(Coeus Black - PoV)

Arriving back home, we find Dora and Iris reading in the living room.

They of course look up at our arrival, and I give Dora a double thumbs up.

"Good news! Grandfather agreed!"

She has just enough time to smile before another voice calls out.

"Agreed? Agreed to what?" Andy asks, entering the room, a frown on her face. Dora's smile becomes rather strained.

Whoops.

I mean, we had to tell her eventually, but I would have preferred to talk to Dora a bit longer first.

"Not it!""Not it!" Phoebe and I call out, causing Dora to drop the smile entirely, and glare at us instead.

"Hey, we talked Grandfather over, our part is done!"

She rolls her eyes and turns to Andy.

"Well mum, we got to talking yesterday and made a bit of a deal. Long story short, Coeus is going to get Gramps to deal with some things for me. In exchange? I'm going to be a Black."

While they talk at each other we slip over to Iris, who is peeking at the events going on over her Potions book.

"How goes it?" I ask.

"Huh?"

I gesture at her book.

"Oh. Fine I guess? I took some notes and stuff," she gestures vaguely at a roll of parchment on the table beside her, but her focus is clearly on the events occurring across the room.

"I see. Yeah, sorry, I don't know if we will be getting anything else done today, considering...well." I nod towards Dora and Andy arguing. That said, it could be much worse? Andy seems to be in a Black mood today, so the argument is more about Dora not informing her beforehand than anything else.

She...might have a point but, well. We weren't going to risk her trying to say no, or getting all weird on us.

Eventually, Ted comes in to see what all the fuss is about and gets reluctantly dragged into things.

"Well, I will say, Dora dear, have you put any thought into your actual name?" he asks.

"What?" she asks.

"I mean, you do seem to have rather jumped into this without really thinking about it. What do you want to do for your legal name? Do you plan on changing your name to Black now?"

She is silent, clearly having not considered the matter.

"See? This is what I mean Nymphadora! You just leap right into things without considering them at all! This is why you should discuss them with us first!" Andy chides her.

Dora clenches her fists and glares back.

"I have told you, again. And again. And again. How much I hate that name. And you never. Once. Listen. You wonder why I have no respect for you? Because you have no respect for me."

Turning away from Andy, she looks at Ted.

"So, an official name change will be part of it huh? That sounds fantastic. I know exactly what I will do. I will be Dora Tonks Black. Thanks, dad!"

Things rather devolve from there.

Yeah, this is not going to go anywhere soon. I share a look with Phoebe and we nod.

Grabbing Iris, and her parchment, we make our way out of the room. We are careful to avoid attracting attention, lest we get drawn into the argument. Or have them remember that we were involved in the whole mess.

No one need remember that detail right now. Completely unimportant.

After quietly making our way upstairs and to our room, we collapse onto the bed.

Ugh, well, so much for our plans. The potions room is on the other side of the argument. Not worth.

"Sorry Iris, maybe we can try brewing tomorrow? Not going to try getting into the middle of that."

She nods in agreement.

"Yeah, that...that sounds like a good idea," she says hesitantly.

"Are they...why do they..." she begins, trailing off.

I think I get what she's asking though.

"I dunno really. Andy and Dora always seem to fight like that, I don't pretend to understand why most of the time. The one that comes up the most of the name thing. Dora hates it, but Andy is adamant about it. I think she's being ridiculous but," I shrug, "eh. It's just how she is I guess? They still care about each other, so that's what's important, right?"

Iris nods.

"Yeah, it's just...not what I imagined, you know? I thought it would be...I dunno...all nice, all the time I guess?"

I nod.

"Yeah, I suppose I can understand that. I don't think things ever really work like that? Even over here someone likes to occasionally abuse me." I point out, looking over at a certain menacing twin of mine.

Who promptly shoves me off the bed SHIT!

...

Ow...

"Phoebe, why?" I ask from the floor.

"Pecking order."

"...What?"

She laughs instead of explaining anything.

One day...one day...I will...

...

