Iris Black

by Archer88

Alternate Universe. Voldemort regains his body sooner and an avalanche of woe befalls the Earth. Sirius Black's life comes crashing down when he realises just how close he and Tom Riddle actually are. His daughter holds the power the Dark Lord knows not. General Pairings. F/M F/F. This is the first story I've written. Also on AO3 if you prefer a different format and to see reviews.

54. Chapter 54

Ron looked across the room. Harry had sat down on his bed and was simply staring into space. Ron sighed. Iris was still in the infirmary. She had been comatose for months. For one week the black magic had consumed her. It had been Albus's great fear.

Iris had lost the fragile control she had over her magical balance at the sight of her parents mangled bodies.

The portals to Hell and Equilibrium had been opened for a week. Ron shuddered at the memory. They had been enormous. Satan had sent his best to assist Iris. The Hounds of Hell ran through the streets wildly. Demons and Devils came to collect their new residents. He had lost count of the men and women who had been banished into the fiery flames by the end of the first day. There was a small comfort that no one who wasn't meant to go through the veil to Hell could. The lunacy had been contagious. Nazis and Death Eaters had tried to force Albus into the portal but it was like forcing someone through steel and he fought majestically to escape successfully.

Some of the British called that week the Purge. Iris had hunted down every wicked person she could find. Every murderer, every rapist. The greedy megalomaniacs. The so-called entrepreneurs who crushed thousands on their way up. Every corrupt judge. Every vile stain on humanity. Many had fled the island in panic. Throwing themselves onto anything that could float to escape to Ireland or France. Retreating anywhere but Britain. The British sky had been lit up like fireworks for a week. The constant repetition of boom boom bang, boom boom bang went on a sickening loop. Shell shock amongst the populace was common. Their nerves had been shredded to pieces. The Doctors and Healers had taken weeks to heal them all.

Ron had visited Iris many times. She had looked so small in that bed. Madam Pomfrey looked weary as she looked down at her with him. Iris was far too pale and thin. The Peverell ring glinted in the sunlight. She was still alive. Barely. Her slow breathing was shallow. After Riddle had been banished, Iris had collapsed. The portal to Hell stayed open long enough for the others to return. Then, inexplicably every link to the other world's disappeared. Even Lily and James couldn't get through to Earth.

Iris was still. Her heartbeat down to one beat a minute. After a tense week, her heartbeat started to increase and Gabriel could access the Earth once more. The tunnel had reopened but Iris remained still. Only Gabriel came through and that only a few times and only very briefly. The link was too tenuous to risk.

The Angel had sat with Iris. He had tried to get into her mind but had admitted defeat. He told them that it was like going into the abyss. Blacker than night. He didn't know where she was. Her soul wasn't to be found anywhere.

Sirius had survived his ordeal, but it was with a quiet sense of sadness he continued. Hayley was very much on his mind as he threw himself into the relentless battles. The magic had healed him physically. He had been deemed fit to fight after three days. He had joined Remus in attacking their enemies. The ex squibs Iris had healed had joined them and had come out to support and defend their lands.

Sirius had seen his daughter at the end of the fighting. Satan's minions were making their way back through the portal. The country had been purged of its filth. The battle was over. He had heard the whisperings in his mind. He knew where he needed to be and he had apparated to her. She had been stood alone on the white cliffs of Dover with the soul of Riddle trapped inside of her. She was drenched in blood. Her clothes were filthy and caked in dirt. Her face and hands were cut to pieces. Her thick black hair wild and free. She resembled Bella on a particularly volatile day.

He had watched the black magic pulsate around her as the quivering figure of Riddle appeared on all fours. One last portal shimmered. He didn't know where she was sending him. She had grabbed Riddle's chin and gone nose to not nose with him. Her red eyes boring into his own. She had said something to him that Sirius couldn't hear and he had watched the most feared Wizard of all time break down.

