Having learned to keep a stoic expression, Silas was never so happy for that as he was now. His whole world had been upended this year and was getting more and more turbulent. It was harder and harder to keep his rage that wanted to surface at a simmer and concealed. Wanting to get away from the castle and hipefully work some of his anger out of his system, the teenager headed for Hogsmeade. He needed to but some bracers for Quidditch and could do that as well as seeing about getting his ring fixed. And when he found the pillock that dared to even touch his ring he would make them very sorry. It would allow him to vent some of his pent up emotions. That thought casued a wicked smirk to form.

Shoving his gloved hands deeper into his muggle leather jacket, Silas' mood shifted from dark to almost happy. Seeing the shop he wanted he went inside only a little annoyed by the bell announcing his arrival. Stomping his feet to rid his boots of the snow, Silas quickly ran a hand over his hair to dislodge any of the snow. Going to the counter he set the broken puzzle ring atop it. "I need to get this fixed, please."

The clerk gave Silas a look that him return it with a sneer. "We repair magical items.."

"I'm well aware of that!" he snapped, good mood evaporating. "If you'd picked it up you would have realized that it has charms on it and was Goblin wrought!"

Silas wasn't about to tell the man that he hadn't even been able to detect all the spells on it. His father had only told him what a handful of them were when he sent his early 'Christmas' gifts. Liking the ring but Silas liked and enjoyed the other gift more. His eyes gleamed darkly just begging for the clerk to say his two cents. The man just shot him a dirty look as if he was used to having to take lip from students and was waiting for the day to toss one out on their ear.

"Assessing the damage done by the physical as well as magical might take a bit..." It was said in a fake polite voice that clearly stated he wanted the boy out of his shop. With just as much 'politeness' he nodded. "I would prefer to have it fixed by the time tomorrow."

He only had the bloody weekends for the trips to the village and the berk knew it. Before either could get into a row, the bell chimed again causing both to look over to see who'd come in.

Lyra hadn't bothered asking anyone to Hogsmeade, and any invitations that had been given to her to go with someone were turned down, as they had mostly been by people that were desirable company for her to keep. She would rather avoid those types of crowds, but she had made sure to turn down all offers politely, as she did not wish to cause any strife or turmoil for people, get them to dislike her. The last thing that she had wanted to do was make enemies, when she was working so hard to gain respect and such, while also keeping her status as a Half-Blood on the down low.

The teenage look-alike of Bellatrix Lestrange, complete with the long, flowing, knee-length curly black hair, had stopped in her tracks when she had spotted her half-brother Silas Lestrange going into a shop. It appeared to be some kind of repair shop of some kind, but she couldn't exactly say what it was for. She didn't keep many items on her besides books, so there was very little she had that could get damaged. She had mostly stayed out of the way of Silas until she had started using her mother's maiden name, and now that it some manner of proof that she was Bellatrix's daughter, she had decided to step in and finally talk to her brother.

She entered the shop, which caused the bell on the door to chime, and when she stepped in, she noticed that Silas and the shop keeper were both looking at her, most likely because of the fact that they had been alerted by the bell. With a well-practiced grace and elegance, she walked over to the shop keeper and gave him a polite smile, trying her best to come off as non-threatening as possible. Considering her mother's reputation, she did not want the shopkeeper to panic and react out of fear by the very sight of her appearance or anything else like that.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Shopkeeper, but I just wanted to borrow your customer for a moment. I wanted to talk to him about some important, private matters. I hope you understand and don't mind terribly much if I took Mr. Lestrange from you for a bit" Lyra said to the shopkeeper in a cold, but polite and not at all hostile tone of voice. She doubted the shopkeeper would mind that much, since he would still get his business, but she figured that since Silas was alone here in Hogsmeade, that it would be the best chance she had of conversing with him and hopefully get to know her own half-brother that she had never officially met before.

With that message delivered, she calmly turned her head to face Silas, her expression a blanket of formal politeness, but her face and eyes weren't as cold as they were when she had addressed the shopkeeper. Sure, they were still cold when she was looking at and addressing Silas, but they weren't at the same level as they were when she had talked to the shopkeeper. She was naturally a detached and cold person, but just because she was cold, it did not mean she was unfriendly. While she wasn't one for socializing much, this was her blood brother, so she was willing to make an exception for him. After all, family had to stick together. She just hoped her brother wasn't hostile and tried to deny any possible relation the two of them quite obviously have.

