As the unsorted group of first years arrived in the Great Hall, they gradually began to grow more and more excited. Mages born into magic were explaining the houses to the few unlucky muggleborns who didn't ask in their home visit. Everyone was talking to everyone else, speculating on how exactly they were supposed to get sorted.
"I heard it we have to face statues of the founders, and they're gonna judge us to see where we belong!"
"No, that's stupid! I heard that we're gonna get into a fight with that big bearded half-kaprey we saw outside, and what happens determines what house we're in!"
"Actually!" Hermione piped up, starting on a fact-filled speech about the history of the sorting process. Beside her, Iris cringed at the attention.
Looking around, she saw Ron talking in rapid English to a Norse-looking student who was politely nodding along. "Did you hear that Quirinus Quirrell is gonna t'be our defense instructor! He's supposed to be the best wand-for-hire in the whole of Occidentia! Did y'read his book about fighting that den of Wyverns in Ukraine?"
"Eh… Ja, I hear of this."
All around her, Iris could hear dozens of rapid conversations moving at once, most of them Latin, some of them not, overwhelming her with a solid wall of noise. She began to hunch her shoulders, trying to tune out the numerous clashing voices that sounded from all around her.
From beside her, Hermione noticed this change in her friend's demeanor, and turned around, concerned.
"Are you alright?" she asked, staring directly into Iris's eyes.
Iris managed a shaky nod.
"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll be fine, no matter what house you end up in. What house do you think you'll end up in, personally I think–" Hermione's excitable voice presented a steady, oddly soothing counterpoint to the tornado of sound, as she gently dragged Iris to the back of the mob, away from most of the loudest conversations.
"–and that's why I think that Ravenclaw might be the best fit for me, even if I do really hope to get into Gryffindor. Feeling better now Iris?"
Iris gave a much more genuine nod, flattered at the care Hermione was showing.
"My younger brother is the same way, he hates crowds and loud noises. I think we can just stay back here until the beginning of the sorting feast, when our names are called. Our classmates will probably have quieted down by then."
"That would be… nice, Hermione. Thank you" Iris smiled, her shoulders slowly relaxing, as she stood with Hermione in a comfortable silence.
A few minutes later, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and she stiffened as she could feel the eyes of the whole hall on her group.
"Ah, welcome, welcome!" At the font of the hall, the old, bearded headmaster had stood up from his chair.
"Yes, it is with great joy that I finally bring in this year's newest crop of Hogwarts students! Welcome, all of you, to the oldest and most prestigious educational institution in all of Occidentia!"
"For the benefit of those among us who are the first in their families to be blessed with magical talents"—Ies could see most of the Slytherin table, and a good portion of Ravenclaw, shoot him a glare—"I shall quickly describe the sorting process. There are four houses in Hogwarts, names after the four founders of the school, possessing their own qualities and virtues in different measure. In a few minutes, the sorting will begin, which will determine the house you spend the rest of your seven years in."
"Be advised," he said, looking at the amassed students with clear blue eyes, "that for the years of your education, your houses will be your second family. You will sleep together, eat together, and spend the majority of your free time together, all in your house's dorms and common rooms."
"Now! I assume many among you may be wondering how the sorting process will commence, even those whose families have long clung tightly to the talent to wizardry may be wondering as to the nature of the sorting."
The glare might have even been more intense this time; Iris could swear that even some of the Hufflepuffs had joined in.
"However, fear not, the time for revelation is now!"
He waved his hand, and a grouchy-looking man brought in a hat and a stool.
"In order to be sorted, each one of you must come forward to the front of the Hall when you are called, and place the Sorting Hat upon your head. I assure all of you, I am not joking! Although, I did hear this excellent jape over the summer involving a Priest, a Veela, and a Vampire. You see, the–"
Dumbledore was cut off by a polite cough from the stern-faced man to his right.
"Ah yes, I apologize! Now where was I?... Ah yes, the Sorting Hat is a powerful artifact, permanently enchanted by Godric Gryffindor himself through a mysterious process. When one wears it, it possesses a limited sentience, and the capability to peer into one's mind! It will look through your head, and determine which of the House's qualities you've displayed the most prominently throughout your life, and sort you accordingly!"
