-------------------> THERE WERE SPORADIC THINGS THAT CAUSED LADY MELANIA BLACK to transform into a fit of panic. The sudden presence of her granddaughter early in the morning when she had been due to arrive later in the evening so she could be properly surprised at the party dedicated to her, was one of them.
Melania's wide eyes grew larger than saucer plates as the fire-place abruptly flickered to life and breathed out embers. Initially, she had assumed the person to be Narcissa, something that she was happy about considering they still had a few finishing-touches to polish before Lyra's party began in the evening. So, one could imagine her horror when an ash-coated Lyra had appeared more than twelve hours before she was expected.
Suffice to say, Melania was forced to clutch her heart in an attempt to not allow it to speed up and seemingly burst out of her chest. After futilely calming herself, Melania plastered a smile on her face and welcomed her lovely granddaughter and her granddaughter's fiancé with a warm embrace.
"I thought you both were supposed to come in the evening," Melania commented with a light laugh later on.
Lyra looked amused. "We were," she acknowledged, "but I missed you all too much." She paused, adding, "Us arriving early isn't an inconvenience, is it?"
"Of course not," Melania assured after a moment.
But in her hesitation, Lyra had her answer, and not the one Melania intended for her to possess. In Lyra's mind, that was what she had been reduced to after months of separation from her family. An inconvenience.
The logical part of Lyra, the one that knew about the surprise party occurring down the line, informed her that her grandmother was probably worried that the surprise factor of the party would be ruined. But the larger, more dominating, paranoid part of her that adored coming into soundless conclusions had already succeeded in convincing Lyra that she was not wanted anymore— that was why nobody but a potion-filled Bellatrix had told her anything, that was why none of them had visited her in Argentina or Peru, that was why their words were cautiously screened, that was why she alone was being distanced from the rest of them.
When Melanie excused herself to tell the rest of their family that Lyra and Lucius had returned under the disguise of getting them snacks, Lucius and Lyra explored the hauntingly hollow hallways.
Lyra halted in her steps when she gazed upon a framed portrait. Footsteps shuffling towards her premonition of the arrival of her grandparents and jerked her out of the self-induced daze.
"Lyra! Lucius! How wonderful to—"
"—I don't remember this picture," Lyra cut off her grandfather's greeting, leaving him gobsmacked.
Arcturus' visage fell like autumn leaves, smile slipping into a flabbergasted frown. Melania intertwined her fingers with his and gripped it to provide support. Arcturus kept his eyes on Lyra's form, who stared at the portrait.
Previously, Arcturus would have declared that five months was not a long time for people to change. But Lyra's placid stance, toneless tone and glaring lack of manners made him reconsider.
Arcturus followed her gaze to the picture, recognising it. "This is a rather new picture. Dear Andromeda insisted that since all of us were in the same place, we absolutely had to take a family portrait."
"It looks lovely," Lyra intoned, folding her arms on her chest as she tilted her head. "All your smiles are blinding and you look very happy." She finally turned to face them, her disposition showing indifference and her voice cool. "I'm not in this picture. Neither is Bella. Does that mean the two of us aren't considered family anymore?"
Lucius dwindled into silence but moved closer towards Lyra in a show of support as Arcturus and Melania froze at the accusation. The Lord and Lady of House Black locked eyes on the portrait and were subsequently enlightened with the epiphany that Lyra was indeed correct. The picture had been taken near the famed Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Pollux, Irma, Walburga, Orion, Sirius, Regulus, James, Charlus, Dorea, Arcturus, Melania, Narcissa, Druella, Cygnus, Alphard, Andromeda and even the mudblood of the family, Ted, were present in the portrait— smiling and happy. Lyra and Bellatrix were missing.
"We took a small, unplanned, vacation in the summer to Australia," Melania explained with a forced smile. "Bellatrix declined to attend since Ted was going to, while you had just gone to Argentina. We didn't want to call you back to London so soon."
