Chapter Six: The First Hogsmeade Trip

SMALL, SPARKLING SPECKS OF ICY SNOWFLAKES BLANKETED the ground like a soft, fluffy duvet. The early Saturday morning was no different from any other Saturday at Hogwarts. Almost all of the students had decided to sleep in after having such a tiring school week. However, there were a few outliers who had decided actually wake up at a reasonable time. One of these outliers, not surprisingly, was Lily, of course.

She was already dressed in a warm jumper with jeans as she sat on her bed and read a book. She was trying to get a head start on her studies and homework for the weekend. Because Lily Evans was anything but a procrastinator. Wendy had woken up as well though she had yet to change out of her night clothes and it didn't seem like she was willing to get out of bed at that moment.

Both Marlene and Iris were still sleeping soundly in their beds. The scarlet blankets swallowed both of their sleepy forms as they were deep in their pleasant dreams. If it was a school day, both girls would find themselves on the receiving end of Lily's infamous wake up calls and drenched in water for sleeping in so late. However, on the weekends, Lily allowed her friends to sleep in for a while as long as they didn't have something to do in the morning.

There were no Quidditch games that they had to attend or any "study sessions" in the library Lily usually forced them to go to on the weekends. Though as ten o'clock grew closer, Lily began to grow restless as she waited for her sister and friend to wake up. She tapped her slim fingers against the hardcover of her transfigurations textbook as she watched the two girls snore in their beds.

"Are you goin' to just going to stare at them?" Wendy asked as she finally stood up from her bed and stretched. "Or wake them up? If we want to get to the carriages on time, they need to wake up."

All the girls had agreed that they wanted to go to Hogsmeade the night before. Lily was extremely excited to show Iris around the small village down the hill from Hogwarts. She hadn't been able to do it before because Iris had detention just about every weekend! She always cursed her sister's knack of getting into trouble, and Lily also blamed the Marauders for enabling Iris and her past time. However, Iris hadn't received any detentions from their professors which meant she was free to hang out with them in Hogsmeade.

Lily sighed and flashed Wendy a sheepish smile, "would you mind waking up Iris…?"

"And deal with her?" Wendy asked sarcastically with a scoff, "No."

Iris proved to be a right terror in the mornings, and the girls never wanted to deal with her. On school days, they were usually able to deal with her with the Aguamenti charm and force her to get ready. However, the weekends were days where Iris never wanted to get up, and she proved to be a tough challenge for her roommates.

"Fine, I'll do it!" Lily huffed and tossed her textbook onto her bed. She climbed off her bed and over to her sister's bed. She shook Iris' shoulders roughly, "come on, Iris. Get your arse out of bed!" Iris barley rolled over in her bed as she continued to snore loudly while she slept. Lily glared at her twin hotly. Curse her sister's inability to be woken up! "I swear to Merlin, Iris." She sternly said but received only a loud snore in reply. Lily rolled her eyes before ripping the covers off Iris to hopefully shock her awake. She didn't want to use the water charm on Iris again. The reason being that it was a pain to deal with Iris as she moaned and groaned about being soaked. 

"Go away…" Iris sleepily whispered as she stuffed her face into her pillow to shield herself from her sister as she no longer had her comfy blankets to hide under. She would be damned if Lily didn't let her sleep in for a while longer. All week she had to deal with Mcgonagall's rigorous lessons, Slughorn's energetic personality and Lily's incessant nagging about school work. She was entitled to at least fifteen more minutes of peaceful sleep. 

"No," Lily sasses and began trying to pull Iris out of her bed. "We all agreed to go to Hogsmeade today and to do that we have to take the carriages!"

Iris moaned out in protest, "I want to sleep!"

"Oh, get up!" This time Wendy chimed in from the doorway of the bathroom with her clothes in hand.

Iris grumbled as she knew that not only Lily but the rest of the girls would not leave her alone. "I wish I didn't agree to anything." She grunted as she started to regret ever agreeing to spend the day with her friends in Hogsmeade. All she wanted was to sleep! However, her friends seemed adamant about socializing outside. 

She glanced out the window next to her bed and groaned once again. She had a perfect view of the small, light snowflakes that fluttered down to the ground like white leaves. She shivered at even the thought of it being cold outside. Iris hated the cold. Plain and simple. She hated how her clothes became heavy and wet from the snow and how the wind always found a way to lick her skin even though she was covered head to toe!

