SUN POURED THROUGH THE LARGE GLASS PANE windows in the girl's dorm. Unlike the morning before, Iris had actually woken up before any of the other girls. She was quick to take a shower and get dressed in her uniform. She had taken her time while getting ready and was, for some reason, quite energetic. Perhaps it was just leftover excitement from the day before, but she didn't really care. Though now that she thought about it, she did feel strange after using her perfume, but that doesn't matter. By the time she had finished brushing her short hair, Wendy had woken up, "Mornin'," She yawned.
"Morning, Wendy."
Wendy stretched and climbed out of her bed, "why are you up early?" The skepticism that was in her voice was evident to Iris as she gathered her robes.
Iris hummed in innocence, "I just am, I don't see why that would be a problem." She sat on her bed and cuddled Shadow who laid in her lap, sleeping. Wendy stared at her for a moment longer with narrowed eyes before shuffling into the bathroom to take a shower.
Surprisingly, the next person to wake up wasn't Lily, it was Marlene who climbed out of her bed. Her hair was knotted and all over the place while drool was left on the corner of her mouth. She might be quite a pretty girl, but the same can't be said when she just woke up. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." Iris teased.
Marlene only grunted in reply as she stalked around the room to gather her belongings. Iris sighed contently and ran her hand through Shadow's fur as she watched her roommates get ready. Lily had yet to get out of bed, for some reason. Soon an idea then popped into her head as a smirk slowly crawled onto her face.
When Wendy noticed the smirk, she grew weary of what the girl was possibly thinking. She was slightly frightened by the look of mischief that was in her eyes. She felt like leaving the room might have been a good option at the moment.
Iris slipped off of her bed, waking Shadow up from his peaceful sleep, and tiptoed over to Lily's bed. She moved to stand on the side of Lily's bed with a wide smirk decorating her face. Oh, she was going to get her payback.
"Lily, wake up…" She whispered and waited a moment before shrugging her shoulders as her sister only continued to sleep peacefully. Oh well, she tried to wake her up, and now, she needed to use some drastic measures. She cracked her neck and cleared her throat lightly. She then started to shake her twin excessively and yelling at the top of her lungs right in her ear. "Get up, Lillian! Wake up!" Lily yelped at the noise and movement and rolled over. Of course, by rolling over, Lily had accidentally fallen off of her bed with a thump. Iris smiled triumphantly while a sense of deja vu washed over her. "Good morning, sister dearest."
Lily sat up slowly on the other side of the bed and glared at her sister from the floor. "I hate you so much."
"Just paying you back for yesterday," Iris commented cheekily and waved her hand dismissively. "Now, I'm heading to the Great Hall because I'm actually ready, unlike some of us." With that, she grabbed her wand, her books and strolled out of the dorm room.
---
The Great Hall was filled with many students who were already divulging themselves in their breakfast. Many were tired already as they hated having to wake up so early in the morning while others were buzzing with excitement for the day. Iris had yet to make it to the Great Hall, however. She may have been sidetracked on her way to breakfast by the perfect opportunity to play a trick on Filch and Mrs. Norris. She just had to make sure that she avoided the squib for the rest of the day, or she may end up with detention with the putrid man for the rest of the year. Though, she must admit, if she did end up with detention, it would be so worth it. She reveled in her feelings of pride and satisfaction from the prank that she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings.
She was shoved in the back and the shove was almost hard enough to push her onto the ground. Iris was able to keep her balance and spun around with a glare. The push wasn't a accident, and she knew that. It definitely felt intentional, and Iris was starting to become mildly annoyed that anyone would do that. Anger bubbled up in her as she came to face with two Slytherin boys.
The first looked to be only a year younger than her with short black hair that had far too much gel in it. The light from the sun had been reflected off of his hair and Iris had to squint her eyes to see the boy properly. His eyes were narrowed towards her with a surprising amount of malice. She knew that Slytherins had a hatred for Gryffindors, but she didn't necessarily expect to be attacked without cause. The boy did have a eerily similar look to one of her friends. If he had longer hair, a spark of mischief in his grey eyes and an aura of arrogance, she swore he could have been a slightly younger version of Sirius.
The second boy had blonde, almost white, hair and dull blue eyes. The boys skin was a pale as a sheet and Iris didn't know if she was looking at a boy or a ghost! He held an immeasurable amount of loathing that was directed towards her and she was sure that he thought she would cower under his stare. Perhaps that's what most people did when he looked at them, but not Iris. After a moment passed, she could tell that he noticed that as his upper lip pulled back in a sneer in hopes of intimidating her. She gave him an unamused look and raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a reason you assaulted me? Or are you just wasting my time?" She asked cooly with her arms crossed and a bored expression.
