Snow was falling, coating the ground in white as Lyra looked out the window. Behind her, both of her sisters were doting on her. Bellatrix was helping her put on her white dress as Narcissa put some finishing touches on her hair. 

Lyra had never been able to imagine herself as a bride. Even when she turned to look at herself in the mirror, looking ready to get married, it didn't really look like her. Mostly, she thought about how she looked more and more like her sisters ever day. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing. 

She pursed her lips, but was broken out of staring at herself by her mother walking through the door, gasping loudly. "Oh, how lovely. My beautiful Lyra. I always knew you'd be a spectacular bride."

Behind Druella, her father, Cygnus, followed her in. He grinned widely as he approached her, his arms stretched out in a welcoming gesture. "You truly do look beautiful, sweetheart. Lucius is a very lucky man."

"Thanks, dad," Lyra smiled brightly at him. Once she was sure that her sisters had finished putting on her dress and fixing her hair, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him sweetly.

"Well, at least you managed to find yourself a proper match in the end," commented Bellatrix, though none but her sisters picked up on the hidden meaning behind her words. The bride sent her a stern look, telling her not to even hint at the man she had loved, and left. It was not the day to do so. 

Narcissa only looked between the two awkwardly, not knowing what she could say to stop a possibly escalating conflict. She hated always having to be the mediator between them. "You'll be a wonderful couple."

The dark-haired woman looked at the older of the two blondes strangely, as if she wondered why she was taking Lyra's side. She got a glare in response, so she sent their youngest sister a smile. "You already are."

"Thank you, Bella, Cissy," Lyra muttered. Though she didn't like Bellatrix's earlier hint, her glare softened. She didn't want to argue with one of her bridesmaids on her wedding day, no matter what she had done. 

A firm knock on the door sounded, and Lyra was about to check what was going on, but Cygnus stopped her before she could even take a step.  "I'll go see what that's about. Don't you worry about anything today."

As her husband left the room, Druella walked over a nearby coffee table, where the days version of the Daily Prophet was. She absentmindedly started flipping through the pages, and everyone turned silent, not know what else to say. 

Lyra sighed and looked at herself once more. Her hair was in a complicated up-do, one that framed her face rather well. Her dress, white and innocent-looking, did not reflect the way she felt. Perhaps black would have been a better color, the one for mourning. 

But still, she couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked. She wasn't usually the vain type, but she knew she had been blessed with extremely good genes for her looks. It was what made her such a fine bride. 

The worst part of it all was that she still couldn't imagine meeting Lucius at the end of the aisle. Looking at herself, knowing she was about to get married, her mind and her heart were still fooling her to think it would be James she was meeting. 

Subconsciously she found herself glancing at the door, wondering how difficult it would be to run. It wasn't too late. Remus had even said there would never be a point of no return with them. She would always be welcome. It wasn't even too late now, on her wedding day.

Then a loud scoff came from Druella's mouth, looking disbelieving as she had read a specific part of the Daily Prophet. She turned to her daughters, gaping. "Unbelievable. I can't believe it. Have you seen this?"

"Seen what, mum?" Lyra asked, her brows furrowed. Druella casually threw the newspaper at her, and she struggled to catch it, almost falling on her face as she did so. But, in the end, it was in front of her and ready to be read. 

It seemed like there was something in the announcement section of the Daily Prophet. She scoured the page until she saw a small section (much smaller than hers had been) congratulation James Potter on his engagement to Lily Evans.

Druella watched as the color drained from her cheek, and knew she had seen it.  "How could a pureblood ever stoop so low? I mean, he may not be a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but he's still pure."

Bellatrix cast a glance at the announcement and started cackling wildly. "He deserves to pollute his blood with the way he's been acting. He's a poster child for blood traitors. He deserves the less magically inclined children his pet mudblood's going to give him."

