Professor Sprout led us back up to the hall and demanded all Prefect up front with wands out. Sasha had to leave us, though for once she looked annoyed with her role. My entire throat seemed to close up. My father might have failed getting into Gryffindor tonight, but he knew how to get into the castle now.

We piled into the hall, where the rest of the school seemed to be, half in robes half in pyjamas. Cassie waved us over. She was stood with our Gryffindor friends, and to my surprise, Elijah.

"Well this night has gotten more interesting." Elijah said as way of greeting. He was practically buzzing with excitement. "Nobody's ever broken into Hogwarts before—your father is breaking all the rules, eh Lyra?"

All I could manage was a nod. "Give it a can, Eli." Fred's tone was sharp as he appeared from behind me. "You okay?"

Relief spread through me as he grabbed my hand. Instantly I felt safe, my burdens lifted for just a moment. "It's a lot," I managed to choke out. I turned to Harry, who looked about as shaken as I felt. "What exactly happened?"

"He tried to get through our portrait," Harry said quietly. "The Fat Lady wouldn't let him in without a portrait, so he slashed her with a knife."

My blood ran cold. My Father had a weapon when I'd seen him. As much as I wanted to believe that he wanted to prove his innocence by finding a man with a strange name—innocent men didn't knife people, even if they were portraits.

"Oh," I replied, and Fred gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll all be sorted." Ron said, though his voice wavered. "Everything will work out."

While I mulled that over, as well as my guilt at letting him go, Dumbledore called the hall to attention. Instantly all the chatter and gossip stopped.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a search of the castle." Dumbledore announced. "As some of your heads of houses may have told you, you must spend the night here. I look to the Head Boy, Head Girl and Prefects to patrol the hall in shifts—and to report directly to me."

I caught sight of Sasha and Cedric, stood with the other prefects, Percy and the Head Girl. From the glisten in her eyes, I could see that Sasha was barely keeping it together. But my sister was strong—she could do anything.

With one wave of Dumbledore's wand, hundreds of squishy purple sleeping bags and soft pillows appeared, the hall tables pushed against the walls. With a bid of goodnight, Dumbledore locked the hall door behind him, leaving us all.

Automatically the hall burst into excited chatter of gossip. The eight of us grabbed sleeping bags, and crowded together in a corner, where we were joined by George.

"Look, I'm sorry if I was insensitive." Elijah said, approaching me like you would with a small animal. "Shit like this gets me excited—I forget he's your dad."

I thought of the knifed portrait up on Gryffindor tower, and internally shuddered. "That's a good thing." I said wearily. "Theorise about whatever you want, Elijah."

He gave me a tight smile, before setting up his sleeping bag next to George. We all set up our sleeping bags in an odd circle, aware lights would be out in ten minutes.

"Do you think he's still in the castle?" Cassie asked, squishing herself closer to Kat. "I was so scared going through the dungeons, I thought he'd jump out at us—sorry, Lyra—"

"Don't worry about it." I stared down at Fred's freckled hand intertwined with mine. "Everybody speak freely. I—I don't care what you say about him. He's a stranger to me."

The animagus Father who played with his toddler daughters was a world away. The ragged man in stolen clothes and a knife in his pocket, he was nobody.

"Dumbledore must think he is, he's a smart man." Ron said solemnly. "All the teachers are out there."

The thought of my Mum and Remus wandering around the castle set me into paralyzing anxiety. He wouldn't hurt them, would he?

"Well he picked a good night," Elijah said calmly. Everybody looked at him. "What? It's not weird. He picked the night he knew everybody would be down here. He obviously wanted something in Gryffindor..."

"While that's an enlightening and boneless theory, Elijah there's bigger questions at stake here." Kat said with an air of superiority. "How did he get into the castle?"

Our group fell silent. "Maybe he can turn into smoke, get around like that." Fred inputted. "I know Bill told me before that dark wizards can train to do that..."

