The next week I tried to keep my mind off my father. But that wasn't easy when Zacharias Smith asked very loudly in the middle of Transfiguration if I knew why my father killed all those muggles?
He was just lucky it was only an inkwell that Katherine threw at his eye before McGonagall sent her out of the classroom.
But quickly enough, the 12th September came around and it was a new beginning. My twelfth birthday, another year to grow and evolve, and whatever else overly-positive people loved repeating.
I'd barely opened my eyes when I was assaulted by a party horn to the face, making the pathetic squeak they make. Rubbing sleep out of my eyes I could see a very chipper looking Sasha sat on my bed wearing a party hat and a tesco carrier bag of presents.
"Happy birthday Lyra!" she beamed. "Twelve years of you annoying me already!"
I rolled my eyes. "Thank you, Sasha."
"Happy birthday, Lyra." Katherine was still in her flowery pyjamas with a party hat jammed on her head. She gave the tiniest of smiles to me, before looking as indifferent to the world as she usually did.
"Present time!" Sasha exclaimed. "Open Mum's present first."
My chest tightened. After the potions incident, I'd sent mum a very short letter: how could you not tell me about what dad did. She'd sent two sheets of paper in response, which I hadn't read. I'd let Sasha burn it, which delighted her.
Slowly unwrapping the package, I found a brand-new violin case and a care kit for it. A lump formed in my throat. This stuff was expensive—I'd been asking mum for this specific light blue leather case since last Christmas. Now it sat in my arms.
Trying not to cry I took my violin out of its battered, slightly chewed case and put it into its new home. Mum had included two birthday cards as well, one from her, and one from Remus.
"Mine next, mine next!" Sasha was almost bouncing as she handed over a heavy, book-shaped parcel.
"Hmm, I wonder what this is." I tried sarcasm out for a try.
"Stop being a little shit, I know you're going to love it." Sasha smirked knowingly.
Sasha, being Sasha, was absoloutley right. Concealed in the crunchy wrapping paper was a large illustrated version of 'Ruby'. The cover was embossed with the witch heroines—Lacey and Hollie—who raised their wands towards a large dragon who was guarding a ruby the size of human head.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" I said in all of a garble, pulling my sister close for a hug as I admired this beautiful book.
The Ruby series was one that Sasha and I adored. It was a five-book series—so far—about these two sisters who went on amazing adventures to find mystical jewels to create a weapon to destroy their father, who had all the dragons of the land under his rule.
"You don't know how hard it was for me to get my hands on that," Sasha said smugly.
Mum had read the first book to us when I was seven and Sasha nine, and we'd begged for more chapters every night. I loved that the story was about sisters—and now I thought about it, the plot was closer to us than I thought.
Gently placing the illustrated copy on my bed-side table to pour over later, I decided on Cassie's present next. It was a gorgeous charm bracelet hand-woven (Cassie was great at creative stuff) and dangling with expensive silver charms—a violin, a badger, and a small heart that said 'best friend'). Unlike her brother Cassie never bragged about her wealth always investing in thoughtful gifts (blushing if I asked how much things cost).
"Got to dash!" Sasha exclaimed, checking her watch. "I've got to see an elf about a birthday cupcake!"
With a wink and a kiss on the cheek Sasha disappeared through our door, humming. She enjoyed birthdays too much.
In the middle of all this birthday frenzy Katherine had got dressed for the day, placing her party hat on the bed-side table. She sat paitently until I'd showered and dressed before she spoke.
"I was going to get you something, but let's be honest we only met twelve day ago." She explained.
"I didn't expect a present, honestly." I replied, swinging my rucksack over my shoulder.
Katherine stood up, hesitating. "Instead.... I thought, well, I'd tell you something about myself. I know you're curious, and I'm a private person."
My ears pricked up. This was better than a present—Katherine was so mysterious. "Ooh, what do I get to know?"
Katherine fiddled with the strap of her bag. "I do ballet," she said with a straight expression. "I'm the top of my class back home, and always get the lead in the productions. Oh, and I really love all the pink tutus and crap. It makes me happy."
Imagining intimidating and slightly scary Katherine in a pink tutu doing arabesques and dancing gracefully on pointe was an amusing thought for me. "That's brilliant," I grinned. "I definitely need to see pictures now."
Katherine rolled her eyes. "If we stay friends long enough, maybe I'll invite you to my Auntie's house. She had a video of me as the lead of Nutcracker."
"Wicked," I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
"As a more practical present, I will also de-flea Sooty." Katherine added as we shut the door behind us. "I know you've been putting it off for days."
I breathed out a sigh of relief. "This really is one of my best birthday's."
