Chapter 21: Before the Start
Harry and Iris followed Lily back to the Leaky Cauldron. That is where they were to meet their father and other siblings – in a private room of course to keep the crowds away. It seems that everywhere their brother goes, adoring fans would follow. Lily has explained to them the mess that she has to deal with to stop people from just grabbing their brother just so they could shake his hands or hug him.
Harry and Iris both shivered at the thought. They were both private people and value personal space, and Aunt Petunia taught them the importance of boundaries. Not to mention the whole "stranger danger" mentality that was embedded in them which made them mortified about their brother's life. Harry wondered if their brother even has stalkers. That would be so scary considering that their brother is the same age as them.
Although Harry did wonder one thing. There don't seem to be a lot of places most wizards and witches can socialize. He saw one other restaurant or was it a cafe that seems to be popular and then there is the Leaky Cauldron and that's about it. Most of them are just shops. This was something Harry and Iris noticed in the magical world – there doesn't seem to be a lot of entertainment to go through. Music is limited, there are no movies, games are those that are already existing and old been played for hundreds of years, and there don't seem a lot of stories that are shared. The most popular seems to be gossip and rumors judging from how people read many of the gossip columns in the newspaper and some popular magazines, witch weekly.
Harry also wonders what students could do in Hogwarts for fun with such limitations. Truly they can't always study, right? As much as Harry likes information and exploring new ideas and concepts, entertainments help calm the mind sometimes to restart and provide ideas for future progress. Not to mention Harry also noticed how divided the wizarding world is that in his opinion, they are among the purpose for its stagnation compared to the muggle world which has long made significant progress technology-wise.
Since they end their shopping early (thanks to Sirius Black) they arrived at their private room early as well. Harry and Iris's trunks were shrunk by their mother and are currently stored in their pockets. She will regrow them back when they return home so they can pack their stuff. Iris did wonder why they don't just use a suitcase. It's much easier to transport and hold than a trunk.
"You two stay here. Have to confirm with the barkeep." Lily smiled as she left them alone in the room. The room is nice. Small, with a round table and chairs, and a fireplace. It just smells a little musty. Their seats looked over their window where they see muggle London. If their room was on the other side, they probably see Diagon Alley as their assumption.
"So, what do you think about all of this?" Harry asked his sister.
"It's okay, I suppose." Iris shrugged. "I am not sure, to be honest. We have been in the magical world longer and we also get to experience the no-maj world too. I think we get the best of both worlds."
BANG! Both Harry and Iris almost jump in shock.
The door suddenly flung open so strongly that the door could have been removed from its hinges if it wasn't magically secured in place.
"Harry! Iris! Finally!" A rambunctious boy who looked exactly like Harry entered but his hair is all over the place, he wore round glasses and he seems a little taller.
"Godric, you do not slam doors!" Lily yelled at him angrily. She was followed by a younger girl that looked like her but with hazel eyes and a man who looked like the adult version of Harry and Godric complete with the glasses and the hair. The man does look a little intimidating but he was all smiling when he saw the two. It was their father, the current Auror in the ministry, James Potter.
"Harry! Iris!" The man bellowed happily at them and gave them a big hug. They didn't hug back. Iris was more annoyed the man just immediately hug them without asking first.
Are they always this loud? Harry and Iris thought. Even though they lived with Dudley, even their cousin and aunt were a little quieter.
"How are you? Are you all feeling alright?" The man asked.
"Yes? I suppose." Iris answered with a shrug.
The little one, Lilac only gave them a shy smile before she hid behind their mother.
Godric is bouncing with happiness right now.
"I ordered us some food, so let's sit," Lily said as the family grabbed their seats. Harry and Iris sat together. Godric is right beside Harry and Lilac sat beside Iris.
"Look, Mum and dad told us about you. I'm sorry you have to spend your years in the muggle world but they did explain about the death eaters and that they were thought to be squib. It's very difficult for squibs to live in the wizarding world and they thought it would be best for you to integrate into the muggle world." Godric said.
He's very straightforward, isn't he? Both Harry and Iris thought.
"Godric." Lily hissed at her son.
"Did she also mention how she almost had us killed by dropping us on the doorstep in the middle of November?" Iris asked.
"What? Oh.."
"Did she also mention how we have to sell our house and have struggled to find food because they forgot to provide us with some financial support?" Iris asked again.
"Iris, Merlin, I'm very sorry about that," James said looking extremely guilty. "I did prepare the funds but have forgotten that your aunt couldn't access it due to her being a muggle."
"You would have noticed if you regularly checked on us," Harry muttered. "I know that death eaters were the main problem but you are an Auror. It would have been easy to cover your traces."
"I, uh..."
