Lyra had been stuck at home for months, only leaving when she knew it would be seen as acceptable. Every time she tried to sneak out, she'd be caught by Lucius, who'd warn her that whatever she was doing, it wouldn't end well. She hadn't told him that she had gone to see Remus and the Tonks' all those months ago but she supposed he had his suspicions. He did know her better than she thought, after all. He always had. 

Bellatrix, Narcissa and Hector still stayed at the Manor. The latter two, Lyra didn't mind too much, though Hector was barely there, always on some different mission, just as he currently was. But Bellatrix was a cruel reminder of everything that was wrong with her life. And sometimes she was reminded of how much she looked like Andromeda. 

Lyra couldn't help but imagine the way she had been crying in her arms the last time she'd seen her, all because Ted had to go on the run. She didn't want to picture how heartbroken she had been once he had been killed. Lyra herself had locked herself in her room and cried for two hours, refusing to tell Lucius what was wrong. 

Remus and Nymphadora must have had their baby by now. She still hadn't gotten to meet him or her. She just hoped they were safe and healthy. And that, maybe someday, she'd get to see them and be a family with them once again. She had always seen Remus as her family, but now it was official as he'd married into the Tonks family. Honestly, Lyra sometimes felt more like a Tonks than a Black or a Malfoy. She'd imagined what it'd be like if she'd gone with Andromeda all those years ago, or ran away to them as a teenager... She'd have had so much more time with Ted, and her and her sister would see each other much more often. She could have really been a Tonks. 

But the war raged on, and therefore it was hard to have hope. Their lives were full of doom and gloom, and none dared step a toe out of line in case it would hurt those they loved. At least Draco had been at Hogwars, he'd been safe. But when he was home, like he was that Easter, she was especially worried about him and always hoped the Dark Lord wouldn't come to see them on those days. 

Lucius was terrified every day that something would happen, that some other mistake would get made, and the Dark Lord would punish him by killing either his wife or his son. Part of him knew it wouldn't happen. Draco was a Death Eater so he was relatively safe. 

And he had always had a strange respect for Lyra, maybe because she was an Occlumens or maybe just because she had shown such grace and strength when facing him in recent years, but he could always suddenly snap and decide that he'd had enough of her. Especially if Rabastan would suddenly spread some lies. Lucius wouldn't have put it past him. 

Someone had come to the door as most of the family sat in front of the Drawing room fireplace. Draco, Lyra and Lucius stayed behind as Narcissa offered to go. It was probably snatchers, trying to deliver someone else to their dungeon. Someone like Luna Lovegood or Ollivander, both of whom were trapped in their cellar at the moment. It was horrible, but there wasn't anything she could do without risking lives, both her own, her family's and the prisoners' themselves. 

Lyra held Draco's hand tightly, sensing his nervousness. He hadn't been home for a while, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be at the Manor, the constant jumpiness and looking over his shoulder. At Hogwarts, he was relatively respected by the management because at least he was a Death Eater, better than the others. 

She let go of it once they heard snatchers and Narcissa enter the room, probably with their new prisoners. Draco and Lucius both stood up immediately, but Lyra remained seated, staring at the fireplace in front of her. 

"What is this?" asked Lucius, presenting a strong front. 

"They say they've got Potter," Narcissa said coldly, making Lyra stiffen in her spot. Harry had been on the run for months by now, and none had been able to catch him. If he was at the Manor before he had finished his task, then she wasn't sure if he could make it out alive. "Draco, come here."

Lyra finally got up from her armchair as she watched her son walk up to his aunt, who was standing next to Greyback, a few other snatchers and the three prisoners they had collected. Greyback turned them around to face them. She could see them all barely glancing her way. 

Greyback, looking horrible as ever, faced Draco as he stood close to the prisoners, who Lyra could still not get a good look at. If she was lucky, it wasn't really them. If they were, she'd have to find some way to get them out of there without potentially killing everyone in the house. "Well, boy?"

Draco did not speak as he got even closer to the prisoner standing in the middle. Lucius spoke up, impatiently. "Well, Draco? Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"

The blond boy hesitated, seeming torn between taking a step closer to the look at the boy who was possibly his old nemisis and staying as far away from Greyback as possible. Draco had an idea of who it must be due to his companions, who were watching him warily. "I can't- I can't be sure."

