Word Count: 3,277 words.
Warnings: None.
I opened the door of the Hog's Head Inn before Abe could protest. "Potter!" I whisper shouted. He didn't pay me any mind, gaze faced away from me.
Turning my gaze left and right, I spotted approaching figures in the distance. Their wands were raised. "Fuck," I cursed, picking up a rock from the ground and throwing it at the Gryffindor. If I tried to run to him, the Death Eaters would only see me and then my cover would be blown. Not that it already wasn't.
The rock hit him in the side of the head and a sudden defensive look was thrown my way. I waved him towards the Inn and with a small, hesitant sigh and a look to Hermione and Ron, they scurried across the street, rushing in the door. I shut it firmly behind them.
"Abe, the lights," I whispered, noticing that there were several lamps on in the room.
With a quick flourish of his hand, darkness surrounded us. I kept my back to the door and eyes on the window beside it. Footsteps hurried past the glass, alarms still blaring.
"Where'd he go?" one of them asked.
"I don't know," the other replied.
I pressed my back tightly against the wooden door as the Death Eater pressed his face to the glass. "What's this place?" he asked.
"Pub, I think."
The alarm stopped, and the wizard stepped away from the window. "Come on, he couldn't have gone far."
I let out a sigh of relief as I heard their footsteps retreat. The lights returned to the room, dimmer than they had been before but enough to see each person in the Inn clearly.
"That was close," Ron muttered, turning to look at me. "Thanks, I suppose."
I nodded shortly in response, turning my eyes to Harry. He wasn't looking at me. Rather, his green eyes were fixed on Aberforth.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
Abe let out a sigh. "You knew my brother. Albus."
Potter's eyes widened. "You're the man in the mirror. You sent Dobby."
"Mirror?" I questioned, looking to the older Dumbledore brother. "What mirror?"
"It's not important," Abe told me, facing Harry. "Where did you put that House Elf I sent?"
"He's dead," Harry informed him.
"Fuck," I cursed, shaking my head. I hadn't known Dobby well, but he was a kind soul. One who didn't deserve to me a victim of this war.
Harry's eyes met mine in that moment and a simple understanding passed between the two of us. He spoke first. "I'm sorry."
I shook my head. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I lied to you."
He didn't let me say another word before closing the distance between us and taking me into a tight hug. I returned it quickly, my hands holding each other around the back of his neck.
"It doesn't matter anymore. You didn't have a choice," he muttered.
I pulled away sniffling. "But I did. I did have choice. I just chose the wrong one."
Potter just shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Family don't give up on each other."
I smiled. "You're damn right they don't."
There was a small pause before our exchange was interrupted. "It's great to see you and all Lyra," Hermione began, "but we need to get into the castle. There's a horcrux there."
I looked at her for a moment before snapping my gaze back to Harry. "In the castle?"
"The final one. Then its just Nagini and him Lyra."
I nodded along but couldn't hide the sadness that washed over me at the mention of my grandmother. I froze for a moment. "She's a horcrux?" I posed, feeling as though I couldn't take in a breath.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry Lyra."
At his confirmation, I finally took a deep breath, turning my gaze to Abe. Despite knowing that he had not known Nagini well, if at all, but blamed himself for what had become of her, and of my mother. He had never said it, but I was sure he regretted sending them away at his doorstep.
"Can you get them in through the tunnels?" I asked.
He nodded gesturing to the back room. "This way,"
Hermione and Ron followed quickly as Harry hesitated. "Are you coming?" he posed.
"I'll go the normal way. No point crawling through a dusty tunnel when I don't need to," I explained.
"Will you not get caught?"
I pointed at myself. "Death Eater."
Potter smiled, giving me a sharp nod before hurrying after his friends. I let out a heavy sigh.
Turning my gaze to the floor, I noticed the small green gem on the ground. Rushing forward, I picked it up and turned the stone over in my hand. It didn't look any different to how it had around my neck or indeed after I had taken it off, but it felt different.