**
Fred found me the day after my birthday with an unusual frown on his face, stood outside McGonagall's classroom as we filed out—waiting for me!
"Hi Fred, what's up?" I tried to sound cool, and lean against the wall but I stumbled on the cobblestones and instead grazed my hand.
A smile pulled onto Fred's face as I put my hand in my pocket to obscure the quick healing (and glowing) from my classmates.
Katherine glanced between the two of us, homework sheet in her hand. "I'll save you a seat at lunch, Lyra."
As the crowds dispersed, I tried again to act human. "What's the matter, Fred? You look sad."
"I missed your birthday," he frowned, an unusual look for him. "Sasha was bragging about her present yesterday. I'm sorry."
I gave him an amused smile. "Honestly Fred, don't worry. Up until I started Hogwarts we hang out like what—twice? I wouldn't expect you to spend money on me."
Fred's expression softened. "I would have spent money on you. If I'd known, and well, had any pocket money left."
We both laughed, and I dared take a step closer to him. He was so sweet. My heart felt tight like an inflating balloon.
"Just get me something for Christmas, then I can return the favour." I half-teased.
I liked Fred. Possibly like-liked from the way my palms were sweating, but the prospect of getting him a present was thrilling. I wanted to make him smile.
"You're on," he grinned, shaking my hand, and then he lowered his voice "your clumsiness has healed already."
I flushed pink. "Wish I knew why..."
A silence passed over us as we stopped holding hands. Then Fred clicked his fingers.
"Hey! How about I get back at stupid Elijah Carrow for you? Hows that for a present?"
"Brilliant," I smiled.
Just like him.
Oh wait. Yup—definitely a crush. Great.
**
The Monday after my birthday it was announced that the whole year group would be participating in flying lessons this coming Thursday.
It really turned my good day sour—Fred had found me to say he'd managed to put spiders in Elijah's school bag. Apparently he was petrified and screamed in class.
Sweet justice. Not to mention an excuse to talk to Fred.
But anyways, everybody was in a buzz when Monica pinned the notice up in the common room.
"Oh no," I whispered.
I hated heights and made a purposeful effort to stay off brooms, thank you very much. I'd rather keep my feet on the ground than fly hundreds of feet in the air with only a twig between my legs.
"Ooh," Katherine's eyes lit up. "I've been waiting for extra-curriculars. I suppose flying will do. If I'm good enough, I'll apply for the team next year."
"I've flown my broomstick all the way to the Isle of Wight," Zacharias Smith bragged. "And it was raining."
Ernie Macmillian looked puzzled. "I thought you crashed your broom in that tree in your garden last summer?"
Zacharias went bright red, and because we're all children, all giggled at his expense. However, over the next couple of days he wasn't the only one coming up with tall tales about how amazing at flying he was.
Draco kept going on and on about how amazing he was at flying, and that he'd flown close to muggle helicopters several times. This was a total lie, as Cassie reminded me that it was Sasha's toy helicopter he almost crashed into.
Cassie was excited to learn to fly, but had no intention of joining the Slytherin team next year, she told me. Quidditch required a lot of team work, and Cassie was worried her mutism wouldn't do her any favours.
Several times when walking between lessons I'd see Pansy and Millicent bullying Cassie outside of classrooms, holding text books above her head and saying she'd get it back if she 'just spoke up'. Katherine would always take the horrible girls down with one look and retrieve Cassie's belongings, but I worried about the times we weren't there.
Don't worry about me, Cassie had written in her notebook when I asked about the bullying and how bad it really was. I'm a tough cookie.
I still worried about her though.
The morning of the flying lesson, Katherine and I met Cassie and Hermione by the Great Hall. This was becoming a more frequent occurance; as neither Cassie or Hermione seemed to be making friends in their own houses.
Hermione, as always had her nose in a book. This time it was Quidditch through the ages. Cassie held up her notebook to Katherine and me.
Hermione's scared of flying so she's reading up on it, like it's a big test or something.
Hermione happened to look up at that point and saw the notebook before Cassie stowed it away. She scowled. "It's logical to be scared! It's a small wooden stick enchanted to fly—there's no cushioning if you fall!"
"Thank you!" I exclaimed. "These flying lessons we have will be the last that I ever plonk my bum on a broomstick!"
Katherine and Cassie rolled their eyes. "They're both wimps, aren't they Cassie?"
Indeed, Kat, they are. They'll be jealous when we're flying and they're walking.
The two of them walked into the Hall without us, having an animated discussion via speaking and notebook of the merits of flying.
"I don't care if we're wimps, we can be wimps together." I said firmly to Hermione, and she beamed at me.
