Style // Sirius Black

Epilogue

"So, I take it we'll need to go grocery shopping?" Remus teased as he dropped his coat onto the back of a chair and bent down to press a kiss to the black dog's head, "Hey, Prongs—I missed you too, buddy."

"Yeah, well, I missed having help cleaning the dishes after my supposed stress cooking," Lyra jested as she rounded the counter and laid the roast beef dish onto the dinner table, "So sit, eat, and—Oh, hello!"

The feeling of strong arms wrapping around Lyra's left caused a bright laugh to slip from her throat, warm lips littering her cheek as he tugged her close to his chest. The brunette's merry sounds echoed around the kitchen as she leaned back against the man's shoulder, relishing his cinnamon-like scent. It filled her senses and any sense of hurt from reliving her teenage years vanished in mere moments. Remus had a habit of doing that—making her pain disappear with a few words and a tight hug.

Not every love story ends up how you think. Lyra took twists and turns until she wound up right back where she needed to be. The moment the two wound up together, she knew this wouldn't be the same. She knew she couldn't love Remus the same way she loved the man framed for her brother's murder. There was always a part of Lyra's heart that belonged solely to Sirius Black so that she couldn't give herself entirely to him. Something would forever be distinct from their story, always lingering just outside of their hearts that reminded Lyra just who held her most intimate moments dear.

"Get a room!"

Annie let out an exaggerated gagging noise at her parents' affection. Lyra scoffed before dropping down into the seat next to the brunette, ruffling her bangs before handing the girl the spoon for the potatoes. Her moss eyes flicked over to Remus, who stared at the two, amber gaze flicking between them as he took to his seat. There was an uncomfortable understanding between the two lovers, an agreement made in silence. He knew she couldn't give herself wholly, but he took those pieces she was able to and put them together to create a heart. Remus filled that spot that was missing, a part of himself given to Lyra to make her whole—even if it left a missing space in his soul. That was the ultimate act of sacrifice in the Potters' eyes, and it was then that she knew the other half of her soul wasn't the star that crossed her path back in school but the moon that always lingered in the background.

However, the lingering tension between the two now had to do with a boy with his mother's eyes. The lightning bolt that parted Lyra's storm thirteen years ago when he was born to the brother she failed and the found sister she lost. His life was soon going to alter paths, leading him down one that Lyra hoped wound up at her cottage's doorstep. But a silver ghost stood in the way, beard longer and eyes angrier whenever they crossed paths. With Remus's new position as Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor and Lyra taking up a position as the school's librarian—Dumbledore couldn't escape the promise that Lyra had made twelve years ago.

Dumbledore had tried and failed for years to keep Lyra from wandering about the Dursley family's street. She consistently let her mind slip into her nephews just to keep tabs on his wellbeing. She would slip into the house and leave snacks within that dreadful cabinet when they had him there—even threatening the Dursleys one evening when she showed up. He had pretty quickly been given a room upstairs when Lyra had threatened to turn their home into a massive pinata if they didn't fix their act.

Dumbledore could only fight Lyra so much—but he had also stayed true to his word. Lyra's name had been erased from the pages in the war recounts. No one knew what she'd done, all she had accomplished in the name of the Wizarding World. To everyone who didn't know, Lyra Potter didn't exist. She didn't mind, though—she didn't want to be a hero anymore. She just wanted her daughter to find a life of peace, even with the curses that may follow her name.

"Excited to go shopping tomorrow?" Lyra prompted as a heavy silence fell over the table, "Get all your things for school?"

"I'm more excited to meet my cousin finally," Annie grinned as she shovelled a forkful of potatoes into her mouth, "Do you think he'll recognize me?"