It was September 1st and Lyra was trying to come up with some excuse for why her, James and Sirius shouldn't go to school and stay home for the rest of the year. But she knew it was dumb, they had to go back for their last year. 

Especially as James was Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. He was going to be the talk of the whole school for the year, she knew it. If it was anybody else, she might have been jealous. But Lyra loved him and she was proud of him. 

That didn't mean the return to school wouldn't be bittersweet. She was excited to go back for the final time, to see her friends and hopefully get good marks on the N.E.W.T.s, leading her into a future of great success.

But it also meant that this summer wouldn't last forever, that it was ending. Because the minute she had arrived at James's house and felt his embrace, it had become the best time of her life. She would hold onto it for the whole year, if not her whole life.

Lyra breathed it all in as she embraced Euphemia, who also didn't really want the three to leave. But the Potter woman released her and smiled sadly, having really enjoyed having her around. "I know this was just for the summer, but you're welcome back any time." 

"Thank you so much, Euphemia. For your hospiality and the way you've taken care of me these past few months," Lyra responded, beaming at her before speaking softer, so none of the others would hear her. "And for taking care for Sirius all this time."

Euphemia let her love for the younger woman shine through her eyes, tearing up at how sweet and kind she was. She grabbed her head and kissed both of her cheeks warmly. "I am so happy that James has found a girl who makes him as happy as you do."

The blonde blushed and looked away when Fleamont approached them, done with his scolding of the boys, meaning giving them ideas for some pranks for the year. None of them told Euphemia, of course. "It's my turn now, Euphemia. Go talk to the boys."

Euphemia rushed off to say her goodbyes to her son and his best friend, who she loved dearly. Fleamont grinned at Lyra next, hugging her tightly. "Wish you didn't have to go. You have been such a joy to have around the house, Lyra."

"It's been such a joy to be here, Fleamont. Thank you so much," the Black girl smiled at him, holding back tears. She couldn't help but think about how much love they had shown her throughout the last two months, how she had felt more warmth in this home than she had in her own house for seventeen and a half years. 

"Right, you best be off," said Euphemia, drying tears from her eyes as she finally released her son from a bone-crushing hug. "James, Sirius. How about you two go first? Lyra shouldn't be appearing with you when her family could be there."'

"Right," said James, his face falling as he quickly was reminded that in just a few minutes, his and Lyra's relationship would become a well-hidden secret once again. He walked her way and kissed briefly. "See you soon, love."

Lyra sent him a quick smile before him and Sirius exchanged nods, apparating to King's Cross Station. The official line between summer and the school year had been crossed and Lyra wished they could all just take a step back. 

She waited for a few seconds, counting to ten before she prepared to leave herself. But before she did, Fleamont spoke up. "Lyra. If you have any problems with your family then you'll be welcome into our home without second thoughts. Always."

"Thank you again. For everything," Lyra smiled sincerely in apprectation, having experienced who she thought were the best parents in the world. She was lucky to have had them for even a few months. "You've raised such a wonderful son."

Euphemia caressed her cheek kindly, imagining them all a few years later, where summers like the one they had just had would be the norm. "And I believe that one day we'll have a wonderful daughter-in-law as well."

Fleamont quickly pulled her into a final hug as she blushed, before taking a good look at her, wanting to remember how happy they had been that summer. "You better go, the train will be leaving soon and we don't want you to miss it."

"Right. I'll see you later than."The young girl reached up to dry the tears that were building up in her eyes. She really wished she didn't have to go, but James and Sirius had already gone and there would be no reason for her to stay behind without them. 

She smiled at the elderly couple before she gripped her exceptionally heavy trunk tightly and apparated away. 

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The first people Lyra saw on Platform 9 3/4 were, unfortunately, her aunt Walburga and her uncle Orion, who were dropping off Regulus. The cold smiles they sent her made her face reality, that the warmth of the Potters was only temporary now that she was once again only a Black. 

But then she caught James's eye as he was walking onto the train, and he winked at her. Lyra smiled slightly at this, knowing that no matter what was happening and how dreary the year would be, he was still there for her. 

After that, she felt more confident as she boarded the train. She had to drag her trunk around as she searched for Lucinda and their friends, so she could put it away before having to run to the prefect meeting. 

Once she finally found her brunette friend, she hugged her tightly and helped her load her trunk into the compartment. "It's so good to see you. The summer has been too long, honestly. And we've got so much to catch up on."

Lyra smiled back, panting a bit at having to use much of strength to lift the trunk. "Of course, I've missed you lots. You've got to tell me all the details about that boy you were seeing this summer. You barely told me anything in your letters!"

"Oh, he was no boy. That was pure man," Lucinda grinned, thinking back to her very fun holiday. "But it was only a fling, so I'm alright. Now, you have a lot of explaining to do. You haven't told me why I had to lie for you."

