Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters originally created by J.. All rights go to their respective owners and I can only own the plot and the characters made by me. No monetary gain is made of this story and is not intended to!

A/N: Thank you for reading. Here I give you the new chapter.

Dear anonymous friend, Iris is three almost for years older than Harry. She was born in 1977 thus now she is 23 years old because the story is in 2000.

As far as why someone would choose Severus Snape over Oliver Wood, Severus is Iris's family and Iris had been in love with Severus for many years. However, I never said that Iris has chosen yet, we are long road out of her choice...

Chapter 11

Falling Apart

Oliver stayed a week in their new apartment waiting or Iris to come but it was pointless. He returned to his house and he explained to his parents that he had broken down with Iris because he had hurt her in the most disgraceful way and that he would stay with them.

His parents were in shock. They never expected their son to do something like that to the woman that he loved, to the woman who they hoped to become their daughter in law one day.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood loved Iris as a person and appreciate the fact that she was such a devoting person to the people that she loved. They had seen that she love Oliver truly and they believed that they would be the happiest parents in the world if their son one day would marry that gifted woman and witch.

Nevertheless, Oliver was their son and they had to support him in this difficult hour and stand by his side. They had to help him endure the pain that he had provoked to himself and to Iris of course, but at the same time they knew that they had to let Oliver to make up for his mistakes. His was a grown up man and he had to face his mistakes by himself.

Oliver understood completely what his parents were saying. He had to grow up finally. He had to find Iris – Maya and explain to her that what happened was nothing to him. He had to find her and ask for her forgiveness. However, the first thing he had to do was to go to their apartment and pick up his stuff. Afterwards, he could find a way to bring Iris back to him.

Today was the day that Iris and Severus would return from Ireland in England. Today Iris would go to stay in Spinner's End with Severus before they both go to Hogwarts for the new teaching year which was going to start in three weeks.

Severus had stayed with her all this time in order to reassure that she would not do anything foolish. He could not risk loosing her again. She had already paid enough for her mistakes.

When they arrived to his house Iris felt a strange feeling in her heart. It had been many years since the last time she was there… the day that Severus had returned healthy and alive after the Great Battle in Hogwarts. That day she had practically abandoned him when he asked her to stay, because she could not stand to loose him again. Iris could not stand if Lily intervened their relationship again. She was deeply in love with Severus and as she had told him that day she was extremely vulnerable when she was around him so she left in order to heal herself, in order to protect her heart from another break down and now she was returning to Severus's house with a melted heart, a melted heart that Oliver's deeds provoked.

When Iris entered the house she was surprised to see Severus had changed the interior of his house. She could see that the house was more alive than it had been the previous years, she could she that Severus wanted to move on with his life.

Severus led her to the master bedroom and he opened her door.

"You will stay here" Severus announced to Iris.

"No way Severus! That's your bedroom, you will stay here. I will be sleeping in the guest room" Iris proclaimed.

"Guest room is for the guests as you have just said and you are not a guest in my house, in your house" Severus said to her looking Iris straight away in her eyes. His sincerity disarmed her as always.

Iris could feel her heart melting from happiness when Severus said that his house was her house too. It was clear to both of them that they were family and that they could anything in order to protect each other.

Iris smiled happily back to him and when she replied;

"As you wish my friend. Now I will go to make dinner tell me that your heart desires the most? "

Severus gave no answer and he turned away. Iris could say that she saw him blushing…

After few minutes Iris went downstairs and went to the kitchen but she could not find anything to cook.

"Severus, I believe that you should have told me that you have nothing that we can eat" Iris laughed and said to him that she would go to a grocery store to shop something to cook.

"Iris are you sure that you want to do that?" Severus asked her

"Absolutely, I need to so something the days that I will stay here and please not be afraid my cooking is not that bad… I have really improved the last ten years… " Iris said smiling to Severus.

"Well, for my shake I hope so" Severus smiled back to her.

"Oh, really? In case something happens I can brew you a potion and you know how excellent I am in that"

Severus and Iris began laughing. She had not laughed for a week…after some minutes Severus notice some teardrops falling from her eyes but he said no word about it, but instead he asked her;

"What you want me to do until you come back from the grocery store?"

