Lyra had been thankful for the opportunity to go Hogwarts to watch the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Once again, being part of a high-ranking family with many connections wasn't a bad thing. Not just anyone would be given a seat without having a family member as a champion.

Also, she had only seen Draco for a week during last Easter break, and she was glad to see him one more time before summer, even if it was right before summer break. It had been almost awkward to see him again last time, which was a new thing for her. She hoped that sitting with him during the task would maybe help, if only a little.

Also, she wouldn't mind being there to support Harry. She knew he didn't have much family, and Sirius couldn't exactly show up and cheer him on. Maybe give a supporting howl from the distance, but not much more. She hoped that maybe she'd be some sort of comfort, being close to his godfather and having been well, even closer with his late father.

Lyra was sure that somebody like the Weasleys would show up to be with him as his family, and she didn't want to meddle with that. She didn't have anything against them, but she was Lucius's wife and him and Arthur Weasley weren't exactly best friends. It wasn't exactly a good starting point.

She had shown up at school only a little while before the task itself would start. She wanted an opportunity to corner the Potter boy and wish him luck, maybe even calm his nerves a bit. She knew he'd do great. He was Harry Potter after all.

The task would take place in the Quidditch Pitch, but she knew she wouldn't have opportunity to speak to him when he would walk down there. She had hoped to catch him before he walked down, considering he probably wouldn't be alone.

Lyra hid behind the pillars of the Great Hall, seeing Harry say goodbye to the Weasleys so they could go find good seats in the pitch. She already had one, she was sure. If she didn't, she'd chase one of Draco's friends off.

"Psst, Harry!" Lyra whispered, making him turn his head quickly. She poked her head out and smiled at him, waving him towards her. He smiled back, seeming happy to see her. "What are you waiting for? Come on."

Harry glanced behind him, making sure nobody could see him sneaking off to talk to his dead dad's ex-girlfriend. The coast was clear, so he crept towards her, smiling brightly. "Lyra, what are you doing here?"

"Can't I come an support you?" she retorted cheekily, reaching out to dust off the shoulder of his competition robes. "I said I'd try to come. I just wanted to say good luck before you go into... whatever you're going into."

"Thanks," the dark-haired boy grinned, looking like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Knowing that she was there to cheer him on would really help his confidence. "I appreciate that."

The blonde looked to the side, making sure that she wasn't taking too much time from him and making him late for the third task, especially as he was in the lead (along with that Hufflepuff boy) and would be going in first. "Are you nervous?"

"Not really," he shrugged honestly. He had no idea how it'd go, but he could have been less prepared. "Hermione's been helping me prepare a lot. I'm ready, but... well, I don't know. It could go either way, I suppose."

"You're going to do wonderfully. I'm sure of it," Lyra said, trying to be as supportive as possible. She playfully bumped his shoulder. "Come on, you're not The Boy Who Lived for nothing! I'm just glad you're prepared."

Harry couldn't believe how thankful he was that she had shown up. She was the only one offering him that spesific type of support, taking away most of the little nervousness he had. "Thanks for coming, Lyra. I know Sirius can't be here and Lupin isn't here either. I'm just... glad one of you are."

"Anytime." Lyra looked at him, thinking about how he looked more and more like James every day, if it was even possible. It was almost like he was standing in front of her. "Your dad would be so proud of you, you know that?"

The Potter boy adored any and all mentions of his parents, seeing as he had never known them. He wished they could have been there with Lyra, telling him good luck and saying they were proud. "You really think so?"

"I know so." She smiled fondly at the thought of him there. "If the Tournament had been around when we were in school, he wouldn't have hesitated to put his name in the Goblet of Fire. I would have tried to stop him, of course, but I wouldn't have been able to."

"He sounds like he was a great man," Harry sighed, wishing more than ever that he would have gotten to hear these things from James himself, to hear his supportive words and talk about how he wished he had the same opportunity.

"The best," Lyra confirmed. It felt good to have somebody to talk about James with. She hadn't had that in years, and now she had Harry, Sirius and Remus and it was more than she could have asked for. "I wish you would have known him, Harry. I wish he could have seen you how you are now."

