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Not enough people talk about the fact that the Lestranges initially convinced the Ministry of their innocence after Voldemort's fall and stayed free long enough for Wizarding Britain to let its guard down again.
Can we please acknowledge the fact that Lucius Malfoy got into a very much canon physical altercation with Arthur Weasley at Flourish and Blotts in the Chamber of Secrets book?! After heâd insulted Arthurâs family, Mr Weasley took it upon himself to rely on his physical strength rather than magic to pay him back. Absolutely hilarious. I think I might have to draw this scene at some point. Itâs too good. I just know the Lestranges would piss themselves laughing if they knew about this.
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all - "Break it up, there, gents, break it up -"
Regulus and Bellatrix love to go shopping together, and they bring along the Lestrange brothers, of course only for them to carry all the bags. Rodolphus does it no issue because he's so very fond of those two, Rabastan whines but shuts up at just one look from Regulus and wouldn't dare to drop a bag, trailing right behind like a dog desperate to please. As a reward Regulus and Bellatrix let the brothers pick out some new lingerie for the cousins to wear that night
The Lestrange family possesses a shadowed and often disputed history stretching back through the centuries to any number of locales, depending upon who is doing the telling. Familial secrecy being what it is, the Lestranges rather delight in confusing their origins to the Outside, as it were.
The Familial Chronicles, however, are far more fastidious in their recollections. They place the familyâs beginnings with Zamra bint Hammon, priestess of an Amazigh clan in ancient Cyrenaica. Hers was a house of seers and necromancers devoted to Tanit and Baal-Hammon. After a particularly unfortunate episode during the fall of Carthage, the family fled west across the Maghreb and later north along the Andalusian trade routes, where they mingled with Mauri-Roman nobilityâconveniently disguising their heathen beginnings beneath a paper-thin Christian veneer.
By the eleventh century, amid the Norman expansion into Sicily and North Africa, the family entered Norman service as translators and occult scholars of uncommon reputation. In spite of, or perhaps because of, those scattered days, they maintained a ferociously insular culture and a private dedication to their ancient rites. Their ancestral seat, long lost and yet curiously preserved, still juts from the sea near Leptis Magnaâa fortress known as Qart-Nahrun, standing like a dark tooth against the horizon. Few living Lestranges have ever been there; fewer still return unchanged.
By the early 1700s the family was headed by Marchioness Mortella Nefret Lestrange, a formidable woman who produced three children: Roman Linden, Nevena Mortella, and Ravenna Ilaria.
Romanâbrilliant, dashing, and quite unhingedâpreferred to lead the family from their estate in France, much to the irritation of their Gallic cousins who preferred to forget their âupstart English relatives.â He married Castella Jade Seine, a union described by witnesses as âcatastrophically successfulâ.
Nevena never married, choosing instead to journey back to the ancestral heartland and take stewardship of Qart-Nahrun. Ravenna, shackled by propriety to her brotherâs household, achieved freedom through marriage to ArsĂšne BenoĂźt Dubos of the French aristocracy.
Roman and Castella produced two childrenâSabrina Castella and Alexander Romanâwhile Ravenna bore three: Astaroth ArsĂšne, Naberius Ravenna, and Asmodeus Belial.
The Nineteenth Century
Upon her majority, Sabrina Castella Lestrange inherited the Marquessate and took to it with aplomb. She assumed her seat in the Wizengamot and set about building foreign alliances, eventually marrying UroĆĄ Rastko AndeloviÄ. Her brother Alexander met a rather sticky end during some event or another in Libyaâallegedly while visiting their aunt Nevena.
Astaroth Lestrange proved⊠odd, even by family standards. He became a Dragon-Speaker, living almost exclusively among scaled beasts and preferring their company to that of fellow Homo sapiens. His brother Naberius married the ill-fated Malthe Magnus Gaunt, which went precisely as badly as one might expect when mixing two hereditary curses.
Asmodeus Lestrange, the sensible one, travelled to the Americas to study indigenous magic and married Milena Nada Garnier.
Sabrina and UroĆĄ had a single son, Raphael UroĆĄ Lestrange.