The younger boy sneered at her, "do you think you're funny?"
Iris rolled her eyes, "wasting my time it is." She snorted humorlessly and tilted her head, "I do find myself funny, but I have a feeling that isn't really the reason why you decided to push me."
The boys shared a glance with each other and turned back to her. "It appears that not all Gryffindors are as stupid as we believed," the blonde boy smirked though there was no sign of amusement anywhere on his face as he shared a glance with his friend once again.
Iris shook her head and sighed, "you two must be living under a rock if you think Gryffindors are stupid. If we're done here, I'm leaving." She turned to leave the two boys who were getting on her nerves and started to head to the Great Hall. Honestly, what is wrong with these boys for them to randomly assault her. She didn't prank them personally, at least, she didn't recall doing so, and definitely found their actions to be overreactions. If she did prank them, it was a prank. They need to learn to let things go, Iris bitterly thought as she tried to march away from them. However, it seemed like the two Slytherins weren't done with her.
The blonde boy, Lucius Malfoy, grabbed her forearm before she could get too far and pushed her against the wall. He'd be damned if he or Regulus Black, the other boy, let the Gryffindor go. They needed to make sure that she knew who she was dealing with if she ever crossed them. Think of them being merciful and warning her when she decided to do something stupid that involved them. Plus, this wasn't just about intimidating her. They needed to make sure that the pieces to their twisted puzzle were put into place. "Now wait a minute," he spoke with a patronizing voice, "we have so much to talk about." He and Regulus caged Iris against the wall and tried to intimidate her as much they could. For what could one weak, little Gryffindor girl do against two Slytherin boys?
"Trying to act like thugs are we, boys?" Iris spat out with amusement, "Merlin, and you call me stupid! What are you going to do? Hex me for no reason?"
"No reason!" Regulus barked and quickly pulled out his wand while raising it to her throat threateningly and growled. "We have our reasons, Evans! Think of this as us being kind."
Iris laughed bitterly, "I guess you don't know what the word 'kind' means! Now, can I continue on my way, or not?"
Regulus shook his head at the girls behavior. To think, one of the only reasons they stopped her was to help her out and keep her safe… "We just want to make sure that you're pretty, little face isn't hurt." Iris scoffed, but he ignored it. "Hogwarts has some bad witches and wizards roaming around and if you piss off the wrong ones, you can get hurt."
She could tell that he was referring to himself and his friend, but Iris couldn't care less. She could hear the threat in his voice, not to mention the wand still pointed at her throat, and she was far from being frightened. "Thanks for the advice, but I can handle myself," She gripped Regulus' arm that held his wand and dug her nails into it. "Against bad wizards, but I appreciate your concern."
It didn't seem possible, but Regulus' and Lucius' glares hardened on her as they tried to close in on her further. Before either boy could even try to threaten her again, someone cleared their throat. The trio turned to the person who interrupted them and found Sirius Black glaring at them. Regulus and Lucius sneered back at him, but they both backed up slightly from the red-head and glowered at Sirius.
"If it isn't my brother," Regulus rolled his eyes. "Are you looking out for your precious girlfriend here? But you're not one for commitment, are you?"
Sirius glared at him and approached his brother. Sirius was older than him by a year and was able to hold a slight height advantage over Regulus. He leaned over his brother to try and intimidate him even the slightest bit. The Black brothers have held a hatred for each other ever since they were little, and now that Sirius had caught Regulus leering over Iris, his hatred seemed to sky rocket.
"Just leave her alone, Regulus." Sirius growled and pulled Iris away from the two snakes, "if you don't, you'll have to deal with me." With that said he wrapped his arm around Iris' shoulders and started to guide her away from his brother and his friend. Merlin, what he would give to get rid of his brother from his life!
Iris allowed herself to be guided away from the snakes by Sirius and found herself appreciating what he did. However, she was certain that she could hold her own against the boys. "I had that under control, you know." She spoke up when they turned the corner.
Sirius snorted as he tried to calm himself down, "I sure you did, love." He then flashed her a charming smirk that he hoped would cause her to swoon, "I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to save a gorgeous princess from my demon brother's wrath."
Iris scoffed at his words and turned away from him as they made it to the door of the Great Hall. She didn't want to admit that she found his actions… sweet. "I don't need a knight in shining armour, Sirius." She huffed, "I am perfectly capable to help myself." She unraveled herself from under Sirius' arm as they entered the Great Hall, she flashed him a saucy expression, "but I'll let you know when I need your help for something else." She sashayed away from him and left him watching her go with a love sick expression. He certainly noticed that she swayed her hips more with each step she took. Merlin, she definitely knew how to play with him.
