Even Psychopaths Like Kisses

Chapter 10. Even Psychopaths Like Kisses

Harry shook Iris awake.

She yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

She sat up and smiled lazily.

"Good morning, big brother."

"Good morning, little one." Harry said, pecking on her forehead. "I woke you up early so you can go back to your room without being noticed. Being in the dorm room of a different gender is prohibited. You don't want to break the school rule on your first day, do you?"

She shook her head.

She slid off his bed and checked her clothing. She was wearing a white t-shirt and loose black shorts.

Harry handed her a silvery robe which was smooth to touch.

"What's this?" she asked curiously, running her palm on the strange cloth.

"It's an invisibility cloak. And it's our father's. Take care of it. I may ask you to return it someday, but until then, use it to come and go from my room. The handkerchief was a one off thing. Its magic is consumed and now it's just a normal cloth. Go before anyone wakes up." He informed her.

She nodded her head as she wrapped the cloak over her shoulders. She knew that it was supposed to make her invisible, but was still awed when her body disappeared, bar her head.

She grinned at the magical artefact. Her grin dimmed as she looked at him.

"Are you sure you want me to take the cloak?" she asked unsurely.

Harry rolled his eyes and ruffled her already disarrayed hair.

"It's not like I'm giving it to you permanently, I'm just letting you borrow it for a while. Enjoy it until you can. Now, shoo, I need a shower." He chuckled.

She grinned again and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, big brother. I'll take care of it." She thanked him. She finally covered her head with the cloak and walked out of his room, invisible.

'What will she think when she realises that she's using the fabled Death's Invisibility Cloak?' Harry pondered with amusement, entering the bathroom.

Harry had read 'The Deathly Hallows' story in the book 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. He had been astonished by his luck when he had felt the deathly aura coming from the newly received silvery cloak.

Harry had then laughed in delight. Here he was trying to find ways to defeat death while one of three instruments of Death had fallen in his lap from nowhere. He was still unsure who gave him the gift, but was determined to find out.

After an hour, he went into the common room to find very few students sprawled on the sofas.

He went to his usual seat and opened a book on curses. He began reading about some very painful curses.

He was so engrossed in his reading that he missed the arrival of his sister. She walked up to him and stood in front of him.

"Good morning, Harry." She greeted him.

Harry looked up from his book and greeted back.

She was wearing her robes, her red hair was done in a ponytail at the back of her head. Her eyes were now more similar to his. The usual dimness was replaced by excitement.

He noted that she said 'Harry' instead of 'big brother'. It seemed she liked to say that only when they were alone. Here, he decided he would follow her example and use her name in public while using 'little one' only when they were alone. It had nothing to do with how cringe their nicknames were for each other.

"Good morning, Iris."

He patted the seat beside him. She nodded, slumping next to him.

She remained silent while he read. Harry was thankful for that.

Few minutes later, they were joined by Tracey, Daphne and Astoria.

Harry enthusiastically hugged Tracey and Daphne in that order with a kiss on one cheek. He seemed unsure if he should hug Astoria or not, but she didn't have any hesitation and hugged him after rolling her eyes.

They all departed for the Great Hall, Harry with his hands clasped with Tracey and Daphne on either side, while Astoria and Iris followed them a step behind, talking with each other, sharing the enthusiasm and eagerness to start their first class.

After breakfast, Astoria and Iris went away to their first class, chatting excitedly with each other.

Harry, Tracey and Daphne were on their way to their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class of the year.

The trio were 90 percent sure that class was going to be a farce, having observed Professor Lockhart who was going to teach that subject.

"At least he is good looking." Tracey said carelessly as they made fun of him.

Daphne and Harry gave her amused looks which made her realise what she had just said. Her face turned scarlet. "I mean he is handsome… of course not as much as you, Harry."

She hastily clarified.

Harry chuckled, squeezing her hand.

