July, 1972

It was a hot summer day, the sun was burning, not showing any mercy and Lyra felt way too hot in the black lace dress, that covered almost every inch of her body. The dark fabric felt sticky and Lyra shifted, trying to get a bit more comfortable. "Stop moving so much.", a stern voice tutted. Lyra let out a quiet sigh, stiffening her shoulders. Since what felt like an eternity her mother was busy combing and braiding her hair, pinning it in place, determined to make her look like the well-bred lady she ought to be. "You should feel lucky.", Davina Avery said, avoiding her daughter's disapproving gaze. "The Blacks are one of the oldest and richest wizard families in England. Not to mention that they are very powerful. And their son, as wayward as he might be, is a perfect match."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Then why bother with me? Go on and marry him yourself if you fancy him that much." "Watch your mouth, young lady!", Davina hissed, slapping the hairbrush against Lyra's arm. "I'm doing that for you, so be a bit more grateful." "You're doing that for yourself and you know it. I get nothing from it.", Lyra muttered darkly. It was true, she didn't benefit from any of this ridiculous "arranged marriage" stuff. And neither did Sirius. Davina and Walburga decided that without considering their children's wishes, they only thought about the power they would wield if they united two of the sacred 28 pureblood families.

She was only a tool in her family's pursuit of power. They cared nothing for her. They didn't care that she was only thirteen, merely a child that shouldn't have to worry about things like engagements and weddings. Lyra's father, the honorable Yorick Avery, had told her to 'make a good first impression' and 'behave like a fine young woman', which was short for 'don't mess up or you will be in trouble'. And as sad as it might be, Lyra didn't have a chance but to obey her family's orders. Because she knew what would happen if she tried to rebel. She tried once and after that never again.

Sirius on the other hand had been furious after the first shock had passed. He had been raging all evening, cursing his mother and Regulus. James had tried to calm him down a bit.

"Hey, we will find a way out, okay? For both of you, we will find a solution. Right, Moony?" But Remus had been so surprised that he hadn't been able to back James up. In fact, he had looked almost as terrified as Sirius himself, pale, his eyes blank with terror. "Oi Moony, I need a little help here.", James had hissed but it had been in vain. Remus' brain had officially stopped working. If the situation hadn't been so dire the marauders would have laughed their asses off.

"They...they can't force you to marry each other, can't they?", Peter had asked, nervously fidgeting with a chess piece. "Oh they can and they will. Our mothers have joined forces as it seems and I'm afraid there's nothing we can do.", Lyra had explained, flinging herself onto the red sofa. Sure, she was far from being excited to be engaged at the age of thirteen but at least it was someone she knew and not some snobby boy from a family she had never met. That would have been way worse.

"Nothing we can do? Come on, we're marauders! There must be something...anything." James had looked hopeful for a moment but when Sirius had shaken his head in silent defeat the bespectacled boy had closed his mouth, looking deeply shaken. Up to this point, they had felt untouchable, like nothing could ever stop them. But now they were faced with a problem that felt too grown up to solve with a children's mind. And for the first time in two years, the marauders didn't have a plan and it seemed like there was no way out. So now Lyra tried to face the unthinkable: her own betrothal party.

It still felt scarily unreal, like all of this was just a nightmare and Sirius would wake her any minute. But no, the black-haired boy was part of that misery. Waiting for her at the Black family home, feeling as uneasy as Lyra. They weren't ready and they were still hoping that someone would come to their rescue and stop this madness last minute. But with each moment that passed, hope died a little more until Lyra finally looked up into the mirror she was sitting in front of, realizing that there was no one coming to save them.

"Hm, I think Walburga will be pleased. You look acceptable.", Davina said, giving the emerald green fabric flower that was sitting in a nest of black curls a final nudge with her index finger. "Acceptable? Dear mother, please...I'm overwhelmed.", Lyra groaned, earning a sharp flick against her ear. "Stop behaving like a child." "I am a child in case you forgot." Davina clicked her tongue and turned around. "Come on now, we don't want to be late."

Lyra closed her eyes, thinking about Sirius and how sorry she felt for him. Surely it wasn't the first time his family did something to keep him in line, though an unwanted engagement might be the least painful out of all the things Walburga Black had done. Because Lyra knew that Sirius bore his own scars, engraved into his very soul caused by his own mother. He might have never told her up to this point but Lyra knew the look on his face. The look that crept into his beautiful features when he thought that nobody was looking. It was oh so familiar.

"Lyra!" It was her father's voice, rough and demanding and Lyra finally got up, walking downstairs into the living room. "You look lovely sister.", Grayson mused, not trying to hide the spitefulness. Lyra gritted her teeth, wishing she could just grab her wand and jinx the hell out of her brother. He was acting like that ever since their mother had told him about the engagement. Nasty little prick...