Iris plopped down at the table next to Marlene and began to fill her plate with food. She pretended to ignore the glare that her twin was shooting her and munched on some toast innocently. "Good morning, everyone." She finally turned to Lily who was glaring at her while Iris smiles cheekily. "I hope you had a nice wake up call."
---
The beginning of the second day of classes moved along smoothly. There were no interruptions during any class and, because of that, Iris found the day incredibly boring. She suffered through Charms and History of Magic and had a hard time trying to stay awake. Those classes proved to have no entertainment for her and she could really only attempt to entertain herself by bugging Lily.
Though, soon enough, Iris was set free as lunch began and she was quick to enter the Great Hall. She found that her sister and friends had begun to eat, but they were fussing over their homework for the next day. Iris did not want to be forced to work on any while she ate because she knew that Lily would make her do so. She had yet to see the Marauders and suspected they were pulling some sort of prank. Despite being slightly bummed out that she hadn't been invited to prank with them, she decided to find the only safe place she knew Lily wouldn't bother her with work.
She earned sneers and glares from Slytherins as she passed them towards the end of their table where Severus sat. She hadn't really gotten to speak with him that much, mainly because Lily was dragging her all over the castle, and she felt like she had been neglecting him slightly.
At the moment, Severus had his face stuffed into a potions book with a faded cover. It was no surprise that he was reading such a book. The boy was obsessed with potions and was the best at it.
Iris rolled her eyes, "why is everyone doing work?" She whined and sat down next to Severus and shoved his shoulder lightly.
The black-haired boy jumped slightly as he was startled at his friends sudden appearance. He calmed down his racing heart and smiled wistfully, "Hello, Iris." His voice wavered as it held a tone of confidentiality. "Unlike you, some of us actually are focused on our school careers."
Iris rolled her eyes at his teasing and huffed while she slouched in her spot. "I can't focus on something as boring as school, Sev!" She cried out dramatically which caused some of the other Slytherins to glare in their direction.
Severus placed his book down and decided to give his full attention to Iris. If he didn't, he knew that she would just find a way to annoy him and/or torment him or both. He might be friends with Iris, but she really could get on his nerves. He supposed that was why the two of them had a sibling bond.
"You have to at least try…" He started, "if you want to have a successful life after you graduate, you need to do well in your classes."
Iris sighed. He was right, but she didn't want to admit that. "But why?!" She whined like a child, then picked up as an idea popped into her head. "If anything I'll sell my trick treats or something after school!"
She could open a shop and make her own tricks that people could buy and use on their own friends. She could spread her genius to so many people who were just as mischievous and troublesome as her. Producing products and having fun messing with people, seems like the perfect job for her, seeing as she already does it. She could have her own shop and everything!
Severus broke her out of her daydream, "please, don't." He complained, "this world does not need any more people like you parading around!"
Iris scoffed, "a world full of people like me would be-"
"Horrible!" Severus gaped and shivered at the thought.
Iris shook her head and poked her brother-like friend in the cheek, "no, you numpty, it would be amazing!" Iris cheered. Severus rolled his eyes and slowly smiled at her antics as she started to speak animatedly about her plan for her 'trick shop' she named: 'Evans' Escapade Emporium'.
They were too in-depth with their conversation that they didn't notice a pair of light grey eyes staring at them. Sirius watched as the Slytherin and Gryffindor laughed with each other. Merlin, how was that greasy, slimy Slytherin making his Iris laugh and smile like that? He clenched his fist and watched as Severus whispered something to the redhead that caused her to roll her eyes and smirk.
She gave him a reply, and Sirius was sure it was to tease the boy, but he clenched his jaw as he watched her move closer to him. He could imagine the coy and teasing voice she was using to speak with Severus. Sirius wanted to hear it for himself, it was selfish for him to think that, he knew. However, he didn't think that Severus Snape, a Slytherin, deserved to hear that tone of voice from her. He huffed hotly and turned away from the scene in annoyance. He couldn't watch them anymore. The hot feeling in his chest was proving to be bothersome, and he was sure exactly why he was feeling like that. Perhaps he should ask what it might be, seeing as that wolf was the smartest out of his three best friends.
"Sev?" Severus hummed and looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow, "You know most of the students in Slytherin, right?"
