Without realising, I had drifted off to sleep. Behind my eyes I saw two phoenixes dancing, golden light and a feminine whisper of you are in control of my powers now. Use them wisely. My golden nap only ended when Dumbledore lightly shook my shoulder.

"Hmm..." I stretched and through sleepy eyes I saw Dumbledore leaning over me, holding a golden bracelet. "What's that?"

"I had it made a couple of months ago. What with all the.... Petrified students, I had a feeling soon Fawkes would deem you well enough to be awoken soon."

Dumbledore placed the bracelet into my out-stretched palms. It was a small golden bangle and encased in a thin layer of glass in the centre of the gold was a single golden feather that wound in on itself. It glittered in the candlelight of Dumbledore's office.

"It's very pretty, but what does it do?" I asked sheepishly, putting it on my wrist. It fitted perfectly, as I had suspected.

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "It's almost a.... barrier, so to speak. That is one of Fawkes' tail feathers that he donated. If you are in a situation like tonight or... a year ago where you need to harness a lot of power, Fawkes can lift the burden for you. So, you don't burn out like you did before."

Lightly stroking the gold at my wrist, I smiled at Dumbledore. For the first time since I'd woken up, I didn't feel the slightest bit confused.

"Thank you. Can I go home now?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I shall apparate you myself—a perk of being Headmaster means I can bend where you can Apparate in the school."

As I got to my feet I realised something important. "Professor... I missed my entire second year. Does that mean... I'll be kept behind?"

The thought of returning after a year but not being able to see my friends every day in class, was honestly a bit terrifying to me. Anxiety rose to my throat at the mere thought of having to make new friends.

Dumbledore placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Lyra. I wouldn't dream of putting you out of your comfort zone. Your mother will help you catch up on the essential spells and potions. But don't forget, if you feel a bit out of place next term... Help is always given at Hogwarts to those who ask."

Dumbledore was such a lovely Professor. It was no wonder he was so loved. "Thank you, Sir. You've really made me feel better."

"A pleasure," Dumbledore replied. "You have of course, saved two of my students lives. I'm in your debt. Now, let us go to Remus' home."

A year unconscious had not erased how horrible it was to apparate. Within mere seconds we appeared with a pop outside Remus' childhood home that I now considered my own home. We'd barely taken a few steps when Sasha, Mum and Remus appeared.

Remus looked un-changed from when I last saw him, though he looked a bit more frazzled than usual. "Thank you for bringing her home, Dumbledore," he smiled. He looked relieved to see me. "It's so good to see you, Lyra."

For the third time this evening I ran into a family member's arms and allowed Remus to envelop me into a tight hug. He smelt of old books and wolfsbane, and it made me realise how much I'd missed this man who was close to a father to me.

"Lyra," Dumbledore said, and Remus released me. Dumbledore looked pleased. "I hope you have a good summer."

Then he disappeared with another pop.

"Right," Mum clapped her hands together. Happy tears were in her eyes. "I think we should all go to bed. It's been the longest day."

I couldn't agree more.

**

The room Sasha and I shared was virtually the same. The only noticeable difference was that Sasha had more make-up on our dressing table, and a photo of her and Cedric from her first year had now been moved to her bed-side table.

"I didn't mess with any of your stuff," Sasha said as she crawled into her bed. "I'm not that much of a bitch to steal my comatose sister's stuff."

Just hearing her sarcastic tone made me well up with emotion. While it might not have felt like I was away for a year, the thought of having left my sister without me made me feel sad. Sitting down on my bed, it felt strange.

"What's the matter?" Sasha huffed, crawling under her covers. "It's like two in the morning, I would like to sleep. As great as it as to have you back and whatever."

"Can I sleep in with you?" I blurted out.

Sasha's face softened, and she scooted over in her bed. "First, change into something else. You smell like Basilisk venom."

This took a while, as it seemed that I'd grown a few inches while in the coma (apart from my chest which was still as flat as a board). In the end Sasha let me wear her old Hello Kitty pyjamas and pulled me under the warm covers, turning our night light off.

Sasha pulled me close to her chest without a word. It took me a couple minutes to realise the warmth on my hair was her tears.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into her t-shirt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so stupid, I should have let you come with me."

Sasha snorted into my hair. "What use what I have been? You're so much stronger than me, Lyra. I'm pathetic."

The red line I saw on her wrist came back to the fore-front of my mind. "I saw what was on your wrist," I said, not knowing how else to say it.

Sasha stiffened up. "I'm not talking about that. Not yet. Let's just say... I had a rough few months."

"Because of me." I said into the darkness.

"No, you idiot. I did what I did to myself because I'm messed up, not you. Don't you ever try and blame yourself for things I do, got it?" Sasha's voice was harsh, but it broke on the end of the sentence, and I felt my heart break.

For a few moments, I stayed cuddled to her chest, inhaling the strange new scent on her shirt, which was a couple sizes too big. It was then it finally clicked to me that it was a men's cologne, and one that I recognised.

