Owie, Emma, you're pulling. Ouch! Emmy, babes, please let go. You're hurting me. You're going to rip it right out! See that? That's called a
doctor. Go rip something out of him, he can sew it back on," Iris said, trying to get Emma to let go of her earring. Dr. Brownhill rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but she knows that it's better to rip something out of her sister rather than someone else," Dr. Brownhill pointed out. Hagrid sighed
and very gently took Emma from Iris.
"Bad girl, Emma. You don't try the rip yer sister's ear off. Okay, go fer me beard. Tha's okay. I could always grow a new one. But yer sis
can' grow a new ear. Well, maybe with potions and spells but tha' wouldn' be too nice fer her, don' yeh think?" Hagrid said as Emma began to pull on
his beard. Iris looked a bit softer towards Hagrid from then on.
Dr. Brownhill left the room to go get the medication.
"Thank heaven it's only that and nothing gravely serious," Maggie said, looking relieved.
"Well, it is still rather serious. Bronchitis on a three-day-old can't be very good," Iris pointed out.
"Well, it's not gravely serious!" she said quickly.
"Good point, Maggie. Poor thing. She looks so sleepy. There, there, Emma, sweetheart. Yer jus' a li'l sleepy, huh?" Hagrid said gently.
"Hagrid, is she going to stay with you until tomorrow?" Iris asked curiously.
Hagrid looked up. It was the first time she had addressed him without sounding furious. "Yeah, I think so. Jus' need ter give her the
medicine an' then set her ter sleep. A couple hours later, I'll be back up, feedin' baby an' burpin' her, an' puttin' her right back ter sleep. I think she
could do with a li'l coddlin' after havin' ter go ter the hospital in the middle o' the night," he said, smiling down at the baby, who blinked furiously to
keep awake.
"I reckon you're getting the hang of this," Iris said quietly.
"Nope. Jus' pretendin'," Hagrid replied. Emma yawned widely, and Hagrid bent over to give her a whiskery kiss on the cheek. Emma
squealed, making Hagrid chuckle. "Madam Maxime did the same thing."
"About what time would you be around, then?" Iris inquired. Hagrid shrugged, slightly shocked that she was being more kinder to him.
"Oh, I dunno. 'Bout ten or eleven, I reckon. Why?" Hagrid said as Emma began digging around in the pocket closest to her sleepily.
"No reason. Hey, don't eat anything before you lot come over. Maggie likes to cook for random reasons. 'Maggie, I have a cold.' 'Have
pancakes.' 'Maggie, I have a hangnail.' 'Have cake.' "Maggie, my dad died.' 'Have toast.' Ever realized that, Maggie?" Iris said, looking over at a
blushing Maggie.
"I'm not all that bad," she said shyly.
"All right, Let's all just take a moment to try to pretend that you're not a food nutter, no pun intended," Iris said, and after a few seconds
said, "Phew! Glad that's over!" Maggie gave her a playful glare and sighed.
Emma began to whine in Hagrid's arms and he gently patted her bottom to try to soothe her. "Well, sounds like someone else besides me
is getting' sleepy, huh, Emma? See you lot tomorrow, then. C'mon, Harry, 'Mione," he said as he finished clothing the infant. Iris went over and gave
Emma a kiss on the forehead and she stopped whining and looked up.
"Sweet dreams, sweetie," Iris said, smiling at the infant. "Night everyone, see most of you tomorrow morning," Iris said before Maggie put
a hand lightly on her shoulder and they Apparated back to the orphanage.
The next morning, Harry woke at about eleven. He stretched and then realized that Hagrid was already up and Hermione was cooking
breakfast. She had obviously not wanted to try and eat the stuff that Hagrid cooks.
"Well, good-morning, Mr. I'm-Not-Going-To-Get-Up-For-Anything-In-The-World-Until-Maybe-Eleven-O' Clock-Or-Until-Death-Eaters-
Attack-And-Take-My-Pillow," Hermione said, smiling as she threw her pillow at him. He chuckled and got up and found his glasses. He smiled as he
heard Hagrid cooing at Emma behind him.
"Who's just a hungry li'l girl, Emma? I think you are! Yup, I'm pretty sure yeh are!" he cooed as he fed the infant. She hummed in
response, and kicked her feet. "Now yeh have ter be tryin' the be cute when yer this cute. Are yeh tryin' hard, Emma? 'Cause either way, yeh look
really cute when yer tryin' and even when yer not. Jus' a darlin' yeh are, Emma."
"Oh, Harry, the Weasleys were invited to join us at the brunch thing at the orphanage. Along with Professor Dumbledore, Professor
McGonagall, Lupin, even Percy, though how they found out 'bout Weatherby is beyond me," Hagrid said, very gently patting Emma on the back with
a cloth over his shoulder in case she spit up or threw up while he was burping her. "I s'pose that the dinner thing's goin' the take place at this
brunch thing or whatnot, 'cause her father's comin' along, too. Hiccups again, Emma?" (A/N: I'm really sry about all the cooing about the baby and
whatnot, but I LUV BABIES! So, yeah, I'm sry! I'll cut it out if u want me 2, but u have 2 review!)
"It's at eleven thirty, Harry, so you had better get dressed and everything else. And would you at least try to keep your hair down please?
This is a very important day for Hagrid and Emma and Iris. Here, use this," Hermione said, handing him a bottle of hair gel.
"I'll probably use up the entire bottle, you know," Harry pointed out. Hermione shrugged.
"It refills itself for children as it had been before. You had better hurry up, Harry, it's nearly five after eleven," Hermione replied, cleaning up
the hut a bit more. Hermione began putting their sleeping bags in a corner of the hut.
In a few minutes' time, they had Flooed to the orphanage and they were all surprised to see the house nearly devoid of children. They were
in the sitting room of the orphanage, but it wasn't crawling with children as normally.
Only Iris sat on the couch, reading an extremely large, old, tattered-looking book. Before anyone could announce their presence, Iris
smiled.
"Hello, Harry, Hagrid, Hermione. My, there are a lot of 'H' names in your group, now aren't there? Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and
Lupin are already here and are in the kitchen. The lot of the Weasleys are a bit late, but with as many of people in their family that they have to
get all ready, I wouldn't be surprised if they were three weeks late. Anywhos, breakfast is cooking as I babble about - erm, something. Anyways,
I shall pry my fat ass off the couch and shall show you the kitchen, okay?" Iris said, setting the book down and putting it on the coffee table. Harry
went over and tried picking the book up, but this task proved too much for Harry.
"Bloody hell, you read as much, if not more than Hermione does!" Harry said, looking at Iris amazedly. She blushed deeply and Hermione
elbowed him in the ribs.
"Shut up, Harry! That's not polite!" Hermione hissed. She smiled at Iris. "So, would you mind showing me your room? That's the only thing
that I've really been interested in at this house. I mean, not to be rude or anything."
"Not at all, Hermione. But I'll show you my mess in a bit. But this way would be the kitchen, where I shall keep you hostage until you all are
begging for me mercy from the food I will be stuffing down your throats," Iris said, chuckling. They went through a small hallway and entered a
fair-sized kitchen. There sat Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin, drinking tea and coffee and chuckling at a joke Lupin had just told.
"Ah, hello, Harry, Hermione, Emma, Hagrid, and Iris. What a lovely morning for a brunch, isn't it?" Dumbledore said pleasantly. He beamed
when he saw little Emma, yawning. "Of course, for some darling sleepyheads, sleep would be more pleasing, right, Miss Hagrid?"
Emma hummed at this and looked at him sleepily. She gave a small burp and McGonagall chuckled. "You still seem to be sleeping, Emma,
dear," she said, grinning at the infant. "Hagrid, may I hold her, please?"
"Oh, o' course, Professor," Hagrid said, going over and gently placing Emma in her arms. Emma looked up at her new holder sleepily.
"Uh," Emma said before snuggling into McGonagall's robes. McGonagall beamed at the little girl and gently stroked her hair.
