A/N: I'm... uh... still alive? I know that it's been a very long time since I updated this story. However, I have this chapter for you! I hope it's good!
###
SIRIUS TRIED TO ENJOY HIS TIME WITH the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team in the common room. However, he couldn't shake off the terrible feeling that had buried itself in his chest. The source of his concern was his red-headed lady love, Iris Evans. She had gone off to get her scarf that she left in the stands and he had been counting the minutes that she was gone. He cursed himself. He really should have gone with her!
His worry was felt by the rest of his friends but they tried to keep his mind off of it. Someone had pulled out some firewhiskey to the delight of just about everyone and James had thrust a cup of it to Sirius. After taking a few drinks of it, Sirius did lighten up. The thought of the missing girl hadn't completely left his mind, however, he was able to loosen up just a tad bit.
The girls had noticed that she was missing as well, but they wrote it off as her just messing about. They weren't entirely sure where she had gone off, however, they had asked Sirius and he told them she went back to get her scarf. That was enough of an explanation for that moment.
Yet as the night started to draw nearer, the celebrating started to die down, and Iris still hadn't shown up, they certainly became worried. So the group of friends sat around the fireplace with only one person missing. A few students were still recovering from the firewhiskey and were scattered around the room lazily strewn across chairs with headaches already forming. Those students were definitely going to have hangovers in the morning.
"She's been gone this entire time!" Marlene shouted loudly which was an obvious sign that she may have had too much firewhiskey. She leaned on Wendy and Lily as the three of them sat on the couch. "Why exactly did you let her go on her own?"
Sirius' jaw bobbed up and down as if he was imitating a fish when in reality he was trying to find his words. That was certainly a great question. However, it was one that Sirius could not come up with an answer to. "I don't know." Everyone stared at him with narrowed eyes, "I know. I know it was a bad idea... She just convinced me to let her go... by herself. She said she was just getting her scarf." He cringed at their incredulous stares. Though he knew that he deserved them.
"Who knows where she is now!" Lily exclaimed worriedly as she gnawed at her nails, "Merlin, it's late and she could be anywhere. What if she's lost a-and she needs help!"
Wendy wrapped her arm around the nervous girl's shoulders to offer some comfort. "Iris can't be lost, she knows her way around the school by now. Besides we know her, she can't get lost anywhere. That girl has a pretty good sense of direction."
"But still," Remus piped up, "should we go looking for her? Just to be safe?"
James stopped his pacing. He had been doing it ever since they had started discussing Iris disappearance. He was beyond nervous over his friend's disappearance. It didn't feel right at all. Iris wasn't someone to miss a party like the one they just had. Besides, it was one that was celebrating a quidditch match win! Iris' enjoyment for the wizarding sport rivaled that of James and Sirius themselves. It was strange to imagine that she would just abandon a party like that. Something was wrong.
He turned to them and threw his arms up, "yes, we need to go out and find her!" He licked his lips, "she's been gone for hours, and we all know that Iris wouldn't miss out on a party. She has to be in some sort of trouble."
"Maybe she got detention," everyone turned to the meek boy who decided to input his opinion. Peter squeaked at the attention and eyes now pointed in his direction and shrank in his chair. "It's possible."
Everyone shared a glance with each other, "...Maybe..."
It could have been possible that Iris had gotten detention for something. She got detention nearly every day due to pranks, mouthing off to teachers, or something else. It was a surprise that that thought wasn't their first about where Iris was. The girls obviously hated it while the boys enjoyed her troublesome behavior. However, at that moment, all of her friends cursed her for her behavior. None of them could tell if she wasn't with them due to herself or something else.
Just as they were going to continue discussing the next action to find Iris, the portrait hole swung open. Each of their heads snapped in its direction and held their breath as the seconds seemed like hours. The door closed and the girl that they had been worried over entered the room.
"Iris!"
They all jumped up at her arrival and crowded around her. She stared at them with vacant eyes though it wasn't like they noticed that yet. The only one who did was Sirius. He didn't like the way that her brown eyes seemed to be dull and empty while she didn't have her usual smirk. Her pale face was blank and held a minimal amount of emotion, just like her eyes. The others were relieved to see her safe, and don't get him wrong, Sirius was beyond relieved to see her safe as well. However, something didn't seem right about her, to him. The others may not notice it, but he certainly did.
