"So we're going to Japan?" asked an excited blonde.
"I'm going to Japan, but you're not. Your family can protect you without any problems," replied the dark-haired girl.
"You're so boring, Ly... I can convince my parents to let me leave the country on holiday," said Daphne, who didn't want to be left behind. "Besides, our goal—"
"There is no goal. I told you to leave him alone," Lyra interrupted, her voice firm.
There was silence between them as they watched the fish swimming through the window. Sometimes they were attracted by the light and ended up crashing into the glass.
"I still don't understand you, Lyra. Have you given up?" the blonde asked. Her face wasn't as happy as it had been a minute ago.
"I didn't give up. I just know that I don't need to prostitute myself to achieve my goals."
"Yeah, right, Minister," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Even Millicent Bagnold grovelled at the feet of the pure-bloods to get her job," she said dismissively. "This option is the most effective. Or would you rather kiss Nott's feet?"
"Do you think it's better to sleep with Altair?" The grey eyes didn't look at her again.
"For the happy faces of his bitches, yes, much better," she replied, sounding distasteful. "Besides, don't you want to put those women in their place?"
"I'm not interested in my brother's toys," she said, her hands beginning to play with a stuffed animal, a gift from her mother. It was a black cat with purple eyes.
Daphne found it a little curious to see a woman in her twenties with a stuffed toy in her room. A normal girl might have one, but Lyra? She was more likely to have a torture kit.
"What made you change your mind?"
"My brother isn't someone I can control," she said vaguely, seemingly sincerely. The Lestrange family magic couldn't do anything against Altair, at least if her mother was to be believed.
"You're a coward, no doubt about it," said Daphne, standing up before heading to her bedroom.
'I am,' she thought.
Her mind returned to her conversation with her mother. Bellatrix had scolded her first. Apparently, Daphne had started teasing the cat and telling it about their plans. Idiot. Lyra remembered her mother's crazed face and felt afraid. She was sure that Bellatrix would kill the blonde if she hurt Altair.
And herself. She resisted the urge to touch her bottom. Her mother had put her over her knee and pulled down her trousers and underwear. She had spanked her like a little girl. Just the memory filled her with anger and discomfort. She was too old for that, all because of her golden son.
She had pretended that her brother was indifferent to her. But what was the point in denying it any more?
She hated him. If Altair had never been born, Bellatrix would never have betrayed the Dark Lord. She would never have been caught, nor would her father. She would not have been raised by the Malfoys and educated to be an ornament on Draco's arm.
Oh, she loved him. But she also hated him. He was both her blood and the cause of her suffering. She remembered the day she decided to walk away from him.
It was for Tom and Carrow. The little one was not to blame for anything — she loved the cat.
Days earlier, she had been cornered by the wizard Amycus Carrow. He had stripped her naked and would have raped her if Lucius hadn't intervened.
"The girl belongs to Draco," he said, not even bothering to make sure she heard him. She was just an object. He didn't seem angry or disgusted by the Death Eater's actions. The blonde man already knew about the other man's interests — they were old companions, after all. He simply refused her because she was engaged to his son.
Amycus didn't give up, and the two men began to argue. Lucius even offered to let him sleep with her as long as he didn't take her virginity, but the price was too high. The price was too high. Only Amycus' lack of resources, or his stinginess, kept her safe. He didn't want her; he just wanted to hurt and destroy her.
"I could erase your memory afterwards," the man said. Lyra remembered Lucius sending her away after she had refused.
To this day, she sometimes wonders if they did. What if it had happened and she simply didn't remember anything? Her hymen was intact, but that wasn't the only way he could have hurt her.
That night, she went to Altair's room. He cradled her in his arms as she cried. She didn't understand sex or abuse. But she understood fear. She felt the primitive, raw terror of being at the mercy of a man. In his embrace, she remembered how impressed she had been when she watched him lift heavy books that would have made her sweat as if they were feathers. She had thought that if her strong brother had been there, she would never have been in danger.
Days later, she watched Altair scream like a baby as he witnessed Tom the cat die. He couldn't save him. Could he save her from Amycus? Was he capable of anything other than causing trouble? Tom died because of him. If he hadn't gone into the library...
A few days ago, it was Altair who saved her from Pettigrew. Her and Daphne. When she thanked him, her words were sincere. It was on that day that she felt like a little girl again. She felt safe around him.
"Why did it take you so long to become so strong?" She wanted to say. But that day, the words stuck in her throat.
Her mother always puts him first. When they were babies, and now as adults. Her mother scolded her first.
After punishing her, she would hug her and shower her with kisses and caresses. Lyra stroked the stuffed toy in her hands. She wanted to hate her. She wanted to tell her that she didn't need her, that she had never needed her.
But damn it, how could she say that when she was crying her eyes out in her mother arms? When she hugged her and told her how much she loved her and needed her? How happy she was that she had escaped Azkaban! How could she tell her she hated her when she fell asleep in her arms like a baby?
She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't try to wipe them away. She buried her fingers in the soft toy, hugging it tightly. The cat's scent reminded her of Altair; Bella had made it that way.
How long had it been since she had hugged her brother? How long had it been since she had felt his warmth? How long had it been since she had breathed in his scent?
She inhaled deeply, her nose pressed against the toy. She hated how the scent made her feel safe.
Soon, she would be going to Japan with her brother. Bella had forced her to go, claiming that the Malfoys would hand her over to Voldemort if they had the chance.
"But Altair controls them," she had replied at the time.
"And if they don't hand you over, the facade will come crashing down," her mother had replied.
Now she would be alone in Japan. Sometimes she thought about taking Daphne with her for company. But her friend was troublesome. She would only cause problems for her brother. She wished she could be honest with Daphne and tell her how she felt. That was the real reason she couldn't go through with the plan they had devised.
She couldn't tell her without mentioning her mother. She didn't want to add fuel to the fire that was Daphne.
She sighed deeply. She wished she could trust someone.
Altair Regulus Asmodeus-Black:
Aunt Andy wants to have dinner with us before our trip to Japan.
She read the message indifferently. She didn't like her aunt at all.
She hadn't fought hard enough to get custody of them. The Malfoys were a powerful family, yes, but couldn't she have tried harder? She could have killed them.
She knew she was just throwing a tantrum, and that it was her inner child who wished things had been different. But resentment doesn't disappear overnight.
She wanted to tell her aunt to go to hell and leave her alone.
Lyra B.:
Will Bella be there?
She asked. She couldn't refuse. Not when her mother had told her to try to bond with Altair.
She wiped away her tears and swallowed her resentment and hatred in order to give her erratic brother a chance.
She would never admit that she wanted to hug him again.