Chapter Seven: Holiday Excitement

THE AIR IN HOGWARTS WAS FULL OF excitement as students walked from one class to another. The reason that all of the students were buzzing around the castle happily instead of moping around was that it was almost Christmas break. The students only had to endure just one more day of classes before they were allowed to travel home for the holidays. Even the professors were looking forward to a break with no students to deal with! Because of that, the day had been quite lax as most teachers did not assign work that was too hard for their students.

Of course, there were a few students who had taken the liberty of deciding to stay in the castle for the break instead of going home. Iris was hoping to be one of those students, but she was close to pulling her hair out and just giving up due to Lily's incessant nagging about going home for Christmas. Iris did want to see her parents and wish them a happy Christmas… it was just that Iris didn't want to deal with their older sister, Petunia.

The long-necked girl had seemed to make it her job to constantly remind the twins that they were freaks and creeps. Merlin, if Iris could turn her sister into a toad she would! Of course, she couldn't use magic on a muggle unless she wanted to have her wand taken away and her reputation tarnished for the rest of her life. But she'd be damned if she wouldn't try to scare the bird-like girl with some idle threats.

"Lily, stop!" Iris exclaimed as she tried to get away from her persistent twin who was on a hot pursuit behind her. They had just left their Herbology lesson and as soon as Iris saw the narrowed stare from her sister, she bolted out of the classroom to avoid Lily. However, Lily was just as fast as Iris.

At the moment, Iris was pulling on her arm as Lily held onto her tightly. Iris was trying her hardest to get away from Lily who was adamant about getting her sister to go home with her for the holidays. It was quite the scene to see the pair of identical twins playing tug of war with Iris' arm in the middle of the corridor. There were a few students who chuckled at the girls' antics before moving on their way and there were also a few others who decided to watch the spectacle for a few moments before moving on.

"Stop making a scene, Iris!" Lily huffed while pulling against her sister with strength that could rival that of a hippogriff. She honestly thought that Iris was being childish with her refusal to go home. Yes, Lily would agree with Iris that Petunia was going to no doubt be a terror to deal with over the holiday. However, she wasn't going to let their older sister scare her away from seeing her friends and family at home. "You're only making this harder for yourself!"

Iris whined, "no! You're making this harder, now let go!"

Lily, done with her doppelgangers immature actions, nodded her head with a sarcastic smile, "fine." With that said, she let go of Iris' arm with a smirk. Iris yelped in alarm as she lost the force that was weighing her down to her spot. Because of that, she flew backward with her arms flailing in panic. She landed on the ground with a thump and groaned in pain. Lily laughed at the sight of Iris laying on her back as she cursed loudly.

"Why are you so mean!?"

Lily laughed with a roll of her eyes, "when you stop being childish, I'll stop being mean." Her simple explanation only earned glare from the redhead who was sprawled out on the ground. Lily sighed and turned serious, "now get up! We have Transfiguration and then both of us have some packing to do."

Iris shook her head, "I told you, I don't want to deal with Petunia right now, which means I don't want to go home."

"But what about mum and dad?"

She shrugged her shoulders as she stood up from the ground and cracked her stiff back, "I'll send 'em a letter." Yes, Iris would miss seeing her parents for the holidays, however, it wasn't like she hadn't spent Christmas away from home.

Last year and the year before, Iris and her friends, Matilda and Ida, had stayed at Beauxbatons over the break for those two years. The reason being that Ida couldn't go to her home at the time. So being good friends, Iris and Matilda had stayed with her in the school so that she hadn't felt so lonely. Those weeks may have been the most fun that Iris had during those years! What harm would missing another Christmas with her family do…?

"Iris," Lily said firmly as she shot her a hard look. Irritation swirled in her gut at the carefree look on her sister's face. "Just come with me, please."

It was never normal to see Lily beg for anything! Iris' eyes widened at the pleading tone that dripped from her pale lips. Of course, there were times that she had seen Lily beg her to act nice or for her to do something, but Iris could see that Lily was beyond begging. It was obvious that Lily didn't want to spend another Christmas without her and she could see that through the way that her eyes were lit with desperation. Oh, how Iris hated seeing her sister acting so desperate! It definitely didn't look good on Lily who was always feisty and strong. And how could Iris say no to Lily's doe eyes?

"Alright, alright!" Iris started softly, "I'll go home with you," Lily cheered loudly and pulled Iris into a hug. Iris thought that Lily had broken her ribs with how tight Lily had latched onto her. Through the tight hug, Iris was able to wheeze out a warning, "just don't blame me if I end up hexing Petunia!"

