Iris went through swirling colours and heard strange sounds as she found herself in the far corner of the infirmary at Hogwarts. A screen shielded her. She turned around. A replica of the mirror stood innocently, 'Not real,' she repeated to herself. She took the moment to appreciate the quality of the illusion. Give Riddle his due. He was brilliant. She breathed the air. She could smell the medicines. She moved around the screen and inhaled sharply.
Only one bed was filled. With a start, she thought this girl was Susan Bones but she could barely recognise her to be sure. Her face was too swollen to be certain. She looked on the verge of death. Her arms looked cut to ribbons. She glanced around as the girl turned nervously towards her and then immediately lowered her head. Silence filled the room. Iris shook her head. Her skin prickled. People reacting like that to her was something she hadn't ever liked. Unless they were arseholes. Then that was different.
'Not real,' she repeated to herself as she wandered out of the infirmary. She smiled at Madam Pomfrey out of habit as the nurse lowered her head in fear.
Iris felt her skin crawl. Never had the school nurse looked at her like that. She had looked at her over the years with many expressions. Frustration, annoyance, anger and sometimes kindness. Yes. Many emotions. But never like a timid little rabbit. Iris breathed out slowly. This was all just an illusion.
She jumped as a ghost swept around the corner. Iris thought that had been the grey lady. She couldn't be sure. If the ghosts were here then maybe this illusion was sort of like the film, It's a Wonderful Life. What Hogwarts would be without her. Iris paused. No. She was being thick. Susan and Madam Pomfrey clearly knew who she was.
She rubbed the Resurrection Stone on her finger which released a little Equi magic. The snake ring on her other hand seemed to sense her agitation as it slithered around her finger to soothe her. She felt better immediately and focused on her Horcrux hunting. It would be something in the castle. She stopped. Oh, shit. This was going to take forever.
Filch and Mrs Norris turned around the corner and spotted her. Iris stared at the pair of them as both put their heads down as they passed her. A very strange thing to observe a cat do. Mrs Norris paused a moment to sniff the air, then seemed to think better of it and scampered after Filch.
Iris carried on walking down the corridor. Putting her head in empty classrooms and having a rummage around. Nothing. It was surreal. It was just like being at the real Hogwarts. She looked out the window. The view of the grounds looked much the same as it had done last time. It was a nice day. There was a blue sky and a few fluffy clouds. She felt a slight breeze on her face.
'My worst fears?' Iris said to herself, 'What would they be?'
She wandered into another empty classroom. A mirror stood at the back of the wall. Iris wandered over to it and looked at herself out of curiosity. Maybe she looked different here.
She peered at herself. No. She looked exactly how she had looked back in the cell. No horns or anything. Her icy grey eyes stared back at her. It was quiet now. Too quiet. Hogwarts always had something happening. There was always some sort of kerfuffle of noise. She wandered down to the ground floor. It was deserted. Iris pursed her lips.
'When in doubt, go to the library,' she heard Hermione's voice in her head.
So Iris found her feet taking her further along. The library appeared to be deserted. Madam Pince was not there. No one was sat around. She moved further along. Deeper and deeper into the back. Her eyes couldn't help but notice the amount of horrific magical titles on the bookshelves. Worst fears. Riddle had won and had taken over Hogwarts and was treating everyone here who was a decent human being like filth. That would certainly be a very real fear she had.
Iris's mind went back to the camps. How they would break their spirits. Her jaw clenched, 'Not real.'
That didn't happen to Hogwarts in real life. Hogwarts held firm. Winston, the Hogwarts students, the Professors and Valinor stopped the bastards in the end. Death, the freedom fighters and Satans minions drove Riddle and his followers and the Nazis out and Salazar's dome kept them out. Mostly. The potential fact Riddle was resorting to time travel to get to them had not made her nerves any better.
Her lip curled in disgust as she passed a particularly unpleasant title on the bookshelf. Even Bella wouldn't have that one in her collection. She couldn't feel a Horcrux so far. It could be anywhere in this illusion.
She heard a small shuffle in the next aisle and took a walk around. Her eyes widened.
'Luna?' she asked it as a question because again she couldn't be certain.
A frightened Luna looked up with big blue eyes, 'Sorry,' she whispered as she lowered her eyes.
Iris looked over her friend. She looked unkempt. Her normally well-cared-for appearance had gone. Her blonde hair looked straggly and dirty. Worse was the look of trepidation in her eyes. Luna's eyes had always been slightly spacy but there was joy in them. This girl was barely recognisable. There were cuts on her neck and a fresh bruise on her jaw. Luna was far too thin as well. Iris felt a chill. Yeah. This would be one of her fears. Luna was the one who always made everything feel just that little bit better. Iris hated the way this made her feel. This Luna was just an illusion, she tried to tell herself. Her heart had sunk right down into her stomach. Iris didn't realise she was staring at the girl in horror.
