Iris made her way down to see Harry. They greeted each other and then went for a walk around the castle. A silver snake who had bright blue eyes the same shade as Ron's followed them discreetly. A few students gave a few gawks towards them but otherwise, the corridors were quiet.

'So, Harry. What else?' Iris came straight to the point.

'When I was little, before I met you I would hear things in my mind. My scar would ache. It stopped the night you and mum came back,' Harry blurted it out quickly.

Iris's face fell.

'No. Don't do that. Don't,' Harry became agitated quickly, 'I don't want to see you look at me the way they all do. Like you're sorry for me. I hate it.'

'Oohh,' Iris bit her lip and her eyes went so wide and looked so ridiculous that even Harry gave a twitch of his mouth.

'Give me a minute,' Iris said. She contorted her face to one with a neutral expression, 'Better?'

'Much,' Harry said.

'What did you used to hear?' Iris asked cautiously.

'I was so little then. I remember giggling. But like it was an echo. And it wasn't funny. It was like a crazy sort of noise. Creepy. Not right.'

'And you haven't heard it since?' Iris clarified. Harry shook his head.

'The Equi magic from your mum, dad and me must be blocking it. It must be something to do with Riddle. Some sort of bug, maybe?' Iris thought aloud.

'Yeah. That's what I thought too.'

'Right. Well. Let your mum know. She can talk to the others. Are you seeing her tonight?' Harry nodded, 'You being able to speak parseltongue is strange. Do you think it's because of your wand? You both have feathers from the same phoenix. That you can speak it and yet block the other things is weird. It could come in handy. You never know Harry. The good news is I can introduce you properly to Esmerelda and the others. Just, yeah. It doesn't make sense. Why isn't it blocked?'

'Maybe it's because you can speak it. I don't think it's the wand. The Equi doesn't block it for you so not for me either. I'll speak to my parents,' Harry pondered out loud.

It was as good an explanation as Iris could think of as well. They walked down the halls as the conversation became more relaxed.

'How are you finding it here? Harry asked.

'Thank merlin for Salazar's snakes,' Iris huffed out. Harry gave a nod in agreement.

'There are so many dicks here, Harry. Bloody looks they dish out. It's like living in the real-life Dynasty tv show.'

He grinned at the crude Muggle saying. He enjoyed hearing the more creative insults the Muggles thought up that Iris picked up on her travels. Ron's magical world insults were impressive too. Harry had quite the repertoire now.

'How is Hermione getting on?' he asked, 'Neither of you was at dinner.'

'She knows. We were talking about it,' Iris said shortly.

'Why did you tell her?' Harry asked in curiosity.

'She bullied it out of me. I offered her my trunk so she can study in peace and she saw all the books I have about the war. What with everything else she has seen going on she put two and two together. It turns out she can add,' Iris said crossly, 'She can be very intimidating when she wants to be,' she added.

'Really?' Harry didn't seem convinced.

'You just wait, Harry. I get serious Bella vibes,' Iris said ominously.

'How much does she know?' Harry asked.

'Enough for now. I'll be in for more questioning no doubt once she's made sense of what she does know now. I showed her the veil. Although, if anyone has a right to know what's going on it's her. This is going to affect her. It already is. She's shaken up but she's going to help us if she can.'

Harry didn't look filled with confidence, 'How? She's a bit annoying, Iris. Are you sure about her?'

'She's out of her depth, Harry. She's smart and she knows very little about the magical world except for what she has picked up in a few books. You know how out of date and biased a lot of them are. Crabbe knows more than her about the real Wizarding World. I think it's driving her a bit mad. Let her settle in a bit first. It can't hurt having her with us. I can ask her for help if we get stuck. Anyway, I like her. She's nice in a neurotic sort of way. She's not dull, that's for sure. She stopped Goyle punching me and Neville. That took nerve. Plus, she actually knows who Kate Bush is. Parvati and Lavender have never even listened to Muggle music. Can you believe that?'

Harry shook his head as he mused at this as they started to retrace their steps and make their way back to the common room. Iris seemed quite certain about Hermione. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt for now.

'How about you? Settling in yet?' Iris asked her black haired friend.

He pushed his glasses up, 'Yes and No. Getting into Gryffindor is a massive relief. The lads are great. Between you and me the hat tried to get me into Slytherin. Don't tell Ron. You know how he gets about Slytherins.'

