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Lyra stormed out of the corridor, her jaw clenched, irritation bubbling inside her like a potion about to explode.
Fred bloody Weasley.
She was still replaying the conversation in her head, still hearing his infuriating voice, and his annoying smirk.
She was still picturing the way he had looked at her like he knew something she didn't, like he had all the time and knowledge in the world to figure her out.
She needed to clear her head.
As she passed an open window leading to the courtyard, the familiar sounds of laughter and conversation drifted up toward her. She paused, then recognised the voices instantly. Without hesitation, she veered towards them.
Her friends were sprawled across their usual spot. Daphne and Astoria were sitting on a stone bench, while Theo, Draco, and Blaise lounged on the grass in front of them, looking as relaxed as ever.
Or at least, they had been.
The moment Lyra approached, her expression stern and annoyed, their chatter faded.
She didn't say anything. Instead she just walked over and unceremoniously collapsed onto the bench, stretching her legs out and resting her head dramatically in Daphne's lap with a long, drawn out sigh.
The group exchanged glances, before Theo was the first one to speak up.
Theo raised an eyebrow at the girl as he watched her over his shoulder. "Uh, Lyra, you good?"
"Oh, yeah. Brilliant," she shot back sarcastically, still staring up at the sky, resting her hands across her stomach.
Daphne absentmindedly started playing with a strand of Lyra's hair. "I'm going to assume that tone means you're not brilliant." She smiled slightly, looking down at the slytherin girl in her lap.
Lyra groaned, before pushing her hands off her stomach, dragging them down her face. "Fred Weasley is the worst human being to ever exist."
Blaise smirked, and joked lightly. "That's a bold statement."
"Yeah, because you exist too," she shot back as she turned her head to look at him, furrowing her brows.
Blaise paused for a second, before clutching his chest mockingly. "Ouch. Wounded."
Theo snorted. "You willingly stayed behind. What did Weasley do this time? Steal your soul? Actually, never mind, you'd need one first." He laughed like he was the funniest person alive.
Lyra sat up just to smack him on the arm before flopping back down with a loud exhale. "No," she huffed.
"But he did somehow put together that my parents are Death Eaters, and now he's being all insufferable about it."
Draco, who had been silent until now, finally sat up properly. His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Yeah," she muttered. "He saw me at the festival, or rather, we talked on the festival, and then the exploding happened, and when I ran off to find you guys, he was there when.."
She hesitated for half a second, then forced herself to continue, "..when my parents found me."
A beat of silence passed through the group.
Daphne was the first to speak. "Well, that's annoying, and rather unfortunate. Him out of all people."
"Tell me about it," Lyra grumbled. "And the worst is, now he's acting like I owe him some grand explanation. Like, congratulations, Weasley, you figured out something that wasn't exactly well hidden, do you want a bloody award?"
Astoria frowned. "Did he say anything else?"
Lyra scoffed. "Oh, yeah. He also tried bribing me with butterbeer."
There was another pause, and then Theo let out a loud snort, turning around to face the girls fully, holding himself up with his arms against the ground behind him.
Blaise, who was sitting with one leg propped up with his arm over it, scoffed loudly in disbelief, looking around to catch the reactions of his friends.
Draco looked personally offended. "Butterbeer? That's the best he could come up with?"
"Yeah, like you're so broke and desperate for a free drink." Blaise huffed, clearly amused by the conversation.
Daphne looked and Blaise and nodded, before looking back down at Lyra unimpressed. "That's honestly kind of pathetic."
"Right?" Lyra threw her hands up dramatically. "I would be insulted, if I wasn't so pissed off."
Daphne scoffed, twisting a lock of Lyra's hair around her fingers. "Bloke needs to realise who he's talking to the next time he offers you a free drink.
"I know, right? I almost took it too. Almost."
"You definitely took it."
"Undecided.
Daphne hummed knowingly, but before she could say anything else, Lyra sat up slightly like something had just hit her train of thought, brows furrowing. "That's not even the weirdest part, though."
Daphne raised an eyebrow, motioning for her to continue.
