****Lyra's P.O.V.****

I grabbed my outfit and hopped into the shower early the next morning, in an attempt to avoid the other girls in my dorm, especially Hermione. Today was the day everyone - or mostly everyone - would be going home for the winter holidays. Dumbledore, much to my annoyance, is sending me to Grimmauld Place for break.

Not that I don't love my family, I just don't think I'm ready to face Harry, or for that matter, any of them, quite yet.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" A small voice broke me from my thoughts. I quickly put my head down, using my hair to cover my face.

"You could say that."

She smiled brightly, but I could see obvious confusion in her eyes. "Well, my name is Hermione, nice to meet you. Are you going anywhere for the holidays?" I nodded mutely. "If you don't mind me asking, where?"

"Same place you are, I'm guessing." I brushed past her, my arms crossed over my Weasley sweater, which I had received this morning, thanks to Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley's quick, but nonetheless appreciated, efforts. I grabbed a bagel from the Great Hall, and sat alone in a Hogsmeade carriage, my trunk already on the train.

The moment I popped the last bite in my mouth, a trio I recognised very well hopped into the same carriage, followed by none other than Cho Chang. Hermione sat down gently next to me, careful not to startle me. Ron sat next to her, seeming desperate to get away from the couple across from me.

"Hey, you look familiar." Ron declared. "Have we met before?"

"You can tell how I look because of my hair?" He blushed. "Well, to answer your question, we have met before. You used to know me rather well, actually, all of you did."

"What's your name?"

"Of course you wouldn't recognise me." I continued on as if Harry had never spoken, "I'm not who I was, Harry. But you'll find our soon enough." The carriage came to a halt, and I stepped out, my hair still covering my face, rushing away.

I stepped onto the scarlet train and immediately walked as far away from the trio's compartment as possible, but still away from the Slytherin section. I began glancing sideways into every compartment, only to find each full of people. I peeked my head into the last one and, to my relief, saw it was half empty.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" I asked politely.

"Sure. Hey, have I seen you before?" Seamus happily welcomed me in. I looked up and pulled my hair back. "Lyra?!"

"Er . . . hey, Seamus. Still hate me?" I winced.

He cringed. "N-no, I'm so sorry, Lyra. I really am."

I smiled. "It's okay. I believe you. How is Lucy?"

"We broke up." He shrugged, "it was mutual. Besides, I have my eye on someone else." I saw him cast a sideways glance at a sleeping Dean. "Does Harry know you're back?"

I felt balls of water begin to form in my hands as the air around is began to swirl. "No." By now, I was flickering in and out of Shadow and the earth was shaking.

"Why?"

"You haven't heard? He's happy now, with Chang." I faked a smile.

His eyes widened. "Okay, Lyra, I'm going to say this as calmly as possible, but you just set Luna on fire!"

"It's okay. I rather like it, it reminds me of my father's wackspurts." Luna smiled at the two.

"Well, as pleasant as this has been," Seamus mused, "I think we would all like to know how you're not dead."

"And I would love to tell you, but I'm afraid I don't know myself." I responded. There was a light knock on the door, and I quickly hid my face.

"Hello, Seamus," a familiar voice chirped, "I was just wondering if you had seen the new girl. We never caught her name, you know."

"Sorry, Hermione, can't say I have."

"Oh. Well, thanks, Seamus." I heard her footsteps get farther and farther away as I let out a breath I didn t know I was holding.

"Thanks, Shay." I smiled.

He raised an eyebrow, "Shay?" I nodded mutely.

We went on like that for a while. Dean woke up. The trolley lady came by and welcomed me back with free Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. And before we knew it, the train had stopped and families were searching every window for their child. I saw Uncle bouncing up and down on his does, smiling like a madman.

I shook my head and gave a small chuckle at his immaturity. Of course, he probably didn't know I was here. Not caring at the moment, I grabbed my trunk and bolted into the platform. I crashed into him at impossible speed, causing him to fall to the ground. He looked down at me, beaming. So he did know I was alive. I thought.

"DAD!" I heard a scream beside me. I slowly helped him up, only for him to be knocked over again.

"Who's she?" Harry sneered. I felt tears come to my eyes.

"I'll explain later. And I suggest you be nicer, Harry, you shouldn't play with fire." Uncle smirked. I was shocked - Uncle was never anything but happy around Harry - but smiled anyways at his pun.

Sirius apparated us home two at a time. Harry and Ron, Hermione and Sarah, and lastly, me and Ginny.

I immediately went up to my room on the fifth floor, second door on the right.

"You can't go in there," Harry hissed, "that room already belongs to someone."

I froze. "Who, Harry? Who does that room belong to?"

"Cho is coming over for a week. You can't sleep there." He smirked.

I spun around, grabbing my wand from my boot in the process. "You foul, selfish little jerk! Yes, Chosen One, you may have a scar, but I am not who you think. I have so much more of a burden, and so much less to live for. So you can go tell your girlfriend to find a new room, because I'm staying here. End. Of. Story."

He was angry now. "I don't know who you are, but you have no right to speak to me like that. I have no reason to listen you blab on about how you have nothing, because I know quite a lot about nothing-" I cut him off with a slap across his face, my wand still at his neck.

"What is going on here?!" Sirius demanded.

"You want to know what's going on?" I fumed, "I'll tell you. I was dead for half of the year. You know how I'm here now? I came back because I was never truly dead. I came back because of heartbreak. And now," I felt a pain in my chest and I couldn't breathe, "I'm going to finally die from it. Happy, Harry?"

Then everything went black.

****

"How do you know she isn't a death eater?!" A voice demanded. "If she is, we should just let her suffer. Aren't you the ones trying to kill them?"

"Harry James Potter!" Someone screeched, "Your girlfriend is in the hospital, dying! I don't know who you are anymore." The voice broke at the end.

A new voice entered the conversation. "What happened to Cho?"

"Sorry, I meant ex-girlfriend. Lyra is alive and Harry wants to let her die." They snapped.

"Correction: a death eater that looks like Lyra is dying." Harry snapped. I couldn't move. "What're you doing here, Seamus?"

"I'm her friend. And a right better one that you, at that. Luna and Dean are coming soon. What're you doing here, Harry?" He hissed.

I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "They're trying to determine if whoever this is was hit by a curse , and who it really is."

"No, Harry, they're not! Get it through your impossibly thick skill that this is Lyra Black, your ex-girlfriend, Sarah's sister, Sirius' niece, Hannah's best friend, and she is alive!" Ginny snapped. I heard someone stomping away, and I felt a single year roll down my cheek.

No.

No, I'm not going to sit here like a lovesick puppy after some guy who wants me dead.

The rest of the hour was silent. Even though I couldn't see anything, I had a vague idea of who was here. Fred and George, Sarah, Uncle, maybe Hermione and Ron, Seamus, Dean, Luna, Hannah, Gabrielle and possibly Aaron and Bella.

Footsteps approached. "Nurse!" Uncle exclaimed, "what's happened to her?"

"Mr. Black, your niece is literally dying of a broken heart."