"Stop moping and get changed, we'll miss breakfast!" Lily ordered after seeing that Iris had succumbed to the fact that she was awake and not going back to sleep. At the mention of missing the most important meal of the day, Iris trudged out of her bed and towards her trunk to rummage through her things for an acceptable outfit. All the while, she grumbled and hissed under her breath about how her stupid friends were forcing her out of bed.

---

Now wearing a gold and red jumper with a thick scarf wrapped around her neck and a pair of jeans, Iris followed after her small group of friends as they all entered the Great Hall. It was obvious that not every student had come down for breakfast as they slept in and Iris envied the fact that they got to enjoy more sleep than her. They all sat at the Gryffindor table and started to pile their plates with breakfast. 

Iris had just started to lazily stuff her mouth with some bacon when her friends started to gush about their day later on. They began to speak animatedly about showing Iris all around the village. There were a few stores that peaked Iris' interest like Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes Sweetshop and, of course, Zonko's Joke Shop. However, she dreaded having to go into Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. Hopefully, at some point she could escape their clutches and explore on her own. She had heard a few stories about the creepy, infamous Shrieking Shack.

She had heard the older students trying to scare the ickle first years with the legend of screeching that echoed from the abandoned building. Iris had to admit, there were a few times when she thought she heard, what must have been, inhuman wails from the shack during the night. She was extremely curious to find out what exactly could be screaming and why.

"...And it's perfect outside, what with the snow." Marlene's comment drew Iris' attention at the mention of the snow. 

She scoffed and glared at the brown-hair girl, "don't mention the snow."

The three other girls turned to the redhead with furrowed eyebrows. There was no denying the venom that dripped from her mouth as she spoke the word. "Why not?" Wendy asked.

Iris shook her head, "'cause it's… snow!" She flailed her arms slightly as if she had made the clearest argument about her obvious dislike for snow.

"What's wrong with snow?" Marlene asked.

Lily sighed, "Iris hates the snow." Ever since they were little, Iris had a strong distaste for the cold. Summer was her favorite season while winter was her least favorite. Lily could remember when they still attended a muggle school and Iris would refuse to go outdoors and play with any of the other children. While Lily enjoyed going outside and building snow forts, snowmen and having snowball fights with their muggle friends, Iris loved to stay as far away from the snow as she possibly could. 

"Hate the snow?!"

Iris rolled her eyes at her friends confused exclamation. "I hate the snow. So what?" She grumbled while trying to hide herself in her Gryffindor-styled scarf.

"'So what?' how can someone hate snow?" Wendy asked completely flabbergasted as there was clear disbelief flooding her eyes. She thought that it was completely unfathomable to even have a slight dislike for snow. Yes, she could admit that there were some downfalls to snow. During winter, you were more susceptible to getting sick due to the cold. There was also the fact that after a fun filled day playing in the snow, your clothes would be complete soaked and could be an inconvenience to deal with. The more she thought about it, she could understand why someone would dislike the cold.

"I just do, okay," Iris shrugged her shoulders. "I don't like the cold and the snow is extremely cold."

Lily shook her head at her sister, "well, you'll have to deal with it. You're not getting out of today."

Iris groaned and slumped in her seat, "please!" 

"You're whining isn't going to help you." Lily sung as she started to eat her own breakfast.

"Begging might," the arrogant voice of Sirius invaded their conversation as he sat himself next to Iris. His smirk was blinding the girls as they each flashed him an unimpressed expression at his remark. He leaned in close to the girl and continued on in a husky voice, "though I suppose you can beg to me for… something."

Iris bit her lip and turned to him as she tried to keep in her snickers, "I think you'll be the one begging for me not to stop-"

"Okay!" Remus exclaimed in order to stop the conversation that would more than likely continue between the two flirtatious teens. He was certain that nobody wanted to hear the rest of their conversation at all. For the entirety of the school year so far, they all had to endure the chats between their two overly playful friends. They always tried to outdo each other with flirts but Sirius was always the one to fall on his feet due to Iris' quick rebuttals. Though he had to admit that that aspects of their verbal battles were quite entertaining. "Let's talk about something different!"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, "are you girls headed down to Hogsmeade?" James asked them.

"Yeah, we're goin' to show Iris around," Marlene commented as they all continued to eat their breakfasts. The bustle of the Great Hall started to pick up as a few more students started to come down for food. It was obvious that most of the older students were getting ready to go to Hogsmeade while the first and second years moped about not being able to go.

