"NO! WE AREN'T DONE HERE, YOUNG LADY!" Craig shouted as he followed his middle child across the platform as she tried to avoid him. He had been ranting and raving ever since he found out about the kisses that Iris had shared with both Sirius and Derek. Of course, Iris had tried to make sure that he didn't find out about it, but Lily had to open her big mouth and tell both of their parents when she said she wouldn't.
Iris was slightly reluctant to tell Lily about what happened because she knew that something like this would have happened, which it did. But when the Marauders left the party yesterday and it was only the quartet of girls consisting of the twins, Marlene and Wendy, the other girls had instantly started to interrogate her on her interactions with the boys. They pointed out the closeness between Iris and Derek and the way that he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. They squealed at the gifts that both Sirius and Derek had given her and debated about the obvious attraction between the girl and both boys.
She had mentioned the kiss with Sirius by accident and nearly went deaf at the screams that the girls had let out. Eventually, they were able to get her to talk about the kiss between her and Derek as well after annoying her for a long time. She felt like she was going to vomit at how much of a girl they had forced her to be. She is not a girl to gossip and giggle about boys, but she had been forced to stup to the level of a girly-girl yesterday when they wouldn't leave her alone.
"I'm pretty sure we are!" She sassed over her shoulder as she pushed past a man with a briefcase who nearly toppled over at her abrupt movement. She was practically running around King's Cross while avoiding as many collisions with people as she could. Though occasionally she would end up bumping into an unsuspecting bystander who would drop their luggage or something.
As soon as Craig had pulled the car up to the train station, Iris bolted out of it with her trunk in order to get away from her father. He was already trying to give her a talk about boys and what not because he was far too overprotective over his daughters. He would do anything in his power to make sure that they stayed as pure and untouched as he wanted them to be. No boy was going to get close to them if he had a say in it! He really shouldn't have let any of those boys to step foot through the front door.
He really only got to talk with the sandy-haired boy, Remus Lupin. The boy proved to be quite the respectable young man and Craig approved of him greatly. The chubby boy, Peter Pettigrew, was strange, but he didn't expect anything else from a wizard, truthfully. He obviously had already met Derek and to him seemed like a nice boy. James Potter seemed like a charming boy, yet Craig was able to see through the interactions between Iris that he was already one of her best friends and could tell why Lily referred to him as an 'annoying toe-rag'. Craig was uncertain about the boy as he could tell he loved to cause trouble. The last boy from the magical school that had come to see Iris was obviously full of himself, Craig had observed. He was mischievous, a troublemaker and as big of a flirt as Iris(which he didn't want to admit to her being a big flirt). It was no surprise that Sirius Black was the one to kiss his little girl! Craig didn't like it. Not one bit!
"Far from it, Iris Evans!" Craig demanded as he started to gain on the teenager.
Lily and Octavia followed behind them at a slower pace. They didn't want to be publicly seen with them as they knew they were going to argue loudly. Neither mother nor daughter wanted to be embarrassed openly by Iris and Craig. Octavia giggled lightly as she saw her husband chase after their daughter shouting about continuing their conversation that was of the utmost importance to him. She was actually more excited about Iris seeming to show a greater interest in boys than her hysteric husband, much to his dismay.
For years, Iris had used boys as a source of entertainment. She played around with their emotions by teasing them and flirting with them. Octavia wasn't always the biggest fan to those interactions with boys for her, but she knew that at some point or another some boy was finally going to intrigue her. Though it seemed like it was two boys who had piqued Iris' interest.
Octavia thought that both boys were quite nice. Though Derek was by far much more of a goody-two-shoes when compared to the wizard. Sirius was a rambunctious teen who mirrored Iris' personality almost perfectly. She could honestly see Iris dating Sirius on the fact that they were so much alike. Octavia could also see Iris and Derek possibly being a couple because Derek was the complete opposite of Iris. But it wasn't her decision to make, Iris had to choose for herself. Iris may have experience with messing with people who fancied her and recognizing such emotions, but Octavia was certain that Iris was going to have a hard time recognizing her own feelings and dealing with them. It was most certainly going to be interesting to see how everything panned out for the teen. However, if nothing turned out to be as perfect for her little girl as she thought it would end up being, Octavia was more than willing to help Iris and be a shoulder to cry if needed(which she hoped was not needed because she didn't like seeing any of her daughters cry).
