The Hogwarts Five

30

The night before the letter was sent to Y/N, Lyra was in her bedroom writing. The room was lit with a singular candle which rested at Lyra's side as she quickly scribbled on the piece of parchment resting on her wooden desk.

My dearest Y/N,
Things have happened that I can't wrap my head around. I have never been more perplexed in my life and I'm unsure of how to act in the face of all of this.

There have been more attacks as of late - even here in France. I'm afraid the muggles will start to take notice and the entire wizarding world will be exposed. We keep getting more missing persons reports too and I have a whole pile sitting next to me as I write this letter to you.

I honestly don't know what the Order have in plan. For whatever reason, Sirius Black and Molly Weasley refuse to let me sit in their meetings despite the fact I'm only six years Tonks' junior.

I need to warn you that Umbridge probably has more plans. I advise you to stay out of trouble. I know how difficult that is for you and your friends but do your best nonetheless or there will be percussions you might not know how to deal with. The ministry is hunting the Order down like dogs and it's hard to stay as inconspicuous as possible around my own friends.

Rigel told me you're experiencing migraines and visions. I wish you had told mother and me. I can't tell you that I've experienced the same but lie down whenever you get a vision, regardless of your location. Try to relax your entire body and focus only on your head. Put your entire concentration on the vision and not the aching. Do your best to remain as still as possible. I do hope that helps and if it doesn't, don't hesitate to contact me.

Do take care and if it's not too much to ask, take care of Rigel for me. She's skipping her meals again. I can tell from her writing and the pressure of her quill was weak. I don't think she's taking care of herself. I wish I was there with you both but I'm not. Please be careful.

Sincerely, Lyra

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She ran her delicate fingers through her hair, looking around her rather plain bedroom. She wasn't as expressive as Rigel was when it came to displaying one's personality.

Lyra pushed her body up and decided to wander the halls of the sleeping manor. Lyra was as light as a feather and she elegantly glided around the manor without making a single sound.

She stopped in front of the very last door on the very top floor. No one, not even Basilio, entered this room without Analyn's permission. Knowing her mother was asleep, Lyra heaved the heavy wooden door open to see a whole storage unit of a room. Boxes were towered onto one another, random things lay on the floor and even some of the boxes had fallen over, it's contents spilt across the carpet.

There lay a book. Fascinated, along with a thirst for knowledge, Lyra picked up the dusty old book. On the front of the leather bound book she held in her hands was written 1978: the year Analyn and the rest of the marauders had graduated from Hogwarts.

Lyra peaked her head out of the heavy door to see if the butler had woken up to do his nightly rounds of the manor. When she figured it was safe, she shut the door and moved the cover of the album to the left. Written is big bold writing "ARxSB" with what looked to be an infinity symbol underneath it.

"Why are you in here?" Lyra yelped and looked over to see her mother standing in the doorway. "You know you're not allowed in here, my star."

"I'm sorry, mami. I just wanted to know more. I feel so left out." Lyra quickly set the photo album down.

Analyn simply put her hand up to quiet her child. She walked over, lifting the old thing in her hands. Her hands were once as soft and dainty as Lyra's were but due to the war, Analyn's hands became calloused and rough.

"I haven't seen this old thing in a decade." Analyn sat down and flipped through the book. Photos of Analyn and the marauders filled the book to the point where the spine was almost on its last thread. Analyn stopped at a photo of her and Sirius. "We were happy back then."

"You wish to go back, don't you? To those times before myself and Rigel?" Lyra sat before her mother.

"You and Rigel are the only good things to stay in my life. As much as I want to change things and stay by his side as I should've, I don't regret it. Any of it. I can't afford to because Rigel wouldn't have been born." Lyra paused and looked at her mother.

"What about me? I wouldn't have been born had you not become a death eater and father taken you in." Analyn's silence was an answer in itself. "Oh my god... I still would've been born because-"

"You are not Basilio's daughter. You are the last of the noble and most ancient house of Black." Analyn sighed as her daughter broke down in tears.

It made sense. It all added up in Lyra's brain. The time frame, her age, how she was so pale in comparison to Basilio, Analyn and Rigel. Analyn joined the death eater ranks when she was eighteen but she was only seventeen when she was pregnant with Lyra. Lyra had heard rumours that the marriage between Basilio and Analyn was rushed but she didn't realise they were that rushed.

"Father knew?" Lyra's eyes welled up in tears. Her entire life felt like a lie.

"You both knew?! And you didn't bother to tell me?! Is this why I get special treatment? Is this why you never treat Rigel the way you treat me because I'm special?! Because I'm the child of your lost lover?! Did father treat me so specially because he thought my biological father being the notorious Sirius Black would hurt me?! Because everyone thought he was a murderer and he didn't want me to know?!"

"Lyra, no, of course not! I love you and Rigel equally!" Analyn's eyes widened.

Lyra's throat tightened and she dashed out of the room. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, she felt like all the air from her lungs had disappeared and her head was aching. Her entire body began shaking and she burst into her room to grab her inhaler.

Analyn was alone again.

"Mami?" Analyn looked up to see Rigel standing there, a suitcase in hand and a vacant expression resting on her face. "What's going on?"