“Can I please join you?” Harry addressed the beautiful platinum blonde in Slytherin uniform sitting alone at the table.

“Potter. It will be my honour”, she bowed lightly and smiled.

“Again, I must apologise for my behaviour. Your… intervention yesterday reminded me that you’re actually a girl”, he started.

She just looked at him with the look of trying to understand if that’s some kind of a joke. “I would expect my physical appearance to leave little room for ambiguity in that regard”, she smiled.

He blushed. “I’m sorry, that sounded incredibly dumb. Of course it’s absolutely obvious that you’re a girl. What I meant was that I thought of you as some kind of a hostile bully figure without emotions or a soul, intent on offending people just for entertainment; someone powerful who oppresses the weak and the defenceless”, he fumbled.

“And you saw yourself as the noble knight, defender of the downtrodden, slayer of the impersonal soulless bullies of all kinds?”, she grinned.

He was obviously uncomfortable. “Unfortunately, that does sound too close”.

“So, we might as well start with the obvious. I am very much a girl. I am a daughter of Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, and Lucius Malfoy. I am thirteen years old. I grew up in the Malfoy Manor, as the only child of my parents, who treated me with utmost love and care my whole life, and I love them with all my heart. I am a pureblood witch, from an unbroken line of pureblood witches and wizards reaching back for untold centuries. You are very much a boy. You are a son of Lily Evans, a very talented muggle-born witch, and James Potter, a pureblood wizard from the ancient pureblood line reaching back to Ignotus Peverell. On the wizard side, your blood line is as ancient and respectable as mine; in fact, it’s all-but-worshipped and wrought into legend. You father was a talented Chaser, also in Gryffindor, and the apple obviously didn’t fall far from the three. Your personal fortune is one of the greatest in the wizarding world, second only to that of Malfoy and Lestrange families. All in all, in the wizarding community you and I are both famous, esteemed and powerful. So, will you please explain how does one of the most powerful, noble, revered, influential and wealthy persons in our world get to consider himself an underdog in the noble fight against a girl of identical social status?”, she smiled with the exquisite charm he never noticed before.

“You really did your homework on me. In fact, you seem to know more about me than I do”, he scratched his ear. “Peverell”?

“They were one of the first great families that went extinct in the male line. This means they only had female children and their family name died out. This fate, unfortunately, awaits my family due to the fact that I’m a girl, and the only child of my parents” She looked almost guilty. “Eventually, their line produced you as the final surviving heir”.

“So you are saying that I am the last heir of the Peverell line, and you are the last heiress of the Malfoy line, and we are some kind of wizarding nobility?” He all but expected her to say that she’s joking.

“Quite so. We don’t actually have nobility in the muggle sense, but you and I would be the equivalent of a duke and a duchess”, she confirmed. “With the difference that there’s no royalty above us”.

“Damn”. He rubbed his forehead. “There goes my claim on the noble underdog status”.

“Welcome to the rarified summit of the oppressor class”, she joked. “We might go hunting foxes one day, to complete the impression”.

“So let me get this straight. You have approached me as an equal because we’re both some kind of wizarding royalty. I treated you horribly because I saw you as some kind of a spoiled princess who treats lower people like second class citizens. You got annoyed because you found that horribly offensive. And you’re really quite nice when I stop growling and sneering at you and talk to you like a normal person”, he smiled.

“Oh, I’m probably quite spoiled. I can’t say you’re wrong. I was isolated in a very narrow social circle and this school environment is quite new for me. I’m still learning the implicit assumptions and expectations of people from different communities and social environments. I keep making blunders, but please don’t ascribe this to malice. I have my background, and you have yours. I would assume you didn’t have it easy either”.

“You are right. I still keep pretending to know what I’m doing, but almost every day there’s something new, and completely unfamiliar, while everybody expects me to know everything”, he shrugged.

“So, how about this. Let’s compare notes, and I promise not to judge you. If you could show me the same courtesy, I would be grateful. We can teach each other. I was born and raised among witches and wizards. You were born and raised among the muggles. I suspect neither of us can fully comprehend what that even means. So, I recommend that we just talk, compare notes, tell the truth, not judge or attack each other, and enjoy each other’s company over pumpkin juice and apple pie. I actually like you very much, or I wouldn’t have been offended by the way you treated me. Trust me, if someone unimportant treated me that way, I wouldn’t even notice. But since you’re important to me, I was furious” She looked at him with that clean, sincere look that was the trademark of her personality.