"It seems our Tracey has a crush on Lockhart. How… uninteresting. And I won't say Harry is handsome. He's cute, not handsome. There's a difference." Daphne grinned.

Harry shrugged, accepting it.

"I am just a preteen now, I'm expected to be cute. Give me a couple of years and you'll swoon at the sight of me." He quipped.

Daphne rolled her eyes while Tracey imagined an older version of Harry with a pleased sigh.

Daphne again gave her an amused glance.

Tracey caught her gaze, but looked away quickly, embarrassed, knowing that Daphne must have guessed what she was thinking.

Their stroll was interrupted when a first year Gryffindor stopped before them.

"All right, Harry? I'm — I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor. D'you think, would it be all right if — can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.

"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead," (though he was confused as there was only a faint scar rather than a red inflamed one he had imagined,) "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you, Harry," Colin looked imploringly at him. "Maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"

Harry's mood soured at the mention of surviving the killing curse. How he wished people knew the real hero. His mother, who had saved his life by sacrificing hers. Still, he let a smirk cross his lips. It wasn't the kid's fault. He was just excited. Harry could relate to that feeling. The similar feeling he had when he first saw the golden mist coming out of his fingers. The feeling of wonder, and curiosity to unravel it.

"Sure. But I want a couple of photos of these ladies for myself. Let's have a deal, I'll let you have my photo along with an autograph for the pictures of these girls. Agree?"

"Yes." Colin answered excitedly.

The next few minutes were filled with snapping noise as Colin took their photos. A few with Harry alone, then a few singles of both Tracey and Daphne who just went with the flow, used to Harry's antics. Some with Harry and girls pressed to each other and the last with Harry and Colin standing side by side, captured by Daphne.

"I'll give you your photos after I develop it. Thank you very much." Colin said and went away with a happy smile on his face.

"What was that about?" Daphne asked.

"That, my dear, was one of my fans. I wonder who has the bigger fandom, me or that Lockhart." Harry said proudly.

Tracey shook her head.

"What Daphne meant was, what was that about our photos? Why do you need it?" Tracey asked.

"Oh! That was just for me. Can't I have photos of my beautiful best friends to stare at when I'm away from them during summer break?" Harry said dreamily.

"You can be so damn cheesy when you want to." Daphne groaned, but pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Tracey did the same, though her kiss was a little closer to his lips.

She shot Daphne a pointed look which screamed 'challenge'.

The blonde's lips curved into a smirk as she accepted the challenge.

Harry grinned at both of them and continued walking, unaware of the friendly challenge which just ignited between Daphne and Tracey.

"Let's see who'll be his first kiss. You or me." Daphne whispered.

Tracey nodded.

"But no hard feelings from the loser. Our relationship with each other will remain the same no matter what." Tracey demanded.

"Of course. I wouldn't destroy our relationship with each other, it is one of my most precious things." Daphne nodded with a smile.

She took Tracey's hand in hers and hurried after Harry, who was a little further away from them.

The trio then entered the class and sat in the last seat.

Fortunately for them, these benches sat three on one. After Slytherins sat on one side, the stream of Gryffindors entered the class. Jasmine smiled at him when she looked at him, and sat on the first bench with Hermione and Ron.

When the whole class was settled, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell.

He reached forward, picking up Neville Longbottom's copy of "Travels with Trolls" and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.

"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming-Smile Award, but I won't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books - well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in!"

When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes, start!"

Harry looked down at his paper and read:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

On and on it went, Harry wasn't sure if he should start laughing at this pompous brat or question Dumbledore's sanity for hiring yet another useless teacher.

He looked beside him and saw Daphne glaring at the paper.

He was happy he wasn't in front of her glare. She could be damn scary when she wanted to.

Then he looked to his left and saw Tracey's disappointed gaze. That was the look of a person who was suspicious of the authenticity of her favourite idol and had finally seen the sad truth.

Harry tugged at her hand. She looked at his smug grin and rolled her eyes. He then snatched Daphne's hand, getting her attention.

