The snow fell on grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, coating the usually green grass with a thick layer of white snowflakes. Some younger children were building snowmen, having snowball fights and lying down, making snow angels. 

Rubeus Hagrid, an enormous man working as groundskeeper and keeper of the keys at the school, was happily helping Professor Flitwick as he decorated the large Christmas tree in the Great Hall with all sorts of red, white and green ornaments for the holidays. 

In the middle of all the happiness and enjoyment, there was a couple walking into the Great Hall for breakfast on a Wednesday morning, earlier than usual, bickering among themselves, but not without reason. 

"It's your birthday, Lyra. Your eighteenth! Once we're out of here, you can go to muggle bars and... vote in muggle elections," James Potter tried to argue lamely, realizing that he wasn't getting his point across. "This is your first birthday with us as a couple, too! You've got to let me make a big deal out of this."

"We can still celebrate my birthday... I just want us to tone it down a little," his blonde girlfriend said, smiling at him and running her fingers through his hair. "All I need is a good, quiet day with you and the boys."

"Can we at least have a party?" the dark-haired boy whined, trying to make his best puppy-dog face in order to convince her of his side. "I'm craving some firewhiskey and a dance with my favorite girl."

"It's a Wednesday, James," Lyra reminded him, looking at him strangely. It may have been her birthday, but it was also a day smack in the middle of the week. "Who in the bloody hell parties on a Wednesday?"

James gaped at her, sometimes wondering how her mind worked. If there was any reason at all to have a party, then he thought people should have a party. No excuses. "People who are turning eighteen!"

"You can have a party on my birthday but not a birthday party," Lyra acquiesced, sighing defeat. If James Potter had made his mind up about something, there was no turning back. She knew this because she had once been something he had made his mind up about. "Just don't involve my name in it."

"Fine. Compromise," he grinned down at her, happy to have gotten at least part of his way. He was about to lean down to kiss her sweetly, not yet having been able to give her her birthday kiss, but she pulled away.

"Compromise?" she scoffed, looking at him incredulously. If that was his idea of compromise, she wondered how their future arguments would end up going. "I'd say you got more out of it than I did, you dolt."

"Oi, don't call me a dolt!" He pulled back from her, faking offense. She had called him much worse in the past, especially before they got together. But he liked pretending he was hurt because she would always give him a very good apology. 

Lyra could see exactly what he was doing. She had gotten to know him extraordinarily well throughout the last few years. She thought she knew him better than anyone, other than Sirius, so she could easily play along. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, you just wait," he warned, grinning. He then turned, seeing the groundskeeper hanging mistletoe around the Great Hall and got a wonderful idea. "Oi, Hagrid! Could I have one of those?"

"Sure, James. Have a' it," Hagrid smiled at him, handing him one. He then noticed who he was standing with and smiled even brighter. "'Ello there, Lyra. I owe yeh one after the biscuits you made for me last week. I 'spect me debt is paid now, huh?"

"Of course, Hagrid," the blonde smiled back, being surprisingly fond of the man, mostly because he was the only one she knew who had a dog. The school didn't allow them and Narcissa was allergic, so her family hadn't ever gotten one, despite her begging. "I was paying you back after you let me pet your new dog. You know how much I love dogs."

Hagrid could see James eyeing the mistletoe in his hand and realized that if he were to stick around, he was putting himself in a pretty awkward situation. "Eh, yeh two carry on. I oughta keep goin' with this."

James quickly turned his attention back to his girlfriend, holding the mistletoe up. He shook it like it was a bell, walking closer to her. She backed away playfully, pretending she didn't want to kiss him.

Only a few steps later, Lyra's back was against the wall and there was no escaping James and his mistletoe, which he now held right over their heads. She smiled as they both leaned in to capture each other's lips in a sweet kiss. 

"I love you," she whispered softly, her lips still brushing against his. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with pure adoration. "And you're the best birthday present I could ever have gotten. I don't care about any of the other stuff."

James tilted his head and smirked. "I was actually planning on jumping naked out from a giant birthday cake. Chocolate, of course. Your favorite. But you have this incessant need to have a small birthday."

Lyra opened her mouth to say some smart retort, but they were interrupted at the hearty laugh of their Potions Professor who approached them happily. "Oh, what a lovely couple you two make. I saw it coming from a mile away, of course."

She glanced at James, who looked like he was close to bursting out in fits of laughter. Both of them thought it was hilarious how invested Slughorn had been in their relationship. "Thank you, Professor."

"I've noticed both of you have been strangely absent from most of the Slug Club meetings this year. It's a shame to see the Head Boy not appearing." Slughorn sent James a meaningful look before turning his attention to Lyra. "And, of course, you're a favorite of mine from my own house. A prefect, nonetheless."

"My sincere apologies, Professor," the Gryffindor boy had to force his smile to stay as small as possible so he wouldn't think he was laughing at him, which he was. "But we've just been so... busy."