Iris stood up, ramrod straight. This hat could read her mind?
This was bad, very bad. James had always praised Dumbledore as 'the leader of the light', so what if the hat had told him about her conversation with Tonks, or Ollivander? She didn't want either of them to get in trouble, or to be labeled a 'dark wizard' and driven out of their jobs!
Iris looked towards Blaise, Draco, Dante, and Theo, trying to see how they would react to the news. She was almost positive that at the very least Draco was a pagan, and paganism was illegal! She didn't want to lose her friends, right after she had just made them!
…Strangely enough, Draco actually looked rather calm. All of them did. What was going on?
Dumbledore's voice cut across her panic: "And of course, for those of you who are worried, Salazar Slytherin was deeply concerned about the privacy of students, and so cursed Godric's hat to never divulge a thing that it had learned."
Oh, that made sense.
"Now, as you might have noticed, I have yet to describe the particular criteria which will determine your sorting, the valued traits of all four founders! This is quite intentional, I assure you, and not, as some may claim, a sign of my oncoming senility."
Most of the Hall chuckled at that, some more maliciously than others.
"I have refrained from comment because of another of Hogwarts' great traditions, the Sorting Hat's song, in which the Sorting Hat itself will compose a unique melody to describe the various traits it values in each student. So, without further ado, I give you… the Sorting Hat!"
Iris watched in fascination as what she had thought was a rip in the fabric of the ancient hat began to split further open, and move around like a mouth.
A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four sorcerers who taught,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
Now each of our four founders
Formed their own house each
For they did value different virtues
In those they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the noblest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the academics
Always were the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Those she sought to treat;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved cunning and deceit.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
And with that, the sorting started.
"Alvarcus, Martin!"
Iris was jolted out of her daydream as she felt Hermione leave her side.
"Granger, Hermione!" said the stern-faced man standing next to the stool.
Iris could see Hermione was nervous at the stares of the entire hall, as she sat down on the rickety stool
After a minute of deliberation, the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" and Hermione collapsed into a smiling heap, rushing off to join her new housemates.
Iris quickly lost interest again, until she heard another name she recognized.
"Malfoy, Draconis!"
This time, the hat had barley touched their head before sending them off to Slytherin. Draco looked inordinately pleased about that fact.
Soon after, "Nott, Theodoric!" went to Slytherin as well, sitting next to Draco and starting to animatedly chat with them.
Iris looked between Draco and Theo laughing happily, and then at Hermione on the other side of the Hall, looking at her with a friendly expression.
She was torn. Hermione was incredible, but so were Draco and Theo! She'd knew she'd be more at home in Slytherin, but Hermione was just so pretty and nice! In Gryffindor, she'd keep James happy with her, but she'd have to listen to her housemates continually praise the type of people she grew up with! She didn't know what to do!
Then she looked at her brother.
"Do you really want to spend seven years in a place you don't belong, simply because a man you hate wants you to?"
She made her decision.
Sorry Hermione, but James could go rot in a hole.
Then, with a call of "Potter, Daniel!", The whole hall exploded into whispers.
"Oh my word, I heard he was coming to Hogwarts this year, but I didn't believe it!"
"Wait, THE Danny Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived?"
"I thought he was training with Aurors in secret!"
Walking to the front of the room, Danny plopped down on the chair with a smug look on his face. After a few minutes, he started to frown, and almost seemed to be arguing with himself.
A minute later the Hat made its judgement: "GRYFFINDOR!"
Danny looked pleased and relieved in equal measure, as the whole of Gryffindor house began to cheer. There were even a pair of redheads that started loudly dancing on the bench, singing a limerick about Danny's greatness. Jesus Chr–… Magical Morgana, if she hadn't made her decision earlier, this would have made it for her. She was glad to see that Hermione was only clapping politely.
After a few minutes, the cheers and whooping began to calm down, and the professor with the large scroll continued to read off the list of names.
"Potter, Iris!"
For the second time that evening, all conversations stopped.
"Did she say… 'Iris' Potter? Does the Boy-Who-Lived have another sister?"