His daughter had laughed in Riddle's face. A cold, inhuman, mocking laugh from somewhere deep inside her that had chilled Sirius to the bone. Iris had then, almost dismissively, kicked Riddle up the ass into the portal which instantly ceased to be. Lighting up a cigarette and inhaling she had sat down on the edge of the cliff. Britain was safe. The four founders had ensured that Salazar's dome covered it completely now. No one in or out. It was possibly the only country left on earth that could say that but the price paid had been enormous. They had had to burn their own country down to keep it safe.

Sirius had approached cautiously. Iris had turned to him not even seeming surprised. The intense magic floating off her rippled through him.

'Iris,' Sirius had croaked. He hadn't spoken much this week. His throat was sore.

'Sirius,' Iris said in a surprisingly deep smooth voice, 'You are all safe now. Your people have earned their freedoms. They fought bravely for what is right. The cost has been paid for in blood.'

Sirius felt the hairs on his neck prick up. This voice was not his daughters.

He stared at the face of his daughter and into those red eyes, 'Who are you?' he asked quietly.

Her lips moved slightly up in a curved smile, 'Neither friend nor foe to you, Sirius.'

'Where is Iris?' he asked in a more urgent tone.

'In a place beyond your understanding. She will return when she has recovered. Her magic and soul needs time to recuperate. '

Sirius gazed into those red eyes.

'Who are you?' he whispered again, afraid of the answer.

One of Iris's fingers stroked the ring, 'I have many names but you know me best as Death.'

Sirius had known, deep down, 'This isn't the first time you have taken over her, is it?'

'No. Although, this is the first time she has given me full control. She knew her mind was breaking with the death of her mother. She was in no fit state to lead that onslaught.'

Sirius trembled as he thought of Hayley, 'How long has she known you?'

Death gave a slight smile, 'Since Albus gave her the Ressurection Stone. I sometimes speak to her in her dreams. She didn't tell you because she didn't want any of you to be even more afraid of her than you already are. I'm her protector. When it all gets too much for her she hands the reigns over to me.'

Sirius had his epiphany, 'You were with us in South America. You were at the train station. When her eyes go red, that's you,' he stated.

Those red eyes found his, 'Yes. I'm her protector in times of dire need. When she needs my help she calls for me. I'm never too far away.'

Sirius couldn't speak.

Death looked at him, 'It was an honour to protect her. It was also with great relish I did what she could not. I have hunted those who have evaded me for far too long. I have balanced the scales of justice. Your Earth system is lacking. I need to return to my own home. There are other matters I have neglected. Take care of her. Harry needs her. There are others too. More lost than he will ever be. The New World Order is an abomination against all humanity. Till we meet again, Sirius Black.'

Sirius watched those red eyes close as Iris's body leant back down on the grass. He felt the black magic disperse as he watched his daughter gasp and then become deathly still. It was with a heavy heart that he apparated her back to Hogwarts.

After the Battle of Britain Harry spent a lot of time in a morose mood. He partly blamed himself. He had been swarmed with the images of an anguished Sirius and Hayley and in his panic with no time to spare he had persuaded a panicked Iris to go to the Ministry with him. They had sent word to the Order but their impatience had cost them. Hermione had wanted to wait for Dumbledore and the Order to go in first. She thought it was a trap. Ron had been reluctant to act so hastily as well. They had been right. Harry had realised this too late.

Sirius and Hayley had been the bait. It had been an ambush. Hundreds of the enemy were waiting for them. All of them decked out in Death Eater robes. It was an invasion from all angles. The Nazis had fired up their tanks and were making their way through the streets of Muggle Britain. It was the night Iris discovered her mother had been tortured and murdered by a smirking Lucius Malfoy and Riddle. Her body on display as Tom's way of greeting her. Sirius was barely alive. He lay next to Hayley unconscious. His face smashed to a pulp. His legs and arms laying at awkwardly. Clearly broken. Ron remembered Riddle smirking at Iris. This was sweet karma for Tom.

Ron felt his stomach heave at the memory of all that had happened next. Since he was little he had always kept a slight distance from Iris. Something about her had always made him feel a little on edge. He remembered thinking her getting sorted into Gryffindor had been a good indicator of character. Merlin, he had been naive about his house. He had read newspaper reports about the week of Riddle's resurrection at Grimmauld Place. He remembered what Walburga had said about Gryffindors. That a lion would rip you apart with clinical precision.

