Let There be Sister

Chapter 9. Let There be Sister

Harry woke up early and slid out of Iris's grasp gently, so as not to wake her up.

He caught the sight of his painting on the ceiling. He sighed, removing the image and replacing it with a plain white colour.

He didn't know if Iris had noticed it or not, but he wasn't going to share his heart's deepest desire with his new roommate, even if she was his sister.

When he returned after freshening up, Iris was already awake.

The curtain was pulled aside. She was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed under her. She smiled nervously when he sat on his bed.

"Good morning… big brother." she greeted him unsurely. Harry raised his eyebrow at hearing that, cringing inside.

"You do know that 'big brother' sounds too lame?" Harry said, smirking at her. Her cheeks reddened. "I'm only a year older than you."

"Good morning, Harry." she corrected.

"You know what? I liked the sound of 'big brother' even if it made me cringe." His eyes glinted with mischief.

Iris glared at him.

"Good morning, big brother." she said again, gritting her teeth.

Harry chuckled.

"Good morning, Iris. Sleep well?"

She nodded.

She chewed her lower lip nervously, wanting to ask Harry many questions, but not knowing if it would annoy him.

Harry rolled his eyes at her indecisiveness.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"Why aren't our relatives talking with me?"

"Why do you want them to? They're stupid brainless pigs. Don't pay them any attention." Harry said brashly.

Iris stayed silent.

The biggest question she wanted to ask was, 'Are you a horrible person? Did you use your magic to hurt our aunt and uncle? Is that why they are scared of you?' but she didn't.

She nodded her head defeatedly.

Harry knew that she was still itching to ask questions, but didn't have courage to do so. He wasn't going to open up by himself. She would have to put some effort if she wanted to know more.

"Let's go eat breakfast."

With that said, he opened the door and descended downstairs.

The breakfast was the repeat of dinner.

The silence at the table was disturbing.

She tried to converse with her aunt and cousin, but they replied with only a few words. When she said she would clean the plates, her relatives' eyes widened and they declined vehemently.

In all this, Harry was amused with his sister's and relatives' antics. He could have informed his sister about the situation in the house, but refrained to see how much time would she need to confront him.

After breakfast, the siblings stayed in their room.

Harry and Iris busied themselves with reading their magical books. Iris was astonished after reading about the wizarding world. She looked at her brother who was reading a very thick leather bound book.

She wanted to ask him some questions about the things she read in a book, but didn't have courage to disturb him. It wasn't as if she was scared of him, far from it. Harry had been friendly towards her since she first met him.

She just didn't know if Harry was one of those people who got angry if bothered while reading.

She sort of liked him.

She wasn't sure if she could call him a family yet, after all, she met him just yesterday. But she was confident that given time, she could grow her bond with him.

She could finally have a family.

A brother.

She smiled shyly when she remembered last night.

She had been yelled at by others at the orphanage when she screamed due to her nightmares and woke up the other girls in her room. That was the reason why she slept with her face buried in her pillow. But Harry still woke up from her stifled scream.

She was ashamed and a little apprehensive when he sat at her bed. She had prepared herself for his anger, but it never came.

He had just smiled at her sympathetically and pulled her beside him. He had encompassed her in a warm embrace and lifted her mood with his humour. She didn't tell him that it was her first hug and she was overjoyed.

Though she was still unsure if she liked her nickname or not. After that, she had a restful sleep.

She returned to her book and decided that she would ask him when he was free.

The time passed swiftly. The dinner was the same. Seeing her relatives' behaviour put a black mark on her brother.

If he was that amazing then why were they afraid of him. She buried that question in the back of her mind and decided she won't think about that anymore.

She shouldn't care what Harry did with others. Right?

He was friendly to her. That should be the only thing that should matter. She wouldn't mess it up. She finally had a brother and she wouldn't lose him, no matter what.

That night when time came to go to sleep, she wanted to ask Harry to come to her bed again, to hug her again, but she instead wished him goodnight and laid on her bed.

She shouldn't act clingy, what if he got irritated with her for that behaviour?

"Hello, little one." Harry said as he laid beside her.

She couldn't believe her luck.

