Hermione had whipped out multiple Patronus messages to the others to meet them there. Draco took a moment to appreciate the skill that spell required as they ran in.

Iris was sat up in the bed looking mildly disorientated but the moment she spotted them she gave them a look of relief.

Madam Pomfrey came out of her room and looked with shock at Iris and the others, 'How did you know?' she exclaimed.

'Luna,' Draco answered with a grin.

Madam Pomfrey didn't pursue that line of questioning. Hermione moved to the side of the bed cautiously.

'Iris. How are you?' she asked gently.

Iris sobbed and grabbed Hermione pulling her into a bear hug, 'You're safe. Thank Merlin,' she cried as she felt their familiar magic merge. She pulled away and looked at Luna and Draco, 'C'mere you two.'

They were also hauled into big hugs as the outpouring of emotion veered towards the undignified.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the scene then realised her job, 'Right. You three need to skedaddle. I need to see to my patient. I'll call you in when I'm satisfied.'

Knowing better than to argue with the fierce nurse they made their exits and loitered at the door.

They heard the heavy steps of Hagrid. Then Harry and Ron hurtled round the corner. Daphne followed at a slightly more sedate pace with Pansy and Astoria. Ginny and Neville dashed up. Albus meandered up with a twinkling in his eyes as Severus and Minerva arrived shortly afterwards. Hermione quickly filled them in.

'She seems healthy and lucid?' Severus asked.

Luna nodded, 'She seems just as sane as I am.'

As Severus's face fell Hermione quickly interjected, 'She's fine. A little groggy but I can feel her magic. It's still weak though. She didn't seem to be in any pain.'

Sirius and Bella came around the corner, 'The Greengrass family are on their way.' Bella told them.

The noticeable absence of Walburga was telling. It would be a difficult conversation to tell Iris her Grandmother had been killed in the battle. It was going to be hard enough telling Iris of all the deaths, but that one, in particular, would be excruciating.

Kreacher apparated in holding an excited Esmerelda in his arms, 'I felt her spirit back on Earth. I thought she would like to see her familiar,' he said to the group.

'Thank you, Kreacher,' Sirius said stiffly to the elf who nodded back. They had moved past open hostility to forced politeness. Progress.

Madam Pomfrey opened the door and started at the increase of people, 'Right. Well. I've checked her. She appears to be in perfect health. She wants to see all of you. If she gets tired you all leave. In you go.'

They were hustled in. Even Albus was shooed in as he grinned.

Bella strode up and wrapped Iris in her arms, 'You magnificent specimen, Iris. What you did to Lucius and Peter was superb,' Bella started to sniff as a tear ran down her cheek, 'That was a work of bloody art. I'm so proud of you.'

Iris blushed as she gracefully took the compliment. She looked around at everyone. Her eyes drank them all in. Then to everyone's consternation, she started crying, 'I, I, I'm so s,s,sorry. I'm so happy you're alright,' she stuttered out as she hugged Bella tightly.

Sirius got closer, 'Iris,' he said quietly.

'Hi, dad,' Iris said back in a whisper. That set off Hermione and Sirius at the same time. Even Draco was welling up.

'You're back to being your beautiful self I see,' Iris said smiling through her tears, 'No one is going to knock you off your number one sexiest Wizard slot in Witches weekly are they?!' Iris said this with a cheeky sob.

Sirius blushed bright red, 'You know I don't care for that silly title. Much,' he said mock offended, relieved to see she was functioning like normal.

Iris greeted all the others and sighed in happiness as Emserelda wrapped around her and rubbing her head against Iris's chin in warm affection as Iris hissed loving platitudes to her. She took a long time to hug Harry as Ginny looked on a little perturbed at this display of affection.

'Thank you, Harry, for what you did in the Ministry. You stopped him,' Iris said softly to him.

'I would have done it sooner if I had known. It was Dumbledore who told me to do it,' Harry said back to her, 'He knew my mother's protection lived on in me and would cause him agony to touch me.'

Iris smiled at Dumbledore, 'Thank you both. Well. It worked. It stopped him. Lily. It all comes back to her, doesn't it? I'll need to thank her too,' she mused.

Pansy's green eyes sparkled as she moved over to the bed, 'Well, Iris. You look like shit,' she said smoothly with a bland expression.

'It's good to see you too, Pansy. You're looking very healthy. Have you put on some weight?' Iris smirked as Pansy's mouth twitched.

