Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Behind the Veil	By : Leo Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > General Views: 3540 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Harry Potter franchise and seek to make no profits from the distribution of this fictional work.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Pairings: FemHP/TMR, HG/BZ, LP/JP, SB/OC, RL/NT, OC/OC

Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Harry Potter franchise and seek to make no profits from the distribution of this fictional work.

A/N: This will be my first Fanfic attempt so I'm hoping to get a lot of reviews and critiques on my work. If you like the prologue and the first chapter, please leave a review. Here's to an adventure that I'm looking forward to.

Behind the Veil

by StycianLeo

Chapter I

Potter Residence, Warwickshire, England, UK

June 30, 1991

7:00 AM

Oblivion, sweet blessed oblivion; was all Harry could think when his conscious mind finally begun to relax from the insufferable agony that had consumed his entire being. He didn't know what Hecate had done to him, but the sensation had been akin to being flayed alive while simultaneously being boiled in a vat of oil, and being set on fire. Of course, he had never really experienced any of those things but then again not many people had experienced their magical core and conscious being forcibly separated from their body and being shipped off to who knows where before crashing into what felt like a cramped and too small container. In fact, Harry was quite certain that no one had ever experienced what he had just gone through; chalk one more thing up to the Boy-Who-Lived's list of accomplishments and firsts. How he hated being the first one to experience these kinds of events, even the Cruciatus had not been that bad.

'Alright, let's check if we're still in one piece shall we?' Harry thought to himself as his waking mind began to access the situation; the first thing that came to mind was the softness that seemed to envelope him; whatever he was lying on was just heavenly, its seemed to encase him in its embrace; and the blanket that covered him felt exceedingly light but it made him feel so warm and cozy.

As Harry's mind processed this information, he began checked to see just what he was working with; toes wiggling, check; knees bending, check, hips moving, check; o far so good. Fingers moved. And hands clenched; arms were flexed and shoulders were rolled. Unwilling to open his eyes just yet Harry rolled his head from side to side and felt the strangest sensation. It felt like hair had just been brushed across his face but that wasn't possible; his hair was long and unruly but it wasn't nearly long enough. The idea came to him that perhaps he was laying beside someone that had long hair but how did that explain the sensation being on both sides of his head and the fact that he didn't feel anybody besides himself.

Without opening his eyes, Harry extended tendrils of magic to feel out the room he was in; he had definitely picked up some paranoid traits in the year and change since the war had ended but they had all been useful. He had strengthened his Occlumency properly and had begun learn Legilimancy before his encounter with Hecate, he was widely considered to be the best duelist in the United Kingdom considering his spell repertoire and his developed skill in silent casting, and his magical core was powerful; having finally reaching his physical maturity his power had blossomed fully and he was considered to be the equal to many of the wizarding worlds greatest wizards, perhaps as strong as Voldemort and Dumbledore in his own right. Still, in this case he was feeling out the magic in the room he was in with his own and coming up with nothing; the room he was in contained a fair number of enchanted objects but nothing powerful or cursed and he was definitely alone for the moment.

Curious about his surroundings but unwilling to abandon the comfort of his position, Harry opened his eyes slowly and took a deep breath as his eyes were besieged by the light coming in through the window of the room. The room was blurry to his eyes and he looked around himself for his glasses; although the act of doing so gave him to impressions, while blurry the room seemed to be large and inviting, the second was that he needed a haircut as long bangs feel in front of his eyes and obscured his sight. Spotting his glasses on the bedside table to his left, Harry reached out and took them up, slipping them onto the bridge of his nose and suddenly the world jumped into focus. His first impression was right, the room was definitely inviting; the walls were painted in a dark champagne color and the furniture was all made from a rich, brown wood that resembled mahogany.

The room was well laid out, the double bed he was laying in was across from the entry door and covered in sheets of spring green and lavender, beside the bed was a simple nightstand; topped with a clock and a small chest that he wagered was a jewelry box as well as a small journal of some kind and at the foot of the bed was a bench that doubled as a trunk. On the south side of the room was a large window that extended out from the room creating a small alcove in which one could sit on several cushions; besides the window and taking up a good deal of the wall space on either side were bookcases, the bookcases were not filled entirely but it was well populated although from some of the titles he could see this was not the home of a muggle family, he could see some titles like "Quidditch: Through the Ages" and "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" so it appeared to him that the bedroom was definitely that of a wizarding family.