"If it's not too much trouble Mr. Lestrange, would you be willing to follow me to a more secluded place so we can have a conversation? I feel that, since we haven't interacted at all in all the years we've been in Hogwarts together, our conversation and meeting is long overdue. I hope you agree, as I am most anxious to talk to you after all this time" she said to him with a slight raise of her eyebrow to showcase her being inquisitive right at this moment, the slight frown on her face hopefully indicating to Silas that she would prefer they have this talk now.
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Word Count: 688

Seeing who had entered, Silas' surprise caused his eyes to widen minutely before he shut down. His gaze was one of suspicion and assessing. He hadn't known what to make of the girl when he'd heard about her changing her surname this year. Hurt and anger had been the uppermost in his responses. Confusion tangled up in a mess that he didn't dare poke at. He'd seen his mother this summer so there hadn't been any doubt about who birthed her. Why hadn't his mother said anything? Was this another test? It seemed this year was destined to be one that would alter everyones world no matter whom they were.

"Not at all," the man quickly agred to be rid of Silas. The boy in turned gave a cold smile back. He would be returning. He needed that ring back. "Our business has reached an agreement."

Giving the girl a sharp nod, he wondered why she was approaching now. Had their mother been to see her too? The thought caused a flare of jealousy and resentment. If they were related why hadn't she said so when he'd come to Hogwarts? Was she ashamed because he'd been sorted to Ravenclaw? Would she still have left him to himself if he'd followed tradition and became a Slytherin instead? Did she feel as their mother had when she'd ridiculed him about his House?

Or was this something else? Was this his mother's response to the Dark Lord's actions? Was his sister to be his killer? A cold feeling settled in his stomach before the familiar energy overrode it. The one that had him mouth back to his mother, despite the danger. That same giddiness filled him as he let his mind quickly run through what he knew of the girl whom was his sister. Of the times he might have possibly seen her throught the past four years. What game was she playing at? What was her angle?

"Its as he says. Our business is done. For now."

Going over her words, Silas picked them apart to see if there were any hidden meanings in them. One never knew. With his mother he'd had to watch what he said. As he did with most people. Just how much did his sister take after their mother? Resolving thay he would get something from this meeting as well, he responded in kind to how she'd adressed him. "I too would wish this, Ms. Black."

Gesturing for her to go first he gave a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Ladies first."

Lyra nodded her head to show she was glad that the shopkeepers wasn't going to make a fuss at losing his customer to anyone. She was most grateful for that, as she would hate to have to resort to more unpleasant things in order to get him to comply. She was not one who liked to get into trouble, so she made sure to do her absolute best to avoid such methods. She had built an image of herself she had been very desperate to uphold, and coming off as someone who liked to hurt people would just ruin her carefully crafted image.

When she heard her brother say that he would enjoy talking to her as much as she said she would enjoy talking to him, the teenage lookalike allowed a small smile to place itself on her face as she pulled a strand of long, curly black hair out of her eyes as she showed her appreciation to the fact that Silas wasn't going to try and avoid her. It was nice to see that her Pureblood Ravenclaw brother wasn't going to try and push her away just because he didn't know her. She would hate not being able to know her own brother.

He indicated for her to lead the way, which would involve turning her back to him, which really wasn't something ideal in her mind. However, because it was her younger brother, she was willing to trust him to not fire a spell at her while her back was turned. Since he was 5th Year, he wasn't taught Silent Spell Casting yet, so if he ever cast a spell in her direction, she would be able to hear it and react accordingly. However, she didn't believe that he would do that, as unless he thought her to be an agent of their mother, she didn't think that he would do it.

She lead the way out of the shop, and brought him to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, by the Shrieking Shack, but didn't actually go into. No one from Hogwarts went here, and neither did the villagers of Hogsmeade, so they shouldn't be overheard by anyone, which is what she was hoping for. She had been desiring a chance to talk to her little brother privately, but because they were in different houses, and because that Slytherins naturally weren't trusted by the other houses, she couldn't get the chance to do so until now, which was honestly really disappointing for her, as her desire to get to know her brother was indeed very powerful.

