Harry James Potter thought he understood pain. It seemed like he had been surrounded by it for as long as he could remember. From the age of one, he had been an orphan with the world on his shoulders. And its crushing weight seemed to break him more every day.

One might have thought that once the war he had been destined to fight in had been won, then there would nothing more to think about. The pain would disappear and the weight would be lifted. For some time, Harry had believed in that. He had clung onto the hope that not only would the world be a better place for everyone, but perhaps for himself. He hadn't lived in a good world before. It would truly be paradise. 

But just because the fear for his life was gone, didn't mean the pain was. It seemed more prominent than ever. Because, if it wasn't for him, then maybe so many people wouldn't have died. The last time they had taken a count, it looked like over fifty people who were on his side had died. All people who had taken the plunge, wanting to fight for him. But they just ended up dying. There was no happy ending in it. 

He knew every single one of their names. He made sure that he did. He didn't ever want their sacrifices to be forgotten. Colin Creevey, who had been so young and excited of being a wizard. Lavender Brown, a girl who's heart was too big for her own good, for better or worse. Fred Weasley, who had brought so much laughter and joy into the lives of everyone he knew. Severus Snape, who was flawed but had been fighting secretly for so long. Nymphadora Tonks, a strong and hilarious witch Harry had looked up to. Remus Lupin, one of his dad's best friends and one of the greatest men he had ever known. And Lyra Malfoy. Lyra Malfoy was dead, too. 

It almost hadn't seemed real when he had seen her body on the battleground, so close to Remus's. They had died so close to each other, he'd heard. She had watched him die. She must have been heartbroken. 

It still didn't seem real when a specter of her appeared from the Resurrection Stone, hand-in-hand with his father, looking much happier than he had ever known her. He knew only spirits of those lost could be brought back with the stone, but his heart had refused to admit it. 

It didn't seem real when Harry got the satisfaction of watching Rabastan Lestrange been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, though he hoped the lifetime wouldn't last long. That piece of scum deserved even worse in Harry's opinon. Lyra had trusted him, considered him a friend for a long time. At his trial, he had looked mad, convinced he killed because he deserved to, because she had loved him. That was the arrest that had pleased him the most. 

But as he had his godson, the orphaned young Teddy Lupin, on his lap, sitting next to the boy's grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, Lyra's sister, he understood it must have been real as he looked upon Lyra's son, Draco Malfoy. 

While he had never been Draco's biggest fan, he couldn't help but feel awful for him. His skin was paler than he had ever seen it, even now that it had become summer. He looked thin and his hair wasn't gelled back and smooth as usual. He was taking his mother's death rather hard. Harry understood that well. 

But Draco wasn't orphan. His father, Lucius, stood behind him. His face was stoic as ever as he wore his extravagant robes. On first glance, one wouldn't have thought his wife had only died a couple of weeks ago. But his hair was more matt than Harry remembered, he kept his gaze straight onto the wall in front of him, his hand gripping onto Draco's shoulder. It wasn't obvious whether he was giving his son support, or trying to get support for himself. 

His sister-in-law, Lyra's only other surviving sister, was next to him, standing behind her own son, Marcus. It was the first time Harry had seen Narcissa Flint without make-up on. She had obviously just been crying, as her cheeks were puffy and her eyes were red. Her husband, Hector, stood at her side and held her hand. In front of them both sat their son, Marcus, next to his cousin. 

The room was split in two. Harry, Andromeda and Teddy on one side. Draco, Lucius, Narcissa, Hector and Marcus on the other. 

It was unbearable. Listening to the executor of her will speak of all the grand estates, jewelry and heaps of money was left to the other side of the room. Harry had never realized just how rich Lyra was until then, though Draco had inherited most of her wealth. 

Lyra had left some things for Andromeda, too. Some old family heirlooms. He half-expected Narcissa to snarl that it didn't belong to her, that Andromeda had been burned off the family tree for a reason. That didn't happen, though. Narcissa stayed quiet, clutching onto her husband. 

She had left several things to both Tonks and Remus, but neither of them were there to accept it. All of those things were immediately passed on to Teddy, who was still too young to understand what was going on. He'd never met Lyra, he was only a few months old. Harry bounced him on his lap, trying to distract him from the sadness of the room, but it wasn't working. Andromeda carefully grabbed her grandson from Harry's lap and held him to her chest, calming him down immediately.

