The Sun and The Star

Lyra fiddled nervously with Sirius’s lead as she stepped out through the Floo, Harry already waiting for her with a smile. Kings Cross wasn’t as packed as Harry had said it’d be, perhaps because she and Harry had arrived nearly fifteen minutes before the train was set to leave.

Lyra was nervous, obviously. It was her first year and her first proper venture into the Wizarding world with children her own age. Because despite all of the tutoring she and Harry had done before with Professor Snape and McGonagall, it was still scary to think about actually being in public where people will recognise you.

Or your brother.

She shook her head once as she stood properly beside her brother. The tutoring she’d taken this summer meant she had a solid foundation for her classes, there was little worry about her falling behind as long as she kept up her usual work ethic and she knew Harry now knew what he was doing for most of his classes - though he still struggled to sit through their shared History of Magic class without half-falling asleep.

She’d be fine. She knew she’d be fine.

So why did she feel so nervous?

“Merlin, it’s so weird seeing you in the Hogwarts uniform,” Harry had muttered, looking Lyra over before tilting his head towards the train. Sirius licked Lyra’s hand comfortingly before pulling her forward a bit. “Come on, let's get on before we get accosted or something for standing around.” Harry said, already pushing his and Lyra’s trunk towards the train, Lyra followed quickly.

Sirius, the silly canine that he was, seemed excited to get on the train and seemed to be leading her and Harry through the carts to get to one specific carriage, before freezing in the doorway and letting out an unsure whine. Looking in, Lyra tilted her head at the sleeping man.

The man was wearing a set of wizarding robes that Lyra couldn’t help but notice were as thin and ‘well loved’ as the clothes she and Harry used to wear under the Dursley’s care, with several patches littering the fabric. He looked both ill and exhausted and though he was clearly a younger man, his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

“Should we find another carriage?” Harry asked, Lyra shook her head once as Sirius pulled her towards the sleeping man cautiously. She could feel something within her telling her to follow the Grim’s lead.

“No…the other carts…they were all full.” Lyra hummed out, blinking slowly. She felt off, felt-

The world swirled briefly around her and she could feel Harry’s warm hands guiding her to a seat before her vision truly started.

“ Potter’s sister are you? I can see it in that utterly plebeian way you’re staring at me. Tell me, Potter, is your sister as dense as you are? ” A boy with platinum blonde hair drawled, staring down at Lyra for a moment. Lyra blinked owlishly before tilting her head.

This was new, she’d never interacted with a vision before.

“ My sister isn’t dense, Malfoy. Fuck off. ” Harry’s voice snarled whilst Lyra watched the interaction with a curious look. Taking in those around their cart. The blonde, Malfoy, was bracketed by two other boys that reminded her of Dudley and Harry was bracketed by Hermione and Ron. The man from earlier is still fast asleep in the back of the carriage.

When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. Perhaps interacting isn’t an option after all, perhaps she is being shown what her inaction could cause.

“ Whatever Potter. Perhaps your sister will show some decorum once she’s sorted Hufflepuff - or sent home. ” The boy, Malfoy, snarked before the world shifted once more.

A gaping mouth, coldness and panic took her chest as screams echoed through the train - a hooded figure approached, closer and closer-

“-Fascinating, hse raelly can’t reah a thnig?” A girl's voice commented as Lyra felt someone poke her cheek. On instinct she reached up and slapped the hand away before freezing. In front of her sat a girl with bright brown eyes, bushy brown hair and freckles looked at her in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something and Lyra took note of her overbite - it wasn’t horrendous but it was noticeable. “Oh, oyu’re back.” The girl said, a rather bossy tone in her voice.

“....Back?” Lyra said a little dazed, her head tilting to the side for a moment as she tried to get the world to stay still. A piece of chocolate from Harry slipped into her hand and she nibbled on it absently.

“I told you not to poke her, Hermione,” Harry’s tone was scolding but also oddly fond as he shook his head. “She’ll be disoriented for a moment, give her a second.”

“You’re disoriented,” Lyra bit back half heartedly as she finished the chocolate, glancing down as a heavy head rested on her lap and stared daggers at the person next to her. Or perhaps, at the rat on his lap. “Siri, no eating rats. It’s gross.” Lyra mumbled, rubbing the dog's ear absently. She still felt floaty from her vision and she could feel eyes on her.

“What did you see?” the girl’s voice, Hermione, asked, curious and demanding in such a way Lyra almost bristled. But she took a calming breath and closed her eyes, letting the world finally calm before speaking.

