Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Twilight was coming as was dinnertime, but the Gryffindor girl wasn't interested in eating in the Great Hall tonight. Lyra had just arrived back from Brightstone Village where she had a family picnic where her mother and Carter had told them all they had been married already, and the brunette girl wasn't sure how she felt about the news despite the fact that Lyra had told her mother and Carter that she was happy for them. It wasn't that she didn't like Carter because she really did love him. He was kind to them all and made their home a happier place, and she knew Carter loved her. Carter had been a part of their lives for three years now, and he acted as a father would act. Lyra was happy for her mother, but she also missed her dad. The Gryffindor had only been five when her father disappeared and her memories of him came in snippets. She remembered a man who read her stories and tucked her into bed. She remembered a man that would chase her around the house pretending to be the tickle monster. She remembered watching him fly through the air as if he was a bird. Lyra missed her dad, and he was never coming back. She would never get to know him. She only had her mother's stories, and she was worried that they would stop now because of Carter.

Lyra had a lot on her mind as she climbed the Tower steps to a place that she remembered her father telling her about in a bedtime story. James had always had wonderful stories to tell, and as a child, Lyra had thought they came out of her father's imagination. Now, she realized they were more true than not true. Only minor details had been changed. This place was magical, James had said. It was where her father decided he wanted to marry her mother. She had been dying to see it since they arrived at Hogwarts, and with her father so heavily on her mind tonight, she didn't think there would be a better time. Lyra sat down on a bench at the top of the tower and looked out at the setting sun. Her dad had been right. This place was magical. The Gryffindor girl allowed a smile to come to her face as she enjoyed the peaceful quiet.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Hogwarts was a huge place. Her mother and father had always said so but she never believed them. She didn't think it was possible for such a big place to exist without anyone knowing it. There were all sorts of different places to discover and explore and half the time she found herself lost until she spotted someone to follow back to safety. She wondered if Hogwarts would ever cease to exist. It was such a strong and beautiful castle that Charlotte knew it was going to last many more years. Maybe her children would go to Hogwarts too and she'd be able to tell them stories of things she did? Despite only being in her first year, she had quite a few stories to tell already.

The towers weren't usually a place that Charlotte visited. Being trapped in the dark and cold dungeons, Charlotte never found time to walk up thousands of steps to go to the very top of the castle. She hated where her common room was located and really wished she was a Gryffindor like her father was so she could actually live and sleep up top too. But tonight she was willing to skip dinner to see what the top of the castle actually looked like from inside. She skipped dinner the night before so she didn't feel it was such a problem tonight.

The steps tired her as she treaded up each one but she knew it was going to be worth it and was quite determined to make it. She figured no one would be up there and they'd all be down in the great hall eating dinner but she was wrong. A single girl was sitting on a bench facing the sunset. She looked like she wanted some time alone but there was no point for Charlotte to be turning back now.

Walking over to the girl, Charlotte sat down next to her. "Hello!" she said cheerfully, looking up at the sunset with her. "The sky looks really pretty tonight, doesn't it?"

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

The sunset had been relaxing Lyra, slowly making her realize that her mother marrying Carter Kaster might not be such a bad thing as long as no one expected her to change her last name or call Carter her dad. The Gryffindor turned to see who had joined her on the roof. She had figured she would have the place to herself since it was dinnertime. Not that she minded the company. Lyra did not know the girl who joined her, but she saw she was wearing Slytherin robes. The brunette didn't have the same problem with that as her brother seemingly did. Lyra vaguely recognized her from lessons. The Gryffindor girl smiled as the other girl mentioned the sunset. "It is quite lovely." she agreed in an equally friendly voice. Lyra scooted over to make sure there was plenty of room on the bench. "I'm Lyra Potter." she said, introducing herself. "I guess you weren't hungry either, huh?" she mentioned, curious as to why the girl decided to skip supper.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

The girl seemed rather welcoming and moved over to give Charlotte some room as she introduced herself as Lyra Potter. Charlotte knew she remembered the last name from somewhere but could remember where. Was she related to Harry Potter? No, she couldn't be! Charlotte was not bothered questioning her so left the thought in the back of her mind.

