Lyra Black

Chapter Seven:

Lyra spent the next several weeks in a surprisingly good mood. Ravenclaw had beaten-no-flattened Hufflepuff in their last match, and people had stopped whispering about her as much.

The weekend before the end of term was another Hogsmeade weekend and Hermione had invited Lyra to join Ron and her. So, they said goodbye to Harry, who was still not allowed to come, and climbed into the coaches that took them to Hogsmeade. 

They were in Honeydukes attempting to decide on what sweets to get for Harry when Harry's voice came from behind them,

"Definitely not." They whirled around, and Ron nearly dropped the jar of cockroach clusters he was holding. 

"Harry!" squealed Hermione, "What are you doing here? How-how did you-?" Harry quietly told them about the Marauder's map. When Lyra heard the nicknames, she froze, her eyes wide. She remembered her grandmother ranting about 'those ridiculous nicknames'. 

"Er-Lyra? Are you alright?" asked Hermione in concern. Lyra blinked and nodded,

"Yes, of course, I am. I've just heard those names before is all." She said. 

"You've heard the names before? Are they bad people?" asked Harry immediately. Lyra shook her head unsurely,

"Not necessarily," she said, and they continued to the three broomsticks for a butterbeer. Lyra sat next to Hermione while Ron got the drinks. They all sat down and talked between themselves for a couple of minutes. Lyra liked them, they seemed quite nice. They abruptly quieted when Professors Flitwick and McGonagall entered the pub, along with Hagrid and Cornelius Fudge. 

They all sat down, along with Madam Rosemerta, and Lyra listened intently to their conversation. Ron and Hermione had already forced Harry under the table so that he wouldn't be seen. Lyra sighed slightly when the conversation inevitably turned to her father.

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosemerta thoughtfully, "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last  I'd have thought...I mean, I remember him as a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have told you you'd had too much mead." 

"You don't know the half of it, Rosemerta. The worst he did isn't widely known." Said Fudge. 

"The worst? Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?" asked Rosemerta.

"I certainly do."

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" asked Rosemerta.

You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosemerta. Do you remember who his best friend was?" McGonagall murmured.

"Naturally. Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here-ooh they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act Sirius Black and James Potter!" Lyra smiled slightly. She of course, had already known who her father was best friends with.

"Precisely. Black and Potter, ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course-exeptionally bright, in fact-but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers-" said McGonagall.

"I dunno. Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money." chuckled Hagrid.

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers! Inseparable!" Chimed in Professor Flitwick.

"Of course they were," said Fudge, "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. They named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him. And you know Black has a daughter too? Up at the school. She's the same age as Harry. Exeptionally bright girl." McGonagall nodded,

"Yes, very bright. She's not much like Black though. More mature. She basically grew up on her own too." she said. 

"On her own?" asked Rosemerta in confusion, "Like completely alone?" McGonagall shook her head.

"Not entirely. As she described it to me, she wasn't raised by anyone alive or human." Rosemerta furrowed her eyebrows,

"What does that mean?" McGonagall sighed,

"When Black left to go kill those people he left her at the house he grew up in. I assume he meant to go back for her after, but he was caught and sent to Azkaban. She was raised by a portrait of Walburga Black and a house-elf." The others all stared at her with wide eyes, making Lyra assume that not many people actually knew of her living situation. Even Fudge looked shocked. 

"I never knew that!" exclaimed Fudge. "She was raised by a house-elf and a painting!" McGonagall nodded.

"Indeed. I didn't know until this year either. I feel bad for the poor girl. She didn't actually meet another human being until she came to Hogwarts. She doesn't have many friends. I think the other students are rather unnerved by her eyes." Rosemerta frowned,

"What's wrong with her eyes?"

"Nothing's wrong with her eyes. Not necessarily. They're just somewhat unnerving. They aren't grey like the rest of her family, but rather piercing silver. Not many people can hold her gaze."

"I'm intrigued." said Rosemerta. McGonagall nodded before Fudge turned the conversation back to the Potters. Lyra was left thinking about what they had said about her. How was it that no one had known what had become of her until she told them? Did no one bother to look for her at all? She quietly listened to the rest of the conversation and resigned herself to the fact that Harry would hate her now. She figured that because he didn't have her father to take his hatred out on, he would end up hating her, the next best thing. She sighed and stood up, pulling her black cloak on and the hood over her head, before walking right past the group of people and back up to the castle. She went straight to the Ravenclaw common room and into her dormitory where she climbed right out the window with a blanket, her cloak, and another book on wandless magic. She spent the day on the roof of Ravenclaw Tower reading and practicing wandless magic. She wasn't cold or anything because of the warming charm she had placed on herself, so she was able to spend as much time as she wanted to.

When the sky began to darken, she called,

"Kreature," The house elf appeared with a crack and looked slightly confused as to why she was sitting on a balcony of her own making ontop of Ravenclaw Tower.

"What can Kreature do for Mistress?" He asked, giving her a bow. Lyra smiled warmly at him,

"Hello Kreature. Could you bring me some food please? And some for you as well." Kreature nodded and disappeared with another bow and a loud crack. Lyra smiled to herself and adjusted the blankets she was curled in. She had made a small balcony on the tower made of vines, and quite liked it. With a flick of her wrist, the vines grew so that there was a roof over her head as well. Lyra smiled and transfigured a flower into a small table for her to eat on. She loved her new spot. It was quite cozy. 

Kreature reappeared with a crack and set the food down on the small table before sitting across from her. He knew better than to argue with her when she wanted to eat with him.

"Thank you Kreature." Lyra said, smiling at the elf who raised her.

"Of course Mistresss. Kreature has missed his Mistress." Lyra smiled happily at him,

"I've missed you too." She finished her food a couple of minutes after Kreature and vanished the dishes and table with a snap of her fingers. Then, she transformed into her black puppy, making Kreature smile. He had always loved it when she turned into a puppy. He carefully pet her fur, as she curled up in the blankets tiredly.

"Goodnight Mistress." Kreature said to her, before disappearing with a crack. Lyra snuggled further into the blankets and fell asleep.