"It fascinates me that this 'unplanned' vacation was implemented soon after I exited the country, that it couldn't have been done in the one-and-a-half months of summer days that had already begun, during which all of us were free and present," Lyra said with a smile, making the old couple stiffen. "It also intrigues me that rather than choosing Bellatrix, who was born a part of this family, you all chose to take Ted Tonks."
"Bellatrix declined to attend," Arcturus repeated, adding, "Besides, if Ted hadn't come, neither would Andromeda."
"Aah, yes. Silly me. I forgot Bellatrix is always the second choice," Lyra chimed, directing her gaze towards the portrait once more and feigning ignorance to the concerned glances exchanged by her grandparents.
Lyra couldn't help but observe that her Aunt Lucretia wasn't present either, prompting her to believe that since Lucretia and Bellatrix were married and Lyra was engaged, that was the reason for the growing gap between her and her family.
Lyra didn't allow her grandparents to brainstorm an explanation to throw the blame off themselves. Rather, she forced a faint smile to grace her face. "I'm pretty tired from travelling. It is three in the morning in Peru and I'm feeling sleepy. I'll take a nap and be back for lunch?"
Without waiting for a response, Lyra walked away to the room designated to her at the Planetarium. She managed to keep her composure until she shut the door behind her and laid on the bed.
Lucius lingered behind for a moment. "I'm not sure if it is my place to comment but..." He pressed his lips together as he gazed sternly at the senior couple. "I hold great respect for both of you, Lord and Lady Black, but Lyra... Lyra's been through a lot— under a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations, a lot of pain, a lot of everything. She feels more than she lets on and gets hurt easier than you believe she does. I hope you all are empathic."
Lucius proceeded to march in the path that Lyra had navigated on, not sticking around to see Arcturus' and Melania's reactions to his statement. When he opened the door to her room, letting himself in, and closing the archway behind him, he found her awake and her pillow wet. If only tears had colours, then Lyra's pillow would have been a canvas of her emotions; but Lucius understood what she was feeling nevertheless.
So, he hugged her tightly as she cried, grounding her to the world and in the safety of his mind, levelling indignation around Lyra's self-proclaimed beloved family for causing her to sob.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Ten minutes later when the faint rays of the winter sun were bleeding through the thin curtains, Lyra had collected herself. Both her and Lucius were now seated on the cool hardwood floors and leaning against the pastel wallpapered walls for support. Her head was on his shoulder while his arm was around her. Neither of them spoke, finding tranquillity in the quietude, lost in the mirage that was their thoughts.
"I shouldn't have behaved that way, should I?" Lyra voiced aloud, gazing blankly ahead at nothing in particular.
Lucius pursed his lips as he told her, "You simply can't go on feeling the way you do and carry on pretending it doesn't exist either; because it does. And it's valid."
Lyra half-smiled. Then, she turned to face him and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Oh, dear Merlin! Why is it always me!" Sirius wailed, making the couple separate and spin around to meet his utterly disgusted face.
Lyra tossed her head back with laughter while the tips of Lucius' ears flushed pink as they rose upwards, standing on their feet.
Sirius met Lucius' gaze dead on. "Lucius, I'm starting to adore you, but that is my sister. If you're going to kiss her, do it when I'm not around, gosh!"
"Okay then. Sirius, please leave the room."
"I can't do that! If I leave the room, you'll kiss my sister!" Sirius exclaimed, horrified.
Lyra laughed again before walking to Sirius and pulling him into a hug. "You've gotten so tall," she noted in a murmur. "And you grew out your hair. I can't imagine mum was too pleased about that."
"I asked her when she was immensely euphoric, so she agreed. I reckon she regretted it afterwards." Sirius chuckled as they broke apart. His eyes scanned her attire. "You look nice."
Lyra's smile stretched. "Thank you." She looked behind him. "Where is Regulus, James, Cissa and all?"
Sirius shrugged away her question like it was a cloak. "It's the holidays. So, asleep, asleep and planning world domination."
Lyra's brow arched. "Planning world domination? Without me? That's rather rude of her."
