Funerals never bothered Lyra as a child. They were dull and full of lies and pretentious sorrow. No one had actually mourned the people that had passed away. At least in Lyra's family that had always been the case. Everyone had hated her aunt Edwina and to be fair she was a horrendous woman but at her funeral, there were suddenly tears and everybody told stories of happy memories that never happened. Turns out they had only been after the money she had left behind.

But this time...it was different. First, they lost Regulus. None of the marauders knew how it had happened but only a few months after Lily's and James' wedding he had been declared dead by the Daily Prophet. Lyra knew that a small part of Sirius also had died the day they found out. He and Regulus never had an easy relationship but they had been brothers in the end and Lyra couldn't stop thinking about the day when Regulus had saved her life.

Poor little Regulus, only eighteen years old and even though Sirius would never admit it, Lyra knew that he secretly wished that he would be allowed to attend his younger brother's funeral. In fact, Sirius tried really hard to convince her and Remus that he didn't care about Regulus. "He chose the wrong side, end of story.", Sirius had said when Remus had tried to talk to him. But of course, they all knew that it wasn't that simple. Because no matter how terrible his family had treated him, in his own way Regulus had always wanted Sirius to be safe.

And just as Lyra and Remus thought Sirius had overcome the loss, James' parents got sick. They had contracted Dragon Pox, a magical disease that lead to death in most cases, especially when the patients were advanced in age. Whereas James, Lily, and Remus tried to be strong, Sirius couldn't help himself and succumbed to his anger.

"It's not fair!", he had shouted, as the living room of their cottage was overflowing with uncontrolled magic. "I know, Sirius. I know they treated you like their own son but they had a long and happy life so they will be okay. Trust me.", Lyra had replied in an attempt to calm him down. "They took me in, they loved me and took care of me when my own family kicked me out! I...I can't lose them too!"

Sirius' face was distorted with grief, his eyes red and shimmering with tears. Lyra took a deep breath. "I know it hurts and I'm not trying to tell you that you shouldn't be sad because you have a right to feel that way. But don't be angry, don't try to drown out all the good things. And remember that you're not alone." She slowly stepped towards Sirius, cupping his face with both of her hands. "I'm here, my love. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." Sirius bit his lip, weakly leaning into the soft touch and tears started streaming down his face.

His body crumbled into Lyra's arms, shaking with sadness, completely overwhelmed. He was weeping like a child but Lyra held him, determined to show him that no matter what happened she would always be there to catch him, to make sure he wouldn't be alone. But also Lyra herself couldn't deny that things had become dire. It hadn't been an easy year.

The war was still raging and even though no one dared to say it, it was obvious that they were losing. The Order had significantly shrunken down, Moody had lost an eye and hope could be hardly found anywhere. There were fewer and fewer people that you could trust and everyone who wasn't careful let the fear creep inside their heart where it rooted itself and grew until they were consumed by it and people filled with fear did desperate things. And the fact that they sent out Remus to infiltrate the werewolves didn't help.

Sirius was constantly worried, staying awake every night Remus had to leave their home, praying that he would come back unharmed. He did, every time but even though there weren't any visible injuries Lyra had the feeling that something happened with Remus when he was with the werewolves. A constant change, so little and nondescript that one could easily miss it. But Lyra saw it in his eyes.

When he came back Remus always looked as if he had left something behind that he missed. They never talked about it though. Remus didn't look like he wanted to share that piece of himself and Lyra felt like she didn't have the right to ask. And Sirius was too busy worrying over so many things that sometimes it seemed like he didn't really see them anymore.

During the last week of November 1979, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter died. James' father was the first one to go, followed by his wife only days later. The funeral, organized by Lily, was as lovely as a burial could be. So many witches and wizards came to celebrate the life of the Potters, telling stories, indulging in old times. Sirius didn't leave James' side once and so Lyra stayed with Remus as they both thought they were the ones who knew Effie and Monty the least.

Still, Euphemia had comforted Lyra during that one dreadful Christmas. Back then she didn't even know her but she saw what only a true mother would've seen. A child that needed to be protected, a lost soul that needed some love. So she had given all that and more.

"I'll miss them.", Lyra said, leaning against Remus who absently played with a lock of her black hair. "Yeah, me too.", he nodded. Lyra turned her head a bit to get a better look at him. "You're restless. Is it the moon?" "No, I...yeah maybe. I don't know..." Remus let go of her hair and shifted in his seat on the couch.

"Another mission?", Lyra asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "Probably.", was all that Remus said, his brown eyes staring into nothingness. "I wish you wouldn't have to do that. You're always kind of different when you come back.", Lyra murmured as she slowly raised a hand to caress Remus' face. "Different? What's that supposed to mean?", he snapped, grabbing her hand without looking at her.

