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Behind the Veil	By : Leo Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > General Views: 3541 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Harry Potter franchise and seek to make no profits from the distribution of this fictional work.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Pairings: FemHP/TMR, HG/OC, LP/JP, SB/OC, RL/NT, DM/DG, OC/GW

Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Harry Potter franchise and seek to make no profits from the distribution of this fictional work.

A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed, your feedback pushes me ever onward to continuing this story. To those of you who were wondering, this is a long term story; I will be taking it from first to at least seventh year if not beyond that. As such, the romance and pairing won't take precedence for some time, sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting some love off the bat.

Behind the Veil

By StycianLeo

Chapter IV

Hogwarts, Unplottable Location, Scotland, UK

September 2, 1991

Sunday passed uneventfully for Iris and her small circle of friends, for them it was an opportunity to explore the school which was mildly amusing considering that with Harry's memories in her head the whole school was a very familiar place.

Still it was an opportunity to get reacquainted with the castle; the castle was remarkably similar to how it had been in the opposite universe save for the small differences in decoration; tapestries were different or in different locations, suits of armor had been moved to different locations, and paintings and there inhabitants were likewise in different places and sometimes held invariably different faces.

Still, the complex was the same; hidden passages still terminated in familiar places and classrooms were in the same place. Hermione found the whole place riveting, Draco and Daphne found the girl amusing and peppered her with playful jibes but the girl recognized them for being the good natured sarcasm that it was and didn't take offense, she even indulged in a little sniping of her own when she answered questions that Draco had.

Iris enjoyed this Hermione even more then Harry had his, this girl was still the bushy-haired brunette put it seemed she had much greater self-esteem, and what Harry had initially taken as a know-it-all tone, Iris recognized as being simply matter-of-fact and once that distinction was made it was like walking with you own pocket encyclopedia.

Meals in the Great Hall had proven to be a singularly strange affair for many of the Hogwarts students because of the massive inter-house rivalry that existed between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the presence of Daphne and Draco at the end of the table that Iris and Hermione had carved out for themselves had sparked much discourse amongst the student body.

Even some of the professors had taken to the gossip and found it particularly surprising, Professor McGonagall for instance had looked upon the scene with a mixture of pride and alarm; pride that two of her newest students had seemingly bridged the gap that had been carved between the Houses for as long as she could remember.

Alarm that Draco Malfoy was amicably talking to Hermione Granger, a Muggleborn if an exceptionally bright and talented one; it was entirely out of character for a pureblood heir to put aside the notion of blood-purity, especially when you were the child of Lucius Malfoy.

On the other hand, he had seemingly befriended Iris Potter; a child was particularly interested in. The girl's parents had been talented students in their day and even more impressive in the field when they had fought beside the Order of the Phoenix.

Iris' mother was a Muggleborn and James had fallen in love with the woman, a child of both worlds perhaps it only made sense that she could cut through the prejudice; Lily had after all always seen the good in people perhaps especially when they themselves could not.

But not everyone had taken the events in stride, when Ron had seen the Slytherins at the table he had exploded in his usual tactless self, "Blimey Iris! What are you doing with the snakes!" Prudence was not in the boy's nature, he was still as impulsive and calculating as ever; which was to say very much so and not at all respectively.

Draco had looked on the verge of biting the young Weasley's head off his shoulder but Hermione had coolly replied, "According to the school rules; students must sit at their respective table only during ceremonious occasions. Any other time, students can choose to sit wherever they like; it is even encouraged to sit with other Houses."

Ron had stared agape at the girl as though she had grown a second head, Percy had briefly looked through the code of conduct but he nodded his confirmation. "She's right, and as long as they don't cause trouble I see no reason to send them off. And do close your mouth Ron, it's unbecoming."

Ron had closed his mouth with a click and flushed scarlet around the neck and ears as he moved past and took a seat beside Seamus, he glanced up every now and again towards Draco but the boy had put on that insufferable smirk of his and stared back challengingly. Iris sighed at the display while Daphne giggled and rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

Iris had taken the opportunity to scan the head table, from what Harry's memories indicated then Quirrel was the vessel the Grindewald would be possessing; but she couldn't come out and just declare the man to be possessed. Besides the fact that she would be revealing knowledge that she couldn't possibly know, the possibility existed that Quirrel was not the vessel.

It might be another professor or even a student that the Dark Lord was hitching a ride on; unfortunately she had no way of knowing who that person was. The only one with a tie to Grindewald was Neville and after the sorting incident, it was unlikely that he was going to tell Iris when his scar twanged from looking at someone.

She was going to have to pay close attention to the boy, thankfully being in Gryffindor meant that up until fifth year at the least she was going to be able to keep tabs on the boy; once O.W.L.'s came it would be anyone's guess how events would unfold.

As she looked over the professors, Iris locked onto the Potions Master; the man was still clothed in his usual black ensemble though he looked healthier in this universe, well he was less pale at least and his hair was properly cared for. So while he still looked imposing, he had the semblance of at least being approachable even if it was a last resort.

It seemed that Snape had the feeling that he was being watched since he turned away from the conversation he was having with Professor Sinistra and met Iris' gaze. His eyes were still the same beady black but there was something stirring in the back of those eyes, Iris could not discern what was going on in the man's mind by looking at him and she was not about to invade his mind for that information.

Whatever he felt be it hatred or fondness, indifference or contempt; Harry had learned of the man's deep and unrequited love for Lily. Snape had been a hero of the war, his service as a spy and double agent had earned him much enmity but it never dissuaded him; the man had been one of the bravest men Harry had ever known. If that was the case, Iris at least owed the man the courtesy of being civil and perhaps a bit more diligence in his class.

Holding his gaze, Iris gave the man a warm smile and a nod in greeting; Snape looked confused for a minute while his lip twitched for a second into the facsimile of a smile though the expression looked foreign on his face and was quickly mastered back down into the stony mask he wore. He gave her a barely perceptible nod in return before turning back to the Astronomy professor, leaving Iris feeling slightly hopeful that perhaps Potions would be tolerable.

Continuing her scan of the Head Table in between bites of her bangers and mash, Iris paused to observe Riddle; the man had a faint scowl on his face as he ate. Wondering why that was, she gave a scan of the room and noticed that she wasn't the only one looking over the teachers; it seemed a good portion of the female student body were glancing up the professor.

Iris rolled her eyes at the ogling girls before returning her gaze to the professor, this time when she looked up she found the man staring back at her with a raised eyebrow. She smirked at him and gave him a look of mock adoration and batted her eyelashes at him to match the faces of numerous girls in the Hall.

The man gave an honest grin of amusement and at that moment and Iris swore she heard the room fill with sighs as various female parties swooned. Riddle visibly grimaced at the sound and an unconcealed scowl appeared on his face as he narrowed his glinting obsidian gaze at Iris before casting the venomous look over the room.

Iris laughed quietly at the turn of events which caused her friends to look at her strangely, she opened her mouth to explain but realized that it was just one of those things you had to see to appreciate so she closed it and shook her head. "No worries, inside joke." She told them without elaborating as she tucked back into the bangers and mash.

Sunday came to a quiet close for the most part though Hermione was going on about how excited she was to start classes; it was not unsurprising that girl had already read her textbooks through already but she sat propped up at the foot of Iris bed rereading the early chapters of her Transfiguration textbook and paraphrasing the text for Iris.

The ebony haired girl didn't mind over much at the easily digested information, a little review never hurt and while Harry had been accomplished at the practical side of magic the theory of it all had never been his strong suit. For Iris, knowing she would do well on the practical side just made her that much more determined to understand the concepts behind the magic.

In that regard she probably hand a leg up there too, with Hecate sitting as the raven of knowledge on her shoulder there was much that she could learn from the goddess. On the other hand, the woman always had a price; and Iris had no desire to end up as Odin without an eye.

Grimacing at the thought, Iris gingerly touched the corner of her eye and considered how her parent's would react to that. She shuddered involuntarily at that, not well most likely; but at that sobering thought Iris scrambled off her bed and opened her trunk while Hermione stared at her confusedly.