Narcissa looked it, too. Her reaction seemed much more sympathetic, as someone who had actually known what love was like. It was sad that Lyra couldn't feel it anymore, but she hoped she could grow to love her husband, like she did. "Calm down, Bella. This is supposed to be a happy day."

Lyra could barely process their words as she looked at the picture of James and Lily smiling, showing off her engagement ring. Suddenly, every thought she'd had about leaving disappeared, leaving her stuck where she was. 

Cygnus then returned, seeming to have dealt with whatever situation there was to deal with. He turned to the young bride, nodding towards the door. "Lyra, there's someone here to see you. Would you mind go out to meet them? They're just down the stairs."

"Alright, dad. Thanks," the blonde nodded, though frowning. She had no idea who would be asking to meet her before her wedding. It couldn't be Lucius , or any of her old friends. She'd talked to most of them that morning. 

Once she walked down the stairs, she saw the face of her visitor. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was, barely recognizing him for a second, before smiling widely.  "Rabastan? Merlin, it's really you!"

Rabastan gaped in surprised once she ran down the stairs, almost stumbling and tripping in her heels, until she ran at him and jumped into his arms, laughing joyously. "It's good to see you, too, Lyra."

She pulled away after a little while, but her smile didn't fade. She hadn't seen him, one of her closest friends, in a year and half. They may not have been on the best terms when he left, but seeing him again made her forget all about it. "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she had forgotten the letters both her and Lucius had sent a hundred times asking if he was coming. He may not have answered, but he had still gotten them. "Well, I was invited."

"But I hadn't heard anything from you." The blonde slapped his shoulder, not caring that he was wearing fancy dress robes that she might end up messing up. It was her wedding, she could do whatever she wanted. "I wasn't expecting that you'd show up."

"Well, here I am," Rabastan shrugged, not seeming to care that he wasn't expected and probably didn't even have a seat prepared for him during the dinner reception. He supposed they could figure it out either way. 

He looked different, though it took Lyra a bit too long to figure out why. There were scars above his eyebrow that hadn't been there before, along with a beard that she carefully reached out to touch in disbelief. "You've got a beard."

He rolled his eyes, though still smiling. "Observant as always, Lyra. I didn't have any time to shave and I wouldn't miss your wedding to Lucius Malfoy for anything in the world. I never expected you two to end up together but I'm not unhappy about it."

"It means the world to have your support," she smiled widely. For the last year, she hadn't thought about him as much as she thought she would. But now that he was there, right in front of her, she realized just how much she had missed having him by her side. "Where's Lucinda?"

The Lestrange boy's smile quickly faded, his jaw tightening suspiciously at the mention of the girl's name. That reaction was enough for Lyra to worry. "She couldn't make it. It's a long story. We'll talk about it later."

"Why not now?" she asked, raising her perfectly sculpted eyebrow in challenging way. 

"Because you have other things to worry about. You're getting married in what? An hour?" Rabastan deflected it, eager to change the subject as quickly as possible.  "Are you excited to become Lyra Malfoy?"

Lyra Malfoy. It hadn't even occurred to her that that would be her name so soon. She'd always been Lyra Black, but that girl was going to disappear for good. "I hadn't really thought about it like that. Everything's really about to change."

"You're already the Daily Prophet's darling and people simply adore the perfection of your wedding," he quipped mockingly, obviously thinking it was hilarious that she had been going around and advertising her wedding as she had. "If you weren't becoming Lyra Malfoy there'd surely be riots."

The bride forced a laugh, though it didn't reach her eyes. "It's everything I ever wanted when I was younger. Marrying a respectable, rich man in a lavish ceremony that would be remembered for ages. Yet, I'm a little scared. I feel so adult." 

"You're nineteen. You are an adult," he responded. She was older than him after all, even if only by a few months. He was still eighteen. "But still, Lyra, a Valentine's Day wedding? Could you be anymore cliche?"

