Hermione

"What?" Veralidaine exclaimed, bolting from her seat, staring at Lyra in shock, "NO LY, LY, YOU CAN'T! YOU JUST CAN'T GO!" the witch cried.

"Veralidaine, sit." Lyra said, in her usual calm and composed tone.

Veralidaine opened her mouth, about to ask Lyra how she could be so...so calm about this. Didn't their friendship mean anything to her? They had spent their entire first year together, studying in the library, having deep discussions in their room, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. Everything was going so well, and then...and then Lyra just flat out told her that she is transferring to another school? But instead of asking all the questions that were popping in her head, Veralidaine blinked back her tears and did as she was told.

"I am transferring to Hogwarts on my uncle's orders." Lyra finished the sentence she had originallybegun before she was interrupted by the witch's outburst.

After Lyra was done she nodded, indicating that Veralidaine could now speak. Veralidaine stood back up and said, "Ly, Ly how could you be so...so calm about this, didn't our friendship mean anything to you? We have spent their entire first year together, studying in the library, having deep discussions in our room, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, everything was going so well, and then...and then you just flat out tell me that you are is transferring to another school?" Veralidaine finished as she sat back down and took deep breaths. She had said everything that was on her mind in a few short breaths.

Lyra gestured toward the cup of tea in front of Veralidaine, knowing that she would need something to drink after her speech.

"Veralidaine, you mean a lot to me." she answered her question. "I am transferring to Hogwarts by my uncle's orders and I cannot refuse him."

Veralidaine stared at Lyra with watery eyes. She knew that when Lyra said she was going to do something she would do it. "Take me with you..." she begged.

%

Lucius Malfoy silently sat on the wing back chair in his study, contemplating what his niece had asked him. She wanted to take her friend, Veralidaine, to Hogwarts with her. His first response to this would be no. From what he had seen of the girl...she wasn't fit for what he has planned. Lyra was the only one who can do this, because he could hardly count on Draco. The presents of the other witch would hinder his niece and put his plans in jeopardy. Lucius turned his gaze to Lyra, about to answer her when she interupped him.

"Before you answer," Lyra said, "I want you to know that if I can't have her with me than I'm not doing it."

Lucius stared down at Lyra in anger, which was a rare emotion he had ever felt towards her. She was always so obedient to him and never gave him any cause to scold her, unlike Draco.

"Very well." Lucius replied. He knew that if he didn't let her have her friend, she would not do as he asked.

"Thank you." Lyra said before she excused herself and left the room.

Lyra was met with a tearful Veralidaine, who hopped about the room, and hugged her, after she was told the good news.

"We need new names." Lyra told Veralidaine.

"New names? Why do we need new names for?"

"To start our new life."

Veralidaine stared at Lyra, puzzled by her statement.

"When we go, we willno longer be who we are." Lyra informed her, "In Hogwarts, we will play the parts of witches who have never lived the life that we have lived. The people we know now, we must not know once we step foot on platform 9 3/4."

Veralidaine blinked twice before she nodded. Many questions were spinning in her head, but she dare not ask, for if she were to know the answers to them then Lyra would have already told her.

"I'm not sure what I want my new name to be." Veralidaine said, warming up to the idea of going to a new school and pretending to be someone else. She also loved that Lyra introduced the idea to her by referencing Shakespeare's peom, All the World's a Stage, knowing how much she loves the half blood author's works. "There are so many! Ly, Ly have you thought of a name for yourself yet?"

"No I have not." Lyra answered truthfully. "Let's leave that for later then. I'm going to be a muggleborn, you?"

"You're going to be a muggleborn?"

"Yes."

Veralidaine blinked and asked, "Why?"

"Those at Hogwarts would be more sympathetic if I were a muggleborn and less suspicious."

"Oh." Veralidaine nodded, "I think I want to be a muggleborn like you, because if I go as a pure blood then we might not be able to stay together."

"All right." Lyra said, "If we are both going to be muggleborn then we must do some research on them first."

"Okay!" Veralidaine cheered. She loves studying.

%

Lyra and Veralidaine visited their first muggle store to purchase muggle attire with Lyra's aunt Narcissa. The young witches were excited at the sight of such odd robes, but Narcissa was less than impressed. Not only was the elder witch disgusted by the decor of the shop, but she felt nauseated from what she called "muddy air".

"Look at this place," Narcissa sneered as she looked the shop up and down, "no one is measuring us and none of the sales people are even asking to hold our belongings."

"Aunt Cissy," Lyra said, "do you really want these...people touching you or your things?"