Despite the fact that she wasn't looking forward to going outside, Iris was giddy about actually spending time with her friends outside of school. Every weekend, she either had to polish trophies without magic during the day, copy lines from her transfiguration textbook, or help Hagrid with some work close to the Forbidden Forest. (Helping Hagrid was always her favorite detention to serve.) She was actually looking forward to hang out with Wendy, Marlene and Lily.

---

The carriage ride to Hogsmeade was pleasant enough as the girls had all piled into one along with a few other students they knew. Iris spoke with some fellow classmates including an older student named Frank and his girlfriend Alice. The ride was short as it was only to the bottom of the mountain which meant that their conversations didn't last too long. Even if Iris wanted to to continue talking to the older students, she couldn't due to Marlene quickly pulling her away.

Her three friends started to drag her around the small village. Iris wasn't completely happy with where she was forced to go. At least they went into Honeydukes to get some sweets otherwise Iris would have gone insane! 

Of course, later on the girls were getting cold and wanted to go inside for a drink of something warm. Iris would have loved to go inside to shield herself from the flakes of snow that invaded her personal space. However, she wasn't particularly thrilled that the shop that Wendy, Lily and Marlene wanted to go into was Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. 

Her feet dragged on the snow covered cobblestone ground as the small group of girls headed towards the tea shop. Iris could tell that she wasn't going to like the tea shop in the slightest bit. As soon as they stepped through the threshold of the shop they were all bombarded with the aroma of warm tea. There were a few tables inside the shop that were already taken by students from Hogwarts. A few of them looked to be dreading their presence in there just as Iris was. She could tell that really only the girliest of girls came to Madam Puddifoot's. (Them and their boyfriends they forced to go with them.)

"It's freezing out there." Lily commented as she pulled her sweater closer to her while sitting down at one of the empty tables. It was obvious that the wind chill was still affecting her even though they had finally entered the shop.

"Nothing like some tea to warm us up, right?" Wendy pitched in as she sat down.

Iris sighed, "why couldn't we've gone to the Three Broomsticks? This place is far to…" she looked around the small shop with a grimace, "pink for my liking." Every wall was painted in the obnoxiously bright color and the longer Iris stared at it, she was starting to get a headache.

"We don't go to the Three Broomsticks that much because the Marauders love to hang around in there." Marlene started to explain. "Lily forces us to stay here just so she can avoid Potter."

"And there is no way those boys would be caught dead in here!" Lily exclaimed with a smile. She thought that it was a devious plan she came up with a while ago in order to avoid her annoying stalker. If they did go to the Three Broomsticks, the Marauders would no doubt corner them into a booth and force them to actually spend time together against their will. In her view, they already suffer enough having to see the boys in school, they should all get a little break from them for at least some time. Madam Puddifoot's was the perfect place for it!

Now, Iris on the other hand, she knew was a completely different story. From just looking at the expression that had washed over her twins face as soon as she stepped into the shop, Lily knew that Iris was regretting ever stepping foot out of the castle. She knew that Iris would much rather be in the Three Broomsticks with the troublesome Marauders scheming and causing some sort of chaos. However, she wasn't going to have that! She wanted to spend time with her sister for a short while, at least. Even if that meant forcing Iris to go somewhere she would most likely despise.

"Iris just sit and drink some tea." Iris obeyed the command as she grumbled under her breath about her sister and their stupid plans as she sat down at the chair next to Marlene's. 

The girls all started to talk to each other animatedly about certain things. Marlene gushed about William like she had for most of the day, Wendy started to discuss their homework for the weekend, and Lily complained about James (which Iris noticed she did a lot of…). They ordered some tea to hopefully warm themselves up from how cold it was outside. 

They all indulged themselves in the sweet taste of their choice while they basked in the warmth of the small shop. Iris appreciated the warmth and the tea wasn't terrible, but she was completely and utterly bored!

She didn't like listening to the mundane conversation between her friends. She had given her input into their conversations every once in a while but it got to the point where she was not stimulated by the talking any longer. It felt like she was drowning in an ocean of bland words. She could feel the boring words that were lodged in her throat choke her to the point where she basically sat silent at the table while sipping her drink.