'I heard your, 'friend,' Pansy did the air quotes with her fingers she was so fond of doing, 'went mental. Is that the story you're sticking with? Good idea. I'd stick with that one too. Was it that time of the month again, darling? You've always been impossible to deal with when mother nature comes knocking. Tearing down London was a bit much though, even for you.'

The group around them gave each other wry looks. The banter between these two was infamous.

Iris's eyes flashed in mirth, 'You've done your hair differently, Pansy. It looks very nice. From the back.'

Pansy and Iris sniggered.

'It's good to see you as well, you absolute bitch, Pans,' Iris grinned.

'Likewise,' Pansy said in a warm tone. Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry shook his head. These two had not changed in years.

'Millicent sends her love. She'll be up soon. She's in detention. There was an, um, incident involving a broom and a Hufflepuff boy,' Pansy said.

Iris didn't need to ask anymore. She looked around the room.

'Er, yes. My friend. He told you then?' Iris asked quietly.

The room went quiet when Sirius cleared his throat to speak.

'Er, Iris. We all know, about, you know, how Death has been helping you. He spoke to me,' Sirius said to her awkwardly.

Iris nodded thoughtfully as she looked around at them all, 'I'm sorry for leaving you but I couldn't carry on. I, um, I couldn't. Something was stopping me,' her eyes misted over when her memories of that day flooded her mind.

Ron gazed at her wearily. Her mind had snapped shut with all the pressures and the sight of her parents. She couldn't take any more. It had been dangerous for all of them. That so many of them had survived was unprecedented. What Iris had unleashed had been terrifying. It could have easily killed her to let Death possess her body. It had been bordering on suicidal.

'It's ok, Iris. We understand. I spoke to him at the end at the white cliffs of Dover. He explained that you had let him take over completely,' Sirius said to her.

Iris looked around at the curious faces, 'He isn't evil. But, I didn't think you would be happy about it. He has helped me a lot over the years. When it gets too much for me. He takes over. He's good to talk to about things. He told me when the time was right to take people through to Equilibrium. He was with me when we went to the camps. He took over when it all got too much. He's only done good things for us.'

Ron pictured the head of Cornelius Fudge being sliced off and all the bodies hanging from the rafters. That had only been day one. Ron's stomach turned over. That would be a conversation for another day.

'We do understand why you didn't want to tell us. It's a lot,' Sirius said, 'Don't ever feel like you have to hide anything like that from us again. Now try and relax. You have been in this room for almost a year.'

Iris's eyebrows raised right up to her hairline, 'That long? I lost track of all time,' she said in a vague way looking around.

'Where have you been? Gabriel looked inside your mind but he couldn't find you anywhere,' Harry asked curiously.

Iris looked into his emerald eyes with a strange look, 'I was everywhere and nowhere. I can't quite explain it. It was like going into different dimensions. It wasn't like the Astral plane. I was more like a ghost but, I felt I was the size of a butterfly. The physics of some of the places I went to defied logic. I think I was on the Earth for some of it but it was different to now. There were no people or buildings there and the Earth was lush and fresh. The oceans were so clear and blue. I saw some animals but not like any I've seen before.'

'Was it like Equilibrium?' Hermione asked as she sat down next to Iris and took her hand. Iris smiled gratefully at her as their magic flared between them. It caused ripples of soothing comfort.

Hermione gave Iris a warm smile.

Iris looked around at the faces around her, 'I don't know for sure. I do know I feel much better than I have in years. Calmer than I was. I've made peace with a lot of things. I hadn't realised just how wound up I was.'

Ron kept his expression nuetral. He'd had a front-row seat for much of the terrifying chaos. He wasn't the only one relieved to hear that.

'How long was the battle?' Iris asked them, 'How many died? Where's Gran?'

Albus moved nearer to the bed, 'Perhaps it may be best to wait a while before we answer your questions.'

Iris's chin wobbled, 'Gran died, didn't she?'

'Yes, Iris,' Dumbledore told her simply.

Iris closed her eyes as Hermione squeezed her hand.

Iris took a deep breath to steady herself, 'How?' she asked quietly.

'Death Eaters. She got three of them but one other got in a lucky shot,' Bella said bitterly.

'She got three of the bastards then,' Iris clenched her jaw, 'I'll see her soon. I'll congratulate her. She died killing her enemies violently and viciously. A truly dignified death of a Black. It is what she would have wanted. We shall honour her.'

'That's the spirit, Iris,' Bella said in a, for her, warm tone. Draco held his chin up proudly. Even Sirius stood a little taller at those words.