“I would like that very much. Your yesterday’s stunt made quite an impression on me. The first part was that you are brave, smart, dignified and not to be messed with. The second part is that you are a gentle girl with feelings that can be hurt, and not some generic monster I imagined”, he smiled.

“I do have feelings”, she smiled back. “And they can definitely be hurt. Especially when people assume that the powerful part of me means that I don’t feel the blows. I am well known for crying into my pillow when my feelings are hurt. I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t treat me in ways that would make this a common occurrence”.

“Can we do something that would prevent this? Hurting a girl’s feelings is not something I am proud of.”

“We can learn more about each other, and promise to protect each other’s feelings from harm as if they were our own”, she nodded.

“I would like that. What exactly do you have in mind?”

“For instance, be aware that I never used knowledge about your family to try to score a point. It’s off-limits, because I know it would hurt you, and I don’t want to do that. I assume your parents are sacred to you, the way mine are sacred to me.”

“You are a better person than me, I’m afraid. I did attack your parents on multiple occasions, and if that had you crying into your pillow, I apologise. However, I have a problem here. Your parents are closely connected to Voldemort. If they are actively politically involved in this project, it might be impossible for me to grant them the kind of immunity that I would otherwise gladly give them in order to protect your feelings”.

“This is fair”, she conceded. “Purely political attacks are valid, and if my parents happen to be involved in things you find hurtful or offensive, it is a legitimate target for you. I might still cry into my pillow because of it, but I promise not to take it against you”, she smiled.

“I am really regretting the fact that I missed out on this for two years”, Harry sighed ruefully. “You are just very nice to be with”.

“I’m glad to hear it, and it’s the same on my part”, a brilliant, glowing smile illuminated her face.

“Your hand was cold and sweaty yesterday”, Harry noted. “I took it as proof that you were truly stressed because you honestly thought that I might choose to kill you”.

“You are correct”, she nodded. “I never jest with those things. If I offer you an option to take my life, the option is real. I did, however, put my trust in your gentlemanly decency, hoping it would protect me, as it did in the end”, she smiled. “As for you holding my hand, I in fact enjoyed the experience, because it was the first time you treated me with respect, and I like being treated with respect, rather than being sneered at”, she gave him a lopsided smile.

“I promise to keep treating you with respect. But about that, what can I call you?”

“Please, call me Lyra. You can call me Malfoy if you want to be formal for some reason, but between us, I feel more comfortable being on a first name basis”.

“Call me Harry, then. Potter only if I mess things up, I guess”, he smiled.

“I will keep it in mind”, she smiled back.

“You are such a nice girl. I’m really sorry to have treated you poorly before”, he confessed.

“Thank you. Let’s eat something, I’m starving”, she smiled.

…

“So, how was she?”, Ron was curious.

“Polite. Nice. Sincere. Very open about being hurt by my rudeness. Smart as Hermione, honestly. I had to focus to keep up with her, like I’m in class and it’s a professor speaking. She speaks like they do – complex, large sentences, all of it perfectly thought out. I feel dumb as a brick compared to her. I only had Hermione so far make me feel like I have to actually work to follow her, but Lyra is like that too”, Harry reminisced.

“Blimey”, Ron mumbled. “I half expected she’ll stab you or poison your pumpkin juice”.

“Oh no, it was nothing like that. It felt like talking to a professor who is being very nice, but you need to take remedial lessons because you messed up”, Harry laughed. “She knows more about my family than I do. Also, she sees the world in a completely different way than me, and there seems to be much more to her pureblood pride thing than I suspected. I thought it’s just a hate group like the Skinheads. But they are more like classic nobility with lineages, ancient books, stories and legends.”

“Skin what?”, Ron was confused.

“Skinheads. A muggle thing with thugs shaving their heads and hating foreigners and all kinds of other people”, Hermione sat with them. “I surmise you survived lunch with the enemy?”, she turned to Harry.