"Dad's overreacting," Lily pointed out as she carried her trunk beside her. "It was bound to happen at some point, Iris kissing the two of them."
Her mother nodded his head, "yes, I'm sure. But you know how your father can get about boys!"
They followed the tail of disgruntled people who grumbled under their breath about a rude girl and enraged man to find Craig and Iris waiting by the barrier. Iris had her arms crossed over her chest with a peeved off expression. Craig's face was completely red in frustration and annoyance as his mouth moved at a mile a minute as he continued to rant about the boys.
"-Under my roof as well! I'm happy for you for experiencing your first -and second- kiss, but I would have appreciated them not being in our house!"
Iris scoffed absentmindedly, "they weren't my first kisses."
It took a moment for her words to sink into his mind but as soon as they did he blanched. That seemed to open even more floodgates for the man and would earn her far more arguing. Octavia rested a hand on her husband's forearm and sighed. "You can finish your lecture when they come back, she'll miss the train if you keep trying to reprimand her."
Craig glared down at his wife due to the fact that she did have a point. He stared at her long and hard before turning his glare onto his glowering middle child. "Fine, go." He huffed out, "have fun at school, but as soon as your back-!" He pointed at her, "we'll continue this discussion."
Iris rolled her eyes for what seemed the be the thousandth time since she had woken up. "Sure, dad." Her voice was lame and monotone as she knew that she wouldn't pay attention to his lecture later just like she was now.
Octavia moved away from him and embraced Iris in a loving hug, "go easy on your dad, Iris." She let go and held her daughter at arm's length, "he's just worried about you."
"He's got a strange way of showing it…"
Her mother chuckled and smothered down some of the red locks on top of Iris' head. "He's worried. You've never shown this kind of interest in anyone before!"
Iris could already tell that her mother was going to be just as girly as the rest of her friends. "I know that, but he doesn't have to shout at me about it."
Octavia smiled slightly, "just be good, okay? Don't get into too much trouble." She moved over to her youngest daughter and hugged her as well. "Make sure she doesn't get herself expelled again," she whispered into Lily's ear as she knew if she said it out loud, Iris would throw a fit over her words. "Do good with your studies and send us letters at least once a month to keep us updated."
"Okay, mum." Lily replied with a blinding smile.
Once the family of four(Petunia had fussed about staying home so no one fought her on it and left her alone) finished saying their farewells, the twins grabbed their trunks and piled them onto a trolly in order to push them through the barrier. Their surroundings melted away to reveal the vibrant platform with the Hogwarts Express sitting patiently on the tracks. They got their trunks put away and started their search for their friends and a compartment.
---
It only took them a few minutes to find Marlene who had jumped onto them in a warm hug in a greeting. Next, was Wendy who they found in a compartment already. The four conversed happily with each other and the two other girls couldn't help but notice a certain scent surrounding Iris.
"Are you wearing perfume, Iris?" Asked Wendy as she brushed some of her ebony hair from her face.
Iris scowled slightly and turned her head away in what seemed to be deviance, "yes."
Her sister shook her head, "I don't know why you're upset about it."
"It's from Severus! I do not and will not be associated with anything that has to do with him!" She seethed and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
"You two could make up…" Lily trailed off as she knew her sister would be as stubborn as usual. Yes, she was angry with Severus. However, she wanted all of them to be friends once again. Severus had been becoming distant to both of them and she didn't like it one bit. She knew that what Severus had done, more like didn't do, had shown that there was something slightly changing in him and it was obviously not for the better. She wanted to make sure that the other Slytherins who Severus had made friends with weren't feeding him their perspectives on blood-purity in the wizarding community. She didn't want to lose one of her greatest friends that she had since she was ten. Even if their friendship did end, Lily wanted it to be on good terms.
Iris scoffed, "make up?" The thought seemed to be absurd to her. How could she make up with a wanker who didn't stand up for her while his friends insulted her? If he wasn't willing to say something to them and stop them from calling one of his closest friends 'Mudblood', like she has done multiple times in the past, she wasn't going to easily forgive him. If he wanted her forgiveness, he'd have to show he was worthy of it.
"Why would you want to make up with that git?" Marlene practically shouted, "he's lucky I wasn't around. So are Malfoy and Black, I would have cursed their areses!"