"Is it just a coincidence? I heard that 'Potter' is a pretty common name for muggles…"
Iris could feel the eyes of the whole hall on her as she went up to the stool, and she could barley get her legs to move forward. If she thought her anxiety was bad when they first opened the doors, it was nothing compared to now. She could barley put one foot in front of the other.
Shakily, Iris sat down on the stool, and put the ancient-looking Hat on, letting it—thankfully—droop over her eyes.
"…Hello? Mr. Hat?"
"Ah yes, what do we have here? Ms. Iris Potter, hmm? How peculiar!"
"Uh… yeah I guess. I'm just me, I didn't even know that I was a mage until a few months ago, let alone the twin sister of a celebrity."
"Oh yes, I can see that quite well here, indeed. You have quite a bit of resentment towards your family, don't you Ms. Potter? And I'm not just talking about the relatives you grew up with…"
"…"
"Oh don't worry Ms. Potter, I assure you that the Headmaster was quite correct, I cannot divulge any secrets which I have learned. Interesting…"
"…well, yeah then. I mean, you can probably see it can't you? How my childhood was, when my brother got to live the life of a spoiled heir? They ABANDONED me, and left me in hell."
"Yes, hmm… I see… Well, Ms. Potter, I see you've already come to a decision then…"
"Uh, yeah. I didn't mean to do your job for you or anything, it's just I really don't want to be a Gryffindor."
"Yes, I see… I still would have recommended Slytherin for you, you know… it took quite a lot of cunning to survive your childhood, did it not? And is there not any more ambitious a goal than to 'learn everything about the magical world'?"
"Well, I mean, I guess? I wasn't really thinking when I said that, but it's not like that's wrong."
"Hmm, yes… I suppose if you had not made up your mind, I would have given you the choice between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but since you have… Well, it better be–"
"SLYTHERIN!"
If it was possible, the Hall grew even more silent after Iris's house was announced. It was just the same as when she'd walked up, only this time, two-thirds of the Hall was glaring. Iris felt faint. Was she still sitting there? Better get up and go to the table.
As Iris walked over to the Slytherin table in a daze, the whispers re-started.
"Wait, a Slytherin? She can't be related to Danny then!"
"But Muggleborns don't go to Slytherin, she has to be his sister!"
"Oh my god, her brother must be so devastated… Maybe I could offer him a shoulder to cry on?"
"A dark witch? Isn't she the daughter of the Sword of the Light?"
Iris was hyperventilating now, she didn't know what was going on. She had sat down at the table, but they were still staring at her! Most of them barley even glanced away when "Provenzano, Mariska" was called.
She could feel their eyes boring into her, like heat on her skin. Had the sorting ended? Had they even moved onto the next student? Who was breathing that loudly, was that her? And what was that thumping, was someone banging a drum? Oh god, had they looked away yet? Why couldn't–
Iris felt an arm gently wrap around her shoulders.
"Just relax darling," Blaise whispered in her ear, "you're in Slytherin now, and Slytherins stick together. We'll protect you, keep you safe. You're all right, you're safe, no one is going to hurt you." Blaise continued to whisper gentle reassurances in her ear, her thumb drawing slow circles on the back of her hand, trying to make her palms unclench.
Blaise's voice was a steady, calming beat that brought Iris out of her head, as she started to ramble in a soothing tone. "There are so many fascinating things about Vampires you know, and I can't wait to tell you all about them, would you like that? Imagine us sitting together in the Slytherin Common room, totally safe and secure, and just relaxing together as I tell you all sorts of interesting things."
Blaise kept on talking in a gentle tone. "For example, did you know that right now I'm using a focused version of the vampiric allure on you to get you to relax? Vampires can produce a magical field similar to the veela allure, although much less potent. Where the veela allure focuses on physical lust and a primal need to show off for one's mate, the vampiric allure focuses on the emotions of love, trust, and security."
Draco looked like they were going to interject at having an important part of their identity called "primal", but they looked at the tension bleed out of Iris's shoulders as she sagged into Blaise's shoulder, and thought better.
Blaise continued, "You see Iris, every creature's magical gifts can be used for both good and ill. Don't you feel how nice, warm, and relaxed my aura is making you feel? Isn't it a good thing feeling this way, instead of being all nervous over the whispers and stares?"
