"Alright, that'll be it.", Moody said, his gnarly voice sounding way too big for this little room they were in. "Anyone else feeling useless?", Lyra whispered, watching as all the other witches and wizards began talking in a hurried manner. "Well we're new to this whole war thing, we're basically foot soldiers. They're not gonna entrust us with a big mission right away.", Remus murmured, who was standing next to Sirius, holding his hand in the shadows.

Only a week had passed since they had finished their last year at Hogwarts with their biggest prank ever, which had been a huge success. Or glorious, as Sirius had exclaimed multiple times. But they weren't at school anymore, no more fun and games. This was war. And the world made sure to remind them of that.

"Don't worry Mr. Lupin, you will get your chance to prove yourself. All of you.", Dumbledore said, suddenly appearing right behind them. "Professor! I wasn't...I didn't mean to...", Remus stammered, but the old man smiled and gently shook his head. "No need to apologize. I understand how you must be feeling, these are dire times for all of us and your help is more important than you might think." Remus nodded, straightening his back a little bit. Lyra noticed him squeezing Sirius' hand.

It had been a bit difficult in the beginning. After all, a relationship like this was new to all of them and it hadn't been the easiest to sort things out. But they had learned to understand each other, better than ever before and after a week they had got the hang of it. Lyra basically had two loving boyfriends and Sirius was practically bursting with joy. And Remus was happy when Sirius was happy.

"Still living with the Potters, Miss Avery?", Dumbledore asked out of the blue and Lyra flinched. She knew exactly what the old headmaster wanted to hear her say. "I cut all ties with my family when I heard what they had become.", she said, trying to sound strong. "I know and that was very brave of you but if there's anything you might know that could be of help, then..." "She doesn't know anything.", Sirius said firmly, interrupting Dumbledore and putting an arm around Lyra. He switched to 'overprotective boyfriend'-mode every time he felt someone was about to judge Lyra because of her family.

"She's one of us, she made her choice a long time ago."

"Don't worry, Mr. Black.", Dumbledore replied calmly, obviously not minding the fact that Sirius had interrupted him rather rudely. "I don't doubt that Miss Avery is loyal to our cause. But her family are strong supporters of Voldemort and any information could be of big value for the Order." "I know that and I want to help, but...I'm afraid there's nothing I can tell you, sir.", Lyra explained. Dumbledore nodded. "I see, but I'm afraid you will have to face your family eventually." Lyra felt herself tense up and Sirius shot her a worried look. "Yes...I know that." And with that Dumbledore left them alone.

"Come on, let's go home.", Sirius said softly and after finding James, Lily, and Peter they all apparated outside the tiny house that the Order of the Phoenix had used for its very first meeting. "We really need to get our own place soon.", Sirius declared and flung himself onto the big guest bed. "I thought you liked living with the Potters.", Remus said, sitting next to him, running a hand through that silky black hair. "I do, but well...I think we need a bigger bed and a bit more privacy would be a blessing." Sirius smirked at the last part and Remus blushed.

"What do you think Lyra?" Sirius sat up and looked at his girlfriend, who was standing at the window, apparently lost in thought. "Lyra?" Remus sighed, walked towards her, and gently took her hands. "Hey, you okay?" Lyra pressed her lips together, there was a deep crease on her forehead, her beautiful eyes littered with anxiety. "No." That was the sign for the two boys to wrap Lyra up in a tight and warming hug for a few minutes before Remus left to go downstairs and make some tea. Sirius stayed, placing soft kisses on Lyra's cheek and occasionally her lips. That's how they always did it when one of them was sad or upset in any way. It always helped.

"It's because of what Dumbledore said, right? About facing your family.", Remus said, as he handed Lyra the steaming cup. "I know that he's right, it's just...I'm afraid. I don't think I'm ready to face them. I wouldn't know what to do.", she explained quietly staring into the milky tea. "You don't have to, at least not now. And when you do...we will be with you.", Sirius promised, leaning his forehead against Lyra's. "We will always be with you, no matter what." And Sirius meant what he said, but little did they know that those promises would be broken only a few years later. That Sirius wouldn't be able to stay with his loved ones. That Remus wouldn't be there when they needed him and that Lyra would be alone when everything fell apart.

* * *

Autumn, 1978

The little cottage that Sirius had bought was adorable. Of course, it had been an impulse buy because as always Sirius hadn't been able to control himself. "And that's what you get for entangling yourself with a posh boy from a wealthy family.", Remus had said in a played annoyed tone, as Sirius had told them about the cottage, clearly unable to be mad at him for real. Lyra on the other hand was absolutely overwhelmed the first time she stepped into the living room. There hadn't been that much furniture at that point but still. The pale wooden floorboards, the large fireplace, the brick walls, everything was just perfect. Plenty of room for all of Remus' books and Sirius' concerningly big and still growing collection of leather jackets.

"It's perfect.", Lyra had said, watching the setting sun paint golden patterns on the walls. "It's home.", Sirius had added, sliding into Remus' lap while holding Lyra's hand. And as the weeks passed by the cottage grew, filled with their possessions and memories. As always, the little things made the biggest impact. For instance, Remus' melodic humming that could be heard from the kitchen when he was cooking or Lyra's habit of kissing her boys on the head whenever she entered a room or Sirius' records, scattered over the carpet, a constant mess because every time Lyra put them back on the shelf they ended up on the floor anyway, so why bother? But the best part was undeniably the giant bedroom and of course what happened inside of it.

