Lyra was wary of the situation she had at home. The fugitives broken out from Azkaban had been at her manor for four days, and had been making themselves very comfortable. She wasn't sure if they were ever going to want to leave. 

She truly wished that Narcissa could be there with her, but she was busy housing five fugitives of her own, because her husband was a pushover who would never dare say no to someone with higher status than himself. Especially when it was Lucius asking, because Hector would never want there to be an awkward mood at any family functions. 

Lyra couldn't bare to hear Bellatrix and Rodolphus argue about the little things anymore, or watch Antonin Dolohov try to steal her jewelry and pretend he didn't know where it was from whenever he was caught, or go to the bathroom after Augustus Rookwood. That man needed to learn how to flush the toilet. 

It was actually sort of nice to spend time with Rabastan again. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him in the past few years. All she had been able to see when she pictured him had been the crazed look in his eyes the last time she'd seen him and the horrific crimes he'd committed. 

But there had always been something about Rabastan that blinded Lyra to the world's horrors. She had depended so much on him when she was a teenager and part of her couldn't stop seeing that same boy in front of her. 

Because he was still intelligent, easy to talk to and someone who she could easily get along with. There was a reason he had been one of her best friends (and biggest crushes during their fifth year) all those years ago. 

Just like when she had reunited with Remus and Sirius, she felt so much younger when she was with Rabastan. For a few moments, when they were laughing about some memory that happened twenty years ago, she could fool herself into believing nothing at all had changed and she had her whole life ahead of her. 

But, as always, reality had to set in. She had remember that she was fighting in a war that had yet to officially start, on the opposite side of not only Rabastan, but the opposite side of her sister, husband and son. 

She truly did hope her son wouldn't have to fight and she would do her best to make sure it didn't happen but there was no guarantee. The best she could do was try to end the war before it started. The only way for her to do so was through the Order of the Phoenix. 

She had missed a meeting because she hadn't been able to leave the manor. Lucius had been out with the Dark Lord and she was going to make sure Dolohov didn't attempt to steal anything else. Or worse, actually succeed in stealing something. 

She couldn't miss any more. Well, she didn't want to miss any more. She wanted to joke around with Sirius, annoy Remus playfully, talk to Nymphadora about her life, discuss mothering with Molly and, hopefully, finally get an explanation for what a tellyphone (she wasn't completely sure if that's what it was called?) was by Arthur. 

Lyra had made sure that Lucius was home and keeping a keen eye on Dolohov and she had commanded the house elves to remind Rookwood how important it was to have good bathroom hygiene. 

She had barely taken a step out of the door when she could hear a deep, male voice calling out her name, stopping her in her tracks. "Lyra! Where are you going?"

The blonde had hoped nobody would catch her leaving, only having made the arrangements with Lucius as usual. She turned around and plastered a shining smile on her face. "Oh, hi, Rabastan."

He scratched his chin, which had newly been shaved for the first time in over a decade. "Yeah, hi. Are you going somewhere? Or just outside? Because if you're just going to be walking around the garden, do you mind if I join you?"

If there was one thing Lyra would take pride in, it was her ability to think on her feet, especially when coming up with a lie. "Yeah, I am going out. I'm going to grab some lunch with Cissy to get her mind off the people staying at her place. She was fairly unlucky she didn't get to house you."

Rabastan rolled his eyes but smiled as she patted his cheek. "Do you have to? I mean, we've only been together again for a few days. I've missed you, there's so much more to catch up on. You've barely told me what you and Lucius have been doing together for the past few years."

Lyra felt the sudden urge to scratch the back of her neck, but she made sure she didn't. That was a sure tell of a lie, and she had been lying a lot to Rabastan. Well, she wasn't lying per se. But she had let Rabastan believe that her and Lucius were having a happy marriage. 

She didn't know why she wanted to keep their relationship troubles away from Rabastan, because part of her knew he could have been there for her. But she couldn't let him know. Lucius had been surprised when she had kissed him and acted like any other wife, of course. But he didn't seem to mind. 

