Where Secrets Abound

One Year Ago

Sirius was missing the birth of his children. That was the only thing Lyra could focus on through the pain. To save their son, she had to put Sirius through a world of hurt. But this was what he would want... wasn't it?

"Lyra..."

Lucius was smoothing her hair, like he used to do when she was ill as a child.

"Lyra, what do you want to name your children?" he asked softly. It was as if they both knew things were about to head downhill from here. Lucius could no longer use his niece and nephew as an excuse to keep her safe. The Death Eaters wouldn't care that she was his sister. She was a Blood Traitor and an Order member first and foremost.

Lyra grabbed Lucius' wrist. "My son..."

He didn't react.

"What do you want to name them, Lyra?"

She closed her eyes tightly. "When your precious Dark Lord is defeated... Sirius will name them. Tell him... tell him Remus and Lovetta are their godparents..."

Lucius seemed displeased with this. "Lyra-"

"I don't want to follow that stupid Pureblood tradition, Lucius..." She laughed dryly. "If you can't stop yourself from naming them, at least don't give the girl my name as her middle name."

He couldn't hide a small smile, though it was shrouded in sadness.

"The Dark Lord is on his way."

Lyra should have been scared, but she was merely resigned.

"I knew this would happen eventually," she said. "My son, Lucius... please... Don't let him near my son..."

Lucius said nothing. There was a small crack, and a house-elf Lyra didn't recognize appeared.

"What is it?" Lucius snarled.

"The Dark Lord, Master Lucius, he is here..."

His message delivered, the elf disappeared once more.

"Lucius, please," Lyra begged, her composure dissolving. "Anything you have to do... please..."

But her brother said nothing. He merely stood, and left the room, carrying her children away with him.

---

Now

The dungeon floor was as cold and damp as ever. An ever-present chill clung to her bones, sending shivers along her spine. When she was a child, this place was off limits. Now, she understood well why that had been.

Pain was a familiar companion, these days. The Death Eaters loved their Cruciatus curse. Voldemort loved to try to break her mind. And Lucius... well, Lyra thought he still loved her. She didn't know what he had done about her son. No one seemed to know about him, in fact, to Lucius' credit. It seemed congratulations were in order not long after, however, when someone told her of his child. Bellatrix, probably. The loveable cousin-in-law was terribly fond of gloating about how Draco would turn out much better than her rotten-apple, Blood Traitor spawn of a daughter. Lyra knew she was all bluff. Bella would be more than happy to raise the girl because her blood was "pure", so long as she was able to fill her little mind with Blood Purist ideals.

Rare was the day when Lucius visited. He didn't want to see what the others did to her. How sweet. But Lyra looked forward to those visits. She wanted to ask how her daughter was doing... if Lucius has gone ahead and named her something hideous. She never asked about her son. The less she knew, the better, and if Lucius was hiding him, it wouldn't do to be overheard.

Today, she had a different question. Something far worse to ask. She didn't know if Lucius would be able to do it, or willing, for that matter.

The dungeon door creaked open. Lyra knew by the soft light that her brother who had arrived. The others didn't care about slowly inching her senses from darkness to light, but he did. Keeping his wand down, Lucius slowly came over to her.

"Lyra."

"Lucius," she whispered.

"I'm here..."

Lyra weakly sat up, the remnants of throbbing pain echoing through her body.

"Lucius... I know that Voldemort-" Lucius hissed softly, reprimanding her like he did when she said something out of line as a child. It was both endearing and annoying. "Voldemort is going to come to torture me himself. I can't... I know I'm not strong enough to resist him..."

His face, normally unreadable, was written with grief.

"Lyra-"

"Lucius, please... you have to kill me."

Her brother recoiled at the suggestion. He made to argue, but she cut him off.

"Please... I know you won't help me escape. This is the only way to protect my family..."

"I am your family!" Lucius said firmly.

Lyra gave him a long, sad look. "Oh Lucius..."

"Do you know how it felt when you left?" he snapped, his composure beginning to slip. "I loved you! You were my sister, and you betrayed me!"

"What, by refusing to treat other magical people as lesser because they weren't born to magical parents?" Lyra countered. "That's a betrayal of faulty ideals, not of you."

"I couldn't even mourn that you had gone," Lucius said. "I was supposed to hate you. Mother expected it. Father expected it. And I wanted to hate you."

They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment before Lucius whispered, "I wanted to hate you, Lyra... but I couldn't. You may be a Blood Traitor, but still, I could only see you as my dear little sister..."

Lyra found herself reaching out to him, reaching out to the brother she had once adored, wondering if that person was still in there somewhere. She rested her hand on his arm.

"Lucius... I am both. I am what you would call a Blood Traitor, and I am also your sister. And as your sister... I am begging you... let me die on my terms. I will not be made an example of by your Dark Lord."

His eyes were so full of pain and anger - anger that she was asking him to do this.

"I'm no Gryffindor, Lucius," Lyra whispered. "I'm terrified... but I am a Slytherin. And I will do anything for those I love."

"Do you no longer love me?" he asked, his voice faint. "That you would ask me to do this speaks to your hatred..."

"No, Lucius... I don't hate you. I pity you."

Silence hung between them like a curtain of lead, heavy and stifling. The two siblings' gaze fell to Lucius' wand, before meeting once more.

"I'm a coward too, Lyra," he whispered. "I cannot do what you ask. The Dark Lord would know..."

Lyra felt tears falling, tears she hadn't even known were there.

"Tell him I attacked you. That I gave you no choice... Please... For me."

"Lyra..."

"It has to be you."

Lucius cupped her face tenderly, his normally collected facade beginning to crumble.

"For you... dear sister..."

Lyra breathed a soft sigh of relief, steeling herself for what was to come.

It seemed like an eternity before she heard her brother's trembling breath.

"Avada kedavra."