Iris raised her eyebrows at this, 'Slytherin? Mm, I suppose that you sometimes show their traits, but no, you're much more a Gryffindor, I think. The hat more or less laughed at me when I suggested Slytherin. Still, better than his Ravenclaw comment. He said I hadn't inherited my mother's brains. That hat can be a real bitch.'

Harry snorted and then nodded in thanks at her comment, 'The girls in Slytherin seem to be better than I thought they would be. In our year anyway. Some of the older Slytherin girls are just..yeah,' Iris nodded in agreement. Even from a distance, she had found a lot of them truly eerie. Many of the older boys from different houses gave her major creep vibes. Not for the first time, she felt thankful for her silver bodyguards, 'The first-year guys though,' Harry continued, 'The thought of sleeping in the same dorm as Goyle and Crabbe is just...' He pulled a face, 'Neville and Ron's snoring is bad enough, but I'll take them two any day.'

'Just put up some silencing charms when they kick-off,' Iris said, 'Nott is giving me real fanatic creep vibes. Hitler youth level. His eyes were definitely weird. Like he's being mind-controlled. Draco is being too quiet. He was such a nasty bastard on the train, yet now, nothing.'

Harry nodded at her, 'He watches you. Like a snake. Must be reporting back to dear old dad.'

Iris grimaced, 'Not a comforting thought. Blaise knows, I think. He knows something anyway. He's sitting closer to Daphne and further from Nott.'

Harry agreed with her, 'Blaise has everything to lose. He may be a Pureblood but still. Riddle's one concession to Hitler. White only in power. Like Riddle could care less about that. He wants every human being as his slave. Whoever they are. He's only interested in absolute power. On the bright side, the more people know what the true end game is, the easier it is to choose sides for most of them. Tonks said that a lot of the students stick their head in the sand about stuff that happens here. They won't be able to do that for much longer.'

They went their separate ways, 'Say hi to your mum and dad for me.'

'Will do,' Harry smiled back. It still gave him a shiver that he could actually say that. The novelty still hadn't worn off for him. He was getting a little older now and his parents had discussed visiting less. They thought he needed to assert his independence. His studies were important too. They remembered their time at Hogwarts as a time of finding out who you were as a person. Harry had agreed a little bit despondently.

Still, they were going to visit for the first month every day. James and Lily were concerned about the state of the behaviour of a lot of students in the castle. Lily had spoken to Minerva the previous term about Dylan. The Scottish woman had been distraught about her little cub. Albus had his suspicions of the culprits. Dylan had his memory of the event completely wiped. Albus had promised justice eventually.

Harry made his way to the private room Albus had arranged. He slipped on his invisibility cloak just in case anyone was watching. Albus told them to be discreet. The sight of James and Lily Potter at Hogwarts may be the cause of hysteria if it became public knowledge. His parents were waiting for him. They hugged then chatted amiably about his first proper day. The silver snakes had settled them all. Even James had been surprised.

'To think I was so anti-Slytherin at school. Now he's protecting my son and the Muggleborns.'

Lily had been a bit more pragmatic, 'I think he knows now his ideas were wrong. I think even Salazar realises his mistakes now. It has gotten way out of hand. He's trying to make amends. He'll always be a Pureblood snob, like Bella is, but even so. It's all been taken too far now.'

Harry explained about his parseltongue to them both. They both looked very concerned but tried to put their faces back to normal as they saw Harry begin to look upset.

Harry looked at his mother, 'Iris told me to tell you this. When I was little and before I knew Iris and you both came back I used to hear giggling. Creepy noises like an echo. And my scar hurt,' he rushed this out, 'I didn't want to worry any of you. Iris thinks your Equi magic blocks it out. Not the parseltongue though.'

Lily looked at her son with a haunted expression, 'No,' she whispered. James looked at Harry helplessly.

'We used to see you touching your scar when you were little. We thought it was simply a habit. Then you stopped,' James said robotically.

This scared Harry more than he could say. His parents had never looked at him so weakly before.

'We'll talk to Albus, Harry,' his mother seemed to pull herself together. She gave him a brittle smile, 'We just worry about you too much. We shouldn't have worried you. I'm sure we'll find out what is causing this.'

Her attempts at placating him were not very good. Harry could see her hands tremble.

They talked some more but the conversation was strained. Harry left them with a heavy heart that night.

Iris had made her way back to her trunk. Lavender, Parvati and Hermione were relaxing on the sofa with Trevor all watching the Parent trap. They all smiled when they greeted her. Hermione paused the film.

'You like my flat then?' Iris asked them

'It's wonderful,' Lavender said, 'Vive le difference,' she smiled, 'I like the film.'

