For the most part, Lyra Malfoy has never been a Quidditch fan. It was a stupid sport with no real point. She thought there were more productive ways to spend one's time, like actually doing work or spending time with family and friends. Not play a sport that doesn't even make sense.

There was one exception to it, of course. Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, it hadn't been so horrible. She had found herself going to most of Gryffindor house's Quidditch matches, though not for personal enjoyment. Mostly because she wanted to stare at their team captain, and so they could snog afterwards.

Once she had graduated from Hogwarts, she had stopped giving a crap about the sport again. Part of her felt like it brought up memories that had become painful as the years went by. Part of her still felt like it was stupid. 

But her son was a Quidditch player, and her husband had once been, too. Also, Quidditch matches were quite a place for making connections outside of a corporate office at the Ministry. That was Lucius's favorite part of it.

Lyra couldn't deny she didn't dislike it. Making connections and knowing the right people never hurt. She'd always been the type who liked getting to know people who could possibly help her out in the future. She had worked hard to become a member of her old Potions Professor's exclusive club, after all. 

Also, she'd been arguing too much with her husband. Especially after it became clear that she had tried to go around saying that her beloved cousin, Sirius Black, was innocent of all the crimes he had been convicted of, making her seem mad in front of the Minister of Magic himself. 

That's why she had joined him and Draco at the Quidditch World Cup of 1994, though she knew she wouldn't be very attentive to the game. The family had been personally invited by the Minister, and she did want to make him understand that she wasn't as crazy as she might have seemed the last time they had seen each other. 

Lucius, Lyra and Draco had been walking up to the Top Box, the best seats in the whole stadium. Draco had been rambling about how he was sure the Bulgarian team was going to win because Viktor Krum was their seeker. Lucius engaged in the conversation while Lyra only smiled and nodded, pretending she was paying attention. 

"I'm no great shakes at languages, I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing. Ah, I see his house-elf's saving him a seat... good job too, these Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge all the best places..." they could hear Fudge say before he cast a glance at the Malfoy family approaching. "Ah, and here's Lucius and Lyra!"

Lyra turned to the Minister, seeing that he wasn't alone. He seemed to be speaking to the entire Weasley family, though excluding their matriarch, along with the familiar faces of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. 

She put on a charming smile for the Minister and shook his hand before Lucius could, noting how Harry hadn't even tossed her a glance yet, too busy glaring at Draco for some reason. "Cornelius, how lovely to see you again."

"Wonderful to see you, too, Lyra," said the Minister, seeming slightly relieved that her mad ramblings at Hogwarts the month before had been all but forgotten. At least, that's what it seemed like. 

"Ah, Fudge," Lucius spoke up next, seeming slightly irritated that Lyra had beat him the punch. He reached out to shake the Minister's hand next. "How are you? I don't think you've met our son, Draco?"

"How do you do, how do you do?" he quickly said, smiling at the fourteen-year-old Malfoy boy, who seemed quite proud to have gotten attention from such a high-ranking man as the Minister himself. He was a true Slytherin, Lyra thought.

"And allow me to introduce you to Mr Oblansk, Obalonsk, Mr... well, he's the Bulgarian Minister for Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind," Fudge dismissed, gesturing to an unfamiliar man at his side. "And let's see who else... you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

Lyra had to suppress a smile as she was quickly reminded of the last time her and Lucius had seen Arthur Weasley, in Flourish and Botts. It was such a joyful moment for her, to watch her husband get pummeled by an angry redhead he'd been insulting. She wasn't sure if she'd ever forget it.

There was no love lost between the two men. Lucius coldly scanned the man and the row of people he had brought with him, speaking softly to seem non-threatening. "Good Lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much."

"Lucius," Lyra said warningly, though quietly. She grabbed a hold of his arm, squeezing it. For most people, it would seem like a wife just being affectionate with her husband. They knew it was a scolding. 

She could feel someone's gaze steadily upon them, having been looking at the gesture strangely. Harry knew that this woman was Lucius Malfoy's wife, he had even seem together that day in Knockturn and Diagon Alley. But it didn't seem real to him, somehow. This was Lyra, his dad's old girlfriend, Sirius's cousin, Lupin's old best friend. It was enough to make him frown.  

"Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest," Fudge said, not having noticed what Lucius had said to the man. 

Of course, what he forgot to mention was that he had basically only donated that money to make all suspicions of Lyra's involvement in anything having to do with Sirius Black disappear. He didn't mind the Quidditch tickets that came with, though. 

"How- how nice," Arthur forced the words out, though mostly looking like he wanted to jump the Malfoy man again, but couldn't because they were in a high-security place and it wouldn't get him more into the Minister's good graces. 

Lyra watched as Lucius's cool gaze strayed to a specific person in the Weasley family and friends line-up. Hermione Granger, who blushed a bit in embarrassment. They knew that look was only because she was muggleborn. 

