Lyra kept fiddling with the ring. It was actually stuck on her finger, probably charmed by Walburga herself so that she couldn't just pretend that all that ridiculous engagement stuff hadn't happened over the summer. For Merlin's sake, it felt as if that ring was a prison, just designed for her, to keep her in place. Apparently, one rebellious teenager was enough. Speaking of which, Sirius who was sitting next to her grabbed her hands, squeezing them gently.

"Stop, you'll only hurt yourself.", he said and Lyra sighed. "I don't wanna wear it anymore. It's clunky and way too big for me. And it feels like I've been branded...everybody stares at me." "Well, it's a pretty huge ring.", Peter said, not looking up from the chess game he was playing against Remus. "Not helpful, Pete.", Sirius growled and rolled his eyes. "If we could work out the spell then maybe we could get it off.", Remus mumbled, lost in thought but clearly not paying any attention to the game. He was losing.

"Yeah, maybe...", Lyra said, leaning back, letting herself sink into the scarlet cushions. Ever since the summer was over, being a Slytherin had become almost unbearable for Lyra. Of course, all the purebloods knew about her engagement to Sirius Black. Some girls seemed to be jealous, others regarded it as a punishment because in their eyes Sirius was nothing more than a blood traitor. But Lyra just wanted them to stop talking, all of them. It bothered her so much up to the point where the whispers behind her back became too much and she magically silenced a group of third-years. Which Slughorn wasn't very fond of which resulted in a loss of 10 house points. Fortunately, he spared her detention, even the teachers thought that getting engaged at the age of thirteen was a bit much.

"Oi, it's not good for you to sit around all day and sulk.", James tutted and got out of the armchair. "What about some mischief, eh? We haven't done a proper prank since we've been back." "You got any ideas?", Sirius asked, finally letting go of Lyra's hands, not noticing the way Remus' face twitched. "Not yet, but I'm sure it will be brilliant.", James replied grinning. "Hey, don't you have quidditch training in like...five minutes?" Peter looked up, putting away another of Remus' chess pieces. They were piling up beside the board.

"Oh bugger! You're right! Shit, I'm gonna be late!" James stumbled through the common room and up the stairs. There were some muffled curses and finally James came tumbling down again, half-dressed, his broom clamped under one arm. "You coming with me?", he asked, striding towards the portrait hole. "I'm always better with an audience.", he said, cheekily. "Yeah, of course." Peter got up from the rug. He went wherever James went, it had always been that way. "Uhm I think I'm gonna pass, sorry James.", Lyra apologized. She wasn't in the mood to leave the common room or even get up.

"Yeah...me neither. Sorry. I'm gonna be there next time for sure.", Sirius said and Lyra looked at him surprised. Sirius never missed the quidditch training, he always cheered for James though she couldn't shake off the feeling that Sirius wanted to join his friend on the pitch. He would make a pretty good beater for sure. "Alright, what about you Moony?" James was already on his way out, Peter standing next to him. Remus gazed at the chessboard, then he glanced at Lyra and Sirius, his eyes flickering with something weird. "If I can bring one of my books..." "Of course, come on.", James waved. He had given up at trying to make Remus a quidditch fan halfway through their third year.

The slim boy just didn't understand why everybody made such a big fuss about it. "It's just like football. It's boring to me.", he had explained and James had gasped in shock. For him, it was incomprehensible how anyone could dislike quidditch. Then again he basically had grown up on a broom so it wasn't a surprise that he tried to share his excitement with every single one of his friends. They supported him, most of the time. Except when James tried to motivate them to join him on his early morning runs. No one was up for that, especially Sirius who liked to sleep in every time he got the chance to.

Remus, after he had grabbed "Cram It!: How to Soar on Your O.W.L.s", which was actually more like a study guide and less a book, followed James and Peter, and neither Sirius nor Lyra noticed the way he looked at them before leaving. Hurt, yearning, and off-put. The portrait swung back in place behind him and Lyra shook her head. "You didn't have to do that.", she said quietly. "Do what?", Sirius asked, leaning back and crossing his legs. "Skipping practice, I know you love quidditch almost as much as James does." Lyra fiddled with the ring again, tugging at it, but it only shrunk down further.

"Bollocks..."

"I know I don't have to, but I didn't wanna leave you alone.", Sirius soothed, grabbing her hands. "I think...I think we both need each other right now. We're in this together, remember?" "I know, I'm sorry it's just...everybody's talking about it, even the teachers. It feels like I'll never be able to escape my family." Lyra closed her eyes and concentrated on the way Sirius' hands felt, gently wrapped around hers. She relaxed, tried to ease her mind so that the ring wouldn't cut into her skin anymore. "I feel the same. I always cause so much trouble because...because it's the only way I can face them. The only way to show that I'm not one of them." Sirius gently shook his head. "Most of the time I got punished but I always thought it was worth it. Being a rebel always was my way of protesting."