Sirius assumed Lyra meant it in a joking manner as she usually did, unaware that his sister felt genuine hurt for being left out.
Lyra forced herself to discard such thoughts, painting a smile on her countenance. "Anyway—" her eyes narrowed on him with thinly veiled suspicion— "how come you're awake so early? Did Grandmother or Grandfather call you here due to my arrival?"
Sirius hesitated before nodding his head. "Yes. Sure. Let's go with that answer. That sounds most plausible."
"Sirius..." Lyra looked amused. "What did you do?"
Sirius cheekily grinned with pride. "Let's just say that I'll have to live with Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus for a while... After politely begging them to not open the property for mum or dad."
Lyra's lips curled upwards while Lucius disguised his snickers into coughs at Sirius' mischievous tone.
"That's actually where I'm going now," Sirius resumed speaking. "I left my wand here yesterday. I came to pick it up and take refuge in the Potter Manor before mum, dad or Regulus wakes up."
"Good luck then," Lyra chimed. "I have a feeling you'll need it."
"I will." Sirius nodded with sombre acknowledgement. "I promise to greet you properly after the threat against my life has been taken care of, but it's great to have you back, Lyra. I missed you more than I can put it into words."
Lyra softened. "I missed you too, Sirius."
"You better have bought loads of presents for me from abroad— much more than you bought Regulus or James," Sirius warned, partially playful.
Lyra opened her mouth to respond when they heard the familiar crackling of the flames that signalled the usage of the floo, shortly followed by the screech of, "SIRIUS!"
Sirius' eyes widened. "Can I use the floo in your room?" Without waiting for her to reply, he gave Lyra a quick hug once again before dashing towards the fire-place and frantically calling out, "Potter Manor", and throwing down the white powder, proceeding to be embraced by embers.
When Sirius disappeared, Lucius told her, "Your brothers always fascinate me."
"I adore them more than anyone else in the world," Lyra wistfully stated.
Lucius smiled at her announcement. Then, he linked his hand with hers. "By the sound released a minute ago, it seems your mother has arrived. And to restrain her from throwing pianos, I conclude that your father is here as well. Shall we go to meet them? I'm sure you've missed them terribly, and vice versa."
"I do miss them," Lyra agreed as they began walking towards the door that Sirius had flung open earlier without their notice. "I'm not confident that they missed me though."
"They do," Lucius assured but Lyra provided neither a response nor any indication that she heard him.
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
By the time the grandfather clock located on one of the many hallways struck half-past nine, Lyra had finished eating breakfast, greeting her parents, Narcissa, Andromeda and Ted along with both sets of grandparents and were seated on the large, comfortable pastel-coloured sofas scattered around the drawing-room. It was comforting for Lyra that, unlike her family, the decor of the Planetarium hasn't changed with time.
The Potters were in the safety of their home, protecting Sirius from his mother's wrath, a much-needed shield considering he caused her to have snakes for hair, while Regulus was still asleep, taking advantage of the holidays. Druella had to attend an emergency meeting with the editors of "Witch Weekly", Cygnus had work to complete at the Ministry of Magic while Alphard was grandly enjoying himself in Bulgaria, according to Walburga.
After obligatory pleasantries and a run-through of what Lyra and Lucius had been up to in South America, Walburga and Orion felt that the time was appropriate to bestow upon them a gift.
Orion looked giddy, wearing a smile that reached the twinkle in his eyes as he produced a beige envelope from the pocket of his black robes and handed it to Lyra, who sat opposite to him on the sofa.
Lyra accepted it with confusion. "What is this, father?"
"A gift," Orion answered with concealed excitement.
Lyra fondly rolled her eyes. "I can see that... But why are you giving it to me now? Yule is tomorrow."
"Well, I've bought you another present for you to unwrap tomorrow. This one, in particular, I wanted to give it to you later today during the sur— ow!" Orion scowled as he rubbed the area where Walburga had elbowed him. "What was that for?"
