The first meeting was coming up for Lyra and she was nervous. She was scared she'd get caught. She knew she couldn't tell a soul, she didn't want to have permanent pimples! No teenager likes pimples arranged on their forehead saying "SNEAK". How embarrassing to have that for the rest of your life. And not for your whole life, for a day or week even. Where the emphasis was put on Lyra's appearance, it wasn't smart to do anything that could harm her appearance.
She nervously looked over her shoulder to see Fred and George with their mouths wide open at the Gryffindor table, showing Alicia and Angelina their chewed up food. Lyra caught Angelina hitting Fred on the crown of his head with a tied scroll of parchment, making George snicker. Lyra felt a flood of embarrassment. How embarrassing, honestly. She told that bloke she fancied him!
For a week now, she refused to make eye contact with him. Alicia and Katie have had secret meetings with Lyra in order not to get her seriously in trouble, after hearing her torment over the summer, they hoped it didn't happen again and they understood why she didn't try to talk to them when they all arrived at Hogwarts. When her spilling her feelings to George came up, they told her not to worry about it. That he was probably flattered, but Lyra was convinced he'd tease her, perhaps use one of his foolish patent prank devices on her. He was probably making something special to ruin her life. To have the whole school laughing at her.
She wasn't excited to find out what he had in mind. Perhaps to have a firework sign follow her around calling her a "Blood Traitor Lover" or "LYRA MALFOY FANCIES GEORGE WEASLEY AHA!", no, she wasn't excited. She had cried in her dormatory from the embarrassment. She knew her new roommates have heard her sob, but thankfully pretended they didn't notice.
"Ah, Lyra!" Pansy greeted, sitting next to the eldest Malfoy.
Lyra had been looking at her porridge, it had her favorite, cinnamon and raspberries but she barely touched it due to the dark thoughts of George Weasley tormenting her. She glanced over to see Draco was no where near. Pansy had butterfly clips in her hair and green sparkly eyeshadow. She even had bubblegum lipgloss that suffocated Lyra with the stench.
"Er... good morning, Pansy." Lyra replied as she forced a spoon full of porridge into her mouth.
"I was thinking about what to get Draco for Christmas, do you have any ideas? I've run dry." She sighed with a frown.
"Maybe new pants." Lyra giggled as she ate. She caught Pansy smirking.
"Come off it! I mean it, what does he like?"
"I don't know. I'm sure he won't be picky." She shrugged. "The best gift you can give is a heartfelt one, not materialistic."
Pansy scoffed. "That's rubbish. The best ones have the highest price tag, everyone knows that. My mink fur coat, it was a luxury, lined with silk as well." She wore such a smug look on her face.
"Yes, but would you perfer that over a locket with a picture of you and Draco inside?"
"Of course!" Pansy gave her a confused look. "You're quite strange sometimes, Lyra." She laughed. "But maybe I should get him something meaningful. Like a 18K gold pocket watch. He's always asking me for the time. You're so smart, Lyra." The girl gave Lyra a quick side hug before getting up and running off, possibly to send a letter to her parents.
Lyra glanced back at George to see him already looking at her. Lyra felt her cheeks turn bright red and she quickly looked away. He's surely plotting.
Lyra went to class like normal. She couldn't figure out how to learn nonverbal spells without doing it in class. Professor Umbridge found it challenging as well and moved along quickly to this dark creature called Inferius, they were corpses that dark wizards used to do their bidding. They sounded interesting to Lyra but also incredibly scary. It was a good think the other professors started teaching nonverbal spells as well, giving Lyra a fighting chance for her NEWTs.
Lyra imagined Umbridge turning into a balloon and flying away, maybe to Australia or all the way to America. She was finding it hard to concentrate when she had other things on her mind. And the class was kind of boring. She allowed no flexibility within the classroom.
When the bell rang, she packed up her things and scurried out of the classroom before Umbridge could attempt to hold her back for an insufferable lesson on manners, as she caught Lyra roll her eyes at the mention of not having to worry about Inferiuses, like what if you are an Auror? Won't they have to worry about them?
"Malfoy," Seamus Finnigan growled at her as he passed by her along with Dean Thomas. Lyra was taken back, they must have known she had joined and they looked very unhappy about it. They stared daggers into her.
"Hi?" She replied awkwardly, unable to figure out the right way to respond and wanting to sound friendly and not a threat. They carried on, clearly still upset. She knew this wouldn't be a fun class if this was how they would act, but what else did she expect? That they would magically accept her? Hell no.
