"Good morning everyone!" exclaimed Penelope Clearwater, smiling ear to ear as she addressed the members of the premiere Hogwarts School Council at the table around her, "thank you all for being here this morning. I'm sorry for the short notice but I thought it would be best if we got started straight away so we could get to know each other better. We've got a lot of work so there's no time like the present!"

Lyra stifled her yawn and slumped on her hand, exhausted from her abrupt wake-up call this morning when Angelina Johnson came bouncing into her dorm to rip her out of bed. According to the notice board she neglected to read the night prior, the first school council meeting was due to take place at the crack of dawn the next morning and Lyra had no idea.

Thankfully her Quidditch teammate thought ahead since she didn't want to turn up alone.

"Penelope and I thought it would be a great idea for us all to go around the table and introduce ourselves first. Tell us your name, your house, and maybe one fun fact about yourself," Percy continued, his hands clasped behind his back as he took to his feet and smiled at them, looking very much like a professor. Lyra noticed how much detail her cousin had put into his appearance this year, he looked like a polished version of himself with ironed robes and shiny new shoes and she couldn't help but admire him for that.

When no one offered to go first, Percy rolled his eyes and looked to the Head Girl to get the ball rolling.

Penelope happily jumped to her feet looking like a perky saleswoman with her blonde curls bouncing, keen to show what she had to offer, and Lyra began to worry whether she had too much coffee already. Ahhh what I wouldn't give to have Kreacher bring me tea right now.

"I'm Penelope Clearwater, your Head Girl and a Ravenclaw," she began, her warm eyes sparkling in the grey overcast light, "and one fun fact about me is that I once met the Muggle Princess Diana while visiting my grandparents in Windsor."

"Aw cool!" Lyra blurted out and the other Muggle-borns in the room gasped, thoroughly impressed, "How do you not start every conversation with that? I would if I were you."

"What was she like?!" The sixth-year Hufflepuff representative asked, her eyes wide in fascination.

"Just as beautiful as you'd imagine, she's like a real-life angel," sighed Penelope, enamoured by the flashback, but she quickly brushed past her fact and encouraged the semi-familiar dark blonde Slytherin boy to her left to continue the icebreaker activity. He looked far from comfortable at the idea of sharing but the snicker from the dark, smirking Ravenclaw boy beside him seemed to annoy him into showing off.

"I'm Lucian Bole, sixth-year Slytherin, and I attended a party with the entire England Quidditch team over the summer," he boasted as the room oohed, and Lyra clicked her fingers. He was on the Slytherin Quidditch team, that's why she knew his face!

Lyra tried to retain the new names of her fellow councillors as more of them introduced themselves. She found out that sixth-year Gryffindor candidate, Linderina Crane, was Tim's sister, one of the boys she petrified last year, and their father was best friends with Cornelius Fudge, and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sixth years, Elliot Dunnet and Beatrice Haywood, used to date and are members of their county Gobstones team.

It wasn't until Penelope reached the fifth-year representatives that Lyra actually woke up and paid attention.

"—I'm a fifth-year Gryffindor," Angelina announced, smiling shyly at them as she scooped her thin braids out of her face, "and my fun fact is that I'm fluent in three languages — English, French, and Swahili."

"Fantastic, Angelina!" praised Penelope, positively beaming that the icebreaker was succeeding in bringing people out of their shells, and she moved on to the person sitting beside her, "And onto our Hufflepuff representative, we have…?"

Lyra had to crane her neck in order to see who Angelina was sitting next to her. Due to the awkward u-shaped table layout, Angelina was blocking her view of the next person, but once her teammate sat back in her chair Lyra felt a peculiar burning sensation wriggling through her chest and into her face.

All traces of fatigue vanished and she sat up taller and tried not to openly stare at the Hufflepuff boy's dazzling smile... she couldn't help it. He was so hot! Ooooh hello, who are you?!

"Hi everyone, I'm Cedric Diggory, fifth-year Hufflepuff," greeted the brunette boy in a deep voice, and Lyra tried to keep her mouth closed. Angelina caught her eye and stifled her smirk, her expression indicating they were on the same wavelength, and Lyra sneakily shielded her mouth behind her hand.

"Oh my God he's gorgeous!" Lyra mouthed and Angelina nodded, her lips puckered as she suppressed another smile.

"I know right? He didn't look like that last year! Now do you see why I chose this seat?!" Angelina mouthed back, and Lyra flashed her a quick thumbs up. She did wonder why Angelina ditched her when they entered the classroom but she assumed it was because they had been ordered to sit with their fellow year group. She had to give Angelina props because Cedric was definitely the hottest boy in the room. Ride on, sister!

"—and my fun fact is that I lost two of my fingers to a Grindylow when I was six," Cedric continued with a small chuckle as he habitually ruffled his hair, "the healers at St Mungo's managed to regrow them and I now cannot remember which two of my fingers are secondhand."

The snort of laughter escaped Lyra before she could stop it and she immediately blushed as the whole room — including Cedric — glanced her way. Lyra buried her head into her arms as she realised she was the only one who laughed at his bad pun.

"I — uh, sorry but that was a terrible joke," Lyra squeaked, avoiding Cedric's gaze at all costs, and she thanked her lucky stars when Penelope swiftly moved the icebreaker on.

Is he looking at me? Why is he looking, oh fuck — act cool!

Lyra checked her peripheral vision and her spine solidified when she noticed that Cedric hadn't taken his eyes off of her. He was trying to be subtle, she had to give him that, and she almost broke her facade and laughed at him when the parchment underneath his elbows slipped from the table and he blushed, trying to catch it before it fluttered to the floor.