There was an excitement in Lucius's voice that Lyra didn't like. If this was Harry, Ron and Hermione then they'd be dead before the night was through. If it wasn't then these would be innocent teenagers in harm's way. "But look at him carefully, look! Come closer! Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv-"

"Now, we won't be forgotting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr Malfoy?" Greyback rudely cut Lucius off in the middle of his sentence. 

He looked annoyed at interruption. "Of course not, of course not."

Lyra found herself walking closer to the prisoners, no longer being able to keep her curiosity at bay. She could feel everyone in the room go silent as they watched her approach them with a cold look on her face, probably reminding them of Bellatrix, wherever she was in the house. 

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind who they were. Hermione Granger's bushy, brown hair and Ron Weasley's freckled face made sure of that. That meant the last boy had to Harry, though he looked awful, like every feature had been distorted with pink bumps and dark shadows. His hair was longer than she had eve seen, reaching his shoulders. But the round glasses on his nose made sure that she knew it couldn't be anyone else.

She forced herself to remain expressionless, only looking at Greyback with an unimpressed look. "What did you do to him, Greyback? Even if it isn't Potter than I'm sure his face didn't look like that before you got to him. Did you mean to or did your incompetence ruin yet another task?"

"That wasn't us, Mrs. Malfoy," said Greyback, sounding almost offended at the insinuation. 

Lyra glared at him, grabbing her wand from her pocket. She had always thought he was a disgusting and awful person, if he could even be called that anymore. But when she had been sixteen, and found out what he had done to Remus Lupin, she had gotten a personal hatred for him. "Like I believe a word that comes out of your mouth, you foul little-"

"Lyra, it looks more like a Stinging Jinx to me," Lucius interrupted her, grabbing onto her wand-arm to keep her from rushing at Greyback, ripping her wand out of her hand sternly. She turned her glare to him but he only gripped it, looking closely at Harry. "There's something there. It could be the scar, stretched tight... Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?"

And suddenly Draco was forced to stand next to his mother and his father, all of their faces right in front of Harry's jinxed one. Harry couldn't help but be reminded of how similar Draco and Lucius were, though there were some obvious hints of the regal Black features Lyra had given him. 

"I don't know," Draco said simply, though his voice was shaking. He pulled away from them, and Lyra tried to grab her wand from his hand, but he only held it away from her, giving her a stern look.

Lyra looked at her husband, crossing her arms across her chest. "Give me my wand back."

"Not until I'm sure you won't do anything stupid," Lucius responded coolly, being well-aware of the hatred she had towards the werewolf. "I'll give it back to you when we call the Dark Lord. You should have it then."

"Which we're not going to do until we know for sure who these kids are," Lyra retorted, trying her best to stall until she came up with a better idea on how to get them out. Of course, she was glad to know they were alive, but they wouldn't remain so for long. "If not... Well, you know what happened to Dolohov and Rowle."

"They say this is his," Narcissa spoke up from where stood next to the fireplace, holding up a wand they must have snatched from Harry. Lyra frowned, as it did not look like the one she'd seen him use before. "But it does not resemble Ollivander's description. If we are mistaken and call the Dark Lord here for nothing..."

"What about the Mudblood then?" asked Greyback, ignoring the fiery glare Lyra was still sending him, trying to get her wand back from Lucius with a hand-movement, but he refused. 

"Wait, yes!" Narcissa spoke up sharply, walking over to look at Hermione, who was obviously doing her best not to seem terrified, like a true Gryffindor. "I saw her picture in the Prophet. Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"

Draco looked at Lyra, as if trying to get some help from his mother. She subtly shook her head, though she didn't think anyone but him and the caught trio noticed. "I... maybe... yeah."

"But then that's the Weasley boy!" Lucius basically shouted in excitement as he looked at Ron's red hair and freckled face, knowing there was something familiar about him. "It's them, Potter's friends. Draco, look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name-?"

"Yeah, it could be," the young Death Eater answered vaguely. Lyra couldn't help but feel proud of her son, even if he wasn't directly standing up to the regime. He wasn't cooperating in hope of saving lives, which was brave in itself. 

"What is this? What happened, Lyra?" a raspy female voice asked, walking through the drawing room door. Lyra fought the urge to roll her eyes and groan in annoyance as Bellatrix walked up to the prisoners, looking very interested in one of them. "But surely, this is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?"