"I promised the family that I would write," Iris said simply to which the brunette gave her a nod of understanding. Moving over to the edge of her bed, the girl set down the parchment she had fetched, along with her quill, ink, and blotter; and began to write out her missives.

The first to Liatris was a simple letter, she wished her sister well and included a full description of the immensity of the castle and how excited she was for classes to begin. She included briefly that Draco was likewise doing well and sent his love (the boy would probably appreciate the mention anyhow since it was a good mention and would stroke his ego). For good measure she told the girl about catching up with Daphne and how the girl had gone with her sister Astoria to France over the summer, as well as mentioning her new friend in Hermione.

The letter to Remus was a bit fuller, she included everything in her sister's letter save for the love from Draco since that would have been awkward. She confided in him the altercation with Neville; the boy had been an arrogant and incessant little ponce and she had felt good about striking him. She questioned on whether that was wrong of her, to enjoy that fact that she had pummeled him so thoroughly before the entire class of first years?

To Narcissa, the letter was a bit more difficult to write; she had still not completely gotten over the incident but time he's most wounds it seemed and she really did care for the woman. She decided to keep the letter straightforward and honest.

"Aunt Cissy,

First, I want you to know that we aren't okay yet but I hope that by the next time I see you, we will be. I'm sick of being mad at you, I'm sick of the hurt, I'm sick of not having the friend that I could go to when I was scared of telling mum I had broken another of Aunt Petunia's cases. (I haven't broken anything here…yet, so don't think I'm hinting at something)

Draco said that you wanted to be in my life and honestly, I want you there too; you always were before and sometimes we all need a person to go to when something is just too embarrassing or too personal. You were always my confidant in the past, and so I hope you will continue to be my secret-keeper in the future.

Love,

Your Goddaughter, Iris"

Looking down at the parchment, the raven haired girl reviewed the words and was satisfied with the letter. It was honest, it didn't need the fluff of telling the woman how amazing Hogwarts was because as amazing as the stony castle was; family just topped it. Sprinkling the blotter over the parchment, Iris watched as the ink dried quickly before she folded the heavy stationary and moving on to the final letter.

She tapped her quill thoughtfully against her chin as she considered her words; undoubtedly a letter to her mother sent to both her mother and her father would appear strange so she would have to make a letter that satisfied them both.

"Mum and Dad,

It's rather strange to be writing you of all people considering how just a few days ago, you were just down the stairs and now you're so far away. I miss you both a lot and I know you feel the same, but don't worry about me; which I guess is pointless to say since asking you not to worry is a bit like asking water not to be wet. Still, I'm honestly having a good time so far; most of the students seem to decent enough though I did get into a little scuffle with Longbottom.

You'd of been proud Dad, the wanker spun me around when I was ignoring him so I gave him one right to the nose; and then to the willy just like you taught me. I'm pretty sure that'll keep all the gits thirty feet back just like you wanted.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at) Professor Riddle came in on the tail end of the fight and set things to rights with Neville's face and all. Since I wasn't technically a student, he let me slide with a detention (bet that beats your record, aye Pop? Not even sorted and already a detention).

Mum, don't freak out; it was just one little fight, no need to get scared and send me off to live with Aunt Petunia and the Dursley's.

Eternally yours,

Iris"

Somehow this letter felt good to write and when she looked it over to see why there was a kind of giddy happiness bubbling on inside of her it was because of the heading. 'To Mum and Dad' those words looked so right sitting at the top of the vellum that it brought a small smile of happiness to her face. She knew it was irrational, but to the part of her that was Harry those four words were the world; everything that had encompassed him, made him who he was, was printed on the page in a neat slanted hand, no embellishments, no flourishes; just Iris.

Hogwarts, Unplottable Location, Scotland, UK

September 7, 1991

As is always the case, the first week of any new school year passes in a blur; perhaps doubly so for someone who is reliving the experience, undertaking the same lessons again. Albeit, things were a bit different for Iris; she wasn't that middle of the class student anymore, or doing just enough to get by, she was at the top of her class.

It was a different experience and while she felt a bit guilty about stealing Hermione's thunder with her vastly more learned mind, she couldn't help but feel accomplished with the fact either. To the brunette's credit while she had taken it hard she had bounced back without seeming to wilt; in fact it seemed to focus the girl, she was gunning for the number one spot and somehow Iris was firmly set that despite her foreknowledge the girl was going to push her.

Which had prompted Iris' competitive streak and she became just as invested in studying as Hermione and she had taken to it passionately; the raven haired girl had always found a pleasure in reading and learning that Harry never had. There was just so much information and knowledge that could be found locked away between the leather covers of a book; and both sides of her psyche agreed that knowledge was power.

Returning to her classes however, Iris had found that things were enjoyably different; for instance, that first Wednesday night when they climbed to the top of the Astronomy Tower, Iris and Hermione had staked out their telescopes as far away as they could from the group of students that had accumulated around Neville.

Professor Sinistra, a tall and fierce looking woman had been quick to lay into the sycophants that the boy drew to him as though he were holding court. A lot of Harry's memories brought to mind how much he had shied away from his fame; he had hated the whispers and the attention when all he wanted was to be normal.

Neville soaked up the attention like a sponge and the further away Iris got from the boy the happier she was; when they had Herbology with Professor Sprout, the girl thought the boy's head might just explode from how much praise he got. Begrudgingly, she couldn't take away anything from the boy since he still excelled in the subject matter but it was entirely sickening to watch the boy walk out of the class three times a week like normal when he should have had a small solar system orbiting him.

Charms had been pleasant, Professor Flitwick was an endearing instructor; requiring the use of a pile of books to look over his desk. When he had called roll the first time, the small man had squeaked and fallen off his stacks of books when he called Neville's name, whether it had been from surprise, loss of balance, or just plain bad luck was anyone's guess.

Between Iris and Hermione, the lesson had raced by quickly; the two of them demolishing the assignment so quick that Flitwick had even awarded them points for their quick uptake of the lesson.

Professor McGonagall proved to be just as severe as ever in her Transfiguration class, Harry had been fond of his Head of House; for all the woman was a no-nonsense type of person she had always cared deeply about her students. Iris found the same cutting wit and austere personality in her professor, but the warmth and kindness that were behind the instructor's eyes were all the proof Iris needed that this was a woman who she would not want to cross but could admire greatly.

The first lesson had been on changing matchsticks into needles, which sounded easier than it actually was; while the items were of similar mace and size; the concept of turning wood to metal was not something easily done because as far as magic went, it was an extension of the will of the individual.

The caster had to internalize the desire to affect the change, believe it was possible, and then using magic force the object to bend to your will and perception of reality. For Harry, transfiguration had been difficult to apply because of that mental aspect; but for Iris, a child who had grown up in the magical world it was easier to accept the theory and then force the matchstick to form into a pin.

McGonagall had praised the girl for accomplishing the transfiguration, "Good work Miss Potter; I believe your father would like to hear about this. He was particularly good in Transfiguration too." The woman had said fondly before she went back to helping the class, beside Iris' complete transfiguration Hermione was the only one to shift the match until it was pointy and silver.

It was pleasing to see Hermione was still lightning fast on the uptake, the girl had a learning curve that was hard to fathom and once she understood the concepts and logic of the spell theory the practical aspect of it just came with use. The end of the class had left the two Gryffindors with the only transfigured needles and exemption from an essay because of their good work.

Neville had proven little efficacy with his magic in class which both pleased and displeased Iris, she was happy that the boy had to write an essay that he was too proud to ask for help on from Iris or Hermione; and displeased because she was having far too much fun at seeing the boy's failures.

He was using his own wand this time around so there should have been no inhibitors on his magical growth this time around but perhaps worse was that the boy had been bright and eager in Harry's universe. From his performance in Herbology it was evident the boy was still smart. The eager desire to prove himself just wasn't there; the boy had no drive, no heart in the work. Evidently, he was still in a place mentally where he felt that his title left him entitled to the world and that he had no need to work for anything.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, more often shortened to Defense or DADA by the students, had been the only class that Iris had not known what to expect. In Harry's universe Professor Quirrel had been the instructor after transferring positions from Muggle Studies; but in this universe Professor Riddle was the instructor and it had been a welcome change considering Harry's memories of the class.

