Chapter 2. The History of the Last War
The first thing Harry noticed when he woke up was his numb shoulder.
Iris was still pressed against him, her face buried on his shoulder as if hiding from phantom ghosts. One other thing he noticed was that his mother wasn't with them in the bed anymore.
She must have already woken up. And she might have gone for her daily jogging too. Harry did feel a little bad that he wasn't able to join her today, but he needed to focus on Iris and not on his mother. She was an adult, she didn't need his constant company. Iris on the other hand was just a child, like him, with no one other than him as a company.
He tried to get out of Iris' grasp, but the more he tried, the more constrictive her grip became. Finally, he decided to wake her up. It wouldn't kill her if she woke up early one day.
He rubbed her back soothingly.
"Iris, wake up," he said gently.
This had no effect on the sleeping girl. He tried again. "Iris, wake up. Wakey wakey up, Iris."
Still no response.
"I see, I see. This calls for the ultimate method of waking up the demon princess." He smirked, knowing that she had already woken up and was just being lazy. His hand, which was earlier busy rubbing her back, slid inside her t-shirt, to her side which was her ticklish zone. The effect was instantaneous.
She stiffened as Harry's fingers caressed her skin.
And then she couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he tickled her mercilessly.
Earlier, she was clutching him and he was trying to get out of her grasp. Now it was the opposite. She squirmed like a mad snake, trying to push him off while he held her tightly against him with one hand and tickled her with the other.
She laughed so hard that her stomach was starting to hurt. She was surprised how powerful Harry's grip was. He always was physically stronger than her, but now it felt like his strength had increased ten times.
"Harr….y….g-give up...I... give up!" she yelled between her laughter, her face pressed on his chest.
At last, a satisfied Harry pulled out his hand from under her t-shirt. Iris quickly got away from him and sat up, glaring at him sullenly.
"Bad Harry." she mumbled.
Harry just smiled, not replying to that, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning, Iris. I would have liked just lazing around with you on the bed, but I really need to pee. So, I am going to the bathroom and don't come peeking around again." he teased her and jumped off the bed and ran out of their mother's bedroom.
"Shut up! It was just an accident." he heard her embarrassed yelling from behind as he left the room.
~xXxXx~
Lily sat Harry and Iris on the sofa in the living room after breakfast. She herself plopped down on a chair, facing them.
"Tell me Iris, what have I told you about the war?" Lily started, leaning forward, crossing her arms in her lap and staring at them expectantly.
Iris and Harry gave her a strange look for bringing up this topic suddenly.
"Voldemort was a dark lord who was very evil and killed everyone he thought wasn't worthy of magic. In this case, muggleborns and half-bloods. He also killed any pureblood who stood in his path. But in the end, James Potter and Frank Longbottom faced him and defeated him. But, unfortunately, they were killed while doing that." Iris answered sadly, thinking about her father who she never had the chance to grow up with.
Sensing her sorrow, Harry took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Yes, that's true. But I think it's finally time that I reveal everything about the war." Lily said, steeling herself.
Harry and Iris gave her a dubious look.
"And what are you hiding from us?" asked Harry.
"Not hiding, love. Just waiting for the right time. I was thinking that I have time, but yesterday's attack revealed how vulnerable we are. I am sorry that I have to reveal this so early when you are so young. But it needs to be done. There is no guarantee that I will live for long. And you must know the truth if something unfortunate happens to me."
Harry stared coldly at her, his eyes narrowing in anger.
"You will live. You will live hundreds of years if I have any say in it. You don't have to worry about that. I will take care of your problems in any way I see fit." His tone was ice and his eyes the burning inferno.
Lily stifled a shiver at the voice which shouldn't have belonged to an almost ten years old.
"I know, Harry. I am saying that just in case. No one is a god here. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. We need to be prepared for every scenario."
'No one is a god here...yet.' Harry corrected in his mind. But he nodded, not wanting to argue anymore.
Iris was still as a statue as she listened to all this. Her father was already dead. She didn't need her mother to die either. She clutched Harry's hand like a lifeline. She had seen his power last night and believed his every word. Harry was suddenly strong and she wasn't complaining if it gave her family more protection. If it gave her mother a boosted chance of survival.
Lily, seeing her children's worries, stood up from the chair and went to them. She sat between them and placed her arms around their shoulders, pulling them to her sides.