Ron had been fighting at Harry's side from the start of that week until the very end of it. They had never really been able to fully broach the topic of all that they had witnessed. Hermione was reluctant to discuss any of it. The brutality had been worse than anything he could have dreamt in his worst nightmares. In all his life what he would remember was the look of explicit fear on Harry's face when Iris had changed. It was that which had actually frightened Ron the most. He never thought he would see Harry look at Iris in that way.

Although, as Ron knew now for certain, the force that had stood beside them that week wasn't really Iris. Death was a part of her though. Her friend. Her protector. Their protector. In that week he was their friend too. That was what Sirius had explained to them. They had been standing with Death that week.

Sirius had spoken in a weak voice. They had known though. Deep down. For the longest time. As Death's victims had looked into those blood-red eyes in the face of Iris, the last thing they would ever see on Earth, they had known too. Nott had stared into those eyes as well. Ron remembered the look of desolation on his face before he had been dragged into the veil. It was the same look as all the others had. The ones who hadn't come back to tell them what had been staring them all in the face for all these years.

Riddle had possessed Iris in her weakest moment. Ron questioned the sanity of such a move. It had been suicide for Riddle.

The Hogwarts students had been surrounded the moment the portal disappeared. Ron had seen the broken body of Hayley and had felt his body freeze. Draco had given a jolt beside him as Lucius Malfoy emerged from the shadows with a look of supreme indifference as he assessed the group of nine students. With the short notice and panic, they had only managed to take three snakes with them and Harry had taken the strongest students they could rustle up with such short notice.

They had left the rest at Hogwarts to protect the castle and hoped for strength in numbers. It would be typical of Riddle to cause a distraction to invade Hogwarts. The other students had remained to protect the castle and to raise the alarm.

Lucius gave a soft tutt that echoed around the atrium, 'Now, now Draco. That's not the way to greet your father.'

'How dare you talk to him!' Daphne snarled at the blond man. Her eyes swivelled between him and Hayley.

More Death Eaters crept out of the shadows as Iris moved forward slowly, 'Mum,' she had whispered. Her legs gave way as she knelt next to her mother.

Lucius grotesquely smiled at her, 'Mummy is gone. A few hours under one of my Cruciatus curses and a killing curse will do that.'

Tom Riddle moved into the dim light, 'I must admit, I didn't expect her to die. I used a killing curse on her to test if my theory about you both being anchors was still accurate. No matter. With magic as advanced and untested as mine, it can be a learning process for each of us. I also wanted to test my theory on that ring of mine you wear. It is the Resurrection stone I believe. That is why you survived my killing curse and your mother didn't.'

Iris didn't respond. Harry was staring at the scene in front of him. Sirius looked on the verge of death. He couldn't bring himself to look at Hayley. His scar was starting to tingle and ache now.

'Iris. One shouldn't keep what isn't theirs. Give me back my ring, now, and I may let your father live,' Riddle said to the girl in a harsh voice.

Harry felt his scar burning up. He knew this meant Iris was losing control of her magic. His shield. His own white magic was struggling to stop the onslaught of the proximity to Riddle.

Draco was glaring at both Riddle and his father. Dozens of Death Eaters were moving closer. Brandishing their wands.

Hermione and Neville raised their wands slowly. Ginny and Luna moved closer to them as they went back to back in a circle. The three silver snakes slithered around to protect them but they were hopelessly outnumbered.

'You tortured my mum and dad. You killed my mum. You only ever hurt people. Lily, James, Narcissa,' Iris said in a quiet voice to the two Wizards. Hermione gave a start. Iris never called Sirius that.

Tom gave a dismissive sigh, 'People and their foolish melodramatic notions. Get over it, Iris. Your parents were a nuisance to me. Narcissa deserved it and Potter's filthy mudblood mother wouldn't step out of the way. She got herself killed. You'll no doubt see them later in the fairyland you claim to go to. You have a very vivid imagination, Iris.'