Asmodeus and Milena had two children, Madlyn Milena and Tempus Asmodeus.
The Scandalous Generations
Raphael was a delightful rogue who set the British aristocracy on its ear and produced scandal with industrial regularity. He was eventuallyâthough quite unintentionallyâcaught by the Nott heiress Kleio Ayik Nott, and the two were wed to avoid social catastrophe.
Madlyn Lestrange secured her own husband by what she called âeffective meansâ and others termed âentrapment.â She married Abraxas Minos Malfoy, becoming Duchess before the age of twenty.
Tempus Lestrange never married, though he did produceâthrough a truly spectacular scandal with a distant Scamander cousinâan illegitimate daughter. Being a sentimental sort, he acknowledged and raised Mammon Naomi Lestrange in proper family fashion.
Raphael and Kleio had two children: Cassiel Raphael Lestrange, heir to the Marquessate, and Adrielle Kleio Lestrange. Cassiel grew into a man of impeccable austerity who enjoyed being austere mostly because it disconcerted people. He married a French witch and long-time family friend, Amara Alette Saiph, who, inexplicably, both understood and loved him.
Adrielle died in the Grindelwald Affair, an event Cassiel has never forgottenânor forgiven.
Meanwhile, their cousin Mammon Naomi Lestrange ensured her own fortune and silenced the whispers of illegitimacy by marrying the young Duke Orion Arcturus Black.
The Modern House
Cassiel maintained one fateful friendship from his school daysâa brilliant boy named Tom Riddle. Cassiel, like so many of his generation, failed to see the madness until it was far too late. By then he had fathered two sons: Rodolphus Cassiel Lestrange and Rabastan Raphael Lestrange.
Rodolphus was headstrong, devout, and more than a little fanatical. He longed for the elder days when the Lestranges were priests, leaders, and feared for their power. Such nostalgia led him into a ruinous marriage with Bellatrix Druella Blackâa union forged in worship, violence, and obsession.
Rabastan, ever the loyal son, loved his family and his brother but lacked his zeal. That difference may one day prove their salvationâor their undoing.
Heraldry & Motto
Crest: a coiled serpent encircling a silver mask.
Motto: Ex Caos Lux Nascitur â âFrom Chaos, Light is Born.â
Colours: jet, crimson, ivory, and violet.
Patron Beast: the manticore.
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âSnape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters.âÂ
Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names.
âRosier and Wilkes â they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges â theyâre a married couple â theyâre in Azkaban. Avery â from what Iâve heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying heâd been acting under the Imperius Curse â heâs still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater â not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snapeâs certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble.â
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Chapter 27 "Padfoot Returns"
we know avery was at hogwarts at the same time as mulciber and snape, alongside wilkes and rosier. lucius and narcissa also overlapped (albeit briefly) with snapeâs time at school. however, the same canât be said for bellatrix - born in â51, sheâd have left hogwarts long before he set foot in it. Â
hence my question: how is this portrayed in fanfiction? how do writers attempt to make it work? the quote refers to the lestranges as a married coupleâbellatrix and bodolphus. sure, rabastan couldâve been younger and part of the slytherin gang, but that still doesnât fix the discrepancy. Â
i know the author wasnât exactly on speaking terms with basic arithmetic, but iâm more curious about how fanfic writers have handled it. how have you seen people explain this? (iâm a sucker for rules and patternsâneurodivergent curse, i supposeâso i canât write a word until iâve sorted this out, haha).
Scenes from the Life of Lyra Lestrange: HP mini-series (part 1)
YEAR ONE
âLyra Lestrange!â
The entire hall that was buzzing with energy and excitement just moments before due to the sorting ceremony had gone tense after Professor McGonagall had read off the name of the next first year to be sorted. A name that had quite the dark association attached to it. The Lestranges were, after all, quite notorious for the crimes they committed during the wizarding war under the command of Voldemort.
As with children and teenagers, murmurs started up almost immediately before they quieted down when a small figure with long dark hair moved forward amongst the first years that had yet to be sorted.
