Iris sat up sharply, 'Is it Draco?'

Hermione shifted awkwardly as Iris looked at her with interest, 'No. I like Draco, but no. I don't feel we are, um, suited for each other.'

An uncomfortable expression passed Hermione's face.

Iris peered at her curiously, 'But, did something happened between you two while I was away?'

Hermione blushed, 'A little. It wasn't for long. We both decided it wasn't working. That was months ago.'

Iris waited for Hermione to continue but Hermione kept looking anywhere but her.

'Why wasn't it working?' Iris asked. She was deeply interested in this. Hermione was acting most peculiarly.

'I was with him for the wrong reasons,' Hermione said quietly.

'What wrong reasons?' Iris probed. This was like getting blood out of a stone.

Hermione seemed to debate something with herself. She turned to Iris and changed her tone to a somewhat more uplifting one, 'You're right. He needs a Pureblood princess to manage the estates and the supremely vulgar amounts of galleons in his vaults. I'm afraid I wouldn't be happy with that life. I have little to no interest in doing that. I expect one of your sisters has already nailed a flag to him anyway.'

Iris looked at her suspiciously, 'I expect your right. My galleons are on Astoria personally,' Iris looked at Hermione with a considering look, 'She's always liked him. She used to follow him around when we were younger. He likes her a lot too.'

Hermione nodded, 'Daphne is like his twin. Not a wife.'

Iris mused, 'Yeah. Daphne and Astoria have always been close to him. It goes without saying the fact they are not even distantly related helps. Pansy was interested in Draco for a while but when I showed her the family tree she changed her mind sharpish. Second cousins are a bit too close for comfort. I showed her that memory of Morfin. That did it. My sisters have been good for him and he thinks the world of both of them,' Iris paused, 'Neville then?'

Hermione smiled, 'He is like my very nice, sweet brother. No spark there either. I reckon Hannah Abbott has got her eye on him anyway. They've been spending a lot of time together. Neville has been showing her his plants. She says their magic is bonding.'

'Aw, that's so sweet,' Iris smiled, 'Is it Viktor?' she pursued Hermione who smiled mysteriously.

'That's enough about me. What about you?' Hermione turned the interrogation around with a smirk.

Iris shrugged, 'Nothing happening. You know my rule. I don't date relatives. That has decreased my options at Hogwarts considerably. Very many undateables.'

Hermione would not be deterred, 'There are still options. Not everyone you know here is on your family tree.'

It was Iris's turn to shift uncomfortably.

'I mean. There was that brief month of dating Justin Finch Fletchley in the fifth year which ended as quickly as it had started. You never did explain why that finished,' Hermione kept prodding.

'I, Justin was just a bit too posh. He was on his way to Eton if he hadn't come here instead. Doesn't get any posher than that,' Iris said.

Hermione looked at her in disbelief, 'That's a lame excuse. You knew that about him before you went out with him.'

Iris gazed at the television and tried to ignore her.

'You went to the Winter ball in fourth with Anthony Goldstein. Never to be seen together again. He's still pissed off with you. What exactly happened there again? You never did fully explain that one either,' a mischievous smile tugged at her mouth.

'You know exactly what went wrong there,' Iris said through gritted teeth.

A massive grin swept over Hermione's face.

'Oh, yes. I almost forgot,' Hermione said very sarcastically and slowly as Iris looked at her mortified.

'Let's not dredge up the past, Hermione. It is not in our best interests.'

'You mean it's not in your best interest,' Hermione sniggered.

Iris turned to her with a troubled look, 'To this day I don't know which one of us is the most embarrassed by it all. It truly haunts me.'

Hermione smirked. The Tri-Wizard Tournament in their fourth year had been an entertaining year for a myriad of reasons for all the school and not just for the competition itself. Beauxbaton Academy had been the other school vising alongside Durmstrang Academy.

It had all started well enough. Albus had introduced the two other schools just before the welcoming feast. The very tall Madame Maxime had entered the Great Hall followed by a dozen of her students. The entrance had been suitably elegant and very french. The glamorous students twirled and pranced down the aisle much to the delight of many of the male students. Iris had been sat next to Hermione as they watched this parade. It had reminded her of Paris Fashion week. Her eyes had fallen on the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life. Silvery blonde hair whipped around her face with the same arrogance as Narcissa as she appeared to glow. She was well within her rights to be confident. Most of the eyes in the hall were on her. Her dark blue eyes surveyed the room with a haughty look. Iris was to find out later that her name was Fleur Delacour.