"And lastly, to Mr Harry James Potter," the executor of her will spoke up, looking at the Boy Who Lived, a war hero, with a star-struck gaze, which made Lucius Malfoy obviously roll his eyes. "I leave a box of momentos from my past, which I hope he will find useful in an attempt to better know his father, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and myself."

Harry stared blankly at the man, who hesitantly reached into his briefcase, bringing out a brown box with intricate designs on its woodwork. He could vaguely remember Lyra mentioning to him once, a couple of years ago. That she had pictures and mementos from the past in a box underneath locking charms. Those charms must have been broken after her death, he supposed. 

He reached over to hand the box over to Harry, who gripped it carefully. He didn't say a word to the man, who still couldn't seem to keep his eyes off him, or the famed scar in the middle of his forehead. Harry was used to the stares by now, they barely bothered him. But at that moment, he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. This was supposed to be about Lyra, not him. 

"Well, that will be all. The gold you have inherited will be transferred into your vaults at Gringotts and any other belongings not given to you here can be picked up at the Ministry. There should be someone to help you there." The man sent a brief nod towards them, though not at one person in particular, then he left the room. 

There was a silence in the room. Nobody seemed willing to speak up. The two factions they had split themselves into clearly didn't want to speak with one another, most of them clearly disliking one another. 

Then Narcissa released her husband's arm and hesitated as she glanced towards Andromeda and Teddy. But she took a deep breath, held her chin up high and walked to the other side of the room, where them and Harry were sitting. 

"Andy..." The blonde woman swallowed a lump in her throat. She still called her by that nickname after all these years, as if seemed wrong not to. "I just wanted to say you have my condolonces. Not just because of Lyra... or Bella, but I suppose she may have gotten what was coming to her, though it does still hurt. But your daughter... your husband..."

Her older sister seemed surprised that she was actually speaking to her, but touched nonetheless, a soft smile on her weary and heartbroken face. "Thank you, Cissy."

"And, well... We're the only ones left, aren't we? Bella, Lyra, Sirius, Regulus... They're all gone," Narcissa stated, looking pained. "I understand if it's not something you'd want, after everything and all these years, but if you'd perhaps like to grab lunch sometime-"

"How about right now?" Andromeda cut her off, a tight smile on her face. It showed that she was struggling with showing joy after everything, but at least she was trying. Maybe getting her sister back in her life, for the first time in almost thirty years, would do just that. 

"Really? Right now?" Narcissa was obviously surprised. She didn't think she'd ever want to speak to her again after all they'd gone through. The only time they'd seen each other since they were teenagers was when she'd watched her get tortured, after all. Lyra had stopped it. Lyra had been stronger than she was. "Well, of course, sure. I'd really like that."

Narcissa and Andromeda (who was still carrying Teddy), walked to the other side of the room, leaving Harry to watch them on his own. Andromeda shook hands with Hector, sharing a quick hug with Marcus, her nephew she had never met. 

But then the dark-haired woman looked at Draco, who was watching her with cool eyes. She smiled softly, holding her hand out for him to shake.  "Look, Draco, I understand if you're not comfortable with it... But you can come over at any time, or we can go out, if you'd ever like to talk. I know Lyra would liked it."

The blond young man hesitated, glancing up at his father, who was standing there with his lips pursed. It was as if he was looking for his permission to shake hands with his aunt, who he had never truly known. Lucius shrugged, as if to tell Draco he could do whatever he wanted. 

After a few moments, Draco hesitantly reached out to grasp his aunt's hand, shaking it with the faintest hint of a smile on his sad face. "Yeah, thanks. That'd be nice, actually."

Andromeda and Lucius didn't even look at one another. Lucius only seemed to care for his son at the moment, casting only the fastest looks towards Narcissa, Hector and Marcus once in a while. He looked like he wanted to leave and be anywhere else. 

Andromeda sent Harry a brief smile on her way out, as if to tell him that it was going to be fine. Harry could barely return it and he hoped his expression didn't look as pained as he felt. She, with Teddy giggling in her arms, walked out with her sister. 