Iris agreed wholeheartedly. She didn't want to use the perfume that Severus had gifted them at Christmas! Lily had practically forced the fragrance on her by nearly pouring the entire contents of the vial onto her. Nothing could stop Lily from getting her to dawn the surprisingly nice smelling perfume. Not even Iris' arguments about Severus' suspicious and distant activity could sway the younger sisters actions. They seemed to only encourage Lily to try harder. She must have only seen it as a way for Iris and Severus to make up. If Severus knew that Iris was wearing the gift that he had given her, then he would try to make amends with her. Fat chance!
Surprisingly, Lily had thought that Iris was willing to work it out with Severus after she attacked the girl with the perfume. As soon as the fragrance had been sprayed on her, it was almost like she had forgotten why she was angry at Severus and even asked about him. Lily thought that it was progress to trying to get their relationship off of the rocks. Though after a few moments, Iris was back to being angry… and didn't even remember her calm words about the boy. It was strange, but Lily brushed it off. Iris was a strange girl.
"I have to agree to an extent," Wendy commented, "he didn't stand up for her. A friend should do that without a doubt. He's got to apologize to her for what he didn't do."
Lily nodded her head slowly as her eyes moved towards the floor. She had to admit that yes, she was offended and angry with Severus. But unlike her twin, she was far more forgiving. "He should. Yes, he really should explain and apologize to you." She replied reluctantly while looking up to Iris.
As their conversation about the relationship between the twins and Severus came to a close, there was a knock at the compartment door. The four heads turned to see two tall shadows looming in the foggy glass windows. Each girl shared a quick, confused look with each other. Iris, being the closest to the door, stood up and slide the door open.
"Hello, Evans," the black haired boy that was revealed from behind the door. His smug smirk greeted the compartment's occupants who were scowling. He tutted as he saw their malice filled looks, "now, now. Don't look so upset."
Next to him, Lucius smirked as well, "to think, we only wished to be kind and greet you lovely blood-traitors after the break." In his usual fashion, his lip was pulled back in a sneer. You would think that if Lucius held such a hatred for anyone he saw as a mudblood or a blood-traitor he would distance himself as much as he could from those he thought tarnished the image of the wizarding world. Yet, for some strange reason, he allowed himself and Regulus to constantly be around and bother Iris; a mudblood, in his words.
Both of the boys surveyed the small group before zeroing in on the glowering girl who had opened the door. Iris' narrowed eyes moved between the two of them and it was quite obvious that her brown irises were drenched in annoyance and hatred.
Then dull grey eyes connected with fiery chocolate ones as the two teens stared at each other…
The fire that seemed to burn in the teen girl's eyes slowly died. It looked like her eyes had glazed over slightly and lost focus. She facial expression fell and lost its menacing glare. She became relaxed and any sign of her hatred was gone.
Regulus eyed Iris a moment before his smirk seemingly widened. He looked at Lucius with a smug, triumphant smile that didn't go unnoticed by the other girls in the compartment. He turned back to Iris, "I think we should go," he commented while not breaking eye contact with the seemingly paralyzed redhead in front of him.
Iris nodded her head absentmindedly, "yeah, okay." There was no bite to her words or malice drenching them like they always do. Her voice was void of any emotion and completely bland it was as if she completely forgot about who exactly she was speaking with. Lucius nodded his head in what looked like appreciation. With nothing else to say, the two Slytherin boys disappeared down the corridor in order to find a compartment and their fellow Slytherin who they had to congratulate.
The three other girls watched as Iris continued to stare into blank space and the way that the two teenagers had gone. It took her a moment to try and collect herself. As soon as she did, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"
Her eyes lost the milky color that drained the brown of out her irises. It was as if she was allowed to breathe once again and her mind was clear. Iris wasn't sure but she felt like her mind had blanked out for a short minute. She finally gained clarity as her ears stopped ringing and allowed her to hear the bombardment of questions from her friends.
"What was that, Iris!?" Marlene shouted.
"Why didn't you… scream at them?! Why did you let them just walk away?!" Wendy, completely flabbergasted, yelped while pulling the disoriented girl back down into her seat.
Iris looked from the three frustrated faces in front of her with bewildered eyes. "What do you mean?"
Lily eyed her sister in skepticism, "you didn't yell at Lucius when he called us blood-traitors!" Her mouth felt numb with the fact that she had to say it out loud. It wasn't like Iris to just allow someone to insult her and her friends like that. Especially people like Regulus Black and Lucius Malfoy.
"…He called us blood-traitors…?" Her voice swelled with confusion and doubt. "I didn't hear him say that… I must of missed it."