Lyra Lestrange held her head up high with a careful mask upon her face. She ignored the whispers of the students behind her and the shocked looks of the professors in front of her. Even the headmaster had gone still when her name had been called. In the next second she was sitting on the rickety three-legged stool that was clearly only standing due to magic and her vision was obscured by the brim of the sorting hat.
âInteresting, I never thought Bellatrix Black would have a child.â
Lyra stiffened, taking a deep breath in, and letting it go before responding to the hat.
âIt was in the marriage contract, regardless of gender she and my father were supposed to produce an heir.â
âAnother interesting tidbit. The Lestranges have always had a male heir and a male Head of House.â The sorting hat mused.
The girl mentally shrugged as she glanced down at the black diamond encased in a gold band that was fitted on the pointer finger of her right hand. Corvus oculum corvi non eruit, the Lestrange Family motto engraved on the outside of the band always filled her with a sense of pride and dread. The Lestrange heir ring had been there for over a year now â ever since she turned ten. Lyra sighed, âAre you going to sort me or root around my head for juicy family gossip to tell the headmaster about later tonight after the feast?â
âIâm quite deeply offended. Everything that I learn, I keep to myself. Not even the headmaster will know of what we talked about. But to business then⊠you are vastly different from either of your parents⊠perhaps that has to do with who you were raised byâŠâ
âPerhaps soâŠâ Lyra mused.
âWell, thereâs plenty of ambition and youâre quite creative, I can see that clearly. Loyalty, oh yes, very loyal but only to those whoâve earned it⊠and yet⊠yet there is only one house that would benefit you⊠you might not see it but I have a good feeling.â
âGRYFFINDOR!â
The entire hall was silent as Lyra removed the sorting hat from her head and walked over to the Gryffindor table. There was no clapping, just looks of shock and surprise from the house of the lions. The dark-haired girl sighed quietly as she took a seat in the open space next to Hermione Granger.
This was going to be a long yearâŠ
It was literally only the second day into term. She had only been to two classesâŠ
And she was already being led to the headmasterâs office.
Lyra was sure she had done absolutely nothing wrong. She had kept her head down and kept to her dorm when inside Gryffindor tower â she alone of the first year Gryffindor girls had a dorm to herself since it was five to a dorm and there were six female first years. She had been on time to breakfast and both of her classes. She took excellent notes if she did say so herself. She had even earned five points from Professor Flitwick for being the first to master the Lumos wand-lighting charm.
But McGonagall had been waiting for her before she had even made it to the Great Hall for lunch. All she said was that she was going to escort Lyra to see the headmaster. Lyra wanted to ask the older woman what Dumbledore wanted but she couldnât seem to get her voice to cooperate.
It wasnât long before McGonagall stopped and muttered something to a golden griffin statue that she was fairly sure was a few corridors away from the Gryffindor common roomâs entrance. The griffin moved in response and a staircase revealed itself. Lyra raised a brow as her head of house ushered her up the stairs and through a plain wooden door. Inside were hundreds of portraits of what Lyra assumed were previous headmasters and headmistresses. Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk with two others sitting across from him. The two were both tall, a man and a woman, each with long and pale blond hair. She had never seen either of them in person before. But Lyra had seen them in pictures, mostly the society pages. Lyra was looking at her Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius.
Ce nâest pas bien. This could not be good.
Lyra looked to Professor McGonagall who placed an arm on her shoulder and guided her over to the three adults.
âMiss Lestrange, these people are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy,â Dumbledore indicated towards the blonds with a tilt of his head, âLady Malfoy is the younger sister of your mother, Bellatrix. They were quite pressed to meet with you â especially since they were unaware of your existence until very recently.â Dumbledore explained.
Lyra glanced at the Malfoys before turning back to Dumbledore and McGonagall (who had actually remained by her side instead of moving to stand next to Dumbledore or off to the side), âDâaccord. Okay. Itâs nice to meet you.â Lyra said, unsure of how to respond. She saw the way the two Malfoys looked at each other at her French accent. Even Dumbledore cast a questioning look at McGonagall. It wasnât a heavily thick accent as she had grown up speaking just as much English as she did French.