On top of the bookcases were some table runners in colors of green edged in gold that looked nice compared to the wood furnishings, on the left bookcase he could clearly see what looked to be a small glass globe and several ornate books or decoration but he sensed that those books had enchantments of some kind as they had the feel of magic about them. On the right bookcase, there was a collection of figurines shaped as several animals and all of them were seemingly stirring to life as the morning light began to fill the room. In the southwest corner of the room was a door that led into a comfortable full bathroom, sink, sunken bath, standing shower and the porcelain all fitted in warm granite with brass finishes.

On the north side of the room was a writing desk of the same rich mahogany, carved into the wood were floral reliefs that were shaded in a trace amounts of gold leaf; the desk was neatly organize with parchment sitting on top beside an inkwell and a small cup holding several quills. In the northwest corner of the room was another door that from his current perspective led into some kind of walk in closet. In the northeast corner of the room, beside the bed was a full length mirror; and peering at this final object got Harry's attention.

As he peered at the mirror, he could see that besides his long bangs, his raven hair extended well past his shoulder. 'That doesn't make any sense' he thought to himself as he moved out of bed and his felt touched the surprisingly warm wooden floor. Taking a few steps he cast his gaze into the mirror and a scream of panic rose up in his throat as his eyes opened wide in shock; the figure reflecting back at him was not he; or rather it was but not really. The reflection in the mirror revealed a young girl, no more than ten or eleven years of age with long black hair that fell past her shoulder blades in an unruly mess of curls and waves; her skin was a fair tawny color, evidence of spending much time in the sun; her eyes were the same almond shape with the vibrant emerald green eyes that Harry had always been told were Lily's. The girl in the mirror looked enough like him that she could have passed as a sibling although there were definitely a few changes in the planes of her face, the higher cheekbones and the cupid bow lips that definitely bore a stronger resemblance to Lily then James; still the girl was fairly pretty… but why was he seeing a girl in the mirror in her nightgown.

"You accepted my offer Harry, you're my champion; but that requires a certain set of requirements that you were not capable of satisfying." Came the ethereal voice of Hecate, Harry jumped and looked around the room, startled as the goddess begin to form in the rays of sunlight; still clad in her silver gown the room seemed to dim as she glowed with a soft internal light.

"What do you mean I didn't satisfy the requirements? Where am I? Who am I?" Harry responded shrilly, his shock and confusion at this point prevented him from feeling enraged at what could have been construed as a great violation. However, as soon as the words slipped his mouth his eyes widened in surprise and he raised a hand to his throat as he realized how different his voice sounded. He knew he really shouldn't be surprised that his voice had changed, not when he had suddenly regressed and switched genders since in his mind a few moments before he was an adult male, but it was so foreign that he couldn't help but be surprised.

Hecate smiled at his reaction, whether finding it humorous or endearing was anyone's guess since she was still hidden behind that three faced mask but that smile in her voice was back again, "Allow me to answer your questions from easiest to hardest then, you are Harry James Potter possessing all of your memories and abilities; but you are also Iris Elizabeth Potter, daughter of Lily Potter nee Evans and James Potter. You are currently in the Potter residence in Warwickshire, along with your younger sister Liatris Dorea Potter and your parents." Hecate paused here to let her words sink in for a moment.

Harry or Iris as it were was stunned into silence and simply stared at the Goddess blankly, trying to come to terms with the information. He was a she, she had a sister and her parents were alive and living in a family home that she had not known about and she was terribly confused by everything. Hecate guided her champion to the bed and they settled on the edge of the bed, the Goddess placed her hands on the young girl's hand which had the instant effect of soothing her. "My champion must elect to be my representative willingly of their own free will and as champion; you will be a vessel of my power and an extension of my will among mankind amongst whom I cannot directly intervene. It is a testament to your nature and capabilities that you can look upon my form without being struck blind and deaf from my voice. However, being a vessel of my power requires the champion to be female; otherwise the power will tear you apart from the inside. In exchange for your service and sacrifice, I have given you the chance to be amongst your family that would have been; to have the chance to grant them long and lasting lives. Is this too high a price?" She asked gently, her dark gaze soft and kind upon the conflicted soul beside her.

