(James Lakefield, St. Mungo's Healer - PoV)
My chair shudders as I collapse into it with a groan. What a day, what a day.
A lazy flick of my wand locks the door. I need my fix, and can't risk getting caught.
Focusing on my desk, I carefully unlock the heavily enchanted bottom drawer, who's preservation charms preserve my greatest secret.
A plain white muggle cup, filled with hot, dark liquid.
Relief and shame fill me as I sip the glorious contents.
Damn mother for getting me addicted to this dreadful substance. How can I even call myself a proper British wizard when I can hardly stand the taste of tea anymore?
Soon enough, the cup is drained, and I can hide my terrible secret away once more.
Ah, much better. Shameful or not, I need my fix. Now then, our newest patient. What a headache, though potentially an interesting case study as well.
Flipping open the folder I review his file once more. Sirius Black...
I don't think anyone considered studying the difference of effects of dementors on animals as opposed to humans, much less on humans in animagi forms, especially over such a long term. For all his belief in being innocent helping to keep him sane, I suspect the animal form was the primary factor. Innocent men have gone into the high-security wing of Azkaban before, and after such a long time...well, not a whole lot comes back out.
Really, the entire process is barbaric, little more than an offering to keep the dementors appeased...But I admit I shudder to think what the monsters would do without their sacrifices. I suppose it's not worth thinking on, nothing I can do about it regardless.
Now then, the big question is, how long before Mr. Black is fit to be released? He has so many dangerous signs of the madness that can come from long-term dementor exposure. Paranoia, mania, obsession, violent impulses, mood swings, etcetera. On the other hand, he is also a Black, and, well, those are all perfectly normal traits for those bastards, so this could quite possibly be his default state.
"Hmmm," my quill taps against the desk as I ponder.
The safe bet is to continue to hold him for evaluation for at least a few days, to see if there is any improvement. If not, then this is either just how he is, or the damage is permanent. In either case, there is no chance we will be allowed to keep him truly long term, no matter how much he may need it, so we may as well let him go. If he does show signs of improvement then I could make arguments for further treatment for a short or mid-term plan.
Yes, I don't really see any other options, not when dealing with someone so high profile. A pity, as I am sure the man really could use long-term treatment with the amount of trauma he has suffered over his life even before being imprisoned. Still, you play the hand you are dealt, and there are always other patients.
(Coeus Black - PoV)
Dora wakes us up entirely too early once more.
"Come on now sleepyheads, time for another bright and sunny day!"
I would glare, but that would require opening my eyes.
She's not even a morning person either, only getting this chipper when she can inflict this suffering on another.
"Go away."
"Such cruel words little brother, such cruel words. Must I remind you of my own words yesterday morning?"
That was entirely too long ago to bother thinking about. Go away.
"Winguardium Leviosa."
...Damn
This time I do glare at the smirking...bluette? while rubbing my bum, sitting on the floor where she deposited us. Me? Wait, where's Phoebe?
I look over to find my twin clinging to the mattress, her head resting atop the now upright edge. How does she manage to make that look comfortable?
*Grunt*
"What's the excuse today, Dora? After all the, everything, yesterday, why couldn't we possibly just sleep in..." I complain.
"Mum wants to hit Diagon," Dora explains while trying and failing to shake Phoebe off the levitating mattress.
I make no attempt to resist the groan, falling backward onto the blankets.
"Awful way to start the weekend..."
Giving up and dropping the spell, Dora looks down at me.
"What does the weekend even mean to you? It's not like you work or go to regular classes, mum teaches whenever she wants to."
I shrug. "We tend to do more interesting stuff on the weekend sometimes I guess...Maybe I picked it up from Ted?"
"Whatever. Phoebe, stop pretending to be asleep, and you both get down to breakfast. Pretty sure we are heading out after we eat."
"Kay," Phoebe replies, sitting up. "What are we even getting that's worth putting Coeus through the trip?"
"A camera, I think," Dora replies.
Oh, right. So we can take more pictures for Iris. Damn, I can't even complain about that.
...
"Fiiiiine," I agree as Dora leaves.
Slowly and reluctantly I pick myself up off of the hard floor. No cushioning spell this time, the wicked witch.
Fumbling with the latch to the trunk, I let out a massive yawwwwwwnnnnnnn.
"Stop."
Hmm?
Phoebe drags me away from the trunk.
"I will pick the clothes today. I don't much care to wear whatever your addled mind would drag out today."
...Probably fair.
I'll just sit on the bed while she picks stuff out.
