Disclaimer: I FORGOT TO PUT THIS LAST CHAPTER, BUT I DON"T OWN ANY OF THIS EXCEPT FOR THE MESSED UP PLOT THAT I'M FORCING THEM TO FOLLOW! BOLDED IS FROM THE BOOK! the only bits I wrote... will be obvious.
Iris Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Chapter 1 The Girl Who Lived
"Why does that sound like you should have died," Tom asks worried. She smiled up at him but didn't answer.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley
"Dang it," Iris moans, "It has to start with my least favorite people on the whole planet!"
of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal,
"Them normal, seriously?" Iris said again. The others were looking at her worried, why would she hate them so much?
Thank you very much.
"Well you're very welcome!" Fred and George yelled. The others surrounding them looked at them insanely.
"Why are you siding with the traitor?! She betrayed us for fucking Voldemort!" Ron and Ginny yelled at them.
"Because," they replied completely serious, "it's obvious that he cares about her, and plus how many times has she saved your guys lives? Ginny, you owe her a life debt for saving you. So do you Hermione. We trust her. Besides he isn't Voldemort yet, he's just Tom." They both come over to Iris and her gang, and sat on the other side of Luna leaning up on a smiling Sirius and Remus's legs.
"Well good to know you guys trust me," Iris laughs. "May we please continue professor?" she asks nicely. Hey a year with Tom Riddle makes you fake polite, doesn't it?
"Wait" Sirius said, "did you just say he's not Voldemort yet? What do you mean yet?"
"We mean, Siri," Iris replied calmly, "that this is Tom and he is not an evil mass murder," she said than turned back to Umbridge silently asking her to read the book. She took pity on her and read.
They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious,
"Then how did they handle Iris?" Orion smirks and ducks the well thrown pillow from a fuming Iris.
"You know perfectly well I was like that since I couldn't tell you guys that, hey I'm from the future! Also Tom that is why you were not allowed to kill Harold," Iris replies.
"Of course, flower and I said sorry for that," Tom replies smoothly and leans down to kiss her but was interrupted by Umbridge reading.
Because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.
"What are drills?" Abraxas and Draco asked.
"You use them to put holes in a wall," Sirius replied calmly. Remus and Iris looked at him like he was insane.
"Snuffles, how do you know that?" Iris asked calmly causing everyone else to snicker at his nickname.
"I told you not to call me that pup, but I took muggle studies," he replies calmly.
"Didn't you make that name, and since when did you pay attention in class?" Remus replied
"I paid attention because it annoyed my mother so when my three good subjects were defense, transfiguration, and muggle studies," replied Sirius. "How could you wound me so moony?"
"Wait," Fred interrupted
"Do you mean," George
"Moony as in the,"
"Marauders?"
Remus smiled at Sirius. "I have no idea what they are talking about Padfoot,"
Sirius smiled to, "neither do I Moony, Prongslettea, do you have any idea?" he asked Iris.
"I have no idea, oh wise dogfather. If only Papa Prongs was here to enlighten us. He understood redheads way better than us." Iris added in laughing all the while, "I mean, he married one didn't he?"
"That he did cub, but he still failed at understanding her," Remus added with a slight chuckle. Suddenly the three found the twins bowing at their feet.
"Oh teach us wise marauders!" they chanted.
"I could spare some extra time teaching you, since I took the owls with them" she laughed causing the teachers to pale. Fred and George plus Iris, who just seemed to attract trouble, is SO not good.
"Umbridge, read before they start plotting!" Snape yelled who actually looked a little scared. "Also, prankster trio, please leave the school standing. We have become rather fond of it," Snape sighed.
"Of course professor," Iris yelled back, "she is my home," she laughed, "I would never destroy her!"
He was a big beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck,
"I have no idea who said that long necks made people pretty, but she just looks like a giraffe," Iris stated plainly, with absolute seriousness.
Which came in very useful as she spent much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.
"Well Tuney hasn't changed," Severus muttered to himself.
The Dursley's had a small son called Dudley
"Wait, Dudley small," Iris busted out laughing along with the twins who remembered him along with Hagrid.
"Wait do you mean that guy who was chasing you with a pipe screaming time to pummel potter along with a few other kids was your cousin!" Sirius asked incredulously. When Iris nodded hesitantly everyone around her growled except for Tom, who was hissing murder plots. "I am so glad that I ran after them and bit him, even if he tasted like dirty socks." Sirius spat out.
"Well I'm honored you bit the pig for me, and guys, you can stop growling now, this was in the past. Oh and Tom, I recommend using copper over titanium. The pig is allergic to copper." Iris says, trying to calm them down, and indulging Toms murder ideas. They smiled and settled down, although Tom was being overprotective and put an arm around Iris's waist almost pulling her into his lap.
And in their opinion was no finer boy anywhere.