"I'll tell you everything," the blonde prefect promised, although it was a lie. There was no way she was going to tell Lucinda, a notorius gossip, about her relationship. "But now I've got to go to the prefect meeting. I've got my duties."

"I still can't believe they didn't make you Head Girl," Lucinda rolled her eyes, having received a letter about it only a few days after they found out. "And for Lily Evans of all people. Can't believe they chose a mudblood."

Lyra shifted where she stood at the crude language, which was new. She hadn't ever heard her friend talk like that, at least before her and Rabastan became a thing last year. There was a bit of a change in her then. "Right. It's fine. I just have to go now. Bye!"

▹▹▹

Lyra had honestly missed the vibe of sitting in the prefects' carriage on their way to Hogwarts. It was a feeling of hope and excitement between 26 young witches and wizards who were prepared to make the school a better place.

Though, she had been excited to see who was going to be her fellow Slytherin prefect that year, since Rabastan had droppped out after taking the spot from Evan Rosier. This year, it was something Avery. She was sure somebody had told her his first name, but she didn't care enough to remember it. And they mostly just called him Avery. 

At her side, Barty Crouch Jr. fidgeted nervously as the new fifth-year prefect. Thankfully, he had Regulus on his side, guiding him and keeping him calm. It was a bit strange how he had taken the boy under his wing, and Lyra didn't believe it could be a good thing. 

Speaking of her younger cousin, there was a tense mood between them as they looked into one another's eyes for the first time since the start of the summer. A moment neither of them were particularly willing to discuss. 

But the one person in that room that Lyra was really happy to see was Remus Lupin, who smiled at her quietly from the other side of the compartment. She had demanded that James made sure her and Remus would patrol together, or she would hex him. He had been hexed by her twice before, so he didn't really want to risk it. 

And that's when James walked into the compartment, accompanied by his fellow Head, Lily Evans. Lily was smiling brightly at them, excited to lead them through a year of helping Hogwarts be the best it could be. Lyra couldn't blame her for getting the Head Girl position instead of her, because she was honestly a good person. 

"Alright then lads and ladies," James started, not even caring the strange looks he got. Nobody seemed to expect that he would show up to their meeting. "You must all know me. I am very cool and handsome, so very noticable around school. And now I'm Head Boy. Surprise, surprise."

"And welcome back to Hogwarts, which James clearly neglected to say," said Lily, giving him a stern look, which was clearly only teasing. "As mentioned, that's James Potter. And I'm Lily Evans. We're the ones you will report to this year."

"Yeah, yeah. That's great and all but there are are some actually good things that come with you lot being prefects. You can give out detentions and take points and stuff. Don't abuse it, though." James winked quite clearly at Remus.

"Yes, we're not to abuse it," Lily repeated, looking at him with a strict look, still wondering why he was selected to be Head Boy. "Anyway, you will all patrol the halls of school from time to time, with partners we have assigned. James, if you will."

James didn't seem like he had wanted to do the grunt work, but he still walked around and handed them their patrol schedules. Once he got to Lyra, he made sure their hands touched, barely running his thumb over her knuckles for a moment as a reminder that he loved her.

Lyra eagerly looked at her schedule, seeing that they were only assigned a single patrol partner that year instead of the usual two. She was very pleased by this, as it meant she would spend two nights a week hanging out with Remus. 

"Right. If there are any complaints, you can come to either James or myself," said Lily. Lyra glanced at Regulus and saw him grimace at being partnered with a muggleborn Hufflepuff and she knew he would complain as quickly as he could.

Lyra knew that somebody would expect her to complain about having to walk around with Remus several times a month for the third year in a row, but she was quite pleased with it. If she had to, she would fake a complaint but she didn't think it would come to that. Nobody would be able to bully her away from Remus now. 

For the rest of the meeting, Lyra basically tuned out James and Lily as they joked around and gave instructions to the prefects, as she was basically a professional in being a prefect, this being her third year. 

▹▹▹

At the end of the meeting, Lyra prepared to go back to find Lucinda when Regulus stopped her in her tracks, asking her if they could talk. Only for a few minutes, of course. He had been put on the first patrol of the train, so he didn't have much time. While hesitant, Lyra had eventually agreed. 

"What's this about, Regulus? I don't think you really want to chitchat. Not after how things went thGoe last time I saw you." Lyra was sure she could still imagine the moment Regulus got the dark mark imprinted on his arm if she tried hard enough. 

Regulus shrugged, tugging down at his left sleeve. "I wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't really hear from you all summer and you looked upset. After Rabastan went up to check on you... you didn't come downstairs again."