…Oh?

This is interesting, he is quite cute…

Awww, no! Wait! She should be with—!

Lyra ignored the whispers in the back of her mind and tried to pretend that she wasn't suddenly very aware of Cedric Diggory's existence. The lethargic waves of an emotion she had been dreading were threatening to infiltrate her gut and she didn't know how to feel about it.

It was a feeling she associated with him… but it was too addictive. Her stomach twirled in a way she figured she would never get used to, like the g-force on an exhilarating broom ride it thrilled her to no end.

Uh oh…

"My name is Michael Corner, I'm a third-year Ravenclaw," Lyra jolted as Michael, who was sitting beside her, spoke to the room. She totally missed the fourth-years introductions. How long was I out? Please tell me I wasn't openly staring at him.

"—And I guess my fun fact is that I've visited every continent in the world, and yes, Antarctica is as cold as they say," Michael concluded. The room chuckled at his fact and Lyra felt the focus shift her way. Penelope smiled even wider and nodded, silently encouraging her to share.

A bead of sweat tried to roll down her neck as she noticed Cedric was giving her his undivided attention, but she took a subtle deep breath and summoned her prettiest smile.

Don't mention your dad.

Sweetheart, don't do it.

"Hi, I'm Lyra Black, third-year Gryffindor obviously, and my fun fact is that my father is the first ever prisoner to escape Azkaban," she announced to the room when she failed to think of something mundane to share with the group. The only facts that came to mind were sure to scare everyone so she played it safe.

"Pffft, everyone already knows that," Zacharius Smith objected first from her right and she immediately rolled her eyes as he continued his complaint, "You've got to choose another fact, that's not fair."

Frustrated that she had to acknowledge his existence, Lyra scowled at Zach and shrugged, frantically coming up with a backup fact.

"I think that should count! Sure, it's not technically a fun fact but I'm sure there are some people here who didn't know—,"

"Lyra, just say something else," interrupted Percy, trying to save face with an awkward laugh, "quickly!"

"Fine! My fun fact is that I own a nulled death certificate," Lyra spat out, unbothered by her morbid theme, "Happy, Percy?"

Percy looked perturbed and loosened his pressed shirt collar. "Uh—,"

"Wow! They're extremely rare! I think that counts as fun," Luna Lovegood chirped up, breaking the tension with an innocent smile.

Lyra didn't notice she was sitting with the other second-years and her anxiety eased a little as she caught her misty blue eye. She had been meaning to talk to the Ravenclaw oddball, the other second year councillors including Ginny's friend Colin were staring at Luna as though they wished she would disappear and it triggered Lyra's protective instincts.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Luna, I knew someone as cool as you would understand," Lyra called out to her, stretching her smile so she knew she truly meant that, and the gentle pink tinge to Luna's cheeks was adorable.

Zacharius immediately cut Lyra off and began to introduce himself to the room, sounding just as pompous as ever as he slicked his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes.

Daphne Greengrass, the tired-looking Slytherin girl Lyra had barely ever spoken to, caught her gaze from Zach's other side and the pair accidentally pulled a face indicating that they both wanted him to shut up. Realising Lyra mirrored her, Daphne hid her stifled smirk behind her streaked dark blonde hair and turned away to avoid any further connection while Lyra happily smiled to herself.

Huh, ok, so Daphne isn't a dick like the rest of her house! Good to know.

It was the smallest of interactions but it was a sign for good things to come. Daphne had nominated herself as the Slytherin school rep for their year for a reason, of course, so naturally she would be more receptive than Draco ever could be. Lyra noticed she never sneered once as the other councillors introduced themselves which only added bonus points.

Once the two second-years Lyra didn't recognise, Edward Massey and Samuel Goldstein, finished their introductions, it was time for the meeting to officially start and Lyra sat up straighter with her fluffy purple notebook open and ready. Above her list of hurriedly scrawled names of the other councillors was her list of ideas and she waited as patiently as she could to find an opening to discuss them.

The fifth and sixth years started with an argument over the hierarchy of the prestigious prefect bathroom. It took them a while to reconcile and agree on a compromise over which faction of the student body had priority over the bathroom — Quidditch captains or the actual prefects. Having never heard of the prefect's bathroom before, Lyra inherently sided with the Quidditch players arguing their case. Sharing is caring!

"I'm just saying, the prefect bathroom —should only be for prefects, it's in the name!" argued Ravenclaw Elliot, swooping his floppy black hair out of his face so he could scowl at his opponents. Lyra spotted the shiny prefect badge on his chest and rolled her eyes. "The Quidditch captains always give the passwords to their teammates and they always traipse mud everywhere, it's infuriating."

"Ha! As if! Oliver never gives out the password," laughed Angelina and looked towards Lyra for confirmation.

"Yeah, it's not us!" Lyra backed her up, and she nervously looked to the older Slytherins for further support. She didn't really know which councillors were also on their house's team so she had no other choice but to ask the snakes. "Has Flint given you guys the password before?"

Cassius Warrington and Lucian Bole looked far from pleased that Lyra dared to address them but they begrudgingly shook their heads and sulked.

"No, he treats the bathroom as though it's his personal water closet," Lucian muttered, taking the issue personally. Clearly, it was a sore spot for them both.

"I've only used that bathroom once, and that was only because I snuck in," Cassius admitted, "so don't try and pin the mud tracks on us. You prefects obviously don't look where you're walking."

"Piss off Warrington, yeah we do," booed Elliot, heckling them while the other prefects in the room huffed, but Penelope rushed to mediate the situation and remind them all to use first names only.

