2 | CONFESSIONS° HARRY POTTER

13 | DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

ACT THREE, loss
CHAPTER THIRTEEN, dumbledore's army

     Rain hammered on the windows of the castle.

It had been dark and dreary all day and Iris loved it. It helped lift her mood considering Hermione told her she suspected that Umbridge was intercepting messages to Sirius. Iris felt a little disheartened and disappointed that she wouldn't be able to talk to her father in the fireplace anymore, at least for the time being. This only fueled her distaste for Dolores Umbridge and made her become a tad bit impatient to follow through with what Hermione had started. 

Iris worked on her Potions essay to the sound of rain pattering outside in peace. All of her friends had already retired to their rooms leaving her by herself. Iris tapped her quill against her chin as she thought about what to write when a long shadow cast over her chair.

She slowly turned around and saw Theo standing behind her with reddened cheeks. Her mouth dropped open a bit. Her and Theo hadn't spoken ever since the train ride when they broke up. He had been steadily avoiding her presence with Blaise and she was giving him the space that he needed. 

"Hey . . ." He scratched the back of his neck and shifted on the heels of his feet.

"Hi." Iris set her book down and turned to him.

"This is really weird for me." His gaze dropped down to his feet. "It's weird for us to not be friends all of a sudden. You've been one of my closest friends since first year."

Iris's expression softened. "It's weird for me too."

"I miss you as my friend. I think I still love  you and I don't know how long it's going to take for me to get over you. I'm not telling you that to make you feel guilty for not loving me back, but I want to be honest with you." Theo said. His cheeks turned even redder out of embarassment but Iris smiled softly at him. He glanced up at her. "Do you think that . . . one day . . . we could be friends again?"

Iris nodded her head eagerly. "I'd really like that."

His shoulders relaxed and he gave her a smile before spinning on his heels and walking to the boy's dormitory. 

That was unexpected but Iris was left feeling hopeful for the future. She hadn't really had much time to think about it but she really missed having Theo around. Lately, the only people she had to talk to were Pansy and Oliver. Oliver was a year younger than her so they didn't have classes together or anything meaning she had been spending more time with Pansy than she ever did before. And Pansy was her friend but she could be a lot. 

Iris picked her book back up and gathered the rest of her things, walking back to her dorm with a pleased expression on her face.

"Iris," Iris jumped in shock when Harry caught up to her from behind. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her into an empty corridor. She stared at him with wide eyes, completely caught off guard and wondering where he had come from. "We've found somewhere to host our first Defense meeting."

Iris's eyebrows raised. "Really? Where?"

"It's tonight, eight o'clock, seventh floor opposite that tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls. Can you tell the other Slytherins?" Iris furrowed her eyebrows. What other Slytherins were there besides her and Oliver?

She voiced this question to Harry.

"Tracey Davis, Willa Cross, and Sabina Fontaine." Harry said. Iris's eyes nearly buldged out of her head.