As Iris slowly came down from her panic attack, and turned into Blaise, letting out a little moan at how close the other girl was, and the very intimate whispering she was doing into her ear.
Wait, a little moan? Blaise? Allure? A Girl? Intimate?
Suddenly, Iris snapped back into her senses, and sprang away from Blaise, her whole body flushing red. What on earth was that! Why did she feel so safe and content, why was she alright with being held in Blaise's arms?
Blaise chuckled, seemingly unperturbed at Iris's reaction. "Back with us, darling?"
"What was that, what did you do!" Iris said, her voice a panicked, harsh whisper.
"I told you Iris, I focused my vampiric allure on you to bring you out of your own head. I saw how you were having a panic attack at everyone looking at you, and I was worried. Also, I managed to use a powerful little spell Dante's mother showed me called the 'The Hoop of Gyges ."
Hearing Blaise's candid tone, and seeing the earnest concern in her eyes, Iris began to relax. The words from the train stuck with Iris: there wasn't anything malicious about what Blaise was doing. Just like her changing, it was a talent that could be used for good or evil, and Blaise was using it for good.
"Wow," Iris said, after taking a minute to settle herself, "that's really wild how strong your allure was. I can't even imagine what it would do to a boy."
She quickly corrected herself, remembering who she was talking with: "or anyone that's attracted to girls I mean, not just boys."
"Yes dear, I'm sure it would be… quite powerful indeed" Blaise said with a solemn nod.
Theo smirked, and looked like he was about to speak up, until his mouth snapped shut suddenly, as Blaise hit him with her elbow. Wonder what that was about?
"Well, anyways," Draco said, rolling their eyes, "it's good to have you here with us, Iris. How do you feel about getting into Slytherin?"
"I… I feel like it's right, you know? Like, I talked with… someone in Diagon Alley about certain… stuff and I feel like this is definitely the right place for me. I really love my magic, it's so completely wonderful, and I just feel this is the place I'm going to be best able to learn about it, y'know?"
Dante smirked from across the table, "y'know, I'm pretty sure that James Potter will have an aneurism once he hears about this. If he ends up dying, you'll have made the single greatest blow against the light since the Dar– You-Know-Who himself!"
Iris grimaced. "Well, that's what you get for abandoning your kid to horrible muds like my relatives. I know he'll probably try and do something to make me the 'perfect little light angel' that he thinks I am, but that ship sailed on my seventh birthday, so… he can go fuck himself, I guess."
Draco spoke up, looking at Iris in slight wonder. "What… what happened when you were seven?" Dante immediately swatted them on the back of the head.
"I mean, if you don't mind me asking! I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking!"
"Don't worry" Iris said, with a rueful smile, "you deserve a pass, after what I said on the train. It… all I'll say is that my uncle got fired from work, and he blamed me. Don't… don't ask me anything else about it, alright?"
Draco floundered, looking equal parts guilty and embarrassed. "Uhhh… So… So how about your brother, huh! How's he taking it!"
Iris looked across the hall to see Danny laughing at something the pretty Indian girl sitting next to him had said. He sensed her gaze, and glared at her, eyes full of hurt and loathing.
"Well, I'm guessing that he's rather put out; half the time he spent talking to me he kept yammering on about needing to 'prank' the 'dark Slytherins'. Honestly though, I don't really care. He's immature and spoiled, and thinks he's the next greatest thing since Merlin. Seriously, he idolizes James so much, I don't think that he's had an original thought in his head in years."
"Wow Iris," Theo said, raising his eyebrows, "you sound way more confident about this stuff than you did on the train. What changed?"
Iris snorted. "I've decided I'm making a clean break with this sorting, I'm not going to let him get me under his thumb ever again. Trust me, you grow up the way I did, and you'll stop giving a shit about what blustering male authority figures think pretty damn quickly."
"Honestly," Iris said, a smile overtaking her face, "it feels really freeing, you know? I can finally be myself, after all this time of having to be a brave Gryffindor prankster for James, and a demure little Christian girl for Miriam. This is the most 'me' I've felt in months. Well, with the one exception of this girl I met in Diagon Alley."
"I had to spend the whole year since my birthday pretending that every idiotic 'prank' James played was actually the funniest thing I've ever seen, and that I didn't resent him at all for sending me off to live with my relatives. I realized that if I had to spend seven years of Hogwarts doing that, I think I'd snap and kill the puritanical bastard before third year was up."