"You have quite a lot of hair for someone your age, my dear. I remember it taking Harry a while before he had hair at all. Oh! Emma, dear,
where are you trying to go?" McGonagall said as Emma began squirming about in her arms. Emma finally settled down and closed her eyes gently.
"I'm finding it quite hard to not favor students, Albus," McGonagall said, gently stroking the baby's hair.
"Well, technically, she's not a student quite yet, Minerva, so we're allowed to - How to put this appropriately? We are allowed to spoil her
until she squeals," Dumbledore said, getting chuckles from about the room. Emma squealed angrily at being disturbed once more.
Iris smiled and sighed. "Why don't I just go put this little monster down for a quick little nap, all right? We don't want someone getting all
cranky in a Professor's arms," she said, gently picking up Emma from McGonagall's arms.
That was the last straw for Emma, though. She began to whimper and then began to quietly sob and there were coos from about the room.
"Easy, Emma, we're just going to go up to Iris' room and get you a crib set up so you don't disturb all of the other little ones," Iris said, gently giving
the baby a reassuring squeeze. Emma clung to the front of Iris's robes, and leaned her head against her chest, sobbing. "I know, sweetheart, I know.
Life stinks, doesn't it, hon?" Iris gently kissed the little one's head. Emma squealed as Iris began to take her out of the room.
"What is the matter with you, Emma? Do you or do you not want to take a nap and be all friendly when you see Daddy?" Iris said, going
over and setting Emma down on the counter. She held her back and her front while Emma began to calm down. "Are you as weird as your dad? I
think you are. Anyways, I think you're happy now, aren't you? Wanna go back to Hagrid? All right, come here, Tickle Toes." Iris lifted the baby high
into the air and then brought her back down into her arms and kissing her on the forehead. She went over and gently handed Hagrid Emma. Hagrid
nuzzled the baby's hair.
"Yeh've got too much hair fer such a young baby," he said, and kissed her on the cheek. Emma hummed and popped her fingers into her
mouth. "Mmm. Fingers. Mus' taste pretty good from tha' happy li'l face o' yours," Hagrid said, chuckling.
In a somewhat slow succession, familiar voices were heard from the sitting room. "Wonder where everyone is?"
"Were in here, Mrs. Weasley!" called Iris, hurrying our of the kitchen. "Here, let me take your cloaks, everyone else would be in the kitchen,
just go straight through the hallways, however tiny it may be. You can't miss it, as that's the only room it leads to," Iris's voice came through the
hallways. They all chuckled quietly as the Weasley family (minus Percy) entered the room. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin began conjuring chairs
for the others. Iris ran into the room some minutes later and began to get tea, coffee, and apple juice from the refrigerator. She set them on the
kitchen table and began to bring out many cups.
"Chose your weapon, or type of drink. I can heat up the tea if anyone would like," Iris said quickly, hurrying about the room. Mrs. Weasley
smiled and puffed out her chest proudly.
"She's going to make a wonderful mum one day," she whispered to Mr. Weasley.
"Go on, go on, have a seat! Don't want to tire your legs, it takes hours for them to heal, trust me. All right, I'm going to go fetch Maggie
and then I intend to make sure that all of the other little ones upstairs have been fed and changed and I'll watch them for a few minutes, okay?" Iris
said very quickly. She hurried out of the room, panting already. The Weasleys took their seats and smiled and poured their choosing of morning drink.
"Very nice, she is," Fred said, smirking.
"And not just the attitude," George added.
"Very shapely," added Charlie, nodding.
"Or busty," Fred and George said together.
"Shut up! She is being a very kind hostess, getting everything all set up so quickly and whatnot," Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at her sons.
Maggie came down the stairs and smiled at them all.
"Good morning, you lot. All of you lot. Iris said that breakfast slash brunch should be ready fairly shortly. Her father is to be coming even
shorter than that," Maggie said pleasantly.
A while later, Iris came back down, wearing a tight black T-shirt and a pair of tight jeans that Harry liked very much on her. Her hair was
wet, making it look silvery and Harry was surprised that her hair was now down to her waist. The other days that he had seen her, it had just been
down to her shoulders.
Noticing his confused look, Iris said, "I'm Metamorphamagus. But I'm really not that good with it just yet. I can only change my hair length
and can only change it to silver."
"Really? I'm a full-fledged one." Tonks said, beaming.
"Me too, but I haven't been able to change in so long that I have forgotten how to change much about me," Iris said, smiling pleasantly.
She and Tonks talked about this for a while until a sharp rap on the door was heard.
"Come in," Iris called, smiling. No one entered. "Come in!" Iris said a bit louder. Still, no one entered, but just rapped harder. "Listen, I told
you to -"
WHAM! The door flung open and all that carried wands there whipped them out. A very abhorring look appeared on all of the Weasley's
faces as they all put their wands in their pockets.
"Why didn't you open the door for the Secondary Minister of Magic?!" yelled Percy in Iris' face. She glared at him and -
WHAM! It was louder than the door being forced open. All of the Weasley's mouths were open and Fred and George began to clap. Iris had
punched Percy square in the jaw.
"LISTEN UP, BUDDY! This house does not belong to you, does it? And besides, it wouldn't hurt you to open the door!" Iris yelled at him.
Percy was now pale as a tall man with brilliantly bright red hair stepped into the room, looking concerned. Harry noticed that his ears were exactly
like Iris's, except for the small bit missing.
"Iris, please stop yelling. Percy, if you yell at my daughter once more, I shall whack you in the head so hard you will feel it ten years from
now," said the man quietly. Percy, his eyes wide, nodded.
"Y-Yes, sir, Secondary Minister!" Percy squeaked. The man sighed.
"Say it with me, Percy. Brian Mead. Not 'Secondary Minister'. That makes me sound like a cold-hearted bastard. Unless you think I am, in
which case I feel that you should continue to call me that until I die," Mr. Mead said, looking at Percy with raised eyebrows.
Iris grinned, biting her lower lip. She looked extremely excited to see her father. Mr. Mead grinned at his daughter, and Harry could clearly
see the strong similarities between them.
"Hullo, pet," he said, and scooped his daughter into a hug. He swung her around a bit, and set her down lightly. He kissed her on the cheek.
"How have you been?" he asked, grinning.
"Never better, Dad. Never better," Iris assured her father. "And you?"
"Ah, well, your mum's been a bit grumpy since your sister was born. So, after catering to her every whim, I am now tending to a broken
spirit. She's starting to think she's old," Mr. Mead explained.
Iris's lips tightened and disappeared as she heard about her mother. Her ears flattened to her head like a cat's.
Mr. Mead sighed. "Your mum isn't the most perfect person there is, Kitten, but she just does not want children of her own. Of course I do,
but then again, I love your mother very much. So, if you'd like to send a hate message to her, I could be the delivery boy. I'd just prefer not to
actually have to witness it," he said.
Iris laughed at this.
Mr. Mead looked around the room. "And where is - ah ha! The little angel," he said, quickly walking over to Hagrid, robes billowing. He had
to stand on the tips of his toes to see. Hagrid blushed and quickly bent slightly.
"Ah, thank you, good man. I'm not much for standing on my tip-toes," Mr. Mead said, grinning at his baby. He looked up at Hagrid. "Mind if
I hold her?"
"Not at all, not at all," Hagrid said quickly, and he quickly surrendered the baby. "Rubeus Hagrid, by the way."
"Yes, I know," Mr. Mead said, not looking up from his baby daughter. "Hagrid for short. Also the kind man to take my pet away from the
orphanage," he said, smiling at the infant. He leaned her against his chest and held her bottom. Emma squealed happily. "Yeah, Dad's here. Get
ready to start crying."
"Paff!" the baby declared.
"Really? I'd never known. So, tell me, m'dear, what is the meaning of life? Babies are supposed to know until they can talk," Mr. Mead
asked. He paused, pretending to wait for an answer.
Surprisingly, Emma did answer. "Eeerrgh!"
