Shades of Silver and Black

MOLLY'S WEDDING had had a winter wonderland theme while Bellatrix's had been a majestic sweet spring wedding. Andromeda's, on the other hand, was... simple. It was the only word appropriate to describe the incredibly small wedding ceremony that Andromeda had planned.

But in her defence, Andromeda had had two ceremonies done. One in a muggle place of worship a few days prior, to satisfy Ted's family and a proper, traditional wedding in the yards of Grandfather Pollux and Grandmother Irma's manor.

The gathering was extremely small, only consisting of Lyra, both sets of her grandparents, Narcissa, Regulus, Sirius, the Prewetts, the Weasleys and the Potters.

But Andromeda didn't seem to care about the crowd to the fact that neither of her parents was present as she happily got married to the love of her life.

Two hands covered Lyra's eyes from behind, making her startled for a second.

"Guess who," a voice that could only belong to Lucius whispered in her ears.

Lyra let out a thoughtful hum. "Is it Dennis?"

"No, guess again."

"Theodore?"

"No."

"Gilderoy Lockhart?"

"Okay, so I learnt today that you are awful at guessing," Lucius noted, removing his hands from her eyes and making her turn to face him with amusement dancing across her features.

"And today, I learnt that you are a child at heart."

"Take that back!"

"Why, Lucius?" Lyra tilted her head. "I think it's adorable, really."

"Please don't," He said immediately. "I've told you a thousand times, I am not adorable."

"You're also very cute," Lyra said cheekily, making him roll his eyes.

"You're cute, I'm not." He said.

Lyra shrugged. "We are both very cute." She declared.

"Our child will be even cuter, though," Lucius commented offhandedly, prompting Lyra to laugh.

"Indeed." She nodded, both of them settling into a peaceful silence before Lucius broke it.

"Did you miss me?"

Lyra nodded solemnly. "By every single Avada so far."

Lucius gasped dramatically, clutching a hand onto his heart. "Your words wound me, Lyra."

"Fatally, I hope."

Lucius shook his head fondly at her dry retort, making her crack a smile and hug him warmly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to come for a 'wedding between a mud blood and a blood traitor'?" She asked, quoting his words.

"The wedding got over," Lucius shrugged before a smirk adorned his face. "Runaway with me?"

"Certainly not in these heels I won't," Lyra said.

"In a metaphorical sense, I mean," Lucius added, "I just realised that the only dates we've been on are in Hogsmeade. So, I booked us a reservation for lunch at the Golden Chimera, your favourite restaurant."

A smile grew on Lyra's face, touched by the gesture as she intertwined her fingers with his. "Let's go." She said, excited.

"Let's," Lucius said, smiling.

"Let me just inform somebody and then we can leave," Lyra said, bringing Lucius to nod in agreement.

But they didn't have to make the effort to find anybody as her father suddenly appeared in front of them, looking revealed to have found his daughter.

"Lyra, keep the boys preoccupied for a couple of hours, would you? Take them somewhere, anywhere, as long as it is far from here." Orion said, and from the corner of her eyes, Lyra could see her Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus apparating away, but leaving James at the wedding venue as he played with Sirius and Regulus.

"Actually, father, Lucius and I were just about to go on a date," Lyra said.

"Great! Take Sirius, Regulus and James with you." Orion said.

"But father, a date meaning two people and-"

"Lyra," her father began, eyes tired. "I'm sorry darling, but this isn't a choice that I'm giving you. Your aunt Druella is screaming bloody murder at your grandfather, your mother is so kindly quoting bits from the French Revolution while your uncle Cygnus is using words that I'd rather the boys not hear at such a young age." He said, the tone of his voice making Lyra wince and feel instantly guilty. "I apologise for asking this of you. I know you don't get much time to do things you like and trust me, I feel horrible for stopping you but-"

"-I understand, father," Lyra interrupted because she genuinely did, also feeling terrible for not being more compassionate earlier. She gave him a warm smile. "Neither I nor Lucius would mind taking the boys out with us. Honest. I think we'll have a blast."

Orion let out a relieved breath and returned her smile. "Thank you so much, sweetheart."

"Of course, father."

"Orion!" Her Uncle Alphard called out suddenly, his usually perfectly styled hair in disarray. "Control your wife, would you? She threw another piano at me again." He said with irritation before pausing. "Oh, also, come with me quickly. Ella's blaming father-in-law for the ruining of her daughter's blood and she threatened him, and that obviously made mother-in-law let out a war cry and challenge her to an honour duel and basically-" He paused. "Shit is going down and mother-in-law's precious carpets are going to be ruined, most likely by her."

Orion let out another tired sigh before muttering curses for his dear wife and in-law's existences and quickly kissing his daughter on the cheek and apparating away with Alphard.

Lyra turned to Lucius. "Are you fine if my brothers come along? I can't leave them alone."

"Of course," Lucius replied with a smile.

