Where Secrets Abound

When Lyra once again found herself on Platform 9 ¾, she suddenly realized what a coward she was. She had put off beginning the Animagus transformation all summer, and she still hadn't talked to either Lovetta or Remus.

The latter, however, was about to change. Her mind was made up. If she didn't do it now, Lyra knew she never would. As quickly as she was able, she made some lame excuse to her brother and dashed off to find a compartment. Not much time passed before she spotted Lovetta bouncing down the narrow hall, checking each compartment as she went. The girl had only grown about an inch over the summer, but her golden brown hair was a lot longer now. Other than those few changes, her friend was easily recognizable.

"Over here, Lovetta!" Lyra called.

"Lyra!" the other girl half-shouted excitedly, rushing over. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too," she replied. They had considered making plans with Lily and Severus so that the four of them could meet up in Diagon Alley, but Lyra quickly cancelled after realizing that her parents weren't likely to approve of her two Muggleborn friends and their parents.

"I dunno if Lily and Sev are here yet, I was too busy talking to Remus to look for them."

Lyra peered back down the hall, hoping to see the boy in question. "Is Remus close by, then?"

Lovetta tilted her head and turned around to look. "Oh... Well he was right behind me just a second ago..."

"You lost him, didn't you?"

Before Lovetta could begin to mount a defense, the two girls spotted the scar-faced boy at the end of the corridor.

"Remus! There you are."

"Merlin, you're fast, Vetta," he said.

Now or never.

"Hey, Lupin, I had a question for you..." Lyra started cautiously. "Something I thought of when I was studying over summer."

He seemed taken aback by this.

"Me? Are you sure you don't want to ask Lily?"

Lyra shook her head and motioned for him to come into the compartment. Once both he and Lovetta were inside, she peeked down the hall, then shut the door, much to the confusion of the other two.

"What do you know about Animagi?" she asked, sitting across from the two of them.

"Animagi?" Remus repeated. "I've seen them mentioned once, but nothing other than that. Why do you ask?"

Taking a deep breath, Lyra tried to focus on what she wanted to say. She opted to fiddle with the hem of her sleeve rather than facing either of them. "An Animagus is a wizard or witch who has gained the ability to change into an animal at will. I only bring it up because... I'm thinking of becoming one."

"Don't you have to be of age?" Remus asked. "I remember at least that much... Why would you want to do something illegally?" Just then, another thought occurred to him. "Why are you telling me all of this anyway?"

"You and Lovetta are the two people who most deserve to know why I want to do this. See, the thing about Animagi... They're unaffected by the bite of a werewolf."

To her surprise, Lovetta didn't freak out or try to pretend that she didn't understand. No, her friend simply huffed and slumped down in her seat. "First Lily, now you! Next thing you know, Sirius Black and those Gryffindor idiots will be figuring it out. No offence, Remus."