Hello there :) I hope everyone is doing well! This is the second installment of my 7 part Harry Potter story. If you read the first one 'All in Due Time' I apologize if it was slow and boring, things start to pick up more in this and the third year stories. I hope you enjoy :) Reviews always welcome!

Second Year

The next day Iris and Neville along with familiar faces and some new were heading back to the one place that Iris loved most in the world. Hogwarts was where she felt she belonged.

Once back on the scarlet red steam engine, Neville and Iris had joined a small girl who they had not recognized as someone in their year. The girl had long golden blond hair that cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. She also had a magazine by the name of 'The Quibbler' clutched to her chest.

Iris decided to introduce herself first, "Hello, I'm Iris Blackthorne." Neville added, "And I'm Neville Longbottom."

The girl looked at her with the most serine look that she had ever seen. She gave Iris the impression that she was in a constant sense of dazing of into space and airiness. Even when she spoke her voice was melodic and calming, "Hello, Luna Lovegood."

Iris smiled, "So what are you reading? Is it anything good?" Luna replied, "Oh yes! It is all very good. My dad is the editor!" Luna seemed to become more alive when she mentioned that her dad was editor.

Another red headed girl had asked to join, she introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Ginny Weasley." Her smile was bright and perfect. A strange thought had hit Iris; the thought of how much they both looked alike with the exception of eye color and maybe height. Ginny had dark brown eyes while Iris had brilliant green.

The conversation of 'The Quibbler' held all the way to the Hogsmeade station. When they had exited the train they had said their good-bye's to Luna for she had to join the other first years to cross the lake in the boats that not so long ago they had ridden in making their way towards the castle.

After the sorting and heading back to the dormitories Iris crashed on her old bed, glad to be back in the castle's safe walls.

Next morning at breakfast when Iris received her schedule she noticed that none of her classes had really changed. She still had Professor Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout but there was a new addition. His name was Gilderoy Lockhart who seemed to be replacing Professor Quirell.

There was also a rumor that Harry and Ron had missed the train and that they had taken a flying car to school and had also on top of everything else, crashed it into the Whomping Willow.

It had been apparently one of the few true rumors because Ron ended up getting a Howler. The shrill screams of his mother echoed throughout the entire Great Hall. Iris caught bits in pieces through her covered ears. "-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED-YOUR FATHER'S FACING AND INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME."

Then the envelope had burst into flames and shriveled in its ashes, leaving them in a small still pile in front of Ron. He had sunk so low in his chair that only his red forehead was visible over the table. When the attention that the Howler had brought along with it had died away it was time to go to class.

Her first class of the day was Potions. Great thought Iris, another year of Professor Snape's prejudice against the Gryffindors. It wasn't so much her that Snape had disliked it was his incessant bullying of Neville, Harry, Hermione and Ron. As far as Iris was concerned, Snape had never said anything ill against her or her potions even when she did make a mistake.

Herbology, Transfigurations and Defense Against the Dark Arts were to follow Potions. Each of them had come rather easily to Iris who had made top marks last year, right behind Hermione which wasn't much of a surprise.

The start of the year was slow and dragging. Classes seemed almost mundane and unchallenging to Iris until one day in Herbology Professor Sprout came in and announced, "We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" Iris and Hermione had raised their hands only a fraction of a second apart but Sprout had chosen Hermione over her.

"Mandrake or Mandragora is a power restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," replied Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms and essential part of most antidotes, it is also however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

For the first time Iris's hand was up before Hermione's. "The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it." Proud of herself, Iris felt a sense of triumph.

"Precisely, take another ten points for Gryffindor. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young." Iris looked to where Professor Sprout had been pointing and saw a tray with about a hundred or more were growing there. The Mandrakes were the purplish-green in color and had tufty little leaves pouring out of their heads. "Everyone take a pair of earmuffs and when I tell you to put them on make sure they completely cover your ears. When it's safe to take them off I will give the thumbs up. Right-earmuffs on," implored Professor Sprout.

Professor Sprout had continued the lesson by pulling out one of the tufty looking plants by its leaves. It was ugly and disgusting looking; it looked like a wrinkled old baby covered in earth. It seemed to be shrieking at the top of its tiny lungs but Iris could not hear it due to the earmuffs but she imagined that it was unbearable. She then proceeded to place it in a plant pot and covered it with potting soil until it was completely covered once more.

As Professor Sprout gave them the thumbs up to take off their earmuffs she continued to lecture about the Mandrakes, "As our mandrakes are only seedlings their cries won't kill yet. However they will knock you out for several hours, and I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pick up."

Iris had partnered with Neville, Dean and Seamus who Iris thought a little ridiculous wearing pink fluffy earmuffs.

They had all managed to repot at least one Mandrake by the end of the class but just barely. When they got the signal to clean up, Iris looked around and saw that so many others looked like her, covered in sweat, and earth.