"I have you, don't I?" he retorted, seeing a bit of sadness on her face. "I can get to know him through you and Sirius and Lupin. Maybe one day, we can talk a bit more about him. When we have better time."

"I'd love that." Lyra glanced to the side again, seeing how Ludo Bagman was walking around, seeming like he was looking for Harry. "Now, it looks like your competitors are getting ready to go to the pitch. I'll be sitting there, supporting you."

"Thank you, Lyra." Harry didn't really seem to want to leave. Not because he didn't want to participate in the task, but because he would have loved to just sit there with Lyra for hours to talk about his dad. "I better go then."

Lyra hesitated, but leaned over to kiss Harry's head quickly. She knew he didn't have a mother, and that she couldn't steal that place in his life, but she supposed he needed a bit of a replacement before such a dangerous moment in his life. "Good luck, Harry."

▹▹▹

Lyra tried to hurry towards the Quidditch Pitch so she wouldn't miss a thing, not even the introductions of the Champions. She knew she couldn't give him wild applause and cheering while she was sitting with Draco, but she could give him a quick wink if they made eye contact. Just a little reminder of her support.

"Where have you been? You're late," said Draco as she sat down in the seat next to him. Most of the people around them were his age, Slytherin students and a few of their parents who she knew rather well.

"I'm not late, Draco. It hasn't even started yet," Lyra said cheekily, leaning over to kiss the side of his head in greeting. He didn't seem like he wanted her to, so she sighed. "Draco, is everything alright? I thought things were good between us."

"It is," he said quietly, not wanting anybody around them to listen to what was going on. He didn't exactly have anyone he wanted to confide in about his issues with his mother. "Why isn't father here?"

Honestly, she didn't know. Though she did feel a bit hurt that he'd rather talk about Lucius than to talk to her about anything else. "He had some other business. You'll see him soon, I'm sure of it. Now, how's school been going? How's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor? You're quite vague in your letters."

"It's fine. Professor Moody's an interesting teacher, though I'm not sure if I like him. I don't know, it seems like he favours Saint Potter like everyone else," Draco spat, looking quite annoyed at this.

"You two are still at each other's throats then?" Lyra sighed, thinking about how strange that was for her. She knew them from two completely different situations, and she had barely even seen them in the same room. She'd mostly only heard about their rivalry. She just wanted them to be friends already, it would be much easier.

"If you knew him as well as I do then you'd hate him too," Draco muttered, glaring at the spot where Harry was preparing for the task along with the other champions, unaware of how well she truly knew the boy.

"There's no reason to hate anyone, Draco," Lyra scolded softly, though trying not to seem to firm with him, knowing their relationship was still on thin ice. "It's much easier to just try to make up with people. Take it from me, I'm wiser."

He looked down, annoyed, whispering when he thought she couldn't hear him. "And older."

"Rude." She rolled her eyes, though, knowing he was mostly harmless. He was just a kid after all, she'd have to just try casually influence him without him knowing. "If you didn't spend so much time trying to antagonize Harry Potter, maybe you'd have more time to focus on school."

"Are you going to pester me about my marks, too?" Draco sighed, trying to seem unaffected, but sent her a brief glare. "Father already does it enough for the both of you, I don't need to feel any worse, thank you."

She frowned, not wanting to pressure him. "I don't want you to feel bad, Draco. I just want to make sure you're focused, because you've got O.W.L.s next year and if you don't start preparing in good time, you'll be far too stressed to start once it approaches. Do you have any idea how stressed I was?"

"Knowing you, I can imagine," he retorted dryly. While she had always been warm and loving, she could quickly become nervous in times of pressure. She thought he never noticed, but he did.

"Oh, you think I'm bad now?" the blonde woman scoffed playfully. "You should have seen me at sixteen. I took something like four calming drafts in two weeks. It was a new record. I'm not sure if anyone's beaten it yet."

He raised an eyebrow, both shocked and slightly impressed with how many she had to take. He hadn't even taken a single one throughout his four years at Hogwarts. She took four in two weeks. "Why would anyone want to?"

"That's what you learn in O.W.L.-year," Lyra responded pointedly. "There's much life experience waiting for you next year, you have no idea. Be glad your mother loves you enough to share hers with you."