It turned out, although Lucius may have been fine with the boys coming along, they certainly weren't. Especially not in a stuffy romantic restaurant date with small but delicious servings of food while their sister made ga-ga eyes at her boyfriend.

"I'm bored," James announced five minutes after the food had arrived, placing his head on the table and not caring for the way some of the dinners let out scandalised expressions at his not-so-perfect manners.

Sirius sighed theatrically, balancing his chin on the fist of his arm. "Me too, James, me too."

"Me three," Regulus said, looking at his sister. "Let's do something else."

James perked up at his remark. "Yes," he said. "Let's do something that is the opposite of boredom."

"Let's go somewhere fun," Sirius suggested eagerly. "Somewhere where I won't feel the need to transfigure that blonde lady's brooch into a cockroach as a desperate attempt to make this place more lively."

"Great Aunt Lycoris' funeral had a more joyful atmosphere than this place," Regulus felt the need to add.

Lyra set down her fork, turning to face Lucius. "What do you say?"

"Well, let's see. Have a romantic lunch date with you at the expense of having your brothers -no offence- whine the entire time or choose another location where we all can have fun," Lucius let out a thoughtful hum. "I think it is the easiest decision I've ever had to make. Let's go." He said, making James cheer, Regulus let out a clap and Sirius let out a happy "Finally!" as the Malfoy Heir called the waiter to clear the money and Lyra laughed merrily.

It was only when they were exiting the restaurant did they realise that they hadn't picked up a location they could go to.

They needed to go somewhere that could keep the boys occupied for a couple of hours or at least until Lyra felt comfortable enough that her family had either resumed fighting or the intensity had decreased. She was most likely going to make all of them, including her, stay with her Godmother Dorea just to be safe, but if her formidable godmother had also decided to take the opportunity to release her inner-madness and frustrations -which also meant that Uncle Charlus would also be preoccupied with trying to make sure his wife didn't hurt anybody too badly- then she would take them to one of the nice Black estates in the countryside to spend the night telling scary stories and funny incidents while eating midnight snacks.

"So," Lucius began awkwardly. "Where do we go?" he directed the question to her, but when she shrugged, he looked to the three boys.

"A Quidditch match!" Regulus proclaimed, and his proposition was met with nods of agreement, but Lucius shook his head.

"There aren't any matches happening at the moment."

"We can play one then," James suggested. "There are four of us now, aren't they? We can have a Gryffindor versus Slytherin match and finally settle for once and for all that lions are the best."

Regulus snorted at that. "In which parallel universe or imaginary world is that in, James? Slytherin is a clear victor in everything."

"And," Lyra interjected before James or Sirius could retort, "there are five of us," she said pointedly, gesturing among them.

"Oh you don't count," James said, waving away her words. "Don't think we haven't heard you dismissing important pre-game routines-"

"-It's a pointless ritual, actually-"

"-pre-game routine," James emphasised without sparing her a glance, "as a silly superstition."

"That's because it is," Lyra said dryly.

"No it isn't!" Regulus protested, making Lucius clap his hands.

"Thank you!" He said, looking at her pointedly and prompting her to roll her eyes.

"Okay, fine. You've made your point, James." She conceded.

"You can be the referee to the match and decide fairly who the winner is," James said before flashing her a blinding smile. "Have I mentioned how much I love you recently, my beautiful, perfect god-sister who is so incredibly amazing?" James fluttered his eyelashes in an adorable way, causing an amused expression to knit itself onto her features.

"Hey! Don't do that, it's wrong," Regulus snapped at James before giving his sister a quick hug. "You know what else is wrong, my flawless sister? Making your favourite brother sad."

"-Which I will definitely be if you don't declare Gryffindor the winner," Sirius interjected, pushing Regulus away as he charmingly kissed his sister's cheek. "And you love me, don't you Ly-Ly? You'll make sure Gryffindor wins, won't you?"

"Boys, that's cheating. No emotionally manipulating the referee," Lucius t'sked in a disapproving tone before kissing Lyra on the lips and ignoring the boys' objections and comments of "gross" at his action. "Especially since Slytherin will win anyway no matter what you do. Right, Lyra?"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Okay, this has to stop. I'm not completely oblivious, you know?" She hummed, looking calculatingly at four of the most important males in her life. "Lucius and James are both brilliant chasers on their house-teams while Regulus is a seeker and Sirius plays the beater position. In a four-person game, we of course only need the positions of a chaser and keeper. So, let's split you up. James and Regulus against Lucius and Sirius."

She ignored her brothers' objections and protests, turning to Lucius. "Would your parents mind if we use the Quidditch pitch in your house?"

"No, I think they would love it, actually," Lucius replied, lips curling into a smile. "And if you really have no interest in looking over the game, we can get father to referee it. He is free today, I know, and even if he isn't, he's always been a Quidditch enthusiast. I'm confident he would make himself free, especially to see a match between a Malfoy, a Potter and the grandchildren of the legendary Irma Black."