Severus nodded his head slowly. Why would he ask that? What was she planning? "I do, why? Are you going to prank someone!"
Iris rolled her mischievous brown eyes and smirked, "possibly, but these two guys decided to confront me this morning. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm sure that I saw you sitting with them the night of the welcome feast."
Severus gulped. Things were already being put into motion, and it was only the second day of school! Merlin… "Y-you mean Lucius and Regulus? They're my… f-friends."
"Friends!" Iris exclaimed with her mouth agape, "you!? You're friends with those thugs!" She could see the hesitation in his eyes at her outburst. She never pictured the shy, reserved Severus Snape being friends with such boys as the two she had the pleasure of meeting that morning.
"'Friends' is a loose term, but we do hang out a bit…" His voice was weak as he saw the anger his pseudo-sister possessed for the boys. He winced as he realized the meeting between the trio must have not gone to plan. Seeing the annoyance and loathing she had for them also meant that the potion didn't work either.
Iris scoffed, unaware to his thoughts, "you need to stop hanging out with those guys, honestly!" Severus smiled as he picked up the tone of protectiveness in her voice. "They're nothing but trouble!"
Severus laughed, "says you!"
Iris scowled and shook her head as she tried to stay serious, "yes me! Which means they are big trouble that you should avoid, Sev." She bit the inside of her cheek and looked away from him, "I just don't want you to get hurt by those idiots."
Severus shook his head and smiled softly, "don't worry, Iris, I can watch out for myself." He appreciated seeing the compassionate side of Iris that so rarely showed itself ever. However, he could help the nagging in the back of his head at his words. For he wasn't doing a good job of protecting her. If anything, he was putting her in harm's way,
---
As the day went on, Iris didn't mention her encounter with the other Black brother and his blond friend to Lily or any of her other friends. Since none of the other Marauders questioned her about it either, she was certain that Sirius stayed quiet about it too. That could only mean that Sirius wanted to talk with her about it privately, but she didn't focus on that. Instead, for once, she actually paid attention to her class. (Though she was distracted every once and a while by the Marauders throughout the class.)
Herbology wasn't a completely boring class, in Iris' opinion. There were quite a few plants that she had learned about in the past that could be used in pranks and potions. So learning about them entertained her for the moment. Professor Beery had given a lesson on Alihotsy, aka the Hyena tree. Iris found that plant extremely fascinating and planned on finding one for her own use. The tree's leaves could cause hysteria and were used for a laughing potion that Iris was easily familiar with.
However, after an in-depth lesson about the plant, she was certain that if she mixed it into a potion with other ingredients the outcome would be brilliant. She had so many ideas of possible ingredients to mix the plant with, effects that the potions may have and the pranks that could come of them, that she didn't even notice the class had ended. Wendy had to pull Iris from her plotting in order to get her out of the classroom. She could only dread what sort of schemes Iris was thinking of.
The group of girls chatted with each other as they trotted down the hall. It was getting dark outside and the moon had finally broken through the horizon once the sun had disappeared. It was dinnertime and the girls hadn't made it to the Great Hall yet. Marlene made it the utmost important that they watched the Ravenclaw Quidditch team try out. She had been drooling over William, the Ravenclaw's keeper, the entire time. Merlin, that girl was obsessed with the seventh year!
"Oh, he is so handsome!" She sighed dreamily and closed her eyes as if she was imagining him behind her eyelids, which she most likely was. Iris shook her head. How could they be so obsessed with boys? She didn't find it necessary to date anyone or be pinning over anyone, at least, not for a while. Though that didn't mean she didn't like to mess with them every once and awhile. By doing so, they provided her with quite a lot of entertainment.
The four girls heard footsteps echoed behind them but weren't bothered enough to turn to see who was approaching. They were most likely students who were also heading to dinner, or they were a teacher. Either way, they didn't think anything of them. However, when they speed up, Iris decided to take a quick look.
As soon as she saw bleach blond hair with pale blue eyes, black hair with grey eyes and dark green robes, she groaned internally. She really didn't want to deal with those idiotic thugs again. "Have you resorted to stalking, boys?" She snapped as she stopped walking while turning to glare at them. She smiled sarcastically, "I don't know if I should be flattered or disturbed by that."
Lily, Wendy and Marlene's eyes narrowed as they watched Lucius Malfoy and Regulus Black stalk towards Iris. They had no idea why they seemed to glare at Iris, but they suspected that it was either Iris pranked them or they just felt like harassing the new girl. The three of them had a feeling it might have been both.
