The Great Hall
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𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐌 echoed through the Great Hall at breakfast the next morning. Lyra glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Seamus Finnigan's face covered in ash. She giggled quietly and exchanged an amused look with Tonks.
"What do you reckon he was trying to do?" Lyra asked before taking a bite of buttered toast with honey.
"Turn water to rum," Ophelia said, giggling. "Hadley Weasley tried to do the same thing during our first year and accidentally lit the ends of her hair on fire."
"Why is she always playing with fire?" Tonks frowned, sighing with a shake of her head. "You can't leave the girl alone for 5 minutes without her trying to burn something."
"She's special." Ophelia took a sip of pumpkin juice and winked at Lyra, who laughed.
The screeching of owls filled the Great Hall as the mail arrived. Lyra spotted Lucius's eagle-owl drop a parcel off for Draco at the Slytherin table. It was most likely filled with sweets and a note from Narcissa telling him to share with Lyra.
She saw a familiar raven fly in carrying a scarlet envelope in his mouth. The colour drained from her face, the bite of toast in her mouth becoming dry like cement as she struggled to swallow it. Juro dropped the letter down in front of her, cawing.
"It's bad, isn't it?" she asked quietly. Juro cawed again. He pecked at her toast before flying away. With shaky hands, Lyra picked up the Howler.
"Is that from—" Tonks began.
"Bellatrix." Lyra gulped, tears stinging in her eyes. She knew that there was nothing good inside of this letter. She didn't even have time to get up and go to a more private area before it exploded, Bellatrix's voice booming out of it.
The conversations in the Great Hall came to a halt, heads turning in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. Lyra sat there with tears streaming down her face as she listened to the strongly worded letter from Bellatrix telling her how much of a disgrace and disappointment she was to the Black family name; how she had brought them great dishonour by being sorted into the weakest Hogwarts house.
The hall was silent. You could hear a hairpin drop, Lyra got up from the table and ran out. Her vision was blurred with tears, and her chest felt tight. She gasped for air as a feeling of panic overtook her. She tried to remember to breathe, to count, but nothing was working. She'd had panic attacks before, but this was by far one of the worst ones.
She covered her ears with her hands and slid her back down the wall, shaking as Bellatrix's words echoed in her ears.
"Lyra!"
"Oh, Merlin, that Howler was just cruel."
"Girl, breathe, okay? Deep breaths."
"Should I go get one of the professors?"
"Don't crowd her! Move! Get out of my way!" Draco shoved Ophelia, Tonks, Aliyah, and Dakota out of the way so that he could get to Lyra. He sat down next to her and took her hand, interlocking their fingers. "Lyra. . .Hey, hey, blondie, look at me." He gently patted the side of her face, turning it so that she would look at him. "Remember the 5 senses exercise my mum taught you. Can you tell me five things you can see?"
"Y-You. . ." Lyra gasped for a breath between sobs. "C-C-Ceiling. Ro. . .Robes." She sniffled and wiped her cheek as she looked around. "A-Aliyah a-and Kody."
"Okay, good." Draco put his arm around her, pulling her into his side. "Four things you can touch."
"Y-Your hand." Lyra held Draco's hand a little tighter. "Hair." Using her free hand, she touched the boy's perfectly combed hair. Normally he would've slapped her hand away, but he let it slide this time. "Th-The floor. . .The wall."
"You're doing so good, Lye. Tell me three things you can hear."
"Your voice," Lyra said, her breathing slowly becoming steady again. Draco gently wiped a tear off of her cheek. "The kids in the. . .the Great Hall. And, uh. . .f-footsteps." She looked up and saw Professor McGonagall approaching them.
"Two things you can smell," Draco continued, ignoring the woman's presence.
"Food, and your shampoo." Lyra sniffled. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "A-And one thing I can taste is the, uh. . .honey from my toast." She used the sleeve of her robe to wipe her face.
"Miss Black, are you alright?" McGonagall asked, genuine concern in her voice as she looked down at the petite Hufflepuff girl. "That Howler was certainly uncalled for."
"I am now. . .I think," Lyra whispered. "Thanks to Draco."
"If you need to be excused from classes today—"
"N-No, I can go." Lyra stood up quickly, feeling dizzy as she did so. She grabbed onto Draco, who helped steady her. "Really, Professor, I'm okay. I can go. I-I don't want to miss anything."
"We'll keep an eye on her and make sure she's okay," Aliyah said as Dakota nodded.
"And Ophelia and I can check in on her during meals and later in the Common Room," Tonks added, motioning between her and the brunette.
"She's my blondie." Draco scoffed, glaring at the other students. "She doesn't need anyone else, especially not disowned family and filthy Mudblo—"
Lyra elbowed him roughly. McGonagall pursed her lips together and sent him a stern look. Dakota popped her neck, her eyes narrowing at Draco, daring him to finish that sentence.
"Should you need to talk to anyone, Miss Black, my door is always open," McGonagall told Lyra gently before walking away.
"Are you gonna be okay, Lyra?" Ophelia asked. She rubbed the girl's arm comfortingly, a small pout on her lips. No child ever deserved to be treated like that, especially not by their own family.
"I will be." Lyra forced a weak smile as the bell rang for their first class.
Students she passed in the corridor all gave her the same look of sympathy; pity. She hated being stared at. Why did that Howler have to explode in front of everyone? It was embarrassing, and Lyra wished that the earth would open up and swallow her whole.
She sat down in the back of the History of Magic class. She pulled out a roll of parchment, a quill, and an ink pot from her bag. She prepared to take notes, avoiding the gaze of all her classmates.
She wondered if this is how Harry Potter feels whenever people constantly stare at him and his scar.