'What happened to you?' Iris felt her mouth make the words before she could stop herself. Merlin, she was talking to a figment of her imagination.
Luna looked up in genuine surprise.
Iris shook her head. Riddle was good. Very fucking good pulling at her heartstrings like this. She rubbed her Stone again to release the Equi magic to calm herself as Luna looked down in shock at the gesture.
'Sorry,' Iris said to the bewildered girl, 'I'll leave you alone. I'm just looking for something.'
Her Greengrass manners had been instilled from a very young age. Even if she was talking to a hologram of sorts.
'Riddle won,' Luna said quietly, her eyes darting around.
Iris frowned, 'No, that cretin hasn't won. Well, not yet anyway. Is this part of a virtual simulation game? Do I need to play along to go to the next level?'
'Game?' Luna looked at Iris as if she had two heads and then sank into the background.
Iris shrugged and moved away from the library. It was very unnerving when Luna, even if she was simply an illusion, looked at you as if you were a sandwich short of a picnic. The clock showed it was dinnertime. That could be why it was so quiet. Maybe she might get more luck in the Great Hall. The people here were just holograms. Illusions. Oh, Salazar, she hated this. Unbeknown to her, the little figure of Luna was on her trail.
She could hear voices as she entered the Great Hall. She lurked at the back out of the way to observe the holograms. She could feel that tainted dark magic of Riddle's emanating from the students. Slytherin. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. All the houses looked in order. Right. Ok. Not all Slytherin then. Maybe she had it all wrong. There appeared to be students sitting on each of the tables. The Slytherin side looked to be the fullest. Her eyes narrowed. The last time she had seen the grotesque piece of shit that was Theodore Nott had been in the first year as he was getting carried out of Dumbledore's office after his trip to Hell and back. He looked older but even more skin-crawling if that was possible. Malice adorned his nasty little face.
Crabbe. Goyle. Those two sacks of shits. They had both left Hogwarts by the end of the third year to go to Durmstrang. She used to have hope for Goyle but he had changed for the worse as time had gone by. Her heart sank when she saw Pansy next to them. She looked different. Not in a good way. Daphne sat to the side. Her face a chiselled mask of cold indifference. That was her go-to mode when she was supremely uncomfortable. Iris looked her over. She had never seen her sister so tatty. Daphne had always been the epitome of Pureblood dignity and poise. She could see her sisters cheekbones clearly now. They looked far too sharp. She sat there silently in a scruffy, dirty T-shirt. Her eyes looked too big for her thin face. This wasn't right. There was no Draco here. Milicent looked very mean and aggressive.
Alarm bells were starting to chime. That was when Iris felt her heart stop. Her eyes had fallen on herself. Merlin, this was shit. Ok. She got it now. Worst fears. The first thought that went through her mind was very vapid. She looked good. The aristocratic looks of the Black family shone through her face. The next thought that ran through her mind was less vapid when she looked closer. This Iris looked so bloody evil it was nauseating. This girls eyes were cruel and sadistic.
Her eyes ran down to her Doppelganger's hand. No Peverell ring. Iris was confused by this. A simple snake ring sat on her other hand. It wasn't like hers. She looked across at Daphne. She wasn't wearing her snake ring either. She wasn't wearing any of her tasteful jewellery. That didn't make sense. The pair of them had worn their rings since their first day on the Hogwarts Express. It was a sister thing. Just theirs. Neither of them had ever taken their snake rings off in all these years.
'Not real, ' Iris repeated the mantra in her head for her own sanity. There was bound to be glitches in an illusion this excessive. It was pulling at her memories. Twisting them. Merlin only knew what else Riddle had set up in here. Blaise was missing from the table too. Iris took a deep breath. She had been gathering her courage for this. She moved her eyes away from the Slytherin table across the room. She saw a miserable looking Astoria at the Ravenclaw table picking miserably at some meagre and dire looking food. Neither of her sisters looked like they had been to a hair salon in months. She couldn't see Anthony or Cho. Padma was missing. A horrible thought was prickling in her mind.
Slowly her eyes went to the Hufflepuff table. They had always been a warm, friendly lot, but not now. They looked sour. There were a few older ones with a more animated demeanour but not many. She didn't recognise a lot of these students. She couldn't see Hannah. No Ernie either. No Justin. Finally, her eyes went to the Gryffindor table. Holograms. That is all. Her Gryffindor classmate group had been decimated.
Iris felt her eyes well up, 'Don't cry. Don't fucking cry, Black. It's all pretend. Like a movie. This is what we're fighting so hard against happening,' Iris thought as her eyes looked in sorrow at them.