"Of course I was upset!" the seventh year hissed, looking at him incredulously. "First, I had to watch you get the Dark Mark and then I was forced to torture our Defense professor, and then watch him die. It wasn't exactly my idea of a pleasant summer."

The dark-haired boy pursed his lips. "Just be glad you didn't stick around. And that you had Rabastan looking out for you, convincing the Dark Lord that it wouldn't be a good idea to contact you yet. If not, you would have had the same mark we do right now."

Lyra frowned at the mention of Rabastan, being the first time she had heard him mentioned since the last time she saw him. Months had passed already, and it was strange not having him around. "Have you heard from him at all?"

"Not since that night," the sixteen-year-old shook his head, a frown also apparent on his face. "Bella mentioned he was alright once though. Think he's out with Rodolphus right now, so he's going to be safe."

"That's good," she nodded, although she was far from smiling. "Not that it's very possible to be safe in the life you're now living. Surprised to see you here actually and not out with them doing Salazar knows what."

"Are you going to blame me for what happened?" Regulus scoffed at her words. "For choosing this life? You know that it's the only way. You yourself has served him in ways that has put you in his line of sight."

Lyra gaped, wondering where all this anger was coming from. Because if it wasn't for how much she loved him, she wouldn't have been in the position she was in. "For you. It was all for you, Regulus."

"Then... Then why'd you leave? This summer wasn't easy on me. I've seen things... I've done things that I don't think anyone should do." All of a sudden, Regulus didn't look like a young boy anymore. The demons behind his eyes aged him several years. 

Lyra bit her lip cautiously, worried about him. "I'm sorry. I couldn't be there anymore. I can't stop thinking about what I did. I'm the reason we have to get a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year. Me."

"You're not the one who killed him and you're not the one who brought him in," the younger Black cousin reminded her, thinking it was dumb of her to blame herself for that. "That was the Dark Lord."

"And I did what he asked," the blonde retorted, seeming like she was quite keen on blaming herself. After all, she had been doing it for months, she didn't know how not to anymore. "I wasn't strong enough to say no."

"None of us are!" Regulus exclaimed. "Especially when we're apart. I can't do this without you, Lyra. I'm scared and I need someone, anyone, to be there for me. And Rabastan's gone. You're the only one I have left that could understand."

"You've got Snape," she suggested, thinking back on the third boy that had officially received his Dark Mark on the worst night of her life. A boy who was in her year, in their house, and was easily available.

"Snape?" Regulus repeated, as if the idea was dumb. He didn't dislike Snape, they had a mutual respect for one another. That didn't mean he would go out of his way to approach him to have discussions about their feelings. "What kind of suggestion is that?"

Lyra tilted her head in agreement. "You're right. That was dumb of me, sorry."

Regulus ran his fingers through his immaculate hair, making it messier than it had ever been. "I wish you were there, that's all. Because I really need you now, more than I ever have. I'm all alone. There's nobody else to turn to."

"You've still got me," she said sincerely, finding it heartbreaking that he thought he was by himself. No sixteen-year-old should feel like that. "I promise. I'm here now, there's nothing that can take me away."

Regulus looked doubtful. She couldn't blame him, as they had been raised to question everybody's intentions and because of the fact that trust issues ran through their veins. "Can you promise me that?"

She hesitated. Because she wasn't sure if she could do so and not lie. Because one way or another, somebody was most likely going to be abandoned, and she had told both sides she wasn't going anywhere. "I promise."

"I'm trusting you," he said, narrowing his eyes at her, trying to study her expression coldly. He reminded her of his father in that moment, which wasn't a good thing. "It's not easy to find someone you trust these days. Especially not for people like us."

"We're family, Reg. If we can't trust each other, who can we trust?" she questioned. It took a second before she remembered who their family was, and that they weren't like the wonderful family she had spent the last few months with. 

Regulus eyed her weirdly at this, wondering how she could still be so optimistic about their family. They both lost siblings from their lives due to the toxic nature of the House of Black. "Sometimes family are the people you should trust the least."

Lyra reached out to touch his arm, but realized too late it was his left, and he recoiled, not wanting her to touch the Mark."But not when it comes to you and me. We trust each other, we're there for each other."

"You've made me a promise now. I hope you'll stick to it," were Regulus's final words, giving her a sharp nod before he had to surrender to patrolling the train with sixth-year Dirk Cresswell, someone he had never gotten along with.

Once Lyra was sure he was out of earshot, she whispered to herself. "I hope so, too."

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A/N: Posting this on our favorite boy, James's, birthday! He'd be 60 today woohoo! Love that man.

I'm adding this little edit I made as a birthday gift to him of Jyra (I know it's a bit cringe because I'm not good at graphic design but I loved making it so...) (and ignore the typo in the second panel lol, it's not meant to say him, but her. But other than that, I hope you like it :))