"Are you kidding," Sirius says, "even Prongs was better and he was a prick,"
"True," Iris nodded in agreement causing Snape's jaw to drop. 'Well I feel a little better,' he thought inwardly.
The Dursleys had everything they wanted,
"Well lucky them," Sirius snarled
But they also had a secret,
"Fred, write this down! We got blackmail!" George yelled. Fred nodded and took out a pad of paper and a quill to write it down looking attentive.
And their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.
"Oh that!" Iris exclaimed, "I could have told you this if you wanted. They are rather obvious about it."
They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the potters.
"Knew it!" Iris yelled. The group surrounding her looked at her worried; they openly showed they hated the Potters, what did they do to her?
Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister
"Which hurt Lily like you wouldn't believe," Remus said and Snape thought. "She would come crying to us after a letter from her sister, which included several choice insults such as …"
"Freak," Iris interrupted, "worthless wench, good for nothing, and whore."
"Iris," Sirius said calmly, "how do you know that?" a hint of worry entering his voice.
"Petunia says I was just like her, and then listed all of those, plus more. I've learned more curse words from her than Uncle Vernon," she stated calmly, not letting her mask slip and show what she was thinking. 'I shouldn't be saying this. If they found out…' suddenly a note fluttered down with a pop and landed in Iris's lap. It read,
Sorry flower. We had to do it so that you could get out of that hellhole.
-your Slytherins
P.S. guess what we survived!
Causing Iris's face to pail at the first part and smile at the last bit, 'they would survive.'
The group was hard pressed to rein in their emotions. Remus's eyes were glowing amber, Sirius and Orion had the look of Black Madness in their eyes, Abraxas and Draco had magic swirling around them, 'how dare they hurt my sister,' ran through Draco's head, Luna was mumbling a poem called One Little Soldier Boy (it is real and very creepy), Fred, George, and Theo were furiously whispering murder, Neville had plants tangling up from the floor around him and curling around his feet in order to control himself from killing them, Cedric had electricity trying to form on his hands from his magic trying to be released, Tom however had the most violent reaction. His eyes were flashing red, the magic was shaking in the roof, you could see him flashing between himself and Voldemort, and there was suddenly a bright light at the celling, three figures were there, two whales and a horse were silhouetted, but when the light faded, it revealed to be the Dursleys. They all fell hard, and landed on the floor, but not even Madam Pomprey would check them. She had gained a soft spot for Iris and they hurt her. 'I'll probably need to drag her off to the hospital wing when we're done.'
Although to everyone's "luck" Vernon woke up and looked around. When his eyes landed on Iris, his eyes gained a fiery heat, "Girl! Why are we here at this school of freaks!" he yelled at her, causing all those around her, or who cared for her to growl. Before one of her pissed off friends decided to use him as a practice dummy, Iris stood up and replied calmly,
"Uncle, welcome to my school. We are reading some books about you guys, so we may be able to learn to be normal. Won't you please impart your wisdom on us?" Fred, George, Orion, Theo, Sirius, and Remus were all smiling now. Abraxas, Luna, Neville, Cedric, Draco, and Tom were still hissing murder plots. Of course, Fred and George couldn't let her have all the fun, so they kneeled on the ground and said,
"Oh please teach us!" Vernon smiled smugly because he was that freaking stupid. Petunia was regaining her conchines to along with Dudley and they heard enough to smile, until Dudley saw Hagrid and visibly paled.
"Dear family," Iris continued trying not to burst out laughing, "these are my friends and your pupils, the others believe that normalcy is beyond their limits. This is Fred and George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Cedric Diggory, Theodore Nott, Draco and Abraxas Malfoy, Orion black, my honorary Uncle Remus Lupin, my insane murderer Godfather Sirius Black," making them pale, "and my slightly insane boyfriend Tom Riddle." Dudley just laughed,
"You, seriously, who in the fucking right mind would be your friend, not to mention boyfriend," he collapsed laughing, not even noticing the murderous glares from her friends. "Oh god, great joke Potter. Now seriously, do we get to play Potter Poaching? Hey you guys can join too if you want to, normal people do it all the time!" honestly surprised he didn't die from glares by now.
"Oh Dudley," Iris giggled, "You forgot something rather important now didn't you. This is my world which means two things. One is that I can use magic which means I can do that little trick Hagrid taught me," He paled visibly, "and two that I have a name here. In this world, I'm heiress of 5 noble houses, that here I have money that you could never dream of, and that in this world, I'm famous because of the little lightning bolt scar that you called, the true mark of a freak. Have fun running," and then Iris collapsed in her own fit of laughter. Dudley and Vernon were so furious that they lost their cool since everyone else was laughing at them too, and they just punched Iris. One landed in her gut knocking her back, and the other in her face making her head snap to lessen the blow. Cries of outrage were heard around the hall, including a few feral growls and a loud hissing. "Guys," Iris called, immediately everyone quieted down, "calm down, I got this, unless you two are scared," she finished turning to her relatives. They just growled and swung but Iris was already on the move.
