Chapter 14: Inside Her Head

Despite Harry's invitation to stay at the manor longer, Severus left soon after the meeting in Lucius's office. Now that he was back in the fold, one of the things on Harry's summer to-do list was checked off. The other was still left over.

Hufflepuff's Cup. Bella had recovered, and could go to Gringotts.

After letting Severus loose, Harry went to bed at night somewhat tired. He closed his eyes, intending to sleep well. He would be leaving with Bella early in the morning.

"Harry?" Iris whispered, her voice next to his head. He could not see her in their dark room, but he felt her body at his side.

"Hm?"

"Why did Mr. Snape look so surprised to see me?"

"He knew our mother. He went to school with her. You look like her, so that's why he was surprised to see you."

"Oh. Do I… do I really look so much like her?"

Harry remembered Lily Potter's face on the night he'd killed her.

"Not exactly, but you do resemble her."

There was silence. Iris shuffled, snuggling closer into his side—somehow, she found a way to submerge herself into him even more than she already was.

"Good night, Iris," Harry said.

"Good night, Harry," she replied. She leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. He could almost hear the smile on her face.

Early next morning, just twenty minutes after Gringotts Bank opened, a twelve-year old boy walked in with a certain weight on his shoulder.

He went through security without any fuss. The guards took away his wand and did not comment on the thing standing on his shoulder. They could not see what it was, because a Disillusionment Charm had been cast on it to make it invisible. If the charm were to be removed, they would see a large black raven standing on Harry Potter's shoulder. A large black raven named Bella.

After passing through security, Harry went up to the counter. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter. I had an appointment with Dezz, my accountant."

The goblin did not glance up from the papers he was looking at. He was an older goblin, balding with white hair.

"Dezz will be with you in five minutes," he said in a bored tone. "Please, have a seat."

Harry went and sat down at the side. He put his hands in his lap and looked around Gringotts' large main hall. He felt Bella's talons let go, then clamp back down on his shoulder as she adjusted herself. She remained quiet otherwise.

There was a pulling feeling, like something tugging at his heart. It had gotten stronger the closer he got to Gringotts.

After five minutes, a goblin standing next to the hall of offices called out, "Mr. Harry Potter!"

Harry got up and went to the goblin, who was standing behind a lectern.

"Dezz will see you now," he said.

"Thank you." Harry went into the hall.

"Mr. Potter. You set an awfully early appointment. Did you have something urgent to discuss?" Dezz asked as Harry moved into his office.

"Yes," Harry said. He reached up to his shoulder and stroke his hand across Bella's side. The charm faded, and she came into view, a foreboding black raven.

Dezz first furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. "What is that?" he asked. His eyes went to Harry, looking increasingly concerned.

Bella flapped off Harry's shoulder, did a flip, and transformed, landing on her feet as a woman in a long black dress.

Dezz yelped and threw his hand under the desk. Before his arm went more than six inches, Harry held out his own hand at him, and the goblin was thrown back off his chair, rolling on the ground.

Harry cast a wandless Silencing Charm on him. The goblin's throat strained in vain as he tried to make noise.

Harry walked over to Dezz, and looked down on him. He held out his hand, and after a moment of concentration, cast a wandless Imperius Curse.

Dezz went through the Gringotts atrium, face completely blank. Harry followed him. His shoulder bore Bella's invisible raven body once more.

"Taking Mr. Potter to his vault," Dezz said to the guards on either side of the vaults' entrance hall. They let them pass without argument.

Harry and Dezz sat down in a minecart, and it began rolling down the tracks. Harry kept his hand held out to Dezz, concentrating.

"Bella, move down to a seat," he said. Bella hopped off his shoulder and landed on the seat beside him.

The minecart rolled down and down on the tracks, going until an opening with a waterfall flowing down over it came into view. The minecart went, creaking along, ruffling Harry's hair with passing wind… and it went straight through the waterfall.