She gave him a questioning look.

"Let's not waste our time, if you want I'll tell you the theory of some spells so it would be easier to learn afterwards in the Room of Requirement. It's better then answering this stupid questions." he whispered.

The girls nodded their consent. They were always eager to learn some new stuff. While the rest of the class continued staring at the parchment in bewilderment, Harry taught the girls some theory on advanced spells. He had erected a silencing ward around them so their conversation wouldn't attract others' attention, though the ward let them hear the voices from outside so they wouldn't be caught off-guard.

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.

Harry's, Tracey's and Daphne's paper were blank which earned them an overly exaggerated sigh from Lockhart.

"Tut, tut, hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully – I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!"

He gave them another roguish wink. Ron was looking at Lockhart with disbelief while Jasmine seemed disappointed in her new teacher. Only Hermione among them looked excited.

"... but Miss Hermione Granger knows that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care options. In fact," he flipped her paper. "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Hermione raised a trembling hand. The Slytherin trio gave her amused looks.

Harry thought she was intelligent, but it seems her logic was blinded by Lockhart's flashy smile.

"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so to business."

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.

"Now – be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his front row seat.

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.

"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."

Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.

Harry let out an air of disappointment. He wanted to hit his head on a wall for even thinking that Lockhart could do something properly.

"Yes?" He smiled at Seamus.

"Well, they're not very – they're not dangerous, are they?" Seamus choked.

"Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"

The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing.

The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.

"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.

It was pandemonium.

The pixies shot in every direction like rockets.

Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino.

They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, upended the wastebasket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.

"Come on now — round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted. He rolled his up sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"

It had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk, narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way.

The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. Harry led Daphne and Tracey out, their laughter hidden by shouts and screams.

In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Jasmine, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost on the way to the door, and said "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.

~xXxXx~

The trio were in the hallways, laughing. The whole chaos in the classroom had been hilarious. Poor Neville was stuck on the ceiling while Lockhart's wand was thrown out of the window.

"This year is going to be useless for DADA class." Tracey said, shaking her head.

"At least we have Harry to teach us." Daphne grinned, flinging her arm around his neck.

"Yep. Why do you need that fraudhart when you've the brilliant Harry?" He said smugly and began walking.

"Fraudhart. That's a perfect name." smirked Daphne.

"I feel bad for other students. We'd Professor Quirrell last year and now we've Professor Lockhart."

"True. But we should just worry about ourselves. Iris and Astoria are included of course." He replied.

Tracey nodded.

They went to the common room since this was their free period. They sat at their place in the corner.

Harry took out a book on advanced spells and put it on his lap.

"Come on Harry, just enjoy a free period. You don't need to read everytime." complained Daphne.

"Yes, you should take a break sometimes." Tracey advised sagely.

"Don't worry girls, I'll take a break when I need one. Now, shush, don't disturb." He told them without looking up from the book.

Daphne sighed audibly and started talking with Tracey in a low voice so as not to disturb him.

After an hour and half, Iris and Astoria walked into the common room.

"Harry!" Iris said cheerfully, plopping down on the seat beside him.

Astoria settled beside Tracey.

Harry closed his book, looking at Iris.

"It seems you enjoyed your classes." Harry smiled.

"Yes, it was great. Although I was only mediocre in Transfiguration class, I was the first to cast a spell properly in charms class. I also earned house points." she informed him enthusiastically.

Putting his arm around her, he offered her a proud grin.

"You did great. Don't worry about Transfiguration class. Daphne, Tracey and I will help you in any way possible. What about you, Astoria? How was your class?"

"Hey! She's my sister. Let me ask her. Don't you go stealing my lines." Daphne said, hitting him playfully on his lower back.

"I loved it. It was so surreal to cast a spell." she said dreamily, ignoring her sister's complaint.

Daphne pouted, glared at him.

