Lyra was so incredibly thankful for her boys, she couldn't even describe it. For 2-3 years, they had been there for her at every turn, whenever she needed them. And now, she was needing them more than ever.

They had even allowed her to stay in their dorm, crashing with them. At first, Sirius had refused to let James and Lyra share a bed, so he gave her his bed. That meant that Sirius would have to sleep with James.

This didn't work for more than a few days. The beds were small enough already, and both Sirius and James were pretty big boys, while Lyra was small and could fit easier. And James was a blanket hog, making his best friend freeze his ass off.

But the last straw came one Saturday morning when Sirius had woken up as the little spoon. After that, he hadn't protested as much at the idea of his best friend and cousin sharing a bed. They could even spoon if they wanted, as long as he didn't have to join in.

The worst part of her staying there wasn't that drama, though. She wasn't technically allowed to be in the Gryffindor dorms, much less stay in them. So it was a big task for her and the boys to try and hide her from everyone. It wasn't possible.

Several Gryffindors had noticed that she had been there. But the few that dared mentioned it mysteriously ended up hexed, or got a scolding from the Head Girl. Lyra had never appreciated the boys or Lily Evans more. 

The worst part was McGonagall, though. She had come by the Gryffindor dorms and common room more often lately, as if she knew something was going on. But James and Lily had their influence and managed to force people to let Lyra hide in their dorms for a few minutes. 

But as much as she had grown fonder of the House of Lions, she missed the House of Snakes. It had been her home for almost seven years, and now she was thrown out just because they couldn't accept that she was in love.

She could have said something to Slughorn or Dumbledore, so they could force her way back into the dorms. But she had been warned that if she wanted the secret of her relationship to stay within the school walls, she'd have to stay away. She wasn't particularly keen on staying somewhere she wasn't welcome either. 

They didn't go around hexing her or yelling at her, and nobody had jumped James since Mulciber and Avery did. It was like she had never existed, which was somehow even worse. She had tried to speak to her friends, like Lucinda, and to Regulus, but they didn't even glance her way.

Lyra had no interest in being sad. So she decided that unless she was given an opportunity to talk to someone from her house, or she had a sudden, strong urge, she was going to let things go and focus on other, happier things. 

Especially, the fact that November had come, which meant one of the favorite days of the Marauders' year would come. The day that Sirius Orion Black would finally turn eighteen, and be an official adult in both the Wizarding and muggle world. 

James, Lyra, Remus and Peter had all gotten up extraordinarily early for a Thursday morning, all of them having to be very quiet as they got up and got dressed. As usual, the boys turned their backs as Lyra put her clothes on (although James was usually allowed a peek or two). 

The four all exchanged excited smiles as they stood above Sirius's sleeping body, watching as he drooled all over his pillow. Lyra honestly thought it was a bit cute, also because he reminded her of when they were kids and had sleepovers at Twelve Grimmauld Place. 

Peter couldn't contain his giggles, so Remus had to hold his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't wake the birthday boy. Lyra sent them stern glares, and decided to grab Peter and push him onto sitting James's bed so he wouldn't be in the way, although playfully. 

James messed up his hair quickly before holding up his fingers, counting down as Lyra got her wand out from her robes, pointing it at her soundly sleeping cousin. Three. Two. One. "Aguamenti!"

A stream of water shot out of her wand, coming down on Sirius. He woke up abruptly, spitting out the water and spluttering as he sat up as quickly possible. "Ugh, what are you doing? Stop it!"

Remus, Lyra, James and Peter (from his seat on James's bed) all spread their arms to show off some theatrical jazz hands, all them smiling so brightly and widely that it looked like their faces hurt. "Happy birthday!"

Sirius sighed, looking more disappointed than he did angrily. Lyra supposed he did know what kind of boys he was roommates with. "You do something like this every year and yet... I never learn from my mistakes, do I?"

"Yeah, you could learn from your mistakes," Lyra quipped, although she was obviously having the time of her life. "Or you could realize that you wouldn't see what's coming anyway because there's a new, unpredictable factor that's come into play."

Sirius snickered, grabbing a dry shirt from the pile of clothes he had thrown on the floor next to his bed, no matter how many times Remus begged him to pick it up and fold it. "Oh, and factor is that?"

"Me," she smirked. 

"You know what?" said Sirius, taking off his old, wet shirt and pulling on a new one while shaking his head in defeat. "That's fine. I'll endure anything as long as you and James don't shag in our dorm again."

While Lyra blushed at the reminder, James only grinned widely and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's shoulders. "No promises. The silencing charm works wonders. Thanks for letting us sleep in the same bed, mate."

An echo of groans was heard through the room as Sirius, Remus and Peter all found his words incredibly disgusting. Lyra only blushed even brighter, pulling James's arm off her and slapping him across the head. 

