Hey! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys like this so far. Enjoy! Next chapter will have a confrontation between Harry, the Order, and his friends. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter because I'm not J.K. Rowling.
"Mmm, this is good," Izzy complimented, taking a bite out of her steak pie. Harry smirked at her. "Shut it, Harry!"
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley responded.
At first, both girls had picked at their food quietly, but Harry gave Izzy a I-know-it's-been-weeks-since-you-had-a-proper-meal-look. She then dug into her pie, and Emma followed by example. Everyone else at the table was eating as well. Izzy noticed Harry didn't seem interested in his plate.
"Not hungry?" she questioned worriedly.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," he reassured the black-haired beauty.
Izzy groaned, something that made all the Weasleys plus Hermione grin. "God, can't you find another phrase in the English language? I'm so sick of that one."
Emma ate her food quickly, as if expecting someone to swoop in and take the plate away. "Emma, don't eat so fast," her older sister lectured. "You'll get sick." She frowned until Harry leaned over and whispered something to her, making the little girl laugh.
Izzy glared at him. "What did you tell her?" she demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry stated innocently. Sensing an argument, Hermione quickly changed the subject.
"So how long have you guys been friends?" she asked curiously.
Izzy studied Hermione carefully before answering. She had a feeling she'd grow to like her. "Since we were five." From what she could tell, Harry hadn't told them much. It was better to keep their answers as short as possible.
Emma, on the other hand, was younger and didn't have the same experience. "And don't forget Johnny!" she reminded her older sister.
"Johnny?" Ron questioned skeptically.
"He's the third musketeer," Izzy answered quickly, noticing the dark shadows now in Harry's eyes. Because what she'd never tell is that there used to be four of them.
"How's John?" Harry interrupted curiously.
"Locked up again," Izzy answered wearily.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course."
Izzy shrugged. "It's better than his latest foster home."
"Foster home?" Remus repeated.
"John's mom was addicted to drugs, and he never knew his dad," Izzy explained. "We think he's a wizard because everyone always referred to him as 'the freak', but we'll never know."
"That's awful," Mrs. Weasley cried. Everyone else in the room seemed similarly shocked.
Izzy shrugged. "Some of us have had worse," she stated, her eyes shifting over to Harry as she talked. He avoided her gaze, knowing there would be some kind of confrontation if he looked up.
"Worse?" Sirius repeated skeptically. "What could be worse?
Harry gave Izzy a look daring her to go any farther. The dark-haired girl stopped. Meanwhile, Emma was playing with Harry's hand. The little girl frowned slightly when she felt something bumpy on the side of his hand. Running her fingers over it, she looked down. She could make out words. Emma squinted harder and read what it said. I must not tell lies was deeply carved into his skin. The brown-haired girl was confused. Harry wasn't a liar. He never lied to them.
Izzy noticed her little sister frowning. "Emma, what's wrong?" she questioned softly.
"Something's wrong with 'Arry's hand," the little girl answered quietly. Harry froze.
"Nothing's wrong with my hand," he lied. Hermoine and Ron, knowing what the little girl was talking about, narrowed their eyes. Harry had managed to get them to not tell McGonagall or Dumbledore, but they could tell this girl, Izzy sensed something was going on, and she narrowed her eyes also.
"Yes there is," Emma insisted. "There's words!"
"Words?" Sirius croaked. "What do you mean words?"
"Harry," Izzy stated lowly, her eyes blazing dangerously. "Let me see your hand."
"I'm fine," Harry argued, his eyes hardening. He didn't want her to bring this up now.
"Harry James Potter, give me your hand right now," she said in a threatening tone. Harry wordlessly held out his hand. Izzy grabbed it and gasped. I must not tell lies was carved into his hand, visible for everyone to see.
Mrs. Weasley face turned almost as red as her hair, and Sirius and Remus looked ready to kill. The rest of the Weasley except Ron looked outraged as well. Izzy, however, was probably the scariest one in the room. Her light blue eyes seemed to have a fire hidden behind them, a fierceness none of them could imagine from the girl they had met only an hour ago.
"Who did this?" she asked through clench teeth. Izzy couldn't believe this. All that crap Harry had told them, how he was safe at that school, was just that. Crap. If you had words carved on your fucking hand, you weren't safe.
"It doesn't make a difference," Harry stated coldly. "You can't do anything about it."
"It does matter! You have words carved into your hand!" Izzy ranted. She gave him an accusatory glare. "You said you were safe there."
The Weasley children plus Hermione all gave out huge snorts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both looked somewhat worried while Remus and Sirius looked at each other curiously. She waved them out. "I don't count the saving-the-world crap," she clarified. "Harry's hero complex is just something I've gotten used to."
Izzy shook her head as if trying to get back in focus. "But that wasn't my point. You said you were safe there. You promised you were safe there!" Harry tried to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't you known that John and I worry about you? Half the time the only reason we didn't storm the castle was that we thought you'd be okay!"
"It's not that bad," Harry murmured.
"Compared to?" Izzy pushed. Now it was Harry's turn to give her a look.
"You know what," he stated. Izzy nodded, understanding what he was talking about. Their childhoods had been hell, but Harry had always had it worse than her. As a little girl, she had her mom, who protected her, and now she had Emma to keep her afloat. Harry only had himself to rely on.
"We'll talk more about this later," she agreed. Harry smiled a genuine smile at her to the shock of most the people in the room.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
"You're a git," she stated.
"I know," he responded. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. What had just happened? Who was this girl? What did she know about Harry? It was definitely time for an emergency Order meeting…