Lucis gave a snort in amusement.

Draco's eyes were narrowed in spite towards him.

'You killed your own daughter and you don't even care,' Iris said in a strangely bewildered tone, 'They had sorted things out. They were going to get married. I could have had a little brother or sister. We were going to be a proper family and you had to ruin it. Like you always ruin everything.'

Daphne looked wretched. Hermione was watching Iris with genuine fear now.

Lucius and Tom scoffed, 'Sentimental fool,' Riddle said in a wry tone, 'Now stop wasting my time. Give me that ring or watch your friends die.'

Iris looked directly at him then with blank grey eyes, 'Liar. You're going to kill them all either way,' she said flatly.

Tom smiled, 'You are so clever, Iris. You figured that out all by yourself,' he said in a condescending tone.

Harry was glowering at the demonic snake man.

Tom turned to look at Harry properly, 'You are so weak. So vulnerable. I do believe that the prophecy must actually be fake. There is no possible way you have the power to vanquish me.'

Harry looked at him in contempt. Albus's words floating in the back of his mind. Tom's arrogance would eventually be his undoing, Harry told himself.

Iris stared at the still face of her mother and the brutalised one of her fathers. She felt utterly empty. She couldn't even visualise a portal. She felt her heartbeat slowing down. Even her blood seemed to stop moving.

'I'm waiting, Iris,' Tom said in his sibilant voice.

'You'll have to prise the ring off my cold, dead hands, Grandfather,' Iris told him in a flat voice.

Tom pursed his thin lips, 'Very well. We'll do this my way.'

The room went silent in confusion as swirls of magic spun and Riddle appeared to turn to dust in the air.

Iris suddenly fell straight back on the floor and convulsed as Lucius and several other Death Eaters guffawed with enjoyment.

'What's happening to her?' Hermione screeched.

Peter Pettigrew had moved nearer to the group as Harry felt his stomach turn, 'He is teaching Iris to be more polite to her better's,' he simpered. His rat-like feature twitching with glee.

Lucius gave a sardonic grin to the students.

'Draco,' Lucius said to his estranged son in his most silky voice, 'Let's see what happens to the side you chose, shall we,' the blond man looked down at Iris with sheer vindictiveness, 'How dare you bewitch my wife and child. This is the price you pay Miss Black.'

'She did not bewitch me or mother,' Draco said in a firm voice, 'We chose her. Not the other way round. I hate you. I hate all of you for what you do.'

Lucius looked at his son in derision, 'There is no hope for you. Alas, you are far too weak. I disown you. You can drop dead for all I care.'

Draco was barely paying any attention. He had stopped caring about his father's opinion of him a long time ago. The more his own father held him in contempt, the more Draco knew for certain he was the better man. His eyes were intent on Iris who appeared to be in agony.

She stretched up as her eyes snapped open. A hazy, milky white staring out at them all. In an echoing voice, the sibilant tones of Riddle came out that made the student's blood freeze.

'It is about time that Iris knew her place, Mr Potter. I win. You lose,' the voice spat as they gaped in horror. Riddle was inside her.

Harry's heart sank, 'Get out of her!' he shouted. His temper was a boiling point now.

The face of Iris smirked cruelly at him in a way the real Iris never had. The voice that came out of her's was Tom's deep hiss, 'Not until she is broken. I shall destroy her from the inside. The ring prevents me from doing this from the outside.' There were the familiar sounds of apparating around the atrium as the Order had arrived. Albus swept over and in a moment had looked on in shock with the others.

'It's over, Dumbledore,' Lucius said to him in a gleeful tone, 'In a few moments, the pest that is Miss Black will be a mindless wreck. He is inside her. Her soul will be butchered.'

Albus looked at the scene as hypnotised as the others. Iris convulsed and screamed in agony. The harsh sounds echoing around the room as the onlookers winced. Grindelwald was staring at his oldest friend with a triumphant look on his face.