Finally, after enduring enough, Iris stood up and stretched her stiff legs. "Well, I have to use the toilet." She came up with a quick excuse as soon as she finished her drink. The eyes of the other Gryffindor girls followed her movements with calculating stares. They could tell that Iris had had enough with their conversation and was itching to leave. She wrapped her scarf around her neck to cover her nose and mouth while making her way towards the exit. She breley gave the three other girls a wave goodbye before she disappeared from their sight and into the blanket of snow outside.

They stared at the door for a moment in silence before Wendy turned to Lily with a plain expression. "She's not coming back is she?"

Iris turned back to the table and picked up her tea cup, "nope."

---

While the snow continuously fell from the sky, Iris trudged through the cold to the best of her ability. She shivered every once and a while while trying to burrow herself further into her coat and scarf. After escaping her friends clutches, Iris could finally walk around the small village by herself. If she could, she would have gone into the Three Broomsticks to get a butterbeer or possibly swindle someone into giving her some Firewhiskey. However, it was far too crowded in the pub for her to even step foot through the door.

Instead she resorted to walking through the village. She had seen a few students that she knew from around the castle and chatted with them quickly before going on her way. As she continued on her path through the village, she found a small path that lead into the woods. She stood at the beginning of the path and stared at it for a moment. A smirk crawled onto her chapped lips as she gazed down the dark path. Without a care, Iris strolled down the path to where ever it would lead her.

Iris dodged low hanging branches that reached towards her while she skipped down the path. She didn't think that the path was anything too exciting. It did hold an air of mystery because she had no idea where it would lead her. However, it provided her with at least some entertainment.

After a few minutes of walking along the barely visible path, Iris soon came to a small clearing. Along the edge of the clearing furthest away from her was a fence that screamed 'stay away!' From the creepy vines that crawled along it to the fact that it was almost completely broken, anyone would think of leaving at that point. But Iris only became more curious. She stepped over to the fence to see why it was placed there and what it tried to keep people from. As soon as she saw the tall, ancient building looming behind the fence, she understood why they would try to stop anyone from getting too close.

Iris stared with wide eyes at the Shrieking Shack as she tried to drink in what it looked like. The stories that she had heard about it didn't do it justice. The broken, abandoned building was far more terrifying than what she had heard. She could already imagine hearing the wails and screams of agony coming from inside the building. It looked like one of the houses from the horror movies that she loved to watch with her father. She was so enraptured by the creepy building that she didn't see the four figures emerging from the path behind her.

"Lost are we?"

Iris jumped at the sudden voice and let out a squeak. She spun around to face the people who had decided to follow her and glared at them hotly. The four Marauders smirked at Iris as she tried to hide the fact that James had startled her by coughing slightly and trying to hide her face into her Gryffindor scarf in embarassment. "No! I'm not lost!"

"No need to be afraid, love." Sirius strutted over to the girl and swung and arm over her shoulders as he tried to get a good look at her rosy cheeks. "You're safe now with me."

Iris rolled her eyes at his words and smirked at his attempt to woo her. However, she didn't remove his arm from her shoulders as she found herself warming up in his hold. Could it be because Sirius was wearing a tick coat that provided her warmth? Or could it be that her body started to heat up over the fact that Sirius was so close to her? She tried to toss away the idea of his proximity affecting her so much because she didn't want to admit that it was even close to being true.

For a while, Iris had been drowning in denial ever since Lily pointed out that there was an attraction between Sirius and her. She became complete confused by the turmoil that had implanted itself in her chest. She didn't want to admit that there was… something embedding itself in her heart because of Sirius. Nothing like that had ever happened before! It scared her slightly to be experiencing something that was completely foreign to her. It also didn't help that her friends had taken the time to tease her as much as they could about her apparent feelings for the boy.

Unbeknownst to her, the same thing was happening to Sirius. He wasn't new to the aspect of dating or anything of the sort. However, Sirius had never felt so… he didn't know the word, but it was something! It was so strong that the other boys had started to notice how he was being affected by the redheads appearance and they took time out of their days to tease him for it. Sirius had seemingly lost interest in many other girls and only paid attention to Iris. Instead of allowing the group of girls who threw themselves at him to surround him all the time, he tried to spend as much time as he could with Iris. It was as if he had become blind to seeing every girl except Iris. Of course, unlike any other girl that Sirius has been with in the past, Iris actually gave Sirius a run for his money. Could it be because Iris actually posed a challenge to him that he was drawn to her? Most likely. After all, the thrill was in the chase.

