Hermione Lyra Black

June 5th, 1991

Hermione sat under the big tree at the garden's edge, observing the people gathered at the Manor for Draco's birthday. 

It was a joyous event, with decorations everywhere. Fairy lights hung from the trees, enchanted streamers fluttered and danced around, and balloons that exploded into silent fireworks in every colour floated around the dessert table. 

The adults chatted and mingled. Narcissa, ever the perfect hostess, held court with all the ladies at the long table filled with delicious food and drinks. Lucius discussed work with his ministry co-workers. And Sirius was laughing and playing Quiddith with Remus and most of the children by the large field. 

Yes, it was a happy affair, Hermione thought. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't participate in the fun. Even the house elf playing the triangle on stage with the band couldn't get her in a good mood. 

In her mind, there was nothing fun about this day. 

Hermione's attention shifted to Draco and Harry. They were both so happy, smiling as they played and laughed with their friends, which only worsened her already sour mood. 

Draco caught her eye and made his way over to her. 

"Go away, Draco," she said, scowling at him. 

"I know you don't like quidditch, but that pout is a bit much, isn't it?" he teased as he sat down beside her. 

She snorted and made a big show of turning away from him. 

He grabbed her shoulder, trying to turn her around. "Hey, come on. What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," she huffed, shrugging his arm away. "Just go away."

"Hermione," he said in a stern tone. The tone Hermione qualified as his 'big brother' tone. The 'you-listen-to-me tone'. 

"Ugh. It's nothing, Draco. Just go play with your loser Hogwarts friends." She turned to him, and the tears she had been holding back all afternoon, finally broke free. 

She knew she was being unfair. It wasn't Draco's fault that he and Harry were two years older and were leaving for Hogwarts without her. But she didn't have anyone else to be mad at. He was the closest target for her frustration, which had slowly been building ever since he got his letter that morning. 

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. She really didn't want to let him comfort her, but she couldn't help but hug him back. They sat like that for a while before letting go of each other. 

He nudged her shoulder. "You know you'll always be my favourite. I'll miss you to death when I'm at school."

When she didn't acknowledge him or make any sign, she was feeling better. He said, "I'll always be there for you, little one. That won't change just because I'm at school. You know that, right?" he gently tapped her nose. 

She glared at him and wiped the last tear from her face. "I'm not little, Draco!" 

"Yeah, you are!" he grinned at her. 

They sat in silence for a while. "Wait here. I'll be right back." 

Hermione watched Draco make his way over to where Harry and Sirius were laughing and goofing around. He pointed at Hermione, and Sirius pulled out his wand and summoned something to them. Then both Harry and Draco made their way back to her.

They sat on either side of her, nudging her shoulder with theirs. 

"We were going to give you this later, but now seemed like a good time," Draco said as Harry handed her a gift. 

She looked at them, confused. Harry nodded for her to open it. "Go on. Open it." 

She carefully opened the parcel, still traumatised by Draco's total obliteration of his own gifts earlier. 

Inside were two beautiful leather-bound diaries. 

The first one was red with a gold bookmark hanging down the side. On the cower, the word "Sister" was engraved in gold. 

The other was a deep green with a silver bookmark and the words "Little one" engraved in silver. 

'The sorting hat has the power to ruin their lives', she thought. She didn't know what would be worse, if they got into the houses they were set on or if they got into different houses. 

"They are two-way writing journals," Draco explained. 

"This way, you can write to us any time." Harry continued. 

"And we can write to you," Draco said. 

"We promise to check it every day. But by the first month, you will probably be so tired of us writing to you all the time that you will tell us to stop." Harry explained. 

Overwhelmed with emotion, Hermione hugged them both. 

Draco heard her sniffle and desperately didn't want her to cry again. "Wait!" he said. "You haven't seen the best part yet. Turn mine to the side." 

She did as he said, and the words transformed from 'Little one' to 'Little shit'. "Oh bugger off, you prat", she smiled at him. 