Albus glared at him. With a jolt, he came to his senses, 'Harry. Go to her. Hold her and do not let her go. No matter what happens,' he ordered. Harry ran over to Iris, genuinely relieved to be doing something, anything at this stage. Lucius's smug look was wiped off his face as he went to stop Harry but Draco pounded a stunner in his father's direction and knocked him off his feet. Hermione took out Pettigrew with the same spell.

The Death Eaters watching were prowling around unsure now what to do. The Order of the Phoenix was circling them as well. Bella and Severus were itching to use their wands. The silver snakes had surrounded Iris as Harry wrapped his arms around her. The effects were instantaneous. An animalistic growl came from the two of them as they shot into the air. The pair of them started to spin as the people underneath went dizzy following the motions. Murky dark magic was seeping out of them. What Ron would always remember distinctly was the smell of burning blood that followed. Somehow Harry was exorcising Riddle inside of her.

Albus watched this with grim satisfaction. Lily's protection for Harry still endured. It was agony for Tom to be touched by Harry. Harry did what was asked of him. He clung on to Iris for dear life. The morphing of both Harry and Iris had a peculiar effect that Albus had suspected might happen but had not been guaranteed. Iris had been bought back from the brink of death. The true source of the Peverell ring.

Ethereal magic fluctuated from Iris that reverberated through all of them.

A flicker of fear went through Albus's eyes as he motioned the students back from Harry and Iris. Albus didn't know this magic. None of them did. Hermione's quick mind had also got there. She had levitated Sirius away from the scene and passed him to Tonks, 'Take him to the hospital,' she whispered in a dry voice. Tonks had taken him away immediately while everyone else was distracted. She had taken one glimpse at Hayley and had gone numb at the sight.

Hermione looked up as Harry and Iris appeared to be slowing down as they landed back on the ground. Iris's eyes shot wide open and flashed from red to grey. She looked disorientated.

Harry spoke nervously, 'Where is Riddle?'

'He's inside me, aren't you Grandfather?' Harry's eyes widened, 'He's frightened, Harry. He's trapped. It's my turn now,' Iris said in a strangled voice.

The room had become noticeably hotter. The pain in Harry's scar had dimmed noticeably. Harry looked over at Albus who nodded to let Iris go. The atrium was starting to seep the notorious black magic that Harry was so familiar with but this was on a whole new level. The whole building was pulsating in a booming fashion. Every Death Eater in the room was rooted to the spot as this force seeped inside them. The windows smashed as Harry started to slink back. Iris was about to blow. She wasn't backing down. With a quick movement, her eyes found Lucius's.

'Draco. Turn around. You don't want to see this,' Iris hissed as her eyes turned red. Lucius watched in horror. He tried to apparate away but the black magic stopped him. He tried to lift his wand but Iris kept him from raising his arm. His arm felt like lead.

'On the contrary, dear cousin,' Draco said in a sharp whisper.

Iris gave a mean look to Lucius as she hissed to the three silver snakes. Lucas, Jasper and Dylan slithered over, taunting a terrified Lucius. With dawning realisation, Ron realised with dread what Iris was going to do. Hermione had painfully gripped his hand as her jaw clenched at the sight. Ron watched in morbid fascination as the silver snakes followed hissed orders. Lucius kept twitching but he couldn't move. Ron watched one snake wrap around his legs. The second slithered around his torso, then the third forced his way into the blond man's mouth and down his throat as he hacked and choked.

Iris glared at this disgusting specimen of a male, 'If I had the time I would make you endure this for years you contemptible piece of shit. This is for every single woman and child you raped, tortured and killed. This is for my mother,' Iris unleashed the snakes fully onto Lucius as they slithered and crushed and broke his body from inside and out as Lucius wept and screamed in agony. Draco stood and stared at Lucius with vindication in his eyes. His icy grey eyes witnessing the finality of his desolate childhood as Lucius took his last breath.

Draco was now finally free. Daphne stood with him. A grim look on her face as she stared solemnly at Hayley. Justice had been served the Black way.

