INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Thirteen

Twelve Grimmauld Place was exactly as it sounded. A grim, old place. Every time Lyra had to visit her family there she would be incredibly thankful her family had their own manor and hadn't inherited the secret house in muggle London, like Sirius and Regulus's father, Orion had.

On the walls were the mounted heads of House Elves who hadn't completed their duties in a satisfactory way, forcing Walburga Black to chop them off.  They were a terrifying reminder of the prejudice her family possessed and the pain they were willing to inflict. 

It was also the home of the great Black family tapestry, holding the name of every member of the House of Black for centuries, Lyra included. She had been to Twelve Grimmauld Place every year for Christmas, but she had attempted to avoid the tapestry, where she would see her disowned sister's face burned off. 

Lyra didn't want to cause drama, though. There had already been enough up-turned noses at the idea of Sirius not going home for Christmas, everyone speaking of his disrespect for the family and its time-honored traditions. 

She couldn't deny he was disrespectful, but he had been treated awfully since his sorting into Gryffindor, so she believed he deserved to be a bit disrespectful. 

Therefore, she sat silently as the conversation continued around her. Narcissa brought her husband of nearly six months, Hector Flint. They seemed to be getting along swimmingly, whispering in each other's ears like they had a well-hidden secret. 

Bellatrix brought her husband, as well. But they weren't quite as cozy, sitting next to each other but only speaking to one another if it was in a greater conversation between the whole family. The only new thing was how seeing as Rodolphus's parents were out of town, he had brought his younger brother to the Black family dinner.

Rabastan Lestrange was a handsome boy, there was no doubt about that. With his chiseled jawline, sharp cheekbones and chestnut hair, there wasn't a girl at Hogwarts who didn't want him, and no boys who didn't want to be his friend to share in his popularity. 

The only issue was that Rabastan didn't really have friends. He kept to himself a lot, as if he was better than the whole lot of them. But he got along with most of Slytherin, making almost-friends with a few pureblood Slytherin boys. 

Lyra wouldn't consider him her friend either. They were acquaintances who got along when they needed to, he could make her laugh and if they had to, they could even speak casually alone. But they had never been friends, there hadn't ever been a reason for them to be friends. 

She was wondering if that was about to change. He had tried to engage in conversation with her during dinner, sensing how silent she was and how she wanted to keep away from the conversation at all costs. She appreciated it, as he didn't do it in a creepy way. But she still wanted to keep to herself. 

The clinking of a glass brought Lyra out of her thoughts, seeing her blonde older sister grinning brightly, standing up. Hector followed her, looking excited. "We have an announcement to make."

The family raised eyebrow, none looking too excited. Of course, joy and excitement wasn't treasured or fostered underneath the roof of Twelve Grimmauld Place. Narcissa couldn't wait, her grin wide. "I'm pregnant."

Every member of the family started smiling, a rare sight. They congratulated the young couple, although she could see the wheels turning in their heads, trying to imagine what the offspring of someone as beautiful as Narcissa and someone as not-conventionally attractive as Hector would look like. 

"That's amazing!" Lyra exclaimed, speaking from the heart. Those were the first words she had spoken that weren't yes, alright, agreed, of course or no.