She couldn't see one redhead at the table. Harry wasn't there. Neville was gone. Iris gulped. Parvati wasn't there. No Dean. Lavender sat pale and mute next to a drained looking Seamus who was casting furtive looks around him. She looked across from them as her hands trembled as she saw a face more familiar to her than her own. Hermione. But no. That wasn't Hermione. She wasn't. This girl was not her. Too thin. Too silent. Her eyes were looking down at her plate, as if too frightened to move as her tangled greasy hair fell in her face. The hairs on the back of Iris's neck stood up.
The Gryffindors that surrounded them were not the ones she had grown up with. These were strangers. She blinked. She did recognise a couple. They were Durmstrang students. Her eyes roamed around. She picked out a few more of them. Older now than they had been at the Tri-Wizard tournament.
Her eyes moved across the room at the contrast between the students. There were only a few that were dressed in little more than rags with a few morsels of food on the table while the majority of the others were in rich clothes with huge plates of food they were gorging.
Iris felt her rage build. Gabriel had been right. Worst fears. This was worse than death. They were humiliating them, her friends. Her sisters. Torturing them, starving them slowly. Taking all their hope and life from them. It looked like her other self was partly responsible. She clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes made it to their final destination. The Professor's table. What she saw up there almost made her throw up. Lucius fucking Malfoy in all his false glory sat in the headmaster's chair with a vile Barty Crouch bloody Junior next to him.
Iris couldn't see Dumbledore. Nor Hagrid. No Professor McGonagall. None of the Professors sat in their usual seats. She recognised several Death Eaters sat up there as she sneered in contempt at the sight.
She saw Severus Snape sat pale and surly, tucked away on the corner of the table looking like he would rather be anywhere else. He looked emaciated. His hair had been shaved off. His crowning glory. He also only had a few morsels of food on his plate. Iris had never seen him look so miserable.
Iris lingered in the dark. She wasn't quite sure what to do. There was a lot of magic in this room. The Horcrux could be in here. She didn't know if these illusions could fight back.
Iris cringed as Lucius Malfoy stood with a sneer, 'It is that time again. The after-dinner treats,' his drawling voice echoed around the room as the air crackled with menace. There was some disturbing laughter.
Iris watched in the shadows as her counterpart stood with the rich and the few rags that remained moved silently to the wall and began cowering. None of them had wands to defend themselves with. Iris watched with an open mouth as Daphne and Astoria trudged over to join Hermione, Seamus and Lavender. Her heart clenched as Luna was pulled out of the shadows hard to join them by a harsh looking Nott. Two Death Eaters had pulled Severus down to join them. Iris's eyes narrowed at the sight of this.
The riches side were glowering with menace at them. Iris noticed not one of their faces looked even mildly uncomfortable with this situation. Her evil Doppelganger raised her wand with a look of sheer malice and went to curse Hermione who had closed her eyes in dread.
The Resurrection Stone turned completely from ice white to Black as Iris felt the Black power surge through her as she sauntered into the Great Hall sharpish with all the arrogance that went with her Head of the Black family title.
'No. Absolutely not! Fuck this. Fuck this to fucking Hell and back again. No. No. Fucking no! This is not happening, ever. Even in this sick fantasy world of that bastard scum,' Iris shouted to the Great Hall, 'Can you hear me, you utter filth?! Fuck the lot of you scum!'
There were gasps all around the Great Hall.
Lucius Malfoy looked on in genuine surprise. His eyes could quite clearly see two Iris Blacks, 'What nonsense is this? Yet another waste of a polyjuice potion I assume? Is this one last pitiful rebellion?' he asked in his bored, smooth way.
Iris looked at him incredulously, 'I know you're just an illusion, but even so. I have my limits. Get the fuck out of Dumbledore's chair, you worthless fucking turd. Get out of his chair now before I drag you out of it.'
Lucius looked at her in rage, 'I'll gut you like a fish for that!' he hissed to her.
Iris tutted and used the full force of black magic to yank him out and hurled him towards the wall which he crashed into with a satisfying crunch.
Turning to Barty she unleashed more black magic and threw him flying into the Slytherin table as the students scattered in panic, 'And fucking stay down you piece of shit.'
'Barty never could listen to reason, even in a simulation,' Iris thought as the man stood up and brandished his wand with fury.
'Oh, don't make me laugh, you fucking amateur. You never could aim straight,' Iris whipped her wand up his body and sliced him up the middle, separating his body in two. They all heard the thuds as both sides fell to the floor. Iris felt her body ripple with satisfaction.
'You know, I reckon this could be very cathartic for me,' Iris mused out loud.
'Behind you!' shouted Seamus.
Iris was one step ahead as she dodged. She had heard the heavy steps of Lucius. Turning quickly and using the Peverell ring she blasted him into the stone castle wall and watched him become impaled on one of the iron rods sticking out. She grinned at the blood oozed out of his mouth.
'Mm, I do feel better after that,' Iris said in a breezy tone, 'I haven't had a good work out like this since the Burrow,' she gave a thumbs-up to Seamus who looked at her in wonder. Strange a hologram would warn her of that, but she supposed Riddle would want to make this look authentic.