"Let's not play the blame game, that won't get us anywhere," Percy concluded the matter, wanting to move on as time was ticking on. Breakfast was due to commence at any second and they barely touched upon their main agenda for their first school term.

"If the bathroom's cleanliness becomes a pressing matter before our next meeting then I assure you that we can resume this conversation next time. For now, as the rule stands, the prefect bathroom is for prefects and Quidditch captains only. Any objections?"

The prefects and Quidditch players at the table grumbled a low 'no' in unison and Percy gladly took that as a win. Lyra made a physical note in her fluffy book to pester Oliver and the twins about the prefect bathroom password.

"Great job!" Penelope clapped her hands in joy but with a quick glance at her shiny white watch her face spasmed and she sighed, "Unfortunately we only have time for one more discussion before we end our first council meeting, but I promise you that this is a much more engaging topic. Now, due to the gloomy climate and security restrictions here at Hogwarts this year, I thought this might be a good opportunity for us to spread some positivity and cheer around the school. We should organise something fun to take our minds off of what's happening in the world."

"Yeah, thanks a lot Black," heckled Warrington, shooting Lyra daggers as the elephant in the room was brought up yet again. Her heart clenched in shame but she kept her face passive as she stared back.

"You're so welcome!"

"It's not Lyra's fault, back off Cassius," someone else piped up in her defence. Lyra felt the blood gushing into her cheeks as Cedric scowled at the Slytherin Chaser and added, "Sounds like someone's still a bit salty over their loss last year."

Most of the room oohed in response and Lyra covered her cackle with a cough.

"Just because you're a team captain now doesn't mean your opinion is valid, Diggory, this has nothing to do with Quidditch," Lucian retorted, backing his teammate up with a defensive pout, "As students and more specifically school council members, we are well within our right to voice our concerns about the mass murderer who might turn up here."

"Careful, gentlemen," said Penelope sternly, "let's try and stay focused here. I want to see you uplifting your fellow councillors, not making unnecessary comments that no one wants to hear."

Lyra tried not to look too smug as she smiled at the Slytherins, making sure they knew she was rising above it all. Not only did the Head Girl pipe up before she thought of a witty response but so did the handsome teenage boy in the corner whose piercing eyes kept darting her way.

Cedric's presence was magnetic now, she couldn't stop sneaking a peek at him from behind her hand and tiny butterflies fluttered around her stomach after their third time catching each other's gaze. He was a part of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, how had she never noticed him before?

Well, you didn't exactly pay attention to a lot of your second year, did you?

…That's fair.

"What about a masquerade ball? Everyone loves a party!" pitched a very pretty Ravenclaw fourth-year with the longest, fluttering eyelashes Lyra had ever seen. She had a Scottish inflection to her voice and her silver sparkly pen and sticker-covered binder indicated that she had good taste, Lyra was intrigued by her. "We could all dress up in ballgowns and have a magnificent feast and—,"

"We have feasts all the time, that's not interesting enough," the tanned Hufflepuff girl next to the Ravenclaw shot her down as she pursed her lips, "Sorry Cho, but not everyone will want to dress up and follow that theme."

"Cho has the right idea though, everyone will be excited at the prospect of a party," voiced Angelina in encouragement, "I second that idea."

A chorus of agreement sounded out around the table, even the Slytherins looked enthusiastic at the thought of letting loose, and Lyra felt the words spew before she could stop them. It was perfect! Now was the time to suggest it! Go go go!

"What about a Halloween party?! No offence to the Purebloods in the room but wizards really don't know how to celebrate the holidays properly and I think it's time that the Muggles show you how it's done," Lyra announced, clasping her hands together and maintaining eye contact as she persuaded them. "We could hire a band to play live music, everyone will dress up because Halloween is officially fancy dress season, and we could even have a 'Best Dressed' competition to incentivise everyone to dress up and join in?"

"That sounds so fun! I miss Muggle Halloween," gasped Colin and he nervously seconded Lyra's idea with a raised hand. "I think we should do it."

"What is a fancy dress season? Do you actually think everyone is gonna turn up in formal robes?" doubted Lucian, laughing at her ignorance. Lyra pulled an expression that suggested he was the dumb one and laughed harder.

"Fancy dress is a Muggle term for a costume party, you know, like when people dress up as pirates or animals or your favourite film character?" She asked slowly, "Surely you've heard of that concept before?"

"Favourite film character?" repeated Lucian, thoroughly more confused, and Lyra resorted to a facepalm.

Muggle Studies should be compulsory!

"You should try opening a book once in a while, Bole, you don't know what a film is?" Cedric snorted, rousing a low rumble of laughter from the clued-up councillors around them.

"Let's stay on track, please," Percy spoke up, sending Cedric a look of warning to settle down, and Lyra smiled brightly when her cousin nodded at her, "Thank you for your idea, Lyra. So far that sounds like something realistic we can pull off, and I know you'll bug me until I agree so shall we put the Halloween costume party to a vote?"

The Muggle-borns and Lyra were the first to raise their hands around the table as expected. Cedric and Angelina were quick to follow and Lyra tried not to look at the Hufflepuff again in case her blush succeeded in devouring her face. He was on her side!

"So we can dress up however we like?" The girl Lyra now knew was called Cho clarified.

"Yup! By all means dress up as though it's a masquerade ball, that would be a fantastic costume," Lyra explained, and Cho and the majority of the other councillors looked thrilled.

"Oooh! Then yes! I'm voting for the Halloween party."