"Leave her alone, Padfoot," Remus commented with a shake of his head. "I don't think anyone is safe when with you." Everyone snickered at his comment as Sirius glowered at his friend.

Sirius grumbled, "shut it, Moony."

"Did you four follow me out here?" Iris asked with suspicious eyes after she finally recovered from her laughter. The four boys instantly shook their heads no vigorously. From the fact that they had answered so quickly, Iris could tell that they were lying. She stared at each of their attempts of hiding the truth with a blank, unimpressed expression and came to a conclusion. "You followed me."

James chuckled nervously, "no, no. Why do you think that we were following you? Which we were not."

Iris rolled her eyes, "We've been over this hundreds of times, I'm not thick."

All of their shoulders sagged as they knew that there was no hiding their intentions from the fiery girl. They couldn't count the number of times that she knew they were lying about anything. They couldn't fool her, no matter what!

Sirius cleared his throat, "and if we were?"

Iris looked up to him through her eyelashes as it became apparent that her attention was mainly focused on Sirius when she spoke. "I suppose I'd just have punish you." 

A shiver ran down his spine as he tried to keep anyone from noticing how flustered he became. Though he wasn't sure if it was because of the cold winds or of her statement. Sirius flashed her a saucy smirk, "and what does that entail?"

The three other boys rolled their eyes and shared an irritated expression. Leave it to those two to turn the situation into a flirting fest. "Never mind that," James commented with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing out here, Iris? I thought that the girls were showing you around."

Iris turned her attention away from the boy who still held onto her shoulders and shrugged, "they were, but they decided to drag me into Madam Puddifoot's." They all simultaneously shivered at the thought of that obnoxiously colored tea shop. "I could not stand a minute longer in there."

"So you walked over to the Shrieking Shack?" Peter squeaked out in confusion.

Iris nodded her head, "only by accident really. Though who could pass up seeing the infamous Shrieking Shack?"

All of the boys shared an uneasy glance at her remark. Iris definitely should not try to get involved with the stories that she may have heard about the abandoned building. They didn't want her to be caught in the crossfire of what really happened once a month at night. There were times in the past were there were a few close calls and people almost got hurt or killed. However, they were able to divert any sort of disaster from striking while keeping Remus' secret safe.

"I'm guessing you've heard the stories about the building. Of course you have." She said while begging the boys to come close so she didn't have to speak so loud and could burry herself into Sirius side. She started to retell the story that she heard from the older students. "I heard from some seven years that once a month, at night, a cult kidnaps a first year and brings them to the Shack. Then they use the cruciatus curse on them the whole night before killing them!" 

It amused them that people told stories about what they thought could have been happening in the Shrieking Shack. Of course, it was off the mark when if came to what actually happened once a month. But they would rather have the rumors spread than letting it be known what truly happened.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't think that Iris was one to believe in silly rumors that were clearly meant to scare the first years. Though he could never be sure about her, for she was a loose cannon that nobody could really predict.

She shook her head in amusement, "of course not. I'm not some gullible first year! I bet whatever happens down there is far better than some cult making sacrifices."

James nodded his head slowly, "right, well, why don't we leave the shack alone for now." He said as he wrapped his own arm around Iris as well which allowed both him and Sirius to lead her away. "Just to make sure that you don't get kidnapped."

"Perhaps some Butterbeer'll warm you up." Sirius commented as he could feel Iris cold body through his coat. "You must be freezing."

Iris could tell that the boys were nervous about something. It obviously had to do with the Shrieking Shack, however, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some Butterbeer. "Alright, to the Three Broomsticks then?"

"To the Three Broomsticks!" All the boys agreed as they made their way back up the path and towards the bustling village in order to get their delicious drinks from said pub.

---

Five tall glasses of Butterbeer were placed down on the wooden table in the Three Broomsticks. As soon as they were placed down, greedy hands reached out to snatch each glass in order for the owners to take large gulps of the beverage. The slurred words of drunk wizards and witches filled the pub and mingled with the chatter of many Hogwarts students who munched on food and drank their Butterbeer or Pumpkin Juice.

The Marauders plus Iris all chugged their drinks with satisfaction as the liquid quickly warmed them up slightly. After the five of them had walked from the Shrieking Shack to the pub, James and Sirius went off in search of the barmaid, Rosemuerta, to order their drinks. (They also had hopes of sweet talking their way into getting some Firewisky from her. But just like in the past, they had no such luck.) They all sat at a booth that was tucked into a corner of the pub where they hoped they would get the most warmth.

