swimming home {{ Lyra&Liam }}

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Liam smiled when she agreed to continue walking and started on her way. He fell easily in-step with her as they continued to walk along around the lake. The silence was a comfortable one, which was odd for two people who had only met so recently, but Liam didn't mind in the slightest. Silence didn't bother him like it did a lot of other people. Both Aeryn and Bran hated silence. That's probably why they were always making so much noise all the time, running and going on about nonsense. He smirked at the thought, but was quickly drawn from his thoughts as Lyra spoke again. He let out a small chuckle at her question before shrugging lightly.

"Well..." he looked toward her with a smile, inhaling with nerves the slightest bit, even though he had absolutely no reason to be nervous. He knew what he was doing he just... never wnated her to think he was making fun of her. "je parle le français couramment, mais, je ne sais pas comment sombre cela est."He grinned down at her for a moment before looking ahead of them once more, waiting for her reaction. Not many people knew the Ward's were all fluent in French, and you'd never be able to guess just from speaking with them because they learned english and french simultaneously, so they were precise and excelled in both. English was their primary language, but every once in awhile he, or one of his siblings, would find themselves rambling in French about one thing or another.

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

Lyra was happy to continue walking along in a comfortable silence. She was used to spending time with someone without taking, because Eadric was a man of few words. Of course, with her he would talk almost as much as most people, but still sometimes he really just liked peace and quite. Lyra too liked to just simply not speak sometimes. Although, she noted, it was natural that she would be comfortable with being quiet around Eadric. She had known him all her life, longer if you counted their time in the womb. But she had only just met Liam, less than an hour ago, but she already felt very comfortable around him. Maybe it was because he accepted her as a Werewolf, or maybe sharing something so serious had created a bond, however slight.

She waited for Liam to tell her his deep dark secret, thinking that no matter what it was it couldn't be any deeper and darker than being a Werewolf. But she was surprised as Liam replied in a different language. Not many wizards bothered with learning another language, and it wasn't an elective at Hogwarts (unless you counted ancient runes). The ones that did were usually old pure blood families, and very rich. The higher classes held onto the notion of being 'accomplished'. She hadn't thought Liam came from one of those families, but just because he was in Gryffindor didn't mean he couldn't me. She was in Ravenclaw, and from a family with a long Slytherin tradition.

Her own family weren't wealthy, or particularly well known, although they were known to be pure bloods. They were comfortable, and lived in a large-ish red brick house in the country side. They had a big garden, which backed onto a forest, and it was there that Lyra had been bitten. But Lyra's parents had never pushed her into learning a language. Instead she had learnt to play the piano, along with Eadric. She also sang beautifully, although she would get nervous singing in front of others.

"Um, right," she said, grinning. "Sorry, I don't 'parle francais'," she said, her accent atrocious. She had picked up 'Francais' and didn't live under a rock, so she knew that Liam was speaking French. She couldn't help but laugh slightly; it had been so unexpected, and it was funny to hear Liam speaking in French, and with a perfect accent no less.

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Laughter wasn't quite the reaction that Liam expected, but her laugh was pleasant to the ear and in spite of himself Liam found himself smiling. He playfully narrowed his eyes at her as she said she didn't speak french in only half french. Her accent was... well, frankly it was awful, and Liam let out a small chuckle before bringing a hand up to ruffle her hair lightly.

"Sorry it's not as interesting as yours," he said with a smile before letting out another laugh and allowing his hand to drop to his side once more, putting his hands inside his pockets simply because he had nowhere else to put them, really. "My mum's french. Completely. My brothers and sisters can speak it fluently too." He said, a bit proud of his heritage, as weird and mis-matched as it was. He loved his family dearly and would never be anything but proud of them. They fell into silence once more before Liam realized he hadn't told her what he'd said.

"I speak French fluently, but I don't know how dark that is," he said, grinning toward her. "That's what I said... since you don't 'parle francais,'" he said the last part trying to mimick her horrible accent but only having minor success. He let out a laugh at himself, at the pair of them, together before his eys focused on Lyra once more.

"You're fun, Lyra Avery, you know that?" he said with a smile, and it was true. They'd only just met and he couldn't remember the last long-while, entertaining conversation he'd had with someone, let alone a girl.

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

Liam ruffled her hair, and Lyra tried to duck out of his reach, still laughing. She was used to having her hair ruffled, and was good at dodging out of the way, because both Theo and Eadric did it all the time. But they were her family, her brother and cousin, and she didn't want Liam to see her as some little kid! Lyra was always pegged as 'adorable' or 'cute', which made her wish she could transform into a Wolf right in front of them...