Once they washed up all of them hurried to Transfigurations were they were to change a beetle into a button. Ron seemed to be having a difficult time with the lesson due to the fact that his wand had broken and was know held together with Spell-o-Tape. Iris, being decent at Transfigurations, had accomplished this feat in no time at all.

"What class do we have next?" asked Neville in an exhausted voice. He was lagging behind Iris but was trying to catch up.

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts," sighed Iris. She wondered how different the class would be with a completely new teacher, but before they reported to class they had gotten lunch and then Iris went to go join Fred and George in the Courtyard. They had become good friends since the day they had met in the beginning of first year. They had always managed to make her laugh.

While sitting and chattering with Fred and George, Iris had noticed that Draco Malfoy was antagonizing a boy who was taking pictures of Harry out of the corner of her bright green eye. Harry had seemed to lose himself in his anger at Malfoy but Gilderoy Lockhart had appeared. He had golden hair and a white smile, the whitest that Iris had ever seen. Lockhart had given off the air of being a showoff of invisible talent.

He had apparently broken up the confrontation but it appeared that Harry was mortified by the encounter. Fred and George had been sniggering madly when Lockhart grabbed Harry and had the boy holding the camera taking a picture of the both of them. When Iris had departed for her next class she told the twins that she would see them at dinner.

When the class had finally been seated in Quirell's former classroom, Lockhart had emerged from his office. He picked up Neville's copy of 'Travels with Trolls' and showed the class a winking portrait of himself to the class. "Me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award - but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" He paused to see their reactions but when he didn't see one he continued.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books-well done. I thought that we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about-just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in-. You will have thirty minutes-start-now!"

He handed out the quiz as Iris had looked down to scan its content. It contained nothing but questions pertaining to his personal self.

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

What in your opinion is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

The questions were ignorant and on and on they went. Half an hour later, Lockhart came around the room and collected the quizzes with a look of mirth spread across his flawless face, but it changed as he perused through them. It had seemed that everyone was just as clueless as everyone else.

"Tut, tut- hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in 'Year of the Yeti.'… But Miss Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care products-good girl! In fact full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Hermione raised a hand that seemed to be quivering with excitement. "Excellent! Quite Excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so-to business-, now be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this very room. Know that no harm will befall you whilst I'm here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

Iris wasn't too impressed with Lockhart at all. Seamus and Dean had started laughing uncontrollably. Neville however was cowering next to her in his seat. "I must ask you to remain calm. It might provoke them!" As soon as Lockhart had removed the cover of the cage that was on his desk Seamus gave a snort. The Pixies were electric blue with a high pitch squeak for speech.

"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus couldn't help himself.

Lockhart retorted, "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!"

Still snickering Seamus exclaimed, "Well-they're not very-dangerous are they?"

"Don't be so sure! Devilish tricky little blighters they can be! Right then-let's see what you make of them." Lockhart opened the cage and they flew out like lightning.

Some of the Pixies had flown right for the windows and had managed to break through. A group of them had lifted Neville up from his seat and had successfully hooked his sweater on the chandelier above. Pictures had been torn off of the walls and glass sprayed over the floor while others had dragged book bags across the room and strewn books everywhere. "Come on now-round them up, round them up, there only Pixies," demanded Lockhart.

Iris had tried to make an effort in trying to immobilize the Pixies but for every Pixie she stopped the more there seemed to be. Lockhart had come out from hiding under his desk, brandishing his wand, he bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" The incantation had seemed to do nothing at all. He dove back under his desk when one of the Pixies seized his wand and through it out the window.

The bell rang and Neville was still stuck on the chandelier. Iris called up to him, "I'll go find someone who can help get you down!" In the clamber of students Iris had to resort to yelling so that Neville had heard her.

Before she could get out of the door Lockhart had cut in front of her, "Well, I'll just ask you to nip them back into their cage." He ran out the door as fast as he could and shut it behind him.

Yanking the door back open, Iris ran down the hall trying to find a Professor that was competent enough to help her. Instead she ran into Snape but thought that he hadn't noticed her so she sprinted past but was stopped by a silky voice, "Miss Blackthorne, where do you think you are running off to?" Iris froze and turned to face him.

Snape walked closer to her and asked again; his sallow face only inches from hers. "Where do you think you are running off to?" Iris relinquished a deep sigh.

"I was going to get help because Neville is hanging from the chandelier." Snape bore his black eyes into her and she wanted to look away but couldn't. She felt like a moth to the flame; her being the moth and him the flame.

He spoke first, "Well that isn't a surprise. Do tell how he came to be hanging from this chandelier." His tone was full of contentment.

She had retold the tale of the Cornish Pixies and Snape had stood up straight. "I dare say that we should go and help the incompetent boy." Iris could feel anger rising inside of her for his insulting Neville but she held her tongue. She had to at least be thankful that he was helping her.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had seemed to have gone to the dogs, in Iris's opinion. Gilderoy Lockhart was the biggest fraud she had ever met. He was pompous and full of himself and Iris had the impression that he had been taking credit for other great witches and wizards' achievements'.