Lyra was training herself to not use the word Mudblood or any other offensive words anymore. She knew that Mudblood was a hateful word to muggleborn witches and wizards. She would be one of them soon and so she would need to act disgusted whenever she hears the word. Thought it was a hard habit to break, after hearing the term being commonly used ever since she could remember.

"NO!" Narcissa shouted, wrapping her arms around herself and feeling for her wand.

Spending all her life surrounded by negative muggle propaganda, Narcissa was more anxious than she lead on. In truth, she was on the edge of panic, never had she been near so many muggles before or ever.

"Come on Ly, Ly! Let's go look over there!" Veralidaine suggested as she pulled on Lyra's sleeve like a small child.

"All right."

Lyra let Veralidaine lead her to a rack of muggle tops and began looking through it, trying to find one she liked.

"Ly, Ly look, what do you think about this one?" Verlidaine asked as she held out the garment.

"Pretty." Lyra responded and that was all it took for Verlidaine to pull the garment from the rack and decide to purchase it.

Veralidaine continued to search through the rack while Lyra would glance at Narcissa every so often. Lyra was worried about her aunt, somehow a crowd had managed to gather around Narcissa. Lyra noted that her aunt's face was looking paler and paler by the minute. Gazing up, Lyra curiously stared at a pair of large red banners hanging from the ceiling, above the crowd and Narcissa, with the words FINAL and SALE! written upon them.

Nacissa cringed as she side-stepped to the left to avoid touching a muggle woman, who was walking past her, and then she took a step back to avoid another muggle and then another. A mob was gathering around her.

They know! Narcissa screamed in her head. They know that you're not one of them! They're conspiring to steal your magic this very moment!

Pulling out her wand out, Narcissa desperately searched for an exist. Sadly, there weren't any. Taking deep breathes, the witch told herself not to panic. No matter what, don't panic. Being born a pure blood, Narcissa was raised to remain composed at all times, to never show a hint of emotion. After taking a few more deep breaths, Narcissa made her way through the crowd, trying not to make any physical contact with any of them. It was bad enough that they were tainting her new robes. Robes that she would burn as soon as she is home - NO! It would taint her home then. She would have a House elf purchase newer and cleaner robes for her and bring them to the carriage, then burn the ones she has on, after taking a hot bath to wash away the filth. After Narcissa finished her musing she realized that she was still trapped in the crowd. Frustrated, she began pushing the muggles out of her way, only to be pushed back into the center of the crowd. She was about ready to use her wand and hex all of them, when she felt a hand grab hold of her wrist. Narcissa shrieked, thinking it was one of the muggles, but relaxed when she saw that Lyra's face had materialized through the crowd. Her niece smiled warmly at her and led her out of the shop and back to their carriage, where Veralidaine sat waiting for them. Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief, delighted that they were finally out of the horrible mob and was more than pleased, when Lyra presented her with new robes. Narcissa stared down at the neatly folded robes in Lyra's arms and smiled at how well Lyra knew her. Kissing the young witch's head, Narcissa took the robes.

%

"Ly, Ly," Veralidaine said, looking up from her book of listed muggle names, "what do you think about Lisa? Do you think I look like a Lisa Turpin?"

"No." Lyra replied.

Veralidaine nodded and continued her search of her new name on the other side of the bed.

Lyra lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and contemplating what her new name should be. She, unlike Veralidaine, was not using a list of names to form her new identity. She decided that she wanted to think up one herself. But it was proving to be more difficult than she thought. So for the time being, Lyra thought of her real name and what it meant and represented. Similar to many members of her mother's side of the family, her name, Lyra, was a constellation. It seemed to Lyra that the Blacks either name their children after constellations or things related to nature. But as Lyra remembered, her father didn't intend to name her after a constellation. He once told her that he named her after his favorite aunt Lyra, who died, the day before her wedding day no less.

None the less, Lyra is a constellation. Stars directly under the constellation Draco. It didn't surprise Lyra too much that they had chosen Draco as her young cousin's name. He was a boy after all, they wanted him to be above her. Every culture has their own favored sex, which mainly consist of males, and the wizardary world is no different. After mentally laughing at the thought for an unknown reason, Lyra continued musing about her name.

