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The next day, Iris spent the morning laying on the floor in front of the toilet after sleeping in much later than she usually would. She had ignored the calls from Mrs Weasley and the others that breakfast was ready, instead choosing to hide under her covers while her head pounded until she got the sudden urge to hurl.

Sirius had entered her room a little while later to find her curled up in a ball on the tile of the en suite bathroom. He was in a strange mood, happy, but also hesitant. Iris figured it must have been because Audrianna was coming the next day.

He brought her a few pieces of toast and sat down on the floor beside her in silence, leaning his back against the bath. They didn't speak much for the rest of the morning, but Iris was glad for the silence since she had a splitting headache. She spent the rest of the day in her room with the lights off, only leaving to join everyone for dinner when she was finally starting to feel better.

Iris flinched every time someone laughed a bit too loud, and she noticed halfway through dinner that Remus was watching her from across the table with an odd face, glancing at her barely eaten meal every so often. Iris didn't hurt her head bothering to reach into his mind; it was clear enough that he could tell she was hungover.

Thankfully, Iris made it through the rest of dinner with no other suspicion. She helped Mrs Weasley take care of the dishes while everyone mingled, but Iris noticed Remus stood quickly and walked around the table to Sirius, leaning down and whispering something to him. Iris' godfather nodded, standing up and follow Remus out of the room. Iris cringed slightly, she could guess what he wanted to talk to Sirius about.

Not too long later, Iris left everyone and headed back to her room to wear out the rest of her mistake. When she entered, Iris found Sirius laying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She walked over and lay down beside him, sighing loudly.

A moment later, Sirius said, "Remus knows."

Iris stared at the wooden ceiling, noticing shapes in the planks. "Okay," she said, then waited a second before turning her head sideways to look at her godfather, "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Sirius closed his eyes tightly, his nose wrinkling. He ran a hand over his face before turning his head toward her, "I'm not sure... I haven't seen her since before I got arrested."

He sounded sad when he said it, and just a bit wistful.

"I'm sorry about last night," Iris started.

Sirius immediately flashed back to the last words she had said to him before falling asleep. At that moment, he had frozen, a strange sensation clawing up his throat as he could do nothing but blink for a minute. Iris couldn't possibly remember what she had said that made his heart both flutter with pride and sink from guilt.

His dead best friend's daughter had called him dad. It made his chest ache with guilt knowing that it should have been James she got to say that to.

Iris continued, "I shouldn't have gotten drunk... I didn't even mean to. I've just never felt like that before."

"I was worse when I was your age," Sirius said, "I'm an awful role model, I don't know what your parents were thinking when they made me your godfather." 

Iris looked over at him, whispering sadly, "They made the right choice."

Sirius hoped she was right. He wanted to make James and Lily proud by taking care of their daughter as best as he could. He thought of all the horrible things she had already been through and made a silent promise to do better for Iris.

He reached his arm over with a melancholy smile, ruffling her hair, "I guess we're both just a little bit messed up."

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The next morning, neither Iris nor Sirius had slept well. She had wandered downstairs after waking up before even the sun and met, to her mild surprise, Sirius, already sitting in the kitchen. Iris made herself a mug of coffee and sat beside the older man, a silence enveloping the room. A golden light was just beginning to cast its glow through the dusty windows when Sirius stood to make breakfast. Iris helped him cook, good at it after many years of making food for the Dursleys.

Aunt Petunia had taught her very young, both she and Uncle Vernon insisting upon it as it was 'a woman's job to know her way in the kitchen.' Harry had helped Iris, the twins taking on the role of their extended family's servants of sort.

Iris didn't mind making breakfast with Sirius, though. She was actually surprised he could cook so well, especially after spending so long in Azkaban and on the run. It had been a while since Iris had last cooked too, since Mrs Weasley always made the food for everyone at Grimmauld Place, but Iris was happy to give the woman a break.

Eventually everyone wandered downstairs to be greeted by multiple plates of eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, baked beans, and a pot of tea. It may have seemed a bit much to an outsider, but there were many mouths to feed in the house and Iris and Sirius were moving in an anxious tizzy that left them unable to stand still. Mrs Weasley was gushing with thanks as she entered, insisting on helping set the table at least. 

