Lyra was strangely excited to go back home for Easter break. While she would miss James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Rabastan, Lucinda and all her friends dearly, she hadn't seen any family members since September 1st.

Cygnus and Druella were both thrilled that their little girl was coming home. It was a strange thing, that ever since they had lost one daughter five years ago, they seemed much more insistent on keeping the remaining ones closer. 

They had all the time in the world to spend time with Bellatrix and Narcissa. Bellatrix came by for dinner at least once a week so she could avoid her husband, and Narcissa loved showing them their young grandson as often as possible.

But Lyra was their only child still at school. They were supposed to only see her during the holidays, which she didn't come for at Christmas, and hear from her through letters, which she often found herself too busy studying to offer long, in-depth responses.   

The moment Lyra apparated into the manor she had grown up, in she was met with her parents' happy faces. She put her trunk down and quickly found herself in her mother's embrace, choking. "Alright, mum. I need to breathe."

Druella pulled away, pulling a strand of her daughter's blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm allowed to smother you when I haven't seen you in almost a year. No parent should be away from their child for so long."

"I very much agree," said Cygnus. Not even the usually stoic patriarch of the house was able to keep from showing a bit of emotion at the sight of his young daughter. "Especially when you've changed so much during this time. You look so beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thanks, dad," Lyra smiled brightly, but unused to the attention. Being one of four while growing up meant that being the only at home was a rare occurance until the others went to school. Now she almost like an only child as her other sisters all had their own families. 

"Don't you have a hug in you for your deal old dad? You've turned seventeen and everything since I last saw you. Come here," the father said, opening his arms, to which she quickly ran into them, allowing him to hold on to her. 

Lyra smiled happily into the embrace. She had felt like she had grown and become much more independent during the last year. But there was still the moments when a girl just needed a hug from her dad. 

"You have no idea how good it is for us to see you." Druella couldn't be happier to see her daughter and husband together again. "Bellatrix is always out with her husband, and Narcissa, Hector and Marcus have their own family, and you're always out at school."

"We're starting to feel like we've imagined you this whole time since you're never here." Cygnus reached up and messed up her neatly braided blonde hair, which made her laugh. "Not even for Christmas."

"Right. Sorry about that," the seventeen-year-old apologized sheepishly. She wanted to tell them that she hadn't stayed at school because she didn't want to see them. She just didn't want to see the Dark Lord. "But I'm here now, and I've missed you, too."

Loud footsteps approached the parlor the small family was standing in, and Lyra wondered who else was at the house. She had been told it was only going to be them as far as she remembered. She hoped it wasn't all a lie. 

A man in his mid-forties walked out, a playful gleam in his eye and a wide grin on his face. "Do my eyes deceive me? Or could that beautiful, young woman be my beloved godddaughter? Is that Lyra Cassiopeia?"

"Merlin! Uncle Alphard, you're actually here!" Lyra exclaimed happily, glad to see her favorite uncle for the first time in several years, especially as he was her Godfather. Well, both hers and Sirius's.

"Ah, that's my girl!" Alphard hugged the smaller girl tightly, rocking her back and forth in his arms playfully. He pulled away and looked at her, examining her. "How long has it been? You've grown at least a foot since I last saw you."

"It's been far too long," Lyra grinned. He was one of the family members who had a permanent grin on his face. Both him and Sirius. No wonder she prefered him over her other uncle, the always cold Orion. 

He looked much paler than she remembered, or than any of their other family members. There was a look in his eye that made her believe that hug had made him dizzy, so she couldn't help but worry. Maybe he was just sick. It was the season for it, after all. 

"Well, while I'm sure you've got plenty of interesting stories, boys too I'm sure," Alphard teased, to which she blushed, her mind instantly going to James. "How are Sirius and Regulus? I haven't gotten a chance to see either of them."

At the mention of her disowned nephew, Druella turned to him sharply, a harsh look on her face.  "Do not speak of Sirius, Alphard. He's no longer a part of this family. I'm sure you've heard of this from your sister."

The eternal smile on Alphard's face then faded, making Lyra then realize how much he truly looked like her father and her Aunt Walburga. He looked like a Black, which she hadn't ever thought of him as. He was just Uncle Alphard. 

