Chapter 29
MALANIA MACMILLAN CONSIDERED HERSELF TO BE A PLANNER. Whether it be back at Hogwarts for doing homework or even while she was competing in duelling tournaments around the world. Malania was a plotter, creating strategies for handling galas and life in general to simple things like playing a game of chess and buying presents for her grandchildren.
In fact, the first thing Malania did in the morning -after kissing her husband awake, of course- was to design a schedule either in her mind or on parchment to map out what the rest of her day was going to look like, allocating time slots for different events and prepare outlines for all the tasks she was due to do that day.
With that being said, Malania wondered how exactly she greatly she miscalculated the amount of time it would take to get all her children, grandchildren and in-laws together in the same room while taking caution that they don't either hit each other with knives or spill blood on her precious carpets; she had just had them replaced, after all.
It was Portrait Painting Day, or as James preferred to call it, "The Day We All Stand Still". Her darling Sirius, on the other hand, favoured the title "Day of Absolute Boredom" while sweet Regulus opted for naming it "Day of Dread".
Lucretia, Ignatius, Fabian and Gideon would cringe, grimace, scowl and wince respectively, the expressions on their faces speaking much louder than words while whenever Malania had asked Archie, Orion or Lyra if they looked forward to the day, all she would receive in return was an awkward laugh before the three made some sort of excuse that would get them out of the conversation.
Similarly, Charlus, Pollux and Alphard would fall into a mysterious illness whose symptoms would coincidentally make themselves visible the night before the Portrait Painting Day -not that their silly excuses ever dithered Malania from dragging them to the occasion- while Cygnus, Andromeda and Molly would simply sigh tiredly as the day arrived as if they were prisoners of Azkaban being sent to receive the kiss of a dementor.
Walburga and Bellatrix were two sides of the same coin when it came to their feelings regarding the day, both women loathing and detesting it with every cell in their body. Perhaps the only ones who remotely enjoyed the day were Narcissa and Druella, both of whom adored having their portraits painted for the first twenty minutes before they complained over how unnecessarily long it was taking for the remaining two hours and forty minutes.
Malania couldn't help but feel a little down as she recollected all of their reactions and think that her family, even though she loved every one of them dearly, were ungrateful to the great volume of time, energy and thought she put into actually making that day as perfect as it could be.
Every five years, Malania organised a day to have a family portrait painted. She had been doing this fun little tradition ever since she had been pregnant with Lucretia, having had the epiphany that the majority of portraits in the House of Black was singles or in the rare case, of a couple, but no family.
So, Malania would send daily reminders to all the members of her immediate family from three months prior itself, if only so they couldn't say that they already had plans, and would hire the best painter to paint their portraits and infuse it with magic so whenever she felt nostalgic, all she had to do was look at one of the portraits and be overcome with memories of how they all had been a few years ago, as magic would not only capture their image but also their behaviour.
It wasn't like she was fond of the portrait painting part either, especially considering they would all have to be as still as a statue for the most part before they were allowed to move during the last thirty minutes for the painter to encapsulate their behaviour; but Malania didn't show attitude towards it unlike her family, now did she?
None of them understood the importance of a moment until it had become a memory.
Malania forced herself to snap out of her inner monologue when she noticed the state of Sirius' clothes. Normally, Malania considered herself to be supportive of her family. However, today simply wasn't one of those days.
"Sirius!" She gasped out, horrified. "What happened to your clothes?!"
Sirius awkwardly laughed, eyes firmly averted from her face, much like Archie did whenever he didn't want to answer a question she had asked. "It's a funny story, Grandma."
"I'm sure I'd find it hilarious, darling," Malania sighed. "But the painter is due to arrive in five minutes, so right now, I'm more exasperated than anything."
"In my defence, it was all Regulus' fault!" Sirius quickly pointed a finger at his younger brother, who had previously been trying to quietly walk up the stairs without being noticed, only to be caught startled at the sudden attention from his grandmother due to the accusation of his brother.
Malania let out a visible grimace, noting all the colourful stains on Regulus' clothes, identical to the ones adorning Sirius' expensive robes. "Regulus... really? Now?"
Regulus smiled weakly, giving her a small wave. "Hello, grandmother. You look absolutely phenomenal this evening- like beauty personified, really. So gorgeous that Aphrodite herself would blush with envy. Grandpa Archie is a very lucky man."
"I am perfectly aware of that, darling, and I honestly wish I could comment positively on you and your brother's current outfits as well but I don't have the energy to make up a lie right now," Malania eyed the taints on their formerly white robes with tired eyes.
"It was Sirius' fault!" Regulus immediately exclaimed, pointing a finger at Sirius who spluttered, glaring heatedly at his younger brother.