Part of me wanted to hear people's theories, to give me some sort of grip onto reality. Only myself, Sasha and Mum knew that Father could turn into a dog. I was certain that was how he got so far undetected. But he would have needed hands to get into the castle...

"Or he apparated to a deserted part of the castle," Ron said, eager to join in. "Then he waited until we were down here, and—"

Hermione huffed loudly. "Have any of you ever read Hogwarts: A History?"

"No," we all chorused.

"The castle has hundreds of enchantments on it. You couldn't just apparate in, Ronald. Whatever he did, was complex." Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"At least he didn't burst in here." Harry said quietly, speaking for the first time in a while.

As a shiver crept up my spine and into my bones, Percy Weasley shouted: "Lights out in two minutes! Everybody into sleeping bags—now!"

We obeyed and separated ourselves out of our circle. I couldn't help but notice Kat and Cassie position their sleeping bags close together. Without even needing to say a word, Fred and I pulled our sleeping bags right next to each other.

Fred put his arm around me, and I cuddled up to his chest. I'd barely shut my eyes when I heard: "No canoodling in the hall."

It was Sasha, who had a tired smile on her face. "You okay?" Fred asked. "George and I couldn't find you in the ruckus."

Sasha pulled a face. "So-so," she looked at me. "They haven't found him yet."

"Do you think they will?" I asked her steadily. Part of me wanted them to, part of me didn't. I wanted closure, and yet... I didn't want the dementors to get him either.

"I don't know." Sasha said, and on her face, I could see the same conflict. "Get some sleep—it's going to be a long night."

The lights went out in an instant. Even lying next to Fred in the dark, I struggled to get to sleep. After an hour of struggling, I whispered into the darkness: "Fred?"

"Yeah?" he replied sleepily, draping his arm around me shoulder. "Wassit?"

Smiling slightly, I whispered. "I'm scared. I'm scared if they find him, and I'm scared if they don't."

Fred was instantly awake and pulled me close to his sleeping-bag covered chest. "There's nothing you can do, Ly. Try not to worry about it—I know you will but try to get to sleep."

But I could have done something.

Eventually I settled into an uneasy sleep. But then I was woken by the voice of Percy Weasley, which even from a distance sounded obnoxiously superior. I glanced at my watch—it was three in the morning.

"Everything is under control." He was saying. Lifting my head up slightly, I could see he was speaking to Dumbledore.

"Good," Dumbledore replied. "I see no point in unsettling the students now. You can move the Gryffindors back into the tower in the morning."

Dumbledore and Percy had their backs to me, so I dared to sit up. The entire hall was quiet, the only sounds quiet snores and people mumbling in their sleep. Fred was flat out next to me, his t-shirt half down his shoulder. Looking around, I could see that Harry was wide awake too, his eyes massive and green in the dark.

He placed a finger to his lips and pointed at Dumbledore. Pretend to sleep and listen, his eyes said.

Cuddling back down with Fred until his fly-away hair tickled my cheek, I strained my ears to listen to the conversation.

"Where is the Fat Lady, Sir?"

"She's hiding in a map on the second floor. She's quite shaken up."

The door to the hall opened with a resounded creak. Cringing, I laid as still as possible. I didn't want to be caught listening to confidential information.

"The third floor is secure, I searched it myself." It was Snape, who was wearing a boastful tone. "Filch has searched the dungeons—there's no sign of him anywhere."

"I didn't expect Black to linger," Dumbledore replied with a sigh. "Thank you, Severus."

"Do you remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before the welcome feast?" Snape had an odd edge to his voice, like he was barely gaining composure. "About your appointment of—"

"I do remember, Severus." Dumbledore said sharply. "I hired Cara Black because I trust her immensely. She has been interrogated by the Ministry countless times, and her loyalty is to her daughters. It broke her heart when Black left her with the girls. She would never betray my trust like that."

