(Iris Potter - PoV)
I notice Phoebe and Coeus give each other a look as we split up. And the way Coeus tenses as he walks away...
The two of them have a thing about being separate, don't they?
"Umm-" I begin, but Phoebe answers before I can ask.
"It's fine," she assures cheerfully. "Well, it will be fine. I have a plan, so it's just for tonight. Then we will have a room together again."
I nod.
That sounds reasonable.
"Just for tonight..." she mutters as we make our way down the corridor, staring off into the distance with her shoulders slumped as her (faked) cheer falls away.
She smiles shakily at me as I grab her hand.
We haven't even made it to our room yet.
It's going to be a long night, isn't it?
...
How...how is Coeus doing, all on his own?
Like a switch being flicked, Phoebe strolls into the dorm all smiles and confidence.
Daphne, sitting across from a dark-haired girl I don't know, looks over as we enter.
"Finally!" she exclaims. "I was halfway beginning to wonder if Snape didn't just off the lot of you for revenge and dump your bodies somewhere," she jokes.
"No," Phoebe shakes her head. "Snape wouldn't kill Iris."
...
Everyone else blinks.
That's...very specific...
"You...I..." Daphne sighs.
"Moving on-"
"Sperm donor," Phoebe interrupts.
"...What?"
"The idiot tried to sneak onboard the train in his animagus form. The Express apparently locked him in a dog cage and labeled him as our pet."
She shrugs.
"Confused the heck out of the House-Elves, apparently. Which is why we got pulled in."
Daphne facepalms. The girl she was talking to when we came in mouths 'dog cage' in stupefaction.
"I...Ugh. Ok, fine. You two may have a point about him being an idiot." Daphne admits. "That sounds incredibly embarrassing. And maybe a little hilarious."
She raises an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised you don't find more humor in it, actually?"
"Oh, I thought it was hilarious," Phoebe replies evenly.
Daphne tilts her head slightly.
"Okaaay..." she prompts.
Phoebe sighs.
"Personal stuff. A project I am working on."
She snaps her fingers.
"Oh! And something else I have to take care of! Before I forget!"
She shakes her head, as if mildly annoyed.
"So tempting to just put them off, those unimportant, worthless little details, but it is best to deal with them at some point. Like a pebble in your shoe, they might mildly annoy you otherwise."
Daphne makes a face at her.
"What?" she asks.
But I get a bad feeling, especially as Phoebe stands up.
Her wand is in her hand in a flash.
"Petrificus Totalus" she announces with relish, and another girl listening nearby falls over.
I don't recognize her. Black hair. Big, but not fat. Not like Dudly. She actually looks like the kind of girl that would beat up Dudly, which certainly earns her some points in my book.
Ignoring the way most of the room screams or flinches, Phoebe stalks over to the girl, her demeanor entirely different once again. She seems...dangerous.
"Millicent..." she sort of whispers, in a way that everyone can hear. "Millicent Millicent Millicent. Did you really think I wouldn't know?"
Standing over the fallen girl, Phoebe tuts.
"Tch. Stupid. I mean, I knew you were stupid. Everyone does. You and your entire family. Stupid. Worthless. It's just how you are. How your branch always was."
Sighing, she sits down on Millicent's chest.
She can't move but I can see the relief in the girl's eyes (and the rest of the room's, for that matter) as Phoebe puts away her wand.
Relief that vanishes when Phoebe pulls out a dagger instead. And I don't need to know anything about magic to know that it is cursed just looking at it.
"You deciding to challenge Brother in the first place, out on the lake? That was stupid. But you should have learned your lesson. As stupid as your family is? They usually know their place. Know not to challenge their betters. Which in your case is everyone, by the way."
Phoebe idly drags the tip of the knife over Millicent's robes as she speaks.
"Because you, of course, decide double down on the stupidity. Again, did you really think I wouldn't see your plans for "revenge". Not on Brother directly, of course. You are far too much of a coward for that, and know he would destroy you. Same for me. I scare you."
Phoebe smiles, slowly tracing the knife over Millicent's face with just enough force to leave a mark but not cut.
"Can't imagine why."
She giggles.
"No. No, you planned to wait. Wait until I was gone, for whatever reason. And then you would ambush Iris."
What?
"The "dirty Half-Blood". The one who dares to be famous. And pretty. And popular. And she's just a Half-Blood! Surely you can take her!"
...
Phoebe cocks her head.
"Of course, if that is true, why would you plan to wait until she is asleep or distracted before ambushing her? If you are so "superior", surely such measures wouldn't be needed?"
Closing her eyes, Phoebe sighs and shakes her head before sitting up and lowering the knife.