“Honestly, she doesn’t feel like an enemy. She feels as smart as the professors, or you”, Harry greeted her, and she slightly squirmed at the compliment. “I’m not completely comfortable with her yet because we hardly know each other, me keeping the distance for two years and all that, but I feel like I missed out. Also, there’s something about her that makes me feel inferior in every way, although it’s not anything she’s doing”.

“She’s not dumbing herself down or making herself smaller for anyone”, Hermione nodded wisely. “You’re not inferior to her. From where I’m standing, you two look very much alike. But while she’s being her full self, you’re being barely more than half, in a normal interaction.”

“What does that even mean?”, Ron wondered.

“It means that she’s honest on a level I have never seen. You’ve seen the stunt with challenging Harry to be done with it and just kill her if he hates her so much. That kind of honesty, courage and straightforwardness. None of us are that brave or honest. We’re all protecting our feelings from hurt, we’re not being direct, hiding behind humour and that stuff. She would openly say things we would be too weak or ashamed of to say out loud. It’s the kind of emotional courage that makes us all feel small and inferior, not just Harry”, she finished, nodding.

“Wait, are you actually impressed? I though she hurt your feelings with her insults?”, Ron scratched his head in confusion.

“I am, and she did. However, I’m objective enough to be able to distance myself from the situation and judge it properly. You saw her yesterday – speaking in complicated, adult language of nobility, with authority that made Professor McGonagall stand at attention and obey her, and raising the stakes so high that she offered her life. Who wouldn’t be impressed?”, Hermione looked at him directly.

“Well, I definitely was. In fact, more ashamed of myself than impressed, but definitely impressed”, Harry added.

“She definitely wants to be friends with you, Harry, and I think it’s because she considers you her social equal. I know, you consider everybody to be your equal, but that’s not how she was raised. She has a very aristocratic view of society and almost nobody is her equal in the hierarchy she was taught, but you seem to be, and she cares very much about your opinion. Don’t think she’d do the yesterday’s stunt if it was someone else”.

“How do you know so much about it and you never even talked to her properly?”, Harry was stunned, because she was right on the money.

“I pay attention, Harry. I have eyes. I was there yesterday”, she rolled her eyes.

“We were all there yesterday, but you’re just wickedly smart”, Ron concluded.

Lyra was overwhelmed by profound humiliation that threatened to completely crush her spirit, and her pride flared and exploded into white hot anger. This ends now.

“Harry Potter, get back here this instant”, she said with only slightly raised voice, but so imperiously that he, Ron and Hermione froze in place, a few steps away from her, and turned.

“Here. Now”, she commanded, and Harry automatically obeyed, standing in front of her.

“Take out your wand”

He looked at her incredulously, not understanding what’s going on.

“NOW!!!”, she barked command, and he instantly obeyed.

“Point it at my heart. Here”, she guided his wand to the centre of her chest.

“The curse you need to use is Reducto. You need to focus on my heart and visualise disintegration and destruction. You are weak and didn’t practice, but it should still suffice to stop an enemy girl’s heart. It should be easy for you; just channel the hatred and contempt you have been using to greet me in the hallways and in class each time we encountered. Channel it into the spell, and I will be dead. You can then feel proud of killing an enemy, and I will be relieved of the humiliation of being treated worse than a lousy dog”, she bored a hole through his head with her silver eyes, as he looked at her in complete consternation.

“What is this commotion? Move along”, an adult voice could be heard behind Harry.

“Professor McGonagall, a moment please”, Lyra said commandingly. “This is a matter of family honour, that cannot be delayed or interfered with. We can discuss disciplinary matters or removal of my dead body later, but this has precedence”. She looked at the Professor with such adult dignity and focus, that the old woman froze, and took a step back, to the absolute amazement of the students gathered.

“Now, Potter. This should be easy for you. You decided that I’m an enemy. You treat me with hatred and contempt. You act as if we are at war. So, act accordingly. I will not lift a finger to stop you, and you have multiple witnesses, including the head of your House, that I challenged you and that you merely did what I asked. Pour your hatred into a curse and kill me”.

Harry started coming out of shock, and lowered his wand. “No.”

“Why not?”, she insisted.

“You didn’t do anything”, he whispered.

