Author's Note:

Okay… I'm late, again... by an entire day. Sorry! I have no excuse beyond the fact that I hit a wall and was struggling to force words out. Anyhoo, next upload is still due on the twenty-second… I wonder if I can get that one done before the day it is due…

Upload Twelve – Divine Intervention… Again:

Lyra was exhausted. She knew that, if she pestered him enough, he'd allow her to take a day off from her duties – especially when considering what had happened throughout the previous night – but she also knew that there were things they needed to talk about. The sooner they ripped the proverbial leech off, the better.

That being said; she'd been trying to work up the courage to speak to her father about it for the past half a day. It was the middle of the afternoon now, and she knew that if she didn't get it out soon, she'd probably end up putting it off until tomorrow, which wouldn't help matters. She'd apologised to Achak for getting angry at him, that was the easy one, but just how was she supposed to bring this up with her father?

So, that was why Lyra, swaying tiredly on her feet, was standing next to her father as they cleaned the ancient stone of the Wayshrine. "Father." She caught his attention. "We've been avoiding the topic of Hogwarts since I came back."

Her father sighed. "I know, Lyra." He stopped cleaning the stone as he turned to face her, prompting Lyra to do the same. "You want to go, don't you?"

Lyra frowned, "Yes… no. I don't know." It was her turn to sigh. "A large part of me does want to go, but I know that my birth family are a big thing in the Wizarding World thanks to some of the books I bought. How do I know that they won't try anything, especially when I would be reliant on the Headmaster's bird for travel back and forth? The Headmaster could withhold travel privileges and I wouldn't be able to get back."

"It is entirely possible." Her father replied. "That old man did seem like the kind who liked to be in control of things. Watching the veins try and pop out of his skin in annoyance every time he was interrupted was quite amusing. Probably someone who is used to being listened to getting their way."

"Exactly! I do want to study at Hogwarts, but I do not want to live on that Oblivion-damned world!" Lyra shouted, exasperated.

"Watch your tongue." The older Snow Elf chided on reflex in a fatherly tone before replying to her outburst. "I do not have the answer to this problem, Lyra. All I can say is take your time, there is no need to rush this decision – and remember; Auri-El is not the kind of God that abandons his followers, so keep faith."

Lyra nodded. "Yes, father." A few seconds passed before she let out a relieved sigh. "I'm going to turn in early. I'd like to do a wolf-back hunt with Achak before my duties tomorrow."

"Good night, Lyra."

"Night, father."

Lyra's eyes snapped open after what felt like a mere few seconds of sleep, only to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a great hall; large windows were high up on the walls and great pillars lined the main walkway through the centre of the hall. The room was definitely Snow Elf in design, but she had never been to it. Perhaps it was a hall within the Inner Sanctum?

As she turned her attention to the end of the hall, opposite from where a pair of large doors gave entrance to the room, she eyed a large statue. It was a statue that Lyra immediately recognised as her father had a smaller version of it; a statue of Auri-El.

"Yes, you are dreaming, my child." An ethereal voice came from the statue. "It is the easiest way for a Divine to speak to a Mortal."

Upon hearing this, Lyra dropped to a knee and bowed before the statue. Auri-El was a God – a God that she owed everything to – and it was only proper to kneel before a God. Even if this was a dream, as the voice of her Lord said, it did not excuse her from proper decorum and manners. "My Lord." She spoke softly, though reverently.

"Tell me something," the voice said after a moment of silence. "do you think I would abandon you, my dear child?"

Lyra could not help but frown in confusion, even as she kept her head bowed. "I do not understand your meaning, my Lord."

Her Lord elaborated; "You are worried that you will not be able to return to Nirn, should this Dumbledore choose to keep you in your birth-world, yes?". The question did indeed cover her worries in a single sentence.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then you think I would abandon you? That I would allow you to be kept from your oath to me, and from the family you found in my Knight-Paladin?" came the next question, referring back to first question he asked her. Lyra noticed the question for what it was and shifted nervously. If she said that she did think that, she'd be indirectly saying she did not trust in her Lord.

"N-No, my Lord." She stammered. "I trust in your plans for me."