Lily laughed, "don't worry. We can both stop each other from hexing her." Iris laughed, though it was labored as she was trying to catch her breath, and she wiggled out of her sister's hold. "Now come on, we've got Transfigurations!" Lily's spirit had been lifted now that she was able to convince Iris to go home for the break. It would be wonderful to finally enjoy a Christmas with her entire family! The both of them laughed as Lily pulled her sister away and towards their next lesson.

---

Midnight graced the near silent castle and smothered it in darkness. As ghosts floated down corridors, teachers and prefects patrolled the castle and the trees in the forbidden forest swayed in the wind, Iris and Sirius were enjoying each others company in the Gryffindor common room. Iris was bundled up in an old jumper and long pants as she sat on the floor as close as she could to the fire. It was snowing heavily outside and the castle had become an ice box!

Sirius sat next to her on the floor. He had taken the liberty of latching himself onto Iris, like he has done many times in the past, and had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. As time had gone on, both of them had become far more comfortable with each other. It didn't appear that they had only known each other a few months but instead years. They just had a spark between them which bubbled some sort of chemistry. Merlin, did that cause some problems for them.

Their friends constantly reminded them of how close they appeared to be. Not only was it their closest friends but also most of the Hogwarts student body saw it. Many of the boys who had been pinning over Iris had stopped after they saw how enrapture the two were (that and the obvious silent threats that Sirius was throwing their way if they even looked in her direction.). The girls who usually hung off of Sirius' arms had a hard time finding him as he spent most of his time with Iris. Even if they were able to corner him, he didn't give them the light of day. This caused most of the students to leave the two alone as they could see the obvious attraction between them.

"I heard that you're going home for the holidays." Sirius spoke over the sound of the crackling fire.

Iris nodded her head and looked up through her lashes at him, "yeah, Lily begged me to go with her." She shrugged her shoulders, "I couldn't say no to her."

"She forced you didn't she," Sirius smiled down to her in amusement. He suspected that Lily was going to force Iris to go home with her for Christmas. He couldn't count the number of times he heard Lily complain about Iris' reluctance to travel home with her. It had started to give him a headache.

Iris scoffed at how he seemed to know her sister so well. Then again, he was friends with James Potter who was obsessed with the redhead and would no doubt talk about her nonstop. At that point, Iris was certain that Sirius had heard thousands of stories about Lily and James' constant gushing about her. "She may have," she offhandedly replied which caused the boy to chuckle. "I suspect you're going home with James."

It wasn't a question. Iris knew about the relationship that Sirius had with his family as he had confided in her about it a few times. She knew how his parents tried to force their pureblood views onto him and his brother. He had fought their views when he was younger and that only caused his family to seemingly hate him. It also didn't help when he was sorted into Gryffindor! He told her how abusive his family could really be towards him. She had no idea that the confident, arrogant and carefree Sirius Black had such a terrible family life. She would even go as far as to say that it broke her heart to hear about how horribly he was treated by his own family.

Sirius' chuckles stopped abruptly as he shuffled uncomfortable. No matter how many times he had actually found solace in Iris to talk about personal issues, he was always awkward when talking about them. However, he was willing to reveal more about himself to her than he was to his other friends. "I can't go home with my family, can I?" He asked bitterly. He didn't want to endure listening to his mother's bitching and his father's complaints all while they praise Regulus for being such a good son. If he were to go back to his home, he knew that he would be locked in his bedroom and spend the entire time by himself just like every other holiday in the past. He was grateful that the Potter's had opened their home to him!

Iris could see that she had only brought up some sour feelings into the air as Sirius started to scowl. She hadn't meant to bring up any terrible feelings. Iris didn't want to remind him in the slightest about his horrid family. She cringed, "sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, love," Sirius brushed it off as he tried his best to smile, "I know you didn't mean to."

Iris sighed and tried to change the subject slightly, "I just wish I didn't have to deal with Petunia for the holidays."

"She must to be better than Regulus," Sirius pointed out.

Iris chuckled, "I don't know, I'd take Regulus over Petunia any day." She tried to joke and make Sirius less tense after the topic of their families was brought up. She succeeded when Sirius cracked a small smirk as his chest rumbled with slight laughter. She was glad that she was able to at least lighten the mood slightly. She never liked making her friends feel bad. Yes, she pranked a lot of people (and could be considered a bully by some people), but she never liked intentionally hurting people. She never went out of her way to be malicious and hurt someone through a prank. Even if it did happen, Iris would muster up an apology to whoever was hurt and try to reconcile with them.