Hermione's eyes had shot wide open in disbelief at what she was seeing.
The Death Eaters at the staff table had finally stopped gawping and looked like they were getting ready to actually do some work. Severus's black eyes revealed nothing.
Iris fired the black stuff at them and formed a barrier, then held them still. She looked sternly at each of them, 'I genuinely hoped I had seen the last of you filth. Yaxley. McNair. Never nice to be reacquainted with a pair of utter twats like you, even in a game. No matter. Time to tear you all apart, again.'
The students in the hall were just about coming to their senses as they started to move backwards. The handful of people in rags on one side, the riches to the other. Daphne and Astoria stood trembling as they watched what must be an imposter that looked identical to their sister massacre the faculty. Astoria blinked. Yep. She had indeed just watched every single Professor be decapitated. Their heads rolled down the stone floor to their feet as Astoria delicately moved away with as much grace as she could muster to avoid contact.
Daphne was watching with glee as Lucius breathed his last breath. Barty was long gone.
Her cold face broke out into the first smile she could remember having in years.
'Who are you? Are you polyjuiced?' Daphne asked the girl who looked identical to her demonic sister.
'Oh, Hi, hologram Daphne,' Iris was wiping herself down. Barty had splattered a lot of blood, 'I'm Iris Black. No polyjuice. This simulation is something else. This even smells like real blood. You all seem so lifelike and this castle is identical to the real one. I even felt the breeze on my face earlier. I was talking to a hologram of Luna earlier. Actually communicating with her. It's amazing. I say something and the simulation understands and speaks back like it's a real conversation. It's like those computer thingies the Muggles have invented. Although, it's not perfect. Lots of people are missing. Where's Neville? Harry and Draco aren't here. No Ginny or Ron either. It could be glitches in the system though.'
The rags gazed at Iris in astonishment.
'And I expected the typical arrogance of Grandfather. Apparently, he programmed this to say he won,' Iris scoffed in a sarcastic voice, 'Yeah, right. Over my dead body. We've driven the bastard out of Britain already. Well, technically Death did, but he had a lot of help. You hear that Riddle?' Iris shouted, 'We drove you out of your own country.'
'Glitches?' Daphne sounded out, 'Do you think we're not real?' she asked slowly as the rest of the students and Severus were listening intently to these bizarre ramblings.
'You're very real outside of the mirror. This is all an illusion room. It shows me my greatest fears. Although, it gave me great pleasure to kill Malfoy and Barty again. I could quite happily do that every day for the rest of my life. I might see if Albus will let me keep this mirror. See if I can reset this game.'
'Mirror? Game?' Daphne whispered with incredulity.
'Look, I know you are programmed to be as human as possible. It's fascinating actually. He really has got you all so real. He must have hoped seeing you all like this would make me rage and lose my mind. You know for a time I almost believed this. This illusion truly affects all the senses,' Iris smiled at this hologram of Daphne as Iris moved forwards to her as her eyes ran up the pitiful clothing the blonde was wearing.
Iris reached out and held the label up closer to her eyes, 'H and M,' she read out slowly as she shook her head in despair and tutted, 'Riddle is sicker than I thought. Any woman with a drop of Greengrass blood in her would never be seen dead in clothing from off the rack. This is just cruel. Grandpa Gareth would be livid if he saw you and Astoria in this condition. Oh, this neglect is nauseating. No bling. You haven't seen a manicurist for months by the looks of things. Or a hairdresser. Where's Fabio when we need him? This is actually physically painful for me to witness.'
Daphne could only gape at this version of Iris, 'You know Fabio?' she whispered.
Iris heard footsteps and murmurings behind her. She turned to face her cruel-looking Doppelganger, 'You must be an evil hologram version of me. I suppose this is part of the, 'game,' Iris did the air quotes thing as the girl opposite glared at her.
'I don't know who you think you are but you will pay with your life for this deception. When the polyjuice potion wears off we'll see who you are. You will be torn apart limb from limb,' Iris heard her own voice.
'Ooh, Salazar, this is too freaky. We sound just like each other.'
Iris wandered over to the corpses littering the floor.
She kicked a Death Eaters head across the ground as the blood, flesh and veins seeped and squelched out on the ground as the crowd murmured in shock, 'If I didn't know better I would swear all this was real,' Iris said to no one in particular.
She heard the telltale sounds of footsteps behind and swirled around to see evil Iris with a wand to her chest, 'Avada Kedavra!'
The Great Hall lit up with the green light they had all become so familiar with.
Iris went down again with the force. For a moment she wondered just how an illusion could be so strong. She had a fleeting moment of unconsciousness as she then sat back up to shrieks in the room.
'Would people stop doing that?!' Iris said in an annoyed voice, 'That's going to bruise. Hey Lavender. Do you have any of that bruise ointment left you carry around for your lovebites?'
