For Lyra Black, time wasn't an issue. It passed quickly, and it helped her ignore all the issues looming over her head, and it helped created a routine. She knew what to do with her days, who to talk to, who to ignore and what to work on to make her life go on as comfortably as possible until the day she would graduate from Hogwarts. 

Her second and third year were uneventful, all she did was realize what classes she needed to work on and which came naturally, who to become friends with to help her climb the social ladder and how to secretly be close with Sirius, who was both her family and her best friend. 

In her fourth year, Narcissa had already graduated from Hogwarts so she didn't have to be quite as careful as before, but there was always the chance that somebody would see them together. Especially dangerous was Sirius's younger brother, Regulus. Lyra believed she could control him for the most part.

It felt good being independent. She didn't have to feel like Bellatrix, Andromeda or Narcissa's little sister anymore. Now she was just Lyra, and Lyra had a lot of things in mind for her future. But to achieve her dreams, she first needed to well in school. 

Not that she had a hard time getting good results. She was a smart girl, she always had been. Especially when it came to Transfiguration. McGonagall always said she didn't have any favorites, but Lyra could always see her smile a little bit more when she looked at her than the other students. 

That is, except for James Potter. He was also something of a natural at Transfiguration, and also a natural pain in her ass. They were always competing in that class, and for Sirius's friendship. Ever since that day when she had been mean to Sirius, James had seen her as a horrible person and she wasn't about to try to change his view of her when he was so arrogant and cruel himself. 

But they both stuck it out for Sirius. After their year apart, Lyra decided that she never wanted Sirius out of her life again, especially after she lost Andromeda. She couldn't bear to lose anyone else the way she lost her. 

As she was working on an extra-credit Transfiguration assignment in the Hogwarts library, the aforementioned cousin plopped down next to her, sending her the lop-sided grin that sent the girls into a frenzy. Lyra, however, just rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Sirius?"

Dramatically, Sirius's grin transformed into a frown. He spoke as if he was crying, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye. "Aren't you happy to see me, dear cousin? You wound me."

"Shut up," she scolded. "I'm working."

"It's Transfiguration. You could probably pass the N.E.W.T.s without blinking. You'll do fine." He pulled the parchment away from reach, making her glare at him heatedly. "Which is part of the reason why I came here to talk to you. The other part being that I love you very much."

Lyra grimaced, not used to Sirius being so touchy-feely. He was always the kind of guy who thought he was too cool to show how much he cared about people. "Gross. Just say what you want."

"So, you know a lot about Transfiguration, right?" he asked. She only made a hand gesture signaling for him to just get on with whatever he wanted to say. "I need some information about a very advanced type of Transfiguration."

Lyra smiled fakely, grabbing her parchment back and started writing on it. "Ask Potter. I'm busy."

"I already have."

"And he doesn't know about it?" She felt strangely smug at the idea. The high and mighty James Potter was stumped, and Sirius was asking her for help. She almost jumped in joy until she remembered it would be a bit mean to enjoy someone else's failures so much. "Alright, ask away."

Sirius glanced around, seeing a few students at the neighboring tables within earshot. "Could we talk somewhere more private? I don't really want someone to overhear our conversation."

"Alright," Lyra agreed, eyeing him strangely. She started packing up her things, putting them in her bag as Sirius stood there impatiently, clicking his tongue to remind her that he didn't have all the time in the world. "Could you stop that? You're being annoying."

He grinned widely. "It's what I do, darling."

Once she finally put her Transfiguration text book in her bag, Sirius grabbed her arm and started pulling her out of the library, past the disapproving Madam Pince. No matter who it was, she always believed that if a boy and a girl walked together they had been snogging. She didn't even realize they were related and it would therefore be very gross if they did that. 

He stopped in front of one of the boys' bathrooms, opening it to see if anybody was inside. When he didn't see anyone, he pulled Lyra with him as she held her breath, not wanting to breathe in the stench of boys' bathroom. "Gross, not in here, please."

