"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...
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The attack on Hagrid and McGonagall caused absolute havoc the next day. Students and teachers alike were angrier than Iris had ever seen. The girl hadn't gotten to bed until just before the sun rose, as she had spent the night in the hospital wing at Professor McGonagall's side. She was not doing well, but Madam Pomfrey was doing all that she could for the woman.
Luckily, their final exam, History of Magic, was not to take place until that afternoon. Iris would very much have liked to go back to bed after breakfast, but she had been counting on the morning to use for some last-minute studying, so instead, she sat with her head in her hands by the common room window, unsuccessfully trying to keep her eyes open. She gave up on studying after not long and let herself drift off. Harry, who was sitting beside Iris, was slightly stronger than her and kept awake, although was trying very hard not to doze off as he read through some of the notes stacked three-and-a-half feet high that Hermione had lent him.
The fifth years entered the Great Hall at two o'clock and took their places in front of their overturned examination papers. Iris felt exhausted. She just wanted this to be over so that she could go and sleep. After the exam, there was nothing left but to leave Hogwarts for the summer, which Iris could admit she was very relieved to do. She couldn't wait to see Sirius again; she thought perhaps they might be able to spend more time together this summer since they would both likely be doing stuff with the Order once again.
"Turn over your papers," said Professor Marchbanks from the front of the Hall, flicking over the giant hourglass. "You may begin..." Iris stared fixedly at the first question. It was several seconds before it occurred to her that she had not taken in a word of it; there was a wasp buzzing distractingly against one of the high windows. Slowly, tortuously, she began to write an answer.
She was finding it very difficult to remember names and kept confusing dates. Iris bit her lip, perplexed. She was certain she had failed the Astronomy exam last night, due to the circumstances, and was altogether not too keen about failing another. Just then, Iris made a decision to do something she had sworn, not only to herself but also to Dumbledore, she would never do— Iris closed her eyes and focused. She found what she was looking for in a nearby student: a glimpse of question four and the inky black words scrawled across the parchment beneath. Iris had never been a cheater, but she truthfully no longer cared about her academic integrity.
Maybe halfway through the exam period, a distant boom sounded. It was quiet enough that only a few students glanced up, but when the second one rang out from closer, even more looked around, a low murmur of confusion coating the previous silence. Iris' wandering eyes met Harry's where she rose an eyebrow in inquisition. He gave a very small shrug.
Umbridge, who had been proctoring the test alongside the official examiners, stalked down the middle aisle menacingly, determined to get to the bottom of the exploding noises. All of the fifth-years in the room looked up from their pages to silently watch as she walked past and opened the grand doors. When she stepped outside, there was only a second of peace before something small and sparkling went flying past her and into the Great Hall. It whizzed up toward the rafters before exploding and revealing itself as a firework.