"Me?! For the first time, I am innocent in this. You started this!"
"But you finished it." Regulus countered hotly.
"Well, excuse me for defending myself against your assault of stainable food items!"
"I wouldn't have had to throw those food items at you if you'd stop making fun of Kreacher when I told you to!"
"Yeah, well, you're a-"
"-Boys," Malania's soft tone successfully commanded the attention of both the brothers, sheepish expressions decorating their features as their grandmother directed an exhausted look to each of them. "I don't care who started this. I don't care who finished this. I don't even care why this happened in the first place or what you both did. All I care is that you all look prim and proper when the painter arrives in three minutes and counting. Can I take it that you understood my words?" She asked pointedly, bringing Sirius and Regulus to frantically nod before running up the stairs to get changed. "And don't run up the stairs! You might fall and get blood on my carpets!"
Regulus and Sirius let out choruses of, "Okay, grandmother!", "Sorry, grandma Mal!" at her remark, slowing down their footsteps as they climbed the stairs.
Malania suppressed a fond smile at their behaviour, hoping they would never change and stay the same forever.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see the fireplace burst into flames before calming down, revealing a flustered looking Dorea accompanied by a grinning Charlus and a bouncing James.
"Hello, Malania. Are we late?" Dorea asked as they stepped out of the fireplace.
Malania shook her head. "No, but I wouldn't call your arrival early either," she stated dryly, prompting Dorea to flush harder and mumble an apology under her breath.
"Mum was asleep," James helpfully chimed in, smirking. "She woke up five minutes ago. Dad and I were ready though."
Malania laughed heartily, ruffling James' messy hair even more. "Were you now? Great job, James, I'm proud of you. As for your mother...," Dorea, who had been glaring at James for spilling that particular detail, gave a small smile at Malania who shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, considering she has to put up with you and your father's mischievous selves, that nap was very well deserved, wouldn't you agree?" Malania questioned James who nodded seriously while his parents grinned. Malania clapped her hands together.
"Anyway, Charlus, could you please call everybody downstairs, it's almost time and Dorea, do remind Druella that we cannot postpone the portrait painting solely for her personal vanity and that she should have begun on her makeup routine sooner." She ordered the couple who nodded their heads in acknowledgement, exchanging a kiss -much to the disgust of James- before separating to complete their respective tasks.
Malania met James' eyes. "Motivate Sirius and Regulus to get ready faster, please?"
James smiled widely, bowing theatrically. "I would be most honoured to, grandma Mal. I know just the techniques to use."
And if Malania wasn't so worried about time, she would have excitedly asked James to elaborate on the mischievous undertone his voice carried. But now, she simply smiled as he ran up the stairs, shouting behind him to walk slower and not trip.
Malania turned around, only to nearly jump when she faced her granddaughter. "Lyra!" She exhaled, horrified.
Just once.
Just once she would like it if she didn't have to worry about the state of her grandchildren. She had assumed that she wouldn't have to be concerned with Lyra but apparently, Lady Hecate detested her.
"Darling," Malania began slowly upon spotting Lyra's smiling face, warily eyeing at the numerous variety of snakes that were wrapped around her granddaughter's body. "Do you realise that your accessories are moving? And alive?"
"The thought did cross my mind, yes," Lyra admitted, the smile on her face unfettered by her grandmother's comment. "But aren't they lovely, grandmother? They match my outfit."
"That's not the point, sweetheart," Malania said. "You shouldn't... You can't wear snakes while having our family portrait painted."
"But they are part of our family as well!" Lyra protested, a pout tugging the corners of her lips as all the snakes unanimously raised their head as if knowing that they were being spoken about. "I mean, look at its little face!"
"Which one?" Malania quizzed dryly. "There are about thirty of them on you at the moment."
"Only sixteen, grandmother, I left the particularly large ones and extremely tiny ones back in the pen."
"What a sacrifice you made, darling."
"I'm aware, grandmother, thank you. It's nice to have my efforts recognised."
"Lyra..." Malania felt a migrating descending. "Two. You get two snakes, no more but thoroughly encouraged to have less."
"Grandmother!" Lyra's tone was aghast. "You can't possibly expect me to choose among my babies. These are your great-grandchildren. You can't ask me to play favourites! I won't do it."
"I will tell Lucius about the techniques we used to stop you from bed-wetting when you were little with extreme detail." Malania threatened.
Lyra's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"I also have pictures and a pensive," Malania added casually, her blue eyes penetrating her granddaughter's face.
The threat worked like a charm and Lyra's face instantly morphed into a serene one. "But then again, everybody in our family plays favourites, so why shouldn't I?"
