LANDSLIDE, james potter [2]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lyra knew she was being followed. She didn't want to be followed. Then again, did anyone ever want to be followed? She didn't have time to contemplate over the question. She was trying to lose the two people on her track, wanting to do what she was about to do on her own. 

"Wait!" Bellatrix called out as Lyra was attempting to walk away from her and Narcissa, who were both struggling to keep up with her. A green light flashed as the oldest sister killed something nearby. "Just a fox. I thought perhaps an auror- Lyra, wait! Lyra, Cissy, listen to me!"

Narcissa hadn't bothered to wait for the brunette, instead trying to keep up with the other blonde, who seemed to ignore the both of them entirely. Bellatrix tried to grab her arm but she wriggled it away. "Go back, Bella!"

Bellatrix glared stubbornly, though they both kept up the pace to keep up with their youngest sister. "You must listen to me!" 

"I've listened already," Narcissa snapped, not even looking at the brunette Death Eater. "I've made my decision. I'm not letting Lyra do this alone and we both know that we can't stop her. Leave me alone!"

Lyra still refused to look back at either of them, only trying to move faster in hope of losing them. But in the end, she had to stop on the top of the bank, where a line of railings separated the river from a cobbled street. She tried to remember which house she had to go to as Bellatrix and Narcissa finally caught up. 

"He lives here?" Bellatrix asked, sounding quite disgusted. It was a far cry from Malfoy or Flint Manor. "Here? In this Muggle dunghill? We must be the first of our kind to ever set foot-"

Lyra definitely didn't care for what she had to say. She finally remembered the way to go and walked through a small gap in the rusting railing, heading the road and towards the street. Narcissa gasped in surprise, rushing to follow. "Lyra, wait!"

Lyra honestly thought the street needed a bit of a makeover. There were more broken street lights than working and she was happy she wasn't wearing high heels, because they'd most likely be caught in the cracks on the pavement. 

Bellatrix desperately tried to catch up, but she wasn't quite in shape after all her draining years in Azkaban. But she eventually managed to catch Lyra as she slowed down, searching for the right way. She grabbed her arm, forcing her to finally turn to face her, making Narcissa stop and wait. 

Bellatrix spoke softly, glancing around to make sure there was nobody around who would want to listen to them. "Lyra, you must not do this, you can't trust him-"

"It's not like I can trust you either, Bella," Lyra responded coolly, a fierce glare on her face. It was clear that she wasn't fooling around. "I trust him a thousand times more than I trust either of you. So does the Dark Lord."

"The Dark Lord is... I believe... mistaken, and you are, too," Bellatrix hesitated, looking even more paranoid as she glanced around. "In any case, we were told not to speak of the plan to anyone. This is a betrayal of the Dark Lord's-"

"I honestly don't care what you have to say. Just go home and let go of me!" the youngest sister snapped, grabbing her wand from her robes and pointing at her sister's face as she realized she had no chance of forcing her arm out of her grip. 

"Lyra, your own sister? You wouldn't-"

"You know I would!" The blonde pointed her wand even closer to her face. She took a moment to think but brought her wand down on her sister's hand, making her gasp as a sharp pain took hold of her. "Be glad Cissy's here. If not, I would have followed through with the last curse I wanted to cast on you."

"Lyra!" Narcissa called out, grabbing the Lestrange woman's hand to check if there was any damage. For the most part, it must only have hurt but there was a red streak from where the wand had hit her.