Lyra chuckled. "Very true. I think it's best if your father referees it. I'd rather spend the evening with your mother. I always enjoy conversing with her."

"Mother would love that." Lucius smiled. "She already loves you more than me."

"Who doesn't?" Lyra grinned, prompting Lucius to roll his eyes.

"If your flirting is over," Sirius began, voice holding a tinge of disgust. "Can we go?"

Lucius cleared his throat, composing himself. "Of course. We have many extra brooms in the manor, all of the best quality, so we need not worry about that."

"That's wonderful," Lyra commented with a smile. "And Sirius, honey, that wasn't flirting. That was having a pleasant conversation. In flirting, on the other hand, Lucius and I would be-"

"-Oh! Can you dance like a hippogriff? Na na na ma ma ny na na ny na. Flyin' off from a cliff. Na na na ma ma ny na na ny na. Swooping down to the ground. Na na na ma ma ny na na ny na. Wheel around and around and around and around. Na na na ma ma ny na na," Sirius sang the lyrics of 'Do the Hippogriff' by the Weird Sister loudly, clapping his ears shut with his hands in an effort to avoid the rest of his sister's sentences on the topic. He had heard enough of that from Grandmother Malania, thank you very much.

"So," Lucius said suddenly. "My house? Let's go?"

Lyra nodded. "Am I keyed into the wards?"

"Yes," Lucius said. "Father did two years ago."

Lyra tilted her head. "But we weren't together two years ago." She reminded pointedly, making Lucius shrug.

"Mother told him to do so, and father very strictly follows the policy 'happy wife, happy life'," he replied.

Lyra's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Will you follow it as well?"

"With you, of course." Lucius smiled with tender eyes.

James cleared his throat loudly and pointedly, drawing the couple's attention to him. "Just a reminder that we exist as well."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Of course, James. It would be a sin for us to ignore you even for a second."

"A crime, actually," James corrected. "And yes, yes it would."

Lucius turned to his girlfriend. "You apparate with Sirius and Regulus while I'll go with James. The wards will let us in if they sense one of us apparating with the others," he suggested and Lyra nodded, intertwining her fingers with her brothers as James reluctantly held Lucius' hand before they apparated to the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire.

Like Lucius had predicted, Lord Malfoy had been ecstatic at the proposal of a Quidditch match, immediately discarding the pile of documents that laid on his table in favour of the game. Lady Malfoy and Lyra had exchanged an amused expression between themselves before bidding the men goodbye to do honestly anything else but watch a game of Quidditch played by its fanatics.

Lady Malfoy had been going through some of the items stored in one of the hidden lockers -this particular one storing objects from their days at Hogwarts- when they had arrived, and so asked Lyra if she could be patient for a little while until she had finished her work, something Lyra smiled and agreed to.

"-This is one of Abraxas' prized positions," Lady Malfoy explained fondly, holding up a green Quidditch Captain badge, "In fact, most of his textbooks he burnt quickly after N.E.W.Ts, but all his Quidditch supplies from during Hogwarts, he kept ever so safely."

"Why do I have a feeling Lucius will also be like that?" Lyra wondered aloud.

Lady Belladonna Malfoy snorted. "He will be, trust me." She said, tossing the badge carelessly into the locker again.

Lyra looked around the items on the table, most of them indeed being either Quidditch supplies or strategy books. But in the plethora of books, she spotted a rather odd one. Unlike the other books which were still in pristine condition, this specific one was black and leather-bound with a gold inscription at the bottom.

"T.M.Riddle," Lyra read aloud, making Belladonna snap her neck abruptly. "Whose diary is this?"

"Just an old classmate's, dear," Belladonna replied with a rather stiff smile, immediately snatching the diary from Lyra's hand and all but throwing it inside the locker before flicking her wand, causing all the objects previously spread out to fly into the locker and the door to become hidden yet again, prompting Lyra to raise an eyebrow at her action. "He's out travelling and his diary contains some rather important secrets of his, so he trusted Abraxas to keep it safe for him until he returns." She explained in a voice that pleaded that the matter be dropped.

"Okay," Lyra smiled, a mischievous glint entering her eyes. "Lady Malfoy, would it be alright if you shared a couple of stories from Lucius' childhood with me?"

"I can do you one better," Lady Malfoy smirked, "I can show you pictures as well."

Lyra always knew there was a reason she always liked Lady Belladonna Malfoy nee Avery. Two hours later, both of them were in the parlour and drinking tea as Lyra listened eagerly to Lady Malfoy's narration of Lucius' very eventful childhood days and thus, giving her enough blackmail material to last lifetimes.

"-and whenever we had mashed potatoes of any sort, Lucius always made sure to count all the lumps out loud." Belladonna mused with a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "Not because he didn't like the lumps, rather he loved them really. So much so that he refused to eat any mashed potato serving that didn't have a minimum of ten lumps."

