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"Good morning, sunshine."

Iris groaned, pulling the covers over her head to block out both the light coming from the windows and the voice telling her to wake up. Seconds later though, the blanket slowly peeled back over her head, revealing her messy hair swept across her tired and annoyed face.

"Oh, now turn that frown upside down," Sirius mocked gleefully.

The teenage witch glared at him.

Sirius sat on the side of the bed nearly on top of her and kicked his feet up, pushing her out of his way. Iris scoffed as she shuffled over. "What should we do today?" he asked cheerfully.

"Sleep," she groaned rolling over and shoving her face into the pillow.

"Yeah, 'cause you didn't get enough of that the last three months," he mumbled sarcastically.

Iris lifted her head, her eyes squinting sharply, "What was that?"

Sirius feigned innocence, "Hm? Oh nothing, nothing."

It had only been a few days since Iris had come back from the dead, but that was all it took for Sirius' spirits to shoot up. He had been in a nonstop good mood having his goddaughter back with him, even though she seemed the opposite. Iris had barely left her bed at Grimmauld Place. She was agitated all the time, sleeping or just laying there staring at the ceiling when Sirius wasn't making her eat something. Each day, he attempted to get her up out of bed, and when that wouldn't work he would sit beside her and force her to listen to him chat incessantly for hours on end. He filled her in on everything that had happened in her absence and didn't mind that she never showed much interest in responding. He was just happy to have her back.

Iris was exhausted. Her whole body ached and was weak from not moving in months. She was drained emotionally as well. She was glad to be alive, of course, she couldn't be more grateful to be back with her brother and godfather, but deep inside her somewhere Iris felt as though a part of her had been left behind. Reunited with her long-gone loved ones only to be ripped away so soon was cruel, and she couldn't stop replaying their faces over and over again in her mind, never wanting to forget.

It was loud in this world. Iris' mind had been alone on the other side for so long with nothing to hear, no thoughts being whispered in her ears, that it was like being thrown into the deep end. Everyone around her, each witch or wizard that came through Grimmauld Place, the muggles that walked past outside, all poked at the fragile walls of her mind. Iris was having a hard time keeping their thoughts out.

She jumped at loud noises and flinched when someone touched her. Iris felt so disconnected from everything and everyone.

The girl could barely stand to use the bathroom on her own, having to grab different pieces of furniture to support her weight across the room. She wouldn't look at her inky arm— it only made her angry about everything she had lost. She didn't regret what she had done. Iris would do it all over again to save Sirius. But she could feel something broken within herself, and the darkness that had crawled up to her elbow was just a reminder of that.

Then there was Kai. Iris couldn't believe what he had done for her. He saved her life by gambling his own, with no clue if it would work or not or even kill him in the process. She owed him everything. In the last few days, Iris had been whisked off to Sirius' home, making it more difficult to see Kai. He had come to visit a couple of times, but he was weak too.

Harry had to be forced to go back to classes rather than sit beside his twin all day every day as he would have preferred. He, like Sirius, was also over the moon at her return. Harry would make sure a letter was delivered at least once each day, expressing his joy about her being alive, his excitement for her to return to Hogwarts, and filling her in on all the school gossip. Hermione and Ron hadn't been allowed to come to see her, but she had received letters from them as well.

Sirius would read all of these letters out loud to Iris, accompanied by matching imitations of each person's voice— often a crude effort. 

"I know what we can do today!" Sirius told Iris's unmoving body. "Let's go for a walk in the park—" Iris' lip twitched, "— no dog jokes!"

That was another thing that had happened in her absence. Upon the Wizarding World's revelation that Voldemort was, in fact, actually back, their trust in Dumbledore seemed to have been reinstated. With this, and the aftermath of the battle in the Ministry, Dumbledore made a public statement about Sirius' innocence, urging the Ministry (who was quite inclined to make up for their blunders) to grant him a full pardon. Sirius Black was officially a free man.

Her godfather managed to leverage Iris out of her bed eventually, and then they were walking down the sidewalk of their London neighbourhood. Iris had only thrown on a hoodie over her pyjamas, her feet shuffling as she walked. The air was crisp as autumn was coming into full effect, the red and orange leaves reflecting a quiet October feeling. Iris had always loved the season because it was the start of her school year and meant she was back with her friends at Hogwarts. This year was different. The autumn colours felt melancholy, and she was nowhere near school. Iris didn't know when she would go back, she was already over a month behind.

The two made their way into the nearby park, where the grass was just beginning to turn brown. Iris had her arms wrapped around herself to keep the chill out. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath through her nose— never did Iris think she would miss the smells of London, but as birds chirped in the trees around her and a squirrel hopped across the path ahead of them, Iris found herself taking every little detail in, knowing that she would never again take them for granted.

"I'm not sure what to do," Iris said as they walked.

