HARRY POTTER AND THE BREATH OF LIFE
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other known character from the Harry Potter series. I do own the plot and a few characters.
And the winner was: …… Read on.
This chapter is PG-13.
Chapter 11 – Dreams, Meeting the Parents, Revealing Secrets and The First Time
Summer was near the end. Iris had managed to fight the pain of missing Sirius by writing loads of letters. Many of them were never sent. Even so she knew that he felt every time she sat by her desk writing all sorts of things. While she moved her quill over the parchment she thought of him and played with the pendant hanging on her neck. She was holding his soul and that helped write.
Many miles away Sirius was doing the same. A three-foot pile of parchment covered a corner of his tent. He knew that it was not comfortable to write without a back support but he didn't mind. As long as he could stand enough time to write all he wanted to write it was fine. Besides he knew that riding a broomstick was in many ways similar, so his back didn't protest very much, except on those days when he wrote for hours a time. On those days he had trouble sleeping. But he kept doing it.
Iris also had trouble sleeping but it wasn't because of her back. It was her dreams. The trial and strange veil kept appearing in her dreams. On one day she almost saw the convict's face. It looked like a women. Later in the summer her dreams changed. Now she saw a bird in a cage. Its colour was the same as her eyes. Brown with a bit of green. The first few times she dreamt that she could hear nothing but the bird's song. But afterwards she could hear a voice. At first it was almost inaudible but later it became clear. It was a woman's voice and it said:
" The day will come when you'll give yourself to him. That day will be when you see a bird of the colour of your eyes."
Iris stopped fearing that dream. It meant that soon she and Sirius would experiment something beyond what they had.
Sirius also dreamed about it. He wanted it to be perfect. He thought about a romantic dinner, a nice talk and take it from there. He had no experience but he wanted to excel at it. It was supposed to be the best night of their lives. And he really hoped it would be. But first he had to buy his house. And August the 15th was that day.
=====================================
The day started shiny and bright. Sirius woke up early unlike the other days. He took a white shirt and black jeans and got dressed and headed inside the Potter Mansion. He reached the kitchen and found the whole Potter family already sitting at the table being served by their house-elf. He joined them after saying his good morning. Mr. Potter was reading the Daily Prophet and was currently scanning the house offers. Sirius was getting served some bacon and eggs when Mr. Potter turned to him.
" Sirius, the offer is good. There's a house up north that seems pretty good. Listen to this: " Small, two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and backyard. Two stories. Good condition and excellent neighbourhood. Accessible price. Owl today for a tour." What do you think?" he said barely raising his head from the paper.
" It sounds great. I wouldn't mind go for a look." Sirius said smiling.
" I'll send an owl straight away." Said Mrs. Potter quickly.
Then she left the kitchen and later returned with a rolled piece of parchment. She gave the letter to an owl and they saw her leave. Two hours later the owl was back. Sirius, James and Mr. Potter went to visit the house. It was cosy and perfect for Sirius. Not too big but it wasn't very small either. The bedrooms were nice and the kitchen was clean. It was already furnished. It had a couch, beds, table and chairs. The backyard had a few weeds but it was nice nevertheless. His neighbour had a bunch of birds in cages. They weren't noisy and Sirius appreciated that. Before mid-day the house was Sirius's. He returned to the Potter Mansion with James and then he packed his things. The two friends talked for a while.
" Thanks for letting me spend the holidays with you, mate." Said Sirius.
" No problem, mate. You're my best friend. I know you would do the same for me."
" Any time.
Before I go I want to send an owl."
" Sure. Why don't you stay for lunch?"
" I was thinking I'd go get Iris to lunch with me."
" Right."
The two friends entered the kitchen for Sirius's goodbyes. Before departing he sent Orion to Iris. Mrs. Potter hugged him tight at the door.
" You know you are always welcome to our house. Come and have lunch with us on Sundays. It would make us very happy. We love you as if you were our son." She said crying.
" Thank you
Mrs. Potter."
" It's Helen, dear. I will be expecting you."
" I'll
come. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciated it."
" No problem, son. Came back any time." Said Mr. Potter.
Sirius smiled broadly, punched James in the arm and James winced at him. Soon he had Disapparated and then Apparated in front of his new house. He unpacked his things and did a rain check to see if anything was wrong. At half past twelve Orion returned. He read the letter and Disapparated again. He saw himself facing a house pretty much similar to his. And at the door was his girl.