Lavender peered at her and opened her mouth soundlessly. Not one word could manifest itself.
'You see. That's how I know this isn't real. The real Lav would have bruise ointment. Anyway, she's in Equi now. Riddle probably doesn't know. See, not real.'
Iris looked around at a room of familiar faces. Holograms, she corrected herself. She looked at her other self who was standing in shock with rage contorting her features. With as much strength as she could muster, she slapped the evil Iris as hard as she could around the face, knocking her down, 'You absolute fucking bitch.'
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the hologram of Hermione's eyes light up.
Iris looked down at her twin who looked back with malice in her eyes and saw a highlight reel of dreadful things. The illusion showed her brutalising all her friends and her sisters at Hogwarts. She frowned when she saw her dad falling into a veil. Strange that Satan's gift should work in this illusion. Amazing mastery of illusion. Must be trying hard to convince her this was reality. Tom had always used every trick in the book though.
'Now, everyone,' Iris announced to the room, 'A quick lesson in the ruthless art of killing. Make it quick, sharp and don't fuck about,' with a swish of her wand, she watched the evil Iris's head leave her body.
Iris waited as silence filled the room. She clicked her tongue. She picked the head up and gave it a shake. A ton of flesh and muscle sinew got flung about, splattering the onlookers but there wasn't anything else.
'Nothing. Bugger. I thought for sure the Horcrux would be in there,' she said in disappointment, 'Where is that bloody thing?' she murmured as Hermione looked on in bewilderment.
Iris glanced at the illusions in front of her. With an explosion of more black magic, all their wands exploded as panicked shrieks filled the air.
Theodore Nott stood frozen, rooted to the spot, 'Nott. I thought I had seen the last of you after our little trip to Hell and back. I confess myself disappointed to have to yet again endure the sight of you. You were an ugly little brat and have grown into an even more putrid adult,' Iris mused as the creeps many crimes appeared in front of her, 'I wonder. It's worth a try,' Iris said out loud.
All the students shrank back as the scarlet and gold portal to Hell flew up, radiating the intense heat Iris was familiar with, 'Awesome. This illusion works here too,' she approached the rigid scum that was Nott who, like the others was held tight with black magic as she looked deep into his eyes and tried to feel the familiar dark magic of the Horcrux. All she could feel was Riddle's sickly magic radiating off him, 'Mm. No Horcrux in there either. Now Nott, for old times sake. In you go, scum. I hope you like it hot,' with a swing of her Peverell ring, she pushed the screaming young man into the portal.
'Bye, bye you cretin,' she shouted after him. Looking around, she levitated the lifeless, headless body of Iris and a few more of the other heads and, after checking them each for a Horcrux, chucked them into the spitting portal.
'I try to keep a clean workplace,' she explained to the stunned rags of the Hall as she continued to pick up more decapitated heads up, analysing them each for the elusive Horcrux, and then, one by one, kicked the heads roughly through into the fire-spitting portal and then levitated their bodies through into Hell. Blood was still smeared on the stone floor as with a flourish of her wand she rinsed it down. The riches side were trying to escape this insanity by rushing to the door but Iris slammed the big doors shut and they felt the swirling black magic force them all back against the wall, holding them rigid.
'Now, now. I think it's time you were all vetted,' Iris grinned at them as she pushed as hard as she could as the black magic held them tight against the wall as they squirmed helplessly. They couldn't move.
It was half an hour later that Iris was happy with her efforts. The riches side had been decimated. The screams, shouting and wailing had been music to her ears as she clinically disposed of them. They reeked of Riddle's magic. She slung them all headfirst into the portal to Hell. Not one was refused. Iris couldn't make sense of this illusion. She couldn't understand what it was she was supposed to do here. The room was clear now of Riddle's warped magic. Getting rid of the Riddle stench in the room was helpful to clear her head. She stood and waited for a sign. A spell of some sort. The Great Hall was rather empty now. The rag holograms were staring at her in awe. There were hardly any of them left in the Great Hall now.
Iris did a quick headcount. Seven. Including Severus. She had moved across and analysed them as well and had cringed at what she witnessed in their reels. Riddle certainly had a warped mind. No Horcruxes were in them either though. She wasn't sure what to do now. She didn't know whether these holograms held a clue or a sign of some sort. She peered into each of their eyes. Whether they were going to turn on her at any moment she didn't know.
She lifted her wand as they all stiffened. Iris looked at Luna and then Hermione. She lowered her wand.
'I can't do it,' Iris said with a sigh. 'Even if you are all an illusion. You don't feel like they did anyway. I don't think any of you is a Horcrux. You don't feel like Riddle. You must be part of my memories in here. Do you have any clues for me? Do I have to press a button or do a spell or something to trigger the next level?'
Hermione and Severus glanced at each other in confusion and then at Iris again.
