P A R A M O U R || George Weasley

18|| TRUTH IN ANGRY THOUGHTS

The common room is almost empty when Lyra walks in. It's to be expected, considering everyone should be in class. Yet, a familiar platinum blonde head of hair is waiting for her. Draco sits on one of the sofas, his head resting on his hand as he reads a book. When he hears her come in, he raises his head expectantly.

"I was so worried about you, but Madam Pomfrey kept me out from seeing you," Draco sighs in relief, standing from the sofa and throwing the book on the cushions. They meet halfway as Draco wraps his arms around his sister tightly.

He had been messing around in the common room with his friends last night when a fifth-year group burst into the room talking about how Lyra was lost in the forbidden forest. Draco had instantly asked questions, but no one had answers.

Ignoring the other prefects' orders, he left the common room searching for her. Professor Snape found him on his way to the Games Keepers hut and told him his sister had been found and was on her way to the hospital wing.

When he got there, Madam Pomfrey instantly stopped him in his tracks and told him to go. She reassured him his sister was okay, but it didn't calm him completely. Now that she's here, he can relax.

Lyra returns her brother's hug just as tightly. She hadn't thought he'd be this worried about her, much less that he'd skip class to ensure she was doing well. Then again, Draco was very attached to her when they were much younger than they are now. That all changed when she got to Hogwarts, and they spent most of two years apart. Lyra guesses old habits die hard.

"I'm okay little Draco," she says with a smile, "Why aren't you in class?"

"I needed to see how you were doing. I went earlier this morning, but Madam Pomfrey told me you'd be let go after breakfast." He explains, grabbing her hand and forcing her to sit on the green velvet sofa.

Lyra is surprised to hear that since she had been awake before breakfast, she didn't listen to him come in. It makes her wonder if he had seen or heard her talking to George. Seeing Draco hasn't mentioned it, she doubts it and is unwilling to expose herself by asking.

"Now tell me everything. What the hell happened?" Draco asks her, his steely grey eyes not wavering from her. It reminded Lyra of her father but with their mother's natural curiosity.

And so Lyra spends the next moments telling Draco everything that happened the previous night. From Hagrid's special class to the howl they heard, to her leaving with Marcus and Adrian and them leaving her behind. Lastly, she tells him how George Weasley found her and took her to the infirmary. The only details she left out were that she fainted and George's blatant worry for her.

"How could anyone approve of this class knowing it's a full moon? That is outrageous!" Draco exclaims.

"Do father and mother know?" Lyra asks him in case she needs to write her parents a letter.

"I believe so. Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore have to notify the parents of anything that happens with the students," her brother says, shaking his head. "Maybe this will be enough for them to consider Hagrid is not a competent professor."

"Great," Lyra sighs, performing a quick accio to summon a quill and parchment.

The sooner she writes to her parents, the better. She doesn't need them to blow things out of proportion. With Draco's accident with Buckbeak and now this, she is sure her father has enough to attempt to get Hagrid fired.

The rest of her morning is spent catching up with her brother and easing some of his other worries. That is, if the werewolf had caught her and bit her or scratched her, for that matter. Draco emphasized he wouldn't mind and would keep her secret.

Lyra laughed for a moment, but she sobered up, considering that could've been a real possibility. What if the werewolf had gotten to her first? She has no clue how her parents would react if that were the case. Would they keep her secret? Hide her away? Report her to the ministry and disown her for not having pure blood anymore? She has faith in her family, but with such unexpected situations come unexpected responses.

"Let's thank Merlin that there is no secret to keep. I will not be turning into a werewolf any time soon," Lyra says with a wink.

When lunchtime comes around, a group of Slytherins walks into the common room. Lyra and Draco are still on the sofa talking nonsense at this point. In the crowd, she catches Adrian and a few other friends.

Feeling her gaze on him, Adrian looks in her direction, "Lyra!" he exclaims. Beelining for her, he pulls her into a hug, one she does not return.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asks her once he senses how tense and quiet she is.

"You expect her to be okay after you left her behind, mate?" Draco asks him with furrowed eyebrows. He might not have said anything to Lyra, but Draco is pissed at her boyfriend.

"I got this, Draco," Lyra tells him, hand in his arm, before standing to face Adrian, "You left me behind to deal with a werewolf!"

The Slytherin Common room had been filled with noise, but once the lingering students caught the sense of a fight, they all fell silent, pretending to do their own thing while they snooped on the couple.

"I didn't mean to," Adrian laughs awkwardly to ease the tension, "You seem to forget my life was also at risk?"

The fact that he didn't apologize irks Lyra. She knows he was also at risk. She doesn't blame him for running. She blames him for making her trust him. He said he knew the way when he didn't. To make things worse, he didn't consider ensuring she was right behind him. She thought that as her boyfriend, he'd take care of her.

"I wonder why that is," Lyra scoffs, unwilling to tone it down. She particularly feels like picking a fight.

"What's your problem?" Adrian snaps at her, not understanding why Lyra is angry at him.

"Hmm, let me think, maybe my problem is that you left me behind in the forbidden forest and then didn't look for me!"

"I would've, but we were ordered to go back into the castle! Stop making a big deal out of this. It isn't even my fault!"

Adrian is on the defense; he feels terrible about the whole thing, but she had a choice and chose to join him and Marcus. Besides, why is she only mad at him and not at Flint?

"Trust me, I know the way'" she mocks him, "What about this morning at the infirmary? Before breakfast, during breakfast? You didn't have the decency to make sure your girlfriend was alive. I never realized how selfish you were!" Lyra cries out at her boyfriend's insensitiveness.

This morning when her mind was clearer, she asked Pomfrey about Adrian. Lyra wondered how he was doing. Madam Pomfrey told her everyone else was fine and uninjured. So Lyra waited for any signs of Adrian because she'd be beside him if he was injured. Yet the person who was with her was someone she never expected.

"Look who's talking about selfishness, the girl begging for attention! I'm sorry the world doesn't revolve around you, Lyra, but I had classes like everyone else. Not everyone can get out of class because of a little scrape," he says sharply, aiming to hurt her.

Lyra's eyes water out of frustration, "Maybe I wouldn't have to beg if I had a decent boyfriend who cared."

Adrian rolls his eyes, "Why are you so dramatic? It's tiring, really. You only got to stay in the infirmary because of who you are because Merlin forbids something to happen to Lyra MALFOY. Do you know what Marcus and I got? Nothing, not even an ounce of concern."

"Enough, Pucey!" Draco snarls, standing between Lyra and Adrian.

Taking the opportunity that the focus momentarily shifted to her brother, Lyra bolts to the girl's dormitory. She's glad none of the girls are there at the moment as she slams the door and sits on her bed.

Adrian's words cut her deep. She'd been honest with him numerous times about how she felt about her family and how everyone perceived her because of her last name. She always believed Adrian understood her.

It got her spiraling. Is it true she got special treatment last night? Lyra didn't see it that way, but maybe he was right. It wouldn't be the first time, would it? She supposes her getting her prefect status back was also special treatment. Is Lyra a fraud? It feels like suddenly, all of her achievements aren't even hers anymore.