Word Count: 2,642.
Warnings: None.
Deciding not to go to the next class, I made my way up to the Astronomy Tower. Two steps had been taken towards Hagrid's and the thoughts of the meta morphing dog had riddled its way inside my brain, turning me around and away from the forest.
I had lost track of how long my eyes had been locked on one spot. From the top of the Tower, I had the same view of Hogwarts' grounds that I would from the Divination classroom. Just from a different angle. i couldn't fix the exact amount of time I had been in the highest point of Hogwarts but it was long enough to miss the rest of my classes and enough time had passed for darkness to encompass Hogwarts. The stars shone through the clouds.
It must have been a Animagi. There was nothing else, to my knowledge, that would explain a dog turning into a man so easily. Werewolves couldn't transform at will. I knew that for a fact, and even if they could, no werewolf was that small. Harry had seen a black dog following him around. It must have been it. I knew what Animagi looked like, so why was I so doubtful about this man?
Sighing, I leaned against the cold railings of the tower. Is he innocent? Is he here? What is he after? Sirius Black has escaped. The questions were endless but there was only one that repeated itself. One that seemed to stick out. Did he remember me?
"If you're going to jump, you should hurry it up," someone spoke, their voice breaking the tower's silence. I jumped, turning around quickly, my hands leaving the railing. "It'll be sunrise soon. You don't want someone walking by, do you?"
Standing in front of me was the new kid. The guy Theo had been with yesterday. The boy was leaned against the wall of the entrance to the tower, his hands sitting in pockets on his legs.
There were two things that stood out about the boy. Two things that I noticed. First, it was his scars. His face was littered with tiny white lines. There was one placed across his cheek, much smaller than the others. It was old and had clearly been there a while. Another was sat on his lip. If I couldn't see the clearly healed skin around it, I would assume the scar was a busted lip. This one, like his cheek was small, old, only noticeable when looking directly at it. The third scar was old too, like the rest, but it was much bigger. Much more painful. It fell across his nose diagonally, the ends reaching just below the space between his cheek and his nostril and at the edge of his eye, just missing the eye itself. This scar was bigger, not as compact as the others, but from the whiteness of the skin, it was clear that it wasn't new. It reminded me of Moony's scars, but it looked to have been too deep of a original wound to match Lupin's scratches.
The next thing I noticed was his eyes. They were a dark brown, being almost dark enough that you couldn't see his black pupils without looking at them directly. But it wasn't the colour of them that caught my attention, it was the light in them. You could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. Mine were a dull grey. A colour that had dulled years ago, its light barely noticeable anymore, but whoever this person was, they still had light in their gaze. His eyes still sparkled with adventure. With joy. With hope. I liked it.
"No, I wouldn't," I replied, leaning back against the railings, "But I'm not going to jump. Not thinking about it either."
Kicking off the wall, the boy settled himself beside me, assuming my previous position, looking out at the stars.
"You're Mattheo, right?" I asked.
He sighed, nodding his head, "Mattheo Riddle at your service." Straightening, he bowed exaggeratingly.
Giggling shortly, I questioned his name, "Mattheo Riddle?" I asked, "as in..."
"The Dark Lord?" He sighed. "Yes. He is my father."
I gulped, looking away from him for a moment. The son of the Dark Lord. No wonder nobody knows who he is. His presence not being addressed by Dumbledore at the feast started to make more sense in my mind.
I saw Mattheo visibly tense beside me as he spoke. Taking a deep breath, I replied, "I think you've got it worse than I do."
His eyes moving to look at me as I matched his leaned over position. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Lyra Black," I held my hand out towards him, "pleased to make you acquaintance Mr. Riddle."
Letting out a laugh, Mattheo took my hand in his, shaking it firmly. "The daughter of the mass murderer," he observed, his stature becoming looser than it had been before.
"That's me," I spoke cheerfully.
"So, what exactly did I get worse?" he asked.
"Genetics." I put simply, causing him to laugh brightly.
"Yes, I think I did." He replied through a laugh. There was a small silence as we watched the clouds move across the sky. I broke it with a question.
"What are you doing up here?" I asked, turning on my side, one arm still leaned against the cool metal beside me.
"What are you doing up here?" he retaliated, matching my position.
"Alright, that question is a no go." Turning forward again, I brought my eyes up to the stars.
"Lyra," Riddle whispered, "that's a star constellation, isn't it?"