Sirius pursed his lips, "I suspect there's no way you'd let me come home with you for the holidays."

Iris could see his sly attempt at a flirt from a mile away. She smirked at him, "unless you'd like to deal with my very protective father…" She trailed off and let Sirius see what she was trying to imply.

His eyes grew large as he caught what she was saying. From the way that she warning him, Sirius thought that her father would beat him for even thinking of going home with her. Of course, Sirius didn't know that Craig Evans was actually one of the biggest softys that anyone would encounter. That man could never hurt anyone and could barely intimidate a niffler! Even if he liked to think that he could frighten people when he had to. She had lived most of her life with her father coddling her so much. She could live with it when she was a child, however, as she grew older, it became annoying to have her father be so protective of her. She loved her father dearly, but he could be too overbearing sometimes.

Sirius coughed, "I suppose James' will have to do." The redhead's laughter broke through the quiet common room at his defeat.

Despite the two of them trying to find other topics to talk about, the words that they tried to speak had died on their tongues. Instead of talking excessively, they had both sat with each other in silence as they tried to memorize how it felt to be with each other in that setting. They were going to spend nearly two weeks away from each other. Neither one of them wanted to admit it, but they were both going to miss their midnight rendezvous. So instead of saying it outloud, they both were drawn closer to each other.

Iris convinced herself that they only reason why she was getting so close to the shaggy-haired boy was because she was extremely cold. She didn't want to admit that she was trying to memorize the way he held her because she would miss him too much. She didn't want to admit that she was going to miss the comfort that he provided her at night. She also didn't want to admit that she would miss the way he annoyed her or even his insistent flirting!

Of course, Sirius was already certain that he would miss his red-haired beauty during the break. He could barely imagine himself spending even an hour without admiring her in class or joking with her in the Great Hall. He didn't want to miss out on seeing her slightly freckled face, her thin pink lips that always curled into an infamous smirk or her brown eyes that were always lit with mischief every day.

Merlin, winter break was going to be tough.

---

The shrill whistle of the Hogwarts express broke through the air as steam and smoke rose up from the large red engine that rested at the station. Students ran around the station and climbed into the train to finally leave and go home. Iris rushed down the platform and chased after her pesky cat who decided that he wanted to stay at the school. Just like his owner, Shadow didn't want to see Petunia again. Though she was going to force her poor kitten to join them. If she had to suffer her horrid sister then so did Shadow.

"Get back here! Shadow!" She chastised her cat as they weaved between many students on the platform. If she didn't hurry up and catch her kitten then there was no doubt that she would miss the train. Her sister and friends were already on the train and if she missed it… she knew Lily would beat her to a pulp (no matter if it was her fault or not).

She ran for a few moments longer and tried to keep her kitten within her sights… only to lose him in the throng of people. She huffed out in annoyance and ran a hand through her short hair. "Iris?" She jumped at the sudden voice behind her, and she spun around to find Severus standing behind her. Also with him was Shadow who was squirming in his hands. Iris sighed while her shoulders shagged in relief as she approached her pseudo-brother. "Shouldn't you be on the train already."

Iris huffed and reached out to take Shadow from Severus. The poor kitten squirmed and wrestled his owner. He made it very clear that he didn't want to go home with his owner. He meows loudly in protest. "Oh stop your whining, you mangy thing!" Iris ordered her restless kitten. She looked up to Seerus and sighed, "thank you for grabbing him for me, I would have missed the train if I kept running after Shadow." She casted an annoyed glance at the kitten in her arms who had seemingly given up in his escape as he realized there was no getting out.

Severus chuckled as he watched the two of them struggle, "it's no problem, Iris." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he gulped and took a deep breath. He was far beyond nervous at that moment and that was evident from how he wrung his fingers together and bounced on the balls of his feet slightly. Iris raised a questioning brow to his odd behavior and opened her mouth to question it, but he beat her to it. "I wanted to give you something!" His words were rushed and breathless like deer trying to get away from a hunter.

"You do?" He nodded his head meekly and started to rummage through his pockets in search for Iris' "gift". "Why don't you wait to give it to me on Christmas?" She asked confused, "we'll see each other then, won't we?"

Ever since they were eleven-years-old, Severus had always spent at least some time in the Evans household over Christmas and summer break. Though Petunia always resented letting any other "freaks" into their home, Craig and Octavia welcomed the boy every time. Despite the fact that they did find the boy a little strange, they wouldn't deny their daughters the ability to see one of their best mates over the breaks especially if he didn't live too far away. Of course, Iris was giddy to spend the holidays with Severus and Lily as she hadn't done it in a couple of years. At least that was one of few upsides to going home.