She didn't even have to ask.

"Did you really think that I would miss the chance to cuddle with my cute little sister?" He grinned, pulling her against him.

She sighed in comfort and relief.

There goes another night without a nightmare.

"I hope you're not a pervert." she replied, suppressing a smile.

Harry chuckled as he ran his finger through her hair. Iris mumbled in appreciation.

"I don't believe so, but my best friends have called me that earlier. So, kick me when you feel uneasy. Though be gentle." He quipped, tapping her forehead.

She rolled her eyes, proceeding to ask him about his best friends.

Harry then spent an hour talking about Tracey and Daphne. Iris saw his fond smile while talking about them and knew that they meant a lot to him.

She decided she would try her best to get along with them.

"It's getting late. We should sleep. Goodnight, little one." He smiled at her and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

She was absolutely surprised by this, but a brimming smile took over her face.

"Goodnight, big brother." she replied in a chirpy voice, dipping her head so the top of her head was touching his chest and he couldn't see her blush.

The next hour passed and Iris still couldn't sleep. She looked up and saw him sleeping peacefully.

She kissed his forehead unsurely.

"Thank you." she whispered, but he didn't reply.

She curled against his chest, and it took another half an hour before sleep took her.

The next few days passed quickly and the day to board the Hogwarts train came.

These last few days felt like heaven to Iris. She had remained in her room and read the first few pages of each subject. She had asked Harry whenever she couldn't understand something and Harry gladly explained it to her.

She was confident that she would do good in her first classes.

Harry and Iris were sitting opposite to each other in an empty compartment. The door slid open and three girls stepped inside.

"Harry!" The three exclaimed and took turns hugging him.

Iris was gaping as Harry embraced each of them and kissed the two girls' cheeks. He slid aside to leave the window seat where a girl with brown hair sat.

The one with the blonde hair sat beside Harry on the other side. The third girl who had dark hair and blue eyes slumped beside Iris. She gave Iris a questioning look.

Iris mustered a small smile.

"Harry? Who's she?" The girl beside her asked.

The other two girls also looked shocked as if they hadn't noticed her earlier.

"Allow me. This is Tracey Davis, This is Daphne Greengrass and this one is her little sister, Astoria Greengrass." Harry pointed to each of them.

Iris nodded, memorising each of their faces.

"And this is my little sister, Iris Potter." Harry announced.

It was met with dead silence. The others were looking expectant, waiting for a punchline.

When a minute passed in silence, Daphne finally groaned and lightly smacked her forehead.

"I always tell myself that I won't be surprised, that I'll always expect the unexpected from Harry, but this still blew my mind. How in the hell did you conjure a sister out of nowhere?" Daphne asked, her voice a mixture of wonder and annoyance.

After that, Tracey and Astoria started asking questions at the same time which made it impossible to understand what they were asking.

Harry meanwhile, just looked out of the window, his head resting on Daphne's shoulder who was the only other person beside Iris being silent.

"Harry? Answer my questions." Tracey said, glaring at him.

A sad smile adorned his face.

"This is the saddest story ever. Brace yourself." Harry said softly.

Iris arched her brows. She knew her life wasn't good, but she couldn't call it 'The saddest'.

"It all started when I went for a walk in my neighbourhood.' Harry began the tale.

The girls in the compartment were silent, listening to his every word with full concentration.

"When I passed by a restaurant, a small little girl was standing outside the shop, leering at the delicious food."

Iris made a choking noise. 'But that didn't happen...oh!' she realised that he was just going to make a bizarre story out of the real situation.

The others gave her sympathetic smiles, except Daphne who appeared amused.

"'Are you hungry little one?' I asked the little girl. She seemed afraid of me at first, but seeing my benign smile, her fears were put to rest and she dropped into heart-wrenching sobs. Seeing her sorrow brought tears to my eyes. She said that she hadn't eaten for a week which made my heart stop for a moment. Filled with the need to make the girl happy, I ordered food and let her eat to her heart's content.

"After finishing her meal, she smiled at me and called me her 'big brother' which just created an instant bond between us and I adopted her in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. I was happy that she was a witch, otherwise there might have been problems. And that is how this little creature came to become my little sister." Harry finished his story with a melancholic smile.