"Shut your mouth, Evans!" Lucius snarled as the both of them drew closer to the group of girls. Both of their lips were pulled back as they scowled at the ginger girl. If looks could kill…
"Make me, Malfoy!" Iris growled and advanced towards them. Just like earlier, she wasn't intimidated by them. Lucius towered over her as his eyes bore into hers. He stared at her intently for a moment, as if he was waiting for something, before huffing and turning to Regulus with an emotion Iris clearly identified as frustration. Unbeknownst to her, he wasn't frustrated with just her actions but also for not getting the right reaction out of her. It wasn't working!
"Just leave us alone!" Marlene commented angrily while standing next to her friend. She tried to flash her most intimidating glare, but it didn't seem to be working as the boys laughed loudly.
"Is that the best you can do, Mckinnon?!" Regulus howled in laughter at her attempt. "All you Gryffindors are pathetic!"
The girls all started to shout their protests at his remark. Each of them was extremely angry at the two Slytherins. What they hell is their problem?
Iris quirked an eyebrow as she spoke over her friend's comments and the boys' obnoxiously loud laughter, "then why do you two seem so infatuated with me?! If anything following me around like this is pathetic."
Regulus rolled his eyes and closed in on Iris in hopes that she would back down. However, this is Iris Evans that he's talking about! Iris Evans is not one to back down, especially from stupid, idiotic boys who think they can frighten her!
Just like Lucius, Regulus stared into her eyes for a long moment. Iris' eyebrows furrowed as she found their actions weird. It was like they were waiting for something…
"Come on, Regulus." Lucius' voice broke Iris out of her thought as she turned to glare at him, "we'll be late for dinner."
Regulus hummed and continued to stare at Iris for a moment longer before he huffed out a sigh. "Fine," his eyes narrowed at Iris, "we can talk later, Evans." With that, he pushed Iris out of the way and bumped her on the shoulder, as did Lucius. They walked through the other three girls and shot them each snarls and glares before stomping away.
The quartet of girls watched as they turned the corner and each of them was tense with anger and frustration. "Those two are so infuriating!" Wendy exclaimed.
Marlene scoffed and agreed, "Yeah, who do they think they are?! Us? Pathetic?"
Lily shook her head in annoyance as her nose crinkled up. Those boys had proven to be problems ever since she first heard of them, however, now Iris was somehow involved with them. How was her sister involved with them? "Iris?" Her sister turned to her and ground her teeth as she tried to calm herself down. "What was that about?!"
Iris pursed her lips as she saw the annoyance burning in her sister's eyes and the slight concern in her voice. Lily worries too much about her sometimes. Iris could take care of herself quite well. Those two idiots weren't hard to handle.
"They're idiots, isn't it obvious?" Iris asked rhetorically. She started to lead the group down the hall so that they could make it to the Great Hall on time. She would be damned if she allowed those boys to distract her enough from getting food at dinner. No matter what, food is always important!
"But you had to have done something, right? They wouldn't just… approach you like that…" Lily trailed off and waited for Iris to elaborate.
Iris rolled her eyes, "I didn't do anything to them, at least, unless they ate my sweets the other day, but I could tell it was definitely not about that."
"Really?" Wendy raised an eyebrow, "because it seemed that way to me."
The other girls nodded their heads, "yeah!"
The mischievous redhead shrugged her shoulders as the anger in her mind continued to fester. "I don't know what I did! Okay? They decided to corner me this morning and warn me about bad wizards! Merlin, they are thick!"
Her friends' eyes widened, "this morning?" Lily asked with shock, "what do you mean?"
Iris finally slowed down her harsh stomps and finally turned to her small group of friends. The other three girls were able to see her face had become red in anger. She looked like a giant strawberry! "They're thugs, honestly! They thought they could intimidate me or something! Me!" She laughed harshly as they came to stand outside the Great Hall.
It was about halfway through the dinner and it was in full swing. It was almost completely full to the brim with weary students. At this point, Iris didn't feel like sitting down and eating, which is unbelievable! However, she was far too riled up to calm down. At the moment, she just wanted to sit on her bed and pet Shadow while he slept in her lap. (All that cat seemed to do was sleep.)
Lily could see the anger that consumed her sister's being and knew that when she became this agitated, it was never good. She wasn't sure if it was a twin thing or not, but she always knew what her sister needed when she became emotional. Lily had the ability to control her own emotions, at least, control them to not lash out. Iris was a different story, and Lily was all too familiar with that.
"We can talk about it later," she said in a calm tone to hopefully relax her sister. "We'll meet you in the common room." Lily then grabbed Wendy and Marlene's hands and dragged them away. Both of the girls squeaked as their friend pulled them away. They each shared a confused look with each other and turned to watch as Iris stomped away from the Great Hall and in the direction of the common room.