"Oh really? I always thought it was cheese. Well, you're the smarter one of us, so I'll take your word for it, Emma," Mr. Mead said, nuzzling
the infant's cheek. She squealed and grabbed his ear. "Ow. Okay, Emma, my dear sweetie, please give Daddy his ear back. Please? Iris! Make her
stop!"
Iris chuckled. "Why? She loves it," she smirked as her father finally freed his ear from Emma's grip.
"You're not all that nice, are you, Iry?" he said, straightening up. Lupin looked at Mr. Mead quizzically for a second.
"Hang on. What did you say your name was?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Mr. Mead looked over and smirked.
"Brian Mead, Remus," he said, and Lupin's eyes widened. "Been years, hasn't it, Moony?" Lupin could do nothing but nod his head with his
mouth slightly open.
"Wait. You two know each other? And you know his nick-name?" Harry asked, now quite confused. Mr. Mead looked over at him and
smiled.
"Yes, we do, Harry. As I also know Sirius and you and James. Of course, it's been at least a decade and a half since I've seen you or any
of the other Marauders," he said, smiling.
"All right, I'm confused!" declared Iris, looking around the room. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Well, I went to school with the Marauders, a group of weird, crazy, havoc-reeking young wizards. And at one point they had run out of
ideas and were simply sitting around, waiting for ideas to come to them. Then I showed up and taught them a thing or twenty," Mr. Mead said,
smiling.
"No, you did not show us a thing at all! It was a trick played on you, remember? From that we began getting more crafty and we opened
our minds to more things," Lupin corrected.
"Ah ha ha ha. You only think I was the victim. But who, prey tell were the ones who got the green paint all over themselves?" Mr. Mead
said, smirking at Lupin.
"Very clever, Bri, very clever indeed. But who, prey tell, was the one who got beat to a bloody pulp for that?" Lupin said, smiling. Mr. Mead
laughed and then sighed.
"I still have marks from when Sirius bit me when I told you lot that it wouldn't come off for three months and that it was designed to soak
all the way through your clothes and onto all of your skin. The look on James' face was quite priceless," Mr. Mead said, chuckling. "Unfortunately,
they've stopped making that kind of paint now-a-days."
Fred and George smiled at each other. "Sounds like a very good business opportunity, Fred," George said, smiling evilly.
"Indeed it does. As long as it's slightly different than the kind that was originally made," his twin responded.
"Otherwise we'd get in trouble with some kind of Department in the Ministry or something, I'm sure," Fred said, thinking about how to
change it.
"Add an extra ingredient but make sure that it won't change the effect of it," Mr. Mead said quietly when Mrs. Weasley's back was turned,
as she looked like she was going to start up about the twins but didn't want to ruin a perfectly fine meal. "I'll give you the old ingredients, take out
the eye of newt and replace it with toe of frog(A/N: hee hee! It's the song in the 3rd movie! I'm so weird). It won't make a difference, but you can
change the colors of it with simple food dye," he whispered. Fred and George smirked at one another.
"Iris, I have an announcement to declare. Your dad is the coolest old guy alive!" George announced. Iris and her father laughed.
"He's not cool! He's a five-year-old in big-boy pants!" Iris laughed. She got a playful shove from her father.
"No, you're the five-year-old in big boy pants," he said, and got a punch on the shoulder.
"You're an evil, evil little man, insulting your own daughter like that. You are awesome," Fred declared as Iris began passing out food and
plates.
"You want this, Fred? George? Take all of that stuff back and you can eat," Iris said, holding the plates just out of their reach.
"No!" they both said at the same time.
"Fine. No pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and hash browns for you two," Iris said, putting their plates on the counter. They looked
at each other and begged for their plates.
"I take it back, I take it back!" they both cried as Iris smirked.
"I thought as much," she said, handing them their plates. They hungrily ate and Iris just watched them in disgust for a moment.
"Ugh, that's really disgusting. How one can even eat meat products is a real wonder, but to eat like you're not going to see any food for
the rest of your life," she said, looking at them with her brow furrowed.
"Yeah, that's how most of the Weasley men eat. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Ginny said, chuckling at the look on her face.
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm not sure if it's all that healthy to eat without chewing anything," Iris said, moving back a bit from the twins.
"If you're in Gryffindor then you'll learn that Ron eats about the same way, but at least with him you don't have to have a shield," Hermione
said, chuckling as Ron's ears turned red.
The meal continued, and after, they all sat in the lounge, talking, laughing, and digesting. Suddenly, Mr. Mead shook his head and began
taking out a small splinter from his pocket.
"I can't believe I nearly forgot. Albus, Gryffindor doesn't have many Quidditch players this year, does it?" he said suddenly. Dumbledore
shook his head.
"Let's see, only Ron, Harry, and Ginny. I fear that one of you three will have to be the captain and have two more Chasers and Beaters
before the first match," Dumbledore said, looking at the three.
"Harry's Captain!" chorused both Weasleys.
"Hey, come on now, I don't know anything about good Quidditch moves or anything! I know how to Wrongski Fient and that's it!" Harry
objected. "Besides, how do I know a person is good at Quidditch?"
"Try-outs," Iris said, looking to be deep in a book.
"Hey, you can be Captain!" Ginny said happily.
"Nope. She's not going to Hogwarts," Harry corrected.
"Wrong," Iris said, not looking up from her book.
"Wrong?" Harry questioned.
"Right." This confused Harry very much. "Last night I did a great deal of thinking and pondering about Emma and if she gets sick or hurt
again, I'm not going to be there. So if I go to Hogwarts, then I can be there for her in case she bumps her head or gets a cut," Iris explained,
putting her book down. Harry nodded in comprehension. "I owled Professor Dumbledore late in the night, followed by a letter to my father."
"Then you can be Captain!" said Ginny happily.
"Sorry, I don't even know how to mount," Iris said, shrugging.
"WHAT?!" came several surprised voices. Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie had all been quite surprised at this.
"Well, you have to learn right now!" implored Ginny. Iris shrugged once more.
"I don't have a broom," she pointed out.
"And that's what birthdays and fathers are for," Mr. Mead said, taking out his wand and tapping it to each splinter. They enlarged and
everyone's jaw dropped.
A broomstick with a silver handle and very fine work done on perfecting each strand of the broom's end. "Happy birthday, Pumpkin."
"That's a Firebolt 2000! They haven't even been released to the public yet!" exclaimed George, looking the broom over. "How did you get
one?" Mr. Mead shrugged.
"I told Fudge that I needed a great gift for my daughter, and he shoved this in my face. Do you like it, Kitten?" Mr. Mead said, looking at
his daughter anxiously. Iris held the broom in her hand carefully as she started at it.
"It's wonderful, Dad. But, I haven't even the slightest clue as how to ride. I mean, when I was little Maggie read me stories of people riding
on brooms, and I saw the pictures, but I'm still not sure -" Iris said, getting cut off by Harry and Ron at the same time.
"I can teach you!" they both said at the same time. They both blushed and Ron surrendered his offer. Harry looked at him curiously and
quickly pulled him off to the side when everyone else was having a closer look at the broom.
"I thought you liked 'Mione!" Harry said quietly.
"I did! But we've been on and off for so long, and we decided that we should most definitely go out with other people. And she's been on
my back so often about going out with someone, and Iris is really pretty… But if you want her, mate, go right ahead," Ron said, looking at him
quizzically. Harry nodded.
"But you just wrote in your letter a few days ago that you like 'Mione!" Harry sighed. "All right. I have to tell you something that you might
hit me for, mate. Er - you see - I've kind of liked - er - someone…" Harry said, looking at the floor. Ron smirked at him.
"Hermione, right?" he said as Harry found the floor incredibly interesting. He nodded shortly and Ron laughed. "So it's kind of like trading off
girls, then, huh?"
"Well I wouldn't call it just that!" said Harry. "I mean, it sounds like you're swapping Chocolate Frog Cards!" Iris came into the hallway and
looked at the two boys.
"All right, either you two are sharing a dirty little secret with the closet or else you two don't want to have a go on my broom and try and
teach me to ride," she said, chuckling.
"Er -" said both boys, looking at each other.