Sighing, I gingerly take my place back on the bed, and Phoebe pulls me in and snuggles.

Not fair.

"Anyhow, in retrospect, it looks like there will be a lot more involved in Dora becoming a Black than I thought. She will probably need to visit Grandfather herself and do a bunch of paperwork and stuff. Still, it will be a problem for later I guess, whenever Grandfather finishes up on his end."

Iris snorts.

"That's one way to put it," she says.

"Still, our part is done I guess. So...what now?"

...

Iris just shrugs of course.

Phoebe?

She sighs.

"May as well study. No spell practice either, today would not be a good day for an accident, or to set off Andy."

I wince at the idea. Yeah, that sounds terrible.

"Hitting the books it is. Potions for now I guess, for tomorrow, assuming all goes well?"

The girls nod, and I head to the trunk to retrieve the books.

The rest of the day is spent reading, only interrupted by a rather tense dinner.

Ted does his best but, yeah. Neither Andy nor Dora are the sort to back down.

Hopefully, they will have settled down by tomorrow.


Well, Andy seems at least a bit more relaxed at breakfast, but we don't even see Dora, so who knows.

Afterward, we claim the potions room, at last, to get started on our promise to Iris.

"So, what's first?" I ask.

"Boil Cure I think? It is one of the first listed, looks pretty easy, and is a common starter potion."

I nod.

"True, but do you know why it is a common starter potion, despite there being easier ones?" I ask her.

Frowning, she shakes her head.

"You remember what happens when you mess it up, right?"

"It causes boils, right?"

"Yeah," I tell her. "But the book really undersells it."

I shake my head.

"Dora thinks it is one of the first potions they teach to help show how dangerous potions are. When you mess it up and get a bad batch all over you? You get covered in boils. Huge, ugly, painful boils. She saw it happen her first year, and said it happens to at least one person almost every year."

Iris stares at me, wide-eyed.

"What? But...why? Why would they let it keep happening?"

I shrug.

"Because people need to learn? Don't forget, we are literally making the cure for it as first years. It is a very easy problem to fix. But later on, if people don't learn how dangerous potions can be, and don't take them seriously? They may get hurt in ways that cannot be fixed so easily."

"SO!"

I clap my hands, causing Iris to jump.

"If we are doing this one, let's make sure to take extra care with it yes? You go ahead and double-check the gloves and cauldron beforehand, I'll go over the ingredients and make sure they are all good."

She looks a lot less enthusiastic than before but gets to work.

Sorry, Iris. Potions have amazing potential but the dangers really cannot be understated and the books do a terrible job of explaining them.

"Alright, everything looks good to me. You?"

She looks them over.

"Yeah."

"Now, what is the key step?"

"The key step?"

I nod.

"There is one specific step of the potion that, if you mess it up? It causes a catastrophic failure. Pretty much turns it into a weapon."

Her eyes widen again, and I can see her frantically wracking her brain.

"I...I..."

Her brow furrows.

"I...I have no idea? I don't remember anything about that!"

"Exactly."

"What?"

"The book is not great. Especially for when we are experimenting on our own."

I shake my head.

"We've done a little bit with Dora before, and she ranted about it. The book tells you the bare minimum of what you need to know, laid out very poorly. In this case, if you add the porcupine quills before you take it off the fire? Bad things happen."

Iris gulps.

"And yes, the book tells you to take it off the fire first, but at no point does it mention how important that is. So people do it. All the time."

Phoebe interrupts me.

"You are not exactly encouraging her here, Coeus," she says.

Grimacing, I relent.

"Sorry, just...I was kind of interested, you know?" I ask looking at Iris, who tilts her head.

"The idea of experimenting. Of throwing things together to see what happens. But, well, we can't really do that, not with what we have. The book the school assigns is useless for that, and if you try it you are more likely to end up hurt or crippled than find something interesting. Being able to crank out generic potions is mildly useful I guess but it is just so boring."

Phoebe elbows me.

"Right, right, moving on. Boil Cure! What do?"

