章 20: Chapter Twenty: A Dramatic Conclusion
HURRIED FOOTSTEPS ECHOED IN THE STONE CORRIDORS as three excited Gryffindor fifth-years jogged down the long hallway looking for their friends. They had done it! They finished making an antidote for Iris and were more ready to give it to her. Of course, they had to credit Severus for his work in this plan and probably wouldn't have been able to do it without him.
Every once in a while, they shared exciting words and glances that obviously showed how relieved they were about this outcome. They knew that the others would be the same. The glass bottle full of a pale blue potion was secured in Lily's satchel. She didn't seem to be willing to let it go, as if she thought that it left her person it would disappear. However, it was completely understandable to her friends. She just wanted to make sure that she kept the antidote as safe as possible and get it to Iris as quickly as she could.
They nearly sprinted up the many different staircases towards the Gryffindor tower. They needed to find Iris! If she wasn't at their dorm or the common room, then they would have to get everyone to help scour the school grounds for her. They were going to get this potion to her within the next hour or so. Even though the trio had been able to make the potion(with the help of Severus) there was no telling how quickly the potion would affect her.
There was a possibility that the potion would have an instant reaction and clear her mind of the influence over her body. Or the potion could take an undetermined amount of time to affect her. They could be waiting for hours, days, weeks, months before Iris was let go of the Slytherin's potion hold. That's why they needed to get it to her as soon as they could.
The group of rushed teens made it to the tower and told the disgruntled Fat Lady the password. They stumbled into the common room and were greeted by the sight of a few other Gryffindors who were minding their own business. Wendy straightened her clothes and hair in order to make it seem like she wasn't just sprinting across the castle. Remus ran a hand through his hair to the same. They didn't want to alert any of the other students that there was anything urgent happening. They had kept what had happened on the down-low and only those that they wanted to know knew about Iris' situation. However, Lily didn't care that her slightly round cheeks were pink or that her clothes were askew or that her hair was unruly. The idea of getting to Iris was more important than how she looked at the moment.
Remus turned to Lily, "the guys must be in our dorm." the redhead nodded her head in acknowledgment, "I'll go find them." He swiftly maneuvered through the room around fellow Gryffindors towards the stairs.
Wendy started to push Lily towards the dorms, "Marlene's probably in our dorm too, we've gotta get her."
The two of them headed up to their dorm and found Marlene lounged on her bed. Her eyes were half-lidded as it was obvious that she was trying to keep herself awake. She was trying to wait for her friends to get back and hear what they had to say. Sure, there was a possibility that she may have waited most of the night for them to get back. However, worry forced her to try and wait for them.
"Marlene!" Lily exclaimed while jumping over to her and starting to shake her shoulders. "Get up! Come on, we've got something!"
Marlene groggily allowed herself to be pulled out of her bed, "huh?"
"We've got it," Wendy said with a tone for optimism on her tongue. "We might have an antidote for Iris." That certainly got the girl to jump out of her bed. She stumbled around for a bit to get her bearings before the three of them ran down the stairs.
They ended up meeting the three boys at the end of the stairs. Sirius and James appeared to be jumping in place, obviously itching to get out of the room and search for Iris. Peter seemed to actually understand what was going on to an extent. His pudgy face displayed a far less confusing expression than usual. The four boys turned to the three girls and each exchanged hopeful looks.
Sirius just about jumped at Lily, "you have it?"
She nodded her head at the wide-eyed teen and patted her satchel with a giddy smile, "right here. Now, all we've got to do is find Iris."
"Remind me again why we're wasting our time with this mudblood?" Lucius drawled out boredly. He currently was laid out on a stone ledge in the front courtyard of the school. He spoke to Regulus with an air of annoyance and impatience as it was obvious he was quite cross. The older blond teen was the prime image of exasperation. His glare bounced between Regulus, who was sitting to his right, and the red-head mudblood who was standing against the ledge next to Regulus. She was gazing off into space with glassy brown eyes and her face was void of emotion.
If she hadn't been under the Slytherin's influence, she would have obviously not been this close to them. She'd have kept herself as far away as she could. The conflict of what she actually wanted and what a few intrusive thoughts were telling her contradicted highly. She honestly couldn't do anything as the two sides battled in her mind. It was, however, far better than completely conforming to the snakes. She was fighting against them little by little, or as best she could due to the circumstance. Gaining what little control she had left, caused her to grow exponentially quiet. She couldn't lash out against them verbally like she had done earlier in the day. However, she did what she could to regain her body from their slimy hands.
Regulus rolled his eyes at his ally and took a moment to lazily shift his gaze from Iris to Lucius. "I told you, this will help us in the long run, Malfoy." The bleach-blond teen continued to glower at him. "This potion is perfection. Forget using the imperious curse," he took the moment to brush a finger down Iris' pale cheek and didn't earn a flinch from her. "When word gets out of what we were able to do to her, a mudblood, I promise you we will be praised."
