𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 | house of black

ii

Lyra must've managed to fall asleep at some point, because the next thing she knew, her blanket was being ripped off of her, and there was sunlight coming through her bedroom window.

"Get up," Bellatrix spat. She used her wand to turn on the light, and Lyra turned her head into her pillow, groaning quietly at the sudden brightness. Bellatrix snatched the pillow out from under the teenager and tossed it aside. "I said get up."

"I heard you the first time," Lyra muttered quietly. She slowly sat up, yawning. She looked at the clock on her nightstand, which read 10:08 A.M.

"What was that?" Bellatrix asked harshly, raising a brow, daring her to talk back again.

Lyra shook her head, tensing under the woman's cold glare. "Nothing."

"That's what I thought." Bellatrix turned to leave the room. "Hurry up and get dressed. You're not spending all day in bed."

What does it matter to her if I spend all day in bed? Lyra thought, rolling her eyes as she walked over to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day.

"Watch your fucking attitude!" Bellatrix snapped, making Lyra flinch. She always forgot to use Occlumency to protect her thoughts whenever she's just woken up.

Bellatrix slammed the bedroom door hard as she left, and Lyra jumped a little.

"You're too hard on her, Bella," Narcissa said to her older sister as they sat in the kitchen late one night, unaware of the ocean eyes watching them from the other side of the wall. "She's just a girl."

"She's a child." Bellatrix scoffed and rolled her eyes. "She follows us around like we're her bloody mums and can't go 5 whole minutes without nagging for something."

"We're the only family she has left," Narcissa spoke more firmly. "You ought to be nicer to her. She's afraid of you, for Merlin's sake!"

"The beastly thing is afraid of her own fucking shadow!" Bellatrix yelled, slamming her hand down on the table. Lyra jumped a little and hid herself further against the wall, holding her breath so as not to attract attention to herself. "You're the one who's coddling her! It does a child no good to treat them like a baby that can't do anything for themselves!"

"I wouldn't have to coddle her if you'd just be nicer to her!" Narcissa cried. "She's terrified living here! You hurt her for no reason when all she wants is your love and acceptance!"

"If she wants something that'll love her, then get her a fucking dog because she's not getting anything from me!"

"She's your sister!"

"She was a mistake! She never should've been born in the first place! Mother should've aborted her when she had the chance!"

"Lyra? Lyra!"

Lyra jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She reached a hand up to her cheek and quickly wiped away her tears before turning to face Draco. "Morning," she mumbled, her gaze on the floor.

Draco gently lifted her chin up so that she'd look at him. "They're back, aren't they?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Lyra shrugged lightly, shaking her head. "Who says they ever left?" she whispered. "They're never going away."

With her clothes for the day in hand, she walked past Draco and went to the bathroom to get dressed. She wore a maroon coloured sweater, bluejeans, and a pair of black UGG boots. She brushed through her hair and styled it in two Dutch braids before leaving and heading downstairs.

She'd missed breakfast, but Narcissa would always make her something on mornings like these whenever she'd sleep in, much to Bellatrix's disapproval. She believed that everyone had to eat together or else they didn't eat at all, but Narcissa didn't believe in starving someone just because they missed the designated meal time.

"Morning, Cissa," Lyra said quietly as she entered the kitchen. She nervously looked over her shoulder in the direction of the living room, where she could faintly hear Bellatrix and Lucius' voices. "Is Bellatrix on her period or something?" she asked as she sat down at the table. "Or does she just feel like fighting? She doesn't usually bitch at me to wake up. I mean, I know she hates me, but still."

"Bella doesn't hate you," Narcissa said, sighing softly as she set a glass of orange juice down in front of her. "She just...kinda hates you...Sorry. I know that doesn't really help at all. Um...did...did you sleep okay?"

Lyra shrugged and took a sip of orange juice. "I guess."

"Draco and I are going to the Muggle grocery store later," Narcissa said as she cracked two eggs into a bowl. "Do you want to come along? You can pick out whatever you like."

"Stupid Pottah gave Dobby a sock ages ago, so we have to do everything ourselves," Draco grumbled as he appeared beside Lyra. He nudged her gently with his elbow. "You should come, Blondie. It would do you good to get out of the house." He leaned closer to her and whispered, "And, you know, if you stay, it's open season for Auntie Bella since my mum won't be here to stop her."

Lyra knew Draco was right. She'd learned the hard way that being home alone with Bellatrix was not a good idea.

After she ate breakfast, she left the manor with Narcissa and Draco. For the first time in weeks, she finally felt like she was able to let loose a little and breathe. She didn't have to worry about getting her sister's approval since all Narcissa ever wanted was for her to be comfortable being herself.

When they arrived at the store, Lyra and Draco separated from Narcissa to do their own shopping. They picked out some different snacks and decided to get some melatonin gummies to help Lyra with her messed up sleep schedule.

"They really do work, you know," Draco said as she put the bottle of gummies in the basket. "Mum used to get them for me when I was younger. They help you relax, which you definitely need to do. You're so tense and on edge all the time."

"Have you met my psychotic sister, Dragon?" Lyra asked, scoffing a little. "Relaxing isn't a thing knowing she could try to kill me any moment. I have to stay alert."

"If she was gonna kill you, don't you think she would've done so already?" Draco asked as they left the aisle and continued to explore the store. "I think the fact that she hasn't yet means she has to care about you, right? At least a little bit."

"Key word: yet." Lyra followed Draco down an aisle with different soups. As she was looking at the different types of ramen, she noticed a woman a few feet away out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly, a small gasp falling from her lips at how much she looked like Bellatrix. A young baby boy sat in the grocery cart, kicking his feet and babbling happily as he played with his rattle. The woman caught her eye, the same look of shock flashing across her features.

Lyra couldn't look away from her brown eyes. They looked just like Bellatrix's, only kinder. She'd never met Andromeda before, but she had a strong feeling that this was her.

"Lyra, time to go." Draco's voice brought her attention away from the woman. Lyra grabbed two four packs of kimchi ramen noodles and placed them in the cart before leaving the aisle with Draco. She looked over her shoulder one more time at the brunette, who was watching her with what looked like tears glistening in her eyes, which confirmed what Lyra had already suspected.

Maybe in another life she'd be able to run to her and have a long overdue family reunion, but Andromeda had been disowned from the Black family several years before she was born for marrying a Muggle-born wizard. Merlin knew the hell she'd face from Bellatrix if she found out she had met her.