Fudge, the actual Minister for Magic who was smiling pleasantly at her as though this was a normal occurrence. Professor Dumbledore dipped his satin cap and matched his partner's energy with a warm expression and amusement in his bright eyes. Andromeda's jaw dropped but she caught it without hesitation, not wanting to seem too gormless.
"M-Minister! Professor," she gulped, knotting the belt of her silk robe out of embarrassment of being caught in her pyjamas, and she gestured at them to come inside.
Tonks and Ted appeared at the kitchen door out of breath as they had trouble believing their ears, but Tonks quickly realised that they weren't the only new faces standing in her hallway and broke the awkward tension with a quick, "Wotcher Harry! When the hell did you get here?"
"Ah, Harry! There you are, my boy!" Cornelius boomed, finally spotting the boy he had come to see who was using Lyra as a human shield, but Lyra piped up first so she could give Harry a moment to breathe.
"Hello! I don't believe we've met before but I don't think I need an introduction," she boasted, stepping forwards and offering the Minister for Magic her hand, "Don't suppose you're here to announce that my dad's been captured by any chance!"
"Lyra!" Hissed Andromeda, looking faint.
Fudge coughed incredulously at her introduction but he shook her hand nevertheless, not wanting to appear rude in front of the group.
"I'm afraid not, but I can assure you that we have the best of the best working on reprimanding him, don't you worry about him," he said politely.
He reminded her of a British bulldog, with faint jowls, a stocky build and the air of importance that only a politician could possess. Lyra knew not to take what he said seriously, lying was a key component to a politician's job, and his lime green hat stole most of her attention. It was a strong fashion statement, surely someone brave enough to wear something like that had some underlying issues, it didn't match his suit whatsoever.
"Great!" Lyra beamed, but before she could attempt to make matters worse by asking him about his political alignments, Professor Dumbledore stepped in to ease the situation. He knew his student far better than Cornelius did, he recognised the mischief twinkling in Lyra's eye before she even opened her mouth.
"I'm glad to see that you've not lost your spirit this summer, Miss Black, a pleasure to see you again," he chuckled, strategically shifting her away from Harry with a sweeping arm, "would it be so rude of me to ask for a cup of lemon tea, Andromeda? It would be nice to catch up while Mr Fudge and Harry have their little chat."
"We won't take long," Fudge assured with another smile, and beckoned at Harry to join him in the living room. Harry's panic came rushing back, Lyra sensed him shake as he brushed past her and she couldn't resist.
"Uh, actually Professor, as Harry's manager I think it may be more appropriate if I joined them," she countered, forcing Fudge to stop and stare at her in bewilderment. Professor Dumbledore chuckled once more and looked to Fudge as if to say 'I warned you this would happen'.
"I do believe Miss Black has every right to hear what you have to say, Cornelius, Mr Potter will only relay your information to her once we leave, and naturally as his manager she is entitled to be present," Dumbledore issued, seemingly entertained by the discourse, and Fudge straightened his bowler hat out of discomfort.
Clearly, he disagreed and was confused why he was entertaining the facade that she was Harry's manager, but with the added pressure of the headmaster's knowing stare, he cleared his throat again and went along with the idea.
"Very well, then I suppose you may as well join us too, Albus," he sighed, forcing a wider smile, and Lyra clamped her mouth shut to deter her from filling the awkward silence. Fudge's side-eye was possibly the subtlest tell she had ever seen, he evidently had a lot of practice in hiding his true feelings due to the nature of his job, but Lyra had a keen eye. She could spot a lie a mile away.
Tom may have been the worst, but he certainly taught her well.
"Thank you," Harry whispered as they entered the living room and took a seat opposite the political head and headmaster, making sure only she heard, and Lyra snuck him a wink. As if I'm letting him get expelled without a fight! Not on my watch.
Fudge opened his mouth but Lyra abruptly cut across him by sitting forwards and interlinking her hands as though she were conducting the interview. She took inspiration from the way Madam Bones presented herself and wanted to come across as equally as authoritative. If she had any chance of securing Harry's spot at Hogwarts she had to snatch it fast.
"Firstly I want to state that Harry is an inherently good person and whatever occurred this evening should not tarnish his reputation or his school record," Lyra said formally, sitting pretty with direct eye contact and a firm tone, but the two adults exchanged a look of confusion and hurried to clarify the reason why they were there.
"Harry isn't facing expulsion," Dumbledore acknowledged first in a soothing voice.
"I'm not?" Harry blurted out, confused, "But I performed magic outside of school?"
"Accidental magic happens to the best of us," laughed Fudge lightheartedly, "come now, you're still an adolescent! Do you think Hogwarts would have any students attending if we expelled everyone who exhibited magic at home?"
Lyra relaxed her rigid spine as relief filled her tense stomach. Harry was just being overly dramatic, everything was fine!
"You didn't say it was accidental!" She scoffed, and Harry spluttered incoherently.
"I didn't think I had to! Obviously, I didn't do it on purpose, it was implied!" He countered, his cheeks heating up again.