When the class had entered, Riddle was standing at the front of the class, leaning against his desk while the students filed in and took their seats. As per usual now that Iris and Hermione had claimed the top spots amongst the Gryffindors in their year, it was no surprise when they staked out a table at the head of the class directly across from Riddle's desk.

"Bloody overachievers…" Someone muttered from the back of the class which caused Riddle to cock an eyebrow as he looked over the two girls. Iris smirked and shrugged while Hermione just beamed under the recognition, uncaring that the person had meant it as an insult. Riddle snorted at the two before he pushed off his desk and took hold of the room by clearing his throat loudly.

"Alright then, as you know I'm Professor Riddle and my job is quite simply to keep you alive. There are many things in this world that will seek to harm you, some of you may wonder why that is. In all honesty, I can't tell you the answer; a starving bear kills for food, a mermaid might drag you under out of curiosity and drown you accidentally, a wizard may want something you have." Riddle began his voice hard and cutting, drawing the eyes of the students to him and commanding all attention.

"While this class is called Defense Against the Dark Arts, I will endeavor to teach you defense against wizard and defense against beast. But if you leave my class after seven years and you learn but one thing, let it be this: There is no good and evil, there is simply power and the will to use it." Riddle paused there to let his words sink in as he cast his obsidian gaze over the class.

Of them all, Iris seemed to be taking the words the most seriously; they had sounded so familiar though she couldn't place them. But the words resonated within her, Harry had lived it after all; he had used the Dark Arts for good reasons, Molly had killed with magic when her children were threatened. The world was not black and white; people could kill to save, donate for greed, and turn on you with a smile.

The girl's brooding was cut to an end when Riddle had resumed his lesson, "You'll get to stew on what I've said for the rest of your lives but I've got a class to teach and you've some work to get into. Who can tell me what the three common grouping of spells are?" Riddle asked the class but smirked as Hermione's hand shot into the air faster than anyone could process the question. "Miss Granger?"

"Sir, the common groups of spells are Light, Neutral or Grey, and Dark magic." The girl recited perfectly which wasn't all the surprising considering that she had probably memorized the textbook. Riddle nodded at the response, "Correct Miss Granger, most magic falls under the purview of those three categories with the most extreme forms of magic falling under Bright and Black Arts respectively."

Riddle moved over to the board and began writing, "The basis for a spell's placement in a group is based on a combination of the spell's purpose and the incentive for casting the spell. For instance, the Patronus charm is an exceptionally Light spell that borders on Bright because of the biological response it has on its caster just as the Cruciatus Curse spell is an exceptionally Dark spell that borders on black."

The man explained as he drew a chart onto the board, "The human brain releases different chemicals to cope with certain stimuli, when you feel pain the body releases opiates to dull the pain, when you run for a while your brain releases endorphins that make you feel good." Riddle pause for a moment as he finished the chart of spell types

"The same thing happens with your magic, when you cast a spell correctly you feel good don't you?" The class nodded their heads affirmatively, "Right now that's because you're happy that you got the spell right, but when you deal with powerful magic; your body is rewarded for casting different spells. For example, the Patronus Charm draws on your happiest memories to work; so when you cast the spell you are thinking good things and you successfully make it happen. You feel good that you completed the spell and you had happy thoughts, so your mind associates the two feelings."

Riddle was explaining and the students were writing down the information as fast as they could, thoroughly engrossed by the lecture. "The same thing happens with Dark Magic, spells like the Cruciatus Curse demand that you have a deep desire to inflict injury; so when those spells are cast properly, the brain releases those 'feel good' chemicals and you associate hurting others with feeling good. But because the feelings are so at all with normal human behavior the use of Dark magic creates an almost euphoric high, this is why so many dark wizards derive so much pleasure from their sadism."

As Iris was scratching out the notes, she couldn't help but think of all the dark wizards Harry had fought and the uniform sadism that had been expressed in all of the truly depraved wizards; the Carrow's, the LeStrange's, even Voldemort had expressed a level of satisfaction from the spells he had used. Not all of them could have been psychotic from the get go despite all of the inbreeding that existed between British pureblood families. So if there was a biological influence on why they steeped so far into the Dark Arts then it certainly made sense.

The detention with Professor Riddle had gone better than Iris had expected as well, the man's office was in the dungeons and looked incredibly comfortable. The walls were covered with rich, dark red wood panels that had a polished finish that made them glisten wetly smoothly as light from the fireplace and the wall sconces illuminated the room with a twilight feel.

The room was rectangular with a small comfortable looking seating area of dark leather seats and a small couch gathered in front of the fireplace on the west end of the room arranged around a coffee table. A large area rug filled the space between the seating area and Riddle's desk on the opposite end of the room; the desk was a large and seemingly carved from the palest stone but as Iris approached it wasn't any stone she had ever seen before.

There were wood grains that traveled through its surface that looked almost crystalline; without any elaboration or decoration the piece of furniture seemed to command a silent beauty that required nothing further. The chair that Riddle sat in was likewise formed from the same material, high backed and regal looking the man sat the chair as though it was a throne; and based on the simple elegance and craftsmanship it very well could have been. As Iris drew nearer and seated herself across from the Deputy Headmaster she realized the desk was made from petrified wood which was why it looked so foreign, yet familiar at the same time.

The desk was framed on both sides by floor to ceiling bookcases that contained numerous texts in leather or cloth bindings; the names on the spines were mostly in languages that Iris couldn't understand. She could spot the English texts well enough and with Harry's knowledge the Latin and Greek based texts as well, her own knowledge of French indicated a few other texts but there were books evidently written in Russian and German, and even more exotically in Mandarin, Hebrew, and Arabic.

"Welcome Miss Potter, glad to see you arrived punctually; I feared for a moment that I might have had to send Nagini after you." Riddle said as Iris stepped into the room and began looking around taking in the décor of the room and her eyes roaming hungrily over the books in his personal library. It pleased him to see a mind so full of hunger for knowledge, "I trust you find the accommodations to your liking?" he asked with his characteristic smirk.

"I do, everything here is beautiful; if you don't mind me saying so, professor. If I might ask sir, do you understand all these languages?" Iris asked curiously even as Riddle gave a quiet snort of amusement at the question, "It would be rather pointless to keep the books if I couldn't read them, wouldn't it?" he responded with his own rhetorical question and she conceded the point willingly enough.

"Miss Potter, between you and I; I really have no desire to see you sitting here, especially since I think the attack was justified. So why don't you take the time now to do some of your homework away from the bustle of your common room, eh?" Riddle said politely as he recalled that this wisp of a girl had shattered Longbottom's nose… with a headbutt no less.

Iris smiled at the man's words and quickly pulled out some parchment and a quill while Tom cleared a corner of his desk for the girl to use. She pulled the chair she was residing in closer to the desk before she cracked open her Herbology text across her lap and quickly set to work on the essay that was due for Wednesday. The pair fell into an agreeable silence that was marked only by the scratching of quills and turning pages as Iris began to outline her essay and Riddle set about setting up his teaching plans.

It surprised Tom just how comfortable he was with the girl sitting in his office, normally he detested having anyone invade his personal sanctum; normally when he assigned detentions it was usually to give Filch something to do. The filthy squib was of little use besides being a willing host for any of the students that Riddle sent his way; but something about this girl put him at ease.

It was a detestable situation; he was the bloody Dark Lord! People had feared him all across England and this girl sat across from him oblivious to the fact that he had rained death upon people like her mother little more than a decade ago. And there she was sitting not six feet away from him as comfortable as could be doing her homework!

But even as he silently fumed at the preposterousness of the whole situation he could feel the steady pulsing of his wand as it reacted to the proximity of its brother and one look at Iris and he could see that she was utterly relaxed. He didn't much enjoy the fact that she made him feel relaxed; he could not afford weakness and a lack of situational awareness was a considerable weakness as far as he was concerned.