"I am not saying I am going to die, children. It is just a possibility. A very very low possibility. And now that Harry is suddenly all powerful, it is a very very very low possibility." she joked, running her fingers through their hair.
"Now back to the topic. Your father and I were in this group who fought against the death eaters. Our group's name was Order of the Phoenix. And Death Eaters as you already know are the group led by Voldemort himself. In our time, James and I started killing many Death Eaters after we separated from the Order since we didn't like Dumbledore's pacifist approach to the problem. Seeing our success in curbing Death Eaters, Neville's parents also left the Order and joined us.
"We four then wreaked havoc against Voldemort's forces. But after a month when I and Alice became pregnant, we retired from the battlefield and hid in our home. We didn't want to endanger your lives because of our sense of duty. All four of us decided to live together for the time period of the war. We thought we won't be targeted anymore since we retired and were behind powerful ancient wards. And it was a logical thought. Voldemort and his forces didn't have time to go after us when the Order and the government were after them. And we were safe for a considerable time."
Her lips curved in a melancholic smile.
"But we were wrong. A stupid thing happened one day. Dumbledore came to us and told us that there was a prophecy concerning Voldemort's defeat. A prophecy is a set of sentences which predicts the future, that's the gist of it. He told us that our children were the likely candidate for it. Harry, Iris and Neville, you were the subject of the prophecy. The prophecy basically said that one of you will be the only one able to kill the dark lord. Then, we just laughed at his face. We didn't believe in prophecies. The future is never written in stone. It changes with every small choice. But us not believing did not matter since Voldemort himself believed it and focused his attention on us."
"That's how your father and Neville's father died. They sacrificed their lives to protect us. When Voldemort destroyed the wards and broke the door, coming for you three, they both stood bravely in front of him and gave up their lives for us, so we could escape the cruel lunatic. They fought him for a minute, but it was a losing battle. Voldemort was powerful. Very powerful. Even if we four had battled him, we still would have lost. Seeing that the fight wasn't going anywhere, James and Frank used sacrificial magic and blew themselves up, along with the house and Voldemort. And that is how the war ended."
Harry prepared to say something as he wrapped his arms around her but she began again.
"Everyone was happy. The whole wizarding world was celebrating its freedom from fear, freedom from him. They sang songs for James and Frank. They made those two legends in the history of Wizarding Britain. But Dumbledore again came and doused water on our happiness and relief.
"According to him, Voldemort's only body was destroyed and his spirit and soul still lived. He said that Voldemort will rise again. I thought him senile and fool at that time. But maybe he was right. Maybe Voldemort is still alive, waiting, healing himself. Maybe he has finally come to get his revenge. Maybe he will finally come to kill you three. Last night's attack could be his doing or maybe I am just thinking too much." she laughed mirthlessly, a frightened look in her eyes.
QUEST:
– Kill Voldemort.
REWARD:
– 10,000 XP
– Perk [?]
Harry didn't give any outward reaction, but he was shocked to his core. The game just confirmed that Voldemort was alive and well.
He needed to get powerful quickly and he needed to create some strong defensive skills. If what his mother said was true then Voldemort was at least 100 plus levels. And maybe even 200 plus levels. The Scary thing was he didn't know. And that was a lot more frightening than actually knowing his power limit.
"Don't worry, mum. Whatever will happen, will happen. I will keep you both safe." he said passionately, standing up and facing his mother and sister.
Lily would have laughed and giggled, thinking how cute he was if she hadn't seen the carnage he left behind him last night.
"I believe you, Harry." Iris said, surprising her mother with how stern she sounded, nodding to herself resolutely.
Lily smiled at him proudly.
"If that's what you want, Harry. I will start training you from next year when you get your wand. Iris too. You will have a target on your back and it's all because of us. The least I can do is train you to keep yourself safe. "
"Okay, mum."
"Now, tell me about last night properly."
Harry sat beside her again and told her about the incident from his point of view. He of course didn't mention Isis. He continued with his excuse of weird dreams and Lady Magic.
"And you don't feel anything after killing the three men? No joy, no grief, no pleasure, nothing?"
"Nothing. It was either them or us. And if it meant saving you both then I would have killed them thousands of times. They were between my goal and they needed to go. It's that simple." Harry shrugged nonchalantly.
Lily was very apprehensive about his particular view, but she wasn't going to go Dumbledore on him. She was a killer herself after all. She didn't have the higher moral ground. She wasn't going to start lecturing him and force him to feel unwanted grief.