Narcissa moved forward, giving Lyra an accessing look like she was judging Lyraâs very existence and held out her hand. âWe were quite shocked when our son, Draco, wrote home about a first-year girl with the last name Lestrange who happened to be the spitting image of my sister.â
âAnd sorted into Gryffindor at that.â Lucius Malfoy cut in looking shrewdly at Lyra. While Narcissa seemed to still be judging her niece, Lucius clearly felt that being sorted into the house of the lions was an affront to her heritage and her association to the House of Malfoy.
Lyra merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow, the corners of her mouth turning downwards slightly. At the look, all four of the adults in the room had various looks of surprise on their faces. Dumbledore recovered quicker than the others in the room and continued the explanation for the presence of the adult Malfoys.
âThe Malfoys arrived this morning wishing to meet you as they were unaware that Bellatrix even had a child.â Dumbledoreâs face was calm as he explained but Lyra could tell that he was scrutinizing her just as the Malfoys were. She just didnât know why.
Until her uncle opened his mouth.
âEveryone knew that it wasnât a love match between Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Factor in their status as Death Eaters and her devotion to the Dark Lord⊠well it was quite a shock to find out that a Lestrange was starting at Hogwarts.â
Oh.
Oh.
They thought she was the child ofâ
Ew.
âIâm not Voldemortâs child.â Lyra stated plainly.
The reactions were instantaneous; McGonagallâs grip on her shoulder tightened for a second and her lips thinned, the Malfoysâ brows both raised â Luciusâs jaw even dropped open while Narcissaâs eyes widened at her audacity. Dumbledoreâs reaction was, once again, the quickest: his eyes widened before narrowing, the calculating look back on his face clearer than before.
âIâm sure no one was implyingââ Dumbledore started to say before Lyra interrupted.
Lyra raised her brows before holding out her right hand. The Lestrange heir ring gleamed brightly as the sunlight streaming through the window hit the black diamond. âI would not be able to wear this if I was Voldemortâs daughter. I wouldnât even be able to wear it if I were blood adopted by a Lestrange. It would be line theft as there are others who were born into the family who would have more of a right to inherit â only those born into the Lestrange family can wear the heirâs ring. I am Rodolphusâs biological daughter.â Lyra stated as she put her hand back down.
Before they could recover from her use of the Dark Lordâs name for the second time, Lyra continued, âWhen my parents found out my mother was pregnant, my father sent her to France. I was born there, in the Lestrange ancestral home on 31 May 1980. Shortly after I was born my father made plans that should anything happen to him then I would be taken care of by one of his relatives across the Channel. When he and my mother and uncle were taken to Azkaban, I was delivered to a distant cousin of his and raised in France.â
âA distant cousin? You have plenty of family here that would have taken you in.â Narcissa stated, looking quite put out at not being considered to help raise her niece â one she had no knowledge of twenty-four hours prior to this meeting.
âQuite right. We would have been happy to raise you alongside our son.â Lucius mused, no doubt thinking about how his own standing would have increased by raising the Lestrange heir.
âWell, itâs what my father decided.â Lyra stated plainly.
âSurely your motherââ
âMy mother didnât care one way or the other. As soon as I was born, she returned to Voldemortâs side. Iâm told my mother considered her pregnancy an unavoidable inconvenience. My father was the one to see to my care. He felt as the heiress to the British branch of the Lestranges that I should be raised by members of the Lestrange family and since there were none left in the UK after they went to prisonâŠâ Lyra delicately shrugged her shoulders as she finished explaining.
âYou were sent to France and raised there.â Dumbledore mused. Lyra merely nodded. âYou could have gone to Beauxbatons but instead chose to go to school here.â
âMy tante would have preferred that but again, my fatherâs directives were that I attend Hogwarts.â
Dumbledore hummed at her explanation as the Malfoys shared another look. Lyra didnât like how they looked at her. Lucius looked at her as if he were trying to figure out how she would be useful to them while Narcissa looked as if she had found something she didnât know was lost. The Lestrange heiress didnât want to spend another minute with them.