Lyra laughed. "That's adorable!"

"Almost as adorable as his checkup at the healer's when he was four," Belladonna said, smiling softly. "See, you know how a routine checkup is mandatory when a child is two, right? Just to check the overall health and development of a child?"

At Lyra's nod, Belladonna continued, "So when we were at the healer's, this nurse wanted to check Lucius' speech and brain development, so she held up a red crayon and was like, 'Say red', but Lucius just blinked at her. The nurse tried again saying, 'Say red. Red', but Lucius still kept his mouth shut." A sparkle entered her green-grey eyes. "The nurse turned to me and told me that if Lucius didn't start speaking soon, then they were going to have to start speech therapy and that was when Lucius looked at her with the most disgusted expression I've ever seen him wear, I joke not and said, 'The crayon isn't red, it's maroon.'" She finished, prompting Lyra to laugh.

"So he's had that attitude ever since he was little?" She asked in between laughs, causing Lady Malfoy to giggle.

"Oh yes. One of the traits he gets from his father." Belladonna responded with amusement before glancing at the window, seeing it about to get dark. She stood up. "Shall we go and remind the boys that it's nearly dark? I fear they'd not stop playing otherwise."

"Let's," Lyra said, standing up and following Lady Malfoy to the large grounds behind the Malfoy Manor where her brothers and boyfriend were still engaged in a game of Quidditch.

Lord Abraxas Malfoy was calling fouls while simultaneously yelling tips and tricks for each team to follow along with a list of improvements, weaknesses and strengths.

Belladonna sighed tiredly beside her, directing a loving smile in her husband's direction. "I've always told him that if he didn't have a family business to run, he would have either been a Quidditch player or coach."

"Lord Malfoy would be brilliant in either job," Lyra observed, making Lady Malfoy nod in agreement.

"He would, wouldn't he?" Belladonna mused. "Plus, the uniform of Quidditch players have always looked dashing on him."

Lyra refrained from commenting at the dreamy tone of Lady Malfoy, who shook herself out of a daze and smiled blindingly before applying a sonorous to the tip of her wand and saying, "STOP!"

None of the men and boys had noticed their appearances, so they were quite startled at the abrupt noise with Sirius nearly falling off his broom and Lucius and James almost colliding with each other. Only Regulus maintained a sense of decorum, with Lord Malfoy having jumped.

Cancelling the charm, Lady Malfoy spoke happily, "And now that I have your attention, it's nearly dark. So all of you should go and get cleaned up for dinner."

"Just five more minutes, love," Lord Malfoy said. "It's currently a tie, we need to settle the victor."

"Abraxas..."

"You heard the lady, lads! Go and prepare yourselves for dinner!" Lord Malfoy said immediately after sensing his wife's warning tone.

James, Sirius and Regulus put up protests but were silenced by a single look from their sister which caused them to mumble half-hearted apologies as they went inside the large Manor to return the brooms and make themselves presentable for dinner. The formal robes they had been wearing for Andromeda's wedding earlier that day were stained heavily with dirt and sweat, so Lady Malfoy was quick to order some of the house elves to prepare some of Lucius' old robes for them to wear for later.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Lucius asked Lyra as he gave his broom to one of the elves a few seconds after her brothers had gone inside.

Lyra nodded. "Yes. I hope we have mashed potatoes. The lumpy kind, of course. I hear you like them a lot, Lucius."

The smile that had previously adorned Lucius' face melted away like candle wax as he snapped his neck to face his mother. "Mother! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone that!"

"Sorry, I must have gotten confused between that story and the one where you rode our peacocks thinking it was a unicorn."

"Mother!" Lucius exclaimed with horror knitted into his features and his cheeks heavily flushed. "You weren't supposed to tell that either!"

"Apologies, it slipped my mind that I wasn't supposed to tell Lyra about that," Belladonna said monotonously. "Just like it slipped my mind not to tell her that when we had taken you to one of your father's business dinner in a French restaurant when you were four, you had held the menu in your hand and said that you could order for yourself now that you could read and proceeded to tell the waitress the only thing you could read properly: white wine."

Lyra laughed while Lucius let out another aghast, "Mother!"

"Or the time when you went through an 'Egyptian phase' and decided for the next few months to fall asleep with your arms crossed over your chest so if you accidentally died in your sleep, it would be easier for your father and me to mummify you." Belladonna continued nonchalantly. "And let me not even get started on your Norse or Roman phase."

"Mother!" Lucius was wide-eyed turning to his father with a pleading expression.

Abraxas thankfully understood the silent request and expertly steadied his wife back into the Manor, but not before throwing his son a wink.

Lucius let out a relieved breath and refused to look at Lyra as he sat on the porch steps. Lyra silently sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulders and causing him to wrap an arm around her waist.

The porch of the Malfoy Manor provided them with a beautiful view of the sun dipping below the horizon.

"The sunset is beautiful tonight," Lucius stated, breaking the silence that had blanketed them.