Harry pondered her question for a moment, her presence and touch had stilled and calmed his mind; and while he could not decide if that was an affect of her magic or just the nature of the Goddess it allowed him to think rationally. 'I have my memories, my spells, my abilities, a family, and if this is my magic at this age then when I regain adulthood I can only assume that I will be increasingly powerful. So far it seems like a good deal, but this also means rethinking and relearning everything that I had thought to be adamant, everything that I took for certain has all gone out the window; but I have a chance to keep everyone safe this time, I have the chance to stop this war or at the very least contain it so that people may live. Isn't that worth the sacrifices that I have to make? Hell, half the world is female, if they can do it then why the hell can't I!' he thought to himself and felt the resolve hardening in him, he knew it was going to be strange and difficult but he knew that this was an opportunity that he would not back away from; not when so much was at stake.

"I can pay this price, I'm sure that this won't be easy, I'm absolutely positive that I'm going to have a monumental task ahead of me; but I'm certain that I can handle this." Harry spoke after a long internal deliberation, he looked up at the Goddess through the eyes of a young girl and there was a steely set to that gaze that belonged to a fighter of much greater age and Hecate felt the stirrings of what she could only think of as pride… and fear. She had created a force here, the young girl would grow to be an exceedingly powerful sorceress that would be unmatched in this world and with such power she could only hope that she had made the correct decision in choosing Harry as her champion, he had been incorruptible in his realm where he had been the victim of so much tragedy but here he would not have those same burdens and even to a Goddess the future was a fickle and uncertain thing changed every moment as decisions were made.

"Very well then, first of there are certain things you need to be aware of, today is June thirtieth, nineteen ninety-one; exactly one month before your eleventh birthday, and while you may know the events of your past things here are different, people are different, the entire timeline is different here because in this reality different decisions were made and those decisions had consequences. I will be watching you Harry, blessed be." Hecate said, her voice in that same kind and matronly tone as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on the girl's unblemished forehead before she faded from sight, taking with her the soothing calm that her presence had invoked in the youth.

Potter Residence, Warwickshire, England, UK

June 30, 1991

10:00 AM

After Hecate had departed, Harry had taken the time to become familiar with the room that was currently his own; he had read through the journal on the bedside table and learned about Iris, which was apparently the name of the flower that Lily had chosen for her daughter. Iris had seemed to be remarkably organized for a ten year old; her journal had been quite informative about her interaction with her family. Liatris, the younger daughter was nine and apparently Iris' best friend besides being her sister; the two appeared to be inseparable although with severely differing tastes. In the years growing up, Iris had become an avid reader and was fairly studious while her sister had been the more outgoing and athletic of the two, though Iris had always been the better seeker to her sister's chase. She had attended tutoring sessions alongside several other children her age from wizarding families, learning math, literature, science and social studies; she was apparently best friends with one Daphne Greengrass, a pureblood witch that Harry had never really gotten to know in his own universe but from what Iris had written, the other witch had been nothing but kind to the introversive Iris and had been the charismatic extravert of the two.

The diary had provided that she had been the top student in those tutoring sessions and had enjoyed her learning, this had pleased Harry since his experiences with the DA had lead him to be more proactive with learning and educating himself as he taught others and further in his sixth year when he had worked with Snape's old textbook he had felt immense satisfaction in earning those top marks in potions. With a second chance to go through it again, he planned on giving Hermione a run for her money this time around for top student; although considering what Hecate had said it wasn't entirely certain that Hermione would be the most clever witch of her age anymore.

Still, the journal had provided additional insight into the family life of Iris Potter; Lily was a stay-at-home mom who served as the rallying point of the family, besides taking care of her daughters she was rather famous as a Charms and Potions Mistress, she had developed her own personal fortune in enchantments. James Potter was an Auror for the Ministry it appeared, he apparently worked nights and so spent much of the daylight hours sleeping before coming to dinner with his family but during the weekends it appeared that James liked nothing more than to dote upon his daughters and spent all day with them and his wife. Sirius and Remus both played fairly largely into Iris' life as well; Sirius was an Auror like James and the two were partners, he had spent some time overseas working on a case and returned home with an American fiancé, later to be his bride, they had a son named Pollux who was the same age as Liatris. It seemed that the Black's were often over as most dates in the journal that corresponded with weekends were associated with the Black's as well.

The diary had made no mention of Remus' love-life but it was apparent that he had no children of his own yet, although it seemed that the werewolf was Iris' favorite 'uncle' as it were; he treated her more seriously than Sirius did and had encouraged her bookishness. Harry inferred that werewolves were just as discriminated against in this realm as they were in his own because much of Iris' daily life had included Remus as coming over to serve as a more personal teacher to the Potter girls and acted as a father figure in James' absence.

