Biljana argued that my reading of the possible outcomes with Malfoy as a girl is not the only possibility. For instance, they could click together earlier and she could run away from her parents and hide at the Weasleys.

That’s true, but I didn’t choose this option because it would change the story so much, it would no longer be the same universe. Also, there are problems.

When does she actually decide to run away? When they’re 12? 14? Lucius would raise hell at the Ministry. He would claim she’s kidnapped. She would have to testify at the Ministry or in fact at the court, against her parents, denouncing them as actual Death Eaters. She would have to commit actual treason against her parents, be rejected by her entire former friend group in Slytherin, be exposed to extreme bullying at school, be ostracised, lose all the privileges she’s accustomed to, and find herself pressured and persecuted like Harry. Also, the Ministry wasn’t actually inclined to accept Voldemort’s return as a fact. Her story would be met with suspicion. Other causes would be sought. Weasleys would be in trouble because of her. Also, she spent years parroting her parents’ opinion of them and insulting them. They weren’t exactly on good terms. It would be a total shit show. I mean, it’s possible, but unlikely and extremely out of character. I think she would be too young and immature to actually diverge from her parents’ propaganda and influence before the Half Blood Prince times, which is exactly when I find it possible for Harry to change his opinion of her and find her interesting – no longer a stereotypical enemy, but an actual person in serious trouble. He even has understanding for Draco at that point, and gets it. He holds Draco in contempt, but he understands his predicament. So, if we follow the logic of things, this is the first point in the timeline where anything romantic could develop between the two, but they actually don’t have the time to work it out. They are almost always separated. They cross paths in the bathroom and the bell tower. The story in the bell tower is similar enough, yet different. The trembling, frightened Lyra actually begs Dumbledore for help, she asks him to save her parents because they are held hostage. She admits everything and doesn’t even pretend to be there to kill her, but then the Carrows and other scum arrive and interrupt them, as in the books. Then Snape arrives, kills Dumbledore, and all hell breaks loose. Harry is already smart enough to understand that Draco is essentially acting at gunpoint there, but with Lyra, he would feel very protective of her and I think this is the point where he starts working with the idea that they might be a thing, but he doesn’t know her opinion because they never get to talk. Also, he’s so traumatised by the events that anything romantic is the last thing on his mind. So, this is where I feel that the divergence from the Draco timeline is realistic. Before… I can imagine all sorts of things, but they are basically enemies and Harry would perceive her as scary and dangerous. He would not be mature enough for subtlety. However, if she were as nasty with him as Draco in the past, nothing would come out of it. There have to be double meanings and hints that left him awake at night trying to figure her out, things that make sense only in hindsight, so that when he revises his opinion of her, he can look at the past and say “oh wait…”.

It’s actually not easy to work out the details, because if I make them too friendly, the story doesn’t work, and if I make them too hostile, it also doesn’t work. I have to make her just hostile enough, and just friendly enough. She would help him with Potions homework, and he’d be surprised at the matter-of-factness and lack of hostility and condescension in the act. He would pick up her books when she dropped them, return them and she would say “thanks”. There would be a level of civility between them, a level of acknowledgment and respect. However, they are both too young, too indoctrinated into black and white thinking and cultist propaganda, to be able to actually figure out anything subtle. Sirius has to remind Harry that the world isn’t cleanly separated into good people and Death Eaters. He needs to understand that his father used to be a school bully. He needs to understand that Snape was his mother’s childhood friend. Before that, he’s simply too immature to understand anything. Also, Lyra needs to experience tragedy that resulted from her parents’ choice for Voldemort. They need to be humiliated and suffer in their own home, surrounded by werewolves and thugs. They need to be degraded, humbled, and afraid for their lives. Only then can they understand that they were wrong, that their side was wrong all the time, and then she starts understanding that Harry was right, that he’s actually fighting for her freedom, and stop hedging – this is the point where she’s all in. I can’t see it before. The characters aren’t at the right mental place, they are too young, the events have not progressed sufficiently. Also, I don’t see Lyra as girlfriend material for Harry. I don’t see them dating. It either doesn’t work at all, or it’s instantly much deeper. They switch to husband and wife on a click. When they’re too young, he’s too immature to understand that she left the door open for him, he doesn’t understand the subtle messages beneath her actions. He understands the Death Eater propaganda she spews, he understands the racial insults against his friends, he understands that her parents serve Voldemort and she seems thrilled to join them in that respect as soon as she’s of age. She’s scary. However, she’s also a beautiful, vital, polite and respectful young lady who occasionally just happened to do something nice for him without making it weird, and he can’t figure her out. The idea that they could date at that time is just so out of character and so out of storyline that I just can’t make it work. Later, in hindsight, he gets it. She felt respectful because she actually was. However, she was also an immature brat, she also believed in an evil ideology, and her parents were actually Death Eaters. None of that can be just washed away. They all had to change.