There was a thrum of power emanating from it that wasn't there before. I could feel how strong it was. The two souls battling for dominance within. If you looked closes enough, you would almost believe that you could see two separate flashes of light. One black and one white. The dark chased the light in circles and the gap between them became shorter the longer I stared at it. The cat was chasing the mouse. I shoved it into my pocket as Abe reappeared.
"They're with Neville on their way back to Hogwarts," he informed me.
I nodded slowly. "Abe, about the binding spell –"
"I shouldn't have done it," he cut me off. "You were in pain and I just..."
I didn't know what to say. What response was required in a moment like this and so instead, I just ignored his regret and my guilt.
"Will you do what I ask?" I posed.
Aberforth closed his eyes in thought, leaning his hand on a nearby chair. "You have no idea what you are asking me to do. What you have already asked me to do."
"Abe," I tried, stepping closer and placing a gentle hand on his arm. "You know it's the right thing to do. If you don't do this, then she will just find another victim to prey on."
He didn't answer, but I could tell that he was taking in my words and that, in some way, he knew they were right.
"I need you to promise me Abe." I tried to meet his gaze but he refused to look at me, eyes turned down. "Abe, please..."
"I can't do it Lyra," he told me and finally our eyes met. There were tears in them. "You're asking me to kill you, How could I ever do that?"
"I know," I replied, fighting back my own tears, "but it's the only way and you're the only one I trust will do it. You're the only one that truly knows why this curse needs to be destroyed once and for all."
He nodded slowly, but he didn't promise. In fact, he didn't speak to me again that night he just stared. Just... looked. I left without hearing a response and I hoped in my heart that he would do the right thing. I hated myself to even ask it of him, but who else could I trust but the man who knew the pain of the Obscurus?
He had lost his son because of it and in extension, a relationship with his granddaughter and now... he was going to lose me. The last of his family. Aberforth Dumbledore didn't deserve the pain given to him by others. There was no maybe about that, and yet he had lived a life of sadness. I wonder what it was that had pushed him to live. Perhaps Albus, but his brother was dead. Maybe I became that reason once I killed his younger brother and so what would happen when I left him alone in this world? I shuddered at the thought.
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
I didn't make an effort to sneak back into Hogwarts. The sound of my shoes against the stone floor echoed through the empty halls. It didn't matter anymore. The secrecy and the lies. This war was coming to an end.
I hurried for the dungeon, almost sprinting the last few strides and entering the Slytherin Common Room before the door could open fully.
"And what sort of time do you call this?" Pansy's voice drifted through the large room. She sat on the couch nearest the fire.
Everyone was there. Draco, Theo, Blaise, Marcus, Mattheo and the Queen of Slytherin herself. Both Blaise and Pansy smiled at me as I entered, clearly telling me that Parkinson's remark had been a sarcastic joke. The other Slytherin's in the room had taken into account my frazzled state and wide eyes.
"What happened?" Riddle asked me, standing up as quickly as he could and approaching my side. "Did something happen with Abe? Is he alright?"
So I had told Mattheo where I was going. I had assumed that I hadn't just left him on the top of the Astronomy Tower by himself, but I couldn't remember what excuse or lie I might have given him. Instead of answering the question discreetly, I avoided it all together.
"Harry's in Hogsmeade," I announced.
Mattheo turned, looking towards the others. "And so it starts."
Blaise and Pansy seemed more confused than the others – I hadn't seen them after Gringotts – but they knew what I was taking about.
"He's looking for the last Horcrux. It's in the castle somewhere," I explained. "Once he destroys it, it's only Nagini and Voldemort left,"
Draco nodded, standing up. "I need to find him."
"We can't," Pansy spoke up, standing herself. "Snape called all students to the Great Hall."
"When did this happen?" I asked.
"Just before you came in. You didn't hear it?"