Luna had approached her and put her hand in the one with the Peverell ring as Iris smiled and gave her a push of the white stuff. Even in hologram form, Luna was adorable. She closed her eyes and pushed the magic through as a spark of light appeared in Luna's tired eyes. The few who remained felt the white magic seep around them as their own magic tingled.
Iris stood in the Great Hall and started to look around. The potions master was staring at Iris in warped fascination as Iris pondered him.
'I suppose I'd better check you for clues to the next step in the game. I need to get to the next level,' Iris said in a wry voice, 'You know, you and I are good friends in the real world. Well, you're in Equilibrium now. Everyone at the Order of the Phoenix misses you a lot. Even Dad. You were so brave. You defended the Burrow and helped get the children to safety.' Iris spoke to fill the silences as the students were still staring at her, 'You seem a lot happier there. Lily lives nearby. You and James are actually polite to each other. Can you believe that?'
Iris liked to ramble. She was all alone here. The sound of her own voice comforted her.
Severus was open-mouthed at that. Iris looked at his movie reel. Lily played over and over for a while. His grief at not being able to protect Harry and the students was paramount.
'It's weird how this works here. I can see all the things you have ever done,' Iris paled. Her brain was starting to catch up. She was looking at the images flicker and spin.
A tiny bit of doubt started to form, 'How did he get these images from you?' Iris said in a tight voice, 'The other people's images would be easy. Riddle can rip things from most people's mind, he can put in false memories in here. But, you are a master at occlumency. Even Dumbledore can't get in your head. There is no way the real Severus would let anyone see this. Riddle couldn't put this in an illusion.'
The Great Hall was silent. Iris felt the bruise on her chest. Iris turned around to stare at them. She looked down at Luna and felt the warmth of her hand, 'Shit. That was a real killing curse,' she whispered in a dry voice.
Daphne approached her cautiously, 'I don't know what you have been told but you've got it wrong. This isn't an illusion. This is real, Iris. I should know. I've been living in this Hell for years. We all have the scars to prove it.'
'The mirror,' Iris stated dumbly, 'They thought it was Riddle setting a test of my mind using illusions and traps. Gabriel and Dumbledore were convinced it would show me my worst fears come true and it did. That's why I didn't question it. Oh, bugger! We got it so wrong. What a fuck up. And they're supposed to be the brains of the operation!' she scoffed bitterly.
The others could only stare at Iris in stunned silence at this announcement.
'Those were actually real people!' Iris said as the crystal clear truth began to dawn. She gasped as she looked down at the state of herself, 'Ugh. This is real brain!' Iris used her wand immediately to cover herself with a cleaning spell. Most of the debris from the massacre slid off her but it looked like it had already ruined her clothing, 'Oh great,' she muttered in a dry tone, 'That's another outfit ruined. I'll never get these bloodstains out. It's seeped right through.'
Hermione breathed in tightly as she stared at this bizarre version of Iris Black.
Severus peered at her through dark eyes, 'You said a mirror? It sounds more like you have come through a portal to a different dimension. An alternate universe. Hogwarts would be chosen as the destination due to the magic required to operate a portal of that magnitude. It should destroy a person to go through it.'
Iris gave a huff, 'Well, why wouldn't Riddle not try the old tried and tested dimensional travel to kill me?' she said sarcastically as she threw her hands up, lifting Luna with her, 'The bastards already fucked with time travel. Dropped Nuclear bombs. Why not this too? They threw the rule book out years ago. Mental bastards.'
Severus looked at her concerned, 'From what I can gather the trip was supposed to either kill you or damage your mind. Has it damaged your mind?' he asked, genuinely wondering if this had happened to Iris Black's Doppelganger.
Iris glared at Severus, 'No. I am not mental. My Muggle therapist, Anthea, is very pleased with my progress and says I am a well functioning young adult with all my faculties. I have managed to tone down my anger issues using efficient breathing techniques. She advised me to avoid over caffeinating as it makes me more highly strung. That is my only weakness.'
They didn't know how to respond to that information.
'Of course! That fucker can never do anything straight. He set the bait. The mirror was a dimension portal. Not a Horcrux. That must be why he used a mirror. I'm the only one who can get into one.'
Iris kicked the wall hard in a way Ron Weasley would be proud of.
She slumped down at the Gryffindor table, dragging Luna with her for comfort and put her head on the table and sobbed.
'Um, Iris. It's weird to see you at the Gryffindor table,' Luna said in a vague tone.
'Gryffindor is my house. I've sat at this table for the last six years. Well, I had that break when I was in the infinite, but still. I would have sat here,' Iris wailed to the delighted expressions of the few of her house left, 'The sorting hat said I could truly be no other. But there's no Guv'nor McGonagall here. No Dumbledore. Riddle won. This place is a bloody nightmare. I thought my universe was in bad shape. This is the worst of the worst. Merlin. This is the shit show of all epic shit shows,' she held her head tightly as Luna patted her on the back.