Okay, no she didn't. Changing was painful, and left her shaken. But still, maybe if they saw her in fur they wouldn't find her quite so 'cute'.

Lyra listened as Liam told her about his family, how his mum was French and the rest of his siblings were fluent too. She was interested to know more about Liam, and his family. She felt like she could tell a lot about him when he talked about his family. He was definitely someone who took care of his siblings, particularly his sister, like Eadric was. And in Lyra's eyes Eadric was the stick by which other people should be measured, so saying Liam was like Eadric was high praise indeed.

She laughed again as he mocked her attempt at a French accent. "All right," she said, with a grin "we can't all have in house French instructors." Lyra was glad when Liam explained what it was he had said, because honestly apart from 'French' and 'speak' she hadn't understood a word. "That's it?" she said, rolling her eyes. "That's your secret? Well, that's not dark at all. And I doubt that's even a secret!" she shook her head, still smiling.

"So other than a dirty habit of speaking French, you're perfect, are you? Just my luck." she laughed again; she would happen to stumble upon possibly the only person in the castle without some dark inner turmoil, some horrible or embarrassing secret they kept hidden. And her being a Werewolf, too; how was a girl supposed to find equal footing with that set of cards!

Lyra smiled as Liam said that she was fun. "Am I?" she asked, "That's good to know. I never get to be fun. I only get to be the Werewolf." It was true that ever since she had changed she had been 'The Werewolf', not just to everyone in the school, but to her family, even Eadric. Not a day went by when he didn't ask her if she was feeling okay, remind her to take her potion. Of course it was all understandable, and welcome, but still, Lyra would like to be just 'Lyra', rather than 'Lyra the Werewolf'.

She sighed, thinking that she could wish all she wanted, but that was never going to happen. She would always be a Werewolf.

To shake herself out of that depressing thought, she went back to Liam's family. "So your mums French," she said, "what about your dad?"

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Lyra wasn't offended in the slightest at his mocking her French and her teasing words in return at him laughing. She dodged his hair ruffle, or attempted to, rather, which only had Liam chuckling all the harder. She obviously had an older brother, indeed. Still, at his explanation of what he'd said in French she was clearly upset it hadn't been more interesting or dark or... something. Well, she wasn't real upset. He smirked in her direction before he heard her say she doubted it was a secret. He let out a laugh, his mouth falling open in half shock that she had the gall to tell him what was and wasn’t a secret about himself.

”It is too a secret! “ he said, still laughing. ”I barely speak in English to other people, really. You should consider yourself lucky.” He grinned at her as they continued walking a few feet before she asked If, other than speaking dirty French, he was perfect and that she was in fact lucky. He grinned at her before looking at himself, feigning admiration.

”Well, I don’t like to brag,” he said with a smirk before letting out another laugh and continuing their walk. Truth be told he was far from perfect. He was too quiet for others to enjoy being around him. He was stubborn and hard-headed. It was hard to change his mind about things once his mind had been made up. And truth be told he hadn’t said a dirty thing in French, though he was certainly more than capable. Perhaps he’d get to show her some time, whether or not the words were meant with the intention of woo-ing Lyra was a completely different topic that he refused to allow his mind to travel to. They’d only just met! Hormonse… Still, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as Lyra questioned whether or not she was fun.

He nodded without hesitation at her question and when she said she was glad… because she never got to be fun, his grin only widened. She truly was being herself. What a wonderful, completely unintentional gift he’d given himself. Lyra’s company was brilliant, she was fun, and she was able to be herself around him. That was a rarity in itself, he was sure, so he was rather proud that she felt comfortable enough around him to joke, to laugh, to play around, especially with an almost full-moon overhead. But, for the time-being, at least to Liam, it felt like the moon wasn’t even there. She wasn’t acting angry or in pain or hurt, she was just… fun Lyra.

Lyra let out a small sigh, and Liam wondered what she was thinking. Surely she wasn’t sighing because of him. He doubted he’d done anything to elicit that kind of response, but you never know. Still, the question that left her lips next was one that he wasn’t remotely prepared for, even though he should have been. His father. At the very thought his eyes fell toward the ground, his expression thoughtful and stoic. What did he say about his father? The bravest, most honest man Liam had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He had the pleasure of being raised by him. His father was the reason he was the man he was today. And now his father was… gone.
He inhaled, remaining silent for a few minutes before his eyes lifted from the ground and he looked toward Lyra.

