𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 ⟡ ᴊᴀᴍᴇs ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ¹

eighty seven: the objects

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

LILY HAD BEEN waiting up all night. Her cup of coffee was cold at this point. It was the end of the week, meaning James and her were meant to go through and discuss what had occurred within the week, regarding their prefects and patrols. They were supposed to submit the report to Professor Dumbledore tomorrow at breakfast. It was already three in the morning. James has never missed one of these meetings. He's never even been late.

Lily would have done the report herself but at the very beginning of the year, in order to make it easier on them, the pair had split up the prefects so that each only had to account for half, rather than the both of them keeping track of all of them. She needed his half. The only place she thought he might be was with Lyra, or even the rest of the Marauders.

Making a split second decision, she grabbed her wand from off the couch and made her way towards the portrait. A new wave of determination washed over her as she decided to go find him. Hogwarts was a very big castle, however she thought there were only a few places he could have been.

She tried to keep her lit wand close to the floor, not wanting to wake or disturb any of the other paintings. Her footsteps were light, but quick as she half-jogged her way towards the dungeons. If he wasn't there, she was at least hoping Lyra might have another idea.

Lily hasn't spoken to the Slytherin since the breakup between her and James. That moment they shared in the hallway where Lyra asked her to take care of him. Even though it was quite obvious James and the sixth year were on much better terms now, both girls haven't had a reason to see each other since.

Lyra's been avoiding their group of friends like the plague. Even her own brother. And while that did upset some of her friends like Marlene, for some reason Lily just didn't have the heart to even really dislike her. She always thought Lyra was kind. She was a sweet girl who worked hard in school. Never once has she joined in with other Slytherins who called Lily names at times. Never once did she see her treat another house with disrespect because of their blood status. She only ever saw Lyra, a girl who just wanted everyone to be happy.

Lily rounded the corner, tucking her hair behind her ears nervously. She knew this was a long shot. She felt incredibly bad for even attempting to wake Lyra up this early in the morning, but she needed the report. She didn't want to disappoint Dumbledore. She quickly murmured the password, the stone pathway revealing itself. Immediately, something felt off.

This wasn't Lily's first time in the Slytherin common room. She was head girl. It was her job to make sure everyone stayed in line, and sometimes that included house visits. However, the air just felt different. It felt darker. She took a few slow steps inside. She could hear someone talking, but she only heard one voice. There was no second one responding back to the person.

She gasped at the scene in front of her.

The common room was in shambles. The table was broken, the couches were flipped, papers were scattered, but most importantly, six boys were spread out across the floor, seemingly unconscious. Well, she hoped they were only unconscious.

In the middle of it all was none other than Lyra. Sweet and kind Lyra. It was her voice she heard before. Was she talking to herself? The young girl was in tatters. Her hair was a mess and she was crumpled up on the floor, her cheeks freshly wet with tears.

Lyra could make out the red hair that just entered the room. She looked back towards where her father was standing only moments before, but he was gone. "L-Lily you need — need to leave" she choked out. The Gryffindor's face softened. She normally called her 'Evans'. What in Merlin's name happened here?