Saving Time

"We need her dead Severus," Albus insisted as he paced his office, glancing around as he tried to think of the perfect idea for how to eliminate her. He knew this much.

Lyra Sterling was an obstacle, a dire one.

Lyra pushed herself further into the wall. Who is he talking about? She wondered as Albus's gaze snapped towards where she was as he took out his wand. Walking closer, as Lyra's breath hitched, she held her wand tightly in her hand.

She never trusted the man. There was always something off about him ever since her first year. She simply could never put her finger on what the issue was. Now it all became so much clearer.

“Ah, miss Sterling, care to join us?” Albus asked in a faux grandfatherly fashion, as Lyra took a deep breath and rid her face of any emotion as she took a step out, glaring at the man. Now she knew his intentions, she couldn't hold back the distaste she held for him.

She avoided eye contact with the man as she knew what he was capable of and she would not fall victim to his mind games as her grip on her wand only tightened.

"You must know that eavesdropping isn't mannerly, Miss Sterling, "Albus said his voice as if he were talking down to a child as she stood her ground silently, but her mouth got the better of her.

“Planning murder isn't any better, Dumbledore.” She shot back ridding him of any title, he was no headmaster to her no professor, he was simply a man that managed to trick the whole wizarding world.

“So you have heard my conversation with Severus.” Albus mused as he held a smile that Lyra's desire to wipe it off of his face only grew stronger.

"Well you see Miss Sterling that very conversation was about you," Albus drawled as Lyra blinked her grip on her wand only grew stronger if that was even possible anymore without the wand breaking.

“Nothing to say, Miss Sterling?” Albus asked as his smile turned into one so sinister. Lyra looked over at Severus with a pleading look, to do something the man in the office she had grown a liking for, seeing him as a father figure of sorts. Severus had seen the girl as a daughter, he has never had a friend. The only girl that has shown respect towards him and not out of fear, the two had become friends, sort of as much as a student and a professor could.

At this very moment, Severus felt helpless, there was truly nothing he could do that would be deemed helpful in this very situation. That is without risking both their lives and the lives of many others, and Lyra was aware that her plea was helpless. She would die tonight, and she was coming to terms with it after all, after all. It was becoming clearer with each day that many in this castle would die an early death or live with bundles of trauma. This was apparent since their second year at the earliest for the majority and their first year for the few.

“To you Dumbledore, I could say this, I hope people realise the actual evil is you.” Lyra's words were fuelled with venom, even though she knew the probability of those words meant nothing, as Albus chuckled.

"Oh, girl you dont know just how wrong you are."

“Expelliarmus.” He yelled out, pointing his wand at Lyra, who ducked and cast the same spell back at the man. Albus simply cast a shield against the spell, firing the spell back at her, causing her to fly back and her wand to leave her hand. The sound of wood connecting with the stone ground was heard, with Albus casting a stunner and floating her into a chair before using magic binds to make sure she wouldn't move from the chair.

"You have tried Miss Sterling.."

“And failed, how does it feel to go down as a failure, Miss Sterling.” Albus laughed as he stood in front of her as Severus watched, a pain deep in his heart as he knew the fate the girl would face. He had seen horrific things, and he didn't care yet this day along with the day of Halloween of 81 would be days he remembers so clearly.

“There is no point in fighting any more, Miss Sterling, you have lost,” Albus said in a mocking tone. The sinister smile so apparent on his face as he sat back in a chair, dragging out the moment, knowing very well that at this very time nobody would make an appearance. That is, until they would see Severus leaving, making this the perfect opportunity for the death of a girl that wouldn't matter.

Little did Albus know this was all being witnessed by the person who matters most in this war,

As Albus had enough of dragging it out any further as he took out his wand and was about to cast the spell that broke many families apart one that ended life quickly the famous,

"Avada Kedavra!"

The beam of green flashed out his wand but yet it didn't hit her it hit the boy that was meant to save everyone, the chosen one, her best friend.

“Harry! No!” Lyra screamed as it felt like her heart was ripped out of her body. The pain of seeing the one you love drop to the ground, limp and lifeless. Her body started to shake as she looked at Dumbledore with pure hatred behind her eyes, she couldn't handle it any more. She lost any control behind her magic as the chair shattered to pieces as she looked at him with hatred behind her eyes.

“How dare you!” Lyra yelled as the room became hazy and thick with unleashed magic. One that Lyra knew was her own, then she felt two other magical cores as glass in the room shattered as the air in the room became so thick to the point it was hard to breathe.

Albus glared back at the girl and scoffed,

“This is all your fault you foolish girl if you didn't put up such a fight this would have been over much sooner now look at what you did Harry is dead all because of you!” He pointed his wand at her yet again to finish the job properly once and for all.

Books started flying around as Lyra tried to gather control of at the very least her magic. She had no idea what the third magical core belonged to, but she could only guess. Yet it wasn't normal for a wizard's magical core to rouge after death, she knew Harry was extremely powerful but yet not this powerful.

The pressure of the room only got denser. Lyra stood her ground and wandlessly acciod her wand into her hand yet again to regain some control with her magic, and to channel it into her wand instead of it being rouge.

Soon a flash of green and red became visible as Lyra and Albus duelled, both putting their all into it to win both refused to give up as they stood their ground. One trying to overpower the other as their spells met in the middle, going between one spell briefly overtaking the other, and then the opposite as Lyra did everything she possibly could to make sure she would win. She couldn't let this man win, no matter what.

As the tension only built, Severus thought of what he could do to help her in the slightest as the tension of the room only grew stronger, making it hard to breathe. Lyra's lungs felt as if they were being compressed. That is until the pressure soon felt like an explosion in the room, everyone blasted back. The duel cut short the magic soon engulfed Lyra into what felt like a warm hug that felt like some sort of protection, the last words she heard before everything went quiet, and she felt herself go limp were.

“Save the time, save us all.”

That is when she felt as if she was falling, it reminded her of the time she was in third year. It was their end of year quidditch match, and Gryffindor was winning against Ravenclaw, and someone bumped harshly into her, causing her to go flying off of her broom. Everything happened so fast but yet Fred managed to make it down to her and caught her, this is exactly what it felt like.

Just like déjà vu, before she made contact with the ground, she was caught in a pair of arms.

“Seriously, lads, is a girl falling from the sky part of quidditch now?” A voice she recognised yet couldn't put her finger on called out as she blinked her eyes open confused about what was going on where was she, this isn't Dumbledore's office she's outside but why and where?

She looked around seeing three guys, and one was holding her, so there was four in total. One looked so much like Harry, then there was one that looked regal with long dark hair and the grey eyes she remembered clearly. Then a boy that had mousy light brown hair before looking up to see the face she knew so much but younger?

“What year is it?”