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❝and i've been meaning to tell you i think your house is haunted your sister is always mad, and that must be why❞
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
From a young age, it was clear to Lyra that her oldest sister loathed her. For a while, she thought it was because she was a child, and for a few months, she thought it was because she was sorted into Hufflepuff, but when she entered her teen years and nothing changed, she realized that Bellatrix's problem with her had nothing to do with her age or her Hogwarts house. It had to do with her. She despised her simply because of her pitiful existence.
As Lyra lay awake in bed Christmas night, she couldn't help but wonder what made Bellatrix hate her so much. She hadn't done anything wrong – at least not that she knew of. Narcissa said that it had nothing to do with her and more so from how much Bellatrix had changed over the years, but she thought she was only saying that to make her feel better – which it didn't.
"She wasn't always like this," Narcissa told 8 year old Lyra. The petite blonde was curled up in her lap as they sat in front of the fire on a cold February night. Her head was on Narcissa's shoulder, and her small hands were gently playing with her two-toned black and blonde hair. "Our parents were awful to her. It kind of changed her entire personality."
"But I don't understand, Cissy." Lyra looked up at her big sister with a small pout. "If Mum and Dad were so horrible to her, then why is she the same way to me? Why would she become the exact thing she feared?"
Narcissa sighed. She kissed Lyra's forehead and held her close. "I wish I had all the answers for you, Marcy," she whispered, using the nickname she gave her for her middle name. "I wish I could make it better for you."
Lyra rolled over onto her side. She watched the snow falling outside her window. The glittering white ground glowed a light golden colour from the Christmas lights that decorated the outside of the manor. The sun had completely disappeared, the bright moon taking its place in the night sky. The worst holiday was over.
She tried to get some sleep, but her slumbers had been disrupted by recurring nightmares, each one more frightening than the last. When she woke up, it was just after midnight. She sighed heavily and rolled over onto her stomach, hugging her pillow. "Looks like another sleepless night," she mumbled to herself. "Been having a lot of those lately."
Things were different this time around. When the holidays were over, she wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. That was one of the downsides that came from graduating. She no longer had a place to look forward to going back to as an escape for a few months. She could sneak out and go to Aliyah's house for a while – she knew she was always welcome with the Colemans, and from past experience running away, Bellatrix would never think to look there if she decided to hunt her down – but that probably wouldn't be the best idea at the moment. Maybe sometime after the new year.