She brushed it off so casually! It was like Lucius had just forgotten her name instead of called her a derogatory term. All of their jaws dropped and they simultaneously yelled out, "What!"
Iris huffed and frowned, "I didn't hear him, okay… I didn't really hear much…"
"Well, what did you hear?" Lily asked.
Iris thought for a moment and couldn't come up with anything. It was like her mind was completely blank to the notion of Lucius or Regulus insulting her. They couldn't insult me. She had no idea where that thought had come from and panicked slightly at it… before it drifted from her mind and memory like a leaf on the wind.
She shrugged her shoulders indifferently as it seemed she didn't find her behavior odd… because she could not remember the interaction… "I don't know, just some sort of ringing in my ears. I guess I've conditioned myself to ignore those twats completely!" She laughed loudly. Her friends could only share a concerned look as they knew that this was weird behavior, even for Iris.
---
Elsewhere, Severus Snape fiddled with the ends of his robes as he was huddled in the corner of a compartment. He was worried. Very worried. His relationship with both Iris and Lily were on the rocks, he knew that. There was no denying that the two feisty redheads were going to be stubborn as always and ignore him. Though he thought that they had a good reason to stay away from him. And there was also one reason that they had no idea about. If Severus was to be honest, he's glad that the two of them would stay away, especially Iris. That way he could have a higher hope of Iris not getting caught up with Regulus and Lucius. He really wished that he could have ignored Lucius and Regulus and their stupid plan…
The door slid open to the compartment which startled the poor teen out of his conflicting thoughts. The boys who he feared sauntered into the compartment. He instantly noticed the air of cruel triumph surrounding the two of them. Dread started to seep into his mind as he wondered what they had done to feel satisfied with their work.
"Ah, Severus," Lucius drawled out as he slithered into his seat next to the boy, "we must congratulate you."
Regulus nodded his head with a smirk as he sat across from the two of them. His grey eyes gleamed with victory which caused a shudder to run down Severus' spine. "It seems that your potion is showing some promise, Severus."
Severus gulped, "r-really?" He tried to keep the shock and terror from his voice. He didn't think that his potion would really work. At least, he hoped that it wouldn't work. His hopes were in futile though now that he knew that Iris was showing symptoms of the potion.
Lucius nodded his head, "a stronger dose of it will do the trick I think."
As Regulus and Lucius started to go delve deep into what heir plan would be, Severus trembled in his seat. He never had any true intention of helping the two snakes in their plan… He honestly didn't want to hurt his friend. However, he thought that he didn't have much choice. When in reality, if he was strong enough, if he could advocate for himself and his friends… he wouldn't be in this situation. He really was pathetic.
Regulus gazed at the teen and was able to see the troubled expression on his pale face. "You're not having doubts are you?"
The sneer was evident and the venom that dripped from his mouth seemed like it was pooling on the carpeted floor below him. Severus shakily shook his head in fear. He didn't want them to think that he was doubting helping them now that his potion had started to work properly.
"Good," Regulus said even though he still eyed Severus with narrowed eyes that made him look even more like a snake. "What we're doing," he started off as it was obvious he was threatening him, "is going to help our Lord. It may seem cruel to you, Severus, but you need to remember," he smirked. His words grew cold and slid past his lips dripping with malice, "Iris Evans is nothing but a filthy mudblood."
---
The train glided across the tracks through the chilly English air. The ride to Hogwarts was about halfway done. Like in all of the other compartments on the train, the Marauders were talking to each other about what they had done over the break.
"It was nice of them to invite us," Peter commented on the fact that Iris and, begrudgingly, Lily allowed them to come to the party at their house. Lily most certainly wouldn't have allowed them to come! They could really only thank Iris for the fact that she invited them. It was also quite obvious that their father had not been completely happy about the idea of them going to the party either. Though their mother was quite nice and very welcoming!
The others nodded their heads. "Their dad didn't seem to like us though," James commented with a nervous laugh. He knew that Mr. Evans hadn't been very keen on allowing them into his home. They all knew that if he had his way, They would have been locked out or not even allowed to step foot in his town.
"At least we finally got to see where the girls live," said Remus.