Lucius sat up to get a better look at Regulus and his triumphant expression. "By who?"
The younger boy clicked his tongue, "don't be daft, think for once. Not only will our own parents see what genius we have done but so will our Lord."
That statement certainly got Lucius' attention. "How do you know he'd care about what a child does, Black? He has far more important matters to attend to."
Their Lord, Lord Voldemort, was someone to fear and admire. A dark wizard who easily prayed on people's downfalls and achievements to benefit from them was the perfect leader for those who believed in blood purity. His catered to those who hated Muggle-born witches and wizards and the fact that those with pure blood had to associate with such dimwitted creatures. He had such power over the dark magic community! Other witches and wizards who had the same ideology as he obviously fell into step with him. He is their master. He will successfully give the magical world and the muggle world to those who deserve it. To those who only have pure blood running through their veins.
To think that he would be impressed with the two of them was something that Lucius wanted so desperately. Not only was he determined to become a Death Eater soon, but he wanted to make sure that Voldemort knew who he is. His loyalty will be unparalleled to anyone else, for sure.
"He will," Regulus barked, "a potion such as this will help our Lord with a lot of things. I have no doubt that in a few years' time, he'll have full control. With the help of us, of course." There was also the unspoken topic of Severus. Considering he was the one who actually created the potion, he is the real reason that they were able to gain control of Iris. Though it wasn't like they were going to let the half-blood get any of the credit. They would take any opportunity to get notoriety amongst the blood purity community.
The two of them started to chuckled amongst themselves sickly. If Iris could, she would have cringed at the sound of it. Though now that she thought about it, she was starting to feel her throat unclogged. The sticky, unpleasant feeling in her throat was starting to ease up just slightly. She had felt it before as it usually meant that there was an opening for her to break through her foggy mind a little. It only ever resulted in her spitting out an insult and then a backhand to the cheek, but dame did it alway feel satisfying to break free. Not only that, but she loved seeing those frustrated expressions on the two imbeciles when they saw that whatever they had done to her was falling apart.
"Come here, Evans," Regulus demanded as Iris was in her own thoughts trying to control herself. She didn't respond right away which earned her a harsh push from Regulus which easily gained her attention. She turned to his glare and returned it with a blank expression. "Can't you hear, mudblood."
Iris did not respond verbally. The internal battle within her own mind was more important than responding to a worthless piece of dung like him. Instead, she just turned to him and stared at him blankly.
Lucius tsked, "it still appears that there are some flaws to the potion."
"I suppose," Regulus agreed and stood up so that he could get a better look at Iris. He appreciated her looks with a smug smirk as he grasped her pale cheek. "It's a shame that she's nothing but a mudblood. Such pretty looks went to waste on such a disgusting girl."
She kept herself from flinching away from his hold. Iris knew that if she did that, and showed that she had a tad bit more control than usual, then she would earn more than just a simple slap. There was no doubt in her mind that they would do something far more drastic to her if they knew. That only meant she would have to fight back.
"You have strange taste in women, Black," Lucius commented offhandedly. "I'm not surprised that you and Sirius are infatuated with the same girl."
Regulus spared him a short heated glance, "spare me your opinions." He turned back to Iris, "I suppose that she could have more than just one use, yes?"
Iris tried to keep herself at bay as Regulus pressed his lips against hers. His cold lips felt like acid on hers. Oh, Merlin. She wanted so badly to bite his lips to the point where they bled. He would certainly learn not to cross her ever again after that. Her eyes started to regain that light it once had. However, it wasn't like either of her kidnappers noticed as Regulus was too focused on the kiss and Lucius had turned away from the two in disgust. The haze in her mind disappeared even more as fight or flight hit her like a bludger. Using the element of surprise, and all of her energy, she abruptly pushed Regulus away and used what strength she had to punch him in the face.
Regulus stumbled back as his cheek started to sting and no doubt turn red from the contact. He recomposed himself as he and Lucius stood to stare at the half-lidded brown eyes of their prey. She tried to put as much distance as she could between her and them back backing up with shuffling steps.
She has finally done it!
She could no longer hear those whispers about the two of them and was no longer in the backseat of her own mind. Iris Evans has full control of her body once again.
Wasting no time, Iris dug into her pockets and pulled out her long wand and pointed it at her kidnappers. The standoff began between the trio. The snakes calculated their moves and also pulled out their wands to aim them at their former prisoner. It only took a few seconds for Lucius to spit out, "expelliarmus!"
Iris sluggishly moved out of the way just in time to yell out her own counterspell, "stupify!"