Lyra felt this awkward mood very deeply, as she was the only family member still in contact with Sirius, so she did feel a bit obligated to defuse the tension. "Uncle Alphard, how about we catch up? I've got some good stories from Hogwarts to you."

Her uncle straightened up a bit, trying to force a smile on his face. He could see the look his niece's face, trying to tell him to leave it and he felt like it would be smart to listen. "Oh, is good old Slughorn still there? As crazy as ever?"

The blonde forced a laugh, happy he hadn't made a fuss. She didn't want there to be any more family drama. She'd experienced enough to last a lifetime. "Can't imagine him being a normal Potions Master, no."

"Remember to let her get settled in, too, Alphard," Cygnus reminded his brother before turning to his daughter with a smile.  "And Lyra, we'll be having your favorites for dinner tonight. We're celebrating your return home, of course!"

The young girl smiled widely at her parents, now realizing how much she had missed being at home. She wished her sisters had been there too, if there hadn't been the looming threat of Death Eater recruitment. She wished for her family. She had at least part of it now. 

▹▹▹

It was very different trying to write a letter than talking to someone in real life. Lyra hadn't ever written a letter to James only, but she supposed it would be even stranger if she didn't, as they were something or another. 

Dear James, she started writing. Then she frowned at the parchment, wondering if that sounded a bit too cheesy, and she didn't know how he felt about cheesy letters. That was the hardest part of never having written a letter to him before. 

She glared down at the piece of parchment before grabbing it and crumbling it up. It landed in a can with all the other letters she had tried to start. She sighed and grabbed her wand, pointing it at the garbage can. "Incendio."

Why did it have to be so bloody difficult to talk to him through letters when they both talked so easily in real life? She even had to set fire to the failed attempts just so her parents wouldn't look through her garbage. 

Lyra tried to drip her quill in ink one more time, hoping that this would finally be the time she could get through that stupid writer's block. She didn't think one could get writer's block when one wasn't  even writers. 

Someone knocked on her door softly, which made her jump in surprise. She quickly put the quill back in its place as she turned to see her father. She was glad she hadn't started writing the letter yet. "Dad? What is it?"

"Could you come downstairs, please?" Cygnus asked, looking at her strangely. She frowned, but he took a deep breath before continuing. "You've got some important guests who are asking for you."

Lyra tried to stay calm at her father's words, but she was internally freaking out. Whenever her family brought up the idea of important business or important people, it meant the same ting every time. 

But they had promised her that it would only be them, that it would be a calm holidays. The Dark Lord couldn't show up to their home and try to meet her when Bellatrix wasn't home. But, then again, she could have finished her mission early.

"Who is it?" the young blonde decided to ask. If he said it was a gang of Death Eaters she was prepared to pretend to be sick. James had given her some sort of candy he found at Zonko's that gave the eater a false fever, and she was glad she had it in her pocket. 

"Just come down and see, Lyra. You don't have to worry. There are only friendly faces downstairs. Come along now," he said, trying to force a smile on his face again. But Lyra had only seen him smile a handful of times, so it looked quite strange. 

While she was prepared to eat the candy, there was a strange sort of curiosity that washed over her. She had never heard a family member call the Death Eaters friendly faces, so she supposed there was a chance it wasn't them.  

She hesitated for a moment, but decided that her father wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. He had his flaws, but he still loved her dearly. She was his little girl. "Alright. I'll be down in a moment."

▹▹▹

Before taking a step down the stairs, Lyra wondered if she could throw herself out of the window and break a few bones, and if that would make sure she would have to go to St. Mungo's. A girl could hope.

But, then again, she also had a bit of a fear of breaking bones after Narcissa jumped on her leg when she was seven and she missed her favorite food for dinner that night because she had to go to a healer.

So she would have to face whoever was downstairs waiting for her eventually. And she knew that if she didn't get her move on, her parents would walk up to get her and force her downstairs. 

Gracefully, she found herself walking down the stairs and towards the parlor. Her lips were pursed in worry and her eyebrows were furrowed. She supposed it wouldn't be a look appreciated by her guests. 

Once she saw who was waiting for her, she frowned. She hadn't expected to see Rabastan and Regulus drinking tea from her mother's pink tea set while sitting on her sofa, not saying a word between them. 

"What are you two doing here?" Lyra asked, approaching them. They were both good people at least, but she was still wondering why they were here. "And Rabastan, I thought you were on a mission for the Dark Lord."