“I must have done something. You hate me, you treat me with contempt, and you deny me every common curtesy. You degrade me, trample on my dignity and I am done with it. So, either kill me now, or start treating me like a dignified person. I am aware that you were brought up by low class muggles who didn’t train you in proper courtesy which is due to a lady, but I refuse to be treated like vermin. So, make up your mind. Either you will kill me if I’m an enemy and vermin, or we shall now agree the terms of civilized conduct between us, which we shall uphold from now on”, she finished.

“I will definitely not kill you, or hurt you in any way. I never wanted to do that”, Harry was honest. “But your parents serve Voldemort who killed my parents, and you defend them and espouse their beliefs. You offended my friend on multiple occasions, denying her human dignity and dignity as a witch. You’re not the only one who has the right to feel offended”, he argued.

“That is true. I did offend your friend. However, since I am not certain that I did anything wrong, I will not offer my apology at this time. If you convince me of my error, or if I come to change my mind on my own, I will offer apology and restitution. As for my parents, I refuse to apologize for being born, or for loving them dearly. If you want to attempt to convince me that their ideology is wrong, you are free to do that, and I will offer whatever arguments to the contrary that I see as valid. We will conduct our discussion in a civilized manner, without violence or insults, and I will henceforth cease to make statements that your friends might find offensive. You will stop making statements that offend my parents, because I love them and hearing those statements hurts my feelings, and since I cannot undo the fact of my birth, or change my parents, and I adamantly refuse to stop loving them, you will either agree to those terms, or you can raise your wand and kill me”, she finished.

Harry looked at her in awe, and for the first time it struck him that this girl actually has feelings that could be hurt, that she loves her parents like any other decent person, and that he’s been treating her in a hurtful manner. He felt ashamed. “I agree to your terms”, he nodded.

“Excellent. Now, put away your wand and let’s do this properly. My name is Lyra Malfoy. I would be honoured to invite you to an open-ended series of discussions where we can establish our differences in belief, argue on their respective merit, and try to change each other’s minds in a mutually acceptable and possibly pleasant manner, rather than treating each other despicably”. She offered him her hand.

“Hello, my name is Harry Potter. I apologize for my rudeness”, he nodded and shook her hand. Her palm was sweaty and cold. This wasn’t easy for her, he thought. She actually counted on the possibility that I will want to kill her. His heart filled with empathy. She’s an incredibly brave girl. I was really an ass with her.

“Twenty points to Slytherin for extreme dignity and courage displayed. Ten points to Gryffindor for changing offensive and stupid conduct and thus showing personal merit. Now move along from the hallway before I change my mind”, Professor McGonagall looked at them sternly and waited for them to disappear.

“She’s absolutely mental”, Ron mumbled as they hurried along. “But I like her. She should be in Gryffindor with that nerve.”

“Or in Ravenclaw with her mind”, Hermione voiced. “Honestly, that was impressive”.

“I feel like a jerk”, Harry replied. “Have I actually been that bad?”

“Try to put yourself in her situation, Harry”, Hermione turned his way. “You got on the wrong foot with her from the first day, and you treated her dismissively and, frankly, horribly, ever since, which was about two years. If somebody treated you like that, what would you have done?”

“Probably challenged them. However, what she did, not just inviting me to kill her, but also giving me instructions on how to do it properly, that took more nerve than I have”, Harry admitted. “Honestly, I’m changing my opinion of her. I thought she’s just a spoiled brat and a bully based on how she treated Hermione. But bullies are always cowards. This was incredibly brave. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and really talk to her. I can’t feel good about myself dismissing her after this. And how she ordered McGonagall to stand down, I still can’t believe it”.

“Harry, you offended her honour. Her family aside, she’s a dignified, proud girl who can stand up for herself and obviously has self-confidence of steel. This was also important to her, and I don’t think she was bluffing. She was literally willing to die rather than suffer continued humiliations from you. I know you feel the need to defend me from her insults, and I am grateful, but please don’t treat this girl poorly”, Hermione pleaded.

“Mental”, Ron repeated. “Does that spell actually do what she said?”

“Reducto?”, Hermione answered. “Oh yes. Quite deadly if used as she instructed. It would have shattered her heart, irreversibly”.

“Bloody hell”, Ron whistled.

“You’re angry”, Harry noticed. Lyra was actively fuming. Her emotions were always clear and easy to read, and now she looked like she wanted to strangle something.