Perhaps further exposure to this girl would dull the effects that her magic had on his own, much like an inoculation; a little bit of exposure until he was immune entirely. Furthermore, this girl had obviously earned the enmity of Longbottom but was in the boy's house; it would be useful to have someone near enough to the boy that he could… count on, to deliver information to him about the boy and was unlikely to be clouded by friendship to the boy. Yes, that would do nicely.

In what seemed like no time at all, the girl had completed her essay and stretched languidly without getting up from her seat; and she looked up at the time, just a little after eight. Heh, turns out you can get a lot of work done in a short time when you don't have the entire Gryffindor common room to tune out. Looking around the room curiously once more she recalled something that Riddle had said, "Professor, when I walked in you said you were going to send Nagini after me. Who's Nagini?" Iris asked quietly to the professor who was frowning at his lecture notes.

The man looked up at her with an unreadable expression before coming to some kind of decision since he nodded to himself, §"Nagini, come introduce yourself to our guest"§ Tom hissed out, the change of language was surprising to Iris since she jumped minutely but she quickly recovered as Riddle gave her an amused smirk.

As Iris waited she could hear the sound of something heavy sliding around, considering the use of Parselmouth she was certain it was a snake of some kind but she was unprepared for the massive creature that came across the rug from where it had presumably been resting by the fire.

The snake was a beautiful green coloration with zigzagging black lines that crossed down the length of its body; and it was massive, at least twelve feet in length and easily as thick as her waist. The snake moved up the back of Iris' chair before draping itself across her shoulders and resting its head against the girl's chest.

Iris smiled at the snake though she marveled at the reptile's weight and length, she was sure that Nagini outweighed her by quite a few pounds as the creature was pure muscle. Raising her hand carefully, she began to stroke the serpent's head and body, her grin widening as Nagini gave a pleased hiss. §"You're gorgeous Nagini"§ Iris told the snake as she continued to pet the snake.

Tom was surprised and a bit pleased if he was honest at how well the girl had taken to Nagini, most people feared the serpent outright and those who did not fear her were often uncomfortable. He supposed that since the girl was a parselmouth as well that he should not be surprised by how affectionate Iris was.

Nagini was pleased as well by the girl's behavior, §"Ssshe flattersss me and hitsss the right place, can I keep her Massster?"§ The great serpent hissed the sibilant voice that issued forth had an air of femininity about it that revealed the snake's gender to Iris as the large reptile tightened its coils possessively around the raven haired girl's shoulders.

Iris giggled as she affectionately stroked the snake and Tom sighed, he knew for a matter of fact that now that Nagini had openly claimed to like the girl that she was going to want Iris around to keep petting her. But it gave him an excuse to invite the girl over without appearing to be some lecherous professor or maybe since he was using a pet that was exactly the image he would be presenting to everyone; but at least it wasn't as though he was luring the girl with candy and puppies.

§"No you may not keep her Nagini. But if you'd like Iris; you may feel free to come by after classes to spend some time with Nagini and do your homework in peace. You will recall the password I trust."§ Tom directed his attention to the young girl, who was looking entirely too pleased at being given unrestricted access to the office and Nagini.

§"As long as it remains, 'open' in parseltongue I don't think I'll have much trouble."§ Iris replied with a smirk as she leaned back into the chair she had claimed and with a smirk devoted her attention to petting Nagini, who was giving a hissy laugh over it all.

§"Insolent brat…"§ Tom muttered dryly under his breath while he returned to his paperwork, he didn't notice the calculating emerald eyes of Iris peering at him from under long eyelashes; her eyes mere much darker now, the eyes of someone far older and he was being weighed by those eyes.

Friday morning had brought Potions, a double block in the morning followed by a free day; Iris was eager for the latter as she very much desired to dig into those books she had brought with her but had yet to look into

. But first she had to get through Snape's class; Harry's experiences with Professor Snape had been a horrendous affair with the man going out of the way to attack him in class for his father's crimes.

She was fearful that he might prove to be the same way here, but so far her interactions with the man had been surprisingly tame. Suffice it to say, she had been anxiously watching the sky waiting for the appearance of fire and brimstone. It never came…

The class had been assembled in the dungeons with the students arranged two to a table, a cauldron in between over a burner that could be adjusted as needed. To the front and left of the class, Iris and Draco had paired off; while Hermione and Daphne had done likewise in the center front.

The two pairs had gotten some murmurs but a cool glance from Draco set the Slytherins in place; Iris was unsure how the boy commanded the attention of his peers but he had always been the Slytherin Prince. Perhaps it was because of his father being an important lobbyist and politician, or perhaps it was because Lucius had been a high ranking Death Eater and as many of the students came from those who had served they viewed him in the same light.

Regardless, Iris was happy that he had silenced the crowd of snakes because children were so susceptible to peer pressure and the rivalry so intense between Slytherins and Gryffindors that if one side of the room wasn't making a point over it then they shouldn't either.

When Snape burst into the room, his robes billowing behind him in his signature way that commanded attention he moved to the front of the room before it seemed to dawn on him that the class had been strangely silent and thus his opening line may not be appropriate.

Still, he paused only for a moment before turning to face the class with a menacing air; Iris reasoned that since this was the second encounter at least metaphorically speaking that she wasn't cowed as the rest of the students were. Neither was Draco for that moment, but the man was the boy's godfather so perhaps that was to be expected.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to enjoy the subtle science and exact art that is potion brewing. However, for those select few," He paused and fixed Draco with a meaningful look before his gaze moved inquisitively over to Iris, the silent question apparent in the look; so she nodded her head politely with a smile.

Snape's eyes widened minutely and that twitch of a smile reappeared at the corner of his lip before he turned back on the class, "Who possess the predisposition; I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper to death."

Snape's eyes flitted about the room and locked onto Neville, a wicked smirk formed on his face and a brief glance at Longbottom showed the boy had gone a few shades paler from the man's stare. It had been terrible to watch Neville cope with Snape before but now that he was an arrogant sod, it was much more amusing and Iris couldn't hold back the slightly pleased smirk at the boy's distinct discomfort.

"Mr. Longbottom. Our. New. Celebrity." Snape said, pronouncing each word clearly with evident venom, "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" The black clad man asked the boy who was now sweating uncomfortably under the Potions Master's scrutiny.

Hermione's hand shot up eagerly and while Snape glanced over he dismissed the girl as he settled on torturing Neville. The boy quailed slightly before saying, "I don't know, sir."

Snape took a step back up the isle before pointing over at Iris, "How about you Ms. Potter, do you know?" He asked, his voice was just as commanding but the malice was gone and there was a faint semblance of curiosity if the girl had to put a word to it.

Nodding, "The Draught of Living Death, sir." She responded confidently to which Snape gave an amused smirk and a nod before rounding back on Neville, the boy who had been given a short respite visibly blanched as the attention returned to him.

"Let's try again shall we Mr. Longbottom, where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked coolly; again Hermione's hand popped up into the air though this time the professor's gaze didn't waver from the boy who was shifting nervously in his seat, unwilling to meet the tall man's gaze as he muttered, "I don't know, sir."

"Well then, Miss Potter would you like to inform your housemate where a bezoar can be found and what purpose it serves?" Snape asked as he turned his gaze over to the girl as she tucked an ebony lock behind her ear thoughtfully as she recalled the information.

"A bezoar is a stone found in the belly of a goat and it can save you from most poisons, sir." Iris answered after a moment, quite pleased at herself for remembering the information; though to be fair she probably wouldn't have remembered the answer to the question if Hermione hadn't been doing her paraphrasing thing in the morning.

"Correct, Miss Potter." Snape said as a definite bemused expression came over his features as he settled his gaze once more on the school's quickly deteriorating celebrity.

"Mr. Longbottom, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfbane?" he inquired pointedly, andagain Hermione's hand rocketed into the air; Iris winced at the movement. She was sure if the girl tried any faster the class was going to hear the pop of a dislocated shoulder.