"W-well, yes, we will, but I wanted to give you an early present!" He cringed at they way his voice cracked loudly. Merlin, why did he have to be such a bad liar? Iris eyed him skeptically like a lioness does her prey as she pat her kitten. Why was he acting so… jumpy? Anxious? Nervous? "I made you a-"

"There you are, love!"

Severus huffed as his eyes shut close in frustration. Of course! Here came Sirius Black and the rest of his idiotic crew of troublemakers to intrude on their conversation. He had to make sure that he gave the small vial of perfume to her! If he didn't… He really didn't want to think about what his "friends" would do to him. He could feel the pair menacing, narrowed glares drilling a hole into his skull from the shadows. His palms were sweaty in anxiety at the prospect of how angry the others could become if he fails.

"We were looking all over for you," James commented as he sauntered over to the pair while being closely followed by Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "We didn't think that you were going to make the train when we saw you run off!"

Iris rolled her eyes, "blame this ball of fur," she gestured to Shadow who glared at the group in frustration. "Ran off before we even made it within ten feet of the train."

They all nodded their heads, "we'll also miss it if we keep standing out here." Remus pitched in as only a moment after his comment the whistle of the train screamed.

Iris shrugged her shoulders and started to head towards the red engine. "Well, what are we doing then," she smirked at the group of boys. "Come on, boys!"

They all scrambled after her quickly. Bother Sirius and James took initiative to shove Severus out of their way as they passed. With menacing glares piercing the snakes skin and smirks pulling at the corners of their lips, James and Sirius made sure to separate Severus from even being able to catch up to Iris.

Severus could only watch in horror as his friend disappeared from his sight as her and the marauders disappeared into a compartment together. He gulped as his hands nervously started to play with the glass vial full of clear liquid weighed down his pocket. He was going to have to answer to a furious Regulus and Lucius when they come to see if he actually gave Iris the potion. Oh, Merlin, he was so dead!

"Did you do it?" A sickly cool voice slithered out from the shadows behind the nervous teen. Severus yelped at the recognizable voice and spun around to face an expectant Lucius. "Well?" Lucius was impatient to hear the news of weather Severus did his job correct or not. If he could, Lucius would make sure that Iris used the potion whether she wanted it or not. In all honesty, he wasn't very keen on using this plan that was created by Regulus. However, he wouldn't argue with the boy. The plan wasn't too far fetch, but Lucius would have chosen someone far more… eligible. Why they had to choose a mudblood was beyond him.

Severus cleared his throat nervously, "you see-"

"If you messed up again, Snape," Lucius started to threaten as he took a large intimidating step towards the younger boy forcing Severus to press himself against the wall. The blond towered menacingly over the poor teen who had nowhere to go. "You'll have both myself and Regulus coming after you," He hissed as he jabbed a finger into the shaking boys chest, "got that?" Severus' voice failed him which caused him to only nod his head in terrified understanding. Lucius stepped back and placed his hands in his pockets, "now, did you give her the potion?" Severus hesitated for a moment before her nodded his head meekly once again. Lucius' pale lips pulled back in a wide, sick smirk that froze Severus to his spot. "Good, and you're sure that this dose will work?"

"W-well, if she uses it regularly then eventually it will, but I doubt she would use it now…"

Lucius nodded his head, "so by the time we get back to school."

"T-talk to her then."

Lucius nodded his head firmly as his satisfied smirk didn't slip off of his pale white face. With that, Lucius spun on his heels and started to lazily march down the hall. "You better hope it works Severus," he called over his shoulder. He left his warning hang in the air unfinished as he knew Severus could finish putting together anything that may have been missing from his statement. Severus' skin became even paler, if that was possible. What had he gotten himself into?

---

"Where have you been, Iris?" Lily asked when the compartment door opened to reveal the redhead.

She rolled her eyes at the demanding tone that her sister used while she shuffled into the small space. She plopped down on the empty space next to Wendy and across from the questioning glare that Lily was throwing at her. She set her irked kitten down to allow him to get comfy on the seat though he did let out an irritated meow. "I was chasing this nuisance all over the bloody platform," she threw a glare at her cat as he turned away from her and tried to find a comfy position to nap in.

Marlene giggled lightly at the explanation, "it looks like your cat is as troublesome as you are."

"You're just figuring this out now?" She deadpanned before smirking widley. "Though I know just how to punish the pest for almost making me miss the train." Locking him inside Petunia's bedroom was no doubt a punishment for him but also an opportunity to annoy Petunia.