I felt even more of a wimp that afternoon when we headed to the dreaded flying lesson.
It took place on a leafy lawn opposite the Forbidden Forest, where the dark trees were rippling in the wind.
A large pile of brooms was on the floor. Cassie, Katherine and I stood in front of brooms next to each other. We were opposite Hermione, Ron and Harry. Harry and I said hi—we hadn't seen each other properly in the last few days.
We didn't have time to chat because our instructor, Madam Hooch turned up. She was a hawk-like woman with sharp eyes. "Right class, to start with put your wand hand over your broom and say UP!"
I looked down at my broomstick. Some twigs were sticking out of it. The thought of riding that in the air made me feel a bit ill. But still, I stuck my hand over it, and said: "Up!"
My broomstick did nothing, but I wasn't the only one. Cassie was faintly embarrassed as she didn't want to speak. She mouthed her spells, which worked fine enough, but her broom seemed to want spoken words.
Katherine and Harry's brooms had gone straight into their hands, Draco's followed a few moments later. After a couple of attempts mine wiggled on the ground, which I considered progress.
At last when everybody had their brooms, Madam Hooch taught us how to hold onto it without slipping off. Cassie and I exchanged a smirk of triumph when Draco was told he'd been doing it wrong for years.
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -- three-- two --"
I'd barely had enough time to be nervous about going a few feet in the air, when Neville—a nervous Gryffindor boy—kicked off the ground, obviously scared of being left behind.
"Come back boy!" Madam Hooch shouted, but Neville was steadily risising on his broom—ten feet, twelve feet, twenty. I clutched onto Cassie's arm tightly, even the sight of somebody that high in the air was making me feel ill.
I could just about make out Neville's pale face look over the broom—but he leaned too far left and CRACK Neville fell twenty feet and landed with a resounding crack and whimper on the floor. The whole class gasped as Madam Hooch ran over to him.
"This—" I pointed as Madam Hooch took Neville to the hospital wing with luckily only a broken wrist. "Is why we should keep our feet on the ground."
Cassie put her arm around me a gave me a little squeeze. I loved her—she knew how this had shaken me up, and even though she didn't have words, she knew how to comfort me.
Madam Hooch had barely disappeared into the castle, when of course Draco started his macho bully act. "Did everybody see his face? What a big fat lump?"
"You'll have a big fat lump on your face if you carry on," Katherine muttered under her breath, clenching her fists at her side.
His Slytherin cronies joined in, laughing about how stupid Neville looked and generally being horrible people. Cassie took her arm from around me and wrote in big capitol letters in her notebook:
SHUT UP DRACO. STOP ACTING LIKE A STEAMING PILE OF DRAGON DUNG.
Draco rolled his eyes. Him and Cassie had been getting on less and less since we'd joined Hogwarts. Pansy let out a loud cackle. "Didn't realise you liked fat cry-babies, freak! Maybe Longbottom sat on your throat, and that's why you can't talk!"
Cassie went bright red, and let out a low hiss under her breath. I'd never seen her looking this angry before. Cassie had never said why she'd stopped speaking, but I knew there had to be a deeper meaning.
"I'm going to kill her," Katherine was clenching her fists so tightly that her veins popped to the surface, looking black in the afternoon sun. "I'm actually going to kill her."
"Don't," I murmered, grabbing onto each of my friends with my hands. "She's not worth it."
Luckily before my friend got the urge to kill Pansy Parkinson, Draco picked up a red ball that was on the floor. I recognised it as a remerball. "Ha! Look, this is what Longbottom's Gran sent him. What a pathetic gift."
"Give it here Malfoy," Harry said quietly. He looked really pissed off, sending a quick glare at Pansy before standing right in front of Draco, his grip on his broomstick tight.
Draco gave Harry a nasty smile. "I think I'll leave it up in a tree for him!"
"Give it here!" Harry shouted, as Draco climbed onto his broom at shot off into the air. As bad as his techinique was, he wasn't bad at flying. He was hovering at the top of an oak tree in the grounds, circling us with a smirk.
Harry grabbed onto his broom. Hermione gasped, and grabbed at his sleeve. "Oh, don't! Madam Hooch said not to go on the brooms! Just let him get into trouble!"
Harry ignored her, and kick-started into the air. I squealed, and shouted his name. Harry gave me a thumbs up as he soared into the sky like an overgrown bird, and everybody began cheering and whooping. Even smile curled at Katherine's lips.
I don't know who's more idiotic, Cassie wrote to me. I nodded through my fingers which were covering my eyes. I couldn't bare to watch my godbrother and Draco surrounding each other like lions ready to rip each other's throats out.