"I'm Charlotte Owens." Charlotte said, smiling at her. "Yeah, Skipping a meal or so isn't that bad, right?" She hoped Lyra agreed with her. "I just wanted to come up here and see what it's like. You must always come up here being a Gryffindor and all." She could see her Gryffindor robes in the light and wondered if she really was related to Harry Potter. Harry Potter was in Gryffindor too and if this girl had a relation to that boy then Charlotte had met someone famous! But she didn't want to question it any more and tried to push the thought away, concentrating on the situation at hand.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

"Nice to meet you, Charlotte." Lyra replied in a friendly tone. She didn't mind the company and knew that she really should be making more friends at school. So far all her friends were boys. "No it isn't. My family had a picnic in Brightstone today so I wasn't hungry. Didn't stop my brother from eating again though." She said with a laugh. Link seemed to have a bottomless pit for a stomach. kiera always said it was because he was a growing boy. Lyra just thought he was a pig.

"Well, actually no. I've never been up here before." Lyra admitted. "My mum told us she got remarried today, and I was thinking about my dad. He told me a story once and said this is where he fell in love with Mum. I wanted to see it for myself. " the Gryffindor girl said, not sure why she was telling a stranger about her family. She had been taught to keep it a secret. The media was constantly writing about her family. Especially now that her uncle was Minister. Before it had just been the odd story here about James Potter's widow and kids. Occasionally a piece about her granddad but that was more for the media in England. Media was much more concerned with her Uncle in recent years which meant a renewed interest in the Potter kids.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte listened carefully to what Lyra had to say. It made Charlotte feel special that Lyra was telling her all her personal problems and somehow Charlotte felt that she had to try and make her happier about the whole situation. She didn't seem as though she was in the best of spirits and Charlotte was willing to change that.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Charlotte asked with a soft tone in her voice. She wanted to make sure that Lyra was comfortable with it first before going ahead with things. But, to be honest, Charlotte had the feeling that maybe she didn't want to talk about it at all and was up here in this tower for that exact reason. She wondered what it might be like to have both of your parents separated and thought that it was probably a horrible thing. She had no idea how the Gryffindor felt and felt extremely sorry for her. Maybe Charlotte should postpone the exploring around here to another night?

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

The Gryffindor girl but her lip as Charlotte asked if she wanted to talk about it. The other girl seemed kind, but Lyra wasn't sure if she should trust her. Kiera and lectured them so many times growing up on the dangers of trusting strangers, and Charlotte was still a stranger. "I'm not suppose to talk about it. Mum doesn't want the Prophet to get wind of it yet." Lyra said, knowing the Prophet didn't usually care who got married. She knew they would care about her mother's marriage. Cynthia Vandervoort had always been particularly nasty when it came to gossip about Kiera.

"Can I trust you, Charlotte, to keep a secret?" Lyra asked, hoping the other girl was trust worthy. She noticed the pity in the Slytherin girl's eyes and while she didn't like the pity, it made her her feel better about confiding in a total stranger.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

The prophet? Did she mean the daily prophet? Wasn't that a newspaper in England? Charlotte tried her best to hold in her excitement. Lyra was definitely a famous person and she was telling her all about her private celebrity life. She wanted to burst out with all sorts of questions about what it's like to be famous in the wizarding world but kept them to herself. This was not the time to be bombarding the Gryffindor with fame so Charlotte kept all these feelings inside, hoping not to burst.