"Lily thought you had decided to ditch us and stay at Hogwarts," Wendy commented with an amused smile.

Iris scoffed loudly with mock disbelief and betrayal shining through her eyes. "Lily!? You thought that I, your twin sister, would ever abandon you after I agreed to go home?" She shouted out dramatically. "I feel so betrayed that you think I would do that, sister dearest!"

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at her sisters dramatic rendition of her "betrayal". Lily didn't completely believe that Iris was going to stay behind. For one, she hadn't placed her name on the list to stay at the castle. She also wasn't the kind of person to go back on a promise. Iris honored any vow that she made, for better or for worse, and she never backed down because of her own selfish needs or for anyone else.

The girls started to converse with each other. Gossip on who was dating who and who had a crush on who was discussed between Lily and Wendy while Marlene and Iris listed what presents they wanted for Christmas. The train continued to roll across the tracks towards the hidden London platform at King's Cross. Inside the train was just as lively as it was inside the girl's compartment. The buzz of excitement infected everyone on that train.

Though soon enough, the topic that was gawing at Iris came up. "Severus has been acting quite strange," Lily pointed out.

Iris nodded her head as she rested her head on her closed fist. "Yeah… I wonder what's been bothering him…" He had become far more skittish and quiet, Iris noticed. He seemingly had started to drown himself in his potion assignments and rarely ever went out of his way to spend time with both herself and Lily. She missed the time they had just enjoyed each other's company and mucked about. Now it was like he was… avoiding her. And when Severus did speak to her, he was constantly nervous and couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Do you think it has to do with Regulus and Lucius?" Marlene asked hesitantly as she knew mentioning the two boys around Iris was like walking in a minefield. The two snakes never ceased to try and confront the girl for some reasons. Merlin, she couldn't count the amount of times she could hear the boys taunts and Iris' anger fueled shouts. She didn't care for the teens as they proved to be bullies and were terrible to everyone and anyone who wasn't a Slytherin or a pure blood witch or wizard. She thought that they could only tolerate other Slytherins like themselves, so why were they going out of their way to speak to Iris?

Iris scowled at the mention of the two boys and crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. "I hope to Merlin that it doesn't, honestly, I don't see why he wants to hang around those… slimy snakes."

"They are in his house and they probably see each other more often then he sees you or Lily," Wendy pointed out.

Iris huffed, "Doesn't matter. If I were in Slytherin, I would make sure those two never even set foot in the same room as me!"

"Yet, they can't seem to leave you alone, even if you're in Gryffindor." Lily pondered with a concentrated expression as she tried to find out any sort of hidden details in the boys actions.

Iris shrugged her shoulders, "doesn't matter, I was talking to him earlier and he seemed… jumpy, I guess."

"Did you ask him what was wrong?" Lily asked concerned. Severus had been their best friend ever since they first found out they were witches. Sure, Lily had noticed that Severus was acting strange after the first few years at Hogwarts, however, it was starting to become far more worrying this year. He avoided them as much as he could. Lily felt like he was avoiding them because of something they may have done. At first, she thought that maybe Iris had pulled a prank that was far more cruel than the ones she'd pulled in the past. But even Iris had no idea why Severus was acting so odd. She had let him be just in case something was wrong between them… Lily didn't want to lose him as a friend.

"I've tried before and was going to try again earlier, but when I got on the train we got seperated." She sighed while running a hand through her short curls in frustration. A silence enveloped the group with open arms as they mulled over the conflict between The twins and their best friend. Of course, Iris was never one for silence. "I'm going to find out what's going on!" She declared loudly and stood up abruptly from her seat. Her friends tried to voice their apprehension at the idea, but Iris was already heading down the corridor in search of her friend.

She searched just about every compartment she could find. She peered through the glass to see ecstatic students who spoke excitedly about Christmas, kids who had decided to take a nap until they arrived at the station, and some couples who couldn't keep their hands to themselves. She was starting to grow restless and pondering if she should just give up and go sit with her friends. However, she stopped at one final compartment and pressed her ear against it. Just in case there was another couple in there who had decided to partake in some… sinful actions. Iris didn't want to see it, at all.

Hushed words greeted her ears through the glass. She tried to focus on who was speaking, but wasn't really able to pinpoint who exactly was in the compartment. She guessed there was more than one person in there (unless someone was talking to themselves in there) and could hear that they were in some sort of heated debate. In any other circumstance, Iris wouldn't intrude on a discussion that didn't involve her one bit. But she saw it fit to at least have a small peek to see if Severus was in there.