"Then you are correct; I will not." The voice announced sternly. "You are one of my most devout, even among all the Mortals of Nirn. These outsiders will not keep you, for you shall awaken come morning to find yourself with a blessing – a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you."

Lyra could not help but feel pride and honoured by her Lord calling her one of his most devout. She would do anything he asked and having that recognised was definitely a good feeling. As for receiving a blessing from her Lord, that was certainly something to cherish. Direct gifts from the Gods were not common, once again causing Lyra's chest to swell in pride. However, the entire conversation hinted at something.

"My Lord… is it your wish that I go?" she asked cautiously. It made sense, right? Why else would the subject of her worship reach out to her like this and question her so? Was this a part of his plan? Was she disappointing him by questioning that plan? That was something she could not tolerate; the idea of disappointing Auri-El was something that terrified her.

While she was unsure of just how she knew, Lyra just had the feeling that Auri-El smiled at that question. "No, my child." He responded. "It is your wish that you go."

True; she may have wanted to go to Hogwarts – if for no other reason than to explore the 'Wizarding World' – but that didn't mean that she couldn't go on happily living her life as normal if she didn't. That being said, if Auri-El gave her a blessing that negated any attempt to hold her there… did she really have a reason, besides not wanting to meet the Potters, not to go? She'd miss her father, it was true, but it wasn't like she'd be gone for too long.

Bowing her head further, Lyra kept her voice calm. "I humbly accept your blessing, my Lord, and I shall reconsider my concerns." That was as careful a way to say 'I'll think about it' as she could come up with on the spot. Thankfully, she wasn't questioned on her choice of words and her vision once again went black.

Lyra awoke the next morning to the smell of Gleamblossom Tea – a smell that she'd come to love as much as the drink itself. Gleamblossom Tea was actually the first drink that her father gave her once she'd woken up in the cave for the first time. It was probably his way of breaking the ice between them, but it had quickly made the drink fall into place as her favourite drink of all time – even if it was an acquired taste.

Mornings were not something that she was overly fond of; dragging oneself out of a nice warm bedroll and into a cold cave was not the most pleasant thing first thing in the morning – especially when a fire hadn't been going long enough to properly heat the cavern. Nevertheless, she had duties to perform.

Dragging herself from her comfy pile of pelts, Lyra let loose an exaggerated groan of effort as she sat up, drawing the attention of her father who smiled at her from the fire. However, that went unnoticed as something else drew her gaze. Feeling something shift on her chest, Lyra looked down to see herself wearing a necklace around her pale neck – something that she had not gone to sleep wearing.

The words of her Lord echoed in her mind as she glanced down at it; 'for you shall awaken come morning to find yourself with a blessing – a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you'. Was this that blessing?

The necklace – no; Amulet – was a simple affair. A simple golden chain wrapped around her neck, looping around until it reached the Amulet itself; an eight-pointed star, the protrusions all curved in the same direction, giving the star a swirling appearance. It was the Elven symbol of Auri-El, and one that could be found both on top of the Wayshrines and spread throughout Ancient Falmer architecture

It would seem that what ever blessing her Lord had given her came embedded in the form of an Amulet of Auri-el. Her father had one like it, so she knew that such Amulets usually contain protection or healing boosts, but she had a feeling that the blessing made this one different somehow.

Having seen Lyra divert her attention to something, Gelebor's own curiousity had him pipe up. "Something wrong, Lyra?"

She turned back to him with a smile, while holding up the Amulet. "Just admiring a gift, father." She said as she clearly showed him the Amulet that had appeared on her at some point in the night.

"A gift?" he asked confused, eying the Amulet.

"Yup." Her smile grew. "Auri-El gave me a blessing in my dream, and now I have this."

The look on her father's face was priceless. "Auri-El spoke to you? Directly?"

"Yes, father."

"And he gave you a gift?"

"Yes, father."

"Did he say what it was for?"

Lyra just kept smiling. "Yes, father."

"And what would that be?"

"In his own words;" Lyra started. "'a blessing that will mitigate their main power over you' – in reference to the possibility of the Potters or Dumbledore preventing me from returning."

Her father blinked. "Then… is it a way to get you home without needing that bird?" he asked, attempting to figure out what the blessing could be. "Try running your magic through it as you would for any other magic artefact; it might trigger the blessing."