"What, er?" Iris asked, looking at both boys.
"Think we could tell her about 'Mione?" Harry asked, looking over at Ron for an answer. Ron shrugged.
"Yeah, I suppose. But only about Hermione and no one else," Ron said sternly. Iris looked curious for a moment and then shook her head.
"Er - you see - I've kind of, erm, got a crush on…" Harry said, his voice trailing off. Iris smiled.
"Hermione?"
"Um, yeah…" Harry said, blushing beat red.
"It's all right, Harry. I won't tell her. If I do, may my ears be ripped off and shoved down my throat after being dumped in a cat box," Iris
said, holding up her right hand.
"Eww…. And ouch," Ron said, looking disgusted.
"Exactly." Harry trusted her very much. He nodded and the three went back out into the sitting room.
"Where were you guys?" Hermione asked, looking over her shoulder at them, making Harry's mind go blank.
"Er - uh…" was all that he was able to say.
"We were simply talking about some of the moves done in previous games of Quidditch at Hogwarts," Iris said smoothly. She had obviously
done this before. Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Okay. Well, Iris, are you intending to try out your new cleaning utensil or are you going to make us all just sit here and converse
pointlessly about nothing in particular?" Hermione said, making Harry, Ron, Fred, and George look around for help. Iris sighed.
"Am I going to ride my broom or not?" she said, and the four boys nodded, grinning stupidly. "Sure. But there's just one problem: I don't
know how to fly."
"I can teach you!" Fred declared, and grabbed Iris by her arm and led her out of the house, the new broom in his free hand. The rest of
them came to watch as Fred mounted in front of Iris.
"Ready?" he said eagerly.
"Well, I'm not sure -"
"Good!" he said, and kicked off very hard from the ground. He went incredibly fast and Harry was wondering if Iris was going to fall straight
off her broom. Maggie looked in horror as they rushed around the Victorian house many times.
Fred finally landed, about five minutes later, with Iris clinging to his chest still. "You can let go. We've landed."
"No we haven't! I can still feel us moving!" Iris yelled at him, her eyes shut tight. Maggie hurried over and gently took Iris's arm and helped
her off the broom.
"Fred, you idiot! Come here, Iris," Ron said, hurrying over to assist Iris. She clung to his shirt like a scared cat, and leaned her head against
her chest. "You want to - er - sit for a moment?" he asked.
"N-no. But I don't ever, EVER want to ride on one of those things again," Iris said into his shirt.
Ron gently rubbed her back. "Iris, you've got to try. It's only Fred's stupidity. Do you want to try going up with me once?" he asked.
"I don't know," Iris said, her ears perking up slightly. Ron played with one of her silky ears.
"You can sit in front of me instead of like last time. And I'll have to - well, have my arms wrapped around you so I can hold the broomstick.
And nothing fancy or anything. As soon as you want down, you can just say the word, okay?" Ron said, continuing to play with her ear.
"O-okay," Iris said uncertainly. Maggie soon walked back into the house, deciding that Iris was in good hands.
"There's a good girl. Now, first thing you do is you've got to lay the broom on the ground. Put your right hand over it. Just like that," Ron
said, putting his hand just over Iris's. "Say 'up.'''
"Up!" Iris said, looking down at the broomstick. It didn't move.
"Er, why don't you try it again?" Ron suggested. She did, but still it didn't budge. However, Harry noticed that Ron commanded the
broomstick up, though he said it was just a cough. The broom flew up into Iris's hand. "Look at that! You're already really good," he said, making Iris
smile.
"Right. Now you can mount the broom. Just sit in front of me. That's it… Wonderful, Iris," Ron said as he instructed her onto the broom in
front of her. Harry smirked at his best mate; he was sure getting along with Iris well.
The only problem was Iris's hair. Every time the wind blew, Ron ended up getting a faceful of Iris's chest-length, brown hair. He brushed it
away, obviously not caring. "You - have too much - bloody hair!" Ron said from somewhere deep within the brown forest. Iris chuckled, and seemed
a bit more relaxed with Ron. She took out a rubber band and quickly pulled her hair into a low ponytail.
Ron put his hands on the broom handle, a bit in front of Iris. "Put your hands just below mine, all right? It'll help balance you a bit more.
But don't worry if you start to lose your balance, 'cause I'll catch you. Ready?" Iris now looked like she was going to throw-up. "Easy, Iris, don't
worry about it. We'll just go up a few feet and see how you like it, okay? If you want to come back down, just tell me, all right? And you can tell me
when you want to go up a little higher and then when you feel comfortable enough to go forwards a bit," Ron said reassuringly. Iris looked at him and
smiled, though she looked quite pale. Ron smiled back at her and he got ready to kick off.
"All right, ready? Set? And up we go," Ron said, and lightly kicked off from the ground and Iris gasped.
"Oh no. Ohnoohnohonoohno," she said quickly, shutting her eyes tight and gripping the broomstick handle tightly. Her ears were now
pressed down flat against her head in fear.
"It's all right, it's all right," Ron said softly and reassuringly. "See? We're just hovering about three feet off the ground. You're fine, you're
okay." Iris peeked one eye open slightly. One ear perked up as well.
"I'm not dead yet?" she asked, looking down at the ground.
"No, not yet. Maybe in seventy years or so, but not now," Ron joked, and Iris surprisingly chuckled. "Wanna go up a little higher so we can
go forward?"
Iris looked a bit nervous, but nodded her head and Harry saw her legs tighten around the broom. The side of one calf gently touched one
of Ron's legs and he instantly turned beat red, his ears surprisingly redder than his face.
Ron went up a few feet more and kept going up until Iris got nervous once more. "Want down?" he asked, hoping that she didn't want to.
"N-No, I'm fine. I just need to get a bit more used to this kind of height. N-Never been higher than that tree," Iris said, pointing to a willow
not far from there. It was about six feet below them, and it took Iris a bit to get used to it.
"Think we can go forwards a bit?" Ron asked, gently giving Iris's shoulder a light squeeze. She nodded, and bit her lower lip. "We don't
have to, if you don't want. Or we could go lower and then go forwards, would that make things easier for you?" She nodded and he took them down
so they were about two feet below the top of the willow that Iris had mentioned.
Iris gave a weak chuckle. The broom lurched forward a bit, and her legs instinctively wrapped around Ron's. Ron's face was now puce, and
he smiled to himself.
"It's okay, Iris. D-Don't worry, it going nice a-and slow," Ron said, his voice a few octaves higher than normal. Iris nodded, though she still
looked petrified. She began to relax a bit more, and then Ron turned without telling her, and she tightened her legs around Ron's and on the broom
and looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
Ron, though incredibly red, said, "Sorry, Iri. Just relax," he said gently. Iris's legs relaxed a bit. "Just turning back around so we can go
back, okay? Wow, you've done really great for your first try on a broom. When I first started, I fell off so many times, my mum had to keep a
First-Aid kit ready whenever Dad wanted me to try again." Iris chuckled softly at this as Ron gently brought them down. "Remember to think down
as well, because these new brooms kind of go where you think, basically."
Ron had them land gently and Mrs. Weasley smiled. "See, Fred? Your brother can act civil and kind to a lady without throwing them off a
broom. Why can't you?"
"I never threw her off! She didn't even move when we landed!" Fred objected.
"That's because she was too broom-sick to move!" Mrs. Weasley said loudly, hitting Fred in the back of the head. Ron helped Iris from the
broom and she thanked him.
"Maybe later you could maybe go a few feet up by yourself? Me floating close by on a broom, ready if you need me?" he suggested
hopefully. Iris shrugged.
"Maybe, if I'm not too scared," she said, as Ron slung the broom over his shoulder. "But for now I'm kind of tired, maybe we could just sit
for a while?"
"Sorry, dear, we have to be off. School supply shopping and whatnot. Perhaps we'll stop by later?" Mrs. Weasley said, smiling politely. Iris
nodded and shrugged.