"There is only one thing that I want you to do. I want you to go to the apartment to collect my staff and talk with the owner and tell him that I will not stay there after all. If he asks about Oliver said to her that you do not know what he will do" Iris replied to Severus.

"Alright Iris, I will go for your belongings and you will go for food. I believe that I will be back in two hours" Severus said to her and he left.

Iris felt a strange feeling as she saw him leaving from his house. It was the first time that Iris knew that Severus would return to his house in few hours.. She knew that he would come back to her.

Iris took her bag and when shopping the materials she needed in order to cook for Severus a special dinner.

Severus was in Hogsmeade, in the apartment that Iris had rent with Oliver. When he entered the house the first thing he saw was the fire place and the book shelves around it. However, one thing attracted his attention; the two photographs that there were near to the fireplace. One was with Iris and Oliver at Oliver's birthdays and the other one was with Iris and him at Iris's seventeen birthdays.

From all the things that she could place there she had chosen to place a photograph that was picturing them. Severus was touched.

He took his wand and cast a summoning charm in order to collect Iris belongings from the living room and then he proceeded to the other rooms. His job was pretty easy because as he had suspected Iris had already casted an identification spell to her belongings. One more time he marveled her mind. She was the brightest minds he has ever known.

Severus gathered her packages and he counted them, ten large trunks were what Iris had transferred there. How in the world he supposed to carry them to his house?

Severus smiled again. Iris had done the undetectable extension charm in order to bring all this stuff here and that was he was going to do right now. He only needed a bag from Iris's wardrobe and he had just found the right one. The tiny black handbag that he had gave many years ago. Severus was aware that this was the bag that Iris normally used for the undetectable extension charm because that was the purpose that Severus had given it to her.

Ten minutes after that he was ready to go. The undetectable extension charm was a piece of cake for Severus, he was after all the Half-Blood Prince.

The hardest thing that he had to do tough was to speak with the owner. He explained to him that Iris would not returned there and that he had to speak with Oliver Wood if he needed to clarify the whole situation.

Severus Snape was ready to leave from the house then he noticed one thing; the photograph that was picturing Iris and Oliver still was in the book self. Severus seemed surprised by the fact that only the picture with him and Iris was in Iris's stuff. Obviously the other belonged to Oliver.

Severus left from Hogsmeade and apparated near to his house and while he was approaching on the front door his could smell a variety of scents coming outside.

When he entered to his house he found a table full of food and his favorite sweet; lemon pie because like Iris he was not so fond of sweet candies, he preferred cakes that was a little bit bitter or crabbed, and Iris was making the best lemon pie in the entire world.

Iris kissed him on the chick and that was the first action of affection towards Severus after long time. She felt her heart biting faster, Severus was so many things to her.

Severus fetched some red wine from his cellar and they began dinning like the old times. He knew Iris so many years that he could tell that she was a piece of him. Iris could say that everything would be different now that Severus was by her side. She had to come over Oliver and she would accomplish that too.

Few minutes after Severus Snape left Hogsmeade, Oliver Wood arrived there.

He went to the house to collect his things. When he entered the apartment Oliver observed that some things were missing. He went to the bedroom and saw that Iris's clothes were not there anymore.

"Iris must collect them while I was gone" he said and he started packing his own clothes and personal things. Two hours later he had finished and he was in the living room ready to leave, when he noticed that Iris had collected her photograph with professor Snape but not theirs…

Oliver became furious; "Very well, Iris, one more time you are making clear that you prefer him over me… very well…"

However, after some minutes he realized that Iris had come to claim only what belonged to her and he was the one who placed that photograph there. Oliver took it with him and left to meet the owner.

"Mr. Smith, I am here to inform you that we will not stay at your house. My girlfriend and I…we broke up as she may already told you when she came to collect her belongings" Oliver said to the owner with a sorrowful look.

"I am sorry to hear it Mr. Wood, Mrs. Morrigan did not say anything to me because she sent somebody else to collect her things" Mr. Smith replied.

" Who? " Oliver asked surprised.

"None other than the living hero of the Second Wizarding War; Professor Severus Snape himself came here and talk to me" he said to him.

Oliver said no word and he let. He felt betrayed… above all people she had chosen Snape to comfort her pain; she had chosen him to go to their apartment… Why in the world she had to choose him to do that too?