'It's a good blend of Muggle and Magical, Iris,' Parvati said.

Hermione looked at Iris considering her, 'Yes. I like it very much,' she said to her, 'I think I shall be able to do a lot of studying here.'

'Good,' Iris said. Both Hermione and Iris realised the conversation earlier would be best to keep quiet for now. It had been intense. Lavender and Parvati may as well enjoy some more time not worrying too much and being a little less aware of the future that lay before them.

They all settled down to watch the rest of the film. Iris's eyes had softened towards the end as the twins' parents rekindled their love for each other. Hermione had been watching her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't need to be Sigmund Freud to understand why Iris had that film in her collection.

Hermione kept that bit of information to herself for now.

Parvati and Lavender went upstairs after that to indulge in a bit of beauty makeover lessons before bed. Iris wondered when the badgering for the Black beauty spell would begin from the pair of them. She couldn't be giving it out to everyone. Or could she? When fighting against Nazis and Death Eaters wouldn't it be better for everyone to look their best? It would certainly help lure in some of the more vapid and shallow recruits. On the downside, the Black women would not be happy if their long guarded secret was made public.

Although, even they may agree World War 3 could be a good enough reason. She considered Bella. Maybe not. She sighed. That was a dilemma for another day. Hermione had bought her library books downstairs and was setting them up by the table. Trevor purred on the sofa. The window of London had nighttime falling. The lights were all appearing. Iris had a thought. She moved down to her cabinet and bought out a stack of A4 paper and some biro's and put them next to Hermione.

'Will these help you with your notes? Quills and parchment are a bit time-consuming.'

Hermione looked down at the muggle stationary. Next to the old-fashioned magical books. It was quite a contrast. It worked in this flat, however.

Smiling, she nodded at Iris, 'Very much. Thanks.'

As it was the first day no homework had been set. The professors wanted them to settle in properly first.

Hermione was getting comfortable as Iris made her way over to the sofa. She flicked through her films. She needed something uplifting. Harry speaking parseltongue was concerning. She found what she needed.

Hermione was looking through her book on potions as she heard the familiar music of, 'Be my baby,' by the Ronettes. Looking up she saw Iris with a smile on her face watching Dirty Dancing. Iris felt she was being watched. She turned around.

'Do you want me to put a silencing spell up?' she asked politely.

'No. I love this film. I watch it with my mother from time to time,' Hermione said smiling.

Iris grinned back, 'No one puts Baby in the corner,' she said with wisdom.

'Indeed,' Hermione sniggered.

With that, a comfortable atmosphere fell in the room. Hermione perusing the books. Iris nodding along to the Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey dance moves. Lucas was slithering outside the dorm room keeping guard. Constant vigilance. Lavender and Parvati had developed quite a liking for the silver snake, 'Lucas is almost like having a pet,' Lavender had commented earlier.

'A pet that was a brutal killer,' thought Iris privately but did not verbalise.

That Riddle's followers understood this was the only important fact to her.

At a quiet moment in the film, Iris heard the scratching of biro on paper as Hermione had started to write her notes from the book. She tilted her head slightly. The words were being formed quickly and efficiently. Hermione was engrossed in the book. Iris looked at the pen speeding over the paper. Almost frantically. But the expression on her face was one of complete focus and calm. Iris nodded to herself. The more Hermione learned about this world the better. Smart people did not like to be ignorant of their surroundings.

With that thought, she turned back around. A dancing montage was beginning. Iris let herself get focused.

It was later that evening and, 'I've had the time of my life,' was playing as Iris stretched. The film was finishing. Her mood was much improved.

Hermione was still engrossed in what she was reading. Iris blinked. She had already started on another book.

'Er, Hermione. I'm going to head off. You can stay here as long as you like. Ok. Consider it your room too. Records. CDs. Help yourself.'

Hermione had lifted her head and blinked as if surprised she was still in the same room. Her eyes focused back on Iris.

'Where are you going?' she asked.

'Oh. Equilibrium. I need to see mum and Gran. And do some flying. I need to recharge my magic too. I'll be back by seven.'

Hermione seemed to remember their earlier conversation, 'You make it sound so casual. Like you're just popping next door.'

Iris paused a moment, 'Well. That's just how it really is, Hermione. Next door,' she closed her eyes and pictured the veil. She felt the familiar tingle through her arms from the ring.

Hermione had a gentle smile on her face as the golden doorway appeared. Iris gave her a wave and disappeared through the veil. The veil disappeared in front of Hermione.