"I think the response you are looking for is 'Thank you, that was very nice of you, Draco'," he smiled teasingly at her. 

"Thank you, both of you." She laid her head on Harry's shoulder. "Have I told you, you are the best brothers in the world lately?" 

"He's not your brother, but I don't mind hearing more about it," Harry stated. He had been holding the fact that Hermione was actually his sister over Draco's head for the longest time.

"Piss off, Potter," Draco said, squeezing her hand. 

July 1991

Hermione walked through the floo at Grimauld with Lucius, bouncing with excitement. She was grinning from ear to ear, proud of her purchases. 

"I thought we had agreed they were going to share one," Narcissa said, motioning to the two cages floating behind them. 

"That was the plan, but this one is very persuasive. Aren't you, sweetheart?" Lucius said, running a hand down Hermione's hair. 

She shrugged his hand away. "Thank you, Uncle Lucy." She beamed at him and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best. I can't wait to show them to Harry and Draco," she ran up the stairs to get them. 

Narcissa sighed. "You have got to learn to say no to that girl, Lucius." 

"I should capitalise on this more, actually. That could be fun," Sirius piped in. 

"Don't you dare use my niece against me, Black." Lucius scowled at a grinning Sirius, who took a sip of his drink and spit it out all over the table. "For fuck's sake Kreacher. Stop it with the fucking beets. One more time, and I'll make you sleep in the garden with the gnomes!" 

"We donts have gnomes in our garden," Kreacher responded with an air of self-righteousness, clearly not bothered by Sirius's threats. 

"I'll buy some you just for you, you nasty little mutt." 

"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed, from the doorway, horrified. "What's wrong with you?" 

She cooed over the house elf. "He didn't mean that, Kreacher. You are the best house elf there is. And Dad is going to buy you a new bed. Aren't you, Daddy?" 

"Sure", Sirius grumbled. He could swear he saw Kreacher smiling at him behind Hermione's back. 'That little piece of shit', he thought. 

"What's the surprise, Hermione?" Harry said as he walked into the room with Draco. 

"Close your eyes!" Hermione grabbed their hands and walked them over to the table. "Now open." 

Before them stood two cages. A majestic eagle owl with different shades of grey feathers and large ear tufts sat in one of the cages. Its already impressive size was heightened by the smaller owl in the other cage. The smaller owl was a snow owl with white fluffy feathers, black spots on its back and black markings around its eyes.

"Since you gave me the diaries, I wanted to give you something as well. This is Hedwig. She is your's Harry." She motioned to the white snow owl. "And this is Lyra. She's yours." She said to Draco, beaming, clearly proud of herself.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Lyra?" he questioned. 

"Real humble, kitten," Sirius said from his seat. 

Harry smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Thank you, sis. She's perfect." 

"I guess I can live with an owl with a horrible name if it's as cool as this one," Draco teased. 

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, and Harry punched him in the shoulder. "Say thank you, you prick." 

"Ouch, Potter, I was getting there, you.." 

"Boys, play nice," Narcissa interrupted as she came over and kissed Hermione on the top of her head. "That was really sweet of you, darling. They're beautiful."

September 1st, 1991 

Hermione burst out laughing as Draco walked down the grand staircase at the manor. His hair was slicked back with a generous amount of gel, making it so shiny the lights reflected off his head.

"What?" Draco said defensively, his hand instinctively running through his hair. But the gel was so thick that he ended up petting it instead.

Hermione was gasping for breath. She was laughing so hard. "What have you done with your hair?" she finally managed to choke out.

Draco's expression turned into one of annoyance. "I've styled it."

Hermione tried really hard to hold in her giggle. "It makes your head ginormous," she wheezed out.

Draco scowled at her. "Do you always have to be such a little shit? And who are you to talk, Miss-I-have-birds-in-my-hair!"

Hermione's laughter died down. "Hey, my hair is perfectly fine now that Aunt Cissa has started putting Sleakeazy in it. Right, Auntie?" She yelled for Narcissa to hear.