"Be glad your son loves you enough to listen," Draco smiled slightly. He glanced around, seeing his friends deep in conversation either with each other or their own parents, for those who showed up. "Don't tell anyone, though. I've got a reputation to maintain."

"Your secret's safe with me," she winked, though sighing afterwards. "I'm sorry about everything that's been going on with us. I never meant to blow up on you like that last summer. But you must realize that what your father did wasn't something you should aspire to do as well."

Draco rolled his eyes dramatically, tired of hearing her opinions of what happened at the Quidditch World cup. "It was just a bit of fun, mother. They were only muggles, they got what was coming to them."

"You sound just like Lucius." Lyra didn't want to say that it was a bad thing, but it was clear through her tone of voice. "Muggles are people, too. While I do not always enjoy the thought of associating with them as I don't really understand anything about them, they're not bothering us so we should just leave them alone as well."

"Let's not have an argument about this now. I've forgiven you, you were in the wrong," he said, quickly changing the subject so she wouldn't have the opportunity to try and convince him otherwise. "I'm just sitting here and waiting for Potter to lose. Either Diggory or Krum should win. I used to think Delacour had a chance, but she's in last place so I have next to no faith in her."

Lyra was glad he hadn't underestimated the girl from Beauxbatons just because she was a girl, but because she hadn't been the best person for the job. "I suppose we'll have to see how it goes then."

Ludo Bagman's voice started echoing throughout the stadium, creating loud applause after each of his introductions. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of theTriwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind youhow the points currently stand! Tied in first place, on eighty-five points each: Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter,both of Hogwarts School! Insecond place, on eighty points: Mr Viktor Krum, ofDurmstrang Institute! And in third place: Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

"So on my whistle, Harry and Cedric! Three, two, one!" Bagman called out before blowing his whistle, allowing the two teenage boys to run into the maze in front of them. After a while, he did the same for Viktor Krum and then for Fleur Delacour.

Lyra anxiously bit her lip, hoping Harry was doing all right in there, that he hadn't done all that preparation for nothing. She internally slapped herself, telling herself that she needed to have faith in him. All she could do was have faith and wait.

▹▹▹

Lyra couldn't believe it when she saw it. Harry was on the ground, looking like he was close to unconsciousness as he appeared in front of them, gripping the Triwizard Cup. Next to him was a pale, young Cedric Diggory, not taking a single breath.

She ran as quickly as her legs could carry her, watching as Dumbledore hurried towards the young boy. She ignored the yells from Draco, asking where she was going and begging her to come back. He must have been frightened, but he was alright.

But she couldn't live with herself if she wasn't down at the pitch, trying to be there for young Harry and to make sure he was alright, because she couldn't be sure until he was right in front of her. He could almost be mistaken for dead, his face in the grass.

Lyra didn't care who she had to force her way through to get to the boy. She didn't even know she had it in her to fight against all those people, larger and stronger than herself, many of whom didn't want her in there. But she was also Lyra Malfoy, she commanded a certain type of respect.

She arrived just in time to watch Dumbledore roughly turn Harry on his back, forcing him to open his eyes. She glared at the man, hoping he hadn't hurt the Potter boy. She ran over to lean by his side. "Harry... Harry, are you alright? What happened, sweetheart?"

"Lyra," Harry sobbed quietly, watching the dark night sky above him. He had the Cup in his hands, but let it go quickly. He clutched Cedric's body closer to him, and Lyra realized with a gasp that the boy was definitely dead. She had grown up in a time of war. She recognized a dead body when she saw one.

Lyra leaned closer, carefully stroking his hair in hope of calming him down. She used to do that for Draco when he was younger and having nightmares, so she could only hope it would work now, as well. "It's alright. Shh, you're going to be alright."

"He's back," he croaked, his voice barely louder than a whisper, clouded with pain. She didn't ever want to hear that much pain come from his young voice again. "He's back. Voldemort."

Lyra stiffened where she sat, wanting to cry herself. She knew better than to doubt him, but she knew better than anyone what it meant that he was back. Death, devestation. She had lived through it once, but many hadn't. She didn't want to know who wouldn't this time.