"Muggle homes are strange!" Peter yelped in amusement as the three boys who were paying attention nodded their heads(though Remus did have an idea about what muggle homes were like due to him being half-muggle). The only boy who didn't nod his head was Sirius. If anything, he wasn't paying attention to the conversation. It seemed that as soon as the party was mentioned, Sirius tuned it out and opted to just look out the window. It was obvious that he didn't appreciate the topic of conversation.
Did he enjoy the party? Yes, very much. The kiss that he had shared with Iris was… far beyond magical. He couldn't imagine any other time where he had felt such euphoria or giddiness in his life. Though the night had been stained slightly with the fact that he saw that muggle boy, Derek, kiss his Iris. His chest had been set aflame as soon as he saw it and nearly had the mind to go after the boy and curse him or something! The rest of that night he had sulked about it. Being the moody teenager that he was, he avoided Iris the rest of that night and opted to sit next to James and try to distance himself from her.
Why did he feel such hatred for the other teenage boy? It most certainly had to do with Iris and the fact that they kissed… but Sirius shouldn't be so angry about it! He and Iris weren't in a… relationship. The fact that Iris may like that muggle more than him did bother him but it wasn't like he had a claim to make on her. Technically she was free to do what she wanted. Though that didn't mean that he had to like it.
"Awe," James' annoying coo brought Sirius from his conflicting thoughts. The black-haired boy turned to his glasses-wearing best friend with a slight scowl as he could already tell that he was going to be teased. "Is little Paddy upset about the party?"
All of the boys knew about the kiss that Sirius and Iris had and about the one Iris and Derek shared due to Sirius ranting about it himself. If he didn't want them to tease him about it, then he shouldn't have told them about it. For what are friends for if not teasing and making fun of each other about different things.
Sirius shook his head with his scowl ever present on his face. He jabbed James in the stomach with his elbow, "and if I am?" He allowed himself to smirk, "at least I got to kiss my girl while there. You, mate, will most likely never get to kiss your precious Lily."
James didn't let his words wound him in any way. He knew that it would take a while before he was even allowed to be in the same room alone with Lily. She was a stubborn witch, though that made the chase for her love even better. Just as much as Sirius got a thrill out of having Iris who could go toe to toe with him with flirting and teasing, James like the challenge of pursuing his stubborn lady love.
"But she also didn't kiss any other guys while there," Remus couldn't help but pitch in which earned him a glare from Sirius. He raised his hands in defense, "I'm just stating a fact, Padfoot."
Sirius rolled his eyes, "whatever, Moony."
"We're almost at school," Peter piped in, "we should probably get our uniforms on…"
The others nodded their heads and started to pull out their uniforms in order to get dressed. They were going to arrive at Hogwarts soon enough and they wanted to get to the feast as soon as possible. That was evident from the fact that each of the boys were starving and every once and a while their mouths watered at the thought of the piles of food that would decorate the Gryffindor table later.
---
Once the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station, the platform was flooded with hundreds of students. Most were bummed about having to come back to school while others were thrilled to be back at Hogwarts. Iris had escaped the questions of her friends and somehow found the Marauders among the train platform.
The five of them hopped into a carriage and allowed it to carry them up the hill to Hogwarts. They chatted with each other and joked around. All the while, Sirius did his best to avoid Iris. He sat as far away from her as he could and didn't look into her eyes.
Iris' eyebrows were furrowed at his strange behavior but brushed it off. Sirius could be strange sometimes, she shrugged, perhaps it was just one of those days. They followed the flow of other Hogwarts students and walked into the Great Hall. Of course, before they could make it to the Gryffindor table, a pair of narrowed eye snakes decided to stop them.
The group just about all scoffed or growled at their appearance, "good to see you all too," Lucius snapped as the two became a wall separating the group from getting to their seats.
James glared at the bleach-blonde prat, "sod off, Malfoy." He obviously already knew that the two boys wanted to cause trouble with them as usual. James and the other Marauders so hoped that they wouldn't have to deal with these two for some time. Though it looked like their luck had run out for the night.
"Oh," Regulus imitated confusion while turning to Iris, "I can see where you get your attitude, Evans!"
Iris' jaw clenched while glaring at them, "stop ruining the night, Black. Let us through."
Regulus snorted in a laugh, "you are so rude, Iris," Sirius didn't like the way that his brother said her name. "You should learn to respect your peers."
Once again, Iris' mind became foggy as she continued to stare at the slightly younger boy. Her ears rang and her body became cold as her mind suddenly stopped producing any thoughts that were her own.