Through the gap in my fingers I could see Draco throw the remeberball into the air. As is soared towards the ground at an alarmingly fast pace, Harry—stupidly—went into a nose dive to try and rescue Neville's present.
"I can't watch!" I moaned, bile rising to my throat. I don't know how I would explain to mum that Harry had been smooshed in the grounds within a month.
"No, look!" Ron cheered, pulling my fingers away from my eyes.
I gasped, hovering ten feet above us was Harry with the remerball firmly in his grip. He smoothly landed on the ground, Draco having already landed and skulked off with his friends.
I found Harry, and squeezed his arm tightly. "Don't do that!" I let out a low breathe. "You scared me!"
Everybody was cheering, and it was like the end of a cheesy movie until— "HARRY POTTER!" Professor McGonagall was approaching us, looking furious. "You—You could have broken your neck!"
She wasn't wrong, but everybody who cared began babbling all at once about Draco, and how Harry was just being a good person. But McGonagall didn't listen to anybody—she dragged Hary away to her office, and dismissed us all to go and have dinner.
The class dispersed, gossiping about the events. Hermione, Ron, Cassie, Katherine and I all hovered together. I began worrying at my fingernails.
"Oh, do you think he'll be in a lot of trouble?"
Hermione looked equally as worried. "If he explains himself, he should be fine. He didn't break many rules."
"You would have rathered Malfoy get the upper hand, and Harry avoid breaking rules?" Ron scoffed. "You need your priorites straight."
Ron wandered off after a quick nod to me, and the four of us headed off towards dinner. Hermione sat with us, and I could barely concentrate on my chicken pie. I pushed it around my plate wondering if Harry was going to be expelled.
There's no point worrying, Cassie told me. Whatever happens, happens.
I tried to push it to the back of my mind, and after dinner Katherine and I headed back to our room. Even doing my homework was difficult even though I enjoyed it for the most part. I'd only just found Harry as my god-brother—what if I lost him?
"Hey!" Sasha barged into our dorm like always just after eleven, looking pleased as punch. Katherine was reading a boring astronomy book, and I was trying to learn a new composition. Neither of us could sleep, and neither could Sasha by looks of things.
"Hey," I said, as she sat on the edge of my bed. She was in her pyjamas, but wore her hoodie and trainers which told me she'd been wandering around after curfew. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Have you heard? About Harry?"
I took my violin away from my chin, and felt sick again. "No, what happened?"
"He's only gone and made Gryffindor seeker!" Sasha declared, and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. "McGonagall was impressed with his stunt in your lesson—he's the youngest seeker in a century!"
Even Katherine looked up from her book. "But isn't that against school rules?"
"Who cares!" Sasha grinned. "Gryffindor actually have a chance at not being shit at Quidditch anymore. They haven't done well since Fred and George's brother Charlie was a seeker years ago!"
"Good for Harry," I smiled. Even though I hated heights, I could tell how much Harry looked at home on a broomstick. "I'm glad he's not in trouble."
Sasha stayed for a while, and we discussed Quidditch and general gossip around the school (apparently one Gryffindor boy was seeing two girls at the same time, and had been caught out) while eating flying saucers that Katherine's Auntie had sent her.
It was very calm and peaceful, until of course there were seven quick raps on our door. We all turned and looked at it, wondering if any of us could be bothered to get up and answer it.
"If that's that stupid prefect Monica, I'm going to scream," Sasha said as the knocking continued, getting up. "You can have other people in your dorm—its not even that late."
But when she opened the door, Cassie rushed in with the ferocity of a hurricaine. She was breathing heavily, one hand holding a stich in her side, the other her notebook.
"How did you get in here?" Katherine said with interest.
It's not that hard to tap some barrels with your wand, Kat. Cassie's tone on paper was almost a snap. Listen, we need to go—now!
"Slow down, Cassie—what's the matter?" I said, grabbing onto her arm.
My brother challenged Harry and Ron to a duel in the trophy room. He's not going to turn up though—he wants them to get into big trouble. We need to find them and warn them!
Automatically I jumped to my feet, and pulled out my jumper and trainers, shovng my wand into a hastily made ponytail. "Kat, are you coming?"
Katherine didn't even object to the nickname. "Of course. I'm probably much better at sneaking around in the dark than you pair."
I don't even speak, so techinically I'm already the best. Cassie stuck her tounge out at Katherine. Come on—we have to hurry. It's almost twelve now.
With Sasha promising to keep an eye on our room, and make sure no Prefects realised we were gone, the three of us hurried out into the night.