He smirked and pecked on her pouting lips, not able to control himself seeing her adorable pout.

Blood rushed to her face, her eyes widening, a soft feel still lingering on her lips.

"Don't worry Daph, you can act like a big sister to Iris. I won't complain." he said, but his voice faded, seeing the surprised looks on the faces of his friends and sister.

A huge grin broke on Daphne's face and she looked on smugly at Tracey, who was still looking shocked.

"I win." she grinned and started giggling childishly.

Tracey huffed in annoyance. "It doesn't count. It was just a peck. It wasn't a kiss."

"Nuh uh, it was a kiss and I won. No need to make excuses Tracey."

Meanwhile, the attention which had been on Harry, now shifted to Tracey and Daphne.

"You two, what are you talking about?" asked Harry.

Tracey and Daphne shared a quick look and decided there was no harm in disclosing their secret challenge.

"There was a challenge between me and Tracey to see who'll be your first kiss." Daphne answered with a shrug.

Rolling his eyes at them, he stood up from his place.

He moved before Tracey. Stooping over, he took her face in his hands and pressed a quick peck on her lips

And then sat again at his place, as if nothing out of ordinary happened.

"There now, you both are equal. If you wanted a kiss, you just had to ask, instead of challenging each other. I'm always up for kissing cute and beautiful girls."

Tracey had her finger on her lips where Harry's lips had touched her.

Daphne groaned.

"You are a spoilsport." she grumbled. She looked at Tracey who was still staring at the space dreamily. "Though good job breaking her."

Astoria and Iris meanwhile were having the worst headache of their life. They continued looking dubiously at the trio, trying to find who liked who.

They were interrupted by the arrival of a prefect.

"Headmaster Dumbledore has called for you both, Harry Potter and Iris Potter. Professor Snape will escort you. He's waiting for you outside." He announced and went away.

The others looked on with confusion.

Harry shrugged at them and left the common room with Iris.

~xXxXx~

Harry was fuming while Iris was full of joy after their meeting with Dumbledore.

'Due to that corrupt nurse and Murphy Manny, Iris had been subjected to the horrors of orphanage. How I wish I'd strangle the life out of them.'

His sister hummed sweetly, walking with a spring in her steps.

Her parents hadn't abandoned her like she feared. They were just duped by Manny Murphy, her false father.

She was a little sad that her parents never knew that they had a daughter but that feeling was overshadowed by the happiness she felt at the reassurance that they hadn't abandoned her.

That James and Lily Potter didn't dump her in front of an orphanage.

She clasped her hands around Harry's upper arm and walked with him to the Slytherin Common room.

She had a big smile on her face as she recited to her friends about their meeting with Dumbledore.

Her friends were angry and relieved for her.

Harry's anger slowly vanished, seeing Iris' merry mood. A small smile adorned his face upon seeing her adorable smile.

'Should I kill the nurse for unintentionally subjecting Iris to the horrors of an orphanage? But Iris doesn't seem to mind. Will she hate me if I kill somebody for her? What should I do?' Harry was in a dilemma.

He shook his head. He will take care of it later.

~xXxXx~

On that night, when Iris was lying beside Harry at night, she turned her body and slid up so she was face to face with him.

"What is it, little one?" he asked, seeing her conflicted expression.

"I just wanted to know, who do you like more, Daphne or Tracey?"

Harry was surprised.

He wasn't expecting that. He thought she might want to talk about the incident which took her real parents away from her.

"That is a complicated question, but has a simple answer. I like them both."

"But what'll happen when you grow up and have to marry any one of them? Who'll you marry then?"

"Don't worry. We three have talked about it last year. I'm never going to marry. So, there is no question of choosing one over the other."

Iris remained silent but didn't ask why. It was his decision if he wanted a marriage or not. And if he didn't marry, she would get to spend more time with him. She wasn't complaining if he wanted to remain bachelor for life.

"But still, you'll have a girlfriend in a few years. Who'll you choose then?"