'That is so bloody cool,' Hermione thought. She took a moment to consider everything. Then her book called to her. Within a minute Hermione was back in the zone.

Iris saw her mum and Gran and spent a lovely couple of hours telling Greta and her mum all about Hogwarts. Hayley was happy about the snakes. Minerva had owled her at work. The professors had been very surprised but happy at the development too.

'Fancy Salazar doing that. Wonders will never cease,' Greta had said. She had been a Slytherin in less militant times.

They were not surprised that Iris had landed in the house of lions. They were both upset about how a lot of the students were acting. Iris mentioned Nott and Draco. Neither was too shocked by this. They had expected it. Both their fathers were in Riddle's inner circle. Daphne had Jasper so she and her friends had protection from them.

Iris spoke about Harry. Hayley and Greta had looked at each other silently, 'I'll talk to Lily,' Hayley had said to Iris and had left it at that. Iris was particularly loquacious about both Neville and Hermione.

'Oh, mum. That head butt he gave Draco was beautiful. You should have seen it.'

'Iris. You know violence is not the answer to nasty words. You should have gone to a prefect.'

Iris had given her mother a withering look.

'It was a prefect who had told Hermione to sod off in the first place. Anyway, Draco was begging for it, mum. What he said to Hermione and what he said about Neville's parents was disgusting. Anyway, he's gone all quiet since the ghosts. One name drop of Lucifer was all it took. Hopefully, that's the end of it for now.'

Hayley was still disturbed about the friendship Iris had with the Dark Angel. Greta was a Slytherin so she was noticeably less disturbed. Iris told them what the sorting hat had said trying to garner some sympathy. Both her mum and Gran tried to muffle their giggles but failed miserably.

'It is truly the most accurate piece of magic ever created,' her Gran had sputtered out. Iris's huff gave way to more peels of laughter.

'Ha, ha,' Iris said. Their sniggering continued until even she gave a wry smile.

'Have you quite finished?' Iris watched as they wiped their eyes.

'How are you getting on with your roommates?' Hayley asked her.

'I like them. Lavender and Parvati are easy to get on with. They like gossip which fortunately for them I have provided. I think we'll be fine with each other. That trunk Gareth got me is brilliant. Hermione is using it as a study area. The common room is too noisy and the castle isn't safe for her to be by herself at night, even with Lucas. I'm introducing Lavender and Parvati to Muggle films and music. They have never heard of the Eurythmics. Can you believe it?'

They both nodded yes.

Iris mused, 'I told Hermione about Riddle. What he has planned. She guessed something was up when she saw a lot of my books.'

'Are you sure that is wise, Iris?' Hayley asked.

'She had figured a lot out by herself. She can be a bit like Bella when she needs to know something. Her Gran is Jewish. She escaped Germany in 1938. The rest of her family didn't manage.'

Greta closed her eyes, 'That poor girl. She must know then of the horrors of the war. What could happen.'

Iris nodded, 'It's why I told her. She suspected anyway. At least now she can prepare. She said she's going to help us. According to her, the education board said she is a borderline genius.'

Hayley looked at her daughter in concern. 'Are you sure she isn't pulling your leg?'

Iris gave a gentle smile and thought about the abrasive, direct, bushy-haired girl, 'No. I really don't think she is. She's sincere.'

Hayley and Greta left it there. Time would tell. Iris took to the skies later on her Equi motorcycle and felt the magic of this world flow through her. Reaching speeds and doing stunts that would surely make her mother panic if she knew. She took a small nap. Much refreshed she made to go back to Hogwarts.

She stepped out of the veil and was met with the sight of Hermione still at the table taking furious notes. Iris rubbed her eyes. Yes. Hermione was still there. She hadn't noticed her yet. Iris looked at the books that had joined the one Hermione had completed before she had left. She was on the last one. With a flourish Hermione put her biro down and closed the book carefully, placing it with the others.

'Done,' she said to herself. Hermione looked up and noticed Iris gawping at her.

'Oh. Is it that time already?' Hermione asked her.

'Have you got through the entire lot?' Iris asked her in shock.

Hermione simply nodded proudly.

Iris had her jaw dropped. 'Have you even slept?'

'I was immersed, Iris,' she said simply, 'I do this now and again when I'm particularly interested in a subject. I feel like I have more energy anyway. It's fascinating, isn't it? Magic. There is so much to learn.'

'Must be the effects of Equi on you,' Iris said, 'But still. You need to sleep. It's not good for you. I can recharge, you can't.'