Lyra was another form of the word lyre, a stringed musical instrument. It resembles a harp, but instead of plucking the strings with their fingers, the player strums it with a plectrum. The irony was that Lyra was able to play the lyre, quite well actually. She took it upon herself to learn how to play it after realizing that it was her name. Lucius ordered the finest lyre to be made for her and hired the best musical tutor money could buy when she told him that she wanted to learn. In only three lessons, Lyra was able to play over twenty different songs, and was highly praised by her aunt and uncle. They bought her an assortment of gifts, which irritated Draco, causing him to steal her lyre and break it. Lucius was angry and made him go to bed without supper, but not before taking her and Draco to a famous quidditch shop. He told Lyra she to pick any broom she wanted or she could have all of them if she pleases, while making Draco stand against the wall and watch. Draco was furious at her by then, and as soon as they were alone he vowed that he would never speak to her again, but that didn't even last a week.

"Lyra?" Veralidaine called.

"Yes."

"What do you think about Daphne?"

"No."

And with that, Veralidaine continued her search.

The constellation Lyra, has an eagle or a vulture carrying a lyre representing it on a map...Lyra mused. An eagle? Ravenclaw... Ravenclaw, one of the houses in Hogwarts. Its mascot is an eagle. Lyra discontinued all thoughts about Hogwarts and its houses. There would be time for that later. For now, she needed to focus on her name.

"Lyra, what about Megan?"

"No."

Lyra closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence until she heard a word being echoed from the deepest depth of her mind.

Hermione.

"Hermione?" Lyra said as she opened her eyes.

"Hermione?" Veralidaine repeated, looking up from her book. "Is that your new name?"

"Yes." Lyra found herself saying.

"Hermione, Hermione," Veralidaine said, "as in a Shakespeare's The Winter's tale?" It was the first thing she thought of.

"No." Lyra replied. "Hermione. The Iliad."

Veralidaine thought of Lyra's response and gasped as she remembered who Hermione was in the epic tale. "Oh! Hermione! Helen and Menelaus' daughter - Hermione the orphan-" The witch quickly covered her mouth with her book as soon as she said the word, fearing it would anger Lyra.

"'In my childhood I had no mother; my father was ever in the wars—though the two were not dead, I was reft of both.'" Lyra quoted one of Hermione's speeches that she had read so often that she thought the words were forever carved in her heart.

Veralidaine began chewing her bottom lip. She was far too frightened even speak, let alone breath. Lyra was silent, as usual, but at this moment she was too silent. The witch cowered on the bed and held her book over her chest as if it were a shield. She wasn't afraid of whatever angry magic Lyra would send her way, but by the mere fact that Lyra was displeased with her. Lyra may not show it but Veralidaine knew that she is very sensitive about subjects involving her incarcerated parents.

After Veralidaine first met Lyra, she had owled her father and told him of Lyra, he warned her to stay away from her. He had said that someone who had felt such emotional torment at a young age, as Lyra, would eventually explode from her calm and composed facade and hurt all those around her. Veralidaine thought she felt her heart broke that day, after hearing what her father said. And that was the day that she knew that she had to stay with Lyra and save her from herself. She decided to be Lyra's friend and fill her up with happy memories, so she would forget all the harsh things that had happened to her, while in the care of her parents. After reading of the crimes of the Lestranges' Veralidaine could hardly imagine how they treated Lyra at home and what she might have seen growing up - they could've been torturing muggles on their living room floor with Lyra watching!

"Veralidaine." Lyra said, causing Veralidaine to shrink deeper into the bed, "I'm not angry with you. I was merely informing you."

Veralidaine breathed a sigh of relief and lower the book from her chest. "Oh! Hermione, you chose Hermione as your new name."

"Yes." Lyra said.

Seeing as Lyra was lost in thought, again, Veralidaine returned to her search. But no matter how she tried she could not. All the witch could think about was the name Lyra had chosen. Hermione. Veralidaine thought of the Iliad and the parts associated with the character Hermione. A particular passage came to mind.

So when Helen and Paris left Hellas as lovers, they, not wishing to renounce gold, put most of the Spartan property on board before they sailed away to Troy. But Hermione—the nine years old daughter of Helen and Menelaus—they left behind.

Veralidaine couldn't grasp the idea of how a mother could chose gold and wealth over her own daughter. The thought truly sicken her.

Sometime later, also her father sailed to Troy though his trip was no love cruise, but a bellicose enterprise engaging many kingdoms of Hellas, which, having gathered a huge fleet, were determined to obtain by any means the restoration of both Helen and the property. Thus Hermione remained in Sparta, deprived of both her parents and being raised by her aunt Clytaemnestra, for the time the Trojan War lasted, that is, ten years. And for that, she laments

"In my childhood I had no mother; my father was ever in the wars—though the two were not dead, I was reft of both."

