INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Four

For Lyra Black, time wasn't an issue. It passed quickly, and it helped her ignore all the issues looming over her head, and it helped created a routine. She knew what to do with her days, who to talk to, who to ignore and what to work on to make her life go on as comfortably as possible until the day she would graduate from Hogwarts. 

Her second and third year were uneventful, all she did was realize what classes she needed to work on and which came naturally, who to become friends with to help her climb the social ladder and how to secretly be close with Sirius, who was both her family and her best friend. 

In her fourth year, Narcissa had already graduated from Hogwarts so she didn't have to be quite as careful as before, but there was always the chance that somebody would see them together. Especially dangerous was Sirius's younger brother, Regulus. Lyra believed she could control him for the most part.

It felt good being independent. She didn't have to feel like Bellatrix, Andromeda or Narcissa's little sister anymore. Now she was just Lyra, and Lyra had a lot of things in mind for her future. But to achieve her dreams, she first needed to well in school. 

Not that she had a hard time getting good results. She was a smart girl, she always had been. Especially when it came to Transfiguration. McGonagall always said she didn't have any favorites, but Lyra could always see her smile a little bit more when she looked at her than the other students. 

That is, except for James Potter. He was also something of a natural at Transfiguration, and also a natural pain in her ass. They were always competing in that class, and for Sirius's friendship. Ever since that day when she had been mean to Sirius, James had seen her as a horrible person and she wasn't about to try to change his view of her when he was so arrogant and cruel himself. 

But they both stuck it out for Sirius. After their year apart, Lyra decided that she never wanted Sirius out of her life again, especially after she lost Andromeda. She couldn't bear to lose anyone else the way she lost her. 

As she was working on an extra-credit Transfiguration assignment in the Hogwarts library, the aforementioned cousin plopped down next to her, sending her the lop-sided grin that sent the girls into a frenzy. Lyra, however, just rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Sirius?"

Dramatically, Sirius's grin transformed into a frown. He spoke as if he was crying, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "Aren't you happy to see me, dear cousin? You wound me."

"Shut up," she scolded. "I'm working."

"It's Transfiguration. You could probably pass the N.E.W.T.s without blinking. You'll do fine." He pulled the parchment away from reach, making her glare at him heatedly. "Which is part of the reason why I came here to talk to you. The other part being that I love you very much."

Lyra grimaced, not used to Sirius being so touchy-feely. He was always the kind of guy who thought he was too cool to show how much he cared about people. "Gross. Just say what you want."

"So, you know a lot about Transfiguration, right?" he asked. She only made a hand gesture signaling for him to just get on with whatever he wanted to say. "I need some information about a very advanced type of Transfiguration."

Lyra smiled fakely, grabbing her parchment back and started writing on it. "Ask Potter. I'm busy."

"I already have."

"And he doesn't know about it?" She felt strangely smug at the idea. The high and mighty James Potter was stumped, and Sirius was asking her for help. She almost jumped in joy until she remembered it would be a bit mean to enjoy someone else's failures so much. "Alright, ask away."