Iris asked the room to raise a platform for them, shocking the two Dursleys, but they quickly recovered and moved forward. They punched, she ducked. 'Let's have some fun,' went through her head, 'I need to escape,' she thought and suddenly her feet left the platform. Well if I can't match them normally, use my skills to my advantage. Let's get rid of little guy first. She aimed at Dudley and moved off, it caught him off guard, forcing him to stumble back and fall off the platform landing in a crash.
She turned to face her uncle. He is the only guy she could actually hate, she could never actually hate anyone else, because she remembered him and thought he was always worse. "Oh uncle, I might just kill you to save you the torture of meeting my friends. A few of them are insane, one is a werewolf, some are pranksters, and one has the loveliest pet, a little basilisk, they are poisons and can kill with a stare. Oh Uncle, everything you did to me, the pain you gave me, will be tripled and given right back to you, however no one will help you, there will be no animals to comfort you, no magic to save you, no mysterious giants to take you away and I will enjoy every moment of torture I put you through, but I want answers soon, but we can do that later, in private with a few of my friends. I'll make you a deal. Your son lost because he rushed without thinking but you're smarter than him. The deal is that one of my friends can help me, but neither of us will use magic during the fight, if you let them help me, but if you say no, then I can have a bit of fun. Tom taught me some new curses that I've been dying to try," she added innocently. If it weren't for the look in her eyes and the words you would've thought she was an angel. Her eyes, held a deep pain in them and a simmering hatred for the beast before her.
"Of course, you may have the help you worthless whore," he ground out but looked pleased.
"Uncle, if you wish you can pick which one of my friends will help me," she added sweetly, knowing he'll walk right into her hands.
"Alright, you blond girl, with the green and silver tie, the one with the short hair you can help her," he smirks as if he already won. Knew it, Drake is the best help I could get.
"I am a boy you worthless muggle," Draco ground out, "but I would be glad to assist my honorary sister. Which reminds me, since you are dating young Voldemort, can we tell everyone that we don't hate each other?" he asks Iris.
"Of course Drake, I would love that. Mostly because it is annoying to hex you every day," Iris said and walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Fred, George, would you take our wands for us. I said we wouldn't use magic and we won't," they nodded and came up and took their wands carefully. "Are you ready uncle?" she asked and he nodded. "Then let's have fun Drake."
The battle was on. She and Draco raced forward together as her uncle charged; they jumped as he bent down to tackle them. Iris landed on his head as it was ducked and grabbed Draco who was at her side and pulled him onto his back.
"Come on, uncle, the fun has barley started," she teased causing him to jump up and throw them off his back. They landed on their feet and turned to face him.
She turned to the blond at her side, "I go up you go down," she asked he nodded and bent to push her up. She ran up and he grabbed her foot and boosted her off the ground, making her fly at her uncles back causing him to catapult forward but regain his balance and trying to shake her off, lurching this way and out, giving Draco the opportunity to run under him and grab his leg and twist a snap like a twig and for Vernon to fall forward on his face, but before he made impact, Iris launched off his back and landed on her feet next to Draco just as her uncle crashed to the ground.
"And I believe that is game uncle," she laughed, "thanks Dray," she said turning to Draco again.
"My pleasure sis," Draco responded. They both turned to the gaping crowd of onlookers and bowed, causing everyone to applaud. Draco hopped off the platform and offered a hand to Iris, who accepted and climbed down gracefully. Once she was back on the floor, she was immersed by hugs from her friends. Once they backed away, Tom came forward and engulfed her in a hug.
"Congratulations," he whispered, and finally kissed her. Their Slytherins were cat calling along with Fred, George, Neville, Cedric, Sirius, and Remus. Luna was smiling serenely and Draco was shaking his head fondly at them. They broke apart for air,
"God, I missed you," Iris whispered. Tom just chuckled. She looked over to see Draco being congratulated by his grandfather. "Thanks again Dray," she said causing him to turn to her, "you have no idea how long I have wanted to do that," he smiled to and just said,
"I've wanted to do that since you let me help you in second year. Also, sorry uncle for stealing the potions," he yelled up to Snape. Snape shocked everyone, and just smiled.
"It's alright Draco," he called down, "although you could've told me it was for an abused student. I would've given it to you."
"No you wouldn't have," Iris replied for Draco, "you would've asked who it was so you could report it to the headmaster since you don't want a Slytherin being abused, which is what you would've thought. If he told you it was me though, you would've said I was doing it for attention or something along those lines, plus a few insults about my father, and we would be back to stealing." She looked up at the professor and said; "am I right?" he just nodded. He wouldn't have believed her.
