Lyra Black I

## Lyra Cedrella Black

**Lyra Cedrella Black I** (20 June, 1713 - 10 August, 1790) was a pure-blood witch, and the third of the four children of Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (also known as William Stuart, "the Mudblood King") and his wife, Viola Black. She was the younger sister of Cepheus Black III and Cassiopeia Black I, and the older sister of Ophiuchus Black.

## Biography

### Early life

Lyra Cedrella Black I was born on 20 June, 1713, likely in Ilminster, Somerset, England. Her mother was Viola Black, known for marrying her adopted brother, William Stuart. Lyra's father was taken from the muggle world at an early age at the height of the enforcement of the Statute of Secrecy, meaning that muggle-borns were often taken from their families and placed with wizarding ones.

Lyra's father was special, in that William Stuart (or as he was known then, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester) was the son of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and his extraction had to be treated with the utmost care. The young prince had been visited by both the Headmaster of Hogwarts as well as the Minister for Magic. When Queen Anne heard, she refused to believe them, but then witnessed Gloucester perform accidental magic. That day, a local boy was found not far from Kensington Palace that bore a striking resemblance to Gloucester- the work of Polyjuice Potion, no doubt, but the Queen and the Prince of Denmark were convinced.

William's supposed *death* precipitated a succession crisis in the muggle world, as Queen Anne was the only individual remaining in the Protestant line of succession established by the Bill of Rights 1689. The English Parliament did not want the throne to revert to a Catholic, and so passed the Act of Settlement 1701, which settled the throne of England on Electress Sophia of Hanover, a cousin of King James II, and her Protestant heirs.

Lyra's father, the Duke of Gloucester, attended Hogwarts under the name William Stuart and later married his step-sister, Viola Black. They had four children, including Lyra; however, as William's blood was of muggle nobility, the Black Family decided that their issue would carry the name of Black and not Stuart. Lyra's older brother Cepheus III, in fact, would have been the rightful ruler of Great Britain, had it not been for the Act of Settlement in 1701, passed when his father, William, was in his first year at Hogwarts and considered dead.

This plot remains little known of modern ears, as the modern descendants of Viola Black and William Stuart are often misrepresented as the descendants of Viola's father, Cepheus II, and Saturnius Malfoy's daughter, Lavinia. In *The Pure-Blood Directory*, an anonymous genealogical publication suspected to have been authored by Cantankerous Nott, Lyra and her siblings are misrepresented as their mother Viola's sisters and brothers.

When Lyra was four years old, her older brother, Cepheus III, passed away of dragon pox. Her younger brother then became Heir of the Black Family, as Lyra's mother, Viola, had no brothers.

#### Hogwarts years

Lyra Black received her Hogwarts letter at the age of 11 in the summer of 1724. She likely purchased her supplies from Diagon Alley or elsewhere, and travelled to Hogwarts on 1 September, 1724, where she was sorted into Slytherin House, like all of her noble ancestors.

She was relatively well-educated before arriving at Hogwarts, and was well-versed in Latin, French, and she also reportedly spoke some Mermish. She soon gained a formidable reputation.

## Etymology

Lyra derives from the Greek lýra (λύρα) meaning "a lyre." Similar to a small harp, the lyre was an important instrument in Ancient Greece.