“My father…” he began, pausing again as he thought of the nightmares that had been plaguing him. He promised himself they wouldn’t get in the way of his day-to-day, and yet there they were, staring him in the face at the remembrance of his father. He blinked once, keeping his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again to Lyra’s face, and he found inside him strength. The strength he knew his father would want him to have when talking about him. He would want him to be proud, not sad. He would want him to be courteous, and respectful, and honest.
“My father was killed during the Battle. He was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He hadn’t been home in weeks, but it felt like years… and then we got an owl from the Ministry… saying he’d been killed by death eaters,” he explained the ordeal as succinctly as he could, but he still wished he could tell her more. “He didn’t want the rest of us involved in the fight…” he started a new thought now, one that had been plaguing him for months. It was a thought he’d never said aloud, but… he could trust Lyra with the reason for his nightmares. ”Sometimes I just think… if I’d been there I could have somehow protected him… Stopped it…” The words were simple, quiet, and true.

[/blockquote]

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

Lyra laughed even more as Liam feigned bragging, looking at himself and acting as though he were giving Lyra a real treat. It was funny, because even though she had only known Liam a short time, Lyra knew that he wasn't like that. He wasn't vain. And that was good, because she couldn't stand vanity. She herself didn't wear much make-up, or spend an excessive amount of time on the way she looked. She saw how easy it was to get sucked into all of it, and she didn't want that. Now a-days vanity seemed to be the norm, but Lyra was sure there must have been a time when people were supposed to at least act like their appearance wan't the most important thing. But most virtues were discounted these days, as though they were pointless. It seemed like only actions mattered; what did it matter what you thought, or how you felt? Well, Lyra thought that sometimes those things did matter, and she thought Liam might be the same.

But when Lyra asked about Liam's father, he went quiet. She watched him carefully as he looked away, closing his eyes for a moment. She was nervous about what he was about to say, because she didn't want to hear something horrible. She didn't want something to have happened to Liam's father. That just didn't seem fair. But even before he said it she knew it was coming, because he had the same look she had seen on many faces (too many faces,) including her own.

She just listened, stunned as Liam told her how his father had died. In the battle at Hogwarts, like hers. Although not like hers. His father had been the complete opposite of hers; he had been the head of magical law enforcement, doing what was right, fighting for 'good', if things could be that black and white. And her father had been a Death Eater, fighting on the side of Lord Voldemort. She knew it was mostly just cowardice that lead to her dad continuing to fight for Voldemort, and perhaps she should feel guilty, because it was fear for her life that kept him in line; Voldemort had threatened to send Greyback again, this time to kill, if he stepped out of line again. But it was because of her father, and his choice to join the Death Eaters, that she had been bitten in the first place.

Lyra swallowed, not sure how to answer. Liam's father had been a good, brave man, who had died fighting for what he believed in. Lyra's father had been a Death Eater, and for all they knew he had killed Liam's father himself. Liam could well hate her if he found out what her family was. And Lyra knew that he would have a right. Hadn't she been protected, at least to some extent, by the fact that she was a Death Eaters daughter? Greyback being the obvious exception, she had been safe from Death Eater attacks, safe from Lord Voldemort, and safe from persecution because she was a Pureblood. Voldemort's regime of hate had kept her safe, because of who she was, and who her parents were.

Finally, she managed to find her voice. "I'm sorry," she said, quietly. "That's awful..." she knew it wasn't enough, but no words were ever enough to comfort the grieving. She knew. She grieved for her dad, despite it all. Not that she was allowed to have her grief, not in the same way Liam was. Shouldn't she be glad a Death Eater was dead? Unless, of course, she was Death Eater aligned herself? That was most peoples attitude.

"My dad died in the battle too," she added, hesitantly, not looking at Liam. She didn't want to lie to him, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him the whole truth. That her dad had been a Death Eater, one of the group who had killed his dad.

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Lyra was quiet for what felt like an eternity after the words had finally passed his lips and the silence that came after them had Liam slightly on edge. He didn't think his... deep, dark secret would upstage hers in the slightest, mostly because it didn't. His father's death... he would move past it eventually, no matter if it hurt like hell now, and worse than hell every once in awhile. Still, the silence remained and Liam's thoughts drifted back to the day he received the owl from the Ministry.