It seemed that Neville had reached his breaking point, "I don't know, sir! Perhaps you should ask Potter or Granger, they seem to know the answer!" the boy yelled at the professor and Iris blinked at the triumphant smirk that settled on Snape's face. This man was just as cruel as Harry's had been but with it directed at Neville and not at her, she could get used to it fairly quickly. And she believed, quite happily.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor for you outburst Mr. Longbottom, and I'll expect you back this evening for detention." Snape said dryly as he perched at the edge of his desk and looked around the room, once more ignoring Hermione's hand and looking at Iris.

"For a chance to win back some points that Longbottom lost, how about it Miss Potter; do you have the answer?" The Potions Master asked succinctly, some remaining mirth evident in his voice from pushing Neville over the edge.

"I do sir, there is no difference; monkshood and wolfbane are the same plant, also known as aconite." Iris said with certainty, that particular plant held a significant connotation for the girl due to Remus' lycanthropy. She wasn't an expert in werewolves, but she knew that without the wolfsbane potion each full moon; Remus lost his mind to the wolf that dwelled within him.

"Indeed, very well then; ten points to Gryffindor." Snape said as he moved around his desk to the board and began writing out the instructions for a Boil Cure potion. As the class set about their preparations, Snape sat at his desk while he looked over at Iris and his godson gathering ingredients and setting them on the table.

Snape watched Iris through his onyx eyes and couldn't help but see Lily in her place, the girl was the spitting image of her mother, save for the untamable wild ebony hair that fell down her back and framed her face. The girl's eyes were alight with emotion as she and Draco began to brew the potion that he had assigned to the class and as they completed each step and got the desired results a smile broke over her features.

She was so much like her mother it tugged at his heart and if things had gone just a little differently she might have been Iris Snape and not Iris Potter. He realized that and it pained him that the woman he had loved more than anything had chosen another man over him because of his failings. He had given in to the temptation of power that dark magic afforded; he had allowed his anger with his father cloud his judgement and drove him to the arms of the Dark Lord in order to avenge himself against all the Muggles of the world.

He knew that it had been his actions that had driven Lily Evans away from him and it hurt terribly but he had accepted that she would never be his; so he had taken to watching from afar; he made the decision to protect her as best as he could. He had become a spy in the midst of the Death Eaters, walking the knife's edge as he delicately balanced his life on the finest of lines.

He had convinced Grindewald that the Longbottom child was the bigger threat, he was a pureblood and he would have the greater magical core. He had convinced the Dark Lord and inadvertently led to the end of the war when the Longbottom child defeated Grindewald; when Dumbledore had revealed his spy to the Order the first to welcome him, to back Dumbledore and accept him was Lily.

She forgave him his trespasses when he defected from the Death Eaters; he hid the fact that he still shared the Dark Lord's views, still agreed with his politics but he had feigned change for Lily because though he could not have her, he chose her happiness over his own. He lived his life to ensure her happiness which in turn made him happy; sometimes he wondered what would have happened had she not survived.

He would probably be some greasy haired, sallow skinned man with yellow and uneven teeth.

The thought made him shudder at the prospect.

Still, he was a hard and cold man; strict with his teaching and an unforgiving task master but his students learned well and those that could excel at his class through to the N.E.'s would be able to earn their Masteries.

After Potions was dismissed the students broke for lunch and conversed amongst themselves excitedly as they planned what they were going to do for the rest of the day. Iris was set on reading the books that she had picked up from the Potter vault but that meant getting away from her friends; she didn't know what those books entailed and she couldn't put them at risk if whatever those books contained had the possibility of endangering them.

She spent lunch thinking up an excuse that would get her away from her friends so when Hermione got a letter from Hagrid inviting her down to tea she was enthusiastic about heading down to the Groundkeeper's lodgings and having tea with the half-giant. Of course she insisted that Draco go with her since she had taken up Iris' cause of beating the prejudice out of the boy and with Daphne's encouragement the three of them were set to go.

Iris played off that she was going to visit with Nagini for a bit and she would meet up with them later, her friends had quickly gotten used to Iris disappearing most nights to spend an hour or two in the relative peace of Tom's office to do her homework or play with the man's enormous serpent.

Hermione had been the first to see the enormous serpent as it came into class earlier in the week to wrap around Iris' chair and seemingly strangle the girl with its twelve foot length. The class had panicked upon seeing Nagini, but Iris had just kissed the snake on the head and petted it throughout class, proving to the Gryffindors that she wasn't afraid of a twelve foot venomous snake that could have eaten her whole.

Waving her friends off at the Entrance Hall, Iris stole up to Gryffindor tower and opened her trunk with the parseltongue password, grabbing one of the books she slipped it into her bag and then raced out of the tower. With the Fat Lady already being on the seventh floor, she quickly found her way to the hallway with the tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet.

Looking at the blank wall across from the tapestry, Iris paced back and forth three times while thinking, 'I need a room to read without being disturbed.' Upon the completion of the third circuit a door morphed out of the solid wall, casting a quick glance to ensure she was alone; Iris wrenched open the door and stepped inside the Come and Go Room.

Inside she found a brightly illuminated study with comfortable looking lounge furniture surrounding a cozy brazier and walls that were lined with books of all sorts. It was perfect, as always the Room of Requirement had formed the perfect environment for Iris' use.

Crossing the room, the young girl plopped down onto one of the leather sofa lounge chairs; reaching into her bag she drew the tome that she had extracted from her trunk and turned it over curiously in her hands. The book was bound in dark leather of an almost inky black, there was no title on the book and as she cracked it open the words seemed to be an unintelligible series of squiggly lines that bore no significance.

She stared at the incomprehensible pages for a moment before her head slumped and she sighed, of course; Hecate would give her a book but she would find it to be an indecipherable language. She kind of wished she had gone to see Nagini now; at least she could communicate with the serpent which was something this book had proven impossible to do.

Thinking fondly of her professor's snake, Iris looked back down at the tome ready to just snap it shut when the lines seemed to be crawling across the page. Staring fixedly at the words they seemed to be resolving themselves into English words, forgetting all about the snake Iris looked at the words in curiosity but found that the lines were moving back into those illegible lines.

'But why? They were starting to make sense just a second ago! What's different now than it was a second ago!' Iris thought to herself furiously as she examined her actions but came up with nothing, the only thing she could think of was wanting to see Nagini. Once more thinking of the serpent, she could see from the corner of her eyes the lines melting across the page and forming into words.

The connotation struck her immediately this time, the book was reacting to her thoughts on Nagini; staring fixedly at the book, Iris read the opening lines of the book:

§"Parselmagic has long been considered a rare and forgotten form of sorcery, those of us who hold the ability to commune in the tongue of serpents have been vilified and condemned as evil by the prejudices of jealous and frightened men. No magic is inherently good or evil, and that includes Parselmagic which has been a passed onto man from the Naga's of India in return for acting as their priests to bless the land's many waters.

In order to ensure that the history and magic of our ability continues to exist, so that it might never be forgotten; this text will be my gift unto the following generations so that we might be prideful of our inheritance. The origin of parseltongue and parselmagic begins…"§

Iris was astounded by the text, Hecate had imparted upon her champion the lore and craft of Parselmagic. She held in her hands the hand written accounts of one of her forefathers, a man who had held the gift of parseltongue and rather than spurn his gift; he had embraced it. Learned the history behind it and committed it to page so that it might be shared.

Iris had no way of knowing how long the tome had rested undisturbed in the depths of Gringotts, preserved by magic and hidden under a pile of gold when it should have been in the hands of someone who could do something with the words. Instead it had taken the guidance of a goddess to see the text brought back to the hands of someone who could use and appreciate it.

With a gleeful enthusiasm, Iris set herself to reading and absorbing as much information as she could; the thirst for knowledge that the girl had possessed long before her merging with Harry flaring to life once more and holding her in complete enthrallment as her eyes peered at the words and she drank it all in.

Hogwarts, Unplottable Location, Scotland, UK

September 12 1991

The following Thursday afternoon was marked by an air of excitement in the Great Hall as the first years were getting ready for their first hands-on flying lesson; the previous week had left them all a bit sore since Madam Hooch had not let the students fly. Instead she lectured them on safety and handling procedures, which was fair considering that some of the students had never even heard of flying broomsticks before.