Besides being drenched, nothing happened to Harry. That could not be said to the other two inhabitants of the cart. The Imperius Curse slipped, and Dezz started, looking around in alarm. On the seat next to Harry, a black raven first came into view, before being violently transformed into a woman. Bella leaned her back against the cart, almost fallen to the ground. She looked dazed, and her hair had fallen all over her face.

Harry concentrated once more, and cast the wandless Imperius on Dezz again. This time, the goblin resisted. Harry grimaced, hand shaking, before he got control of him again.

"Take us to the Lestrange vault," he said. "Bella, turn back into a raven."

Both orders were followed. Dezz fell into a trance once more, and began piloting the cart towards the ordered destination. Bella transformed back into her raven form, after taking a few moments to collect herself.

The cart creaked along the track. Harry eased his breath, calming himself. The worst part was done. Now, he just had to get out of here without being caught.

He could feel Hufflepuff's Cup calling out to him.

The cart rolled to a halt in front of a giant, golden vault door. It was square in shape, and had complex patterns carved all over it.

Dezz opened the minecart's door, and stepped out. Bella and Harry went out—Bella was perched on his forearm—and followed him. Harry let Bella down when they reached the vault, and she transformed back into her human form.

"Since we lack a key, I will need to take a blood sample to open the door," Dezz said. He pulled out a dagger from under his suit.

He pressed a section of the vault door, and a thin rectangular piece slid out.

"Give me your hand," he said to Bella. She offered her hand, and the goblin made a cut on the palm. "Hold it out over the inlet."

Bella held her bleeding hand over the inlet, and a few drops dripped in.

"That is enough," Dezz said. He pushed a section of the vault again, and the rectangular piece slid back in.

"Bella, show me your hand," Harry said. Bella held it out to him. Harry looked at the bloody cut on her palm for a moment, before waving his hand over it. The cut slowly closed, the flesh sticking back together. Only little streaks of blood remained.

"Thank you, my lord," Bella whispered. She had that look in her eyes again. Harry did not say anything more to her.

Dezz twisted the handle of the vault door, and with the deep sound of gears turning, the door began to open. It was pitch black inside.

Harry's heart felt like it was burning. There was a violent pulling sensation. It was as if someone had stabbed a hook over his heart and was pulling it as hard as possible.

"Bella, you stay out here," Harry said. "Dezz, go in."

The goblin went into the dark vault, and his short body disappeared in the pit of blackness. Harry followed him in.

"Stay here," Harry told Dezz, lighting up a ball of pure white in his hand. It shone brightly, and chased away the darkness, revealing a seemingly endless black void with shining things everywhere. Jewels, gold, chests. Harry walked slowly through the vault, minding his steps. There seemed to be an endless supply of riches.

The pulling of his horcrux was clear, a link that connected to him almost physically. He walked through the darkness, going towards it.

After a minute and a half of walking, Harry felt close to the cup—as close as he had ever felt. He looked around, raising his hand, lighting up his surroundings.

And there, on a shelf high up, was the Cup of Hufflepuff. It stood, foreboding, implacable. From Harry's position it seemed very large.

He could hear whispers in the air. A low, breathy voice, just out of earshot. Growling.

"You're coming out," Harry said. "No need to be so emotional."

He reached up, and slowly wrapped his hand around the base. The metal was cold—ice cold—but somehow, it burned at his skin.

He walked back the way he'd come, holding it as far from himself as he could. He reached the light of the doorway, and the dark of outlines of Dezz and Bellatrix.

"Come," Harry said to Dezz, and the goblin followed him out of the Lestrange vault.

"My lord," Bella said, tone very concerned. Harry wasn't sure if she was addressing him or God. She swallowed. "I can feel it crawling at my skin…"

"Yes, I know. Don't touch this cup, or go near it, Bella. That goes for you too, Dezz. This is a very dangerous object."

Harry set it down on the ground. The cup felt so alive that it seemed like it would move by itself any second. He raised his hand at Dezz, and shot a wandless Stunning Spell. It hit the goblin square in the chest, and he crumpled onto the ground, unconscious.