"Yes, you can trust me." Charlotte said gently. Charlotte didn't really have many friends who had secrets so she didn't really get any gossip from them. To Charlotte, secrets were so rare that they were something Charlotte loved to keep and she didn't want to break their friendship between the two even though they only knew each other for a few minutes. "I promise I won't tell anyone." she added with sincerity in her voice. After all, there weren't many people Charlotte could tell.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Lyra looked relieved as Charlotte told her she would keep her secrets. The Gryffindor supposed she would have normally only confided in her twin as Link was the only person that knew all of her thoughts, feelings, and fears. He was the other half of her in a lot of ways. "Thank you." Lyra said with a small smile. The brunette thought it might help to voice her feelings aloud and maybe she would understand. If not she could tell Link later tonight. He would understand. He always understood her.

"It isn't that I don't like Carter,Mum's husband, but I miss my dad and I don't want Mum to forget about him. I love Carter, and I know he's really helped Mum. He's good for her. He makes her laugh and I know he would do anything for us." Lyra said, vaguely remembering the nights she would wake up to hear Kiera crying quietly to herself. "But I don't want her to take down the pictures of Dad or stop telling his stories because that's the only way I'll ever really get to know my dad." she said looking over at the other girl. It didn't occur to her that she had never said exactly where her dad was or what happened to him. Normally, Lyra was a happy, energetic, fun girl. Kiera's news had really upset her today.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte listened intently to what Lyra had to say about her mother getting a new husband. Did Lyra's father die in a tragic accident that Lyra or any of her friends or family couldn't prevent? Did Lyra's mother and him have an argument where the children were stuck in the middle so they had to call quits in their relationship? Or did he have to move away in order to do something and he couldn't take his family with him? There were so many theories that it all confused Charlotte. But she knew that something bad had happened to her father but she didn't specify what. Nonetheless, Charlotte still felt extremely sorry for her and wanted to try and help her overcome the past.

"You made good memories with your dad, didn't you?" Charlotte asked, trying to make her feel better about whatever the situation was. "Then that's really all that should matter. Who cares if your mother throws away those memories? If you keep those memories for yourself then he would always stay in your heart. Think of all those people whose fathers don't love them or abandoned them at a young age. I'm sure your father loved you dearly and you should be thankful for all the memories that you made with him. It's probably time now to start a new life." Charlotte smiled at her, pleased with her speech. She found it extremely satisfying when she helped other people with their problems. She hoped that Lyra wouldn't be as sad anymore and that her words made her see the situation differently. Charlotte believed that there were positives in every situation and she wanted to try and make Lyra believe that too.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

As Charlotte spoke, it was clear to Lyra that she didn't know what had happened to Lyra's father. It had been all over the papers for months, but they had been so young at the time. It had been revisited during the election for Minister for Magic when the papers found out Kiera was dating her brother's competition. Still, they had been young, and Lyra didn't even know if Charlotte was from a magical family. "I have some good memories with my dad, but I was only five when he disappeared. No one knows what happened to him. He just vanished. The Aurors think he must have died. That's what mum says anyway." Lyra explained to Charlotte. She knew it could be hard to understand her family. Things were never simple.

"Mum isn't going to throw him away. She still loves him." Lyra said a little offended that someone would think such a thing about her mother. Kiera was the kindest, most wonderful woman in the entire world. She deserved a metal for dealing with Link alone. "She just might worry about hurting Carter's feelings." Lyra explained. "I want to get to know my dad better, and it has to be from Mum because I don't remember much about him." Lyra said. She looked back at Charlotte, almost regretting revealing her feelings. It seemed like she was being a downer when she really wasn't. "I'm happy to have Carter in our family, but is it wrong of me to miss my dad too?" she asked the other girl.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

At this point, Charlotte realised how much she really needed to read the news. She was only a child and wouldn't ever think of such a thing but Lyra was obviously talking about something important and maybe keeping up with the happenings of the wizarding world was worth a shot? If she explained any of this to her parents then they'd know exactly what she's talking about. It kind of made Charlotte feel left out that she was probably the only witch who didn't know what Lyra was saying.