Albus spoke, 'The battle lasted a week. Salazar put up the magic dome fully once the lands had been cleared of the enemy. The tunnel went down for another week after the battle. Noone could get through. At the moment only Gabriel has visited us and that has been seldom. We didn't want to push you. Gabriel did tell us your mother is doing well,' Albus appraised her, 'You are now, of course, the Head of the House of Black.'

Bella grinned. Sirius looked more than a little concerned.

Iris didn't appear interested in that, 'Who else died? How many? You may as well tell me now. I'll be seeing them all as soon as I can.'

'Too many,' Severus said, 'Just over fifteen million,' he came straight to the point.

Iris gaped at him, 'That's insane,' she stated in shock.

"Salazar's dome and the light Angels prevented the figure being any higher. Over half the deaths were the enemy, however,' Iris considered this, 'The Nazis would have resorted to chemical warfare otherwise. The Queen rallied everyone. Satan truly sent his best. Even the Dementors joined in to help us,' Severus added to the stunned girl.

'The damage you and Lucifer did to the traitors in Government and MI6 helped massively. Most importantly by trapping Riddle you prevented the Nazis from taking control,' Albus told her, 'They are running amok in Europe now. Salazar and Rowena have activated the portals. The international resistance is gathering here. Their plans are being put into action. We've all known this was coming for a long time. Britain is now safe from further harm. This was step one. From what your father tells us Riddle will not dare approach these shores for a long time, if ever.'

Iris looked confused, 'What did Death do to him?'

Sirius's mouth gave a twitch of mirth, 'I'll show you the memory in the Pensieve. It's a real crowd-pleaser. Draco must have watched it a thousand times already.'

Draco smirked, 'It was truly a work of art, Iris. You'll be very proud of your friend. He did what so many of us wish we could. He kicked his actual ass off the white cliffs of Dover and into a portal to who knows where.'

Iris gave a grim look of satisfaction. She gazed at the wall, 'All those people,' she whispered.

'They fought for what is right, Iris. They have given all free-thinking people in the world hope where they may have been none,' Minerva added from the back of the room. She had given this a lot of thought. It was distressing to think it had come to this but there had been no alternative.

'You're families?' Iris asked the group.

Ron gave a small grin, 'No idea how we managed it but all the Weasley's survived and are accounted for. A few of us are missing body parts but we're alive. George lost an ear. At least we can tell the twins apart now. We're all still crammed in at the Burrow.'

Iris breathed a sigh of relief.

Hermione glanced at Daphne, 'Daphne got my family out just in time. Death Eaters were apparating outside when they got out. They're staying at the Manor for now. Our home was flattened.'

Iris's face fell.

"It's ok. Really,' Hermione said, 'We survived. That's all that matters. We're rebuilding. Our house actually is coming along better than ever now,' Iris breathed easier. The Grangers were bound to have been targeted. Hermione really got under their skin.

Neville and Luna gave soft smiles as Iris looked at them, 'Touch and go but all still in one piece,' Neville told her.

Harry told her that Remus and the Tonks family were still on Earth.

Iris carefully avoided asking Pansy about her family. Pansy had given her a slight shake of her head. That would be a private conversation.

'Hogwarts?' Iris asked.

'We lost Filius and Sinistra,' Albus said softly, 'We were under siege, they had blocked the floo network. They launched bomb after bomb at the wards till eventually, they weakened. It was an onslaught. I had never imagined that sort of power. We held for as long as we could. There was nowhere else safe to go to. They forced their way in at the end of the first day and destroyed half the castle. We had planned to go into the Room of Requirement if that happened but that side of the castle had been obliterated. Salazar and Rowena managed to lower the protections on Valinor and with the elves' help, we evacuated the students there. Salazar had to set Winston loose in the castle. It was a last resort. There were thousands of them flooding into the castle. Needless to say, Winston was successful.'

Iris felt her head spin. If Winston had been released then that meant the attack had been ferocious.

'Who else did we lose?' Iris asked quietly.

Hermione sat down on the bed and took her hand, 'There's no easy way to say their names. Just remember they chose to fight to give the younger ones time to get out. They saved others. Their names have all been engraved in the Great Hall walls,' Hermione took a deep breath. 'Lavender, Dean, Mad-Eye, Blaise, Ernie, Cho, Susan, Padma, Cedric, Tracey,' Hermione continued and kept adding name upon name till Iris wanted to scream. Iris felt her body grow colder as the list went on and on.