"Yes, yes, it's Granger!" Lucius cried out joyfully, and Lyra could feel herself tense up as she tried to hold her tongue and not saying anything they would interpret as her being a blood-traitor. "And beside her, we think, Potter and his friends!"

"Potter?" Bellatrix shrieked in delight, quickly turning her head from Hermione to Harry, a gleeful look on her face. "Are you sure? Well, then the Dark Lord must be informed at once."

She pulled back her left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark on it. She was about to touch it, to summon Voldemort when Lucius's free hand locked itself on her wrist, stopping her. "I was about to call him! I shall summon him, Bella, Potter has been brought to my house, and it is therefore upon my authority-"

"Your authority!" Bellatrix let out a mix between a scoff and a sneer as she pulled herself out of her brother-in-law's grasp. "You lost your authority when you lost your wand and has to steal your wife's, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off me!"

The personal attacks, given to him by someone who had been a guest in his home, made Lucius a little too angry. "This has nothing to do with you, you did not capture the boy-"

Greyback, for whatever reason, believed that was a good time to interject. "Begging your pardon, Mr Malfoy, but it's us that caught Potter, and it's us that will be claiming the gold-"

"Gold? Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his- of-" Bellatrix mocking laughter suddenly stopped as she looked at someone Lyra couldn't see. Lucius stuffed his wife's wand in his pocket carefully before lifting his sleeve, revealing his own Dark Mark. "Stop! Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!"

No matter the dislike he had for his sister-in-law, Lucius knew better than to disobey those kinds orders. He froze, his index finger hovering above his Dark Mark. Lyra frowned deeply, grabbing onto Draco's arm as she saw his hand shake nervously. 

"What is that?" Bellatrix strode towards one of the snatchers, one that Lyra didn't notice. She couldn't see what she was looking at from her limited line of sight, so she instead opted to give her son a slight reassuring smile, one which he forced himself to respond to. 

"Sword," grunted the snatcher. 

"Give it to me."

"It's not yorn, missus, it's mine, I reckon I found it."

While Bellatrix's voice had been filled with cool anger, it did not take much to make her snap, something Lyra had learned long ago. A bang and a red light told them that she had stunned the rude snatcher. 

One of the few snatchers Lyra actually recognized, Scabior, looked incredibly offended at how she dared attack his fellow, and him and the others let out angry roars. "What d'you think you're playing at, woman?"

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" the dark-haired woman screamed out, pointing her wand at the snatchers, who didn't stand a chance against her mad intellect, though they had tried to reach for their wands to defend themselves. Lyra may hate Bellatrix, but she had always admired just how powerful she was.

"Always so bloody dramatic," the blonde muttered, noticing how Draco's thin lips barely tugged up. 

And as the other snatchers fell, Bellatrix had all her attention on Greyback. She was now holding the sword they'd spoken of, as the werewolf was forced into a kneeling position with his arms outstretched in front of her. "Where did you get this sword?"

Greyback obviously hadn't realized just how terrifyingly without conscience and sense of morality Bellatrix was, and seemed to think he could threaten her as he bared his pointed teeth at her. "How dare you? Release me, woman!"

"Where did you find this sword?" she repeated herself, with a menacing tone of voice. She shoved the sword, which was still brilliantly shiny after however long it must have been with the trio on the run, in his face. "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"

"It was in their tent. Release me, I say!" Greyback answered, a fearful look in his eyes. While Lyra usually didn't enjoy when Bellatrix was cruel and threatening, this was an exception. She liked to see the fear in his eyes that he usually inspired in others. He deserved it. 

Bellatrix waved her wand nonchalantely, and Greyback rushed away from her quickly as possible, hiding behind an arm chair. She didn't care, instead turning to Draco and using her hands to gesture to the unconscious snatchers on the ground. "Draco, move this scum outside. If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me."

Lyra let go of her son's arm, taking a step forward with a threatening glare. If she'd had her wand then she would have pointed it right in her sister's face. "How dare you speak to Draco like he's some-!"

"Be quiet!" Bellatrix screamed madly at her sister, making even her jump back in surprise. Even the worst days she'd had hadn't been so bad, so terrifyingly angry. "The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Lyra! We have a very serious problem!"

"If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed. The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself... But if he finds out... I must... I must know..." Bellatrix muttered to herself before turning to her youngest sister once again. "The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what to do!"