"It's okay to still miss your father. Carter doesn't have to be your 'new dad' or anything. No one ever replaces your father even if they're forced to. If Carter is keeping your mother happy then he should make you happy too." Charlotte said, trying to make Lyra accept what is happening instead of thinking of the negatives. "And yeah, ask your mother questions about him. Ask about how he was when they first met because you never know when the only people who have first-hand accounts of your father's life will disappear too." She meant that in a friendly way. If Lyra wanted to know more about her dad, then asking her mother about him was a great idea.

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

Lyra's face went white at Charlotte's words. She knew that the girl was trying to help, and she seemed like a nice girl. However, that last statement was Lyra's worst fear. She wasn't someone who was afraid of much at all, but she feared for her family's safety. She had heard her Uncle Cameron tell her mother that he had run for Minister to protect his family. To try to keep them all safer. Her family had enemies from all sides now as she was a Potter and the Minister for Magic's niece. There was nothing Lyra could do to keep them safe. Not until she was older and knew magic. It was one more reason to study. At least she had Link to watch out for her as he always did.

Her green eyes looked straight at Charlotte, fierce and protective. "My family has too many enemies, but I won't consider that." she said, thinking about her parents, Carter, Cyndi, Cam, Kat, and all the other adults in her life. They were smart and strong. She couldn't bear to lose anyone else. "I'm sorry. You caught me on a bad day. I swear I'm usually more fun." Lyra told Charlotte with an apologetic smile.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte's cheeks flushed and she looked to the ground when she saw Lyra turn pale after what she said. She never meant for that statement to come out in a bad way and Lyra had taken it wrongly. "I'm really sorry." she apologised. She should've just walked away when she saw that the girl was upset but she was instead sitting here next to her trying to make her feel better even though it wasn't going to work. Charlotte has never been in a situation like that before and it made her feel bad that she was unable to help.

"You don't have to apologise. It's not your fault that you're upset. I've probably just made you even more upset with what I'm saying. I'm the one that should be apologising." She sighed and continued looking straight at the ground. She could see Lyra crying over what she said and wanted to hit herself with a brick. Maybe that was why Charlotte was in Slytherin? Maybe she was just naturally a horrible person so that's why the sorting hat placed her where she is? She hated Slytherin anyway and she never felt that was where she belonged. But maybe she wasn't cut out for Gryffindor like her father after all?

 

[Professor Lyra Potter]

"No. I'm just in a rotten mood. It isn't your fault." Lyra apologized again. She felt a little guilty that she had confessed her feelings to a total stranger. Really, she should have just wanted to talk to Link. He didn't take much seriously. She couldn't believe she was being so negative tonight. She was normally such a half-full glass kind of girl. "It's hard being a Potter and having an uncle that's the Minister. There are too many insane people out there. I mean the Headmistress's husband was murdered at their wedding. Who's to say someone won't come after another person I love? Mum thinks that's what happened to my dad, not that she knows I know she said that." the girl said. Lyra was curious and clever enough to know when her mother wasn't telling her the whole truth. She knew it was something parents did to protect their children, but Lyra wasn't interested in it happening to her. It was always better to know the truth. "I don't mean to unleash my bad mood on you. I probably should just go to bed." Lyra admitted but not making any moves to get up from where she sat.

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte agreed with Lyra that there were still too many insane people out there. You'd think they'd all be killed or locked up in Azkaban but it was like they just kept spawning out of nowhere. You think you're safe but all of sudden another person with the same last name of the guy who just killed an important member of the wizarding world just comes back for revenge. Families were getting so much bigger nowadays and Charlotte was lucky that hers was only fairly small.

Sleeping was probably the best thing for both the girls to start nice and brand new the next day but Charlotte still wanted to hear more. "But supposing your father is dead is probably the worst thing you could think of. I mean, he could still be out there wanting to come back home. Who knows? Tomorrow he could show up at your doorstep all battle scarred but at least there is still hope that he could still be alive. You know, jumping to conclusions is not always the best solution." Charlotte smiled. She wasn't exactly feeling tired yet and wasn't really looking forward to the trip back down to the bottom of the castle. She wanted to stay up there forever but knew she'd have to go down eventually.