Feathers: The tale of the forgotten Marauder

Chapter 9

Later that day, Lyra returned to her common room. She still felt deflated and unsure of what to do. The common room was fairly empty apart from the Marauders. It was safe to say that Lily looked absolutely murderous.

"You had a go at Minnie! Are you insane?!" She shouts whilst walking over to her. Lyra flinched slightly at the raised tone in her voice.

"Do you have any idea what you've cost us? Minnie's making sure that we're all in our dormitories on a full moon so that we can't go out and support Remus." Sirius says harshly. If looks could kill, his would be lethal.

Lyra felt awful, she was just trying to get them out of the situation but she made it worse. Lost for words, Lyra just stood there and looked at the carpet.

"Look who has nothing to say, honestly, now we're all screwed over." Sirius snaps.

Lyra felt tears rise in her eyes and her throat bobbed slightly. She looked up at her friends, all of them disappointed in her.

"I was just trying to justify our reasons so we didn't get sent to Azkaban for being illegal animagi." She whispers before walking up to her dorm room.

Getting changed into her pajamas, Lyra then pulls the duvet over her body. She pretends to already be asleep when the other three girls come in. Lily, Marlene and Dorcas all get changed quickly and sit on their beds to talk.

"What was she thinking?! I've never understood the way she thinks, it's dangerous." Lily states as she moves to sit with Dorcas.

"I think she thought she was doing it for the best, she never intended to screw her and the boys over." Marlene says quietly, earning herself a glare from Lily.

"I think she knows exactly what she was doing." Lily says defiantly. In her eyes, Lyra was out to doom them all, she never trusted her.

Lyra let out a slight sniffle which alerted Marlene to the fact that she was awake. She decided not to inform the others of this but proceeded to go to sleep herself.

When she wakes up the next day, Lyra doesn't bother going to breakfast with the others. She instead goes to the library to bury her thoughts in the books.

Someone noticed however, that Lyra was absent at lunch as well. He quietly came around the corner of the bookshelf and sat opposite Lyra.

"You haven't eaten today." A familiar voice stated. Lyra looked up and saw Regulus in front of her with a look of concern on his face.

"I'm not hungry." She replies quickly before looking back at the pages of Advanced Potion Making.

"Your friends don't seem to even notice that you're missing." He states again.

"Well obviously, I kinda screwed us all over yesterday. They hate me and I don't blame them." Lyra responds without looking up.

The book closes as Regulus' hand rests on the cover. He tilts her head up so that he can look her directly in the eyes as he speaks to her.

"You did nothing wrong. They just can't stand that they weren't the ones to stand up for themselves." He says firmly, letting go of her chin.

Lyra was confused. Regulus had never shown any feelings towards her and suddenly now he is looking her in the eyes when he talks to her.

"I- have to go. I owe Minnie an apology." Lyra says hastily as she packs up her bag and leaves the library. She had an unnerving feeling in her stomach. It was butterflies.

Lyra Potter was falling for Regulus Black. This could either be a worldwide catastrophe or some form of miracle.

She did indeed go to McGonagall's office and when she knocked on the door, it opened for her. Taking a deep breath, she walked in. It was time for a bit of negotiation.

"Professor? I just wanted to apologise for yesterday..." Lyra starts. She doesn't know what to say.

"I understand Miss Potter, I too would be rather annoyed had someone discuss a meeting with me after being unconscious. However, my decision stands." McGonagall says, not looking up from her parchment.

"But Professor, please, Remus he- it's...he needs us. Desperately." Lyra pleads. Her heart is racing and she tried to find a way to make things right.

"He's had a tough childhood dealing with lycanthropy in an orphanage. No one ever understood or helped him. Me and the other three, we do. If I hadn't been scouting that night, he could've gotten loose in the castle and done much worse than what he did to me." She states, trying to make a case for McGonagall to change her mind.

Minnie actually seems to be debating this and takes a few minutes to think. She then slowly stands up and walks over to Lyra. Putting a hand on her shoulder, she waits for a moment.

"You are not one to give up, I must say Miss Potter. You are right, it is certainly something to be wary about. You and your brother, Mr Black and Mr Pettigrew may continue supporting Mr Lupin on a full moon." She says with a smile. Lyra thanks McGonagall and leaves the office to find the others.

When she does, she's in a world of shock to find Regulus with his wand against his brother's throat.

"What in Godric's name have I done?" Lyra whispers as she runs over to the group.