THE RAVENCLAW PRINCESS

chapter 31 - sixth year

"LYRA!" Iliana yelled as she engulfed her best friend in a smothering hug.

Lyra laughed, "Illie, I saw you just yesterday."

"I know but still this platform- it makes me quite emotional," Iliana wiped away an imaginary tear, jokingly. "I see the new clothes have made their way out of the closet!"

Lyra moved a bit to the side so she wasn't in the way of two students and their parents coming through the barrier. The girls' parents moved to the other side of the incoming family, offering Iliana and Lyra some privacy while they spoke.

Lyra had paired an old Elton John shirt she found in her dad's closet with a new plaid overshirt, jeans that became more loose over the holiday, a chunky belt, and white sneakers.

"Please, half of this I've had forever. You, though, clearly made good use of that shopping trip you went on with Katya!"

Iliana smiled broadly. It was true, her new clothes suited her and she looked stunning. Iliana wore a baby blue top with a plaid skirt, bucket hat, and Doc Martens. It all quite nicely complemented her straight blonde hair.

"So have you told them? You know about you and Katya?" Lyra asked.

"Not yet," Iliana frowned, kicking at the ground. "They're still getting used to the whole queer thing and I don't want to throw everything at them right away."

Eric and Lyra spent the first few weeks of summer vacation helping Iliana figure out the exact words to tell her mum and dad and the next few weeks helping her build the courage to talk to them. By the middle of July, she had had the conversation with both of them and it truly went better than she had hoped. Iliana's dad was immediately supportive, and though it took her mum a little longer, she too was immensely supportive and proud of their daughter.

Lyra smiled comfortingly and put her hand on her best friend's shoulder. "That's understandable. You should tell them whenever you're ready. They'll come around."

"Well there you are! We were just about to get on the train, come on now!"

Lyra and Iliana turned to see Charlotte and Mieko approaching them and smiled broadly. With final goodbyes, hugs, and promises to write, the friends boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Lyra was at the front of their line and walked past other students until she heard a familiar voice calling for her from inside one of the larger cabins. She smiled through the window at the sight of George, Fred, and Lee and walked in.

As Lyra sat down next to Fred, she couldn't help but notice how nicely the summer holidays had treated the boys. Lee had grown taller and grew out his hair, making him look far more handsome than before. George and Fred had gotten slightly tanner, sported more freckles than ever before and had seemed to grow even taller. It seemed the boys had also noticed how well the summer holidays had treated the girls as well as a bit of awkward staring and coughing ensued.

"Hello boys! How was your summer?" Iliana asked, breaking the tension. She sat alongside George, Lee, and Charlotte and Lyra, Fred, and Mieko across from them.

"Bloody brilliant!" Fred exclaimed. "Except of course for almost dying-"

"Oh dear! I completely forgot you both were at the Quidditch World Cup!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Are you alright? What happened?"

George and Fred recounted the tale of the World Cup with great gusto. Lyra of course had heard of everything through the letters she sent to the duo after the news reached her home in Rossendale. Nonetheless, the twins kept everyone thoroughly engaged in their story from start to finish. Lee, having heard the whole thing once before also chimed in when they forgot to mention specific details and pointed out when they exaggerated parts of the story.

Afterwards, the friends shared their respective summer holiday memories until it was time for Charlotte, Mieko, and Lyra to attend the prefect's meeting. George, Lee, and Fred stayed in the cabin while Iliana left to find Katya.

Lyra sat in between Mieko and Charlotte and looked around the room. She smiled at Cedric and a few other familiar faces. As her eyes swept through the room, she saw Adrian and her eyes widened slightly. He got hot.

She mentally scolded herself. It was Adrian Pucey, her rival, the most god awful and irritating person she knew- and she thought he was hot. Lyra looked down at her lap and her mind racked as she rationalized the disturbing thought. Aesthetically speaking, yes he did look better than he had last year but that of course has done nothing to his personality. So since she did not think anything of him farther than his looks, it was totally fine that she thought that he looked good. Very good- perhaps even better if he- no. That's enough, she thought.

Letting her mind wander on this topic was dangerous and she was determined not to explore it further. Instead, Lyra focused on the new Head Boy who was speaking. "This year Professor Dumbledore and our Heads of Houses specifically want to promote house unity. So, your prefect patrol partner will be someone from another house to advocate this. Additionally, we will be keeping the same prefect partners the whole year unless something drastic calls for change."

Lyra turned the Head Girl out as she started listing off names. She glanced nervously at Charlotte and Mieko. With the new rule, her and Mieko couldn't be partners which meant in the best case scenario one of them would be paired with Charlotte. Though acknowledging how selfish it was, she hoped she would be paired with Charlotte. Mieko had a gift of getting along unnaturally well with everyone, even Slytherins, a skill Lyra seriously lacked. She turned her attention back to the front as the Head Girl began to list names of the sixth year prefect patrol partners.

"Mary Obialo and Jake Finton, Charlotte Picquery and Mieko Chinen-"

Lyra offered Charlotte and Mieko a small smile in hopes to reassure herself as well as her best friends.

"- Lyra Tonks and Adrian Pucey."

Lyra's eyes went wide. She looked at Adrian and saw him squinting in anger at both Heads. He turned to face her, frowning. Good to know he was clearly just as thrilled as she was for their partnership. She pursed her lips and let out a frustrated breath. Lyra could tell from her peripheral that Mieko and Charlotte were nervously looking at her wondering how long the two rivals could remain civil in the company of the other prefects.

Before either had a chance to explode, the Head Girl continued, "Alright, now we need everyone to make rounds to check on the cabins and remind students to get dressed in their school robes. Thank you all!"