"I've got a mission tomorrow.", Lyra said, still sounding a bit out of breath, her black curls spread over Sirius' chest. "What kind of mission?", Remus asked who had wrapped both arms around Sirius' waist, the latter still completely blissed out. "Diagon Alley, Moody wants me to check if there are any Death Eaters who are trying to recruit anyone.", Lyra answered, while she played with one of Remus' brown curls. "I hope he doesn't expect that you go alone.", Sirius mumbled, eyes closed. "Actually he does.", Lyra muttered instantly causing Sirius to muddle around. "What?! No, don't even think about it. There's no way I'm letting you do this on your own." "Calm down Pads, Moody knew you would react like that. You two can come with me, but only as a backup so you gotta stay hidden, understood?" Lyra raised an eyebrow and Sirius opened his mouth, then closed it again and nodded.

"Good boy." Lyra placed a quick kiss on Sirius' nose. "I know you're worried, but we don't want things to escalate, do we?" She freed herself from the crumpled-up bedsheets and got up, walking towards the closet. "Uhu...", Sirius said, distracted because Lyra was butt-naked. "Oi she's talking about you.", Remus chuckled, flicking Sirius' ear. "Excuse me? You're the one with the temper.", Sirius complained. "Well, I guess that's the wolf inside of me.", Remus grinned. "Hm, tell that to my back. Looks like a freaking work of art.", Sirius replied and bend over Remus, who was blushing. Lyra smiled. Even if the world was ending, as long as those two idiots were around, everything would be okay.

And so, when the morning came, Lyra left the cottage, with Sirius and Remus following her only minutes later. When Lyra arrived in Diagon Alley she realized that it had been over a year since she had last been here and a feeling of familiarity bloomed in her chest. It was nice being back and to be honest she didn't expect that anything thrilling would happen during this mission. Standard surveillance, as Moody had called it.

Time passed by and Sirius and Remus were always there, always only meters away, hidden in the shadows. Ready to step out, in case Lyra would need their help. But nothing happened, nothing that would've been worth a report to the Order, and when the sun began to sink Lyra prepared to return to their agreed meeting point when it happened...

"Well well, if it isn't my sweet sister, the bitch who betrayed her own family." Lyra almost shuddered as the voice crept inside her head. For Merlin's sake, why now? Why him?

She stopped walking and turned around, well aware of the fact that Remus and Sirius were nearby. "I didn't betray anyone, Grayson. I only choose not to support a man whose vision is as dangerous as it is insane." "Oh please, you never cared about politics. You did this to upset mother and father, to let them down one last time.", Grayson spat and Lyra rolled her eyes. "Could you stop acting like a goddamn prat for at least once? This isn't about our family, this is about doing the right thing." "Hah, you make me laugh, sister! The right thing? If you truly knew what's right then you wouldn't have left me the second you met those stupid boys!", Grayson shouted. Lyra blinked, struck by complete disbelief. "You...that's why you're angry? Because I befriended Sirius and the others?" "I'm angry because you abandoned me! I was your brother!", Grayson replied, clearly upset.

Lyra sighed, shaking her head. "Grayson, we lost each other long before we went to Hogwarts. And honestly, I don't know what happened, because...because when we were kids you were everything for me. My only friend, the only person I could trust. But then you decided that pleasing our parents was more important so if anyone's to blame then it's you."

Grayson stared at her, a few loose strands of his black hair disturbing his view. Lyra knew she might have gone too far, but she also knew that this might be her last chance to ever talk to her brother. The silence between the siblings stretched out, the tension rose and the air grew thicker. She was about to just turn around and leave as Grayson slowly drew his wand. "Don't do that. Please. I don't want to hurt you.", Lyra whispered but Grayson only laughed. A disturbing, gut-wrenching laugh. "It's too late for that, sister."

Later, when thinking back to this exact moment, Lyra only remembered how lost she had felt. And how the only thing that she had been capable thinking of was "I failed you, Grayson." And if Regulus Black hadn't been so quick-thinking she might have died that day. Because the curse that Grayson had fired at her, had been an unforgivable. The worst one. And even though Remus and Sirius had wasted no time, they wouldn't have been able to save her. But Regulus was. He stepped out of a side street, apparently supposed to accompany Grayson, deflecting the curse. Something red flashed before her eyes, there was a distant explosion, dust began clouding the sun.

It all happened so fast, Lyra didn't even move. She could only stare at her brother and see the pure hatred in his eyes. She didn't hear Regulus shouting towards Sirius and she didn't notice as the older Black brother grabbed her arm, apparating back to their cottage. There were only bits and pieces that Lyra managed to get a hold of. Remus' breath, completely out of control, Sirius' shaking hands, someone was crying. It took a while for her to realize that it was her who was crying. As the dullness finally disappeared, Lyra felt her legs giving up, but Sirius was there to catch her.

Streaked with tears and trembling she sank into Sirius' arms, Remus' soothing voice echoing in her ears. "Shhh, it's okay. You're safe, you're with us." Lyra wanted nothing more than to be able to believe these words but the truth was that she couldn't. Seeing her brother like this, seeing what the war had done to him...it had extinguished a little bit of Lyra's spark. It had weakened her fire and she had lost something that day. Something she would never be able to get back.