As though on que, streams of Slytherin students left their rooms around us and nervously made for the entrance. Their hushed whispers fell silent as they left the safety of the Common Room.
All of us now standing, I hurried closer to them. "He must know that Harry's here."
"I don't understand," Marcus replied. "I thought Snape was on our side. You know, the kill Voldemort team."
I paused for a moment. "An alarm went off when Harry apparated into Hogsmeade. There were Death Eaters that saw him. With Potter being Most Desirable Number One, it would be suspicious not to do anything in response."
"Aren't we past suspicious?" Blaise posed. "If the war is coming here, we're past keeping fake loyalties."
Mattheo nodded. "The students need to be awake to fight. He's making sure Hogwarts is ready for war."
Theo tilted his head. "That's the last of the Slytherin's in the Common Room. We should follow them before someone notices."
I turned my head, seeing that he was right. The noise had stopped and the last of the Slytherin's had left.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," I muttered.
"You should," she told me, voice at my ear. She didn't appear in the Common Room but I could feel her. The strength from the binding spell was wearing off, "because when I take over, there will be no chance of survival."
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
"Many of you are surely wondering, why I had summoned you at this hour," Snape's voice echoed across the empty Great Hall. The tables had been pushed back and now the entirety of Hogwarts stood in lines strictly.
I stook behind the Headmaster, Mattheo at my side. The Carrow twins were stood a little ways back, nearer to the window but their eyes bore into each and every one of the students. Felix and the other Death Eaters I had affiliated myself with stood in the back corner, by the back door to the Hall. A memory struck me about that wooden barrier. Someone had made their entrance through it, and for some reason the thought made me shudder.
"It has come to my attention," Snape continued, "that Harry Potter was spotted in Hogsmeade earlier this evening."
There was a small pause in the room as I watched the student's expressions change. Some even smiled at the thought that they might be saved. I knew Harry would win but would every person in this room would make it out alive?
"Now..." the Headmaster took a deep breath, "should anyone... student or staff attempt to aid Mr. Potter... they will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transcription. Furthermore... any person found to have knowledge of this events and who fail to come forward will be treated as equally guilty."
There was a pause in his words and I felt Riddle lean towards me to whisper in my ear. "Are you sure he's on our side?"
I turned to look at him. "Do you doubt it?" I whispered.
He took a quick glance at Snape. "I know the face of a man who likes the power he holds and it looks like that."
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. "I trust him. Completely."
"If anyone in here," Snape spoke up again, "has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movement this evening, I invite them to step forward... now."
"It seems," a different voice joined the conversation as a single student stood out from the lines. It was Harry, "despite your exhaustive defensive strategies... you still have a security problem Headmaster."
The double doors at the end of the Great Hall opened and a large group of people entered, Hermione and Ron at the front of them. I recognised them. All of them and although I couldn't think of any of their names, I knew who they were. The Order of the Phoenix.
"I'm afraid its quite extensive," Harry added and suddenly his fingers were clasped around his wand and he pointed it towards Snape.
Mattheo's arm wrapped around the front of my waist as Snape drew his wand to match Potter's. He pushed me backwards slightly and I watched as McGonagall stepped in between Potter and Snivellus, her own wand raised. Snape faltered in front of her.
"I have to get in there," I muttered to Mattheo.
"You'll get hit by their spells," he argued quietly.
McGonagall threw fire at Snape from her wand, the students around her retreating backwards as he cast defensive spells. He wouldn't fire back. I knew he wouldn't. Not at Minerva.
"Snape wont attack either of them and Minnie is pretty pissed. She could kill him," I told the boy in front of me.
He considered it for a moment, turning his gaze to meet mine. Riddle didn't have time to respond as Snape deflected another spell. It shot towards us.
"Mattheo, duck," I warned, pushing down on his shoulders and falling to my hunkers. The spell narrowly missed him, finding a different target. Two simultaneous shots hit both Alectus and Amycus Carrow.