Lyra tried to contain her pride as her idea eventually ended with a unanimous vote in favour of the party but she let out a small whoop when Penelope and Percy established the thirty-first of October as their event's official date. An animated buzz struck up amongst the councillors as they had been tasked with spreading the party news and Lyra grinned to herself as she got ready to leave. Now she had something to look forward to, her birthday was going to be awesome!

"I can't believe you got away with that," scoffed Zacharius as he side-eyed her, "you just wanted a birthday party, didn't you?"

"Uh, duh! Zach, it's like you don't even know me," Lyra countered, scowling playfully at him as they shuffled out of the library study room Penelope dubbed as their official council meeting spot, "so what if I want the whole school to celebrate my birthday, you should've suggested to move the date if you wanted one yourself."

Zacharius looked inspired and glanced back at the Head Boy and Girl in contemplation.

"Hmm, my birthday is rather close to Valentine's Day…?"

"Don't be a buzzkill, Smith, just let Black have the attention she so desperately craves," Daphne piped up from behind them, impatiently waiting for everyone to file out, and she smiled when Lyra spun around to pout. Lyra picked up on the hint of sarcasm whether Daphne meant her to or not and naturally she had to join in.

"See? Daphne knows me better than you do and we've hardly said one word to each other," Lyra pointed out, "we've got a past, me and you. Do our interactions mean nothing to you, Zach?"

"No, because every time we speak it ends with me regretting my life choices," Zach said as though it was obvious, "you're weird, I usually block you out."

"Awww thanks," Lyra fluttered her lashes and offered him another smile, but Daphne snorted and bit back on her behalf.

"Says the one who memorised Black's birthday. Yeah, you block her out, sure…" she murmured as she brushed past Zach, winking at him like a mischievous elf, and Zacharius' face bloomed with colour as he watched Daphne leave.

"Shut up Greengrass! No one asked for your opinion anyways!" Zach shouted after her before mumbling an excuse about him needing to speak to Cedric about tryouts.

Highly amused, Lyra watched him join the collection of Hufflepuff council members dawdling by the library doors, thinking about the Slytherin girl and her fast emerging sense of humour. Was Daphne the only cool Slytherin in her year? That's highly probable, the rest of her housemates suck!

But the sensation of someone watching her pulled her out of her daze and she panicked when she noticed she had caught the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain's attention again, Cedric felt her stare and matched it with another confident smirk.

Why does he keep doing that?

I think someone has an admirer! Why else would he stick up for you during the meeting! Ooh girl, how invigorating! This is just what you need.

No! This is all wrong! He's just being nice, don't overthink it!

The mess of intrusive thoughts meddled with her mind and Lyra decided to completely remove herself from the situation. She didn't want Cedric to think she was socially awkward by continuously ogling him from afar, she wasn't a freak he should be wary of approaching, but she didn't want to seem overly bold. She was a third year, he was a fifth year — it was never going to happen.

So you want something to happen, ey? Interesting…

Stop!

Flushing like a stop sign, Lyra kept her eyes firmly on her shoes as she left the library. She skimmed past the Hufflepuffs by a couple of inches as she rushed through the door — but as her foot touched down on the corridor's stone floor she heard her name and froze. So close!

"Great work back there, Lyra! I've been dying for a real party in this place since my first year," called out Beatrice Haywood, the lofty sixth year prefect with thin horn-rimmed glasses and a pointed chin.

Lyra risked a momentary pause in the door frame and smiled over her shoulder, trying her hardest not to look at Cedric standing directly beside Beatrice. Suddenly she was awfully self-conscious of her dishevelled uniform, she didn't take much care with her appearance this morning. Aw fuck sake!

"Ha ha, thanks! I knew I couldn't have been the only one who missed dressing up as a vampire and dancing to Thriller," Lyra answered back, trying not to make it obvious that she was tucking her wrinkled shirt hem into her skirt.

"That's a Michael Jackson song, right?" Cedric asked, his brow creased as though he was unsure of himself, and Lyra's heart skipped a thousand beats, almost killing her in the process.

He knew that reference!? She assumed he wasn't a Muggle-born by his housemates' reaction, they clearly didn't expect him to pick up on that at all and she latched onto the prospect of her finding someone else just as passionate about the arts as she was.

"Yeah, it's not his best work though, you should check out Off The Wall, it's way funkier," Lyra replied habitually, "unless you prefer pop music then stick to his latest albums, you can't ever go wrong with a Jackson song."

The absence of recognition in the Hufflepuffs faces' was enough to hint that she was rambling but she felt the words come out from her lips before she could stop them.

"But if you want to listen to something that will change your life then check out his sister Janet — Rhythm Nation 184 is by far the superior album, but her new self-titled album Janetis still worth listening to."

STOP TALKING ABOUT THE JACKSONS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

I think someone's a bit nervous.

"No one asked," Zacharius bit back, staring at her weirdly, but Cedric cut him off with a small laugh as he sensed the tension between the pair.

"Don't be mean, Smith," he teased before smiling at Lyra, "thanks for the advice, Black, I'll check them out."

"Hey, if you ever need to expand your audio horizons then you know where I am," Lyra smirked back and nodded politely at the Hufflepuffs before shooting one last glare at Zacharius, "except you, Zach, you're not allowed to have good taste."

"I have amazing music taste, thank you very much—!"

But Lyra had already spun on her heel and fled the scene, praying to the higher powers that she didn't make a fool out of herself in front of possibly the hottest boy in the entire school. Learn how to shut your mouth, Lyra! Come on woman, that was painful.

The miserable stormy sky didn't brighten as the morning began to take shape, Lyra watched the streams of rain pour past the windows of the castle as she made her way down to breakfast by herself. She was thankful for the solitude though, it gave her enough time to reflect on her day so far and when she arrived at the Great Hall she decided it was a pleasant one.

