The realm of romance was still a pretty new thing to Lyra. She had never had a boyfriend, and had only been asked out a couple of times. She had never accepted it. The only times she had ever snogged someone, she had been drunk and had regretted it in the morning. Both times.

That's why Valentine's day sort of sucked for her. It was a reminder that she was inexperienced, alone and completely and utterly single. Maybe she was a bit bitter, because she didn't feel like any boys liked her as a person, but only as a possible snog. 

Thankfully, she had Rabastan. She still didn't want to admit that she fancied him, but in the very least, she had gained a good friend. He had offered to be her platonic Valentine for the day, and had rejected the girls who asked him just to make sure she didn't feel alone. 

Lyra wanted to scream in the face of everyone who had believed Rabastan would end up being an awful friend to her. He had given up the chance to get a snog or two during the day just to make sure she felt alright.

They were sitting together in the Great Hall, under all the decorations of hearts and fake cherubs, talking to each other. As usual, four boys at the Gryffindor table didn't quite enjoy the sight. 

It only got worse when Rabastan charmed a rose to appear in his hand. He smiled sweetly as he gave it to her. She seemed deeply touched, and leaned into give him a dramatic kiss on the cheek with an overdone mwah.

Sirius heard people whispering about the two all around him. They were talking about the idea of Lyra and Rabastan being together, an actual couple, even if Bellatrix and Rodolphus already were married. The thought of it made him want to barf.

"I hate this," he grumbled, stabbing the food on his plate as he glared at the platonic pair, hoping they truly were platonic. "I hate that she's a Slytherin. She should have been in Gryffindor with us."

Remus agreed. "Hear, hear, Padfoot."

Sirius rested his chin in his hands. "If she'd just become a Gryffindor then I wouldn't have to watch her mack all over Lestrange of all people. I don't like feeling this protective of her but having her just far enough away to not be able to do anything."

James was uncharacteristically quiet, staring into the air. His mates suddenly realized this, and Peter elbowed him to force him out of his trance. "Oi, Wormtail. Stop."

"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked, his mouth stuffed with greasy bacon. Everyone cringed at his inability to eat with his mouth closed, but it was part of his charm, they supposed. 

"I'm thinking..." the Potter boy smiled to himself as he looked at Lyra, who was happily enjoying her breakfast with her friends at the Slytherin table. "I'm going to go all out for Valentine's Day. She's never going to forget this day for as long as she may live."

"You're looking too deep into your snog," warned Remus, always the voice of reason. James didn't respond, ignoring him.

Sirius noticed his silence and turned to him, a mean glare on his face, annoyed at the idea of James supposedly fancying Lyra of all people. "Yeah, and soon you'll be looking too deep into my fist." 

"Don't listen to them, Prongs!" Peter encouraged, patting James's shoulder friendly, trying to make him feel better. "Go for it! I mean, she's really pretty. Probably the prettiest girl at Hogwarts."

He cringed as both Sirius and Remus sent him incredulous glares, wondering what was going through his head. James, on the other hand, started smirking. "You know what, Wormtail? You just gave me a brilliant idea."

Grinning brightly, Peter perked up. "You're welcome, James!"

▹▹▹

Potions class was filled with students who paid less attention than usual to Professor Slughorn's lecture. Most people sat and either giggled with their Valentine's or about their Valentine's. Lyra was no exception. 

Her and Rabastan were currently in a deep discussion about Celestina Warbeck's cultural impact on the Wizarding World. Nobody was working on their given assignment anyway, so they didn't see why they should bother either. 

Then a bang. The chatter stopped completely, as everyone watched in awe as fireworks appeared out of thin air, creating a whirlwind of colors erupting from their teacher's desk, all to spell out: 

LYRA BLACK IS THE PRETTIEST GIRL AT HOGWARTS

The blonde's heart raced, not only because of the sudden explosion that frightened her, but because of the great compliment. She hadn't expected to see anything like it, as she was incredibly single and the only guy who had ever even been interested in her as more than a snog was Evan Rosier, which was disgusting in its own right.

People whispered among themselves and laughed at the spectacle. Rabastan was narrowing his eyes suspiciously as James grinned to himself. He glanced to see Lyra's surprised face and flaming red cheeks. 