The Marauders continued to glower at the pair while throwing insults at them. Though Sirius noticed how quiet Iris had become. It wasn't like Iris to stay quiet when Regulus and Lucius were around. Something wasn't right…
Regulus smirked as he saw the slacked look on Iris as she seemingly became comfortable in their presence. Oh, he was having such fun with how things were playing out. A sick satisfaction and accomplishment swirled in his gut as he witnessed Iris' attitude towards himself and Lucius change completely.
"Get out of the way," Sirius growled while grabbing Iris' forearm and trying to pull her away. Though he found that she was slightly resistant with being forcibly removed from her spot. It was almost like she didn't want to leave… Which she should be! She should be cursing the Slytherins' existences and hexing them for even breathing. She should want to try and get as far away from them as she could. However, now she seemed to be content and calm in their presence. Something was wrong… really, really wrong.
The grey-eyed and blonde Slytherins moved out of the group's way and allowed them to past. Sirus couldn't help but notice the way that Iris' eyes followed after the nuisances who were smirking widely. They allowed themselves to be swallowed into the crowd of other students and make their way towards the table.
"You okay," Sirius asked Iris once he let go of her arm.
Her pale face was still relaxed and held no sign of malice. He knew something wasn't right. For the short time that Sirius had known Iris, she was most certainly a spit-fire and not one to keep quiet. For her to not to say anything to those slimy snakes was unsettling.
Iris nodded her head absentmindedly as she gazed across the sea of students with milky eyes. Sirius snapped his fingers in front of her face and stared at her confused.
The redhead blinked a few times as she regained her senses. Her eyes became clear and focused on the boy in front of her. Her eyebrows were pulled together as she looked at him surprised. "Yes, Sirius?"
He stared at her for a moment in contemplation. He tried to wrap his head around her strange behavior, "are you okay?"
His words were slow and clear which caused Iris to stare at him with furrowed eyebrows. Questions ran through her head as to why he seemed to be so… concerned? Was he really concerned for her? If so, what for? She honestly wasn't sure.
She smirked at him, "of course I'm okay, Darling."
Sirius eyed her critically. She seemed fine… She wasn't staring off into space like she was before as she lost that blank look on her pale face. However, Sirius could see in her brown eyes that there was something… unusual swimming in them as she stared at him.
Iris rolled her eyes, "stop looking at me like that, Sirius." She leaned forward and grabbed his tie in order to pull him closer to her. In an instant, the two teens faces were inches from each other. Their minds had instantly been reminded of only a few nights before when they were in nearly the same position.
Sirius' cheeks started to burn slightly with a soft pink that gave Iris a strong feeling of satisfaction. Though she had to admit that she was also slightly flustered at their close proximity as she remembered that night. She remembered how their breath had mingled together as they embraced each other due to the cold. She remembered the She in no way wanted to admit it out loud, but she most certainly wanted to have the giddy feeling envelope her again. Though she pushed those feelings away and tried to ward away the blush creeping up her neck.
"I'm completely fine," Iris lets go of his tie, albeit reluctantly and tried to keep her composure by not letting her smirk slide off of her face. She spun on her heels and started to sashay away to find a seat next to her sister. Sirius watched her go with wide eyes as he once again became flustered to the fact that she could so easily rile him up. Though the constant thoughts about her strange behavior were still ever present in the back of his mind.
---
After the stomachs of all the student body were filled to the brim with succulent foods and sweet drinks, everyone started to head to their dorms to sleep. Iris had left dinner slightly earlier than she usually would have. Which once again was strange. Sirius was starting to become increasingly worried about her.
Not only him, but the girls were surprised by the fact that Iris Evans had wanted to leave the feast early. Iris most certainly couldn't be in her right mind if she would willingly deprive herself of eating anything else. When they questioned her, she had complained of a headache and really wanted to go up to the dorm and sleep. They didn't argue with her and allowed her to go. It was obviously something serious for her to leave so they wanted to make sure she did what she could do to feel better.
Even though they didn't question her further about it, they went to the Marauders. Which is where they were at the moment. It was strange to see Lily willing going to see the group of boys due to the fact that it was known all over the school that she detested James Potter's existence. However, considering she wanted to find out about the well-being of her sister, she would suffer being in the teenagers' presence.
"She's been acting strange," Lily said once she was finished explaining what had happened on the train.
Remus nodded his head in thought, "she was quite quiet when Regulus and Lucius walked over to us."