'Oh, yes,' Iris seemed to speak to herself, 'You're here too. Don't think I've forgotten you, Grandaddy. You're going to be along for the ride. It's time you see the true consequences of your actions,' Iris said in a strange sort of voice. It was deeper than normal. Her eyes were now solid red.

Hermione clutched the side of Ron's arm, 'She's losing it,' she whispered.

Ron gazed at the scene. The Death Eaters were frozen to the spot with the sensations of pure black magic. Sweat was dripping off everyone in the room. The very walls of the Ministry were shaking. Lucius's remains were coating the floor. Ron's head was spinning and his heart was pounding. He couldn't keep his eyes off Iris and the savage expression on her face. There had always been something lurking beneath the surface but now they could all see her Grandfather clearly in her features. This wasn't just following the Queen's orders and disposing of traitors. This was even more personal to Iris.

'Oh, catch up, Hermione. She's already lost it,' he had said with trepidation. Iris was glowering at Peter with a manic expression. It took a moment for Ron to realise it was relish. He gulped. Her mind had finally snapped.

Iris raised the ring as Peter Pettigrew was launched across the room and slammed into the wall, 'Don't think I forgot about you, Peter. You wanted to keep me as your little pet when I was a baby. Don't you remember? I certainly do.'

Peter had already wet himself five minutes ago and quivered as Iris stared at him, 'Oh, Peter. Backstabber. Sack of shit. Vermin filth. So many names, so little time. Traitor. The worst fucking friend in all of history. Even the nastiest Slytherin wouldn't do what you have done to get ahead you worthless turd.'

Harry nodded in agreement. Iris had given the consummate obituary to one Mr Pettigrew.

'Do you want to do the honours, Harry?' Iris asked him as she gazed at Peter.

'No. Please. Ladies first,' Harry said politely as he stared daggers at Pettigrew who whimpered. The black magic had gone to his head. The pain in his scar had all but gone. Blood rushed through him faster than the speed of light and a lust for vengeance filled him.

'You have always been such a gentleman, Harry,' Iris was staring blankly at Pettigrew as she seemed to approach him in an almost snakelike way.

Luna was staring out around the atrium with her large blue eyes. The devastation had only just begun. Luna was finely tuned into magic and she knew Iris very well. Luna knew enough to know that most of the real Iris had already checked out. She was very faint to Luna now. Only a fragment remained and the force that was replacing her had only just begun.

Notch by little notch the intensity was rising. Ginny and Neville were still stood back to back. Neither had moved in minutes as they kept surveying the people in the room. The Death Eaters were wall to wall. They were held rigid by the black magic barrier in the centre for now. The Order of the Phoenix was outnumbered at least ten to one. There should be more of them here. There was obviously more going on than they knew about.

Ginny heard the cracking of Pettigrews bones and the groans of agony. She saw out of the corner of her eyes the rat man's legs turn outwards as she turned away from the sight with revulsion. Iris was taking him apart.

'That was for Lily and the Marauders, you unimaginable bastard,' Iris hissed. Neville watched transfixed as Iris took her wand and promptly sliced Pettigrew across the neck with it. They all watched hypnotised as the blood gushed out.

They heard the thud as Peter hit the floor and lay limp, 'That's for bringing Riddle back, you fucking idiot,' they heard her spit at him.

Life left Pettigrews eyes as he finally died and went down to Hell. A place had been reserved for him there for many years. They all heard the exalted cries of Bella at that one. Severus had a look of extreme satisfaction.

Harry stood and stared at the body on the floor. Peter Pettigrew had finally been dealt with. That sordid chapter was over. With clinical efficiency, he admitted to himself. Albus turned then to look at Gellert. A look of great sorrow on his face.

'You have reaped what you sowed, Gellert. I would like to say I feel sorry for you,' Albus said as he glanced at the Death Eaters around the room, 'Alas, I cannot. You all have the blood of over two hundred million people on your hands. The innocent. The children. All for wealth. Greed,' Uncharacteristically, Albus spat at Gellert's feet, 'I should have killed you myself when I had the chance.'