Draco walked over to her and ruffled the hair on top of her head. "If you say so, little one. You just wait! This is what all the ladies like."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Good luck with that, Amorus Maximus."

"Oh, sweet Merlin! Please tell me we are not letting him leave the house like that!" Narcissa said as she walked into the room. Her hand covered her shocked mouth.

"Leave it be, Cissa. You can't control how he styles his hair when he's at school anyway," Lucius said.

Sirius walked into the room, and just like Hermione, he burst into a laughing fit. "Hermione is right. It really does make his head look big."

Draco crossed his arms and glared at Sirius, who shrugged. "Sorry, buddy."

Narcissa shook her head. "Draco, darling. I know you want to make an impression at school, but perhaps you should consider a more understated look."

Draco's face flushed with embarrassment. "Mum!"

"Draco, if you're trying to impress the ladies, maybe you should consider a different approach. Maybe something a bit more charming and less.. greasy. Something like me." Harry said, bowing for all to see. 

"Oh, shut up, Harry!"

"Yeah, you don't have much of a leg to stand on in this conversation, champ!" Sirius said, ruffling up Harry's already unruly hair.

"Stop! I spent way too long trying to tame his hair. Everybody just stop." Narcissa scolded the room. Her blood pressure clearly rising. "Okay, here's what we are going to do. Draco, you are going to wash that off, and I will help you style it so you don't look like a slick newborn baby seal."

"Ew, mum." Draco huffed and stormed up the stairs.

"Shush, Draco. Hermione, you will take some Sleakeazy and calm down that mess." She said, nodding at Harry.

Sirius and Lucius were chuckling at the whole scene.

"And you two." She pointed at the adult men. "You are going to gather their things and make sure everything is ready to go."

"Sure thing, Ma'am!" Sirius answered, giving a soldier's salute.

Lucius rolled his eyes at Sirius. "Sure, honey," he said, kissing his wife's cheek. "15 minutes. We have to leave in 15 minutes," he yelled for everyone to hear.

"Sure, honey," Sirius mocked, trying to kiss Lucius' cheek. 

"Get off me, you mongrel."  

Hermione scanned the crowd on Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross. They were surrounded by the hustle and bustle of families and students. She watched students hug their parents goodbye, dragging their trunks and cages onto the train. 

Some families were taking pictures together in front of the train. Some were crying, hugging each other tight. Her eyes ran over the large group of redheads that walked through the barrier. She smiled at Ginny Weasley, whom she had met a few times at Ministry events hosted by her Aunt and Uncle. Ginny gave a small wave back. 

"You must promise to write home every week. Both of you," Narcissa declared. Hermione continued her scanning and tuned out the adults fussing. 

A boy with curly brown hair came through next. She remembered him from a holiday party her aunt hosted once. She remembered him cause he didn't play with the other kids like, her Harry and Draco had done. He had seemed so sad, sitting by his father's side the whole night. 

An old strict-looking lady was accompanying him. The man he had been with the last time Hermione saw him wasn't there. Hermione found that odd, 'shouldn't every parent want to see their child board the Hogwarts Express?' she thought.

Draco hugged her, "The time is going to fly by. You won't even have time to miss us before we return for the holidays." He said, mistaking her distant look for sadness. 

"Are you saying you're not going to miss me?" She teased him. She had mostly gotten around to the idea that they were leaving. It still sucked, but Draco was right. It was going to fly by. 

He ruffled her hair. "I'm going to miss you the most, little one."

"Stop hogging my sister," Harry said, dragging Draco away from her and smoothing down her hair, trying to earn points. 

Hermione giggled. "I'm going to miss you so much. Promise you'll write?" 

Harry grinned at her. "I'll write you every day." he bopped her nose. 

"Ugh. Will you two ever stop treating me like a little kid?" She grumbled, pushing his arm away.  

"Never," They both said while bopping her nose and ruffling her hair. 

"Never mind, I'm not going to miss you at all", Hermione huffed, pushing both of them. 