Astoria was looking at him as if he was a God in human skin while Tracey had finally decided that he was just spouting bullshit.

Daphne was trying so hard not to roll her eyes at his antics while Iris was covering her face with her hands, most probably feeling embarrassed that Harry was making her seem like a poor beggar.

"You are so kind, Harry." Astoria said, wonder filled in her eyes.

"I know. You know you can show your gratitude by hugging me. I'm a big fan of hugs." He smiled.

Astoria stood from her seat and hugged Harry tightly. He grinned, clasping his hands around her waist.

After a few seconds, Daphne hit his head.

"Enough. No flirting with my sister. And start telling the truth." Daphne said exasperatedly. Tracey nodded.

Astoria seemed surprised, returning to her seat.

"Was he lying?" she asked.

"Of course." Iris stated, glaring at her brother who just winked at her.

"Yes, when he said 'benign smile', I knew he was lying. He doesn't show his genuine smile to strangers, at least not immediately. There are various ways in which Harry smiles. And let's just not talk about Harry's sympathy." Tracey explained.

Daphne nodded at her assessment.

Astoria and Iris gave Tracey a suspicious look which she didn't see.

"You know I can be kind and a good person." Harry mumbled which no one paid attention to.

"And I don't know how you two missed that Iris has the same eyes as him. Her chin is also identical with Harry's. There are many other similarities in their faces. They're obviously blood related, there's no need for adoption." Daphne revealed, smirking at Astoria and Tracey who looked abashed for not noticing the obvious clues.

"My dear Daphne, observant as ever." Harry grinned, squeezing her shoulder.

"Now start again, but this time we need the truth." Daphne ordered, trying hard not to let a satisfied smile appear on her face.

Harry nodded as his demeanour changed. He recited how he met her and the mystery of how she landed in an orphanage instead of with Harry. When he was finished, the three were frowning.

"How're you going to figure out how she ended in an orphanage?" Daphne asked him.

"Dumbledore. He must know something. His response will decide if his long life will continue or not." Harry answered, rubbing his forehead.

"Are you saying that you'll fight the most powerful wizard of this era on your own?" Astoria asked sceptically.

"You are joking, right?" Iris followed up. She didn't want Harry to start a fight for her. She didn't want to see him get hurt.

"Of course, I'm joking." Harry assured her.

Tracey and Daphne exchanged glances surreptitiously.

When they stepped out of the Hogwarts express, the second year Slytherins went to the carriages while Astoria and Iris had to go by a boat.

"Take care of Iris." Harry had said to Astoria when they were parting to go different ways and were both alone for a second.

Astoria smiled and nodded, running after Iris who was already walking towards Hagrid where all the first years were gathering.

~xXxXx~

It felt like a dream to Iris.

A beautiful dream.

The journey through the lake on a boat with Astoria.

The first glimpse of Hogwarts castle.

The enchanted ceiling of the castle.

She felt like she was in a trance. Her legs worked on their own, dragging her wherever she needed to go.

Her senses were overwhelmed with the new experiences. She was taking it all in and at the same time she wasn't.

She stood in a queue, waiting for her name to be called. Astoria had already joined her sister in the Slytherin house.

Iris was nervous, she was just a step away from running away and hiding in a corner. There were other first years who were giving her strange looks as she wasn't participating in their hushed conversations.

She glanced at everything. The tables on which the older students were sitting, her eyes caught Harry's and he gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. She couldn't help, but let a smile bloom on her face.

Then she looked at the head table where various teachers were sitting. When her gaze locked with a slick black haired professor, his eyes widened at the sight of her.

She gave him a questioning look which he ignored and never again looked at her.

"Potter, Iris." Professor McGonagall said loudly.

There was a pin drop silence, and in an instant it was replaced by hundreds of whisperings.

She walked to the stool and put the hat over her head, a quietness enveloped her mind.

'Another Potter, who knew a miracle could happen.' Iris heard a voice inside her head.

She was surprised and a gasp escaped her lips.

'Yes, yes, we can talk in your mind and yes, it is brilliant. Now let's place you in a house.' the hat went on in her head.