Walburga levelled him a pointed look as if to remind him that the most important aspect of a surprise party was the element of surprise. The glares directed towards him by Melania and Narcissa, both of whom had spent much too long planning the party, also assisted in Orion quickly spotting his error.
Realisation dawned on Orion as his mouth formed an 'o' shape. Proceeding to clear his throat, he resumed speaking like nothing was wrong, "I wanted to give it to you later in the evening, after you've gotten plenty of rest and visited Lord and Lady Malfoy, but I'm afraid I couldn't wait. So, open it," he encouraged eagerly like a little kid.
Lyra giggled before nodding her head. Lucius glanced over her shoulder to watch Lyra pull out a letter from the envelope and start reading it. Lyra froze as her eyes scanned over the contents. Setting the letter down on her lap, she breathed out, "You bought me a restaurant?"
"It was your mother's idea," Orion explained to Lyra with euphoria. A bashful Walburga beamed at the recognition. "She remembered how much you adored eating at the Golden Chimera restaurant and so, after Lady Avery's tragic demise, the two of us bought the majority shares in your name. Happy homecoming Lyra."
Lyra supposed she should have been happy. After all, everyone was gazing at her with the expectation to see smiles and gratitude. However, Lyra's face smoothened to resemble a white canvas containing no specks of colours. Despite how much she forced herself to feel joyous over the thoughtfulness of her parents, all she could feel was upset due to how bluntly they had lied to her, clearly intending to get away with it.
"Thank you," Lyra said, at last, carefully keeping her tone light and thus, bringing frowns to grace the visages of those who surrounded her. "But father, you bought the majority shares of the Golden Chimera after Lady Avery's death, you say? Well, that's funny considering I read on the Prophet that the acquisition of the restaurant by an anonymous third party may have contributed to Lady Avery's murder."
Orion and Walburga stiffened at her accusation.
"The Prophet prints lies, my dear," Orion replied with a small laugh.
Lyra shook her head, feigning thoughtfulness. "I own the Prophet, father. I found the case of Lady Avery's death odd, so I personally spoke to the reporters in charge of fishing out this information when I visited London for an evening some time ago and I found the sources to be very reliable. I'm positive that the majority shares were not being controlled by the Avery family before Lady Avery's death." Staring down her father, Lyra offhandedly added, "Should you question the reliability of the Prophet father, you would also be calling me a liar."
Technically, she was, but that wasn't the point. A good lie was always constructed on undeniable facts. It was true that she had visited London for an evening to collect some documents from the Ministry of Magic and to buy Lucius' precious hair gel. It was also true that Lyra owned the Prophet and thus, with a little bit of threatening, she could have received whichever information she required. However, Lyra's primary source wasn't the reporters. It had been Bellatrix, who confided all the events that she had missed in a dizzy state under the influence of a potion along with the newspaper article Lyra had read written by Melissa Jackson.
Lyra was tired of being lied to. She was frustrated with being isolated by them, whether they intended for her to be so or not. Lyra wanted answers and like a spoilt child who received what she demanded, she was going to get them despite whatever odds were stacked against her.
Glances were exchanged around the room, most prominently by her parents. Finally, Walburga gingerly chortled. "Oh, Orion! Your memory seems to be getting worse with age! Don't you remember that we actually bought the majority shares of the Golden Chimera from the anonymous person who bought it before us?" Then, turning towards Lyra, Walburga elucidated her lie, "The former investor possessed wealth and a shady reputation already and was scared that the Aurors might accuse him of being poor Elsbeth's killer. So, he sold it to both of us."
"That sounds plausible," Lyra accepted. "And had I not have been your daughter, mother, and recognised the work of our lovely Head of House; or perhaps, had I not spotted a new flower bed growing on the outskirts of this estate —the red roses look lovely, by the way, Grandmother— I might have believed your lie."
"We aren't lying, darling," Orion stated with all the conviction held by the universe. "Why would you say that we did? What would we gain by lying to you?"