Sirius looked over at her for a moment. "I think you're doing just fine, all things considered," he said softly.

Iris' brows furrowed, "I feel different. Something inside me..."

"Well, you almost died," Sirius said. Iris flinched slightly, her blackened hand flexing.

She knew what he meant. She shouldn't expect anything to feel normal after an experience like hers, but Iris just couldn't shake the sensation she had. A gentle breeze blew past them, flowing through her hair, and for a moment, as she looked out on that peaceful park, Iris thought maybe she would be alright after all.

A week later, Iris received an unexpected house call. Like every day, Sirius came upstairs to bother her, but that morning when he knocked on her door he peeped his head in and said, "Dumbledore's here to see you."

Her interest was piqued immediately, and Iris slowly rolled over to look at her godfather, having a heavy internal debate with herself as to whether or not her limbs would decide to work and let her walk downstairs. The brunette finally won the mental battle and dragged herself from the bed, carefully stumbling down the stairs, slapping Sirius away every time he tried to help.

In the sitting room, the elderly wizard waited patiently for her. He greeted Iris with a warm smile when she entered and gestured for her to sit on the opposite sofa.

"Iris, you're looking well," Dumbledore said first. She stared at him blankly as she took a seat— his statement was quite incorrect. At her silence, he continued, "I'll get right to the point of my visit— I'd like for you to return to Hogwarts."

Iris sighed heavily and went to stand. This was not the first time the Headmaster had made the same request, nor the first time she had rejected it. She wasn't ready. Iris wouldn't admit it to herself but deep down, she was scared. Grimmauld Place had become a safe space for her, alone with Sirius, no thinking about what atrocities were taking place outside.

"Iris," Dumbledore said sternly as she tried to leave. "I need your help." She hesitated, it wasn't often he said that. "Your fellow classmate, Katie Bell, has been cursed. The healers are having difficulty helping her condition... I want you to take a look at her."

The young witch examined him carefully. Katie Bell was on the quidditch team with Harry, she was a nice girl.

"Fine."

Iris thought she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in the old man's eyes as he held out his arm for her to grab. His hand, like Iris', was an unusual black, but to her, it looked more like it had died. She walked up to him and glanced at Sirius, who was standing by the door with an apprehensive look that matched her own. Iris grabbed Dumbledore's arm and not a moment later they were twisting and contorting as they travelled across London, landing with a sharp crack in an alleyway just off the street.

Iris had been here before. She recognized the route as Dumbledore led her down the street and into the storefront that hid St Mungo's Hospital behind it. Iris became lost in her thoughts as he brought her through the hospital wings, getting nervous about what the professor wanted her to do.

When he finally stopped in front of one of the rooms and turned to Iris, her complexion had turned pallid. He gave Iris a look of reassurance that didn't do much for her and then opened the door.

Katie Bell was lying in the hospital bed asleep, looking very unwell.

"What happened to her?" Iris asked quietly, walking up to the girl's side.

Dumbledore stood a meter behind her observing, "She accidentally touched a cursed object— a necklace intended to kill anyone upon contact. Miss Bell is very fortunate it was only a minuscule hole in her glove." He paused, "The package was meant to be delivered to me, I'm afraid."

Iris' head snapped to the headmaster. Her eyes were wide, disbelieving of his nonchalant tone. She slowly turned back to Katie, looking sadly at her sick form.

Iris cautiously reached a hand out towards Katie, noticing it was shaking as she gently grabbed Katie's arm. Her heart was pounding, the sound of her blood rushing in her ears. Iris closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath as she focused on Katie's mind.

For the first few moments, nothing happened. Iris wasn't sure she wanted anything to— she was holding back. The last time she used her magic it nearly killed her, and the irrational part of her brain was whispering to her, 'Who's to say it won't happen again?' Iris pushed past it; this was for Katie.

Her face cringed as she braced herself and knocked on Katie's walls. The front door to her mind swung open eerily, with nothing but darkness behind it. Iris steadied herself and took a step over the threshold—

The most shocking and intense pain Iris had felt since the cruciatus curse unleashed over her body. Her head felt like someone had taken an axe to it, or a hand crushing her from the inside. Her screams were silent, her expression full of agony as her legs threatened to give out beneath her. Her body was stuck, unable to let go. Tears of pain ran down her cheeks from her glowing red eyes that were open but unseeing.

A firm hand grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked Iris back. She fell tumbling backwards onto the cold tile floor, heaving breaths as she grabbed at her head. The fluorescent lights stared down at her harshly as the pain left.

"Iris," Dumbledore called worriedly, leaning down beside her.

"I can't," she sobbed, trying to catch her breath, "I can't."

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hogwarts is getting very close! i can't wait to get back into the book plots, I've got lots of fun plans! hbp is one of my favorites

thanks to everyone for reading and all of the support on the last chapter! every comment seriously brightens my day so much