Shades of Silver and Black

Chapter 49

Lyra looked thoughtful for a few seconds before her lips curved upwards, making her dimples appear. "Deal."

Lucius' eyes brightened. "Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?"

"Of course. It's a tradition." Lyra said with merriment before their lips met each other in a chaste kiss.

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

Hours later, when most of the guests were long gone, Lyra saw a man approach her. He was tall and pale with dark hair and unnaturally red eyes. For a second, Lyra thought he was a vampire but then remembered that first of all, the sun was up and secondly, there was no way a vampire would be invited to a pureblood wedding.

"Merry meet," Lyra greeted the man with a curtsy when he came close enough.

"Merry meet," the man greeted, a twisted smirk on his face. "I have waited a long time to meet you, Heiress Black."

If Lyra found his question out-putting, she didn't show it, and the man continued to speak. "I have heard a great deal about you from Abraxas, Orion and even young Lucius has sung praises about you. Damon Swelyn, on the other hand, had nothing but curses to say."

"Well, one cannot be on the journey to greatness and not make a few enemies along the way," Lyra replied, making the man chuckle.

"Very true, Heiress Black." He agreed. "I should know the weight of the statement better than everybody else. After all," he smirked, "Lord Voldemort is truly the greatest."

He watched her for signs of weakness and found it refreshing that she didn't give him any. Rather, she smiled, curtsying once again. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord. I have heard nothing but tales of greatness and power of you."

"I'm sure you have," Voldemort smiled predatorily. "You see, Heiress Black, the two of us have much in common. We both became the Silver Rulers of House Slytherin through our own strength and-" He paused for a second, a glint of intrigue in his eyes. "I hear you are a parselmouth, Heiress Black."

"Yes," Lyra said smiling beautifully. "I have been honoured with receiving this most precious gift and I am extremely proud to use it."

Voldemort smiled wickedly. "I am a parselmouth as well, a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin, to be more precise." One of his cold-as-death hands reached forward and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before he just stared at her for a while. Observing and calculating. "I look forward to seeing you again, dear Lyra." He said softly, eyes fixed on hers and looking at her as if she was a trophy. Without another word, he grazed his thin lips over her knuckles before turning around and walking away.

Bellatrix arrived at her side shortly after. "Isn't He amazing?" She asked, in the same tone James would use to talk about one of his favourite Quidditch players. Bella's eyes could have been replaced with hearts as she stared at the retreating figure of Voldemort with visible awe.

"Amazing is a word I would not use to describe Him," Lyra said with hardened eyes, making Bellatrix turn to her with a frown.

"What do you mean?" She questioned in a defensive tone.

Lyra turned to her cousin with a blinding smile, her face revealing nothing but positive thoughts. "I just meant that there are so many other words to describe Him better, and to simplify His complexly beautiful characteristics with such a simple word is honestly, a sin. Don't you think so?" She asked rhetorically, making Bella smile again, oblivious to the face that Lyra had played the simple trick of saying what her cousin wanted to hear. Lyra continued, "He's powerful, cunning, intelligent, charming-"

"-And rather handsome, isn't he?" Bellatrix interrupted with a dreamy sigh.

Lyra shrugged. "Lucius looks better."

"You're biased and you have horrible taste," Bellatrix stated firmly, her eyes still fixed on Voldemort. She just stared at him for a few seconds before speaking to her cousin once more. "What did you and the Dark Lord talk about?"

"It was a very short conversation, Bella. He just told me that the two of us have a lot in common, both of us were Silver Rulers and are gifted with the knowledge of parseltongue." Lyra replied in a sincere tone.

Bella's eyes shined with a mixture of pride and envy. "You are so lucky to have talked to him, let alone be complimented."

Somebody called Bellatrix's name that second, prompting the bride to kiss her cousin goodbye and to throw yet another longing look towards Voldemort before leaving.

"Am I really?" Lyra asked softly in reply to her cousin's question to the wind.

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

Later that day, Lyra knocked on the door of her grandfather Arcturus' study. The doors opened and he gave her a wide smile as she entered from where he was sitting on his throne-like armchair and signing documents.

"Hello, Lyra." He greeted, placing his quill back in its stand and giving her all his attention before his eyebrows furrowed with worry at the expression on her beloved granddaughter's face. "What's on your mind, my dear?"

Lyra hesitated before nodding slowly. "Grandfather...," she began. "The House of Black has always abstained from wars, hasn't it?"

Grandfather Arcturus' face grew thoughtful. "Please elaborate, my dear?"

Lyra scrupled again before answering. "It's just- While the House of Black has always been dark, it's never actually been in a war. We've only ever provided political backing, financial support and publicly stood by Dark Lords in the past. But we have not exactly fought with them, you see. Is our stance, by chance, going to change?" She asked.

Grandfather Arcturus observed her carefully with understanding for an incredibly long time, before giving her a small smile and a shake of his head. "It won't as long as I live, Lyra, that I can assure you."

She let out an invisible breath of relief as she flashed him a smile. "Thank you, grandfather. I'll take my leave now. You know how mother gets when I don't inform her where exactly I'll be sleeping and suddenly floo to home."

Grandfather Arcturus chuckled. "Of course, Lyra. Good night. Sleep well."

"I wish you the same, grandfather." Lyra dimpled, turning on her heels and on her way to walk out the doors when the voice of her Head of House made her stop abruptly in her steps.

"Lyra," he called out, making her turn to face him. Grandfather Arcturus wore a serious look on his face and his features looked gaunt. "I can assure you that I will keep House Black safe but," He paused, "you must remember, my dear, that Bellatrix is now a Lestrange. If she wishes to join the Dark Lord, it is well beyond your boundary to stop her."

Lyra gave him a sad smile in reply. "I know, grandfather."