Black Snake Files

One Chapter- The New Student

It was raining and a slight wind blew as Harry and Ron packed their trunks onto the train.

'Well I'll see you later then,' Ron said as he left for the Prefects' compartment.

'Alright,' Harry replied and left to find a compartment for himself.

For most of the trip Harry sat alone though he received frequent visits from Seamus, Neville, Dean, Fred and George, Ron and Hermione.

He met up with them later during the feast.

'I heard there is a new student,' Ron said stuffing food in his mouth. 'A girl in our year.'

The rest of the night passed calmly unless you count Fred and George pulling one over on Hermione and making her believe she left all of her books at home by putting a simple Invisibility charm on them .

Harry and Ron woke the next morning to more rain.

'What's first today?' Ron said sitting down and the table and grabbing his schedule.

'O great,' Harry was now reading down his schedule. 'Double Herbology with the Slytherins and Potions with the Slytherins.'

Ron's groan was muffled by the eggs he was eating.

Twenty minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were making their way down to the greenhouses. They found most the Slytherins and Gryffindors gathered around already.

'Have you met her yet?' Seamus said as he, Dean and Neville approached them.

'Who?'

'Ly--' Neville began but was interrupted by Professor Sprout. They were paired off to work on trays of Hashnill, a strange rubbery plant that bit you if you handled it too much. Harry and Hermione were paired together and Ron was with a girl Harry had never met, let alone seen before. Working with the Hashnill was a rather frustrating thing to do. Many times they would mistake your fingers for the flobberworms you were feeding them. More than twice Professor Sprout had to bandage up bleeding fingers. Repotting the buggers was even harder. The roots and lower half of the plant were covered in thorns. These were as sharp as the teeth and could easily slice a person open.

Harry and Hermione's conversation was interrupted by exclamations of pain and frequent trips to Professor Sprout. Once and a while, Harry would lean over and look pass Hermione to see if he could talk to Ron. However, Ron seemed engaged in deep conversation with the girl he was partnered with. Harry could see the tips of Ron's ears slightly reddening. Laughing and returning to the Hashnill he was taking care of, Harry told this to Hermione.

'Ha! So Ron's finally found someone,' she joked.

'I hope so. He's started muttering things to himself. Bad sign,' Harry said as he dropped another flobberworm down the Hashnill's so called throat.

Secretly, Hermione hoped what she said was wrong. She found herself starting to like Ron as more than just a friend.

After two hours with the Hashnills, Harry and Hermione cleaned up and made their way back to the castle. As they reached the doors, they turned to see Ron and the girl walking side by side in the rain. Neither of them seemed to be in hurry or worrying about the rain. Now Harry knew why Ron had been blushing. The girl was positively beautiful. Shoulder-length, mud-blond hair was falling in her eyes and she pushed it away with a pale hand. Her eyes were so blue that Harry could see them from where he was standing. They came closer and Ron finally noticed his friends.

'O, Harry!' You have to meet Lyra!' he called running up the steps with Lyra close behind him. 'Harry, Hermione, this is Lyra Black.'

'It's nice to meet you, Lyra,' Hermione said politely.

'Same here,' she replied.

Lyra's eyes rested on Harry, but they didn't do the usual raking of his hair line to see the scar. This was odd, but Harry hardly noticed as he was simply staring into the deep blue of her eyes.

'It's nice to meet you too, Harry,' she laughed as if she had not a care in the word.

'O, I'm sorry,' he mumbled and held out a hand.

She took it and as she did, he felt a strange sensation come up his arm and warm him despite the cold air. The four of them then went inside and Lyra explained that she also had Potions next and walked down to the dungeons with them. There, they once again found the Slytherins standing away from the Gryffindors. Malfoy came over and Harry braced himself for the usual wave of insults. This did not come, however, for Malfoy went straight to Lyra who put her arms around his neck and hugged him.

Lyra and Malfoy talked as though they had known each other for ages. Malfoy now turned to Ron and Harry.

'I see you've met my cousin, Weasley. Lay one hand on her I'll kill you!' was all he said before returning to the Slytherins

'Cousin?' Harry turned to Ron who shrugged.

Snape came and they made their way into the dungeon. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed for their usual seats in the back. The boys left a seat between them empty for Lyra who set her bag down next her and sat. She pushed her hair back and Harry had a clear view of the side of her pale face.

'Today we will be working on a Deceiving Potion. It's made to use against your enemies to trick them into believing you so that you may kill them or do them harm. It can also be used for a number of other things.' At this Snape turned and wrote the ingredients on the board.

Harry opened his kit of Potion making ingredients and began. Next to him, Lyra was doing the same. Ron fumbled a bit while mixing his ingredients. He was crushing Dragon Fang and his hand was shaking so bad that the bowl almost tipped over.

'Here,' Lyra said and took his hand, holding it still.

This almost made things worse. Ron began blushing so that his face almost matched the colour of his hair. If Lyra noticed, she did not say.

'Are you feeling alright?' she asked. 'You're shaking. Maybe I should do this for you.'