"Don't go around giving orders in my house-"

"Do it! You have no idea of the danger we are in!" Bellatrix shreiked in anger, as a thin stream of fire appeared, burning a hole in the Malfoys' carpet. She glared heatedly at Lyra, who did not seem to step down. "Or perhaps you'd like me to call Rabastan over for a visit, I seem to recall you two had quite the good time the last time you saw each other. Wonder how long the bruises will take to heal this time."

Lucius took a threatening step forward as Lyra gaped, surprised that she would use that against, her even though she didn't understand why she was surprised. This was coming from the woman who'd tortured two of her own sisters without second thoughts, who killed her own cousin. 

"Lyra, Bella, please don't. Not right now," Narcissa broke in sternly, forcing them both to look at her. She hesitated for a moment, but decided to take a stand as she turned to the werewolf in the room. "Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."

"Wait," Bellatrix said sharply, stopping Greyback before he was able to take the teenagers downstairs. A cruel smirk appeared on her face and Lyra knew she wouldn't like whatever was coming next. "All except... except the Mudblood."

"Is this really-?" Lyra started speaking, but Lucius grabbed her hand and looked at her sternly, telling her to stay quiet. She had already caused enough trouble that day, and he did not want Bellatrix to follow through with her threat of calling Rabastan Lestrange to their house. 

"No!" Ron's hoarse voice rang throughout the room, speaking up for the first time since they'd been brought into the house. Lyra winced at the pained sound. "You can have me! Keep me!"

Bellatrix turned around suddenly, slapping him across the face as she did so, as the sound rang throughout the otherwise silent room. "If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next. Blood-traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they're secure but do nothing more to them. Yet."

Lyra bit her tongue to keep from throwing out some snarky remark. Bellatrix threw Greyback his wand, and pulled a silver knife from her pocket, cutting Hermione from her two friends and grabbed her by the hair towards the middle of the room, despite her struggling. 

Greyback had a hold of both Ron and Harry, who were tied up. Lyra felt like she couldn't breathe, she had no idea what was going on, why Bellatrix cared so much about that sword. Without all the facts, she didn't know how she could attempt to save the three teenagers. For a moment, she met Harry's pleading eyes. She barely sent him a nod, as if to tell him that she would attempt to help. 

But then the screaming started. Hermione, a young and brilliant witch who had been nothing but nice to her, was screaming so rawly and terribly that Lyra felt like crying. She turned her head, refusing to watch as she had done too many times. 

As she turned around, Lucius grabbed onto her arm, looking at her with pained and concerned eyes. She only turned away, trying to hide the tears that were building up in her eyes as she could hear Ron scream for Hermione, as Hermione simply screamed. 

"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"

"We found it- we found it, please!" Hermione responded beggingly. Lyra's back was still turned as she tried to concentrate on a way to get them out of there, to get back on track on their mission. She sniffled as she met Draco's terrified gaze. 

Hermione screamed once again, and Lyra did not want to know what her sister had done to warrant such a sound. She usually only used the Torture Curse, but this time she seemed to be wanting to get a bit more creative, using the silver knife she had dug out. 

"What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth, or I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!" the Death Eater threatened her, in a strange mix of screaming and hissing. "What else did you take, what else? Crucio! How did you get into my vault? Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"

"We only met him tonight!" the young witch sobbed, her voice barely audible through the hoarseness from her neverending, loud screams. "We've never been inside your vault... It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"

"A copy? Oh, a likely story!"

Lucius gripped onto his wife's arm tightly, as if to tell her that he hadn't forgotten about her struggles, but he still allowed a great grin to appear on his face. "But we can find out easily! Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"

Lyra frowned, blinking the tears in her eyes away. She turned around, following Draco's retreating figure as she took in her surroundings. She could see Hermione on the floor, covered in her own blood and tears. But she tried to ignore it, knowing she had to stay levelheaded. 

Draco had been allowed in the cellar, where Harry and Ron were. If she were to go down there with someone who had their wand (not hers, because she very much did need it), then she was sure she could get it to them if another situation would arise. All she needed was a reason for someone to go down there. 

And she tried to keep herself from showing any excitement as a plan came together in her mind. There was one person in the Manor who she didn't care if got hurt or lost his wand, who she knew Harry and Ron wouldn't hesitate to steal the wand off, an easy target. All she'd need was for something to happen down there, some reason for her to volunteer herself and her target. 