A duel between them kicked off and Iris made sure to try and keep herself alert. However, that was proving to be troublesome. As she dodged a spell from Regulus and maneuvered herself to some cover, she started to feel how drained she truly was. Breaking free of the potion(she now knew that it was a potion after the boys' constant talk about it) had drained her immensely. So much effort had been put into clearing her mind and getting the perfect opening to get out that she was now losing her strength to fight against them physically. Her adrenaline was running out now. Her knees were threatening to cave in on her as she leaned against a pillar to hide from the two boys.
A few more spells were thrown back and forth between the three. It was starting to become apparent that Iris was growing weak as she started to utter fewer spells as time went on. As she hid, she really didn't want to risk looking over behind her again. Not only was she scared shitless, but she was certain that she didn't have the strength to do it. Her tongue was getting tired of saying spells that had only started to tumble out of her mouth carelessly. They lost their punctuation and ferocity that Iris had a few minutes ago. She may have won against the potion, however, she was starting to grow too weak to do anything else.
She took the chance to peek out from behind her cover only to have a spell aimed straight at her. She was blown back a few feet and grew disoriented.
Lucius and Regulus huffed with hard glares on their faces. This certainly had taken a turn for the worst. And just as they were talking about actually going somewhere further with their plan! Oh, Lord. How upsetting things have become.
The two of them marched over to her with a murderous glint in their eyes and a snarl on their lips. Iris did not cower as her vision started to clear. Was she afraid? Yes, a little bit. However, it's not like she was going to show them that she was. She wouldn't let them see her shaky hands or the quiver in her lips. No. She'd be strong while she faced them. She'd be damned if she let them satisfy their sadistic needs with seeing her so vulnerable.
When the two approached, Lucius didn't waste time and kicked Iris' wand away from her to truly make her defenseless. In doing so, he also kicked her hand quite harshly and caused Iris to cry lightly in pain. The two Slytherin boys loomed over her as menacingly as they could with sharp eyes piercing her like knives. She groaned and sat up better to stare at them defiantly. Keeping up her brave and confident persona was important to her right now. They had gotten her to become so submissive and willing to just ditch her friends, so she wanted to show them that she was no longer under their control.
"You're right, Lucius," Regulus sneered, "there are flaws."
Iris moved slightly and found a wand at her jugular. Dull, beady blue eyes glared at her. "Try it, mudblood." Lucius threatened, "I have no issue using a curse." She believed him.
Gulping and seeing no way out, Iris resigned herself to slump back against the wall she had been blown back into. Honestly, she did what she could against them. She broke through their stupid potion and tried to hold her own against them, and she did what she could.
Two against one is certainly not the most ideal situation to be in. Especially when you were already so weak.
However, they certainly couldn't stop her from speaking.
She mustered her best sarcastic smirk, "fuck you, Malfoy." That earned her a very, very harsh slap to her cheek. Lucius was obviously beyond furious with her.
Not only did they seemingly waste their time with this filthy, stinking mudblood for so long, but the stupid potion doesn't even work properly! Regulus vowed to him that things would go to plan. For a small sliver of time, he believed it. Lucius actually believed that this little plan of his would work. Yet here he is, standing over their failure with half the mind to beat both Iris and Regulus. Why had Lucius put so much faith into this? He didn't even see the point of this until now! Really this was only a way for him to feed the sadistic craving that demanded to be satisfied. If it wasn't for this, he'd have found something that would have been just as satisfying and certainly not a failure in the end. Besides, why in Salazar's name had he decided to become allied with a young nuisance like Regulus Black?
Iris cradled her soon to be bruised cheek and turned away from them. Tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes. Would it be okay to cry? Should she cry? No. She'll save that for another time. Show no weakness.
"Why did I ever think that this would work?" Lucius spat out and turned to Regulus, yet kept his wand pointed at Iris.
The younger boy clenched his jaw and snapped his head towards the older boy. "Don't ask me, Malfoy, it was your decision to help. Now, what do we do with her?"
They were silent for a moment as they tried to come up with some options for themselves. There really wasn't much for them to do. One, they could leave Iris here and forget that this happened. However, they knew that she wouldn't shut up about this and they would end up in some sort of trouble. Two, they could torture Iris into staying quiet. They were certainly willing to use the cruciatus curse on her or anything that would keep her quiet.
Or… the more drastic measure would to just kill her.
Besides, it's not like anyone would truly notice the mudblood disappearance. Sure, the Marauders would moan about her being missing and that Regulus and Lucius might have had something to do with it. However, their claims would have to have no sort of evidence. That meant that they had to get rid of everything concerning what they had done. Time to tie up some loose ends. The two shared a quick glance with each other that caused Iris' stomach to flip even more so than it already was. It seemed like the two sadistic boys were thinking of the same thing.