Only a moment later, Hector shook hands with Lucius, grabbed his son's shoulder and both of the Flint men left the room. Harry was now only left with the Malfoys, neither of whom had acknowledged his presence in the room for even a moment. Harry found himself tracing the woodwork of the box in his hand to keep from looking at them. 

"I have some business to complete at the Ministry. There are still some matters to sort out..." Lucius said, his voice not as cold and strict-sounding as Harry could remember as he spoke to his son. "I'll see if I can pick up her things while I'm there. I'll see you at the Manor for dinner? Then we'll talk some more."

"Yeah, sure," Draco responded, sounding rather dejected. Harry couldn't blame him. He'd just lost his mother, who he'd spent his whole life with. Harry knew what it was like to lose a mother, but not one who'd been able to raise him, to be with him for so long, to tuck him in to bed and tell him that she loved him. Harry would never know that pain. 

Lucius cast a quick glance Harry's way, but the younger man pretended not to see it so he wouldn't end up in some glaring battle with Lyra's husband so soon after she died. He didn't know if those two had been in a good place at the end, but he still felt like it would be disrespectful.

Once the man turned around and left the room, the quiet became even more awkward. Just the two young men, both broken by war, who had never liked one another. But they were both sad. That much they both knew. 

Draco sighed and got up from his seat, thinking there wasn't much use to be there anymore. Everybody had left, except for Harry and he wasn't exactly expecting much from him. They had hated each other for as long as they had known each other after all. But the thought of hating him just seemed so tiring now when most of his energy had gone to grieving. 

Harry looked at the broken young man in front of him. For a moment, he was about to let walk away. But as he stepped towards the door, Harry stood up from his own seat, his jaw clenched. "Malfoy, wait."

Draco furrowed his brows and turned around the face the dark-haired boy. "What, Potter? In case you can't tell, I'm not really in the mood for witty banter. Or, well, as witty as it can be with you as my opponent."

Harry was immediately regretting trying to talk to him. But he knew what he had to say was important. "Look, I just wanted to offer my condolences. About Lyra. She was your mother after all."

"Well, you thought of her as yours, didn't you?" Draco retorted, making Harry frown. He didn't think he knew about the extent of his relationship with Lyra. "Come on, you're being quite obvious about it. You don't look much better than I do."

"What a horrible thing to say," Harry retorted, wanting to get the upper hand a bit. Old habits die hard, he supposed. They wouldn't ever be best friends, but this was just about the most civil conversation they'd ever had. 

Draco let out a small snicker as he rolled his eyes. "Well, if that's all then I should be off. I don't have all day, she had a lot of things that needed sorting out. Things and stuff from the Black and Malfoy families."

Harry glanced down at the box in his hands, a movement Draco followed. "Actually, I just... I wanted to offer you the chance to look at whatever's in here sometime, if you want. I thought you'd like to see more of your mum when she was younger."

Draco stayed quiet for a moment, clenching his jaw and staring at the box intentley, like he was unsure of what he wanted. Part of him wanted to keep the image of his mother he had built up over the years, but another part wanted to know more of the woman she truly was. "Maybe someday."

"Yeah." Harry had one more question to ask him, though he wasn't sure how to say it and not make it awkward. It felt strange to be cordial with Malfoy of all people. He supposed Lyra would have been happy about it. "And... there was one more question I wanted to ask. Of course, it's not something that matters now but maybe someday, in the distant future-"

"Just spit it out, Potter."

Harry sighed at the impatient look in the other boy's grey eyes. "Fine. I just wanted to know if you'd be alright with me naming a daughter, not for a long time, of course... after Lyra. Well, also my own mum. I've been talking to Ginny about it. We've agreed that we'd like Lily Lyra."

"And you're asking me for permission?" Draco asked, as if it was a foreign concept. He wouldn't have asked him if he was planning to do something similar. He'd just do it, without thinking about him. 

"Yeah, I just... in case you ever wanted to name a girl after her. Well, if you do then they wouldn't have the same first name at least," Harry said, wondering what his response was going to be. He wouldn't be surprised if he said no, seeing as he disliked him so much. 

Draco eyed him coolly, raising an eyebrow in action that reminded Harry very much of Lyra for a moment. "And I'm guessing you're not planning on knocking Weasley up any time soon."

