lyra | harry potter

six | late nights

DECEMBER CREPT UP ON HER as she put the majority of her free time into trying to find out more about her ability. However, it proved more difficult than she'd thought; especially because Hermione seemed too busy to help her like she normally had been doing. Lyra wasn't a fool -- she could tell that something was up. But she figured it probably had something to do with the fact that Ron Weasley clearly didn't like her, so perhaps Hermione had decided to keep her distance because of it. Even Ginny had been seemingly avoiding her like the plague. And in all honesty it really did hurt Lyra's feelings, but she had been expecting something like this to happen eventually, anyway. She could only hope Hermione would still keep her word on not telling anyone about her electrokinesis.

One night, upon not being able to sleep, Lyra pulled herself out of bed. She knew if she was caught out in the halls after the curfew Umbridge had set she'd get into serious trouble, but to be frank the girl didn't care. 

When Cedric was alive, he had shown her a secret passageway down to the kitchens. It was mainly a secret the Hufflepuffs kept between each other, but he'd told her nevertheless. Lyra had taken to sneaking down to the kitchens at night when she couldn't sleep, wanted something to do, or was simply hungry. The house elves were always kind to her because she was kind to them; and in past years, save for Cedric, they were the only pleasant company she'd had.

However, when Lyra tickled the pear on the painting and thus entered the kitchens, she was definitely not expecting Harry Potter to be sitting at the small table in the corner conversing with a small elf. He sat up abruptly when he saw her walk in, accidentally hitting his elbow against the concrete wall and wincing at the contact. "Uh -- Lyra!" He greeted awkwardly. "What... how did you...?"

"I used to come here with Cedric," she admitted as a nice elf by the name of Zora appeared with a warm slice of apple pie and a glass of milk. It was Lyra's favorite snack, and the elf knew it. She thanked her politely, hesitating before sitting across from Harry.

"Oh." He blinked, then looked at the elf at his side. "Um, this is --"

"Ms. Burke!" Dobby exclaimed, stumbling over his feet as he ran to gently tug on Lyra's robes with a happy grin. "So good to see you, so good!"

Lyra smiled at him. "It's good to see you as well, Dobby."

Harry simply stared in shock. His introductions had not been needed -- apparently, they already knew each other.

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Harry's face, Lyra explained, "I met Dobby when I was little, when my mother used to drag me over to the Malfoys every now and again. When he started working in the kitchens, we remembered each other."

"Ms. Burke was the only person to ever be nice to Dobby before you, Harry Potter," Dobby told him. "She is very kind to Dobby. Very kind, indeed."

"Dobby, please, just call me Lyra."

"Dobby is sorry, Ms. Lyra. Dobby will do his best to remember you don't like your family's name."

She flushed slightly. "Thanks." As the elf ran off further into the kitchens, Lyra began to awkwardly eat her pie and pretend not to notice Harry staring at her in silence. Finally, she asked, "How is your hand?"

"Oh, uh --" Harry glanced down at the back of his hand. "Healed, but scarred. I've been telling the others who had detention with her about the murtlap essence. It really helped."

"Good. And I'm glad you told them," Lyra admitted. "They wouldn't believe me if I'd tried to."

Harry nodded, and for a long moment, they sat in silence while each of them ate the snacks that had been prepared for them. "It's not true, you know," Harry spoke up after a while.