Even Professor Slughorn seemed deligheted at the spectacle. "Even though I don't condone explosions in the classroom, especially in Potions, I must say this was definitely wonderful. Congratulations for having such a thoughtful Valentine, Miss Black."

Lyra's surprised face suddenly stretched out into a large smile. She hadn't even suspected her own Valentine for doing such a spectacle. She glanced at Rabastan, whose expression quickly went from suspicious to blank.

She raised her eyebrows at him, her face still pink but smiling. He tilted his head in confusion, frowning. "What is it, Lyra?"

"Was it you?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. She couldn't avoid the fact that she fancied Rabastan forever, but she hadn't even considered the fact that he could fancy her back. 

Rabastan hid his hesitation on taking credit for the spectacle, but quickly smiled brightly at his blonde friend. "Of course it was me. I'm your Valentine. And you deserve a good Valentine's Day."

Again, blood streamed to her cheeks, making them red. "Thank you, Rabastan. That was very kind."

James sat a at the row next to them, and couldn't help but overhear the conversation and he was fuming. He couldn't believe Rabastan had the nerve to say he had done the most beautiful, romantic gesture of his life, or that Lyra dared to believe him.

His attention turned elsewhere when he heard a scoff come from the row behind Lyra and Rabastan, where Evan Rosier sat bitterly. "Prettiest girl at Hogwarts? Oh, please. I can think of a hundred prettier girls just off the top of my head."

Suddenly all of James's anger turned elsewhere. But he decided to only be a sarcastic little twat to show it. "Hey, Rosier. Wonder why you were so heartbroken over Black rejecting you if she's not pretty enough for you?"

Rosier glared, but didn't respond. He leaned back in his chair and pouted. Lyra tried to suppress a chuckle when Rabastan looked at her and James strangely. She kept a straight face, trying to keep suspicion of them knowing each other away.

But when Rabastan seemed to finally concentrate on something else, Lyra turned to look at James, who had already been looking at her. She smiled softly, mouthing Thank you.

James couldn't stop smiling for the rest of class.

▹▹▹

The minute Lyra was out of sight and unable to make him happy again, James was back to being pissed off beyond belief. He couldn't believe the nerve of Rabastan Lestrange, trying to convince Lyra of his lies.

Before their next class, James was walking with Remus, ranting quietly. "I just can't believe he'd be so... stupid. She's gonna find out it wasn't him. At some point she's going to realize he's just a mean old wanker."

"I hope so. I really don't like that guy," Remus responded. In the corner of his eye, he caught eye of Rabastan and Lyra walking together, smiling. The blonde girl made eye contact for a second, but was too afraid to send him a smile due to her company. 

"I have to go bigger," the Potter boy decided, messing up his hair as she looked at the new object of his affections. "During lunch, and I have to make sure he can't take credit. Moony, could you do me a favor?"

The sandy-haired boy shrugged. "As long as it's not illegal."

"It usually is," James reminded him, but grinned nonetheless as his romantic plan came to him. "As prefect, you have the ability to give out detentions. I believe Lestrange has earned himself lunch-time detention."

Remus sighed in defeat, looking incredibly tired, like he had been doing these kinds of things for years. "Oh, the things I do for you, Prongs."

Lyra and Rabastan were chatting, laughing between themselves when suddenly they walked straight into someone who came out of nowhere. Remus had slammed into Rabastan's chest harshly. 

Dramatically, Remus gripped his nose, crying out in faux pain. "Oh, my nose! I can't believe you did this to me, Lestrange. It hurts so bad."

Lyra gasped in shock, believing something had actually happened to his nose. She was about to express her concern until she saw the annoyed look on Rabastan's face. "Lupin, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm in pain!" complained the Lupin boy, still having his hands over his nose to prevent them from seeing there was no real damage. "I'm sorry, Lestrange, but I've got to give you detention. Filch is overseeing some during lunch, I'll arrange it."

"Lupin, you can't do this!" Rabastan hissed, grabbing the boy's arm. He wanted to pull it away to show there was no damage but he was surprisingly strong. "You walked into me! You couldn't possibly have gotten hurt."

