The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

85. Convergence

"Back to the ship, then, come on," Lyra heard Karkaroff say as she led her students toward the doors, keeping an arm around the shoulder of the one closest to her who seemed rather cold, a girl named Fleur.

He reached the door with his students at the very same moment Lyra reached it with hers as well as a small group of four students.

The students, as well as Lyra, paused.

"Thank you," Karkaroff said carelessly, glancing at the foremost boy quickly.

Instantly, he froze. Lyra followed his gaze, looking for the first time at a young boy with black hair and green eyes. At first, she did not understand until finally, her eyes found the scar under his fringe. Her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," a growling voice said behind them.

Karkaroff instantly spun around. Lyra turned as well to see possibly the most scarred person she had ever seen in her life. What she did not understand, however, was why Karkaroff's face drained of all colour in a moment.

"You!" he cried.

"Me," he agreed with a smile.

"Professor Karkaroff," Lyra said suddenly. "You are holding up the line, and I need to get my students to bed."

Professor Karkaroff shot her a considering look before he turned, not giving Moody one more look. Glancing once more at the small group around Harry Potter, Lyra gracious gestured for them to pass. When they had, she led her students out and back into the cold.

.

Inside the expanded carriage, Lyra quickly found her quarters. It was a small room by most standards but had everything she could wish for. Along one wall, shelves upon shelves of books rose from the floor to the ceiling, all her own. On the other side of the room, a raised bed hung over a desk and a comfortable armchair. Closing the door behind her, Lyra sat down in her armchair, pulling off her heels from her aching feet.

Once she had stretched her crackling feet, she rose again, unzipping her dress and allowing it to fall to the ground at her feet. Hanging it up in the closet, she withdrew a sweatshirt and shorts and quickly changed. Moving in front of the mirror, she tied her long hair in a braid over her shoulder with a silk ribbon before wrapping the braid around her head and tying it in place with a silk scarf.

As she was beginning to withdraw her book from the shelf, Lyra couldn't help but smile as she heard a slight scuttling. Then she felt tiny pin-prick-like steps rush up her arm before the poor creature stopped on her shoulder, rubbing affectionately against her cheek.

"Olivier," she chided with a laugh, gently pulling the little bowtruckle from her shoulder to rest in her hand.

The poor creature chattered restlessly at her until she drew out a small handful of woodlice for him.

.

Long before the rest of her students rose, Lyra was awake and dressed. She had chosen a pale blue for the day with sleeves that split at the shoulders and fell down almost to the floor, lower, in fact, than the hem of the dress itself which fell to her knees. After curling her hair and pinning back a few pieces, she drew on a fur coat of a dazzling white and left the carriage.

Hogwarts was quiet in the early hours of the morning. It was peaceful. Lyra walked as far as the far end of the lake, completely removed, in fact, from the rest of the school. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath, letting out a long exhale. It felt strange to be back in England after so long, especially under a different name. People would find out eventually, of that she was sure, but until then, she would enjoy the peace of knowing no one aside from Madame Maxime knew who she was. Well, other than Severus Snape. She could have lived without him knowing.

She supposed too it was entirely possible Professor Dumbledore knew as well. She had, after all, been accepted into Hogwarts, but circumstances had produced a different destination for her.

Her eyes suddenly flew open at the sound of a crackling stick in the forest behind her. Turning, Lyra looked hard into the trees, searching for any sign of movement. There was nothing in sight. Warily, she turned, beginning to make her way toward the school in search of food.

When she had gone, a sparrowhawk took flight from the branch of one of the closest trees.

.

"Sirius," Amara said, transforming back the moment she had entered the cave.

Letting out a tired grown, Sirius rolled over, rubbing his eyes.

"What?" he asked with a yawn. "What time is it, Amara?"

"Early," she replied briskly. "You won't believe who I just saw."

Sirius woke the rest of the way at that, sitting up.