"Oho!" Dante said, smiling, "big words Iris, big words! Do you really think you could get one over on the 'Sword of the Light'? He was one of the best duelists of the last war, you know!"
Iris smirked. "It'd be pretty easy actually. All I'd have to do is come to him talking about how I saw Draco or Theo use 'evil, unnatural dark magic', and he's be so distracted by going on a rant about their parents that he'd never see my wand."
"You know Iris," Blaise said with a smirk, pinching Iris's cheek, "I really do love it when a girl plans a murder in front of me. Isn't she just adorable, Dante dear?"
Iris squeaked and turned away towards Draco, who was pulling some girl over to their section of the table.
"Oh hey Iris!" they said, thankfully stopping Blaise's follow-up comment, which would undoubtedly do nothing but further fluster her—how did she manage to do that, anyways?—"I've been meaning to introduce you to a friend of mine. Iris, meet Daphne Greengrass!"
Reaching a few students down, Draco pulled a stunning girl over towards the fivesome, happily smiling and greeting her. She had absolutely gorgeous blonde hair, framing a sharp, delicate face, with two long red tattoos running from the corers of her mouth down to the hollow of her throat.
Affected by Blaise's aversion spell, the girl scrunched up nose in a way Iris was sure all the boys would call adorable. A few seconds later, her gaze cleared, and she focused directly on Iris.
"Hello, Ms. Potter," she said, holding out a dainty hand, "I must admit, I've been quite curious to meet you ever since the beginning of the feast."
"I-It's… it's nice to meet you to…"
"I looked all around for you once you were sorted, but thanks to someone"—she glared at a smirking Blaise—"I wasn't able to find where you'd sat. Mystery solved, as they say."
"Oh don't worry Daphne dear", Blaise said, her smirk growing sharper, "don't feel bad. I doubt there were enough brains in the pretty little head of yours to find Iris even if I hadn't cast the charm."
Greengrass took on a mocking smile. "Oh, I'm sorry Blaise, did you say something? It seems that tact and class are a lot like a Wizengamot seat: no matter how much money your mommy has, she can't buy them."
"Oh Daphne, don't worry about me", Blaise said, smirk somehow managing to look even smugger, "at least my family has money. Tell me, have your coffers ever recovered from that hit they took when your uncle was arrested after the war?"
"Should we stop them?" Iris whispered, leaning into Dante's ear.
"Yeah", he replied, "if we don't break up their foreplay, they're liable to start fucking right on the table, feast or no."
"Wait WHA–"
"Girls, girls!" Dante said, arms out in mock conciliation, "let's end this horrible fighting for now! We can continue it later once we've gotten to the dorms. Say… around midnight, in Daphne's bed?"
The two girls broke their staring match, and Daphne sat down primly on Theo's right side.
"Well, I hope Blaise over here will at least perform better than she did on the night of Draco's Christmas Ball. I'm not one to levy judgement on others"—Blaise snorted—"but it was… how do I put this kindly… highly disappointing"
"Oh?" Blaise said, quirking a fondly amused eyebrow, "what Greengrass, were you disappointed that Dante only made you scream half as much as you did when you read your last Gringotts's statement?"
"…"
"…damn Blaise. That one was good. How do I even respond to something like that?"
Daphne's face finally morphed into a friendlier expression. "Well, I know when I'm beat. It's nice to see you again Blaise, Dante, Theo. I assume your families have been well?"
She looked at Iris, whose blush had been rapidly increasing throughout the conversation to colors only seen in the hearts of nuclear detonations, and then rolled her eyes.
"Circe Blaise, another one? Wasn't that shy little McTaggart boy enough to sate your bestial lusts?"
Blaise just shrugged.
She turned to face Iris, who was still processing what was happening. "So, you're the great Iris Potter everyone's been talking about, huh? Half the table is looking for you, you know."
"M-me?" Iris said, "why are they looking for me?"
Daphne just gave Iris a flat look. "Potter, you do know who your father and brother are, don't you? Don't tell me Blaise is going for the stupid ones now."
Iris squawked: "G-going for!"