Lyra smiled sweetly before hissing at the snakes who hissed back, all of them lost in their own world for a while before all but two snakes -Malania recognised them as Phoebus and the runespoor Lucius had gifted Lyra on her birthday- reluctantly unwrapped themselves from Lyra and slithered out the room, scaring Fabian who had been walking in and making him leap into the arms of his brother for protection.
Gideon rolled his eyes and dropped Fabian on the ground, prompting the origins of yet another fight to begin between the two and bringing Malania to immediately walk over to intervene. She already had a set of brothers who had a food fight that day, she would rather avoid having another one, thank you very much.
James' idea of motivating Sirius and Regulus to change their outfits faster had been to prank them. Bellatrix and Andromeda had been engaged in a min-duel with Rudolphous cheering his wife on in the sidelines. Orion had nearly hit Druella with a knife when she criticised the colour of his robes.
Since when did wearing royal blue meant that he supported Ravenclaw better than Slytherin? No, Orion wore it because it brought out the stormy grey colour of his eyes. For a person who ran a fashion magazine like Witch Weekly, Druella was rather dull in her tastes in Orion's most humble opinion.
Walburga had to be physically restrained by her father from endangering yet another poor piano when Alphard taunted her. Fabian and Gideon were rooting her on, prompting their older sister to lecture them on how that wasn't appropriate. Arcturus had taken the time to catch up with Lucretia. Charlus and Ignatius were laughing at something in a corner, unbothered by everybody else.
Cygnus was informing a bored Narcissa on why he still didn't approve of Leonard, even though the boy was smitten with his daughter and if they were to get married, she would become Lady Rowle. Irma, Cassiopeia and Dorea were sipping elvish wine calmly. Arthur was excitedly speaking with a rattled Ted Tonks while Lyra was angrily hissing at her runespoor who were apparently, arguing once again.
By the time Malania had gotten them to settle and pose, nearly an hour had passed and the poor painter looked as if he were about to faint at any moment. She had to remember to pay him extra.
Finally, three excruciatingly painful hours later filled with "Can we move now?"'s, "My legs are hurting from standing"'s, "Lyra, control you're snakes! They are scaring the painter again"'s, "Sirius, James, don't make that face! Fabian, Gideon, you both are supposed to be role models. Oh, Regulus, don't start as well!"'s and of course, Malania's personal favourite, "Bellatrix, you can kill your sister after the painting session is done- but nowhere near my carpets and not using Irma's cutlery. Also, don't glare Ted. If he faints, it'll disrupt the painting procedure."
When the painter had announced that they were free to go, it was Malania who had shouted a "Thank Merlin" before wordlessly walking into the kitchen and a few seconds later, walking out with a half-drunk firewhiskey bottle and heading up the stairs to her room at the Planetarium.
Irma had soon after asked if they were up for a not-so-friendly match of Quidditch since the whole family was present and the occupants were quick to agree and begin the hard process of sorting out teams before they made their way to the Quidditch Pitch at the Planetarium.
It was Molly who noticed Lyra lagging behind.
"Lyra?" She called out softly, making her cousin turn to face her. "Are you coming along?"
"In a minute, Molly," Lyra smiled. "You go ahead without me. I'll be right behind."
Molly hesitated, not wanting to leave her cousin alone when everybody else were already out the door but when Lyra repeated her words, she reluctantly nodded. "Okay. Come soon, alright?"
"Of course," Lyra replied.
She watched as Molly mirrored her smile before following her family before Lyra turned around and walked along the hallways of the Planetarium, stopping where the large portrait painted of them from five years ago was hung up, feeling nostalgia descended upon her as her eyes roamed over the very realistic depiction of them.
It was tragic, Lyra decided, how looking at old pictures made her happy yet sad simultaneously because everything had changed and nothing could go back to how it used to be, only five years ago.
A foreign, frigid feeling crept up Lyra's veins as she wondered whether, in another five years, she would perhaps look into the current times as happier ones in a future that was impossibly bleak.
In five years, her together family had already divided and extended. Bellatrix, Molly and Andromeda had gotten married yet Andromeda was not considered family by half of the Blacks. In five years, Bellatrix and Molly had become Lestrange and Weasley respectively and Lyra had become engaged. In five years, Bellatrix was ready to fight wars while Lyra was eager to run from them. In five years, a new Dark Lord had emerged and tensions were rising high in Britain as whispers of him grew stronger. In five years, emotions such as fear predominately existed in Lyra and she wanted it all to stop because she knew that in the next five years, it would only worsen.
The seventh year Slytherins sat together on a table at a corner of the library at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As each spring day passed, their stress grew with their N.E.W.Ts coming closer. In the present graduating batch, ambitions were large and subsequently, so was their workload.