"So how long have you and Cedric been dating?"

I could almost feel her sunshine smile in the darkness. "Three months. He was there for me when I screwed up big time. As it turns out... he had a crush on me the whole time. We liked each other and didn't realise..."

Happiness began to blossom in my chest like a lovely flower in spring. "I'm so happy that you're happy."

Sasha kissed the side of my head. "Fred is going to be so excited to see you."

That flower of happiness began to flourish as I drifted off to sleep, thinking of Fred Weasley.

**

The next week was uneventful and consisted of: Mum fattening me up, Mum teaching me all the spells I needed to know from second year, Mum constantly asking if I was okay, Remus telling her to leave me be. This cycle was sprinkled with Sasha flitting between Cedric and me, acting normally thank God.

On my eighth day back from phoenix-induced coma, the uneventful calendar shifted.

"So, I think its time for you to see your friends again, I invited a couple of them over to see you today." Mum announced as she piled three extra eggs onto my plate. She was convinced I was under-nourished.

"Really!" my eyes lit up as I dug into my mountain of a breakfast. My whole day was instantly better. "Which friends?"

"Cassie and Katherine," Mum kissed the side of my head tenderly. "I thought having everyone over at once would be too much, too soon."

Mum had become practically a fanatic in making sure I was okay. My friends had sent loads of letters over the last few days asking to come over,(apart from Elijah who asked if I still had his potions text book, saving one line to ask how I was, typical Elijah) but mum had rebuked all of them claiming I needed 'relaxation'.

"You did do some heavy loading," Sasha told me when I complained to her about it. "You saved Kat's life from a stab wound, and Harry from a literal fatal Basilisk fang. They'd be dead without you. Take it easy, you idiot."

But now it seemed Mum was relenting, which meant things would slowly come back to a sense of normal. The only thing that was a thorn in my side was that Fred hadn't written me a letter. He was one of the people I was most excited to see, but he didn't seem to be bothered.

My one worry was that he'd moved on, which I would totally understand, but be heartbroken over. Sasha wasn't any help, saying to just talk to Fred when I saw him next. Who knew when that would happen though? If I was brave enough, I'd ask Mum to take me to the Burrow next week to have it out with Fred in person.

At midday I'd barely finished doing a practice second year potions test (thankfully I was still good at potions) when my door burst open. Snapping my head up, I was greeted by two thankfully familiar girls.

"Cassie! Kat!" I cried as my two best friends barrelled into me with hugs, knocking me flat onto my back on the bed. Between mouthfuls of curls and scent of perfume, I manged to choke out, "I missed you both so much!"

They both released me, and I finally got to see how much they changed over the last year. They were taller and filled out (which made me feel like a pancake). Kat's hair seemed bigger and fluffier, and she looked less on edge. Cassie had a smattering of acne and concealer on her cheeks, but you could barely notice that because of her huge smile.

"You missed us?" Cassie cried, and I was stunned to realise her voice was no longer hoarse, and just as gentle as I'd always imagined it'd be. "We haven't seen you for a year!"

Stunned my mouth hung open. Kat poked me in the shoulder, "Yeah, Cassie talks now."

"How come?" I asked, shaking myself out of my shock. "Not that it's a bad thing of course, just—"

Cassie shrugged, the massive grin still on her face. "Well when you went into a coma, I was scared that my best friend might have died without having a conversation with me... I scared myself into talking. It took a while, but I think I'm doing okay."

"You never shut up," Kat rolled her eyes, and Cassie playfully tugged on one of her curls. Kat tugged Cassie's ponytail back, with a soft expression on her face.

Tears came to my eyes. Everything was so different, and so similar at the same time... "Oh no, don't cry!" Cassie cried, squidging closer to me on the bed. "I might talk now, but I'm no good at comforting people!"

"I'm not sad, I'm just..." I was lost for words. "I wish I could have been here this year."

Kat pushed her curls behind her ears, suddenly looking serious. "It wasn't that fun, trust me. I got petrified by a Basilisk—just for sticking up for Harry! I won't be doing that again any time soon! My Auntie also decided to be a bitch and hide photos of my mother from me."

"That sucks," I gave Kat's hand a quick squeeze. I knew her relationship with her Auntie was strained at the best of times.

Kat shrugged. "She's just mad I won't let her control me. Anyways, I stole all of the pictures from her dresser—I'm not forgetting my mother." Then she snorted. "Not to mention Elijah decided I was his new pet project since you were unconscious."

"Then he started bothering me after Kat was petrified," Cassie pulled a face, but she didn't look annoyed. "I think the guy doesn't have any proper friends, so he latches onto us."

"Poor Elijah," I frowned. "Ooh—maybe I could find him some new friends this year!"

Kat and Cassie both burst into giggles. Looking between them, I frowned. "What? What's the matter?"

Kat shook her head. "Lyra Black, ever the optimist. I kinda missed your sunny outlook on things."

"It's not a bad thing!" Cassie and I exclaimed together.

