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.

Chapter 25 – Harry sixth year – Some People Deserve Another Chance

            Iris returned to #12 Grimmauld Place the next day and the days that followed. She and Lupin spent a lot of time together talking and laughing. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny would sometimes sneak into the kitchen to hear them exchange memories from their time at school.

 A few days after Harry's birthday Dumbledore appeared at #12, bringing with him the kids' OWL results. Hermione got all Outstandings. Ron had 5 Os' and Harry had 7. The three decided to become Aurors and were more that glad to give up Divination. With their OWL results came homework. Loads of it.

" I can't believe this. Twelve feet of parchment on a stupid potion ingredient? Snape is out of his mind." Complained Ron after seeing the list of homework.

" Advance Potions is a very complicated class. And with Professor Snape it is twice as complicated." Hermione said.

" You can say that again. Snape is going to make our lives a living hell." Harry said sadly.

 At this moment Iris entered the room where they were.

" Everything all right?" she asked.

" Yes, except for the fact that we have loads of homework and we have come to the conclusion that Professor Snape is going to ruin our lives." Ron explained.

" Professor Snape? Who's that?"

" Professor Severus Snape, our Potions Master." Harry told her.

" I'm sorry, you said Severus Snape?" she asked, realization dawning upon her.

" Yes. Do you know him?" Harry asked.

" Of course I know him. We were in school together. He used to call me Gryffindor because he didn't know my name. If I remember correctly he was a greasy git." She said nostalgically.
" He still is." Ron said.

" He is in the Order." Hermione said to Ron.

" And? Doesn't change the fact that he is greasy and a git."
" Once a greasy git, always a greasy git. That's what I have to say."

 They all laughed.

" I totally agree." Said Harry.

" Leaving the jokes, if you guys need help with your potions essay I can assist you. Potions happened to be one of my best subjects."

" Brilliant. Be prepared to help me out." Said Ron quickly.

" And me too." Said Harry.

" Very well. You don't need my help, Hermione?"

" No thank you. I can do it by myself."

 Iris smiled and nodded.

" All right. Let's go boys. We start now because the sooner you begin, the sooner you finish."

 The three left to the kitchen and started working on their essay. The boys could see that Iris hadn't lied when she said that Potions was her best subject. She knew everything.

The helping continued during the following days and the boys finished their potions essay before Hermione. They were starting their Charms essay when an owl entered the kitchen. The bird flew over the boys and Iris and left the envelope on her lap. She opened the envelope while the bird left. She was reading the contents of the envelope when Lupin arrived.

" Hello everyone."
" Remus, come here. Can you read this for me?" Iris asked.

" Sure."

 He took the letter and read it.

" Is it written there that Dumbledore wants to have a meeting with me?" she asked.

" Yes. Why do ask?" he asked frowning.
" Well, 15 years ago he kept me from meetings and now he wants me to be in a meeting?"

" I'm sure he has a very good reason to meet with you. He may have something important to ask you."
" That will be the day. Dumbledore asking me something."

" You should go never the less."

" Yeah. I'm going. You boys don't need me now do you?" she asked the boys.

" No. You can go." Harry answered.

" I'll see you later then."
" Good luck." Said Lupin.

 Iris smiled and made her way to the fireplace. Soon she was standing in front of Dumbledore.

" Did you call me, Professor?" she asked innocently.

" Yes I did. I would like to propose something to you. Sit down please."

 Iris did what she was asked and prepared herself for the proposition. She had no idea what the Headmaster was about to ask but she was in for a big surprise.

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            Lupin was having a discussion with Hermione and Ginny in the kitchen when Iris arrived. She was looking surprised and happy at the same time.

" I assume the meeting was good." Said Lupin when she stepped out of the fireplace.

" It was very good. You have no idea." She said, a smirk on her face.

 She was about to leave the kitchen when she noticed that Harry wasn't there.

" Where are the boys?" she asked.

" In their room. Why?" said Lupin.

" No reason. Just checking."

 She finally left, leaving behind her a very confused looking Lupin.

 When she passed in front of Harry's door she had an urge to knock but was stopped by the approach of a voice.

" Who is this woman? Mistress says she is a murderer but Kreacher does not know. He has never seen her before. Kreacher wonders what she is doing here."

 Iris turned to see the figure of a house-elf. He kept talking even though he knew she was looking.

" Mistress doesn't like this woman. She says that she is an evil woman. Killed my Master, Mistress says. Kreacher always believes his Mistress. If only evil woman left with the half-breed and the mudblood and the brats. Oh, how Kreacher would happy, alone with his Mistress once more."
" Shut up you. I'm sick of hearing you. If you bother me again you'll pay your price." She yelled at the house-elf.