"Anyways, I'm curious," her gaze suddenly turned sharp, "where were you for the past twelve years, and why on earth has no one every heard your name before today? I would imagine that the twin of the 'Defeater of the D– of You-Know-Who' would be paraded around in the public eye at least half as much as the Boy-Who-Lived himself. Lord knows your siblings certainly were."
Iris calmed somewhat, glad to once again be in familiar territory. "W-well, basically, I was with James up until that night when Danny defeated—wait, actually, how does that even work?"
"I mean, I never really thought about it, but You-Know-Who was, well… himself. He made an entire prefecture so scared of him that they'll barley say his name! How on earth could a baby defeat him?"
Daphne cocked her head. "That's a question many of us have asked as well, Potter. You don't believe that your brother did it?"
"I mean, I don't know what I believe. To be honest, isn't it way more likely that my mom did something, because she was, y'know, a fully-trained witch? I mean I know she was raised by muds and all, but that shouldn't mean that she couldn't be a powerful mage!"
"I would find myself agreeing with you Iris. A mu…"—Daphne looked at Draco, who gave her a small nod—"A mudblood your mother may have been, but she was an excellent mage. She was often touted as 'the smartest witch of her generation' by the Nics, and while many Rells may not necessarily agree with that, even we have to admit that she was quite brilliant. In fact, some people even…"
"What?" Iris said, eager to hear more of her mother.
"…hmm? Oh, nothing, just a thought. Anyways, the viewpoint of most of us not blinded by your brother's massive shadow is that Lily Potter did some sort of r–… unknown magic on that night which enabled her to defeat the Da–… You-Know-Who. Now, you haven't answered my question: why haven't we heard of you before now?"
"Oh yeah, that makes sense… Well…"
Iris shot Blaise a questioning look.
"Don't worry darling, we all trust her"
"Alright, if you say so. Well basically", she said, lowering her voice despite the privacy charm, "basically, after the night when Danny 'defeated' You-Kn–… the Dark Lord, some medical charm that Dumbledore cast said that I was a squib, and so James sent me off to live with my mother's mud sister and her family, the Dursleys.
She shivered. "They were absolutely awful to me, because they were jealous that I was a mage and they were muds. I didn't really have a… happy childhood, to say the absolute least."
Her voice returned to a normal volume. "So, uh… anyways, on my twelfth birthday, after I cooked for my relatives, I found this letter in the mail that said I was accepted to Hogwarts. I thought it was a prank by my cousin Dudley, but the next day Petunia sat me down and told me that my mother was a mage, and that my father had left me with them when I was around one. A few minutes after that, when I was still processing, James showed up on the doorstep and basically told me that he was my father, and he loved me very much, and couldn't wait to get to know me again."
Daphne gave Iris a curious look. "That sounds… interesting."
"Well!" Dante said, "now that we're all introduced, what do you all thing about our first classes!"
As the other five Slytherins began to offer their opinions on the various professors, Iris began to relax. Like she'd told Tonks, she'd never really had friends before, but hearing the table laugh as Draco told a story about the potion's professor, she thought she could get used to it pretty damn quickly.
As she left the Hall with the rest of the Slytherins after the sorting feast, Iris's good mood rapidly soured. She saw her brother, looking thunderous, storming over to her, and she mentally prepared herself for… she didn't know, but she knew it would be bad.
Roughly grabbing her on the arm, Danny dragged Iris away from the rest of the crowd before she could signal to her friends. After walking for a minute or so, he flung the door to an abandoned classroom open, and, race contorted in rage, roughly pulled her inside, and began to yell.
"Do you want to break mum and dad's hearts, you git?! I should have known that you were a slimy snake, with that book on dark magic in Diagon Alley. I can't believe my father tried to take you back in to our house! You should have just stayed with the muggles where you belong!"
Iris's eyes grew wide with panic, and she frantically looked around for her friends as her brother continued to rant.
"Dad was right at that dinner: you're not a true Potter at all, you're a dark witch! I saw you getting all friendly with that bloodsucking freak Zabini at your new table, are you gonna go off and join some rug-muncher harem now too? I thought–"
"Hello Potter, Iris. What are you two doing over here?"