In the tale Hermione had an arranged marriage to her first cousin Orestes. However, on the battlefield during the Trojan War, her father also promised her to Neoptolemus, another warrior, as a reward if he sacked Troy. He did and when the war was over, Hermione was stuck having to choose who she would marry.

Veralidaine mentally slapped herself for not noticing it earlier. Lyra and Hermione are in a similar situation. It must've been why Lyra read the tale so often. Lyra could relate to what Hermione felt. Abandoned. Their parents were taken far away from them. They were under different circumstances, but it was the same. Both were orphans, yet not, in the sense that their parents are still alive but they are unable to be near them. The more Veralidaine thought about it the more she noticed certain things she had not before. Hermione was given to her aunt to be raised, after her parents' departure. Lyra was given to her aunt to be raised as well. It's been ten years after the war. Both their parents were mainly involved in a war...

No! that's ridiculous! How can it be? Veralidaine thought. It's not like the book was a foreshadow if future events to happen. What next? Two wizards are going to fight over Lyra's hand in marriage?

Veralidaine didn't have to read the book to know that. With Lyra's beautiful shiny, wavy raven hair and her warm brown eyes, and her soft pale skin... No doubt there would be more than two wizards dueling for her hand.

"Veralidaine."

"Yes." Veralidaine answered, shaking her head. By Lyra's tone, Veralidaine knew that she must've been staring at her again. "Sorry."

Veralidaine couldn't help it. Lyra was far too beautiful and pleasant to look at. Throughout their first school year, Veralidaine would catch herself staring at Lyra without knowing it, as would most of their schoolmates. Lyra would call her name, in a certain tone that would tell her that she was staring and she would stop. Lyra had told her that she didn't mind that she was staring; she's grown quite use to it but becomes annoyed by the knowledge that someone is watching her every move.

"Veralidaine."

"Sorry."

%

Lucius placed his hand under his chin as he held his wand with his other hand.

"How could you do such a thing Lucius!" Narcissa demanded, "How could you!"

"It's necessary Narcissa." Lucius drawled.

"Necessary?" Narcissa exclaimed. "It's necessary to do such a thing to my niece!"

"Narcissa, you do forget. She is my niece as well."

Lyra stayed seated on her chair as she observed her uncle and aunt's developing lover's quarrel. She felt guilty, being as she is the cause for their current argument. The witch hated when the two would argue. Whenever they argue, it meant that she would be right in the middle and have to choosea side. She knew that she had to do something to stop this before things got ugly.

"Lucius! I have about enough of this!" Narcissa decleared.

"Narcissa, I understand. But we can't let her enter Hogwarts as she is."

"Oh! My poor Lyra!" Narcissa sobbed as she pulled Lyra to her. Running her fingers through Lyra's new redish, brown hair and held the lose strands up, Narcissa gasped for the unpteen time as she stared in horror at them once more. "Why? Lucius! Why? Why must you choose such a hideous color to glamor her hair! Russet! Oh!"

Lyra held her aunt close, since she looked about ready to faint.

Lyra and Lucius were in the middle of forming her muggle born disguise, when Narcissa entered the study, wanting to see how things were progressing. She gasped and placed her hand over her heart. She was distraughted by her husband's color choice. Narcissa wondered if Lucius noticed this, but he glamored Lyra's hair the same as the color of his desk. She didn't want to point it out for she feared that it would upset Lyra. Lyra would think that Lucius thought of her as a common item in the manor, an ornament. Narcissa had tried her best to make Lyra feel as loved and possible, by her and Lucius, but for him to do such and thing... What if she loses her sanity like her parents!

"I like it." Lyra said, causing Lucius to nod in agreement, "But can it be more red and less brown, like cousin Cedrella's husband's hair. What was his name again?"

"Lyra!" Narcissa and Lucius exclaimed. They all knew very well that Cedrella Black was disowned and burnt off the family tree for marrying Septimus Weasley. Both were outraged that she would ever speck their names or even acknowledge them as family.

"Bite your tongue young lady!" Lucius scolded her.

"See what you've done Lucius!" Narcissa cried, "She is highly traumatized by what you've done to her hair - she's obviously become delusional!"

Lucius was taken back by what his wife had said. Merlin! What if she goes mental like her parents? "Dobby!" He shouted.

"Yes, master." the House Elf popped in.

"Quick! Summon the Healer! Lyra is ill!" Lucius commanded.