She even stuck to that decision when the first person she came into contact with was possibly the last person she wanted to see. And that included Draco.

"Move, Black, you're in my way," growled Professor Snape as she almost collided with him in the Great Hall's doorway.

Lyra glanced up at the looming, sallow-faced and evidently grouchy Potions Master who looked at her as though she was a rodent running across his feet, and she mustered her best smile. She had been wondering when she was going to face off against the vampire lurking around the school and, of course, it looked like she didn't need to wait until she received her timetable to find out when they would cross paths.

"Sorry sir," Lyra drawled, purposely mirroring Snape's side steps as he tried to push past her, "are you in a rush? You don't look very happy? Is something bothering you?" They were locked in an awkward dance that irked Snape to no end.

"Black, stop it!" He hissed down at her, baring his crooked teeth as she continued to block his path, "MOVE!"

His patience with her appeared to not exist this year, he didn't even bother to act impartially or even a little bit sympathetic towards her situation. He began to shake faintly and Lyra knew she didn't have long left until he exploded but that didn't mean she was going to stop.

"You think I'm not trying to get out of your way? You're doing this on purpose!" Lyra scoffed, doing everything she could to keep him on his toes, "wow, it's almost like you want to spend more time with me or something!"

A spasm of rage invaded Snape's expression and she swore she saw his hand twitch towards his robe pocket.

But instead, Snape decided to grasp the back of her collar and physically dragged her out of the doorway. Lyra's stomach knotted when he shoved her towards the nearest wall shrouded in the shadow of the house hourglasses and cornered her, using his glowering vampiric demeanour to his advantage as she stood small in his presence. Lyra gulped, using all of her strength not to recoil at the alkaline potion fumes exuding from his robes.

Too far?

"I'm not putting up with your insolence this year, girl," Snape growled like a scared animal defending their territory. He bent down so she could look into his fiery black eyes that he wasn't kidding and Lyra's smug grin began to fall, "believe me when I say that I don't feel a drop of sympathy for you or your family that your father has escaped Azkaban. You will receive no special treatment from me. None whatsoever. I will not tolerate any of your excuses, you have brought all of this on yourself — You are a despicable, unlovable human being and I don't not care about you in any capacity. Do I make myself clear?"

Lyra absorbed his cruel comments and pouted, rather stunned that he went for her jugular this time. Snape wasn't joking around anymore, he openly detested her and she wasn't even sure whether this level of resentment was warranted. Sure, she was being annoying on purpose, and yes, all she ever did was tease him whenever they were in proximity of each other — but calling her unlovable?

He knows about last year. He knows about me and Tom, he must. All of the professors know…

It wasn't a joke anymore. Snape wanted to cut her deep but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he sliced a vital vein.

"Yes sir," Lyra sighed, fighting to remain calm and unbothered, "I'm unlovable, I'm a horrible little girl with an attitude problem and a father who deservedly wants me dead, got it. Anything else?"

"Excuse me?"

Lyra watched the confidence leave Snape's face like a blown fuse as Professor Lupin appeared out of nowhere behind him, his soft eyes widening as he hoped he heard incorrectly. He was dressed in tweed robes today, the bags under his eyes were prominent but he looked more refreshed than yesterday. Her heart began to pound as she tried to lock gazes with Remus, signalling that she wanted his attention.

YES! Talk to me! Acknowledge me!

"There's nothing to see here, Professor, you may continue onwards and break your fast," Snape droned, assuming his usual moody stance and stepping away from Lyra as though they were having a casual conversation, but Lyra pointedly straightened her pinched collar and huffed.

"Yeah, don't worry about us, sir. Professor Snape always threatens me, this is totally normal. I do nothing and he berates me," Lyra grinned snarkily at her teachers and she arched a brow when Snape snarled at her again, "isn't that right, sir?"

"YOU DISRESPECTFUL LITTLE-!"

Snape's features contorted in fury but Professor Lupin promptly stepped in between the pair and held his hands out, separating them with a guffaw of disbelief. Lyra tried her hardest not to make the situation worse but the urge was primal, it was writhing and desperate to encourage the vampire to attack her.

"Miss Black, why don't you head inside the Great Hall? I need to speak to Professor Snape alone," Professor Lupin advised with his back to her, his voice thickening momentarily as he tried to diffuse the situation, and Lyra shrugged.

"Sure! Like I said, I didn't do anything so—,"

"LIES! Don't believe a word she says!" Snape roared, his voice echoing around the Entrance Hall, but Lyra quickly scooped up her backpack and ran off before Snape could get her into trouble.

She wanted to stay and see what Remus would say to calm Snape down, and possibly convince Remus to stay and talk to her, but Professor Lupin glanced over his shoulder and shot her a stern look that suggested she was on thin ice.

The sheen of disappointment in his eyes was more than she expected, it wounded her more than Snape ever could and she disappeared into the Great Hall without another word.

Ouch…

Having never experienced a semi-empty Great Hall before as she was rarely early to breakfast in her life (or in memory, who knew whether Tom was an early riser or not but she neglected to acknowledge that thought), Lyra took her time choosing where to sit at the Gryffindor table. She helped herself to a bowl of fresh fruit and kept her eyes peeled on the doorway, wondering whether the two professors would emerge.

They never did.

"Quick! Someone take a picture! She's actually here before us!" Harry announced to the table as the Great Hall began to fill up as everyone arrived to fuel up before their first day of classes. Lyra rolled her eyes as her friends made an unnecessary fuss out of her ability to wake up early, but she soon blanked the boys out and caught Hermione up on the topics discussed at their first meeting. She attempted to keep her mind off of Remus as much as possible, she didn't tell them about her run-in with Snape as the disappointment in Remus' kind eyes stuck at the forefront of her mind.

