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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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Running. Always running, never staying in one place any more than a night at a time. It was little wonder that Lyra was exhausted, but the fact that Leo was thriving – and alive – made everything she had sacrificed over the past year more than worthwhile.
Solitude proved to be far harder than she had expected. Though used to relying on no one but herself before she joined the Order, the gaping chasm that Sirius’s death left in her life still had her in freefall amongst the wreckage of all she once knew. Now she and Leo were alone, the long and lonely nights once he was asleep were all but impossible to bear. If only she had someone to lean in and guide her through the hurdles of raising her son alone the year would have been far easier, but she dared not even risk a brief visit to the Burrow, not when danger could lurk around any corner she turned.
The warning Severus Snape delivered before Leo’s birth still burned brightly in her mind, as sharp and keen a fear as it had ever been. As far as she was aware, Lucius was still incarcerated in Azkaban, but many of his associates were not – and no one was naive enough to believe Azkaban’s defences would stand much longer. Doubtless many of his old friends were lurking in wait to further take him down, and Lyra knew all too well that she would be the perfect means by which to strike at him. When Leo had no one to rely on but her, she had no choice but to be constantly aware, constantly on the watch – and that was why yet again they were Apparating across the country to set up camp for the night.
Tonight they were far closer to other wizards and witches than she would normally allow them to be, but she didn’t like not knowing what was happening in the war. There had been a relative peace for far too long, and she was convinced it could not last much longer. Setting up for the night on the outskirts of Chudleigh was a risk, but only a mild one. She was certain her protective spells and enchantments would shield them for the one night they would be here.
Once Leo was sleeping in his cot, one chubby fist clenched around his toy dog and the other pushed through the dark curls on top of his head, Lyra stepped outside for a little fresh air. It was hard to believe June had come around already. More than a year had passed since that fateful night in the Ministry, but the pain of missing Sirius had in no way lessened. As for Lucius...but no. She dared not allow herself to think in that direction.
Shivering despite the warm night breeze, she took a chance, waved her wand through the air and muttered, “Accio Daily Prophet.” She held her breath, but no more than a minute passed before a rolled-up newspaper soared through the air towards her and landed neatly in her left hand. With a sigh of relief when it became plain no one was following in its wake, she unfurled it – and instantly wished she had not.
Her heart hammering wildly against her ribcage, she read the headline over and over again until she was convinced there could be no mistake. Tears blinding her eyes, she darted towards Leo’s cot, ignoring his grumbled protests as she lifted him, his blankets and his tattered dog into her arms as one.
Everything else could wait. Though barely able even to hold her wand, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and thought with all she was of the one place where she would find the answers she needed tonight. When she opened them again, she had to choke back a sob of relief at the familiar sight of the Burrow stretching high into the night sky.
Still clutching the Daily Prophet in one hand, she stumbled up the path until the wards stopped her. Leo began to cry, annoyed at being so rudely awoken from his night’s sleep, and the keening wail brought back to her the danger of being out in the open – especially if what she had read was true. Though she knew the sight of it would only be a fresh pain to bear, she summoned up her Patronus and watched as the shaggy grey dog streaked off through the night, passing with ease through the magical barriers and disappearing into the sanctuary of the Burrow.
She started to count in her head, and by the time she reached five a deeply familiar and welcome sight hurtled through the darkness to her side. Waving his wand, Remus Lupin reached out through the barrier of the wards and pulled the two of them through.
“Lyra!” he said hoarsely. “Merlin’s beard, you were the last person I expected to see! Come on, let’s get you and Leo inside – I daren’t think who else might be lurking out here this time of night.”
He seemed to have aged ten years since she saw him last. His hair had thinned and was greyer than before, and his robes hung loose from his diminished frame. Most pertinent of all, though, was the grief he wore that seemed as painful and acute as it was the last time she saw him.
She had to know. As the front door swung back open beneath the touch of his wand, she finally spoke. “Is it true, Remus? Please, tell me it isn’t true!”
Remus guided her inside and took Leo from her arms without speaking. The simple action spoke as much as the grief and exhaustion in his eyes, but Lyra had to hear it out loud.
“Remus, is Albus...is he really dead?” she said.
“You’ve heard, then.” Glancing down at Leo and slowly shaking his head, Remus led the way into the kitchen where Molly, Arthur and Tonks leapt up from the table with startled cries of delight. “We wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to expose your cover by trying to get a message to you. He’s gone, Lyra. Last night, at Hogwarts.”
Lyra was deeply grateful for the chair Arthur guided her into and the steaming mug of hot chocolate Molly wordlessly summoned up for her. “Who did it?”
Tonks scowled fiercely as Remus dropped into the seat nearest to her, still holding Leo and absently bouncing him up and down as the little boy clapped his hands together, entranced by the many magical implements scattered over the cluttered kitchen. “It was Snape, Lyra. Harry saw it all.”
“Son of a bitch!” Lyra clapped her hand to her mouth, but to her relief Leo seemed not to have heard her curse. She could barely believe it, not when Dumbledore had trusted him so implicitly and convinced them all to do the same. “Snape? Are we sure?”
“Unfortunately so,” Arthur said behind her. “Harry saw the whole thing, and were that not proof enough, Snape fled with the rest of the Death Eaters before the body was even discovered. Albus is gone and we stand now on the precipice of the Second Wizarding War we have all feared for so long. Without Albus, I don’t think anything will hold it back.”
The five adults fell silent, united in their fear, but Leo was merrily oblivious. As a pile of clean laundry soared over their heads he laughed out loud, and Remus’s taut face relaxed into a ghost of a smile as he ruffled his hair.
“Look at him, Lyra,” he said. “He isn’t a baby any more, is he?”
She shrugged helplessly, all too aware of how fast her son was growing and that their life on the run would soon be far from enough to fulfil his needs. “Time goes by far too fast, Remus.”
“Yes, it does, and you’ve been running far too long. Lyra, Leo needs stability, and it’s only going to get worse out there now Dumbledore’s gone.”
Lyra knew he was right. Perhaps that was why her instincts had sent her flying for the safety of the Burrow the moment she heard of Dumbledore’s fate. Taking a long sip from her drink before she replied, she let the thought of allowing the Order back into their lives to fill her mind; and to her astonishment, she felt a deep yearning she could not possibly ignore. Seizing on it before her courage deserted her, she looked round the table and slowly nodded. “Maybe you’re right, but where are we going to go? I can’t face Grimmauld Place, not after everything that happened.”
Tonks and Remus exchanged a swift glance and nod before the witch spoke up. “My mum – Sirius’s cousin. Her and Dad are always saying the big house is too quiet now I’ve moved out, and I know they’d take you both in an instant.”
She no longer had the strength to resist. “Okay.”
Remus’s tired eyes widened. “Okay?”
Lyra smiled, the sensation so unusual to her now that it felt out of place on her face. “You’re right, all of you. If you’re sure Leo and I will be safe at Andromeda’s -”
“Definitely,” Tonks insisted.
“And that she and her husband won’t mind -”
“Not at all!”
“Then we’ll go there tonight. I’ll have to go back to where Leo and I were staying first, though, for I left all our things in the tent.”
“You’ve been living in a tent?” Remus sighed. “Well, at least some good has come out of all this horror.”
Lyra frowned. “What’s that, then?”
“You’ve come back,” he said simply.
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The Raven's Song