"Bella, I don't know exactly what will happen. You need to be very careful. If anyone comes here, turn into a raven and hide. I'll try to wake up as soon as possible."

"My lord, what if you don't wake up?" she asked.

"I'll wake up," Harry said. He took a deep breath. He was aware of his heart beating nervously in his chest.

He held out his hand, and cleared his mind. He concentrated, gathering up his magic.

" Absorbet Anima," he said.

The cup rattled on the ground. A fuzzy blackness rose from it. The orb that came was not grey this time—it was pitch black. It crackled in the air, and then shot into Harry's heart.

There was a deep, stabbing pain. Harry screamed. He clutched at his chest, falling to the ground. There was someone, someone roaring. The sound devolved into a madman's laughter. It was angry, victorious, murderous.

It was Voldemort's voice.

Iris had been watching Siril eat mice in her cage when her world shook. Her vision darkened, and there was fighting. Two things were clashing against each other, screaming and flailing. She whimpered. Her body shook, and she slowly slid to the floor.

" Huuuh… huuh… huuuh…"

Iris put her hands to her face. What was going on? Her heart felt fluttery and weak. It felt like it was going to give out. Something was pulling at it so hard. It felt like someone had ripped her chest open and was trying to pull the organ out.

She whimpered again. Tears fell down her cheeks. It hurt so much. She wanted this to stop. Why was this happening?

"H-Harry…"

The fighting in her head felt like it had stopped. The two things had somehow melded into each other. One was grey, the other was black. The screaming from before—one in pain, the other in murderous, terrifying anger—had crescendoed, becoming one high, terrible sound, like the sound of the planet leaking life, the sound of everything about to explode.

She put her hands to her ears, but it didn't stop the noise. It filled everything. It was everywhere, inside her head and outside.

It faded. Finally, the sound went down, but the thing in her head didn't go away. It was misty and gray. It felt like it was… sleeping. Tired. Exhausted.

It felt very familiar.

Iris opened her eyes, but she didn't focus on anything; she still felt that presence in her head.

With great effort, she spoke. "Harry?"

Nothing happened. It felt like she was talking to no one. Then, Iris realized. If the presence was in her head, then…

Harry? she thought. Harry, is that you? I'm scared.

…be scared…

Iris froze. That had not been her voice, or her thought.

Don't… be… scared. The voice became clearer with each word, reverberating less and less. Iris recognized it. That was Harry's voice, talking to her in her head.

Harry's eyes opened slowly. He felt like he was waking from a thousand year slumber. His entire body felt weary, tired.

Bellatrix was above him. She looked terrified, and she was stroking his cheek. The sensation of her hand became increasingly clearer as awareness returned to him.

"My lord? My lord, are you alright?"

Harry swallowed. His throat felt dry; he could use a glass of water.

"I'm… fine," he said. There was a dull throbbing in his mind. "How long… has it been?"

"Three minutes," Bella said. "You screamed and fell to the ground, then you were shaking. I tried to calm you down, but you wouldn't listen. You went still a little bit later. My lord, I thought you died…"

"Not yet," Harry said. He rubbed his eyes.

He searched inside his head, feeling around for his last horcrux, the one inside Iris. It greeted him immediately, and it was clear. So frighteningly clear, that he could almost smell the air around it. It was the faintly rosy smell of Malfoy Manor. There was early morning sunlight coming in through the window, and a desk in front. On that desk was a cage with his sister's pet Siril inside.

And Iris herself. She was sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was worried, but not scared. Not scared, because her brother Harry had talked in her head and said everything would be okay. She trusted him completely. If her brother said something, then that was how it was. If her brother said don't be scared, then she didn't need to be scared.

Harry saw all of this like he could feel his heart beating in his chest, or feel his lungs expand with air. It was there, a part of him. Her feelings, her thoughts. Everything was there, exposed to him.

