Lyra is the eldest daughter of Edmund and Cassiopeia Nott, born on April Fool’s Day in 1956. Like many other pureblooded witches her age, her primary education began with a tutor at age five, until she was accepted into Hogwarts at eleven. With some hemming and hawing, she was sorted into Slytherin and promptly took on the role of queen bee in her year. As her time in school progressed, Lyra proved to be a social butterfly capable of making both enemies and friends, though her studies were only ever middle of the road. She was a straight A student for the most part, skirting the bare minimum of passing grades with just enough studying to give her a fighting chance, at her O.W.L.s. The only real exception to the mediocre report card the Notts received each term was in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Both subjects required the use of a wand, and in that area Lyra considered herself gifted. Taking an O in Charms and an E in Defense for her N.E.W.T.s, Lyra would have been happy with her final year of school had it not been for the boy who left her with a broken heart.

Rystain was tall, dark, and handsome. He was the epitome of a Slytherin bad boy and Lyra was no stranger to his bed, though it had primarily been an emotionless relationship as they both continued to get involved with whomever else they pleased. Lyra prided herself in her emotional detachment but seeing Rystain cozy up to a rival blonde as something more than just another hookup sparked a jealous streak in Lyra that she hadn’t experienced before. Making a fool of herself in front of their housemates, Lyra confessed her feelings for Rystain only to have him turn her down and embarrass her further with nasty remarks meant to endear himself to his new girlfriend. Lyra was crushed; the first boy she believed she had loved had discarded her and now her place as the Slytherin princess was in jeopardy. The social butterfly retreated into a cave of worry and self-pity.

It was then that her good friend Emara Sayre used her social connections in an attempt to help Lyra get back on the pedestal she had previously created for herself. A clever ruse was devised wherein Lyra would have appeared to overcome her misstep with Rystain by falling into a relationship with an even more enviable wizard. Enter Julian Faust.

Sensitive, patient, and caring, Julian played his role of Lyra’s new beau and paraded her around on his arm. The “couple” would meet publicly in Hogsmeade, as Julian was older and not permitted on Hogwarts grounds, and they attended a few parties together over the winter and spring holidays. The petty whispers of Lyra’s foolish display several months prior in the Slytherin common room had dissipated and after regaining her confidence back, Lyra publicly dumped Julian, allowing her to fully reclaim her confidence.

A sporadic letter here or there was all there was between the two former “lovers” until Lyra graduated and seemingly disappeared. Lyra dodged her friends’ requests for company, claiming she was busy with her now bustling adult life but in reality she was dealing with troubles she was unprepared to handle. Her parents, dismayed and annoyed that Lyra had spent her time at Hogwarts flirting with every rich boy available without garnering a single marriage offer, had made it known that they were disappointed with their eldest daughter. The truth of the Nott family’s financial woes had been brought to light and Lyra was shocked to find her family was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Lyra’s poor grades had never been a worry for Edmund and Cassiopeia, as they assumed Lyra was focused more on socializing with the pureblood boys, yet they failed to mention to their daughter that their only concern was that she find a suitable husband by the time she graduated. Edmund purchased a small flat outside of London for Lyra’s graduation gift, but the present soon became a burden as she was cut off from any other financial assistance from her parents and quickly fell behind on her bills. She struggled to find work and resorted to flirting and charming her way into a free meal or out of a call with one of many bill collectors. Her mysterious disappearance from the social world was cause for concern for her friends and one managed to hunt her down and discover her shameful secret, none other than her former fake flame Julian.

Julian and Emara used their connections to ensure Lyra saw her full potential and get back on her feet. Emara got Lyra a position at her family’s fashion magazine and Julian took on the task of reviving Lyra’s lost spirit. In doing so, Lyra found herself with real feelings for the man. A fateful cooking lesson turned into a night of passion but Julian insisted it couldn’t happen again. Yet it did. Lyra found that her feelings for Julian were mutual but Julian continued to push her away, claiming to be too broken for her. This began an on again- off again relationship that lasted several months before Julian finally put his foot down. Lyra was crushed and found comfort in the arms of another man, a wealthy wizard who took a shine to Lyra. It was only after their relationship began that Lyra discovered Mason Marlowe was old friends with Julian and she had created a tangled love triangle around herself. The situation on grew more troublesome as Lyra and Julian rekindled their physical relationship without him knowing that she was dating his friend, despite her promptly ending things with Mason.

The tangled mess that was Lyra’s love life was interrupted when Lyra was attacked by a man attempting to kidnap her. For all the good grades she had earned in Defense courses, none of it mattered when it was needed most. Lyra only narrowly escaped the clutches of the masked mad man with the help of Nicolas Malfoy, a friend of a friend at the time. Scared and thoroughly shaken from the event, Lyra began experiencing episodes of severe panic, causing her to seek sanctuary in a dangerous act of self-harm. Cutting quickly became her coping mechanism for all things worrisome; work troubles, strange men lurking in the shadows, and of course, her rocky relationship with Julian.

In an attempt to yet again sort out her life, Lyra began taking private self-defense lessons with Nicolas, the man who had saved her from her would-be kidnapper, and plotted to make amends between Julian and Mason. A series of unfortunate events led to Julian mistakenly interpreting a sparing session between Nik and Lyra as something more intimate, and building upon the knowledge that she had been unfaithful to Mason by sleeping with Julian, Julian incorrectly assumed Lyra was now being unfaithful to him by sleeping with yet another of his friends; Nik. Julian cruelly devised a plan that mirrored his introduction to Lyra by arranging for Lyra to witness him with another woman, the aftermath of which sent Lyra into a spiral that left her bleeding out on the floor of her bathroom, a gash in her thigh the length of her forearm. It was the knowledge that he had too strong a hold on Lyra’s emotional wellbeing that forced Julian to say goodbye forever, disappearing into the world without so much as a single owl.

Seven months have passed since Julian disappeared and Lyra’s life has been a constant rollercoaster ever since. After recovering from her accidental suicide attempt, Lyra tried to cope with Julian’s absence by returning to her promiscuous ways, to many disastrous effects. Through it all, her friends have remained at her side, confident that she will one day put Julian, her cutting, and her mental health issues to rest. Lyra is not as sure that she has such abilities within her.