"Now that the talk is done. Iris and I have to go. I have a gift for her." Harry smiled eagerly and pulled Iris from the sofa, making her stand up. The young redhead looked at him questioningly, not knowing what was going on in her brother's mind.
"And what is that?" Lily queried curiously.
"Not telling. It's a twins secret." He said while grinning, lording his secret over her.
"Yes, yes. Keep your secrets and ignore your mum." she rolled her eyes and waved them away.
Harry left the room, quickly followed by Iris. Just as they stepped out of the living room, Harry grabbed her hand and teleported them to his favourite place.
To the sky.
~xXxXx~
"Ahhhh!" Iris screamed, totally scared as they were who knows how many kilometres up in the sky. She clutched Harry tightly, her arms coiling around his neck.
"Calm down, Iris. Calm down. You are safe. I can fly. You are totally safe."
"CALM DOWN? ARE YOU SAYING ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN I AM SUDDENLY IN AIR WITHOUT ANY WARNING?" She shrieked in disbelief.
"Hehe. Now that you said it, I see it might be a tiny problem. But please try to calm down. You are safe, I am holding you. You are not going to fall down. Not if you don't annoy me." he chuckled, patting her back.
"HARRY!"
"Sorry! That was just a joke. I am not letting you fall, however amusing it might be." He smiled, pulling her tight against him, cradling her head on his shoulder.
"Feel the strong air, little sister. Breath in the fresh air. Feel the strong wind slamming against us. See the beautiful forest surrounding our house from the three sides. See that river on the far northern side. Isn't this all beautiful?" Harry pondered out loud softly as Iris' eyes wandered everywhere.
Iris nodded in agreement, a bit reluctantly.
"I agree with all of it, but I am not your younger sister. We are twins! How many times do I have to say that!" Iris mumbled in mock anger. Harry just laughed and squeezed her gently, both, admiring the heavenly view from...heaven. Hehe.
If Iris had already started protesting against being called the younger sister then she was becoming normal again. Though that wouldn't stop him from calling her his 'little sister'. It was his duty as an elder twin to remind her of being the younger twin, of being the inferior twin. For all of their life.
And it was a bit annoying that they didn't look the same since they were fraternal twins. While Harry inherited their father's looks and his hair, Iris inherited their mother's looks and red hair. At least they had their green eyes in common.
"Let the ride begin. Hold tight, little sister. We are going on a ride." He announced and sped down. Iris' yell was cut off abruptly as her grip tightened around him.
Harry flew down like a missile, like a sharp sword cutting through the thin air, but he stopped a few hundred metres above the ground. Then he sped up again in the eastern direction. Slowly the fear started draining away. And after one point, Iris started whopping in excitement, her fear finally vanishing. The feelings of joy and thrill were filling her up.
After half an hour of flying, Harry teleported back to his bedroom with Iris. They both collapsed on the bed, satisfied smiles etched on their faces.
– 5 Affection points added to Iris Potter.
He used [Observe] on her.
Name: Iris Potter
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Lvl: 7
HP: 350
MP: 700
Affection: 85
Obedience: 40
Thoughts about you: Love, Fondness, Respect
"Thank you, Harry, for taking me flying with you. It was so much fun...after I got over the initial fear of being a splash spot on the ground." she said, kissing his cheek and hugging him.
Harry lazily fell back on the bed with Iris still attached to him.
They both remained silent for a minute, just lying on the bed, coming down from the adrenaline high.
"How many secrets are you hoarding, Harry? Teleportation, Flying, what else? I know you lied to mum about the Lady Magic rubbish. You can deceive mum, but not me. I am your twin after all. When are you going to tell us the truth?" she asked gently, her chin resting on his chest, her red curls framing her curious green eyes. Harry smiled back, poking her cheek.
"It is not that I don't want to tell the truth. It is just that I can't tell the truth. I am forbidden from doing that. So please, go with this lie and don't tell anyone the truth about it." He requested, his fingers now running in her smooth red hair which he might or might not be jealous of.
Iris scrunched her nose as she thought about it.
"Okay. But you have to stop calling me little sister. It is very annoying." she said with a sly smile. Harry raised his eyebrow in surprise.
"Are you blackmailing me, little sister?" he asked, pinching her nose. Iris slapped away his hand and sat up beside him and gave him a bland look.