Riddle's followers over the years had either graduated or left for Durmstrang. After Quirrell had left and the camps were liberated Tom had waived his orders to them. Those students who remained at Hogwarts had been the ones prepared to fight against this tyranny.

'When you're ready we'd all like to see them again,' Daphne said, 'I miss Tracey so much.'

Iris nodded at this and then burst into tears again.

'Oh, Merlin. How is Parvati? She must be devastated,' Iris asked.

'Parvati is even more determined to succeed. We all knew the risks, Iris. She knows her sister and best friend are in a better place. She is mightily pissed off though,' Ginny told her.

'I'll go through to Equilibrium soon and let them know I'm back. They can visit then. I'll find out what's been happening there,' Iris told them all.

'Can I go with you? I want to see Aunt Hayley as well. I miss her so much,' Daphne asked. Iris nodded. She needed to see her mum too.

'I can take letters if you want to write to them,' Iris told the others who smiled sadly. They had already written those letters months ago.

'Aside from everything that was happening here, what about you? How are you feeling in yourself?' Sirius asked her.

Iris frowned as she shook her head, 'There's something. Something in my head. I can't think properly about those places I went to. It's like a little anchor tugging at something. When Gabriel is here I'll need him to go in. It was all a blur. I'll see if he can make any sense of any of it.'

Albus looked intently at Iris.

'Perhaps you may permit me. I am quite good at occlumency I must admit.'

Severus snorted, 'Don't sell yourself short, Albus. He's brilliant, Iris.'

Iris looked at Albus and nodded, 'Don't be surprised if you can't make any sense of it. It's all bitty. I know I can't. It's mostly all colours and fragments.'

The others said their goodbyes and left the room, leaving Sirius and Albus with Iris and a very affectionate Esmerelda. Madam Pomfrey stood to the side discreetly as Albus sat down and lifted his wand.

Gabriel flashed in and gave them all a shock, 'Do not do that, Albus!' the Angel shouted.

They all jumped. They had never heard Gabriel raise his voice.

Albus lowered his wand as his eyes went wide.

'It is far too dangerous for a mortal to see,' Gabriel explained, 'You will go mad,' he added firmly as Albus looked at him in astonishment.

'There is a reason Iris can only remember fragments of her time in that place. It is to protect her mind on Earth. They will always be blurry and disjointed to any mortal here.'

Albus and Sirius looked stunned. Iris gaped. Madame Pomfrey sat down and gazed at the Angel.

'So. Where was I?' Iris asked.

'I spoke to the Creator to find the answers. Death had to put you somewhere safe.'

'Well. Where did she go?' Sirius asked in confusion.

Gabriel paused, 'I'm afraid I don't really know,' he admitted.

'You must have an idea, at least? Madam Pomfrey asked.

Gabriel looked a little sheepish, 'It's, well. I don't actually understand it yet, to be honest.'

Albus looked even more astonished at this announcement.

'Well, what do you know?' Sirius asked.

'The Creator spoke in riddles. Death sent Iris to the beginning and the end. The all and the nothing. She went into the Infinite,' Gabriel said quietly.

Iris blinked, 'Merlin,' she whispered, 'and that's in my head?'

Gabriel nodded, 'Albus. I'll go first, if I may. In a few days. Iris needs to settle back on Earth. My mind is better protected than yours. I shall see if your own mind can withstand it. If not you are not to be tempted. You are needed here on Earth.'

Albus was taking all this in as he stared at Iris. The knowledge in her mind would be priceless. Another thought sped into his mind.

'The Horcruxes?' he asked Gabriel as the others spun around to Gabriel.

'Riddle has wiped his own memory of their locations. The only clue was a glimpse of a pyramid. That could be anywhere. Would it be possible they are in Iris's mind?' Sirius asked quickly.

''Possibly. The Creator said the all,' Gabriel asked, 'I suspected Gellert found a way to access a different dimension. This may be where Riddle has hidden the book with the information in it. I should warn you it may be difficult to locate. It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.'

Albus's eyes gave a twinkling, 'But it is there.'

Finally, there was a lead. Sirius leaned back and gave a relieved sigh. His dreams had been dark. As long as Riddle slithered across the Earth there would be no end to any of this. A speck of light had appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Gareth and Dawn Greengrass came bustling in and welcomed Iris back. It had been quite an emotional reunion. Gareth looked tired. Losing Hayley had been a punch to the gut but he knew he would see her again so it softened the blow. Sirius felt a little uncomfortable in the older man's presence but with all that had happened, they could all only move forward. He had made his amends to Hayley.