Lily threw herself at Iris who swayed once her twin wrapped her thin arms around the nearly identical girl's shoulders. She smothered her sister with her infamous bone-crushing hugs that she was known for and only earned a half-assed one in return. She glossed over that though. Iris may just be startled by all the attention... which didn't seem all too plausible, but still, Lily was just happy that Iris was back. She let go and held Iris out to arm's length by the shoulders to get a better look at her sister.
Iris just tilted her head at them like her disappearance wasn't a big deal. "Oh, hi guys." Her voice was airy and light which was contradictory to how it usually sounds.
Wendy was next to hug the girl tightly, "where have you been?"
"We've been worried!" Remus shouted in relief.
James crushed her in a hug as well once he was next in line, "you've been gone for so long."
Sirius walked up to her next and wrapped her up in a hug as well. He couldn't help but notice that she didn't return the hug as tightly as he thought she would. They have hugged on many occasions before, due to Iris usually being quite a physical person, and it was like she didn't even want to touch him. "I thought something had happened to you."
Iris rolled her chocolate eyes at him and lightly pushed him away. "Don't worry about me. I am perfectly fine." There was a certain tone that drenched her voice and coated it in a bitter taste that just about nobody in the room liked. A slight tone of malice rolled off of her tongue and dripped into their ears which caused them all to cringe.
Sirius stared down at her in confusion and backed away due to her obvious revolution to his closeness. "Well, did you get your scarf?"
Iris hummed in disinterest, "no."
"Your scarf!" Lily exclaimed, "oh, Iris, I'm sure that we can find it."
She waved her hand dismissively and moved through the small crowd of friends, "it doesn't matter..."
Lily's jaw dropped, "'doesn't matter'? Iris, you love that scarf. Mum made you it."
Iris just continued towards the stairs to head up to the dorms. "It's just a scarf, Lily. I need to get to bed." With that, she disappeared upstairs and left her friends completely confused and worried.
Sirius shook his head, "that... was..." He couldn't come up with the words to describe exactly what had just happened with Iris.
"Strange." James gulped, "concerning."
It certainly was for her friends. They all knew that something had happened while she was gone. It was unclear of what had happened, but it obviously didn't seem to be good. Each of their minds raced with ideas and theories about what happened to her. Was she simply upset that she couldn't find her scarf? Did someone else upset her? Did she have a run-in with those idiotic snakes? No one was certain.
Marlene hiccuped as she leaned against the back of the couch, "she's probably just tired. She'll be better in the morning, I bet you!"
###
Iris was not better in the morning.
She woke up without a hitch. There was no need for Lily to spray her with water like usual, Iris didn't make a fuss about waking up, and she didn't even talk to the others. She woke up on her own, got dressed and left the dorm. That was something that Iris had never done, especially on the weekend. Lily watched her from her own bed in disbelief and wide eyes. Every movement she made was stiff and reminded Lily of the robot that she had seen in films. Besides, it was Sunday! Why in Merlin's name was Iris up so early on a Sunday morning when she has the chance to sleep in? Every movement she made was stiff and reminded Lily of the robot that she had seen in films.
Lily tried to get something out of Iris, but she only received a hum or sigh in reply. It was slightly infuriating for her to not get a straight answer out of her twin. Yes, there have been times when Lily never got answers out of Iris when they were having fights with one another. However, Lily was certain that they were not angry with each other. At least, Lily wasn't angry with Iris, and she was certain she hadn't done anything to anger her. She hoped that Iris wasn't angry with her or anyone for that matter.
Severus was a perfect example of how Iris acts when she is properly angry with someone. None of her friends would want to be treated the same way as Severus. Lily was beyond concerned and expressed that to Wendy and Marlene.
Through her raging headache, Marlene tried to calm Lily down, "it's slightly strange, but this is Iris we're talking about, she's quite the strange girl, right?"