Lyra nodded. She'd never really used any magic artefacts before, but her father had explained their usage to her before. Besides, manipulating one's inner magic was the most basics of basics that even a Knight-Paladin would learn despite the non-use of magic in their duties – the role magic usually fell instead to the Mage-Paladins; something that Lyra was putting some serious thought into becoming one day. After all, what better way to learn the wonders of magic and repay Auri-El than to serve as a Mage-Paladin?

Taking the Amulet in hand, Lyra guided the flow of her Magicka down the length of her arm, letting it build up slightly in her hand, before she allowed it to continue its journey. The instant the Magicka energy made contact with the Amulet, a change quickly became evident as the Amulet began to glow and pulse with power – part of it being Lyra's power and part of it Auri-El's divine power. The resulting golden glow began to spread out from the Amulet and onto her body. As her hair began to shift as if in a light wind, the golden glow spread its way across Lyra's body until Lyra herself began to glow as if she were divine.

Several seconds passed of this glowing before the golden glow erupted into a blindingly bright flash – reminiscent of Auri-El's previous interventions. Almost instantly, the flash began to subside as quickly as it arrived, only to make it quickly obvious that Lyra was no longer there. She was gone.

"Father!"

Gelebor whipped his head towards the source of the shout to find Lyra standing inside the Wayshrine. The Knight-Paladin let out a sigh of relief. "I guess we know what it does now, Lyra."

"Yup." She grinned. "It brings me home."

"Indeed. Such magic is strong, however. Try doing it again, I very much doubt that such a powerful blessing can be used in quick succession." He reasoned. It was best if they found out now rather than have a nasty surprise later on.

Lyra's smile did not fade as she nodded – she was very happy with the blessing that Auri-El had granted her, after all. So, she merely took the Amulet in hand and began to guide her Magicka back down her arm again, repeating everything the exact same way as she had before. A few seconds passed before she let out a sigh.

"No, it is not working." She spoke absently as she guided her Magicka back into her magic core.

"I thought as much. We'll just have to see how long it takes before you can use it again by testing it repeatedly until it works again."

She nodded in reply. Lyra had heard that some spells, staffs and other such things often had recharging periods that depended on the strength of the spell that was being recharged. She only hoped that what was obvious divine magic didn't take too long to do so. After all, what was stronger than a spell cast by a God?

Author's Note:

Yup, Lyra now has a little trump card to keep on herself just in case. Of course, such a thing would require powerful magic, yes? Seems like a 'cooldown' period would be needed for such a powerful object… well, that and it stops her from overusing it and thus making it less of an over-powered item that can be used at will.

Quick question; pretty much every ES/HP crossover has a lot of Daedric influence in them, is that something you would like to see be explored in this story, too? I'll say this now, too, Lyra is a devout believer in Auri-El and, while she respects and makes tributes to Hircine, she has no reason to reach out to the other Daedric Princes currently. That being said, I am trying to write this in a way that everyone will enjoy, so let me know if it is something you want to see. If you want a Daedric touch added to this story, I can try and come up with an idea of how Lyra could catch the attention of a Daedric Prince, or maybe come up with a situation that has her encounter a member of a Daedric race.

Once again, let me know how I did, how I can improve and what brand of Hot Chocolate you drink!

PS. We just broke thirty-thousand words! Whoop, whoop! Way to go us, huh?

Update as of 23rd January.

Okay, so, I'm sending this update via my phone as I am away from my computers at the moment. Unfortunately, my health has taken a dive. I was meant to have an upload ready yesterday, I know, but I instead got a nasty surprise in the form of fainting- ah, I mean, passing out in a very dignified way, of course. Anyway, there will be a short break while I get my health sorted out and, once done, I will also take a few days to go over what I have already written to fix plot-holes and get ahead by a few chapters. Not only have I been hitting blocks as I have been writing the last few chapters, but in my re-reads of previous chapters, I have noticed small problems with the story that need a quick editing. No, the story is not getting rewritten, but a few edits are needed. But for now, however, I need to focus on getting back on my feet.

So, in conclusion, my apologies but the next chapter will be delayed while I get better and then fix a few problems.

No, this is not a Hiatus, its just a delay.

With love to all you wonderful readers,

SAJones.