Right, it was Valentine's Day. Lyra had almost forgotten, which she didn't think she ever could. She chuckled without humor, though she was sure he could see she had faked it. She looked more guilty than she looked happy, even if he wasn't sure why. 

She had tried to argue against it being their wedding day, but her parents had insisted, saying it worked best with the schedules of their friends, family and every single one of their high-ranking contacts. It's not like she could tell them why she didn't want to get married on the most romantic day of the year.

It had been three years since the first Valentine's Day that stood out in her memory. A day she could never forget. Being followed and praised by different spectacles, ones she would later find out was by James Potter. The day she realized that he had started fancying her. 

It had been two years since her favorite Valentine's Day. She had gone around and worried about what James had planned for her, only to be struck by surprising jealousy once she found him kissing another girl. He found her at the Astronomy Tower, and she wound up kissing him. She didn't even know she fancied him yet. He'd called it their anniversary once. Now it would be a different kind of anniversary for her. 

It had been a year since Lyra's heart broke for good on Valentine's Day. The day she found him kissing Lily Evans, making her realize that he was moving on (or, at least, trying to). She later found out that he found it just as difficult to forget her as it was for her to forget him. 

Now it was her wedding day to another man, the day she had found out that he had gotten engaged to that same girl. She wanted to run off and cry, but knew she couldn't ruin her make-up now. That didn't mean she couldn't run off, though. "Well, I have to go finish getting ready. I'll see you soon."

Rabastan narrowed his eyes slightly at the quick change in her demeanor, looking like he was trying study her closely. "Right, of course. You already look lovely, but you girls are never satisfied."

Lyra tried to follow his playful energy, but her mind was now elsewhere. She faked her smile, attempting to shove him away, but he didn't even move an inch. She again remembered how weak she was. "Oh, shut up."

Rabastan looked at her strangely, hesitating before taking a step to walk away. He stopped though, and decided to say one last thing. "Hey, did you see the Daily Prophet today? The engagement announcements? Two old classmates of ours were in it."

"Yeah, I did. I saw." The blonde attempted to seem nonchalant, but her face fell a bit at the mention of it. She hoped he didn't notice. But he was nothing if not observant when he was looking for something. She could see his eyebrows raise slightly.

"Well, he deserved what he got. He shouldn't get to have anything better than a mudblood when he dared attempt to corrupt you while I was gone." Her eyes widened at his words, surprised that he knew about her old relationship. He only winked. "Don't worry. All is forgiven now."

He turned and walked off, not seeming like he had anything else to say. While Lyra was glad he said everything was forgiven, she didn't like the fact that he knew. She hoped nobody else did. Too many knew already.

▹▹▹

The wedding ceremony felt surprisingly quick, passing by in a flash. One second Lyra was walking down the aisle, forcing herself to seem like an enamored blushing bride as she met Lucius's eyes.

She could faintly hear the scratching of Rita Skeeter's self-writing quills, reporting on the whole wedding. Hearing people sob and sniffle was a lot easier, a lot of people they had both grown up with becoming emotional as they exchanged their vows. 

Lyra knew she could say that she didn't want to be his wife during the ceremony and then apparate away without telling anyone she was going. But she knew she wouldn't be able to stay hidden for long. And even if she could, there wouldn't be anywhere to go. James was engaged now. She couldn't waltz back into his life and put it in danger, expecting him to take her back.

And if she ran away, only to be found, then that would be it. She'd probably be tortured or killed. If she was lucky, she would be asked to prove herself and commit herself to their cause, forced to take the Dark Mark. Lucius would be too embarrassed to even think about helping her. 

So she stuck around, and the next thing she knew, she was dancing with her new husband at the reception. Though, she was no longer Lyra Black. That girl was gone forever. Now there was only Lyra Malfoy. 

Then she had been yelling at Lucius, refusing to dance with him anymore as the song changed. She told him that she would not dance to You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me with him. It was bad enough that it was Valentine's Day, she didn't want to hear that particular song, bringing back too many memories. 