---
Iris growled the password to the fat lady and barged into the common room. It was nearly completely silent, except for the fire in the fireplace, as she stalked further into the room. All she wanted to do was climb up the stairs to her dorm and curl up with her cat under the covers. Her anger had lessened to a point where she wasn't muttering under her breath about the 'thugs' who decided to annoy her.
However, that changed as soon as she approached the stairs to the girls dorm. She didn't have any chance to jump out of the way, but a slimy, sticky orange substance covered her entire body. She yelped and stumbled back in shock. She tried to brush the mystery goo off of her, but found that it was far harder. It was like the magical slime was stuck on her robes and skin permanently.
Laughter broke out as four boys appeared from under the invisibility cloak. The Marauders tried to breathe properly but couldn't stop themselves from falling into laughter again. Remus and Peter were hanging onto each other as they tried to stay upright. James had fallen onto the floor and clutched his stomach in hysterics. Sirius hung onto the couch to stop himself from falling over while he also clutched his stomach as it began to hurt him from laughing too much.
On any other occasion, Iris would have joined in the laughter and asked them about the gooey substance on her and what magical properties it had. However, because of how angry she was due to the Slytherins who decided to bother her, she was not in the mood for a prank. Which was strange because Iris loved to prank all the time, even if she was the victim (which was rare). It seemed that what had happened had just gotten to her too much.
"Oh, your face!" James howled.
"That's payback, Iris!" Sirius barked out between his laughter, "told you that we'd get you back, love!"
She glared at them hotly for a moment before groaning and running up the stairs to her dorm. To think she was nearly completely calm, now she'd have to try and get the gunk off of her. The boys' laughter began to die down when they realized that Iris hadn't joined in and in fact had run up to her dorm.
When they were completely sober, They shared a glance with each other and shrugged their shoulders in confusion. "Why did she run off?" Remus wondered out loud and stared at the stairs to the girls' dorm. They all only shook their heads in uncertainty. Why had she acted like that? They thought she would have joined in their laughter and congratulated them on the prank before asking them about the goo they created.
They did not expect her to act like that.
Sirius swallowed as he stared at where she had gone. "Do you think she's upset with us?" He started to feel a pit form in his stomach at the thought of upsetting her. He didn't want to be apart of anything that would make his love cry or become angry, not at all.
James looked at his best friend with nervousness plastered all over his handsome face. "She is most definitely upset with us…"
All of the boys winced as they realized that they had made a grave mistake. They knew what Lily could do when she was upset… And they knew that Iris was capable of many things… So what would Iris do to them?
---
Iris had finally figured out a spell to get the orange substance off of her after several attempts. Once she did, she hoped into the bathroom to take a satisfying shower. The shower not only helped with getting the gunk off of her but also allowed her to calm down completely. The feeling of water trickling down her body and warming her up caused her to sigh contently as she stood under the showerhead.
She finished her long shower and got dressed in her night clothes before climbing into her bed and under the covers. Shadow had made himself comfortable next to her and allowed his owner to pet him gently. Soon enough, he was purring contently and had fallen asleep.
Iris perked up when the door to the room opened, albeit hesitantly, after about a half hour of silence in the room. She watched as her roommates shuffled into the room and made their way to their own beds to get ready to sleep.
"Hey, Iris." Lily smiled softly as she sat on Iris' bed next to her. Like most times when Iris became too emotional, Lily had to make sure that she was there for her sister so she could talk to her about them. It was never good to bottle up feeling, especially if it was Iris who was doing it. Merlin knows what would happen if Iris let her emotions get the better of her after being repressed for too long. Iris was a strong witch and a troublemaker who knew how to get to people, it wouldn't end well for anyone. "You okay?"
Iris chuckled under her breath, "I'm better, I guess I just needed a shower and some time alone. You know how I can get sometimes."
Lily nodded her head and patted her sister's arm as Iris laid on her side, "that's good to hear."
"Iris," Marlene called as she exited the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth. Her words were obscured slightly, but understandable nonetheless. "Is there a reason that the boys are going mad downstairs?"
Wendy joined the conversation, "yeah, they kept babbling on about apologizing to you for some prank…"
Iris raised an eyebrow in surprise, "apologize? I didn't think I'd ever heard of something more absurd!" From the stories that Lily had told her about the Marauders over the summers that they were together, Lily had never made any sort of indication that those four boys were capable of apologizing. Well, at least, Sirius and James weren't. Remus was actually kind and would apologize to victims of their pranks on occasion, and Peter was usual scared of any backlash that may come his way if he didn't do so to people. He was the most vulnerable member of their little friend group and if cornered by himself, there was no doubt he would be beaten to pulp!
