INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Sixty-One

It was almost strange how easy it had been for Lyra to distance herself from the boys. Once she had broken up with James, he was quickly out of the way. The only really important thing she could do now was to get Remus away from her. 

To do this, she had begged Lily to change the patrol schedules. Where Lyra had once spent her nights laughing with Remus, she would now walk around with a somber Regulus, who had gladly given up having to patrol with the muggleborn Dirk Cresswell. 

But there was one person she knew wouldn't be so easy to push away, even though she had tried her best to ignore him and avoid him. But Sirius Black wasn't so easily evaded, especially not when he cared. 

Lyra hadn't been prepared for any confrontations as she walked through the halls of Hogwarts, alone for what felt like the first time in forever. Just because she wasn't prepared, didn't mean that it wouldn't happen. Because Sirius was prepared, and he had been preparing for hours. 

Her dark-haired older cousin, rushed towards her when he saw her on her own, not giving her a a chance to escape as he grabbed her arm. "What are you doing here, Lyra? Why are you doing any of this? What's going on with you?"

"Let go of me!" she hissed, ripping her arm out of his grip. She tried to take step away, not wanting to talk to him, or anybody for that matter, about what was happening. If she did, she knew she'd start crying. 

But Sirius stepped in front of her, keeping her stuck in her spot. "I know what happened with James. I may not believe it, but fine. If you don't love James then you don't. But I can't accept you abandoning your friends."

"Just leave me alone, Sirius. I can't do this anymore. None of it," she spoke softly, though as harshly as she could. None of what she had said was a lie, but she had kept the truth away from him. 

"But why?" he questioned, softening in hope that she would want to talk to him. "And why did you force Evans to switch your patrol schedule so you don't have to walk around with Remus? Why won't you even look at us anymore? Why are you always surrounded by Slytherins again?"

Needing him to leave her alone and stop asking questions, Lyra glared up at him in a way she hadn't done in years. "Leave it alone."

"Lyra-" Sirius reached out to grab her wrist, when she tried to walk away. But then he saw her wince, as if she was in pain. He could barely catch a glimpse of the unnatural colors coating her pale skin as she pulled away. "What was that?"

Lyra felt the blood rush from her face, leaving her paler than usual. The last things she needed was for Sirius to see the bruises and realized what had happened to her. He wouldn't ever stop then. "It's nothing."

Sirius knew what bruises looked like. He had experienced them too many times, but he didn't think that his aunt and uncle would ever use the same disciplinary methods as his parents. Not that they did. "That's not nothing!"

"I fell," the Slytherin girl lied, using the first excuse that came to mind. 

"Something happened this Christmas, didn't it? That's why you're doing this," he realized, gaping as it all made sense. He knew the effect their family had always had on her, a much stronger effect than they had ever had on him. "Lyra, what the hell did they do to you?"

"Nothing!" she denied, though she was sure he didn't believe her. "They'd didn't do anything! I made my choice on my own. It may seem sudden to you, but I've been thinking about this for a long time."

Luckily for her, the third Black attending the school noticed the conflict and approached, coldly greeting his older brother. "Sirius. What a pleasure to see you bothering our lovely cousin. But I think you've said your piece. It's leave her be."