But then the school class schedules started appearing along the Gryffindor table and Lyra rapidly forgot all about their encounter.

"NO! WHAT THE—?!" Lyra croaked, glaring at her brand new timetable Professor McGonagall handed her, and she jumped up to catch her head of house before she wandered off, "uh, Professor?! Wait a sec!"

"I know what you're going to say, Miss Black, and the answer is no," McGonagall answered in a heartbeat, hardly glancing back at her as she reached the first years nervously eating their breakfast, "Professor Sprout and I have decided this is the best course of action for you, you can't argue your way out of it."

Irked by the attention her small outburst had caused, Lyra fought off her blush and collapsed back into her seat in a grump and returned to her timetable. What the actual fuck?!

Period Six — Remedial Herbology w/ Tutor.

TUTOR?!

Kill me! I have to take EXTRA FUCKING HERBOLOGY CLASSES NOW?!

Her life was so over.

"What is it?" Harry snatched her timetable out of her limp hand at the sound of her squeal and Lyra immediately stole it back when he clamped his mouth shut as though holding back a loud laugh.

"Have they made a mistake with your schedule too?" Ron wondered as he withdrew his nose from sneaking a peek at Hermione's to intrude on Lyra's, and Lyra whipped it away before he announced her extra period for the whole table to hear. They only had five classes a day, since when was Remedial Herbology a thing?

"So much for dropping Herbology, you're welcome for the book," said Harry smugly, puffing his chest out, but Lyra ignored his smug face and explained to Ron and Hermione what was ailing her.

"Unlucky!" Ron jeered, not feeling one drop of sympathy, but he instantly pouted and faked a sigh when Hermione nudged him. "I mean, that's not so bad."

"Don't be embarrassed, remedial classes are quite common," Hermione attempted to cheer her up, "besides, we've got our first Muggle Studies lesson tomorrow, that'll take your mind off Herbology which doesn't start till Friday!"

"But my tutoring session is today! That doesn't matter," Lyra moaned.

"When's our first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson?" Harry wondered and the quartet rushed to find their most anticipated class. Lyra's stomach sank within seconds of finding it.

"Ugh, we have to wait until next Monday?!" She complained, taking no care as she roughly folded her parchment up, "can today get any worse?"

"Why? What else happened today?" Ron wondered but the school bell tolled and Lyra smoothly changed the subject as they headed off towards their first official lesson of their third year.

"If anything cool happens you have to promise me that you'll recount it word for word, I don't want to miss anything," She warned her friends as she consulted the glowing green section of her timetable.

Since her request to swap Herbology for Divination was outright rejected she had no reason to follow them towards the North Tower so she dawdled in the viaduct stairwell, pouting longingly as they parted ways.

"I miss you already! Don't say anything funny until Charms, ok? Pinky promise?"

"Pffft, that's like an impossible ask," Ron scoffed brazenly, "that's like asking Malfoy not to be a dick."

"Or it's just like asking Ron to not bring up Malfoy, it's inevitable," Harry teased, laughing as Ron shoved him, and Lyra giggled. She hadn't seen her ghoul of a cousin yet this morning and she had her fingers crossed that he was in their Divination class. Better them than me!

"We'll meet you on the second floor, come on, we don't want to be late," Hermione encouraged as she dragged the boys away, and she waved at Lyra, "see you later!"

"Goodbye friends!" Lyra called after them, fighting the urge to glance towards the storage cupboard nearby while they were still in sight. The second they turned the corner she leapt towards the door and knocked three times.

"The coast is clear!" She shout-whispered, eyes peeled for any eavesdroppers in the stairwell, and Hermione poked her head out as she stuffed her Time-Turner under her collar.

A few flyaways stuck out from her wild mane and navy ink stained her hands, it looked as though their Divination class was a success and Lyra helped her look more presentable for their Ancient Runes lesson. The excitement of Hermione's secret was welling up inside her, she had been waiting to see it in action since they devised their plan in the girls bathroom last night.

"So? How was it? What does time-travelling feel like? Was Draco in your class?" Lyra hissed, bouncing on her toes as she hooked her arm through Hermione's and marched her off to the sixth floor. "Spill!"

"It feels strange at first, I had a bit of trouble ditching the boys afterwards to use it so I may need your help distracting them after class," Hermione murmured, sneaking a peek over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed, "but I think I can get used to it. And yes, Malfoy is taking Divination this year. You'll be glad to know that he didn't say anything to us although he was pretending to faint at the start to wind Harry up."

"Ah that's harmless, sweet! Congrats on your first successful time travel! How you thought you were going to carry out this plan without me is insane, you know I would've noticed something was up by now," Lyra sighed, grinning at her, and Hermione eventually conceded, allowing herself a smile.

"Alright, I admit it would've been a disaster the second I turned up to Ancient Runes, but the rest of my timetable seems to work out perfectly. The only issue I have currently is that Neville is considering dropping Divination for Muggle Studies which clashes with my Friday Divination lesson, but if we try to steer the conversation away from Divination homework while he's around then he might not notice I'm taking both classes," she explained, trying not to work herself into a fit of panic but Lyra swiftly saw to that problem with two finger guns.

"Then we've got this in the bag, dude! I'm a literal expert at changing the subject, relax!" Lyra tried to massage Hermione's shoulders whilst walking behind her but she missed a step and almost plummeted down the moving staircase.