“Blonde boy, came in, spouted off some things then stormed off,” Lyra mumbled, thinking that perhaps that cold hooded figure was perhaps from her inaction during the confrontation. She’d be sure to speak up when he arrived. That was for sure. “Which friend are you?” Lyra asked, opening her eyes to look at the girl, she gathered she was Hermione, but she’d rather the girl confirm it.

“Because Harry has so many girl friends.” Ron’s voice scoffed from beside her and she turned her head to him, a frown on her face.

“And you do?” she asked easily, making the ginger go red faced whilst Harry laughed at the unexpected jab. Turning her attention back to the girl, she could see her fighting a smile.

“Hermione. Hermione Granger, I’m a muggle-born.” Hermione explained, Lyra just nodded.

“Think you're a bit more than a muggle-born,” Lyra hummed out, at the questioning look, Lyra shrugged. “You’re basically saying you’re a muggle-born and nothing else. You should introduce yourself like ‘Hermione Granger, the girl who set fire to Snape in first year with an advanced spell’ or ‘Hermione Granger, Poly Juice Brewer since 1992.’” she smiled as the girl let out her own surprised huff. “Harry likes to brag about the chaos his friends bring.” she explained.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Hermione said as she settled properly in her chair, a rather ugly looking cat sat in a carrier beside her. “This is Crookshanks,” She explained then sent an unsure look in the direction of Sirius. “I didn’t think… dogs were allowed at Hogwarts?”

“This is Siri. He’s my familiar, I’m allowed him. McGonagall and the law said so,” she explained, paused and then winced. “I might still be a little out of it.”

“Nooooo, really?” Harry asked cheekily, Lyra glared at him before sighing. 

“Well-”

“So you’re a Seer?” Ron’s voice asked, cutting in, curiosity on his face. “Bet that’ll help Harry out big time in Divination this year, right Harry?” the ginger asked grinning, Hermione looked aghast at the idea and Lyra simply raised her eyebrow at the two boys.

“Harry will receive no help from me for Divination,” She said firmly, before glancing between the two. “And I’d appreciate it, if you didn’t go running around the school screaming of my…of me being a Seer. I’d rather not have people hounding me for information I can’t give.” she said seriously.

“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t dream of it-”

“Urghhh, you’re gonna be a mini Hermione aren’t you? All rules and no fun.” Ron complained, cutting Hermione off. Lyra simply raised an eyebrow at him, hand still gently petting Sirius’s head.

“I’ll do what I need to do to achieve what I need or want to achieve,” Lyra stated simply, before glancing at Harry. “So, did we figure out who the sleeping guy is or-”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The rain came down heavily as the train travelled quickly towards Hogwarts, the windows of the express shook as the wind whipped past them. Greengrass was fussing over her younger sister, explaining all the intricacies that she could in the limited time they had before arriving at the school.

Draco didn’t really understand why she felt the need to rush through it, they all knew the younger Greengrass was a Slytherin through and through.

“-And for the love of Lady Magic herself, do not argue with the teachers-” Daphne was gearing up for another lecture but thankfully, mercifully, Nott spoke up.

“Hey, isn’t the younger Potter due to start this year?” he asked, glancing up from his book - A History of British Magic, apparently it was a book written in America and was filled with facts that the usual British books tried to hide.

“Potter has a sibling?” Blaise asked, Draco blinked a little as he rattled his brain for her name. He could briefly remember that a younger child had been found alongside Potter that fateful night nearly thirteen years ago but the name and gender of that child escaped him.

“‘ On the thirty-first of October 1981, after the tragic death of both adult Potters, Harry James Potter (fifteen months) and Lyra Rose Potter (30 days) were found in the home and whisked away to an unknown location.’ ” Theo read out, a monotone voice almost echoing around the carriage. 

“30 days?” Draco found himself asking in disbelief. “Thats…” Horrible, heartbreaking, “A shame.” He said simply.

“Probably as spoiled as Potter is,” Pansy scoffed, flipping her hair with her hand a little. “I bet she’ll be another Lion, or even better - a Hufflepuff. ” The girl grinned, causing the others in the cart to snicker, Draco nodded his head.

“There is no doubt in my mind she’ll be anything but a Slytherin. And if she’s like her brother, then Ravenclaw is out of the question too.” He added on, getting a few more laughs.

“Maybe we should go say ‘hi.’” Vincent offered, cracking his knuckles a little, Greggory nodded his head as well, clearly itching for an argument. Daphne sent Draco a look.

“Don’t be too harsh. Remember, she’ll be under Dumbledore's thumb, the last thing we need is him targeting you this term.” She reminded, Draco rolled his eyes and waved her off.