"Get her up," Regulus said as he and Lucius moved to roughly grab Iris' left arm while Lucius grabbed her right. They hauled Iris up to a position where they could drag her around. They needed to bring her somewhere far more secluded in order to… dispose of their failure. Just as they started to pull her in the direction the lead to the Forbidden Forest, the echoing sound of footsteps came out of the castle.
Even more alarming for the two boys who had just decided they needed to kill the poor girl, a voice started to speak. "She has to be outside," it was quite a recognizable voice, "We've looked all over the castle and she's not here."
Neither Lucius and Regulus wanted to admit that a shock of panic had shot up their spines. However, Iris was more than happy to start shouting all she could to get their attention.
"James!" She shouted the speaker's voice with a weak tone, "Siriu-"
"Shut up!" Lucius roared while smacking her upside the head as the two boys tried to get as far away as they could. Though that proved to be impossible when the footsteps picked up and headed in their direction.
Five students came running out of the entranceway of the castle and were both relieved and disgruntled at the sight before them. Though no one was as outraged as Sirius. He certainly detested the sight in front of him to his very core.
He didn't like the fact that Iris appeared to be so weak and how the two snakes kept such tight grips on her. Knowing her, she didn't like the fact that they had a hold on her like this. And that only fueled Sirius's rage.
Sirius, James, Remus, Lily, and Wendy all scowled at the trio across the courtyard. After souring the castle high and low, the group had not been able to find Iris. They had split up into small groups to look for her. Wendy and Remus headed down to the dungeons, Marlene and Peter ran to the highest towers of the school, and James, Sirius, and Lily checked every classroom they could find. The trio of concerned friends had run into Wendy and Remus at one point and explained to each other that they couldn't find any leads. Yet just as James had suggested looking outside, here they are. They finally found their friend/sister in the clutches of the sadistic snakes who most certainly had a death wish.
"Bastards!" Lily raged as she ripped out her wand and pointed at them with a spell on the tip of her tongue. The rest of the group followed her example and now the two kidnappers stared at five wands pointed in their direction.
Regulus growled at this disappointing turn of events and only saw one possible option that could get them out of this situation. Iris found herself completely terrified now that a wand was once again pointed at her neck. If anything, it was a large nuisance now because it was poking her neck and causing her even more discomfort.
"Step closer and I'll do something I won't regret!"
Lily froze at the threat against her sister but still didn't let the scowl on her pale face disappear. Seeing as these conniving little twats had gone this far with Iris there was no telling how far they would go now. She didn't doubt that they would willing hurt Iris or even kill her. Lily definitely didn't want to have her older sister killed.
The air was tense and still, as the collection of students came to a standoff. Neither group was willing to back down. The Gryffindors were going to stop at nothing until they got their friend back. First, they had to get Iris away from Regulus and Malfoy to make sure that she doesn't get even more hurt.
Sirius sneered at the two of them, more specifically his brother, "you're a coward, Regulus. Hiding behind Iris!"
"Shut it, blood traitor!" Was the reply that he got from his little brother. They were able to hear Iris curse under her breath as the boy's hold on her tightened. Sirius could just about see the smoke coming out of Regulus' ears. It was obvious that Regulus was upset about all of this, of course, not as upset at Sirius. However, the shaggy-haired teen could use this to their advantage. It wasn't usually common to get Regulus angry, like properly angry, so riling him up would certainly cause even more chaos that the Gryffindors could hopefully use to their advantage.
James joined in, "Yeah! Using her as a shield isn't very courageous, mate!"
"You're hiding like the snakes you are!"
At the yells, Regulus was growing restless. He found himself growing even more enraged by the shouts of abuse and lies from his brother's stupid friends. The black-haired boy was really having a hard time trying to control himself. Lucius wasn't being any help as he was just as enraged. Though he was able to keep himself from lashing out. The maturity level between the two of them was obviously different and was being shown here.
While the Gryffindors tried to continue making them angry, Regulus had had enough. He grunted loudly before tossing Iris to the side and raising his wand at his enemies. Lucius could do nothing but follow his lead now that Iris was out of his reach.
Spells were thrown back and forth once again. This time it was between the Slytherins and Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Wendy. The Marauders were really the ones trying to duel against them. Meanwhile, Lily and Wendy were trying to get themselves close enough to Iris where they could grab her and make sure that she was okay.
It all happened so fast. Regulus and Lucius fended off the three other students as best they could while the girls made their way towards Iris' prone figure. Eventually, Regulus noticed how close Wendy and Lily were and pointed his wand at them. He and Lucius were going to be beaten, obviously. Regulus was smart enough to realize that but stubborn enough to not want to admit defeat. Yet when he was just about to throw a spell at Lily, he found himself thrown forward as there was a shout to his side.
"Expeliarmus!" Iris sighed once she was sure that the threat of Regulus' wand pointed at Lily was dealt with. Though she wasn't expecting to find herself at the receiving end of a spell from Lucius instead.