"It is not blackmail. It is a deal. A give and a take. Don't call me little sister and I will keep your secret. Simple." she smirked. He chuckled softly and agreed, pushing his hand forward which Iris shook gleefully.
"Well, well, you drive a hard bargain. It's a deal. You will keep my little secret and I won't address you as little sister anymore." Harry smiled blankly. Something was wrong with that smile, like a shark who had smelled blood in the water. But she ignored it and shook his hand. Her lifelong mission of not being called little sister was finally coming to fruition.
"It's a deal."
~xXxXx~
"Lil sis, lil sis, lil sis, lil sis. Where are you, lil sis?" Harry's loud self-pleased voice rang out in the house. Lily, who was patiently waiting for Harry and Iris to arrive in the living room for their daily studies, raised her eyebrow in amusement. Seems like her son just conned Iris into a bad deal.
"TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK! MUM, PLEASE, SAVE ME!" Iris came running down, her loud screams followed by Harry's mocking laughter. Nope, Lily wasn't getting involved in this madness. When things like these happened, she needed to sit on the fence and watch the entertainment. Her getting involved and siding with anyone always ended up in a disaster. She had learnt that from experience.
"Why are you running away from me, lil sis?" Harry asked in a faux hurt tone.
"SHUT UP! CALL ME LITTLE SISTER INSTEAD OF...THAT WORD. PLEASE, BROTHER!" She desperately pleaded.
'And there, Iris used her trump card. Harry always gets happy when he hears Iris call him brother. And Iris always knows when to exploit that weakness.' Lily smiled mirthfully.
"Okay, little sister. If that's what you want." Harry's sudden agreement made Iris freeze dumbly on her spot.
"Huh?" she uttered, not knowing why he agreed so easily. She really didn't think he would have agreed so readily. Before they both could again start their argument, Lily decided it was time to end it.
"Children! Take your seats. It is study time. You can continue whatever you were doing after the classes are over." Lily said sternly.
It would take Iris the next hour to realise that she was cheated in the deal. Now she had to keep Harry's secret while he was still able to call her little sister.
That little cheating bastard!
Throughout the class, Harry had a smug grin plastered on his face and Iris was not so subtly glaring at him.
~xXxXx~
It'd been a few days since Harry gained his power as a gamer. And surprisingly not much had changed.
Everything had gone back to normal after the attack from the Death Eaters. There were no more quests to finish and no skills to make, well there was that quest of defeating Voldemort, but somehow Harry knew that it was meant to be done later, a lot later.
Voldemort seemed like the final boss and it would take time to become powerful enough to face and defeat that final boss. Harry wasn't really in any hurry to face the most powerful dark lord of their time without being hundred percent assured of his victory.
He still flew with Iris in the evenings by the help of his [Flying] skill, but that too had somehow become normal. A good normal. A new normal.
And today was his birthday. His 10th birthday. Today, he would finally enter the double digits of his age. So at least the daily normal would change today.
"Happy Birthday, Harry~" Iris sang and woke him up, giving him an extra affectionate kiss on his forehead. She was sitting on his stomach with a brimming smile.
Her smile really was infectious.
"Thank you. Happy Birthday to you too, Iris." He smiled.
"Thanks. Today is our special day. Get up now. It's not like you to laze around on your bed."
"As my little sister commands." He smirked. Iris just smiled, not being able to get annoyed at him for that.
The rest of the day was full of fun as Lily took Harry and Iris to the muggle side of London. They watched movies, they shopped for clothes and books and everything else that they wanted. But the evening was going to be more special. Their friends were coming tonight after a while.
Currently, the twins were standing in front of the floo, waiting for the arrival of their friends. The fire flared and a second later, three people stepped out of the fireplace. Two young girls were accompanied by a beautiful woman. All the three females shared similar looks with platinum blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes.
"Harry!" the youngest girl leaped and wrapped herself around him.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" She said joyfully. Her wide smile and innocent eyes made Harry smile back at her as his own arms enveloped around her in a hug.
Iris rolled her eyes at the little tyke while Daphne just gave an amused smile. It was a widely known fact that Harry was the favourite person of little Astoria. Though Iris still didn't understand why. Harry wasn't that special. Was he?
"Thank you, Tori."
"Astoria!" Mrs. Greengrass reprimanded her youngest daughter. Astoria pouted cutely and hid behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Mrs. Greengrass huffed exasperatedly at her. There was no use lecturing her when she was in that mood.