With a sudden loud shatter, the glass of the window behind us shattered. I moved without thinking, hurrying to face the falling shards.
Raising my hands, I drew from the power in the stone that rested in my pocket, freezing the broken window mid-descent. Malfoy, Nott and Flint stood underneath it, eyes wide at the sharp glass that had almost fallen on them.
With a small shout, I outstretched my arms, the glass turning back to sand and hitting the ground. The strength left me and I fell to the floor, bracing my hands against the cold stone.
"Lyra!" a shout sounded but my wars rung. I hadn't used much magic and yet I was drained.
"Tick tock," her voice whispered in my ear and this time I could have sworn I could feel her breath on my neck
Hands were on my face as Mattheo turned my head to look at him. Fear dominate his features as his eyes moved back and forth across my face. I placed my hand around his arm comfortingly.
"I'm fine," I told him, standing up with a small groan of pain.
"Are you alright?" It was Draco this time. Flint and Nott stood at his other side. I only nodded.
"Merlin Lyra," Felix's voice joined the group," that was fucking awesome."
I smiled. "Glad you think so. Where's Snape?" I asked, still leaning on Mattheo for support. He didn't argue.
"He apparated out of here," Not informed me.
"Lyra!" a different voice called.
At first, I didn't recognise it but as I turned to face the length of the Great Hall. I saw a tall, scarred man rushing towards me through the crowd of students. I let go of Mattheo turning my body towards him.
"Moony," I breathed. I didn't forget that. All of my memories of him were gone but I didn't forget his name. He was Moony. He was my dad.
He hugged me tightly, holding the back of my head against his chest. I could hear the audible sigh of relief as he embraced me. "Oh my little Padsy," he breathed, pulling away to look me in the eyes. "I am so glad to see you."
I smiled tiredly. "Me too."
There was a sudden scream in the room and everyone's attention turned on a small Gryffindor girl that was curled into a ball against the wall of the Great Hall.
"What's going on?" I asked out loud. Moony flinched beside me, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Moony?" I asked, placing a gentle touch on his arm.
The entire Hall seemed to be in some kind of state between the man beside me and the screaming little girl. I turned my head back to Mattheo. None of the other Death Eaters were affected.
"What the fuck is going on?"
They all equally seemed confused. "I don't know," Felix replied, stepping up beside me, "but it can't be good."
"Fuck." Theo let out a small curse of pain. When I turned to look at him, he was grasping his forearm in pain. In fact, they all were. I pulled up my sleeve, looking at the unmoving Dark Mark.
"He's calling us back," Mattheo explained, hand pressed firmly against his collarbone.
"Not me," I added.
The look of fear on Mattheo's face was something I was never going to forget as all four of them disapparated without wanting to and vanished from the room. Almost simultaneously, Moony stood straight again and the screaming had stopped.
He turned to me. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I don't know yet."
"Hey," he tried. "I love you." It was sincere. As it always was.
I smiled. "When did you get so soppy?"
"I saw him," Harry began, rushing up the steps towards me. "He's in the boat house. So's Nagini."
I nodded. "Well then, we need to –"
My words were cut off as a gust of wind blew past me and suddenly, I was disapparating from the Great Hall. Not expecting the change, I found my legs turn weak underneath me and crumple to the ground.
Panting, I felt disoriented and confused, hands pressed firmly against the cold stone ground. The air was ice around me and at first, I thought myself to be outside, but I wasn't. I was in the dock house.
"You fooled me well," a voice began, "but you underestimate my ability to spot a rat."
I turned my gaze up, falling back to sit on my hunkers. Voldemort smiled above me, but it wasn't a cruel smile. Rather it was tight with frustration. Betrayal.
"Perhaps I do," I replied, swallowing, "but it was exhilarating to have you wrapped around my thumb."
He lashed out at me with my own wand. The stunning spell shot towards me as time began to slow.