'Yet,' Hermione said with a smile.

'What do you mean?' Iris said curiously.

'I've been thinking.'

'As well as doing all this?' Iris gestured to the books in amazement.

'James and Lily. The longer they spend with you the stronger their connection is to this world. Logic tells me it has to work the other way. It would be the natural way of things. Everything is balanced,' Hermione explained patiently.

Iris shrugged, 'I don't know, Hermione. This is unchartered territory. Maybe,' she admitted.

'With all the time you have spent with Harry I think he should be able to go to Equilibrium with you now and be perfectly safe,' Hermione stated.

Iris gasped, 'No. Absolutely not. I'm not risking him,' Iris stood firm, 'I couldn't live with myself if he couldn't get back.'

Hermione saw the resolution in Iris, 'Ok,' she backed down.

Iris calmed down a little, 'Look, Hermione. Even the Angels agree. We're going to wait till I'm older. What I can do now means potentially in the future that it could work. But way in the future. And Lily says only after many experiments to ensure it is safe will we try this. Equilibrium is wonderful but you have to understand. It also means death. Only my mum and I have ever come back properly to our Earth bodies. James and Lily can only visit. It's as good as we can get it but it's not the way the Potters would want it if circumstances had been different. Their lives were cut too short here on earth. They have missed out on so much.'

Hermione shook herself, 'I understand,' she said softly, 'I just want to learn so much about everything. This is so much more than even I thought it would be.'

Iris thought about how quickly Hermione had devoured these books. She looked at the wistful expression on her face. The ease of the first-year courses was going to frustrate her in the not too distant future.

'I could ask Lily if she would like to tutor you if you like. She was the head girl here you know. Top of all her classes. She's looking for answers too. Maybe, between the two of you, you could help each other find them.'

Hermione looked at Iris as if she had said she would introduce her to God.

'The Lily Potter?' she whispered, 'Tutor me?'

Iris nodded, 'I can ask her. She pops to the castle in the evenings to see Harry. I think she'd like to do that. When she was younger she had wanted to be a teacher,' Iris grimaced at the thought. Another small dream Lily hadn't been able to have, 'She's been saying she'd like a hobby. She likes challenges. Equilibrium is a bit too quiet for her. We'll let Lavender and Parvati know we're doing dangerous experiments down here as we'll need privacy. Merlin knows the entire school would know Lily Potter was in here within the hour if they spotted her. Short of making them take an unbreakable vow we couldn't stop them blurting it out.'

'I'd like that,' Hermione said reverently.

'Right then,' Iris was glad they had reached a compromise, 'Let's sort ourselves out and get to breakfast. My hair is losing the plot.'

Hermione was also suffering from the same chaos. A bit of Black Hair product sorted that out.

It was now Tuesday morning. Iris took a deep breath as they climbed out of the trunk. The weekend seemed so far away. They met the other firsties in the common room. There was an unspoken agreement between them to stick together for now.

Hermione had Trevor with her. She handed him back to Neville with a brief explanation. He didn't seem too surprised. Trevor was stalking Iris around the castle.

Harry looked a little pale. Dean was explaining football rules to Seamus. Ron was snoozing in one of the chairs. He had never been a morning person. Lavender and Parvati were whispering about a boy called Cedric. He was apparently 'so dreamy.'

They got a few smiles from some of the older students. Harry spoke to Iris quietly in the corner. Lily wanted to see her later in the evening. Iris nodded and told Harry she'd make sure she was in her trunk flat by nine.

Harry nudged Ron awake as they ambled down to the great hall for breakfast. Food normally woke Ron up properly.

The mood in the castle seemed relatively serene. The discreet snakes were just noticeable enough to keep the peace. A few older students Iris didn't recognise gave big grins and waved to her as they walked down the corridors. Parvati told Lavender who told Hermione who told Iris that they were Muggleborns.

A few older students walked by and sneered at Iris. No one needed to tell Iris why.

They made their way to the front and sat down. The looks from the other students were not as frequent as the day before. Iris was hoping for a three-day wonder. She had read it took most people three days to get used to something. She tucked into her toast. She avoided looking at Ron. His eating habits were truly shocking. She didn't understand how he could cram so much food in. In other ways, he was quite a fastidious person. It made no sense. Shrugging this off she listened to Hermione go through that day's schedule.

