Harry watched in horror as Sirius fell toward the Veil. Time slowed the closer his godfather got to the whispered temptations. The man he had invested so much hope of a new life. His one true connection to his parents. They had barely started to get to know each other and Sirius was about to die. His godfather was tackled the opposite way as someone came through the Veil. Everyone froze as the two tumbled across the floor. Even the Death Eaters were shocked into stillness.
The silence was broken by a giggle that grew into a cackle. Harry shifted his attention to Bellatrix. He snapped off a Stunner followed by a Disarming and finished with a Bombarda he doubted would hit. The witch distractedly slapped away the first two spells. His Bombarda went low as it was cast as an afterthought. The spell skipped along floor seemingly going to miss. Sheer dumb luck bounced off a stray piece of stone and into Bellatrix's shin. Her lower leg disappeared in a burst of gore. She pitched forward smacking her face flat on the stone floor.
Her cackle cut off shattering the stillness. Spells began flying once more. Harry hit Bellatrix with a Stunner as she was down. He wasn't going to let her get back into the fight. A quick scan of the room told him where his attention was needed the most. Hermione was facing off against Antonin Dolohov. She was doing better than expected but she was outclassed.
Harry aimed a disarming spell at the center of his back. Dolohov sensed it, he shifted to the side letting the spell slip on passed. It was just enough to allow Hermione to summon get behind cover. He felt someone familiar step up beside him. The duo fell into an easy rhythm changing between shielding and attacking.
There was a shift in the air. He felt Voldemort's arrival. Harry sprinted to the door, tossing a couple of spells as he went. They didn't hit anything and he didn't think they would. He heard Sirius' voice shout out a series of spells as he left the room behind.
He slid to a stop as he reached the lobby. The scene that greeted him was one out of legend. Dueling didn't cover what the Voldemort and Dumbledore were doing. Harry learned more about magic in the few moments he watched than he had in the past five years.
"Wow," A soft voice said beside him.
Harry nodded, "Yeah."
He looked at the person beside him. Suddenly the duel didn't seem all that strange. The girl that stood beside him was not anyone he knew, yet someone he felt an instant connection. She had wild, shoulder length black hair, glasses exactly like his own, and a lightning bolt scar on her forehead.
"Merlins' balls," Harry muttered."Margana's taint," She muttered at the same time.
They stared at each other for a long moment. The moment was interrupted as a thick dark cloud rushed toward Harry. His thoughts were overpowered by hatred. A loud voice told him kill Dumbledore. He would be the greatest wizard in history if he just listened.
Harry roared in defiance. The dark smoke erupted from him. It took the shape of Voldemort before flying into air above the lobby.
"Impressive, Harry," Voldemort laughed. "You would make a great apprentice."
Harry glared at the floating man, "You would make a horrible teacher, Tom."
The cruel smile on the Dark Lords face was replaced with a look of pure rage. His distraction allowed Dumbledore to unleash a strong spell. Voldemort was forced to flee. At some point Fudge and some of his minions had arrived. None of it mattered now. It was the girl standing next to him that held his full attention.
"Harry Potter," He offered his hand.
"Iris Potter," She replied shaking it.
Dumbledore stood before them, "Oh, my. I came over to ask how you feel but I now have a separate set of questions."
"Professor?" Iris asked. "What are you doing here?"
Harry and Dumbledore gave her a slight glance of confusion.
"I'm here because word reached me through the Order," Dumbledore said. "What are you doing here?"
"It was a trap, I shouldn't have listened," Iris motioned to the hallway behind her, "Sirius was going to fall through the veil. I pushed him out of the way and then this guy pops up and takes down two Death Eaters."
"Did he?" Dumbledore arched an eyebrow at Harry.
Harry shrugged, "I only counted one."
"Professor," Iris said as she scanned the room. "Where is Professor Black? She should have been here."
"Professor Black," Dumbledore repeated. "Andromeda Black?"
"Andromeda?" Iris scrunched her brow. "Narcissa Black. Retired Dueling Champion. Current Dueling Instructor." She studied Dumbledore for a long moment. "You're not Professor Dumbledore."
Dumbledore shook his head, "No, miss. I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."
"Headmaster?" Iris flinched at the word. "But … that's not right." She took a deep breath. "I'm not the odd one out, am I?"
"Let's get you all back to Hogwarts as the Aurors do their jobs," Dumbledore said. "Madam Pomfrey is expecting you."
Both blushed.
"My friends need help," Harry said.
"The Order is here," Dumbledore soothed. "All of them."
They hurried over to a Floo before things got even crazier. The two of them tumbled out across the Healing Ward floor.
Harry smiled, "You too?"
Iris returned the smile.
"This is strange, even for me," Iris said.
Harry nodded, "Yeah. Do you want to compare notes?"
"I was raised by my Aunt Petunia," She said.
"Petunia, her husband and her son," He replied.
"Who would marry Petunia?" Iris shuddered.
"Someone just as bad," Harry answered. "Holly and Pheonix Feather wand?"
Iris nodded, "Best friends are Neville and Hermione?"
"Ron and Hermione," Harry answered.
"Ron?" She scrunched her brow. "Please tell me you aren't friends with Malfoy."
"I can't stand that bastard," Harry chuckled. "Is Ron that bad?"
Iris rolled her eyes, "He's a fan without a sense of boundaries."
Harry opened his mouth to reply but then remembered how Ron acted around Krum. He sighed and nodded.
"What happened your first year?" Harry asked.
She took a deep breath, "Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort to get some hidden artifact hidden in the castle."
"The Philosophers Stone?" Harry asked.
She scoffed, "No. Why would that be at Hogwarts?"
"No clue," Harry sighed. "Then what was he after?"
She shook her head, "Some artifact in the Room of Requirement. You know about the Room, right?"
"Yes," Harry nodded. "We used it for DA."
"Mister Potter!" Madam Pomfrey called. "I can hear you and Miss Granger."
"Sorry, Madam," Harry hurried over to her office.
"That is not Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey stated.
"No, ma'am, I am not," Iris nodded.
"Well," The Healer took a breath and let it out. "Get to a bed. I'll look you both over."