She finished grinding the Dragon Fang and tipped it into Ron's cauldron then continued with her potion. When Lyra wasn't looking, Ron caught Harry's eye and gave him a nervous smile. Harry slightly laughed and then turned to see Malfoy drawing his finger across his neck in a throat slitting motion. This showed his annoyance at Harry and Ron for becoming friends with his cousin.

'You should be done mixing your potions by now, I want a bottled sample brought to me now,' Snape said ten minutes later.

Each student ladled a beaker full of their Deceiving Potion and capped it. On his way back from giving Snape his sample, Ron was pulled aside by Malfoy.

'If you think I don't know what you're doing, Weasley, you're terribly wrong. I'm watching you,' he snarled and watched Ron all the way back to his seat.

Lunch went well. Lyra sat next to Harry; Ron and Hermione sat across from them. She was a rather talkative girl. But she didn't talk about nonsense. Lyra was very intelligent and after discussing Arithmancy with Hermione, she turned to Harry and began talking about Quidditch.

'I've been a beater all my life,' Lyra said knowledgeably. 'My dad started me from day one and when he and my mother passed away, I continued. The family I lived with were Muggles but they allowed me to have a broomstick and get the Daily Prophet so I could keep up with everything. We lived at the top of a hill and away from the town so I could just fly down the hill to a grove of trees and practice. My adoptive father would throw apples or hard balls so I could beat them away with my bat. Is the beater position on the Gryffindor team still open?'

'Actually yes,' said a voice that belonged to Angelina Johnson.

'What happened to Fred and George?' Harry asked her, forcing himself to tear his gaze away from Lyra.

'George is quitting. He said that one of them is constantly needed for the joke shop. Fred's still playing though. Lyra, I'd love to see you fly sometime, what model broom you got?'

'A Gold Arrow, ' she replied calmly.

'Gold Arrow!?' exclaimed Fred and George together.

'What's that?' Harry asked as other Gryffindors stared.

'It's only the newest model on the market!' George exclaimed

'So the Silver Arrow Company is back in business,' Fred said more to himself than to anyone else.

'You bet they are,' Alicia Spinnet said coming over to them. 'And making millions of Galleons!'

'Lyra, our first practice is next week Thursday at 7:30. Come an hour before, I'll take a look at your skill,' Angelina said and then left for her next class.

Harry and Ron had Divination after lunch; Hermione and Lyra set off toward Arithmancy, talking away. The usual climb up to the north tower and the silver ladder descending from the ceiling led Harry and Ron to the perfume filled room and the circular tables. Nothing had changed about Divination since the previous year. The hour passed uneventfully and then the boys met up with Lyra and Hermione in the Entrance Hall.

'History of Magic?' Harry said.

'Yes.'

The day passed quickly and Harry found himself loaded up with homework that night as the four of them sat in front of the fire in the Common Room.

'What? Bloody hell, how am I supposed to know that?' Ron exclaimed.

'Know what?' Hermione asked.

'The angle degree of Mars in relation to Venus,' he told her while attempting to do difficult calculations on a spare piece of parchment.

'78 degrees,' Lyra said not looking up from her Transfiguration homework.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were dead silent. Lyra looked up.

'And one fourth an angle,' she finished.

The three of them stared at her unbelieving. Lyra simply smiled her innocent smile and said 'What?'

'How the hell did you know that?!' Harry asked.

'I studied Divination when I was younger. My great-grandfather taught me a little,' she said returning to her Transfiguration.

'Right,' Ron shook his head and scribbled down her answer.

Two hours later found Harry and Lyra still in the common room, along with some other stragglers who were finishing homework. Harry was reading from his History of Magic book and looking over the top of it at Lyra who was writing an essay for Arithmancy and didn't seem to notice Harry watching her. Finally he shut the book and began to pack his things away.

'I'm going to bed,' he told her.

'Me too, I just finished my Arithmancy homework,' Lyra threw the book and parchment in her bag and stood up, stretching.

As she did this, Harry couldn't stop himself from noticing her perfect figure. He tried to turn away, but he couldn't. Now they were the only ones left in the common room. A slight sense of nervousness came over Harry as he watched Lyra.

'Harry? What's wrong? You don't look too well,' she moved toward him and placed a pale hand on his forehead which was cold, her hand was cold too.

'I'm fine,' he replied feeling that he was standing far too close to her. 'I'm just worn out from all this homework. They really piled it all on us the first day!'

Lyra smiled and turned to get her bag. She walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and Harry heard a door closing in the distance.

Lying in his own bed, Harry watched as the clouds over-head broke and a strip of moonlight passed over Ron. A pang of guilt came to Harry- he was starting to have feelings for this Lyra Black and he hardly knew her. What Harry did know, however, is that Ron was falling for Lyra too and Harry would not take her away from him. These thoughts occupied Harry's mind until he fell asleep.

