~but mercy is above this sceptred sway { closed to alphaophiuchi }

[serpentfangs]

Lyra had been looking forward to coming home for the holidays for weeks. Oh, never mistake her - she loved Hogwarts. As much as nearly every generation of young wizards of the past loved the school. She would miss her new friends, the lively feasting hall meals, the many hours lost in the library, teas on weekends at the gamekeeper's hut, the misadventures in the many winding stone passages of the halls, the gatherings in the Slytherin common room, even the the lessons.

(Most of the professors too, she supposed - although some not as much. Her last mark from Professor Binns on a small exam he had posted just before holidays was burning a hole in her pocket, the only gloom threatening to dim her shine the whole way home. Shockingly mediocre - unacceptable for a Malfoy.)

But she had never been away, really away, from the Manor for the first eleven years of her life. And after the months away at Hogwarts, she did miss it so. It would be good to come again, if only for a short time. Before it was back to the castle, and her friends and their scrapes, and learning more new magic.

She hadn't bothered changing out of her Hogwarts uniform on the train ride back. She knew how proud it would make Mother and Father to see her in her Slytherin green. Her favorite barrettes, designed to look like black and silver striped serpents, were in her hair, and she had on an unbuttoned black cloak to help keep herself warm as she waited at the platform with her trunk and her horned owl hooting gently from its cage.

She passed the time waiting by already working on one of the letters she would be sending to her friends, as soon as she arrived at the Manor safe - some thought her a bit mad, but Lyra loved writing and getting letters, and she intended firmly to keep in touch with her new companions over the holidays. She must at least write them once, maybe twice or even three times.

Mother had written to let her know that Draco would be picking her up on his way by from Saint Mungo's, that he would be bringing her to the Manor by himself. This was perfectly fine by Lyra who was looking forward to showing her elder brother how grownup she had surely become in the time since her becoming a real, full-fledged student of Hogwarts.

Also there were a few things on her mind, that she wanted to talk to him about while they were alone. Though it was such a little thing really, it was still nagging at her, that bit about Portia's cousin...

Comments

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco might have started that rumour, back in his own era. He did like terrifying the first years, after all.

"Hm," he hummed thoughtfully. He hadn't heard the name before, and that really did beg the question what family she was from. Obviously a halfway decent one, if she was in Slytherin. Unless, of course, things had changed entirely in the years that had passed since he was last there. It was possible.

But he did have to lift his eyebrows at the excitement his little sister was babbling on with, mostly because it was still hilarious. He wondered how old she'd have to get before she lost that, or if she never would. (He did realise that he got that excited at times, though mostly about Tori and Scorpius. So there was a very good chance she never would.) "That's an awfully long time, you know. How about you just start with the Christmas present, and see how the rest of the year goes, hm?"

[serpentfangs]

Lyra pulled another one of those faces of hers, a sort of silent "Oh all right" even as she still strongly dismissed the advice out of turn. Children her age tended to know just enough about the world to think that they knew everything. Everything important, anyway. And it was so hard to convince an eager young heart it should maybe slow down and reconsider on matters of love or friendship.

She had noticed Draco's thoughtfulness, though. Regarded him with some curiosity, even as she couldn't at all deduce the reason.

"I'm just not sure what to get her. I've never gone and picked out a present for someone all by myself before, you know. In a way it's rather frightfully exciting."

[alphaophiuchi]

At the very least, he knew that his advice fell on deaf ears. That he'd offered it at all was more his point, and what he would focus on. Look at how good and right he was, offering his little sister advice. Never mind if she never listened to him; at least, this way, he could also remark later with a very haughty I told you so if it came to that.

Of course, when he'd been her age, he hadn't exactly suffered from such eager friendship. He didn't really know what it was like at all. The first time he'd truly fallen for anyone had been Tori.

He snorted his amusement at that, but grinned all the same. "Well. What does she like?"

[serpentfangs]

"Oh well, all sort the usual things, really. I mean we play games all the time, even though she's rather bad at chess I'm afraid. Likes gobstones much better."

Lyra sucked on her fangs thoughtfully, before reaching for another treat from the table between them as she spoke.

Actually she had to really stop and think what Heloise liked, if only because when they two were together the other girl deferred to - was bowled over, really - by Lyra and her eager ideas.

"And she likes sweets, of course. Though she isn't used to some of the common ones. Her mother works at some sort of hospital so that means she must be a healer, after a fashion, and I think they only gave her and her siblings mostly healthy treats growing up. Like fruit."

Lyra took another pause.

"Her favorite color is lavender."

[alphaophiuchi]

"'All the usual things'," he drawled with a light snigger tacked onto the tail end. In truth, Draco could recall too well how he'd assumed all his friends liked all the same thing as himself; he didn't bother reminding himself of when he'd realised he was wrong, mostly because there was no point dwelling on it now.