It was then Peter seemed to realize that he was sitting on that same bed. He quickly jumped up from his seat, crying out loudly in disgust. He started brushing and wiping on his butt as all his friends laughed loudly at his reaction. 

▹▹▹

Lyra and the boys were having the time of their lives as they headed down to breakfast. They had already planned that if anybody were going to try and take Sirius's favorite breakfast muffin, then they would end up threatened and perhaps hexed if they refused to cooperate. Everything for the birthday boy. 

People couldn't help but smile as they saw the passion in their eyes as they discussed stupid things like their lives depended on it, walking around like normal, happy teenagers without a care in the world. 

Lyra was coming with her argument for their most recent discussion, which she was getting increasingly passionate about as they disagreed with her.  "I'm just saying, Florean Fortescue is obviously the perfect man."

Remus frowned at her incredulously, wondering what the hell was going on inside her head. He had seen Florean Fortescue and he was far from a desireable bachelor nowadays. "He's so old!"

"Actually, I think I could agree with Lyra here," Sirius surprisingly spoke up. "He's only, like, forty. Have you seen the pictures at his shop? Some of them are of him at our age and that was a good-looking man."

"Exactly!" the blonde grinned, lightly punching her cousin's shoulder in a way to show her gratitude for her support. She wasn't going to let anyone talk down on her favorite ice cream shop owner. "He has other very redeeming qualities, too."

Peter raised his eyebrow at her, doubtfully. "Like what?"

"He'd give you free ice cream for life, Peter. For life, Peter!" she emphasized, knowing that the best way to the young boy's heart was through his stomach. It was hard not to know that after knowing him for several years.

Peter frowned for a second, considering her words. Eventually, he tilted his head in agreement and sighed in defeat, knowing she had used his greatest weakness against him.  "Okay, you win that one."

"So, you're saying that if Florean Fortescue came here and asked you out, you'd dump me for him?" James then finally asked, wondering if his girlfriend found the old man a better candidate for her love than him. 

Lyra knew that she couldn't give a clear answer until she asked a very important question that she felt all girlfriends should ask their boyfriends at some point.  "Are you going to give me unlimited free ice cream?"

James raised his arms in frustration, knowing that Lyra had a habit of being a bit too fond of ice cream. It was her favorite treat, after all. Except maybe chocolate cake.  "Where am I going to get so much ice cream from?"

"Then yes," she stated firmly. "I'd dump you without hesitation for Florean Fortescue."

"That's fair, actually," said James, shrugging. All this talk of her dumping him didn't even bother him anymore because he knew it was all a big joke. "I'd dump you for unlimited free ice cream, too."

"Oh, how sweet," she smiled at him, reaching out to squeeze his hand as they finally walked through the doors of the Great Hall, where most people had already started chatting and eating. They all made sure that Sirius's muffins still hadn't been eaten up, though. 

Marlene McKinnon, one of the only Gryffindors that hadn't seem to mind Lyra's presence around their dorms, walked up to them. "What's got you lot so cheery this morning? I've never seen you as morning people before."

"Because it's this little man's birthday today." Lyra grinned and grabbed Sirius's head, ruffling his hair playfully, like he had always done to her when they were kids. He pushed her away, playfully, though he still had a bit of a smile on face. 

"Happy birthday, then, Sirius," Marlene said coyly, giving the birthday boy a look that made Lyra know exactly what, or who, Sirius would be doing later as she walked away. The boy in question smirked widely at this. 

At that moment, another girl walked past them, on her way to the Slytherin table. Lucinda Talkalot wasn't quite as friendly as Marlene, though, and dramatically rolled her eyes as she walked past. 

Sirius didn't take kindly to her mean attitude towards him and his friends, especially one who Lyra had once considered a close friend. Someone she could trust. "What's your problem, Talkalot?"

"Nothing, Black," the brunette girl said bitterly, looking at him like he wasn't even worth breathing the same air as her. She started stalking away. "Nothing at all."

"Lucinda! Lucinda, come on, wait up!" Lyra called after her, rushing to catch up as the boys stayed behind, not wanting to get involved in girl drama. "Wait up or I'll tell everyone that you what happened between you and Avery in Slughorn's office!"

Lucinda froze up at this, knowing that if what happened spread to the teachers then Slughorn would give her detention for the rest of the year and probably not allow her to go to Hogsmeade for her last year. "Fine. What do you want?"

"You've been ignoring me for weeks," the blonde reminded her. She made it quite clear that she just wanted some answers as to why the only person she had truly trusted in her house was acting like they were never friends.

"Of course I have," she responded with a snooty voice. It almost sounded like it wasn't Lucinda in front of her, it was more like a female version of Rabastan Lestrange. "I wouldn't be caught dead talking to a blood traitor."

"You're not even from a Sacred-Twenty Eight family," Lyra retorted in annoyance. She didn't like being called names like that, especially when she knew it was also meant as a dig at her boyfriend. "Get over yourself."