Lyra sent her boyfriend a stern look, as if to tell him not to be rude and obvious about them having intentionally skipped the meetings. "N.E.W.T.-year and everything along with prefect and Head Boy duties. James is also Quidditch Captain. Much to do, not much time to do it."

"Of course. Perfectly understandable," Slughorn waved it off. "But I hope I can count on both of you to appear at this year's Christmas party, though. I've still got a picture of the two of you on my shelf from last year's party."

James was definitely not going to the party. Last year, he only went because his parents weren't home and because he knew Lyra was going and he wanted a chance to charm her. "I'm going home to my parents for the holidays, sir. I'll be sure to say you send your love, though."

"I sincerely wish I could, but I'm going home, too, Professor," Lyra revealed surprisingly, and James turned to look at her strangely. "My parents will be happy to hear from you, as well, I suspect."

"You are? Since when?" her boyfriend suddenly started asking. He couldn't help but be concerned at the idea, knowing what the Blacks were capable of and how they would think James was a mistake Lyra's making, if they find out. Which he knew they would. 

Slughorn could sense there was a bit of tension between them when it came to the subject. He did not want to be involved in that, so he quickly made his mistake. "What a shame. I'll see you both in Potions. Happy birthday, Miss Black."

James had a feeling that Lyra didn't really want to talk about the fact that she was going home for the holidays, but he was still curious and concerned about what might happen. "Lyra, could we-"

James didn't have the chance to finish his question before his three best friends suddenly threw open the doors to the Great Hall. Sirius pointed his finger at the birthday girl. "Lyra Cassiopeia Black! Get over here!"

Lyra only sighed and smiled, taking a few steps to get closer to her cousin. But the black-haired boy only ran at her, quickly grabbing her into his arms. She squealed in surprise as he lifted her up, spinning her around. "Happy birthday, you little idiot!"

"You can't call me an idiot on my birthday, you git!" Lyra retorted when he finally released her from his tight grip. The bright grin on her face betrayed her weak attempt at seeming angry. "But for you, I'll make an exception and allow it."

"I'll get you your present later. During the party if James has managed to convince you of that," Sirius winked at his best friend, who smirked in return. "I'm not quite sure if it's going to beat the flying motorcycle you and the boys pitched in to buy for me, but I hope you'll like it anyway."

"I'm sure she will, Padfoot. Stop worrying," said Remus, smiling down at the girl finally. He quickly threw her arm around her shoulders, pulling her closely into his chest, smiling. "Happy birthday, Lyra."

"Hey, watch it, Moony! That's my girl you're pawing all over," James warned jokingly. The two prefects only exchanged humorous glances and laughed at the notion. They couldn't ever imagine each other as something more than best friends.

Only one of the Marauders hadn't congratulated her yet. Little Peter Pettigrew looked at her awkwardly, trying to send her a cool smile, but it only ended up looking like he was twitching anxiously. 

She couldn't help but smile at this, finding it to be a part of his charm. Once she realized that he wouldn't take any initiative, Lyra pulled the boy into a quick hug. He smiled at her, getting more comfortable now. "Happy birthday, Lyra."

"Thanks, Pete," the newly-turned eighteen-year-old grinned at him, watching as his cheeks turned red. She then clapped her hands together joyfully. "Well, I'm feeling up for a rather marvelous birthday breakfast. Come on."

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Lyra had found herself wandering around the school grounds, wrapping her Slytherin scarf tightly around her neck as she combated the December cold. But she wanted to be out in the snow. Winter was her favorite season. Mostly because of the presents of her birthday and Christmas combined, but the snow was nice, too.

It was when she was outside in the cold that she saw a disheartening sight. Her younger cousin, Regulus, was walking around with Snape, who he didn't particularly care for. The only things they had in common was their house and the fact that they were the only known Death Eaters at school. Well, known for Lyra.

This worried her, as she hadn't spoken to Regulus in months, since she and James had revealed their relationship to the world. He hadn't wanted to talk to her, but she decided that today he wasn't going to have a choice. If she had to, she'd use her birthday against him. 

"Hi, Snape, Regulus. Good to see you two," she smiled fakely as she approached them in the middle of their conversation. "Well, good to see you, at least, Reg. Snape, go away. I want to talk to my cousin and that means you have to beat it."

Snape had never liked it when she tried to order him around. She was sure he was just jealous he wasn't a prefect. "Just because you're shagging Potter doesn't mean you can tell me what to do, Black."

"That's true, it is," Lyra agreed, her fake smile widening. "But I can tell you what to do because I'm your prefect, one that outranks Regulus, even. I can give you detention for both disrespect or bullying. You take your pick."

Snape walked away begrudgingly as he cursed under his breath. Regulus seemed to realize there was no escaping this conversation, so he only took a deep breath and prepared himself. "What do you want, Lyra?"

Lyra knew he would be hostile. He hadn't talked to her in a long time, after all, and there was a reason. His tone of voice still shocked her. "I just want to talk, Reg. And to make you understand why I'm doing this."