"That's what I want to know as well!" Lyra suddenly rose upwards from the sofa, leaving the certificate of ownership and envelope on the sofa and subsequently, startling poor Ted who stilled below the archway, having momentarily excused himself to visit the toilet only to return to the gaunt atmosphere of the room.
Lucius followed her lead and stood behind her for support. Lyra's expression at that moment was similar to the one she had adorned when her first pet snake, Sally, had passed away, as she boldly stared down her parents.
"Why would you lie to me? All of you?" Lyra locked eyes with everyone in the room bar Lucius. "What have you to gain from collectively deciding to keep me in the dark? Why would you do such a thing? Oh, don't make that face, Cissa!" Lyra snapped, laughing bitterly. "Did you really expect to get away with it? For me not to find out? All I want to know is why; and don't you dare give me a believable lie instead."
"You have it all mistaken, Lyra," Narcissa spoke with the epitome of calmness after her outburst. "None of us have lied to you. I made that face because I was taken aback by your shouting. Why don't you head upstairs and take a nap? I'm sure you must have over-exerted yourself from travelling, you need to re-charge. We'll talk after you wake up?"
"Why? Are you suggesting this because you are genuinely worried about my health or because you want more time to brainstorm a believable lie with all the other traitors in this room?" Lyra questioned, lips twisted to form something ugly. Her voice rose every time they deflected while her patience levels dwindled.
"Go calm your brain," Narcissa continued to speak, ignoring the accusations hurled towards her. "We'll talk after that."
"Fine! Say I do. Say I do take a nap. But are you going to be alive by the time I wake up? I've heard Theodore Nott has plans to get your head on a stick so he can parade it around town."
Narcissa instantly stilled at her words, her smooth exterior deteriorating like a sculpture whose chisel had struck too hard. Widening of eyes and releasing of gasps floated into the air.
"Lyra, apologise to Narcissa," Arcturus ordered as Melanie rushed to comfort Narcissa, who began breathing heavily, frozen with shock. "You've gone too far."
"On the contrary, I haven't begun," Lyra grinned, feeling numb and apathy. "How's the Slytherin Court, Cissa? Rather than an initiating ceremony next year, I suppose we'll have to hold a funeral for the ways of the old instead. Great job on that." She applauded mockingly before her voice grew softer, more genuine. With her tone as low as Lyra's empathic levels at the moment, she intoned, "Why didn't you ask me for help? I would have straightened them out for you. At the very least, I would have given you tips on how to keep the students in line and assert your authority, having gone through it myself."
"But you're not going through this now!" Narcissa exploded like a volcano. "I am. This is my problem, not yours; so stop making everything about you. I don't need you to solve them for me, I can do it myself. You chose me to be the Queen after you graduated— did you make that decision because you trusted me to handle the responsibility or because you were obligated by society to choose me?" She asked rhetorically.
Then, Narcissa resumed hotly venting, "You might not believe I can run things in the Court by myself but I can— that's what I'm doing. My methods might be different from yours but that doesn't mean they're wrong. I'm trying my best, it'll take time because unlike what you seem to think, not everyone can be bloody perfect like you!"
It was odd how people could be so casually cruel in the name of being honest.
We, as humans, tend to believe in free will, that we are uncontrollable beasts that can do anything but the reality of it is that we are enslaved to our thoughts and memories. They are the masters of the mind and they control us with such a force that even our inner selves cannot fight against. And although she wished she was, Lyra Black was, unfortunately, no exception.
Lyra's eyes contained glaciers as she harshly told Narcissa, "You think I wanted to be perfect? No, I had to be perfect," she spat that word out like it was a curse, recalling all the times Bellatrix had called her as such. "I had to be flawless, or at least pretend to be so. It was never a choice for me. I couldn't risk what you all would say if I wasn't."
The occupants of the room were shocked into silence at her confession. They knew that Lyra worked hard to stay afloat among the expectations she was being drowned in, but they were unaware of the true extent of it.
