(Coeus Black - PoV)
We head up to Iris's room, where we find her owl waiting for us.
!
She makes her displeasure known with a loud screech.
"Ouch," I rub my ears. "Someone is unhappy about being left out of things."
Iris steps forward and rubs her head.
"Sorry girl, I didn't mean to ignore you...it's been a very long day..."
The owl huffs and looks away.
I frown. We didn't hit the pet store, did we? Or...actually, we skipped most of the alley...
Ugh, we will have to go back at some point, won't we?
Whatever, we have some owl treats here.
"Be right back, we should have some appropriate tribute for her downstairs."
-
Once the still-unnamed owl is appeased, we stand in the middle of the room, taking it in.
"Boring," I declare.
Not surprising really. It is a guest room decorated by Andy and Ted, could it be anything else? Dora is at least fun.
"So," I say, turning to Iris. "What do you want to do?"
She looks at me.
"Do?"
Right, this is her first room. I rather doubt she got to decorate the cupboard under the stairs.
"Do you want to change the color of the walls? Ceiling? Want a different floor? Want to do a theme based on something? Trains? Dragons?"
Sweeping my hand around the room I indicate everything.
"What furniture do you want? A new bed? Desk? Big squishy chair? More awesome trunks? Really, just...anything you want Iris. This is your space, make it yours."
She continues to stare at me for a long moment, before looking around the room.
"I...I don't know. I've never...had anything before..."
I can sorta understand that I guess...too many options and no experience.
"How about this, let's ask to temporarily change some colors for a night or two, and see if you like it? If you do, you can keep it that way."
She nods.
The first colors might just so happen to be Slytherin colors. No reason.
"Cool, that's one thing down. Let's see, themes are hard. We have some star constellations on the ceiling in our room, is there anything you are really interested in?"
Her brow furrows as she thinks on the matter.
"What about snakes?" Phoebe suggests. "Like your first friend?"
I love it.
One of us, one of us!
But does Iris?
"I...Maybe?"
"I am sure we can find some appropriate stuff to try out. None of this has to be permanent."
She consents, so we move on.
"For furniture, much as it shames me to admit, we are best off going to the muggle side of things and throwing charms on top of them. Wizard-made chairs really cannot compete with a La-Z-Boy, and they won't even try making spinny chairs, which are an absolutely amazing invention and I am going to have to smuggle some into Hogwarts."
Some for our room for personal use of course, but I bet once others try them I can sell them off and make a killing.
Coeus Black, Muggle chair broker. I can feel my ancestors' contempt for the very idea. Don't worry, if it takes off I can find a muggle-born to pawn the idea off to and take a percentage.
Be appeased ancient ones, be appeased.
Phoebe pokes me, bringing me out of my reverie.
"Right. Uh, anyhow, that will probably have to wait a few days, till Ted has time to take us on a proper trip. It may take a while to pick out what you like, they really do have a huge selection."
Iris nods. She really isn't saying much still.
"So, anything else you can think of? Anything you want?"
...
Yeah didn't really expec-
"Pictures..." Her eyes widen as if she surprised herself as well when she spoke.
"Sorry?" I ask.
"I...umm...could I get...pictures? Of...everyone?"
I can't stop the smile. She is such a sap.
Grabbing her hand, I drag her out of the room and back downstairs.
"Andy! We need the photo albums!"
It should be fun, Andy is always up for the chance to embarrass Dora with old pictures. And we can show Iris mom.
We spent all night yesterday looking at old pictures, Iris got lots to put up in her room. Ted promised we will make more soon with her in them, but we have to get a new camera first. Someone tripped and smashed the old one. Three guesses as to who, and the first two don't count. I did get to keep the pieces to examine though, so it wasn't a total loss. Still, one more thing we need from Diagon.
Phoebe also stayed in our room, which I was glad for. I didn't realize how much sleeping alone would bother me until she wasn't here. It is good that Andy stopped trying to push us apart because that nonsense is simply terrible, ugh.
Sitting up in bed, I *streeeetch*
Ah, much better.
Phoebe and I look at each other.
Vengeance?
Vengeance.
We quietly sneak to Dora's room and start casting the Ice Jinx in front of her door, covering the floor in ice cubes.
Afterward, we retreat to Iris's room to await the fallout.
She is still sleeping. Phoebe shrugs and crawls in bed with her.
I narrow my eyes.
"No kicking," I whisper before joining them.
Iris wakes but relaxes when she realizes it's us.
We just lay there for a while, eventually falling back to sleep.
...
"DAMNIT!"
Dora's swearing wakes us.
"You little shits!"
Gotcha.
Giving the confused Iris a smile, I huddle closer, feeling Phoebe do the same on the other side.
The footsteps pound around for a bit, before coming closer, the door slamming open.
"There you are!"
The black-haired teen has her wand drawn but pauses.
Iris looks up at her, the two of us wrapped around her.
What now Dora? Auror training time, human shield tactics. What do?
Her eyes narrow, rapidly changing color, before settling on copying Iris.
"This isn't over," she growls out, before spinning and marching out of the room.