"They were hysterical about it! It was quite entertaining, really." Marlene commented in amusement as she walked into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, "I don't think I've ever heard them so scared before!"
Iris smirked, "I guess they would be…"
Lily turned to Iris with a suspicious look, "why… What happened?" It only took Iris a few minutes to explain the encounter that she had with the Marauders nearly an hour ago. "Those pricks!" Lily exclaimed once Iris finished, "didn't the notice that you were upset before they even decided to prank you?!"
Iris shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, but if they did, it seems like they realize that they messed up after I was covered in the goo." She perked up at the mention of the substance, "which, by the way, I find quite fascinating! I'm unsure of what they did to make it, but it's brilliant! It took me a few tries to try and get it off, but I found a spell that worked! I really want them to tell me how they made it!"
Lily rolled her eyes, "focus, Iris! They pranked you and about nearly caused you to become even more upset than you were before."
Iris waved her hand dismissively, "so? I play tricks and prank people too, it wouldn't make sense if I got angry over a small prank like that. Besides it was payback for the other day." She shrugged her shoulders with a smirk, "it would be hypocritical of me."
Lily sighed defeatedly as she realized that her sister wasn't upset about it as she was. It was slightly mean what they did, but Iris did have a point. She also pranked people and if she were to get upset over a prank played on her it would be idiotic of her if she couldn't take the joke. "Whatever, but tomorrow morning I'm having a talk with those boys!" Iris rolled her eyes as she heard the motherly tone in her voice. Merlin, her sister acted more like her mother sometimes.
"Sure thing, sis."
---
Just like the night before, Iris stared at the top of her bed as she laid on her back. She wasn't very tired and couldn't do anything to put herself to sleep. It wasn't like she was going to do her homework or read a book to help lul herself to sleep. However, thinking about the boring tasks caused her to yawn a little.
Perhaps sitting in front of the fireplace may help her. It could work. While attending Beauxbatons, when Iris couldn't fall asleep, she took to stargazing on the balcony of her dorm to make her tired. The flames and burning wood would just have to substitute for the bright stars in the sky for the time being. She carefully climbed out of her bed and stepped around her sister and friends beds. She made sure that this time Lily was actually asleep before heading out. She didn't want a repeat of last night.
She silently made her way down the staircase as if she was being watched. She didn't want Lily to be woken up and come barging down the stairs while yelling at her because she thought Iris was pulling another prank.
She swiftly stepped down the stairs and into the common room to see the fire lit in the fireplace. Along with the fire already being lit, there was a body stretched out along the couch. Someone else must have had the same idea as her.
She rounded the couch and came face to face with Sirius. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the teenage for a minute as she got a sense of deja vu. All that was needed was her using the Aguamenti on him to really make it like the previous night. However, she didn't feel like it, plus she left her wand upstairs.
She tapped the boy's head and waited for some sort of response. She only received a groan as Sirius stirred in his sleep and settled back down. Iris arched an eyebrow and this time shook his shoulder harder.
"Wake up, you idiot."
Sirius finally woke up and opened his heavy eyes. He didn't expect to be woken up in the common room as he was sure that he was the only one down there, but perhaps someone also couldn't sleep. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't sleep due to the pit in his stomach. It felt like he was being eaten from the inside out. He had finally fallen asleep after staring into the fire for so long, but he wasn't necessarily happy to be woken up.
That was the case until his heavy eyelids slid open to reveal Iris. He instantly became alert and sat up immediately as he brushed his hand through his hair. Startled at the appearance of the redhead, he cleared his throat and tried to get rid of any sign of being sleepy. "Hello, love."
Iris smirked at him, "this is the second night in a row we've hung out in the common room after curfew."
"So it seems," Sirius patted the cushion next to him, "come on, I don't bite."
Iris slowly sat down on the couch next to him and faced him with her smirk never slipping off of her face. "Well, I do."
Sirius coughed at her comment in surprise and turned away from her so he would see his flustered expression. This girl always had him so flustered at even a simple statement, and Sirius had yet to realize why that was true. However, just like him, Iris seemed to question why some of his actions and words caused her stomach to flutter and her head to become dizzy. It doesn't mean anything… Both of them thought.
"Is this going to be a common occurrence?" Iris asked as she glanced away from Sirius to the fireplace for a moment before turning back to him to see that he calmed himself down. "The both of us staying up late like this?"