“It’s expected of me to tease Potter , if I ignore…Little Potter? Anyways, if I ignore his sister, it’ll look suspicious and make him target me anyways,” Draco said, already standing from his seat. “A few words, no hexes. She most likely doesn’t know a single spell yet and even I can see that is a deplorable action.” Draco assured her diplomatically as he started to lead Vincent and Greggory out of the carriage.

It took no time at all to find Potter and his merry band of ill bred idiots, though it made him pause to see Potter looking… healthier this year. Not so dirty, or thin - even his brown skin had a slightly more healthy glow to it and he looked well, better this year.

Across from him though, was the girl they’d just been discussing. Tiny, with black curls thrown into an almost tasteful bun and eyes as green as her brothers. She wasn’t engaging as much as the others who were all deep in some discussion, but she was clearly listening. One of her hands was half buried in a-

A Grim .

How the hell did the Potter’s get a Grim on the train?!

“Potter!” Draco yelled, slamming the door open suddenly before he could even think, making most of the occupants jump, though the small girl just turned to look at him with those large green eyes and an unimpressed look on her face. “What the hell are you playing at, bringing one of-”

“If you are talking about Siri. I suggest you calm down and show some decorum,” the young girl, Potter’s sister, scolded him. Her eyes narrowed into a glare whilst that Grim growled at him and stood protectively in front of her.

“That’s a Grim ,” Draco yelled, pointing at it and making Weasel pale and scoot as close to the window as he could in fear. “An omen of death, a beast that’ll-”

“My Familiar ,” the girl interrupted, glaring at him and slipping off the bench to stand in front of him, she barely came to his chest. “His name is Siri and he is my familiar. He hasn’t hurt anyone and I don’t take kindly to some blonde idiot throwing a tantrum over him.” she scolded him . 

How dare she?!

“Lyra-” Potter at least tried to stop his sister, but she didn’t budge from her spot in front of him. Draco sneered at her.

“Do you have any idea who I am?” He asked, bending down to get in her face, the girl didn’t back down and kept her glare.

“A boy in Slytherin,” she started, assessing him as the Golden trio as they’d been dumbly dubbed, and tried to shut her up, the girl ignored them. “If I had to guess, with those tailored robes, translucent skin and pale hair, I’d say you’re this ‘Malfoy’ I’ve heard of.” the girl deduced and Draco found himself momentarily perplexed.

“Heir Malfoy.” Vincent corrected with a grunt and Draco was sure he was glaring at the girl.

“Well then, Heir Malfoy , do you think it's wise to come to a carriage and harass your fellow students? Do you think it's becoming of a future Lord? A future member of the Wizengamot? Especially when you and I both know that my brother's position as Heir Potter places him higher on the political landscape than yourself and that’s before this Boy-Who-Lived nonsense.” She lectured him .

“I-how dare-” Draco fumed, straightening his back. “I am the Heir to the Malfoy family, a name that has been cultivated for centuries and in the last decade has been molded beautifully by my father and mother to actually mean something. Can’t say the same for yourself, can you?” 

“What the fuck Malfo-” Potter and Weasle yelled, anger clearly on their faces whilst the mudblood looked almost murderous. The girl however, the female Potter, simply smiled at him.

“Goodness, just imagine if the public heard that the Malfoy Heir purposely sought out the Potter children to insult and bully them for not having parents?” her voice was sickly sweet, hand on her chest and a small sniffle escaping her - fake obviously, but a clear sign she could cry on command. “The public outcry alone would cause issues for your father would it not? And the repercussions for you across the school, for such careless and heartless comments…well, I’m sure you could handle it all, right? Heir Malfoy?”

Draco stared at the girl, feeling faint at the idea. She wasn’t wrong. If people thought for even a second that he’d insulted the Potter’s for their lack of parents, it could ruin their family due to how popular Potter was because of his status as the Boy-Who-Lived. That and her understanding of where Potter sat in the political landscape…

This girl was a snake. She was going to sort Slytherin, there was no doubt and he’d just insulted her and she clearly had no issues with ruining him.

“I…apologise,” he ground out, reluctant but he knew his father would have demanded it. “I made a poor comment and hope it does not…sway you to take any drastic measures.” He stated, the girl - the brat - looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I suppose we can let it slide for now, can’t we Harry?” she turned her head to the older Potter, who just looked dumbstruck and nodded his head halfheartedly. “Wonderful!” turning once more to Draco she holds out her hand, clearly expecting him to take it. “Lyra Potter, a pleasure to meet you, Heir Malfoy. Heirs Crabbe and Goyle.” She said, much to the two dunderheads surprise, seeing as neither of them had introduced themselves.