She turned to her brother then, and proceeded to speak up to him. "I would like to get to know you better brother, so in order to do that, I feel it is best that I introduce myself, just so we can break the ice between us. My name is Lyra Arabella Black. As you have figured out, I am your older sister, though I'm your half-sister, as Rodolphis Lestrange was not my father. I was not raised by my mother while she was still free, I was actually raised by another member of the Black family, our Great Aunt Cassiopeia Black, and as you can tell, I was sorted into Slytherin House. Now, would you like to introduce yourself as well?" she said to him with a warmer tone than she used when speaking to the shopkeeper now that they were alone, while still maintaining an aura of politeness.
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Word Count: 575

Walking silently the teenager had kept his questions to himself. His eyes studied her noting similarities as well major differences between her and their mother. Their mother had been the embodiment of a predator. Fluid grace and quicker to strike than a snake and just as deadly. While his sister may have the physical resemblance she did not give off the same aura. Nor did she possess those traits that made all but the unwise to tread carefully. The look in Black's eyes weren't that of a killer. Not yet. That did not ease him into false sense of security.

Stopping when she did, Silas listened to what she had to say. He had to applaude the fact that she did not give any information that he couldn't have guessed at or known. He'd known as did the whole school when she changed her name. She became as infamous as Potter and Riddle in the rumour mill. Very Slytherin of her. He'd assumed she'd been a secret since the Malfoys had never breathed a word of her existance. He'd had at least one picture of his parents to know what they looked like pre-Azkaban. There had been no photographs of Lyra. Tilting his head he wondered if she'd even known of his existance before Hogwarts.

At the mention of being a half-sibling and being reared by a Black, he became more guared. His curiosity was fully aroused though. Wondering who her father could be. Was it because of the unknown sire that she was entrusted to be raised by a Black instead of another relation? To hide her bastard status most likely. To be born a bastard of a Pureblood family was a mark of shame. Which had him again wondering why the girl chose that name to go by. It would hold no power for her to weild. Was she aware that while trying to do whatever she was doing she was shaming their mother? His father could divorce her, which did not mean the same in the wizard world. His mother would be left with nothing of the Lestranges and be marked as a cuckhold.

It was luck for him that traces of his father could be seen in him. Otherwise he was sure he would be subjected to a test by the goblins to ensure he really was bloodkin to Rodolphus. His eyes widen fractionally as a few things clicked in his mind. He hummed a noncommital sound as he gathered his thoughts. Silas kept himself appearing relaxed even though he would have liked to cross his arms. That was a show of insecurity and he would give his sister none.

"As you know, I'm Silas Lestrange. Son of Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Black. I defied tradition like our cousin Sirius by choosing a house that was not Slytherin." At least he had not neen Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. His mother would have likely seen that he never came back from their meeting during the summer. Better death than a tool for Dumbledore to weild, wasn't that what one of his 'family' had said?

"I was as you've no doubt known or learned, raised by our Aunt Narcissa amd her husband."

Unable to hold back the one question that was at the forefront of his mind he asked without any inflectjon of emotion, "Why are you approaching me now?"

There had to be a reason, and he wanted to know what it was. He was not going to think that she had come to him just because she wanted to connect with him. She'd had four years to do so. It had to be something else.

Lyra watched silently as her brother absorbed the information she gave him, looking very guarded all the while. He was very suspicious of her, and she honestly couldn't blame him for it. After all, she had many years to approach, but had not done so until her final year, the last year the two of them would be seeing each other until the summers. It was only natural he be cautious of anything she might be planning. After all, he didn't know her, so why would he trust her at all? It would be extremely foolish of him to trust someone he doesn't know, even if they were supposed to be family.

Finally, after noticing he had become more guarded during her explanation, he finally spoke up, giving her details that she did already know. At the mention of the fact that he had gone against convention much like their late cousin Sirius and gotten sorted into a House other than Slytherin, she nodded her head in acknowledgement and respect. It took a lot of guts to allow yourself to be sorted into any House that wasn't Slytherin, so the fact that he spoke of it with no shame or regret indicated he did not mind his placing in any manner.

"Ravenclaw isn't a bad house. While Blacks and Lestranges have traditionally always been Slytherin, there have been a few rare Ravenclaws that slipped through the cracks. Ravenclaw is far from a terrible House, just not one as respected as Slytherin House. The fact you're a Prefect as well will also help you, since it is an accolade that is worth putting on a resume" she said to him in a polite tone of voice, not giving away any personal thoughts or feelings as to what she might have thought about his sorting.