"Stupify," and then the world went black for Iris Evans.
Sunlight poured through a window and hit the redhead who started to groggily wake up. Disoriented the teen started to sit upon the white bed she was in. She was covered by white blankets in a mildly uncomfortable bed. Her vision was slightly blurry and bright which caused her to squint at her surroundings. The space right behind her eyes throbbed and nearly caused her to grunt in pain. She may not be able to see properly, however, she was certainly able to feel the purring fur ball at her feet.
Shadow was curled up at the end of her bed, basking in the morning sunlight while he waited for his owner to wake up. Though once he felt Iris' feet move he stretched his long limbs and raised his head to look up at her. He meowed softly and trotted his way over to her lap and sat down on her to get comfortable. It was somewhat of a greeting but he appeared to be too tired to really do anything else.
Iris just chuckled and scratched her pet's head. She never realized how much she really missed petting Shadow's silky fur. It was comforting to have something as familiar as Shadow by her side. She truly needed this.
As she was indulging herself in Shadow's company, Madam Pomfrey scurried out of her office towards her patient. "Ah, you're up!" Iris jumped at the loud exclamation, "I have no doubt you've got a nasty headache, dear." The older woman said as she pulled out some vials out and placed them on the table next to Iris' bed.
"What happened?" Iris' hoarse voice asked which caused her to cough due to her dry throat. The gry-haired matron handed the teen a glass with a liquid in it.
The woman shook her head, "you had a terrible fall the other day. That Malfoy boy knocked you into a wall and I'm afraid you got a concussion."
Iris rubbed that back of her head to feel that there is a bump on her head. Just like the matron suggested, there was a swell on the back of her head that suggested she had hit her head quite hard. But how did it happen again? Madam Pomfrey mentioned Lucius...
Oh. Oh!
She remembers now!
Her blood began to boil once again as she recalled how Regulus and Lucius had manipulated her by using some sort of potion. She remembers the small duel that her friends had with them to try and help her. She also remembers that Lucius was the one to cause the horrible throbbing in her head. She scowled as Madam Pomfrey handed her a few vials to drink.
While the woman explained how each awful tasting potion would help her, Iris was glowering silently and lost in her own thoughts. Oh, she was certainly going to go after those idiotic gits and get her well deserved revenge against them. Though while she was currently scheming of a plan, the sparkly-eyed, white-haired headmaster entered the room.
The ancient man glided across the hospital wing floor and neared Iris' small bed. He chuckled lightly at the sulky expression she was sporting. His think lips were pulled into an amused smile at the gloomy look on her face as he already knew what she was thinking. Though he had to make sure he did not encourage any sort of retaliation she has for them. Even if he could understand why she would want to get payback.
"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Ms. Evans."
The redhead broke out of her thoughts with wide eyes as if she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Seeing that it was just her headmaster, she smiled lightly. "Thanks, Headmaster." A thought struck her, "What about-"
"Everyone else is fine." The man said to the girl who now sighed in relief. "No one else was injured as badly as you were." Her shoulders slumped as she laid back further into her bed. He wasn't surprised to see that Iris Evans had gotten herself into trouble. Though he wouldn't have guessed that the teen would have fallen into something as serious as this. Hearing that Regulus Black and Lucius Malfoy were able to control her as if she was under the imperious curse was unsettling. The boys were both intelligent, brilliant boys. However, they excelled in something terrible, the dark arts. "However, I believe that your friends did hurt Mr. Black and Mr. Malfoy a little," Iris smirked at that. There was a small twinkle in his eyes as he looked over his half-mooned glasses at the teen. "I must advise you to not go after the two boys yourself."
It seemed that Dumbledore was able to pick up on her thoughts. And here she thought that she could easily hide her emotions. Guess she was wrong. She tried to appear innocent, "Why not?"
Dumbledore chuckled with a shake of his head as he stood next to her bed. "The both of them will be dealt with accordingly."
Iris just pursed her lips and looked away from the older man. "Knowing them, they'll get off easy." Having such prestigious pure-blood families who have influence over everything must be nice. The Malfoys and Blacks will surely find a way to get the most lenient punishment for their sons. "No offense, headmaster, but I know how these things go." There are always those people in life who were dealt a far better hand than others. Either that or they were somehow able to cheat the game of life and make it better for themselves while also making it worse for others. It was far from fair. Though even though the muggle world was different from the wizarding one, there were a few similarities that Iris was able to notice, and this is one of them. "How long's it been?"
Dumbledore scratched behind Shadow's ear after the kitten had got up to approach the man. "Only a day. You needed to rest after what happened." Shadow purred loudly at the affection he was receiving from the old man. "Madame Pomfrey has been keeping a close eye on you."
Said woman nodded her head firmly while taking the now empty vials from Iris. "I'll have her up and healthy soon enough!"