Setting down Iris' diary, Harry felt more confident in interacting with his new family and a look over at the clock showed him that his encounter with Hecate and learning all he could of Iris' life had already consumed a good portion of his morning. And speaking of consuming, he could hear his stomach growl in hunger and he gave a quiet giggle to himself as he rose from the bed and took a few steps towards the bathroom door and paused in midstride. He had just giggled, he had chuckled and snickered but he had never giggled before, so why had he done it just now? As he resumed his steps he entered the bathroom that adjoined Iris' room and looked into the mirror as he studied the female face that he now had.

'I suppose that even though I have conscious control over this body that it has been under Iris' control for the past eleven years; if you repeat something enough times it becomes a muscle memory so I suppose that it doesn't seem too strange that certain reactions especially those without conscious effort will remain the same.' Harry considered this to himself as he went through the motions of brushing his teeth as he evaluated his circumstances.

Thankfully, Iris had been an introvert and antisocial for the most part, her only friends being Daphne and Liatris; as such it wouldn't be too hard to keep to himself for the time being and then slowly begin opening up and coming out of his shell over the coming months before Hogwarts. It would give him the chance to socialize and his awkwardness wouldn't be all that noticeable since Iris did come off as being rather timid and shy, so he would be able to pass it off when it came time to make friends and interact. Spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing out his mouth, Harry began drawing up plans for Hogwarts coming up in a few months; this time he knew there was a war coming and he would need to formulate plans and a strategy for the future. Returning to his bedroom he crossed the room to a door besides the writing desk and stepped into a closet; with his mind on other things he didn't even register the fact that he pulled off the nightgown and placed it into the hamper just inside the door before fetching a simple white t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants for a day of lounging in the house since it was a Sunday.

Exiting the closet, Harry considered that before he began recruiting his army he should learn the present history, crossing over to the bookcase besides the recessed window alcove; he removed a book from its place on the shelf and just as he was about to crack open the text he heard a shout.

"Iris, Liatris! Lunchtime!"

Potter Residence, Warwickshire, England, UK

June 30, 1991

11:00 AM

Harry cracked open the door to Iris' bedroom gingerly and poked his head out into the corridor as he stared out into the long corridor; taking a deep breath he could smell the scent of bacon wafting through the air and he smiled to himself at the pleasing aroma. Opening the door fully, he stepped out into the corridor and shut the door behind him as he stepped out; the sound of a door opening a bit further on caught his attention as he turned around to see who could only be Liatris stepping out of her own room. She was still in her nightgown and dark red hair looked a mess as if the girl had just rolled out of bed, which seemed like a fair assessment in all honesty. The girl's hazel eyes were still half-lidded from sleep and her face was red and blotchy from sleeping on her arm based on the way the girl was trying to rub feeling back into the appendage.

"Hey Lia, g'morning" Harry said as he walked up to his little sister; somehow he instinctively knew the girl had not brushed her hair before going to bed since it seemed to be tangled into a series of knots and snarls. Considering for a moment, he felt compelled to wave a hand at the younger girl's hair and willed it to come untangled; he felt a tingly rush flow through his arm that concentrated in his fingertips before blinking in amazement as Liatris' hair fell straight to her back as if it had never been tangled in the first place. The young redhead ran a hand through her hair nonchalantly, the use of magic completely unaffecting her as she beamed at her sister and gave her a swift hug. "Thanks Iris, 'preciate it!" The younger girl said with a honest sincerity that made Harry instantly like the girl; and he returned the hug before Liatris separated and began heading down the hall towards a flight of stairs and began making her way down.

Uncertain of the house's layout, Harry followed after the young girl as he tried to think of how he had just used his wandless magic so easily. The only thought he came up with was the memory from Snape where Harry had seen his mother control over under-age magic, when she had moved the flower petals; he supposed that in this universe Iris might have a similar control or possibly his developed magical core allowed him greater control of the 'accidental magic' that he had used in his youth. Regardless, he followed after Liatris and began to memorize the house.

The house or mansion depending on your point of view consists of three floors and a basement as far as Harry could tell as he ventured from the second story to the ground. The mansion was constructed in a large T-shape with each wing extending north, west, or east; the staircase centered in the middle of the mansion where all the wings converged. The topmost floor, being the second story was divided into three rooms alone, to the east was Iris' room, which he had already thoroughly explored; the west wing was dedicated entirely to Liatris' room most likely mirroring Iris' room, the north wing of the third floor was a drawing room that served as the children's study and workrooms. The first floor of the mansion held five rooms, the north wing was completely dedicated to the master bedroom suite; to the west were two guest rooms, each was half the size of the primary occupants rooms and they shared a bathroom; the east wing of this floor was divided into two studies, one was James' and the other was Lily's.