"Take your time. I've got no where to go. I'm the outcast of the entire town," Iris said, taking a slight bow. "See you lot later, then,
maybe."
doctor. Go rip something out of him, he can sew it back on," Iris said, trying to get Emma to let go of her earring. Dr. Brownhill rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but she knows that it's better to rip something out of her sister rather than someone else," Dr. Brownhill pointed out. Hagrid sighed
and very gently took Emma from Iris.
"Bad girl, Emma. You don't try the rip yer sister's ear off. Okay, go fer me beard. Tha's okay. I could always grow a new one. But yer sis
can' grow a new ear. Well, maybe with potions and spells but tha' wouldn' be too nice fer her, don' yeh think?" Hagrid said as Emma began to pull on
his beard. Iris looked a bit softer towards Hagrid from then on.
Dr. Brownhill left the room to go get the medication.
"Thank heaven it's only that and nothing gravely serious," Maggie said, looking relieved.
"Well, it is still rather serious. Bronchitis on a three-day-old can't be very good," Iris pointed out.
"Well, it's not gravely serious!" she said quickly.
"Good point, Maggie. Poor thing. She looks so sleepy. There, there, Emma, sweetheart. Yer jus' a li'l sleepy, huh?" Hagrid said gently.
"Hagrid, is she going to stay with you until tomorrow?" Iris asked curiously.
Hagrid looked up. It was the first time she had addressed him without sounding furious. "Yeah, I think so. Jus' need ter give her the
medicine an' then set her ter sleep. A couple hours later, I'll be back up, feedin' baby an' burpin' her, an' puttin' her right back ter sleep. I think she
could do with a li'l coddlin' after havin' ter go ter the hospital in the middle o' the night," he said, smiling down at the baby, who blinked furiously to
keep awake.
"I reckon you're getting the hang of this," Iris said quietly.
"Nope. Jus' pretendin'," Hagrid replied. Emma yawned widely, and Hagrid bent over to give her a whiskery kiss on the cheek. Emma
squealed, making Hagrid chuckle. "Madam Maxime did the same thing."
"About what time would you be around, then?" Iris inquired. Hagrid shrugged, slightly shocked that she was being more kinder to him.
"Oh, I dunno. 'Bout ten or eleven, I reckon. Why?" Hagrid said as Emma began digging around in the pocket closest to her sleepily.
"No reason. Hey, don't eat anything before you lot come over. Maggie likes to cook for random reasons. 'Maggie, I have a cold.' 'Have
pancakes.' 'Maggie, I have a hangnail.' 'Have cake.' "Maggie, my dad died.' 'Have toast.' Ever realized that, Maggie?" Iris said, looking over at a
blushing Maggie.
"I'm not all that bad," she said shyly.
"All right, Let's all just take a moment to try to pretend that you're not a food nutter, no pun intended," Iris said, and after a few seconds
said, "Phew! Glad that's over!" Maggie gave her a playful glare and sighed.
Emma began to whine in Hagrid's arms and he gently patted her bottom to try to soothe her. "Well, sounds like someone else besides me
is getting' sleepy, huh, Emma? See you lot tomorrow, then. C'mon, Harry, 'Mione," he said as he finished clothing the infant. Iris went over and gave
Emma a kiss on the forehead and she stopped whining and looked up.
"Sweet dreams, sweetie," Iris said, smiling at the infant. "Night everyone, see most of you tomorrow morning," Iris said before Maggie put
a hand lightly on her shoulder and they Apparated back to the orphanage.
The next morning, Harry woke at about eleven. He stretched and then realized that Hagrid was already up and Hermione was cooking
breakfast. She had obviously not wanted to try and eat the stuff that Hagrid cooks.
"Well, good-morning, Mr. I'm-Not-Going-To-Get-Up-For-Anything-In-The-World-Until-Maybe-Eleven-O' Clock-Or-Until-Death-Eaters-
Attack-And-Take-My-Pillow," Hermione said, smiling as she threw her pillow at him. He chuckled and got up and found his glasses. He smiled as he
heard Hagrid cooing at Emma behind him.
"Who's just a hungry li'l girl, Emma? I think you are! Yup, I'm pretty sure yeh are!" he cooed as he fed the infant. She hummed in
response, and kicked her feet. "Now yeh have ter be tryin' the be cute when yer this cute. Are yeh tryin' hard, Emma? 'Cause either way, yeh look
really cute when yer tryin' and even when yer not. Jus' a darlin' yeh are, Emma."
"Oh, Harry, the Weasleys were invited to join us at the brunch thing at the orphanage. Along with Professor Dumbledore, Professor
McGonagall, Lupin, even Percy, though how they found out 'bout Weatherby is beyond me," Hagrid said, very gently patting Emma on the back with
a cloth over his shoulder in case she spit up or threw up while he was burping her. "I s'pose that the dinner thing's goin' the take place at this
brunch thing or whatnot, 'cause her father's comin' along, too. Hiccups again, Emma?" (A/N: I'm really sry about all the cooing about the baby and
whatnot, but I LUV BABIES! So, yeah, I'm sry! I'll cut it out if u want me 2, but u have 2 review!)
"It's at eleven thirty, Harry, so you had better get dressed and everything else. And would you at least try to keep your hair down please?
This is a very important day for Hagrid and Emma and Iris. Here, use this," Hermione said, handing him a bottle of hair gel.
"I'll probably use up the entire bottle, you know," Harry pointed out. Hermione shrugged.
"It refills itself for children as it had been before. You had better hurry up, Harry, it's nearly five after eleven," Hermione replied, cleaning up
the hut a bit more. Hermione began putting their sleeping bags in a corner of the hut.
In a few minutes' time, they had Flooed to the orphanage and they were all surprised to see the house nearly devoid of children. They were
in the sitting room of the orphanage, but it wasn't crawling with children as normally.
Only Iris sat on the couch, reading an extremely large, old, tattered-looking book. Before anyone could announce their presence, Iris
smiled.
"Hello, Harry, Hagrid, Hermione. My, there are a lot of 'H' names in your group, now aren't there? Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and
Lupin are already here and are in the kitchen. The lot of the Weasleys are a bit late, but with as many of people in their family that they have to
get all ready, I wouldn't be surprised if they were three weeks late. Anywhos, breakfast is cooking as I babble about - erm, something. Anyways,
I shall pry my fat ass off the couch and shall show you the kitchen, okay?" Iris said, setting the book down and putting it on the coffee table. Harry
went over and tried picking the book up, but this task proved too much for Harry.
"Bloody hell, you read as much, if not more than Hermione does!" Harry said, looking at Iris amazedly. She blushed deeply and Hermione
elbowed him in the ribs.
"Shut up, Harry! That's not polite!" Hermione hissed. She smiled at Iris. "So, would you mind showing me your room? That's the only thing
that I've really been interested in at this house. I mean, not to be rude or anything."
"Not at all, Hermione. But I'll show you my mess in a bit. But this way would be the kitchen, where I shall keep you hostage until you all are
begging for me mercy from the food I will be stuffing down your throats," Iris said, chuckling. They went through a small hallway and entered a
fair-sized kitchen. There sat Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin, drinking tea and coffee and chuckling at a joke Lupin had just told.
"Ah, hello, Harry, Hermione, Emma, Hagrid, and Iris. What a lovely morning for a brunch, isn't it?" Dumbledore said pleasantly. He beamed
when he saw little Emma, yawning. "Of course, for some darling sleepyheads, sleep would be more pleasing, right, Miss Hagrid?"
Emma hummed at this and looked at him sleepily. She gave a small burp and McGonagall chuckled. "You still seem to be sleeping, Emma,
dear," she said, grinning at the infant. "Hagrid, may I hold her, please?"
"Oh, o' course, Professor," Hagrid said, going over and gently placing Emma in her arms. Emma looked up at her new holder sleepily.
"Uh," Emma said before snuggling into McGonagall's robes. McGonagall beamed at the little girl and gently stroked her hair.
"You have quite a lot of hair for someone your age, my dear. I remember it taking Harry a while before he had hair at all. Oh! Emma, dear,
where are you trying to go?" McGonagall said as Emma began squirming about in her arms. Emma finally settled down and closed her eyes gently.