"See? This is all a misunderstanding, do not worry about your school career, Harry," comforted Fudge like a favourite uncle who wanted to poke fun at a serious situation, "a team of Obliviators have scoured the area for all witnesses who reported seeing your aunt flying over Surrey, and your family have confirmed that they will take you back next year. Problem solved!"
Lyra and Harry immediately caught each other's eye and Lyra tried her hardest not to burst. As expected, she didn't last long.
"DOES THAT MEAN HE CAN STAY HERE?!"
"Yes," answered Dumbledore, smiling despite her ear-ringing response, "we thought it best that Harry remains under the care of wizards who are fully aware of the current situation, and of course, we will have to ask the Tonkses to see if they are happy to accommodate him first."
Lyra knew without a doubt that her aunt and uncle would agree to the idea. The topic of Lyra's frustration at Harry's living situation came up a dozen times already, Tonks already mentioned how great it would be if he stayed too so her hope shone brighter than her smile.
"Are you sure that I have to return to the Dursleys next year?" Harry reiterated with a slight pout.
"Yes, that is a requirement I'm afraid, but that does not mean you have to spend the entire summer with your family, as long as you call your aunt's house your home then I am satisfied," Dumbledore explained, engaging with their curiosity despite Fudge's persistent side-eye. He didn't think this was important, that much was obvious, and Lyra couldn't help but point this out. It was odd that both the Minister and the headmaster had turned up this evening, this wasn't important enough to require Fudge's presence…?
"I'm so sorry if this sounds rude, and obviously I don't mean to be, but why are both of you here?" Lyra asked innocently, but to the rest of the room, she sounded quite curt. Harry ducked his head to hide his laughter, and the two adults hesitated. Ah ha! I knew it!
They were hiding something.
"We wanted to make sure that Harry was safe, considering our current climate," explained Fudge with a hint of disgruntlement in his tone. He didn't like that. "I would think as Harry's manager you would be concerned too if he was out there wandering around while we have a mass murderer on the loose—,"
"—and we wanted to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again," interjected Dumbledore, but Lyra noticed he avoided her gaze like the plague. Yup, they're not telling us something.
Lyra tried to catch his eye, wiggling in her seat as much as she could to lure him without drawing too much attention, but Dumbledore was too busy watching Harry and Fudge.
"Do you think I was going to unintentionally lead Lyra's dad to her or something? Because I checked every corner and made sure no one was watching when I summoned the bus," Harry rushed to say, defending himself for his actions, "I was careful, you didn't need to worry about that."
"Of course, but you must understand that running away was not a smart choice. Black is not to be underestimated, and you would do well to keep yourself safe and out of his way," Fudge emphasised, reaching over to grasp his shoulder as though in comfort, "it's for your own good."
Hearing Fudge talk about her father in person was quite unsettling, Lyra stopped fidgeting and let his words sink in. He was the Minister for crying out loud and he was terrified of Sirius, what her dad had done had affected everyone and the real weight of her father's breakout hit her like a punch in the gut.
He did something worse than murder a bunch of people which happened to include his family… And they had barely spoken to her, they were worried about Harry's whereabouts and his feelings.
The cogs whirring in Lyra's head finally attracted Dumbledore's gaze and she locked onto him without even thinking. It was so natural to her now that the ebb of her magic flowed freely into Albus' mind, her wand was in her backpack upstairs.
What are you not telling us? What's really going on?
Professor Dumbledore looked vaguely disappointed that he allowed her the chance to invade his mind, but there was an undeniable sparkle in his eyes. He wanted her to ask.
I think you already know the answer to that, Lyra, you're not the only person we believe your father may be after,
Dumbledore's whisper reverberated around her mind and she slumped back slightly, quite stunned that he actually told her. The true reason didn't shock her as much, considering what she knew of her father's background of course he wanted to plot his revenge against the one who ruined it all.
Aw for crying out loud! We can't catch a break.
Dumbledore smirked at her reaction and evaded any suspicion by dropping back into the conversation as though he had been listening the entire time. Lyra tried her best to copy him but her heart was racing faster and faster as she soaked in the secret truth. First, their Professor tried to kill Harry, then she attempted to kill him, and now her freaking dad was after him! Who's next? Her dead uncle or something?!
"—which does bring us onto the topic of Hogsmeade," concluded Fudge, shifting his smile into one that held sympathy, and Lyra's ears pricked up, "and I know you're not going to want to hear this but I'm afraid it would be in both of your best interests that you don't visit the village this year.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
"But—?!" Harry exclaimed first this time.
"I'm sorry Harry but Mr Fudge is correct, and as the head caretaker I cannot in good faith allow either of you to venture around Hogsmeade by yourselves," Dumbledore backed up, joining Fudge as they took to their feet, and Lyra revelled in the heat of increasing fury in silence. She knew Harry was expecting her to object to the preposterous rule by the way he kept nudging her leg with his, but she couldn't speak up. She hated it with all her might but they were right — they couldn't go.
Or she had to make it seem like they couldn't go.
Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. You're going to use Kreacher to sneak out, aren't you?
Lyra shushed her conscience, she couldn't let Dumbledore eavesdrop on the inner workings of her latest plan.