Hogwarts was deadly silent at night, and with only Katherine's torch we could barely see a few feet in front of us. I suppose I should have felt bad for breaking school rules, but instead I felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement that I was helping Harry and Ron.
Creeping through the third floor corridor we arrived at the trophy room, just before Draco had said he'd mee the boys. The room was glittering from all the silver and gold trophies stacked on shelves that touched the ceiling, making our torch redundant.
We could hear hurried whispering from behind a large cabinet that had plates for 'services to the school'. I instantly recognised Harry's voice.
"Harry?" I whispered into the darkness.
"Lyra?" Harry whispered back. The three of us followed his voice, and found not only Harry and Ron, but Hermione and Neville as well.
"Good lord, you're all stupid." Katherine huffed. She seemed the most bothered of us all being out after hours. "Hermione, Neville—I'm disappointed you'd break the rules."
Hermione frowned. "I was trying to stop them from leaving the tower. Neville was locked out."
Katherine paused. "Fair enough."
"What are you all doing here?" Ron asked. "Are you all here to witness me punch Malfoy right in the mouth?"
Cassie huffed, and nudged me. It was too dark to make out her notebook, so she was truly silent here. "Draco lied to you," I explained. "He was never intending to turn up. He just wanted to get you all in trouble. Cassie wanted us to find you, and warn you."
"Thanks," Harry and Ron both looked touched.
Hermione rolled her eyes so much I thought they would fall out of her head. "That's touching and all, but can we all go back to bed now? Since there is no stupid duel."
We all nodded in agreement, but just as our little party set off, we heard a familiar voice—Filch, the caretaker. "They're in here somewhere, just hiding," he muttered.
With fear in all of our eyes, we followed Harry—our elected leader—down a gallery of suits and armour, hoping to put distance between us and Filch. Neville, terrified of being caught, broke out into a run. But he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and ended up sending them both crashing into a suit of armour.
It was loud enough to wake the whole castle up.
"RUN!" Harry yelled, and we all made a run for it. Cassie grabbed onto my hand and we sprinted after our friends, Katherine hot on our heels as we ripped through a hidden short-cut through a tapestry, and ended up by the charms classroom.
"I think—I think we lost him," Katherine was winded, and put her hands on her knees. "Next time, everybody—can we agree for an adventure with less running?"
"I said—" Hermione was breathless, and pointed a finger at Harry and Ron. "I told you—I told you it was trick! You wouldn't believe me until the others turned up!"
"I don't think 'I told you so' is appropriate right now," I said gently to Hermione, leaning against a wall. "We need to get back to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff respectively, as fast as we can."
But as quickly as we stopped to relax, a meow was heard at the end of the corridor. It was Mrs Norris, Filch's dreaded cat. He couldn't be too far off. We sprinted down another corridor, and found a locked door.
"We're doomed!" Ron groaned.
"No we're not!" Hermione declared, and pointed her wand at the door. "Ahloamora!"
We all piled into the room, and slammed the door behind us. I leaned against the cool wood. This had been adventure enough for me tonight. I was ready to go to bed.
Harry could see how tired I was. "Hey," he whispered. "We'll be okay. He thinks this door is locked."
Suddenly, I heard Cassie let out a squeak, and Katherine began swearing. Turning around slowly, I almost screamed.
We weren't in a locked classroom. We were on the forbidden corridor. And it was very obvious why it was forbidden. We were looking into the eyes of a ferocious dog that took up the entire corridor with three heads and three sets of fangs that were pulled back in a growl.
"This," Katherine said quietly. "Is why I'm a cat person."
Cassie was holding onto my forearm so tightly I could feel I would have bruises in the morning, but I didn't care. I was more concerned with the three noses all sniffing us out, sniffing our fear and licking three sets of lips ready to eat us.
Harry fumbled for the door knob, and we all tumbled out into safety. Luckily Filch wasn't there, but I would rather Filch than death.
We scattered—Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, running to our respective common rooms without a word. Tiredly I tapped the barrels and the three of us (Cassie was going to stay with us) tumbled into the common room.
Without a word we went into our dormitory, where Sasha was sleeping on the floor, one of my blankets pulled over her.
Cassie and I sat on my bed, Katherine sat on hers. We all looked at each other, unsure what to say. Making a little choked noise, Cassie got out her notebook, and began writing in big letters. She held up the notebook for us to see.
WHAT THE FUCK
That summed up the day very nicely.
——
A/N hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :) I'm getting a bit busier so the next chapter may not be up for a few days.
Ooh so Lyra has a crush on Fred! What do you think will happen between them?
Also I'm appreciating feedback on the chapters, thank you :)