Looking down at the dainty gold watch on her left wrist, Lyra shifted anxiously, âCan I go now? Lunch is half over and I have to grab my books for my next class as well.â
The Malfoys looked as if they might protest but McGonagall stepped in before they could say anything.
âOf course, Miss Lestrange. Iâm sure that if your aunt and uncle wish to speak with you again, they can send a letter.â McGonagall stated firmly.
Both Malfoys looked put out but Narcissa agreed that perhaps that would have to do for now. Lyra didnât really like the sound of that but she nodded and allowed Professor McGonagall to lead her out of the headmasterâs office. The two were almost to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower when McGonagall asked her how she was feeling.
Lyra stopped and turned toward her professor.
âI donât have to actually reply to their letters, do I?â
âNo Miss Lestrange. Not if you donât want to.â
Lyra nodded, âGood. I canât imagine wanting to.â
To McGonagallâs credit she didnât react other than the slightest tightening around her mouth.
âWould you all stop looking at me like Iâm about to curse you!â Lyra yelled in frustration. âYes, my parents were horrible people who did horrible things but that doesnât mean that Iâm anything like them!â Lyra shook her head, not bothering to wait for a reaction, she slammed her book shut and grabbed her school bag before angrily storming out of the common room, heading off in a random direction.
Lyra had been subjecting herself to the stares and whispers of her housemates every evening after classes ended by doing her homework in the common room. She figured that once the other lions saw her around more often, they would get used to her presence and they wouldnât look at her like she was evil incarnate or talk about her as if she were deaf and couldnât hear what they were saying.
Unfortunately, it was all to no avail. It was already mid-December and still they whispered and spread rumors about her.
She continued her path, aimlessly wandering around the castle. She had a few hours before curfew, so she didnât have to worry about getting in trouble with Filch.
Lyraâs mind also wandered as she thought about the few times her cousin Draco had tried to interact with her ever since her somewhat⊠abrupt⊠meeting with her maternal aunt and uncle. The Lestrange heiress found the Malfoy heir to be quite pompous and arrogant. Plus, he was clearly a blood supremist. Lyra really had tried to give her cousin a chance, but she left every interaction with him wondering if she would have turned out like him if she had been raised by the Malfoys or worse her parents.
âMiss Lestrange!â
Lyra paused as she looked behind her to see Professor McGonagall standing in an open doorway. She quickly walked back to her head of house to see what she called her for.
âProfessor McGonagall?â Lyra questioned.
âCome in for a minute Miss Lestrange and have a seat.â Lyra raised a brow and did as her professor instructed. McGonagall directed her to a sitting area where a kettle and biscuits were already laid out on a coffee table. She quickly pulled another teacup out of a side cupboard and served her tea as she preferred it.
âThank you, professor.â
âYouâre welcome, Miss Lestrange.â They were silent for a moment as they sipped their tea but then McGonagall was asking her about how she was settling in.
Lyra sighed. âIâm the daughter of two of the most hated death eaters in the entire UK. Add in that I was sorted into Gryffindor â of all houses â well⊠Iâm genuinely surprised no one has tried to hex me yet. Then again, it could be that theyâre all afraid Iâll curse them. Or retaliate or something like that.â
McGonagall listened to her words and was silent for a moment. âThe moment the Sorting Hat placed you into Gryffindor, I knew that your time at Hogwarts wasnât going to be⊠easy. Your parentsâ reputations would work against you in the house of the lions. You would have to spend the next seven years with the whispers and rumors, trying to be seen as your own person separate from the stigma of the Lestrange name. You would wonder about the motivations of those around you and if they liked you for you or if they were afraid of who you could be. It might have been easier for you if you had been sorted into Slytherin. Your parentsâ reputations alone would have assured you would have been quite comfortable in Slytherin. You might even command a higher place in the hierarchy than that of your cousin.â
Lyra raised a brow at her head of houseâs assessment. Before she could comment on it, McGonagall continued. âBut you were raised by a woman who, despite being a Lestrange, is not a pureblood supremacist. Iâve never met your aunt but Iâm guessing she raised you not to judge people by who their ancestors were but rather by who they are as people. I see it in the way you give your full attention to those around you, be they student or professor, you let them know youâre paying attention and that you hear them. I see it in the way you make time for your cousin, shaking your head in frustration after spending five minutes with him. I also see it in the way youâre conscious of giving Neville Longbottom space. You are a considerate and compassionate young lady. I think you will do well in Gryffindor, Miss Lestrange. You just have to remember that you are as strong and as fierce as the animal that represents Gryffindor house.â McGonagall proclaimed as she took a sip from her teacup.