"You may be right," Wendy commented as she pulled a brush through her long black hair. "But it's far more than strange. Something is definitely wrong with Iris."
Lily nodded her head as she grabbed her satchel(The one that James had gifted her for Christmas. She didn't want to admit it out loud but she quite likes it a lot. She would never tell that to the boy lest his ego grows even larger.) and filled it with some parchment, quills, and ink. She was going to document Iris' behavior in order to keep a closer eye on her sister. "I want to find out why she's acting like this. Something happened to her last night, I want to know what."
Much like the girls, the boys were also talking about Iris' strange behavior in their own dorm. As James and Remus rummaged around to find some clothes and Peter was in the bathroom taking a shower, Sirius was already ready. He was itching to get out of the dorm and find out if Iris was all right.
He couldn't sleep last night as Iris was the only thing on his mind. His concern for her ate away at his insides and wouldn't let him rest. Ideas raced in his mind to try and figure out why Iris was acting so weird. Sirius wanted to get to the bottom of what was happening to her. If she acted normal today, then he would back off and continue to keep a close eye on her. However, if something was wrong with her, he wouldn't stop to find out what was wrong with her.
"You lot are taking to long," Sirius whined as he hopped up from his bed.
James pulled his red shirt on and turned to his best friend. "Calm down, Padfoot. We know you want to check on Iris, we do too."
"Well, you aren't going fast enough!"
Remus finished getting ready and turned to his friend. "We're almost done. Just head down to the common room if you want. See if Iris is there already."
Sirius nodded his head at his friend's suggestion. Yeah, that was a good suggestion. Waiting for these gits was stopping him from checking on his lady-love. Iris' wellbeing was far more important than whether or not the boys got ready. So Sirius headed out of the dorm and stumbled down the stairs.
As he came out of the alcove to the stairs, the boy found himself standing behind Iris. The red-head had her back to him and didn't seem to even register the fact that someone had walked into the room. Her shoulders were rigid and draped in a thin red sweater over a white t-shirt that was easily matched with a pair of jeans and sneakers. Her ruby hair was just as unruly as it always was, though there was still something unnatural surrounding her. However, Sirius could only see that she seemed normal. That's all he wanted to see. Though she only looked to be completely normal. That fact certainly put Sirius in a good mood.
"Iris!" He shouted with a wide smile. The red-head stopped in her spot and slowly turned on her heels to face the boy. His smile dipped down into a frown when he saw the blank look on her face. "Morning, love." She didn't respond to him, but she did continue to stare at him blandly. He really didn't like that he wasn't getting any sort of response from her. "Are you feeling better?"
Iris just rolled her eyes, "I don't think that I have to tell you, Sirius."
The boy's stomach churned at the way she said his name. As he observed her longer he could see that she appeared to be... disinterested in him. It was like she was unimpressed with his presence at that moment. Never had he seen that in her eyes. Iris always had their spark of mischief and coquetry whenever she stared at him. Merlin, did he love the way that she looked at him. There was always a challenge whenever she fluttered her eyelashes at him and he was ready to step up to it. Now, it was just blank. She stared at him with... he shivered, it looked like she hated him. Why?
Sirius only tilted his head slightly, "well, you know... We're friends. Friends worry about each other, right?" The term 'friend' was a gross understatement of what they were. He was unsure of how else to categorize their relationship, but that was the last thing that he was thinking about. The one thing on the forefront of his mind was Iris' strange behavior. "Last night you were acting really weird."
He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder only for her shy away from him in a violent manner. A look of disgust crossed her face as she backed away from him. That was certainly concerning. It was like she was suddenly repulsed by his touch. How could she go from kissing him one day to trying to stay away from touching him? His stormy eyes were flooded with worry and alertness. Something did happen last night, he knew it.
Iris backed away from him with a grimace on her face, "yeah, whatever, Black." She then bolted away from him and made her way for the portrait hole. The usage of his last name shook him for a moment. Sirius wanted to go after her but a hand on his own shoulder paused his movement.
"Just let her go, mate," James told his best friend softly as he fully walked into the common room along with Remus and Peter following after him. It was obvious that they had seen some of the interaction between him and Iris. From the apprehensive looks on their faces, Sirius could tell that they felt the same way about her.