Lyra hesitated for a second, thinking, then sighed. If she was already speaking of him, she would speak of him.
"Okay, so, back at the graduation party before summer, Fred said something ridiculous. Gross even, now that I think about it"
"Okay, now I am intrigued.." Daphne muttered, slightly worried and slightly interested.
Lyra sighed before speaking up again."We were sort of trapped against one another, and he told me, and I quote, 'I'll kiss you until you stop talking' because I was apparently talking too much."
The entire group went silent.
Then.
"He said what?!" Theo suddenly dropped, leaning forward like it was the most insane thing he had ever heard. Actually, it probably was.
Draco looked physically pained as he too sat up, giving Lyra a look of annoyance. "Why am I just now hearing about this?"
"Because it didn't matter," Lyra said dismissively, waving her hand.
"Didn't matter?" Daphne's voice rose in disbelief. "Lyra, what?"
"I didn't take him seriously!"
"Clearly he did," Blaise muttered, looking far too entertained.
Lyra groaned, rubbing her temples. "It's worse than that, though."
"How does it get worse?" Astoria asked, eyes wide.
"Because," Lyra said, voice pitching in frustration,
"He started talking to me on the train on our way to school, and casually mentioned Angelina Johnson like it was nothing, clearly hinting that something was going on between them."
That caught Daphne's attention immediately. "Wait, Angelina Johnson? As in, the same Angelina Johnson you beat up in front of him? The same Angelina he broke up with because of you."
Theo let out a low whistle. "Ohhh. That's awkward."
"Right?" Lyra exclaimed. "Like, I know we argue about quidditch and that, but this is far more personal. That is his ex girlfriend we're talking about. Like, if they're talking again, shouldn't he be mad at me? Like, you'd expect him to never talk to me again."
Blaise smirked and raised a brow, tilting his head back as he looked at Lyra. "Maybe he likes his girls violent."
Lyra kicked him. Hard.
"Ow, fuck."
"You deserved that," Draco said flatly, shrugging.
"You all suck," Blaise muttered, rubbing his shin.
Lyra huffed, slumping back against Daphne's lap. "It's just strange, casually mentioning his ex to someone who beat her up just a couple months age." She sighed.
"Whatever. I don't care about any of it." She added, clearly showing signs of defeat.
"You clearly do," Daphne said, amused.
"But that is strange, I agree. I mean, I get arguing about quidditch, but when it comes to his girlfriend- ex girlfriend, that's like, personal. If he even cared about her, he'd leave you alone." She explained.
Lyra nodded silently against her friends lap, groaning loudly as she slid her hands down her face.
Astoria nodded throughly, brows furrowed in thought. "You think he's trying to make you jealous, Lyra?"
Lyra winced by the question, scrunching her nose. "No?" Lyra scoffed. "Why would he want to make me jealous?"
Daphne and Astoria exchanged a look.
"Lyra," Daphne said gently, like she was speaking to a very slow child. "Think."
Lyra frowned. "Think what?"
A shared sigh came from the group.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "She's hopeless."
"God, you guys are insufferable. Of course I know what you're getting at, and you're wrong." She said sternly, cutting the conversation short.
Theo sighed for a moment, deciding to change the subject, before speaking up with a soft smile on his lips. "You know he's not going to drop it, right? The situation about your parents."
Lyra gave him a look. "Obviously." She deadpanned, through she was glad the subject got changed.
Theo rolled his eyes by his friends behaviour. "So," he drawled, "you have two choices. Either you keep avoiding the conversation until he figures it out on his own, or you shut him up yourself."
Lyra clenched her jaw, and looked at him with a curious look. "And how would I do that?"
Daphne, who stifled a chuckle, smirked. "I can think of a few ways."
Lyra shot her a mixture of worry and disgust. "Daph, no."
Theo snorted. "She means hexing him." He winked, but he too knew what she really meant.
Daphne pouted. "Well, that's one option."
Daphne looked forward for a moment, deep in thought before she spoke up again. "We need a plan," Daphne said suddenly, straightening up. "To make him stop for good."