Oliver was mad and frustrated. He could not understand why above all people Snape had to come first. He was mad but when he reached his home he had understood why Iris had sent Severus Snape to Hogsmeade. Iris had no other in this world expect Severus; it was naturally that she would ask his help.

Oliver had made his mind. He knew very well were he could find Iris; in Hogwarts when the new teaching year would start.

The last weeks of August passed quickly and Iris had transfer some of her things to Hogwarts and others back to her house.

Severus had really helped her during that period and now that they where going to Hogwarts she felt that she was ready to have a first talk with Oliver. She believed that she could handle it.

On August thirty she moved in Hogwarts and she was satisfied by the fact that she had managed to rearrange her dorms as she liked them. Reforming dorms that are not used for so many centuries is not that easy as may somebody think. The reformation of Helena's Ravenclaw dorms, which now Iris were using took her almost a week but Iris was proud of her work because she had managed to restore part of their former glory, the Grey Lady had helped her too in her task.

When Severus entered her rooms marveled what she had done.

"Iris, you have made a wonderful work here" he said to her.

"Thank you, Severus. I really love my rooms… I have view in the grounds and part of them in under the lake… it's pretty amazing" Iris underlined to Severus.

"Thankfully, I can apparate inside the castle so I can be in my time in the classes because my rooms are located farther than the others in the castle" Iris said relieved.

"Yes that's good indeed" Severus agreed.

"Severus, I will only give permission to you to enter in my rooms. You would be the only one, except me, who could enter here when I am absent or if I need anything… " Iris confessed to him.

Severus said no word. He could see that Iris would not be calm unless he accepted her proposition. Severus smiled back to her accepting in this way her offer.

The new teaching year was about to start and it was going to be extremely interesting.

The first day of the lessons was unique for Iris. She had taught History of Magic in combination of Defense Against Dark Arts and some useful healing tricks to the students.

She had talked with professor Binns and Severus in order to be sure that she would teach subjects that the students had not taught already by them.

It was really great when she entered for first time the class. She had lesson with the seventh year's students, who would have more intensive lessons due to the fact that they need to know more things before their graduation. Her lesson lasts two hours and professor Snape was with her because they would make a healing potion.

"Good morning Professor!" greeted her all of them.

"Good morning, my name is Iris I am here to share my knowledge about the magic all over the world with you. Today we will brew a potion, with the help of professor Snape. Beware, though, it's a potion that professor Snape will also ask in his class so be sure to learn it as better you can not only for that, but because practically it can heal almost every wound in you body. " Iris said to her students while Severus was entering into the class.

"Excuse me professor, but if we are going to brew that potion for professor Snape, why we have to do that here too?" a student asked her

"Because Mr. White, not all of you are taking my classes and we believe that it is better if everybody knows how to create that ancient healing potion" Severus's Snape voice came from the back of the class and all the students jumped off from their seats as he heard his voice.

"Good morning professor Snape, I am glad to have you in my class, please do be seated until I explain them the properties and the ingredients of this potion" Iris smiled to Severus and he beckoned to her affirmatively.

When the class was over Iris gave them the bibliography that she had for that potion and she asked them to write an essay about the potion until the following lesson.

Iris and Severus were walking towards to the Great Hall when a house elf come to her and gave her a letter. She opened it and she started reading.

Severus could tell that something important was happening.

"It's from Oliver, Severus. He says that he is sorry and he wants us to speak… he said that he is going to come in the castle tomorrow… " Iris said to Severus.

"My friend, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

"Yes, I need to speak to him; I need to learn why he did what he did" Iris added.

They remained in silence until they reach the Great Hall. Iris bided farewell to him and she went to meet the Headmistress. They year that it had just started was going to be fabulous.

Iris was worrying about her meeting with Oliver. They had decided to meet near to Hogwarts Lake so they could be alone. Iris was already there when Oliver arrived.

When she saw him her heart started biting faster and faster and some tears covered her gorgeous green eyes. They were looking each other in the eyes for about ten minutes.

"Maya…" Oliver managed to say.

"I am here to hear you" she told him.

" My love that girl meant nothing to me. I was just jealous…I was mad that you greeted first professor Snape and not me… I am jealous…I cannot stand anybody else to be around you…" Oliver admitted.

