There was a strange sort of tension around Twelve Grimmauld Place at the traditional Black family dinner. A family who looked smaller than ever. The sets of parents, one set with the son the still allowed to stay with them and one with three daughters they still accepted.

Lyra had asked Bellatrix where her husband was, only for her older sister to say he was busy with his brother, Rabastan, who Lyra knew quite well. She quickly realized that her old friend was still out on Death Eater business, but at least he wasn't alone. There was a strange comfort in that.

Narcissa's husband, Hector, hadn't decided to show up to the dinner. His and Narcissa's son, almost two-year-old son Marcus, had come down with a fever and he didn't want his wife to miss out on spending time with her family when she could. Lyra adored Hector. He was a much better brother-in-law than Rodolphus Lestrange, at least. 

Lyra chewed her food silently as her mother and her Uncle Orion discussed what had been happening at the Ministry lately. The teenager glanced at her young cousin, Regulus, though he refused to meet her eye. 

"So, Lyra..." her Aunt Walburga spoke up, smiling sweetly in the direction of the young blonde, who stiffened up at being addressed directly. "How are things with you? We haven't heard news of any suitors for you."

Suddenly, the sound of Regulus aggressively cutting his meat ran through the room, making some glance at him strangely, wondering why he had such a strange reaction to the question. He looked up at them and quickly muttered an apology. 

Lyra knew this was her opportunity to tell them the truth, which she had planned to do for so long. She awkwardly looked at the room, thinking about how many people would be hearing what she said. Too many. 

While she had been lying for days, waiting for the right moment to come, she couldn't keep from lying even more. The right moment just never seemed to come. "No. Not really, I've been more preoccupied with schoolwork."

"Oh. How... respectable," said Walburga, though curling her lip, not pleased at the answer. Lyra wanted to retort that not everybody's main goal in life was finding a husband, like it had been for her. So much so that she had married her second cousin. 

But she kept quiet. She knew she was already going to be in so much trouble once she finally fessed up to all she had done, there was no reason to make things worse. Well, if she would ever find the courage to actually speak of. She was getting scared that it wouldn't happen. 

▹▹▹

Lyra found herself packing for Hogwarts and too much time had already passed. By that time the next day, she would be back at school and she would have lost her opportunity to tell them, which she had promised herself she would do.

Because she couldn't go her whole life without telling them. She was in love, and that's not something you can hide forever. She had tried desperately, but now the school knew. It was time for the rest of the world to know, too.

But there would be no more family dinners, no more time to call them down to tea. She had just finished having tea with her sisters, who were still strolling around the house somewhere, talking to their parents. She should have told them then, ten minutes ago. But she had been too scared, too much of a coward. 

A knock sounded on Lyra's open door, and she abruptly turned around. She frowned as she saw Narcissa standing there, a gentle smile on her face."Did you think I didn't notice that something's been off about you, Lyra? Come on, I'm your sister. You can tell me what's bothering you."

The cowardly part of her wanted to lie and say that everything was alright. She didn't want them to know, but she needed them to. So she only sighed, and thought that if Narcissa found out, it would be better than nobody finding out. "Is it that obvious?"

"We can talk about whatever," the older blonde said, walking further into the room. She sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to her. "You might now think I could ever understand, but I was eighteen once, too."

"Can I trust you?" Lyra asked hesitantly. She carefully sat down on the spot next to her sister. She had already hinted enough to make sure that she would need to tell Narcissa the truth. Now that the time had come, she wanted to run away and tell her it was nothing, after all.  

Narcissa frowned, reaching out to touch her hand comfortingly. She never wanted her little sister to feel sad, so all she wanted was for her to want to open up to her. "Of course. I promise you can."

"I- I've done something," Lyra stuttered, internally cursing herself for it. If she was going to say something, then "It's not bad. At least, I don't feel like it's bad. But... I don't think our family would accept it."

Narcissa's eyes went blank at her words. The situation and the words were strangely familiar, reminding her of a horrible day she never wanted to relive again. "Lyra, please don't say what I think you're about to say."

"No, no. I'm not in a relationship with a muggleborn. I'm not Andromeda, don't worry," the eighteen-year-old chuckled lowly, though without any humor, quickly understanding where her mind went. 

"Don't mention that name!" Narcissa hissed lowly, glancing around to make sure nobody was around to hear their conversation." And they're mudbloods, Lyra. You know this. And if that's not what you've done, what is it? If it isn't that bad, then I can be trusted with it."

"I'm not in love with a mugg-" Lyra was cut off by seeing her older sister's hard, stern expression. No matter how much it pained her, she swallowed the lump in her throat, not wanting to argue more. "I'm not in love with a mudblood. But it's someone you won't feel inclined to accept."

The older woman sighed, her expression softening again. "Lyra, our parents think I made the wrong choice with Hector, too. That he wasn't good enough for me, either. Whoever it is, as long as they're respectable and pure, then it will be fine."

While James was definitely a pureblood, he wasn't usually considered the respectable kind. At least not by the environment the Black sisters had grown up in. "The issue is that I don't think you'll find him acceptable."