And even when Draco returned with the goblin after less than a minute, Bellatrix could not keep herself from having her disgusting fun with the girl she'd taken for questioning. She hadn't even started questioning the goblin, Griphook, when he'd been brought up. Hermione kept screaming, but it was easier for Lyra to hear now that she had some semblance of a plan. 

Then a loud noise echoed throughout cellar and into the drawing room. Lyra could see that the other people in the room could hear it too and she had mentally prepare herself for what to do. They'd want someone to check it out. 

"What was that?" asked Lucius, looking towards the way to the cellar. "Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?"

Draco moved, as if to check it out, but his mother held her arm out in front of him. She stood so that only he could see her expression. Her eyes were begging and there was a seriousness in her expression that made him realize that whatever she was about to suggest, he'd have to agree with it.

"No, Draco, I'll do it," Lyra said coldly, trying to seem as aloof as possible. Lucius, Bellatrix and Narcissa all seemed to eye her strangely because of it, especially as she still didn't have her wand in her hand. "Go and fetch Wormtail. I'll take him with me for protection in case anything goes wrong."

"Letting you and Wormtail go together?" Lucius asked, raising his eyebrow at her suspiciously. Draco had already hurried to find the small man, hoping his mother would get the prisoners out without any further harm. "I'd be signing his death sentence."

"I don't have my wand now, do I? Keep it until this night is over, I don't care," the Malfoy woman stated, trying to keep her cool as much as possibly. "That's exactly why I'd need to bring Wormtail with me."

Draco walked back into the room, the short little traitor by his side. Her son seemed to have explained what the situation was to his mother's former friend, because Peter Pettigrew was looking at her with slightly terrified and watery eyes. She only rolled her eyes and stalked towards the cellar, him following her quickly. 

They walked down the steps to the cellar and Lyra was watching Peter carefully, hoping that Ron and Harry had realized that they'd need to overpower him when they'd walk into the room they were trapped in. They must have heard what was going on, especially with Ron's loud screams. 

"Stand back," Peter's shaky voice spoke, his wand in his hand as he stood in front of Lyra, as if to protect her. "Stand away from the door. I am coming in." 

The door flew open, but Lyra stayed back for a moment. The cellar was usually dark, but now there were three floating balls of light in the middle of it that illuminated it. Lyra was sure that hadn't been there before. 

It only took a moment for Harry and Ron to ambush Peter from both sides, grabbing him and wrestling with it. Lyra smiled pleasantly at the sight, carefully walking and closing the door silently so whatever struggle would happen wouldn't be heard. 

Ron was forcing Peter's wandarm upwards, trying to wrestle it out of his grip as Harry held his hand over the man's mouth, keeping him from making any noise and calling out for help. They didn't get to struggle for more than a minute until Peter wrapped his silver hand around Harry's throat. 

Lucius must have wondered why he hadn't gotten any response from them. "What is it, Lyra?"

"It's fine! Just need a minute to clean up some things that have fallen over!" the blonde responded loudly, hoping it would overpower whatever noises Ron, Harry and Peter was making. She forced her voice to stay as calm as possible, but found herself panicked due to Harry's dangerous position. 

Lyra rushed towards the wizards in front of her. She herself had felt what it was like to be choked and unable to breathe, and it sometimes still crossed her mind, even if it happened almost a year ago. She wasn't about to let the same happen to Harry, especially if it could kill him. 

"You're going to kill me?" Harry struggled to get the words out, trying to pry Peter's fingers away from him as both Ron and Lyra silently tried to do the same, but his metal hand was too strong. "After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"

They all watched surprised as Peter's eyes widened and his fingers slacked around Harry's throat, inexplicably letting go of him. He was struggling, as if to try to force it back, but he wasn't strong enough to fight it. 

Ron held onto Peter's wandarm as Lyra grabbed the wand itself from his grip and handed it to the redheaded boy, who smiled at her gratefully. She could that his eyes were red, he'd been crying. It made sense, seeing what was happening to Hermione. "I think you might want this."

Peter's face was filled with more terror, as his hand seemed to fight against him even more. This time, his silver hand was struggling to wrap itself around his own throat. But Peter couldn't fight it for more than a moment. "No, no!"