The dark-haired boy shook his head. "Wasn't planning on it, no."

"So why are you asking me now then?" the Malfoy heir asked, confused. Children and what to name them were the furthest thing from Draco's mind at the moment. "If it's in such a distant future."

"Well, I don't know how many conversations I'm gonna have with you were I'll be able to ask later."

"None, hopefully." Draco smirked slightly at the joke, which made Harry roll his eyes. He took a deep breath and shrugged, as if it didn't matter much to him. "But, yeah. Go ahead. I'm sure she would have liked it. Legacy and honor all that. My father wouldn't like it, I think, but we'll just have to make sure he doesn't hear about it."

"Brilliant." Harry grinned genuinely for the first time since before the Battle of Hogwarts. It felt good to smile. He held his hand out for Draco to shake, hoping it would signalize some sort of truce between them. Draco took it and they both smiled slightly at each other. Though they still didn't like each other, there was a mutual respect and a bond created from Lyra's love. 

What they didn't know was that, on the only unoccupied sofa in the room, Lyra was sitting. Though she wasn't alive, of course. But she was watching, a soft smile on her face. The boys were getting along fairly, Cissy and Andy were reunited, Lucius seemed to finally be taking some more steps in taking care of Draco. Things looked like they were going to turn out fine. 

She was leaning her head on James's shoulder, both of them being glad to see their sons getting along (if only slightly) for the first time ever. It gave them a bit more hope of them being able to live cordially in the afterlife when that time would come. Maybe they could even be some sort of a family. 

"How long are you two going to sit and disgustingly mope together?" Sirius, young, healthy and happy, asked from behind them, grabbing Lyra's hand and pulling her up from her seat, spinning her around as if they were dancing. She couldn't help but laugh. "We've got things to do."

"Things?" Lyra repeated, raising her eyebrow just as her son had recently done before her. "What kind of things?"

"Super secret Marauders' business, Lyra. Can't let you in on the secret," Remus said, showing up behind her with a hearty grin. There were very few scars on his face, there was no trace of gray in hair anymore. And he just simply looked happy. 

"You and your secret business," Lily scoffed, appearing and rolling her eyes playfully. She ran her fingers through her bright red hair, looking at Lyra with an amused. "Can't believe you took so long to get here, Lyra, making me have to deal with them on my own for so long."

Lyra laughed, linking her arm with the other woman. They had been getting along swimmingly for the past few weeks, much to everyone's surprise. Perhaps they could even be quite good friends in a while. "I feel very sorry for you, Lily."

"Ah, but at least you've also got me now, Lils." Nymphadora Tonks grinned, her hair a bright bubblegum pink, as she wrapped her arms around both the other women's shoulder. She looked quite similar to how she looked when she'd died. "So, boys, perhaps you'll want to tell us about this business now that I'm here?"

"No," Remus responded shortly, teasing his wife.

Lyra turned her head, looking at James, who was just amused at the whole thing. She sent him a sweet smile and batted her eyelashes at him, making him melt both internally and externally. He couldn't keep himself from giving up the secret. "We're making plans on how to get Fred back for that prank he pulled last night. He thinks he can challenge the legendary Marauders... He's got a big storm coming."

Lyra chuckled, getting out of Nymphadora and Lily's grips and walked over to the man she loved, grasping onto his hand, pulling him into a standing position. "Oh, you just wait until George comes up here. Then they'll surely give you a run for your money."

"Do you even know us? We can take them easily, love."

"Did you not pay attention to what they've been doing? If you've been watching over us as much as you say you did, that is," Lyra teased, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. He only shook his head and blushed.

He put his hands on either side of her face, looking deeply into her green eyes with his hazel ones. "Sorry, I just kept getting distracted when I was watching you. You've got quite the distracting face. Way too gorgeous."

Sirius faked a gag, trying to act like they were disgusting him, just like he always did when they were young. But the bright smile he exchanged with Remus told them that he was just as happy as they were that they were together once again. "You coming, Prongs?"

"Give me a moment, Padfoot." The two other boys, along with the girls accompanying them all disappeared, going away to where they spent most their time in the afterlife. That just left James with Lyra for a moment, looking at her wistful face. "You all right, love?"