To Lyra, perfection also doubled as escapism— to not be criticised, to not be nit-picked, to not be judged, to be free of all scrutiny was an addicting feeling. Therefore, she had repeatedly strived to do precisely that and somewhere along the journey, Lyra had begun prioritising how those she loved viewed her rather than how she viewed herself.
Lyra's mother was the first to react. "Oh Lyra..." Walburga's eyes melted like candle-wax, her voice was barely above a gentle hum. "Darling, we're terribly sorry. We didn't know you felt this way."
"How would you?" Lyra said at last. "You never asked."
Walburga looked like she had been hexed while Orion could personify the term heartbroken. The rest of her family fared more or less the same. They looked distraught by her admission and horrified that they didn't notice earlier.
But Lyra didn't care.
She couldn't see facts through her fury to be forgiving. She didn't want to hear apologies. She wanted the guilt to eat them alive. Lyra wanted them to drown in their thoughts as she drowned in hers.
"All I wanted was the truth. None of you bothered to give me that. You reflexively denied what I claimed and then conspired to continue doing so. You wanted me to question myself, my perception. You wanted to distort the image I had in my mind and— Well, I can't believe you all had the audacity to try and do this to me. We're supposed to be family. You all are the ones who taught me the meaning and values behind being a family— how it goes so much deeper than blood. Here you all are, setting flames to everything I thought I knew about family bonds." A humourless laugh escaped Lyra's lips. "All my life, I've tried so bloody hard to not disappoint you all. In a pleasant change, here I am—being disappointed by you all. I'm not sure what's worse."
Lyra gazed heatedly at everyone in the room, still standing up whereas everyone else was seated at the edge of their seats. Then, her eyes turned to slits as soon as they fell on Ted, inert below the archway.
Noting her regard towards her husband, Andromeda leapt up from her chair and rushed to Ted's side, in a display of support and comfort similar to the manner Lyra was being backed by Lucius.
It was apparent that Lyra had spotted her target.
"You are all so selfish," Lyra whispered to them, swivelling towards a silent Andromeda, recollecting how the majority of her family's problems stemmed from her love life. "Everything was fine before you damned us."
"Now that's a little harsh," Ted stated, stepping forward in the defence of his wife, who genuinely felt terrified by the feral, savage expression that was adopted on Lyra's face.
Andromeda tugged on his sleeve lightly. "Ted, stop."
Ted shook his head. "No, 'Meda. I know she's your cousin but she can't judge your actions without understanding the reasons behind them. Actually, she can't judge or blame you at all."
"Ted, stop," Andromeda repeated firmly, futility pulling him back as she watched with horror as Lyra's face now masked to show vacancy, fingers twitching towards her wand holster.
Ted, however, resumed his rant, telling his wife, "You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't constantly call me and others a slur, you don't blackmail family members with their secrets, you don't threaten people." He coolly gazed at Lyra, still speaking to Andromeda, "But she does. She has so many faults and nobody is acknowledging them. I'm sympathetic as to how hard it's been for you, Lyra, I really am, but that gives you no right to shift the blame of your shortcomings onto Andromeda. None of what any of you are experiencing is her fault and you, someone who claims to love and care for her, shouldn't make her feel like it is. In fact, no-one would be in this mess had you not forced Andy to tell your Grandfather. None of this would have happened if you hadn't interfered in our business and decided that you own the world and should, thus, control and dictate the actions of everyone in this. If anything, you are the one who has to carry the blame, for everything. You damned us, Lyra, not the other way around."
"Ted," Andromeda hissed in warning but the damage was already done.
Lyra was unresponsive. It was the dreaded silence before the storm. Then, she tossed her head back in laughter, the chilling sound floating in the air like moss on swamps. Still smiling, she faced Ted, "I don't do anything?" Lyra echoed, her tone airy but words heavy. "I don't do anything? Are you fucking kidding me?"
She had done plenty of things, some good, some bad. Lyra was the reason Andromeda wasn't disowned and Ted was breathing, although she regretted her decision now.