"Are you ok?!"

"Totally fine! See? If Neville tries to rat you out then I'm your gal, I'll fall down in front of him or something. He won't ruin this opportunity for you and neither will I, ok? You're a phenomenal witch with an even more phenomenal wit and nothing is going to stop you," Lyra said smoothly, covering up her fall with a graceful wink, and Hermione relaxed, taking a few deep breaths.

"Ok," Hermione exhaled and gave Lyra a small squeeze, "you're right, I've got this. The only thing standing in my way now is me."

"That's the spirit!" Lyra cheered as she led the way towards their first-ever Ancient Runes lesson.

"You have to go, McGonagall will hunt you down if you don't."

"But I don't wanna!"

"You're overreacting, you should feel lucky to have a tutor. Just think of your future test scores, all of this will be worth it in the end."

"But I'm just gonna drop Herbology when we get to sixth year anyways, why not get ahead now and focus on the subjects that actually matter?"

"Herbology matters, though?"

"I for one think you should just turn up for a laugh, what are they gonna do? It's a tutor, not a teacher, it's not like they can dock you house points for messing around?"

"…"

Lyra couldn't find any fault with Ron's idea and finally removed her head from her hands.

The four Gryffindors were sitting at the back of the History of Magic classroom, pretending to read about the Wizarding Feudal system that was established in the fifth century. Lyra couldn't concentrate on any of her work, all she could think about was her impending Herbology tutoring that was only fifteen minutes away, it had been on her mind all day. The bell was due to ring at any second, calling the castle's living inhabitants to dinner and alerting her anonymous tutor that she was on her way. For the first time in history, Lyra wished her History of Magic class wouldn't end.

"Thank you Ron for being the only one with any sense around here," Lyra said deadpan, "if I'm proven to be a hopeless case then the tutor might quit and I'll be chucked out of Herbology."

"And risk your entire school career?" whispered Hermione, multitasking as she took notes and listened to their debate. "It's not worth it, you have to pass Herbology this year or else you might be in trouble."

"They're not going to chuck her out for failing one class," Harry said matter-of-factly, doodling on the side of his textbook instead of doing his work, "if they don't expel her for attempting to purge the school and bringing Voldemort back then they're not going to for failing Herbology."

Lyra decided to write that down and she nodded, encouraging him to give her more ideas on how to avoid doing what is asked of her. "This is good stuff, keep going."

"Ultimately the only way you can stop these tutoring sessions is if you work hard and actually try to get better at Herbology," Hermione spit her truth once she finished jotting down their assignment and turned in her seat fully so she was looking at her. "The truth hurts but it's legitimately your only option. Just keep an open mind, you never know — your tutor might be a vampire."

Lyra hesitated and pouted thoughtfully. Hermione was right, she had no clue who her tutor could be, and judging by Hogwarts' record they were bound to be at least a little quirky.

"I swear to God, if this tutor turns out to be Voldemort in disguise again, I will break something," Lyra uttered under her breath as the school bell finally chimed throughout the grounds and castle.

"Well done, you've just jinxed us," Harry scolded her under his own breath, and Lyra flipped her hair in his face as she climbed out from their shared table, pretending she couldn't hear him.

Her friends wished her luck on her journey down to the greenhouses before deserting her for their dinner. Lyra watched them go with self-pitying pout and slumped, angry at her own brain.

Why was she so dreadful at Herbology? Why couldn't she perfect the most basic of concepts when it came to the magical flora and fauna that blossomed in the Wizarding world? She was excellent at Potions, it was an undisputed fact that she was the best in their year, and Potions and Herbology came hand in hand. I'm bloody useless, this is going to be beyond painful…

Little did Lyra know how lucky she truly was when she dragged her feet out of the castle and towards the sparkling greenhouses bathed in the last of the sunlight creeping over the mountains. The blushing orange sky was a welcome distraction, it soothed the nerves bubbling in her stomach but the whining grew at an aggravating rate when she was greeted by an unusually smiley Professor Sprout.

Her Herbology teacher was pottering about with her trowel in the walled courtyard that centred the four main greenhouses when Lyra arrived, mud smeared down her apron and vines stuck in her grey hair as she worked.

"Oh dear," Professor Sprout stopped tending to her neat patch of Horklumps and looked Lyra up and down with her hands on her short hips. "Here comes trouble, I was wondering whether you'd turn up at all."

"I've come for your mandrakes," Lyra joked, unable to stop herself in time as she retrieved her wand from her pocket, "hand them over!"

Professor Sprout gasped and threw her gloves at her, torn between amusement and incredulity.

"Miss Black! I'm glad at least one of us found last year amusing! Now, come on — let me take you somewhere where I know you won't be able to destroy my hard work and remind me to warn your tutor not to let you anywhere near the mandrakes," she murmured.

Lyra swallowed the anxious lump sitting on her tongue and trailed after her professor, secretly glad to know she wasn't her tutor. They walked past the greenhouses and into the outdoor corridor that played host to the classrooms that usually remained disused during the autumn and summer seasons.

Ivy crept through the cracks in the stone walls and the school lanterns flickered faintly as Professor Sprout swung open the last door. She grinned at the tutor waiting inside as warm light bathed her lined, speckled face.

Lyra froze just before the door, suddenly terrified.

Please don't be Voldemort!

"Come on, Miss Black, he doesn't bite," Sprout chuckled, beckoning her to head inside. Lyra took a deep breath and braved her first steps towards bettering her Herbology grade.

"Lyra, I'd like you to meet one of my most promising students, and most importantly your tutor for the foreseeable future," Professor Sprout introduced proudly, and she brandished a squat arm towards the handsome teenager leant against the teacher's desk with his swollen arms crossed.