Sirius pondered her question for only a second. "It could be if you'd like…"
Iris shrugged her shoulders and made herself comfortable on the couch, "I don't know. It would be nice to have someone to talk to if I'm too tired to sleep."
Sirius smiled, "that does sound nice." He cautiously moved closer to Iris and studied her calm demeanor. She didn't openly appear to be angry about earlier, but she could just be deceiving him. For all he knew she was plotting against him for another prank. He flashed her a worried smile, "you're not angry about the prank we pulled on you…?"
Iris puckered her lips and tried to keep a serious look on her face, "of course I am." Sirius' eyes widened as he scooted away from her in fright. Merlin, now he was going to have to watch his back! Iris laughed at his reaction and clutched her stomach. Sirus was still on guard as he wasn't sure if she was pulling his leg. "I'm not, you idiot."
The tension in his shoulders dissipated as his body sagged into the couch. "Don't play with a guy's feelings like that, love."
Iris flashed him a flirtatious smile and whispered, "oh, but you love it, darling. I can tell."
Sirius cleared his throat and chuckled the best he could. "So you're not angry with us?"
"No, I played a prank on you, we laugh, you play a prank on me, we laugh." She explained with a smile. Sirius could help but notice the way her nose scrunched up slightly in amusement.
"But you seemed quite angry afterward… if it wasn't us then what had you so angry?"
Iris bit the inside of her cheek as she debated telling Sirius about what his younger brother and his friend had done. She could tell that Sirius and Regulus didn't have the best relationship with each other. She didn't know how he would react if she told him about what his brother had done.
Sighing, she finally responded, "when the girls and I were headed to dinner, we ran into Regulus and Lucius."
Sirius clenched his jaw, "they didn't do anything to you right?" Anger and concern swelled inside of him. He was angry at his brother for his seeming obsession with Iris and the fact that he didn't leave her alone like he told him to. He was also concerned that Regulus could have done something to Iris. Sirius had no idea why Regulus seemed to take an interest in her, but he suspected that it had to do with something stupid.
"You think they could do something to me!" Iris snorted, "they couldn't if they tried, darling!"
Sirius smirked at the confidence and arrogance that leaked from her mouth. "I only wanted to make sure, Regulus is… "
"An insufferable brat?" Iris supplied as Sirius trailed off.
Sirius chuckled wholeheartedly at the description of his younger brother, "that's one way of putting it."
The two sat in silence. The quiet wasn't suffocating or tense, it was calm. Iris stared at the fire as the flames licked and charred the wood under its heat. She had her legs tucked underneath herself as her arms were wrapped around herself. Sirius took the opportunity to move closer to the girl. Iris tried to ignore his movements and focus on the flames to calm her down enough to go to sleep, but the fluttering feeling in her stomach came back as Sirius got closer to her.
She tried to will it away, but it wouldn't leave her alone. It intensified when Sirius had the audacity to wrap his arm around Iris' shoulders and pull her into him. Because she was propped up on her legs, she had fallen over at his tug and landed on his chest.
She huffed in annoyance and hid her face. She didn't hide her face because she started to blush heavily at the close proximity of the boy, no, not at all. She just didn't want to look at his smirk she knew he was sporting. That was it!
"Isn't this far more comfortable?" Sirius cheekily asked as his own stomach did somersaults.
Iris swallowed, "I suppose it is." She didn't continue as she could feel her voice failing her. Once again, the two teenagers were bathed in silence. It was slightly tense because of the tension that brewed in both of their stomachs, but other than that, they both did find their position comfortable.
It was so comfortable, in fact, that while staring at the fireplace and allowing the warmth that Sirius provided her wash over her soft skin, Iris started to drift off to sleep. Soon enough, her eyelids had slide shut completely and she started to snore slightly. Sirius watched her peacefully sleep as she subconsciously snuggled into his side. He could get use to this feeling. After a few minutes of admiring the beautiful girl pressed against his side, Sirius was also lulled to sleep as well.
However, the both of them were probably going to regret falling asleep in such a position. As in the morning, Gryffindors were going to file down the stairs for breakfast and see the two curled up on the couch together. Imagine the teasing both would endure from their friends!
Of course, their embarrassment would most likely cause neither of them to admit that they had actually enjoyed the position they were in. They may even become more confused by the fluttering feelings in their stomach and the aches in their chest when they would part ways in the morning. Although, it was certain that both would definitely try to brush it off in the morning.
Merlin, both of them were completely clueless.