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The Raven's Song	By : Quills Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6265 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Christmas had been and gone in a flurry of commotion. Arthur Weasley had been attacked whilst on guard duty, and in the light of that Dumbledore had decreed that Lyra was no longer to watch over the prophecy. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t grateful, but it removed one of the few chances Lucius had to get her alone. A month had passed since her last encounter with him, and though she often spotted him lurking around her department, they hadn’t spoken. One of the Order always escorted her to and from the Ministry, and since unwillingly announcing her pregnancy, Madam Bones seemed to be keeping an unnaturally close watch over her. With little more than a month to go until she would be taking leave in anticipation of the April arrival of the baby, she was finally beginning to relax and look forward to the birth.

For now, all was calm. Lyra and Sirius were alone in the house, and though the rest of the Order were due to turn up at any moment they were taking advantage of the peace to relax on one of the comfortable sofas, warm beneath a thick knitted blanket with a fire crackling merrily in the grate. She leaned back against him and rested her head on his shoulder as their baby kicked against his hand, her eyes closed in contentment as he spoke.

“Lyra, when all this is over shall we get a big house in the country?” he said softly. “You, me, our baby and Harry – we’ll find somewhere for us all in the middle of nowhere with a massive garden and blue sky all around.”

“Quidditch games in the garden?”

Sirius laughed delightedly. “No doubt about it. Girl or boy, our baby is going to be a Quidditch player when they grow up. You know, sweetheart, I really hope this isn’t going to be the only baby we have. I want our son or daughter to have the life I never did – brothers and sisters everywhere, love and laughter all around. What do you think?”

The picture he painted sounded like bliss, and for a moment Lyra allowed herself to dream it could come true. There were so many obstacles to overcome, but the idea of forever in his arms was alone worth fighting for. Her hand settled on top of his as their baby performed a series of acrobatics that made them laugh out loud, but then the sound of a dozen pairs of footsteps hurtling down the hall outside smashed through the gentle spell that had woven around the three of them.

Sirius leapt to his feet, immediately on the alert with his wand outstretched before Lyra had even awkwardly lifted herself to sit on the sofa as Remus Lupin led the influx. “What news?” Sirius asked sharply, his eyes darting from side to side and finally narrowing resentfully when Severus Snape brought up the rear.

“Azkaban,” Remus said shortly. “All the Inner Circle who were there broke out earlier this morning. The Ministry are blaming you, Sirius.”

“They think you’re the ringleader,” Tonks cut in, her normally vibrant hair now a mousey brown as she swept it out of her pale face. “Fudge has told the Prophet exactly what to say, and with Bellatrix being your cousin the public are going to believe everything they read.”

“Right.” All trace of the serenity they had shared just moments before had been smashed to pieces. Sirius’s fury simmered behind his eyes, and Lyra knew he was barely keeping a grip on his temper. With what was clearly a great effort, he drew a deep breath and forced a tight smile onto his face. “So where have they really gone?”

Moody stomped forward, his wooden leg clicking against the floorboards as his magical eye roved all over the room. “Wherever the snake’s holed up for now,” he said bitterly. “The fools that run the Ministry are still denying it, of course, but we all know Voldemort was behind it. The one blessing is that the cracks in their denials are finally beginning to show.”

“Listen, Sirius, Tonks and Kingsley can’t stay for long,” Remus cut in. “Dumbledore should be here any moment, and as soon as he gets here we need to put our heads together. Can you get the kitchen ready for a meeting?”

Silent rage still etched into every pore of his face, Sirius jerked his head in acknowledgement of his oldest friend and strode out of the room. Afraid of the black mood that had so clearly descended, Lyra made to follow in his wake, but as she reached the door another man’s hand closed around her arm.

“May I have a word before the meeting begins, Mrs Black?” Snape said under his breath.

“Lyra, please. It isn’t so long ago you were guiding me through my NEWTS, after all.”

“Very well.” Still he did not smile, his sallow face held taut in anticipation. “Lyra, then; may we speak in private?”

She hesitated, but the intrigue of what their snake in the rest could possibly have to say to her won out for now over her fears for Sirius, for there would be plenty of time to soothe her husband later. As Remus pushed past to go after Sirius, Lyra allowed Snape to steer her out of the front lounge and into the small study that still bore the hallmarks of Sirius’s father, Orion, and his Pureblood beliefs. Snape grimaced as his dark eyes swept the room, and with a disdainful sneer he swept a musty velvet cloak off the desk’s chair and gestured for her to sit in it.