As the Gryffindors lined up in one of the castle's many open courtyards they were surprised to see the majority of Slytherins were already outside standing amidst two organized lines of brooms that were evenly spaced apart. The students from the house of snakes were arrayed along the right hand line as their scarlet and gold counterparts sidled into position over the left hand line.

Malfoy smirked at Iris and she grinned at the blonde boy as they nodded at each other, they both had aspirations to be on their House teams so they were looking forward to a little showmanship in the hopes of catching some eyes.

Hermione looked anxious at the broom at her feet and swallowed thickly, "Hermione, calm down; it's a broom not a dragon. Deep breaths and you'll be fine." Iris reassured the brunette who nodded and began a breathing exercise to calm her down. Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes, once the girl got up in the air and experienced the joy of flying all her anxiety would bleed away.

At least, she hoped so; it worked for her but then again she had years of experience, and even then her very first birthday had been marked with a toy broomstick from Uncle Sirius that she had flown around her house as a neonate.

Madam Hooch strode into the courtyard purposefully, her eagle yellow eyes piercing the students as she swept her gaze over them. "Good afternoon class," She greeted them in a sharp voice that easily carried over the group that was slightly reminiscent of a hawk's screech.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch" the class responded in unison to the flying instructor's greeting, many of them looked apprehensive since her arrival meant the start of class.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting or, step to the left side of your broom, hold out your right hand and say 'up!'" Hooch instructed which prompted the class to fall into line beside a broom.

Iris held her right hand out over the broom and gave her command, "Up!" The broom instantly shot from the ground into her open hand, her fingers clenching around the wooden shaft automatically. Hermione stared at her friend before looking down at her broom, "Up! Up. Up, up." The broom jolted and rolled around for a bit but did not immediately ascend up into her hand.

Across from Iris, Draco likewise issued a single command and had the broom firmly in hand; it took Daphne several tries before her broom rose into her hand gently.

To Iris' right she heard Ron's voice, "UP!" The broom rose so sharply that he felt to catch it and it slammed into his face instead. The boy raised a hand to his pained face as Iris stifled a snicker behind her hand, but apparently not very well since the boy gave her a cross look. "Shuddup Iris!" The boy whined plaintively, his voice muffled by his hand which only caused the girl to laugh harder.

Eventually everyone had their brooms in hand though it had been quite the task for several of the students, Grabbe and Goyle for instance had to resort to just picking up the broomsticks because regardless of how many times they commanded it, the broomsticks refused to rise.

Whether this was because they lacked the power to command the brooms or because the brooms sensed the weight of their would-be riders and as a result were simply quailing on the ground in fear was anybody's guess.

"Now, once you've got your brooms; I want you to mount them and grip them tight. You don't want to be slipping off the ends now!" Madam Hooch stated as the class threw their legs over the brooms and set themselves into position.

"When I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off the ground hard, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. In three…two…" Madam hooch issued a shrill blast from her whistle which prompted the children to kick off.

Neville immediately began to rise and Iris had the impending sense of déjà vu, the boy had a face of abject terror. The students quickly began to call him back down and even Madam Hooch began barking at the boy to lower himself and dismount.

Unfortunately, the calls seemed to have a detrimental effect on Neville's control as the boy quickly began to soar straight towards a wall on the other side of the courtyard. The broom slammed into the wall, nearly sending the boy toppling over but he managed to hold himself on as the broom reversed direction and barreled back towards the students.

Students quickly hit the deck as Madam Hooch drew her wand and prepared to stop the boy but as Neville picked up speed she too was forced to roll to the side or risk impalement on a blunt wooden shaft. As the boy raced towards Iris, the girl hooked her knee around her broom and flattened herself out before barrel rolling to the side to narrowly avoid impact.

Neville shot passed his screams of fright echoing off the courtyard walls as he ascended higher and passed a statue of a spear carrying man on one of the courtyard ramparts. The spear caught the boy's robes and jerked him from the broom, now holding him aloft some thirty feet over the ground.

The distinct sound of cloth ripping could be heard in the dead silent courtyard before the boy plummeted downwards; briefly catching on a torch holder before he fell the remaining fifteen feet to the ground onto his outstretched arms.

Madam Hooch ran over to the boy as Iris touched down from the ground, Hermione looked at her in astonishment while Ron gave him a goofy grin of admiration, "That was bloody brilliant Iris," the redhead muttered quietly to her.

As Madam Hooch settled beside the boy she helped him sit upright and the class could easily see he was cradling his right arm to his chest as the professor cast a diagnostic charm over his arm. "Oh dear, it's a broken wrist! Not to worry lad, Madam Pomfrey will have you put to rights in a jiffy." She said as she helped thee injured boy up.

Iris almost felt sorry for the boy who was in obvious pain, almost though; she still felt that little bit of satisfaction at watching him break his wrist.

"Everyone should keep their feet on solid ground if the know what's good for them; if I find that any of you were flying around while I was taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing, the person would find themselves out of Hogwarts faster than they could say quidditch!" Hooch warned to the class as she took Neville out of the courtyard.

As she was leaving, Draco stepped forward and picked up a small glass like orb with gold markings on it and bounced it in his hand, Neville's remembrall. "Well looky here, if the fat lard had given this a squeeze; he might have remembered to fall on his arse!" He said snidely, it was obvious that Draco had not forgotten the besmirching of his family name at the start of term a week prior.

Iris stifled a giggle by biting her tongue considering how her housemates were all glowering at Draco but no one was stepping forward. She rolled her eyes and stepped forward, "Come on Draco, give it here; I'll make sure Neville gets it back courtesy of you." Iris said gently, hoping that she could defuse her friend's ire but they boy simply shook his head.

"Nah, I think I'll leave it someplace for him to find… like the roof!" Draco snarled as he mounted his broom and kicked off the ground. Iris watched as the boy quickly gained altitude and threw her leg over her wooden mount as Hermione and Daphne approached her.

"Iris, this isn't a good idea! You heard what Hooch said, if you get caught they'll suspend you; maybe even expel you!" Hermione said as she grabbed her friend's sleeve, Daphne mirroring the brunette's sentiments from the other side. "Hermione's right let him blow off his steam! No need to get involved in this!"

Iris shook her head and pointed at the blonde boy who had already peaked over the courtyard, "Look at him, he's not going to settle for just chucking the ball at the nearest roofline; he's going to look for the highest place to put it and that means that he's going to get caught by a professor. If I can bring him down now, we can all get out of this problem free." She insisted to her friends who both looked up at Draco who was still rising.

Hermione and Daphne shared a look before nodding and backing off, "Bring him back down Iris!" Daphne said encouragingly as the raven haired girl gave the Slytherin a nod before kicking off and rising at a near vertical to match Draco's height.

"Draco! Get back down to the courtyard, just chuck the ball and be done with it!" Iris called to her friend as she began to circle him as he scanned for an appropriate place to throw the ball. It was evident that Draco was seeing red at the moment and that he wasn't listening, so Iris got in close and grabbed the boy's forearm.

"Draco, get down! Now!" She growled at him through clenched teeth as her own anger began to rise, the longer they were up the greater chance of them being caught and getting in trouble.

Draco shrugged off Iris' hand as he glowered at the girl but eventually nodded his head, hefting the remembrall in his hand he aim for a nearby tower and chucked the orb. Iris watched the ball arc and a part of her mind judged that it was going to slam into a window rather than the roof.

"Shit Drake, get down to the ground!" Iris said as she shot after the glass orb; if the ball broke through the window then the entire exercise to get Draco down to avoid trouble would be for naught, the only way that you could hit that window would be from an altitude and knowing the Gryffindors it would take them seconds to rat out her friend.

Slicing through the air, Iris lowered herself along the broom to create as little drag as possible as she moved through the air; her eyes never leaving the shimmering sphere that was moving in slow motion to her eyes as adrenaline pumped through her system and increased the synaptic responses discharging in her brain.

A split moment before impact, Iris' caught the ball out of the air and her eyes moved passed the orb to the wide eyes of Professor McGonagall behind the window. Whipping her broom up and around, Iris plummeted into a vertical nose dive before leveling off directly above the roof, so close that the tips of her shoes were ghosting over the tiles before she came over the courtyard and drifted down slowly.