"Lyra, tell me," Narcissa begged quietly. She could see how it was weighing her down, and she didn't want her sister to sit and be miserable for all her life. "It can't be as bad as you make it seem."

This was it. The moment Lyra had been dreading ever since the moment she had realized she returned his feelings. For a few seconds, she tried to speak but no words would escape, until she forced them out, pained. "It's James Potter."

It took a minute for the words to truly sink in for Narcissa. Once they finally did, her face fell, she shook her head rapidly and refused to meet Lyra's eye. "Lyra, no. Don't do this, take it back. Say you're lying."

"Cissy, don't overreact," the younger blonde said, attempting to force a smile. But she already regretted everything. "He's a pureblood from a wealthy and famous family, he treats me kindly and he loves me."

"He's a blood traitor! They're some of the worst blood traitors to have ever lived," spat Narcissa, abruptly standing up from her seat on the bed. "They're not even one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Lyra had hoped that if anybody would understand or accept it, it would be Narcissa. But she hadn't been so lucky. "You said it would be fine. He's respectable, he's a pureblood. What did you expect from me?"

She shrugged helplessly. "A less prominent member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. An Abbot or a Fawley. Someone like Hector, still agreeable although not ideal. Not this piece of filth you have found yourself affiliated with."

"Cissy, please. Let me explain," the young prefect begged, glancing around helplessly for some sort of escape. If Narcissa had reacted this badly, calling someone filth, that meant her parents or Bellatrix would react a million times worse. 

"What's going on here?" a raspy, female voice asked from the edge of the door. There stood Bellatrix Lestrange herself, looking extremely strict, cold and disciplined as usual. "I heard the noise."

Pleadingly, Lyra looked to Narcissa, who had pursed her lips deep in thought. She knew what was going through her mind, and if she acted on her idea then Lyra wouldn't make it out of there in one piece. Like Andromeda hadn't. "Don't. Please, Cissy."

"It's for your own good, Lyra. I won't lose another sister," the twenty-two-year-old said sadly, looking slightly apologetic. She then took a deep breath, looking to the eldest of three. "Lyra believes she is in love with James Potter."

Unlike Narcissa, Bellatrix was calm at the news. She didn't even seem surprised, but they all knew she had no idea. How could she have known? It was secret kept within the walls of Hogwarts. "Is this true, Lyra?"

The youngest of them gaped, not knowing what to say. She had already admitted it to one of them, but she didn't want to do it again. She knew what would happen now and she had been so foolish to think things could have been different. "Bella..."

"Is this true?" Bellatrix repeated, no longer as calm. The look in her eyes was one Lyra had only seen once before on a fateful summer night when she was twelve years old. One that still haunted her nightmares. 

This wouldn't end well, but she wasn't sure how horrible it would go. It didn't even matter anymore, Lyra just wanted to cry. Tears filled her eyes, but none dropped. Not yet. "Yes. It's true. I love him."

The calm returned to the dark-haired woman's haughty features, speaking nonchalantly. "No, you don't. From this moment on, James Potter is dead to you. If you fail to agree, then he will be dead to everyone."

She knew it. She knew it wouldn't be accepted, but she had forced herself to hope. He had brought her so much hope she hadn't felt before, but now it fall fell apart. "Bella, you don't understand. You can't force me to do this."

"Oh, but I can," she said sternly. Gracefully, Bellatrix reached into the pockets of her robes, pulling out her wand. She didn't do anything with it except for fiddling with it, spinning it around in her hand. "Lyra, he's a blood-traitor."

Lyra was so sick of people telling her this, that he wasn't right for her. She loved him, and there was a reason for it, even if they couldn't really see it. It had become too much, and all the sadness, anguish and anger had built up. 

She didn't know why she started yelling, raising and clenching her hand as the tears shone through her eyes.  "I don't care that he's a blood traitor! I don't care what any of you think! What matters is that I love him and I'm not going to let anyone, not even you, take that away from me."

The once eerie calm in her eyes quickly transformed into a manic anger within seconds. If Lyra hadn't been so scared, the change would almost be comical. But there was nothing funny about how Bellatrix aimed her wand at her baby sister and spoke the last word she wanted to hear. "Crucio!"

Lyra knew she was screaming from the pain in her throat, but she couldn't hear it. She wasn't sure why. The only thing she could hear was the feeling of her blood pumping through her body, and appearing out of nowhere on several parts of her body. 

She fell to the ground with a thump, but she was sure it wasn't even close to audible over her piercing shrieks. She could see Narcissa holding back tears from the corner of her eye. But she didn't do anything. She never did.

Lyra thought she knew what the curse was like. She had seen it been cast too many times, one time even by herself. But it was indescribable pain as it felt like knives were stabbing every part of her body, every few seconds without stop. 

Why didn't anybody help? she asked herself internally. Why didn't anybody stop her? But she knew the reasons. She had stood by and watched those she loved be tortured before, too, and there had been no way to help. 