"But you made some corrections," Harry replied. "And we are willing to forgive you."
"We will still need time before we are willing to open up though," Iris added.
The Potter parents nodded.
"Thankfully Aunt Petunia was able to help us with some friends to help acclimate us to the wizarding world."
"Like that person, Oggy?" Lily asked.
"Augustus Blake actually," Harry answered. "He runs the OTOS scholar union."
"I heard about that place," James exclaimed. "They help assist students coming from poor homes so they could have less struggle to worry about school."
"And squibs who were kicked out and abandoned," Iris muttered which made James wince a little.
There was silence in the room until one of the servers entered and placed food on their table.
"So." Godric broke the silence. "Everything alright now?"
Iris and Harry turned to their long-lost brother.
"For now/yes." They answered.
"That's great!" Godric exclaimed. "When we get to Hogwarts and get sorted to Gryffindor, I'll look out for you and help you fit in. Everyone will love you! Especially when they found out that you guys are the siblings of the boy who lived!" He puffed out his chest excitedly.
"Godric!" Lily sighed.
James laughed out loud, delighted at the thought that his children will be in the same house. "Haha! Three Potters in Gryffindor at the same time! Filch will have a coronary!"
However, none of them noticed the conflicted look between Harry and Iris.
"I don't think we will be in the same house," Iris said straightforwardly. This made James stop laughing and stared at his daughter.
"I'm sorry Godric but we lived different lives," Harry said to his brother.
"And we weren't raised in the Potter household."
"And I hope you won't be upset with us..."
"...if we don't make it to Gryffindor."
"Will you abandon us again?"
This made the two Potter adults mortified. "Of course not!" Lily said firmly. "All houses have their good points and are lucky if you wind up in any of them. Right James?"
James still looked conflicted but gave a firm smile. "I promise you that no matter what house you get into, we will still love you all the same and I hope Godric will be able to look after you."
"I'm glad," Harry said. "Although as the eldest, shouldn't I be looking after all of my younger siblings?"
"What?" Godric looked at Harry.
"Harry's the eldest among us three. I'm the youngest of our trio. That makes you the middle kid." Iris stated.
"I forgot about that." Godric grinned.
Overall, the Potter dinner was considered successful at least to the Potters.
"James Potter is a problem" Iris muttered when they return home back to Aunt Petunia.
"It would seem he is," Harry answered. "It seemed that he is biased toward Slytherins."
"Was that what you read from him?" Iris asked.
"No," Harry said. "I didn't need to use legilimancy on him about that especially since he is an Auror with higher-level occlumency shields. But isn't it obvious? We already noticed the rivalry between the two houses. They spilled even after they graduate from Hogwarts. Seems a bit toxic in my opinion."
"Also, what is up with Lilac?"
**********
Albus Dumbledore looked at the list with worry. What is happening? Everything is losing control. There are now too many variables! He thought. The list he is looking at is the list of wand types and cores for the upcoming first years. This list was supposed to be in the Ministry but Dumbledore was able to gain access to this. Albus always looks into this list to know the potential of the students entering the school this year.
Percival Weasley for example and his threstral hair core were the most disconcerting when he entered. The threstral hair core is the core of the most powerful wand in the wizarding world, the original elder wand. Albus said originally because it turns out there are wands made of elder wood though the core is different. One example is the current Peverell lord who has a wand made of elder wood though the core is unknown to Albus as he could not get a hold of the man's records. How Ollivander was able to use the threstral hair despite its difficulty is still a mystery. Threstral hair core has a strong relation to death and has ties regarding dueling but because it is very rare and difficult to use in wand making, they were barely ever any wands yet Ollivander was able to hide this one. Albus is already aware that Percival Weasley has been secretly practicing dueling and worst, Professor Flitwick has been helping him on the side. He had tried to stop this but Flitwick was adamant against it. "The boy has potential; I am not going to stop teaching him." that small man said.
This is why Albus disbanded the dueling club. Mostly because Slytherins have been taking more and more advantage of it and he doesn't like the idea of these potential dark lords being competent in such a field. Thankfully it is only Percival Weasley who has such an interest and has been secretly practicing in the dueling rooms. Albus can't do anything against Flitwick due to his strong ties to the goblin nation who might even fight back if any of their kind felt any injustices and it will become a major problem if their financial sector were to crash yet again due to the wars. Goblins have such a tenacious appetite for violence. However, Albus has been thankful that only Percival Weasley was the outlier of his year in terms of his wand. The Weasley twins' wands were both dragon heartstrings (from the same dragon!) though the wood is different though he was still disappointed that Fred Weasley is sorted in the snake house. The Slytherin twin has already garnered the reputation as the most ruthless Slytherin of his year even the higher years of his house would be cautious about dealing with him.