My insides were practically glowing. Cassie, speaking in sync with me! Kat, happy and not letting her Auntie control her! It was so nice to see my friends had a good year, even if I had missed it.

"Ooh yeah!" Cassie exclaimed suddenly, reaching into her owl backpack. "I brought Space Invaders and Wotsits!"

"I love you guys," I sighed happily, and the three of us tucked into our unhealthy muggle snacks, together again.

**

Cassie and Kat stayed for a few hours, and I was sad to see them go. They didn't particularly want to go either, but Kat didn't want to push her luck with her Auntie.

"I'll come back as soon as my father gets the stick out of his arse again," Cassie shook her head. "He only let me come if I gave all of the Peacocks baths!"

"Oh wow," I couldn't help giggling. "I'm sure that was a sight!"

A smile quirked onto Kat's face. "I so need to go to your house, it sounds crazy there."

Cassie pulled a face. "At least Draco is semi-tolerable. He's nicer to me now that we can argue without a notebook in the way."

"I'm sure they're just glad you're speaking again," I said neutrally. Cassie had yet to tell us why she'd stopped speaking in the first place, but that was her secret to tell. I wasn't going to push her.

A smile quirked onto Cassie's face. "Mum loves it, says its nice to hear one of her children speak without asking for money. Dad... he's just worried I can actually speak my mind now."

Kat and I exchanged a glance. Cassie Malfoy was a mystery, all right.

With a few more hugs and promises of visits, Kat summoned the Knight Bus and they disappeared in a roaring flurry of violet metal. Staring off into the empty spot where the bus had pulled up, I felt alone already. Like something was missing.

"Lyra?" a sudden hand on my shoulder made me jump, only to realise it was mum. Something unreadable was on her face. "Can we talk?"

Heading back into the sunlit kitchen, Remus and Sasha were both sat at the table. Remus looked strained, and Sasha looked almost excited—she had her favourite yellow blouse on.

"What is it?" I asked wearily, sitting next to Remus. He passed me a glass of lemonade, and I worried my hands with the condensation. "What's happened?"

Mum sat down next to me and took one of my hands in her own. She stared at my fingers as she said quietly, "I've been speaking to your father."

My senses went into over-drive, and I sat up as straight as an arrow. My thoughts hadn't drifted to my father much since I'd been awake, there had been so much else to focus on... but he'd always been in the back of my mind and I'd been wondering...

"Is he okay?" a dark thought came to mind. "Oh my God, is he dead?"

"Jesus Lyra, would I be looking this happy if our father was dead?" Sasha snapped, picking at the sleeve of her blouse. "No, he's not dead. He wants to see us."

Deep inside me, a tiny spark of hope began to catch in my stomach. Ever since I'd learnt who my father was, and since I'd read the letter, I'd been... curious. So very curious of the man whose DNA I shared half of, who thought of Sasha and me in a lonely cell. But never did I imagine meeting him, in the flesh.

"Seriously?" my voice went an octave higher. "When?"

Mum took my hand again. "I got into contact him when you were... unconscious. He and I tried to think of ways to get you to wake up, but... obviously they didn't work. When you woke up last week I wrote to inform him, and.... Well he wants to meet the both of you. Tonight."

"Tonight?" I shrieked. I was wearing a frayed Snow-White shirt and worn out jeans. I at least wanted my father to see me looking presentable. "Why are you only telling me now?"

Remus spoke for the first time. "She was putting it off. She wasn't sure if you'd want to see him."

"Why wouldn't I--?" then it hit me. "You don't want us to go to Azkaban, do you Remus?"

Remus got to his feet and snatched his mug of tea, throwing his newspaper aggressively on the table. "I think it's a stupid idea, Cara." He spoke directly to my mother. "The girls have done perfectly fine without Sirius in their lives, and they don't need to go anywhere near that hellish place. Not to mention he's a murderer!"

I'd never seen Remus look so angry. Mum got to her feet, her eyes blazing with emotion. "We don't know if he did, Remus. He's never given me his side of the story from that night! He was so... lucid when I visited him! He's not crazy!"

Remus rolled his eyes dramatically. "Do what you want, Cara. They're your children."

He stormed off, slamming the kitchen door behind him. The door rattled on its hinges. Mum sat back down, looking defeated. "It's a sensitive subject for him," she whispered.

Sasha stood up and pulled on her jacket. "Well Remus needs to get over it. He might be... there, but he is our father. We should see him. There's a few things I'd like to say to him."

Standing up, I squeezed Mum's shoulder. "Me too. I really want to see him, mum."

Mum gave me a weak smile. "Get your shoes on then, Lyra. Let's go to Azkaban."

------

A/N Okay I'm back! This chapter was originally going to include visiting Sirius, but it was over 5,000 words so I decided to split it! I'll post that in a couple of days time :)

Thoughts about the characters/what is going to happen next?

I've planned out the rest of this story, and its going to roughly be 35-40 chapters!! We're in for hell of a ride!!! :)