Lyra blinked.

"This is Cedric Diggory."

…Oh.

Oh!

WAIT OH NO! WAS HE JUST BEING NICE EARLIER BECAUSE HE KNOWS I'M FAILING?!

Oh girl, I'm so sorry!

HAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH—!

Frantically ignoring both the horrific heat flooding her face and the persistent cackles of her conscience, Lyra hoped she looked somewhat normal as she let out a small laugh and waved her limp hand at him.

"Hi-llo!"

KILL ME!

"Hi-llo to you too," Cedric laughed off her verbal fumble and turned to reveal the piles of books he had curated for their first session, "sorry Lyra, I should've warned you this morning that we would be working together."

"Pffft, no, no it's fine," Lyra rushed to make herself look worse by telling him, "I'm glad you didn't say anything because I didn't know this was happening until breakfast, I wouldn't have believed you… And I would've probably insulted you or worse."

"Ah, so you've met! Splendid!" Professor Sprout clasped her hands and sighed, pleased that everything was going according to plan, "I do hope you're up for the challenge, Mr Diggory, because this one will drive you up the wall."

"And then back down again if you're lucky, but that depends on whether we'll get along or not," Lyra added with her prettiest smile, rocking on the balls of her feet as though she was an innocent schoolgirl who would never cause any trouble. Cedric hitched a brow, unsure whether she was joking or not.

"I think we may have a thing or two in common, you're talking to the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain after all," he reminded her with a soft pur to his deep voice, and Lyra cocked a brow of her own.

There was no way in hell she was going to learn anything about Herbology during these tutoring sessions, she was going to make sure of it.

"I'm trusting you both to stay on task during these weekly meetings, this isn't a social club where you two can chat about Quidditch for an hour," Sprout was firm in her demands, "and no need to come and find me afterwards, Cedric, we'll debrief after your lesson tomorrow."

"Understood, Professor," Cedric smiled at Sprout and nodded, "I hope you have a wonderful evening."

Tickled by his charm, Professor Sprout shot Lyra one more look that said 'Behave!' and she left the students alone, the door swinging shut with a click behind her. Lyra anxiously watched the door for a few seconds, scrambling to find her cool, but when Cedric spoke up she had no choice but to face him.

"You're gonna have to come a little bit closer for this tutoring to work," he teased, watching her dawdle by the door, and Lyra smirked.

"Sooo…" Lyra trailed off with a soft laugh as she cautiously joined him by the professor's desk, "Shall I apologise now for this pointless tutoring or shall I wait until you discover I'm a lost cause for yourself?"

"I want you to keep your apologies to yourself, they are not needed here," Cedric assured her as he began to shuffle through his textbooks, his bright eyes humorously crinkled as he searched for a specific piece of parchment, "not while I'm around. I'll get you up to speed in no time, Black."

Not if I can help that!

"That's a pretty wild statement to make since you don't know how terrible I am," Lyra grimaced, watching him as he found the handwritten schedule he made especially for her earlier that day.

"And you don't know how brilliant I am, I can whip you into shape without you even realising it," he claimed boldly, smoothing back his fluffy bronze hair with an air of pride before gifting her with a jovial wink, "you're going to be a Herbology prodigy by the end of the year, trust me."

Lyra bit her lip, trying not to swoon under his blush-inducing lopsided smile, and she plucked up the courage to retrieve her own books from her bag.

Obviously, she didn't want to do any work, that much was obvious from her distasteful pout and scoffs at Cedric's many piles of parchment, but when he pushed out the chair next to his and tapped the seat — she couldn't resist.

I suppose that's one way of sparking my interest in Herbology… put the plants in the hands of a smoking hot boy!

"Before we start," Lyra piped up, trying her very best to postpone any actual work, "I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for me earlier. You know, in front of the Slytherins."

Cedric stopped flicking through his copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and sighed, assuming a much sadder expression than she was expecting. His sympathy was welcomed but she kinda wished he wouldn't look at her like she was a poor, helpless child.

"They were out of order, you don't need to say thank you," he said softly, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and turning to face her properly. "Obviously I didn't want to bring it up because I can imagine how difficult all of this must be, with the press reporting on his whereabouts every day and everyone whispering about it around school… but…"

Lyra sensed the question dancing on the tip of his tongue. For the first time since the news broke, she hoped he would ask her about Sirius.

"You can say it, it's alright," Lyra smirked, leaning on her hand as she gazed up at him. He had the straightest nose she had ever seen, a perfect slope made of glowing skin, and eyes that sparkled even in the shadows, they were almost as bright as her own—

GIRL? Focus!

"How have you been? If I were you I would've cracked by now, you're a lot stronger than you look, Black," Cedric revealed, dropping his voice out of courtesy of their conversation topic, and Lyra sighed.

She wished she could've admitted how hard her life had grown over the past couple of months, how she couldn't survive the night without waking up in a cold sweat with tears streaming down her face, how she couldn't look in the mirror without experiencing a surge of hatred she reserved specifically for the man who ruined her entire life…

But she didn't. She barely knew Cedric, she didn't want to look like any more of a freak than she already felt.

"I'm a third year taking Remedial Herbology, how do you think I've been?" She snickered, hiding her emotions with an enchanting smile, and Cedric joined in with his own hearty chuckle as he scooted a little closer to her, turning their attention back to his master plan on how to improve her grades.

"Let's see if I can help ease some of your pain, Miss Black," he purred, his deepening voice toying with the flutters in her stomach, "I know exactly where to begin…"