Before she could get a proper look into the compartment, the door slide open to reveal the boy she was looking for. Severus jumped slightly at her sudden appearance and nearly squealed out loud. "Iris…" he breathed out as his wide eyes stared at her. There was a warning in his eyes that drowned his iris' as he hoped she could see they way they so desperately tried to worn her. Of course, Iris was unable to see his warnings which either meant that she didn't notice it or ignored it. Considering that Iris ignored just about every other warning that was given to her about most of the idiotic things she does, Severus wasn't surprised if she blatantly ignored it.

"Severus," Iris greeted with a wide and relieved smile, "I've been looking for you!"

"Sorry, Iris," Severus quickly apologized and tried to usher her away from the door so that neither her or the people in the compartment could see each other. "I thought you would rather be with the Marauders than me."

Iris shook her head, "that would never be true, Sev. You do know who the Marauders are, right?"

The both of them chuckled lightly at her slight jab at the group of boys who annoyed them. However, both of their light hearted banter was struck with a cold voice that decided to invade on their conversation like an icy wind. "I do hope that you have a happy Christmas, Evans."

Iris' smile slipped off her face and was replaced with a scowl as she peered behind Severus to see Regulus and Lucius smirking at her. She could already feel her body become rigid with frustration and agitated. She had hopped that she wouldn't run into the Slytherins while on their way home. She didn't want to leave school with a bad taste in her mouth after seeing those thugs. However, it seemed like she wasn't going to get her way.

She smiled at Regulus, "and I hope you have a terrible one!" Her voice was oozing sarcasm as she sweetly stared at the boys. Her eyes were drenched in malice which was returned with the same amount of intensity by the ones it was aimed at.

"We only want to say goodbye to you," Lucius sneered through his perfect teeth that were bared in annoyance.

Iris glared at the boys as they both stood up to their full height, "fuck of, Malfoy."

Regulus gaped in mock disbelief as he placed a hand over his heart (though Iris was certain that he didn't have one). "Now, Sev." He sneered out the nickname that was usually reserved for the Evans twins to use. Severus froze at the tone that the younger boy used as dread seemingly flooded his gut. He turned to quickly glance at Regulus and saw the hard look that he was shooting at him. Severus gulped at the intensity behind the grey eyes and turned to look at Iris. He could see that she was fuming over the fact that Regulus had used the nickname that she claimed as hers. A hand clapped on his shoulder and Regulus came closer to him. "Are you really going to let her talk to us this way?"

Lucius tutted as he glared at Iris, "it's quite dangerous for a Mudblood to speak like that to a pureblood."

Iris' jaw instantly dropped at his words as even more rage started to burn every part of her body. "What did you call me, you prat!?" She shouted and had no doubt that her shrill yells were startling some other students. How dare he!

Severus glanced between the conflict that was starting to brew between the group. He had to try and diffuse the situation. "Iris, I think maybe we should go…"

Iris gaped at him. Was he not going to defend her? Was he going to just stand there and allow the thugs to refer to her as a… 'mudblood'? "Oh, no." She scoffed which caused Severus to wince harshly at her tone. "I don't want to pull you away from your friends, Severus! I'll just leave you three alone." With that said, she stomped without a glance at her friend and started to find another compartment to sit in. Perhaps she would spend her time with the Marauders for the time being.

Severus watched her go with a sigh as he knew he mucked everything up. Iris was no doubt furious about him not defending her and Lily would be the same once she found out. However, if he had spoken up against his housemates, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have been strung up for it. He had created a complete mess for not only himself but also his friends. He knew that none of this was going to end well.

---

Obnoxious laughter drifted on that air while Iris stomped down the corridor. She rolled her eyes as she recognized that laughter though she couldn't help herself from smiling slightly. Perhaps she should stay with the boys for a while as she really needs a distraction from the rage she felt for Severus. A few good laughs with the Marauders would surely warn away the intense emotions about her friend. Honestly, how could someone just stand there while their classmates insults their friend, who they've known for years, with such derogatory terms as 'Mudblood'. Iris just needed to calm down before she exploded due to her rage! Though she knew that hexing Severus would calm her down immensely.

Her anger induced rant was cut short by the compartment door sliding open abruptly in front of her. A large cocky smirk greeted her as Sirius leaned against the door frame. He ran a hand through his hair arrogantly while he looked down at the redhead appreciatively. "Ah, love." he greeted her, "I was wondering where you were."