"Alright, Lyra, you will travel with your mother. Remember to be polite and only speak when you are asked to." Yorick raised an eyebrow at her and Lyra bowed her head. It was no use to try and act up now, it would only make things worse and she didn't want to cause any more trouble mostly because of Sirius. "Good." Her father stepped aside. They were traveling via the floo network and it was by far Lyra's least favorite way of getting from one place to another. She always felt dimly afterward.

Davina grabbed her daughter's wrist, pulling her with her. "12 Grimmauld Place.", she spoke in a clear tone and Lyra quickly closed her eyes. Her mother's grip tightened and it almost hurt as green flames swallowed them. Lyra's stomach did a full 180 and if it hadn't been for Davina's fingernails digging into her skin she might have thrown up. But there wasn't any time to actually calm her nerves as Lyra was immediately faced with the scariest looking woman ever to exist. Walburga Black tilted her head in a very elegant but menacing way and Lyra felt her heart drop. Her eyes were cold, piercing right through her. Oh for Merlin's sake, that was Sirius' mother? No wonder he was afraid of her.

"Walburga, pleased to see you. You look as charming as ever.", Davina said, not letting go of Lyra, put shoving her forward. "This is my daughter, Lyra." And for a moment Lyra forgot that she was expected to make a curtsey as Walburga was still looking her up and down, searching for the tiniest sign of imperfection. Davina cleared her throat. "Oh uhm, it's an honor to finally meet you Mrs. Black.", Lyra said hurriedly, putting one foot behind the other and bending her knees. "Your mother told me about you, young lady. And I'm hoping you're not going to disappoint me. I've had enough of that from my own family.", Walburga said in an icy voice and her eyes darted towards Sirius, who was standing behind her looking absolutely miserable. "No Ma'am, of course not.", Lyra replied, straightening up.

"Good.", Walburga said, not even looking at her. "Sirius will show you the house and I expect both of you in the living room in exactly twenty minutes. Understood?" They both nodded quickly, Lyra walking past that dreadful woman. Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her upstairs in complete silence, not a single word leaving his mouth. Only after he had shut the door to his bedroom, leaning against it, he finally looked at her, flashing a weak smile. "You look lovely.", he said, and even though those were the exact same words Grayson had used Lyra couldn't help herself and smiled back. "You look dashing."

"Yeah well I would prefer jeans and a leather jacket but I think mother would kill me in an instant if she would ever catch me wearing muggle clothes." He stepped away from the door. "You okay?" "I'm fine.", Lyra said. "What about you?" "Marvelous." Of course, they both knew they were lying to each other, trying desperately to drown that feeling of helplessness.

They stood silent for a minute before Sirius grabbed Lyra's hand, unable to look her in the face. "I'm sorry. It's my fault." Lyra frowned. "What? Why are you saying this? None of this is your fault." "It is. If I hadn't tried to piss them off as much as possible this wouldn't have happened. It's a punishment and they're dragging you into this to hurt me.", Sirius explained, still not looking up. Lyra shook her head. "That's nonsense. And I'm not blaming you for this. Our families are just a bunch of twats." She put a hand under Sirius' chin, trying to look him in the eye. Those beautiful blue eyes overflowing with regret and sadness...

"I'm glad it's you.", she said softly and that did the trick. "Really?", Sirius asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Yeah, I mean it could've been worse, right? They could've decided to marry me off to some distant cousin or one of the Lestrange brothers.", Lyra explained, hoping that it sounded at least a bit funny. But Sirius just continued to look at her in pure amazement. "Wait, you mean...you mean you wouldn't mind getting married to me?" Lyra paused, thinking for a second, and then shrugged. "No, I don't think so. I mean we're friends after all and I...I like you.", she confessed, her voice dying in a whisper towards the end. Sirius blinked, then blushed and squeezed Lyra's hand. "Me too, you're a thousand times better than any of my cousins. Bella's mental and Cissy hates me with a passion."

"Well then, I think we got off lucky.", Lyra said feeling her cheeks heat up. They both still looked a little bit pink when they descended down into the living room, filled with every member of the Black and Avery family. It was a horrifying feeling to be watched by countless pairs of eyes, every single one waiting. With the exception of Regulus Black, who looked as if he truly pitied Lyra and Sirius but none of them noticed. They were far too busy getting through this ceremony alive.

After a short speech held by Walburga, Orion Black presented his son with the traditional engagement ring of the Blacks. It was an enormous piece of jewelry. Gold, engraved with the family motto "Toujours Pur" and topped off with a large black gemstone. Sirius took it and (because every single person in this room expected him to) knelt down and took Lyra's hand. The large ring shrunk down as he slipped it onto Lyra's finger still looking way too big. Modest applause echoed through the gathered audience.

It feels so strange, Lyra thought, still struggling to realize what had just happened. But at least she wasn't alone, at least there was someone beside her who knew exactly how she felt. Sirius lightly touched the tips of her fingers as if he was trying to tell her that he would not leave her alone. They were in this together, they were going to support each other and no one, not even the terrifying Walburga Black could change that into something bad.