Style // Sirius Black

Chapter XXI

"You know how to think?" Sirius quipped as he and Remus slid into the seats across from the twins, blocking the youngest from her view of Regulus Black.

"Haha," Lyra mocked with a dry tone, rolling her eyes at his remark, "Aren't you hilarious."

Sirius cracked a smile that made butterflies erupt within the blonde's stomach. It seemed everyone in the group had begun to pick up on the change in the way the two were acting around one another. The teasing was no longer malicious or hurtful but simply fun and lighthearted. Lyra now enjoyed being around the boy with others present and counted down the hours before they would sneak off into the Room of Requirement at night and relish in the other's presence.

"Lyra," a french accent drawled as he and Peter approached the table, "Looking happier than usual. Someone on your mind?"

If there was anyone's mind that Lyra wanted to sneak into, it was Pierre's. However, it seemed he was prepared for whatever it was that was going on with the Gryffindor, seeing as no matter how much focus she put into it, not a single french thought wandered through her mind. Peter seemed to follow the same regiment, seeing as Lyra could no longer venture into the wormy ideas that tunnelled within his blonde head. She still didn't trust a word he uttered, no matter how many people vouched for him.

Lyra knew what she saw, but she didn't at the same time. Something was missing in her head that was keeping her from exposing the true nature of Wormtail.

"Reckon Regulus Black is on the brain," a deep voice boomed from behind the blonde. Lyra turned her head to see the Head Master standing around the table, a tense look on his face, "Hope all is well here."

"All is fine," Lyra returned, a tight smile tugging across her lips, "Nothing out of sorts."

-----

Lyra whistled a tune as she collected the various papers from the table she occupied in the library. She had decided to sneak away from the group at dinner to get some extra studying done, electing to continue avoiding Regulus in hopes he'd understand her distance and take it as a sign. The sound of giggling sent a shiver down her spine as her stomach churned. The happy couple had been curled into one another for the past hour, and Lyra had done her very best not to turn and silence them.

She wasn't sure who occupied the vast area alongside her, but whoever it was needed to learn a thing or two about library etiquette. But then again, she hadn't exactly made her presence known to the pair. After all, she was hidden behind a large bookshelf filled with herbology books that made absolutely no sense to the blonde. She would have given anything to flick her wrist and know everything about the subject like her friend Alice.

The blonde pushed back from the table and turned, finding herself running face-first into a firm chest that was all too familiar. The entire situation was reminiscent of the first time the two had met all of those months ago, both naive to the other's true intentions. Pierre's scent was distinct, and Lyra wanted to throw up at the idea that she had even considered him attractive at one point.

"Whatcha up to, Potter?" He inquired, rocking back and forth on his feet, "Trying to figure it out what it was Peter was doing at Grimmauld place?"

"Studying, actually," Lyra retorted with a sarcastic smile, ducking around the boy to begin returning the books to their shelves, "Seeing as some of us want a future outside of this school and the war."

"Aw, come on," Pierre mockingly pouted, following the blonde as she wandered down the different aisles, "Do you think so lowly of me?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"Yes."

Lyra rolled her eyes at the tone he used, rounding the corner to the more open expanse in the library. Her eyes landed on the couple she had heard earlier, and her face paled. Now she understood why Pierre was tormenting her. He wanted to be there to see her reaction to the sight that lay in front of her.