“I’m not merely angry. I’m furious. That abominable umpire cheated us of two points, and I don’t even know what our Keeper was doing. I’m going to beat him into a pulp. We lost to Hufflepuff. Can you imagine that? Hufflepuff! When we lose to you, there’s at least some dignity in that. This is a humiliation”.

Putting it into words made her calm down somewhat. He took her sweaty hand in his and just held her. Her breathing gradually calmed.

“Thank you. For letting me be angry. I needed that. And thank you for being here for me and holding my hand. I feel better”.

“Sure. I might do the same next time we lose”, he smiled. “Even if we lose to you. Although, whining to you about losing to you might feel humiliating”.

“Oh, I will like that”, she snickered.

“I’m sure you will. But believe it or not, I might like it as well. It makes defeat hurt less when the scary girl you lost to lets you hold her hand”. He looked her at her silver eyes and watched her cheeks go pink. “But let me ask you something. Why do you play? Is it just winning? You don’t have to answer if it’s too private”.

“No, it’s ok. I like winning, of course. I like flying; especially fast, avoiding obstacles, navigating in space, where there’s danger of crashing into something and the stakes are high. I like the excitement, the adrenaline. I like spreading my focus wide, and still observing the details. I like the unpredictability of getting the snitch. It makes me feel like a predatory bird in the air, hunting a canary or a sparrow. I like feeling like a hawk or an eagle, parked in the air, seeing everything, hunting, ready to launch myself at the target”, she smiled widely, and her hand felt warmer as she was happy. “How about you?”

“It’s quite similar for me. I like the speed, the risk, the excitement, the adrenaline, the independence of playing my own game, making up my own strategy and rules, feeling in charge, hunting. I also like outsmarting the other seeker, seeing the snitch first, ending the game on my own terms. Also, my father played, and when I win, I like to think I’m making him proud. Losing sucks, though”, he shrugged.

“How do you feel when we play against each other? Losing to me. Beating me. I’d like to hear how it feels”, she looked into his eyes.

“It’s weird. I like competing with you, because you’re scary good at everything, and if I win, I have a feeling that at least I beat you at something, and you won’t think I’m a boring loser. But when you lose, I’m afraid you’re going to feel bad and I don’t want you to feel bad. I’m never letting you win on purpose, though. That would be disrespectful”, he smiled.

“Thank you. I don’t particularly like losing to you either. I like to win at least sometimes, because then I feel like I belong here with you, that we’re equals, that you won’t think I’m useless and weak and hold my hand out of pity. I want you to hold my hand because you’re proud of me, and nobody can be proud of a loser”, she winked.

“It’s strange to hear you say it, because it sounds so much like what I’m feeling. I feel like I have to prove myself in order to be here with you, that you won’t respect me if I’m not competent, sharp, successful”, he nodded in dismay. “I think we’re both insecure about each other, and I thought it was just me”.

“Of course we’re insecure. We’re both powerful, competent, dangerous, wealthy, famous and deadly, Harry. We’re not fluffy bunnies. We’re two eagles roaming the sky, predatory and dominant. We could kill each other. I’m not with you because you’re weak, or safe. You’re the only person who makes me feel insecure, makes me have to prove myself and earn my place. I hold your hand because I like the feeling of the most powerful, deadly boy I know holding my hand and being gentle. If it makes me feel like I have to earn the right to be here, I will earn it”, she smiled.

He kissed her hand slowly, respectfully. “You are really something, scary girl. I have never met anyone like you”.

She gasped and closed her eyes. “Next time you lose and vent, I’m kissing your hand.”

“Might be worth it. Having the scariest girl in the world kiss my hand would be quite something”, he grinned.

“Don’t lose just for the experience, though. It would be a shame”, she drew his hand towards her lips, closed her eyes and kissed it. He closed his eyes and shivered. “Wow”, he gasped.

“Tell me how it felt”, she whispered, eyes still closed.

He paused, collecting himself. “I’m not sure I have the words. It feels like we exchanged the deepest mutual respect I ever felt with another person, and I know Dumbledore. This was deeper. Lyra, if a war breaks out, we’ll be in the opposing camps. Fighting you would be like trying to kill my mother, were she alive, or Dumbledore. I feel like I’d rather let you kill me than fight you. We’re not doing a good job being enemies”, he smiled painfully.