Lyra nodded, a soft smile adorning her pretty face. "Yes, it really is"

"Do you know what the colour red reminds me of?" He asked her.

"How the blood of all the thousands of dead animals and humans after years of war and hunger eventually get soaked into the soil that will ultimately get turned into a field growing food and considering we eat the produce grown, the realisation that nobody in the world is actually a vegetarian and we are all possibly cannibals?" She guessed.

"...I was going to say the way you blush but yes that too," Lucius said, side-glancing at her when she let out a hum, eyes fixed on the golden-red shades of the sky. "There is something bothering you, isn't it?" He asked her offhandedly, but she could sense the tone of worry with which he spoke. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not now," Lyra shook her head. "I'll tell you at Hogwarts."

"Okay," Lucius said, throwing her a concerned look but dropping the topic as she wished. He wouldn't push her if she didn't want him too. So, the two of them just stayed there, sitting on the porch steps and watching as the sun sunk below the horizon, giving them both the much-needed reminder that endings could indeed be beautiful.

After a wonderful dinner with Lucius' parents, Lyra hugged Lady Malfoy and bade Lord Malfoy and her darling boyfriend goodbye, using the floo along with her brothers to the Potter's first. Uncle Charlus greeted them first, having sensed the wards shifting at their presence and told them about how her godmother Dorea was asleep already due to the long day. He put James, Regulus and Sirius to bed before narrating to Lyra a summary of what all she had missed before asking her to go to sleep as well.

Lyra simply kissed her Uncle on the cheek before telling him that there was something she needed to do. Her Uncle Charlus nodded in understanding and gave her a soft smile wishing her the best of luck.

With another bout of floo powder, Lyra appeared inside the Planetarium, walking along the dark and empty corridors with a particular destination in mind.

Lyra knew her limits. She needed advice. So, taking a deep breath, she knocked on the large wooden door of the Lord's Study, which opened widely a second later.

Grandfather Arcturus and father were seated on one of the sofas, discussing something. They smiled in her direction.

"Lyra," her father greeted first, getting up to hug his daughter.

Lyra returned her father's smile. "Hello father," she said, accepting his embrace. "How is everybody?"

"Sedated and threatened," her father answered honestly. "Don't worry about it, okay? How was your day with Lucius and the boys?"

"Lovely," Lyra replied with a smile. "They played Quidditch and we had dinner with the Malfoy's."

"That sounds nice." Her father smiled before immediately looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

Lyra took a breath, seating herself in front of her grandfather and father. "I need help."

"Whose body should we hide?" Grandfather Arcturus asked immediately, making Lyra let out a weak chuckle.

"No, not that kind of help. Not yet, anyway." She informed him, exhaling a breath. "I need advice. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to move on the chessboard."

Her grandfather and father shared a glance before Orion nodded slowly, giving her a supportive smile. "Okay, darling. We are here for you. Why don't you tell us what happened?"

"I don't know where to start."

"From anywhere you are comfortable with," Grandfather Arcturus said softly, "But in my years of experience, I've always found that from the beginning has always worked best."

She flashed them a half-smile, nodding as she took and released another deep breath. "I think it started in my fifth year when I was told about the new Dark Lord..."

Lyra smiled, placing her hands on the stack of papers in front of her which were filled with roles, duties, patrol assignment and other things concerning being a prefect.

It felt surreal to think that she was in her last year of Hogwarts. Time had flown by too fast and it was weird to think that next year, she wouldn't have to catch the Hogwarts Express anymore. She wouldn't be able to have breakfast in the Great Hall or stargaze in the Astronomy tower after being plagued by nightmares and dark thoughts. She wouldn't be able to help Lucius in his pre-game stupid, superstitious beliefs and she wouldn't be the Queen of Slytherin anymore.

This would be the last year of her rule, she realised as she removed and put-back the diamond Silver Ruler ring on her right-hand ring finger, remembering that this would be the last academic year that she would be able to wear it. It would truly be the end of an era.

The second she finished graduation, she wouldn't have the protection of Hogwarts any longer. She couldn't hide behind it nor could she use it as an excuse to run away from her problems.

This time next year, she would perhaps be apprenticing as a healer and standing on the platform to hug her darling brothers goodbye. She wouldn't be able to protect them while they were at Hogwarts anymore.

Lucius squeezed her hand in support, having a sixth sense for the minute movements of anxiety that she would show. Lyra side-glanced at him, smiling faintly.

The Head-Boy badge gleamed proudly on his chest beside his Slytherin Quidditch Captain badge, both reflecting the light of the prefect compartment in the train.

Lyra greeted the prefects with a nod as they entered and gave them a moment to catch up with each other and settle down before pointedly clearing her throat, successfully capturing all of their attention.

Theodore Nott met her eyes and gave her a wink, having become a prefect that year along with Katherine Falwey mainly due to lack of better candidates.