"Well, there isn't that much to know. We've been living our normal lives together like any other married couple," she lied through her teeth. "But Cissy and I have planned to go out again for a while and I think she needs me."

"I need you," Rabastan retorted with, grinning charmingly. That grin had made many girls' knees go weak during their school days. Lyra included. She was sure she would have made a move back then if it wasn't for their siblings being married. After that, she just thought he made a cute couple with her friend, though he didn't agree. 

Lyra glanced at the grandfather clock behind him, knowing that if she didn't hurry, then she'd be late for the meeting. "But I'll see you later tonight. I can bring you something from Florean Fortescue's shop. I know how much you must have missed caramel ice cream."

"That does sound pretty great, actually," Rabastan chuckled, looking down at his feet for a moment before meeting her eyes once again. "But you won't get a chance to give me that ice cream either way."

Lyra frowned. "What? Why?"

"Lucius just got a letter from the Dark Lord," he responded, though looking unsure if he was happy about it. "We're moving to another hide out, one with the Dark Lord himself. We'll have the opportunity to plan a bit more. He does see us as his most faithful servants, after all."

"Right..." It was back. The madness in his eyes that only appeared when he was discussing the Dark Lord. At those moments, she wasn't sure what to do or how to talk to him or if anything would make him snap. "Well, that's too bad. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"Come on, Lyra, can't you just spend the next few hours with me?" Rabastan asked, trying his best at puppy dog eyes, making her laugh. "I have no idea how long it is until we get to see each other again. I don't want to  have to miss you any more than I have to."

The blonde hesitated. "Eh, but Cissy-"

"Is probably busy sending her own former prisoners of Azkaban on their way," he finished for her, though it was definitely the opposite of what she was planning to say. "Come on. Please, for your old friend."

Lyra wasn't sure how to wriggle herself out of that one. Or, she probably could have come up with a way, but something he said resonated with her. They've had four days to make up for fifteen years. It wouldn't hurt to make it five days instead. 

"I guess I can send Cissy a letter and tell her we can reschedule later," she murmered, though she was sure he could hear her. She looked up at him and smiled softly. "I'd really like to have a few more hours with you before you go. But I hope it won't be too long until we see each other again. 

"Thank you. We'll make the most out of these hours just in case." He reached out to offer her his arm like the true gentleman he had been raised to be. She chuckled, shook her head and accepted as they walked out into the garden. 

She felt a bit guilty for not going to the meeting, especially as she didn't have any time to warn them. But she couldn't  go without arousing any suspicion as Narcissa was getting rid of her own fugitives that day. And honestly, she did want to hang out with Rabastan before he left, which made her feel like an awful person. 

As they walked into the garden, she could feel someone's eyes on her. She turned back and saw that Lucius was standing in the window, his lips pursed and looking quite annoyed. Probably because she said she was going out and there she was, standing arm in arm with a man that Lucius wasn't the biggest fan of. 

She tried to offer him a slight smile, mostly because she felt awkward. He only turned away and walked away so she could no longer see him. She frowned, wondering what had gotten into him, though thinking it was probably mostly the stress of everything going on. She only shook it off and turned back to laughing with Rabastan. 

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Once Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Dolohov and Rookwood had left, Lyra hurried to get to Twelve Grimmauld Place as quickly as she could. Maybe this could be an extremely long meeting and she could be a part of some of it. She sincerely doubted it. 

But, worst (and most probable) case scenario, she could still hang out with Sirius for an hour or two. Hopefully Remus, too, but she wouldn't count on that. She just hoped that nobody had set her Aunt Walburga's portrait off. She was not in the mood to deal with that. 

She quietly walked through the doors, hearing a couple of men laughing the moment she walked in. She smiled slightly as she realized that Remus was still there and having a good time with her cousin. 

"Remus? Sirius?" she called out, not sure which room they were in. 

"In the kitchen!" Sirius responded, obviously not bothering to get up when he was having a blast with the best friend he had left in the world. Lyra wondered if they were drinking and realized they most likely were. 

The blonde walked towards the room and found them sitting by a table, a bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey being shared between the two of them. She honestly could use a couple of glasses of it herself. 

