𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 | h. granger

viii | disowned family

Hufflepuff Common Room

── •✧• ──

𝐋𝐘𝐑𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏. She'd tried, but she couldn't get her brain to shut off. By morning, Bellatrix would have already received word that she had been sorted into Hufflepuff, and an angry letter would be awaiting her the following day. She just knew it.

Sighing heavily, Lyra kicked off her blanket and left her dorm, closing the door quietly behind her. She walked down the staircase to the deserted Common Room, the journal Narcissa had given her before she left tucked underneath her arm. She sat down on the couch and began to write.

After a while, an older girl came down the stairs. By the looks of her, she had to be a seventh year. Her hair was bubblegum pink, and she had brown eyes that Lyra could've sworn looked like her eldest sister's.

"Hey." The 7th year smiled when she saw her. "You're up late. Trouble sleeping?"

Lyra nodded. Her brows furrowed slightly. Even though she'd never seen this girl before, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew her from somewhere.

"Yeah, me either. I was gonna go sneak into the kitchens for a late night snack if you want to come with me."

Lyra frowned. "Is that even allowed?"

"Oh, of course it's not!" The girl laughed. She placed her hands on her hips and wiggled her brows mischievously. "That's what makes it so fun." She held her hand out to shake. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks. But please, don't call me Nymphadora. It's Tonks."

Tonks.

Lyra's older sister, Andromeda, had been disowned for marrying a Muggle-born wizard with the surname Tonks. That's why she looked familiar. She had seen a photograph of Andromeda in an old photo album, and Nymphadora looked just like her.

"You're a first year, aren't you? I wasn't completely focused during the Sorting. What's your name?" Tonks asked, smiling brightly.

". . .Lyra." She intentionally left out her surname as she shook her hand. She hoped she wouldn't ask what it was.

"You got a last name, Lyra?"

Kill me now.

Please.

I wish for death.

Lyra exhaled slowly through her nose. "Black," she whispered. "Lyra Black."

Tonks stared for a moment. She blinked, then gasped. "You're Lyra? A-As in—"

"Your mum's sister?" Lyra finished the sentence. Tonks nodded. "Yeah. . .um, th-that's me. . .I-I'm technically not supposed to—"

"Talk to me?" Tonks guessed. Lyra nodded. "Yeah. I figured."

There was silence between them for a moment. Lyra fidgeted with her quill. Tonks shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Out of all the scenarios Lyra had gone through in her head, meeting a disowned family member was one that she had not prepared for.

"I-I'm not prejudiced," Lyra whispered after a while, her gaze fixated on the floor. "You know. . .a-against half-bloods or Muggle-borns. . .I don't hate Andromeda for marrying your dad. It's my sisters who have a problem with it."

"Gods, I feel so bad for you." Tonks sat down next to Lyra on the couch. "I mean, having to grow up with Bellatrix Lestrange? Mum said she's crazy. It sounds like a bloody nightmare."

"It is," Lyra admitted, sighing as she leaned her head back. She looked up at the high ceiling, the faint glow from the fireplace illuminating the yellow print wallpaper.

"I'm guessing you're worried about what she's gonna say since you didn't make Slytherin?" Tonks asked quietly.

"What she'll do." Lyra's voice was barely above a whisper. She closed her journal and hugged it close to her chest, blinking a few times to push back tears.

Tonks put a gentle hand on the tiny blonde's back. Lyra tensed at first, but relaxed. "You should come with me to the kitchens. I've found that chocolate makes everything better."

"Won't we get in trouble?" Lyra asked, frowning softly as Tonks pulled her up from the couch and led her to the portrait hole. Getting detention on her first night wouldn't help her case at all.

"Only if we're caught." Tonks grinned mischievously as they left, walking backwards so that she could look at Lyra as she continued to talk. "You'll soon learn, young Lyra, that Hufflepuff is the best house because it is so close to the kitchens. It's impossible to be caught."

Lyra followed the older girl down the corridor. Tonks tickled the pear in the painting, and the portrait swung open. There were a few house elves that were still up cleaning. When they spotted the two Hufflepuff girls, they dropped their brooms or rags and ran over to them, eager and ready to serve them whatever they wanted.

She felt homesick at the sight of them. She missed their house elf, Dobby. She wished that she could be there to defend him against Lucius's abuse. She hoped that he'd be okay.

After a mug of hot cocoa with whipped cream and pink sugar sprinkles, they returned to the Common Room for the night. Tonks told Lyra to try and get some sleep since they had a long day of classes ahead of them in the morning and to let her know if there was anything she needed.

Between Tonks and Ophelia, Lyra was starting to think that being in Hufflepuff wouldn't be so bad after all.