Chapter 2: The First Day of 1992
Cold... so cold...
This was Lyra's first sensation. The second she stepped out of Nurmengard Castle, she felt a bone-chilling cold, followed immediately by an endless darkness.
She felt as if she were trapped in the silt of the deep sea, or perhaps exploring a forest thick with weeds. A sense of restraint pressed in on her from all sides, until finally, she felt a heart-stopping sensation of falling.
It was a feeling she had never experienced, not even when falling from the highest tower at Durmstrang.
But finally... she opened her eyes.
"Where... is this..." She looked at her surroundings, which felt completely unfamiliar. She remembered having just stepped out of the great hall of Nurmengard.
But this place had no connection to Nurmengard whatsoever.
It was a seaside cave. Waves occasionally crashed in, lightly brushing against her somewhat worn, soaking wet leather boots.
She seemed to have fainted, but she had no memory of why. She shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to free herself from the suffocating dizziness.
Then she began to think about what she needed to do... Lord Grindelwald's mission...
Wait... Lord Grindelwald!
This was the first thing that came to Lyra's mind: Did Lord Grindelwald win?
She clearly remembered that before she left, Lord Grindelwald was going to face an opponent he had no confidence in defeating.
She pressed her lips together and raised her wand.
Apparate.
She silently incanted in her mind. She desperately wanted to return to Nurmengard, to know the result of that duel.
But... the wand only trembled slightly, and nothing happened.
It seemed... this wand, with its holly wood body and Veela hair core, was broken.
She didn't know if it was because it had been soaked in water or for some other reason, but regardless, Lyra could not immediately return to Nurmengard.
The situation she now faced was somewhat awkward... alone in a strange place, and having lost her wand.
I really can't live up to Lord Grindelwald's trust... She first thought, but then immediately tried to rally herself.
No... no... Lyra, oh Lyra, you absolutely cannot fall into despair like this. You are shouldering Lord Grindelwald's mission and his trust.
She patted her cheeks to psyche herself up, then used the wall to slowly pull herself to her feet.
Perhaps because she hadn't moved in so long, her legs felt as stiff as two logs... Her days at Nurmengard had indeed been a bit too... too lazy.
With this thought, she stepped out of the seaside cave and walked somewhat aimlessly along the beach. Before her was a vast, endless expanse of sand.
But she estimated that there would inevitably be a village by the sea... even a Muggle village would be fine.
.....
"This is... Britain?"
Lyra's luck was decent. After walking for two hours, she saw a small town.
But as she drew closer and saw the shop signs hanging in the town, her eyes went wide.
The unmistakable English characters a-reminded her that she had come from Austria, on the coast of the Mediterranean, all the way to Britain, on the coast of the Atlantic.
How... why?!
Just as she was thinking this, several people walked hurriedly past her, scaring her so much that she shrank back, hiding herself in the shadow of her robes and the wall.
Lyra was afraid of these bustling humans. She was terrified of communicating and interacting with outsiders. Just making eye contact with these people was enough to frighten her.
Besides being socially anxious, it was also because of who these people were.
They were Muggles.
She was somewhat afraid of Muggles... After all... after all, her mother used to say that Muggles were terrifying monsters, that they ate Veela and wizards... and even Lord Grindelwald held no fondness for them.
She carefully avoided the crowds, moving like a mouse through the town's back alleys.
When she occasionally encountered Muggle children, she would nervously lower her head and keep her distance from them.
Too... too terrifying... There are so many Muggles... There are more Muggles here than there were wizards at Durmstrang. If Durmstrang had this many people, Lyra reckoned she might have graduated even earlier...
Whether that would be from finishing her studies early or from dropping out due to fear, it was hard to say.
Fortunately, the Muggles all seemed to be busy, and no one looked like they wanted to strike up a conversation with Lyra. Otherwise, if she had to actually talk to a Muggle... Lyra felt she might faint on the spot.
Soon, she arrived at a place that seemed a bit more remote. It was somewhat gloomy and cramped, but it made Lyra feel much more at ease.
At the very least, she didn't have to worry about running into Muggles here...
It also gave her the energy to think about what to do next.
Based on the street signs and shops she had just seen, she figured out she was probably in Devonshire, England...
This seemed to be quite a distance from Diagon Alley, the center of wizarding Britain that she knew of.
A pity she didn't have her wand... She subconsciously pulled out her wand to look at it.
This wand, which had been with her throughout her entire student life and her time with the Zauberpartei, was completely destroyed. This couldn't help but make her a little sad.
She had heard that many people would bury their broken wands under their corresponding wood-type tree, returning it to nature... She wondered where holly trees grew in Britain...
Just as she was pondering this, she suddenly heard footsteps.
Clop... clop. The person walking seemed to be dragging their feet, as if thoroughly exhausted.
"Ngh!" Lyra instinctively looked around. She couldn't find a place to hide, so as a last resort, she could only clutch her broken wand and curl up, trying to make herself less conspicuous in the alley.
The footsteps drew closer. Lyra kept her head down, her eyes squeezed shut, praying not to be discovered.
But, to her dismay, the shuffling figure stopped. He was standing right in front of Lyra.
"You..." The voice spoke. It was a somewhat weak and feeble voice, like the last note blown from an old saxophone.
"Ngh!" Lyra cried out in alarm, "I... I don't know you!" She instinctively pulled her hood tighter, hiding her pointed ears.
"I don't know you either, miss." The person responding paused slightly, seeming to be breathing with difficulty. This made Lyra involuntarily peek up at him.
He was a rather thin, somewhat refined-looking middle-aged man. Perhaps a bit younger than Lord Grindelwald, but he looked far, far older. His face was pale, as if he had just experienced something horrific.
But despite this, his eyes were sharp and bright as he sized up Lyra.
"But even so... I know... you shouldn't be here." He lowered his voice. "This is not a place you should be."
"Ah?!" Lyra bit her lip in surprise. She couldn't believe she had been found out just like that!
He... he's a wizard? And from the Ministry of Magic?!
He must be here to arrest her!
But I haven't done anything wrong! No! Last time I didn't do anything wrong, they still tried to arrest me!
"I... I'm not going with you!" Lyra mustered her courage and raised her useless wand.
"You'll have to take that up with the Ministry," the weak man said with a wry smile. "Besides... did your professors at Hogwarts not teach you not to point your wand at people?"
"Hogwarts... professors?" Lyra froze, confused by what the man was saying.
She knew what Hogwarts was, of course... but she didn't understand what it had to do with her.
"Which Hogwarts house are you in?" the man asked again. "It can't be Gryffindor or Slytherin..."
"Ah... I know." He bent down with a gentle expression. "You must be a Hufflepuff, aren't you?"
Hufflepuff?
Lyra pressed her lips together, seeming to understand... The man in front of her thought she was a Hogwarts student?
Wait... do I look that young?
She really wanted to tell him that she wasn't a Hogwarts student at all... but if she thought about it, if she refuted him... wouldn't she have to talk to him even more... and risk exposing herself?
And so, Lyra pressed her lips together and gave a small, hesitant nod.