THE RAVENCLAW PRINCESS

PROLOGUE II

Lyra awoke with a start. She didn't remember the dream that left her feeling so startled but it definitely shocked her enough to wake her at five in the morning. Jumping out of bed Lyra made her way to the windows. The sun had yet to come up but light still shone on the beautiful meadows outside their home.

Grinning, she opened her bedroom door and delicately made her way down the hall. After spending eleven years in her family's cottage she knew the location of every creak and groan the wood would make. She reached the first bedroom on the left, opened the door quietly, and slipped inside. With the same precaution she had taken in the hall she inaudibly made her way to the bedside. Lyra exhaled the breath she had been holding since she opened the door and jumped onto the bed.

"DORA! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WE'RE LATE FOR THE TRAIN!"

In a panic Dora shot up screaming as she scrambled out of bed. "WE'RE WHAT? LY, MOVE! I NEED TO GET DRESSED! I NEED TO-"

Lyra grabbed her stomach and rolled over on the bed letting out her fit of giggles. Dora looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table which read a happy 5:12 A.M. She immediately turned her glare to a still laughing Lyra who had now picked herself up and sprinted out the door.

"LYRA TONKS. COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Dora continued her hollering as she chased the younger girl throughout the house. "WAKING ME UP AT UNGODLY HOURS. I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON."

The two made their way into the sitting room as Lyra used the sofas as barriers between her and her raging sister.
"Well maybe you should be. I mean in this light with that amazing look on your face. Dora, you look so very charming." Lyra pretended to swoon as she made her last comment before sprinting to the other side of the room as Dora made a break for her.
"What is all this ruckus at my favorite time of day?!" Ted feigned angry looks at the two.
No one spoke for a moment before the three broke into laughter. Everyone in the household knew Lyra was just like Ted in their early rising tendencies. It was one of the things that confused Lyra when her parents told her she was adopted. Andromeda and Ted had told her back in March that even though she was not biologically their child, they still loved her as if she was.
She had been with the Tonks family for as long as she could remember so the idea of her being adopted was not something she even fathomed. The couple told her that they felt it was important for her to know the truth. It did explain why she didn't look exactly like her parents. Lyra's natural skin color was tanner than that of her parents and sister. While they held fair complexions, Lyra sported a warm amber shade. Her hair was dark brown and wavy like Andromeda's however her eyes were a light gray unlike either parent.
When she had asked who her biological parents were, the couple purposely didn't give her a straight answer. After her initial persistence to an answer however, Andromeda simply said they were unable to take care of her anymore.
Andromeda and Ted promised to do everything in their power to be the best parents for her. They loved Lyra immensely and proved it to her constantly, even before telling her she was adopted. It wasn't an easy thing to accept but after some time Lyra had come to terms with it, as well as an eleven year old could.
She didn't give it much thought because she never knew any different but Lyra truly had a wonderful childhood. Her parents loved her, taught her, and treated her amazingly. And even though she had millions of questions about her birth parents she understood it made both her parents, especially her mother, uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted to do was upset them and so Lyra tried to convince herself every day she could live without knowing the truth.

A few hours later, the family made their way to Platform 9 ¾. After crossing the barrier, Lyra marvelled at the scene before her. Families with crying parents, groups of laughing children, pets of different sorts, and trolleys carrying luggage filled the platform.

Dora hit Lyra on the back of the head shifting the younger girl's awestruck stare at the platform into annoyance at her sister. Before Lyra could retaliate, Dora quickly turned to both parents to say their goodbyes.
Andromeda engulfed Dora in a hug while Ted spoke to Lyra.

"Alright, your mother won't want me to tell you this but you have to know," Ted glanced at the distracted mother-daughter duo a few paces away before looking around as if he were about to tell Lyra a secret. Her face lit up in anticipation.

"Sweetheart, the absolute best thing you could do for this family is," he paused for dramatic effect making one final look back at Dora and Andromeda who were finishing up their hugs and making their way over to them. "Get your sister in trouble at least once for the pranks she sets up. Hey!"

Dora had come up behind her father and pushed him to the side before standing by Lyra stating proudly, "Jokes on you, dad. Lyra gets the absolute honor of being my apprentice this year as I will have to leave my esteemed title of prankster to her after I leave!"

Lyra broke into a huge smile that reached her eyes as she looked up at her sister. Andromeda smiled as she shook her head at her daughters. Ted looked at the two of them in fake horror as he exclaimed, "My own daughters! Teaming up against me? My time has come, Andy. I'm done!"

The laughs and conversation between the family quickly ended as they heard the train blow a warning whistle signalling only ten minutes were left before the train would depart from the platform.

Excited for her final year, Dora gave her parents quick hugs before claiming to wait by the train so the three remaining could finish their 'mushy goodbyes' without her.

Ted and Andromeda knelt down to Lyra's level before engulfing her in a group hug.

"We are so proud of you and we love you so much, darling."

"Remember to send us owls! We will miss you so much."

Teary eyed both parents gave her individual hugs before enveloping her in another group hug.

"Don't worry, I'll write a bunch! And I promise even thought I may help Dora with a few pranks, I'm definitely getting her in trouble too!" Lyra said with a smirk towards her father at the final line. The three made their way closer to the train where they said their final 'I love yous' and 'I miss yous' before Lyra boarded the train with her sister.