Iris shuttered as the warm liquid moved down her throat and lit a fire to each of her frostbitten nerves. She moaned in delight, "I've been dying for a Butterbeer all year!"

James took a swig of his own Butterbeer, "I'm glad that we could finally get you one then."

"We would have brought you here earlier if you didn't have so many detentions," Remus pointed out.

They all nodded their heads in agreement at the startment. "Do you have something against staying out of trouble?" Peter mused.

Iris' eyebrows furrowed as she scoffed, "you're asking me if I have something against staying out of trouble?" She asked as bewilderment washed over her rosy face. She gestured to James who sat to her right and Sirius who sat to her left (very closely she must add). She flashed him a teasing smile across the table where he and Remus sat. "Mate, you do realize who you're friends with, right?"

Peter flushed in embarrassment at her questions as it had an obvious answer. He should have realized that all of his friends were used to getting in trouble. That and he was just as bad as them! He usually got into trouble just like them. Though they were usually the ones to drag him into certain situations that resulted in them getting detention.

Iris laughed at the obvious humiliation and shook her head at the poor boy. She would have continued to tease the boy if it wasn't for the skittish and quick footsteps heading in their direction. She turned to see her good friend Severus walking over to them. Her eyebrows furrowed as she could see a certain air of uneasiness surround him as she could see his eyes searching around the busy pub.

Once his wide eyes found her own he sighed and rushed over to her. "Iris, I've been looking for you." He breathed out in relief as he smiled brightly towards her. Of course, it swiftly dropped off of his face when he saw the glares the Marauders were shooting at him. "I see you're busy though."

Iris waved her hand dismissively, "not too busy to talk with you, Sev."

"Are you going to really choose the snake over us?" Sirius asked in disgruntled amazement with his mouth slightly agape. He definitely didn't like the fact that Iris seemed so cozy with the slimy snake. Sirius didn't want to admit the real reason that he didn't like Iris being friends with Severus. He didn't like that Iris was even hanging around a Slytherin as they were known to be sketchy and deceptive while also being surrounded by dark magic. He also was slightly worried that there was a large possibility of Severus hurting Iris in someway. He didn't want to see her hurt by some pathetically weak Slytherin. He may also been slightly jealous that Iris was willing to ditch him and the rest of them for Snivellus.

Iris' eyes narrowed at him, "yes, I do, at the moment. After all, he is my friend just as much as you are."

"But he's-"

"Finish that sentence, Potter," she growled, "and if it's an insult, I'll make sure you can never walk again."

The boy's eyes widened in horror as he clamped his mouth shut. It was obvious over the time that they knew her, Iris was quite protective of Severus which they could never understand. She usually retaliated against them if they so much as name called Severus during class. Merlin, that girl was terrifying!

"I-I don't want to… intrude," Severus said nervously as the astonished filled eyes turned back in his direction and hardened into glares once again.

Iris pushed James out of the booth, "no worries," she stepped over the fallen Gryffindor boy and linked arms with her brother-like friend. "Off we go then." With their jaws dropped, the Marauders watched as Iris sauntered out of the pub with the Slytherin attached at her arm. 

---

The Gryffindor girl and Slytherin boy walked along the cobbled stone with arms linked. It may have been cold, however, Iris could barely feel the frigid winds that tried to bite at her skin. She was far too heated with how her friends reacted to the fact that she had decided to speak with Severus. They couldn't decide who she decided to spend time with! They had no say in who her friends were! Who were they to think that? She didn't care that there was some sort of rivalry between the group of them. She didn't want to be dragged between their stupid little spat. She was unsure what it was even about!

"Iris?" Severus brought her out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"

She shook her head to try and rid her mind of the intense thoughts, "fine, those idiots can just be…" she sighed as she couldn't find the right words.

"Horrible people?" Severus pitched in with a slight chuckle.

Iris thought about it for a second, "that's putting it lightly." She laughed, "I would've said bellends!"

The both of them dissolved into laughter as they continued to walk through the crowds of people who hurried through the village. As the two friends walked with each other and enjoyed each other's company, they didn't notice a figure lurking in the shadows behind them. They didn't even see way their beady eyes followed their movements with an extreme amount of restlessness. 