Feeling uncomfortably as if she was back in Potions class, awed by and no little afraid of the intimidating master who ruled over his students with no more than his ice cold, biting drawl, Lyra obediently seated herself, wincing when the baby she carried stretched out against her bladder. Snape’s eyes now rested upon her, and when she met his intent stare without flinching he slowly nodded and launched into what he had come to say with no further pleasantries.

“Lyra, I am no longer convinced you can rely upon the Dark Lord’s edict to keep you and Black’s unborn child protected as you and your husband would wish.”

Her pulse quickened, maternal fear gnawing at her guts as she watched him begin to pace back and forth in front of her. “Why not? What’s changed?”

“The return of Lucius Malfoy. He is obsessed by you, and I heard he has already spoken privately of finding a way to steal you away. Remember, the Dark Lord’s orders were to ensure the safe birth of your child; so long as Malfoy did not endanger that, he sees himself free to do whatever else he may wish. If the child is born in captivity, his master will not care provided it is done safely.”

“And what of me?”

Snape’s mouth twisted in a poor parody of a smile. “Why, you would be the captive. His patience wears thin, Lyra, particularly when you have failed to give him any assurance you will go to him once the child arrives. He begins to imagine the only way he will have you is if he steals you away, and had he but had the opportunity, I suspect he would already have done so – and that is not all.”

“There’s more?”

“I am afraid so. He has been far too vocal in talk of how much he wants you for his own. The politics of the Dark Lord’s inner circle are fraught with danger, Lyra, and there are many who would gladly see Lucius knocked down a peg or two, envious of his position so close to his master.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Come now, you were far from unintelligent at Hogwarts!” he said impatiently. “You are the manners by which they may strike at him, Lyra. By holding you captive, they could all but name their price to him and from what he has said, I believe he would pay it. He is one used to having the upper hand and control in all he does, and there can be no doubt that such an incident would be a humiliation – but he is so determined to have you for his own I think he would endure it. Thus, he gets what he wants, and his enemies would gain the satisfaction of outmanoeuvring the slippery Lucius Malfoy, of defeating him at his own game. As for you, you would be Malfoy’s captive, far out of the reach of any member of the Order, even me.”

Lyra was deathly pale, her hands clutched to her stomach as the full implication of all she heard sunk in. “Then if you fear this could happen, why did you wait to tell me this in private?”

Snape’s jaw twitched. “I wanted to ensure you had the space in which to understand all I am saying, Lyra. Forgive me; I do not doubt you love and respect your husband, but I am afraid Black’s judgement has been poor ever since he was a boy. He is hot-headed and reckless, and those emotions cloud his judgement for the worse.”

“I still don’t understand -”

“The history Black and I share would make it impossible for him to listen to me rationally. He would be unwilling to hear what I have to say, even though my words are intended with nothing but the aim of keeping you and the child you carry safe.”

His words seemed so fierce and sincere that she swallowed hard as she tilted her head to the side, for a moment seeing the grim and unwelcoming Potions master in a new light. “And why does that matter to you as much as it seems to, sir?”

Snape briefly closed his eyes. “Because a long time ago, Lyra, there was another woman whom two very different men were in love with. She too carried a child, and that child was the reason she died. Lyra, I made a grievous error that has haunted me ever since. I do not want to see history repeated.”

There seemed to be so much more to be said, but as she rose awkwardly to her feet and approached him, the door burst inward and Sirius’s low snarl of anger echoed around the small room. “Back away from my wife, Snivellus,” he said shortly, his fists balled at his sides and his wand gripped tightly in his right hand, red sparks spurting out of its tip as he advanced towards them. “I won’t ask twice, and I’m willing to bet you remember what happened when you pissed me off before.”

Lyra darted forward to lay a calming hand on his arm that he angrily shook off. “Sirius, leave it! He was only warning me to be careful -”

“That’s my job. I’m your husband, remember?”

Snape snorted, his disdain evident. “It matters not, Lyra. I have already said all I needed to.” His cloak billowing around his shoulders, he turned sharply on the point of his heel and, a scowl fixed firmly to his sallow face, stalked out of the room.

As Sirius pulled her possessively into his arms, breathing heavily and every muscle of his body still held tense in anticipation of the duel that had not come, she laid her head on his shoulder and her hand against their child. Snape’s warning filled her mind to the exclusion of all else, and as far as she could see, she had no choice. With Sirius’s child to think of, she was near defenceless should any attack come – and even in the privacy of her own mind, Lyra couldn’t deny that she was terrified the next time Lucius had her alone, she wouldn’t be able to find the urge to defy the sensations he stirred in her.

Grimmauld Place would have to be her sanctuary until after the birth. The Order and all else would simply have to wait, for keeping her baby safe was more important than anything else.
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The Raven's Song