It was a warm afternoon. The sun was shining. Brandon was out climbing a tree. Aeryn was outside, probably playing in the dirt or practicing her dueling. Sophia was in the kitchen with their mother, and he was in the front yard by himself. He was sitting on the front steps, just enjoying the day the best he could. Word had gotten out that there was a battle. There were rumors that Potter was dead, that Voldemort had won. There was lots of fighting and it seemed like there were even more rumors. Liam's father hadn't been home in weeks, whether that was because the Death Eaters had control over the Ministry he wasn't sure. His father came home every night and every night he started to say less and less, and then he started coming home less and less. And then not at all. They'd had no communication whatsoever, despite his mother writing him countless letters.

He saw the owl approaching in the distance, and he hoped it was good news. He remembered his heart feeling lifted before it was shattered down into the ground. It was the last news in the world he ever expected to get, and it tore him to pieces from the inside out. He received the owl, but he brought it to his mother. He didn't want to read it, despite his hope for good news. She began reading the letter, and didn't even get halfway through before she fell apart. Liam didn't need to read the letter. He knew what happened. Sophia picked it up, and she was the next to fall apart.

Liam stood there, his face and body unmoving. He took his mother and sister into his arms, and in that moment he became the man of the family. He was the one who held the family responsibilities, and he accepted them without a spoken word. Aeryn took the news incredibly hard, and Brandon took it a bit like Liam.

Liam was brought out of his remembrance of the day at the sound of Lyra's voice. He'd been so wrapped up he'd almost forgotten she was there. She was apologizing. He shook his head, attempting to tell her not to be. His loss was nothing compared to what she would have to bear for the rest of her life. She said what happened to him was awful, and he shrugged lightly, but found no words to speak. He wasn't going to say what had happened to her was worse because he didn't want her to feel like he was blowing her condition out of proportion, but in the grand scheme of things what had happened to him was't that bad. It had happened to a lot of other people, too. And as the next words left her mouth he felt his own mouth fall open slightly in shock. He furrowed his brow in sadness.

"Then I guess we can both be sorry for each other," he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze of support before he looked down at her, managing a smile. Lyra had seen so much in a very short sixteen years, and while Liam had seen less than she did their pain for the loss of their fathers was the same, no matter what side of the battle they happened to be on - the loss of a parent would always hurt, whether they were a good person or a bad person was irrelevant. Part of Liam knew Lyra's parents were likely Death Eaters, at least her father was. He knew the name Avery too well to forget it, and so even though he thought it might be pushing it, and even though he didn't really want the answer to be confirmed, he asked the question anyway.

"Was your dad... Was he a death eater?" he asked, his eyes looking at her once more. He willed her to know that no matter what the answer was he would not change his opinion of her as he looked at her. His face and eyes both soft. "You know what, it doesn't matter. It's none of my business" And in truth it didn't and it wasn't. Her father was probably a Death Eater, but it didn't matter. Lyra was fun, and kind, and caring, and beautiful, and - his thoughts stopped there as he realized what he'd thought. He blinked a few times before his thoughts focused on her once more as he waited in anticipation. Would she answer his question anyway?

[/blockquote]

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

Lyra couldn't help but think of how she had found out that her father had died. She and Eadric had remained at the castle while it was under Death Eater control (despite Umbridge's laws against Werewolves, another way being the daughter of a Death Eater had protected her). There had been Death Eaters there that Lyra had known as a child. She didn't know what side she was on, or how to act around anyone. Professor Snape- who had then been Headmaster Snape- continued to make the Wolfsbane potion for her every month. At the time everyone thought he had been a Death Eater, but since the battle Harry Potter had made it known that Snape had been on the side of the Order of the Phoenix, secretly passing information about the Death Eaters, bringing down Voldemort from the inside. At the time she had thought Snape was making the potion for her and keeping her at school because he was a Death Eater, but the fact that he was Order affiliated left her confused.

Eadric had wanted to stay during the battle, but they were evacuated along with other under-age students. He would have stayed if it hadn't been for Lyra. He wanted to make sure she was okay. So they were taken out of the castle, and they didn't know where they had been when her dad had actually died. There had been a lot of confusion, trying to get each student to a safe place. Finally they made it to their family home.

The battle had lasted through the night, and in the morning word had spread that it was over, and Voldemort was dead. The wizarding world celebrated, or mourned their losses, but Lyra and her family still hadn't known the fate of their father. Since Voldemort had been defeated, there was only three options; dead, imprisoned, or on the run.