"It's private, it's perfect. Stop being such a diva," Sirius said, crossing his arms. "Look, so I need your help. And since you're so brilliant-"

She couldn't help but smirk. "More brilliant than Potter."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." He rolled his eyes, tired of the two's neverending rivalry. There was once hope for them to be friends, but James had never forgiven Lyra for her treatment of Sirius, and she had never cared much about his forgiveness. "What do you know about Animagi?"

Lyra furrowed her brows, watching him carefully. Knowing Sirius, that could potentially be a dangerous question to answer. "Why do you wanna know about Animagi? Knowing you, it's not of educational interest."

"When have I ever cared about anything just for education's sake? Who do you think I am?" he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. And he said she was a diva. "Okay, so the thing is, I'm thinking about being a bit dumb."

She raised an eyebrow, amused. "What else is new?"

"Shut up, Lyra." Sirius took a deep breath, as if he was preparing her for the big news. "James, Peter and I are thinking about becoming animagi. But not registering with the ministry, but we don't really understand every part of the process."

"Are you really that dumb? I mean, I knew you were dumb. But not that much." Lyra pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyed at her cousin's never ending stupidity. "Wait. You, Potter and Pettigrew? What about Lupin? Has he been thrown out of your little group."

"No, of course not." He rolled his eyes, knowing she had always looked down a bit on his group of friends, thinking they were immature and self-centered. Perhaps she was right, but it only mean Sirius fit right in. 

More interested than ever in Remus Lupin's reasons for not joining them, Lyra leaned against the wall. "Then what's the deal? Did he finally realize that you lot are idiots and he has at least a couple more brain cells than you three put together?"

Annoyed with her attempts at wit, Sirius sent her a look, telling her he was done with her shit. "He just thinks it's dumb. Like you seem to do. If you're not going to help, then just forget about it."

"No, no, wait." Lyra stopped him, sensing he was about to walk out of there. She pursed her lips, trying to think about the consequences of the choices she could make. "You're going to try to do this whether I help you or not?"

"Of course."

Lyra sighed in defeat, studying  her cousin and trying to understand whether he truly could be so stupid. "Then I'll help you. It's a dangerous process, and if you do something wrong it could have disastrous consequences."

"You're the best, Lyra." Sirius grinned widely, opening his arms to hug her. "You know what's coming next."

"Merlin, no. Please don't." He closed in on her and wrapped his arms around her as she wriggled around in his grasp. Usually, Lyra wasn't against hugs. But when Sirius was hugging her just to annoy her, he squeezed her so hard she couldn't breathe. 

He used all the strength in his fifteen-year-old body to hold her as tightly as possible. Laughing as she struggled, but it was all in good fun. She started laughing before she finally managed to push him off. "I'm already regretting this."

He laughed, running his fingers through his hair sloppily. "Oh, you're probably going to regret it even more. Could you meet the boys and I tomorrow after dinner? Here, I mean. Tell us what you know?"

Lyra hesitated, pulling a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "The boys? I don't know. I don't think Potter, Pettigrew and Lupin will be so happy to see me there. They all hate me after first year."

"No, don't be ridiculous. They don't hate you. They don't particularly care for you, but I'm sure they'll appreciate your help." Sirius tried to send her the charming, troublemaker smile that always kept their uncle Alphard from telling on him when he did something wrong. 

"So they know you're asking me this?"

He grimaced, pulling at his red and gold Gryffindor tie nervously. "Well, not exactly. But I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

Lyra sighed. "I don't know."

Exasperated, Sirius sent her the puppy-dog eyes. "I've already convinced you once, I don't know if I have enough charm in me to do it a second time. So, please. I promise they'll play nice as long as you do."

"Fine," she finally acquiesced. "But if either of them start giving me some passive-aggressive comments about me being a Slytherin bitch, I will hex one of them and you're not allowed to stop me."

"Fine, just don't be a Slytherin bitch then." He shrugged, sending a teasing smile. She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder, chuckling to herself. 