'You are a loyal and hard-working girl. There are other good qualities, you are intelligent and there is also courage but your loyalty and diligence overshadows your other attributes. You will make a very good Hufflepuff.'

'I want to be in Slytherin.' Iris thought passionately.

'That is the worst house for you. You don't have an ounce of cunning and I can't see any ambition in you. You will be miserable there.' The hat tried to reason.

'No, my brother is there and I want to be with him. I want to be with him forever.' Iris pleaded.

There was silence for a second. Iris was pretty sure that the hat sighed heavily.

'That is the loyalty I am talking about, but I can see that you have made up your mind.'

"Slytherin!" The hat announced.

Iris' robes changed into Slytherin ones and she walked to the Slytherin table with a spring in her steps and a smile on her lips.

She sat beside Astoria and in front of Harry.

He grinned at her.

"Welcome, little one."

~xXxXx~

The time during dinner was very uncomfortable for Iris. She had thought that after the initial reaction, people would return to their own business, but she had thought wrong.

The whisperings and staring were making her uneasy. She was used to being unnoticed, merging in the crowd, hiding in a corner.

The sudden attention felt alien to her.

She looked at Harry who was laughing with Daphne while Tracey looked embarrassed. She turned to look at Astoria who was also watching the same scene. Her face was set in confusion.

Iris nudged her.

"What is that look for?" she asked.

In a short time, Iris had started considering Astoria a friend. They had gotten along well since they met in the train compartment. She had spent most of her time on the train talking with Astoria as Harry, Tracey and Daphne were busy among themselves, excluding them unintentionally.

"Nothing." Astoria mumbled.

Iris gave her a sceptical look, but didn't press her.

She again returned to her food which was delicious. When she was done, the first years were taken to their common room by prefects.

Iris and Astoria marvelled at their first look of the Slytherin common room. The older students also entered the room after five minutes.

Harry smiled at her, as he along with the two girls sat on a sofa in a corner. Iris listened carefully to what the prefects were saying.

Harry and the girls approached them when the prefects went away.

"How're you feeling?" Harry asked, standing beside her.

"Just overwhelmed." Iris answered.

Harry smiled sympathetically. "You'll get used to it."

Iris didn't know whether he was talking about the wondrous magic or the quizzical looks and whisperings of which she was the subject of.

She just nodded.

He looked at either side of him and when he was sure no one was looking, he took her in a corner and pressed a white handkerchief in her hand.

Before she could ask what it was, he answered seriously. "This is a magical cloth."

She wanted to roll her eyes at this. Of course it was magical otherwise she already had her own handkerchief.

"If you have nightmares and can't sleep, just say my name while holding it. The cloth will bring you to my room."

A warm smile crossed her face at his consideration. Truth be told, she was a little angry at him and felt that she was being ignored by him at the dinner, though she knew it was false. Harry was just enjoying his time with his friends.

Was it wrong to want to be the centre of his attention all the time? Who could blame her after finally finding a family?

She hugged him.

"Thank you." she muttered.

Harry smiled and led her back to where the others were standing.

Astoria and Daphne were trading barbs while Tracey was looking exasperatedly at them. There they wished each other goodnight and went to their own dorm rooms.

~xXxXx~

Headmaster Dumbledore was sitting in his chair and doing some paperwork when there was a knock on his office door.

"Enter." He said as he put aside the quill.

Professor Snape barged in with his dark robes billowing behind him. Snape had a sour expression on his face as he sat in the seat in front of him. He gave the headmaster an expectant look.

The Headmaster sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing them with his thumbs.

"Severus, I assure you that I didn't know about Iris Potter's existence." He said, putting his glasses back on.

"So, she is not really Lily's child?"

"Of course she is. Didn't you see her face?"

"How is it possible?" Snape asked, putting his elbows on the table.

"I investigated her and found some unfortunate facts. Lily birthed a stillborn child at Saint Mungo's which was known to very few. I decided to visit Saint Mungo a few days earlier to find some clues. With the help of some discrete spells, I found out about the exchange of children on 27 August, 1981."