No one took the job of informing the families of the Death Eaters, and after a day of waiting for news their mother finally persuaded them to go to the Ministry. Eadric had been against the idea, worried about what would happen to them as the family of a known Death Eater, and Lyra had had no opinion either way. They had gone to the ministry, Eadric standing with his arm around Lyra's shoulders the whole time, as though worried someone would try and take her away. After hours and hours, they finally made it to the department that was dealing with the dead and the missing. Their mother had asked about James Avery, and they all had gotten very cold looks. The woman looked down at the list in front of her, then said; "James Avery, Death Eater, dead."

Tears had started rolling down Lyra's cheeks, and their mother clapped a hand to her mouth. Eadric didn't say or do anything. What followed next was one of the worst nights of Lyra's life.

Looks of disgust had gravitated towards them from the other families in the room, as Lyra and her mother cried over their dead Death Eater. Someone had started to say something angry, but then the witch behind the desk said "Come with me, please," and they had followed her through a door. Ministry members descended on them, and started trying to separate them for questioning. When someone tried to pull Lyra from him, Eadric had hit him, then gone for his wand. He had no idea what would happen. Maybe they would all be incriminated for supporting a known Death Eater. It took two Ministry wizards to subdue Eadric, and they pulled him into a room, shouting for Lyra. She had been crying, held back by another Ministry wizard, in case she ran after her brother. She was then taken into a room my herself, put into a chair, and was questioned.

She was questioned for hours, and her arm had even been checked for the Dark Mark. But she didn't know anything; her father had at least kept her away from that. She didn't know how long she was in there for, and there were no windows. After what felt like a day, but couldn't possibly have been that long, Lyra started to feel sick, and light headed. Her skin started to crawl. "What time is it?" she asked, counting days in her head. The Ministry wizards, who had been relatively kind despite having obvious disdain for the daughter of a Death Eater (of course now Lyra knew that their boss had just been killed by one) said that it didn't matter. She told them she was a Werewolf. She told them that she hadn't taken her potion that day. They had stood up, looked at each other, and left. They returned with two more wizards, and this time Lyra didn't have to ask for the time. She had lost track of the days, but now she could feel the moon rising. She had been practically dragged to a cell, one used for solitary confinement. She had been locked in a small, impenetrable room. She had curled up in a corner, and the change started.

Lyra didn't remember a thing from her time as a Werewolf. She woke up naked, her clothes shredded, her own flesh torn and bruised from where she had bitten and scratched herself, and apparently thrown herself against the wall. Lyra had a lot of scars from her time spent changed. She could hear Eadric outside the door, shouting to be allowed in. Finally he had been, and he had wrapped her in a blanket and carried her out.

After that they went home. Apparently it had been decided in the night, while Lyra had been changed, that she, her mother and her brother, were not Death Eaters, and knew nothing. They couldn't be held accountable for their father's actions. Finally they had made it home, and Eadric had carried Lyra up to her room. She had fallen into bed, and slept for 24 hours straight. When she finally woke she was stiff, and felt numb...

She was shaken out of her reverie when Liam unexpectedly put his arm around her. She stiffened slightly; she didn't feel like she deserved his comfort. He said that he was sorry, and she shook her head. She didn't deserve his pity, especially when he didn't know the whole story. But then he asked if her father was a Death Eater.

Lyra's blood ran cold, and then Liam started saying that it didn't matter. She pulled away from him, shaking her head again. "Of course it matters," she said, not looking at him. "Yes," she said, "yes he was." She didn't deserve to hide behind lies, she deserved whatever she got. And the families of people who had died fighting for the order deserved their chance to hate her, if that's what she wanted. "It was because of him that I was bitten," she said, as though trying to justify herself. As though she was trying to make it clear that she didn't think her dad was a great man, and that she had suffered too. But she knew she had no right to that, so she stopped.

note ;; maybe Liam would have heard about the daughter of a Death Eater who was a Werewolf, and had changed while being questioned, since his dad had been the head of magical law enforcement?

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Lyra insisted that it mattered, and when she said that he was a Death Eater Liam was simultaneously shocked and unsurprised. Hew knew Avery was a death eater name, but he also felt like someone like a Death Eater couldn't be capable of raising someone like Lyra. She wasn't raised to be like a Death Eater, which had him conflicted. Perhaps he'd learned the error of his ways during the first war? The evidence certainly seemed to be there to support that claim, but at the news that her father was indeed a Death Eater Liam simply nodded slowly. But at the mention that he was the reason she was bitten he furrowed his brow slightly.