Draco peeked outside his door as he watched his parents fuss over his cousin. A house elf had told him that she had become ill and his father had summoned their family Healer to see to her.

"She's probably faking it." Draco scoffed. As if she would ever get ill!

"I'm sorry Cissy. I never should've done that." Draco heard his father say to his mother as he held her in his arms, walking her back to the master bedroom.

After he was sure they were gone, Draco went across the hall to his cousin's bedroom and entered without knocking. She was laying on her four poster bed, with the curtains closed on one end and opened on the other so she could look out her window. Draco gazed at the closed curtains for a second before he stepped forward.

"I thought I told you to knock." Lyra said to Draco, not looking away from the window. Her room was warded in a way that informed her whenever someone entered, the lamp on her nightstand, near her window, would light up and the name of the person would appear on the base. The lamp was proof to Lucius that that Draco was the one who trespassed into Lyra's room and broke her lyre. Although, the lamp wasn't necessary since Draco was the obvious suspect. It wasn't likely that the house elves would dare do something of that nature.

"I did." Draco lied.

"No. You didn't."

Draco stomped toward her bed and moved the curtain aside so he could see her. "I heard you were ill."

"I'm not." Lyra said as she turned form the window to look at him.

"I knew it!" He pointed at her in accusation, "Liar!"

"Were you worried about me?" Lyra asked, catching Draco off guard.

"I was not!" Draco shouted.

"Oh." Was all Lyra said, but they both know he was lying.

Draco hated it when she would remain so calm, while he was frustrated. "I hate you!" he shouted. But they both know he didn't mean it.

"Too bad," Lyra softly replied, causing Draco to fume, "because I love you."

Draco blushed at her words and took a stepped back. "You're only saying that because you know it upsets me!"

"No. I said it, because it's the truth." Lyra said, "I do love you... as a brother." Lyra finished with an innocent smile.

The last time Lyra had called Draco her little brother, he had a fit. Draco was an only child, which he was proud of. If Lyra claimed she that loved him as a brother then he would have to acknowledge her as an older sister, which he would never do. If he did, then it would mean that his parents had another child, and he would no longer an only child. Lyra knew of Draco's odd logic and enjoys teasing him about it, but not too harshly.

"You're not my sister!" Draco shouted.

"Shh..." Lyra pressed her finger over her lips, "Draco, if you shout any louder. The house elves might think you're trying to attack me and tell uncle Lucius."

Draco nearly jumped at what she said. "How dare you threaten me." he said in a low voice.

"I'm not. I'm just being honest." Lyra informed him, and decided to change the subject. She thought she had teased him enough for the day. "I pretended I was ill so that uncle Lucius and aunt Cissy would stop arguing."

"Oh." Draco said, secretly glad the subject was being changed. He and Lyra had known each other long enough to be able to forgive and forget one another in seconds. "Why? If they argue that means we'll get twice the presents we normally do." Draco said as he sat on her bed and nodded toward the box of assorted chocolates on her nightstand.

"No Draco. It's not good if they argue." Lyra said as she took the box from the nightstand and offered them to him.

"Says you." Draco said and swallowed a caramel filled one. "What else did you get?"

"A grand piano is arriving in an hour." Lyra answered.

"Another instrument?" Draco asked, "Why couldn't you get something I like?"

"Uncle Lucius is going to take us to purchase new brooms tomorrow."

"Nice one." Draco said in approval. "What did you say or do to make them think you were ill?" Draco curiously asked, since she didn't look particularly ill.

"They thought it was a mental illness. I told them I wanted to change my hair to Weasley red."

Draco burst out laughing and nearly choked on the piece of chocolate he was chewing on. Lyra began to laugh as well and soon both were holding their stomachs, rolling on the bed.

"I can't imagine the look on father's face when you said that!" Draco said, wiping tears from his eyes.

%

"What a miserable excuse for a robe shop this is." Lucius drawled. "No wonder your aunt couldn't return to this."

On their second attempt to purchase muggle robes, Lucius decided to escort Lyra and Veralidaine in place of Narcissa, since she nearly fell ill the last time she was there.

Lyra and Veralidaine exchanged glances but didn't say a word.

"Let's go look over there." Lyra said.

Lucius followed them, close enough that he could see them but far enough to give them their space. He knew how witches were when they shopped, insane. As he stood there, he noticed a few muggle women whispering and looking his way. He, of course, ignored them and continued to watch over his niece.

"Lyra what do you think about this one?" Veralidaine asked.

"Try it on." Lyra told her.