"We were," Regulus spoke up, which made her head sharply turn towards him. He looked away uncomfortably, as he hadn't wanted her to know he was in on it. He then corrected himself. "We are."

Lyra wanted nothing more than to grab her younger cousin and force him back to Hogwarst and away from the Dark Lord's will. "Then what are you doing here then? Don't tell me I'm your mission."

"Why would you be our mission?" Rabastan asked, sending her a look to say that her assumption was crazy. "No, we've both got this mission together. We just don't know how to do it. We need your help."

"I don't want anything to do with your Death Eater business," the witch said, a stern look on her face making her look much like her mother. "You have gotten yourself and Regulus into this mess. You work yourself out of it."

"Lyra, please. I don't know what to do," Regulus then spoke up again, looking at her pleadingly. He could see that she was about to protest so he tried one more time to make her see how desperate he was. "Please."

She wanted to turn away, to forget they had ever asked her to do this. To run away and never come back. But Regulus needed her. It kicked in some hidden big sister-like instincts in her, ones she couldn't fight. 

Lyra sat down in the sofa opposite of them, resting her forehead in her hand as she tried to think, to figure out what to do. But she knew there was only one way to protect them. "Alright then. What's the mission?"

"Thank you," Regulus breathed quickly before explaining. "The Dark Lord believes that a low-level Ministry employee named Sturgis Podmore has been approached by Dumbledore about resistance against the Dark Lord."

Rabastan continued for him. "The Dark Lord is now very curious about Dumbledore's ideas for resistance. If we can figure out his plans, then I'm sure we'll be welcomed into the Dark Lord's forces, and well on our way to his inner circle."

"Sturgis Podmore. I've heard that name before. Give me a minute." Lyra then ran to the next room, as she was pretty sure she had seen his name mentioned in the Daily Prophet fairly recently, so she just needed to find the right edition.

The minute she found the ones from two days ago (she was glad her father saved those), she ran towards them and pointed her finger to where he was mention. "Sturgis Podmore works in the Department of Magical Transportation. He tests portkeys. He was in the Daily Prophet for being a part of the team that finally made food into portkeys."

"What's that got to do with any of this?" Rabastan asked, frowning. He didn't think knowing the department he worked in would be enough to finish their task. 

Lyra was quick on her feet. "I read about a charm that helps people tamper with portkeys. We should do just that with one he's supposed to test. We'll then bring him to a safe location for an interrogation."

"That's brilliant! We could do it at Lestrange Manor. My parents are going to visit Rodolphus tomorrow for a few days in his newest vacation home," Rabastan said the last words bitterly, always jealous of his brother's successes.

"That's perfect," Lyra nodded quickly before thinking a bit more before coming up with a plan. "You should be the one to go. Your dad works at the Ministry. It wouldn't be suspicious for you to say goodbye before he leaves. You tamper with it and get him to your house and I'll take care of the rest."

Regulus couldn't help but be impressed with his cousin. He knew she was smart and cunning, but he hadn't known just how much. "What do you suggest we do when we get him back to the manor?"

That was the part of the plan Lyra wasn't sure about yet. She had just started making it a couple of minutes ago, so she supposed that wasn't strange. Still, she hesitated as she came up with different scenarios. "What do you think will happen if we fail in this task?"

Rabastan leaned back in the sofa, sadly. If this didn't work out, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to achieve what he had worked for for so long. "We won't get to be Death Eaters. For a long time, at least."

Regulus turned to look at him, a look more sinister than sad in his eyes. He had never been the type to look on the bright side, and that wasn't changing now."You're being optimistic, Rabastan. We'll be severely punished."

"And you're being dramatic, Regulus." The older boy rolled his eyes, raising an eyebrow at him. "We're purebloods, he's never going to punish us. What, do you think he'll torture us or something?"

"That's exactly what I think," the Black boy retorted, a poisonous tone in his voice. "And if we get another task and fail in that, I'm not sure he'll care that we're purebloods or not. He'll kill us where we stand."

Lyra knew they couldn't argue, because she had a feeling that Regulus was more right than Rabastan, and she would never allow either of them to die when she could do something abou it. 

She straightened up, sending a quick glance at the moving picture of the happy, smiling man she was supposed to interrogate, and perhaps not very nicely if it came to it. "Then we'll do whatever it takes."