And then it was like something clicked in his head. He remembered her. Hearing stories about the daughter of a Death Eater who changed during questioning. One of his father's old friends had been over for dinner and told the family about the whole thing. His mother cried, but the rest of the children had been silent. He'd had no idea that she was the girl who went to find out about her Death Eater father with her family. Inwardly he felt a different kind of guilt rush over him. His father's friend had been proud to talk about how they'd ripped her from her chair, threw her in her cell. And he practically laughed about the transformation, how 'the Werewolf bit itself bloody.' At the time Liam didn't think something like that was funny, but now, now that he knew it had been Lyra... It was even less funny.

He was the one who stopped them in their walking this time, stopping to turn and face Lyra. The actions of the Ministry toward her disgusted him. Questioning her about her father, fine, even though she really should have been allowed to grieve for at least a little while, but to throw her in a cell? To laugh at what had happened to her? To treat her like nothing more than a mere... dog? That didn't deserve respect. It wasn't courageous and it wasn't right.

"I'm sorry for how the Ministry treated you,"[/color he said quietly, his eyes not once falling to the ground. "Someone... someone who knew my father came over for dinner once... they talked about you... and the questnioning. You didn't deserve that." He meant what he said. He held the utmost respect for the Ministry in most cases, but even he could see when the Ministry was wrong. And this was one of those times where they should have tried to help instead of persecute. Liam thought of Kingsley Shacklebolt for a moment, the man who was trying to repeal the Werewolf laws, most likely because of the late Remus Lupin, former teacher and Order Member. Liam, for only a moment, was glad that someone was in the Ministry who cared about all walks of life... except Death Eaters.

The reason he was only glad for a moment was because of what Lyra said next. Her... her father was the reason she'd been bitten? His eyebrows furrowed again. The way the words came out... she didn't seem to like her father very much, but how could you like the man who ruined your life? You can love him because he's your father, but that doesn't mean you ever have to like him. He looked down at her, his mouth slightly open in shock once more. It seemed she was shocking him a lot tonight, not that he minded. He enjoyed getting to know Lyra, and he enjoyed talking about his secrets and her secrets, the things the pair of them buried away and refused to dig up for anything. He was glad to serve as her confidant of sorts, and he was thankful to have her as his.

"Wow..." That was a pathetic response, really, but it was the first word to come to mind when he thought about everything Lyra had gone through, and he felt like he didn't even know the half of it. Her father was the reason that she was bitten, and he died in the battle, and she was a Werewolf. Lyra Avery had a much harder time of it than he, or at least that's how it seemed to him. He knew where his allegiance would lie if another war broke out... did she? Was she raised with Death Eater morals? Liam thought not, not from the way she was speaking. He'd not bring up the possibility of another war or sides or anything like that. He didn't want to think about there being another war, and he didn't want to have to think about choosing sides. He told himself Lyra knew what side she'd be on, but how could she if she was raised by someone... someone like her father. He didn't want to think about it, so he pushed all of those thoughts into the back of his mind. There wouldn't be another war. People wouldn't be that stupid.

His eyes and thoughts both focused on Lyra once more. "How... how is he the reason you got bit? What happened?" He struggled to ask the question not because he didn't want to know the answer. He very much wanted to know the answer, but he was afraid of pushing Lyra's comfort level. He would never think less of her because of anything she said, and he was willing to confront both of the shadows they had in their lives, but he didn't want to go there if she wasn't comfortable with it yet. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

Lyra couldn't help but smile wearily as Liam said that he knew what had happened at the ministry the night they had gone to find out about her father. It was like he could read her mind. But really, she should have expected it; already she didn't seem to have any secrets from Liam. In such a short time he already knew her so well. Of course, Lyra didn't have any friends, so she didn't have anyone to compare it to. Yes, he knew her better than most people, but most people didn't know her at all.
She wondered what Liam's family friend had said about her. He probably thought that she had gotten what she deserved, being a Werewolf. Probably saw it as some kind of perverted justice; 'that's what comes from being a Death Eater, your children turn into monsters'. He probably thought that it was right that someone paid for her fathers crimes, and it may as well be her. Maybe that's why all this had happened to her.

Lyra shook her head as Liam apologised for the way the ministry had treated her. "It wasn't their fault," she said, fairly. "What were they supposed to do with a dangerous Werewolf, who hadn't taken her potion? And everyone was so busy, so soon after the war..." even if a better solution had been available, everyone had been too busy to sort it out. And if they had laughed about it, or been cruel about her, what did that matter? Surely they were entitled to treat the daughter of a Death Eater however they wanted. She had been protected by her dad's bad deeds. She wondered how many of those ministry workers had lost children during the war.

Lyra was used to being a Werewolf now (as used as she could ever get to it) but she could see how Liam might find what had happened appalling. But she was used to how she was treated, and people's reactions. That was her reality.