"How about we continue reading?" she asks the pink toad once she and her friends were all seated again.
Because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband
"Oi!" Sirius yelled, "He wasn't good for nothing!"
"Yeah," Iris agreed, "he was great for getting people to hate me in the future! Note see Snape!" Snape blushed.
Were as undurslyish
"Not a word," Abraxas, Remus, and Iris muttered.
as it was possible to be.
"Good!" Iris yelled at the two aware Dursleys, since no one would help Vernon, "we don't want to be anything like you people," to the nodding of every single person in the hall. When you get beat without magic because of a couple flips from the Prince of Slytherin and the Duchess of Gryffindor, you get put out of the good graces.
The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.
"They would say," Tom started, "and I quote, "why what a nice looking family. Are you sure they are related to those oafs the Dursleys,"" to many people laughter and nodding.
The Dursleys knew that the potter's had a young child, too, a daughter, but they had never seen her.
"They never should have," was muttered around her. "Guys, this was the past and you can't change it,"
Tom smirked at her, "I believe that you have changed the past by going back to see us."
"Actually," Iris replied, "I don't think that I did. Everything is still the same," causing everyone to nod. She was right. She smirked to. Successfully distracted them!
This girl was another good reason for keeping the potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.
"Well we didn't want her near him either," Sirius snarled.
"Who didn't want me near them?" Iris asked?
"Well, before this, there was Lily, James, me, Moony, Minny who demanded that you call her Aunt Minny, Hagrid, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Snape, and the Malfoys, Notts, and Lestranges. Nor did the minister when I think about it. At the time I didn't get why the last 5 people cared but now I get it," Iris looked shocked that that many people cared if she went to them. She understood the minister but the others, before they met her? Wow. Or is it technically that they had met her….. Ok this is confusing.
"Let's just read," I said.
When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley wake up on the dull gray Tuesday our story starts,
"Wait didn't it already start," Fred and George say.
"It's a prologue," iris replies.
"A what louge," they plus Sirius and Orion ask.
"It is part of the book at the beginning that sets up the story. Like war, or relationships that are needed to know before the book," she replies. They nod and Umbridge continues.
There was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country.
"The perfect conditions for something absurd then," Fred and Sirius said, then looked at each other and bursted out laughing.
Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,
"Wait," Iris said, "he was actually humming," sounding shocked.
"You mean they don't often," Flitwick asked,
"They hate music or anything that isn't completely 'normal'," causing poor Flitwick, an avid music lover, to almost have a heart attack at the idea of a world with no music.
and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.
"Now that I'll believe," Iris yelled.
None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.
"Dang how thick can you get," Draco and Abraxas said at the same time causing the gang to laugh.
At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed,
"HOW!" Fred and George yelled, "THE TARGET WAS AS BIG AS A BEACH BALL!"
because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.
"Oh," Fred and George said.
"Wait," Iris said, "he actually moved!" causing the hall to laugh except for a blushing Dudley and sneering Petunia who sat in the corner on a summoned sofa with the still knocked out Vernon on a similar couch next to theirs.
"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map.
"Aunt Minny!" Iris yelled.
"How do you know it's Minny?" Sirius asked.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT BLACK!" McGonagall yelled at the animagus.
"But why do you let her call you that and not me," Sirius whined.
"Because I actually like her and she doesn't try to get in trouble every week," she responded making him pout and everyone else to laugh.
"and I knew it was her because CATS CAN"T READ MAPS!" Iris yelled making everyone else laugh even harder.
For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of?
"Nothing," Fred and George suggested.
It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.
"We've done it Gred! That's her weakness!" George yelled.
"She can't read! That's it Forge!" Fred yelled. They willed a book into existence and waved it at McGonagall like a cross. She just glared at the book and a HOLE MELTED RIGHT THROUGH THE BOOK and hit the twins who pretended to pass out to the great amusement of the hall.
Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.
"Well, he's focused at least," professor sprout said trying to find something good about him and at least he was hardworking….possibly.
But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else.
"BY WHAT!" the group yelled.
As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.
"They're not strange, are they? Are they! Someone get me a magazine!" the fashion conchies yelled including Lavender and Parvati.
"Don't worry girls," Iris said, "he's just an idiot," they nodded and calmed down so they could continue.
Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something... Yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed openmouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road
"Professor," Iris said shocked, "are you sure you read that right?" she nodded. "Will you please read it again then?" she nodded and said,
he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road
"Oh my merlin," she said, and promptly feigned to pass out.
to buy himself a bun from the bakery.
"Oh. Ok, crisis averted," Iris yelled causing many people to laugh.
He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch was whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their daughter, Iris"
"Their daughter, what?" the past Slytherins asked unaware of the whole 'girl who lived' thing.
Mr. Dursley stopped dead.
"YES! VICTORY" Fred and George yelled.
