"Those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly." For Iris Potter, these words defined her whole life. Born with a natural talent for Legilim...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⌗ ⌗ ⌗
As the next few days passed, and Christmas drew closer, Iris could frequently hear Sirius tramping past her door toward Buckbeak's room, singing "God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs" at the top of his voice.
Sirius's delight at having the house full again, and especially at having Iris back despite her ill state, was infectious. He was no longer their sullen host of the summer; now he seemed determined that everyone should enjoy themselves as much, if not more, than they would have done at Hogwarts, and he worked tirelessly in the run-up to Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating with their help, so that by the time they all went to bed on Christmas Eve the house was barely recognizable. The tarnished chandeliers were no longer hung with cobwebs but with garlands of holly and gold and silver streamers; magical snow glittered in heaps over the threadbare carpets; a great Christmas tree, obtained by Mundungus and decorated with live fairies, blocked Sirius's family tree from view; and even the stuffed elf heads on the hall wall wore Father Christmas hats and beards.
The only damper on the festive spirit was Iris herself. As more days passed, her condition worsened. She was constantly shivering uncontrollably, flinching randomly as whispers and screams tore through her mind, and she began having difficulty keeping food down. Mrs Weasley had been trying to cure Iris back to health, but as she had no clue what exactly her ailment was, it was proving to be a difficult task.
Iris awoke on Christmas morning to find a stack of presents at the foot of her bed.
She didn't get a moment to enjoy the sight of them before she felt something in the pit of her stomach and sprung out of bed, dashing toward the bathroom. When her body involuntarily emptied itself, Iris was shocked and scared to see it was blood she had thrown up. She sat back, falling against the lower sink cupboards. Her nose was running but when she wiped at it, her hand was stained with more blood when she pulled back.
Iris quickly unravelled some toilet roll and grabbed at her nose, trying to stop the bleeding. She was breathing unevenly, her hazel eyes zig-zagging around as they slowly filled with tears of panic.
"Audrey," Iris whimpered pleadingly, "Mira... Kai," she called out in desperation. The last time she had spoken any of their names was when she had drunkenly screamed at the boy months ago. It was her last resort— something was wrong with Iris and it wasn't going away.
The air in front of her began shimmering with a purple iridescence. Before her eyes, the familiar form of Kai materialised, squatting down beside her and watching with concern.
Iris sobbed, partially in fear of her situation and partially in relief at seeing him, "Please," she said.
Her hand reached for him, only to pass right through his translucent form.
Kai sighed, "Hang in there."
Just down the hall, Sirius was in bed still asleep when he was awoken by a voice quietly calling his name. His eyes tiredly fluttered open to find someone standing over him. Sirius jumped, his tiredness flying away as he sat up, his eyes widening dramatically.