Lily then appeared with a book and ink in hand, "there is something seriously wrong with her." Wendy and Marlene followed after her down the stairs from the girls' dorm with the same look in their eyes. They all turned to the portrait hole with concern and fright in their guts.
###
When the group of Gryffindors made it down to the Great Hall they were greeted by an ungodly sight. Lucius, Severus, and Regulus were all stood right outside the entrance of the great hall. Now, the sight of those three snakes wasn't what was ungodly. No. It was the fact that a certain redhead was standing along with them. What was even more disturbing was the fact that she was smiling at them. Lucius's lips were pulled back in a sneer that tried to imitate a smile, Severus stared at the floor with a hollow look, and Regulus seemed to be even smugger than usual.
Each of the teens grew livid at the horrid sight. Not only were they angry, but they were scared by the sight of Iris Evans being chummy with the likes of those Slytherin. Sirius just about marched over to them with rage and frustration painted on his face.
Regulus was the first to notice his brother approaching. The smirk on his smug face just seemed to grow larger. "Ah, brother. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Sirius glowered at his conceding words but kept his focus on Iris. "Come on, love. We're about to have breakfast."
"That's fine," her voice was harsh yet aloof. "You lot go eat, I'll just stay here."
"Here?"
Iris pinned him with a glare that froze him on the spot, "yes, here. Problem?"
Sirius was speechless. Did she forget who she was standing next to?
"Oh, I don't think that he likes that we're friends now, princess." Regulus hummed happily and did the most audacious thing that Sirius had seen. He dragged Iris into his side by her waist and held her close. What the-!?
Iris hummed, "I think he's jealous."
"J-jealous!?" Sirius sputtered as the rest of their friends finally came over to them. "I am not, and would never be, jealous of this twat!"
"Let's eat now, Iris!" Lily said as she put her book away into her satchel and walked over to her sister. She reached out her hand and brushed it against her upper arm. Iris didn't back away from her twin's touch as she did with Sirius. However, the action was obviously not welcomed. If anything, Iris just turned herself further into Regulus' side. That was something that everyone noticed and nobody liked.
Wendy chimed in, "you can't pass up breakfast, Iris."
"Yeah, you never do that!" Marlene exclaimed.
Lucius smirked, "there's a first for everything, right?"
The boys all wanted to lunch at the bleach-blond for his comment. Well, everyone sans Peter who stood at the back of the pack. Even Severus appeared to want to attack Lucius! Though before any of them could do that, Regulus spoke up, "if you want to eat, that's fine. We'll go somewhere else," he cast a vicious smirk at the girl he had plastered to his side. "Unless you want to go with them, princess."
They stared at Iris for her answer. For a quick moment, it seemed like she thought about the decision. A flash of confusion came and went across her face and if her friends weren't paying attention, they wouldn't have noticed it. However, they saw the hesitation for only a minute before her face became blank.
"I'll go with you, Regulus."
Her friends bristled, "Iris!" Remus exclaimed in surprise.
"You can't be serious!" Marlene shouted in fury.
Wendy was in disbelief, "are you insane!"
James glowered at Regulus with as much heat in his glare that he could muster. He wasn't angry at Iris, there was a tiny bit of annoyance with her behavior, but he was completely vexed with the slimy snakes. He was sure that they got his silent message though they didn't seem to care.
Lily just stared at her sister and observed her. Her pale hand was itching to reach into her bag and pull out her small book and quill to write down what was happening. She was extremely worried about her sister, now more than ever.
"See you, blood-traitors!" Lucious called as he, Regulus, Severus, and Iris turned away from the Great Hall's entrance and headed down the corridor. Their arrogance followed them and allowed the group of Gryffindors to breath a little easier, but their throats were still clogged with concern. They all wanted to run off after them and rip Iris from Regulus' slimy, little hands, but they were too dumbfounded to really do anything at that moment.
"Something happened to her last night," Sirius growled, "and I'm going to find out."
