Chapter 4: El Fenix
Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Bleach by Tite Kubo.
Iris was still feeling the after-effects from her reconnection to her soul cutter when Snape forcefully grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the wandmakers store.
"I can walk you know..." Grumbled Iris under her breath.
"I realize this, but you have wasted enough of my time already, I have important potions to brew as well as make my report to the Headmaster." Snape growled, but he did not let go, not until they approached a corner of the alley with a wooden sign pointing towards it. "Apparition Point: Diagon West" it said.
"Must have missed it when we first came, Apparition must be the method of travel Snape used." Iris thought regarding the sign.
As soon as they reached the corner, Iris did not receive any warning before she was suddenly pulled through the same tube they had used to reach Diagon, only this time it deposited her back at Number 4. The sun had already set and she could see the lights where on in the kitchen.
"The spells have obviously worn off" Surmised Iris with some apprehension. She was not looking forward to being yelled at, nor spending time in the cupboard.
"Wait here, I shall have a word with your... Guardians." Snape said, contempt and sarcasm obvious in his tone.
Iris nodded and watched as Snape waved his wand over the door handle, which produced a pale blue light, the result of which being the door lock springing open with a sharp 'click!', Snape pushed the door open and strode inside, the door snapping shut behind him.
Iris wondered if Snape planned on torturing the Dursley's, his tone and stiff posture suggested he was planning something.
"On one hand, they do deserve some misery in their lives, but they're still people..." Iris argued with herself, unsure of her own feelings.
She knew what Ulquiorra would think, which is what he thought of all humans and beings he deemed beneath him; Trash.
But Iris also knew that she didn't think that way, and it was very confusing to her. She decided that she needed to mediate tonight to clear her thoughts, she needed to be ready for the challenges awaiting her, that much she and Ulquiorra could agree on.
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Snape did not leave for a good forty minutes, just as Iris was about to walk inside to see what kind of mess she had to clean off the walls.
His face was grim, and half covered in shadow.
"I have explained to your Guardians the proper method of raising children." He paused.
"I've also left them with the distinct impression that if any harm should come to you, their hearts will explode."
"I hope that's just an impression." Iris replied with a little trepidation.
"It's best not to dwell on such minutiae." Snape said with a small smile.
Iris smiled back, glad to know that the dour man in front of her had a sense of humour.
"Now, the Hogwarts Express leaves on the First of September at Eleven in the Morning, here is your ticket." He fished out a large paper ticket embossed in fine gold leaf.
Taking the ticket Iris read what was written in an elegant script, her brows drawn in confusion.
"Sorry Sir but it says here Platform nine and three quarters, how do I find it?" She asked.
"The Platform his hidden inside the brick wall dividing platforms nine and ten, simply walk towards it at a brisk pace and you will move right through it." He instructed with patience, no doubt expecting the question.
Iris thanked him for the advice and with a nod, Snape vanished with a soft 'pop' in front of her.
"Well... Here I go, once more into the Lion's Den." Iris thought as she turned around and headed towards the front door, her luggage filled with all her supplies dragging along behind her.
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The house was as quiet as a tomb, no TV blaring the evening news, no microwave spinning, no oven roaring, not even Vernon's heavy breathing could be heard. Iris begun creeping towards the living room, but her luggage caught on the edge of a wall and made a loud clang! Iris winced.
"No doubt they heard that." she deduced.
Sure enough a shriek was heard and Aunt Petunia shuffled into view and Iris gasped when she saw her.
Her once pristine clothing was tattered and torn, her makeup smudged from heavy crying, her hair was frizzled and her eyes were bloodshot, Iris could also see that she was shaking slightly.
"Y..Yo...You H...h...Have a n...new ro...room now." Petunia managed to stutter, she was looking anywhere but at Iris.
"Up...Upstairs, Du...Dudley's spare Bedroom." She finished.
"Thank you." Iris whispered, unsure of what else to say, never had she seen her Aunt in such a state, it was unimaginable that her Aunt would allow herself to be seen in such a state.
"Snape must have really done a number on her... But at what cost?" Iris didn't want to know exactly what Snape did to them, but from the looks of things it was devastating.
Not wanting to stick around she begun dragging her luggage upstairs, in between the knocks of the luggage hitting the hardwood Iris's advanced hearing managed to pick up one word, muttered by Vernon over and over, in between heavy sobs, coming from the living room.