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Severus licked his chapped lips as he removed his arm from Iris' hold. Her eyes furrowed in confusion as she stopped to turn to her friend. "Is something wrong?" The concern that laced her voice was quite evident and the softness that was in her eyes would seem uncharacteristic of her unless you really knew her. Which Severus did. Just seeing the way that her eyes flooded with a sense of security that promised him comfort from her caused him to gulp. How could he do this to her?

"Nothing's wrong," he finally answered while trying to find the right way to phrase what he was trying to say. "I just… I was wondering if you'd been feeling weird at all."

"Weird?" Iris mused with suspicion. "In what way?"

She could see the hesitation behind his words as he tried and failed a few times to speak again. "I don't know, just weird?"

Iris thought about it for a minute and tried to figure out what he could mean. Was there a point where she felt… weird? "I don't think so…" She thought about it for a moment longer before a thought popped into her head and her once soft eyes hardened. "Did Lily put you up to this?"

Severus, caught off guard, stumbled over his words, "wh-what? No, no, Lily didn't put m-me up to anything!" Why she would think that Lily had sent him out to speak with her was beyond him. Though he supposed that it had to do with the fact that Lily was certain Iris had feelings for the Sirius Black. Did he like the fact that the girl he considered a sister may have feelings for one of the boys that tended to bully him? No, not really. However, he couldn't control her feelings especially something as strong as love (which he knew Iris barely had any experience with especially any towards someone outside of her family).

Iris eyed him a long moment with suspicious eyes as she tried to see if he was telling the truth. Not seeing any lie etched on his face, Iris nodded her head and let the notion slide. "If Lily didn't send you, then why are you wondering if I've been feeling weird?" Seerus opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it when he saw who stood behind the redhead. Iris tilted her head, "Sev?"

"Spit it out, Snape!" A distinctly cold voice said right behind Iris. At the sound of the voice that Iris had the displeasure of hearing nearly every day, she turned with her jaw clenched. She came face to face with a smug smirk that she wished she could punch off of the ignorant boys face. 

She sneered at the slightly younger boy, "what do you want Regulus?"

The boy tsked at her tone, "don't sound so annoyed with my presence, Evans." His eyes did not waver from her own just like every other time he had ever spoken to her. And just like any other time, it was like he was searching for some sort of reaction. He advanced towards her further, and, like in the past, Iris did not shy away from him. Instead she kept her tall stance and had no intention of submitting to his attempt of being intimidating. "We both know you secretly enjoy our talks."

Iris scoffed and laughed sarcastically, "please! I'd rather marry a troll before ever even enjoy standing in the same room as you."

Regulus tsked once again but didn't let the smug smile slip off his pale face. "I think you'll be saying differently soon enough."

Iris' expression morphed into one of disgust. "Sorry to disappoint, mate, but that's never going to happen." She thought that he was delusional to think that she would ever stoop to the level of actually endure his presence without wanting to strangle him. With that said, she turned to Severus and flashed him a smile even though it seemed forced. "See you, Sev."

The two boys watched as Iris disappeared and allowed herself to be swallowed into the crowds. She took quick, long strides in order to get away from the repulsive Slytherin that she had come to despise over the past few months. She was sure that if she had stayed even a few seconds longer and stared at that imbeciles face, Iris would have used a curse on him. And she didn't want to be thrown out of another school.

Regulus smirked as he watched her retreating figure. "Is it working?" He didn't turn to Severus and he already knew that the older boy was fiddling with his hands. He didn't get a response, so he spun on his heels to stare at Severus intensely. "Well?!" The way that Regulus was able to intimidate Severus was quite pathetic. It also didn't help that Lucius helped Regulus with scaring poor Severus into submission.

Severus gulped, "it doesn't seem like it was strong enough…"

"What?" His voice was low and held a threat that Severus knew the younger boy would cash in on. "You said you made a strong enough dose!"

"I-I guess it didn't work!" Severus exclaimed in exasperation as he flailed his arms, "I made sure that she took it yesterday at dinner. It should have taken effect today…"

"Well, it doesn't seem like it worked!" Regulus growled as he started to lose his temper. He took a deep breath, "make something stronger and make sure that it works!" Severus nodded his head vigorously at his order and scurried off in order hopefully get away from his wrath. Regulus shook his head and sighed. Snape better fix this, he thought in annoyance, he better get that stupid potion to work on her.