LANDSLIDE, james potter [2]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lyra had dearly missed the Order of the Phoenix, even if she was only missing from a single meeting. She was sure to come to the next one, though, telling everybody that Voldemort himself had found himself living in her house. 

While some had found themselves wanting to charge into Malfoy Manor and cut the man's head off already, there were some who had a bit more sense. Moody was definitely against the idea, thinking they didn't have a plan or any way to cover up their existence or how they knew about where he was staying if things didn't work out. They couldn't compromise one of their spies.

They had made sure not to mention this fact to Harry, who was already stressed enough with everything leading up to his hearing with the Ministry, which was getting closer and closer everyday. Lyra hoped that they wouldn't expel him, and if they did then she'd write him a glowing recommendation to go to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. 

Once she had left her last meeting (where Sirius and Remus had been fuzzing over her because she had been so close to Voldemort, the Dark Lord or whatever people liked to call him), she found Harry standing outside the door.

"Hey, Lyra," he greeted, sounding a bit tired. It was getting quite late and Harry should have been in bed but he had been quite eager to catch her before she left. "I missed you at the last meeting."

"How did you know I wasn't there?" the blonde woman asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He quickly looked quite sheepish and avoided her gaze. She sighed, realizing what had been going on.  "Were you spying on the meetings again?"

"No," he quickly answered. It was a bit too quick and bit too unconvincing for her to believe him. He smiled innocently as she looked at him doubtfully. "Maybe. Definitely. There's a reason for it, though."

"If you're going to say you want information on the war, I will report you to Molly right now. She won't be very happy with you," Lyra threatened, though she wasn't sure if she actually would do it. The Weasley woman could scare them all. 

"Please don't," the messy-haired boy said quietly, having seen the woman yell at her children (and Sirius) a few too many times to want to get in trouble. "I've been looking for you, actually. Hoping to catch you alone."

"Me? What do you want with me?" she asked, frowning. While her and Harry had both already proven how they were quite fond of one another, they hadn't really spoken much alone. Perhaps that was why. 

"Eh, do you remember... right before the third task of the Tournament, you said we could talk one day. About my dad and everything. I was just hoping we could do it soon," he said awkwardly, as if he was afraid she'd say no, that she wouldn't talk about James with him.

"Of course we can," Lyra said sweetly, smiling fondly at the idea of finally having that conversation. She could have it basically whenever, having forced more freedom from her husband, but she was worried Harry wouldn't get enough sleep, like most teenagers. "But isn't it a bit late now?"

"I don't care, honestly. I got to sleep in this morning so I probably won't get to sleep at all for a few hours," Harry said, but was quite obviously trying to suppress a yawn. He winced as she realized she had caught it. "Please. I'll to sleep at six tomorrow night if it makes you feel better."

"Alright," the blonde woman smiled, though knowing it could be a bad idea. The days were usually filled, though, for both of them. If they were ever going to have the time to do this, it'd have to be during the night. "Come on, follow me."

Lyra knew that most of the house would have gone to sleep, with most of the kids already having slept for an hour or two. She made sure to find a private corner, a sofa that hadn't been sat on in years and plopped herself down, patting the seat next to her for him to sit.