The ground level of the house was by far the liveliest and the chatter and bustle could be heard in the kitchen and dining room that dominated the eastern section. The west portion of the floor was dedicated to a massive library which contained floor to ceiling shelving, three of the rooms walls were dedicated to shelves with three additional freestanding cases were towards the northern section of the room, the southern half was occupied by a long table with what appeared to be plush leather chairs. The northern wing was the entryway, on the west wall was a massive fireplace and arranged around the room was comfortable looking furniture that made the entire atmosphere seem inviting.

As Harry stepped down onto the ground floor he saw the stairs continued down to a heavy wooden door; reaching out with his magic he could feel the door was heavily warded against intrusion and he assumed that those were Lily's workrooms; Snape had always had his classes in the dungeons so it was entirely possible that the Potter's kept their potions lab in the basement where the fumes wouldn't affect the rest of the household. Turning away from the warded door, Harry followed Liatris into the dining room and paused at the threshold as he looked over the room's occupants feeling as though the world had just dropped from below his feet. It had been one thing to read Iris' journal about all her loved ones being alive and to hear Hecate's promise to bring him to them, it was another thing entirely to see her family alive and well, laughing and talking amongst one another. Lily and Sirius' wife Sarah were busying about the kitchen grabbing plates and cutlery while James, Sirius, and Remus were seated around the table guffawing at some story James was telling. Liatris had already taken a seat at the table beside James and across the table from Pollux where she greeted the boy and they began talking animatedly over something or other.

Sarah was a tall, young blond woman with a shade of eyes that were a pale grey bordering on blue; her hair was long fall towards the middle of her back and plaited into a simple braid. She appeared to be a very amicable woman based on the way she was laughing along with the men about the story that James was telling and the fact that Sirius kept smiling at the woman. Their son, Pollux, was a spitting image of his father with his shaggy black hair pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck with his father's strong chin and nose; on the other hand he had his mother's creamy alabaster skin and her startling pale grey eyes. Harry guessed that once the kid matured in a few years he would be quite the heart stopper.

The scene was picture perfect and tears rose unbidden to Harry's eyes as he was filled with the most profound sense of contentment and happiness that he ever experienced; it was as though every worry that had ever been saddled on him had been lifted and he felt this sense of buoyancy that lifted his mood dramatically. For the moment his planning and concerns fell by the wayside; swiping the tears that had formed in his eyes and playing it off as a large yawn, Harry stepped forward into the kitchen with an unabashed radiant smile. For the first time in a long time he could feel his sorrow ebb away because there was nothing left to mourn, everyone he had lost was standing in this room or was alive handling their business and he was going to keep it that way.

Moving towards his mother he had to look up into the face of Lily Potter nee Evans, and he studied her for a moment; she had more lines around her eyes and she was a decade older than he had ever seen her in any of his photos but he could see that her eyes were just like his; just like everyone had ever said, and her eyes were filled with a love and kindness that was all the more endearing. Her face was framed by her dark red hair that Listris had inherited and a little past shoulder length; it had a natural curl to it and was hanging loosely. Harry approached his mother, and wrapped Iris' arms around Lily's waist and looked up into his mother's face with a genuine warm smile.

Lily looked down at her daughter and saw the abject adoration in her daughter's eyes and gave a small laugh of pleasure at seeing Iris' face beaming up at her. The girl was getting big, she was a bit short for her age, only a few millimeters over four feet tall but she remembered liked it was yesterday holding the babe in her arms when they were hiding from Grindewald and Voldemort. She wrapped her arms around the almost-birthday girl and stroked her untamable raven locks, "Hey there lovely, you hungry? Me and Auntie Sarah made some BLT's." Lily asked with a charming smile, she knew that her daughter loved her bacon sandwiches and she wasn't surprised in the least when the girl's eyes widened in excitement and she nodded her head. As Iris disentangled her arms from her mother, Lily grabbed a tray of sandwiches and carried it over to the table while Sarah brought over another tray of jacket potatoes with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Sarah settled in on Sirius' other side while Lily settled besides James across from the other woman. Remus was sitting at the end of the table, so Harry sat down beside Lily; and as James began helping himself to the food everyone simply loaded their plates and tucked in; while they began discussing small talk. Harry listened intently as he drank in the information, from his father's case load and Sirius' testimony in a fraud case, to Sarah's latest story in the Daily Prophet to Lily's work on a self cleaning cauldron. Harry was attentive but mostly silent which didn't seem out of character considering Iris' journal; but mostly he just enjoying listening to their voices; it was the first time he had seen Sirius looking so healthy and happy or Remus looking so at ease. These were good times, and he had a family for the first time and he was going to enjoy that.

