home [B.Weasley]

thirteen

thirteen; protective padfoot

Months flew by, the leaves left the trees, turning brown and sad as families dug their coats and scarfs out, September and October like a brief breeze.

November soon came around the corner, during the recent months Lyra and Sirius' relationship mended itself, each day they were better and Lyra could no longer imagine life without him, she could no long imagine leaving the Wizarding world for a second time.

All was the same, all was well, she spent less and less time in her own bedroom and more in Bill's, whose relationship was just the same. They still slept better beside eachother, he still grabbed hold of her hand and reassured her, their lips hadn't brushed passed eachother in a while, however, it seemed that every time either thought about it, the other caught on and avoided it.

It seemed far too quiet that morning, with the only noise coming from the house being the two voices in the kitchen, that of Sirius and Bill's.

She listened carefully, trying to avoid being heard or seen.

"- Lyra, she has always been far too pure and whole to be part of House Black. She didn't smile until she was three years old. And even then, she only smiled because she was outside, not trapped in here."

Lyra heard Sirius tapping his fingers on the table at the thought as Bill sat quietly.

"as a young child, she had a tendency to close herself off. Feel she wasn't worthy of things, of love and affection, of just general things one usually gets. I still see that in her. I believe often she looks past affection, for she was never used to having it."

She glanced to her hands at the thought, she knew her brother was right, she was well aware that she struggled with many things, to understand the meaning behind what people did for her. She showed gratitude but she never really knew what the actions truly meant. If they were real.

To her, Bill holding her hand was friendly, warm, she didn't think of it affectionately or as a sign, it was just a hand to hold. She couldn't comprehend the meaning Bill added behind it.

"I've spent the last 13 years, trying to be the person in her life she never had. When we were younger it was almost like a project, I was determined to show this short dark-haired girl what chocolate frogs were, what it was like to get on a broom, to bend the rules and be a teenager."

Bill swallowed, it wasn't strange, revealing this to the man. It wasn't strange in any sense of the word, he knew Sirius wanted the best for his sister.

He knew Sirius was intrigued by their friendship, he had seen the looks he gave them time to time.

"But then, she showed me over the years how life wasn't always in colour, parts were black and white and faded, the picture wasn't always perfect and the grass not always green. Then one night, she'd had a nightmare as she always does and told me that she slept better when I was close, she compared me to a night light, we laughed about it and I realised that there wasn't a version of life I enjoyed more, without her in it."

There was a ghost of a smile on his face, "I felt that way, once, the version without them or her, it's beyond painful. I need you to promise me, Bill, you'll protect her, not only from the war, but from herself, she will be her own enemy, don't allow her to succumb to the past." Sirius' voice was low.

Bill promised, he had been doing the same for the years before she left, and she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon if he had any input.

Six years without the hazel eyed beauty was torturous enough, being so close, in walking distance, and having to leave the minute she glanced your way.

A comfortable silence fell over the pair and Lyra took that as her cue to enter the kitchen, smoothing her hair down and ensuring she didn't look like she was eavesdropping, she entered the kitchen with a casual 'morning', flicking her wand to pour herself a cup of tea.

"so, fancy Hogsmeade today? I hear it's snowing in Scotland," Lyra asked Bill, who turned to her, the corner of his lips turning up.

It was indeed snowing in Hogsmeade, the Black had always felt the cold far more than others and so here she was, with a hat, scarf, gloves and a big coat on, laughing as she kicked the snow with the toe of her boots, Hogsmeade littered with Hogwarts students.

"I feel seventeen again," Bill commented as he watched students come in and out of Honeydukes and Zonko's joke shop.

"Good, because I'm going to buy an entire shop load of Honeydukes, come on," Lyra grabbed Bill's hand with a laugh and pulled him towards the bright shop.

"Are you going to buy peppermint toads?" Bill asked to which Lyra's face scrunched up, "clearly you don't know me at all."

Bill laughed as Lyra's face lit up, piling sweets into her arms, not just for herself, but for the others.

Sirius had complained that he never finished his Chocolate Frog collection, and now he would need to start over.

Arthur had been tasting Sherbet Lemons for days.

Molly was impartial to some Treacle Fudge and Fudge Flies here and there.

Remus, the man just loved chocolate.

Tonks has always adored Fizzing Whizzbees.

And Bill, Bill would eat absolutely anything he was offered in Honeydukes, especially Jelly Slugs and Exploding Bon Bons.

At least ten minutes later, the pair left the shop eating Pumpkin Pasties and shoving all the goods into Lyra's bag which had an extendable charm placed on it.

"we used to have the best times on Hogsmeade weekends," Lyra smiled as she glanced around, the pair heading for the Three Broomsticks.

"we did," Bill replied, "if I remember rightly you were so fiercely dedicated to Butterbeer that you promised Madam Rosmerta you would take over The Three Broomsticks when she no longer could."

"And if I remember," Lyra laughed at the memory, "on the same day I made that promise, was the day when Charlie managed to slip something in about a dozen butter beers, mine included, and it turned our hair our Hogwarts colours, for a whole month!"

"My Miss Black, what remarkable house price you have! 10 points to Ravenclaw!" Bill mocked the exact words Dumbledore spoke to her as they caught the Professor escaping Honkeydukes with a couple dozen Lemon Sherberts.

The Three Broomsticks was heaving with Hogwarts students, but the pair managed to sit quietly in the corner without much disruption, Madam Rosmerta shocked to see the pair once more, but happy to serve them Butterbeer regardless.

"I'm surprised, I thought Umbridge would put a stop on Hogsmeade given what the others have been writing in their letters," Bill commented.

Lyra agreed with the man, who looked at her and laughed.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

Bill wiped the froth from her upper lip before musing, "every time,"

A red hue came to her warming cheeks as she drank some more, Bill letting out another chuckle at her expense.

"I've missed this," The man admitted with a gleam in his eye, allowing Lyra to think back to all she'd overheard that morning.