"What's going on? What's happened?" asked Fudge, finally approaching. He hadn't realized what the ruckus had all been about until he saw the still form of the boy once known as Cedric Diggory, clutched by Harry Potter. "My God... Diggory. Dumbledore, he's dead! Harry, let go of him."

The woman glared at the Minister as he attempted to prise Cedric's body from Harry's hands without any concern for what he was going through. He had just seen this young man, a boy he had known, die. "It's alright, Harry. You can let go now."

Dumbledore leaned over the young boy and the woman comforting him, a firm, though saddened, look on his face that Lyra knew she wouldn't forget. "Harry, you can't help him now. It's over. Let go."

"He wanted me to bring him back. He wanted me to bring him back to his parents," Harry muttered quietly, his voice barely audible, but they could all hear him clear as day. Lyra sniffled, trying not to cry from both the devastation on the young boy's face and for the dead body right next to him.

"That's right, Harry... Just let go now," said Dumbledore gently. But he then grabbed Harry with a surprising amount of strength, pulling him up into a standing position. He had also heard what Harry said, about Voldemort being back, so he quickly looked to Lyra. "Lyra, go home. Now."

"But-"

"You heard what he said. Please, you should go home. Stay safe," the Headmaster said sternly, leaving no room for argument. She wasn't sure why he wanted this from her, but she supposed it had something to do with Lucius. "Now. Go to my office, the password is Sherbert Lemon. Use the fireplace. Now, Lyra."

Lyra glanced at Harry, not wanting to leave him behind when he was in such a state. And Draco was somewhere too, probably scared and confused out of his mind. But knowing what she knew, the best course of action would be to go home, to find out if it was true from Lucius, who she was sure had first-hand knowledge if it was. She put her hand on Harry's shoulder a final time before running towards the castle.

▹▹▹

Lucius seemed out of it, like he had just gotten home from some sort of big moment that didn't bode well. He was pacing around the parlor of the Malfoy Manor, running his fingers through his messy hair, usually so immaculate. It was a strange thing for Lyra to notice when she returned home, but it was so strange. She knew something was up. She knew it had to be true.

"Lucius..." she trailed off, seeing the crazed look in his eye. "I was just at Hogwarts and Harry Potter returned with a dead Cedric Diggory, muttering about how the Dark Lord had returned... Please say it's not true."

Lucius looked frightened, which she hadn't seen in years, looking like he wanted desperately for him not to be back either. "I can't do that. He's back. He's really back and he's not happy with me for not searching for him."

Lyra released a breath she had been holding, closing her eyes tightly. She didn't think this day would ever come, one that would change everything back to the worst. "What are we going to do? I mean, with Draco and..."

"We're not going to do anything," Lucius hissed, probably not meaning to snap, but he was going through quite some stressed. He still glared heatedly at her. "I don't need you to meddle. Don't be problem, not now."

"I'm not going to be a problem, Lucius," the blonde woman scoffed. "Believe it or not, I don't want you to die. I don't want Draco to be dragged into this dangerous life. He's a child, you must not want that either."

"All I do, I do for Draco," he responded coolly. "And I will keep him safe, just like I will with you. You just need to stay out of my way. I managed to keep you out of his sights once before and I will do it again. But it's not going to be easier if you keep putting yourself in our way."

Lyra knew he was right. She did want to help, but she couldn't do it without making things worse. But things were different now than they were then. Draco was a young man, not a baby. He was closing in on the age Regulus was when he got his Dark Mark. She didn't want to imagine that dreaded mark on her beloved son's left arm. "You promise then? To keep Draco away from this?"

Lucius nodded, sincerity shining through his eyes. There was an agreement between them, long unspoken, that they would do anything to protect Draco from harm's way. Now they needed to make it spoken, because they knew everything would change and they would probably be in more danger than ever. "As long as I'm here, he won't lay a hand on our son. I promise."

▹▹▹

A/N: Sorry this took so long. It's just that GoF is so weird writing Lyra into. But now we're going into OoTP, which will be a lot longer. I hope that it'll be a bit easier to write, especially as there are a lot of good scenes between her and the people she cares about that I'm pretty excited about, starting with next chapter.