I nodded, humming gently, "Yeah, all Blacks are named after a star or constellation." I explained, "some call it a tradition, that it means you are part of something. A family." I paused, "I call it labelling your fucking property."
"You really hate your family then." He stated.
"What gave it away?" I asked, sniffling.
"Is it out there tonight?" he asked after a moment, turning to look at the glowing lights in the clear night sky. "Is Lyra shining brightly?"
I shook my head, not needing to search the sky to know it wasn't there. "Lyra is only visible in early May."
"Let me guess." Mattheo began, "You were born early May."
I feigned a gasp, shooting him a shocked expression. "How did you know?" I asked.
He simply shook his head, looking down to the grounds of the castle. Tall, floating figures of the Dementors moved through the grass and rock, their gazes moving from right to left. How did he get up here without getting caught?
"I think this is the longest conversation I've had since arriving at Hogwarts." Mattheo spoke suddenly, my gaze leaving the Dementors.
In response to a confused expression he explained further. "People aren't exactly eager to converse with a Riddle." My expression relaxed. I watched him gulp. "I don't think they care that I've never even met my father." He scoffed, "I don't even think he knew I existed."
"Assumption is a big thing around here Riddle, you'll learn that the hard way." I replied, earning a nod from the boy beside me.
"I take it you speak from experience," he observed.
"I'm the daughter of the infamous Sirius Black and the last non-incarcerated family member with the last name left," I replied, looking at him briefly. "Assuming students always have been and always will be my specialty."
Moving away from the railings of the tower, I made my way to the entrance. Mattheo entering it had made me realize how long I had actually been gone. I needed to get back to the Common Room before Theo had a meltdown.
"How did you know my name when I came in?" Mattheo asked, stopping me, "I would say you had heard the assumptions, but you would have known my surname then in that case," he explained.
I turned around to look at Riddle, who was now leaning fully on the railings, his gaze on mine.
"Theo Nott is my cousin. He can't keep secrets from me. It's a known fact." I explained simply, earning a knowing sigh from him.
"Right." Mattheo answered, "Well, at least we have a common ally then."
I nodded, feeling the conversation beginning to die out. Turning my back on him again, I continued my way to the exit.
"How are you going to get back to the Common Room with the Dementors floating about?" Mattheo asked, yet again stopping me.
"How are you?" I turned the question around on him.
"I have my ways." He replied, pushing off the metal railings and placing the tops of his hands into his trouser pockets.
"As do I." I finished simply, turning away and quickly making my path down the steps and into the night.
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
"Where in Merlin's name have you been?" a voice boomed through the Common Room as I stepped through the portrait, my eyes closing.
"Out," I muttered, moving forward and heading quickly for the left corridor.
"Hey." Theo firmly spoke, my gaze moving to him. Nott was stood in front of the fireplace, the red flames blazing behind him as he looked down on me with a gaze that only him and Moony used.
"I was in the Astronomy Tower. Thinking." I answered, continuing my walk.
"About what?" he asked, stopping me again. I turned to face him fully.
"My father escaped prison Theo." I stated, scoffing softly, "I wonder what I was thinking about?"
"Nika told me you and Lupin were arguing when she came in." I sighed, cursing Nika's caring for me.
"Well, Nika needs to learn how to keep things to herself." Theo didn't reply. "We had an argument about my father. She interrupted," I explained, finding that there was no point in lying to him.
"Are you going to tell me what about?" he asked, his tone showing that he already knew the answer.
"I did. My father."
"Not the topic of the conversation Lyra. The actual conversation." He stressed, moving towards me.
"It's none of your business." I answered, my voice coming out stronger than intended.
"You're bottling up again Black. Do that with anyone else. Do that with Lupin for all I care, but don't shut me out," Theo asked, "You weren't at any of our classes after Divination. You don't miss class. There is something bothering you and I want you to tell me what it is."
I didn't answer the boy for a moment, staring at him wordlessly. Sighing, I pulled my arm lightly from him grip and began to talk.
"I don't know anything about my father." I answered honestly, giving in, "or my mother, or my family for that matter. It never bothered me before, but since Sirius Black escaped, I can't help but think about it. And then you called me too forgiving and..." I trailed off. "You reminded me that he isn't just a name on a piece of paper anymore." He nodded.
"Okay." He put simply, not pushing me for an explanation, "but you come to me if someone gets to you about it, like you always do?" he asked and I simply nodded in response, "and don't shut me out. I don't want a repeat of last year."