The sixteen-year-old chuckled bitterly, shivering slightly from the cold. "I do understand, actually. You just want me to be left all on my own."

"That's not true and you know it," the blonde stated, her eyes wide. She couldn't believe that was how he saw the situation, as something personal against him, which was never her plan. Far from it. 

"I needed you and I still do." His words didn't match his tone of voice, which was more angry than it was sad and longing for her. "I can't go through all this alone. I've already told you this before."

She frowned, concerned. She wondered if things had worsened since the last time they had talked. "Then make some different choices. Leave the Death Eaters. It's not safe for you."

"Don't you get it yet?" Regulus spat angrily, his voice too loud. Seeing as there was nobody around, he felt safe to pull up his coat sleeve and remind her of the mark on his left forearm. "There's no going back. It's too late for me. I'm in too deep."

The eighteen-year-old frowned as she looked at the intricate tattoo he had gotten all those months ago, but she still refused to give up. "There's never a point of no return. There's always a choice."

"Stop fooling yourself." Regulus shook his head slowly, pulling down his sleeve once again. "You know as well as I do that the only choice we have is to follow the rules set by those more powerful than ourselves."

"Then why am I breaking almost all of their rules now?" Lyra quipped wittily, raising her eyebrows at him. He couldn't help but think she reminded him a bit too much of Sirius in that moment. 

"That's what I don't understand," he muttered. Due to the noise from the wind and snow surrounding them, she could barely hear what he was saying. "Do you have to do this? Do you have to leave?"

She shrugged sadly, knowing there was only one real answer. "I love him, Reg."

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath. "Please, Lyra. I'm begging you. Care more about your family than you do for this one man. There are many wizards in the world who would be more suitable. Ones you could learn to love. Why did you have to go for one you can't have whilst staying with your family?"

"I'm not trying to leave you." Lyra tried to put her hand on his arm comfortingly, but he only shrugged her off. She frowned again, a bit hurt at his quick rejection. "Or any of you, for that matter."

"Sirius left, Andromeda left. Narcissa doesn't understand any of the pressure and Bellatrix is the one putting pressure on us," he ranted, a desperate look in his eyes. "You're all I have left and I can't bare the thought of losing you."

He looked away for a second, taking another deep breath to keep his cool. "Maybe that's why I haven't told them about Potter and I stopped everyone else from doing so. I'm hoping there's still a way to win you over."

"I'm going home for the holidays," she informed him, watching the surprise quickly ovecome his regal features. "And I'm going to tell them about James and about how I'm planning to have a future with him."

Regulus's eyes widened, knowing exactly what that would bring. "Our family won't accept it."

"It's not as if I'm marrying a muggleborn." Lyra rolled her eyes, thinking that they were really overreacting about how horrible they thought James was. He was a pureblood even, there shouldn't be something wrong with him.

"A mudblood," he tried to correct her sternly.

"No, a muggleborn," she stated firmly before her features softened. "If they don't accept it... then I'll figure it out. You won't ever be alone. If you need me, I'm there. No matter what. And so is Sirius, even if it doesn't always seem like it."

"You promised me, Lyra. I actually thought you were going to keep it. At least, I hoped for it," the sixth year said, telling her that this conversation was over. He hesitated for a moment, about to walk away, before he turned back to say a final thing. "Happy birthday."

▹▹▹

Lyra was not prepared for a party as she returned to the Gryffindor common room. She just wanted to lay down in James's arms and stop thinking about how guilty she felt for making Regulus feel so alone. 

But she sucked it up and said the password Lily had given her as the Fat Lady let her in, though never happily. She wasn't too fond of a Slytherin always trying to slither her way into the House of Lions. Lyra couldn't care less what she thought, she was just a portrait. 

She was expecting to hear a lot of noise and people cheering, toasting because of there being a party. But when she walked in, she was met by silence. Except for the four boys sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking hot cocoa with a few presents on the table in front of them. 

Lyra smiled softly as she watched them. James could feel her gaze and turned around, looking incredibly handsome in the firelight, in her opinion. "Well, you said you didn't want a large party, so I won't make you live through one. It'll just be us, sitting together and celebrating our best girl."

Lyra couldn't stop herself from running towards him, grabbing him and pulling him into a passionately happy kiss. Once she pulled away, she only leaned her forehead against his, feeling his hot breath. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." James looked at her, thinking about how lovely she was and how lucky he had been to be able to land her as his girlfriend. Because she had lit up his life in a way he never thought was possible. But in that moment, he realized it was in a different way than he thought. 

James had always thought of Lyra as the sun. Now he knew he was wrong. She was the moon, surrounded by the stars that could never light up the darkness as well as she could. No, Lyra wasn't the sun. James was. He was the only one who could give her enough light to shine so brightly. 

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A/N: It was almost scary how quickly I wrote this chapter. It literally only took, like, two hours. I seriously think I need help. Well, hope you guys are happy though, even if Lyra's going back home for the holidays next chapter. That'll be fun.