"um, guys sorry to burst you bubbles but it's just an expression," Iris said causing them to pout.
Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... No, he was being stupid.
"AH! WE HAVE A BREAKTHROUGH!" Orion yelled.
"The first step towards recovery is acceptance," Theo agreed.
Potter wasn't such an unusual name.
"Um… Yeah it is. You're the only magical potter family." Draco and Abraxas said.
"I think he meant in the muggle world cause actually the Potter name is very common along with Black and Smith," Iris said, throwing in the last bit for spite to laugh at the face of one Zacharias Smith.
He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a daughter called Iris. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his niece was called Iris. He'd never even seen the girl. It might have been Isabel. Or Izzy.
"They didn't know your name," Tom growled. "Do they at least know it now?" he asked pleadingly. Iris just looked at him like, 'seriously dude. Get real.' He growled again and pulled her onto his lap. "You are not moving," he growled into her hair. She just smiled and leaned back into his chest.
"Besides," Orion said, trying to lighten the mood, "Izzy and Isabel Potter just don't roll off the tongue like Iris Potter," causing Remus and Sirius to laugh. To the questioning looks Remus said,
"That is the exact thing Sirius said to James when Lily named her and he wouldn't stop complaining about you being named after the plant that he was allergic to," causing Iris to smile at the bit of information. Noticing the smile he said to her, "We promise we'll tell you tons of stories about your parents. Although we know a lot more about James than Lily, you might want to ask Snape about her though," she nodded, determined to conquer the seemingly impossible task.
There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that... But all the same, those people in cloaks... He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.
"oh no!" Fred and George yelled, "he killed the poor man!"
"Sorry, " he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"
"Professor Flitwick," Luna said, "does that happen to be you?" she asks her head of house. He blushes and nods to the amusement of the ravens.
And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.
Here Flitwick snorts, "More like tried," he said, "my arms could barely go around his arm," to the great amusement of the hall.
Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU SURVIVE!" the group and Flitwick yelled.
"Magic," she smirked causing the rest of the hall to snort at the shocked looks of most of the group and the proud looks of the pranksters including Theo and Orion.
As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood -was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.
"Now that's the Minny I know," Sirius smirked.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Minerva yelled again earning smirks from the pranksters again.
Was this normal cat behavior?
"Nope, just normal Aunt Minny behavior," Iris said earning a smile from mcgonagell and gaping mouths from the pranksters, and smirks form the rest of the group at their faces.
Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").
"So proud," Luna sneered at the Dursleys causing them to flinch at the malic in the normally dreamy girls eyes.
Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern."
"What do you mean never seen an owl?" a pureblood from the Slytherin table sneered.
"Muggles use people to deliver their mail instead of owls since they couldn't train the owls easily enough and they deemed the men more efficient," Iris said. However that was the straw broke the camel's back,
"What the hell!" Hermione screamed, "You're supposed to be the idiot reckless Gryffindor! A puppet to run into danger! Dependent on me for information!" Hermione ranted to the shocked faces of the hall except for the couple of worried faces. Worried that their plans were about to be revealed.
"Well Granger," Iris sneered, "I didn't tell you how smart I was because of how happy you were every time you corrected me or Ron or when you got a hundred on an assignment. I was acting dumb because it made you happy, and it happened to throw off the people who wished me harm," to the great shock of the hall except for the small group who had seen her true intelligence since she trusted them and she didn't have to act back in time anyway. Until the people from the past realized what the second reason was.
"Wait," Tom growled, "who exactly is wishing you harm?"
Iris flinched and said, "if it dosen't tell you by the end of the chapter I'll tell you myself," he and the others from the past nodded and looked pointedly at Umbridge to continue reading.
The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" "Well, Ted, " said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...
"Wait," Abraxas said, "did he seriously just figure it out? That idiot?"
"Bloody hell, how many people found out about us that day?" Tom exclaimed.
"Well, to be fair," Iris said, "he already knew about wizards and the magical reverasel squad would have fixed anyone who managed to figure it out anyway," causing Abraxas and Tom to calm down and nod.
Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. "No, " she said sharply. "Why?" "Funny stuff on the news, " Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... Shooting stars... And there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today... ""So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley. "Well, I just thought... Maybe... It was something to do with... You know... Her crowd. "Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter. " He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their daughter -she'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't she?" "I suppose so, " said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. "What's her name again? Isabel, isn't it?" "Iris. Nasty, common name, if you ask me. And disrespectful that they tried to follow the Evans tradition of girls named after flowers," Mr. Dursley knew the tradition she was talking about. They had agreed that if Dudley had been a girl they would have named her Daisy.
Snorts from everyone picturing a female Dudley named Daisy… Just wrong… WRONG!
"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree. "He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.
"Ok, is that the longest stare in history? Cedric asked causing the others to snort except for Sirius and Remus who just shivered.