"That's wonderful news," Dumbledore said with a wistful tone as his eyes gleamed. He patted Shadow one last time on the head before flashing Iris a smile from behind his long white beard. "I hope that you feel better, Iris."
There was something that Iris couldn't see in the man. He had this air of madness yet calmness about him that she wasn't able to make her mind up about. Though she was able to see a fellow mischief-maker like herself. Dumbledore may be able to hide it from most, but Iris could clearly see that Hogwart's headmaster could easily cause some trouble. She smirked at him, "Thank you, Headmaster."
The man nodded his head once more before walking towards the entrance. He walked out of the room with a flick of his beard and a spark in his eyes.
"So you only got detention?"
Sirius ran a hand through his hair with a smirk. He was currently sitting next to Iris' hospital bed as he retold her what had happened after she was knocked unconscious. He was not completely upset with the outcome of what had happened. After Iris had been knocked out by Lucius, a few professors had found them. They instantly started to break up the duel and pull all of the students away for questioning.
While Iris had been brought to Madam Pomfrey, they all were marched up to Dumbledore's office for punishment. Though the were more than happy to know that they were only going to get about a month's worth of detention. That wasn't a big deal for them. The girls were left with just warnings because the professors did not see Wendy or Lily using their wands. Marlene and Peter also did not get punished because they weren't there, obviously. Sirius, James, and Remus were the ones to get the detention.
Sirius couldn't say what had happened to Regulus or Lucius. They had been forced out of the headmaster's office after they had been given their punishment. As far as he knew, the only ones who knew what was
"Surprised?" He chuckled and leaned closer to her. "So were we. Honestly, I thought McGonagal was going to have a heart attack when she found us. Even more so when Dumbledore only gave us detention."
Iris' furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and frustration. "But how's that possible? Fighting like that should have gotten the lot of you expelled, no offense."
He nodded his head along with her, "I don't know. We were lucky, I guess."
"Well that's good," Iris smiled before it morphed into a wicked smirk, "you won't last a week without seeing me let alone the rest of the school year, darling."
She was correct in that assumption. If Sirius was to be expelled and he had to leave for the rest of the school year, he would probably go mad without being able to see her. And he certainly wouldn't be able to stand going to a completely different school than her. Now that Sirius has met this beautiful, cunning girl, he was not going to let her go even for a moment.
Sirius barked out a laugh, "I suppose you're right, love." He then dug through his pockets and delicately started to pull out a silver chain. Even though she kind of didn't want to admit it, Iris had gasped at the sight of the silver moon pendent that he presented her. She barely even noticed how she missed the soft weight of the moon-shaped necklace around her collarbone. Though now that she realized it was gone, she reached up to her neckline where it hadn't been for a couple of days. Sirius smiled at her when he noticed that it was missing. "I thought you'd miss this."
"My necklace!" She gently grabbed the jewelry from Sirius and marveled at it slightly. The present that the boy in front of her had given her for Christmas was a sight for sore eyes.
He gently smiled at the wide brown eyes of his lady-love. "I figured you'd miss this, I don't know why."
The two of them chuckled together, "well, of course, I would. It's one of the best gifts I've gotten."
There was a silent beat between the two teens. Their eyes met for what seemed to be a hundredth time and a spark seemed to ignite the intense flame burning between them. If it wasn't already burning, it certainly was flaming now. The situation that Iris had unfortunately been placed in could have done nothing but strengthen what was between the two of them.
Sirius certainly blamed himself for this happening to her. It was his brother who had tried to hurt Iris, it was his carelessness that ultimately led to Regulus getting Iris, and it was his stupidity that kept them from finding out what happened sooner. Was his justification true? No. To any sound person, they would look at this situation and would find no blame to be put on Sirius. But with the boy being him, he could only find faults in himself that led to this situation.
Though there was no need to dwell on the "what ifs" about all of this or to place blame on anyone other than the snakes. No need to wonder what would have happened if Sirius had gone with her to find her scarf. Or what would have happened if Iris had gotten the help she needed before it all happened. All that they should do right now, is revel in the bliss that came with their victory against the snakes and Iris' safety. The past was the past and there was nothing that could be done to change it. All they could do was heal from this and become better. They would strengthen the relationship that had already formed over the year into something that certainly would become unbreakable.
"Now," Sirius started off slyly to draw them both out of their thoughts. He leaned closer to her and intimately invaded her space. Though it's not like she minded it that much. If anything, the girl welcomed his close proximity. Honestly, if he hadn't leaned closer to her, she would have pulled him down herself. "I think we've got some catching up to do."
Iris smirked, "Couldn't agree more."
The two were then latched at the lips as Iris pulled at Sirius' neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. This was far overdue for both of them. They reveled in the feeling of each other pressed up against one another. It felt like it had been far too long since they had done that. In reality, it had only been a few days. However, even then, it was still too long for both of them.