Landing amongst her peers, Iris dismounted and passed the remembrall to Hermione who stared at the pale faced girl as the other Gryffindors were applauding her save. "What happened Iris?" Hermione whispered only to watch the girl flinch as McGonagall's voice echoed through the courtyard.

"IRIS POTTER! Follow me!" Iris winced as she looked over at Draco who was staring at her wide eyed with an apologetic look on his face beside Daphne who was looking at her worriedly. Nodding to the two Slytherins, Iris turned to Hermione; "Make sure Neville gets that back, the last thing we need is for him to start more trouble with Draco." She said gravely as she pulled away from the class and approached her Head of House.

McGonagall was staring at her sternly as they walked briskly through the castle muttering under reath about the audacity of children and how she could have broken her neck and how displeased her mother would be; didn't mention anything about her father though, they both knew that he would have found the entire spectacle thrilling since she didn't break her neck.

The pair stopped in front of the Charms classroom, Iris swallowed in relief but to anyone looking at the girl it would have been easy to confuse it with fright.

Harry's memories were reminding her that this was much how it went when McGonagall had fetched him, the different circumstances and events had of course not guaranteed a perfect duplicate of his own timeline but the way things were going about now; it seemed that things would resolve themselves in much the same way.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick; might I borrow Wood for a moment?" Professor McGonagall asked as she stepped into the room, leaving Iris standing at the threshold looking into the room. The class seemed to watch the teacher that had intruded into the classroom and were casting looks over to the first year that was standing behind her curiously.

The diminutive professor nodded and gestured a student; the boy rose from his seat and followed McGonagall out into the hall to see Iris standing there. He looked at the young girl curiously before looking at McGonagall who motioned for them to follow her to an empty classroom down the hall.

When they arrived McGonagall had a small smile on her face, "Potter this is Oliver Wood; Wood, I have found you a seeker!" The woman said as she looked down at Iris pleased.

Oliver Wood was a tall and lanky young man with short cropped brown hair and brown eyes; he was well built and on the burly side though in that awkward phase of development where you could see that he had the shape but hadn't quite filled out to match it.

The Gryffindor captain eyed Iris carefully as he was sizing her up, "You sure Professor? She doesn't look like much." He said flatly as he all but dismissed Iris as he turned towards the Transfiguration instructor.

Iris ground her teeth as she stepped forward and grabbed Wood by his tie, tugging him down with more strength than her elders had thought she had; Wood was bent double staring into the fiery emerald eyes of the young girl. "I've got more talent in my little finger than you've got in your body, Wood! Don't think because I'm young or a girl that I won't kick your rear up and down the quidditch pitch."

Wood stared at the girl wide eyed as she loosed her hold on him and he stared at Professor McGonagall who had a definite pleased smirk on her face. "Mr. Wood; I saw this girl snatch a remembrall out of the air after a fifty foot dive without getting a scratch; Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." She said backing up Iris haughty claim.

Wood looked at Iris in a new light and his eyes gleamed dreamily, "Well she does have the right build for it; light and slim, she'd probably be quite speedy. But we'd stand a much better chance of winning if she wasn't using one of the school's Shooting Stars."

Iris wasn't sure if she should take his words as a compliment or as an insult but considering that he was looking just about as pleased as the cat that got the cream, she would settle for compliment and mark him down as untactful.

"I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heavens knows we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus or Tom in the face for weeks…" McGonagall trailed off with a look that said that the defeat still left a sour taste in her mouth.

"All due respect Professor, it was the twin's first year on the pitch; they'll be much better off this year now that they've got some experience under their belt." Wood put in firmly, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more so than convince the grey haired witch.

She nodded thoughtfully before looking at Iris, "Ms. Potter; is it safe to assume you have a broom at home?" Iris nodded her head affirmatively, "Good, I suggest you make preparations for having it delivered. I'll inform you as soon as I get the Headmaster's approval." McGonagall turned and strode away purposefully, presumably to consult the Headmaster.

Wood looked over his new Seeker before leaning in, "Congratulations Potter, welcome to the team! A word though, you're our secret weapon now; so don't go telling the school that you made the team you hear?"

Iris nodded back with a conspiratorial smile and a two fingered salute which left Wood beaming as his thought turned to dreams and aspirations for the Quidditch Cup.

After the events of the Flying class, Neville had learned that it had been Iris that had reclaimed his remembrall; despite the fact that she had done it to keep Draco out of trouble rather than any sense of nobility of loyalty to the pompous celebrity, he had heard otherwise from his housemates and had come up to her in the middle of the Common Room with an apology for his behavior and thanking her for sticking her neck for his property.

Of course Iris wasn't going to tell him the truth behind her motivations so she simply accepted his apology and thanks; but she had held onto some personal lessons by this point, namely "forgive, but never forget."

Regardless of Neville's behavior towards Iris, the following morning in the Entrance Hall he had confronted Draco as he was emerging from the dungeons or breakfast for attempting to toss his remembrall unto one of the castle's many towers. And of course, Draco had taken the push and turned the tables by challenging Neville to a wizard's duel; and with Neville being a pureblood he quickly accepted the challenge lest he besmirch his family name.

Ron, the loveable git, still carried some of the bad blood that existed between the Malfoy's and Weasley's and had taken the place as Neville's second while surprisingly, Blaise Zabini had stepped up beside Draco to take his second.

Iris was rather curious to learn about why Zabini had stepped up for Draco when in Harry's universe the boy had been a rather reserved individual who hadn't really caught anyone's attention until well into the sixth year. So Iris wondered if this was just a result of this universe making the boy more forward or if there was something else that had motivated the Italian.

Iris, Daphne, and Hermione had shared a collective sigh and an exasperated eye roll that made the silent commentary of, "Boys…" readily apparent as the four boys went through the motions of setting up their duel at midnight in the trophy room that night.

Iris already knew it was going to be a setup since she had Harry's memories but her own knowledge of Draco told her that there was no way the boy he ruffle his peacock feathers by getting into a wizard's duel that he couldn't control the outcome of. His survival instinct wouldn't let him play that kind of a risk, and so he would use alternative methods to eliminate his adversary.

So Iris and Hermione had patiently waited for the two would-be duelists to descend from their dormitory and they were not surprised that by eleven o'clock the two had emerged in what might have been a semblance of seriousness.

Neville at least was wearing the tight fitting battle robe that accentuated his bulging abdomen while Ron had simply rolled up the sleeves of his school uniform in preparation. Iris sighed at the sight as she and Hermione rose from their seats by the fireplace and stepped up to the boys.

Hermione had opened up, "You two can't seriously plan on going out to that stupid duel! You're just going to get in trouble when Filch catches you outside of the Common Room after curfew!"

Neville snorted derisively, "Look Granger, I wouldn't expect you to understand since you're a Muggleborn but in the Wizarding Community when a challenge is issued, we purebloods have to meet it or else we'll be the laughing stock of the community." Ron nodded emphatically at this point to show his agreement.

"Draco isn't stupid; he doesn't know how good you are as a duelist and he won't risk his skin against an untried opponent. This is going to be a fool's errand." Iris commented smartly, she knew her friend after all and if Neville didn't listen to her than it would be pointless to attempt anything further.

The Boy-Who-Lived actually paused for a moment at her words as he considered the possibility but eventually he shook his head, "I hear what you're saying Iris, but on the chance that Malfoy does show; I have to meet his challenge." He stated firmly, though he missed the girl's eye twitch at the use of her first name as if they were friends.

Iris sighed as she pulled a black ribbon from her wrist and tied her loose hair into a tail at the base of her neck to keep it out of the way, "Well, if you two are set on this; you're going to need someone who actually knows their way around the castle. Since I doubt the two of you have thought much of an escape route in case things go south."

Ron opened his mouth to make a retort but subsided when he realized that the girl was right and Neville nodded at the thoughtful planning that Iris displayed; "You're right, we didn't take that into consideration. We can barely making it to the Great Hall without getting lost, not to mention running from Filch in the middle of the night. Thanks Iris."