"I'm going to be honest with you Millie. Can I call you Millie?"
Her eyes open.
They are glowing and...wrong, somehow. Crazed.
"Of course I can. I can call you whatever I want.
She lunges forward without warning, plunging the knife down right next to Millicent's head, drawing gasps throughout the room.
"I don't care. I don't care why. Or how."
Lifting the knife up once more, she puts it to the literally petrified girl's throat.
"Iris. Brother. Dora. Daphne. The Tonks. It doesn't matter. My family. The people I care about."
The pressure on the knife slowly increases.
"If you ever, EVER! Fuck with them? I will do things to you that you cannot even imagine!"
Phoebe's eyes are so wide it looks physically painful and her arms are shaking as she presses the knife to Millicent's throat. Everyone in the room is frozen even as the first drops of blood appear around the edge of the knife.
"I will bring your nightmares to life!" she threatens, putting more pressure on the knife. "I will-"
Stepping forward, I gently put my hand on her shoulder.
Her face snaps up to look at me, eyes still wide and manic.
"I think she got the message, Phoebe."
She finally blinks and I can see the difference. See the...the madness slowly pulling back.
At least a little...
"Are you sure?" she asks, looking back down.
"This bitch wanted to hurt you. For nothing."
Phoebe cocks her head.
"One little cut...That's all it would take..." she mutters.
"She deserves it. I could get rid of the body. No one would say anything."
I take a deep breath.
"She didn't actually do anything yet, did she?" I ask.
Phoebe shakes her head, still holding the knife to the girl(Millicent?)'s neck. "Not yet, no," she admits. "But she was going to!"
"Will she now?" I ask.
...
"Phoebe?"
"...No. She's too much of a coward to try anything."
I nod.
"So you don't need to kill her then, do you?"
"...Not really."
"Maybe you should put the knife away?"
"...I want to cut her. I want to cut her really, really bad."
What the hell Phoebe? And I thought Coeus was bad...
Reaching down, I slowly take the knife away from her, noticing the tears in her eyes as I do so.
...
"Come on. Let's...let's go to bed."
"Ok..." Phoebe meekly agrees, letting me lift her up.
Glaring down at the still petrified girl, she can't resist delivering a parting shot before leaving.
"The "dirty Half-Blood" just saved your life. Just lay there and think about that."
Shaking my head, I push her towards an empty bed but pause before following her, looking down at the frozen girl.
...
Pulling out my wand, I kneel down, looking her in the eyes.
"If you ever want a fight? Try me. I will show you how worthless you are," I tell her, twirling it where she can see.
...
Narrowing my eyes, I put my wand away then move my hand over her face, covering her mouth and pinching her nose shut.
Her eyes light up in panic as I wait.
And wait.
Leaning over, I whisper into her ear.
"The only reason you are alive, is because you threatened me. Not my family."
I wait a moment longer before removing my hand.
*Snoooort*
She desperately sucks in air as I stand up.
"Everyone ready for bed?" I ask, looking around the room. "I'll get the li-umm."
Spinning around I search, apparently fruitlessly, for the light switch.
This is what I get for volunteering...
"Just...just lay down, Iris," Daphne tells me. "I'll get it. We'll explain later."
Nodding at her, I climb into bed next to Phoebe, who immediately latches onto me.
She is shaking. Badly.
Phoebe...
The room goes dark.
We don't get much sleep.
Phoebe spends the night shaking. Twisting. Crying. Whispering, so quiet I can't make it out.
Most of it, at least. Except for one.
"I'm sorry..." she whispers.
Over and over.
She is so out of it I'm not sure if she can even hear me at this point, so I just keep my arms wrapped around her.
*Poke*
I blink as Phoebe suddenly pokes me.
Like, intentionally pokes me.
"Huh?" I ask.
Intense blue eyes stare at me.
"Brother says thank you."
I blink again.
"What?"
"For reigning me in earlier."
She hesitates, shifting closer.
"And for staying with me. It...makes a difference. For both of us."
But when di-
The whispering.
"You, you've been talking to him. All night?"
Phoebe makes a face.
"Kind of? It's...hard right now."
She gives a very strained smile.
"It...it's good practice...I guess?"
Nodding, I take her hand.
I have to hide my wince at her grip.
"It's ok," I tell her. "I'm here. We're family, right?"
Phoebe giggles.
"Family," she repeats, smiling as she rubs her head against me.
"Family..." she mutters, opening her eyes.
...Crap.
"She wanted to hurt my FAMILY!"
Screaming the last word, Phoebe jumps out of bed, throwing herself across the room at Millicent.