Iris snorted in amusement and forced herself to return the smirk, "well, you don't have to wonder anymore." She pushed past him and plopped down into the seat next to Remus.

The boys shared a confused look with each other as they could instantly feel the irritation radiating off of her. It almost frightened each of them to even mention her obvious anger. They weren't sure what she was angry about, but they could tell that it bothered her quite a bit. They didn't really want to ask her what was wrong… but they knew her emotions would fester and bubble over later on. They all cringed as they imagined her emotional explosion over it.

"Are you alright, Iris?" Remus asked hesitantly.

Iris scoffed as her eyebrows furrowed, "of course I am." Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the boy, "why? Do I not seem alright?"

The boys jumped in alarm at her bitter tone, "n-no!" Peter squeaked out in fright when her predatory gaze shifted over him. He did not want to be torn apart by the redhead who was obviously furious about something. Peter was completely a coward, and he was completely fine with that if it meant he lived another day.

"Well…" James drawled out as Sirius shoved him over in order to sit next to him. "You do seem a bit… frustrated, to put it lightly."

Iris blinked at his observation and rolled her eyes. "Yes, thank you for that, Potter. Now, why don't we drop the subject."

"If something's botherin' you, you can tell us, you know," Sirius commented with a soft smile that he reserved for only Iris. The other boys couldn't help themselves but snicker at Sirius' behavior. It always baffled them how Sirius changed when Iris was around. Don't misunderstand, Sirius was still the same mischievous, troublesome, and reckless teen he usually was. It was just whenever Sirius was talking to the girl or about her it was like he was put under a trance. His eyes would gloss over with an emotion that the boys could barely recognize. There was a softness behind his eyes when he spoke fondly about her or even gazed at her from afar. It was slightly strange to observe Sirius being so whipped with one girl! It was practically unheard of Sirius focusing on one girl for such a long time as it was known he usually became bored with a girl only after a week(three weeks at most).

Behind his words, they all could hear the underline meaning of his words. It wasn't just the group that she could trust and rely on, but he was worthy of her trust. He could only act like this towards his redheaded beauty. These strange actions were meant for Iris and Iris alone. It was obvious to just about everyone, excluding Iris, that he seemingly cared for the girl immensely. It could even be argued that Sirius was deeply in love with Iris Evans. Of course, he would refute that claim and argue that he was only interested by her and their shared traits.

Iris sighed, "I know I can, but I don't want to talk about it." Iris hated speaking about her emotions. She didn't like the way that people fussed over her because they may have been something wrong. The way that people got so sappy over certain situations and cried always made her uncomfortable. That didn't mean she didn't try to comfort her sister or even close friends whenever they were upset. Though she usually had trouble talking about her own feelings because she found listening to be far easier than talking. She would much rather keep her own emotions to herself and play around with others, as if it were a game. It happened to be her favorite pastime to partake in. However, she seemed to be ignorant to the fact that she was slowly failing to see that she was becoming a pawn in her own game.

Sirius' eyes hardened as he started to think about what could have possibly upset Iris. His mind had instantly jumped and grabbed onto the idea that it was Severus who had troubled her so much. Once he got his hands on that slippery snake he was going to use a plethora of curses and hexes on him. He also planned to use all of the unforgivable curses and he didn't care if he was thrown in Azkaban for it. It was such a scary thought to think that Sirius would willingly let himself be thrown into the morbid prison meant for the worst dark wizards in history for this one girl. He had never been so… passionate about someone in his life!

"It was Severus wasn't it," he sneered out the boys name like it was poison.

Iris huffed and stayed silent for a moment as the boys tried to figure out if it was true. From the few seconds that Iris glared at the floor, they could tell that Sirius' assumptions were right.

"No." Iris seethed as her cheeks started to grow red from frustration, "I'm not upset! Why do you think I'm upset!"

James decided to intervene before anyone else could further agner the red head. "Okay! Why don't we calm down? We don't want to leave on a bad note, right?" He chuckled nervously.

Iris took a deep breath and ran her dainty hand through her hair. James was right. She didn't want to argue with her friends over something that they weren't involved with. If she did tell them what had happened a few minutes ago, there was no doubt in her mind that they would go after the group of Slytherins. She didn't want to be the reason the boys were kick out of the school because they decided to defend her in someway. Honestly, she didn't want to make the situation worse than it already was.

"Sorry, sorry. You're right."

James flashed her a large, smug smirk as he adjusted his glasses on his face. "I'm right? Godric, I never thought I'd ever hear you say that to me, Iris."