 ▹▹▹

Eager to please (and perhaps eager to prove to James Potter that she was smarter than him), Lyra gathered all the information on animagi that she was able to find in any textbooks or notes she had available. There wasn't as much as she would have liked, and there were some parts of it that were unclear to her. But she hoped that, with enough research, she would get to the bottom of it. 

Lyra straightened her school girl skirt, used to always having to look as presentable as possible. Being a girl from the House of Black, your looks combined with your pure blood were your currency. You could use it to get anywhere in the world, and so looking pretty was taught to her from a young age. 

She knew it didn't really matter. She was about to meet up with Sirius and his blood traitor/half-blood group of friends, who she had never gotten along with. Dinner was over, so she suspected they were already gathered inside the boys' bathroom. 

Lyra wasn't sure how this would play out, considering their feelings towards her. Well, she wasn't going to pretend that she hadn't said a few not-too-kind comments to them over the years, but she didn't really care much about them.

Of course, Sirius was an exception from that. He was her cousin, her closest real friend and the only person she wanted to confide in when times were rough. There was nobody else in her life she felt like she could talk to about any doubts, thought or ideas. So, seeing him was never a bad thing, unless he was surrounded by the other three. 

Peter Pettigrew was someone she barely remembered existed most of the time. He was small, lumpy and only followed Sirius and Potter around most of the time. She couldn't care less what he thought about her. But seeing as her and Potter didn't get along too well, he had decided that he hated her as well. 

Remus Lupin, on the other hand, she didn't really mind too much. They had never really spoken, so she didn't know him too well. He was quiet, had deep scars on his face and looked sick more often than not. If not for his friends, Lyra would have felt sorry for him. Other than that, she pretty much ignored his existence because it didn't really affect her at all. 

One person she couldn't ignore though, was James Potter. He was always looking for a way to get under her skin, to irk her and annoy her as much as possible. He never went too far, in fear of Sirius becoming angry and them fighting. No matter how much he seemed to dislike Lyra, he loved Sirius much more. That was the one thing the both of them agreed on, and they had a silent mutual respect for how they were willing to be there for him. But if he tried to send him another snide comment, she would tackle him and step on his face. 

Clutching her notes on animagi, Lyra took a deep breath. She carefully twisted the doorknob, sticking her head in as she saw the gang of boys in a heated discussion. She sent them a hesitant smile. "Is this a bad time?"

Quickly, James Potter turned his head. His eyes widened as he groaned in annoyance. The last thing his day needed was to have to talk to Lyra freaking Black. "What are you doing here, Black?"

Her smile instantly faded as she made eye contact with him. "Well, if you must know, Potter, Sirius asked me to come here. He said you had quite limited knowledge in Transfiguration compared to me, so I had to come and help you guys."

"You said what?" James turned to his best friend, looking betrayed. 

"I did not say that." Sirius raised his hands in surrender, sending Lyra a look. She could tell he wasn't amused by her teasing his best friend, but she couldn't help but smile. "I just said we needed some help."

James glanced between his boys and Lyra, adjusting his square glasses as he looked at her distastefully. "We don't need her help. I'd rather die than ask her for help."

"That can be arranged," Lyra responded smugly. She tilted her head and smirked as he looked like he was getting angrier and angrier with every word she spoke. She didn't usually like to get on people's nerves, but James Potter was a different story. 

"Oh, I bet you've got the connections to make that happen. Gotta make the family proud right, Black?" James hissed bitterly, seeing Lyra's smirk fall as she glared at him, crossing her arms across her chest. She didn't answer, knowing part of him was right. 

"That's enough," Remus Lupin broke in, sending James a scolding look. Usually he seemed to speak quite timidly, but he now he sounded authoritative in a way Lyra couldn't have imagined. "If Sirius asked her here, then there's a reason behind it."

"What reason could that be?" Peter Pettigrew finally spoke up, looking more like a child throwing a tantrum than a person who was making a genuinely good point. "She's probably just like the lot of her family, cruel and mean. I wouldn't expect anything less."