Liam seemed to be battling with the notion that her dad had been a Death Eater. She could see how that would be hard. Liam was a good person, and with who his father had been he had obviously supported the Order. And his dad had been killed by Death Eaters. Lyra on the other hand had been raised around the same people who did the killing. She was sure that if she ever found out who had killed Liam's dad, that she would know them. She just hoped that it hadn't been her father that had done it. But of course, her dad would have killed people. It was a life or death kind of battle. When he died, he would have taken some people with him.

And then he asked how it had happened, how it could have been her dad's fault that she had been bitten. Lyra ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head yet again and Liam said that she didn't have to answer, if she didn't want to. "It's okay," she said, and it was. The story of how she had gotten bitten was a horrible one, but the story of why wasn't so bad. Simple facts.

"Voldemort wasn't happy with my dad." she began, "He messed up. And Voldemort doubted his loyalty. So as punishment, and to keep him in line, he sent Greyback to bite one of his children, with the promise that if my dad messed up again then Greyback would return, but to kill. And I was out in the woods at the time..." she shrugged, sure the rest was obvious. She had been out in the woods, Greyback had shown up, and had bitten her. "Eadric hated my dad after that." Lyra had never been able to see her dad in quite the same way, but she hadn't hated him. She thought maybe Eadric took it harder, because he felt like he should have been able to stop it. He felt guilty, and that guilt channelled into hate.

Lyra wondered if Liam's ministry friend had mentioned Eadric, or how he had tried to fight the Ministry officials. How he had shouted at them, and gave them hell all night once he realised that Lyra would have changed. She wondered if Liam knew that Eadric fought boys who gave Lyra a hard time. He probably wouldn't think much of her family; her father was a Death Eater, she came from a long line of Slytherins, she was a Werewolf, and her brother was violent and angry. His family friends were Ministry Officials. Her family friends were Death Eaters... or had been. They didn't have any family friends now, they were all either dead, or in Azkaban (or at least, soon to be in Azkaban). But if Liam said a bad word towards Eadric, that would be the end of that. Eadric was a good person, the best person, and everything he did was either for or because of her.

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Lyra said that it wasn't the Ministry's fault the way they acted, but Liam was apologizing more for the way the Ministry talked about it, even though that wasn't what he said. She couldn't have known that, but Liam still felt badly for the way the Ministry felt about Werewolves, about her. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment. Her father was the one who deserved to be thrown into Azkaban and never let out, but Liam knew his father had received a fate worse than that - he'd been killed by the war too. Liam thought he should feel bad about the death of the man, but Liam couldn't find it in him to do so. He would feel bad for Lyra, for the pain that she went through, no matter how minor (he was the reason she'd gotten bit after all), but he would not feel bad about the fact that the man had left this world.

And then she launched into the story about how her father had gotten her bit, and Liam stared intently the entire time, listening with interest to each word that passed her lips. His brows furrowed toward the end, as she said her brother hated their father after that. It was a logical enough reaction, as it had been her father's fault for making Voldemort upset, but it was Voldemort who went Greyback with the threat. Greyback... another name Liam knew too well to forget. He'd caused a lot of problems for the Ministry, biting people sheerly for the hell of it. Lyra seemed to have been able to forgive her father, but apparently Eadric hated their father. It was a confusing situation that Liam knew not much about, but Liam couldn't help but feel that, if he'd been in the same situation with Sophia or Lyra, he would not hate his father - he would hate the man who sent the Werewolf with the intent to tear apart his family, with the threat to ruin his life.

Still, if Voldemort had reasons to doubt Avery's loyalty that explained why Lyra and Eadric were in Ravenclaw, and were raised the way they were. Avery probably regretted ever getting so far into something, and when the water filled up it was swim or drown - he tried to drown and Voldemort wouldn't let him. He couldn't blame Eadric for hating their father. If their father had never been a Death Eater in the first place Lyra would never be a Werewolf, but how else would things be different if he'd never become a Death Eater? Probably a lot of ways that were hard to see, minute things could change everything, after all.

Liam looked at Lyra once more, trying to find something to say after her story. Such a kind heart didn't deserve so much burden. The death of her father, being a Werewolf, being shunned by others. Her heart didn't deserve that kind of pain, no matter whether she was used to it now or not.