"Lyra, there you are!" Remus exclaimed, grinning widely at her. Whenever he was drinking, he quickly seemed younger, probably because he was more carefree and smiled a lot more. "We were wondering if you were ever going to show up."

"Yeah, sorry, I was going to go but some things came up at home," Lyra reponded vaguely, though smiling back. She knew she should have told them what was going on, but didn't want to. She knew it was selfish and evil of her, but she couldn't get the words out. 

"Your husband being a git?" Sirius asked before downing half a glass of Firewhiskey. It was quite impressive for a man who wasn't able to drink for twelve years of his life. 

Lyra chuckled slightly as she sat down on a chair so she was also sitting around the kitchen table with them. "Surprisingly, no."

"What's up then?" he asked, leaning back in his chair so it was holding itself up on its hind legs only. "I thought it was only you and your husband in the house. Unless the elves have been acting up."

The blonde froze up a bit. She was usually a very good liar, but not to Remus and Sirius. Especially not in front of Sirius, who arguably knew her better than anyone. "Well, we've had a few people over."

The dark-haired man studied her face for a few seconds, frowning deeply before groaning loudly. "Please tell me you haven't been housing the fugitives from Azkaban, Lyra. Please tell me that or I'll be super disappointed in you."

"What? How-?" Lyra gaped, wondering how the hell he could have figured that out. "How the hell did you get that from me having people over?"

"It's true, isn't it?" Sirius raised his eyebrow at her, as she was still gaping in shock. She always knew he was smart, but not that smart. Maybe the drunkness was helping him. 

"I'm so drunk and confused," Remus whispered to himself, resting his forehead in his hand. "I have no idea what's going on. I've been doing too many stupid things nowadays. I need to be stopped."

"Wait, what?" Lyra asked, looking even more confused than her old best friend. She sighed, getting up from her seat. "I'm getting you some water and then we're going to talk about the dumb things you've been doing."

"Don't try to change the subject, Lyra!" Sirius exclaimed as she went over to grab a cup of water. "You should have told us that you're housing them, they're dangerous Death Eaters! Several of them tortured the Longbottoms into insanity for Godric's sake! They've killed numerous people."

Lyra stiffened as she filled the cup with water. Because she knew all these things, and it was especially true when it came to Rabastan. He had helped torture those two innocent aurors, leaving their son essentially an orphan. A boy Draco's age. 

"I'm gonna throw up," Remus muttered, planting his face on the table, though he was ignored. Then Lyra slammed the cup on the table and suddenly sprung up, his eyes. "I'm up! I'm up! Sorry."

"Drink," Lyra commanded him. She was quickly feeling the guilt nagging at her, having spent the day laughing and joking around with a man that had done such evil deeds, things that would break her heart to have witnessed. "It's too late now, Sirius. They're gone."

"You should have told us," he muttered once again, looking quite annoyed. "How I would have loved to have gotten my hand on Rabastan Lestrange... But I get why you didn't tell us. You've always been dumb when it comes to him. We may be adults now but you're just as stupid as you've always been."

"Rude," she huffed. "I'm trying here, it's not very easy. I've got a lot of people to protect, you included. If I would have given up the fact that Lucius and I were housing them it would have come back to bite Draco in the ass and I protect him over anyone."

Sirius shook his head and took another sip of his Firewhiskey. "We could have done something, Lyra. You know how this war could turn it. It could become like the ones before."

"I know!" she desperately said, wanting him to understand how difficult this was. "Actually, no, it's worse. It's already so much worse than it was. Because now we're the only ones that know what's going on. Everybody else just doesn't want to know. We can't win a war with only the Order."

"Well-" Remus tried to start, but slurring his words. 

"Water," Sirius demanded in a similar tone of voice as Lyra had already done. He started drinking more water quickly. "And we're working on that. Hermione just set up a meeting with Rita Skeeter actually. She'll interview Harry and they'll tell the truth through the Quibbler."

"That's the worst idea I've ever heard." Lyra had to grab Remus and pull him up as he fell flat on his face once again. "Rita Skeeter's an awful journalist. She interviewed Lucius and I in the days leading up to our wedding and she was convinced that we were the most in love couple in the world."