"Merry meet everybody," she began, her voice ringing clearly across the small compartment. "I am Lyra Black, and I will be your Head Girl this academic year."

"And I am Lucius Malfoy, your Head Boy." Lucius drew in a lazy tone, despite Lyra knowing that he had been the most excited upon receiving the position even though it was obvious he would be selected.

"Let us go around and introduce ourselves before we begin, shall we?" Lyra suggested with a smile, and so the last prefect meeting that she would ever attend began.

The introduction ceremony of the first years was nostalgic with the enlightenment that she would never be able to do this again. The teachers were being merciless with respect to the number of essays assigned and tests conducted to them and every class started with a mini-speech regarding the importance of scoring well on their Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, fondly known as N.E.W.Ts.

It was tragic that although it was her last year at Hogwarts, it was also the year that she had practically no time to spend with her cousins, brothers or friends. This was the reward that she reaped for growing the ambition to be a healer and thus, opt for many classes in her seventh year.

The time she spent out of class was unevenly divided between her duties as the Silver Ruler and volunteering at the Hospital Wing under Madam Pomfrey to get some hands-on experience before she began apprenticing under more experienced and qualified healers of various fields and specialities after graduating Hogwarts.

Lyra personally wasn't too worried about N.E.W.T.S, at least not as much as she was worried about the T.O.A.Ds.

The Terrifyingly Obtuse Assessment of Distinction was a renowned and famously difficult exam one would have to take to become a 'Master' or 'Madam' of their chosen field.

Madame Pomfrey had passed her T.O.A.Ds in Healing to have gained the title before her name, which was another reason why Lyra had been keen to ask the matron the previous year for special permission to shadow her in the Infirmary Wing of the school, in hopes of learning how the healing examination would be conducted.

Many of the Blacks' had completed their T.O.A.Ds in a field of their choice. Her godmother in Potions, her Aunt Cassiopeia in Wards, her father in History, her mother in Arithmancy, her grandfather Arcturus in Care of Magical Creatures, her grandmother Irma in Herbology, her late aunt Lycoris is Runes, her late great-grandfather Sirius in Transfigurations, etc. So many Blacks before her had been distinguished with the prefix of either 'Master' or 'Madam' before their name, but none of them had done so in Healing. She would be the first.

And Lyra loved being first.

As Quidditch season drew closer, the number of hospital beds occupied increased. Lyra lost count of how many times she had seen Lucius, James, Regulus (who became a seeker that year) or even members of the Slytherin Quidditch team in the hospital wing as she tended to their injuries. It was a win-win situation here. Those injured recovered, Lyra gained experience and Madam Pomfrey had the helping hand that she had desperately needed.

Her time spent volunteering at the hospital wing also made her realise the sheer volume of students who had ended up on the beds for either saying a spell and making a potion incorrectly or because they were the victims of a rather cruel practical joke.

Lyra knew that students hexed, jinxed or cursed each other for silly matters (Morgana, she did so many herself), but she did not appreciate it at all when it happened to one of those she loved, especially considering the incident that took place in her fifth year that led to Sirius being shipped to a hospital simply because he apologised to a classmate.

So when on her way to (finally) spend time with her boyfriend as he had arranged for a picnic especially for them near the lake outside Hogwarts which was named after her family, she saw an auburn-haired girl with eyes that shone like emeralds shout, "I will never go out with you, Potter! You are nothing but a bloody arrogant toe-rag!" before directing what looked to be a bat-bogey curse at him, of course, Lyra would interfere, quickly dissolving the curse with an elegant flick of her wand, and prompting the crowd that had gathered around the two to look at the newcomer- a cold-eyed Slytherin Head Girl.

Lyra's eyes looked like glaziers beneath a thunderstorm as she gazed at the scene before her.

"Five points from Gryffindor for use of bad language and detention with Mr. Argus Filch tonight for attempting to curse another student on school grounds." She said cooly.

The red-haired girl froze while a blonde girl that Lyra recognised as Marlene McKinnon, opened her mouth to object. "But-"

"-And," Lyra continued, her voice overlapping the third year's, "Five points shall be taken from every single person present here except the victim of the attempted magical assault, regardless of their house, for standing like statues rather than actually doing something to stop said magical assault from happening." She said in her artic tone as her mind brought to images of Lucius telling her how when Sirius had been lying unconscious in his own pool of blood, none bar James had been trying to help him, rather preferring to just stand there still and watch it play out.

The crowd of ten to fifteen students began voicing out protests -except two Slytherins who had been unfortunate enough to be found on the scene, keeping quiet because they knew that the Queen's word was metaphorical law- but Lyra held up her palm, immediately making them stop. "Anybody who has a problem with my statements is free to inform me about it in detention today which you will be assigned if you don't keep quiet."

The threat worked like a silencing charm with the students shutting their mouth tightly before angrily clearing out, only leaving Lyra, Sirius, James, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, the red-haired girl and one very reluctant Marlene McKinnon still rooted on the spot.