She sat in the back library with Katie and Alicia, both girls reading up for Harry's lesson in a few days. They seemed giddy with excitement. But Lyra felt a put in her stomach grow.
"They are going to hate me." She stated wearily.
"They don't know you." Katie replied.
"Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas don't seem happy I'm joining." She closed her book and rested her chin into the palm of her hand.
"Are you seriously giving up because two boys are unahppy? Lyra you spent a month preparing a truth serum to join." Katie scoffed.
"Yeah, and look how well that planned out." She muttered bitterly.
"It did, you're joining DA." Alicia shrugged. "Oh, you're still stressing over George. Lyra, he probably forgot about it. We know him, he's a good bloke, he isn't going to harass you. I literally rejected him, and we are just fine."
That made Lyra's heart sink. Yes, he did ask Alicia to the ball the year prior and now she felt even more sad and hurt. She should move to a new country and change her name. Maybe change her name to Heather Greene or Mary Steamroller, something subtle.
"He's a stupid boy. He has no awareness of anything around him. He can't read signs and he is utterly thick." Katie added, watching Lyra's face fall. "If he doesn't like you, he's an idiot." Alicia nodded her head in agreement, realizing what she said made her friend feel even worse.
"She's right." Alicia spoke up. "An utter idiot. You are so attractive and smart and nice. His loss, honestly."
"Thanks," Lyra gave them a small smile. "Yeah, his loss."
His loss.
She had that attitude until when the day rolled around, then all of the sudden she was at square one and was riddled with severe anxiety. How can she face him after such an embarrassing moment? It was unapproachable. She'll just continue to ignore him. That was the plan. It must work.
When she entered the room of requirements, she was greeted with a large room with mirrors lining the walls. She saw all the others laughing and chatting away, all of it ceased when they saw her. They didn't even look at Katie or Alicia who were by her side.
Harry Potter gave her an awkward smile. Before he could greet her, Padma Patil spoke up. "What is she doing here?" The Ravenclaw looked to her sister who shared the same fire in her eyes.
Harry took a step forward to face his peers. "Malfoy is joining us." He stated awkwardly. "George, Katie and Alicia all vouch for her. She wants to learn, so we let her." He glanced at the girl. "Here, we give everyone the chance to learn." Lyra glanced at George as he was already looking at her. She quickly looked at her shoes. "So today, let's try producing a Patronus. I'm not expecting you get it on your first try. I'm expecting many classes of you unable to produce one." Harry started explaining that it fends off dementors and that it can be used as a messenger. Dark wizards can't produce one, it could be fatal for them. They are produced by a happy memory or thought.
Katie frowned. "I wonder which memory will work."
"It kills dark wizards. What if I find out I'm a dark wizard." Lyra whispered fearfully.
"Lyra, you aren't a dark wizard. You will be fine. What's your happiest memory?" Alicia asked.
"Mine is probably getting my first broom." Katie beamed. "Or the time I went to France with my dad!"
"Mine is making mends with nan." Alicia smirked.
Lyra couldn't think of a happy memory, and she had money. She had never lacked a thing in her life... other than affection or parental approval. But anything materialistic, she had. Maybe it was when Alicia and Katie and her stayed up one night just making each other laugh. Lyra hadn't felt so accepted until then.
Lyra glanced at George who was cackling loudly with Fred. They were playfully shoving each other, probably reminiscing their past.
"Hey Ronny, I think my happiest memory was turning your bear into a spider!" George taunted.
"Remember how scared you were? You screamed like a little girl!" Fred added.
"Shut it!" Ron growled with red cheeks.
"You did." Ginny muttered with a smirk.
"You wouldn't even remeber it!" Ron hissed.
Lyra stood tall and tried her best to produce one. "Expecto Patronum," Nothing.
"Expecto Patronum!" Katie exclaimed, she got nothing as well.
Alicia was next and she managed to get a stream of silver for a split second. She was quite cocky. Lyra was sure the memory of her and her friends would work. Why wasn't it?
Since Lyra admitted her feelings, George has found himself constantly looking at her. He gets really embarrassed when she catches him. But there's been a lot of times where she hadn't. One time he watched her read a chapter from her charms book and while in intense concentration, Malfoy switched her apple with an orange and she took a bite out of it. She chucked it straight at his head as he laughed and pointed at her. George wanted to teach Draco a lesson, but he also wanted to try switching her food with something more interesting, like maybe a potato or beet.