Iris let out a massive sigh of relief as she heard Draco's voice speak up from the open door behind Danny, taking on a cool, disdainful tone she had never heard them use before. She could see the rest of her five new… friends? standing behind them, all with equally intense glares on their faces.
Danny snapped his mouth shut, and just glared at Draco. "…Nothing, Malfoy", he said, sneering. After a minute or so, he turned sharply, and left the classroom, walking away towards the other Gryffindors.
"Iris", he said, looking back over his shoulder, letting out a long sigh "Damnit… I forgive you. I guess I'm too kind for my own good. Once you realize how awful those snakes are, come and find me. We'll see about making you a proper Potter, alright?"
He turned around, and left without looking back, leaving a terrified Iris in his wake.
Shoulders shaking with unreleased sobs, Iris curled into to Dante, who had put a supportive arm around her shoulders. As they left the classroom, Daphne started talking to her in a low voice.
"Hey, Iris, I know what it feels like, to have your parents only look at you in scorn. I only have one piece of advice… don't ever let them see you hurting."
"Wh-what?"
"I mean, Potter, your father, your brother, Weasley, and all of them. Don't ever let them see how much they hurt you. If they know how much they hurt you, then they win."
"H-how am I supposed to d-do that, when they're being so t-terrifying?"
The rest of the sixsome stopped, confused. Blaise spoke up: "Wait, dar–… Iris. you're saying that you're not about to cry because they're your family? What do you mean, 'terrifying'?"
"Oh no!".
Iris snorted, momentarily breaking through the wavering tone of her voice.
"Those a-assholes abandoned me to live with my relatives", she snarled the word like it was a curse, "and lived in a rich manor the wh-whole time. You h-heard what I said on the t-train, and at the feast. Th-they can r-rot." She was almost in tears by the end of her monologue, her rage warring with her oncoming panic attack.
"I-it's j-just", she curled further inward, "w-when they get angry like that, and p-puff up and start yelling and t-trying to c-control me, th-they're e-exactly like m-my"—she paused for breath, almost breaking down into heavy sobs—"th-they're exactly like my uncle, the one who… the one who u-used to b-b-beat m-me."
She turned to Daphne, almost hyperventilating. "I-I d-don't know w-why, I p-promise! I-it's j-just I f-freeze up, a-and th-the whole w-world c-closes in on m-me, and–" Iris began to let out heaving, panicked sobs, making Dante pull her further into his hug.
"I-I'm s-sorry, I k-know th-this–"
Theo cut her off, surprising the rest with his passionate tone. "No. Iris, this isn't your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's the Potters, and your… relatives. Don't ever blame yourself for this."
Iris relaxed into someone's arms for the second time that day, and the third time in her life, as she stained Dante's shirt with tears.
"Now c'mon Iris, let's go back and catch up with the rest of the Slytherins, alright? We should be able to get to them before they tell us the password to the common room."
Iris just nodded into Dante's chest. "Don't ever l-let them see you hurting."
She disentangled herself from him, steeled her shoulders, and began to slowly walk back to the Slytherin dorms with her new… friends. Yes, that sounded nice.
AN: The title for this chapter comes from the Book of Matthew: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves! Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
Interestingly enough, this is the only time in the entirety of the Christian Bible where snakes are mentioned as having positive qualities. Usually, it's all about betrayal, or subversion, or just plain old evil.
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Recommended Fic: The Unwoven Threads of Fate by diadru.
This is a Naruto fic, so I know it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm making it this chapter's recommendation because the name of the first student to be sorted, "Martin Alvarcus" is a omage to Alvarcus Mar, the main character . I'm sorry, but "Alvarcus" is WAY to cool of a name to waste.
It has great custom jutsu development, and incredible worldbuilding and internal character-work, I highly recommend it. Yeah, it's technically a SI/OC fic, but I promise, this is the SI/OC fic that people who hate SI/OC fics love. You won't even remember that the MC is technically supposed to be a dimension-traveler, because it almost never comes up in a meaningful way, besides driving his goals.
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If you skimmed through the Sorting Hat's song, you might want to go back and re-read it. While it is based largely on the song from OOTP, I've modified it subtly to fit more with this universe's Dumbledore, rather than canon!Dumbledore