During the inauguration ceremony of the Slytherins, the King and Queen were always clear that they had to do well in their studies. Even a student who wasn't particularly academically gifted had to work hard, take tutoring sessions and basically, do whatever they had to so they could succeed. There was no way that one person was going to be the reason the entire House of Slytherin earned a bad name.
On their path to greatness, to achieve victory, Slytherins were known to go through any means to emerge strong whether it be fair or unfair. However, they loathed laziness. So if anybody expected that being in Slytherin would allow them to lead a lovely life while doing nothing, they were in for quite the shock.
Study groups were formed within the first two days of school and by the end of the week, every snake was taught whatever they were scheduled to learn for that whole month by their remorseless seniors with the intention that the students could answer all the questions and perform all the spells correctly at their first go in class so they could gain plenty of points for Slytherin and more importantly, not embarrass themselves in front of the other houses.
Those study groups would be carried on until they graduated so those who were fortunate enough to have been selected to study with Lyra Black thanked all their stars that they were.
Lyra was by no means a patient teacher. If somebody didn't understand a concept, she would explain it to them once and ask them to repeat. If they weren't able to recite a perfect reflection of her words, she would make them write it down ten times and if they refused, would casually inform them about the lovely spells created by her slightly insane family. They would go quiet and do whatever she asked after that.
She was also not a kind teacher in any definition. She loaded them with more practice tests and assignments than their actual professors and fixed them under a glare powerful enough to make Medusa cower if they answered any questions incorrectly.
In fact, the five students studying with Lyra liked to joke that the only reason they did so well in their exams was to not face Lyra's wrath. Whatever their motivation may have been, the result was the same: they were part of the top twenty in their year and their marks were always outstanding.
"Dennis," Lyra suddenly called out, prompting the boy who had previously been reading to snap his neck to meet her face. "What are the ingredients needed to make a polyjuice potion? Also, give a detailed explanation of why each of them is used and the method with which it is created."
Dennis blinked, his mind going blank upon being put under the spotlight while the rest of the members of the study group gave him sympathetic looks, having had first-hand experience at the mortifying feeling of being directed a flat stare by Lyra.
"Um... Well..."
"Sometime today, Dennis."
"Hold on, I know the answer. I just need a moment to think." Dennis said.
"Moment's up. Tell me now."
"Um..."
"Use your words." Lyra encouraged.
"Leeches!" Dennis blurted out, racking his brain. "And um -wait, I know this. I read it just this morning- and... Leeches and knotgrass and... And... um, fluxweed and leeching flies, bicorn horn and boomslang skin."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "Yes, those are the primary ingredients used to make the potion. However, your answer could be more eloquently framed."
Dennis breathed out a visible sigh of relief.
"Why are you happy?" Lyra questioned, tilting her head. "You've only answered one thing I asked. Reply to the other two."
Dennis' face paled by a shade, spluttering incoherently at Lyra's expectant look as he struggled to answer.
"Um.. well, the polyjuice potion's ingredients... the leeches are used for... consistency, I think?"
"And I think that you haven't studied at all," Lyra t'sked disapprovingly. "Leeches are used to both, soften the boomslang skin and help smoothly mix the powdered bacon horn and the fluxweed. Everybody knows that, Dennis. I'm sure even Regulus could answer such an easy question."
"Well, Regulus is bloody perfect then, isn't he?" Dennis muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Dennis replied instantly, making Lyra narrow her eyes. "Just saying how leeches remind me of lychees and lemons which taste as lovely and as sweet as your personality."
"Lychees are tart and lemons are bitter."
"Are they? I didn't realise." Dennis fluttered his eyelashes innocently, prompting Lyra to roll her eyes fondly.
"Anyway," she began. "Since you are so fond of tasting and leeches, why don't I transfigure your tongue into a leech? That sounds lovelier, doesn't it?"
Dennis smiled. "No thank you, my Queen. I prefer my tongue just the way it is."
"Pity that you do." Lyra sighed theatrically with twinkling eyes. "Coming back to the original matter of the subject, you still haven't answered my questions."
Dennis weakly grinned. "You aren't easily distracted, are you Lyra?"
"No but I am quick to anger," Lyra smiled. "So, what's it going to be, Dennis? The intactness of your tongue or a simple answer to an easy question?"
"Tongue."
"Come again?"
"I said, 'We are so young'," Dennis proclaimed. "We need to have fun while we can."
Lyra levied him with a flat stare.
