Lyra Malis never saw herself becoming anything extraordinary, and she never really wanted to. She was perfectly content with her family on their farm in the Highlands, learning magic at the school just on the other side of the forest. Seeing how fam...
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"HOW MUCH DOES SHE KNOW?"
It was a bright, sunny, beautiful summer day in Scotland, and the townsquare of Tir Iolairean was bustling with the lunch rush. It was a fairly small village, nestled in a small valley in the Scottish Highlands, but it was a popular respite among hikers in the summer, and so, the town always seemed more populated in the warmer weather.
Lyra spitefully watched a couple of backpackers walk happily past Zander's Pub. She wanted their peaceful oblivion, their innocence. It was one of the rare times she wished knew nothing about magic.
She tore her gaze away from the window as her mother set three glasses of water onto their table. Her harsh eyes rounded on the stranger, the wizard that sat on the other side of the table, who had obviously been watching her. Remus looked away quickly, pulling one of the three glasses of water in front of him. Lyra didn't even move to grab one. She knew no one would actually drink them.
Wiping her hands on her apron, her mother sat down in the booth beside her, to Lyra's surprise. She half expected her to sit with Remus, both facing her like interrogators. "Right, well," Delphi started. She noticed how shaky her mother's voice was. She looked quickly from Remus to Lyra, then down at the table. "Where do we start?"
Lyra had so many questions, but she was too frustrated to ask a single one of them.
Remus shifted awkwardly in his seat, looking at Delphi. "How much does she know?"
"Nothing, apparently!" Lyra burst, causing her mother to jump a little. "I know absolutely bloody nothing! Up until three days ago, I was under the impression that I was Muggleborn, and now I find out that not only was my father a wizard, and a dark one at that, but that my mother knew about it and knew other wizards, and decided to keep me in the dark. So why don't we start there, yeah?"
Remus's eyes were wide, looking from mother to daughter in shocked confusion, but Delphi's face was in her hands, her shoulders shaking slightly. Lyra watched her, her anger slowly fading into regret as her mother finally looked up, wiping away tears.
Finally, taking a deep breath, Delphi spoke. "I'm surprised you haven't put it together yet, Lyra."
Lyra's mouth fell open. "Why should I have to put it together?" she asked incredulously. "You're the parent, here!"
Delphi flinched again. "Right - I-I know that - I'm sorry, that came out wrong." She took another deep breath and shifted in her seat to fully face her daughter. "It's for the same reason that you have my name instead of your father's."