Sirius loved the scent of vanilla that surrounded her even while she was in a hospital room that reeked of medical potions. He loved placing his hand on her soft cheek and rubbing his thumb lovingly across it. The teen tried to memorize every electrifying aspect of the girl that he had in his arms.
Iris did the same. She ran her hand through his long hair which effectively messed it up. The redhead enjoyed the heat he provided her and the comforting pressure he pushed on her lips. She could feel the security that he gave her and she never wanted to leave it again. The moment was perfect for her.
With their lips locked together and their bodies intertwined, they didn't even hear the hurried footsteps getting closer. They were far too distracted by each other that they failed to notice the bubbly voices growing closer. Though they weren't the ones to really be at fault. The world had melted around them and nothing mattered but the two of them. All that mattered to them was making sure that they reacquainted themselves with the other, and they certainly didn't want any interruptions.
A trio of girls then came bounding into the hospital wing. It was Lily and the other girls who had obviously come to check up on Iris. Though once they got into the room, their presence ultimately broke the couple apart. At the sight of Sirius leaned over the bed and the two teens with red cheeks and puffy lips, the girls could assume what had been happening. Lily smiled brightly at the display of affection. Seeing Iris happy was a heartwarming sight. She didn't care who was the source of her happiness but she appreciated seeing Iris' eyes bright and lively once again.
The trio had just arrived from lunch and was happy to have a free period for the next hour. It was a perfect time for them to check on Iris. They had tried to go see her earlier, however, McGonagall had made sure to keep them all busy with school work. They knew that somehow, Sirius had been able to escape class and get to Iris before them. The group had envied him slightly for that. However, they knew that the couple deserved some time alone. Though they wished that they hadn't walked in on them in the middle of kissing.
"Wasting no time, I see," Marlene commented as they waltzed over to the bed. "It's good to see that you're still able to kiss after everything that's happened."
The group of teens laughed together. Joy filtered through the air now that their happy reunion was in full swing. Wendy, Marlene, and Lily stood or sat around Iris' bed and couldn't stop the relieved smiles from stretching on their faces. They instantly started to joke around with each other while Lily nagged Iris about having to catch up on work. Leave it to Lily to focus on schoolwork even at a time like this.
'Why can't she just let us have fun for a while?' Iris wondered to herself. However, there was no way that Iris was irritated with her sister. If anything, Iris was loving the fact that she could hear the normal tone in her sister's voice. It was far better than not being able to hear her voice.
They had shared hugs which resulted in Iris' ribs almost being cracked. Wendy and Marlene kept their hugs light. Surprisingly Marlene had restrained herself from hugging Iris harder than she had to. Though the same can't be said about Lily.
It almost seemed like the twin was trying to kill her! Iris swears that her ribs are bruised because of Lily.
Soon enough the other boys showed up to join the reunion. James had nearly pounced on Iris and attacked her with a tight hug. Of course, it was nowhere as tight as the ones she got from her sister or pseudo-grandmother, but they took her breath her way nonetheless.
Remus kept his hug soft and short. It was like he was afraid he'd accidentally break her somehow. The big softie believed that he had the capability of hurting her. Merlin. Despite what Remus may believe, there was no way that he was going to hurt her. She knows about his hairy little secret, and she was nowhere near being afraid of him. The big werewolf was in no way scary enough to frighten Iris Evans!
Peter had just meekly smiled at her and silently expressed his relief for her safety. Obviously, Peter is not a man of many words, and Iris understood his silence. She was just grateful that he was there and willing to say hello to her after she woke up.
They enjoyed each other's company and tried to forget everything. Their lives were starting to regain some of the normalcy that they had before all of these things happened. The group of them would allow their happy environment to consume them. The world around them disappeared as the group of friends only thought about each other. All that mattered then and now and forgetting about what had happened. For at least a short while, the Gryffindors could have this moment of bliss before they got back into the swing of school and having to deal with the aftermath of what had happened.
It was late in the night. The Gryffindors had bid Iris a goodnight while the boys had to pull Sirius away from his ladylove as he tried to stay the night with her. However, none of them wanted to deal with an angered Madam Pomfrey who would swiftly push them out of the hospital wing. Iris needed to get her rest after all.
Though while the corridors were lit up dimly by torches and ghosts floated around, a Slytherin boy crept around. He jumped from shadow to shadow and blended into them quite well. Someone would have quite a hard time locating him. However, if they looked close enough, they would be able to see his pale face that was covered in anxiety.
This boy with greasy hair and a gut full of nerves was making his way towards the hospital wing. At this point, the only patient who was in the room should be asleep. However, he knew Iris. She was probably staring at the ceiling worrying about something. The girl may be a heavy sleeper, however, it was hard for her to fall asleep in a foreign place. It may still be Hogwarts, but it wasn't her dorm where she knew it was safe.