Harry's brow furrowed as he thought about the question.

"Why do I've to choose? I'll have them both as my girlfriends if they want me to."

"But what if one of them doesn't like that option?"

"That won't happen. One of the most important things to the three of us is our friendship. We're best friends and had promised each other to remain together forever. We won't choose one over another and leave the other alone."

Iris again was silent, understanding him and at the same time not.

It was so bizarre to think that two girls could love one boy without resenting each other, but she kept her silence.

"Can you promise me that we'll always be together like you had with Daphne and Tracey?" she asked suddenly and then thought she had asked too much.

Why would he promise that? She had met him just a few days ago while Daphne and Tracey were his best friends for over a year. How could she dare to ask such a big thing. "I am sorry–"

Her sentence was abruptly cut short by her brother's reply. "Of course, little one."

She looked into his emerald eyes and knew that he was serious.

A smile blossomed on her face.

She reluctantly caressed his cheek.

"Thank you." she said gratefully.

Harry just smiled tenderly in response.

She felt so confident at that moment, and she would later blame that confidence for what she did next.

"Can I ask you for something?" asked Iris.

"Go ahead"

"You can't decline my request though, even if you want to."

"Now that's ominous. Go on, we'll see if I'll decline it or not."

"Let me kiss you." she whispered, sliding her head forward on the pillow and stopping a few inches short from his face.

"I'm not experienced in being a brother, but I at least know that I shouldn't kiss you." he said looking at her dubiously.

"Please." she said softly, her green eyes wide with desperate want.

He squirmed on the bed uncomfortably.

He looked again at her innocent face and couldn't say no.

"Okay. Kiss away." he said, his voice hoarse.

He couldn't believe what he said. Was this really happening? Was he really letting his eleven-year-old sister kiss him?

Maybe she was just curious and it was one off thing.

Her face drew really close now.

Their noses were touching.

Her warm breath tingled his lips.

Her eyes were closed as she pressed her soft lips against his.

A sigh escaped his nostrils as she moved her lips against his. After some more seconds, she withdrew her face, the sparkle in her eyes and a pleasant smile on her face confirmed that she liked it.

"Goodnight, big brother." With that said, she turned her body and pressed it against his front, their usual position.

Harry's arm snaked around her waist automatically, pulling her tight.

"Goodnight, little one." he mumbled distractedly, still in daze.

He wasn't sure what had happened just then. He didn't know how their conversation shifted from him liking Daphne and Tracey to her asking to kiss him.

Did he like that? Hell yes!

Was that the right thing to do? Hell no!

The month of September was spent quickly.

Harry's and Iris's relationship was still the same.

The only thing that had changed between them, was that before sleeping, they kissed each other.

Harry had stopped thinking about its morality. She wanted it, he wanted it and that was it.

He had killed two people last year, he wasn't going to start feeling uncomfortable just because he had started kissing his sister, which was against societal rules.

Suddenly, Harry found himself the subject of many kisses.

Tracey and Daphne now thought that a kiss was a normal thing for the trio. They kissed him whenever they wanted to.

It wasn't like Iris and his kiss, they weren't that long or sensual.

It was just a quick touch of their lips to his. It was still a beautiful experience for Harry.

He wasn't complaining.

The older trio also started helping Astoria and Iris.

This boosted their performance in their classes which earned them more house points and praises from the professors.

~xXxXx~

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

It was written on the wall. There was a large puddle of water on the floor. The students were gathered around, gaping at the sight.

Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring.

The chatter, the bustle, the noise died suddenly as the people in front spotted the hanging cat. As silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight.

Then someone shouted through the quiet. "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

It was Draco Malfoy. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat.

"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" Argus Filch shrieked in despair as he spotted the grim sight.

Meanwhile, Harry and the girls were staring at the wall in horror from the back.

"Oops. I forgot." Harry said shamelessly.

Daphne glared at him while he rubbed his forehead.