Lyra couldnât help but to smile at McGonagallâs words. Her classmates may not like or trust her but thatâs because they didnât know her. The Lestrange heiress had never been more determined to change how people viewed her family name going forward. It would be a long hard road but for now, she had McGonagallâs support.
Lyra was wandering around the castle again. It was a Saturday evening and sheâd already finished all her assignments about an hour ago. After dropping her things back in her dorm, Lyra had decided to stretch her legs outside of the common room. The dark-haired girl sighed as she made her way down to the second floor. Things had improved since December. People were no longer talking about her in her immediate vicinity. Lyra still got glared at and she knew people talked about her family history but they never spoke where she could hear them. Which was better. It wasnât great but she knew that people would need more time.
Well, the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs would need more time. The Slytherins never antagonized her nor did they shun her. They werenât overly friendly but they were respectful and⊠courteous. What they said about her in private, Lyra had no idea though she didnât think that it was anything too bad considering that Draco was attempting to build a relationship with her. The Ravenclaws were mostly indifferent to her. There were some who hated her because of her parents and uncle but they didnât do much more than glare and make snide comments as she passed. Sheâd gotten used to it, mostly. The thing was that it was nothing new. The comments, the rumors, the glares, and the whispers. It was all the same. It didnât matter that three-fourths of the school were talking about her, they never had anything to say that she hadnât heard before.
Lyra wandered along to an abandoned looking corridor. The grey-eyed girl had noticed that there were many corridors on the various floors of Hogwarts that looked abandoned. Exploration of the rooms in the corridors showed that they were old classrooms or common areas. Lyra wasnât sure if the classrooms were abandoned because they moved them to their current locations or if the subjects that were taught in them were cancelled. She also wondered whether the other students knew about the common areas. The rooms werenât dusty or in disrepair so clearly the house elves still cleaned them up. The furniture was old and outdated, some even from the previous century as far as she could tell. The lack of student visitors made her believe that when the classrooms were abandoned so were the common areas. Which was a shame because those common areas would be perfect for the students from different houses who wanted to hang out or study or do homework together.
Looking to her right, Lyra noticed a door marked Girlsâ Lavatory.
Huh.
Lyra turned around as she got her bearings on where exactly she was. She wasnât that far from one of the main halls which means this bathroom was quite convenient for ducking into if she needed to use the loo between classes.
So why hadnât she known about it?
Walking into the bathroom, she could see it was still in good condition though there was some water on the floor near one of the stalls in the back. Shrugging, Lyra walked over to the sinks to fix her hair in the mirror. She nearly screamed; it was a close thing. In the mirror behind her was the ghost of a girl who looked no more than a few years older than her. She was even wearing Ravenclaw robes that were a couple decades out of date.
Whirling around, Lyra regarded the ghost girl with raised brows, âOh my goodness! You gave me a fright!â
The ghost girl scowled and demanded, âWhy because Iâm so ugly?! Were you dared to see âWeeping, Moaningâ Myrtle?! Youâve had your laugh, now leave!â
âNo thatâs not⊠I didnât know anybody was in here and you just appeared behind me in the mirror! Itâs not nice to sneak up on people like that.â
The ghost girl, Myrtle, tilted her head as she regarded Lyra. âYouâre in my bathroom.â
âThe sign on the outside of the door says, âGirlsâ Lavatory.â That means that any girl can use this bathroom. Itâs only fair that you share with others.â
âYou look like the mean girl but you donât act like the mean girl.â
âThe mean girl?â Lyra questioned, sinking feeling in her gut. She knew Myrtle must be speaking about her mother.
