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 30 – Harry sixth year – A Death Eater Attack

            A month passed and Sirius and Iris's relationship was continuing from the point where it had stopped. They weren't exactly living together because Iris was staying at Hogwarts. Speaking of Hogwarts the classes were going great. Iris was almost everyone's favourite teacher and the fact that she offered help in Potions was a great asset. Everyone got top grades on their project on both DADA and Care of Magical Creatures.

 But there was something bothering Iris. She didn't feel comfortable at Hogwarts. First she hardly felt like she belonged there and second her bed was a bit too hard. She needed something better. And then there was Snape, annoying as usual. So she started looking for her own house. Sirius, however, was not happy about this.

" Why don't you just stay here with me?" he asked after she had told him about her intentions.

" I can't."
" Why not? It's not like you never done it before."

" That is why I can't stay with you. I already know what it's like." She said with a smirk.

" I see. I'm unbearable. I understand." He said nodding.

 Iris smiled.

" You look so cute when you throw yourself down."
" I don't think this is a good idea." He said now with a serious look on his face.

" Why not? Because I'm not staying here? I don't think that's fair."

" It has nothing to do with that. These are dangerous times. No one is safe anywhere."
" I appreciate the fact that you are worried about me but I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

" I don't want you to be alone." He whispered.
" I'm thinking of asking my grandmother to stay with me."

" You can live with your grandmother but not with me?"
" Don't go there." Se said slowly.

 Sirius nodded and scratched his beard, which was now big and no skin was visible under it.

" It's your decision. I have no say in it."

" Sirius." Iris started but he quickly stopped her by raising his right hand in front of him.

" No. This is your decision and I won't stop you and I won't try to change your mind."

 They just stood there looking at each other. There was nothing else to be said and Sirius was sure that the discussion would lead them nowhere.

            The day after the conversation with Sirius, Iris found a house. It was small, with only one bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. The bed was comfy and it had a fireplace. It even had an extra room for storage. It was perfect for her.

She immediately went to Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore. He wasn't very happy with this either.

" I do not believe it to be safe." He said in a strict matter.

" You sound like Sirius."
" Well, for once the man says something wise."
" I didn't come here to hear you insult Sirius. I'm here to tell you that I'm taking my things to my new home and that next Monday I'll be here to continue my work."

" May I suggest a Secret Keeper?" he asked.

" What for? No one knows I'm alive except for people I trust and I don't need a Secret Keeper. Look what that brought to the Potters."

" I see I won't be able to persuade you. Do what you must but beware. Keep your eyes open. In these days no one can be trusted."

 She left Dumbledore's office with a strange felling. Could someone she knew be an untrustworthy person? Impossible. She shook her head and left to her office. She gathered her things and left to her new house.

Before settling in she wrote to her grandmother.

 Later that day she went to bed felling good. Now she had a comfy bed. She had a dreamless night but that hardly ever came as a good sign. And sure enough the day after next was to be one of the worst she would ever have.

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            Saturday arrived chilly and Iris had to use her fireplace. She sat at the dinner table and started studying Remus's notes for next week's classes. She was checking the notes and comparing them with the books while drinking a coup of tea. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Iris was startled. Who could it possibly be? It certainly wasn't Sirius. She got up and opened the door. The person in front of her smiled and waved.

" Hi." He said.

 Iris was in shock. What was he doing here?

" What are you doing here?" she asked voicing her doubts.

" Well, I came to visit grandma and dad and we received your owl yesterday. Grandma can't come because she's not felling very good so I decided to come."

" It's great to see you, William. Come in."

 William entered and looked around. Iris noticed he left three boxes outside.

" What are those, Will?" she asked.

" Oh, those are from Sarah. She sent them for grandma to store in her house. Lack of space I guess. But apparently grandma doesn't have space either so she told me to bring them here. Hope you don't mind." He explained.

" Not at all. Help me getting them inside."