“Wars come and go. People change allegiances. This stays”, she smiled. “And yes, if we ever get to fight in a war, I’ll let you kill me”.

…

Harry winced at the memory. A few years later, he would be holding her bleeding body on the bathroom floor and begging for her life. And why, because he was a fool and wanted to try something with some safe girl, who’s not a scary enemy. It gave him nothing, and cost him everything. Or almost. He needs to ask.

Harry thought about something Hermione told him a while ago – that Lyra is a serious person. When people hear something like that, especially when young people hear it, the idea they have in their mind is so incredibly contrary to her reality. By serious, they would mean boring, uptight, without a sense of humour, dry, and so many other things that make sense to them only because they define ‘serious’ as opposite of ‘fun’. However, ‘serious’ is also opposite of ‘superficial’, it’s the opposite of ‘casual’, of ‘temporary’, of ‘half-assed’, and many other things. People usually have a few serious moments in their lives, moments that matter – the important things they share with the person they love, like the first kiss, the first declaration of love, asking for your love’s hand in marriage, your wedding wows, first day at school, graduation, your parents being proud of you for your success, your children being born. First time you have sex with the person you love the most in the entire world. That’s the opposite of boring. That’s the essence of life condensed in a moment.

But that’s the way Lyra is serious. That’s why he thought of her as the scary girl. She’s the scary girl because every second of looking into her eyes is serious like the first kiss, your parent’s pride, your wife saying ‘yes’, your children being born, winning a war and saving your friend’s life. It’s that kind of serious, and it’s the whole aura around her. She doesn’t fuck around. She doesn’t play with words because she’s too cowardly to state her true feelings. If she thinks you have beautiful eyes, she will tell you, and it will feel like you graduated school with highest distinction, and your parents are proud of you. If she thinks you’re a mudblood subhuman, she will tell you, and it’s no wonder Hermione said that nothing ever hurt her like Lyra’s words. It feels like a perfect angel telling you that you’re worthless. He never experienced it from her, because she was always particularly careful and gentle with her words about him, but she did it to other people and it was incredibly hurtful.

She is serious the way Voldemort was serious, or the way Snape was serious. The way Dumbledore was serious when he talked about deeper, sublime laws of magic. Every word and nuance is frighteningly important. Except Lyra was nothing like Voldemort. When Lyra tells you something, it’s the highest truth she can formulate in her mind, and it really matters. If she tells you how she feels, you can feel her soul in the words. If she loves you, it’s with her entire heart and forever. If she hates you, you are as good as dead. And now, she’s in the Auror office taking her exams, because some people needed to die, and she wanted to make sure that happened.

He was exempt. They told him that hunting for Horcruxes, breaking into the Ministry and the Gringotts bank, and dismantling and killing Voldemort in front of everybody counts as passing the entrance exam with distinction, and he smiled and accepted the job. Lyra, however, had to do the formal part.

They also offered him, Hermione and Ron to skip the rest of the school, but Hermione was adamant – she wanted to do school properly because she would need it in her later work, and he agreed. Skipping school isn’t useful, especially if you’re an Auror. Ron was inclined to take the easy way as usual, but peer pressure dissuaded him. Lyra, of course, wanted to be where he is, so they attended the last year together, as a couple, and married after school.

Some things couldn’t wait, so they did the work for the Auror office during school, as consultants. Death Eaters were on the run and you need to strike that iron while it’s hot. He and Lyra already did political work on reconciliation of the society, but that doesn’t mean that the truly evil ones get to go deep undercover. Lyra had different ideas.

He thought again about the ‘serious’ thing. With her, it translated into things like her playing with his hand when they were 14 and talking about pureblood politics under a tree or in the hallways. It was a casual thing, but it was also a soul-level connection between them, something intimate and direct, like having your hand in a lie detector while you talk to her. If you would sweat, or tighten, or anything, she would feel it. He would feel her hand go slippery with sweat when he asked a hard question and her adrenaline spiked because answering it was hard in a deep way. It forced them to be honest, and it forced them to be gentle, because you don’t want to hurt the scary girl and feel her pain. Hurting her would feel terrible, because of how honest, straightforward and gentle she was. So, this physical intimacy forced them to maintain such an incredible standard of kindness and honesty with each other, that most people wouldn’t be able to emotionally bear it. Honesty without a filter. Often about their most personal, intimate feelings, like his vague memories of his mother and father, and her memories of her parents. They would talk about what their love for their parents felt like. She would talk about how her father would read to her when she was little. How her mother taught her. The magical, most private moments of childhood. He would talk about how he missed his parents, how he loved Sirius and Lupin, how he learned the hard spells. How he hoped his parents would be proud of him. It was that kind of serious – the opposite of ‘superficial’, ‘perfunctory’, ‘unimportant’. They talked about the most important stuff in their lives, stuff that mattered, stuff that decided fate, while they physically touched, to keep each other honest and gentle.

