INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Forty-Eight

Lyra didn't want her sixth year to end. If she was being honest, it had been the best year in her life so far. She couldn't imagine there being a better one later, either. So much had changed, and most of it for the better. 

Lyra had fallen in love, she had made sure there was no longer any secrets between herself and the Marauders. She had fallen out with Rabastan, even if he hadn't seemed to realize this, and she found herself further from her family than she had ever been.

But all good things must come to an end. It hadn't quite hit her before she was walking around with Remus on her last patrol of the year. Next year, she wasn't even sure if she would be a prefect. 

Slughorn had let it slip that her name was on the shortlist for Head Girl, with only a few others in consideration. She had a feeling it was mostly just a race between herself and Lily Evans from Gryffindor. Who the Head Boy could be, though, she had no idea. It could have been Remus, but he didn't really have much talent for leadership, always a bit too insecure to lead. 

She wouldn't have minded being Head Girl if Remus was her Head Boy though. They worked quite well together, and they had for the last two years. If neither of them were chosen, she just hoped Lily would still put them on patrol together. 

If not, she would have to appreciate all the time she had left with him. She glanced at him, where he was walking by her side as they continued their conversation. "I'm just not really very excited to go home this year. For obvious reasons, I guess."

The last time she had gone home, it ended with the interrogation and eventually torture of Sturgis Podmore, and she wasn't very keen to repeat that. It had been two months and she could still picture it perfectly. 

"I understand," said Remus, nodding while offering her a supportive smile. He'd heard Sirius talk about the Black family in great detail. He wasn't very excited for her to go back either. "You're always at my house if your family's... too much for you."

"It probably won't come to that," the Slytherin girl said, but not seeming entirely convinced. Part of her wasn't sure if she would be able to survive a whole summer at Black Manor. "But thanks for the offer. It's good to have."

"Look, don't murder me for suggesting this," he started, seeing her skeptical look. "As much as I like talking to you, have you thought about maybe talking to James about this? He doesn't say it, but I know he's a bit jealous of our friendship. He's your boyfriend, after all."

Lyra still wasn't used to calling James her boyfriend, but she didn't mind the reminder, even if she wasn't sure what she thought about his suggestion. "I know that, I do. I've just gotten so used to talking to you about... everything, I suppose."

"And I do appreciate that, Lyra. I feel like I can talk to you about everything, too," he smiled softly, scratching at a faded scar on his forehead. "But I do love James. He's my friend. I don't want him to feel left out. I'm not trying to steal his girlfriend here."

"I'm sorry to say you couldn't if you tried. I love you, Remus, but not in that way. My heart belongs to him. I should probably show him that more often." Lyra pulled his hand away from his face to keep him from scratching before kissing his cheek in a friendly manner. "Thanks, mate." 

Remus blushed a bit. There weren't many girls who had kissed his cheek. A few had tried, but he always kept away. He didn't feel like he was the right guy to have a girlfriend. But Lyra was his friend, through and through. He could make an exception. 

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Their last full day of Hogwarts and James and Lyra had decided that they wanted to spend as much of it with each other as possible. They would most likely be separated for the whole summer, and they wanted to savor one another for as long as possible.