Time slowly ticked by; the wait agonizing. As it neared two o'clock, Iris and Sirius both sat anxiously in the sitting room, glancing at the large fireplace every other minute. Sirius had cast a few silencing charms on the room and asked Mrs Weasley to make sure everyone else stayed away for the afternoon. As the hands of the grandfather clock in the corner of the room finally ticked into place, the fire roared, turning from orange to green for a brief moment.

Sirius stood faster than ever, staring at the emerging figure with wide eyes. Iris watched the now familiar red-haired woman walk forward, staring back at her old lover with an intense flame in her eyes. Audrianna's gaze remained on Sirius for a few moments, her face as stoic as usual.

"Sirius."

"Audrey," his voice was clipped.

Audrianna glanced away from Sirius to the younger girl in the room, "Hello Iris," she said.

Iris didn't get the chance to respond before her godfather snapped, "Did you know?"

They all knew immediately what he was talking about. He wanted to know if she knew Iris was one of the shielded when she was just a baby; when they had still been in love. Iris still wasn't sure what exactly had gone down between the two adults in the room so long ago, but based on Sirius' frustration and hint of anger, she guessed it had something to do with the shielded.

"Sirius—" Audrianna said calmly, though Iris thought she heard the slightest pleading edge to her tone, "You know how hard it is to tell when they're young."

Iris' godfather cut in quickly, "Don't give me that Audrey, did you know?" he repeated more forcefully.

The woman in question didn't speak for a few seconds, staring unwaveringly into Sirius' grey eyes before she spoke just one word,  "Yes."

Sirius nodded slowly, his jaw clenched. He crossed his arms angrily, letting out a single sad laugh as he looked down to the floor.

"I didn't choose her Sirius," Audrianna said, still refusing to let her emotionless facade crack as she tried to get him to understand.

"But you still knew—" Sirius bit back at her, "—and you didn't tell me."

Iris shrunk down into her chair, feeling like she was intruding.

Audrey's calm appearance finally broke as she took a step forward, her voice desperate, "I wasn't allowed—"

"I loved you!" Sirius yelled, throwing his hands out as he, too, took a step forward, "I would have done anything for you!"

Iris wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from the argument happening in front of her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so uncomfortable. 

Audrianna's eyes were cold, but they glimmered with the beginnings of unshed tears, "That's not fair Sirius."

"No—" he pointed a furious finger at her, "What's not fair is that you lied to me, dumped me, and then I spent the next 12 years in prison only to break out and find you dragging my goddaughter into your mess!"

The redhead witch stared at him for a minute, her face pinched as she said quietly, "If we didn't find her, someone else would have." Audrianna gestured toward Iris, saying more forcefully towards Sirius, "She couldn't control it. She didn't know what was happening. Like it or not Sirius, she's one of us and that is not my fault."

Iris wished she wasn't in the room.

Sirius glared heatedly, "Like it or not, it's my job to protect her, and with a track record like yours—"

"A track record like mine?"

"Please just stop!" Iris suddenly shouted, causing both of their heads to snap towards her. She rolled her eyes, exasperated, pushing herself up off the chair, "Stop fighting! I don't know what kind of messed up past the two of you have, but you need to figure it out because this—" she gestured around in a circle at the three of them, "— is how things are now."

They both stared at her for a moment. Then, Sirius said, "Fine," he looked back towards Audrianna, "If she gets hurt, that's on you."

He turned and walked angrily from the room, slamming the door in his wake. Audrey gazed after him longingly, as if she was considering going after him, but with a small shake of her head she looked away. The witch's gaze met with Iris', and the younger girl noticed a glossy cloud pooling in them, threatening to escape.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Audrianna said with a quiet sniffle. She began moving back towards the large fireplace, saying," I'll send Kai to see you once you return to Hogwarts."

She then grabbed a hand full of floo powder from the tall black pot resting beside the fireplace and threw it in, stepping inside while directing the location back to the Shielded Headquarters.

Iris was the only one remaining. She wondered for perhaps the hundredth time what had happened to make them go from how they were in the old photo to not being able to stand in the same room without arguing.

Another mystery for another day, Iris thought. In just two days she would be back in the castle surrounded by her classmates, ultimately unprepared for the storm of accusations, lies, and pain headed her way.

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i'm doing an experiment, pls inline comment "hi" here! even if you've never commented before or you're a ghost reader/account, just humour me

we're going back to hogwarts next chapter! hope you guys liked hungover Iris and angry Sirius hahah