He cursed himself. She most likely didn't feel safe, and that was his fault.
Severus Snape was the reason that his very good friend didn't feel safe anymore. He knew that she may not admit it out loud, but there was no way that Iris would truly be okay after this.
He scurried down the last winding hallway towards the hospital wing. Severus hesitated once he stood in front of the enormous double doors of the hospital wing. Why was he here again? Oh, right... He was going to try and talk with Iris.
The Slytherin knew that he'd never get to see Iris during the day. Her Gryffindor friends had surrounded her and created a barrier. He certainly couldn't get through them during the day. Honestly, he had only just found out that Iris was awake after he heard some other students talking about it.
Now, here he stood. In front of the hospital wing doors where his pseudo-sister laid in a hospital bed recovering from the horror that he had put her through. He should just turn around and march back to his dorm.
Iris didn't want to see him, he thought. She would probably never want to see him again! Severus had no idea whether or not she knew about his involvement, but he certainly knew that she would want to curse him no matter what. She knew that Severus, Regulus, and Lucius were "friends". Iris has every right to believe that he was in on it, and she would be right.
However, Severus was done being a coward.
He would tackle this problem head-on. He would man-up and apologize to Iris, whether she accepted it or not. It was her decision either way. If she wanted him to leave her alone for the rest of his life, he'd do it. He needed to make it up to her any way that he could.
With that thought in mind, he slipped through the large doors and made sure to make as little noise as he could. He cringed slightly when the ancient doors creaked slightly but continued into the room. The hospital wing was hauntingly dark. If Severus wasn't on a mission to see Iris, he would have grown scared at the darkness. But he restrained himself.
He quickly surveyed the room and found the redhead resting on a bed. As he had predicted, she wasn't asleep. Instead, she laid on her back, wide awake, staring up at the ceiling with a void expression. Iris couldn't sleep. Her mind was still plauged by what had happened only a day ago. She didn't want to sleep. What if something happened while she tried to sleep? What if Regulus or Lucius tried to get at her again? Then what? So many questioned zoomed through her mind and kept her from closing her eyes for more than four minutes.
Though she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard soft footsteps heading her way. Though the moment she caught sight of the boy who was scurrying his way towards her, she relaxed. She relaxed only a little bit. "Severus?"
"I-Iris." He squeaked and hesitantly approached her, "I-I-" He gulped nervously as Iris pinned him down with an inquisitive
"What do you want?"
"I- well, I wanted to-" He really couldn't find his voice at that moment. Iris just stared him down as he tried to construct a sentence. He bowed his head in an obvious sign of submission. He may have come into the room with the intention of not backing down like he always does. Yet here he is losing every ounce of confidence he had been able to scrape up before he walked in here.
"I heard what you did." She cut off his rambling before he could embarrass himself further. Iris stared at him with narrowed eyes and a harsh tone in her voice. Honestly, Iris didn't really want to see him. No matter what she was told, he was still a horrible person. Just as bad as Regulus and Lucius. But she'd entertain the idea of having some sort of closure for the two of them.
Severus' head snapped up to look at her in confusion. "Huh?"
"They told me everything," Severus gulped and was ready to receive a verbal and physical beating from her. Though she only sighed, "I know that you made that potion. But the boys told me that you explained to them what happened and the girls said you helped them make the cure."
He nodded his head slowly, "y-yes."
"I figure that they threatened you to do it. But I can't..." she paused before shaking her head. "I won't forgive you so easily. I don't care if they forced you to do it, I know you could have done something to stop this." She clicked her tongue and looked away from him. "For the sake of Lily, I will be civil."
Lily had spoken highly of Severus when they were explaining. She did express her disgust with the fact that Severus had been apart of this whole thing. However, she also said that she was happy with how Severus turned against them and decided to help. She always tried to look for the best in people, Iris thought that was one of Lily's biggest faults. Severus may have changed his mind and stood up to the other boys. He may have not had ill intentions from the beginning because he was forced to take part in their scheme. But that still doesn't change the fact that he still did it.
She didn't forgive him.
It hurt. Knowing that the girl he saw as a sister distrusted him caused his body to freeze. Though it was understandable. He shouldn't have let his hopes be high when he arrived. The fact that Iris was even willing to talk to him was a gracious enough sentiment by her. She didn't turn him away. Iris had at least decided to hear him out about this, even if it was a few stuttered words.
He swallowed thickly, "I understand." He then pulled out the dreaded scarf that Iris had lost the other day. He stared at it for a long minute before placing it on the bedside table for her. Seeing as Iris had turned herself away from him, it was time for him to go. He meekly turned around and started to walk away from her bed. Severus spared one final glance back at the redhead who refused to look at him. "I'm sorry."
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