Chapter 6: Recruits
I get to class five minutes early, my friends walking in a minute later, I smile at them and say, "Sit down a minute apart and get ready to fly in five minutes."
Hermione sighs and asks, "Musical chairs prank?"
"No, five minute seat prank." I say as she sits next to me, the others follow my instructions and the rest of the arrive. Ronald arrives last and the teacher is about to start the lesson when I suddenly get flung from my seat. I do a flip and land in front of the class. I walk over to my seat and try to sit but a barrier prevents me from sitting. Next, Hermione goes flying.
Several minutes of everyone taking turns getting thrown from their seat passes before Dumbledore's voice announces, "Due to not being able to sit for longer than five minutes in the classrooms, classes are dismissed until this prank ends. Miss Potter, please come to me when you decide what you want in exchange for ending this prank." I smile and walk out of the class. I spot Dumbledore in the hall, speaking to James and Lily as Harry walks up next to me. When Dumbledore spots us he immediately rushes over and says, "Ah, Iris, my girl, may I ask what it is we can give you to make you return the classrooms to normal so classes can continue?"
"Albus, you have given me less than five minutes to decide what I want, I need at least a day, probably more." I say before walking past him. "I'll get back to you within the next four to seven business days."
I head out of the wards with Harry and take a portkey to Diagon Alley before heading to Gringotts and approaching a teller. The goblin looks at me and I say, "Honored Goblin, my twin and I request checks to see if we have any spells or potions placed on us, after that I would like a goblin wand maker to remove the binds placed on my true wand, there are more than fifty of them. We both have more than enough gold to complete these tasks, however the wand is being payed for by James Potter, his wife Lily, and Headmaster Dumbledore, if done in a timely matter I am willing to give a twenty percent boost to the payment."
The goblin has another goblin take us away and we follow them to an office that holds an important looking goblin. We stand in front of him and he silently sets two sheets of paper and two knives on his desk. I walk forward and grab the dagger, pricking my finger and allowing seven drops to fall on the parchment, Harry doing the same from next to me.
Words form on it and I read it silently, deciding to skip over ages two to ten because I already know what happened during those years.
Background Test for Lady Iris Lily Rose Potter-Hufflepuff
(Age 0) – Magic Bind (50%), Loyalty Charms, Compulsion Charms
(Age 1) – Magical Drain, Magic Bind broken, Magic Bind (50%), Magic Bind (25%), Malnutrition, Nearly Killed (x2), Tossed into Wall
(Age 11) – Malnutrition, Whipped, Burned, Nearly Killed (x2), Cut, Broken Wrist
(Age 12) – Malnutrition, Whipped, Burned, Cut, Nearly Killed (x2), Basilisk Venom, Phoenix Tears, Magical Drain, Connection to CoS formed, Loyalty Charms broken, Compulsion Charms broken
(Age 13) – Malnutrition, Whipped, Burned, Cut, Drowned, Loyalty Charms (Failed)
(Age 14) – Malnutrition, Whipped, Burned, Cut, Drowned, Loyalty Charms (Failed), Compulsion Charms (failed), Love Potion keyed to Ronald Weasley (Failed)
I take a shaky breath before saying, "Please fix what those fools have done to me."
I pass the goblin my test and he gives it a wide eyed look before he nods and pulls a blue potion from his desk. He hands it to me and Harry sets his results on the desk before saying, "Fix mine too please, sir."
He gets handed the same blue potion and the Goblin says, "Those will remove the blocks and spells placed on you without any magical backlash. Now, if you hand me your true wand I will take it to have the binds removed."
I take a breath and say, "I need you to put on some dragon hide gloves when handling my true wand. It was crafted with my blood." he nods before pulling out a set of dragon hide gloves, putting them on and holding his hand out. I pass him my true wand and he leaves. After that Harry and I drink our potions before I say, "Harry, it's time for us to claim our titles."
He nods and we both claim the titles that we haven't claimed yet, he becomes Lord Hadrian James Potter-Ravenclaw-Peverelle and I become Lady Iris Lily Rose Potter-Hufflepuff-Le Fay-Slytherin. We then wait until the goblin returns, my wand in his hands, the shadows around now clinging to it as he returns it to me and I feel my magic sing with joy. I take a breath as the Goblin says, "We will be reporting this to the ministry."
"I expected nothing less. The bill for the wand will be sent to the responsible party, right?" I ask and he nods, "Excellent, take the payment for the tests from the Hufflepuff vault." I say while showing that ring. His eyes go wide and he nods, "Take twenty percent more as thanks for the speed and quality of the work done." Harry and I then walk out and go back to Hogwarts. When we arrive I gather McGonagall, Pomphrey, Harry, my friends, and Snape in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, pausing to briefly chat with the ghost before opening the entrance to the chamber, "Come with me."
We walk down and I lead them into the main chamber. When they see the basilisk everyone behind me freezes. I climb down and McGonagall says, "You told me you fought a basilisk...but you didn't say it was that large."
"How hasn't it started decomposing?" Hermione asks nervously.