It takes a moment for my brain to catch up before I scramble after her.
"HOW! DARE! YOU! EVEN! THINK! ABOUT! HURTING! MY! FAMILY!"
Phoebe is screaming at the still petrified girl while stomping on her. I struggle to pull her away, even as I notice everyone else in the dorm waking up from all the shouting.
"Phoebe," I try to interrupt her shouting. "Phoebe!"
She finally hesitates, looking over at me.
I take the opportunity to get a good grip on her.
"It's ok," I tell her. "You can stop now."
I carefully pull her away as she looks down at the battered girl on the floor.
Once out of striking range, I take a look myself.
Meh. Been there. Not fun, but she'll be fine in the morning.
The broken nose is really annoying though. Especially when...
Oh.
Sighing, I take out my wand and cast the counter charm, finally unpetrifying her.
The first thing she does is gasp for breath, unsurprisingly The second is curl into a ball and cry.
I guess she isn't used to getting the crap kicked out of her?
Phoebe rubs her head against me.
"Why'd you let her go..." she complains, not even looking at Millicent.
I roll my eyes.
"She had a broken nose, she was probably going to suffocate."
Phoebe shrugs.
"Why'd you let her go?" she repeats.
Sighing again, I wrap my arms around her before looking around the room.
Yup. Everyone is staring.
Phoebe hums.
"You're too nice," she complains.
...I don't know how to respond to that.
Shaking her head, she mutters something about a wasted opportunity before slipping free from my grip and beginning to...make herself presentable? Straighten up her clothes and hair and such.
Looking over at Millicent, she gives a put-upon sigh.
"I guess I should still clean up after myself, even if you won't let me finish the job."
Haughtily strolling back over to the girl, she looks down at her.
"The staircases can be quite tricky," she says. "Moving about, secret passages, trick stairs and all. You should be more careful. Pansy."
A completely different dark-haired girl jumps slightly.
Wait, didn't we meet her at the party thing?
"You should help Bulstrode to the infirmary."
Phoebe finally looks away from Millicent and towards Pansy.
"You know how stairs work, right?"
"Y-yes!"
Stepping away, Phoebe waves a hand and the smaller girl scurries over to Millicent's side, helping her up. The two make their way out as quickly as possible.
Phoebe flicks her head, running a hand through her hair.
"Are you ready to go?" she asks, looking at me.
I blink at her.
"Go?" I ask.
Context Phoebe! I am not Coeues! I can't read your mind!
"To our room," she says, like it's obvious.
I look around, confirming we are still in the girls' dorm.
Is...is she getting worse?
Phoebe rolls her eyes.
"Not here. The other dorm is open now, it's just Brother left. Everyone else ran away. We can move in."
Oh.
I glance around the room once more.
Our blankets lay scattered on the floor.
The blood drops where Millicent lay petrified easily draw the eye.
So many eyes stare at us from their beds. Most of them...
...
"Yeah. Yeah, we should probably get our own room," I agree.
I don't blame them for the relief I see flash across their faces.
But I still don't like it.
(Severus Snape - PoV)
Iris shrugs.
"So we came over here. Coeus looked...not good, when we got here, but he got better and Phoebe hasn't had any more problems."
She nods, her face and eyes hardening.
"We aren't leaving," she states with determination.
"And we are keeping the beds too!" Phoebe adds.
"Do you want to try fitting all three of us on one of these things?" she asks when Iris looks at her.
"We are keeping the beds too," Iris agrees.
...
"And the pillows. Pillows are good."
"Yes...Beds and pillows. If our demands are not met, we shall raid the other dormitories," Coeus mutters from between them. "The Dread Pirate Black's conquests are unending. Unending, I say!"
The threat of these three repeating the lake incident in the dormitories is enough to finally pierce through my internal screaming.
"That, will not be necessary," I interrupt.
Keep the beds. Don't start a war in my dungeons.
I am proud that I manage to avoid breaking my composure, even while partially compromised.
Two Bellatrix. Two! One of them a seer. The seer.
The urge to twitch madly is nearly overwhelming.
Focus.
Just breath.
...
The amount of focus I am using to keep control is not good. Not with the number of threats around me at the moment. I can't keep track of them, think about everything, and maintain my facade all at once, not right after heavy drinking!
Damn the girl for putting me in the situation. And I can't even be sure if it was intentional or not. Bloody seers...
"Sooo..." Iris prompts, half hesitantly.
"No, Iris. We aren't in trouble," Phoebe assures her.
I raise an eyebrow at her.
"Presumptuous..." I mutter.
She rolls her eyes at me.