Potter Residence, Warwickshire, England, UK

June 30, 1991

10:00 PM

The rest of the day had been a haze of fun as far as far as Harry was concerned, it hadn't taken him as long to get accustomed to be addressed as Iris as he had thought it was, and by the end of the day he had even begun to respond and looking up from whatever it was that he was doing at the time when he heard the name being called. Just as Iris had written in her journal, after lunch the family had gone out back to their half sized quidditch pitch and had a small battle of the families; Harry playing as seeker with Liatris playing the chaser and their dad the keeper. Sirius was playing keeper on the other end with Pollux playing as chaser; they had decided that when Iris caught the snitch the team with the most goals would win. It had been an amusing game and Harry had taken the time to get reacquainted with the Nimbus 2000, the broomstick wasn't as quick or responsive as the Firebolt that would come out in a couple years but he was just as light as he had been the first couple years on the Nimbus so he had little difficulty getting back into the groove of things.

After lazily circling the pitch for the glint of gold he had spotted the small object flitting around the tail of Sirius' broom; he climbed for altitude before diving at a near vertical straight down. Sirius had looked up to see the dive bombing girl with her hair streaming behind her and he hastily moved out of the path just as Liatris put the quaffle through the ring he had been defending. As Harry seized the snitch, he barrel rolled and leveled off near enough to the ground that he let his hand skim the turf for a moment before pulling up and settling in the middle of the pitch. Holding the snitch triumphantly with a grin, Harry looked up when he didn't hear anyone speaking; and found four sets of eyes staring at him. "Why are you guys staring at me like that? I caught the snitch…" Harry trailed off as he held up the golden ball as if to prove his point.

Sirius looked over at his best friend and nudged the man in the shoulder, "Watch out James, with talent like that, all the boys in Hogwarts are going to want to date your daughter." He said with a mouth splitting grin as James gave the man a poisonous glare; "If I'm lucky she'll do that dive bomb and make them crap themselves, you need a change of drawers Padfoot?" The elder Potter retorted as he recovered with a joke of his on that left Sirius with a mock-scowl before smiling sweetly.

"I could use a pair, but I don't think yours would fit me." Harry's godfather stated dead-pan with an innocent look that left James floundering before he looked over at his wife, "Lily! Sirius is being mean to me! Can I hex him? Pretty please?"

Lily, Sarah, and Remus were standing on the patio laughing at all the stunned expressions that Iris had gotten and they were tearing up from watching Sirius look of sheer terror at having a ten year old come down almost completely on him. At James childish whine the trio went through another bout of raucous laughter, that everyone soon joined in on.

After that, Harry had gone upstairs with Remus to the drawing room on the second floor, while they were in the room; Harry had asked the werewolf if he could explain what had ended the Wizarding War nearly eleven years prior. Remus had given the young girl a curious look as she began tracing the family tree on the wall while he settled into one of the chairs in the room, he had long gotten accustomed to the fact that Iris was in every way her mother's daughter as Liatris was her father's. Iris was intelligent, smart as a tack if a bit shy but he figured that she would open up a bit more when she got to Hogwarts and had more kids to hang around with.

"Alright then, well I figure that if you're asking me this question then you know all about the Dark Lord Grindewald and his apprentice Lord Voldemort then." Remus stated rather then asked the question as he watched Iris across the room who was still tracing her family tree and she nodded in the affirmative. The werewolf smiled to himself at the nonchalance of her response, so many adults would have flinched at either one of those names but those names held no power over the young girl.

"The Dark Lord Grindewald believed that muggles should be slaves to wizards and witches, because they have no hold of magic he believed they were inferior to us. He gathered an army that supported his beliefs and he led a war throughout Europe to take power, he killed many wizards and witches and plenty of muggles too. The muggles were fighting their own war at the time and so they didn't know that there was a secret war being fought behind the scenes that would decide their fates. In any case, Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, went to fight Grindewald in the greatest duel the wizarding world has ever seen and he beat him; taking his wand and imprisoning the Dark Lord in the very prison that he had built for his opponents." Remus launched into the tale, when he began to tell the history Iris peeled herself away from the tapestry she had traced down to her and her sister; she walked over to sit in the chair across from Remus, she pulled her feet under her as she settled into the chair and tucked her hair behind her ear as she gave him her full attention.