"I was not referring to Cara," Snape said, and to my surprise he sounded almost gentle saying my mother's name. "I know she hates Black as much as I, but I doubt Black got into the castle without insider help. I do believe—"

"That's enough, Severus." Dumbledore said, sharper that time. I knew what Snape was implying—that Remus helped get my Father into the castle, which was ridiculous. "I must speak to the dementors—patrol the hall in my absence."

I laid very still until I was sure Dumbledore was out of the hall. Then I allowed myself to stretch out, though I didn't feel safe. Peeking one eye open, I saw that Snape was standing directly in front of me, staring.

I held his gaze, waiting for him to shout or scream, take points from Hufflepuff for my eavesdropping. Instead, he held a finger to his lips, and walked away.

**

The very next morning, the whole school was gossiping about the crazy events of the night before. People were coming up with crazy theories—the weirdest was that Hannah believed my Father could turn himself into a flowering shrub and was hiding in the greenhouses.

I could feel people's gazes on me, but nobody wanted to approach me, to ask questions they had burning on their lips. I had bigger fish to fry, however—I needed to speak to Mum. There were too many questions, and I needed answers.

The second that breakfast was finished, I ignored Kat's invitation to the library, and went straight up to the staff table. Mum was barely eating her breakfast, her robes creased and hair un-curled.

"Mum," I said as a greeting. The other teachers other than Remus ignored me. Mum carried on staring at her porridge. "Mum," I repeated, louder.

"Cara," Remus nudged my mother. "It's Lyra."

My mother jumped, almost tipping the porridge down her robes. "Oh—oh hello, sweetheart. What's the matter?"

"Can I speak to you?" I asked quickly, aware that everybody was curiously looking at us. No student approached the staff table. "Now?"

Mum nodded and pushed away her uneaten breakfast. "We'll go to my office, come on."

Once in Mum's office, I allowed myself to breathe. I felt safe in there—she had photos of us and Sasha on every wall, and one of the Van Gogh paintings we'd had in the Malfoy's flat. Mum made me a cup of tea before I asked.

"I assume this is about last night's antics?" she sighed, collapsing into her chair. "I barely got a wink of sleep—I was in charge of searching the fifth floor."

"I saw Dad before he tried to break into Gryffindor." It wasn't what I wanted to say, but it blurted out anyway.

Mum didn't look surprised as she took a long sip of her own cup of tea. "Figures. He was hiding in my office yesterday lunch time."

I almost dropped my cup of tea. "What?!"

Mum nodded, and with the lines around her eyes and the grey streaks of hair, she looked twenty years older than she was. "He said he wanted to talk—he said that a man I know to be dead was in the castle, and that he could fix everything. That we could be a family again."

He must have mentioned Wormtail to her as well. "He said just about the same to me." I said quietly. "I should have turned him in—he was lurking by the Hufflepuff common room."

"I'm sure your reason is the same as mine."

"I—I'm not sure why I didn't." I said quietly. When you thought about it, I barely knew my Father. He'd left when I was two, and I couldn't remember any good memories—only the man in Azkaban.

"It's because you love him." Mum wouldn't look into my eyes as she played with the Sapphire ring she always wore on her middle finger. With a jolt of shock, I realised that was probably her engagement ring. "Loving your Father is exhausting after all this time. I wish I didn't—but I still do."

My mouth felt very dry. "Do you think he's innocent?"

Tears filled Mum's eyes. "I—I think so..." She looked out of the window. "Your Father is a reckless man, but he was never stupid. If he came into the castle, saying he could prove his innocence—he believed he could. That's who I saw in my office—the man I loved, under the ragged clothes. I—I just don't know how to find him."

When I thought about it, when I spoke to him—he never tried to hurt me, he didn't get angry once. He was trying to reach out to me, and I shot him down. Maybe—just maybe, my Mother was onto something.

