lyra | harry potter

fifteen | looking up

UNLIKE USUAL, LYRA DID NOT find herself sitting alone in her own compartment on the Hogwarts Express that year. Instead she found herself sharing one with her new friends, her legs tucked underneath her as she sat next to Harry and across from Ron and Hermione. Lyra's gaze shifted across the words in the book she was reading, one Hermione had found for her in hopes that it would have more information on her ability.

Beside her, Harry couldn't stop talking about what they'd seen in Knockturn Alley yesterday. "So what was Draco doing with that weird-looking cabinet? And who were all those people?" He was telling them. "Don't you see? It was a ceremony. An initiation."

Lyra sighed to herself at his words, but tried to continue her reading. "Stop it, Harry," Hermione told him with a shake of her head. "I know where you're going with this."

"It happened," he insisted. "He's one of them."

"One of who?" Ron asked obliviously.

Hermione glanced at him. "Harry's under the impression Draco Malfoy is now a Death Eater."

Ron's eyebrows rose. "What would You-Know-Who want with a sod like Malfoy?"

"Then what's he doing in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked pointedly. "Browsing for furniture?"

Lyra finally lowered her book as she looked over at him. "That weird-looking cabinet is a Vanishing Cabinet," she revealed. Even though she'd been more quiet about her musings as to what Draco's business had been at Borgin and Burkes, Lyra found herself wondering about it all night as well. Harry hadn't asked her questions, though, knowing her upbringing was a sensitive subject and respecting her enough not to ask her to give him information. "And the people there actually were Death Eaters, though that doesn't necessarily mean Draco is one himself."

Harry turned to her. "What's a Vanishing Cabinet?"

"They're made in pairs. You're supposed to be able to enter one and end up wherever the other one is," she answered him. "But that cabinet's been in the shop for years. It doesn't work, probably because the other cabinet must have been destroyed, so my mother and uncle haven't been able to sell it."

He considered this, but although none of them could figure out what Draco had been doing with the useless cabinet, Harry still remained confident with his assumption. "Either way, he must be one of them now," he said, looking away. "His father's a Death Eater. It only makes sense."

Lyra couldn't help but feel hurt, even though her expression sharpened in defensiveness. "So is my father, Harry," she pointed out stiffly. "Are you going to accuse me of being a Death Eater, too?"

Harry's expression softened. "Lyra, no. You're different." She ignored him, turning her attention back to the book she still held open in her hands. "Lyra, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." The blue-eyed girl still didn't respond, and he sighed. "I need some air," he told them, then left the compartment.

He still wasn't back when the train finally pulled to a stop at its destination. Ron supposed he'd probably gotten off the train already, and Lyra was about to follow he and Hermione until she caught sight of Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson walking alone.

To most people it wouldn't have seemed like anything unusual, but Lyra wasn't most people. She was well aware that Draco was either with those two, or Crabbe and Goyle. But seeing as how Crabbe and Goyle had already walked past their compartment only minutes ago, a certain platinum blonde boy absent from their side, Lyra had figured he'd be with Blaise and Pansy. However, seeing that this wasn't the case, she had a feeling something was up.

"Lyra, are you coming?" Hermione asked.

"I just want to check something," Lyra told them. "You guys go ahead, I'll see you later."