" The woman is threatening Kreacher. She thinks Kreacher is afraid of her. Kreacher is afraid of no one. She won't harm Kreacher. Not like she harmed my poor old Master."
" Don't tempt me Kreacher."

" There she goes again Mistress. Threatening Kreacher."
" Get out of my sight." She yelled again.

 This time the yelling made the boys leave the room and Lupin and the girls showed up on the end of the corridor.

" What's going on?" Lupin asked.

 Iris was red on the face from anger and Kreacher was undisturbed.

" The half-breed wants to know what's going on. Kreacher does not answer. It's not his business. If only he would leave."

" I'm not talking to you, Kreacher. Iris, what's wrong?"

 She seemed lost for words. She was eyeing the house-elf with so much hatred it was as if she hadn't even noticed the presence of those extra five people. And obviously she hadn't heard Lupin's question.

" If you love your Mistress so much why don't you join her?" she asked to the house-elf, her voice so full of hatred it actually scared four of the seven people present in the corridor.

" Kreacher does not understand."
" You bastard, little, double-crosser. You are the one to blame for Sirius's disappearance. I think you deserve to meet his fate."

" Iris, don't. It's not worth it." Lupin said.

" Maybe you can serve your Mistress in hell, where you belong. No wonder Sirius hated his family. You were all a bunch of sick people. Dark wizards that thankfully didn't do a very good job in raising Sirius. He doesn't deserve to die but you…"
" Iris, don't do it." Lupin tried again but to no avail.

" Professor she can't do anything. She doesn't even have a wand." Hermione said wisely.

" You're right. There is nothing to worry about."
 How wrong they were.

 Kreacher was still unnerved and that seemed to make Iris more nervous.

" Kreacher is not scared of an unarmed witch. You can't hurt Kreacher."
" Want to bet?" she said, this time with a smirk on her face. " Give me one good reason and you can say goodbye to your breathing life."
" Kreacher was happy alone with his Mistress and then came the filthy half-breeds and mudbloods and the brats and the traitors and that scum of a Black. Mistress hates them all, but now she is happy. The shame of her flesh is gone for good."

 That hit the spot. Not only because he was talking about Sirius but also Lupin, Harry, the Weasleys and Hermione. She could hold it no longer.

 A flash of light came upon the corridor and no one could see anything. It was not a green light but a yellow one. It looked as if a lamp had been turned on, except this was a very powerful lamp. When the light faded all that was visible was Iris standing a few feet from Harry's room and the boys were behind her their mouths slightly opened. Kreacher was nowhere to be seen. Lupin looked everywhere but the house-elf was gone.

" Iris, what did you do to Kreacher?" Lupin asked.

" He is where he belongs. Near his Mistress." She said and left to Buckbeak's room. Harry followed her.

" Iris, stop. Don't go in there. There's a hippogriff inside."

 Iris stopped dead in her tracks. She surely didn't want to kill herself.

" Is there somewhere I can go?" she asked her godson.

" My room is available." He said.

 Iris could sense something in his words. He appeared to want to talk. He wanted to talk to her. And she wanted to talk to him.

 Silently they made their way back to Harry's room. It was empty because Ron was now downstairs discussing with the rest the disappearing of Kreacher.

" We can talk here. Have a seat." Harry said pointing to Ron's bed.

 Iris sat down and looked around. Her eyes rested first on Hedwig and finally on the portrait.

" That's Hedwig, my owl and the portrait is from Sirius's great-great-grandfather." Harry explained.

" Your owl is very pretty."

" Thanks. Hagrid gave her to me on my first year. When I didn't know anything."

" It must have been hard for you, living without parents and without knowing your family."
" It was. My uncle and aunt are terrible. I hate them."
" I understand."
" Can I ask you something?"

" Sure."

" What did you do to Kreacher?"

 Iris smiled.

" I told you. I've sent him to his Mistress. He's in the painting."
" What? How did you do that? You don't even have a wand."
" Let's say the veil was kind to me. It gave me powers I didn't have before. And if I did I didn't know it."
" Wow! What kind of powers?"
" I can do wandless magic, manipulation, hypnoses. Loads of things, really."

" Bloody brilliant."
" Well, I haven't worked some of the stuff out yet. I'm in a learning process. Just like you."
 Iris and Harry looked at each other and they both saw something changing. They had much in common and they were both grieving for Sirius. They were bound together by his parents who had made her his godmother. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Harry got up and hugged Iris. She hugged him back and that was it.

" I'm happy I found you. You are the answer to my prayers." Harry said fighting his tears.