"Nothing, I'm just worried. I don't want anything to happen to you.", Lyra explained, pressing her lips together. Remus' grip was becoming tighter by the second. "You're hurting me.", she whispered and Remus' face softened immediately. "Oh god, I'm sorry. It's just..." "It's okay, we're all on edge.", Lyra retorted, withdrawing her hand. "Just be careful. If not for me then for Sirius." Remus lowered his head, obviously feeling guilty for being so rough. "I always think about you two when I'm out there. You're the reason I'm coming back.", he said in a low voice.

"Remus, I would never doubt any of that. It's just...trust is the most important thing right now. You have to have faith in us, your friends. We have to stick together. Because if this is the end of the world I'd rather have you by my side.", Lyra stated and Remus felt even worse. For Merlin's sake, why was it so hard to tell her the truth? It had been so easy back when they were kids. And he knew that Lyra would always understand him, that she would always have his back. He knew all that but he still couldn't bring himself to say the words.

That he believed that the werewolves were mistreated. That they were only pieces in this game and that Voldemort used them for his plan to conquer the magical world. They weren't all evil, they weren't monsters, they just needed help. Remus knew that most of them only followed Voldemort because they didn't have another choice, but he also knew that if he would say these things out loud people would start to lose their faith in him.

They would mistrust him because he was one of them. It wasn't that he believed Lyra or Sirius would accuse him of switching sides but for some reason, he wanted to keep all those things to himself. Yet another secret and he had always been good at keeping those. Little did he know that this secret was the first of many reasons why everything fell apart in the end.

***

Around Christmas, which the marauders spent at the Potter's house, Lily told them that she was pregnant. Especially Sirius was so happy that he lifted Lily off her feet and spun her around and Lyra ignored the unpleasant twinge inside her chest. They all needed a little joy in their lives so they stayed over the holidays and not even the news of Orion Black's death stopped them from cheerfully celebrating New Year's Eve.

Sadly the new year didn't bring enough changes and the war continued. Though Moody managed to capture a Death Eater named Igor Karkaroff and two more of Voldemort's followers were killed by Aurors. Remus also reported that the number of the werewolves who supported the dark lord was shrinking and they all tried to keep up their spirits.

Which wasn't easy and Lyra noticed that Remus, who had always been an introvert, often stayed up late, spoke less, and sometimes even left their bed in the middle of the night to sleep on the couch. More than once she had tried to convince Sirius to talk with Remus as he knew him the best. But Sirius was stubborn and soon it felt like they were ghosts in their own home.

Lyra did her best at keeping them all together, she wasn't willing to give up. This war had taken many things from her, only recently her brother who had been sent to Azkaban. But she swore to herself that she wouldn't let Sirius and Remus be taken from her. They were all that mattered, all that still made sense in this messed-up world. Sirius' smile was the reason she got up in the morning and Remus' warm brown eyes gave her the needed strength to survive the day. Godric knows what would happen if she lost them.

Fortunately, on the 31st of July, something happened that led to Sirius and Remus realizing what they were about to lose. It was the day Lily gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. It was the day that Sirius and Lyra became godparents while Remus held the newborn in his arms. "What's his name?", Lyra asked as she wiped tears of joy from Sirius' face. "Harry.", Lily smiled, looking incredibly tired while James kissed her on the head for the hundredth time.

"Harry Potter, sounds good.", Remus said cradling the small boy who had Lily's eyes. "Thank Merlin you didn't name him after another constellation.", Sirius chuckled, still sniveling a little bit. "Or Neville. I mean, I really like Frank and Alice but seriously?", Remus raised an eyebrow and James grinned.

"Hey Moony, can I hold him now?", Sirius asked, stretching out his arms. "Oh yeah, sure." Remus carefully handed over the baby and Sirius gently petted Harry's head, covered in a thin fluff of dark hair. "He's so tiny.", Sirius whispered and almost dissolved into a puddle as Harry yawned. Lyra lightly took Harry's small hand into her own. "He looks a lot like you James." "That's what Marls said. But I'm pretty sure he has my mother's nose.", James replied. "Do you think he'll play quidditch later? Oh oh, can I buy him his first broom? Can I, Prongs? Please.", Sirius babbled excitedly.

"Oi calm down, Padfoot.", Remus shushed, putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Well, one thing is certain.", Lily said sleepily, eyes already closed. "And that would be?", Sirius asked. "Isn't that obvious?" Lyra placed a feather-light kiss on Harry's forehead. "No matter where he goes or what happens, he will always be loved and protected."