**

As November rolled around, the weather grew worse. Rain lashed at the windows and lightning illuminated our common room frequently. One evening, Kat and I had been playing good ol' snakes and ladders, with Sasha watching us eagerly. It had been a nice chilled evening, everybody in a good mood despite the weather.

But suddenly loud, angry chattering entered the common room. Cassie was trailing behind Cedric looking furious, waving her hands around. Wearily, the three of us looked up.

"Emergency team meeting!" Cedric clapped his hands together. "Over here!"

The rest of our Quidditch team crowded around us, and Cedric stood at the head of the table we'd been using, Cassie stood next to him.

"We're playing this weekend," Cedric said grimly. "Against Gryffindor."

The team instantly burst out into angry mutterings, and my head spun. I thought I'd have until next term to worry about a Quidditch—our match with Ravenclaw was scheduled far in advance to give me, and a new chaser, Natalie more time to adjust and train.

"Why though?" Sasha frowned. "It's very rare Quidditch matches are moved. We aren't prepared to fly in this weather, Ced."

It's true, we'd postponed training for the last week: Cedric hadn't seen much point since we weren't playing, and it gave Gryffindor more pitch time.

"Blame my brother," Cassie said angrily. "He claims that his arm is still damaged, and that he can't fly properly."

"I'll give him some real damage," Kat muttered darkly, flexing her fingers. "They just don't want to fly in the rain!"

"I don't, particularly," Cedric said with a heavy sigh. "But we must take Slytherin at their word, even though we know their seeker isn't actually injured. The show must go on."

I had a bad feeling about this.

**

The night before the match, I was so wound up that Cassie ended up donating one of her sleeping potions. While it did knock me out straight away, when I woke the next morning just before breakfast, I didn't feel refreshed just nauseas.

I had to take several deep breaths in the bathroom as I dressed in my Quidditch uniform. I'd been so proud to wear the bee-coloured jumper, my knee high leather boots (Sasha's old pair) and Keeper gloves to practice but actually wearing it to the match...

The wind howled and bashed the bathroom window ferociously, droplets of rain sneaking in like very determined spies. When I emerged from the bathroom, Kat was sat on my bed wearing her raincoat and a grim expression.

"I'm not going to say you'll be fine, because I'm not a liar." Kat said in her famous flat tone. She stood to her feet, my Quidditch helmet in hand. "But... try not to die."

"I'm already covered," I wiggled my Phoenix bracelet in her face. "I don't think Adara the mystical Phoenix wants me dying from Quidditch of all things."

A grim silence passed between the two of us. "You're a good flier." Kat said, though her voice wavered. "Just... Don't take a chance with the breeze, yeah?"

We headed up to breakfast, where we sat with the rest of the Hufflepuff team. Everybody was subdued, though Cedric was trying to keep team morale up.

"Everybody just try their best, okay?" Cedric looked around at the six of us. "We're a brilliant team."

"We're a brilliant team flying against Ravenclaw," Natalie, the new chaser pointed out. "We've strategized exactly how to beat them—Gryffindor, well they're the top dogs."

I couldn't help but silently agree. Harry was the youngest seeker this century, and Fred and George were excellent beaters. I'd like to think we have a chance though.

"No negativity at this table." Cedric tried to keep a smile on his face, though I could see the tension underneath. "These weather conditions are not ideal, but I will be proud of this team no matter what."

"Great speech, babe." Sasha said, reaching out and squeezing Cedric's hand.

"I dabble," Cedric replied, the tension leaving his face at Sasha's touch. "Okay—finish up team—it's time to go!"

The Gryffindor team had already been hustled off by their captain, which was a shame. I would have liked a hug from Fred, or a smile from Harry to calm the storm of anxiety brewing inside my head.

At the end of the Hufflepuff table stood my friends: Hermione, Ron, Cassie, Kat and Elijah. They all looked grim-faced, though trying to act for the best.

"Dude, you're mental flying in this." Elijah said, blunt as always. "Surely they should cancel this match, right?"