'Hermione. Where are the others? What happened to them?' she asked urgently as the thin girl instinctively stepped back from her.
Iris blinked as horror filled her face, 'Of course. You're going to hate me now because of that evil troll bitch thing,' she said in dismay.
Hermione stared at her. She cleared her throat. She wasn't used to talking, 'Who am I to you in your world?' she asked in a gravelly voice.
'You're everything to me,' Iris declared, oblivious to the soppiness of it as a few eyebrows raised in the room, 'You're my best friend. We have been since the first year. We do everything together. Our families are close. Your house got destroyed in the battle so you and your gran and mum and dad are living with us at Greengrass Manor till they finish your kitchen. Your mum said they are just waiting for a smeg fridge to be delivered then they can move back home. That's how close we are.'
Hermione went ashen as she glanced at Daphne who also looked mute.
'Where's Draco?' Iris sniffed.
Daphne lost all her colour, 'Um, I'm afraid Draco poisoned himself back in the second year. It was suicide.'
Iris sobbed at this new information, 'He needed me and I wasn't here for him,' she said unreasonably.
'Well, you couldn't have been. You were elsewhere,' Severus said logically, 'Don't blame yourself.'
Iris looked at the others with red-rimmed eyes, 'The others? Where's Neville? Harry? Where is Ron? Where are all the Weasley's? Where's Ginny?'
'Most of them were killed on Bill and Fleur's wedding day. It was a couple of years ago. The Ministry were bringing in new laws to stop anyone not Pureblood from marrying. Bill and Fleur had to rush it,' Hermione whispered, 'Harry and I escaped but, they caught us in the end. Harry was killed in front of me,' her eyes stared into nothing at the memory, 'We are being kept alive as a punishment for resisting the New World Order until they decide to kill us when they feel like it. It's the end here. They told us they would kill us when we least expect it. They taunt us with it. They kill one of us a week. None of us has a wand. We're sitting ducks. They have been, um, awful to us.'
Iris gazed at her, 'Your Harry's dead?' she whispered.
Hermione gave a stiff nod, 'It's been horrendous. All of it. I never realised the depths that some people could sink to.'
Iris closed her eyes tight and took this in. She pulled it together. It was over here. That was obvious.
'I know what you mean. The things we've seen in our world are, ugh. They had the camps in our world too till we sabotaged them. Although it has gotten steadily worse in our world. The Nazis and Death Eaters have teamed up. I assume it's the same here?' the students nodded, 'They dropped nuclear weapons on Israel and chemical warfare on the Middle East. Over two hundred million dead just to announce their return. They said they're just warming up. The Nazis are marching across Europe. South America has fallen. America is having a civil war. China is on the verge of launching nukes. At least Britain is safe for now. We're organising the global resistance through it. Salazar and Rowena organise transport. Um. What is happening here?'
'It's over. We went through similar things here a few years ago. Except it was the New World Order that dropped the nukes on China. They dropped nukes on any country that opposed them. Their lands are poisoned now,' Severus said bluntly, 'Salazar and Rowena?' he enquired.
'Oh, yes. They used the ring to come back. They have been a big help. Godric and Helena have popped back with them for a while to support us.'
'The founders?' Seamus whispered.
Iris nodded, 'Salazar hates Riddle. He's been a big help. We had to resort to using the Basilisk to defend Hogwarts when we got invaded.'
They all looked at her then with suspicion at this absurd statement.
'Oh, it's this that can do it,' she put the Peverell ring up, 'Do you have the Deathly Hallows here?'
Severus's eyes widened as Iris continued, 'It's the Resurrection stone. That bitch wasn't wearing it. I think that is one of the differences between the two worlds,' Iris paused, 'Are my mum and dad alive here? Is Grandpa Gareth and Dawn here? Bella? Andromeda?'
They all looked at each other nervously, 'I think your world is very different from this one, Iris,' Daphne told her in a flat tone.
'The only people left alive who were fighting Riddle are here in the castle. We've been held here a year. Each week they pick one of us to well, murder,' Hermione said, 'The Wizarding World has been annihilated. The Muggle world too. There are no other survivors. Gareth and Dawn were killed in a bombing in Oxford.'
'Riddle, Grindelwald and Hitler rule the world. Every one of our families and friends is dead,' Seamus said bitterly, 'There are only us left who were fighting against this. We're the last Witches and Wizards left. Nine are all who remain in Britain. Just us and Susan and Pomfrey upstairs. That's it. They destroyed everything and everyone who stood against them. The elves. Centaurs. Unicorns. Everything. Everyone. We were just waiting for death. The world is in smithereens. Nuclear has poisoned most of the lands. The genocide of the Muggles is in the billions. The elite does what they like. They keep some Muggle survivors alive to work in the slave camps, and for other things,' he said bitterly.