"Grindewald sat in his cell for twenty years before another wizard broke him out of prison in the nineteen seventies; together they began recruiting a number of wizards that were sympathetic to their cause, again they wanted to enslave the muggles and any muggleborn wizards too, like you mum. They recruited all the creatures that the wizarding world had persecuted and casted out and began a campaign of total war on the British wizarding community, those were bad times pup; Dumbledore made your parents go into hiding for a time there when the Death Eaters, that is to say Grindewald's army, got particularly nasty and started going after those that had been proving to be thorns in his side..." Remus was explaining the story very well, he was a remarkable story teller and Harry guessed that was one of the reasons the man was such a good teacher, he could draw people in with his words. The history sounded fairly close to his own, but it seemed that Voldemort had changed his methods in this reality; instead of taking everything in his own hands he had allied himself with Grindewald; another formidable wizard and so he was genuinely surprised by the way that history had mutated.

Remus took the wide eyes and rapt attention that Iris was heeding him with as a mark to continue, she had always been a good student and she indulged the mentor in him. "… at some point, Grindewald attacked the Longbottom's along with the Lestrange's. As the story goes, Grindewald set the Lestrange's upon the family and the tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom to the brink of death, Alice managed to get away from the Bellatrix Lestrange long enough to make it to her son's nursery. She barricaded herself in the nursery to protect her son; and when Grindewald got through her gaze her the chance to join him as she had proven to be quite the resourceful and determined pureblood. She refused and he killed her, but when he tried to kill their son, Neville, the spell failed to kill the body; it backfired instead and slew Grindewald leaving the bot with nothing more than a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. With Grindewald's defeat by an infant, many of the creatures deserted the fight and Voldemort was forced to withdraw his forces. The world has since, settled back into normalcy and you can sleep easy in bed knowing that you're dad and uncle Sirius are always working to keep you safe." Remus finished his story and smiled Iris who was listening to him through half open eyes, as she fought her sleepiness to process the story.

"So what happened to Neville's parents, did Grindewald kill them both or just his mom?" Harry asked genuinely curious to see how things had gone in this world; he remembered seeing the Longbottom's at St. Mungos after being tortured to the point of insanity. Remus contemplated the question for a moment as he formulated his response, "Neville's father eventually recovered from his torture and remarried; but he was never the same after the death of Alice, he became a very bitter man; from what your dad has said, he's the Deputy Director of the DMLE."

'Well, isn't that a kick to the rear; Neville didn't lose both his parents in this reality either; in fact his father is sane and one of the most politically powerful men in the government. I wonder how Dumbledore is going to handle a kid who's been raised as the savior of the Wizarding World.' Harry thought to himself through his half asleep haze. In all actuality, Harry was exhausted from a long day; he had been transported to another dimension, switched genders, met his parents and his sister for the first time ever, and played a game of quidditch. He knew that just yesterday in his own form, this wouldn't have been a challenge compared to what he had accomplished but in this ten year old shell, his tanks were running on empty. Still, the history lesson had been insightful in that it was both the same and completely different then his own; if Grindewald had been the exercising in Horcruxes as well then it would seem that Neville was carrying a piece of the original Dark Lord but that still left whatever other Horcruxes that Grindewald had left and dealing with Voldemort and his Horcruxes too. It seemed like Harry had quite the adventure lying ahead of him, but despite his new role in this world he could not fight the sleep that claimed him.

Remus leaned back into his chair as he watched the girl sitting across from him in the overstuffed leather chair finally succumb to sleep with a small grin. Rising from his seat, he picked up the young girl gingerly and carried her down the hall and into her own room; tucking her into bed he kissed the top of her head. "Night Iris, sweet dreams little one." He whispered as he extracted himself from the room and closed the door behind him. Descending the staircases, he found that the Potters were sitting in the living room and he settled easily into an armchair across from the couch where Lily and James were lounging; Sirius' and his family had departed earlier in the evening after they had finished dinner.