"Crucio, Crucio, Crucio, Crucio."
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After settling in, which included Iris unceremoniously dumping Dudley's toys into a small mountain by the corner to free up space, Iris snuggled in to her new bed and yet despite her overwhelming comfort she couldn't help but feel guilty, and with such heavy thoughts, she fell asleep.
The first inclination Iris had that she was dreaming was the sound of sand falling in heavy streams around her, so she opened her eyes and saw a marvellous sight.
She was back at Hueco Mundo, the waxing moon still looming in the starless sky, and yet where there was once a calm desert there now was a raging whirpool around her, violent swirling and churning currents of sand buffeted her skin, the gaping maw in the centre becking her to jump in, but Iris withhelt from such temptations not knowing where it would lead her.
"You are wise to not heed your temptations." Spoke a soothing feminine voice to her right, the volume dictating that the speaker was inches away from her.
Iris jumped out of instinct and landed several yards away in a defensive crouch, and regarded her dreamland intruder.
She was tall, at least 8 feet, towering over her with ease. She resembled a human in posture only, where there should be skin was instead mottled green feathers, roughly the size of a wakizashi short sword. Her feet and hands ended in talons, wicked looking and black as obsidian, on her back were great wings, which spanned several feet in each direction. Her mouth was a beak and her eyes glowed orange and held deep wisdom and age.
"Who are you?" Iris asked, her voice to her satisfaction was commanding and unafraid, yet she was terrified.
The creature laughed, a joyous cackle, reminding Iris of a bird's cawing and a snake's hiss.
"My my, such a silly question, though expected from one so young and foolish." The creature taunted with mirth, clicking her talons together, the sounds reverberating through the suddenly still desert.
Click. Clack. Click.
Iris scowled, insulted.
"She's in my mind, how dare she!" Iris seethed.
Click. Clack. Click.
"You ask of my identity, yet you already know, don't you? Search your feelings child and you will discover a satisfactory conclusion." The creature taunted.
Click. Clack. Click.
Iris scowled, unsure of the answer yet she thought she knew, an inkling in the back of her mind, aware, pulsating yet not within her grasp. As her brain began it's furious investigation Iris could feel and smell a change in the air, the sands began to rise and fall as if some tiny child was picking up individual grains and dropping them. Ozone was thick in the air and thunder rumbled in the now cloudy sky.
Iris gasped, the answer was clear now, and yet confusing.
"You're my Soul Cutter!" She exclaimed.
Click. Clack. Click.
"Very good! There is hope for you yet." the creature cooed as if talking to a toddler.
"But you look nothing like Murciélago, what have you done with him!" Iris demanded, rage clouding her mind.
"Him? I am him, or at least, the new him... Her, it matters not." the creature retorted.
Click. Clack. Click.
"Do you not remember when you grasped me in the wandmakers shop, how my power flew through you? Do you not recognize our contract?!" She yelled suddenly, thunder accentuating her words, several feather fell off and burst into bright green flames when they touched the sand.
Iris flinched, not expecting the outburst.
As quickly as her rage came it just as quickly vanished, the creature flexed her wings.
"At least you realize now, that is good, I would hate to be stuck with a moron of a master."
Click. Clack...
The creature paused to sniff the air, her talons digging into the sand and making great trenches in their wake.
"It seems our time is up... For now, until we meet again child."
"But..." Iris began, her head teeming with questions, but she had no time for suddenly a great gale blew her off her feet and dragged her at great speeds away from the creature.
Iris awoke with a gasp, the early morning sun painfully hitting her face.
"Yet more questions to answer." She thought morosely, and then she remembered where she was.
"But for now, I think I'll treat myself to a shower." She reasoned smugly, the dream quickly forgotten in light of this revelation.
Thank you for reading!
Shorter chapter this time since I didn't want to bloat it, the original draft was over 10k words but was boring as hell to read!
Next chapter will be longer as it will focus on Iris' time on the Hogwarts Express, which is also when the story will pick up!
I apologise for my lack of updates (It's getting old I know!) but unfortunately my muse just wasn't with me until recently, I promise that this fic WILL be finished, whether in a year or in ten, I plan on at least 40 chapters, spanning the entire book series and culminating in the Battle of Hogwarts, but with many twists and turns.
I do appreciate you all for reviewing and sticking around, it means a lot to me as a budding writer!