"Nope," Remus said, "her longest stare is 48 hours straight. And it was glaring at us the whole time,"
"Dang, what did you do," Neville asked.
"Well," Sirius said, "we may have almost accidently killed Snape and accidently told him about Remus's furry little problem and the whole giant killing tree thing,"
"Bloody hell," Theo whispered, "what was your punishment?"
"We actually got off pretty light," Sirius said, "well I had detention for 3 months straight with Hagrid in the forbidden forest. Remus just had 1 night cleaning all the gold in the trophy room until it sparkled. We should have been expelled but Remus wasn't in his state of mind and James did save him. It might have also had something to do with the headmaster coming in and saying something about a staff meeting. After that she just yelled out our punishments and followed him. Hey Professor," he asked, "What was the staff meeting about anyway?"
"You know," she pondered, "I don't remember. Probably something about the OWL's and NEWT's. Do any of you remember?" she asked the other teachers. They all shook their heads no and McGonagall just sighed and said, "Yep, 'The Testing Talk', we have one every year. Or are supposed to anyway. We haven't had tests a couple of the years lately."
Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... If it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them... How very wrong he was.
"Dang it!" Iris yelled, "For once I actually wanted him to be right!"
"don't worry flower," Tom purred in her ear, "it's all in the past now."
"But aren't you too?" she asked, "Just a thing of the past,"
He shook his head no, "Flower, you aren't getting rid of me that easily," he said slipping his arms around her waist, "I may be from your past, but you are from my future, and it's a future that I'm willing to fight for," causing all the girls to sigh and a couple of the guys to snicker only to be wacked by the girls sitting near them.
Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.
"Apperation," a few people murmured
The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.
A few growls came up from the group, a few from the Ravenclaw table, and a lot of them from the Slytherin table.
Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known. "He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter.
"Sir," Flitwick said, "is there something you want to tell us?" causing the rest of the hall to laugh at the headmasters blushing face.
"No Filius," he said sternly, "my lemon drops are more than enough," causing the others to roll their eyes at his obsession of the infernal lemon sweets.
He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.
"AWESOME," the pranksters yelled, "WHERE CAN WE GET ONE!" causing the headmaster to chuckle and shake his head.
"Sorry lads, my own invention," to the pouts of the pranksters in the hall.
He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes.
"WOOHOO!" the Gryffindors cheered for their head of house.
She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one.
"You know," Cedric said, "I've always wondered why you wear that color."
"Because I happen to like the color," she replied to the amusement of the head of snakes himself.
"Why Minerva, I didn't know you had an inner snake," he smirked causing a few chuckles from the crowd at the idea of her as the head of Slytherin.
Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked. "My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly." "You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day, " said Professor McGonagall. "All day? When you could have been celebrating?
"Guys," iris murmured, "I think I just figured out what day this was. It was the day my parents…" she trailed off causing everyone else to pale and drop their heads for a moment in a show of respect, except for the past Slytherins who sat there confused trying to figure out what had happened to her parents. And why the bloody hell people would celebrate whatever had happened for that matter.
I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here. "Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls... Shooting stars... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense." "You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."
"11 years," Orion murmured, "such a long time, what was happening?"
"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors. "She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on, "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who
"You-Know-Who?" Theo asked, "No, we don't know who. Who's the who we're talking about. Am I the who? Are you the who?" he asked Iris to the great amusement of the hall.
seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?" "It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?" "A what?" "A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of" "No, thank you, " said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -" "My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort.
Iris flinched. She knew that he would remember that name. it was the name that they would all joke about for when they took over the world. It would always end in laughter, but for some reason, she didn't think that's how it would end this time. She was right.
All hell had broken loose. And I don't mean oh-shit-Hermione-got-a-bad-grade-impossible-kind of hell I mean oh-bloody-shit-evryone-I-know-has-gone-nuts-and-wants-to-bloody-murder-me kind of oh hell. After almost half an hour of knives flying around and everyone cowering under their seating the past finally calmed down enough that Tom could yell, "WHAT THE HELL DID I DO! ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS BE A FUCKING POLITICIAN AND HELP THE MINISTRY! WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK HAPPENED TO ME!" followed by rushed hissing that Iris could barely understand bits of it, and the words she did hear were words that would make a sailor blush. Most of the hall was just staring at the proclamation. The worst guy in the history of magic anted to just be a politician at first… ok now they were curious. What the hell happened.
"Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's
Flinch.
name. "I know you haven't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, Voldemort,
Flinch.
Was frightened of. ""You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort
had powers I will never have." "Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."
"Noble my ass," Iris murmured, gaining curious looks from the few in her group who were out of the loop.
"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."
"TMI HEADMASTER!" all the students yelled to the indignation of Madam Pomfrey.