"Well, neither is Potter," the brunette spat the Gryffindor boy's name out like it was poison on her tongue, like it hurt to even say it. "Yet you don't judge him for it."

Lyra sighed as she realized she was sounding pretty judgy, which was the exact thing she had been angry at everyone else for being. "I'm not judging you. I don't care who your family is. They could be muggles and I would still be your friend."

Lucinda rolled her eyes. "Yes, I see you don't care much about the company you keep. Potter? Really? Is he why my family and I had to lie for you this summer? So you could shag Potter all summer without any consequences."

"What? No!" she first denied, until she realized she was a bit right. "Well, I did spend the summer with James. And you never gave me a chance to tell you what's going on after we came back to school."

"I asked you to tell me the truth about where you were. You just told me you were with a boy. I had no idea what kind of boy," Lucinda hissed at her, feeling betrayed. "And you could have told me when all this started."

"You wouldn't have accepted it," said Lyra, hoping she would understand why she had lied, or kept the truth away from her. It wasn't because she had wanted to, but because she had to. "You're not accepting it right now."

Lucinda raised a challenging eyebrow. "Why would I?"

"Because I love him," the blonde retorted beggingly. If there was one thing a romantic like her usually caring friend should understand, it would be idea the of love. "And you're supposed to care about that."

"I was in love once, too," Lucinda tried to remind her, making Lyra realize that they had been building up to this argument for a long time without her realizing it. "You never cared about that either as you kept stealing him away every chance you got."

"Please," Lyra scoffed. "Who were you in love with? Rabastan? At best, you fancied him. You don't understand love, Lucinda. Or you would be with him right now, no matter where he is or how dangerous it would be. That's how love works."

Lucinda seemed to be reaching her breaking point, her face turning red in anger as she pointed her finger accusingly at the girl she had considered her friend. "Don't doubt my love for Rabastan. You never understood."

"You've been in love with half of Hogwarts. Davey Gudgeon, Rabastan, I'm pretty sure you snogged Regulus last year. Did you think you loved him, too?" Lyra quipped, too emotional to control her temper at this point. 

"You horrid slag," Lucinda gaped, wondering how she could use such things against her, as she had once been the one person she'd go to with her boy troubles and sadness. "I thought you were my friend."

"I thought you were mine," Lyra retorted, refusing to back down. Part of her felt like crying, because now she felt like they had gone too far to ever return to the good place they had once been in. 

"I was," the brunette Slytherin stated firmly, glaring heatedly at the other girl, who looked less angry and more sad by the minute. "But you're going down a path I can't support. You could have had a great future but you're throwing it away."

By that point, all the anger had faded from Lyra's face. She only looked desperate, wanting to make her get why she was doing everything she was doing. If she couldn't convince Lucinda, how could she eventually convince her family? "You don't understand."

"You're right. I don't. If you ever find your way back on the right path, then I think I could try to be your friend again," said Lucinda stubbornly. "But I don't recognize the person in front of me. I don't want to be this person's friend."

It wasn't until then that the tears Lyra had wanted to cry finally came to her eyes as she watched Lucinda walk away to the table where she had once belonged. But she refused to cry, she refused to be weak in front of them. 

She didn't stand there for more than a few seconds, longing to go back to how things had been. But the only way she would ever be welcomed back was without James, and she wasn't prepared to let him go. 

She shook all these thoughts out of her head. Because, again, she wasn't about to be focused on all the sadness on a day that should be happy and celebrated. It was Sirius's birthday and she wanted to spend her day with him and the boys. 

Lyra headed back to them, thankful that she didn't get any weird looks for sitting at the Gryffindor table anymore. People had gotten pretty used to her being a constant presence there over these past few weeks. 

The boys looked at her worriedly, having seen that her confrontation with her old friend and how heated it got, even if they couldn't hear the words spoken. When she walked to them as if nothing had even happened, they looked even more concerned. 

She only sat down next to James, using one hand to hold his and another to shove a piece of bacon into her mouth so that nobody could ask her any questions about it. She wasn't in the mood to answer.

James honestly didn't care. He just wanted to make sure that his girl was alright, because all he wanted was for her to be happy and feel safe. So he held her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles carefully. "You alright, love?"

Lyra didn't even bother to force a smile. For the months, closing in on a year, that they had been a thing, and eventually a couple, he had gotten to know her so well that she knew he could easily see through her walls. "Are you?"

"Of course I am," the bespectacled boy responded, frowning at what he considered an odd question. He had everything he had ever wanted and she had lost so much and was on the verge of losing more, and yet she wanted to make sure he was alright. 

"Then I'm good," she smiled slightly. She didn't care that they had just been eating and that James's breath reeked of scrambled eggs. She grabbed his cheek and pulled him into a sweet kiss, needing a reminder of why she was doing all this. It was all for James.