James smiled at his friend as he carded his fingers through Lily's silky red hair; "What trouble is Iris getting you into now Moony?" the Marauder asked with a playful smirk, he knew how found the girls were of Remus, especially Iris; that girl was just so curious about everything, a complete bookworm like her mother. He was sad that he didn't get to spend much time with his children because of his hours; he had taken the Captain promotion because he had been told that he would be getting the weekends off and better pay but once he had accepted the position the night Captain had pulled rank and gotten the day shift leaving him with the night shift. He had to admit that the pay was better, and the job had been a lot less stressful since now he was mainly riding a desk rather than chasing down upstarts, he would just have to grit his teeth and bear it for a few more years before the day Captain got pumped to a Commander's position and he could move up into the space. Still, in the interim he had lost a lot of time with Iris and Liatris; he got to talk to them over dinner before they went to bed during the week to catch up with them before he headed off to work and he devoted the weekends entirely to them.

He hoped they both knew how much he loved them, and he went to great lengths to spoil them rotten against Lily's wishes although he had the feeling she secretly approved off his behavior. After all the Potter vaults were deep and could support them and the next two generations of Potter children, even if they were the sort to spend lavishly and bedeck themselves in luxuries which they weren't the sort to do; Lily would probably strangle him in his sleep if he tried in any case. His salary and her commissions and royalties had proven more than enough to live quite comfortably without digging into their coffers; in fact they were putting deposits into bank rather than making withdrawals, adding to the already substantial sums of their accounts.

Remus chuckled softly at the thought of Iris getting him into trouble, she was an intelligent young witch and he suspected that she would turn out more like Lily then James; more studious and level headed then her prankster father had been at her age. "She asked me about the Wizarding War; so I told her what I knew, none of the war stories just the facts. When I told her about the Longbottom's she seemed genuinely concerned with their welfare; you've got one heck of a kid there if she's so compassionate towards total strangers. I'm almost curious to see how she's going to react when she meets Neville, from what I've heard from the tutors all his fame has gone right to his head; he's got an ego that makes the one James' had at that age seem small in comparison." The soft spoken man said with a mischievous grin at the not so subtle barb.

Lily actually giggled a bit at the jibe and picked up on it, "It's impossible; no one could have a bigger ego than James did at Hogwarts; the earth would have to stop orbiting the sun." She said with a playful grin as she teased her husband and ruffled his hair as he began to pout in mock-offense. "Why you guys picking on me all of a sudden, I haven't been that arrogant ponce in fourteen years!" he exclaimed as he gave a dramatically hurtful sigh, internally though he was quite pleased that Remus had told him that his daughter was such a compassionate person, he didn't mind a good prank every now and again but he had been entirely too hurtful in his youth and he couldn't believe how much of a prick he had been. "In all honesty though, if Neville turns out to be half as much of a prick as I was; I'd bet a galleon he's going to get his nose broken but the first week of class." James said as he resumed stroking Lily's hair, to which she sighed contentedly.

"I'll take that bet, I don't think he'll make it three days before he gets it broken." Remus quipped with a grin as Lily tapped a finger against her chin as she pondered the bet; "I'm in, he won't make it off the train without someone breaking his nose; we'll have to tell Iris to keep tabs on this."

"Well, you'll have to tell her in the morning because I've already put her too bed; I guess that quidditch game really took it out of her. And on that note, I suppose now is a good time as any to take retire for the evening as well. Don't stay up too late, you two." Remus said as he rose from the seat and bid them both good night as he turned to climb the stairs to the second floor guest room he was staying in.

Lily patted James' leg as she too rose gracefully of the couch; "Come on Mister Potter, that's our cue to head up as well. I've still got to finish those cauldrons, and we've got to start planning for Iris' birthday party; you know she doesn't have many friends but we've still got to invite Daphne and her sister, and maybe some of the other children her age. I'm sure Cissy would enjoy bringing Draco over."

James rolled his eyes at his wife's comment, "I really have no idea how you ever managed to befriend Narcissa Malfoy; the woman despises Sirius and me but she's thinks the world of you and the girls. I completely don't understand it." The Auror said as he rose from the couch with a muted groan as he had been sitting for a while. Lily looked over her shoulder at her husband and shrugged, "I just took the time to get to know her, and it really makes all the difference in the world." With those words, she and James ascended the stairs to their own bedroom.

A/N: I'm going to predict that some of you are wondering why I mention both Harry and Iris in this story; Harry is the conscious mind and Iris is the physical body of the child that exists in this realm. At some point, the character will changed and only Iris will remain but that kind of change isn't going to come immediately. But it will come eventually.

Please leave a review if you enjoyed the work, and feel free to leave any constructive criticisms. Flames for the sake of being flames will be ignored so why bother?

Next Chapter: Diagon Alley and Birthday Celebrations
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Behind the Veil