###
The Marauders moped down the hallway together as they were heading to their next class. The corridor was filled to the brim with Hogwarts students who were completely unaware of what was happening. It was the day after Iris had brushed off her friends to hang around the Slytherins for a very long period of time. Each of her friends was on edge about her. That morning was just the same as the one before.
Monday mornings should be the worst for Iris, but she was completely easy going like the day before. Much to the dismay of everyone, she ran out of the common room to the Great Hall where she sat at the Slytherin table. All of the other snakes at the table hissed at her arrival but were silenced by Regulus. She was completely unaware of it. She didn't really focus on anything that morning, not even eating. She just sat at the table and stared off into space. The others didn't even engage her into their conversations, the only one who did seem to pay attention to her was Severus who tried to get her to eat something. He seemed to be just as worried about her behavior as everyone else and there was also a hint of something else lurking in his dark eyes, but nobody could pinpoint it at the moment.
Everyone tried once again to talk and get through to her about her behavior, however, nothing worked once again. All she did was stare at them with the same vacant expression that scared them all. Due to that, the Marauders had been moping about for the entire day. There seemed to be nothing that could cheer them up. Well, there was one thing, but it didn't seem like Iris was going to be normal anytime soon.
"So what do we do?" Remus asked with a tone of defeat. "We could tell a professor..."
James scoffed, "come on, Moony. If we go to a professor we won't get to chance to curse them ourselves."
Peter squeaked, "but this is serious!" The three other boys glanced at Peter before nodding their heads slightly in agreement. Peter may not talk much, however, when he did, he made some... good points.
"Iris is in some serious trouble with whatever happened to her." Remus agreed while running a hand through his curly brown hair in frustration. "We don't know what's happening to her or if she's hurt. Who knows what will happen if we don't tell anyone."
"What if it's nothing?" Sirius asked out of the blue. His friends snapped their heads in his direction. It almost looked like their heads was about to splinter off of their necks. Why would Sirius say something like that? His gray eyes were staring off to space. If they had too, the boys would compare the empty look in his eyes with the one they had seen in Iris. He continued on with a monotone voice, "what if Iris just didn't want to be friends with us anymore?"
The group paused in their steps and came to stand in an alcove to avoid bumping into any other students. There were disbelief and confusion swarming the small group of friends at Sirius' words. James pushed Sirius' shoulder to get him to look at him. Cold gray met electric blue, "you can't really think that's true."
Sirius' shoulders sagged and sighed sadly, "yeah, I don't believe it." There was no way in the world that Iris would just leave their friendships like that. Especially over-night! It was like they all became dead to her in a day and for her to turn to Regulus, Lucius and Severus was beyond strange. As stated time and time again, it was concerning and strange.
Remus bit his lip, "you think your brother has something to do with this?" It was on everyone's mind, but Remus was the one to voice it for the first time.
Sirius glared at empty space and nodded his head ruefully, "no doubt about it."
"So what do we do?"
They were all bathed in silence at the question. They weren't completely sure what the correct action was. It is a serious situation that they were in the middle of. They were unsure if Iris was under some sort of spell or enchantment that influenced her to act the way she was. However, it did seem to be something very intense to get the strange behavior out of her.
Going to a professor was the best idea for them. If they tell them that Iris is being strange acting as if she was under a curse, then they would step in immediately and find out what is really happening. However, what if something wasn't found, or if they were ignored. Yes, the professors loved their students and would do everything to keep them safe but what if they didn't find anything.
Regulus had to be the one behind this and he was anything but an idiot. He'd be smart enough to try and keep whatever he did to Iris quiet and undetected. Lucius helped him, no doubt, and Severus would have also. They wouldn't turn on Regulus and talk about what they may have done to her. That didn't matter to Sirius! He didn't care if they had a minimal part to play in what happened to her, he was going to make them regret hurting her. They could just take this into their own hands to deal with the snakes in a way that they saw fit. However, first, they needed to find out what exactly Sirius' brother had done. And Sirius was determined to do that.
###
A/N: I had the biggest case of writer's block this month but I'm both excited and sad to say that this story is coming to an end soon. But don't worry this is really only the beginning for Iris and her friends! Review and let me know what you think! Until the next chapter!