Lyra bit her lip, but she couldn't stand by as there was a real possibility of a conflict. "Look, it's fine, Rabastan. Let's not start a fight. It'll over soon and we can't be late to class unless you want another detention."

Angry, Rabastan stormed off with Lyra in a tow. Secretly, James and Remus exchanged smug smirks, ready for what lunch time would bring.

▹▹▹

Lunch was a bit boring for Lyra as she sat alone while all her friends sat with their Valentine's, just because Rabastan wound up getting detention out of nowhere. She could still talk to her friends, but it was easy to feel left out as they all paired up. 

So she sat with her chin in her hand, staring out into space when suddenly she noticed a flower petal falling from the sky. She straightened up and looked up, seeing red petals coming towards her, raining down over the Slytherin table. 

Lyra then noticed rose stems appearing in her hands. She frowned, confused. She suddenly realized what was going on as all the petals started banding together to create a bouquet of roses that appeared in her hand.

The blonde couldn't keep from smiling, blushing. She felt like she had been blushing more often than not for that whole day, but it was alright because she loved the feeling of butterflies fluttering around her stomach. 

She didn't notice that the people surrounding her had stopped and stared at her, while most people at other tables didn't even notice that anything had happened. Lyra avoided their gazes, choosing to focus on the beautiful bouquet of her favorite flowers in her hand. 

It was then she noticed a note with the flowers, signed To Lyra Cassiopeia Black. She supposed that meant that whoever had written this card knew her middle name, which wasn't common knowledge. 

Happy Valentine's Day, beautiful. From your devoted admirer. PS. I am not Rabastan Lestrange, that wanker can suck it.

Lyra's smile and blush then faded, realizing what this meant. It was a person who had something against Rabastan, and there was nobody who hated Rabastan that she could imagine herself with. Also, she was a bit disappointed that it wasn't him who had orchestrated the flowers.

She started racking her brain for potential candidates. The only person who had ever seemed to like her had been Evan Rosier, but considering the snarky remark he had given her during Potions, she supposed it was unlikely, which she was very grateful for. 

Davey Gudgeon was a possible candidate, but it had been months since their snog, and it was strange that he wouldn't make a move until February 14th when he had so much time no his hands. 

The only other person who had shown any kind of interest was James. Lyra glanced at him, wondering if he had perhaps read too much into their drunken snog. She supposed it was unlikely, as they weren't even friends. They had barely become friendly-ish acquaintances, not enough for him to do something like this to impress her. 

So Lyra had no idea who would do this thing for her, but she wanted to badly to find out.

▹▹▹

After lunch, Lyra had to find her way to her next class alone. None of her friends were taking Arithmancy, but Remus was thankfully doing so. They ran into each other on the way to class and finally had the opportunity to talk.

"So you've had a few shows today, I see. First the fireworks, then the flowers. Yes, I noticed," Remus smiled at her, bumping her shoulder teasingly. "Do you have any idea who they're from?"

"I'm not sure about the roses, but that was very sweet," Lyra shrugged, the shadow of a smile on her face. "But I know the fireworks were Rabastan. I mean, he told me so and he's my Valentine so it makes sense."

The Gryffindor prefect pursed his lips, trying desperately not to reveal that he knew exactly who had done both these things, and that Rabastan Lestrange was a big liar. He only nodded and turned his head. 

James was standing in a corner and brightened up when he made eye contact with his friend. He raised an eyebrow in question, giving him thumbs up, asking if he got the response they had been hoping for. That she had figured out it was James.

Remus only shook his head before turning back to his conversation with the Slytherin girl. James swore to himself and stalked off, swearing that she would know how he felt at dinner, and Rabastan bloody Lestrange would no longer take credit for his romantics.

▹▹▹

Lyra was thankful Valentine's Day was almost at an end. The subjects at school had been particularily draining that day, and she hadn't been able to spend as much time with her Valentine as she'd have liked. 

There was also the matter of her having a secret admirer she couldn't figure out, which was killing her inside. She hated not knowing, especially if it was a person she could see herself liking one day. 