=====================================
Iris woke up around ten o'clock. It was late and she took a quick shower and dressed a blue shirt and jeans before heading for the kitchen. It was full but no one was eating. They were all talking and laughing but stopped when Iris entered.
" Good morning dear. You got up late today. Had a nice night?" asked her mother.
" Good morning. Actually I had a perfect night." Iris answered smiling.
" Have some breakfast, dear." Said her grandmother.
Iris sat at the table and started eating. Soon she entered their conversation. It was almost lunchtime when Orion entered the kitchen from the open window over the sink. Iris took the letter smiling.
" Hello Orion. What does your owner want this time?" she asked the owl, smiling more broadly.
" Isn't that Sirius's owl, Iris?" asked William.
She looked at him while opening the letter.
" Yeah. So?"
" Nothing. I was just wondering why he keeps writing to you. I mean he's just a friend right?" he asked.
" You know what? Mind your own business, little brother."
" It is perfectly normal for friends to write to each other." Intervened Clara.
" Yeah,
doesn't…hum…what's her name…." Started Iris.
" Mina. Her name his Mina." Finished William
" Right. Doesn't Mina write to you?" she asked with a look of mischief in her eyes.
" Maybe. I don't see any resemblance to your case."
" Sirius is a guy. Mina is a girl. I think it's pretty clear." Iris said, still with the same look.
" Forget I mentioned anything."
Iris nodded and turned her attention to the letter in her hands. After finishing it she gasped.
" Oh, my God. He found a house. He is moving in today." She said happily.
" That's great. Is it all it says?" said Sarah.
" No. He is asking me to join him for lunch at his house."
" Why don't you ask him to lunch with us. I've become interested in meeting this young man." Intervened her father.
Iris didn't know what to say. Her father wanted to meet Sirius. That meant telling them about their relationship. She nodded. Then she wrote to Sirius asking him to join her. She watched Orion leave and turned to the table. She was alone. Everyone had left and Iris couldn't help but laugh. They had all went to change clothes. She decided to wait for him by the entrance. But before she went to check herself on the mirror. When she opened the door he was already there.
=====================================
They meet halfway from the door and the place he had been standing on. They kissed briefly and she caressed his face. A three-day beard covered it. She enjoyed the feeling of touching it. Bearded men were her favourites.
" Hi." He whispered.
" Hi. How are you?" she asked.
" Fine. You?"
" Pretty great. So, ready to face the beast?"
" The beast
being your father?"
" Yep."
" Then I'm ready. Surely he can't be worse than mine."
" He's way better."
" Everyone is better than Aldebaran Black." (A/N: Aldebaran is a star from the
constellation Taurus. I making him mean so I think it's perfect.)
Iris laughed and grabbed his hand, leading the way to the house. Waiting inside the house was William.
" Hey Sirius. Guess what? My grandma gave me a book of pranks. It's pretty great."
" Good for you. We have to make use of it this year." Sirius said smiling.
William nodded and grinned. Behind him came Isabel.
" Hello Sirius. How are you?" she asked.
" Fine, thank you, Mrs Renata."
" It's Isabel. Come in. Let's go to the living room."
They followed Isabel into the living room, where Jake and Clara were waiting. Sirius smiled when he saw Clara.
" Grandma, hello." He said.
" Hello, dear. Let me introduce you to my son, Jake Renata."
Sirius and Jake shook hands. Sirius felt a certain panic but it passed quickly. Jake smiled at him.
" So, I heard you own a house. I think it is a great responsibility keeping a house. Don't you agree?" he asked Sirius.
" Yes, sir. I intend to arrange my future so I can guarantee the future of my family." Sirius answered very maturely. He had every intention of looking good.
" Very well. What are your intentions towards my daughter?"
" Jake! You are making the boy uncomfortable." Said Isabel exasperated.
" Nonsense. I'm asking a simple question."
" My intentions are noble, sir. I wish to give her everything I can." Sirius was looking straight into Jake's eyes.
Jake laughed.
" Very good, young man. You have passed the test."
Iris and her mother sighed. Her father only wanted to know that Sirius and Iris had a relationship. Sirius didn't understand.
" Jake, son, that was a very mean thing. Why didn't you just ask if they were seeing each other?" Said Clara, but a smile was playing in her mouth.
Sirius sighed deeply and Jake came to pat him in the back.
" Don't worry, Sirius. I don't bite. And I'm sure you mean no harm to my daughter." He said smiling broadly.
Sirius nodded and then Isabel said.
" I think it's time for lunch. To the kitchen everyone."