Sirius scowled. "Why did you take points from us?" he asked. "We didn't do anything!"

"Exactly," Lyra said, "James was about to get hurt and none of you did anything. What if it had been fatal, Sirius? What then?"

Sirius stayed quiet.

Lyra sighed, crouching down at his eye level with a smile before embracing him, making Sirius blush in embarrassment. "I know you think that I'm the worst for taking those points, but I'm sorry sweetie, I had a reason. You need to be careful. Both of you," she said, looking pointedly at James whose face was flushed from Lyra's statement. "I really don't want a repeat of two years ago."

"But that was two years ago, Ly-Ly," Sirius said pointedly as she released him, giving her a reassuring smile. "I get that you're worried, but it won't ever happen again so don't worry."

"It's a sister's job to worry, Siri."

"Lyra," James called out softly. "Don't worry. You overreacted just a teensy bit. Nothing that dramatic would happen to us. Really."

"But I don't want anything to happen to you both," Lyra said, making James flush more as he shrugged.

"At least we'll be able to visit you in the hospital wing more often then," He commented cheekily.

"Please don't," Lyra said, giving them a half-smile.

Sirius chuckled. "Okay, we won't. But you need to stop taking so many points from all of us so early in the school year. I think you successfully became as scary as Minnie dearest in today only."

"Well, I do strive to be like Professor McGonagall," Lyra mused thoughtfully, making James shiver theatrically.

"Don't. One Minnie is more than enough for me, please. She's as scary as Grandmother Malania is when someone stains her carpets. And that's on a good day!"

Lyra, James and Sirius unanimously winced at the memory of that incident-that-shall-never-be-elaborated.

Grandmother Malania could have easily become a great Dark Lady, and the world should be extremely grateful that she chose to duel as her career path instead.

Remus Lupin cleared his throat, snapping them all from the evocation as he flushed under the sudden attention he received from his best mates and the beautifully scary Head Girl.

"I apologise for interrupting, but we have to do the... thing."

Lyra tilted her head in curiosity as James and Sirius' eyes widened with realisation. "What thing?" She asked them, prompting the four boys to smile innocently.

"Nothing," Remus replied.

"Anything," Peter squeaked.

"Something," James answered enigmatically with a grin.

"Everything!" Sirius proclaimed dramatically.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "So... A prank." She stated.

"Yes," James confirmed with a nod.

"Are you going to stop us?" Sirius asked cheekily.

A faint smirk adorned Lyra's face. "Don't get caught."

"Of course we won't!" Sirius said, placing a hand on his heart as if he were offended by her words.

"Yes, we have many tricks to cloak ourselves from the eyes of outsiders," James winked, making Lyra laugh.

"Okay, I won't keep you from nothing, anything, something and everything for a second longer. Go on and good luck!"

"Thanks!" The boys chorused with identical mischievous glints sparkling in their eyes as they ran into the corridor, prompting Lyra to shake her head fondly.

"Um... Miss Head Girl?"

The voice reminded Lyra about the other two who had stayed around, bringing her to turn. The smile on her face settled itself into a look of indifference.

"It's Heiress Head Girl, actually," Lyra corrected to get a rise from the red-head, who boldly glared at her.

"Heiress Head Girl," the red-head began with a hint of mockery, bringing Marlene to wince and Lyra to raise an eyebrow. "Why did you take away points from me and assign me a detention when you just allowed those boys to not only get away but also turned a blind eye to their pranks?!"

"Well, I did not hear them call another student a 'bloody arrogant toe-rag'," Lyra quoted the girl from memory. "Nor did I see them firing a curse at another student now did I?"

The girl flushed. "That was a joke."

"Was it now?" Lyra asked, tilting her head. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind accompanying me to your Head of House's office and explaining which spell precisely you were about to use as a 'joke' on another student?"

Marlene shook her head sadly, placing a hand on the emerald-eyed girl's shoulder. "I'll catch up with Dorcas and the others. See you later, Lily." She said, making the girl look at her with a betrayed expression before slowly nodding. Marlene waved goodbye to Lily and nodded her head to Lyra before taking her leave.

"So?" Lyra prompted the red-haired girl who she now knew to be 'Lily'. "Would you?"

Lily bit her lip, her apple cheeks looking to be as red as the fruit and perfectly matching her hair and tie. "You don't know what they did to me."

"I don't," Lyra agreed. "Nor did I see it. The scene I walked into saw you firing a curse at a student and badmouthing him, so I reacted solely based on what I observed."

"You're being biased to Potter and Black because they are your brothers." Lily accused angrily.

"So what if I am?" Lyra asked, making Lily shocked at her bluntness.

"You can't do that! As Head Girl, you are meant to be fair and impartial."