And when they stopped touching, when they stopped talking, within two years they went to Crucio and Sectumsempra. It’s so easy to hate and kill the enemy when you’re not touching her, looking into her eyes and feeling her hand tighten when you hurt her, and you instantly feel so bad about it you want to make it better. It’s so easy to hate the enemy when she’s not a person. Especially when you’re not acutely aware of how beautiful, pure and perfect that person is. If you’re not feeling her exact emotions in that exact moment, right now. He almost killed the scary girl before understanding that she’s everything to him. Nothing, nobody, was that important, and that serious.

Ah, they seem to be done. The examiners accompanying her back to him looked pale and shaken. “She received the highest grades in the history of the test”, the elderly gentleman stated in disbelief. “Her magical ability is… off the charts. Without precedent, and I’ve seen Dumbledore and Voldemort do magic. I don’t even know how she does it, and how it’s possible. She doesn’t even use spells, she accesses the magical tissue of the deeper world”, he gestured in dismay.

“I had to place wards and practice offensive and defensive magic every single day for three years while living in a Death Eater den that happened to be my ancestral home, your honour”, she smiled and bowed kindly. “People usually practice for their ego, because they want to be the best wizard, because they wanted power and acclaim. I did it because I didn’t want to have my liver eaten by Fenrir Greyback while still alive, trembling in mortal agony on the cold floor of my bathroom when I went to pee in the middle of the night, begging for death to come quickly. Let’s just say I was supremely motivated”.

They all shivered from the sheer horror of that statement, because, as always, she said it like it was. She said it in the way that made them feel what it was like, like it was them. That’s what ‘serious’ meant. She wielded reality itself with her very existence and every moment was sacred. She was an Auror now. Some people are going to learn what it’s like when the roles reverse, between hunters and prey. He smiled, feeling fierce pride in his heart that this serious, frightening, wonderful person was his wife. Also, that they are co-workers now.

“Hermione, I need your help.” Harry was deep in thought. “You figured it out so much earlier than me. You’re both smarter and more perceptive than me. Please, advise me. I don’t want to mess this up. I want to put it right. What am I not seeing? Tell me what to do”.

She finished her apple. “How do you feel about her? Be honest.”

“I always used to call her ‘the scary girl’ internally. That’s weird, because I find probably four people scary in the whole world. Voldemort. Snape. Bellatrix Lestrange. I can’t think who the fourth one might be. They are all the most dangerous monsters in the world.“

“I found her genuinely scary. I was thinking why, because it made no sense. She never harmed me. She never threatened me. She was always kind to me. I had the deepest conversations in my life with her and Dumbledore. She’s the most beautiful girl I ever saw, she’s more beautiful than anything I could possibly imagine. Her mind is crystal clear, powerful and pure. Her heart feels like the most amazing place in the world. What I actually think is that I’m scared of how important she is to me, and because the way she’s important is in contrast with the points of contention we had between us, that were too important to dismiss”, he mused.

“What were the points of contention, and are they still so now?” She looked straight into his eyes.

“Well, obviously, she’s a child of Death Eaters who worship Voldemort and she kept justifying both Voldemort and her parents, which I found terrifying. In hindsight, I was terrified of falling for her the way I should, while she has those attitudes and opinions”, he nodded, satisfied with his conclusion. “I don’t think she believes in any of the evil stuff any more. I think she’s just trying to survive and save her parents’ lives”.

“Harry, I need to know one thing. How serious are you with her? I’m asking you this because she’s a serious person. Don’t play with her heart. She’s not a school girlfriend. She’s the kind you say ‘yes’ to at the altar, and you mean it forever”, Hermione looked at him seriously.