...
...
*poke*
"Wuh?"
"Here, put this on."
"Dun wanna..."
"I'll put ice down your pants."
...
*Grumble*
Eventually, working together we manage to dress me.
So tired...
She half carries me downstairs to food before disappearing. Yay food!
"You are so lucky that I am not Dora," Phoebe says, shoving a cup in my hands. I drink and instantly feel better, despite the horrid taste. Coffee, bleh. Useful, but not a fan.
"What's that?" I ask.
I may have been a bit out of it.
"I said, you are lucky that I am not Dora. Or else you would be wearing, what, fluorescent pink and sky blue right now? And a skirt."
Blinking, I look down to check my clothes. Perfectly normal, thankfully.
Phoebe's always got my back.
Dora snorts from across the table. "Nah, I think I would have put him in a fuzzy onesie, or maybe a speedo. What do you think Iris, put him in a speedo?" Dora jostles her as she blushes.
"Please don't start you two, I would like to get in and out before the afternoon crowds." Andy requests.
"Fine, fine," Dora relents, while I continue eating.
Food now, revenge later. We owe Dora for two unpleasant wake-up calls now.
Phoebe and I catch Iris as she exits the Leaky Cauldron's floo.
"Much better!" I tell her honestly. "A couple more times and you should have it down."
She gives a determined nod. No need for a headshake to clear the disorientation either, so an improvement there as well.
Iris shrinks into us a bit as we make our way through the Alley, likely on account of the number of looks we are getting. Hmm, I guess the word is out about father then?
"Just ignore them," I tell her.
She looks at me.
"How?"
I...don't understand the question?
"What?"
"How do you just...ignore it? All the people staring..."
I shrug.
"So what? I am me, you are you. We are great. That's just how it is. Let them stare, let them be jealous, or in awe, or upset, or however they feel. They don't matter."
She frowns.
"That's...not a very nice thing to say about people?"
I may get a couple of glares from people who overhear as well, but, as I said. They don't matter.
"Hmm...Well, you can't like, care for everyone I guess? I mean, you said you got mobbed once already right?"
She nods.
"Imagine that just, all the time. Everyone wanting a piece of you. Wanting your time, your attention, constantly. You couldn't do it. So, friends and family are important. They mean something. Everyone else?"
I shrug again.
"They have their own lives. Let them live it. Who cares what they think of yours? It's yours."
Iris is quiet, considering.
I cringe as Dora rubs my head. "Someone's getting philosophical, little brother."
Yanking her hand off, I pull away.
"That's a big word for you Dora. Did you have to morph your tongue to use it?"
She sticks said tongue out, then forks it, like a snake's.
Ok, that was actually pretty cool, not that I will admit it.
We make it to the Photography shop without further incident, aside from more stares and mutters. Fortunately, no one was actually willing to act on them.
Andy and Ted speak with the clerk/proprietor/whatever about a new camera, while the rest of us wander the place, mostly looking at the various photos.
Damn Diagon, if I could just teleport from shop to shop I might not mind coming so much. This place is fairly interesting.
I admire a cinematic shot of two Dragons posturing, right up until the moment they clash. Really, perfect timing on that. Apparently won a photography award from...someone, sometime.
"What's Quidditch?" Iris asks, looking at an entire section of pictures.
"Wizards primary sport," I explain. "Well, here in Britain and most of Europe at least. Played on broomsticks with various enchanted balls."
Looking over the photos, I point to one. "The World Cup is a major event every year, though it's been a bit since we won."
Dora comes over. "That was about the most lackluster explanation I have ever heard from a young wizard. You know just about every other boy your age would be talking her head off, describing every aspect of the game right now?"
I shrug. "It's ok I guess. Flying is fun but I am not overly attached to the sport. Phoebe ruining the matches half the time doesn't help."
"You ask me to as often as not," she defends herself.
"Ok fine, I really just don't enjoy watching other people play that much. Like, flying yourself? Awesome. Watching someone else? Why?" I shake my head. "Bonkers..."
Dora laughs. "Be careful spreading that opinion around, most of the houses can get quite competitive. Hufflepuff did decently enough last year, with Diggory as our new seeker..."
"Do you play?" Iris asks her.
She shakes her head. "No. Being on a house team takes a lot of time and practice, time that I needed to spend studying and training for my career. There is no way I would have managed to get in Snape's Potions class if I had been trying to play Quidditch at the same time. Earning an O on that OWL is no joke, not to mention all my other classes."