"You're pretty good at rebelling.", Lyra whispered. "I tried once and mother made me regret it." "What happened?", Sirius asked, facing her now. Lyra didn't look at him. She had never told anyone about that. But maybe Sirius was the only person who would be able to understand her. She took a deep breath. "After one of my mother's lectures about how being a pureblood meant you had to act a certain way I decided to piss her off and thought 'Fuck it'. I cut my hair and ripped my clothes. I felt like a freaking rockstar for a few seconds and the look on my mother's face was hilarious. But then she took out her wand..." Lyra stopped, her heartbeat quickened at the memory and she bit her lip. For a moment it was silent, then Sirius asked: "Scars?"

Lyra nodded restrained. Without looking at Sirius she pulled down her blouse to expose her left shoulder. The black-haired boy took a sharp breath. It was the only scar she had but it was very prominent. "Diffindo?", Sirius asked and she nodded again. And then something soft slid across the scar and she winced. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lyra turned her head a little bit. Without noticing Sirius had let go of her hands which now hovered above her shoulder. "No, it's okay. I just didn't expect you to..." She didn't know what to say...or think. Suddenly she felt very naked and reached for the heavy red blanket that lay folded over the armest.

"Lyra, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did this." Sirius looked down, feeling ashamed. Why for Merlin's sake did he do that? Just touching her like that. Blimey, he really was a massive idiot. Lyra had shown him her most vulnerable side and he had ruined it. Sirius' mind was racing. There had to be something he could do. Something, anything... "I also have scars.", he blurted out, thinking it was only fair if she knew. Lyra, who had wrapped herself up in the blanket, raised her eyebrows. She had suspected that of course. And after meeting Walburga she had been absolutely sure. That woman knew nothing about kindness or forgiveness.

"Where?", Lyra asked and Sirius got up, unbuttoned his white shirt, and turned around. Lyra gasped. At least a dozen scars, neatly lined above each other, stretched across Sirius' back like silvery strings of thread. "Oh my...Sirius, I'm so sorry." Lyra reached out to him, desperately wanting to comfort him somehow, but she lowered her hand last minute, just inches away from his fair skin. "You don't have to be sorry.", Sirius said as he put his shirt back on. "You showed me yours, I showed you mine. We're even now." There was a faint smile swinging along in his voice but it only made Lyra sadder.

"I guess we're just not that lucky when it comes to mothers...", she mumbled, biting her lip. The urge to touch him was still there but she tried to fight it. "Yeah, but who needs mothers when you've got friends?" Sirius turned back towards her. "Especially when one of them is your lovely fiance.", he added jokingly and Lyra couldn't help but smile. "Haha, very funny Black.", she mused ironically. "I know, I'm facetious.", Sirius grinned and that made Lyra snort. They settled back onto the sofa, Sirius flipped on the record player that Remus had brought from home and they listened to Lyra's favorite Beatles' song over and over again.

By the time "Hey Jude" had become a background noise, James, Peter, and Remus returned to the common room. "Honestly Moony, how are you ever going to get a girlfriend if all you do is read books all day long?", James sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Who says I want a girlfriend?", Remus moped, his curls hiding the deep crease in his forehead. "Well, I for my part already know whom I'm gonna marry one day.", James said cheerily. "Oh dear, are you talking about Evans again?", Sirius groaned, curled up on the sofa, head on Lyra's shoulder. Remus pressed his lips together.

"Oi, don't talk like that about my future wife.", James scolded, throwing one of his boots in Sirius' direction. "She doesn't even like you.", Lyra added. "She will submit to my charms eventually.", James replied eagerly and slumped into the big armchair next to the fireplace. "Oh yeah, you're so endearing Potter, she doesn't stand a chance.", Lyra giggled and Sirius was relieved to see her like that. "Well if you're going to talk about that I'm out.", Remus suddenly snapped marching straight towards the stairs. "Oh Moony come on, don't be such a grouch. Stay, for me." Sirius had grabbed Remus' wrist, looking up at him innocently. But for some reason that only made it worse and Remus brushed off Sirius' hand and left without another word.

"What's gotten into him?", Peter frowned and James shrugged. "Maybe it's the moon.", Sirius said, clearly worried. "Yeah, maybe...", Lyra muttered. Or maybe it was something entirely different. In her head, she sifted through every single conversation they had during the last few weeks. Everything Sirius had done or said and how Remus had reacted...and how he had reacted when Sirius had paid more attention to her than him. And Lyra knew that uneasy look in his eyes whenever she and Sirius were sitting close to each other or he touched her in a rather intimate way. She knew it because her brother had looked at her like that a million times. Jealousy. And then it struck her like lightning.

Oh dear, she thought. Remus has a crush on Sirius.