"Uh, I mean, study. We are so young so we should study while we still can." Dennis said, amending his statement, watching cautiously as the glitter of amusement in Lyra's eyes brightened. "Yes, we need to study. Study, study, study. We need to study while we still carry our good-looks and fix our eyes to books while we can still see clearly. Studying is amazing. I don't know why people complain all the time because studying is-"
"Dennis?"
"-Yes?"
"Stop talking."
"Okay."
"You still haven't answered my questions." Lyra reminded, only for Dennis to blink his eyes innocently, putting a finger on his lips as if reminding her that, 'You just told me to stop talking.' Rolling her eyes, Lyra called out. "Dennis?"
Dennis raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement of his name.
"You can talk again but only to answer the questions I had asked you."
Dennis simply smiled at her, as if trying to convey that he would rather not speak at all than answer her horridly hard questions.
Sighing exasperatedly, Lyra opted for a different tactic. "Dennis?"
Dennis waved his hand at her lightly.
"If you don't answer my questions then I am going to castrate you right here and right now," Lyra announced in a humourless tone, her threat successfully causing Dennis' eyes to bulge out as the others on the table tried and failed to stifle their soft snickers.
"So," Dennis started immediately, a frantic tone underlying his voice. "The knotgrass is added to thicken the consistency and the um, bicorn horn is added for, um,"
Sometimes, Dennis was truly under the impression that his mind constantly rallied against him, determined to see him either fail or be in pain for it yet again went blank.
Lyra lifted a perfect eyebrow. "Um, what?" she prompted.
"Um... Um..."
Lyra opened her mouth to comment but was distracted when an origami bird flew towards her, landing on the bridge of her nose, prompting her to frown even as her eyes shone. She gently plucked it from her nose and observed the paper bird with a faint smile before noticing what seemed to be a message written on its wings.
Look behind you.
Lyra turned around, her grin widening as she spotted Sirius, James, Regulus, Remus and a pudgy boy waving at her with identical beams. Giggling, she returned their wave, bringing their faces to brighten before proceeding to rise from her seat.
"You're safe this time, Dennis," Lyra told her little brother's godbrother who bore a relieved expression on his handsome face at her words, looking at the three boys with pure, unfiltered awe visible in his eyes. "But tomorrow, I'm going to quiz you on the harder materials and Hecate help you if you get an answer wrong."
Dennis nodded his head frantically, signalling that he understood her words perfectly. Satisfied with his response, Lyra gave instructions to the rest of their little study group to continue to read before turning around and walking towards the table at which her three precious gems sat.
"Hello, everybody." Lyra greeted, dimpling. "How are you all?"
"We're doing homework right now, so obviously not that great." Sirius chimed in reply.
"Which subject?" Lyra questioned, taking the only empty seat at the table which happened to be between the pudgy boy who's name Lyra still couldn't recollect and the werewolf her brothers seemed so fond of. "Any way I can help?"
"Transfigurations," James answered. "And transfigurations is actually really easy to understand. I love the subject, who wouldn't, but it's just the 'homework' part that I dislike."
The other boys occupying the table nodded their heads in agreement, making Lyra smile. For a few minutes, quietude haunted the table.
Although she was physically present, Lyra soon became lost in her own gaunt thoughts regarding the war, her ambitions and the fact that in a few months, she would have to say goodbye to her home away from home.
Meanwhile, Remus and Peter were clearly uncomfortable in her presence even though they tried to hide their feelings and James, Sirius and Regulus seemed to be having a silent conversation with nothing but their eyes before James finally nodded his head, eyes shining with determination.
"Lyra?" He called out, snapping her out of her daze.
Lyra smiled kindly. "Yes, James?"
"You should spend more time with us," He declared matter-of-factly. "We don't see each other much anymore. I think this is the first time we are spending time since we returned to Hogwarts. You spend most of your time with Malfoy, Dennis and Cissa nowadays and you should reduce that. Especially with Malfoy. After all, you'll be with him for the next couple of years anyway, right?"
Lyra' half-smiled at his words which were indeed, very true.
One of the Malfoy's family traditions dictated that the heir should travel soon after they finish schooling until they reach the age of twenty-one so they could be unconfined in their learning. Lyra had suggested the idea that she too accompanies Lucius in his travels so she could experience learning different methods of healing from skilled experts around the world but mostly, to get away from a certain Dark Lord. Her grandfather and father had reluctantly agreed and they had announced the decision on the night of Portrait Painting Day. Lucius had been ecstatic. Her siblings? Not so much.
Regulus frowned. "Do you have to go?"
Lyra nodded her head in reply to his question. "Yes, I've already confirmed myself to be apprenticing under those master healers and I'm actually quite excited to do so." She informed him before facing James. "And I'm sorry about that, I really am. I didn't realise I wasn't spending much time with you three and I truly regret that. I promise to do better." she vowed, her words bringing a faint smile on James and Regulus' face but Sirius stayed silent for a span of moments.