They all followed her.
Lunch was rather uneventful. They talked and Sirius told them about himself. Then he heard about the family story. At around three o'clock Sirius decided it was time to go home. He swallowed dry and turned to Jake.
" Sir, I was wondering if Iris could come with me to my house. I'm having a party with friends later. We'll probably hang out for a week. I was going to ask Sarah to came too, but apparently she has work to do."
Sarah was nodding behind him.
" Very well. She can go. But I hope you behave yourself. A week is a long time."
" Yes, of course. I won't touch your daughter."
Jake nodded, not quite believing Sirius. He understood seventeen-year-old boys and knew what went on their heads.
=====================================
At four o'clock Sirius and Iris Disapparated and Apparated in front of Sirius's house. She was impressed. It was the perfect type of house for him. Not much to clean and simple.
He told her to wait in the living room while he went to the room to store her things. When he came back he was grinning. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. There wasn't going to be a party. He wanted to spend the night alone with her. But she hadn't seen the bird so nothing was going to happen.
" So, what do you think?" he asked when he sat down next to her.
" It's nice. Perfect for you."
" Come with me. I want to show you something."
They got up and he took her to the backyard. She immediately saw the birds.
" Are those yours?" she asked pointing at them.
" No. I think they belong to the neighbour, but I haven't seen him yet."
As if on cue a squat, short and bandy legged, ginger haired man appeared to feed the birds. One by one he poured some mixture of seeds in a small container. Sirius smiled and approached him.
" Hello, neighbour."
The man jumped and turned to face Sirius.
" Oh! 'ello. Name's Mundungus Fletcher." The man said happily.
" I'm
Sirius Black and she is my girlfriend Iris Renata."
" Pleasure. Like me birds?"
" They are very nice. Did you catch all of those?"
" Yep. Tricky though. Not easy to catch them, see."
" I believe
you."
" Did you say your name was Black?"
" Yes. Why?"
" Are you related to Aldebaran and Medusa Black?" (A/N: Maybe Medusa is a rash
name but it's the best I could think of. :-p)
" Yes. I'm
their oldest son. Unfortunately. Why do ask?"
" No reason. Just to know. Let me show you a special bird I have 'ere."
He made them follow him and made his way to the far end of the cages. He beckoned them to join him. On one of the cages stood a beautiful brown and green bird. Iris looked at it and covered her mouth. Luckily no one seemed to notice.
" It's very beautiful. It's the colour of your eyes, Iris." Sirius said, not noticing his girlfriend behaviour.
" It is one of a kind. You can't find one of t'ese now'ere else." Mundungus said proudly.
" Wow. Congratulations. Nice meeting you, Mundungus. We'll see you around." Said Sirius when Iris grabbed his arm as if signalling him it was time to leave.
Mundungus gave a short bow and the couple left.
=====================================
When night came hunger struck. Sirius took Iris to the kitchen where a special dinner awaited them. Two candles were placed on the table and two plates with turkey, roast potatoes and salad were in front of the chairs. They ate in silence. After dessert – a lemon pie – they started talking.
" Sirius, we have secrets, don't we?" she asked.
" Do you?"
" Don't answer a question with another question." She said smiling.
" Yes. I think we have secrets."
" You first." She said sitting straighter.
" All
right. Well, I'm an Animagus."
Iris opened her mouth.
" You're
serious?"
" You know my name. Yes, I'm an unregistered Animagus. And it's all because of
Remus."
" That must
be the greatest proof of friendship ever."
" When did you learned that Remus was a werewolf?" he asked frowning
" Remus is a werewolf?" she asked in disbelief.
" You didn't know?"
" Of course I knew. He told Sarah after the Valentine's Ball." She said smiling. "Fooled ya."
" Ha, ha. Very funny. Now what's your secret?"
" You have to tell me what animal you become."
" I'm a dog. A big, shabby, black dog."
" It figures. Low attention span, constantly bored, your name. It fits perfectly."
" I know that. Now, your secret." He said impatiently.
" I'm a Dreamer."
" A what?"
" A Dreamer is a rare type of Seer. Instead of seeing things we dream things.
The problem is that we don't know when things happen, why they happen or where
they'll happen. We can't control what we dream and we can't change what we
see."
" Bummer. Is it a bad thing?"
" Not entirely. Some things we dream about are pretty good. Like
thefactthati'mgoingtosleepwithyoutonight." She said, her voice hardly higher
than a whisper.
" Did you
say something?"
" No."