"Oh, I have one," Theo smirked. "Take up the butterbeer offer. But poison it."
Astoria sighed. "Or, hear me out. Just take the offer and explain to him why he needs to leave you alone."
"No, that's too grown up to do." Daphne smirked at her sister, and Lyra nodded in agreement.
Blaise grinned. "Yeah, instead we could find out more dirt on Angelina Johnson and blackmail him if he ever dares question you about your parents again."
Lyra thought quietly for a moment before the realisation hit her. Lyra turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You are actually not as stupid as you look."
Blaise gave her an exaggerated shrug. "Thank you, thank you. I try." He smirked towards his slytherin friend.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Or, and this might be a crazy thought, but we could just hex him." He said like it was the most brilliant idea he had every come up with.
"Oh, brilliant idea, Malfoy," Lyra said dryly. "That definitely won't make him more determined to be a pain in my ass."
Theo leaned back on his elbows, his fingers softly digging down in the soft, green grass beneath him. "You know, for someone who hates him, you sure talk about him a lot."
Lyra gaped slowly before kicking him in the shin.
Theo hissed, glaring at her. "You're violent."
"You deserved it."
Before Theo could retaliate, Blaise's gaze flickered past Lyra's shoulder, and his smirk widened. "Well, speak of the devil."
Lyra turned just in time to see Fred Weasley sauntering into the courtyard, joining his own group on the opposite side of the field. He looked as carefree as ever, laughing at something his brother had just said, hands tucked casually into his pockets.
Like he didn't have a single worry in the world, and it was infuriating.
"Unbelievable," Lyra muttered, shaking her head.
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "This is unacceptable. He cannot win."
Astoria, ever the reasonable one, sighed. "This isn't a war, Daph."
Daphne didn't look convinced. "Isn't it? Sure sounds like one."
Theo grinned. "So what's the move, Arakan? You gonna take the butterbeer, or at least think of a way to make him stop?"
Lyra exhaled through her nose, glancing back at Fred. For a split second, their eyes met across the courtyard, and his expression didn't change, but his lips twitched, just slightly, just enough for her to know that he knew she was looking.
Lyra narrowed her eyes. Then, with a slow smirk, she turned back to her friends.
"Oh," she said smoothly, "Yeah, I think so."
Theo hummed. "You better, because Weasley's not as dumb as he looks."
Blaise shrugged as he smirked, before adding. "Debatable."
Lyra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Merlin, someone kill me."
Draco smirked. "Let's deal with Weasley first."
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Before Lyra could spiral any further into her thoughts, a voice called out from across the courtyard.
"Arakan!"
She blinked, the frustration in her chest momentarily pausing as she turned toward the source.
Adrian Pucey.
Finally. Someone to save her from all of this.
She hadn't seen him at breakfast, or even since the start of the summer, and just the sight of him made her exhale a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.
Adrian approached them with his usual easy stride, tall and composed as ever, though there was something more tired in his eyes than she remembered.
"Where the hell have you been?" Draco asked before Lyra could.
"Yeah, we thought you got kidnapped or something," Blaise added, leaning back on his hands.
Adrian shrugged. "Had some business to handle."
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "That sounds suspiciously vague."
"Good."
Theo smirked. "Would've been a real shame if we had to replace you."
Adrian rolled his eyes. "Relax. I wasn't kidnapped. Just had a great summer, obviously." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he flopped down onto the bench beside Astoria, shaking his head. "But judging by the tension in the air, I'd say I missed something. Catch me up."
It didn't take long. Lyra and the others quickly ran through the Fred Weasley drama. How he had put two and two together about her parents, how he was being insufferable about it, how he had the audacity to bribe her with butterbeer.
By the time they finished, Adrian looked unimpressed.
"Fred Weasley," he muttered, shaking his head. "Should've figured he'd be involved somehow. Git's always got his nose where it doesn't belong."
Lyra scoffed. "Exactly. I think the worst part was the butterbeer, though." She muttered, clearly unamused as she recalled the earlier conversation.
Adrian blinked. Then, he let out a sharp, amused laugh. "That is embarrassing for him."
