Chapter eight
I have now brought you this far my delightful reader and I have thought in glee about your expression having come this far- no don't think my insane or sadistic, I assure you, I am quite normal. Should I ever attempt to sum up what you have just read I would only shine poor light on the family and make the dearest child, a clichéd hero. And anyway who needs a clichéd hero; after all we have one ready at our disposal, why do we need another? If we were all heroes, then none of us would be heroes. What we need, is a majority of happy mediums and that is exactly what Aquarius was and still is. But let's not focus on him, where's the fun in reading about someone normal? Why not immerse yourself into the tangled lives of others and to fall into the fathoms of a murderous mind – let you inner desires compare with those of blackness. I am pleased to neglect the normal one, he makes me uncomfortable and I much prefer to tell a tale comfortably.
At this point I have to set down my quill, and I must tell you to hold a sketch of each child clearly, still think of them as children for me. As the growing up does not begin till mother comes home. It makes me wonder, that I can pour all my thoughts fears and desires onto a very clean piece of parchment for you all to read, but if I were to meet you – I doubt I could do no more that introduce myself, don't think of me being socially deficient because I can hold a conversation, I just choose not to.
Now I think I have spoken enough, best be onto telling a tale rather than prolonging it.
Chapter six
"Mother, my legs are tired can you get Dobby to get the rest of my school shopping?" came the snobby voice of Draco Malfoy.
"Well...Draco, you can't possibly-" began Narcissa.
"Cissa, you can't possibly make the boy walk all the way around Diagon alley!" exclaimed Lucious Malfoy.
"Well, he needs to get measured for his robes...?" replied Narcissa.
"Auntie?" said a voice. It was ignored.
"Very well" sighed Lucious "I'll get Dobby to get the basics, your mother and I will get the more important things"
"Auntie?!" said the voice again, it was ignored, again.
"Good Idea Lucious and while your father and I our getting those, you ought to go down to Madame Malkins and get your robes fitted." Narcissa decided.
"Auntie?!" said the voice once again, and it was ignored, once again.
"Oh, do I have to...Mother please..."wined Draco.
"Do not wine Draco it is unbecoming." Snapped Lucious his temper rising.
"AUNTIE!" yelled the voice and the eleven year old, whom the voice belonged to stamped down on Narcissa foot with her heavy boots.
"Ow! You wretched child!" Snapped Narcissa.
The girl Iris, ignoring her auntie's anger, continued.
"Can I go shopping with Estella and Ceph?" she asked eyeing up the worn sign pointing to nocturne alley, Narcissa saw the look at the sigh and vehemently shook her head.
"No you will not! And neither will..." she turned around to find Estella and Ceph gone – to leave only Aquarius limply standing there, Aquarius, feeling as if he was going to get pulled into something he didn't want to do, broke his limp form.
"Gee, auntie is that the time? I better get my new books too! See you" and with that he too scuttled off.
"Never mind, You Iris can go with Draco, for the life of me, I can't understand why you didn't want to go with Lacerta and the Parkinsons, lovely people..." and with that, the elder Malfoys left the children.
"Great..." muttered Iris, not even trying to hide her dislike for the situation.
"Well, we better go to Madame Malkins." Draco sneered at his cousin.
"What your actually going to do what your mummy says!" laughed Iris, mocking him.
"Well no...Anyway father promised me a new broom if I was well behaved." Said Draco a little put out.
"First years aren't even allowed a broom, stupid." Commented Iris as they wandered to the required shop.
Iris watched Draco try to make conversation to a raven-haired boy their own age, she sighed, by lack of magical knowledge he was probably a mud blood.
"Are your parents magical?" asked Iris. The raven-haired boy looked at Iris in slight awe.
"Yes, but I've never met them..." he looked at his feet.
Iris held a smile that was quite wrong for her soul "my parents went away when I was a baby, I haven't seen them in a while..."
All just then, a rather sombre silence held over the three and Iris went all a little too quite.
"Well!" said Iris, jumping down from the stall she stood upon. "See you at Hogwarts..."
Hogwarts station was cramped with students of all ages and the Malfoys held disgust on their expression, although the occasional inclination of the head was given to the more notable families on the platform.
Iris spied Aquarius laughing in a rather odd manner, which held no spite or mockery but only happiness with two ginger haired twins. Part of the young girl's heart yearned for the kind of relationship Aquarius had with his peers and wanted to go over and join them.
Estella sensing this put a firm hold on her shoulder.
"See over there, where our traitorous brother stands, that is something you don't want to become...follow me, you can sit with me and my friends."
Iris smiled a little; she felt awfully superior to those her age to have a big sister that would allow her to sit in the fifth year compartments.