She nodded her head to show that she had, in fact, been aware of him being raised by their Aunt Narcissa and 'Uncle' Lucius. Great Aunt Cassiopeia had spoken fondly of her Aunt Narcissa, though not as fondly as she did Lyra's mother, and the less said about her opinion on Aunt Andromeda and her daughter Nymphadora, the better. The only dislike she had to the idea of her younger brother being raised by the Malfoys was that whatever Black Family traditions were taught to him by Aunt Narcissa would be balanced by Malfoy family teachings, and while they were perfectly free to dispense those teachings, they should not have been taught to Silas.

"I had stayed away while I was still using my fake surname in order to keep the secret as long as possible. Now that I've reached my maturity, I can start using the name I prefer, and since I've come out of the shadows now, I felt it was best I finally approached you. As to why in particular I approached you, it was because I did, in fact, genuinely wish to get to know you brother. My only familial connection that I had until now was my Great Aunt Cassiopeia, since I had never met my mother. I wanted to change that and form a genuine bond with you. I have no alternative motives to approaching, if that is what you were thinking" she explained to him with a small smile on her face, deliberately not mentioning her father.
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Word Count: 553

All Silas could think at the reply and reaction to his statements was if this was Lyra's way of trying to 'reassure' him. If so, she wasn't doing a very bang up job. Slipping through the cracks? As if he were a special needs that hadn't been caught in time before damage was done. He'd nearly snorted at the comment about Slytherin and respect. Honestly, where was the respect? Was it the prejudice and hypocricy that was shown by the staff and emulated by the students what she misinterpreted as respect? Wariness and suspicion, hatred and anger of your opponent did not equal respect.

The more she spoke the more he wondered about her. Had she been deluding herself for so long that this was her reality? He could not contain himself as she referenced his Prefect status. "Really? I wouldn't have known."

He should have left it at that but he really wanted to see what would happen. He was curious by nature and how else would he know how to judge his sister? See how she thought and where it would lead her. Tilting his head he wondered, "Think it helped the Dark Lord out on his resume? Or was it the Headboy badge I should be aiming for?"

Keeping his tone, expression, and body language as one of mild curiosity while quelling the anger, bitterness, and other nasty emtions and thoughts bubbling. He could be truly vindictive and cruel by declaring her the unwanted one if she hadn't been visited by their mother. Hadn't the woman known before coming to Malfoy Manor that he was a Ravenclaw? That she made it her business to know what her child had been doing? Clearly the same effort had not been extended to the Slytherin.

While listening to her the fifteen year old was also thinking. Theorizing and discarding ideas at the same time. Weighing pros and cons for and against what she was saying. Liar,' he thought. There was no such thing as something for nothing. There was always an ulterior motive even if the person didn't know it. His eyes flashed darkly for a second and was angry that he had allowed himself to have even felt the tiny sliver of hurt. His lips curled up coldly fake cheer on his face and expression. "Ah, there's the crux of it."

He laughed humorlessly. "I'm a substitute." She had no one else and was this her attempt to get 'closer' so she could get in with their mother?

Dead Auntie who clearly was deluded and didn't bring up Lyra right. He had noticed she hadn't mentioned her father. So did that mean that it was better to be the bastard child of a cuckhold than a bastard child of her father? That was interesting. Yet as interesting as it was he did not appreciate the girl ruining his mother's name nor having a slight upon his father. He may not have known his parents either, but at least he wasn't planning on completely shaming and bringing ruin upon them. He was a Black and a Lestrange. Even if he didn't act like it or appreciate it at times.

"Why?" he snapped letting his irritation show and a peek at his anger. If he was able he would have demanded for her to prove it. Prove what she was saying was true. Drawing himself up to his full six foot height his eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "I don't believe for an instant that you chose to do so now that you've 'reached your majority'."

He wanted to know why. He had to know where she stood. There were already too many variables for him to allow another. There was more here than what was going on on the surface. If she was genuine, and there was no subterfuge, then he his assessment that Lyra was Bellatrix's daughter in looks only would be accurate. His own mother was aware he knew that when she'd approached him this summer to 'get to know him', it wasn't just about familial bonds. Silas knew, acknowledged, and accepted it.

Giving the girl another look, wonder began to creep in. Was his sister truly this niave? Something inside him wanted to laugh in amusement. This was like Christmas and he'd been given a new shiny toy to play with. It was an oddity that Lyra could have been brought up by a Black and yet only have the barest reflection of its influence. A bit of an oxymoron that was.