"I'm going to miss you," Sirius finally admitted quietly. "It'll be weird not seeing you around the school."
Lyra's eyes softened. "I'm going to miss you too- all of you," she looked pointedly at James and Regulus before turning back to Sirius. "But I'm not going away forever. I'm graduating this year anyway, remember? We might not be able to see each other at school in a few months but whichever part of the world I'm in, I'll come apparating straight back home during Yule, spring and summer breaks, okay? I'll be with you whenever you are home no matter what."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
One magnificent morning saw a rarity present in the Slytherin Common Room in the form of one James Potter and one Sirius Black. Their juxtaposing red and gold ties looked out of place among the valley of green and silver that surrounded them and although they had odd looks thrown their way, the two lions were mainly ignored as they made their way towards one of the only people they knew who currently occupied the Common Room.
"Hello, Amal." James greeted while Sirius tossed her a wave.
Amal Shafiq, who had been reading that day's Daily Prophet, abandoned the newspaper to the side, furrowing her eyebrows as she did. "Hello..." she said slowly before stating. "You both are Gryffindors."
"Excellent observation."
Ignoring Sirius' remark, she continued to speak. "What are you lions doing in the snake den?"
"Well, we wish to prank you," James replied, smiling.
"Prank us?" she repeated, disbelieving.
"Yes, Lyra herself allowed us to do so," Sirius added, reflecting James' innocent expression.
"Lyra Black, the Queen of Slytherins allowed three Gryffindors to come into the dungeons and prank Slytherins?" Amal deadpanned. "You must excuse me if I don't believe you all."
"She did give us permission," Sirius defended before pausing, a sheepish look adorning his face. "Okay, maybe not in those words exactly."
"Then which words exactly?"
"'If you ever have an emergency, the password to the Slytherin Common Room is imperium." James quoted from memory.
She raised an eyebrow. "And pranking is an emergency?"
"No, boredom is an emergency." James corrected, to which Sirius nodded with the utmost seriousness.
Amal blinked. Then, she released a sigh and wordlessly turned around and began to walk towards the dorms.
James frowned as he watched her retreating position. "Where are you going?"
"To get the only two people here who can understand you both: Regulus and Lyra!" Amal yelled back without turning.
"Most wise decision!" Sirius called out just before she disappeared from sight.
Five minutes later, Regulus came running towards them, eyes wide and hair in disarray at the same time Lyra did, from the opposite direction but in the same state as her youngest brother. Then, as they neared, they spoke in unison.
"You flooded the greenhouses before my plant was graded?!"
"You flooded the greenhouses without me?!"
Both of them paused, sharing a glance before directing their attention back to an amused Sirius and James.
Regulus crossed his arms, eyebrows frowned. "I cannot believe the two of you would flood the greenhouses without me."
"Forget about that, why would you flood the greenhouses without informing me in advance? It took me months to grow the Venomous Tentacula and I can't believe I have to touch dirt again." Lyra released a sigh. "Couldn't you boys have given me a three-minute notice so I could have moved my plant away from the danger zone?" She pressed her lips together. "Is this how grandfather feels when we don't give him his notice?"
Sirius shrugged. "Maybe. But if it helps, we haven't flooded the greenhouses." He paused, adding. "Yet."
Regulus arched a disbelieving eyebrow. "Really? Then why did Amal tell both I and Lyra that you had?"
"I'm more inclined to believe her than you lot after that incident where you told Lucius that I was fatally wounded, only to attack him with dung bombs." Lyra chimed in pointedly, making all three of her brothers sport identical beams.
"We did get him pretty good there, didn't we?" James mused while wearing a grin.
Sirius nodded his head, eyes nostalgic. "Indeed we did. Regulus hit him right when he opened his mouth to speak. I don't think I've ever been more proud of him in my life."
"And the way Lucius began to choke and attempted to spit it out but then it blasted inside his mouth," Regulus added absentmindedly, twinkling eyes glazed. "Now that was brilliant."
Lyra sighed once again, fondly shaking her head. "And people still have the audacity to wonder why I never leave Lucius alone with one of my family members," she stated before continuing, clearing his throat. "So, I think that Amal must have said that horrifying lie to get Regulus and I to come here as soon as possible, didn't she? Because the two of you haven't flooded the greenhouses."
"Yet." Sirius, James and Regulus added in a union, making Lyra nod solemnly.
"Of course. Just, promise to give me a heads up?"
"Okay," Sirius smiled before his eyes lit up like a firecracker. "Also, unfortunately for Amal who brought the two of you to us as quickly as she could so she could use it as an excuse to escape, we might have to bring her back now."