Harry and Ron both quickly hurried to try to get the hand away from his throat, just as Peter did with his own hand. Lyra only watched for a moment, unsure of what she wanted to do. She had wanted to kill him for so long. And a part of her wanted him to die, to suffer for betraying them, for killing James. "Lyra, please help!"

But Lyra looked at Harry, at the boy who looked almost exactly like his father. And for a moment, it was as if James was asking for help, to give mercy to someone and be good. She had attempted to be good for him so many times and she'd usually failed. This time, she wanted to try to save a life, not help take it away, no matter what he had done. "Oh, screw it."

Now all of them were using all their strength as they tried to pull the hand away from his throat, but none of it seemed to be working. Peter was turning blue, obviously not able to take a single breath. Ron raised Peter's wand, trying to break him free with a spell, though it did not work. "Relashio!"

But as they heard Hermione scream once again, Lyra could only watch as Peter's eyes rolled painfully up as he could no longer hold himself up. He fell on the floor, no longer breathing, his heart no longer beating. 

And Lyra knew that he had been awful for so long, that he had ruined so many lives. But he almost looked peaceful as he laid dead on the floor. Like the young boy she'd once known, the boy she'd actually considered her friend. 

He had been James's friends, Sirius's friend, Remus's friend. He was ill-guided, he was naive. But evil? Lyra wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe she'd only thought he was so evil because she needed someone to blame for James's death, so she could no longer blame herself. It's not like it mattered anymore. He was dead now.

She hesitated but leaned down over him as both Harry and Ron watched her silently. She couldn't help the tears that built up in her eyes. Three out of four of the old gang of Marauders were gone, and she'd watched one of them die now. Peter was dead. She carefully closed his eyes, still not sure if he deserved the respect. "He's dead, leave him."

Harry furrowed his brows, looking at the woman he'd seen as a mother-figure for several years for the first time in a while. She was paler than he'd ever seen, dark circles under her eyes, and he could remember her sister mentioning something about bruises. "Lyra-"

"There's no time," Lyra cut him off, wiping the tears from her eyes, though she still wasn't sure if she was crying for Peter or Hermione. Perhaps even herself. "We'll have to talk later, after the war's won. You need to get Hermione and get out of here, to finish your task. You need to end him for good."

"We will," Ron promised her, a sincere look in his eyes. 

Lyra smiled slightly at them, not believing how much they had grown up. They were certainly not the thirteen year olds who were screaming and yelling in the Shrieking Shack all those years ago anymore. They were men, they were heroes. 

She couldn't help herself from grabbing Ron's head first and kissing it quickly before doing the same to Harry, her eyes shining with pride. "You've been so brave, both of you. I'm going to need you to be brave for a little bit longer, alright? I'm not going to be able to help you up there if this going to work. I know you're not going to like this, but you're going to have to lock me in here-"

"But-"

"There's no other way," Lyra interrupted Ron sternly with a motherly look. "If I'm going to survive tonight then you will have to stun me and leave me in here, making it look like I struggled and you overpowered me because I didn't have my wand."

"Alright, that's what we'll do." Harry nodded. They were silent for a quick moment and he knew there was no time to lose, because they needed to rescue Hermione, but there were so many things rushing through his mind. But there was only one thing he could say with everything going on. "Lyra? Thank you. Thank you for everything."

The blonde sniffled, tears shining in her eyes as she grabbed Harry's face once more and kissed both of his cheeks sweetly. She was glad he didn't hate her anymore, and she was glad she might have been able to save his life. "Make me proud, yeah?"

Harry nodded, tears in his own eyes. "I will."

Lyra briefly smiled at him once again, before turning to the other boy, who was staring at Peter's body on the ground. She hoped they'd get out of there safe, but she had faith in them. She knew they'd be able to do it, and that they wouldn't hurt Draco on the way. That's what mattered the most. "Well, Ron, you've got the only wand here."

"Fine. Let's do this," Ron hyped himself up. He looked uncomfortable as he pointed another man's wand at a woman who he definitely wouldn't normally want to stun. Lyra closed her eyes as she waited for the impact. "Stupefy."

▹▹▹

A/N: Okay, so we're obviously REALLY close to the end. We're not at the final three chapters that I've written yet, but we're there super soon. I'm not sure if I want to publish them all in one go once I get to them or if I want to make you wait and suffer a bit between them. Think I might just update them all at the same time though haha.