Sirius closed his eyes as he sighed in annoyance, tired of none of them getting along. "Hey, do I have to remind you that I'm her family, too, Pete? She's not like the bad ones. Give her a chance, she can actually help us, too."

"Wait, you told her?" Remus asked, his eyes wide in fear. He looked nervously at the Black girl, wondering just how much she knew. "How much did you tell her?"

Lyra didn't catch the reassuring look Sirius sent his friend, who looked a bit too afraid for it only to be about the Animagi he wasn't even involved it. Sirius tried to keep the situation calm. "I told her James, Peter and I are trying to become Animagi. And then we need some help because we don't really understand it, and McGonagall didn't give us all the information last year on purpose when we were learning about it."

Bitter, James eyed Lyra suspiciously. "We don't need her help. I've got this."

"You've said that for a year now," Sirius pointed out. Lyra couldn't help but snicker at this, earning her deadpan looks from all four of the boys. James especially wasn't happy with her and her ability to always annoy him. 

"And it's just as bad of an idea now as it was then," Remus commented. Lyra thought he just didn't want to do it himself, but she supposed it made sense that he didn't want any of them to do it. "You don't have to do this."

James grinned playfully, wrapping his arm around the tall boy's shoulders, shaking him a bit. Remus couldn't help but smile a bit. "Oh, but we do, Remus, my dear boy. We just don't need any help to do it. Especially from her."

She narrowed her eyes, far from amused. "I'm right here, Potter. And trust me, I'm not doing this for you. If I could, I'd just help Sirius and leave you to become a half-human half-annoying little squirrel. I'm guessing that will be what your Animagus form."

James tightened his jaw and walked closer to her, so they were standing face to face. "Well, I'll take care of Sirius and you can run back and go hex some muggleborns or whatever you do with your spare time."

Lyra didn't care that he was staring her down and only looked up to him with her chin held high, knowing that to show weakness to her enemy would be the dumbest thing she could do. "I don't hex muggleborns. I only hex arrogant toerags who can't keep their mouth shut, or their hair neat."

"Don't talk about my hair!" James exclaimed, subconsciously running his fingers through hair, desperately trying to smooth it out. 

"Your hair looks great, James!" Peter tried to reassure him, smiling a toothy smile. James smiled back and ruffled his hair in return. 

"Just shut up, all of you." Remus sounded more aggressive than Lyra could have imagined. He looked over at her sheepishly, realizing it was a bit rude saying that to her when they barely knew each other. "Sorry, Lyra. I'm thinking, if she can help then let her. She obviously researched a lot for you lot and she already knows. No harm in letting her help now."

"Thanks, Lupin." Lyra winked at him, he only raised an eyebrow at her. She put her notes by one of the sinks. She started digging through them and smiled widely as she found the paper she was looking for. "These are most of the ingredients needed for the potion, I've got another paper on where to find them. I still need to figure out a few more, especially on how the potion becomes tailored to the person who drinks it. But otherwise, it's all here. I'm thinking about looking for the actual spell soon."

James grabbed the notes, skimming through a portion of them. He pursed his lips in annoyance, not wanting to admit that all her research had helped. He just thought it would come naturally, like Transfiguration normally did for him. But she had both the talent and the work, and it paid off. "Fine."

"What was that, Potter? I don't think we heard you," Lyra asked smugly.

"You can help, if you keep doing this." He looked like the words were painful for him to say, but Lyra was having fun regardless. "But let's get one thing straight, Black. This, you helping us and us accepting, does not make us friends in any way, shape or form."

"Thank Merlin," Lyra agreed. "I don't think I could look myself in the mirror if I knew I was friends with you lot. I'm just doing this for Sirius. Don't read into it."

"Good. Then we agree," James nodded, looking quite serious. "We'll talk later then."

"And thank you," Remus added, sending James a stern look. Lyra sent him a small smile and a nod of appreciation. She ignored James and Peter, clapping Sirius on the shoulder as she left the boys alone.