It was in no time at all, that she rudely declined Pansy's invitation to join her for the train ride and have some of Estella's lackeys carry her trunk and owl cage into where they would be sitting. It was in no time at all when the steam engine started to roll away from king cross station and into the rolling countryside – she was on her way, her way to be a witch, on her way to make mother proud.
14 years later...
I thought I would delight you with a brief vision of our Iris now and not to worry we will soon back tract timelines to revisit the events of Hogwarts and what really changed our character form an innocent to guilty.
An owl taps on a blackened window, the only window sufficient in doing its job, for all the windows were smashed or bordered up in the lonely little house on a hill.
Pales skinny gaunt arms open the window and pull the letter violently form the bird's mouth, one of the arms carries a reminiscent of a shadowy mark. Inside the building it is dark and stale, there is rubbish and debris littering the floor of the small study the women stands in.
Downstairs do the voices continue, loud, drunk and rowdy, there are many or maybe it's her mind playing ticks on her – it had done that for year, regardless – she does not care, she cares for nothing. Opening the letter she reads it briefly.
To the house on the Hill, loyalist to him
He has another part of him and we know where it is – meet us where we usually meet and together we will restore what is left of our leader using the blood Iris has collected.
Long live the dark lord!
From his most valued followers.
Muttering to herself about deadlines and some old book she may or may not be writing, she brings the letter down stairs. The downstairs is home to rubbish, broken furniture and a rotting carcass of a man. It seemed that, her husband and his friends had some fun without her.
She sulks as she stands to where past death eaters lounge in furniture well worn and hold an array of victims, most half dead.
"And you were going to have all the fun without me?" she sulks at one man in particular.
"Don't worry love, there are still some which aren't dead yet!" he cackles at her, also eyeing her appreciatively.
"Not much scream in the ones left..." she smiles psychotically, looking around the room.
"I'd get you some more, if you made me a well satisfied man..." he winks at her.
"Later!" she snaps, nothing can hold her interest for long. With that she gathers what's left of those clinging onto the flimsy hope of some dark lord and tells them of the plan.
14 years earlier...
It turns out, sharing a cabin with Estella was not much fun at all, in fact Iris would have rather shared one with a mud blood rather than watch Alex Nott put his snake-like hands upon her sister's body.
Sighing she got up "Well, you turned out to be great company!" she snapped sarcastically.
The two ignored her and in frustrated rage she opened the door and slammed it shut rattling the glass.
Now where to go next? Pansy had wanted to share with her, fortunately she had shoved her onto Draco – it looked liked Pansy was getting quite a crush on her cousin.
Iris woke out of her thoughts and spied a small, slightly pudgy boy, whimpering. Smiling to herself, she realised this train ride – might not be so bad after all.
"So what's your name?" spoke Iris to the chubby boy that was whimpering. Now Iris had not planned the situation so carefully, she was under the impression, he was just some random and pathetic mud blood. (After all what kind of pureblood would he be to cower in such way?)
"N- Neville... L-Longbottom." He stuttered, he was looking at Iris in some hopeful way that she may be a possible friend, after all he had just come from a nasty experience with a blonde boy and his two troll followers. The girl, as pretty as she was held an expression of delight.
Yes, strangely Iris was not angry at the boy, no, anyone could be angry. She was happy, ecstatic, in fact. Why this boy was pathetic and she would make his living life hell, starting with 'befriending' him and then swiftly delivering him to her sister.
Somewhere in the crevices of Iris's mind, there was the cool voice of Aquarius, telling her to leave the boy alone, hadn't he gone through enough? Yes he had, I mean losing his parents the same way she did and then probably getting teased, after all he was a sitting target for bullies. Maybe she should...after all, Estella had mentioned beginning to practise the unforgivable and she didn't want to bate her sister into trouble by attacking Neville Longbottom...maybe...he was right?
No! This was the kind of behaviour Estella and Cepheus spoke to her about, how it was so easy to become a blood traitor, all one had to do was allow them some benefits, like becoming indifferent and soon you were a sympathizer and it was in their families belief, that you could never be too loyal to the Dark Lord and all that He stands for.
So, this was what it was like, thinking for one's self, constantly having a war raging on inside of you, not knowing what is right and what is wrong. This battle was short and internal, she had the direction.
"Neville Longbottom, is it? My name is Iris. What's wrong and why are you crying?" she spoke with what she hoped to be a friendly smile.
Neville responded with one as equally friendly, but hopeful also. "T-there was a blond boy and a couple of bigger boys and they...tripped me up." He spoke looking down at the floor, quite ashamed. And so he should be thought Iris.