"Because I put it under several charms to keep it preserved until I could get Professor Snape to help me harvest it. I didn't want to do it improperly or anything." I tell them as they climb down. "You wouldn't mind that, would you, Professor Snape? I'd give you a portion of it of course, would...ten percent be enough? Of course, once we get done I can take you all on a tour of the chamber itself, which will include Salazar Slytherin's personal office and library. Both of which have books that were thought to no longer exist, though you will not be able to exit the library or office with any books without my permission."
"Of course, I would have done it for five percent." Snape tells me.
"I would prefer to give you the ten percent, after all, what would I do with ninety five percent of a basilisk." I say as Snape inspects the head and finds the missing spot where the fang in my wand should have been.
He frowns and says, "There's a fang missing."
"Yeah. I know." I say as I walk over to the snake, dropping my hand to my side and saying, "I made that fang into one of my true wands cores...after pulling it out of my arm and destroying the object that had possessed Ginny Weasley."
"How are you alive right now?" McGonagall gasps.
"Phoenix tears." I say as me and Snape begin working. "They work wonders. Will you be wanting some of the basilisk steaks, Professor Snape? From what I've read they are quite the rare delicacy."
"Yes. They are supposedly one of the most tender and flavored steaks in the world. I would like five steaks." Professor Snape tells me.
"Alright; I can get that to you once they've been properly cured and treated." I tell him and after a few more minutes of work, with the others silently watching, I say, "You only work for Dumbledore because he promised to remove your mark, right?"
"Yes." he says tensely.
"Alright then, well, if I remove the mark, which I can do right now if you want me too, will you work for me instead?" I ask and he gives me a disbelieving look, "Here, I can prove it, show me your mark." he holds out his left arm, showing me the dark mark. I reach into my bag and pull out a white healing crystal; setting the tip on the skull and focusing on it. After a minute the mark drains off of Snape's arm, leaving it blank as the crystal goes black. I toss the crystal and it shatters against the wall before I return to my work on the basilisk. "So, will you work for me instead?"
"What side are you on?" he asks.
"I can't tell you yet." I say as we finish with the giant snake and stand.
"I will work for you." he says and I nod before spending the next fifteen minutes teaching him how to hide his thoughts from Dumbledore and allow him to hear only what Snape wants him too. Once he can do it he asks, "So, what side are you on?"
"Well, actually I was hoping to recruit everyone here, not just you." I say while looking at my friends and brother. "I am working for Loki, will you all join me?"
They all discuss it before agreeing to join me. I smile before pulling out a set of crystals with strings to tie around a persons neck, one for each person I've just recruited.
"I made these over the summer, they're necklaces that create a mind link between the people who wear them and only work for the first person to put them on." I show them mine, a black crystal that is already around my neck, before passing them out. "It also helps boost your occlumency shields."
They all put them on and I hear McGonagall mentally ask, 'Does it work?'
I smirk and think, 'Yes, it does.'
We then head out and the next few weeks pass, I eventually decided to request spray paint from the headmaster, green and silver, specifically. When he gave me that, fifty cans of each other, and I've been pulling minor pranks every day, through everyone knows I'm just leading up to my first big prank. I also located the Ward Stone and have been using any free time I have to sabotage Hogwarts' defenses. Right now it's lunchtime on Thursday and Dumbledore has just called for our attention.
"Early this morning we received news that all of America has fallen to Loki. The Avengers have relocated to Russia and Loki's forces are headed that way as well. We have reached out and offered the Avengers the chance to come here if they get pushed into the UK." he says in a grave tone, "It is now suspected that Loki has spies among the human population, but rest assured that no one here is a spy for Loki. We would know if they were. Until the invasion poses an actual threat to us we will continue business as usual. That is all, you may go about your days."
I yawn before standing and deciding to spend the free hour I have at the Ward Stone. On my way over there I get stopped by a group of Beauxbatons girls stepping in my way. I tilt my head a bit before saying, "Excuse me, may I please get past you?"
One of them, a tall blonde with silver eyes, steps forward and says, "I had a vision of your next prank. Leave us out of it or we will tell the headmaster that you go to the Ward Stone once a day."
I tilt my head, momentarily distracted from what she's saying by her accent, before saying, "It's really cute that you think you intimidate me. I saw you coming three years ago." I say, switching to French, "If I were you I would worry more about Loki then me."
"You speak French?" one of her friends say and I nod.
"What do you mean we should worry more about Loki?" the seer asks.
"Well, I've done the math, see." I say with a small smirk, "Unless we're on a different path than the most likely one, Loki's forces will take Paris in a little under a month. Loki then will most likely give them his usual choice of either joining him willingly or being controlled. If my math is correct, the rest of the world aside from the UK will be under his control within the next eight months, and in nine months, he will have everywhere except Hogwarts."
"He's nearing Paris?" she asks worriedly.
"Yes, so I would start focusing your, much weaker, sight on Loki instead of me." I say, switching languages again before saying in English, "Loki seems to be herding the Avengers to the UK. Now, tell the headmaster if you want, but I'm simply going to the Ward Stone to strengthen the defenses of Hogwarts. Its unlikely that he'll get here before I said, but as any seer knows...the future is flexible."
"Oh." she says and I walk past them.
When I get to the Ward Stone I immediately set to work carving several new enchantments that to anyone who isn't me will look like stronger wards.