Blinking, Iris dismisses me and focuses on the potion, moving quickly through the steps.

Fangs, crush, measure, add, heat, wave.

"Anticlimactic, isn't it?"

"...Yeah. I was expecting something more. Do we really just wait for half an hour now?"

"Pretty much. Later on, potions can get much more complicated of course. I've heard something like Felix Felicius is an absolute nightmare, but for now? A few baby steps and a lot of waiting."

Iris glares at me.

"All of that build-up...you had me so nervous, and then it was really that simple?"

I snort.

"Iris, I told you. Every year, people mess this up."

"...How?"

I shrug.

"How should I know? There is a reason that I tell you to ignore most people. It is just not worth it to try to invest in everyone, some are so very much not worth it."

Iris is quiet, hopefully considering.

A knock at the open doorway draws our attention.

"Well? How goes the brewing this morning?" Andy asks.

I prod Iris to answer first.

"Umm, good? I think?" She looks over to Phoebe and me as we nod encouragingly.

"Just at the sitting and waiting stage for the Boil Cure right now."

Andy nods.

"You know the most important part of that potion, right?"

Iris nods, "Take it off the fire before we add the quills, right? Coeus made sure to point that out specifically."

Andy smiles.

"Good, good. As long as you don't forget that everything should be fine then."

Iris, however, frowns.

"Why does the book not mention how important that is?" she asks, causing Andy to frown as well.

"I...am afraid I don't know? I never had much interest in Potions, I never took it past the OWL. I believe your mother was more interested in them though.

That gets Iris's attention quickly.

"Really?"

"I think so. I didn't know her that well personally. I don't know if I ever even saw her at school other than her Sorting, I was my seventh year when she started, and we were in different Houses, but I kept in contact with Slughorn. He used to be the Potions professor for Hogwarts, and some other things, he mentioned her a few times."

She shakes her head.

"He said she had a great many talents, really. But as a potions master himself, of course he would focus on that."

"Could I talk to him? I would love to hear more about her!"

...

Andy hesitates, though I am not certain why.

"Perhaps later? You know, there is someone else."

Iris frowns.

"Someone else?" she asks.

Oh. Damnit, Andy...I know where this is going. Him.

"Someone close to the family who knew her a lot better, who already wants to speak with you?"

Iris's expression sours as she gets it.

...

...

"...Maybe later. We are brewing." She replies, turning away to watch the potion.

The potion, which still has over twenty minutes left.

Phoebe and I turn as well.

We sit in silence, watching the cauldron until Andy leaves.

...

"Well, you learned a bit more about your mom now. That's good, right?"

Iris nods.

...

"Maybe some of the later potions will be more interesting. Or you can find someone to ask for better books if you want."

She nods again.

...

"Want to ask Dora about Slughorn?"

A third nod.

I wrap my arm around her. Phoebe gets up and sits on her other side, doing the same.

Sitting silently, we watch the cauldron until the time comes to finish the potion.

Iris gets up and makes short work of it, adding the slugs before taking it off the fire.

Two quills, fives clockwise stirs, a wave, and we have a cauldron full of Boil Cure.

Huzzah.

Iris looks about as enthusiastic as I feel.

I don't think we are going to bother making another today. After cleaning up, we vial a few doses and leave the rest in the cauldron for now. I'll ask Ted to vanish it later.

Instead, we head upstairs. Iris tries to head to her room, but I refuse to allow it.

"Coeus..." she complains quietly.

"No," I tell her. "I won't allow it. If you go in there you will just mope alone all day. If you are going to mope, it will be with us!"

We drag her into our room and onto the bed, where she takes the middle position.

I freeze for a moment, remembering what happened in the past. Glancing behind me confirms that the edge of the bed is not far away. Hesitantly, I look over at Phoebe.

She smiles at me.

No.

I try to scootch over, which forces Iris over, which forces Phoebe over, but Phoebe reaches an arm across and jabs it into my ribs, yeowch!

Fine, fine...

...

We need a bigger bed.