The blonde couldn't help but be a bit proud of the way Hermione kept her chin raised high, showing her true Gryffindor courage. She wasn't about to let Lucius Malfoy get her down when she was supposed to be having a good time. 

But it did make the older woman a bit uncomfortable that he was looking so obviously down on the girl in front of their son, who was in the same year as her. She didn't know much about their relationship, only that they weren't quite fond of one another. It didn't have to get even worse because of Lucius's influence.

"Lucius, darling," she spoke up as she squeezed his arm once more, making Harry, Ron and Hermione all look strangely at her. They all knew she wasn't quite fond of him, so it was strange to see her pretend to be the adoring wife. "Perhaps we should find our seats. Come on, Draco."

She forced her husband to walk with her, pulling him along. Draco wasn't about to get left behind so he quickly followed suit. As she passed the clan of redheads and others, she threw Harry a quick wink, making him grin in return. 

Draco found himself sitting next to his mother as they waited for the match to begin. Or, at least for the Bulgarian and Irish team mascots to appear and start their probably quite overdone show. 

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" Ludo Bagman's voice roared throughout the whole stadium. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce ... the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"

"Oh no," Lyra muttered as she saw a fleet of beautiful women with white-blonde hair glided out into the pitch. Draco glanced at her, confused. She scrunched her nose up, wishing somebody would have warned them. 

As they began to dance, she glanced between the two blond men she sat next to. Both their eyes had started glazing over as they watched the veela dance. She sighed as they both began to move, probably about to run and catch a better glimpse, perhaps even willing to jump into the crowd to do so. That would definitely be a fatal fall. 

She reached out and grabbed the back of both Malfoy males' necks, holding them back with all her strength. They both looked at her, as if offended that she would stop them from looking at the veela. She smiled tightly at both of them, holding them back until the veela finally stopped dancing. 

Once that was over, Lyra could lean back and pretend to pay attention to the Quidditch match happening. It was quite simple, actually. She booed when Draco did, clapped politely with Lucius and smiled and nodded whenever someone from the surrounding seats asked her a question. 

▹▹▹

Once the match had been over, there was nothing else for her to do than return to their tent, pulling Draco along with her as Lucius followed. Their son had wanted to run around with the veelas, but Lyra had refused. Her fourteen-year-old son was not about to go out partying with a bunch of beautiful women. He was her baby, after all.

There had been hours of the family just sitting around together, seeming happier than they had been in ages. There were times when both Lucius and Lyra wanted to throw some sly comments each other's way, but they held their tongue to give Draco a good memory with his parents. They always tried to keep from involving him in their arguments as much as possible. 

It was in the middle of the night when Lyra had decided to go to the bathroom for a trip. When she returned to where she had left her family, her son was nowhere to be seen. Concerned, she turned to Lucius, who was now wearing new, dark robes. "Where's Draco?"

"He's alright," he confirmed, which made her sigh with relief. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the robes he was wearing. He used to wear them quite a bit around fifteen years ago. "I sent him off into the woods?"

"You sent a fourteen-year-old boy off into the woods on his own?" the blonde woman asked, shocked. She knew Lucius cared about their son, so he wouldn't have done anything to get him hurt. That was the strangest part. "What were you thinking?"

"It's for his own safety. You should find somewhere safe, too," said Lucius, confusing her greatly. "You probably won't get hurt, we all know you, after all. But, if you get in our way, then many won't try to see who you are before throwing some curses your way."

A cold chill went through her body at these words. She had heard similar words come from him before, but not in many, many years. She hoped she wouldn't ever again. "What are you going to do, Lucius? What's going on?"

"Be careful, Lyra. You've already made enough mistakes lately," he only responded with. He then grinned widely, something he rarely did. He looked far too happy, making her wonder if something awful was going to happen. 

The strangest thing he did, though, was when he reached out and grabbed her cheeks, pulling her into a quick kiss. They barely kissed, usually only around other people to seem like a loving couple. 

Him kissing her now, when their relationship had been in such a horrible state only a few months ago, was only further proof that something bad was going to happen. Once he pulled away, she frowned suspiciously. "Lucius..."

"I'll see you soon," he only said. From the table next to her, he quickly grabbed a familiar mask. His Death Eater mask, which he had kept hidden inside a closet for all these years. He quickly put it on, hiding his face behind it before running off. 

Lyra had no idea what to do next. She was told to keep out of trouble, and she wasn't quite fond of being in trouble. She also wasn't very keen on the idea of Lucius and his old Death Eater buddies all cursing her for coming near whatever they were doing. Even if she wanted to, because she knew it wouldn't be what's right. 

For a second, she wished her boys were here. One back from the dead, one no longer on the run, one not being too poor to even consider going to a Quidditch match. They were always much braver than her, inspiring more of that bravery within herself. They would have known what to do. 

It didn't take long for her to hear loud noises, signalizing that something horrific was happening. People were screaming and a small group could be heard laughing. Lyra was more sure than ever that her husband was a part of that group. 