Victory...for now.
-
Once certain the coast is clear, I head back to our room to prepare for the day. Phoebe stays to help Iris pick out clothes.
She said we should go with the usual black and silver today, so that is what I do.
Pop, slip, thud, aaaand, done.
I set Phoebe's clothes on the bed. Now what?
I don't really want to head down without them...hmm.
Oh, right! I do need to find the counter to the Body Bind, that sucked.
I ruffle through the library trunk for the right book. Phoebe comes in right after a crack it open.
Unfortunately, I don't find what I am looking for by the time she finishes, but I will keep the book out to read later.
We grab Iris from her room and head down for breakfast.
Ted is still reading the paper, and Andy is just now bringing out the plates. We sit down just as Dora makes a play for the bacon.
"Nymphadora, not the whole plate!" Andy scolds her.
She rolls her eyes, putting the plate down, and only grabbing half the bacon and dragging it to her plate, the fiend.
Other than her thieving ways, breakfast goes fine. Afterward, however, we get important news.
"I received word from Arcturus," Andy tells us. "We have an appointment with Healer Gainswell today. In a few hours in fact."
Iris locks up next to me.
I nudge her shoulder.
"That means it will be over soon then, right?"
She gives me a brittle smile.
"That's really fast for an appointment," Dora points out.
Andy nods. "Gainswell owes him a favor. Presumably, a very big favor to be on call like this."
Dora nods.
Ted speaks up. "Don't worry, I know the name, she is good. Very good, she has been healing for a long time." He smiles at Iris. "She should be able to help get you fixed up, and we can put the whole matter behind us."
"For now, just make sure you are all ready to go when we leave, then you are free for the next two hours or so. We will take the Knight Bus again, to make sure there are no accidents with the Floo."
Ugh...probably a good idea, but unfortunate.
We head back upstairs, and crowd into our room.
Iris is really down again, so I guess we will just try to distract her for a bit.
"Oy, catch!"
I toss the book at her.
"Find the Body Bind counter curse? And now that I think about it, we need the curse as well. Then we can practice on each other, till we get them both down."
I pull out a few more books and we all get to reading. We find the spells fairly quickly.
Petrificus Totalus. Hmm, bit of a mouthful. Very effective if it hits obviously, but rather slow to cast. Still, it's something.
We go back and forth a couple of times before I fall over frozen.
...
"Good job Iris! Now we can practice the counter curse," Phoebe says cheerfully.
While I lay here on the floor. Unable to move at all.
...
This is going to suck horribly.
(Edward "Ted" Tonks - PoV)
A glance at the clock confirms we should really head out. It is still quite early, but the Knight Bus is hardly the most reliable form of transportation when it comes to time. The floo is far better for arriving on time, but with Iris having never used it, the chance of missing her exit rises dramatically. And if that happens, she could end up anywhere in the country.
Not what we need right now.
I put down my book and head upstairs to gather the kids.
Ugh, stairs, my nemesis. Did we really used to go to school in a castle, going up and down these things constantly all day long? I think I might die if I had to go to Astronomy nowadays.
"Petrificus Totalus"
Wait, what?
I look into the Twins room just in time to see Coeus fall down, Phoebe pointing her wand at him.
...
"Well, that was unexpected," I say, drawing their attention. "What did Coeus do to draw your ire, Phoebe? And when did you start learning curses?"
And how did I not notice?
"Hi Ted, and nothing. We just started today. Look!"
She then performs the counterspell, and Coeus hops back to his feet.
Christ I miss being able to do that. Nowadays it feels like a ten-step process to get out of bed, much less to stand up from the floor or ground.
"I've got it down too," he exclaims, "see?"
"Petrificus Totalus" and now Phoebe falls over.
"You want to undo it Iris?" he asks.
She nods, and performs the counter, allowing Phoebe to stand up.
I sigh internally. We were wondering how they were handling things.
Blacks. Of course they would handle matters by cursing each other for fun.
I can't even reprimand them. Andy likely thinks it is normal since she is a Black herself, the spell they are using is pretty tame, and they are in the same house as a healer.
"I see. Well, good job getting the spells down so quickly I suppose, though in the future if you are going to be practicing spells on each other you should at least let me know first, ok?"
"Yes Ted," the twins intone.
"Uh, ok." from Iris.
"Good. Now, are you three ready? It is time to go."
Nods all around, so we head back down the stairs.
Andy and Dora are waiting for us near the door.
"Everyone ready?" She asks. "Good, let's go."
-
(Coeus Black - PoV)
The Knight Bus sucks as usual, but at least it is less crowded than yesterday.
We get off in front of Mungos, deal with the creepy Manniquin thing, and pass through the fake glass.
I look around the front reception/waiting room. Have they really not replaced these awful chairs yet? I should just give them the gold to do so.
Oh, better yet, replace them myself. When I get my muggle chair business up and running, I will donate a bunch to Mungos. Do a good deed, and get some free advertising. That sounds good, though I will ask Grandfather to make sure.
I have a bunch of stuff to ask him actually, I need to make a list.