"I'm just happy. It feels good," Lyra breathed, turning her head to look at Draco and Harry, her son was opening the door, beginning to leave. But she felt a safety in knowing they were all right. They could still be happy. 

The look in her eyes, the way they shined so brightly and beautifully, drew James in like they always had. But it was so nice to know that when she looked happy, it would last now. "I love you."

"Tell me again."

"I love you," he repeated, the same loving tone in his voice. 

Lyra smiled, feeling giddy like a little school girl once more. "Just one more time."

James put his hands on either side of her face once again, squishing it a little and leaning closer with a mad, crooked grin. She loved it when he smiled like that, one could easily see how much fun he was. "I love you."

The blonde sighed dreamily, putting her hand over the one he had on her cheek, stroking his knuckles affectionately. "I'll never get tired of hearing you say that."

"I'll never get tired of saying it," the messy-haired man retorted. He looked at her with so much love that she almost wanted to faint. If she hadn't been dead, she might have. "Now it's your turn."

"I think we both know that I love you, too." Lyra pushed herself up on her tip-toes, putting her lips on his in a sweet, lingering kiss to remind him of how strong that love was. Then she pushed him away playfully, waving him off. "Go, I'll be just a minute. You've got your super-secrets plans after all."

James couldn't stop smiling. His grin was still crooked and she felt herself fall in love all over again. "Don't be too long, I'll miss you too much."

"Oh, shut it, you cheesy man." When he smiled like that, she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into yet another, longer kiss. She rested her forehead against his "I love you, see you in just a minute. I just need a moment."

James nodded, smiling as he disappeared from her sight. And then Lyra was left alone, watching Harry. He seemed to be hesitating on whether or not he wanted to open the box where he was or if he wanted to wait a while. 

His curiosity seemed to have taken over as he opened it, finding pictures that he had never seen before. Some were of Lyra alone, some of her and James, some of different combinations of herself and the Marauders. He smiled slightly. 

Lyra felt herself reliving every single one of the memories with Harry. Helping the boys become Animagi, that time she had drunkenly snogged a boy and cried on James's shoulder, that time James became the boy she drunkenly snogged, that time he had created quite the Valentine's spectacle, those times he had convinced her to be a better person, the time they danced together at Slughorn's Christmas Party, kissing him in the Astronomy Tower, watching her Patronus change to fit his, announcing their love in front of the whole school, kissing underneath the mistletoe. All moment love of love she was glad Harry got to experience in some way through those mementos. Hopefully, Draco would want to see one day, too. But as she watched him, Lyra was truly happy because she knew things would be alright. In the world of the living as well as the dead. 

And, in that moment, Lyra was sure of one thing. If there was ever to be a victor in being able to live through crippling loneliness and heartbreak and being able to make it to the other side with a smile and filled with love one could never have imagined, then Lyra was sure she would have won in a landslide. 

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A/N: So that's it! I honestly can't believe the Lyra series is over (though it warms my heart to know that it ended happily <3 I've spent the better part of a year writing these books, from January to December, so it's so weird not to write about Lyra anymore. 

And what a whirlwind it has been! Lyra was a very different character to any characters I've ever written/planned on writing (but never actually ended up writing). She's not a character I wrote to be liked or understood. She makes mistakes, she's too hung up on her past, she can be stupidly naive and does the wrong thing more often than not. But she has a big heart, she loves so deeply, she's really loyal to those she cares about (even if she has some weird ways of showing it) and I just generally love her so much. And I really want to thank you guys for going on this journey with me and supporting both me and her. 

But, remember, if you want a bit of nostalgia for James and Lyra's school days (or just some more time to think about how much you hate my characterization of Rabastan) then check out "Memorial", my Lucinda Talkalot spin-off book. And I'm also republishing my Draco book in a few moments. 

Anyway, that's enough self-promotion. I'm literally close to tears as I'm writing this. I'm gonna miss Lyra, her relationships with all the Marauders, her mother-son relationship with Draco, whatever weird-ass toxic shit her and Lucius were on, the sweet bond between her and Harry and so much more. I'm getting emotional, so I'm just gonna leave it at this, and tell you guys just how happy you guys have made me throughout this process <3 Love you all!