 The two of them took the three boxes inside. They were a bit heavy. Iris placed one of the boxes on top of the table and took of the lid. It was full of papers.

" What is all this?" she asked while retrieving a paper from inside the box.

" I believe it's Sarah's notes." William said after he removed another paper from the same box.

" I wonder why she's sending them to us. I thought she needed them."
" Maybe not. You know our sis. Always doing something strange and unexpected."
" You're right. This is typical Sarah. Well I guess I'll take a look at these and see what she's been up to."
" Want some help?" William offered while Iris pulled a chair and sat down in front of the box.

" If you don't have anything better to do."
" Please. Even if I did I would prefer to stay here with my older sister."

" Thanks little brother. Pull a chair and sit on the floor."

 They both laughed at Iris's joke and then they began reading the bunch of papers stacked inside the box in front of them. Lunchtime arrived and the first box was already on the floor and their attention was now placed upon another one of the boxes. This one had papers and small books handwritten by Sarah herself. Half the box had been already searched when Iris's stomach started to complaint.

" I guess it's time for lunch. We'll check on the rest later."

 William agreed because he to was hungry. During lunch they talked about William's stay in America and Sarah's boyfriend, a tall, blonde surfer who had no idea what a wizard was and apparently was incredibly dumb.

" All he really cares about is his board. Once he broke it and started crying his eyes out. Sarah magically fixed it and he didn't even noticed. He though he had dreamt the whole thing." William told his sister.

" Well after Remus she is never going to find anyone better."
" Right. Speaking of Remus have you seen him? Does he know you're alive?"
" Yes. We sort of work together."
" And Sirius?"
 Iris hesitated a bit with this question. She had no reason not to tell her brother that she was in a relationship with Sirius, yet something stronger made her give a different answer.

" He's dead."

 Then she remembered that he was living with Sarah and was certain that he had heard about her request to their sister. But he accepted her answer and made no more questions. 

 Soon they were sitting at the table reading the rest of the paper. When the third open was opened Iris was surprised by its content. Inside was only three pieces of parchment and a big book. She took the pieces of parchment and William took the book.

" Look at this." She told William. " It's the recipe for the Wolfsbane Potion."

" This book is weird." William said apparently oblivious to what his sister had just said.

" Why?" she asked.

" It has absolutely nothing in it." he said while turning the pages back and forth. Then he gave the book to Iris.

 She opened the book in the first page and to her surprise it had words on it. She was about to tell this to William when big words in red flashed in the page:

" IRIS ONLY YOU CAN READ THIS BOOK. IT HAS IMPORTANT THINGS IN IT THAT NO ONE CAN KNOW ABOUT. KEEP IT SAFE AND AWAY FROM EVIL EYES. I FEAR THAT POWERFULL DARK MAGIC USERS CAN BRAKE THE SPELL AND THAT CANNOT HAPPEN. SOON I'LL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN. LOVE, SARAH."

 Iris quickly pretended that the book was empty like her brother had said. She also turned the pages back and forth.

" You are right. There is nothing in here." She said a little too fast.

 What she didn't notice was William's strange look.

 She placed the book back inside the box along with the pieces of parchment and closed it. Then she asked William to help her take them to the storage room.

 Before dinner William decided to leave.

" I have to work tomorrow so I better leave now. Hope to see you soon, sis." He said while scratching one of his arms.

" All right. Give a kiss to Sarah for me." She said before kissing her brother goodbye. She didn't notice her bother's behaviour.

 After he left Iris went to the kitchen to grab a bite. Later, when she was heading to the storage room to investigate the strange book, the doorbell rang again. She opened the door with a bit of fear but soon she sighed deeply. In front of her was a big, shabby, black dog. She allowed him to enter and after she closed the door the dog was replaced by the figure of Sirius Black.

" What are you doing here?" she asked.

" Visiting you." He said happily.

" Since when do you have permission to leave Grimmauld Place?"

" What Dumbledore doesn't know doesn't hurt him."