There was no way for her to feel how long the torture curse was hitting her. It could have been hours, closing in on days, almost. Most likely, it was only for a few minutes. And yet, Lyra could feel her sanity and every good emotion she had ever felt drift further away every second. 

Then it was over. But the pain didn't stop. It just faded, becoming weaker. There were no longer knives stabbing her harshly, but the uncomfortable pricking of needles that just didn't want to leave her alone. 

She tried desperately to regain her breath, which had become ragged from the screaming and the pain. But it didn't seem to happen. Because just because it was done, didn't mean it was over.  

"Do you want me to stop?" Bellatrix hissed, her wand still pointed at her face. She didn't seem to care that the girl was covered in blood, which was dripping onto the once pristine, white carpet underneath. 

"Bella, please..." Lyra sobbed, feeling paralyzed in her spot. The pain was fading even more, but she could still imagine how painful it had been. She never wanted to feel that way again. She never wanted anyone to feel that way. 

The dark-haired woman sneered down at her, not wanting to hear her begging. She wanted to hear an answer. She put her foot on Lyra's leg, pressing down until she could feel a crack and hear a scream. "Do you want me to stop?"

She gasped and prayed that something could stop this. If what she had to do was to say she didn't want this, then she would. She would beg and plead and do anything by that point. "Yes! Yes, please."

A cruel smirk overcame Bellatrix's beautiful features. "You have made one mistake now, Lyra. I will not accept a second. By this time next week, I expect a letter from you saying you have cut this piece of filth out of your life. If not, I will be forced to spread the news of your betrayal. I wonder how Rabastan would feel about this? Or even the Dark Lord himself. I believe he had great plans for you."

Lyra sobbed even harder now, even though it hurt to even cry. But what else could she do? There was nothing left to do but cry. "What if that's not what I want? Why can't you just let me be happy?"

"I would love nothing more than to see my little sisters happy, sure." Bellatrix sent her a faux, sweet smile. "But what comes before all that, is what is right. The moment you start talking to blood traitors, you're dooming your children to befriending mudbloods and marrying filthy muggles." 

She leaned down and pulled some of her blonde hair, now streaked with blood, away from her face. "Lyra, my dearest baby sister, you are walking down a dangerous path. And if you continue, I will not be as lenient as I have been today. Not towards you, Potter or any of his blood traitor friends. Tread lightly."

Narcissa hesitated, but she couldn't bare to see this anymore. And she knew it was her fault for telling her, but she couldn't help but think it was still the right choice, even if they were the wrong methods. "Bella, I think she gets it."

"I don't thinks she does, Cissy," Bellatrix tutted, cackling wildly to herself. "We let Andromeda leave this family with her life and now she is married and has a filthy half-blood child the last I heard. I won't make that mistake again."

Now she turned to face the newly-tortured girl, still crying on the floor with no sympathy. "If you defile the name of Black as some have done before you, I won't just kill you. I'll bring hell down on you and all those you hold dear, with a whole army of Death Eaters out for your blood."

There was no more fake sweetness or nice smiles. Now there were only harsh glares of disgust. "If you haven't met my demands in a week, I will tell everyone I know of your indiscretion. Perhaps you won't even live to graduate Hogwarts."

"Bella, let's go," Narcissa tried once again. She didn't even want to imagine a world where sister would kill sister. It was hard enough to live in one where they dared torture one another. "She understands."

"For her sake, I hope she does." Bellatrix only smiled coldly a final time, sneering at her teenage sister. Then she turned on her heel, her head high as she went to leave the room as if nothing had happened. 

"Episkey." Narcissa quickly cast a few healing spells, hoping it could take away some of the pain, though she knew it wouldn't. "I don't agree with how Bella handled this. But I agree with why she did this. Lyra, please. I can't live with this happening to you. Please, end it or she'll end you."

Lyra could only cry. "Cissy, I love him."

"I know, darling," Narcissa stroked her blood-stained hair for a moment, trying to be as comforting as possible. "You said so. But he isn't worth dying over, and I will kill him myself if I see him close to you."

"Why are you doing this?" the younger sister whispered softly. She wasn't sure if she was asking Narcissa or some higher power out there, wondering why they couldn't let her be happy and in love. 

"For you. For our family and all that we hold dear. I'm begging you, Lyra. For me, for Bella, for Regulus. Don't make the wrong choice." That was all Narcissa dared to say before casting a last sad glance at her, leaving her alone. 

Lyra hadn't ever felt more torn. Because all she could see was James's face. His dumb troublemaker grin, that stupid way he always messed up his hair, the way he looked at her when he told her he loved her. She didn't ever want to be without him. 

But then she imagined what could happen if she stayed with him. Narcissa would be kinder, simply casting the killing curse and discarding him without a second thought, never having been a sadist. 

Bellatrix would be as cruel as possible. Whatever she had just done to Lyra wasn't even that bad. She had held back, because it was her baby sister, who still had time to turn things around. James wouldn't be so lucky.

Alone and crying on her bedroom floor, Lyra wondered. What the hell am I going to do now?