Grasping my shoulders, Theo brought me into a hug, wrapping his arms around me as he sighed. I returned his embrace, burying my face in his chest.
"Get some sleep cousin. We have class in the morning, and you are going," he stated, removing his arms from around me. I nodded, sniffling as I felt my eyes begin to sting.
"I love you Theo," I answered, moving away from him.
"I know Black. I know," he replied as I exited the Common Room, my mind set on sleep.
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
"So, guys." Theo spoke, standing behind one of the benches of our table. We were sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall the next morning.
After making my way to bed, I had then found Pansy already asleep in hers, still in her clothes. Upon waking up this morning, I had opened my eyes to the girl standing over my bed, a murderous expression etched on her face. It turned out that she had tried to wait for me to come in from wherever I was. She wasn't very happy that I ditched her in Care of Magical Creatures.
Little did she know that she hadn't woken me up at all. Simply gotten me to open my eyes. I didn't sleep a wink last night, only shutting my eyes for the remaining hours until sunrise. I had thought that at some point I might have gotten some rest, but each time I opened my eyes to look at the clock, only minutes had passed between it and the time before.
"This is Mattheo." Theo continued, my eyes moving from the empty plate in front of me. Sure enough, Mattheo Riddle stood beside Nott, his eyes already looking at me.
"And I have decried that he is the newest member of the Slytherin Gang," Theo finished, making his way around the table and squeezing himself in beside me. Mattheo sat in the empty spot beside Pansy, who was now eyeing him with an interested expression.
"Is that our name?" Draco asked, "The Slytherin gang?" Looking over to the boy, I know noticed the white sling around his left arm, holding the limb in place.
Worried, I asked, "What happened to your arm?" Draco looked to it, then back at me, answering.
"That filthy beast in the oaf's class scratched me," he spat, looking to Hagrid who was conversing with Professor Flitwick at the teacher's table.
"You provoked it," Theo explained, placing three sausages on my empty plate. "It was fine with Potter. He actually flew on the thing."
"Harry flew a beast?" I asked, finding the glasses wearing boy in the crowd.
"Yeah, a Hippo-something," Theo continued. I laughed shortly.
"Hippogriff," I corrected, to which he placed some toast onto my plate.
"How do you know that? You weren't even at the class," Blaise asked.
"I read through the book before school. They were one of the more interesting creatures in it."
"Your bookworm ass does not belong in this group Black,! Blaise commented, taking a piece of toast and shoving it into his mouth.
"So, Mattheo," Pansy started, gaining everyone's attention, "Mattheo what?" she asked, and I could see the brown-eyed boy visible tense.
"Prying for information Parkinson?" I accused.
"Just interested." She gave me an offended look.
"Riddle," he stated nervously, a few of the surrounding students going silent as he spoke.
"Nice to meet you," I started, "I'm Lyra Black." I spoke as if introducing myself again. His lips parted for a moment as he tilted his head.
"Nice to meet you Black." He replied, bringing a hand across the table and shaking my outstretched one. I winked, sitting back down to a full plate of food in front of me.
"Eat." Theo stated, handing me a knife and fork. I took them.
Pansy still looked a little wary towards Mattheo, but following my lead, she started to dig into her food. Blaise reached across the table, picking up another piece of bacon with a fork. Draco picked at his food.
"So," Mattheo started, looking around at our group, "Theo told me all of your names but I'm going to have to try and remember them."
"Draco," he stated, pointing to the frowning blonde. Malfoy simply nodded.
"Blaise." This time he pointed to the dark-skinned boy beside me. Blaise simply saluted the boy.
"Pansy." Now pointing to the short black-haired girl, she smiled nervously.
"And Lyra." He didn't point at me, simply looking at me fondly.
"That's me." I replied, grabbing a piece of toast from my plate and biting into the corner.
Theo laughed from beside me, picking up a sausage from the middle of the table and taking a large bite out of it. It was quite disgusting.
"This is why you can't get laid Theo." Pansy stated, causing the entire table to burst out into laughter, Mattheo chuckling softly with us. Theo simply chewed his food, looking around innocently.
Thoughts of Sirius Black left my mind for the 30 minutes we spent there, laughing and getting to know the newest member of our group. For the first time since getting to Hogwarts I wasn't thinking about my father, or about Moony. For the first time all summer, I was back where I belonged.