“Hermione, she and I used to talk about what eye colour our children will have. I remembered it just before. I don’t know how or why I repressed it. I don’t know if she can forgive me for hurting her so much and abandoning her for two years. My behaviour towards her was horrible and I’m absolutely ashamed of myself”, Harry shivered slightly and rubbed his forehead.

“That’s the easy part. What I want to know is, do you want to ask her to marry you? Are you really, really serious? I have to repeat this – she’s a serious person. She chose you extremely long ago. She never wavered. You’re the one who broke you up. She’s not the kind of a person you can ever play with if you don’t mean it, and by ‘mean it’, it truly is what eye colour your children will have, and where you will live when you’re both old and grey. You need to treat her with the utmost respect and seriousness, because from what you told me, she’s in a desperate situation. You will either dedicate your life to dealing with this, or we shouldn’t even be having this conversation”, she emphasised her point.

Harry thought about it for a moment. “I was always serious. That’s why I found her terrifying. I was scared of either falling for her while she’s with the Death Eaters, or messing this up, because both options look terrifying. Yes, I want her as my wife. Forever. I want to bind my fate to hers. Whether we die together or have children and grandchildren, I don’t particularly care. How do I make this right after I messed it up so thoroughly?”

“Go to her as soon as you can, preferably at the funeral tomorrow, and confess. Tell her that you love her and that you want her. Ask if she will have you. Tell her the greatest truth you feel, directly. There should be no games, no nonsense or ambiguities of any kind. If I’m correct, the only thing she ever wanted to hear is that you love her, that you want her, and that you’re as committed to her as she is to you. Harry, you’re a very direct, loyal and committed person, but I’m afraid she is even more so. You can’t even imagine how serious she is. I saw her only in passing. She used to insult me with the stupid Death Eater nonsense. I will tell you, nothing ever hurt me as much as her insults, because of how seriously she meant them, and how much it hurt to be hated by such a great person. They no longer hurt because I think she changed her mind, but I would never, ever want to have that woman as an enemy. I would be thrilled to have her as a friend. She is incredibly focused, virtuous, moral, pure of heart and loyal. In that, she looks like your exact counterpart. I understand why you had reservations – when she’s wrong, it’s a terrible thing. She can do horrible evil when her will power combines with ignorance. But I suspect that to be loved by her would feel incredibly wonderful, the way it’s wonderful to be loved by you”, she finished with a smile.

“I do love you, you know”, Harry hugged her. “Thank you. You found me a way.”

“Say a good word for me when you get to truly talk to her, ok?”, Hermione smiled widely. “I never want to be on bad terms with that woman. She’s too wonderful not to have as a friend, and I wouldn’t want to miss it”.

…

“Hermione Granger” – a familiar voice sounded and Hermione froze in anticipation and uncertainty. “You killed Fenrir Greyback in battle. I swore vengeance against that vermin, but you did my work for me, and for this, I am in your debt. I am, however, already deeply in your debt for many years, for petty, pointless and untrue insults I directed at the good, pure woman who never did me any harm or wronged me in any way. Please, accept my deepest apologies”, Lyra bowed deeply before Hermione, whose lip started trembling and her eyes swam in tears. “And if you can find a way in your beautiful heart to forgive me, it would be my honour if you could consider me a friend”, she smiled shyly.

Hermione didn’t trust her voice and just embraced her. “Thank you, Lyra”, she whispered.

“No; thank you, Hermione, for being so patient with my terrible nonsense while I was learning. I cannot tell you how ashamed I was of the way I treated you while I was surrounded by that horrid vermin in my ancestral home, when I saw the ultimate end products of that ideology, and how terribly I wronged you. I yearned to apologise to you for years, but I had no opportunity to do so. But now, will you accept a gift from a friend?”, Lyra begged, and Hermione nodded.

Lyra waved her wand and two packages appeared. “This is a very ancient, rare tome from the Malfoy family library. I hear there are only three copies in existence, and this is one of them. I heard that you appreciate old books”, she winked. “The second gift is a box of very fine chocolates. We might share those over a cup of tea, if you will have me”, she smiled angelically. “And if you could be my maid of honour at our wedding, it would be my greatest honour and privilege”, she concluded mischievously.

Hermione just hugged her again and cried for real.