“Pleasure,” Draco said stiffly, shaking her hand once, before glancing once more at the Grim who seemed to be enjoying this whole thing. “I apologise, but did you say that… Grim is your familiar?” he asked, eyeing up the beast whilst the older Potter and his friends glared at him. The girl, Lyra, smiled at him brightly . As if the last few minutes had not happened.

“I did! He’s called Siri. I’ve had him ever so long and he’s a complete sweetheart, usually.” The girl told him, petting the Grims head. 

Usually, meaning the Grim had his limits and they would all be best not to aggravate it.

“Well. We’ll keep that in mind,” Glancing behind the girl he glared at the trio - taking note that the adult in the carriage was still asleep. Honestly, how someone slept through all that…must be a drunk of some kind. “Potter, Weasel, Granger.” He nodded once and turned, leading Greggory and Vincent away from the carriage.

“...I did not expect…that.” Greggory said after they were far enough away, Vincent grunted in agreement whilst Draco mulled over the interaction.

Lyra Potter was definitely someone to keep an eye on. His father must be alerted.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The sharp smack to the back of her head had Lyra turning to her brother with a pout. “Harry!” Lyra whined as she rubbed the spot he had batted.

“Don’t ‘ Harry ’ me. You just argued with Malfoy . What did I say about picking fights?” Harry scolded her as she settled back on the bench with a huff.

“Finish them quickly?” She offered, only to sink into the bench at the glare she received. “Look, he backed off and I got to assert that we won’t take any crap from him. That’s a good thing-”

“You acted like a disgusting Slytherin.” Ron’s voice grunted out, making Lyra tense a little. 

“ Ronald! ”

“Ron!” 

Harry and Hermione both snapped at him, neither happy with his response to her actions. Ron, however didn’t look too abashed as he all but sneered at her, Lyra found herself doing the same towards him.

“You talked in circles like some slimy snake, talking about heirs and public perceptions. What, going to join them?” He asked, Sirius growled from his spot beside Lyra, clearly not liking the tone. “Why don’t you go find Malfoy and join the rest of the baby death-eaters, I’m sure they’d be ecstatic to have-”

“Ron!” Harry started once more, but Ron wasn’t really listening and neither was Lyra at this point. She slipped off the bench once more, grabbing her satchel and turning to the door. “Lyra-” Harry tried but she shook her head.

“I’m going to get changed, if he’s still being a shithead when I come back, I’ll move. I’m not spending the rest of my journey with a cowardly lion that picks on first years.” She snapped, almost amused by the redness that takes over Ron’s face but she can see the regret in Harry and Hermione’s eyes as she turns and leaves, Sirius trotting behind her.

She found one of the toilets on the train having to go to a whole new train cart to do so, ordering Sirius to wait outside until she headed in and took a moment to collect herself and calm down. Brushing a few tears that threatened to fall once that door was locked.

Lyra had thought the train ride would have been fun, sitting with Harry and getting excited for her first year of learning magic. But so far, it's been horrid. Hermione had repeatedly needled her with questions about her gift, Harry had been more interested in speaking to his friends over giving her any advice for the year and Ron…well, Ron hadn’t been very nice at all.

On top of all that, the Malfoy situation had stressed her out. She’d been talking out of her ass, using what little survival instincts she had to avoid a major fall out, and she felt her gut churn with anxiety over what might happen in the future.

Brushing a few tears from her eyes, she quickly got her school robes on and slipped out into the hall. Sirius gave her hand a gentle lick and she gave him a small pat on the head, about to make her way back to the carriage when the train stopped suddenly, making her trip and fall from the sudden force.

“Ow,” Lyra mumbled, sitting up from where she’d fallen. Sirius had settled right beside her and was sniffing at her to make sure she was ok. “I’m good, promise,” she muttered, getting up before anyone could see she’d fallen. She started to walk down the corridor, noticing heads poking out of almost every carriage, including that of Malfoy from earlier, he gave her an appraising look and she gave him one back. “Does the train usually stop?” she asked as she got to his compartment.

“No,” Malfoy answered after looking her over for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching up ever so slightly. “ Usually the train just keeps going,” He explained calmly, voice diplomatic as he did so. Lyra nodded, a shiver running up her arms as the hall seemed to plunge into an ice-like coldness along with the lights shutting off around them. “...Get in.” He said, moving to the side - before Lyra could question why she was pulled into the carriage by a group of Slytherin’s - no doubt in Harry’s year, bar one who looked to be a first year like her.