âShe was a Black. There were a couple of them in my year when I went to schoolâŠand in the years above and belowâŠbut the mean girl came after. She was mean to everyone. Including me. She would call me âMoaning Mudbloodâ and laugh at me.â Myrtle admitted, voice taking on a teary quality.
Lyra blinked slowly and shook her head. âWas her name Bellatrix?â Lyra gazed up at Myrtle as her eyes narrowed and she nodded. âBellatrix is my mother. Iâm Lyra Lestrange. She should have never done that to you. It was wrong of her. I know it canât mean much but Iâm sorry she was horrible to you.â
Myrtle was silent for a few moments as she regarded Lyra. âYou act like my friend.â
âYour friend?â
Myrtle nodded, âMy friend. They danced with me at Sir Nicholasâs death day party six years ago and they've always been nice to me. They graduated in June. Said good-bye to me too. Most donât say good-bye or anything like that.â
Lyra nodded, âYour friend sounds wonderful. If you want, I wouldnât mind visiting with you.â
Myrtleâs eyes widened before squinting at her suspiciously. âWhy?â
âMy parents were horrible people. People think Iâm just like them even though I was a baby when they were arrested. I donât have⊠any friends and it would be nice to talk to someone who knows Iâm not mean like my mother.â
Myrtle looked thoughtful before nodding. âIâd like to be friends.â
Lyra smiled a rare, genuine smile. âGreat! So, tell me about yourself, Myrtle.â
There was no moon this night and the torches that lined the staircase down to the common room had been extinguished earlier in the night. Even the fireplaces down in the common room itself had been doused. But not for long. Lyra couldnât sleep. She didnât know why but something about the way Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been acting earlier had caused the silver-eyed girl to take notice. She wasnât sure what they were up to, but Lyra hoped that whatever it was they were doing wouldnât cost them another hundred-and-fifty points. She didnât think it was possible, but she didnât want to find out if they could go into the negative.
It was so stupid though. Yeah, Harry and his friends had lost a hundred and fifty points, but Harry had more than earned that exact number of points when he caught the snitch at his first Quidditch match. And every match since then. Hermione was also one to earn Gryffindor tons of points but she had taken to keeping her head and hand down during class because of the looks and comments she would get from the other students. Again, so stupid. If they would just let Hermione earn the points without comment, they probably would have double what they lost. Or close to it.
She wrapped her robe tighter around herself and stole across the common room to one of the fireplaces. âIncendio.â Lyra muttered as an orange ball of flame came shooting out of her wand and lit the wood sitting in the fireplace on fire. Leaning back, Lyra stared into the flames as she mused on her unease. She was startled from her thoughts by the croak of a familiar toad.
âTrevor!â Lyra scolded as she whirled around to see the escape-artist toad that was constantly running away from Neville Longbottom. âWhat are you doing out here all by yourself?â Lyra questioned as she moved over to the armchair he was sitting on. Shaking her head, the Lestrange heiress couldnât believe the number of times the Longbottom heir had gone looking for this toad over the course of the year. Lyra was about to scoop up the toad when she noticed a pair of slipper-clad feet on the floor behind the chair. Peering around the chair, wand back in hand, Lyra couldnât help but gasp as she saw Neville Longbottom frozen on the floor, eyes moving wildly back and forth.
âNeville!â Kneeling at his side, Lyra clearly cast the general counter-curse with the correct hand movement. Neville quickly sat up with a harsh gasp. âAre you alright?â
Shaking his head, âIâm fine. Harry, Ron, and Hermione snuck out again.â
âWait, they snuck out? They cast the body bind curse on you?â Lyra asked incredulously.
Neville shrugged, muttering, âI was trying to stop them but they said that they were doing something important.â
âThey shouldnât have done that.â Lyra stated firmly. âCome on,â Lyra said, holding out her hand to her fellow Gryffindor. Neville hesitated briefly before grasping her hand. âWeâve got to tell McGonagall.â
âAre you sure thatâs a good idea?â Neville questioned as they made their way out of the portrait entrance.