"But as a sister, I am supposed to look out for my brothers first and foremost, aren't I?" Lyra countered. "Besides, while I do admit to being soft on my brothers, it doesn't just extend to them. I've excused Marlene so many times when I saw her breaking the rules. I'm sure she told you about that, why didn't you complain then? Why only now when the treatment is against you?"

Lily flushed once again. "I was-"

"And while I am biased most times, this isn't one of those." Lyra continued unpausing, not caring to listen to any of the girl's complaints. "I did indeed see you about to curse him which according to instructions by the Headmaster, we are supposed to assign detention to and verbal abuse leads to a point deduction of five points, a rule formed by your Head of House if I remember correctly." She said. "Not to mention, after the incident two years ago, all prefects were given strict rules to prevent any such purposeful accident from happening ever again and since I took points away from those standing idly this time, they would react if a similar situation were to ever happen again, wouldn't they?" She retorted.

Lily fell silent.

"What did James say anyway, to make you react like that?" Lyra asked with a tilt of her head.

This time, Lily answered and Lyra actually listened. "He's always been pestering me to go out with him, and it only got worse this year because of Hogsmeade trips and-"

"-One second, let me see if I am following this correctly," Lyra interrupted. "So a boy says that he loves you... and you curse him. Wow, and here I thought I was brutal at rejections and an expert at over-reacting."

Whenever anybody had confessed their love to Lyra, her immediate reaction in most situations would be to laugh until they felt humiliation or just stare at them with a raised eyebrow as if silently asking "So?" until they left.

Her most drastic rejection had been with Otis Selwyn actually, where she had burnt the love letter he had given her without even reading it in his presence and had blown the ashes on his face.

But even Lyra had never hexed or cursed a person simply because they had said that they liked her.

Anger knitted itself into Lily's pretty features. "You don't understand! He kept annoying all my friends and disturbing me during classes! He-"

"-Then the proper way to deal with this would have been informing a teacher," Lyra cut-in sharply. "Not attempting to curse my godbrother because he has an unfortunate crush on you."

Lily glared at her angrily. "Don't you think I've tried?! Yes, the teachers take some points off but that's only a loss to Gryffindor! It does not stop Potter at all-"

"Heir Potter,"

"... Excuse me?"

"It's Heir Potter," Lyra repeated with boredom intertwined into her beautiful features. "You aren't related to him or close friends. So, you are supposed to call him Heir Potter, not 'Potter' and certainly not 'bloody arrogant toe-rag'. Morgana! And they had the guts to say that Wizard Studies weren't even needed!" She fumed.

"...Does that matter right now?!"

"Manners always matter," Lyra stated, a glint in her eyes. "You know, about two hundred years ago, you would be scheduled for a public beheading because of your major slip."

Lily's face curled in disgust. "This world is so backwards and partial."

Lyra looked at her sharply. "Partial it may be, but it isn't backwards. It's different, just like it is supposed to be and if you have so much of a problem with it, leave." She said coldly. "Do not expect it to change just to accommodate you and your useless beliefs. Everything has a reason and until you know that reason, you have absolutely no right to speak ill of it." Lyra told her. "I happen to be very petty, and I'm certainly fine with taking away more points and assigning you more detentions if you continue speaking so vulgarly. I mean it. You should be grateful that I haven't already."

"So kind you are," Lily said sarcastically as she glared crucio's at the Head Girl.

"Never," Lyra said, truly meaning her answer. "Now go."

"No," Lily said stubbornly. "You didn't listen to my side of the story! You don't know how much Potter-"

"-Heir Potter-"

"-and his stupid friends keep irritating me!" Lily yelled. "You're taking their side of the story without even hearing mine out! You may have been a Slytherin prefect before but now, you are the Head Girl of the whole school and you can't just- Wait, what are you doing?" Lily blinked, watching as Lyra lazily flicked her wand in a circular motion.

"Casting a tempus," Lyra replied in an obvious tone, mentally wincing when the golden digits appeared in front of her. Lucius was going to bore her with yet another lecture on punctuality now. "It's this very simple spell that allows you to know the current time at any given moment or place."

"I know what a tempus is!"

"Congratulations, then."

"Why are you casting it while I am speaking?" Lily asked furiously, ignoring her comment.

Lyra's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought it was obvious. I wanted to know what time it was."

Lily's face turned the colour of her hair as she opened her mouth to most presumably scold Lyra, but the Head Girl was late to her picnic date and had lost her patience, so she interjected first.

"Listen little lion, if you have a problem with me and the disciplinary action I handed out to you, then, by all means, feel free to complain to your Head of House. Go ahead and tell her that what I did was completely unfair and that you didn't call your classmate a 'bloody arrogant toe-rag' and were not about to throw a curse at him. Don't try to convince me to change my actions or see the injustice in them, because I won't and I frankly, don't care." Lyra told Lily blatantly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to." She said, turning on her heel to the picnic spot that Lucius had picked out, confident that the first twenty minutes of the event would be spent listening to him rant about tardiness, thanks to the annoying red-head.