Lyra Black

Chapter Two:

Lyra spent the rest of the summer reading her new books and learning the Patronus charm, just in case. It was better to be prepared than not in her opinion, so she spent hours learning it. After multiple days of attempting it, she finally managed to produce a corporeal Patronus that looked exactly like her in animagus form. She had also read quite a bit more on wandless magic and was now even better than before, even her grandmother was impressed.

When September 1st came, Lyra was completely ready for school. She woke up early and dressed in a blue skirt and a white shirt that her grandmother deemed appropriate before wandlessly moving her trunk downstairs. When the clock struck 9 o'clock, Lyra said goodbye to her grandmother, who wished her luck at school, before apparating to Platform 9 3/4 to leave.

"I'll see you next summer Kreature. Thank you." She told the house-elf, who swept her a low bow,

"Kreature lives to serve the Noble House of Black." Lyra smiled at him, that seemed to be his favorite thing to say. She waved goodbye, before hurrying onto the train. She found Padma and Parvati in a compartment across from one that held Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and a sleeping man whose face she couldn't see. She slid into the seat across from Padma and smiled at her.

"Padma! How was your summer?" She asked brightly. Padma smiled at her,

"It was great! I had so much fun. Did you hear about Sirius Black?" Lyra smiled slightly,

"Padma, you're forgetting something." The girl thought for a moment before exclaiming,

"Oh right! He's your father isn't he?" Lyra nodded.

"Yep. Not that I've seen him in twelve years. But technically, he is my father." She said, her smile still visible. For a while, they all caught up, and eventually changed into their robes. Lyra's were perfectly neat as per usual, while the other two girls' were slightly less tidy.

They must have been nearing Hogwarts when the train began to slow, but Lyra frowned. There was still a little while until they arrived at Hogwarts, so why were they stopping? The train jolted to a stop, and the lamps burst causing the train to become pitch black. Lyra conjured a small ball of flames to hold in her hands and held it up so that the three girls could see. Suddenly, their compartment door slid open and a dementor appeared in the doorway. Lyra's blood ran cold, but she leaped to her feet and whipped out her wand, exclaiming,

"Expecto Patronum!" Her puppy shot from the end of her wand and drove to dementor away. She looked across the corridor and her eyes widened; Harry Potter was unconscious in his compartment.

"I'll be right back," she told the twins, stepping across to Harry's compartment. She slid open the door,

"Is he alright?" She asked in concern, staring down at the boy-who-lived. Hermione looked up and smiled at her, they had been friends since their first year when they met in the library.

"I think so." Lyra sat down in one of the seats,

"That's good." She turned to study the man who was now awake and sitting across from her. She tilted her head in thought. He looked very familiar. Suddenly it came to her, he was Remus Lupin, one of her father's best friends and a werewolf.

"You're Remus Lupin." She stated, still staring at him. His gaze met hers,

"I am. How did you know?" Lyra smiled slightly,

"You were one of my father's best friends." She said, watching him. Not many people knew of her existence, she wondered if he did. She watched him look at her and noticed the spark of recognition.

"Lyra?" He asked and she smiled at him.

"Correct." She said plainly.

"Why have we never met before now? I remember him telling me when you were born, but I never heard what happened to you after, well you know." Lyra tilted her head and studied him with her piercing silver eyes.

"Absolutely nothing. That's what happened to me. Absolutely nothing. I suppose no one really knew I existed so nothing happened at all." Lupin's eyebrows knotted together,

"What does that mean? Absolutely nothing?" Lyra raised a brow,

"Exactly what it sounds like. Nothing happened to me at all. He left me at Grimmauld Place, so I grew up at Grimmauld Place." Lupin still looked confused,

"But, who raised you then?" 

"No one alive or human." She said simply and Lupin looked still more confused.

"That doesn't make any sense." 

"It makes perfect sense actually. I was raised by Walburga Black, who happens to be dead, and by a house-elf called Kreature." She said, watching for his reaction. He choked on air,

"You were raised by a painting and a house-elf?" Lyra nodded,

"Indeed I was." Lupin stared at her,

"And no one thought to give you a proper family?" Lyra shook her head again,

"I suppose not."

"That's horrible." Lyra shrugged,

"Not necessarily." 

"So are you a Slytherin then?" Lyra shook her head,

"Nope. Ravenclaw." Lupin's eyes widened,

"Who would've thought. A Black in Ravenclaw. I must say I was not expecting that." Lyra's piercing eyes bored into his soul.

"No one ever does. If you'll excuse me." She stood up and exited the compartment, noticing Harry seemed to be waking up. Lupin was left staring at her in confusion, she was like no Black he had ever known, and her eyes were rather unnerving. He had absolutely no idea what to think of her.

Lyra returned to her compartment and repacked her bag, humming to herself under her breath. She found it quite amusing to watch as Lupin had struggled to make sense of her life. She knew he wouldn't actually end up understanding her. No one ever did.

At last, the train pulled into the station, and Lyra, Padma, and Parvati climbed into one of the threstral-drawn coaches to ride the rest of the way to the castle. She entered the castle and heard Professor McGonagall call,

"Potter, Granger, and Black! I need to see you all!" Lyra sent Padma a slight smile,

"It's about my schedule." She explained, hurrying after Harry and Hermione. She reached McGonagall's office and watched in amusement as Madam Pomfrey fussed over Harry. A moment later, it was just McGonagall, Hermione, and her in the office. She listened carefully as McGonagall told them the rules of having time-turners, before accepting hers and tucking it neatly beneath her robes and hurrying to the Great Hall. 

A couple of heads turned when she walked in, but most of them quickly looked away when they met her piercing gaze as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table. She slid into the seat next to Padma and listened as Dumbledore explained about the dementors and such. During the feast, she looked up the professors' table and noticed that Lupin was studying her again, his mouth creased in a small frown. She smiled slightly at that, he probably had no idea what to make of her.