Two Chapter- Quidditch and the Family

Next Thursday night came quicker than Harry thought it would. Harry and Ron were just returning from dinner when they found Lyra leaving the common room with her broomstick in hand. She greeted them with her usual sweet smile and asked if they wanted to come with her. Both agreed as they wanted to see her fly. The three made their way down to the pitch and found Angelina already there.

'Wow! That Gold Arrow is brilliant!' Angelina said looking over Lyra's broomstick. 'Alright, Black, have a go and we'll see what you can do.'

Lyra took off immediately, her flight smooth and swift. She went back and forth along the pitch a few times doing some loops and twirls. Then Angelina gave her a bat and sent out one of the bludgers. Harry and Ron were the targets, Lyra saved them each time. Her skill was excellent and they could tell that she had indeed been a beater since she was born.

By now the entire team had shown up and Fred almost fainted while he was watching her.

'Beauty and skill, eh, Harry?' Fred joked, but Harry could tell he was serious.

The team seemed to be filled with a new energy with Lyra on the team. Together, she and Fred were an unstoppable team. They blocked every single bludger, sometimes even flying halfway across the pitch to stop one. Practice lasted well into the night and it was very dark when Harry, Ron and Lyra made their way back up to the common room. A full moon was out and it caused her blue eyes to positively glow.

'I just love the night, don't you?' she said to the two of them.

'Yea, it's really nice,' Ron replied.

They walked in silence the rest of the way and Harry could see Ron staring at Lyra. He just feared for Ron's safety. Malfoy would beat him good if Ron tried anything. Harry pondered this on the way to the common room. Lyra seemed to be connected with many people at Hogwarts. He had seen her heading toward Dumbledore's office more than three times this week alone. Snape was nice to her, even talked to her after class sometimes, but she wasn't in trouble and never got a detention from him. Suddenly, Harry looked up and was face to face with the Fat Lady.

'Password?'

'Peppermint Drops,' Lyra said coolly and stepped through.

A hand stopped Harry from following her.

'Harry, I need to talk to you,' Ron's voice said in his ear.

'Ok, what do you need?'

'Do you think Lyra...?'

'Lyra what?'

'Nothing, I'm just tired from practice that's all,' Ron finished and entered the common room.

Harry followed him up the stairs to their dormitory and fell asleep surprisingly fast. The morning brought blinding sunlight and Harry drew his bed curtains shut before he remembered that it was only Friday. Ron seemed perfectly fine and couldn't remember asking Harry anything about Lyra. She had walked down to breakfast with George and was deep in conversation with him during the entire meal. Apparently they were talking about Quidditch teams.

Today, in History of Magic, instead of falling asleep, Ron found himself gazing at Lyra. Not just her face, but all of her. Hermione gave him a few horrified looks because not only was Ron not paying attention, he was staring at a girl.

'Pay attention!' she wrote on a piece of parchment.

'You're just jealous!' he wrote back.

This made her stop and she didn't even look at Ron the rest of the class. Actually, Hermione tried to ignore Ron for the rest of the day. She was still as friendly as ever with Lyra, but Ron seemed to be nothing but thin air to her. Ron didn't care much and Harry knew, from previous arguments they had had, they would be friends tomorrow.

'She knows she's jealous,' Ron said irritably to Harry. 'She's upset because I'm paying more attention to Lyra than her.'

'Don't flatter yourself, Weasley,' Malfoy, who had been walking up the stairs behind them, drawled. 'My cousin has no intentions of liking you, let alone dating you. Remember what I said.'

'I wish I could curse him to hell,' Harry said after Malfoy had walked away. 'Hard to believe Lyra is related to that.'

'And Snape,' Hermione said coming up alongside Harry.

'What?!' Ron exclaimed causing people to look at him.

'Yes, Snape is her uncle,' Hermione said matter-of-factly.

'Alright, she never told us that,' Harry said as they entered the library and he sat down.

'She told me in Arithmancy this morning. And Dumbledore is her great-grandfather.'

'Ok,' Ron said with a weird look on his face. 'How many people in one school can she be related to?!'

They were sitting at a table in the library getting ready to do their homework, which required a lot of research. Lyra came in a while later and sat next to Ron, across from Harry.

'Sorry, I was talking to Draco for a while,' she said and any anger Ron or Harry felt melted away when she smiled.

After dinner, they returned to the library to finish their work and, of course, Hermione finished first and went off to the dormitory. This left Harry, Ron and Lyra with Madam Pince. Lyra was done before them but stayed to help Ron with his homework as he was having an extremely difficult time with it. She kept going to get books for him and knew exactly which book he needed. It appeared that Lyra had the entire library memorized. Harry left for the common room when he was done. This gave him time alone to figure things out.

How could Lyra Black be a Gryffindor when she clearly had Slytherin running through her veins? But, she was related to Dumbledore too. How could that be? Harry decided that he would just have to ask her. Tomorrow, tomorrow he would talk to her. Harry didn't realize it but he had stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the hallway. Ron almost ran into him.

'Harry! What are you doing?'

'What? O sorry, I was thinking. Guess I can't multitask.'

The three of them returned to the dormitory. Tomorrow, Harry remembered, tomorrow.