Dumbledore paused here as he pinched his nose.

Snape was leaning forward in interest.

"There was another women who went in labour and had a miscarriage. Knowing that her wife won't be able to live after a fifth miscarriage, Manny Murphy bribed a nurse to swap the dead child with the alive one. Unfortunately, that child was Iris, who got swapped. In one room a woman rejoiced that she finally had a child while in another room, a woman was wrecked with sorrow seeing the body of stillborn child."

Dumbledore smiled grimly as he wiped away a stray tear.

Snape's usual sneer was replaced by a sombre expression.

"Why was she in an orphanage? I can't fathom why the couple would abandon her after getting her through illegal means?" questioned Snape.

"Unfortunately for the Murphy family, they were muggleborn and were met with a terrible end. Few months later, the couple were killed in a Death Eater raid, leaving Iris an orphan who was then sent to a nearby orphanage by the neighbours. And that is how Iris's existence wasn't even known to her own parents."

They both remained silent, sympathetic to Iris who had to suffer through an orphanage just because a man decided his wife's happiness was more important than anyone else's.

"You should tell them." Snape advised.

"Yes. I'll call them tomorrow."

With that, Snape stood up and left the Headmaster's office.

~xXxXx~

Harry was lying on his bed, thinking how he was going to find the truth about his sister's misfortune when a body dropped on him.

Two 'ows' echoed in his room.

Harry pushed Iris aside, making her topple beside him, clutching her stomach.

He rubbed his chest where her head had collided.

"You are too soon. I thought you were going to join me at midnight." grumbled Harry.

"I thought, why wait for a nightmare when I can avoid it." Iris said sheepishly.

Harry stared at her and she realised that she had indirectly confessed to him that he could make her nightmares disappear.

She buried her face on his shoulder, hiding her embarrassment.

Harry chuckled, patting her head.

"Say no more. It's now decided that you'll sleep with me until you grow up."

"I'm grown up." she said defiantly on his shoulder.

"Then you can't sleep beside me. It'll feel wrong. Now go back to your room. Big girls don't need their brothers to fight off their nightmares." Harry laughed, trying to push her off the bed.

"Hey! Okay, okay. I'm still a little girl. Fine?" she said, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Good." He replied, pulling her against him. Her back to his chest, his chin resting on top of her head.

"So? How do you like Hogwarts?" he asked curiously.

The next five minutes were filled with Iris's awed voice as she described her journey through the boat and her sighting of Hogwarts for the first time.

Harry listened aptly, smiling as he found her voice adorable.

"The only problem is the other students. I don't like being stared at." she mumbled.

"I know the feeling. It'll get better, but there'll still be some students who'll continue their gossip. You should just ignore them or if they really start to bother you then I'll take care of it."

Iris nodded her head, having an inkling that Harry would scare them off.

She had deduced that Harry wasn't shy to use his powers for hurting others.

"Tomorrow, you'll get your schedule. It will be fun. You'll definitely enjoy Charms. Professor Flitwick is a great teacher. Professor McGonagall is strict, but the Transfiguration class is an interesting one. Potions is also good if you have the power to ignore Snape's rude insults and his ever-present scowl."

"Hmm." she agreed.

"How did you like my best friends?" Harry asked.

"They're good. I like them, but I wanted to ask you, why don't you have any male friends?"

"That is a good question. Honestly, I didn't really try to make any new friends after I befriended Daphne and Tracey." Harry replied truthfully.

She nodded, accepting his answer. They continued their conversation, talking about nothing in particular. After what felt like minutes but was more than an hour, Harry decided it was time to sleep.

"Goodnight, little one." he said, pressing his lip on her hair.

"Goodnight, big brother." she smiled back, turning her head and pressing a kiss on his cheek.

His smile grew as she curled against his chest, her back pressed to his front.

Harry's one arm snaked around her while he tucked his other hand under his pillow, so his head was above the hand and pillow.

Harry still didn't know how he felt about her calling him 'big brother'. On one hand, it filled his body with warmth and made him smile, while on the other hand, it was a bit cringy.

At least she didn't call him that in front of others. Harry was thankful for that.

He closed his eyes and went to sleep.