Shades of Silver and Black

Chapter 40

Lyra traced the claw marks on the walls with her own fingers.

"Whoever did this can't be too big. My hand fits perfectly into it."

"Then are we sure that it isn't you who is doing all this?" Lucius questioned dryly, sitting on the heel of his legs in order to examine the floor. "Lyra," he called out, eyebrows furrowed. "Doesn't this look like.. hair?"

Lyra immediately crouched down beside him, observing his discovery with a sharp look in her eyes. It did, indeed, look like a strand of hair. "Interesting..." She hummed.

"There's more there!" Lucius pointed with a finger at a corner in the shack, prompting both of them to go closer to it where strands of similar hair colour had been spread around. "Whoever is doing this is quite hairy." He stated.

"Whoever is doing this is.. shedding," Lyra stated. "Or has extreme hair fall." She leaned down a little closer, trying to get a better view and her eyes widened upon seeing something move among the strands of hair. "Lucius! Is that-"

"-a tick?" He finished, equally confused as his eyes spotted the pest.

Lyra's lips pursed into a contemplating expression before her eyes widened. "Once a month." She stated, making Lucius frown.

"Pardon?"

"The villagers only heard screams and shouts once a month." Lyra elaborated, the pieces coming together in her mind like a puzzle. "And there is shedding of hair, a tick, claw marks- do you see where I'm going with this?" She asked with an excited undertone in her voice.

"Not really," Lucius replied honestly.

Lyra's lips curved upwards. "All of these signs point to a werewolf." She proclaimed, making Lucius' eyes widen.

"You can't possibly be serious!"

"Of course I'm not. I'm Lyra, remember?" Lyra said, making him roll his eyes. "But no, I am unfortunately not kidding about this. In fact, considering that my hands could fit inside the claw marks, I would go as far to say that the werewolf is a child and that-" She abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence as she understood the wider view of the picture.

Images of a small boy with honey-coloured eyes and the most horrific scars on his face testifying against Severus Snape flashed through her mind along with James and Sirius informing her about how their best friend, Remus Lupin, was always getting sick so often.

She flashed Lucius a blinding smile. "Let's explore." She said, making Lucius' eyebrows frown at the sudden change in the topic before he slowly nodded.

"Okay, lets." He agreed.

------> 0o0 <------

They found an old rusty-sounding piano in the second floor of the Shrieking Shack and Lucius, after muttering every cleaning charm he knew, played a delightful song for himself and Lyra, which prompted the latter to reward him with a long, warm kiss.

"Well, that's a sight every grandfather hopes he wouldn't see."

They immediately broke apart and their necks snapped to where Lord Arcturus of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black was regally standing, looking so out of place with his surroundings.

A smile broke out of Lyra's face. "Grandfather!"

"Hello Lyra dear," He smiled before nodding curtly at Lucius. "Heir Malfoy."

Lucius bowed. "Lord Black." He greeted, confused as to why Lyra's grandfather was at Hogsmeade, but he decided to keep his questions to himself. After all, the Blacks never did anything without a proper reason and he was sure that since Lyra didn't look surprised upon seeing him (just startled by his appearance), she had known he would be coming. He trusted Lyra.

"May I have a minute with my dearest granddaughter?" Lord Black asked.

"Of course, Lord Black. But I'm afraid you must be directing the question to Lyra, not I, considering that it is her that you are talking about." He replied, prompting an approving gleam to run through Lord Black's stormy grey eyes.

Lord Black faced Lyra with a raised eyebrow and non-verbal question. Lyra laughed with a nod, pecking Lucius on the cheek and mumbling an "I'll see you later" before following her grandfather down the stairs, out the Shack and to a somewhat nice location for them to talk.

And like the innate paranoia dictates, both made sure to put up multiple privacy enchantments before speaking.

"So," Lyra started, her voice devoid of emotions. "How was it?"

"I was admittedly surprised," Arcturus replied before a small smile stretched his mouth. "The boy was shaking so much upon seeing me, I honestly thought he was going to faint. It was quite fun."

Lyra hummed at his answer and Arcturus' eyes softened.

"I'm glad that both you and Andromeda decided to inform me about this matter first." He told her. "I would have hated to have to find out about it from the Prophet."

"Of course, grandfather," Lyra half-smiled. "Sticking together is policy number nine and I know how much you hate finding out things about our family from the Prophet."

Arcturus chuckled before giving her a sad smile. "Andromeda was going to run away if you hadn't interfered, wasn't she?"

"Maybe."

Arcturus nodded. "I thought so. She looked very happy with the mud blood. It's the first time I've seen her smile so wide and real." He told her with a soft smile. "And as Lord of House Black, it is my duty to first and foremost take into account the happiness and safety of every member of our family. This... situation... came out of the blue, so I'll need some time to think about it." He met her eyes. "So don't you worry about it, Lyra. I'm not kidding, I'll take care of it. Merlin knows you have enough on your plate already."

She smiled lopsidedly with a slow nod. "Alright, grandfather."

Arcturus hugged her. "Do your best in school. And notice how I said 'your best' and not 'the best'. It's completely okay to take a break Lyra dear, just please don't stress yourself out too much."

Lyra just smiled at his comment, refusing to answer.

After flashing her one last smile, Arcturus was just about to leave when Lyra called out, "Grandfather!"

He turned to look at her, confusion painted on his face.

"Did you-" She cleared her throat as curiosity and calculation burned brightly in her eyes. "What did you tell Andromeda's boy-toy now?"

Arcturus' lips curled into a smirk. "I invited him to spend Yule break with us, of course." He threw her a wink and apparated away before Lyra's mind caught up with the answer.