Ron was on the verge of drooling. Neville and Harry were trying hard not to. Dean and Seamus looked on at this vision of beauty with mouths gawping. Lavender and Parvati were already taking fashion tips. Hermione appeared to be studying her as if she was in class. Iris on the other hand appeared to have been hit by a bludger. Her Equilibrium magic had flared up in the extreme. There was something very different about this girl.

'She must have Veela blood,' Iris had heard Ginny whisper from down the table, 'There is absolutely no way that is just make-up.'

Fleur Delacour had been surveying the room with some disdain at the banal normality that greeted her when she felt the power of Equilibrium hit her with force. Pure white magic so alive with grace and beauty that she whipped her head in the direction it was coming from. Her eyes were like a bird of prey as she focused immediately on Iris with a fierce intensity.

Iris stared back as delicious magic swept through her. Icy grey had met dark blue. Fleur had then gasped. Those icy grey eyes had turned a full golden as they bored into her very soul.

The Equilibrium magic was filling the room. Albus looked on very amused by the scene as Fleur broke away from Beauxbatons and moved quickly towards the Gryffindor table. Iris had climbed over the table in great haste to the shock of the Hogwarts students as they moved towards each other like magnets. The power was invigorating for the Veela. She felt her inner self hum and sing with a supreme joy as she got nearer to the dark-haired girl. They were both rushing now as they leapt together and embraced in a tight hug as Fleur lifted Iris off her feet in the middle of the room much to the astonishment of everyone witnessing this.

'Oh Mon Dieu!' Madame Maxime admonished, 'Fleur Delacour. Pose cette fille!'

For the first time that the headmistress could recall, Fleur completely ignored her.

Albus sauntered up at this point, 'Ah, yes. Olympe. It is good to see you again.'

The headmistress barely paid him any attention.

'Does your student have Veela blood by any chance?' Albus continued.

'A quarter,' Olympe said in a distracted voice.

'Thank heavens it isn't half,' Albus said as he observed the two girls shimmer. White magic flowing off the pair of them in waves.

'They will both need to acclimatise,' Albus said as he wandered over to the pair.

'Miss Black,' Albus spoke. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He watched the blissful look on Iris's face.

'Miss Black,' he said in a louder voice.

Still nothing. He lifted his wand to his throat and did a sonorous charm, 'Miss Black!' his voice hollered. Fangs, who was asleep in Hagrid's cabin, opened his eyes and pricked his ears up.

There was a tiny flicker of recognition as Iris opened her golden eyes.

'You will need to move this to Equilibrium. Miss Delacour will be in no fit state to be at the castle otherwise. Neither will you by the looks of it.'

Iris looked at him in a dreamlike way and closed her eyes as the portal opened. Fleur still had her eyes shut with a blissful expression on her face as the Equi magic seeped through her.

They still stood there in a tight embrace. Albus waited. There were murmurings in the crowd. Albus had to resort to pushing the pair into the tunnel. The portal disappeared as the white magic faded.

'Miss Delacour may be some time,' Albus had said to the enquiring faces.

Hermione had watched the incident with great interest. Fleur should be better when she returned, she had reasoned.

Except that she wasn't. The entire year was one of great hilarity for Hermione. Fleur had been chosen as one of the champions. It led to many unforeseen consequences. Iris had been banned from attending as a spectator as she was far too distracting for Fleur. A sulking Iris had to sit in Equilibrium until the competitions were over. In return, Iris's eyes would go golden whenever Fleur was near. There was nothing either of them could do to stop the tidal wave.

The Winters ball had been the source of much amusement for onlookers. Fleur had attended with Roger Davies. Iris with Anthony. By the time ten seconds had passed during the first dance, both very annoyed boys had been unceremoniously dumped. Iris and Fleur had spent the entire night swaying tightly together on the dancefloor ignoring everyone as the hall radiated white magic. Fleur's Veela purring loudly as Iris felt she was floating as ripples of the most exquisite magic roamed through every cell of their bodies. Many nights were spent together with each other in Equilibrium as Fleur embraced this new world with relish.

Iris was teased relentlessly but she was adamant it was only the magic and nothing more. Hermione had also gently needled her continuously until she realised she was actually upsetting her friend so she stopped. Towards the end of Fleur's stay at Hogwarts, Hermione was also beginning to feel irrationally irritated towards Fleur. She had made more sense of why when Iris had been in her coma.

Fleur had won the tournament in the end. She had been riding the wave of white magic and had surpassed all expectations. The other schools grumbled but as Iris said, there was nothing in the rule book saying Fleur couldn't go to a different world for training. Iris had compromised and had taken both Cedric and Viktor to Equi too, but the effect on Fleur's Veela magic was insurmountable to the two Wizard's. Iris had come back from her exile and had congratulated the radiant champion. It had been unfortunate that Fleur's mother had also been in attendance. If a quarter Veela exposed to Equilbirum's magic led to uncontrollable urges then half a Veela was almost impossible to deal with.