“Oh she is small and you weren’t joking about the Grim.” A girl with short dark brown hair and dark eyes hummed out, her nose was upturned at the end but not horribly so. Lyra thought she was actually rather pretty, though she did glare at the ‘small comment’.

“I-” she started but Malfoy hushed them.

“Someones getting on the train.” Malfoy said, closing and locking the door quickly. Sirius whined lowly and wrapped himself around her legs, a low growl escaping him as he pointed himself at the door. She could feel the eyes of the older children on her and tensed a little as she rested a hand on Sirius’s head.

“It’s alright,” Lyra muttered to the Grim, watching the door as black figures passed the carriages, the cold feeling seeping into her bones. “It’s ok, no ones going to be hurt. It’s ok,” she kept assuring the Grim, though she felt like she was reassuring herself as well.

Were these the creatures that her vision had shown her? The creatures that she’d seen Severus and Minerva argue about all those weeks ago in an older vision.

The answer came quickly as one of those creatures stood outside the door and ominously unlocked and opened the door, Sirius’s growling got louder and louder as Lyra found herself frozen.

“ evig su suiriS kcalB, ” It’s voice was haunting, chilling even as it stood in the doorway and pointed at her. Lyra gulped for a moment but kept still. “ evig su suiriS kcalB .” it repeated, Lyra took a steadying breath, trying to decipher the words.

“Whoever you seek, they are not here,” She was shocked at how even her voice was, but she didn’t let it show.

“ evig su suiriS kcalB- ” it repeated the words once more, but Lyra shook her head, her hand still resting on Sirius’s head. She felt her Heiress ring burn and nearly let out her own gasp as it forced itself to be shown. Magic apparently decided it needed to do so. The dementor floated backwards, a screech escaping it. “ llerveP! ” its yells seemed to alert the other dementors as the one who screamed floated out from the train - just as a glowing wolf came flying down the cart.

Lyra’s legs gave out the moment the creature had left the cart, her heart pounding a mile a minute as she sunk to the floor, Sirius whining and licking at her face in concern, she noted that her heirship ring was once more hidden.

“So it is a Potter thing to have a near death experience once a year.” One of the girls behind her muttered, just loud enough for Lyra to hear, but she didn’t pay much mind, her hands still buried deep in Sirius’s fur as she tried to control her breathing.

“Did any of you catch what it was saying?” Lyra asked, she sounded out of breath - at least to herself - the resounding silence that followed had her turning to look at them, using her hand to brush her hair out of her face - having apparently fallen from its bun during the scare.

“Dementors don’t talk,” one of the boys, a dark haired boy with blue eyes, told her. He was giving her a quizzical look. “Why? Did you hear something-” He started to question but the door slammed open, making her turn back around to see the man from Harry’s cart standing there, looking slightly crazed as he inspected the cart.

“Are you all alright?” He asked, his eyes tracing over the room - only to freeze when landing on Sirius. “Sirius-” He gasped out, making Lyra frown and glare at him.

“Hey! McGonagall said no one was supposed to know his full name,” She scolded the man, who they’d learnt was ‘Professor Lupin’, earlier in the ride. “Don’t go yelling it out to everyone-” 

“McGon- That’s-” the man stuttered, pointing at the Grim who was still half wrapped around Lyra and warming her up a bit. Lyra kept her glare.

“ Siri is his name at school. I’ve had him for ages and I don’t appreciate broadcasting his name for people to be scared of,” Lyra scolded, she would have gotten up to tell him off too but her legs felt like jelly still. “Now, no one was hurt in here. We had a close call but that monster left before anything happened,” she told him, leaving some information out. “You were with my brother, is he ok?” She asked, the man paused, clearly unsure how to respond to her scolding or her questions.

“I…I-” the man short circuited for a moment before just passing her a bar of chocolate. “Just…eat that, you’ll feel better soon. Your brother is fine.” he said, almost robotically before turning and leaving the carriage.

“...So, are we going to write a list of ‘Potter things’ down because apparently breaking the new Defence teacher is on that list too.” the same girl from earlier said, making Lyra blink - forcing herself to stand she faces the group properly, though she does sway a little. Sirius stays right by her side, not moving an inch.

“I…think I’m going to go find my brother. Thankyou for letting me in.” she said simply, before leaving the carriage, legs only a little wobbly.

She could have sworn Harry had said the train ride was the quiet part of the Hogwarts year.