"I'm sorry that your father put you in that position,"
he said with a soft frown. He could find no silver lining to the cloud of all of this. What had happened to his father, what had happened to Lyra, why Voldemort went after his children. To scare him, of course, but they didn't deserve that. Voldemort should have done something to Avery himself if he was so worried about his loyalty, or he should have offed him himself. If you're worried at all about someone's loyalty you should take care of it yourself, not have someone else do your bidding. Voldemort was a coward. He didn't have a bone of honor or honesty in him, and that was his downfall. Well, no, Potter was his downfall, but if he'd fought like a man instead of a mouse he might have had a better chance. Not that Liam would ever want him to have any chance at all. No, if there were to ever be another rising of Death Eaters... well, Liam would not hesitate to kill them all, one by one, for taking the life of his father. He knew he wouldn't be able to take on all of them, or even half, but it didn't chance the sentiment behind it.

His eyes glanced up toward the moon again and only then did he realize how late it had gotten. He felt fatigue begin to take over him slowly but surely and he focused his eyes on Lyra with a smile.

"This was really fun, Lyra. But, it's getting late. I should get to bed. I've got Charms early," he said simply, and he turned to walk away before he turned around quickly, his eyes finding her easily. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him in that instant.

"Hey... If you're not doing anything this weekend... You wanna come to Hogsmeade with me?"

[/blockquote]

[LYRA ALVAH AVERY]

It seemed to Lyra that Liam was struggling with a lot of different feelings about her parentage. She understood that it would be a difficult thing to understand. It was confusing for her, the different emotions that she felt towards her father. If she hadn't lived through it then she wouldn't have understood it herself. Even now she didn't really understand it. All she could do was let herself feel all of it.

She could tell that Liam didn't want to say something to upset her. He was smart enough to know that no matter what the man had done, he had still been her dad. And he didn't just have to try to understand her emotions, he had his own to contend with. His father had fought against Lyra's, he had stood for everything that Lyra's father had blindly followed. And he had been killed doing it. Liam would never be able to reconcile spending time with a Death Eater's daughter with his dad, and so Lyra sincerely hoped he never felt that he had to.

He said that he was sorry her dad had put her in that position... a very tactful answer. Lyra found herself wishing that she could know his true thoughts about all this, even the ones he thought would hurt her. No one (at least no one she considered a friend) ever said anything that might hurt her. Like she was too fragile to possibly take it. Just because she was a Werewolf, and went through some truly terrible things, didn't mean the people around her didn't have the right to some inner turmoil too.

So she didn't answer when Liam said that he was sorry, because she knew that wasn't the total of his thoughts.

Lyra looked at Liam as he started making his excuses, saying he was tired. She smiled in a sad, understanding way. He'd finally had enough; maybe being a Werewolf he could take, but to add her Death Eater dad on top of that, with everything he and his family had been through at the hands of the Death Eaters. Lyra couldn't blame him for wanting to leave.

He turned to walk away, and Lyra let him go, thinking that she should just be happy that they had had such a nice time, be glad for the time they had had while it lasted. And now he was leaving without a harsh word. Liam was clearly a good man, and so Lyra had no reason to be unhappy. But despite herself, she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her gut.

But then he surprised her completely; he turned around, and asked her if she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him. That weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend, which was a real treat for the students, especially after last year when there had been none at all. And he wanted to go with her?

"Um, yes," she said, unable to stop herself from smiling. She was really caught off guard, and was sure she looked like an idiot, but she couldn't help herself. "If you're sure you want to, of course..." she mentally kicked herself, for sounding so insecure, like a silly little girl. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't want her to.

Lyra couldn't help her thoughts going to Eadric. She didn't think he would be happy if he knew she was going to go into Hogsmeade with a boy she had just met. He wouldn't trust him, and he wouldn't like it. "Meet me in Hogsmeade, okay?" she said. If she met him at the castle then Eadric could see them, and she wasn't ready for that just yet.

[LIAM JOSEPH WARD]

Liam waited on the edge of his seat after the question had left his lips, but the second that smile formed on her face he knew she was going to say yes. She said yes immediately, only after asking if he was sure he wanted to go. He let out a small chuckle and nodded quickly.

"Of course I'm sure," he said with a grin. If he hadn't been sure he wouldn't have asked, but he didn't need to say that because it didn't need to be said. She'd understand that.

The smile on her face was practically contagious. The more he looked at it the more he felt himself smiling. She asked him to meet her in Hogsmeade and he nodded without a second thought.

"Alright, sounds great," he said pausing with a grin/ "See you then. Goodnight, Lyra Avery." He waved in her direction before turning and walking back toward the castle, looking very much forward to the following weekend.