"Ok, I understand," Harry mumbled, clearly frustrated, but as the adults excused themselves to politely persuade the Tonkses to take Harry in the rest of the summer, Lyra yanked him closer so she could whisper without interference.
"Ignore them, I have a plan," she hissed, and Harry struggled not to walk with an excited bounce in his step as they filed out of the living room.
It didn't take them long at all to reconvene once the evening was over. As expected, Andromeda and Ted were more than happy to act as temporary guardians to the Boy-Who-Lived. They sent off Ted's owl Rodney to deliver the good news to the Weasleys, inviting them over for dinner the following night, and plans for an impromptu birthday party became the family's sole focus from then onwards.
Thankfully Tonks left the two teenagers to entertain themselves after only ten minutes of pestering, cursing her early morning shift as she went, and Andromeda and Ted wished them goodnight once Harry was comfortably set up in the second spare room.
"Ok, what's up? Why didn't you argue that we should be allowed to go to Hogsmeade?" Harry snapped the second his bedroom closed, "I was kind of counting on you to persuade them into letting me go, I never got permission from my uncle."
Lyra made herself at home at the end of his bed, curling her legs up underneath her like a cat.
"Because that doesn't matter, we have plenty of options available to sneak us out of Hogwarts," she replied, but she realised she was chewing her bottom lip extra hard. Sweat threatened to bead against her forehead and she rushed to wipe it away. She needed to tell him what Dumbledore said, but how?
"Oh," Harry lightened up and joined her, "Yeah, Kreacher came by a couple of weeks ago and dropped some stuff off. You never said you two were on speaking terms again, how did that go?"
"It went brilliantly, actually, Kreacher and I are best buds now," she smiled, genuinely proud of that feat, "and I didn't tell you because I was doubling down on the surprise for tonight… And for another reason too."
Lyra needed to share with Harry what Kreacher revealed about his past, and with that came the extra information pertaining to Tom's journal.
Suddenly the spare room felt stuffy and she struggled to breathe. She needed fresh air.
"Which is…?" Harry hinted, growing restless from her prolonged pauses and nervous twitches.
"Kreacher!" Lyra called out, and once her elf popped into existence before them she turned to Harry and offered him her slightly clammy hand.
"Trust me when I say no one can know about this, it's super important," she murmured, latching onto Kreacher with her free hand. Harry paused only for a moment to let his frantic mind settle and he grasped Lyra's hand with a gentle squeeze.
"I trust you."
Pop!
The breeze tickling the grass on the tallest hill encircling Thistledown gave Lyra instant relief as it kissed her blistering cheeks. Harry stumbled a little as they arrived but he caught his footing when he took in his new surroundings, the twilight view of the valley looked charming tonight as fireflies flitted through the grassy dunes. The distant town lights looked faint tonight, it was hard to differentiate them from the stars.
"Kreacher will keep an eye out, take as long as you need," he rasped, his voice rumbling softly against the wind, and Lyra took a seat in the spongey grass, silently gesturing at Harry to follow.
"It's quite pretty up here," he commented after a moment of them soaking up the peacefulness of nighttime nature, and Lyra agreed.
"We're allowed to fly around here too," she replied, hugging her knees and debating how to start it. The plaster method was her old faithful, just spitting it out and getting it over with always did the trick in the past, and when she spotted the confusion bleed back into Harry's calm expression she closed her eyes and let it all stream out.
"I read Dumbledore's thoughts and he said that Dad's likely planning on killing you too!" she spewed, clenching her fists until her nails left deep red marks on her palms out of sheer anxiety, "I dunno why but probably because he's a big Voldemort fan – and speaking of Voldemort, Kreacher told me he has this locket that my uncle gave to him and it may or may not also contain another Riddle inside of it. He called it a Horcrux, or something like that, and he still has it. I haven't asked him to give it to me yet because I'm shitting myself out of fear and I really, really don't think I can get rid of it without you…"
Lyra wheezed, her lungs were flatter than a deflated balloon, and she peeked a look at the boy beside her.
Harry's mouth hung open and his brows had disappeared past his hairline. It was pretty comical how shocked he looked.
"Oh, and finally!" Lyra remember one more nail-biter, "I think our parents were best friends with a werewolf! A freaking werewolf, Harry!"
The pounding of her heart filled the long silence as Lyra watched Harry absorb the bomb explosion of truths that he was definitely not expecting on the eve of his birthday. He collapsed back on his elbows and took a deep breath, admiring the starry sky as it all sunk in.
"There's another Riddle out there?"
"Yup."
"And Kreacher called it a… Horcrux, was it?"
"Yup."
"And we have to worry about werewolves too now?" he choked, still not quite believing her, and Lyra nodded before collapsing onto her back. She glared up at the endless sky but her heart skipped a beat when Harry's digital watch began to chirp, alerting them to the late hour.
Lyra shoved her hand into her jean pocket, grabbed a fistful of glittery confetti, and threw it at his face in a half-hearted celebration, bringing him into his thirteenth year of life with the gift of possibly the worst pieces of news ever.
"Happy birthday."