"Every single decision I've taken was to keep you safe. To keep all of you safe and happy. I've always prioritised your happiness over mine and this is what I get? I don't do anything?" Lyra laughed again.
There might have been a slight exaggeration on the initial part of her statement but Lyra was confident that her intentions were always pure. She did so much for them, much more than they knew.
"This is what I get? Ignorance and judgement. Not even an acknowledgement regarding the multiple sacrifices and things I've done for you, let alone gratitude. I don't do anything! Hahaha."
Lyra continued to chortle over the deafening silence of the room, the other occupants of which looked at her with concerned, wide gazes. Lyra laughed until tears formed in her eyes, at which point she couldn't differentiate between whether those were tears of joy or tears of sadness. At that point, she didn't care.
"You are wrong, Tonks, I did a lot of things for your happiness. For Andromeda's. For Narcissa, for Regulus, Sirius, Bellatrix, James, for everyone! Everyone but myself." Her voice cracked and Lyra was forced to inhale a long, sharp breath for her to continue speaking next. "But you know what? Since you think I don't do anything, perhaps I should transform that lie into a reality. Watch me do nothing from now on. Watch me prioritise myself over you all. Watch me enjoy my life without constantly worrying over your wellbeing and happiness. Watch me do everything I want to and nothing I don't without being concerned over how my actions affect you. Watch me not care, and I'll watch you regret every single word that spilt from your filthy mouth."
"Lyra..." Orion softly trailed off, carrying rings of guilt.
Lyra ignored him and kept her gaze fixed on Ted. "You are so...obtuse. Both of you—" she alternated glances between Andromeda and Ted. "—You don't understand precisely how much power and respect Grandfather Arcturus lost because of you. You don't understand how hard Narcissa and Regulus are faring at school because of you. You don't understand how much ridiculing all of us had to defend ourselves from because of you and you don't care. You don't care about any of that. Yet, I'm the one who judges your actions without understanding the reasons behind them? I'm the only one in this room brave enough to call you out on it! All you've done is complain and whine about me not doing anything when you've been the reason for every unfortunate event that has happened to us so far! Wow," Lyra snarled with a scoff. Mockingly, she applauded him. "I admire your audacity."
Ted clenched his jaw. "Once again, you are shifting the blame from yourself," he gritted out. "As hard as it must be for you to believe, the world doesn't revolve around you and we can fight for our happiness too. Just because things didn't go your way doesn't mean you can be mad at someone else showing a semblance of joy. You might have had it hard, Lyra, but that doesn't mean the rest of us had it easy. Andromeda and I have the right to be happy. If you don't approve of a mudblood marrying your cousin, then build a bridge and get over it."
"I prefer to burn my bridges when the people I hate are on it," Lyra grinned, showing her sharp, sharp teeth.
Then, she stepped closer towards Ted. Andromeda pulled him back.
"I hope the Dark Lord kills you," Lyra cheerfully confessed. The occupants of the room momentarily froze by the casual, abrupt remark. Darkness washed over. "I'll personally send the Dark Lord a gift basket filled with apples if he kills you in the most horrifying way possible. I would do it myself, but I don't prefer wasting my time and energy on the filth that should rightfully be eradicated or cease to exist."
Ted's breath hitched while Andromeda's heart stopped.
"Lyra," Irma started warningly, speaking up for the first time. "You crossed a line. Apologise."
"Oh, I crossed a line?" Hysteria filled Lyra. The temperature of the room dropped to ice-cold but her blood was boiling with rage. "What happened to mudbloods being dirty, Grandmother? You slashed someone's throat in your youth for calling them muggle-borns instead of mudbloods. I wonder if, rather than growing wiser as you age like fine champagne, you're growing more putrid like vinegar. Are you seriously taking his—" she pointed an accusing finger at Ted— "side over your own granddaughter's? Your flesh and blood? Wow. I wonder what the world would say if they knew you became the same blood-traitor which you formerly stated you detest," she spat.
Irma was unfazed. "And what about you?" She countered. "What happened to the girl who hated the Dark Lord and ran away from the continent first chance she got to get away from him?"