"Alright then, you kids ready?" Ted asks.
We turn around to find Ted and Andy stepping away from the counter, Andy with a fancy-looking black camera.
A chorus of affirmatives chirps out from the others.
"Nay!" I refuse, making my way to the counter myself, having gotten an idea.
"Ah, young man?" the woman asks.
"I want another of what she got. And whatever extras and spares you think useful or appropriate."
She does the customary (and incredibly annoying) look to Andy for confirmation, as I start pulling out the gold.
"Is that really necessary Coeus?" Andy asks.
"We didn't think Dora would break the first one did we?"
"Hey!" the now redhead objects.
"And even if she doesn't, maybe it will be useful at Hogwarts," I continue.
The transaction goes through, and I shove the new items in a miscellaneous compartment of the trunk before we leave.
While I am good at dismissing the idiots, having all of them stare at you really doesn't improve my opinion of the alley, especially not when it is clearly still bothering Iris. I am sure there is more we should do, but we decide to limit things to a stop at the pet store for Owl supplies before heading home.
I stop for a moment after exiting the floo, taking a deep, deep breath.
Home.
No more alley, no more crowds, no more nonsense. No one else is here yet though, so I should get out of the way...
I step to the side just in time for Phoebe to come through. We catch Iris, mock Dora as she crashes, and watch Ted and Andy come through.
There we go, now everyone is home. This is how things should be.
"So, picture time?" Dora asks.
"That is what we got a camera for," Ted comments.
There is some debate as to where the picture should be taken, but we eventually settle for in front of the fireplace for now.
*Flash*
Nothing fancy. We are not all dressed up, or doing anything flashy. Just the six of us, at home.
"How many copies should we make?" Andy asks.
"Yes," I reply.
Dora and Phoebe snigger, but I think it is the most reasonable answer.
I mean really, I assume we all want one for home, and for Hogwarts, and for trunks...
Andy sighs.
"Actually, I think I remember how to help make them? Just let me handle it?" I suggest.
She eyes me carefully before agreeing. "Fine, but don't forget our copies! I'm going to go start lunch."
"Alright then. I will get started on this then I guess. Phoebe can hang out with Iris I guess? Well, unless you want to watch actually?"
"Sure, I'll watch," she says.
"Ok then, this way," I lead her to the potions lab.
"So, it is actually fairly simple," I explain while setting up the cauldron.
"The camera is enchanted, of course, and then the photos themselves are placed in a potion that animates them. The potion itself is fairly simple to brew, it shouldn't take too long."
Iris nods while watching.
I open up one of the books and look up the recipe, just to double-check. Hmmm, yup, everything looks like I remember.
"Here, see the recipe?"
"Yes?"
"Start grabbing parts and we can work it together."
Phoebe lazes on a bench watching while the two of us slice, dice, crush, and squish various pars and bits before adding them to the potion. I go ahead and let Iris take the lead and stir and everything as well.
Thirty minutes after we added the first ingredient, we remove the cauldron from the fire.
"Let's see, the color looks good," I ladle some out, and drop it back in, "consistency seems fine, smells right. I think we got a good batch. High-Five!"
*slap*
"Alright, now, let's see..."
I fiddle with Andy's camera. We got some high-end versions, that can automatically make copies of the most recent picture taken. A few clicks later and it starts spitting out copies.
"Whoa, ok. Dip these in with the tongs, one at a time," I instruct Iris.
"Ok,"
The photos absorb the solution within moments, quickly drying and animating.
Soon we have a stack of new photos, with the remaining solution bottled up for later.
"And there we are, mission accomplished!" I say proudly.
Iris smiles, looking at a copy in her hands.
"Let's go pass these out, then bug Andy for food," I suggest.
(Iris Potter - PoV)
I should be sleeping, but instead I stare a bit longer at the photo in my hands.
A family photo. With...me in it.
This just makes it so much more, real? More official seeming?
...
It is...so hard to believe. I actually got what I wanted...What I always dreamed of. The Dursleys are gone forever, and I have a new, real family.
I admit they are not what I expected. Phoebe is really quiet, Andy is a bit odd, and Coeus is...I don't know what Coeus is. He is so dismissive of most people, and yet...
He helped me without hesitation. He still helps me without hesitation. They all do.
And I suppose that is enough for now?
Placing the photo next to my bed, I finally lay down.
Just knowing that someone cares, that someone is willing to have my back, means so much. And knowing how far Coeus and Phoebe are willing to go...
I don't like to admit it, but that is a comfort as well.