She sighed, wondering if even the Malfoy tent would be safe anymore. She supposed it couldn't be if Draco had been sent out on his own, into the woods. Lucius had told her to go and hide, but she hadn't really processed it until she saw what was happening outside. 

She gasped as she saw burning tents, people running for their lives and a family of who she supposed were muggles being suspended in the air, being bent into awful positions. Two of them were only small children. She felt nauseous. 

Lyra snuck out of her tent, worried that the fires were about to reach hers. She so desperately wanted to grab her wand and point them towards the Death Eaters nearby, to stop them from doing these horrible things. 

But she hadn't dueled in years. She hadn't ever been very good at it, either. Unless she could transfigure them into something strange, like a pink cauldron or something, she wasn't sure if there was much she could do in the heat of the moment. 

Also, she could easily be recognized by them if she did something. Every Death Eater knew her face, either because they could remember her standing in front of them all those years ago, casting the Cruciatus curse for the first time, or because she was Lucius's wife. 

Lyra knew how to calculate the risks of possible actions. She had done it all her life. Sometimes it paid off, and other times it didn't. It wasn't in her nature to be rash or overcome with emotion (standing in front of Peter Pettigrew didn't count, he deserved to be the exception). She had been quite the Slytherin, after all. 

She hurried towards the woods, where Draco was supposedly hiding. She was worried that he would do something stupid and teenage boy-ish, like running out and trying to join the Death Eaters because he wanted to impress his father. The fact that she could even imagine that broke her heart, making her feel like a failure of a mother. 

"You watch your mouth!" she could hear a loud, familiar voice shout. It was Ron Weasley, reminding her that they had also been at the Cup. She rushed towards the voice, worried that they had attracted attention to themselves. 

"Scare easily, don't they?" another voice said lazily. Lyra stopped in her tracks, sighing relief as she realized Draco was with them and safe. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he upto? Trying to rescue the Muggles?"

"Where's your father?" retorted Harry coolly. He was about to ask about both his parents, only to have to remind himself that Lyra was his mother. He had learned by now that she wasn't a Voldemort supporter. "Out here wearing a mask, is he?"

"Well... if he was, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?" Draco said smugly. Lyra had finally gotten close enough to take a look at them, noting that Hermione was also with the three boys. 

"Draco!" Lyra exclaimed as she caught sight of his face. She didn't care if it would embarrass him, she ran towards him and pulled him quickly into her arms, sighing in relief. "There you are. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mother," he responded, surprised at her sudden appearance. He was glad it was dark, because he blushed a bit in embarrassment of her coming up to him like that, in front of his three worst enemies. 

Lyra quickly turned her head, examining Harry, Ron and Hermione as she searched for any obvious injuries. She frowned, watching as they glared towards her son. "And you three? Are you hurt."

"We're fine, Lyra," Harry responded shortly, sending her a reassuring nod. "We had to run off from our tent, though. Mr. Weasley is out there helping the Ministry, so he couldn't stick with us."

Draco glared heatedly at the Potter boy, glancing between him and his mother for a few seconds. "How dare you call my mother by her first name? You need to learn to show some respect, Potter! My mother is worth a thousand of you!"

"It's alright, Draco. Calm down." She reached out and held onto his shoulder comfortingly. It wasn't as easy as it used to be as he kept growing taller than her. It was getting quite annoying by now. 

"Oh, come on," Hermione spoke up, glancing at Draco in disgust. Lyra wasn't sure if he had said something bad before she arrived, or if she had gotten annoyed at the way he had tried to pick a fight in what he thought was defense of his mother. "Let's go and find the others."

"I can't possibly let you go around on your own, Hermione!" exclaimed the blonde woman, looking at them as if they were insane. "Haven't you seen what's been going on? I can't let you walk away with a clear conscience." 

"We'll be fine, Lyra." Ron enunciated her name carefully, casting a smug glance Draco's way because of it. He would take any opportunity to irk him. "We're going to find my brothers and sister. We'll keep out of the worst areas, we promise."

She was about to open her mouth and argue, but she then noticed the way all four teenagers were glaring at one another. She didn't think it was going to be a good idea to force them to spend more time together than necessary. "Fine. If you promise. Be careful."

"And keep that big, bushy head down, Granger!" Draco added on, smugly.

Lyra gaped in surprise, shocked he would say something like it. "Draco! Don't be mean!"

Harry smirked at the way his archenemy was being scolded by his mother, even if that mother was Lyra. "Yeah, Malfoy. Don't be mean."

"Harry," she said warningly. She knew they had a rivalry, she had heard much about it. But she hadn't heard them actually argue in front of her before. It was quite strange. Hers and James's sons seeming to hate each other so much. "Go. Be careful."

He nodded briefly at her, grabbing both Hermione and Ron's arms and pulling them away. Lyra sighed and looked at Draco with raised eyebrows. He only shrugged, seeming to have no regrets. She sighed and pulled him into another hug, just glad he was alright.