"What," she said, "think you came up with all of it," to the great gagging of the population of the hall.
Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss,
As well as the point the hall was most curious about. The real reason of why he was gone, not just magic Iris Potter.
the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. "What they're saying, " she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead."
"Wait," Tom stuttered, "I killed your parents?" he asked shocked. When Iris nodded he asked once again, "wh-wh-what, how did, how can you possibly love me after I did that to your parents?" he asked completely shocked.
"I can and do love you because I know that, that's not you yet. You are still Tom Riddle, I can't blame you for what you did in the future, even if it was my past," he nodded and pulled her closer to him and bent down to whisper in her ear saying,
"I love you, Iris potter."
"I love you as well, Tom Riddle."
Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it... Oh, Albus..."
"I didn't think you would care so much professor," Iris joked trying to lighten the mood.
"Well of course I cared," she replied indignant, "they were 2 of my favorite students."
'Mission failed,' Iris thought.
Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I know... " he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's daughter, Iris.
"What," the past Slytherins said shocked. They knew that he would never try to hurt her, 'maybe, maybe he didn't know that was the family he was attacking, yeah that's it,' they all thought trying to calm themselves down. It barely worked.
But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little girl. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Iris Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone.
"What," the past Slytherins repeated, and then Tom smirked.
"Huh," he said to the girl on his lap, "it seems that you are the reason I'm gone. Well now I at least know not to ever attack you unless I want to disappear. I quite fancy being around, thank you very much," to the snickers of the crowd around them listening on.
Dumbledore nodded glumly. "It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... All the people he's killed... He couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding... Of all the things to stop him... But how in the name of heaven did Iris survive?"
Everyone leaned forward in their respective seating, curious to know the answer to the question everyone has been wondering.
"We can only guess," said Dumbledore.
To the groans of the whole hall. There goes that way to finding out the answer.
"We may never know." Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?" "Yes," said Professor McGonagall.
"The best source of information," Iris said, "a drunk Hagrid," to the blushing of the friendly giant and the laughter of the hall with a few scattered mischievous grins from the pranksters of the hall.
"And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?" "I've come to bring Iris to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family she has left now."
"They are not my family," Iris sneered at the book, "they may be my blood, but my real family are my friends. My family is the people I choose to surround myself with. Not the people that were forced on me," earning smiles from the group surrounding her and a few of the teachers.
"You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Iris Potter come and live here!"
Iris got up and walked up to the front of the hall and hugged the stern Scottish professor and whispered in gratitude, "Thanks Aunt Minny for trying," the professor smiled and hugged her back and said,
"You're welcome dear. I missed you so much all those years," as the Scottish woman began to tear up and squeezed the younger girl harder and then sent her back to the group, where Tom immediately pulled her back onto his lap.
"It's the best place for her," said Dumbledore firmly. "Her aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to her when he's older. I've written them a letter."
"A LETTER!" Sprout yelled, always one for compassion. "That is just cruel! Even if they didn't love each other, you can't write in a letter, 'hey, your sister's dead. Also you have to take care of her daughter. Ok bye,'" she glared at the head master but she wasn't the only one. All the other teachers were glaring as well as the group surrounding Iris. What was strange was that Mrs. Weasley, the person everyone would be sure would glare at such an abomination, was just sitting there calmly not even caring.
"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her! She'll be famous – a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Iris Potter day in the future
Here Iris paled, "it's not is it?" she questioned fearfully.
"No," Remus said smiling, "there was supposed to be one on Halloween but the paperwork was lost in a fire."
"What started the fire," she questioned.
"Oh, we did," Fred said.
"It was 'take your sons to work' day," George explained. Iris dropped down to hug them both and was whispering a constant stream of 'thank you's to the 2 who just chuckled and hugged them back before Tom grabbed her again and pulled her back onto his lap.
- there will be books written about Iris
Causing everyone to laugh as they read said books.
- every child in our world will know her name!" "Exactly, " said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any child's head. Famous before she can walk and talk!
"Actually," Sirius snorted, "she could do both. She was a might terror when she could finally walk; she followed us everywhere we went. And oh my merlin her first word was so sad for me,"
"Why," Iris asked.
Here Remus chuckled, "your first words were mangy mutt when Sirius took your lollipop from the healer, claiming that he deserved it since he had to listen to your cries," causing everyone to laugh except for a blushing Iris and pouting Sirius.
Famous for something she won't even remember!
"I do remember," Iris mumbled but loud enough for the hall to hear.
"How," the minister questioned,
"Let's put it this way, I bloody hate dementors," causing the people from the past to stiffen.
"Iris," Abraxas said calmly, "why were you near dementors?"
"Third book," was the response they got from the pained godfather. Sirius realized, 'I'm the reason she remembers her parents death,' it was almost enough for him to get a mental break down. He probably would've if it weren't for Remus patting his back comfortingly, seeing the pain in his friend's eyes.