"Why?" Lyra question, amused. "The poor girl ran as fast as she could away from you. Not even I am that cruel to bring her back."
"But Lyra-" James pouted. "We need a new Lyra!"
Lyra blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"We need a new Lyra," James repeated, slower this time. "You'll be gone in a couple of months and we need a new Lyra with us."
"It's kind of how you're training Cissa to be the next ruler," Regulus explained. "Similarly, we can train Amal to be the new you. She is pretty amazing if I do say so myself."
"Yes," James agreed. "Amal's like you but...spewing less death-threats."
Lyra nodded her head solemnly. "I guess I better start teaching her how to spin a good threat before I leave then," she stated, swivelling to face Regulus with a smile. "Why don't you go and call Amal for us?"
"Me?" Regulus quizzed, bewildered with a dust on pink scattered across the bridge of his nose. "Why me?"
"Well, none of us could do it," Sirius responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "James and I are guests in your Common Room- it would be awkward for us to wander around; not to mention, we might get lost. And Lyra can't go and fetch Amal because... well, she's Lyra."
"Point." Regulus acknowledged. "But-"
"Plus, she's your classmate, darling," Lyra interjected before he could complete his qualm. "She is more likely to accept the offer if you- a familiar face who does not religiously sprout death-threats- approach her."
Regulus adorned a thoughtful expression on his face before he released a sigh, nodding. "Okay, I'll go. Wait here and don't go anywhere without me."
"We would never," Sirius promised as Regulus turned on his heel and walked towards the second year dorms.
Lyra turned to Sirius and James immediately after, her eyes narrowing as her smile stretched. "So, what's the real reason why you want Amal to be part of your group?"
James lifted an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing, Miss Regulus-Must-Get-Amal."
"It's Heiress Regulus-Must-Get-Amal, actually." Lyra corrected with glittering eyes.
Sirius cleared his throat, making both of them whirl around and face him. "So we are all in agreement that having Amal Shafiq as a sister-in-law would be amazing?"
"Oh, definitely," James responded without hesitation. "She's got spunk."
"And did you see the way she lied to our faces? That's brilliant." Lyra chimed in, prompting James and Sirius to nod in agreement.
Sirius released a sigh, shaking his head. "And poor Regulus still thinks that he is the best match-maker." He stated, causing a round of laughter just as Regulus walked towards them with Amal in tow.
To her credit, Amal looked unfazed.
Regulus adorned a frown on his face. "What are you all laughing about?"
"Sirius' future," James answered.
"It's hilariously sad," Sirius added in agreement.
Regulus shrugged the matter off while Amal shifted on her feet.
"So...," she drew everybody's attention towards her. "Regulus said you all wanted to see me?"
"Oh yes," James nodded. "We gravely need your help."
Amal looked surprised. "My help?" She asked to confirm, eyes wide. "In what?"
Lyra's lips curled into a smile as her eyes sparkled. "Flooding the greenhouses, of course!"
Professor Sprout pinched the bridge of her nose. "And... Tell me again how one of my greenhouses got flooded, Miss Black."
Lyra's expression was serious and sombre. "It was truly an accident, Professor. I had wanted to check in on my plant since the N.E.W.T review council would be coming in soon and since my darling brothers and sweet Amal were curious, I allowed them to come along with me. Then, when I was showing them the proper way to water a Venomous Tentacula, Amal -bless her clumsiness- tripped and fell on Regulus who had been standing right beside me, bringing me to loosen my grip and accidentally flood the greenhouse." Her eyes were downcast. "It was an honest mistake, Professor. In fact, we tried our best to bring whatever plants we could to safety -"
"-Every Tantacula of a Slytherin, isn't that correct, Miss Black?" Professor Sprout questioned dryly.
"Only because we were close to them, Professor," Lyra assured. "And even then, sadly, we were unfortunately unable to salvage the plants of Dolores Umbridge, Otis and Darla Selwin. However, we did also manage to save the plants of two Gryffindors."
"Yes. Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They are your cousins, aren't they, Miss Black?" Headmaster Dumbledore interjected thoughtfully.
Lyra smiled at him. "A lucky coincidence, Headmaster."
"Seems that way," Dumbledore hummed. "Although, accident or not, you, Miss Black will have to receive a detention from me. No student below the sixth year was allowed in those particular greenhouses, I'm sure you were aware of that."
"It slipped my mind, Headmaster, but I agree. I should have been more careful. I accept full responsibility for the accident." Lyra spoke.