Harry nodded to himself, head drooping with tiredness. He slowly pushed himself up to stand, and Bella helped him, putting her hands on his arms to steady him.

He took a couple of minutes to rest himself, then he held out his hand at Dezz's body and cast a wandless Reviving Spell.

The Cup of Hufflepuff was returned to its place, and the Imperiused goblin shut the Lestrange's vault door. He took them on the minecart back to the main atrium.

The waterfall washed away the Imperius Curse again, but Harry recast it. It was getting increasingly difficult; the goblin was resisting harder each time. It was hard enough casting it on a non-human to begin with, and without a wand.

Bella transformed back into her bird form, and Harry disillusioned her. The three of them went back through the atrium. A goblin sitting behind a high desk gave them a strange look as they passed.

Dezz took them back to his office. Harry began the final work there; likely, the most crucial step of the entire plan.

He held his hands on the goblin's head, and looked straight into his eyes. He dived deep and searched.

Harry found something immediately. A young goblin girl, a maiden, working in his clan. He is very fond of her—he goes out of his way to mentor her as best as possible. But she is not his wife. His wife is a different woman. He does not pay nearly as much attention to her.

Setting the scene up was simple enough. All the necessary pieces were already there: the guilt, the lust, the desire to have.

And so, Harry put in a false memory.

Last night, Dezz and the girl he was mentoring had gotten closer than was appropriate. He'd laid his hands on her, and she'd let him. Dezz wanted to go further, because he wanted her so badly . He almost wished his wife didn't exist, just so he could have this girl.

In the last moment, he'd turned away due to shame. The girl was angry at him, heartbroken. Dezz ran, and drank his sorrows away.

This morning, he woke up with a terrible hangover, and could barely remember anything. He did not want to remember anything, because he wanted to forget that last night had happened. It hadn't—Harry had fabricated the entire thing—but Dezz would believe.

And so, when he woke up with a mighty headache from being Imperiused and Obliviated, he would not question it. Or perhaps he would, in his head. Definitely not to anyone else. He had an image to maintain, after all. The girl he was mentoring would act like nothing had happened, and Dezz would accept without question.

Perhaps, he would even stop lusting after her, and pay more attention to his wife. In a way, Harry had actually helped him.

"It's done," Harry said, sighing. "Bella, come back to my shoulder."

She walked over, and put a hand on the back of his head. She stroked his hair, looking genuinely worried. "My lord. You're tired…"

"Bella, get on my shoulder."

She transformed into a raven, and flapped onto his shoulder. She moved close to his neck, and nuzzled the side of his head.

Harry waved his hand over her, casting a wandless Disillusionment charm. He felt a light headache coming on.

He gave one last command to Dezz: sit in your chair, and look at me.

The goblin sat down. Harry did as well, sitting across from him, and put his hands in his lap. He smiled, and let the Imperius Curse fall.

Dezz started, blinking. He looked around the room in confusion.

"Dezz?" Harry said, furrowing his brows just a little to show concern. "Are you alright?"

"U-Uh… yes… yes, Mr. Potter, I-I'm fine. I don't know what came over me." He added some curses in the goblin language.

"If you want, I could reschedule my appointment."

"No, that's not necessary. We were talking about what, uh… your finances—"

"Yes, my family's finances from the year 1979. I wanted to get an overview. I was just a baby then, so I was not in charge of my inheritance."

"Of course. Let me get the relevant information for you."

Ten minutes later, Harry walked back through security. He levitated Bella wandlessly over the guards, and set her back down on his shoulder after he was done being patted down. The guards handed him his wand back.

Bella cawed softly in his ear as he walked down the steps of Gringotts Bank. Harry kept a level head, trying not to think too much. He'd just robbed Gringotts Bank. Of course, he'd put Hufflepuff's Cup back in Bella's vault, but it hadn't been the cup he'd come for.