"The only time they've ever cancelled Quidditch was because of the Basilisk." Ron said grimly. "I'm sure you'll be fine though Lyra."

"Hey, Ron, get your sister to summon the baslisk again—problem solved, anxiety vanquished!" Elijah smirked. He was met with glares. "What, too soon?"

Cassie threw her arms around me. "Last night I pulled my brother's hair, cause he pissed me off with all this." She said in a whisper. "There's no way his arm is still hurting from Buckbeak."

"It's alright," I said, pulling away from my best friend. I turned to them all and felt a rush of affection. "I'll be okay. Just—take an umbrella."

"Already have one!" Hermione said brightly, holding up an umbrella with, yeah you guessed it, a pattern of books.

"See you later?" Kat said, and I nodded.

Unable to say anything else, I turned and walked out of the hall.

Cedric couldn't bare to make a warm-up speech to us before the match. He just stared at us as we tied our robes to our jumpers and opened his mouth, only to be drowned out by rumbling thunder. Then he shook his head. "Let's hope for a quick game."

We followed him out onto the pitch, and despite the forks of lightning crossing the sky I felt my stomach skip. There were so many people in the stands, though they were mere smudges in the slashing rain.

Knowing my friends were in the crowd, and Sasha, Harry and Fred were on the same field as me, helped me feel better.

Cedric and Oliver Wood shook hands, and Madam Hooch told us all to mount our brooms. Feeling ill, I swung my leg out of the mud and over my hand-me-down broom. It'll be a short match, I told myself. Harry and Cedric are great seekers.

We took our places on the pitch, and with a high-pitched whistle, my first Quidditch match began.

It was just as bad as I imagined. Practicing in wind was something I'd gotten used to—flying in torrential rain and lightning was something else. Every part of me was soaking, and I couldn't feel my feet.

I managed to save a goal, but that was mostly because the wind blew me in the direction of the Quaffle, which I could barely see, even with my Quidditch goggles. I was unsure how Harry was coping with his glasses.

But while I was sharp and fast on a usual day, this wasn't a usual day. We'd been trained to play Ravenclaw, and the Gryffindor team was much better than us. I ended up letting five goals in, and I knew Sasha and Natalie had only managed to score two.

While I knew the weather was mostly to blame for my poor performance, I couldn't help but curse Draco Malfoy. We weren't prepared for these conditions or to play Gryffindor. This game was turning into a shamble.

A shrill whistle cried in the air, and I could see Gryffindor saw downwards. For a brief moment I thought the game was over. But Sasha was flying towards me, shaking her head.

"Harry can't see—they've called a time-out." Sasha's hair was slick to her head, and she looked as miserable as I felt. "I hope this is over soon."

The whistle rang again, and the Gryffindor flew once more. They must have gotten some new sort of determination, as I'd barely started to dive when Angelina Johnson flung the Quaffle, scoring again.

I was probably the worst Keeper they'd ever gotten. Cedric shouldn't have had so much faith in me. Sighing, I stared into the gloom and caught eye of Fred, waving his bat in the air. He was pointing upwards.

Following his gaze, I could see Harry and Cedric streaking towards something—the snitch, surely—and relief coated me. It would be over.

A flash of lightning illuminated the stand closest to me, I couldn't help but glance over. Paralyzed I saw a massive black dog sat on the highest stand, staring right at me with two silver coins for eyes.

"Dad?"

Lightning cracked across the sky like flash from a camera, and the dog was gone. My broom dropped a few feet as my mind spun. Was it him? What was he doing here?

Suddenly ice filled up my insides, freezing the phoenix blood in my veins and sending my powers into temporary slumber. All I could see were dark shapes, fleshless hands reaching for me.

"No!" I tried to speak, but my voice was gone. They were going to get Dad, they were going to get me...

I was falling, falling...

**

"You can't do this—Sirius please!" a woman was crying, I was crying in her arms.