" So, are we
done? No more secrets?"
" No. I'm done."
" Me too."
" What are we going to do now?"
" Don't
know. We could go outside and look at some stars." He suggested.
" Great idea."
They got up and left to the backyard. They lay down on the floor and looked at the sky. It was full of stars and shining brighter than the others was the star Sirius.
" Look, there you are." She said pointing to the star.
They were very close and Sirius had his arm under Iris's neck. He smiled when she said that. She got closer to him and placed an arm around his abdomen. She could fell that his abs were hard and she could definitely feel that his arm muscles were also hard. Quidditch had its advantages. They stayed like that for a few more minutes. Suddenly the night became cold.
" Sirius, it's getting chilly. Let's go inside." She suggested.
" Sure. I have a fireplace." He said grinning.
" It's not that cold." She said calmly.
They entered the house and headed to the living room. He sat down in the couch and she lay down with her head on his lap. He caressed her hair while they talked.
" So, you lied to my father." She said calmly.
" Hum…maybe…"
" Nice. No party, no friends. Just you and me, right?"
" Pretty much. Are you mad at me?"
" No. Did you lie about everything?" she asked remembering the whole conversation between Sirius and her father.
" What do
you mean?"
" Even the part of 'I won't touch your daughter' thing?"
" Well…hum…that depends."
" Depends
on what?"
" Many factors. The mood…hum…if you're willing…"
" Shut up. You're ruining the moment." She said, placing her hand on his mouth.
Slowly she raised her head and kissed his neck under the chin. She could feel the growing hairs on it. In slow motion she kissed every inch of his bearded face and he closed his eyes to savour the moment. She kept kissing his face, going from his chin to his eyes and ending in his mouth. She allowed him to place his tongue inside her mouth and suddenly everything was gone. There was no couch, no wind outside, no living room around them. It was just the two of them exploring the inside of their mouths. It was a new world. Carefully he placed his hands under her shirt and felt her soft skin. She shivered a little and made her own hands reach different places. Her left grabbed the back of his neck and the right penetrated through his shirt and found his spine. When they broke their kiss there was no turning back. Slowly he made her leave the couch. Soon they were on the floor. He was now on top of her, on his knees to stay away from her body. She raised her hands and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He watched almost breathless. When she touched his hairy chest he started unbuttoning her shirt. She removed his shirt and looked at his chest. It was worked out as she had imagined. His abs were pronounced. He had a small scar on his left side and she placed her hand on top of it. After opening her shirt Sirius started kissing her shoulders and neck. She did the same. When he tried to remove her shirt she raised her back and he did the rest. All that was left was the jeans and her bra. He swallowed hard and she smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he tried to take her bra off. It proved a bit tricky and she laughed, making it a bit more difficult. After a minute she gave up and did it herself. He wasn't really happy about it but when she made her breasts touch his chest he quickly forgot the whole incident. Then she started to unzip his jeans and he did the same to hers. Soon they were only in their underwear. The floor was a little cold so Sirius picked one of the wands on the floor and lighted the fireplace. Soon the whole room was heated. Kissing deeply they removed each other's underwear. They were naked and because of the heat they soon began to sweat. They looked into each other's eyes before they became one. Even though he was gentle she screamed and her nails penetrated his back skin. He too was forced to scream. After the first impact they began moving in synchrony. They were pleasing each other and as Sirius intended that was the best night of their lives. After the first time they found the strength to go back to the couch and rested in each other's arms. But only one time was not enough for them. All night they made love and occasionally they dozed off. When the sun came they were exhausted and slept all morning. At two o'clock they had lunch and spent the afternoon hugging on the floor where they had been lying down the previous night. Those two days were the most special of their lives.
On the third day, Sirius decided it was time to invite their friends to join them. The rest of the week was spent with James, Peter, Remus and Lily. The girls slept in one room and the boys in the other. The couple's great mood made their friends figure out what had happened in their absence. But thanks to that they had a wonderful time. Soon, however, the week was over and Iris had to return home. They made love one last time before her departure and they made plans to meet on the Hogwarts Express.
When she arrived home Sarah was waiting to hear the news and Iris saw that her grandmother knew what had happen. And she felt that maybe her parents knew as well. But they didn't say anything and the time went by. Soon she would be returning to her last year at Hogwarts.
Huge chapter. I think this is my best chapter yet. I don't know if you agree but that's what I think so… well thanks to those of you who voted. And for those who voted for the Shack don't despair they'll go there. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Cheers.