Another reason Harry tried to keep his mind blank was because of the horcrux bond. He could feel Iris so clearly it almost threatened to overwhelm him. It was like being shut in a room with someone who constantly kept talking, refusing to let him have peace of mind.

Harry pulled his occlumency tighter, dampening the bond. He walked to the Leaky Cauldron, feeling Bella's talons on his shoulder, lost in his thoughts.

When they appeared back in Malfoy Manor living room, Harry felt Iris going through a corridor, towards the library. She had not taken a bath yet, because she didn't feel like it. Her brother would be disappointed, but he wouldn't be mad because he loved her so much. She would sit with him when he came back home, and ask if he'd really talked to her inside her head.

These feelings assaulted him with their accuracy. He was not making educated guesses—he was Iris, and her stream of thoughts ran through his mind like a long parchment unfurling.

Harry sighed. "Bella," he said, turning his head to his shoulder, "go back to your room."

She squawked and put a wing on the back of his head. He could feel her rubbing her beak just above his ear.

"I'll be fine. Please go."

With a final caw, she jumped off his shoulder. He heard the sounds of her wings flapping, but did not see her—the disillusionment charm was still active. The sounds faded as she went away.

Harry rubbed his forehead, staring at the floor. Then, he took a deep breath, and went to the library.

"Harry! You're back," Iris said.

Love. So much love. Fanatical amounts of love.

She came to him, still dressed in her pyjamas. There was nothing on her mind except for happiness at seeing him. Harry gave a tired smile, and held out his arms.

Iris hugged him tightly.

"Iris. You didn't take a bath yet?"

"I don't want to." She looked up at him. "Harry, what happened? You look tired."

"I'm fine. Probably just woke up too early."

"You don't sleep enough," she said. She sounded strangely mature—like a mother lecturing her child.

"Hm." Harry smiled, and stroked her hair. He felt peaceful, almost unnaturally so.

"Harry?" Iris said.

"Yes?"

"Something… happened earlier. I felt strange. M-My heart, it hurt. Like someone was pulling it out of me. And I… I heard your voice in my head."

Harry nodded. He ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth.

"What did my voice say?"

"It—you said 'don't be scared'."

Harry vaguely remembered. He saw Iris crying, huddled on the ground. She was very far away. He'd been in terrible pain, but he soothed her the best he could. Don't be scared.

"Yes. That won't happen again. Don't worry about it."

"I felt something else, too." Her eyes lit up. "You were exhausted! That's why you're tired right now! I felt it!"

"You felt that?"

"Yes. I felt it…"

Harry pulled her head against his chest. He stared at the tall bookshelves, thinking. So it was a two way connection. When his defenses were down, she too could feel what he felt. "Well, it won't happen again, so you'll be fine."

Iris looked back up at him. "Harry, did something bad happen? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just… overextended myself, that's all." He shook his head. "Come on. You need to take a bath."

Iris groaned. "But Harry, it's summer break! It's not like we need to go somewhere…"

"That's not important. The important thing is to keep a schedule, and keep yourself clean."

His sister groaned again. Her shoulders slumped.

Harry laughed. "Okay. How about we read together for a few minutes, and then you can go take a bath after?"

Iris grabbed his elbows, and nodded rapidly.

She did not like taking baths. Why? Because… it pulled her away from her relaxing summer days. Bathing was work. She did not like that. She liked sitting with him, and she would try to put off the bath as long as possible. Hopefully, her brother would forget.

But her brother would not forget. He had such a good memory—he always remembered everything. What did one day matter? Why couldn't he just leave the bath alone and let her be in peace?

Harry clamped down his occlumency before the horcrux bond washed him completely into Iris's mind.

She took his hand, and led him to some cushions on the floor. Harry grabbed a book from the table as he passed, not bothering to look at the title.

They sat down together. Harry sat down on the cushions, letting out a sigh of relief. Iris climbed into his lap and settled back, opening her book. She rested her head against his chest as if it were the back of a chair.

She was happy. He knew for a fact, because he was inside her head.