Andy and Ted finish talking to the receptionist, and gesture for us to follow.
I check on Iris as we walk. She is torn between eyeing everything and keeping her head down.
Phoebe and I grab her hands.
We got you.
-
Healer Gainswell seems a respectable enough sort. Wearing the hospital's lime green robes, with dark hair, and dark eyes. She's old, but not old, you know? Grandfather recommended her, so that is good enough for me.
Her office is rather cramped, however, with the six of us crowded in here with her.
"No, this is not going to work, too damned many of you. At least a couple, out!"
I stick my tongue out at out her.
Not my most mature response ever, I know, but whatever. Not leaving Iris alone.
Phoebe wraps her arm around Iris's shoulder.
Well, that's the two of us staying.
Ted and Andy look at each other.
She sighs.
"Tell me if you need anything. Come on Dora, we will wait outside."
Bending down, Dora gives Iris a hug.
"Hey. If you need me, I am right outside, ok squirt?" she says before leaving.
Gainswell snorts.
"Well, that will have to do I suppose. You two, at least scoot a little bit further away, to make sure you don't mess up the readings."
Phoebe and I frown but do as she asks.
"I have copies of my notes, from what I ran at home if you want them. I am not certain what Arcturus told you," Ted speaks up.
She looks at him suspiciously.
"I am a healer, but her case is...beyond my expertise."
He pulls out the parchment and offers it to her.
She frowns and accepts it, pulling out a pair of glasses to read.
Her frown deepens the further she reads, her eyes flitting up to look at Iris several times.
When she finishes she rolls up the parchment and sets it to the side before pulling out her own fresh piece.
"I see. You either need your damned healing license revoked immediately...or Arcturus actually had a good reason to call me in."
She looks at Iris again, her eyes softening this time.
"This will take a while. It may take a long while. but I will do my best to be thorough, so you don't have to do it again, alright?"
She breaths in, before nodding.
"Good girl. Let's get started.
-
"I'm going to ask some questions now. You do not have to answer them, but it will help if you do. Understand?"
The spells have been going for a while, much longer than Ted's checkup, with Gainswell filling parchment after parchment. She finally seems done for the moment, but puts a fresh piece in front of her, and starts speaking.
Iris nods in response to her question.
"Good, good. Now, there were indications you were repeatedly bitten on your feet, ankles, and lower legs. Can you tell me about that?"
...
I squeeze her hand.
"My best guess is that it was a dog of some kind, is that right?"
"...Y-Yes."
"Ok. Were the dogs wild, or someone's pet? Wild dogs can often carry sickness, while owned dogs are more likely to have their shots."
"...A pet."
"Very good. Did they take good care of it? Do you think it had its shots?"
"...Yes...She...She raises dogs...She probably...did all of that."
"I see. Very good Iris, thank you, that helps. Is there anything else you can tell me about it? About the owner?"
"...Ripper. A, a bulldog. My uncle's sister, Marge, she raises them. She would...come over, to visit, and would bring it. I don't know why, but it always hated me. And it would...it would...it would bite me."
"I see. Some dogs are simply mean, especially towards people that their owners are aggressive towards. If Marge was mean to you, Ripper likely would be as well. Did they not stop it when it attacked you?"
She shakes her head.
"No...no they just...laughed...I...A couple of times, I tried to make it stop, and they...I..."
...
"Iris..." I whisper.
"I...learned not to do that...It was...better to just...let him bite me...even if it hurt. She will usually call him off...eventually...
...
"I see. Thank you for telling us that Iris. That was very brave of you."
She shuffles papers around a bit.
"I'm sorry to ask for more after you gave so much already, but some of these burns..."
She stands up and walks around the desk, causing Iris to tense up even further.
"Is it alright if I touch your back, for just a moment? You can keep your shirt on."
...
"Ok..."
"Right...here, this one. Will you tell me what caused this? Not why, just what."
"...A fire poker."
"Ah. And from the timing...Nevermind. "
She moves her hands.
"How about here, this large one?"
"A frying pan."
"...A frying pan?"
Iris nods rather than repeat herself.
"Ok. Again, thank you."
Gainswell squeezes her shoulder, before going to sit down back at her desk.
"Alright, that is enough about all of that. There is a lot more I am curious about, but most of it...well, there is a reason that I spent so long casting spells, and that is so that I wouldn't have to ask you as many awkward questions."
"Are...are we done?" Iris asks, once more refusing to look directly at anyone.
Gainswell sighs, tapping her desk.
"Hmm..."
*Tap**tap**tap*
"Sorry dear, I am not trying to dawdle, I just promised to avoid having you come in again. I want to make certain I am not forgetting anything before sending you off."
*Tap**tap**tap*
"Ok, yes. As far as I can think, you should be good. Wait outside, if you will, while I speak with Ted here about how to fix you up."
Iris jerks, but doesn't immediately stand. I gently pull her out of her seat, and she follows, never looking up from the floor.
We step outside, with Dora and Andy, closing the door behind us.
Looking around, there is no place to sit.
What does Mungoes have against chairs?
