How to be a Pureblood

Chapter 1

It was time to take action. Erudite Rosier leaned back into her velvet chaise. She felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead thinking about a course of action. She was confused and uncertain of everything she had done earlier that day. During breakfast, Lyra had asked her whether her friend could come over for the day. Hesitant at first, Erudite was convinced after her daughter announced that it would be the Parkinson girl she had befriended at last month's pureblood party. Good people they were, the Parkinsons, good people. She had hoped that the girl would be a better influence on her daughter than the lot of mischief-makers she called her friends at Hogwarts. She despised the gaggle of half-blood and mudblood witches and wizards her daughter decided to befriend. It was only the Black boys she tolerated. She wiped her forehead with her handkerchief. 

Erudite was reading when a house-elf  had notified her of a prepared lunch. She had made her way up the stairs to retrieve her daughter and her friend when she heard giggling coming from Lyra's room. Grabbing onto the lavish doorknob and twisting it, the sounds within the room amplified as she opened the door. Her daughter had apparently not heard her as she opened the door. Perplexed, she stood still. On Lyra's bed, the two girls were holding hands and laying in a rather compromised position. The girls intimately had their legs wrapped around each other and were talking softly. The Parkinson girl noticed her and her eyes widened in fear. Erudite had to say something. 

"By Merlin's beard, girls!" she shouted out in her high pitched voice. "What are you doing?"

Before Lyra had a chance to open her mouth, Parkinson decided to.

"Mrs Rosier, this is not what it looks like!" she said with confidence. "We were just talking." She scrambled to her feet.

"Out!" Erudite raised her voice. "Get out and don't come back!"

Lyra hadn't uttered a word. A second later, the girl apparated out of the house.

Erudite had turned around, ready to walk out of the room, to think.

"Mother, please wait!" Lyra spoke. "Let me explain!"

"I need to think about this. Do not discuss this with your father." she walked away.

And so Erudite sat in her chaise, debating on what to do. Her husband was at work at the Ministry and Lyra had not shown herself after the incident. Evan was probably still in his room. She had not seen him yet today. Should she discuss this with her husband? Did she fail as a mother? So many questions were flying through her head. She had to talk to someone about this. But who could she trust? Her family's status was at risk. If the wrong people found out, it could ruin her family. She stood up and started pacing. She walked through the grand living room, she trailed her fingers over the keys of the piano, careful not to make a sound. The piano was Lyra's most prized possession. She had taken lessons since she was a toddler. She snapped back to reality. She could not talk about this with anyone. Not even her husband. Alwick would be devastated. He would send her back to France. She had to settle this with Lyra herself. It was still early in the afternoon. She would talk to Lyra before dinner. 

Meanwhile, upstairs, Lyra had finally calmed herself. She had not cried. Father had taught her to be strong, so she would not cry. Isla had apparated the second her mother screamed at her to leave. She was disappointed that she had not stayed to clear everything up. Lyra had been seeing Isla for about two weeks. The girls had quickly become friends and something beautiful was starting to blossom between them. They had not kissed. No, Lyra hadn't dared to. She had gently held Isla's hands as they were talking about the upcoming school year. They had not been friends before because Isla was a Slytherin, and Lyra was sorted into Gryffindor. Lyra was mortified when the Sorting Hat screamed it out. Her father was a Gryffindor and would be ecstatic to hear it, her mother, however, was a proud Slytherin and had hoped nothing less for her daughter.  Being sorted into different houses made their encounters limited. They were in each other's classes but rarely spoke. Both girls had their own friends, for more than five years. At last month's pureblood party, Evan had introduced the girls to each other. They talked the whole night as they quickly realized that they had a lot in common. Isla had worn the most beautiful black silk dress with an elegant slit. Lyra had fawned over the gorgeous dark-haired girl. They wrote to each other over the next weeks and finally decided to meet again. Lyra rose to her feet and started pacing the room, unknowingly very similar to her mother downstairs. Lyra was very decisive, she had always known exactly what she wanted and was not afraid to open her mouth. This distinguished her from her mother, who often shied away from the more difficult conversations. Lyra was outspoken, like her father. She was much like her father in many ways. She had his wits, his charm and most importantly, his courage. Her brother was more like her mother. He had an elegance in him when he spoke and knew what to say to appease others. He was smart, but he was not intelligent. He was book-smart, not people-smart. Unlike Lyra, Evan had been sorted into Slytherin. Even though they were sorted into different houses, they had remained close to each other, often eating together or practising Quidditch. 

Seconds later, Lyra found herself in front of Evan's door. She held  her hand up in a fist, hesitating to knock. She was about to turn back around when she heard Evan quietly telling her to come inside.

"How did you know I was outside?" Lyra smirked.

She shut the door behind her.

"Just felt it." He answered. "Everything ok?"

Evan sat on his bed, motioning for Lyra to sit down. He had immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Lyra sighed and sat down. She moved his guitar out of the way. Evan had been playing and now she felt guilty for interrupting him. She kept silent.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he gave a small smile. "It's ok if you don't want to."

"I'm not sure." Lyra answered. "I'm really confused.

Evan took his guitar and softly started strumming some old Muggle song Lyra did not recognize. 

"Mom saw me holding hands with Isla." she mustered out.

Evan continued playing gently while Lyra told what had happened earlier that morning. Once she finished, Evan put his guitar down and looked at Lyra. She quickly looked away.

"So that's why I heard mother screaming bloody murder this morning." Evan laughed.

"Evan, this is not funny!" Lyra groaned. "Who knows what mother is going to do."

"Don't worry Ly. She is probably so worried about ruining our reputation that she won't even tell father." Evan took one of Lyra's hands.

"Why aren't you disgusted by me?" Lyra started hiccuping. "Isla is a girl."

"Disgusted? Why would I be disgusted by you?" Evan said with worry laced in his voice. " Isla is not just a girl, she is an amazing girl! Even if nothing were to come from this, she is one of my best friends and she is incredible! She is so friendly."

Evan embraced his little sister and held her close. He worried about her. He worried because she would not shed a single tear. He worried about their mother and what the future had in store for them.