"Right?" Lyra huffed. "At least bribe me with something worthwhile. Like firewhisky."
Theo pointed at her. "That's exactly what I said."
"No it wasn't?" Astoria questioned quietly, giving him a look of concern.
"Shut it, Greengrass." Theo replied, like he had no care in the world.
Adrian shook his head, still grinning. "Anyways, let me get this straight. Weasley somehow figured out your parents are Death Eater, and instead of doing anything actually useful with that information, he decided to... offer you a drink?"
"No, you've got it all wrong. He bribed me with butterbeer first, and then told me how he knew about my parents ," Lyra deadpanned. "Apparently, he's either really dumb or really desperate."
"Or both," Blaise added helpfully.
"I'd put my money on both," Adrian mused.
Lyra groaned, running a hand down her face. "The worst part is, he won't let it go. He's like a dog with a bone."
Adrian tilted his head, considering. "So, what's the plan, then? You just gonna keep dodging him?"
"We're working on a plan," Daphne said seriously. "A very important plan."
Theo nodded. "Options include poisoning him, blackmail, or general psychological warfare."
Adrian looked between them, then smirked. "God, I missed you lot."
Adrian smirked, nudging her. "So what's the plan? Are we staging his unfortunate disappearance?"
"We're working on it," Daphne assured him.
But before they could go any further, Astoria tilted her head at him. "You need to be caught up too. Where have you been?"
That wiped the smirk off Adrian's face. He hesitated, running a hand through his dark hair before exhaling. "Home," he said simply.
The group quieted slightly.
"That bad?" Lyra asked, softer now.
Adrian let out a short, humourless laugh. "Worse." He glanced at them, as if debating how much to say, before sighing. "My dad spent the entire summer trying to convince me to take the Dark Mark."
Lyra felt her stomach drop slightly.
The others had similar reactions. Draco tensed, Theo frowned, Daphne and Astoria exchanged looks, and even Blaise's usual smirk faltered.
"But.." Draco started, then stopped.
Lyra understood his hesitation. Because they all knew Adrian's story.
Adrian's father, George Pucey, had been a Ravenclaw. An academic, more concerned with books and research than blood status or politics. He hadn't been one of them, not until Adrian's mother, Maeve Pucey, had died in childbirth.
Adrian had only been four.
Lyra knew that losing his wife had changed Mr. Pucey, but she hadn't realized just how much.
"He wants you to be a Death Eater? You're too young for that yet." Astoria replied, carefully.
Adrian leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, voice bitter. "Yeah, I am aware. That stupid git spent the summer trying to educate me on why I should be proud to take the Mark. That it's an honour. That I should follow in his footsteps." His jaw tightened.
"As if he wasn't a completely different person before my mum died." He muttered.
There was a stretch of silence. It was Daphne who finally spoke.
"And what did you tell him?"
Adrian exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "No, obviously. I said I'd consider it in the future." His gaze flickered to Lyra's. "You know better than anyone. I'm not just going to throw away my entire future for some ridiculous cause. I'm not him."
Lyra swallowed, nodding slightly. She did know. She also knew how hard that must've been for him to say.
Draco exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "That's insane."
"Yeah, well," Adrian muttered. "Welcome to my life."
Blaise studied him for a moment before smirking slightly. "So, just to be clear does this mean we are staging your unfortunate disappearance? Because that does sound like the easiest way out."
Adrian let out a tired chuckle. "Not yet. But I'll let you know if things get worse."
The group fell back into a more comfortable silence, though Lyra could still feel the weight of Adrian's words settling over them.
It was a reminder.
A reminder that, despite all the laughter, all the schemes, all the teenage nonsense, they weren't just normal students. They didn't get to be.
Because no matter how much they tried to ignore it, the war brewing outside of Hogwarts' walls would always find its way back to them.
And eventually, they'd all have to choose which side they were on. If the sides weren't already chosen, that is.
But that didn't matter yet. Lyra had other plans, she needed to dig up more dirt about Angelina Johnson.
No way she'd let Fred be the only one who had something to use against her.
She needed something too.
It was game on.
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