Sirius could not remember much from that day he had been kidnapped. He had been beaten and held under the Cruciatus several times and had blacked out with the agony. His last hazy memory had been of Hayley looking at him with such a look of compassion it made him want to weep.

Draco had shown Sirius his own memories of the atrium. They had found over the years they actually liked each other and had developed a good bond with each other. Sirius admired the young man for his bravery in turning his back on his father. He knew the gumption that would have taken. Lucius Malfoy had been a gruesome father that had the ability to terrify grown men.

Sirius had been in the Pensieve for hours. It had been agony for him but he endured. His own Black nature had been in full flow at the demise of Peter and Lucius for their sins. His pride in his daughter for not holding back was immense. He knew that what she had done was far from ethical but they had gone past that years ago. It was justified. Lucius and Peter were both where they belonged and neither deserved any less. He would see Hayley soon. Iris was back now.

He peered at his daughter who was talking with Gareth. She looked emaciated but she was alive. Images of everything that had happened in the past filled his mind. He had been so bloody wrong about her. He had been subtle as he studied the group of friends she had gravitated towards at her time at Hogwarts. A Parkinson stood next to a Weasley. That would never have happened when he was at Hogwarts. The Parkinsons had always been on a par with the Blacks with their politics. But when even a Parkinson could see when the brakes had to be put on it drummed it home to him how far Riddle had sunk.

Pansy had been disowned for simply questioning this New World Order to her parents in her second year at Hogwarts. She had moved into Greengrass Manor with Daphne and the Greengrass family had decided to officially adopt the young girl. Pansy had appeared to deviate between being part woebegone half the time and part delighted at other times with the developments. Being an official Greengrass was not to be sniffed at by anyone in the hierarchy, but losing her family left its pain.

She knew she had done what was right for her personally. Much to her disappointment Pansy had actually discovered she had a heart. If she had ever questioned her decision in those years the moment news of the obliteration of the Middle East had reached Britain the young Slytherin had known for certain she had made the right choice. She had been devastated by the senseless loss. All done for oil money and so Hitler could play with his Pyramids.

If she had known she had played any part in that she couldn't have lived with herself. It helped Pansy that there had been other Slytherins and Purebloods who had also jumped ship with her when the truth of this New World Order was made common knowledge. Being a part of the house of ambition was one thing. They liked to get to the top. Perhaps if Riddle's ambitions had not been so grotesque Pansy may have stayed with her family. What Riddle wanted to do to the world was insanity. The cost of it was simply too high. Slytherins had a dark reputation for good reason but even many of them knew that some things simply weren't done to get there. Pansy reminded Sirius of Narcissa. He hoped she wouldn't share the same fate.

Eventually, Iris was left alone with Esmerelda to recuperate. Madam Pomfrey had insisted on quiet. Iris had been overwhelmed by the information she had received. She flopped back on the bed. Her mind was swirling with images. The Peverell ring glinted in the light.

She wondered what had happened in the time she had left the building. Ron had given her some cautious looks. Iris could only speculate on the devastation Death had wrecked. That would be a discussion for a later date.

Her magic was faint. She closed her eyes to visualise the portal to Equilibrium with a slight feeling of nervousness. The familiar portal opened easily, much to her relief. She needed her waterfall. She needed the Equilibrium magic. She felt insecure and wobbly. She left a note for Madam Pomfrey and put Esmerelda on her pillow and stepped into the tunnel. It was a welcome sight. Moving forward she stepped into the other world and eased through the veil. Immediately she felt the tingles and magic seep inside her. Stepping through limbo she walked outside into her other home and breathed deeply.

She apparated to the cascading waterfall she had spent so much time at. She found her regular spot, 'Just a few hours,' she mused. She lay down on the lush grass, deeply comforted. Her eyelids grew heavy as she lay down watching the blue water, 'Just a few moments,' she thought to herself. The bliss of the white magic filled her. She would see her mother soon. Iris felt her body rest as she closed her eyes and slipped into the land of dreams. Unknown to her, a white light covered her, protecting her from the view of even the Angels. She wouldn't wake for three days.

When she awoke she sat up regenerated with a triumphant grimace. She knew. She knew Riddle's dirty little secrets. She knew a lot of everything now. She glanced down at the Peverell ring.

It had turned from pitch black to a gleaming iced white.