"Your detention will be with me, Miss Black," Professor Sprout said, lips pressed together tightly as her eyes roamed over the ruined greenhouse. She winced before facing Lyra. "Tomorrow afternoon. You'll be helping me ready the soil to plant new Tentaculas."
"Of course, Professor." Lyra nodded her head before excusing herself from the group and leaving, winking at her grinning brothers and one smirking Amal as she did; the four of them drenched from head to toe as a result of playing in the water for a bit before they had to evade the greenhouse when the water level became too deep.
Lyra's own robes were drenched but the bright smile on her face was unaffected as she pulled all of them in for a warm hug despite the cold wind that blew past them.
The result of their little impromptu adventure was one highly confused Lucius as Regulus, Amal and herself walked into the Slytherin room, laughing together and leaving a trail of water behind with every step they took.
Sighing exasperatedly, Lucius took out his wand and muttered the drying spell, instantly making all the water in their clothes vanish, something that the party themselves had forgotten to do due to the thrill of having successfully pulled off a prank.
With one hand on his hip, foot tapping impatiently on the floor and an expectant eyebrow raised; Lucius reminded Lyra much of her mother whenever they were caught doing something wrong. She refrained from mentioning that lovely comparison out loud since she didn't think he would appreciate it much.
"Where have the three of you been? Gone for a swim in the Black Lake?"
"Of course not," Regulus said, offended.
"Just flooded one of the greenhouses," Amal said cheerfully, making Lucius' eyes widen.
"I'm sorry, but did you just say that you flooded one of the greenhouses?!"
"Yes, that's what she said." Lyra pitched in unhelpfully.
Lucius closed his eyes as if he were in deep pain. Then, he slowly opened them with a wary look on his face. "Would it be wise of me to ask how? Or why?"
"Not at all," Lyra replied.
"Also, Lyra got a detention!" Regulus exclaimed proudly.
Lucius' neck snapped to a smiling Lyra. His mouth opened but no words came out so he shut it. He paused. Then, Lucius gathered himself enough to pose her a question. "What happened to setting a good example to the younger years?"
Lyra snorted. "That's Narcissa's job now. I'm basically done being queen. And now that I've finally gotten a detention, I can say that my Hogwarts experience is complete." She clapped her hands together happily.
Lucius released another sigh, but then he nodded his head in understanding. Regulus and Amal chimed their respective goodbyes, saying that their study group would start any moment now before leaving.
It was only after Lucius was sure that neither Amal nor Regulus would be able to see him did he allow amusement to enter his voice. "Flooding the greenhouse without me? I expected better of you, Lyra."
Lyra laughed, throwing her head back before hugging him. "Sorry, love. It was an impromptu thing. I'll be sure to invite you along if I ever participate in such an activity next time."
"Sure you will," Lucius stated as he returned her embrace. "So, whose idea was it? Sirius'?"
"Amal's, actually." Lyra corrected before declaring. "I like her."
"Of course you do," Lucius said fondly, musing aloud. "Flooding the greenhouses is also quite strategic if you think about it. The school's revenue is about to take a big hit."
Lucius had a point. Hogwarts School on Witchcraft and Wizardry mainly depended on two things as a source of income- donations by wealthy alums and the selling of exotic plants that had been grown by students for their herbology assignments, homework or projects.
Having ruined that would technically only count as destruction to school property and so the appropriate form of punishment would be detention, but this incident would leave quite a hit on the school's accounts.
Lyra shrugged, opening her mouth to speak before her eyes narrowed on the title of that day's Daily Prophet newspaper that had been lying on a table nearby. Frowning, she picked it up.
Curious as to what caught her eye, Lucius read over her shoulder. "Oh. A family of muggles living in Godric Hollows were killed. How pitiful. Truly tragic." He said apathetically, swivelling to face Lyra. "Remind me why this is supposed to be big news again."
"Look at the symbol over the house, Lucius," Lyra mutely ordered as Lucius followed her command. "Seen that particular snake-mark somewhere?"
Lucius inhaled sharply. "My father's wrist," he breathed out.
"And my sister's as well," Lyra added, thinking back to that fateful luncheon she had had with Bellatrix, who had been so proud to show off the brand that forever marked her a slave to Voldemort.
Lucius pressed his lips together in a thin, hard line as worry entered his eyes. "Lyra- you can't possibly mean what I think you do."
Lyra gave him a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Well, this is the first time this...symbol... has made its way into the papers, so I guess today we can cheer and burst open champagnes as the day the great, ancient and noble house of Slytherin began to fall." She laughed humorlessly. "We can mark today in the calendar as the day every Slytherin would be doubted even more by the others, as the day we all became evil, cold-hearted murders in the making because war, Lucius, has finally started." Lyra met his gaze. "Let us fucking get out of here."