"Happy Birthday, Harry and Iris. We are thankful for your invitation. Aren't we, girls?"
"Thank you for inviting us, Harry and Iris." Astoria and Daphne said together, bowing to them after a not so subtle gesture from their mother.
After that, Mrs. Greengrass promptly went to look for Lily who was in the kitchen.
"Happy Birthday, Harry. Happy Birthday, Iris." Daphne said with a soft smile.
"Thanks, Daph. How are you?" Harry asked, pulling her for a quick hug.
"Good. I am helping my mum with her potions. I think I have found my favourite subject already." She said as the twins led them to the sofa where the four sat. Well, Daphne, Harry and Iris sat like normal people while Astoria plopped down in Harry's lap.
"You don't mind, do you Harry?" Astoria asked with her cute smile which she knew would make Harry agree.
"Of course not, Tori." Harry agreed without a fight and just wrapped his hands around her stomach.
"You spoil her too much. Astoria, act your age." Daphne stated, mildly glaring at her sister who still acted like a five year old when she was 9 years old, just a year younger than them.
Astoria petulantly stuck out her tongue.
"You are just jealous, cunt. You want to be the one in his lap. But remember, bitch! That he is mine! Keep your dirty paws off of him. Or I will pull out all your hair and push it down where the sun doesn't shine." growled Astoria.
…
…
There was a total silence after that. All of them were staring at her incredulously.
"Astoria! What was that? Where did you learn that type of language?" Daphne asked coldly.
"Uh oh! I read it in one of mum's romance novels. Not my fault. I tried to act my age as you instructed." Astoria said placatingly.
Harry and Iris who were trying so hard not to laugh, lost it at that and guffawed. Daphne wasn't amused though.
"We will have a serious talk about what acting one's age actually means and why not to go snooping around our parents' room." Daphne glared at her.
"Hey, hey. Don't yell at my little Tori in front of me." Harry protested, hugging Astoria who quickly relaxed in his lap.
Daphne's glare shifted to him.
"That's unfair. I am a birthday boy. You can't use that glare at me tonight."
"Fine. But you won't have a birthday everyday."
"Stop fighting, you two. Neville and Tracey just arrived." Iris diverted their attention as when the aforementioned ones came towards them. Both of them were followed by their mothers.
~xXxXx~
"Uncle Sirius!" Harry and Iris yelled loudly and ran to the grinning handsome man. Who pulled them in his embrace.
"How are my favourite godchildren doing?"
"Don't say it like you have a secret stash of godchildren hidden somewhere. We are your only godchildren, Padfoot." Harry rolled his eyes as Sirius finally allowed them to pull back.
"And why do you think I don't?" Sirius grinned, riffling their hair.
~xXxXx~
The party was a blast. Harry and Iris happily celebrated their tenth birthday with their friends and family.
But all of the guests had finally left, leaving just the three of them in the living room.
"I have one final gift for you both." Lily smiled tiredly, standing in front of them. It wasn't exactly easy preparing a birthday party and Lily just wanted to lie down a bit.
Harry and Iris who were contently cuddling on the sofa gave her a surprised look. Their mother had already given them their gifts so they were taken aback by her announcement.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. These are for you. It was your father's, but I think it's time you get to use it." she smiled sadly. She gave Iris the Marauders Map while the invisibility cloak was handed to Harry.
~xXxXx~
QUEST:
Find the three Deathly Hallows.
– The Invisibility Cloak: In Possession
– The Elder Wand:
– The Resurrection Stone:
REWARD:
– 20,000 XP.
– Perk [Immortality]
Harry laid on his bed with the cloak in his hand. The Invisibility Cloak. The one from the fairy tale which his mother used to tell them when they were little.
Immortality. That word made him shiver with a strange excitement. He wanted it, not knowing why. He needed it, at least that's what it felt like.
He was going to become immortal, no matter what. He now had a final goal to reach.
But somehow he knew that this quest too was for a later time, like Voldemort's. Not an immediate quest. It would take him years or maybe decades to search and find the legendary artefacts of death.
He needed some immediate quests to level up and spend his time on. Why wouldn't Isis give him something that he could do now and not in the distant future.
Stop whining. Here is some quest if you are so needy about it.
QUEST:
– Kill one hundred criminals in London.
REWARD:
– 5000 XP
– Perk: [Killer]
– The Poison Knife
Well, that was going to keep him busy for a while. Hopefully. Maybe not. How much time do you need to kill 100 people?