He turned to the corrupt Ministry, 'The Queen herself has commanded the executions of every traitor to the Crown. You forgot one thing in your haste to get power. You are British subjects first and foremost. You have betrayed the Crown by siding with Nazi scum.'

Fawkes flashed into the room with haste. Albus went pale.

'My presence is required at Hogwarts. Adieu,' Albus disappeared with his phoenix a second later. Ginny and Neville had been right. The Ministry wasn't the only target.

Iris looked around the room at their faces, 'You are destroying our world. Your insane New World Order is sick.'

One manic follower shouted out, 'Whatever happens here, Hitler's already got his troops in the country. They are thousands of soldiers marching through Britain right now with the best weapons ever created. We are everywhere. We are global. By the end of this week, we will be in charge. The swastika will fly at Buckingham Palace!'

'When snowballs fly in Hell!' Neville shouted.

'What do you think your lot can really do? This is one building. You can't cover an entire country,' another Death Eater shouted out. The Order of the Phoenix looked across at Iris.

'Iris. Why don't you show them,' Bella shouted across the atrium.

Grindelwald was looking frantic now. Only Riddle, Adolf and he had seen Hell truly unleashed and that was only in a Pensieve. That had been terrifying enough. They had not informed their followers of the actual, sordid details of that night in South America.

Iris had been staring at her mother. She inhaled sharply and closed her red eyes, 'Luna. Can you take my mum to the Manor, please?' she managed to get out. Luna murmured she would. Her blue eyes were serious as she looked at Iris in concern, 'Daphne. Go with them. Tell everyone we know what is happening. Anyone who can't fight needs to secure their wards and hide in the bunkers. The invasion has started. The founders and Albus can hold Hogwarts for now. Winston is there if all else fails. Grab the Grangers first,' Daphne gave a brief nod and looked at her sister with concern. Iris still had her eyes shut.

Iris opened up the portal to Greengrass Manor.

They had all been told in a suspiciously brief way what had happened in South America. None of the Order had gone too much into detail. That is how they knew how awful it had been. Even Mad-Eye had looked in awe at Iris. Iris knew Daphne would keep order. She already ruled all of Slytherin house with an iron fist and had cleaned up her house. Luna would help keep her sister calm.

Luna paused to hug Iris, 'The Stone will protect you, Iris,' she whispered to her as Iris gave her a tight hug back.

They watched Daphne and Luna levitate Hayley through the portal and disappear.

Iris turned to them, shaking, 'Stay or go now. I, I can't hold on much longer,' Iris stuttered with the obvious strain.

Harry was determined to stay. Neville and Draco too. Hermione was adamant she would stay and fight. Ginny and Ron had breathed deeply and nodded their affirmation. They had been preparing for this for years. Iris closed the portal with a finality.

Within a moment the scarlet and gold veil to Hell was in the Ministry atrium as there were gasps all-around at the size of it. It was almost the size of the room.

Iris moved into the veil as the black magic lessened slightly. The Order and the kids had their wands pointed everywhere in those fraught moments.

For a few moments, no one stirred until an arrogant Witch shouted out from the crowd, 'Is this it?'

The portal grew hotter. Iris reappeared and glanced around at the anxious faces of the too few members of the Order of the Phoenix and gave a slight tilt of her head, 'They are coming,' she said in a dull voice to them.

Iris turned to the Death Eaters with red eyes. They were the distinct shade of blood that Ron knew preceded chaos, 'This is your Judgement day,' she said in a low voice to all of them.

It was this that Ron shook at. The look of desolate despair on Iris's face, 'This is for my mother and father you despicable creature's. This is for every single person who never lived a full life because of you. This is for all the pain you cause.'

Iris hissed aloud, 'Riddle, you're going to feel every last second of this,' she looked straight ahead.

'Stay as close as you can to me. He'll protect you. I, er, I love you all,' Iris whispered to her friends who felt a chill rush through them. It sounded like a goodbye.

'I'm ready,' Iris seemed to say to no one in particular.

It was the last coherent sentence Ron had heard from Iris.