" You think that Dumbledore doesn't know you are here? He knows everything."
" I don't care. But apparently you are not happy to see me."

" Of course I'm happy to see you." She said hugging him. " But you can't stay here for the night." She added.

" Why?" he asked breaking the hug.

" Simple. I have loads to do tomorrow and I can't have you distracting me."

" All right. Fine with me. I'll leave during the night, then you'll wake up and feel terrible because I'm not by your side and haven't said goodbye."

" If you are trying to persuade me to let you stay you can stop right now. You're not staying and you can perfectly wake me up before you leave."

" Yes madam. As you wish. Now, enough talking."

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            Like Iris had said Sirius awoke her before leaving. It was two in the morning when he left exactly as he had come. By the front the door and disguised as a dog. Iris immediately "flew" back to bed.

 At ten thirty she woke up and after a nice breakfast she went to investigate on the book. It had graphics, notes, characteristics of certain ingredients, the results of mixtures between those ingredients, results of experiments and several drawings. Iris found it very strange that only she could read that book. Its contents weren't anything special. Or so she thought. Around the middle of the book Iris found cuttings of newspapers glued to the pages. Almost all of those cuttings were related to Voldemort. She also found some concerning the Blacks. Next to the moving pictures of the Blacks and Voldemort were scribbled notes. Some were merely swearing but others were of threats. In more than one occasion Iris read, " I will destroy you, you bastard." or "You have no idea what is coming to you." Iris was surprised to read this because her sister was never given to violence. After the last page with cuttings was a sort of diary entry. Iris read it.

 " My God, why did this happen? I have lost my sister and the man I loved. It is unbearable. Everyday all I can think of is 'how to destroy the one that caused all this?' and no answer comes to me. In England everyone is afraid to speak his name but here no one knows him. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named does not exist in this place. Voldemort does not frighten these people. The wizards I've meet, a small group from Salem, don't know the evil this man generates. Even so I fear that some day one of those servants of his will come here to persuade these wizards to join their ranks. They are very strange people. I dare say that the possibility of them joining Voldemort is very high. William likes them. I also fear for that. Dark magic is common here. He is going around with the wrong crowd. I fear for him.

 I must now concentrate on my project. I will find a way to bring my sister back. I meet a wizard by the name of Matthew that is helping me. He is a very powerful potion maker and a great asset. Let's see if together we can achieve this. I have faith we will."

 Iris turned the page and found another entry.

 " It is done. I'll bring her back. In the meantime I have started to experiment with some products they have here and soon I'll be able to find the means to destroy that filthy Voldemort. He will pay. It was his entire fault. He will pay. I'll make sure of that. But first I must bring my sister back. She has stayed behind that veil for too long. It's time.

 William is acting strange. He scratches his arm a lot. Sometimes he just disappears for days and then returns like nothing happened. I hope he isn't doing anything wrong. I hope."

 Iris frowned and read the last line again. "He scratches his arm a lot" was the part that sounded stranger to Iris.

"Which arm?" she wondered aloud.

 But she quickly dismissed that thought. She believed that her brother couldn't possible be a Death Eater. She closed the book and placed it back inside the box.

 It was in that precise moment when Iris was closing the box that she felt something strange. Behind her were three people, their faces covered by a hood. She could see their eyes and hear their breaths. Iris turned and stood there looking at them until the one in the middle gave a step forward and talked. It was a woman.

" Well, you must be Iris Renata. My beloved dead cousin's ex-girlfriend. Glad to meet you."

 Iris frowned at that comment.

" Cousin? Who are you and who are you talking about? More important is what are you doing in my house?"
" Sirius Black is my cousin. We were at Hogwarts almost at the same time. I'm Bellatrix. And the answer to the last question is to kill you."

" Kill me? Why?"
 The woman behind the hood laughed. The other two laughed along with her. Iris could see where the joke was.

" I'm going to kill you because the Dark Lord wishes it to happen."