With that Veralidaine skipped to a room with the words Fitting Room over it.

While Lyra was looking through the muggle robes, a little muggle girl came a pulled on her sleeve and said, "Mary!"

Lyra turned around and looked at the girl.

"Sorry." the girl said sadly, "I thought you were my sister." and then girl began to sob. "You dress...her!"

"I'm dressed like her?" Lyra asked the girl if that was true.

The muggle girl nodded her head, crying even louder.

Lyra looked at herself in a full length mirror nearby. She was wearing what she thought was plain and appropriate for this trip, with a dark coat and long skirt. She then looked to the girl and studied her attire. The muggle girl was wearing a very shiny coat that made her look like a crystal ball, her hair was tied up by various colorful ornaments, and her trouser, blue with designs of rainbows and unicorns sewed on them.

"How old are you?" Lyra asked.

"Six!" the muggle girl choked out.

She was four years younger than Lyra, Lyra noted. "Where's your mother?"

"Work!"

"So you're here with your sister?"

The girl nodded with boggers and tears staining her face.

"Do you want me to help you find her?"

The girl nodded once again, sniffling as she did so.

After Lyra found the girl's sister she returned to where she was waiting for Veralidaine, who was in one of the fitting rooms. Suddenly she heard a muffled cry from under a rack of muggle robes next to her. Curious, Lyra walked to the rack and pushed aside the garments to find Veralidaine hugging her knees and weeping.

"Lyra!" she sobbed, jumping up and hugging her. "I thought you left meeeeeee!"

Upon exiting the fitting room and not seeing Lyra, Veralidaine assumed Lyra had abandoned her with these evil muggles. She had hid under the rack of clothes and began crying, after having thought of how the muggles would kill her and steal her magic.

Lyra patted Veralidaine's back and reassured her that she didn't leave her. After Lyra had finished telling her what really happened Veralidaine stopped crying, but continued to cling on to her.

"Uncle Lucius," Lyra said, "Veralidaine tripped and hit her knee. We should go home and see to it."

Lyra didn't want her uncle to know what really happened or else he would use this as leverage against Veralidaine, proving that she wasn't capable of going to Hogwarts. Fortunatly, Lucius was distracted by the crowd of muggle women seemingly surrounding him to noticed Veralidaine.

"All right." Lucius said.

As they walked away the crowd that had formed around Lucius sighed in a dream like manner. Lyra glanced at her uncle's scowl and the crowd of women. She mentally laughed to herself. Clearly the crowd was in awed by her uncle's beauty and stopped whatever they were doing to stare and whisper.

"Lucius," Narcissa greeted her husband as he returned home with Lyra and Veralidaine, "how was it?"

"The muggles knew I was not one of them and were conspiring against me." Lucius told his wife. "Possibly to steal my magic and give it to their offsprings."

Lyra wasn't certain if that was what the muggles were up to, but remained silent. She excused herself and took Veralidaine to her room.

"Oh darling!" Narcissa embraced Lucius. "It must've been awful."

"Have Dobby burn those robes." Lucius said, pointing his cane at the pile of discarded robes. Not wanting to taint his carriage with muggle filth, he magically discarded his robes after they had left the muggle shop and magically replaced them with new ones. He would have distoried them himself but didn't want to taint his wand.

%

"Dentistry."

"What?" Veralidaine asked, look at Lyra curiously.

"My muggle parents will practice dentistry."

"Dentistry? What is that?"

"Exactly," Lyra nodded, "no pure blood knows what it is and few half bloods care to speak of it. Only muggle borns know of it. Teeth." Lyra answered Veralidaine's puzzled stare, "Those who practice dentistry are healers of the teeth."

"Teeth?" Veralidaine cringed as she said the word.

"See how uncomfortable it made you?" Lyra stated, "Just think how confused the others would be."

"Oh, I see." Veralidaine said, "But Ly, Ly, why teeth?"

"I want my muggles parents to have a career that no one would care to know of or even talk about. I've narrowed my choices down to dentist, cardiologist, healers of the heart, or a gynecologist, those who study the health of the female reproductive system." Lyra said, "I picked dentistry because no one wants to talk about their teeth, especially those in England. I don't want my muggle parents to be cardiologists. What if someone has a heart attack? People would expect me to do something about it. I don't want to touch anyone and what if I make their condition worse. As for gynecologists, I think that is going much too far. Not only will they be uncomfortable so will I."

%

Any guesses as to who Veralidaine is? She's one of the side characters in the book/movies.
My beta was completly surprised, when I told her who she is...