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"You're taller."

There was a pause.

The Potter twins had been sitting in awkward silence for the last quarter of an hour on one of the musty sofas in the main living area of Twelve Grimmauld Place. Iris had a book held in front of her, but if asked what it was about, she wouldn't be able to answer as her eyes had hardly moved on the page since her brother had entered the room.

She had been reading alone for a while, sitting sideways on the couch with her knees pulled up before Harry had come in and hesitantly sat at the opposite end of the sofa directly in front of her eyesight, acting casual, though he seemed hardly relaxed. His whole body was tense and he looked around the room uncomfortably, his gaze occasionally landing on Iris before he would look away so as not to stare.

His comment on her height nearly made Iris jump, not expecting him to actually speak. She looked up from the advanced spell theory book Dumbledore had told her to read, meeting her brother's green eyes with her hazel.

"A bit, yeah."

Iris had grown a noticeable amount since the Summer began and was no longer shorter than everyone she knew. 

They stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them really having anything to add to the conversation. Iris' eyes flickered away from Harry's a few times before she lifted her book once more and scrunched down into the sofa cushion. She had relaxed for barely a second before the silence broke.

"Are you okay?"

Iris' book lowered again, just enough for her piercing eyes to peer over the top at her twin.

He looked nervous, fidgeting with his hands while his green eyes, identical to their mother's, flicked around, refusing to land on Iris for more than a glance.

She had to think for a moment. Iris didn't know the full answer to that question truthfully. She lowered her book all the way, closing it and holding it in her lap.

"No." Iris furrowed her eyebrows, "But I will be."

She frowned, looking to Harry who nodded in understanding, looking at her sadly. Iris then cleared her throat, giving her brother a strained smile, "I'm going to go get a glass of water..." she stood from the sofa, "See you in the morning?"

Harry pushed his glasses up his nose, standing up as well. He smiled lightly at her, "Yeah, definitely."

They walked out to the dark hallway and said goodnight before parting ways. Iris walked down the corridor, grimacing at the Black family decor that no one was able to remove. It was dark when she entered the kitchen, confirming that everyone else had already gone upstairs for bed.

Iris walked over to the row of cupboards hanging above the counter for a water glass, before realizing she had forgotten which one they were in. She started opening each cupboard door, finding plates, bowls, and other dishes until she opened one with something quite different inside.

This door had half a bottle of vodka, some bourbon, and a couple of wine bottles Iris could assume were very old and very expensive. She went to close the cupboard door and continue her search, but something made her hesitate. Iris reached up and pulled the glass bottle of vodka down. She stared at it for a second, two voices fighting in her head. One told her to put it back and just go to bed, but the other voice won.

Iris untwisted the cap and paused for just a second before bringing the bottle to her mouth and tilting it back. Her face screwed up at the taste, swallowing with difficulty as the alcohol burned down her throat. Iris quickly swung open the next cupboard door, revealing the cups before she grabbed one and closed it, moving to sit down at the large dining table on the other side of the room.

Iris poured her glass half full and set the vodka bottle aside. She stared through the side of the cup at the clear liquid swirling inside, eyes wide as she thought to herself 'what am I doing?'

The devil on her shoulder wasted no time taking hold of her actions as she raised the rim to her lips and tipped it. Iris drank half of what she poured before she let out a series of coughs, grimacing in disgust. She could already feel the effects of the alcohol washing over her as her mind began to feel muddled.

There was a buzzing in Iris' ears as she finished the rest of her drink and poured another one. She could feel her movements getting more sluggish the longer time went on.

But she didn't stop. The whispers she had heard all her life had gone completely silent for the first time. Her mind wasn't on overload keeping all the thoughts of others out; it was only Iris for once. She had never felt so free before. There was a weight lifted off of her shoulders that she didn't even realise had always been there.

The more she drank, the more she forgot all of her problems, all of her fears, all of her worry.

Iris was slumped over in her chair, working her way through her third glass and already numb to her surroundings when she heard a sudden loud gasp.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

She was so out of it she couldn't tell who it was at first, but even in her hazy state, she recognized the familiar black hair and panicked face of her godfather.

Sirius was breathing very quickly as he grabbed Iris' face and turned it towards him, noticing immediately how drunk she was. His eyes were wide as he looked at the open bottle of vodka beside her.

"How much did you drink?" Sirius asked.

Iris turned toward the bottle and squinted. Her vision was all blurry making it difficult to see, but she pointed a finger at the previous height of the liquid in the bottle. There was a sizable gap between it and the current amount remaining.

Sirius let out a panicked breath, "Shit Iris... okay, come on." He carefully grabbed her by the arms and helped her stand, "Why would you do this?" he asked, distressed as he guided her stumbling body out of the kitchen.

Iris placed her hands on each of her temples, "Can't hear them anymore," she slurred.

Sirius caught her as she nearly fell into the corridor wall, "What?"

"The voices in your brain, in— in my brain," Iris fumbled her words.

Her head was pounding. Suddenly Iris clutched her stomach and stumbled ahead quickly. Some rational part of her led her feet to the door for the loo. Sirius was just a step behind, knowing what was coming and grabbing her hair the second before she fell on her knees, throwing up a lot of what she had just drunk into the toilet.

"There you go," Sirius encouraged Iris, rubbing her back helpfully. "Boy does this bring back memories..." he muttered, cringing as he recalled his own quality time spent with the toilets of Hogwarts.

Iris pulled back from the basin, sinking to the floor with her eyes closed, still quite dizzy.

"Don't tell Harry," Iris said, still slurring drunkenly.

Sirius chuckled, "I don't think I'll have to, with the hangover you're gonna have in the morning."

The brunette groaned. Sirius kneeled beside where she was laying on her back on the tile and wove his arms under her knees and upper back, picking her up. Iris' head rolled into his shoulder tiredly. Her godfather carried her carefully up the stairs of Twelve Grimmauld Place and through the dark halls back to the room she was staying in.

After opening the door and placing Iris in her bed, he pulled the covers up over her, tucking her in while she muttered random things.

"Do you want to pet a dragon?"

"Who wouldn't," Sirius said.

Iris had a lopsided smile, "If I had a dragon I'd let you pet it... I had one last year you know."

"I remember," Sirius laughed quietly, pulling the sheets up to just under her chin.

"It was a nice dragon," her voice had gotten quieter, making it clear she was about to pass out.

Sirius sighed heavily, looking troubled though he smiled down at her, "Goodnight Iris."

He turned off the bedside lamp closest to him, leaving the other one on as the only light source. Iris sank into the mattress, fully closing her eyes. Sirius backed up and turned to leave the room, getting close to the door when her small voice murmured out so quietly he wasn't sure he heard her correctly at first:

"Goodnight dad."

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right so that happened...

but at least you're getting a ton of sirius content, so there's that

I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! next chapter Audrianna comes to visit and then they're all back to Hogwarts!