She had stalked off to sit next to Rabastan after this, needing to calm down. Also, because she wanted to cherish the time she had with him, not knowing if he was going to leave again. It was also because he had been her official best friend (in her mind, he was after Remus, but that was all off the record).

After a while of them chatting (and Lyra stealthily stealing champagne glasses from most of the guests and downing them within minutes of each other), she finally asked the question taht had been on her mind for hours. "What's really going on with Lucinda, Rabastan?"

Again, his jaw tightened dramatically. It was something he always did when there was something wrong but he didn't want to talk about it. "Come on, let's not do this now. It's your wedding day."

Lyra looked at him blankly. "I don't care. I'm already pissed off that they're playing that stupid Celestina Warbeck song and I just got married to a man I don't love, I don't even know if I like him. You can't ruin the day any more."

He looked deeply into her eyes, sighing as he realized that she wouldn't give up. He wasn't in the mood to argue with her either. "I told you once that Lucinda wasn't cut out to live the life I had planned."

She blinked. A million scenarios ran through her mind at his vague words, each one ten times worse than the last. She didn't want to start crying until she was sure what was going on. "What do you mean? What happened?"

He refused to meet her eye, his eyes blank as he looked at the people happily dancing on the dance floor. "We were trying to recruit some giants. I said something stupid, they didn't like that. I made it out. She didn't."

A heartbreaking gasp came from Lyra's mouth. It didn't take long for tears to be streaming down her face, remembering the one female friend she had had since the start of Hogwarts, now gone forever. "Merlin, Lucinda..."

"Stop crying," Rabastan said sternly, a very cruel tone in his voice for having been the one who just said that Lucinda had died. "This is not how you want to present yourself on your wedding day."

The blonde sniffled, gaping incredulously at him. She knew he hadn't ever been the emotional type (other than anger), but this was simply cruel. "I just found out that our friend died. How can I not cry? How can you not care?"

"I do care!" he hissed angrily, turning to look at her with a wild look his eye. She flinched at this, thinking his anger reminded her a bit too much of Bellatrix's. Perhaps it was a Death Eater thing. "But this is not the day to do so."

Lyra didn't want to say anything else, in fear of him becoming even angrier at her. This day, that she had once thought would be the happiest one in her life, hadn't lived up the expectations. She thought that if she'd be crying, it would be out of happiness, not heartbreak.

Rabastan quickly caught Lucius's eye as the song playing changed. He nodded him over, gesturing to his new wife. The man quickly rushed towards them, hurrying to take Lyra's hand and pull her towards the dance floor. She couldn't stop crying, but he acted like she wasn't as they danced silently.

 ▹▹▹

Lyra Malfoy was a married woman, and so she would no longer have her own room in Malfoy Manor, where she had been staying for over six months now. She was moving into her husband's room. 

She had been preparing for their wedding night, when he had to go out and do some business first. That meant she had time to cry on her own, while wearing only a robe with nothing underneath. 

The tears were running down her cheeks, making her cheeks puffy and blotchy while her eyes were red. If she was only crying because of Lucinda or if she was also crying because now it was all done and chosen, she didn't know. All she knew was that she didn't want to spend the night with Lucius, her husband. She just wanted to lay in her old bed at Hogwarts and cry, with Lucinda stroking her hair in comfort. That couldn't ever happen again. 

Lucius then entered the room. She quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting him to see her tears. She didn't even want to try to talk to him about her problems. That's not what their relationship, or marriage now, was about. 

Her eyes were still quite obviously red, but he either didn't notice or pretended not to. He didn't seem willing to pry into her life either. He only looked at her, his face void of any emotions. "Are you ready?"

Her words seemed to fail her, so she only nodded curtly. He approached her and grabbed her face, pulling her into a kiss. She hesitantly dropped her robe as she spent the night fulfilling her new duty as a Malfoy.