'History of magic first,' Hermione took charge of the itinerary, 'With the Hufflepuffs. Then Defence against the Dark arts with the Slytherins. We then break for Lunch. Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws again. We start that properly. Finished with potions with the Slytherins. Looks to be a full day,' Hermione looked to be the only one truly excited with the prospect of a busy day's activity.

Iris mused. Quirrell. Should be interesting. The teacher the Slytherin families wanted to take over as their head of house.

She looked over to the Slytherin table to see her sister. They made eye contact and waved to each other. Daphne and the rest of the girls looked fine. She felt Draco's grey eyes on her again. She ignored him.

Sated after breakfast Percy walked over to take them to the History of Magic classroom. He had told them after Wednesday they would be expected to remember where their classes were each held and to find their own way to them. Hermione looked confident at least. Iris took a wild guess she would be their tour guide after Percy had left.

The others, including herself, had looked a little awkward. She was getting there but it was still easy to get on the wrong stairs.

They entered the room. Iris greeted Susan who was with a much more composed Hannah Abbott. The Hufflepuffs seemed a friendly enough group. They took their seats and waited. Tonks had told Iris and Harry a ghost called Binns took this lesson. She also said it was a good time to nap. She had thought Tonks was being sarcastic. She wondered if Binns was going to be in the hall on Sunday. The grey lady had said they all wanted to go.

A ghost hovered into the classroom. They all perched eagerly on their seats.

Within twenty minutes the entire class, including Hermione, to Iris's amusement had sunk back into their chairs with boredom clear on each face.

'This is the man the MI6 interrogation department needs,' Iris thought. You would tell him anything to get away from him. It was mind-numbing how the ghost droned on in a barely audible soft voice. It was almost hypnotic. Hermione looked like she was relying purely on sheer willpower to put some notes down. Ron had gone back to sleep. Seamus was nodding off.

Binns didn't appear to notice the effect he had on the class. He was murmuring about a Goblin rebellion. Hannah had her eyes closed. Susan had her head down on the desk. Like Ron, she was napping too. The rest of the class wasn't faring much better. Harry had his mouth half-open, his face slack.

Even Iris, who didn't need to sleep much, felt more than relaxed. Enough was enough. An entire class that was proving to be total bollocks. A pointless waste of time. That even Hermione was struggling to pay attention was the tipping point.

She put her hand up. He paid no attention, 'Professor Binns?' Nothing. She tried again louder, 'Professor Binns?' she had raised her voice loudly. The others had woken up anyway.

The ghost looked up slowly, 'Yes?'

'Are you coming to the Hall on Sunday?'

'The Hall? Sunday?' the ghost seemed oblivious to what Iris was saying.

'All the other ghosts are going to be there. Angel Gabriel is visiting. We're going to see if we can send you all off to Equilibrium. Has no one told you?' Iris asked.

Professor Binns tilted his head to one side, 'Equilibrium?' he whispered as if trying to remember something.

Iris looked at the Professor intently. He reminded her of a few of the patients at the hospital. Dementia patients. Even Gabriel couldn't do anything for them. Professor Binns could only recover properly in Equilibrium.

'Right, ok,' Iris told him flatly.

The ghost looked a little disoriented. Then paused. He looked back towards the board then the class. Resuming his position he started to drone on about the same goblin rebellion. Hopefully, Dumbledore could get a proper teacher in. He had told Iris the board interfered a lot at Hogwarts. History of magic was clearly something that had been sacrificed. A lot of families liked to teach their children their own, prejudiced history.

That appeared to be the only remotely interesting thing to happen that entire class. The firsties went back to dozing. Even Hermione's eyes were drooping. Iris pursed her lips. The boredom could not even be defied by energetic Equi magic.

In her head, Iris attempted to playback the movie Top Gun, but Binns kept droning on and on. It was a long lesson.

Iris felt quite disorientated as they left the torture room of mental cruelty.

Breathing air deeply she regained herself. 'That was the hardest thing I have ever had to endure in my life. And I have been held hostage by Death Eater's,' she grumbled to the others.

Harry snorted.

'It wasn't so bad,' Hermione tried to defend the teacher. Iris put her hand up.

'Please. No,' she said to her, 'I don't even have the luxury of being able to sleep through that shit show. I envy you Ron, Susan.'

Percy arrived to herd them to their next lesson. Iris wondered what to expect.

At the end of the lesson, she knew all she needed to know. Professor Quirrell was so nice. Pleasant. Warm. Funny. Nice. Helpful. A paragon of nice. Nice, nice, nice. It wasn't natural. It was unnerving. He was most definitely one of Riddle's men.