Hearing the sarcasm in her younger half-brother's voice had caused a change in Lyra for a single moment. Instead of taking offense in the sarcasm, the slight upward twitching of her lips indicated that she had found amusement, but just as quickly as the amusement appeared, it was gone, her voice quickly settling back into it's neutral, polite expression once more. Aside from that, however, she gave no reply or reaction to his sarcasm.

As for the comment on whether or not it helped the Dark Lord, she simply raised an eyebrow at him. "It obviously didn't help him much, considering we both know what path he went down. However, you are not the Dark Lord, unless the Dark Lord is secretly under Polyjuice Potion, or he suddenly became a Metamorphmagus. Either that, or I've been struck with a sudden case of poor eyesight" she said to him, replying back in a rather sarcastic tone of voice that would remind someone of the Potions Professor, though there was a bit of amusement in her voice that made it lack the bite of Professor Snape's own remarks.

In response to him saying to her that he was a replacement, he gave her a deadpan stare. "If you wish to think so poorly of yourself, then be my guest. You seemed to have already formed your own opinion, and I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise" she said to him in that neutral tone of voice, her index finger trailing up and down her wand casually, seeming to not be worried about anything that her half-brother might do if he reacted out of anger.

Noticing her younger half-brother's temper spiking up, the grip on her wand tightened just a bit, and although her expression did not change at all, her posture stiffened up a bit, appearing prepared to react and defend herself should her brother try to attempt to attack her out of some misplaced anger.

"Call it simple curiosity, if you will, Silas, a test run, a trial period of sorts. If I did want something from you, I'm not anywhere naive enough to think I could just ask for it and get it, nor am I unintelligent enough to just straight up tell you so. Don't expect to get something for nothing, is the saying, yes?" she said to him with an elegant raise of her eyebrow.
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Word Count: 398

Silas said nothing to her comments about him not being the Dark Lord. That was rather obvious and he again wondered at her thought processes. He so wanted to make a quip about her poor eyesight seeing as she obviously hadn't seen what would occur when she decided to upend her own path with this new one. It seemed that she did share something with the family; their fatal flaw as it were. One that Silas himself was a victim of; they thought themselves cleverer then the rest. Of course along with that was believing others to be less intelligent then they, which Silas wholeheartedly believed in. It was clear that Lyra was also a victim of the same belief.

"Then why are you here? You haven't really gotten to the point." Silas' tone only betrayed a bit of his annoyance. Lyra seemed to be wasting his time and going around in circles. Clearly she did not understand what he was saying or implying and he would have to be as blunt with her as he would to a Gryffindor. And it wasn't as if she hadn't formed her own opinion on things and had a skewed view.

When she said it was curiosity, he could understand and believe that. Curiosity was what drove him, or so it was said of Ravenclaws. Canting his head, he peered at her, dark eyes curious and betraying nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. Coming to a decision he gave her a smile that held no warmth or humor. "Aren't you interesting."

Giving a slight inclination of his head to show that he was receptive to whatever she had to say, he stated, "Tell me then, sister of mine, what exactly you have to say."

((00c: Sorry if it sounds..not right. I'm tired and it's making my vocabulary suffer))

Lyra allowed a small frown to grace her features when he asked her why she was here. She supposed the question was warranted, since she had never explicitly stated why she was here. Being a bit of a recluse and such, she didn't socialize much, and because of that, her social skills weren't the best. She only really interacted with Skyler, her dorm mates occasionally, and Nox. So, as a result, she was a bit of a shut in. It wasn't that Silas wasn't clever at all, because it's not like she hinted at all why she was here. So, she knew she would have to state what it was that she wanted out of this current conversation with her brother. So, with a slightly nervous rubbing of the back of her neck, she got right down to the heart of the matter, and let her Brother know why what it was she wanted out of this conversation.

"I wish to get to know you better, Brother. I've always been aware of the fact that I've had a Brother, but I've kept my distance because I was unsure if you wanted me around. However, curiosity has forced me to seek you out and attempt to get to know you better. Whether or not something develops from that, however, is entirely up to you, though" she said to him with a small frown on her face, finally working up the courage to tell him up front what it was she wanted out of this conversation between the two of them. She felt that being upfront about what she wanted would get her the best results, so she didn't try to be subtle about it. She felt that being honest would work best out of all the avenues she could go down when talking to her younger brother.
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Word Count: 305

The teen didn't let anything show on his face as he stared back at her with his dark eyes, letting what she said sink in rather than reacting right away. His natural reaction to her statement resulted in a mix of anger and resentment. Thinking about it though, he was aware that of course she would know she had a sibling what with his surname, parentage, and his looks. While Silas would be in the dark of a half-sibling with a different surname. Truthfully, he wasn't sure about how he would have reacted, behaved, or thought, if the girl had approached him at an earlier date. As for her coming forward now, it made a bit more sense if he looked at it from a more logical approach then an emotional one. Waiting until she had reached an age where she would be considered an adult and beyond some reproach.