"Have you told her?" Harry asked the adults. 

Sirius shook his head. "No, not yet. We had actually thought it a surprise, but go ahead." 

"Sorry," Harry smiled sheepishly. 

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. 

"Uncle Lucius is sponsoring the Slytherin team, and Dad is sponsoring the Gryffindor team." Harry nearly jumped on his feet. He was so excited. 

Hermione looked at them questioningly, not understanding what that meant. 

"It means we get to go watch the quidditch games, kitten," Sirius explained. 

Hermione frowned. "Why would I want to see those? I hate Quidditch, remember?" 

Sirius laughed. "I thought maybe you would suffer through some quidditch if it meant you would get to see these knuckleheads" he placed his arms around Harry and Draco's shoulders, who were grinning at her. 

Finally understanding, Hermione jumped into her dad's arms. "Really?" 

Sirius chuckled, holding her tight. He relished in the moments she showed him affection. They were still many, but they were far fewer than they had been. 

"I love you, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she rushed out. 

"I'm also sponsoring a team, you know," Lucius said. 

"This was my moment, Lucy. Get your own," Sirius scowled at Lucius. 

Hermione kissed her father's cheek and gave her uncle a big hug. 

"You boys take care of each other. Family is more important than anything. Remember that." Narcissa said while fussing over Harry's hair. 

"Yes, Mum." "Of course, Auntie," They said simultaneously. 

"Even houses. You will have each other's back even if placed in different houses. Promise me." 

"Stop fussing, Cousin," Sirius said. "They will both be Gryffindoors, and they will be the best of friends." 

"You wish, Black. Any son of mine is a snake. Harry, that means you as well." Lucius said earnestly. 

"Stop bickering. You'll make them feel bad. Tell them you love them no matter what house they're in," Hermione said, placing her hands on her hip. 

"With how much the two have nagged about this, I won't be surprised if they are both in Hufflepuff," Narcissa added. 

"Oh, hell no." "That's taking it too far, Cissa," They said simultaneously, looking at each other and silently agreeing on a temporary truce. 

The warning whistle that said it was 10 minutes before the train left rang, and Narcissa grabbed both the boys hugging them to her. "I love you, both of you. Be good. Do your homework and write home." 

Sirius and Lucius grabbed a boy each and whispered the same thing to both boys. "And most importantly, have fun! " Sirius said to them while Lucius whispered, "I'm going to give you 50 Galleons if you are sorted into Slytherin." 

The boys rolled their eyes, hugged both men and smiled at their fathers before dragging Hermione into a tight group hug. It was their turn to be sad over leaving her. 

"Don't forget to write whenever you want to talk. We'll always be there for you, even from Hogwarts." Harry said.

"You have to write us every day, okay?" Draco said. 

"I'm going to miss you so much," Harry said 

"I'll keep my book close when I know there will be a storm," Draco said. 

"You're my favourite person," Harry said. 

"I'll write you every day," Draco said. 

"I' can't wait to see you again," Harry said

"Promise you'll come to the quidditch games," Draco said. 

"Be good," Harry said

"Stay out of trouble," Draco said 

"Take care of dad, for me," Harry said

"Hug Mr snuggle from me," Draco said. 

Sirius decided to cut in, or they would miss their train. "Okay, boys, that's enough. Go! Before the train leaves," he chuckled, grabbing Hermione. 

Hermione sniffed. The boys looked at her sceptically. "Go, I'll be fine," She said. "I'm not really sad. I'm just trying to get Uncle Lucy to take me out for Ice cream." She tried to joke, wiping away the tears running down her cheek. 

They both gave her one last hug before running onto the train. "Bye, all." "Love you!"

Hermione looked up at her uncle with big teary eyes. "Ice cream, it is," he said, grabbing her hand and walking toward the exit. "You coming, Black?" he yelled over his shoulder. 

"This is seriously starting to become a problem," Narcissa stated. "He's supposed to go to a meeting in 20 minutes."