The upcoming first years were the most disconcerting. More than half of them have dragon heartstring cores. This usually means these students are very strong and powerful in terms of magic however, they are also a potential for dark magic if they shifted that way. He aims to convert these students to light magic so there are stronger light magic users (although the ones in Slytherin might be a lost cause in his opinion). If he could have his way, the Slytherin house should not exist but he can't exactly have the right to make such a change in such an ancient school. Even Albus Dumbledore could not match the magic of the founders, even Salazar Slytherin, dark as he was.
He was particularly concerned about the potential Slytherin first years. He had hoped some of them take on unicorn hair core. These cores tend to be the most consistent and their owners are the most difficult to turn into the dark arts. These wands however do not make the most powerful wands which is why it requires a proper wand wood to compensate for its lackingness. There were a few unicorn hair users with Ronald Weasley among them – though this is mostly because his wand is second-hand from his brother Charlie Weasley and not directly chose him as the owner.
More than 20% of the first years have obscure wand cores. Iris Potter is among them which surprises Dumbledore. Curupira hair is unusual and most common among South American witches and wizards (though even then it is rare for them to have it as a wand core) and they tend to be a very unpredictable wand. Though it is Draco Malfoy and another student, a muggle-born, Justin Filch-Fletchley has a horned serpent as a wand core and Malfoy even has elder wood as its wand wood! Albus wanted to know what Ollivander is thinking. What's with these scary combinations? There isn't a lot of information about the horned serpent as they tend to be a popular wand for parselmouths in the past but it is rare and since both children are not parselmouths, so he doesn't have anything to worry about. Although Albus wondered why this muggle-born has such a wand.
But the one that Albus is the most interested in is Godric's wand. The same core as Voldemort. Not just the same core but the same feather from the same phoenix. Harry Potter also has the same which surprises him considering that the boy is also one of the potential boy's parts of the prophecy. Neville Longbottom has a phoenix feather (different from Godric) although Albus has speculation that the wand would be replaced with his father's. Yes, Albus is aware of what is happening in the Longbottom household and no, he has no plans to intervene. So far, their actions have made Neville more pliant. This way if something happened to Godric, Neville is a good alternative.
Harry Potter on the other hand is a mystery. He has expected the child to be a squib and even then he would have thought he was not treated well in his muggle-hating family. Imagine the surprise that the boy isn't just healthy but his aunt did not treat them any worse. He doesn't have enough information about the boy especially as both James and Lily don't have much to say except that he is reserved and quiet most of the time. Albus can only hope that this year, he has more control especially since he was entrusted with a special mission from a very important friend.
**********
Ignatius Peverell glanced around the room. He is currently inside the family vault in the castle. It was dark, dusty, musty, and old and it is a miracle that this place still holds despite the hundreds of years of absence.
"What are these?" Augustus asked at the many boxes in the room.
"Don't touch that, cousin. Those are curse boxes." Ignatius said without looking at him. "There meant to keep whatever inside in so make sure not to open any of them. We don't want to unleash any terrors in here."
"Why are our ancestors keeping curse boxes?" Augustus asked looking bewildered and horrified at the look of the large and tiny wooden boxes with sigils and runes on them. Many of them were written in blood which he already attributed as part of blood magic – something that is considered dark but he already learned is a common type of magic used by his family.
"Probably from their experiments. I mean Antioch is known for creating the elder wand and there have been rumors going on that he created it through unnatural means." Ignatius replied as he wavered around some old scrolls and books.
"You should ask the house elves to deal with this. I don't think we can do this all by ourselves." Augustus muttered. They have trouble already getting people into the castle due to the wards. Despite hundreds of years, the wards of the Peverell castle remained strong which they are still having trouble deciphering. Even Harry and Iris can only access certain areas in the castle as most of it remained warded.
"Just be careful. Some of these things are dark. We don't want any accidents."
"What exactly are we looking for again?"
"Information."
"Of what?"
"Horcruxes," said a voice behind them Augustus almost tripped on some chest.
"What the?" Augustus looked at the man standing behind him. The man looked thin, gaunt, and pale. He has short dark hair that needed some care and gray eyes. Augustus almost thought he was a ghost if it wasn't for the wards in the castle that prevented ghosts from just waltzing in. Augustus noticed there seems to be black-looking veins on the man's pale neck and left arm.
"Did you know this man is in here?!" Augustus yelled at his cousin after noticing Ignatius completely ignoring the man – Ignatius, who is always able to sense people around him.
"Yes," Ignatius said. "Regulus meet my cousin Augustus. Augustus, meet the man who needed our help, Regulus Black."
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