âMaybe not, but Iâve been feeling uneasy all night. Whatever theyâre doing â important or not â itâs probably dangerous.â
âWellâŠyouâre not wrongâŠâ
Lyra whirled around so she was facing Neville. He started at suddenly having her sole focus on him but she ignored this as she questioned him. âWhat do you mean by that?â
âWell⊠I⊠I heard them talking before I tried to stop them. Theyâre going to the forbidden corridorââ
âThe one with the giant three-headed dog in it?â
Neville blinked, âHow did you know aboutââ
âI was curious. After seeing that enormous beast, I wasnât so curious anymore.â
Neville shook his head, âYou still want to tell McGonagall?â
âWe have to.â Lyra said determinedly. âItâs forbidden for a reason. They could get themselves killed. Come on.â Lyra brushed passed Neville and exited the common room through the portrait. She could hear Neville following her even with the Fat Lady demanding they return to the common room. The two first-years quickly rushed off to McGonagallâs office. Hopefully, they could get to their professor in enough time to get Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Lyra was sitting on one of the ledges in the courtyard. It had been a curious couple of days. After waking McGonagall from her sleep and telling her about their classmates, she quickly summoned the other heads of houses and they went after the other three Gryffindors. But not before ordering Lyra and Neville to stay in McGonagallâs office. It was a long night for the two Gryffindors. Neville and Lyra were quite silent for a while. They would make a comment here and there, wondering about their classmates. Eventually McGonagall had came back to them. She informed them that their fellow lions were currently in the hospital wing but that they would be all right.
After that it was a whirlwind of events. No one really knew what happened in the forbidden corridor. So naturally the whole school knew. Or they thought they knew. What they did know was that Professor Quirrell was dead after trying to kill Harry Potter. There were rumors going around that Quirrell had been a supporter of Voldemort, out for revenge. Ron and Hermione had only been in the hospital wing for a night. Many students had tried to get the story from them when they were released but they kept quiet about everything that had gone on. Harry, on the other hand, had been in the hospital wing for three days. Whatever did happen it was clear that Harry had been injured worse than his best friends.
Just last night they had the end of term feast. In a surprising twist Gryffindor had won the house cup despite being dead last. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had each received fifty points each for stopping Quirrell. In another surprising twist both she and Neville had received twenty-five points each for standing up to their friends and alerting the professors to the danger.
Lyra didnât know how she felt about it. While it was nice to be recognized, she would have rather received the points before the feast and not have the Slytherins have their victory stolen from them. Partially because it would have been the right thing to do and partially because she would rather not have to deal with her cousin going on about Dumbledore and Potter. Lyra had just finished telling Myrtle goodbye for the summer when she had run into Draco. He had been ranting about how Dumbledore had stolen Slytherinâs victory because of golden boy Potter. Her cousin had assured her he didnât blame her. At least she had gotten points for telling on Potter and his friends.
Sighing, Lyra was surprised she had made it through her first year without being attacked by any of the other students. In fact, some of the Gryffindors had been a bitâŠwarmer towards her after she had been awarded points at the end-of-year feast. Granted it had only been a night and part of the morning. The students were leaving in another hour for the summer holidays. Whether this new attitude would last or disappear next year was unknown. Considering how wishy-washy the students were towards Harry PotterâŠwell she didnât hold much hope for herself.
âLestrange?â
Lyra turned in surprise to see Neville Longbottom standing there.
âHello Neville.â Lyra responded unsure as to why Neville was seeking her out especially since he had done his novel best to avoid her at all costs throughout the year. âAnything I can do for you?â She questioned when the Longbottom heir remained silent.
âWell⊠err⊠I just wanted to say⊠to say thank you. For casting the counter curse. The other night when you found me. So, um, yes. Thank you, Heiress Lestrange.â Neville managed to stutter out before giving a short formal bow to Lyra.
Neville nodded his head once, âRight⊠so. I guess Iâll see you on the express. Or⊠um at the welcome feast.â Neville nodded his head once more before turning and walking away. Heâd only gone a couple of steps when Lyra called out to him. He turned back, questioning look on his face.