The Devils came out of the veil first. Tall. Intimidating. Then the Demons. The howls of the Hounds. Lucifer flew out with black wings followed by dozens of Dark Angels. Iris threw up the portal to Equilibrium on the other side of the room to let the Light Angels out. The casualties were going to be off the scale.

Iris lifted the magical barrier's as both sides charged at each other.

Ron had turned to Iris in a hypnotised state at the brutality he was witnessing. He had been running through the room firing stunners at Death Eaters and helping defend the Order members. The room was stifling. Black magic was only increasing. Harry and Draco were working in tandem as they cut through the Death Eaters. Hermione and Ginny were dashing about and stunning Death Eaters at random. Neville was shooting wildly. He was knocking Death Eaters down like pinballs making it easier for the Demons to attack. All that time spent in the room of requirement had paid off for each of them.

The effects of Iris's magic on them had bolstered their own. Iris didn't look like the poised image in the memory anymore. Her eyes were blood red and her face vicious. He watched her slash her wand across Cornelius Fudge's throat as she took his head clean off and then slash again at his stomach. His insides splurging out onto the floor. It wasn't even close to the worst thing he would witness her do in the days that followed. The anguished screams from the Death Eaters would forever haunt Ron.

He watched her takedown Grindelwald with ease. One of the most feared men in Wizarding history was dealt death within seconds.

He saw with his own eyes Death Eaters have their heads ripped off. The magic in the room blew the roof off. Wolves would bite and gnash on flesh. The walls of the Ministry began to crumble.

She used the ring to blast open the entrance wide open as Iris took this onto the streets of London. The portals kept letting more and more Angels and Demons through. Hundreds of them had poured into the Ministry and out into the streets of London. The Nazis would be attacking now. Iris was to give them all a welcoming that none who witnessed it would ever forget.

The air sirens were wailing. Ron would later discover the entire country had been systematically invaded at the same time at different locations the moment Riddle had sent Harry his visions. Nowhere was safe. Riddle had been supposed to stop Iris, kill Harry and Hitler would activate his weapons and troops already in Britain at the same time during the confusion. The loyal British military had been caught on the back foot but rallied quickly. Their enemies had been living side by side by them.

Salazar's dome wards had made flight impossible in British airspace which gave them an advantage. The fighter planes the Nazis were so fond of simply couldn't launch high enough without hitting the barrier. There were helicopters but the Dark Angels could bring them down easily. They would have had no defence against the chemicals that had been dropped on the Middle East by their magically powered planes otherwise. Without Salazar's advanced thinking the swastika would have indeed been flying in Britain.

The British public did indeed do what Winston had asked of them all those years ago. They fought the Nazis and Death Eaters on the beaches and in the streets. They fought in the hills and in the fields.

The sight of the Demons, Dark Angels and Devils frightened the British Muggles at first but when it became clear they were on their side they were quickly bonded. They had been stunned by the news about the reality of the magical world a few weeks before. Actual Witches and Wizards truly lived amongst them. Hitler coming back had knocked them for six. The decimation of the Middle East hadn't even properly registered for most of them. A Nazi invasion? They were on more familiar ground with that one at least.

They had a Queen who looked like she had had the greatest facelift of all time. Enough to turn the clock back fifty years. Devils with horns ripping off Nazis heads? Ok. The British pulled their stiff upper lip up as far as it could go and carried on. Questions would be answered later. All is fair in love and war after all. The Hell's spawn knew instinctively who was their enemy and it wasn't them. That was enough to know for now.

The Nazis weapons were astounding. The magical guns and tanks were futuristic. It tore through the masses. The damage that was done to both people and property was immense.

It was almost a year on from that week and Ron's mind would often go back to that summer. As did everyone else's.

Death was a part of Iris as long as she wore the Resurrection Stone. Ron understood now his odd aversion to the girl completely.

What would have happened without her though? Ron struggled to comprehend the consequences. His mind ran through the different moves that could have happened without this power.

In each and every scenario everyone he loved would have almost certainly been killed.

He made Iris a get well soon card and put it by her bed.