"I'm finding it quite hard to not favor students, Albus," McGonagall said, gently stroking the baby's hair.
"Well, technically, she's not a student quite yet, Minerva, so we're allowed to - How to put this appropriately? We are allowed to spoil her
until she squeals," Dumbledore said, getting chuckles from about the room. Emma squealed angrily at being disturbed once more.
Iris smiled and sighed. "Why don't I just go put this little monster down for a quick little nap, all right? We don't want someone getting all
cranky in a Professor's arms," she said, gently picking up Emma from McGonagall's arms.
That was the last straw for Emma, though. She began to whimper and then began to quietly sob and there were coos from about the room.
"Easy, Emma, we're just going to go up to Iris' room and get you a crib set up so you don't disturb all of the other little ones," Iris said, gently giving
the baby a reassuring squeeze. Emma clung to the front of Iris's robes, and leaned her head against her chest, sobbing. "I know, sweetheart, I know.
Life stinks, doesn't it, hon?" Iris gently kissed the little one's head. Emma squealed as Iris began to take her out of the room.
"What is the matter with you, Emma? Do you or do you not want to take a nap and be all friendly when you see Daddy?" Iris said, going
over and setting Emma down on the counter. She held her back and her front while Emma began to calm down. "Are you as weird as your dad? I
think you are. Anyways, I think you're happy now, aren't you? Wanna go back to Hagrid? All right, come here, Tickle Toes." Iris lifted the baby high
into the air and then brought her back down into her arms and kissing her on the forehead. She went over and gently handed Hagrid Emma. Hagrid
nuzzled the baby's hair.
"Yeh've got too much hair fer such a young baby," he said, and kissed her on the cheek. Emma hummed and popped her fingers into her
mouth. "Mmm. Fingers. Mus' taste pretty good from tha' happy li'l face o' yours," Hagrid said, chuckling.
In a somewhat slow succession, familiar voices were heard from the sitting room. "Wonder where everyone is?"
"Were in here, Mrs. Weasley!" called Iris, hurrying our of the kitchen. "Here, let me take your cloaks, everyone else would be in the kitchen,
just go straight through the hallways, however tiny it may be. You can't miss it, as that's the only room it leads to," Iris's voice came through the
hallways. They all chuckled quietly as the Weasley family (minus Percy) entered the room. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin began conjuring chairs
for the others. Iris ran into the room some minutes later and began to get tea, coffee, and apple juice from the refrigerator. She set them on the
kitchen table and began to bring out many cups.
"Chose your weapon, or type of drink. I can heat up the tea if anyone would like," Iris said quickly, hurrying about the room. Mrs. Weasley
smiled and puffed out her chest proudly.
"She's going to make a wonderful mum one day," she whispered to Mr. Weasley.
"Go on, go on, have a seat! Don't want to tire your legs, it takes hours for them to heal, trust me. All right, I'm going to go fetch Maggie
and then I intend to make sure that all of the other little ones upstairs have been fed and changed and I'll watch them for a few minutes, okay?" Iris
said very quickly. She hurried out of the room, panting already. The Weasleys took their seats and smiled and poured their choosing of morning drink.
"Very nice, she is," Fred said, smirking.
"And not just the attitude," George added.
"Very shapely," added Charlie, nodding.
"Or busty," Fred and George said together.
"Shut up! She is being a very kind hostess, getting everything all set up so quickly and whatnot," Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at her sons.
Maggie came down the stairs and smiled at them all.
"Good morning, you lot. All of you lot. Iris said that breakfast slash brunch should be ready fairly shortly. Her father is to be coming even
shorter than that," Maggie said pleasantly.
A while later, Iris came back down, wearing a tight black T-shirt and a pair of tight jeans that Harry liked very much on her. Her hair was
wet, making it look silvery and Harry was surprised that her hair was now down to her waist. The other days that he had seen her, it had just been
down to her shoulders.
Noticing his confused look, Iris said, "I'm Metamorphamagus. But I'm really not that good with it just yet. I can only change my hair length
and can only change it to silver."
"Really? I'm a full-fledged one." Tonks said, beaming.
"Me too, but I haven't been able to change in so long that I have forgotten how to change much about me," Iris said, smiling pleasantly.
She and Tonks talked about this for a while until a sharp rap on the door was heard.
"Come in," Iris called, smiling. No one entered. "Come in!" Iris said a bit louder. Still, no one entered, but just rapped harder. "Listen, I told
you to -"
WHAM! The door flung open and all that carried wands there whipped them out. A very abhorring look appeared on all of the Weasley's
faces as they all put their wands in their pockets.
"Why didn't you open the door for the Secondary Minister of Magic?!" yelled Percy in Iris' face. She glared at him and -
WHAM! It was louder than the door being forced open. All of the Weasley's mouths were open and Fred and George began to clap. Iris had
punched Percy square in the jaw.
"LISTEN UP, BUDDY! This house does not belong to you, does it? And besides, it wouldn't hurt you to open the door!" Iris yelled at him.
Percy was now pale as a tall man with brilliantly bright red hair stepped into the room, looking concerned. Harry noticed that his ears were exactly
like Iris's, except for the small bit missing.
"Iris, please stop yelling. Percy, if you yell at my daughter once more, I shall whack you in the head so hard you will feel it ten years from
now," said the man quietly. Percy, his eyes wide, nodded.
"Y-Yes, sir, Secondary Minister!" Percy squeaked. The man sighed.
"Say it with me, Percy. Brian Mead. Not 'Secondary Minister'. That makes me sound like a cold-hearted bastard. Unless you think I am, in
which case I feel that you should continue to call me that until I die," Mr. Mead said, looking at Percy with raised eyebrows.
Iris grinned, biting her lower lip. She looked extremely excited to see her father. Mr. Mead grinned at his daughter, and Harry could clearly
see the strong similarities between them.
"Hullo, pet," he said, and scooped his daughter into a hug. He swung her around a bit, and set her down lightly. He kissed her on the cheek.
"How have you been?" he asked, grinning.
"Never better, Dad. Never better," Iris assured her father. "And you?"
"Ah, well, your mum's been a bit grumpy since your sister was born. So, after catering to her every whim, I am now tending to a broken
spirit. She's starting to think she's old," Mr. Mead explained.
Iris's lips tightened and disappeared as she heard about her mother. Her ears flattened to her head like a cat's.
Mr. Mead sighed. "Your mum isn't the most perfect person there is, Kitten, but she just does not want children of her own. Of course I do,
but then again, I love your mother very much. So, if you'd like to send a hate message to her, I could be the delivery boy. I'd just prefer not to
actually have to witness it," he said.
Iris laughed at this.
Mr. Mead looked around the room. "And where is - ah ha! The little angel," he said, quickly walking over to Hagrid, robes billowing. He had
to stand on the tips of his toes to see. Hagrid blushed and quickly bent slightly.
"Ah, thank you, good man. I'm not much for standing on my tip-toes," Mr. Mead said, grinning at his baby. He looked up at Hagrid. "Mind if
I hold her?"
"Not at all, not at all," Hagrid said quickly, and he quickly surrendered the baby. "Rubeus Hagrid, by the way."
"Yes, I know," Mr. Mead said, not looking up from his baby daughter. "Hagrid for short. Also the kind man to take my pet away from the
orphanage," he said, smiling at the infant. He leaned her against his chest and held her bottom. Emma squealed happily. "Yeah, Dad's here. Get
ready to start crying."
"Paff!" the baby declared.
"Really? I'd never known. So, tell me, m'dear, what is the meaning of life? Babies are supposed to know until they can talk," Mr. Mead
asked. He paused, pretending to wait for an answer.
Surprisingly, Emma did answer. "Eeerrgh!"
"Oh really? I always thought it was cheese. Well, you're the smarter one of us, so I'll take your word for it, Emma," Mr. Mead said, nuzzling
the infant's cheek. She squealed and grabbed his ear. "Ow. Okay, Emma, my dear sweetie, please give Daddy his ear back. Please? Iris! Make her
stop!"