"Please. You wouldn't have tried to punish me even if I did kill Millicent. She was going to try to hurt Iris, after all."
...
Damn that girl.
I keep my gaze firmly fixed on Phoebe and not the green-eyed girl next to her, who is once again looking at me quite intently after that last comment.
Phoebe shrugs.
"You would have chided me a bit but even that is half because of how annoyed you would be about having Dumbledore all over you..."
Pausing, Phoebe shudders.
Phrase that better next time.
Please.
"It would still be worth it though," she continues. "He would end up taking the blame for everything, not you."
She nods.
"Grandfather would make sure of it."
...
"Stop," I demand.
She tilts her head.
I incline mine towards Iris.
"Iris has made her feelings on the matter clear, has she not?" I ask.
Ignoring the part where she threatened to murder the girl as well...
It is a struggle not to react to the scene that plays out next.
The way the confident, manipulative girl freezes in place before glancing guiltily over to the side. The way her confidence melts away into sulky resignation. How she leans over towards Iris, begging for attention...
"Sorry, Iris..." she mutters.
It is like watching Bellatrix and the Dark Lord reborn, or having taken polyjuice.
Exactly like it, except...
Iris wraps Phoebe in a hug, the two of them leaning over Coeus.
The Dark Lord was usually far less, generous, with their affection. They tended to prefer giving Unforgivables, rather than hugs.
...
The fact that Bellatrix was happy to receive either...
Shaking my head, I stand up from my chair.
I need time to think.
"If there is nothing else?" I ask.
Phoebe shrugs at me, not letting go of Iris.
"I dunno. You were the one who came here, remember?"
Cheeky...
"Umm..." Iris starts. "What about, you know,"
She waves a hand at the entrance.
'"The door?"
I glance towards the open entrance.
"Considering he broke it, I am sure Coeus will have no problem fixing it, as well."
I'm not just being petty. Hopefully, it will encourage them to stop breaking everything.
...
I'm not.
"Nahaprobm," the boy mutters from the bed.
...Truly?
He yawns, stretching out before opening his eyes.
"I've got a door in the trunk," he explains, seeing everyone looking at him.
"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Phoebe replies.
A door.
...
I should just go.
...
"Why, do you have a door in your trunk?"
I can't help it. Curiosity has always been one of my weaknesses.
Curiosity, and -
"Spite."
...
"We had a disagreement with a shopkeeper in Diagon," Phoebe explains. Somewhat.
"So you stole his door? Iris asks.
Coeus shrugs.
"It was that or set the place on fire, and I am not as good as you at overcoming fire suppression wards."
I resist another twitch.
Why is it that every anecdote about Iris is about her breaking things?
...
Or suffering.
Returning to my room, I collapse into my chair before pausing.
...
I still don't have privacy.
It is why I didn't bother keeping the facade up quite as much earlier. The girl could be watching me at literally any moment.
I will never have privacy again.
That's when I finally, really feel it.
Hatred.
For her.
Not at her, due to a connection to someone else. For her.
...
Hate that I, with great reluctance, relinquish. For now, as I remember Iris's story.
The girl is damaged, perhaps even more so than her brother. She is simply better at, and more inclined to, hiding it. She does not care about me, and is only attempting to protect the ones she cares about, including Iris.
I should not blame her. No. No, I should blame Sirius.
I nod to myself.
Yes. Sirius is far more responsible for her current state, and thus my problem.
Now. Now I just have to figure out how to deal with everything else.
...
Groaning, I collapse onto my desk.
Without lifting my head, I give the finger towards the ceiling, just in case she is watching.
...
I have no idea.
...
Ok, I have some idea.
Keep Dumbledore away from them, obviously.
I sigh.
Should I just off the old man now?
It would save me so many headaches.
And I would finally, finally have some true progress on my real goal.
...
I squeeze my eyes shut tight.
Iris isn't ready.
She may be incredible for her age...all three of them are, I reluctantly admit, but they are nowhere near capable of so much as slowing down the Dark Lord. Not even with all the help I can possibly provide.
The rage doesn't come. The frustration barely even comes.
I am just too tired.
Maybe later.
I take a deep breath.
Maybe Iris will become the next Dark Lord, and kill all my targets. That would be nice...
Or maybe Coeus will cause the apocalypse and kill everyone. At least then I won't have to bother anymore.
I finally fall asleep, drifting off to dreams of descending into hell (where else would I go?), dragging my enemies down with me.
It's nice to have good dreams, for once.
A.N. Apologies, I finished this almost two weeks ago (right after the last two) but forgot to post it here. I had meant to post all three close together, as they were originally intended to be one chapter.