Iris couldn't help herself from smiling despite the obvious annoyance that was swirling in her gut. She could deal with the Severus incident at a later date. Though she has to admit, if Severus does end up showing up at her house for the holiday he was in for a hell of a time. However, at the moment, she would allow herself to be consumed by playful banter, teasing and jokes and distract her from her rage.

---

"Happy Christmas, boys." Iris cheered as she smiled brightly at the group of her friends in front of her.

The Hogwarts Express had just arrived at the King's cross station. Students piled out of the large red engine with haste as they searched for their families with large, bright smiles. Though no toothy smile from an excited first year could rival the one that Iris was sporting. Her rage had diminished to a small throb in her chest after she spent quite a long time joking around with the Marauders.

At the moment, Iris was saying goodbye and wishing her friends a happy christmas and, probably against her better judgement, inviting them to a small New Years party. The Evans didn't throw extravagant parties as they usually didn't have too many people to invite, however, each year they still had small get togethers with close friends and family. Although, this year would most likely be a bigger party because the entire family would be home for the holidays. Of course, Iris couldn't pass up the opportunity to invite some of her best mates for the small get together.

"I'll owl you the invitations later!"

The boys all simultaneously nodded their heads happily at the notion of going to a party. Plus, neither Sirius of James would pass up the chance to actually go to the Evans' household and see where their lady loves lived.

"I suppose now I'll get to go home with you," Sirius cheekily joked as he wrapped his arm around Iris' shoulder while he lead her off the train and onto the platform itself. Iris laughed lightly at the reference.

"Let's just hope that you get on my father's good side, darling." She couldn't help herself from teasing the shaggy hair teen and scare him slightly with the prospect of her father being quite scary. Sirius tensed slightly but brushed it off with a chuckle and ran a hand through his hair.

After saying goodbye and them wishing each of them a good break, they all went their separate ways insearch of their parents/guardians. Iris skipped over to her sister who was tightly hugging Wendy who returned the embrace with the same amount of strength. It was like they were having a competition to see who could suffocate the other first.

"I'll miss you guys!" Marlene cried out as she gripped Iris and brought her into her own hug. Iris yelped in alarm before allowing herself to be nearly crushed by the brunette.

"You're coming over to our house for the party, aren't you?" Iris wheezed out went she was finally let go by her friend. Marlene nodded her head rapidly. "Then you'll see us then…"

"But that's too far away! I'm still going to miss you all!" Marlene cried out which earned an laugh out of the red headed girl.

"You're right!" Iris cried out dramatically as she played along with her, "I can't spend that long away from you, my friend!" Lily and Wendy giggled as they watched the interaction. They couldn't decided which of the girls was more dramatic!

"Happy Christmas, Iris," Wendy laughed out and hugged the girl quickly. A shout of an older man pulled her attention away from her friends and towards her father. Edward Hunt was a heavyset man with plump cheeks that were painted with a rosy hue of pink. His black hair was slick back with gel in order to keep his hair prim and proper. He wore some robes that obviously indicated that he worked in the ministry. "See you guys!" She cheered before grabbing her trunk and running off to her father who greeted her warmly with a hug.

"Iris! Lily!" They heard a shout further away from them. They turned their heads to see their father bounding over to them happily. As soon as he got close enough he swept his daughters up into a hug that was fueled by his joy of seeing them both.

"Dad!" The girls squealed in unison as they laughed at their father's excitement. Craig was such an excitable person and his emotions always rub off on the people around him. He could fill an entire room with his bright smile and friendly personality.

After a few moments of hugging his daughters, Craig finally let them go. "Oh, we are so happy you're both home this year."

Iris looked over his shoulder to look for her mother with a wide smile. She was glad to see the familiar faces of her parents. She definitely had missed her parents and felt like she didn't not make a mistake when she decided (more like Lily forced her) to come home for the holidays. "Where's mum?"

"She's at home with Petunia," Craig explained as his words were drenched in an apology and disappointment. He and Octavia both wanted to be at the platform to greet their daughters, but their eldest daughter and thrown a tantrum. You would think a girl her age would learn to be civil and mature, but Petunia seemed to be an exception to that idea.

Iris couldn't help herself but scowling, "Petunia didn't want to welcome home a pair of freaks."

Craig sighed, "come on, you're mum's anxious for you to come home."

The twins collected their trunks and said one final goodbye to Marlene, who had finally found her family, before they started to follow their father towards the barrier that separated the boring muggle world from the extravagant wizarding world. Iris was definitely going to hate leaving behind the mystical wonders of the magical world, but she would endure it for a short while in order to see her family.