It had taken five grown Wizards to peel the two away from each other and separate them. It was with great reluctance that Fleur and Iris had to part ways. They spent one last night together in Equilibrium before Fleur returned to France. Iris had never told Hermione what they spoke about. Hermione glanced at a red-faced Iris. She had always been curious. Iris was normally very honest about most things.

'Fleur is marrying Bill Weasley next month,' Iris said vaguely, 'Mrs Weasley has had to ban me from the wedding. She didn't want to but she said it was asking for trouble to have me there.'

Hermione couldn't help but agree. She had a brief image of Bill and Fleur attempting to do their wedding vows as Fleur cuddled Iris at the altar as her mother had to be put in a cage. That didn't even include the many Veela relatives that would be in attendance. It would be a farce on an epic scale if Iris attended.

'I'll stay with you on that day,' Hermione told her friend as Iris brightened up a little.

'Thanks, Hermione,' Iris said gratefully.

'So, do you miss her?' Hermione dug a little deeper.

Iris sighed, 'A lot.'

Hermione moved forward.

'So,' she said vaguely, 'In what way do you miss her?' she asked in a gentle tone.

Iris looked nervous, 'Look. I don't want you thinking of me any differently.'

Hermione knew exactly where this was headed. She had been bracing herself for the last two years for this conversation. She knew Iris very well and could read between the lines with her best friend. She had it all planned out in her head. Be supportive. Be polite and listen.

'You're my best friend, Iris. You always will be. Nothing can change that,' Hermione began. So far so good. Iris gave her a nervous smile.

'Fleur and I,' Iris stopped as Hermione seemed to catch her breath, 'Fleur and I have a very powerful magical bond.'

Hermione nodded reassuringly. That would have been obvious to a baby.

'She's a really good person too. I know she seems above it all but she has a kind heart. We did actually talk about a lot of things.'

Hermione nodded cautiously.

'Um, towards the end of her stay here, I realised it was more than just friendship I felt for her. It was so much more than what I felt for Anthony and I knew for sure after dating Justin. I just don't feel that way about men. I like some of them a lot. A few of them I can be attracted to. It's just, I don't feel enough to be in an actual relationship with one of them. They all sort of made me realise some things about myself,' Hermione looked at Iris and nodded reassuringly, 'I care about Fleur. More than I can explain. I didn't want to feel that way about her but I couldn't help it. We talked about it on her last night in Equilibrium. She was ever so decent about it but she's not like me. She wanted a husband. Children. She's a bit older, too. With the bond as strong as it is we both thought it wise to break contact completely. It's like a drug and I don't think that it was actually healthy for either of us in the long run. We both agreed.'

Hermione nodded wisely at that. She gestured to Iris to continue.

'We kind of lost ourselves in it. It wasn't easy for her either. She said she is very fond of me too, but it was the right thing to do for both of us. I'm genuinely happy for her, marrying Bill. He's such a top bloke,' Iris said with certainty to those words.

Hermione gazed at Iris who looked apprehensive.

'It's like, you know how our magic is together? You and ?' Iris asked her.

Hermione gave a stilted nod.

'Right. Your magic feels different from Fleur's. Our magic together is really warm and nice. It comforts me when I'm with you. It's all real though. It grew over time and it's all based on us as people. Fleur and I are all magic. Well, at the start anyway. We grew to actually care about each other, but it's not the same. I mean, we didn't even know each other and that magic just hit us. It's real but not.'

Finally, the truth. Hermione had planned out what she was about to say but found it flew out of her mind.

'She was alright about it?' Hermione questioned. Fleur had seemed to her to be a very conceited Witch incapable of any sensitivity.

Iris nodded, 'She attracts a lot of interest from a lot of people. Men and women. She's used to it. Fleur was very sweet about it all. We'll always be friends.'

Hermione felt a rush of cordiality to Fleur for handling this so well.

She studied Iris's mournful face. She could see traces of Draco and Bella in there a lot more as she had got older and her features had become more defined. There was also something there that was quintessentially Iris.

Their magic swirled around the room. Hermione had her hand on Iris's shoulder. Without thinking her hand went to stroke Iris's cheek as she held it there. The quiet in the room added to the tension.

Iris's eyes found Hermione's in a look of tenderness, 'Thanks, Hermione. For understanding. I know I'm not really normal like the others here. It's just. This on top of everything else is a lot.'

Hermione was genuinely confused, 'You are normal, Iris. There's nothing wrong with you.'