Again, the raven haired girl gave an involuntary twitch of the eye as the familiarity that Neville was displaying at the moment but she couldn't blow up at the boy in the middle of the Common Room and expect him to still want her help. Not when she needed this opportunity to check on the third floor corridor and see what was guarding the trapdoor in this universe.

So with little delay, Iris led the group down through the entry portal and down the hallway to the nearest set of stairs; pausing for a moment at the top of the, she looked at the note that the Weasley twins had given her of the prefect routes and schedules; those pranksters knew how to break curfew the right way.

Descended the stairs quickly, the quartet moved unhindered through the halls that were illuminated by the moonlight that filtered in through the high windows, while they avoided all of the patrols that were out roaming. They entered the trophy room with ten minutes to midnight, as was expected the trophy room was barren save for the crystal trophy cases that gleamed in the moonlight and the reflection of light that was cast from the gold and silver cups, plaques, and awards.

Moving steadily through the room, Iris positioned herself at the opposite door while Ron and Neville were mucking about with their wands drawn ready for Malfoy or Zabini to show up any moment. The minutes passed slowly and eventually Ron turned to Neville to say something when the door at the far end of the trophy room creaked open.

They could hear a voice that was most certainly not Malfoy's or Zabini's, "Sniff them out sweetheart; they've got to be here somewhere; hiding in a corner no doubt." It was Filch's voice and he was most assuredly talking to his cat Mrs. Norris.

Quietly waving the others to her, Iris opened the door she was standing by and entered the gallery that was beyond the portal; the hallway was filled with suits of armor that were neatly arrayed several feet apart on either side of the hall. Moving at a brisk trot, Iris set the pace away from the trophy room with considerably more calm than she should have had but then again having memories of living through this experience this before and having dueled a Dark Lord kind of puts thing in perspective.

Still, she was caught by surprise when Neville tripped over his own feet and careened into a suit of armor while he dragged down Ron with him. The cacophony of sound would probably have woken the whole castle, glancing at the two boys as they struggled to their feet; Iris sprinted full tilt towards the tapestry at the end of the hall.

Slipping behind the tapestry, she ran headlong through the hidden passage that existed there and skidded to a halt in the corridor near the Charms classroom. She knew full well that they were on the clear opposite end of the floor from the trophy room.

"We've lost him for sure, stay quiet and we'll be back to the tower in no time." Iris whispered to the three that followed her, taking the lead she started off for the staircase and winced as a door ahead of them swung open; revealing Peeves.

The poltergeist rounded on the group of first years, the glee etched onto his long dead features and Iris resisted the urge to scowl at him. If only she could risk a Banishing charm without drawing any attention to herself but that was an impossibility with the other three behind her.

"Looky here, little Firsties wandering about at midnight! Naughty, naughty, you'll get caught." He cackled gleefully as he loomed over the heads of the children. Before Iris could talk him down, Neville stepped forward and swiped at the ghost with his wand, "Let us pass, Peeves!"

Of course the threatening gesture wouldn't go over well and Peeves bellowed, "FIRST YEARS IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR AFTER CURFEW!"

Biting off a curse as it rose into her throat, Iris doubled back and bolted straight for the locked door at the end of the corridor as the pounding footsteps of Filch could be heard echoing around the corner. Tugging on the door, Iris knew it wouldn't budge but she had to make a show of it before she backed away and gave Hermione a nod as she drew her wand and faced the hallway behind them.

"Alohamora" Hermione whispered as she pointed her wand at the door causing the bolt that was held in place to slide back with a quiet click, she gave the door a tug open and the group piled in with Iris closing the door behind them.

Iris turned around and examined the corridor, it seemed that Dumbledore had utilized the same defenses at this juncture as he had used in Harry's memories. Sleeping at the end of the corridor was the same massive three-headed dog, with jaws so large they could bite a person in half and still have room left over to have a couple fries.

At its feet was the familiar trapdoor and presumably the Devil's Snare that Sprout had left to arrest the intruder's fall and leave them to be strangled as the panicked against the plant's embrace. The only concern that Iris had would be the new professor Riddle, he was an unknown variable and that meant that his protection would a shot in the dark that would need to be confronted when they situation arose.

For the time being, they had overstayed their welcome as the Cerberus-like creature began to stir, Iris turned to stare at her three companions; the two boys were staring gobsmacked at the beast but ever observant Hermione was analyzing the big picture and had noticed the trapdoor as well.

Even as the boys opened their mouths to scream, Iris wrenched open the door to the Charms hallway and pulled the lot through.

The hallway was clear, evidence that Filch had moved on to search the rest of the castle as Peeves had proven to be as uncooperative as usual with the caretaker not even bothering to approach the forbidden corridor since he knew full well that it had been locked.

Though, Iris wondered who in their right minds would ward the door with the simplest of locking charms that a spell from the first year Charm's textbook would grant them access. Sure, pointy teeth awaited whoever got through the door; but didn't it make more sense to ward the door so heavily that you couldn't get past it to the pointy teeth without setting of an alarm or getting torn to shreds by a curse.

They might as well roll out the welcoming mat to whoever was smart enough to get through the door.

Regardless, Iris put the thought out of her mind as the group returned to Gryffindor tower to find the Fat Lady back in her portrait looking at the flushed and sweaty faced children, "Where have you been?"

Iris smirked back at the portrait, "Just went for a midnight stroll in the moonlight, sounded romantic up until Filch started after us. Pig snout by the way."

The Fat Lady looked at Iris as though the girl was absolutely insane though based on the wide grins and snickers of the children behind her; the girl had obviously been up to no good. Swinging open, the four piled in through the opening and collapsed into the chairs in the Common Room tiredly.

Ron was the first to speak as he recovered enough from the midnight excursion, "What do they think they're doing keeping a thing like that locked up in a school!" Neville nodded emphatically at that assessment.

Hermione glowered at the two, "Don't you two use your eyes?" she snapped at them tiredly, "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

Neville looked at her with a face that imitated the Fat Lady's a moment ago precisely, as though Hermione had gone absolutely loony. "What it was standing on? The floor, maybe? I was staring at its head, not its feet… there were three of them by the way!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the boy's observations while Iris cut in, "We noticed the heads too, what Hermione means to point out is that the dog was standing over a trapdoor. It was guarding something!" Iris stressed the last part to the two who by their expressions were realizing the significance of the statement.

Hermione stood abruptly and glared at the two boys, "Next time we warn you about something, you should listen! We could've been killed tonight, or worse… expelled!" The bushy haired brunette walked hastily to the staircase of the girl's dormitory while Iris smiled after her friend and looked at the boys.

"Now there's a lass who has her priorities in order!" She said with a small laugh as she rose from the couch and departed after her friend, leaving the two boys staring dumbly after them as they wondered what in the world had just happened.

After that particularly fateful evening, the only thing of much importance was that Iris' broom arrived from home; it had been delivered to McGonagall in her office and subsequently delivered to the girl's dormitory away from prying eyes. The broom had born a missive from the Professor not to open the parcel in public, let alone reveal that she even had a broom on school grounds to call her own. She included that the quidditch team practiced three times a week and the schedule was scrawled out on the back of the note in the teacher's note.

The second missive was from her parents, they were both ecstatic that Iris had made the Quidditch team as a first year; thus making her the youngest Quidditch player at Hogwarts in a century. Her father mentioned that he had polished the broom just before mailing it off with the owls so it would be just like new for when it arrived.

It was a surprise really how time flew by once Iris settled into her new routine, between her thrice weekly quidditch practices; completing all of her homework; maintaining her position as top of their year beside Hermione; continuing her study of the parselmage texts; writing back and forth to her family; and still spending at least an hour a day in Professor Riddle's study it was no surprise that two months passed in the blink of an eye and probably would have been unremarkable.

Except for Halloween…

Author's Notes: So this was a pretty dry chapter but I needed to get some key points across in the story for later things to make sense. The lecture that Riddle gave is in no way cannon, but I thought it made sense from a clinical and psychological perspective; it does explain why so many dark wizards get off on the pain and suffering they cause.
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Behind the Veil