Marlene pointed at him, "see that isn't normal!"
"It was like she… lost herself for a few moments before going back to normal." Wendy commented as the group walked along the the corridors towards the Gryffindor tower. She bit the inside of her cheek, "it was unsettling."
James sighed, "so what do you think's happening then?"
The girls all glance at each other unsure. "No idea," Lily said, disheartened as her worry was obvious.
Sirius shook his head in thought. He didn't like the behavior that Iris was exhibiting and he most certainly didn't like the satisfaction his brother got out of it. He had a sickening feeling that Regulus had something to do with Iris' weird behavior.
Speak of the Devil and he shall appear, Sirius bitterly thought as his younger brother came walking down the corridor. His eyes glared at the smug boy who was walking towards the stairs. He shook his head and growled lightly which caught Peter's attention.
The pudgy boy tilted his head at his friend, "is something wrong, Padfoot?"
Sirius briefly nodded his head, "I'll be back."
With that, the group watched as Sirius matched towards the stairs that would lead to the dungeons. They all glanced at each other worriedly as they watched the obviously angry teen walk away. They didn't know if they wanted to intervene with him and his brother. They figured that Sirius could handle him. At least, he could handle the young snake better than the rest of them probably could.
Regulus paused in his step as an obviously enraged Sirius stomped over towards him. His ever-present infuriating, smug smirk was on his face. Nearly identical grey eyes focused on each other. One pair was calm and reflecting a suffocating amount of arrogance while the other was burning with nothing short of rage.
"Brother dearest," Regulus greeted him. His sickly silky voice slithered from his teeth like a snake that was ready to strike Sirius. "To what do I owe the pleasure."
Sirius' jaw clenched, "what's wrong with Iris?"
Regulus stared at him wide-eyed as he displayed faux confusion on his face. "What do you mean?" He tried to keep the sly smirk from crawling on his lips, "something's wrong with Iris?" Sirius only continued to glare at his brother. "I saw her leave dinner early, is she sick?"
The older out of the two scoffed, "you did something to her, didn't you?" Regulus stayed silent. However, Sirius was able to see a certain glint of triumph in his eyes that worried him immensely. Sirius pointed at his brother to try and intimidate him, "I know you did something to her. When I find out what it is and if you've hurt her…" He trailed off slightly as he couldn't put into words the amount of pain that he would put Regulus(and any of the other snakes who helped him harm Iris in any way) through.
Regulus only continued to stare at him indifferently with a raised eyebrow. "Is that all, Sirius?" The way he said his name made it sound as though he had just uttered something that left a bad taste in his mouth. Sirius only glared at him harsher as he conveyed his threat silently. Regulus' smirk did not falter, "we best head to our dorms, classes start tomorrow."
The younger boy then pushed Sirius out of the way and started his journey down to the Slytherin common room. All the while, Sirius watched him go with a scowl. At that moment he swore to himself. He swore that he would make sure no one(not even his slimy brother) would ever hurt Iris. Ever. Sirius would much rather die than she his beloved redhead hurt.
---
"So, Snape," Regulus' voice drawled as he glared menacingly at the other teen. "How long will it take you to get another potin to Evans?"
The greasy-haired boy gulped in fear and shook slightly. His hands played with the ends of his robe sleeves as he was cornered in the gloomy Slytherin common room. The haunting glow of the fireplace only a few feet from the trio of boys barely did anything to lighten the room. It didn't even stop the chill that slithered up Servus spine as the stares of the other two Slytherins were pinned on his pathetic form.
He swallowed thickly, "i-it'll take me some time to brew it a-again."
Lucius scowled down at him as if he was a bug that he was going to step on. "How soon, Snape?"
"S-soon!" Severus yelped as he backed himself into the corner slightly to try and get away from his tormentors. "By the end of the month!"
The two others glanced at each other quickly before smirking in satisfaction. Regulus clapped his hand onto Severus' shaky shoulder as his smirk grew wider, "end of the month, Snap. And this time, make the dose stronger," he breathed out a laugh, "soon enough we'll have the little mudblood working for us."
He couldn't wait to see that happen. He most certainly couldn't wait to see their work finally done with. Regulus was looking forward to finally gaining the prize that they had been soughting for for most of the year. His brother wasn't happy about it… However, Regulus couldn't wait to see his devastated reaction when Iris was finally theirs to play with. There was no way that Sirius or any of those other blood-traitors could stop them.