Instead, he merely waited, regarding his sister with careful, quiet amusement that encouraged her to think it over. Somewhere in there, they'd be able to find something that the girl would want for Christmas. And Draco wouldn't even demand credit for it. Publically, at least; he might needle Lyra about it a bit.

"Well, that's a little better." A pause, and he frowned slightly. "She's not used to the common sweets? That's odd. Even if she didn't eat them as a child."

Never mind that. Some habits were hard to break, and he tried not to arch a brow too much at the notion that Lyra's friend might be a half-blood or Muggleborn.

He cleared his throat. "All right. So now we have a few...starting points. Sort of. Perhaps a mixed box of sweets. Or some sort of...scarf?" Buying presents for girls was hard.

and here it goes

[serpentfangs]

"Well I don't think she'd ever even seen most of them, I mean, before she got her letter to Hogwarts. She's not from a wizarding family, actually."

Lyra gave this response to Draco's musing, matter of factly. She hadn't been trying to talk around the notion of her best friend's pedigree - honestly, it simply hadn't occurred to her to make much of a fuss about it. Yes, there were people who had been surprised to see a Muggleborn sorted into Slytherin...the first one there had been for awhile, at least openly. Lyra had grown up surrounded by wizarding children but no one really dared try to talk about the issue of blood purity with her. However to bring it up, to a half-blood from such an old name as herself?

And Lyra didn't even pause for thought as she said this...and then continued on, already gravitating to Draco's next words.

"I want to give her something that'll last, of course! Although maybe a scarf. That might be good." She considered it thoughtfully.

oh noes

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco couldn't help himself: he did flinch. Just a little bit. He tried not to, but it happened anyway.

"Oh?" He asked, voice slightly pitchy with awkward surprise. It apparently hadn't helped any that he'd already run through the possibility in his head; that Lyra was so openly stating it was enough to render him down to sputtering bemusement. "Well, that's- I-"

He cleared his throat again.

Good thing she'd already moved on.

"Scarves are always popular. Tori has a few that I've given her. Though sometimes I wonder if she only wears them because I gave them to her and she doesn't want to offend me," he hummed, considering that thoughtfully as well. At least it provided a nice foil to the previous admission.

OHH YEAH

[serpentfangs]

Fortunately - for them both, perhaps - the nuance of Draco's reaction went right over Lyra's very young and easily distracted head. She was admittedly self-absorbed in that naive way belonging to children. Especially ones whose names were 'Malfoy'.

There was only so much awareness that could be expected from a girl for whom so much in life had already been all about her, anyway.

Brightly, unthinking, Lyra went on, "Well I don't know about that, it does seem a bit like the kind of thing that she might do to humor you. But a scarf is a nice place to start. Do you think it should be something really, really nice, or maybe more practical?"

FLEEEEEEE

[alphaophiuchi]

Ah, Lyra. It was both a blessing and a curse, though Draco could, at least, now see exactly why he'd been so exasperating as a child. And probably now, for that matter. He wouldn't deny that he was definitely still exasperating at times. He just hoped he wasn't quite so exasperating.

(Exasperating. What a good word.)

"Oh, thank you," he drawled, rolling his eyes a little. It was a good thing he was no longer quite so quick to offend either, though. "Go with practical. You hardly want to open with something really, really nice, and have her flit away. Besides, you'd be setting unrealistic expectations, probably."

FLY, YOU FOOLS

[serpentfangs]

"You really think that?" It wasn't a question, more like an incredulous accusing demand. "You really think she'll 'flit away'? For one thing as I said, she's in the same room as me. Bed right next to, a matter of fact. So it's not like she could get very far," she concluded, huffily.

And then picking up another little cake from the tray between them, in lieu of biting in right away she turned her nose up at him, and gave a little toss of her head that sent those platinum blonde locks shaking beautifully.

"Even if she wanted to try. Which she wouldn't." She bit her sweet for emphasis, sinking her fangs in first. "Honestly, Draco. You act as if you've never had a real friend before."

Spoken in that worldly know it all tone of a child addressing someone much older than them as if they are, nonetheless, an idiot.

[alphaophiuchi]

"You really never know," he pointed out mildly, regarding his little sister thoughtfully and not without some amusement. She was so optimistic, so upbeat, so unable to believe anything negative. He was fine with it, as long as no one broke her heart for it.

She was just as pretentious as he'd been at her age, and it was definitely entertaining.

"Well, then. Perhaps I haven't," Draco hummed mildly, shrugging one shoulder as he sank his teeth into a cake of his own. "What would you say to that, o worldly sister of mine?"