"He killed them, Cara—he killed them—he's the reason Harry will grow up without his parents!" a man was shouting, his fists closed around his wands.

"Do you want your daughters to have a Father?!" the woman shrieked. "Don't—Sirius, don't—We need you, I need you—"

"I need to do this for James—for Lily." The man's voice was softer. "I'll be back tonight. I'll be back for my girls."

But he didn't return.

**

"She doesn't even have a scratch—Cass, stop crying."

"But—But I thought her powers didn't work when they were around?"

"It's lucky I cast my patronus when I did then."

"I—I should have caught her."

Slowly, I was drawn into consciousness, fuzzy shapes wobbling above my head like toys on a child's mobile. My limbs felt like lead, and my wrist was burning. Rubbing my eyes, everything slowly came into focus.

Several figures stood huddled around me. Sasha, my mother, Fred, Kat and Cassie were all there, equal looks of concern written on their faces.

"What—what happened?" my voice was like sandpaper.

Mum sat gently on my bed and was softly stroking my hair. "You fell, sweetheart. There were dementors, they—affected you quite badly. I managed to send them away with a patronus charm—luckily your powers kicked in before you hit the ground."

Images came back to me in burst—Harry and Cedric going for the snitch, the dementors huddling on the ground, everything freezing, the memory of my Father leaving... and the stands, he was in the stands...

"Did they catch him?" I couldn't bare to know.

"Catch who?" Fred asked gently. "Are you okay, Ly?"

My mind was struggling to catch up. "So, he—he wasn't there? I thought Dad was at the match."

Sasha and my mother shared a look. "He wasn't there, Lyra." Sasha sounded exhausted. "Dementors make you relieve horrible things—they probably showed you him. After all that shit at Halloween he couldn't step a toe on the grounds."

"Oh." Everything was very confusing. "So, who won the match?"

"You almost died from falling a hundred feet, and you want to know the Quidditch score?" Kat shook her head. "You idiot."

"Hufflepuff won," Cassie's eyes were red and puffy from tears, but a wobbly smile came onto her face. "Cedric caught the snitch, after---well, after Harry fell."

I almost sprang up from my bed, despite the nausea threatening to send me unconscious. Fred gently put an arm around me, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of my head.

"He's fine, love, don't worry. Dumbledore slowed him down before he hit the ground. He's recovering—Ron and Hermione are with him."

"G—Good," I allowed myself to lie down. I felt frazzled—though I suppose my powers had been put into overdrive to save my life. I noticed the storm had cleared from the window. "The storm's gone."

"It's Sunday," Kat rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Lyra—you end up in some shit, don't you—oh, sorry Professor—"

Mum gave her a wry smile. "It's fine, Katherine, don't worry about it—I'm not your teacher outside of lessons." She planted a kiss to my cheek. "I think we should all let Lyra rest."

All of them gave me hugs (Fred gave me a parent-appropriate kiss) and began filling out of the hospital wing. I couldn't help noticing Cassie grab onto Kat's hand as they left together. I gave Kat a pointed look, and all I got in return was a mysterious grin which said: I'll tell you later.

Settling back down onto the bed, I prepared myself for a day of sleeping and contemplation. I was certain I'd seen my father in his animagus form. Was I just making things up, wishing the wonderful father from my past was there for me?

But as I pulled the covers over me, something crunched under the duvet. Reaching in, I found a dirty piece of parchment. All that was on there, was a dirty paw-print, and an untidy scribble which said:

Be safe. 

------------------

A/N Just so we're clear: Lyra is very conflicted about Sirius. She's heard very bad things, and very good things. Lyra is starting to get more and more glimpses of Sirius being good--and therefore believe his innocence! I know it must be confusing Lyra changing her opinion all the time--but it is a complex situation!

Also---we hit 3,000 reads!!! I'm so happy, I had no idea this story would pick up so many reads in a short few months!! Thank you everyone :)