"Gross," Remus commented quietly. 

She rolled her eyes and pinched him, making him squeal in brief pain. "Anyway, so the Quibbler? It's, like, one of the least reputable sources of information there is. Nobody's going to believe a word she'll write for it."

"They already don't believe a word we're saying. So what do we have to lose?" the Black man retorted, grinning cheekily at her. "It'll out a few Death Eaters, it will make people suspicious of them."

"Wait, outing Death Eaters by name?" the blonde asked, suddenly looking very alert, especially when he nodded in acknowledgment. "That means, that if they believe it, it'll out Lucius as a Death Eater by choice! Not just one under the Imperius curse back in the day. Do you have any idea what this will mean for me?"

The idea of Lucius going to Azkaban was terrifying. He wouldn't last in there, and though she wouldn't admit it, she was worried about him as a person if he went in there. But most of all, she was worried that meant he wouldn't be able to protect Draco from taking a place in the Dark Lord's ranks. 

"Why do you care what happens to that git?" Sirius asked, clearly annoyed. "He's a horrid person."

Lyra shuffled uncomfortable in her seat. "I care because he's my son's father. I'm doing all of this for my son. Everything I do is for him."

"He'll be fine," he promised her, smiling reassuringly. Honestly, he hadn't thought about the young boy and what losing his father would mean to him. "I'll help you take care of him if anything bad happens to Malfoy. I mean, I'm basically his uncle or something. Family trees are complicated."

"Extremely," Lyra agreed, chuckling slightly. "But thank you. It's good to know you'll look out for us if worst comes to worst."

"Ehm, hey, speaking of your family trees..." Remus suddenly spoke up, still looking a little lost but his words were a lot more coherent. "How would you feel if I told you I snogged one of your family members?"

Lyra and Sirius quickly straightened up, exchanging looks as they wondered which family members he could have hooked up with. Lyra, of course, quickly assumed one person. "When did you hook up with Narcissa?"

"What? No!" Remus denied, though he supposed he could see where she was coming from. Narcissa had quite the reputation with the boys back when they were in school. He'd applaud it if she hadn't always been so stuck up around him. "I may or may not have snogged Tonks."

"Which one?" she asked, because the reactions would vary a lot. "Andromeda? Nymphadora? Don't tell me it's Ted? I had no idea you were into him, though I'm not mad at it if Andy thinks it's okay."

Remus shook his head, not having thought too much about Ted Tonks. "It was Nymphadora Tonks, alright?"

Sirius was grinning from ear to ear. Though he had noticed the way the young auror had been looking at his best friend, he hadn't thought either of them (especially Remus) would act on it. "How did this happen?"

"It's a long story," Remus responded sheepishly. 

Lyra thought it was very strange to think about her little niece (who she'd known since she was five years old) with her best friend (who had been a teenager when she was born). "We've got the time."

Her cousin held up the bottle of alcohol, offering it to her. "Firewhiskey, Lyra?"

"Yes, please." She grabbed a glass and started filling it to the brink. "I think I've got to get to your level of drunkness if I'm going to have this discussion. I mean, Nymphadora? My little baby niece? That's so weird!"''

And then Lyra quickly downed the whole drink, showing how good she had gotten at that. But she ended up spilling a bit of it on her shirt, making them all laugh loudly, cheering with their glasses (Remus was still drinking water, though he would switch it out with more Firewhiskey later). 

And there they sat for hours, discussing Remus and his feelings for Nymphadora (and all the stupid reasons he didn't want to act on it even if she kept confessing her love to him), laughing and drinking. 

Lyra felt truly at bliss with her boys once again and would treasure that night forever because she wasn't sure if they would be this happy for much longer. She had a feeling it wouldn't last forever, but she pushed it down. It was supposed to be a good night and so she just kept laughing and drinking, thinking about how much she loved those two stupid boys.

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A/N: I love those three dorks at the end so much. If only they were four though :( Now we're really closing in on the end of OoTP with only 2/3 chapters left until HBP with a lot of drama.