When he'd come to the conclusion that she was not deceiving him, he gathered his thoughts and replied. "I think, it would depend on both of us. You should know if you've observed me and by our family nature, that I don't do happy families. You'll have to earn my trust and I only give as much as I'm given." His tone was even with a bit of warning in it. If she ever betrayed his trust or anything that he saw as a betrayal, Lyra wouldn't be able to gain back any ground she had made. Getting to know him would be a bit time consuming on her part. He on the other hand would make sure to keep his eyes open and watch her as well so he could learn what he could about her apart from the obvious.

"For now, I have decided that I will go along with this. I would also like know more about the sister I didn't know I had."

Lyra could tell by Silas' silence, and by the expression that he leveled at her, that he was in deep thought about what she said to him. She took that as a good sign, because it meant that he wasn't going to be rebellious and immediately deny her access to his life. While she had gone most of her life knowing just her pseudo-sister Nox as a sibling of sorts, and she got all the affection she wanted, she would, at the very least, have the chance to get to know her half-brother. Considering what she knew about her Mother's side of the family, and her husband's side of the family, they weren't the most reasonable people out there, so she had initially rejection, denial about their blood relation, and a demand to be left alone. She was very relieved that that was the case, however, and that her offer was at least being considered.

"That much I know, Silus. While I may be Slytherin, and not a Ravenclaw like yourself, I know very well that the Lestranges and Blacks usually aren't the most reasonable or affectionate of people. As for earning your trust, well, trust is a two-way street, and if I don't put my trust in you, you won't be capable of trusting me" she said to him with a consenting nod of her head that let Silas know that she understood and accepted his reasons.

While more ambitious and cunning than she was studious and the like, she was still fairly knowledgeable and logical about things. It's part of what kept her calm and helped her avoid getting into any kinds of altercations, what with her tendency to act quite like her Mother when angry, at least, supposedly. When she heard Silas say that he agreed to her terms, even telling her that he would be very curious to get to know the sister he didn't even know he had, her stiff form relaxed, not in a really obvious way, but noticeable enough for Silas to see it.

"I'm glad to hear that, Silas. I suppose that, to start off, we should give simple lists of what we like and dislike, favorite magical courses, hobbies, etc?" she asked him as she raised an eyebrow at him.

A ghost of a smile briefly crossed his face at her comment about his father and their mother's side of the family. That was very true. It while he would never admit that he envied that Lyra at least had a chance to be around her father while he only had received one letter from his father and that was it. Yet, maybe she felt the same sort of envy and bitterness towards him in regard to their mother. Silas couldn't fault her really from keeping her distance from him either these past years even if he did feel a bit put out by the fact that he didn't know he had a sibling and she had. If he thought about it, the thing that bothered him most was that he didn't know while Lyra had known. It was likely one of the reasons he wound up in Ravenclaw. At the same time he knew that even if she had wanted to speak with him, would he have listened back then? They were both younger and no matter how mature they thought they were, they were still children with childrens feelings.

"Very reasonable of you," he replied knowing that both were now willing to give the other the benefit of the doubt; for now. It was a shame as well as weakness that the older and younger students didn't mix. Neither thought much about the older or younger years. It was a failing of this generation. Then again, knowing the headmaster and people in general it was likely done on purpose. Why else only allow third years and up to go down to the village? Whatever the case, this meeting was long overdue and Silas was willing to see if the terbulant waters would swallow him, or toss him someplace unexpected.

At his sister's next question, because it was a question that he was hearing not a suggestion, he snorted a bit in amusement. It struck him funny because it was just the sort of thing that 'normal' people did when trying to figure out a way to get along or if they had anything in common. "That would be a very long list of dislikes, sister of mine." Actually thinking of how to keep it 'simple', Silas thought and decided to keep being honest while they were doing this trust thing. "I'll have to get back to you on that one. If you don't mind?"