" I feel the same way. I'm so glad I found you."

 They stayed like that for what looked a long time. They broke the hug when Mrs. Weasley called for dinner.

            Harry and Iris's relationship grew stronger during the remainder of the holidays. She would tell stories about Sirius and he would tell her his moments with his godfather. They eventually ended crying in each other's shoulder but at least they had where to cry.

 The first surprise of the year came with the Hogwarts letters.

" Check this out. We have a DADA book." Said Ron after reading the list.

" Great, that means we have a new teacher." Said Hermione.

" I just hope it's not another Umbridge." Protested Harry.

" Don't even think about that possibility. It would be a nightmare all over again."

" Let's have faith it's a decent one, like Professor Lupin." Said Hermione.

" Let's hope." Finished Ron.

 No one was paying attention to Ginny's expression. She had her mouth slightly opened and she was looking at her letter.

" I'm a prefect." She finally said.

 Everyone turned to look at her. Ron took hold of her letter and saw the badge. His little sister was a prefect.

" Bloody hell! It's true. My sister is a prefect. Wait until Fred and George hear this."

 After Mrs. Weasley heard the news it was "party" time at #12 Grimmauld Place, just as it had been for Ron and Hermione the previous year.

            Then came the first of September. Harry was dreading that day for two reasons. One, he wasn't sure he wanted to leave Iris and two, he was a little afraid of meeting his new DADA teacher. She or he couldn't be worse than Umbridge but these days Harry wasn't sure of anything. As he was expecting saying goodbye to Iris proved to be a difficult task. Unlike Sirius she wasn't going to take him to the train station.

" Please come." He pleaded one more time.

" There's really no need. Why this?"

" I want to say goodbye properly."

" We'll see each other again soon. Trust me."

" You promise?" he asked fearfully.

" I promise. I will not let you down."
" All right, then. Take care of yourself."
" You take care. Trouble doesn't go looking for me." She said amused with Harry's concern.

" I'm not kidding. I don't want to lose you."

" You won't. Now off you go or you'll lose your train and I'm not taking you there."  

" Ok. Bye."
" Bye, kiddo."

 They hugged again and Iris saw Harry and the kids leave with Mrs. Weasley, Tonks and Lupin. She smiled and entered the house.

" We'll see each other again very soon." She said to herself.

   
            When Harry arrived at Hogsmeade station he wasn't expecting anything that lied ahead. He spotted Hagrid taking the first years and waved to him. The half giant waved back and smiled at him. That was a comfort. After the trip on the carriages driven by those winged horses Harry expected to sit down for the sorting but Professor McGonagall was waiting for him at the oak doors.

" This way Potter. I need to have a word with you."

 Harry followed her to her office.

" Congratulations Potter. You are well on your way to become and Auror. I'm proud of you. If you need my assistance look for me. Now a few pieces of advise. Control your temper, talk to someone if you really need to and win me that Quidditch Cup again." She told him.

 He was surprised with that speech but agreed to everything.

 When he reached the Great Hall the sorting was over. Harry had the impression that there weren't many first years. He also noted that a seat was empty on the teacher's table.

" Did you guys noticed that there's a teacher missing?" he asked to his friend when he sat down.

" You're right. Maybe the new teacher is late." Said Ron.

 When Ron finished his sentence Dumbledore got up.

" Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I won't upset you with a speech because everyone knows what's going on out there. So I'm going straight to the good news. Let me introduce your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Miss Iris Renata."

 Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all gasped. That was the last thing they expected. Iris was going to be their new DADA teacher. After the first impact they became hysterical. They happiness was so great that everyone in the Great Hall was eyeing them. Dumbledore gave them a hard look and they calmed down. Then he made the food appear on the tables and the feast began.

 Afterwards the children made their way to the teacher's table.

" Oh my God. I don't believe this." Harry said as he made his way to hug his godmother.

" Unbelievable. This is going to be a great year." Ron said.

" Why you?" asked Harry.

" Dumbledore thought it was a good idea." Iris answered.

" You could have told me." Said Harry.

" And spoil the surprise? Not in all the years."

" Thank you Professor." Harry said when Dumbledore approach the group.

" I like to believe that some people deserve another chance. I think your godmother is one of them." The Headmaster said wisely.

 Then he made them go to bed. On his way to his dorm Harry couldn't help but think that Ron was right. This was going to be a great year.

TBC

            All finished. Hope you liked it. Thanks to my reviewers especially to ANNE( v )79 and Achilles. The rest of you, cheers and keep reading and reviewing. I won't forget you. Updates soon.

            Cheers.