Iris chuckled. "Why? She loves it," she smirked as her father finally freed his ear from Emma's grip.
"You're not all that nice, are you, Iry?" he said, straightening up. Lupin looked at Mr. Mead quizzically for a second.
"Hang on. What did you say your name was?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Mr. Mead looked over and smirked.
"Brian Mead, Remus," he said, and Lupin's eyes widened. "Been years, hasn't it, Moony?" Lupin could do nothing but nod his head with his
mouth slightly open.
"Wait. You two know each other? And you know his nick-name?" Harry asked, now quite confused. Mr. Mead looked over at him and
smiled.
"Yes, we do, Harry. As I also know Sirius and you and James. Of course, it's been at least a decade and a half since I've seen you or any
of the other Marauders," he said, smiling.
"All right, I'm confused!" declared Iris, looking around the room. Harry nodded in agreement.
"Well, I went to school with the Marauders, a group of weird, crazy, havoc-reeking young wizards. And at one point they had run out of
ideas and were simply sitting around, waiting for ideas to come to them. Then I showed up and taught them a thing or twenty," Mr. Mead said,
smiling.
"No, you did not show us a thing at all! It was a trick played on you, remember? From that we began getting more crafty and we opened
our minds to more things," Lupin corrected.
"Ah ha ha ha. You only think I was the victim. But who, prey tell were the ones who got the green paint all over themselves?" Mr. Mead
said, smirking at Lupin.
"Very clever, Bri, very clever indeed. But who, prey tell, was the one who got beat to a bloody pulp for that?" Lupin said, smiling. Mr. Mead
laughed and then sighed.
"I still have marks from when Sirius bit me when I told you lot that it wouldn't come off for three months and that it was designed to soak
all the way through your clothes and onto all of your skin. The look on James' face was quite priceless," Mr. Mead said, chuckling. "Unfortunately,
they've stopped making that kind of paint now-a-days."
Fred and George smiled at each other. "Sounds like a very good business opportunity, Fred," George said, smiling evilly.
"Indeed it does. As long as it's slightly different than the kind that was originally made," his twin responded.
"Otherwise we'd get in trouble with some kind of Department in the Ministry or something, I'm sure," Fred said, thinking about how to
change it.
"Add an extra ingredient but make sure that it won't change the effect of it," Mr. Mead said quietly when Mrs. Weasley's back was turned,
as she looked like she was going to start up about the twins but didn't want to ruin a perfectly fine meal. "I'll give you the old ingredients, take out
the eye of newt and replace it with toe of frog(A/N: hee hee! It's the song in the 3rd movie! I'm so weird). It won't make a difference, but you can
change the colors of it with simple food dye," he whispered. Fred and George smirked at one another.
"Iris, I have an announcement to declare. Your dad is the coolest old guy alive!" George announced. Iris and her father laughed.
"He's not cool! He's a five-year-old in big-boy pants!" Iris laughed. She got a playful shove from her father.
"No, you're the five-year-old in big boy pants," he said, and got a punch on the shoulder.
"You're an evil, evil little man, insulting your own daughter like that. You are awesome," Fred declared as Iris began passing out food and
plates.
"You want this, Fred? George? Take all of that stuff back and you can eat," Iris said, holding the plates just out of their reach.
"No!" they both said at the same time.
"Fine. No pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and hash browns for you two," Iris said, putting their plates on the counter. They looked
at each other and begged for their plates.
"I take it back, I take it back!" they both cried as Iris smirked.
"I thought as much," she said, handing them their plates. They hungrily ate and Iris just watched them in disgust for a moment.
"Ugh, that's really disgusting. How one can even eat meat products is a real wonder, but to eat like you're not going to see any food for
the rest of your life," she said, looking at them with her brow furrowed.
"Yeah, that's how most of the Weasley men eat. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Ginny said, chuckling at the look on her face.
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm not sure if it's all that healthy to eat without chewing anything," Iris said, moving back a bit from the twins.
"If you're in Gryffindor then you'll learn that Ron eats about the same way, but at least with him you don't have to have a shield," Hermione
said, chuckling as Ron's ears turned red.
The meal continued, and after, they all sat in the lounge, talking, laughing, and digesting. Suddenly, Mr. Mead shook his head and began
taking out a small splinter from his pocket.
"I can't believe I nearly forgot. Albus, Gryffindor doesn't have many Quidditch players this year, does it?" he said suddenly. Dumbledore
shook his head.
"Let's see, only Ron, Harry, and Ginny. I fear that one of you three will have to be the captain and have two more Chasers and Beaters
before the first match," Dumbledore said, looking at the three.
"Harry's Captain!" chorused both Weasleys.
"Hey, come on now, I don't know anything about good Quidditch moves or anything! I know how to Wrongski Fient and that's it!" Harry
objected. "Besides, how do I know a person is good at Quidditch?"
"Try-outs," Iris said, looking to be deep in a book.
"Hey, you can be Captain!" Ginny said happily.
"Nope. She's not going to Hogwarts," Harry corrected.
"Wrong," Iris said, not looking up from her book.
"Wrong?" Harry questioned.
"Right." This confused Harry very much. "Last night I did a great deal of thinking and pondering about Emma and if she gets sick or hurt
again, I'm not going to be there. So if I go to Hogwarts, then I can be there for her in case she bumps her head or gets a cut," Iris explained,
putting her book down. Harry nodded in comprehension. "I owled Professor Dumbledore late in the night, followed by a letter to my father."
"Then you can be Captain!" said Ginny happily.
"Sorry, I don't even know how to mount," Iris said, shrugging.
"WHAT?!" came several surprised voices. Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie had all been quite surprised at this.
"Well, you have to learn right now!" implored Ginny. Iris shrugged once more.
"I don't have a broom," she pointed out.
"And that's what birthdays and fathers are for," Mr. Mead said, taking out his wand and tapping it to each splinter. They enlarged and
everyone's jaw dropped.
A broomstick with a silver handle and very fine work done on perfecting each strand of the broom's end. "Happy birthday, Pumpkin."
"That's a Firebolt 2000! They haven't even been released to the public yet!" exclaimed George, looking the broom over. "How did you get
one?" Mr. Mead shrugged.
"I told Fudge that I needed a great gift for my daughter, and he shoved this in my face. Do you like it, Kitten?" Mr. Mead said, looking at
his daughter anxiously. Iris held the broom in her hand carefully as she started at it.
"It's wonderful, Dad. But, I haven't even the slightest clue as how to ride. I mean, when I was little Maggie read me stories of people riding
on brooms, and I saw the pictures, but I'm still not sure -" Iris said, getting cut off by Harry and Ron at the same time.
"I can teach you!" they both said at the same time. They both blushed and Ron surrendered his offer. Harry looked at him curiously and
quickly pulled him off to the side when everyone else was having a closer look at the broom.
"I thought you liked 'Mione!" Harry said quietly.
"I did! But we've been on and off for so long, and we decided that we should most definitely go out with other people. And she's been on
my back so often about going out with someone, and Iris is really pretty… But if you want her, mate, go right ahead," Ron said, looking at him
quizzically. Harry nodded.
"But you just wrote in your letter a few days ago that you like 'Mione!" Harry sighed. "All right. I have to tell you something that you might
hit me for, mate. Er - you see - I've kind of liked - er - someone…" Harry said, looking at the floor. Ron smirked at him.
"Hermione, right?" he said as Harry found the floor incredibly interesting. He nodded shortly and Ron laughed. "So it's kind of like trading off
girls, then, huh?"
"Well I wouldn't call it just that!" said Harry. "I mean, it sounds like you're swapping Chocolate Frog Cards!" Iris came into the hallway and
looked at the two boys.
"All right, either you two are sharing a dirty little secret with the closet or else you two don't want to have a go on my broom and try and
teach me to ride," she said, chuckling.
"Er -" said both boys, looking at each other.
"What, er?" Iris asked, looking at both boys.