You see how much better off she'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?" Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the girl getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Iris underneath it.
"EEEWWW!" all the girls in the hall screamed except for the teachers.
"Hagrid's bringing her." "You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"
"I'm… I'm so sorry Hagrid," she stuttered to the benevolent giant who sat shocked but then snapped out of it.
"I understand Minerva, I was drunk and I wasn't exactly at my sharpest that night."
"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.
"So would I, just not my secrets," Iris muttered under her breath to the snickers from the group around her.
"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to –
"Yes, yes,yes," all the pranksters yelled.
what was that?"
"NOOOOOOOO!" the pranksters of the group yelled getting a laugh from the hall.
A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.
"YESSSSSSSSSSSS!" Sirius yelled, "MY BIKE!" to the laughter of the group around them except for the pleading looks from the guys of the group except Cedric, Neville, and Remus, who were all either firm with the idea of a broom of nothing, (nothing more common for Neville than Cedric,) or was just so used to the idea of it that he didn't want one (Remus).
To the pleading looks Sirius just said, "Sorry boys, but I put it in a vault for Iris I've been building for a while," which earned him a figure flinging themselves at him to give him a hug.
"Thank you, Sirius!" she squealed and then asked him, "Will you please teach me to drive it?" with an adorable pout causing him to nod in defeat and he said,
"I'll teach you after the readings," earning another squeal and a squeeze from the girl who then let go and slid back down onto Tom's lap who was just smiling at his flower.
"You know," he said smoothly, "I could teach you as well if you'd like. I may not like muggles but every bad boy needs a motorcycle," to the smirking of Remus and the dropped jaw of Sirius.
"That is the exact reason," Remus laughed, "that Sirius explained why he needed a motorcycle."
Finally Sirius snapped out of his shock and said, "You know what, I like you Tom. You're a lot like me, which is why I don't like you near my goddaughter, but we can handle that tonight, along with the Dursleys I hope," causing Tom to pale at the first bit but then smile evilly at the last bit of taking care of the Dursleys.
If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.
"HAGRID!" all the students 4th year and up yelled, including Cedric and Sirius, at the blushing happy giant.
In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.
"IRIS!" everyone yelled to the blushing girl.
"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" "Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir, " said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got her, sir. ""No problems, were there?" "No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. She fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol.
"AAAAWWWWWWWWWW!" all the girls cooed as the guys in the group cooed mockingly earning slaps from Iris and Luna.
"Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby girl, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over her forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.
"AWWWW!" the girls cooed again as Tom leaned down to kiss the lightning bolt and Sirius got a sinister idea,
"You know, I might have some baby pictures lying around," Sirius said causing Iris to pale.
"No!" she yelled at the same time as Neville yelled,
"Yes!" causing Remus to snicker.
"You know, if I were you Neville I wouldn't be so happy. Your mother and Lily were best friends and we have a couple of pictures of the two of you in the tub together. Your mothers were actually so close and since your birthdays were so close, they just raised you two so you were almost like twins," causing them both to pale at the little picture fact, but then smiled at each other at the idea that they could have been like twins.
"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes," said Dumbledore. "She'll have that scar forever. ""Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.
"WE DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT SIR!" a 6th year Gryffindor, Cormac Mclaggen, yelled at the crazy old man.
Well - give her here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with. "Dumbledore took Iris in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. "Could I - could I say good-bye to her, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Iris and gave her what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss.
Iris smiled, "Oh, Hagrid," she sighed and walked up to him and gave him a hug which he gently gave back and kissed her on the top of the head and sent her back over to the group with a smile on her face.
Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.
Sirius gave a fake offended look earning laughter from the people who could see.
"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"
"And the motorcycle didn't?" Snape sneered causing McGonagall to blush.
"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Iris off ter live with Muggles - ""Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Iris gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Iris' blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. "Well, " said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations. ""Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. "Good luck, Iris, " he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Iris Potter rolled over inside her blankets without waking up. She did however scrunch her face as there was a slight burning on her forehead around her scar. What was once a lightning bolt was now half of a broken heart. Then the burning line faded and all that was left was the lightning bolt once again.
The whole hall just sat in shock staring at Tom and Iris. 'What the hell," was running through the entire halls mind. They all just blinked and kept on reading.
One small hand closed on the letter beside her and she slept on, not knowing she was special, not knowing she was famous, not knowing she would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that she would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by her cousin Dudley...
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR's were heard throughout the hall.
She couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Iris Potter - the girl who lived!"
Umbridge closed the book, and the food appeared on the tables. Dumbledore stood and suggested, "Why don't we eat, read one more chapter, then we go to bed and talk in the morning. Everyone nodded and walked up to the tables to get food, and then walked back to their seats among the groups and ate the great feast, among friends from all houses.