" And why would the Dark Lord want me dead? Did I do something to him?" Iris asked.

" You have something the Dark Lord wishes very badly. And when he wants something badly he gets it. So you better cooperate and give me what we came for."

" Sorry. Can't help you. Don't know what you want."

 Iris could tell that Bellatrix was sighing and that amused her.

" You have a book in your possession and we want it."
" How do you know that a have a book in my possession?" Iris asked trying to fight the fear growing inside her. Could it be?

" The Dark Lord knows everything." Bellatrix whispered.
" Everything." Repeated the other two.

 Iris listened closely. The voices from the other two Death Eaters were somewhat familiar. And the eyes shining from behind the hoods weren't strange either. Iris felt she knew them.

" So I give you the book and you kill me?"

" That's correct. Smart, aren't you? Too bad cleverness won't help you."

" I'm sorry to inform you that the book you so desperately want doesn't have a thing written on it. Honestly I don't understand why you want it."

" YOU LIE." Bellatrix screamed.

" There's no need to shout. I'll show you."

 Iris turned and took the book from the box. She faced the Death Eaters and opened the book. She then saw Bellatrix's eyes widen. She turned to the Death Eater at her left and grabbed his arm.

" You idiot. Now what?" she asked.

 The man looked like he was ready to disappear under the ground.

" It was not my fault. He is to blame. He gave the wrong information to the Dark Lord." He whispered.

 Even though he whispered Iris was able to hear his words. Once again the felling that she knew him crossed her. But who was he?

" No matter. We will take the book anyway. Let the Dark Lord decide what to do with it."

 She took her wand from her cloak pocket and pointed it to Iris.    

" Game's over. Hand over the book and maybe we will spare your life."

" The Dark Lord wants her dead." Whispered the other one.

" Shut up. I do the talking." Bellatrix told him. " Give me the book at once." She said to Iris.

 Iris, however, was not interested in giving the book away so easily. She concentrated and with a "pop" she left the living room.

" Find her. She hasn't left the house. It's a small one so it won't be too hard. Go." Bellatrix ordered.

 The two men obeyed.

 Iris, in the meanwhile, was in her room. Soon she heard steps and the door to the room opened. Before anyone entered she disappeared again. This time she was in the storage room. It was strange. Somehow she was unable to Disapparate to outside the house. She quickly realised that she had to walk out through the front door. She had no choice but to run. She concentrated again and appeared on the hall. Unfortunately they were expecting her. The two male Death Eaters grabbed her by the arms and Bellatrix made her way slowly to them. But Iris was ready for the fight. She muttered a spell under her breath as Bellatrix approached her. Then the woman spoke.

" As you are about to die perhaps it won't hurt if we show our faces."

 She halted two steps from Iris and pulled her hood back. She was smirking. Iris felt like she could spit on her. With their free hands the two men pulled back their own hoods. Iris was shocked. On her right stood Peter Pettigrew. On her left was Severus Snape. She looked at Bellatrix again and decided that it was over. With her right hand she reached for Bellatrix's throat. Her eyes opened wide because she was sure that the two men were holding her. Yet she was now behind chocked to death.

" I win." Iris said in a very evil way.

 Peter and Snape made to help Bellatrix but they quickly found out that they couldn't move. Iris was almost killing Bellatrix when a strange pain crossed her body. She let go and felt it again. It was starting in her chest and moving all over her body. Something was wrong. She petrified the three Death Eaters and went to get the boxes. In difficulty she made her way outside the house where she could Disapparate to a safer place. She wished that she could take Peter with her to prove Sirius's innocence but something else was catching her attention. The pain wasn't stopping. It even seemed to be getting worse. She concentrated and soon she and the three boxes were in Grimmauld Place number twelve. However the nightmare wasn't over.

TBC

            Took me long enough. As I have been expecting my Internet server decided that I shouldn't have Internet for a long time. Hope you keep enjoying my story and sorry for taking so long. I'll make up to you big time.

Cheers.