She wasn't stupid. She knew there was no future for her and Rabastan, and that he would never dare open his heart to her and she had to keep her eyes open for other options if she wanted to find love, but that didn't mean he didn't occupy her thoughts.

Absentmindedly, the Black girl was playing with her food, barely participating in the conversation her group of friends were having about how wonderful Valentine's Day had been for them. 

Then, out of nowhere, a pink, glittery card floated in front of her. She sat up straight, wondering if this was yet another gift from her secret admirer, or if it was Rabastan who had decided to give her another nice gift. 

She wasn't able to decipher that before it began to sing. It was too late she realized it was a singing card, because she allowed it to open itself and burst into song, silencing the Great Hall as it listened to Celestina Warbeck's You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me.

I'm losing all control
My chest is one big hole
Inside you'll see my soul
Happy as can be
'Cause, babe, you charmed the heart right out of me!

You charmed the heart right of me
To my whole life you hold the key
You cast your spell and suddenly
I cannot forget you!

As it completed its song, it exploded in fireworks. The same array of colors from earlier, during their first class, seeming to use the same products. It was a strange coincidence that her secret admirer and Rabastan would use the same products. 

The Great Hall clapped, laughing and cheering as they saw Lyra's embarrassment. She didn't like all this attention, especially when she didn't know who was the reason for all this great disarray. 

Lyra finally dared to look at the card now that it was open and no longer singing, seeing there was a message written there from whoever had been brave and foolish enough to send her a singing Valentine's latter.

Dear Lyra,
You are so absolutely beautiful and a great snog. Hope to do it again soon.
Love, James.

Shocked, Lyra's eyes widened. She had to fight to keep herself from looking at James, whose gaze she could feel burning holes in her head. She couldn't make it obvious who had done this, especially as she saw Rabastan attempting to peek.

The blonde pulled the card to her chest, making sure nobody could see who it was from, even if Rabastan was still incredibly curious. "Who was that from, Lyra?"

"It's from Narcissa. She was just trying to embarrass me, it's fine." The Black girl was surprised at how quickly she was able to come up with a credible excuse.

Rabastan frowned deeply, showing off the serious side most of their housemates usually saw. "I'll be writing to Hector. This can't happen again, it will ruin your reputation at this school and in the Wizarding World. We don't want you to have the same reputation your sister did."

"No, no," Lyra stopped him, putting her hand on his arm to calm him down while smiling sweetly. "It's just sisterly love, Rabastan. I can take care of this myself. Thank you, though. But let's just continue eating."

"Fine," he resigned, stuffing a piece of chicken in his mouth before continuing the conversation he had had with their friends before the arrival of the card. 

▹▹▹

James Potter confused Lyra Black immensely. Only a few months ago, he looked like he was going to barf if he even looked at her, but now he had created a great debacle because he may have liked her. 

Something about it felt fishy, so Lyra thought it couldn't possibly be because he liked her. There had to have been some ulterior motive behind it, and she was going to find out what it was.

Once she saw him alone in the hallway, as if he had been waiting for her, she reached out to grab his arm, pulling him to a corner where nobody would be able to catch sight of them. "What in the bloody hell was that back there?"

"It was pretty great, wasn't it?" James grinned proudly, leaning on the wall casually and effortlessly. "I mean, you're welcome."

Lyra frowned, hurt. She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to make eye contact. "Why would you do that? Are you just trying to embarrass me? I know we're not friends, but that was just mean."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," he exclaimed, suddenly straightening up. "You think I did this as some sort of prank? That I was just being an arrogant twat?"

"Well, yeah," she shrugged.

He ran his fingers through his dangerously messy, dark hair, staring deeply into her eyes. "It didn't occur to you that after what happened between us, that I could actually start to fancy you?"

"You fancy me?" the blonde breathed, her eyes wide in surprise. "Why would you do that? It was just one kiss."

"A snog, actually," the Potter boy corrected

Rolling her eyes, she nervously scratched behind her ear just so she could have something to do with her hands without looking awkward. "Fine, it was just one snog. Nothing more. We were drunk, Potter."

"I don't believe that," said James, looking nonchalant at her rejection. He looked ready to walk away, but said one thing before leaving her on her own. "Just know, I'm not going to give up on you."