"She realised she was wrong." Lyra's lips were twisted, forming something bitter and ugly. "That naïve girl who thought she could revolutionise the world and fix all her problems by running away realised she was wrong about everything, especially her family who supposedly loved her. The love you hold for me has been replaced—" She glared at the portrait hung which contained the faces of every one part of the Black family but her, with burning intensity to force it to spontaneously combust "—and I know when I'm not needed. You don't have to make excuses. Actions speak louder than words, after all, and your actions towards me are nothing. Either you love me so much you don't care or you care so much, you don't love me. Well, I hate you. All of you."
Lyra spun on her heel and strolled towards Lucius, who instantly linked his hand with hers. "Let's go. Your mother must be awaiting us."
"Hold on," Orion interjected, commanding attention. "You can't leave after saying something like this."
"Watch me."
"We need to talk about this," Orion insisted, ignoring her words. "Darling, we need to sit down, drink some water, calm ourselves and solve whatever misunderstandings that emerged."
"Misunderstandings? That's what you are choosing to call it? I call it facts, father. Fact number one; None of you told me anything. I had to find everything out by myself. I was kept in the dark and I doubt you ever wanted to shine a light on me."
"We didn't want you to worry," Walburga admitted soothingly.
"Hmm, that didn't work out too well, did it?"
"Are you happy?" Narcissa questioned quietly, startling Lyra with the randomness of the directive.
Lyra tilted her head. "What kind of question is that?"
"Are you happy?" Narcissa repeated. "Before this mess, before you returned to Britain, were you happy?"
"Yes," Lyra answered. "Yes, I was."
"And that is precisely the reason why we mutually agreed to tell you nothing."
"Because I was happy," Lyra deadpanned sarcastically but Narcissa nodded her head.
"Yes. You haven't been genuinely happy for so long. Rarely did your smiles reach your eyes from the moment you entered Hogwarts. But now, they do. You are happy. You are really happy, and none of us wanted to dampen your happiness with our burdens. Not when you've recently been freed of them."
"I don't consider them as burdens. You could never bother me with your problems. You could have told me not to solve them, I would have listened. But to not tell me anything at all hurts. It is isolating and it sucks."
"But we do burden you with worries," Narcissa persisted, having seemingly not heard the rest of her statements and forgotten the confrontation that took place between them a few minutes ago. "We do burden you with our worries, Lyra, whether you recognise it as such or not. There's a difference between being happy and ignoring your sadness. You were the latter for so long and none of us wanted to unravel like a ball of yarn all the tension, all the progress, all the effort it took for you to finally be happy."
Lyra stared at her. Slowly but surely, a sickening epiphany enlightened her.
They wouldn't understand.
Even if she delved into a deep explanation regarding why she was feeling the way she was, they wouldn't understand. Despite her already having expressed a plethora of her thoughts, her family was missing the point that she was infuriated about, which had been painted in glaring neon.
They slowly but surely had been isolating her.
Lyra wasn't open to hearing any of their explanations to justify their actions nor was she regretting her response towards the whole event.
Lyra was hurt and upset by their distance from her. For months she had haunted her ricocheting thoughts with laments on what she did to deserve such treatment from her family. For months, she felt unwanted. She felt unloved.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Lucius tightened his grip on her hand. "Let's go," he whispered to her softly. "Don't do anything you'll regret in the future, life. Let's go." He urged.
Lyra mutely nodded, pulling out her wand.
"We need to talk about this Lyra," Orion pleaded upon deciphering her action. "Let us discuss things with a clear mind. We can't —we shouldn't— leave things unresolved; it'll only get worse."
Lyra was expressionless as she spoke, "We haven't discussed any of this for eighteen years. I'm sure we can postpone it for another eighteen days or so." She slashed her wand across the wind and in a flurry of air, apparated to the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. For the first time in her life, Lyra didn't care if her words or actions had offended her family. Rather, she felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Lyra felt like she could finally breathe.
So that happened :)