He had watched her keep her head down in the halls, occasionally telling her brother to leave some underclassmen alone.
He found himself thinking about her a lot more than he cared to admit. He hasn't thought it was possible for that stuck up prat to like him. But she did and now he was truly seeing her in a new light. He knew he felt a small tug at his heart when he saw her dancing with Nott at the Yule Ball, but now, he felt jealous. She looked really fit. He's realizing she's quite fit, besides her being a lot like Hermione and anti-fun. He liked getting lost in her large blue eyes, they were the color of tropical waters, not very icy as Draco's, but still had grey cracks that all the Malfoys' had.
He watched her struggling to produce a patronus. He found it funny that someone who had it all had trouble coming up with a happy memory. Maybe she couldn't organize her happy thoughts.
"Is she your happy memory, Georgie?" Fred taunted. "Little Malfoy?"
"I'm just thinking about the time Katie caught your jumper on fire." George smirked.
"That was my favorite jumper." Fred sighed sadly. "I shouldn't have trusted drunk Katie with a bloody candle."
"Or alcohol."
"She dropped a whole bottle of fire whiskey, still haven't paid me back either. Perhaps my happiest thought is her paying me back."
"What about the Yule Ball?" Angelina injected.
"Oh yeah, love. That too." He added as an afterthought. "We had so many laughs- oh, the laughs we had together. And all those memorable snogs."
"Shut it, Fred." Angelina slapped his arm with red cheeks.
"That was actually me you kissed. Me and Angelina just look so similar, you know." George teased.
"Oh yes, identical." Fred scoffed.
Lyra was growing frustrated. Not even a stream. Even Neville managed to get a silver stream. And the boy has had such a misfortunate life.
"Maybe I just don't have a happiest memory." Lyra scoffed. "Perhaps I have no talent."
"It's a hard charm." Katie stated. "Don't be so hard on yourself.
"Yeah," Alicia chimed in.
It seemed not many had the best of luck. But many could at least get a small stream of silver, even if it lasted a split second. However not Lyra. Maybe a whole lot less people could produce a small bit of silver but it felt like the whole room to her.
Class ended and Harry said they'd pick up the next coming week. Lyra didn't want to give up.
"Coming, Lyra?" Katie asked. A few people, including George looked back at the lone girl.
"You go on without me. I want to try a little bit longer."
"Take it easy, Lyra." Alicia begged before leaving with the group.
George hesitated. Fred gave him a knowing smirk. "Lee and I will meet you later."
George gave him a weak smirk before turning around and entering the room. Lyra was wandering over to the picture of Cedric. It was a newspaper clipping. "Trying to sort through your happy memories?" He teased. Lyra jumped and looked at him with wide eyes. "Didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know you were so jumpy."
"Well... Yeah..." She staggered. Unsure why he stayed back. "I saw you making progress."
"Yeah, it's a piece of cake when you're as talented as me." He winked.
"Yes, I guess so." She smirked before looking back at Cedric, she found it difficult to look that tall man in the eye. "It's embarrassing, not being able to think of a happy memory. I'm given everything and I still can't think of one. My dollhouse didn't work. Not even my friends. I don't think this charm works for depressed people." She strained a chuckle.
"Oh come on, there's a happy memory somewhere in that brain of yours." George replied, inching closer. "Maybe when you got your first horse, or first expensive broom or diamond necklace."
"I don't own a horse, I don't fly. But I do have gorgeous diamond necklaces." They shared a small grin. "What I said-"
"Don't worry about it." He shrugged it off, his heart beginning to race.
"Right." She tried to give him a smile again. "Well... Thanks for vouching for me."
"No worries." He replied. She started to awkwardly walk away when he turned on his heels to attract her attention again. "There's a party in the Gryffindor common room this Friday, any house can come. You should come. Password is Codswallop." He felt his palms sweating, why did he invite her? Why did he feel the need to?
"Oh, uh... Maybe. I-I don't know. I have to see if I finish my homework. Thanks for the invitation though. Er... Bye, George." She waved awkwardly before leaving the room of requirements.
What was that? Why did she say maybe?! Why did he invite her? Especially a Prefect? He was wondering the exact same thing. But he came to the conclusion he might fancy Lyra Malfoy