"Oliver, the previous months you had been extremely possessive about me. I do not belong to anybody, I belong to myself. " Iris said.

"You know very well that Severus is the only family I have. Our family comes first, remember? You told me that… family comes first and Severus is my family… I greeted him first because I was with you before the party and I would be afterwards. That's no excuse for you to telling me that because I greeted Severus first, you almost made love to another woman" Iris said angrily.

"That girl charmed me Maya…she had veela traits." Oliver replied back.

"Please Oliver, that's not an excuse for you. If you loved me enough, or better if you had faith in me you would not fall for her… what she told you, what she told you in order to convince you that you desire her? What?" Iris screamed to him.

"I…I told her that you had hugged another man…I mentioned that every time we spoke you spoke about him too. Therefore, she convinced me that you were cheating on me with that other guy and that I should pay you back with her" Oliver said ashamed of himself, ashamed of his deed.

"Why you are so jealous about Severus Oliver? Why? I had chosen you, you were my boyfriend and we were ready to take our relationship one step forward. Why you had to be so stubborn? Severus is my family; he is my only friend… " Iris repeated one more time to Oliver. She was really tired of this.

"Are you sure? I mean are you sure that you are not in love with him?" Oliver asked her.

Iris did not speak immediately. When she finally spoke she said to Oliver;

"Oliver listen to me, what I have with Severus is more than a simple bond, more than a simple feeling. We both were lonely for a long time and we stood one to each other in times when nobody else was there for us. However, I had chosen you. I became your girlfriend because I felt something stronger into my heart… I chose you because that was I wanted… and you that did you did? You betrayed me because a girl tricked you? That was childish and foolish Oliver, and in my life I need, I want a man who thinks before act. I do not know if I can forgive you… I do not know if I want to… you betrayed us and that hurts the most" Iris said to him.

"You betrayed us and now you are here asking for forgiveness; forgiveness that I am not sure if I can give you. Oliver, make me see that you have grown up…make me see again the man that you truly are" Iris confessed to him and she left crying without saying anything more.

Oliver had left speechless and dormant. Iris's words were echoing in his mind. He sat for a while in the bench and thought what Iris was saying to him. After a while Oliver started walking towards the castle, he needed to find her.

Meanwhile, Iris had already reached the castle and she was walking or better running to her room crying when she met Severus in the way to his chambers that was few meters away from her.

"Iris what's going on?" Severus asked her worried.

"It happened that the reason that Oliver almost cheated on me was because I greeted you first in the party, because I talked about you frequently… because he is to stubborn to accept that he is jealous of you…Severus he hurt me because a veela girl convinced him that I was cheating on him with you… I cannot believe what is happening to me… " Iris confessed sobbing.

Severus hugged her and helped her to reach her bedchambers.

"Why he believed that we had an affair?" Severus asked her.

"I have no idea Severus. I have explained to him that you are my family, that you are my only friend …he knew that we have a special bond" Iris replied back to him.

"Iris did you ever told him that you were in love with me?" Severus asked her.

"No Severus, no, because this information belongs to me…to you…Oliver had nothing to do with what I felt or I feel for you… Severus you know very well that I chose Oliver over you when you kissed me after the second anniversary… I chose to move on because I knew that Oliver loved me and trusted me and I felt so nice to be with him" Iris confessed to Severus crying.

"Iris, do you love him?' Severus asked her.

"I am not sure if I still love him…" Iris said.

"Iris, are you still in love with me" Severus asked her looking her into her eyes.

"I have loved you since I was a girl Severus, but right now I do not know what I want… " Iris confessed to him while she was wiping her tears away.

Severus embraced her firmly. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to give a million of fights in order to keep her safe and happy. Suddenly, without knowing why Severus held her head and kept a strong eye- contact with Iris.

Some minutes after, Severus kissed her on the mouth and Iris kissed him back.

A strong but sweet and eternal kiss that unfortunately somebody interrupted when knocked the door. Iris and Severus broke their kiss. Their breaths were steady and still and they kept their eye- contact until Iris managed to say

"Yes, please come in"

Oliver Wood walked in the room.

A/N: I believe that the exams are really productive period for me... Well tell me your thoughts.

Next chapter will be hopefully post after 28 of June