"Oh, well you can sit with me and my sister if you want." Iris inwardly cackled at the thought of what was to happen.
Neville looked at the girl, who was smiling, but although it was a smile and seemed innocent enough, there was something flickering in her eyes...a kind of eerie excitement. Neville hesitated for a moment and then he nodded.
As quick as lightning did Iris begin to run through the train, holding Neville's wrist and pulling him through the crowed, they were going so fast, that no one had time to see who they actually were, let alone question where and why a Lestrange and Longbottom were together.
She then stopped very suddenly outside her sister's carriage, all the while the feeling of fear began to take over Neville once more as he looked at the windows of the compartments, he stood outside of , all of the students were older and looked meaner and they seemed to give him glares that made Neville's legs quake.
Iris walked into Lacerta's compartment, who was sitting there with Alex Nott, Ryder Mcnair and Marcus Flint.
Lacerta studied her sister's face for a moment, looking at the pure excitement.
"Okay, what is it?" asked Lacerta.
"I made a new friend." Iris spoke grinning, a grin, that only Estella could know what it held. Some of the boys in the carriage rolled their eyes at the first year's antics. "I thought I'd show him to you!" she spoke and leapt outside the carriage and dragged poor Neville in.
"Look sister!" she said grinning manically. "It's Neville Longbottom...I have brought him to show you..." she sung.
Estella's face lit up and she eyed Nott, Mcnair and Flint, who all cackled at the idea of another fist year to torment. "Well. Neville Longbottom, welcome to Hogwarts! It is quite a surprise, you being here , after all, we were all hopping you'd go the same way as mummy and daddy...still never...mind. There's chance for that still..." spoke Estella, her eyes, which darted left and right, now leered upon Neville.
"You can't really think to give him the cru-?" began Iris.
"Shush!" Estella snapped at her younger sister. "Yes, the cruciatus curse would be ideal."
Neville began to whimper, you have to remember that he was not a confident boy to begin with and facing of four of the cruellest Slytherin fifth years, would be a frightening prospect for nearly anyone.
Iris, mean while had began to hear the voices of her conscience inside her head once more. One told her, this was cruelty, not justice or revenge, cruelty, plain and simple and should she stand by and let it happen? The other told her to be disgusted by the previous thought, that Longbottom deserved it – deserved to have himself screaming and withering upon the floor, flailing and begging for mercy. Then the other side of her would hate the thought just before that and so it was a continuous loop of hate for herself. A scream broker her out of her stupor and quickly Nott casted a silencing spell over the cabin. Iris and her followers were leering down at the boy, Mcnair chuckling to himself quietly – he was always quite backwards. Nott smirking at the sight and Flint looking stunned at such a thing, Estella stood in the middle, wielding her wand.
Neville was on the floor, wriggling and his face contorted with pain and Iris realised this was more than some innocent teasing or even bullying – this was something else and she had made it happen, should she be proud?
"Sister! What if you're caught?!" asked Iris staring down at Neville.
"Hush, Iris – just let his screams wash over you, don't you see? He deserves it and to think, mother would be so proud."
'And this is what it comes down to' thought Iris, the approval of Mother, whom was powerful but probably never in her right mind to begin with, let alone now.
"If he goes like his parents..." Iris did not want to continue what would happen if he did, and they were discovered. All of them would be in trouble, for making it happen, doing it and not trying to stop it.
Iris felt she was stuck between two very powerful ideals. Whatever ideal she chose to do would have such an impact on her life, the thing was, Iris was not ready to choose. She loved all of her siblings dearly and could not bear to lose any of them. Iris looked to the twitching figure on the floor, her eyes wide. Wide with what? Fear? Disgust? Excitement? She should do something, she should...
But the moment to do something was lost. For the curse had been lifted and Estella had evidently grown bored.
"He didn't have much in him, did he?" Estella commented lazily, while Nott and Mcnair chuckled and Flint looked down in thinly veiled disgust, for what party, Iris knew not.
"What are we going to do with him?" said Iris looking up with her wide eyes.
Lacerta motioned to Nott and Flint, who dragged the unconscious form of Neville out of the compartment. Iris meanwhile took a seat and looked up at the ever darkening sky, the voices of her siblings began to echo and plague her mind. Their voices, different pitches and speeds, sometimes her parents were in there and other times her auntie and uncle's tones but what was more prominent of all was the screams of the Longbottom boy and the muggle girl, they blended together and drowned out the voices in her head. But still did those voices persist calling her a liar, a freak, a betrayer, a monster. Just when she was about to scream and cover her ears in pain, a sharp voice broke it all. It was her sister, Estella, telling her to look out the window, for they had a arrived at Hogwarts.