Iris gave a bitter laugh, 'I think everything I've gone through has warped me from the inside. Changed me. I'm just too different from most of the other Witches in so many ways. I want different things from life than they do. How Lavender and Parvati would carry on about boys never did make sense to me. Going all silly over them.'

Hermione snorted, 'They never made sense to me either. We're not all boy crazy, Iris. It doesn't mean you're warped. That's absurd to think that.'

'Yeah. But you were genuinely interested in Viktor and for a time Ron. Draco too. It's simple for you.'

Hermione raised an eyebrow, 'No, Iris. It's not simple for me.'

Iris motioned to her to continue but Hermione sat back and closed in on herself.

'Hermione. What did you mean by that?' Iris asked quietly after a few minutes when it became obvious Hermione wasn't going to answer.

'You've always criticised Harry for not seeing what was right in front of him, Iris. He at least had the excuse of a fragment of evil in his mind,' Hermione said in her most clipped voice.

Iris opened her mouth to speak but found her throat all of a sudden very dry and kept silent.

'Don't you feel it? Our magic? I've been feeling yours for years. You feel mine now. Don't you understand what that means? It means we're bonded. I've read all the books. I'm happy when I'm with you. I feel like a part of me is missing when you're not with me. I need to be close to you. You're so much more than just a good friend to me. I spent most of this year with Draco just to feel a bit nearer to you,' Hermione sat back in the chair with her arms wrapped tightly around herself and looked away mortified at just blurting this out.

Iris looked like she had been confunded. 'You want to be with me?' she managed to get out.

Hermione looked at Iris crossly, 'You can't honestly be so bloody naive, Iris.'

Iris had the decency to blush, 'I just, I never thought you would like me like that. I never let myself hope,' she said in a small voice.

'Why not?' Hermione asked, genuinely intrigued.

'Well, because you're really smart and I'm not. You only ever showed an interest in the boys. You're good and decent, and I'm not. I didn't think I would ever be enough for you.' Iris said to her in a low voice. Voicing her own insecurities to Hermione.

It was this fragile truth that made Hermione really sit up and listen, 'Oh, Iris. It has always been you. Since we were little. And you are good, if a little vicious sometimes, but for good reasons. I think I started loving you since that moment you came hurtling out that portal to take on a mountain troll for me.'

Iris gave a sharp intake of breath.

The atmosphere in the room had changed. Iris sat transfixed, staring at her for so long Hermione was getting self-conscious.

'I think being with Ron made me know for certain, deep down. He was the only other person at the school that I thought I could maybe have a future with. I like Viktor but not enough for, well, being with him for life. But when I was with Ron I kept seeing you. I think he knew that I wasn't really there with him. Draco was a mistake but he made me realise the truth. He reminds me of you in a way. Not being able to talk to you this year made me realise just how much I need you in my life.'

'For life?' Iris said to her in a strange, tight voice.

It was Hermione's turn to blush. She had been rambling and hadn't been considering her words, 'Well, you know, you have to be optimistic. You have to at least believe you can go the distance with someone to even try.'

'And, do you?' Iris said to her in a slightly louder, pinched voice, 'Do you think you could go the distance with me?'

Hermione took a deep breath, 'I do. I have looked at the variables. I have considered this from every angle and taking our similarities and differences into consideration I do believe that we have a chance. A good chance.'

The room started to feel nice and invigorating to Hermione. Iris was looking at her with the beginnings of a smile, 'Did you do charts and graphs too?'

Hermione felt her mouth twitch, 'I may have done a couple to get better clarity,' she looked down and avoided Iris's eyes.

Iris stood and moved across and knelt in front of her best friend. Taking her hands in her own she looked up, 'Why did you never say anything to me?'

'I showed you all the time, Iris,' Hermione said shortly. Iris's eyes welled up then. Hermione was right. She had always been there for her. Through it all. She lifted her hand to Hermione's cheek and held it there. Her magic flickering and dancing as Hermione leant into the touch.

Iris gently pulled Hermione up so they were almost eye level. The magic now was intoxicating. Pulling. Hermione looked into those icy grey eyes that were more familiar than her own and saw something different in them. Her quick mind pinpointed immediately what it was. It was want.

Hermione ran her fingers through Iris's black hair and felt a rush go through her. She glanced down to Iris's mouth. Leaning forward their lips met. Whatever Hermione had expected was eclipsed by reality. A rush like an electric shock surged from tiptoe to brain instantly. Their magic had finally been allowed to merge the way it needed to. They pulled each other closer as the white magic enveloped them both.

Mon Dieu! : My god!

Pose Cette fille! : Put this girl down!