"Think we could tell her about 'Mione?" Harry asked, looking over at Ron for an answer. Ron shrugged.
"Yeah, I suppose. But only about Hermione and no one else," Ron said sternly. Iris looked curious for a moment and then shook her head.
"Er - you see - I've kind of, erm, got a crush on…" Harry said, his voice trailing off. Iris smiled.
"Hermione?"
"Um, yeah…" Harry said, blushing beat red.
"It's all right, Harry. I won't tell her. If I do, may my ears be ripped off and shoved down my throat after being dumped in a cat box," Iris
said, holding up her right hand.
"Eww…. And ouch," Ron said, looking disgusted.
"Exactly." Harry trusted her very much. He nodded and the three went back out into the sitting room.
"Where were you guys?" Hermione asked, looking over her shoulder at them, making Harry's mind go blank.
"Er - uh…" was all that he was able to say.
"We were simply talking about some of the moves done in previous games of Quidditch at Hogwarts," Iris said smoothly. She had obviously
done this before. Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Okay. Well, Iris, are you intending to try out your new cleaning utensil or are you going to make us all just sit here and converse
pointlessly about nothing in particular?" Hermione said, making Harry, Ron, Fred, and George look around for help. Iris sighed.
"Am I going to ride my broom or not?" she said, and the four boys nodded, grinning stupidly. "Sure. But there's just one problem: I don't
know how to fly."
"I can teach you!" Fred declared, and grabbed Iris by her arm and led her out of the house, the new broom in his free hand. The rest of
them came to watch as Fred mounted in front of Iris.
"Ready?" he said eagerly.
"Well, I'm not sure -"
"Good!" he said, and kicked off very hard from the ground. He went incredibly fast and Harry was wondering if Iris was going to fall straight
off her broom. Maggie looked in horror as they rushed around the Victorian house many times.
Fred finally landed, about five minutes later, with Iris clinging to his chest still. "You can let go. We've landed."
"No we haven't! I can still feel us moving!" Iris yelled at him, her eyes shut tight. Maggie hurried over and gently took Iris's arm and helped
her off the broom.
"Fred, you idiot! Come here, Iris," Ron said, hurrying over to assist Iris. She clung to his shirt like a scared cat, and leaned her head against
her chest. "You want to - er - sit for a moment?" he asked.
"N-no. But I don't ever, EVER want to ride on one of those things again," Iris said into his shirt.
Ron gently rubbed her back. "Iris, you've got to try. It's only Fred's stupidity. Do you want to try going up with me once?" he asked.
"I don't know," Iris said, her ears perking up slightly. Ron played with one of her silky ears.
"You can sit in front of me instead of like last time. And I'll have to - well, have my arms wrapped around you so I can hold the broomstick.
And nothing fancy or anything. As soon as you want down, you can just say the word, okay?" Ron said, continuing to play with her ear.
"O-okay," Iris said uncertainly. Maggie soon walked back into the house, deciding that Iris was in good hands.
"There's a good girl. Now, first thing you do is you've got to lay the broom on the ground. Put your right hand over it. Just like that," Ron
said, putting his hand just over Iris's. "Say 'up.'''
"Up!" Iris said, looking down at the broomstick. It didn't move.
"Er, why don't you try it again?" Ron suggested. She did, but still it didn't budge. However, Harry noticed that Ron commanded the
broomstick up, though he said it was just a cough. The broom flew up into Iris's hand. "Look at that! You're already really good," he said, making Iris
smile.
"Right. Now you can mount the broom. Just sit in front of me. That's it… Wonderful, Iris," Ron said as he instructed her onto the broom in
front of her. Harry smirked at his best mate; he was sure getting along with Iris well.
The only problem was Iris's hair. Every time the wind blew, Ron ended up getting a faceful of Iris's chest-length, brown hair. He brushed it
away, obviously not caring. "You - have too much - bloody hair!" Ron said from somewhere deep within the brown forest. Iris chuckled, and seemed
a bit more relaxed with Ron. She took out a rubber band and quickly pulled her hair into a low ponytail.
Ron put his hands on the broom handle, a bit in front of Iris. "Put your hands just below mine, all right? It'll help balance you a bit more.
But don't worry if you start to lose your balance, 'cause I'll catch you. Ready?" Iris now looked like she was going to throw-up. "Easy, Iris, don't
worry about it. We'll just go up a few feet and see how you like it, okay? If you want to come back down, just tell me, all right? And you can tell me
when you want to go up a little higher and then when you feel comfortable enough to go forwards a bit," Ron said reassuringly. Iris looked at him and
smiled, though she looked quite pale. Ron smiled back at her and he got ready to kick off.
"All right, ready? Set? And up we go," Ron said, and lightly kicked off from the ground and Iris gasped.
"Oh no. Ohnoohnohonoohno," she said quickly, shutting her eyes tight and gripping the broomstick handle tightly. Her ears were now
pressed down flat against her head in fear.
"It's all right, it's all right," Ron said softly and reassuringly. "See? We're just hovering about three feet off the ground. You're fine, you're
okay." Iris peeked one eye open slightly. One ear perked up as well.
"I'm not dead yet?" she asked, looking down at the ground.
"No, not yet. Maybe in seventy years or so, but not now," Ron joked, and Iris surprisingly chuckled. "Wanna go up a little higher so we can
go forward?"
Iris looked a bit nervous, but nodded her head and Harry saw her legs tighten around the broom. The side of one calf gently touched one
of Ron's legs and he instantly turned beat red, his ears surprisingly redder than his face.
Ron went up a few feet more and kept going up until Iris got nervous once more. "Want down?" he asked, hoping that she didn't want to.
"N-No, I'm fine. I just need to get a bit more used to this kind of height. N-Never been higher than that tree," Iris said, pointing to a willow
not far from there. It was about six feet below them, and it took Iris a bit to get used to it.
"Think we can go forwards a bit?" Ron asked, gently giving Iris's shoulder a light squeeze. She nodded, and bit her lower lip. "We don't
have to, if you don't want. Or we could go lower and then go forwards, would that make things easier for you?" She nodded and he took them down
so they were about two feet below the top of the willow that Iris had mentioned.
Iris gave a weak chuckle. The broom lurched forward a bit, and her legs instinctively wrapped around Ron's. Ron's face was now puce, and
he smiled to himself.
"It's okay, Iris. D-Don't worry, it going nice a-and slow," Ron said, his voice a few octaves higher than normal. Iris nodded, though she still
looked petrified. She began to relax a bit more, and then Ron turned without telling her, and she tightened her legs around Ron's and on the broom
and looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
Ron, though incredibly red, said, "Sorry, Iri. Just relax," he said gently. Iris's legs relaxed a bit. "Just turning back around so we can go
back, okay? Wow, you've done really great for your first try on a broom. When I first started, I fell off so many times, my mum had to keep a
First-Aid kit ready whenever Dad wanted me to try again." Iris chuckled softly at this as Ron gently brought them down. "Remember to think down
as well, because these new brooms kind of go where you think, basically."
Ron had them land gently and Mrs. Weasley smiled. "See, Fred? Your brother can act civil and kind to a lady without throwing them off a
broom. Why can't you?"
"I never threw her off! She didn't even move when we landed!" Fred objected.
"That's because she was too broom-sick to move!" Mrs. Weasley said loudly, hitting Fred in the back of the head. Ron helped Iris from the
broom and she thanked him.
"Maybe later you could maybe go a few feet up by yourself? Me floating close by on a broom, ready if you need me?" he suggested
hopefully. Iris shrugged.
"Maybe, if I'm not too scared," she said, as Ron slung the broom over his shoulder. "But for now I'm kind of tired, maybe we could just sit
for a while?"
"Sorry, dear, we have to be off. School supply shopping and whatnot. Perhaps we'll stop by later?" Mrs. Weasley said, smiling politely. Iris
nodded and shrugged.
"Take your time. I've got no where to go. I'm the outcast of the entire town," Iris said, taking a slight bow. "See you lot later, then,
maybe."