Iris put her head up, her mind whirling, 'How soon until they come to the castle?' she asked.
Severus shrugged, 'You didn't give them any time to notify anyone. Lucius would check in with the Ministry in the evening about eight o'clock to report.'
'What's Filch like here?' Iris asked.
'Well, he used to be a right grumpy bastard but since the end of the war, well, he tries to help us. He sneaks us food if he can. Medicine,' Seamus told her.
Iris nodded, 'Right, that's good enough for me. Can one of you bring him to me?'
Seamus scampered off.
'Look,' Iris said to them, 'I have an idea. It may not work but if I hold a person's hand I can get them to Equilibrium and back to Earth. I reckon the same principle may apply here. I don't think I went into the Astral plane. I went through something else.'
'What is this place you talk of?' Astoria asked. She was still getting used to this version of Iris.
'Oh, well it's where you go after you die. If you have been a halfway decent person anyway. If you haven't, you go to Hell.' Iris told them simply and ignored the looks of disbelief.
Iris shrugged, 'You have to see it to truly believe it. I don't want to test it in this place. I don't know what the set up is here. But I got the portal to Hell opened easily enough. I thought it was an illusion. Clearly not.'
'I'm not ready for Equilibrium yet,' Lavender said in a panicked voice.
'No. I don't mean that,' Iris said quickly, 'I mean, I can see if I can take you back to my world. Of course, only if you want to leave. My world is a bloody mess. I won't lie to you. But, compared to here, we at least still stand a chance to defeat Riddle. I can't do anything here without your Harry and we need the Order of the Phoenix too. To be honest, I know I don't look like much but I'm considered the muscle on my planet. I'm not the brains of the outfit, that's for sure.'
Hermione gave a raised eyebrow at this admission. Considering Iris had been in an alternate universe for at least an hour and hadn't realised it wasn't an illusion seemed to justify the statement.
'Severus. We could do with you. Our Severus was killed in battle.'
Severus peered intently at her, 'Is Albus still there?'
Iris clarified this, 'Yes. Sirius. Bella too. We've lost quite a few. I won't lie, but, Hermione, all the Granger's and all the Weasley's are still alive in my world,' Hermione's eyes lit up, 'It is actually quite a miracle. They've all been on the frontline, even Percy. The Weasley's got their Manor back. Long story. The Queen got involved. Neville and the Longbottoms are still there. The Lovegoods. Luna. Your mum and dad are there. And I'm sure your other self would love to meet you. She's always wanted a sister.'
Luna squeezed her hand tightly.
Iris looked at Lavender, 'Lavender was killed defending the castle in my world. Parvati misses her Lavender so much too. We lost Padma as well. It's been really hard for her. I know it will be weird to see all this but, well, let's face facts, the train went off the tracks years ago. All we can do is try and salvage what we can at this point. You may also have knowledge that will be useful to us. We can predict things a little easier if we have a rough idea of their next move. You know what will happen to you if you stay here. I mean, if you don't like it there I may be able to bring you back here.'
They all gawped at her, 'We'll take out chances with you. I think it's safe to say none of us wants to come back here,' Lavender murmured in bewilderment as the others nodded in agreement.
'Right then. We'll get you all some new wands from Ollivander's when we get back. Hopefully,' their faces brightened at the familiar name of the infamous wandmaker. He had been slaughtered in this world, 'Have you got any personal belongings? You won't need big bags. We have plenty of things we can give you.'
Hermione scowled, 'This is all we have. They took everything from us. Even my books.'
Iris welled up at this news, 'Oh, Hermione. They're your babies,' she sympathised with her.
Hermione looked up at her in amazement, 'Merlin. You really do know me well.'
Filch ambled in and looked around in a very wary way. Iris pulled herself up. She knew Filch very well in her world. It was best to get straight to the point and don't ramble with him.
'Filch. Through no fault of my own, I have found myself in the wrong world. I shall be returning post-haste, hopefully, with who is left with any decency in this castle. I can release your magic. We are short one caretaker at our Hogwarts and we are in dire need of one. If you and Mrs Norris would like a one-way ticket out of here say yes now.'
Filch and Mrs Norris gazed at her, 'Yes,' Filch said and Mrs Norris meowed and nodded.
'Good. Please turn around, Mr Filch,' Filch did what was asked as Iris used the Peverell ring to cure his squib status. A broad smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
Iris handed him her wand, 'Try the Lumos spell.'
Filch beamed as a light shone out of the end of the wand.
The students froze.
'Did you just cure a squib?' Severus whispered.
'Yes. I'll explain later. I'm not sure if you have to be magical to go through the portal. Right. That's that done. Come on. Let's get moving. We're running out of time,' Iris channelled Hermione's bossiness.
They didn't question this order and, with one last look at the Great Hall, the shaken occupants followed Iris out of the room.
Severus was watching Iris with a very thoughtful look on his face.