Lily and James had popped back to the castle and gave an audible sigh of relief at Iris in the bed until Lily had moved closer.
'My goodness. What happened to her?' Lily exclaimed in worry.
'We don't know,' Bella told her, 'She woke up for a few seconds. Demanded Albus killed the snake otherwise, well, she implied it's the end for all of us.'
'Oh, the poor baby,' Lily said as she said by the bed next to Sirius, 'Oh, bless her. She looks like she hasn't eaten a proper meal in weeks. And those cuts,' she put her hand to her mouth, 'She looks a little older,' she observed.
'Madam Pomfrey says she'll be ok,' Sirius told her. He looked utterly drained, 'She needs her rest though.'
'Her magic is stronger,' the Harry with the flatter hair said.
Ron and Draco moved closer to the bed with Ginny. They all looked at Iris with concern.
'I didn't realise how little she is,' Ron said, 'She always seems bigger, somehow.'
'That's her swagger,' Sirius sobbed, 'She gets that from me.'
The new arrivals were looking around the infirmary and out the windows at the Hogwarts grounds. Trying to give the group some privacy while they lamented.
'She's alive. That's the most important thing,' Luna told them.
They stood quietly and watched Iris breathe. This went on for a few more minutes. They weren't sure if it would be impolite to leave.
Ron, Draco and Ginny had done this very dull dance before when Iris had gone to the Infinite. It was very boring watching a sleeping person.
'I suggest you find something else to do with your time,' Madam Pomfrey told them, 'She's going to be asleep for a while.'
With several sighs of relief, most of them left the room. Lily took her husband and son and their Doppelgangers for a tour of this Hogwarts. Sirius stayed at the bedside as he contemplated his daughter. She had certainly been through something horrendous.
His mind wandered to the mirror. Iris looked exhausted. Clearly, she had been somewhere else for a while. The Peverell ring was white. The fine scar on her neck was faded. What could have done that? One trip to Equilibrium should have healed that. Sirius looked at the other cuts. Iris clearly hadn't been able to get there to regenerate at all. This was cause for concern.
The clock ticked on. The castle sounded quiet. Albus had left the castle.
Iris stirred in her sleep. She looked troubled, even in sleep.
One of the Madam Pomfrey's, he wasn't sure which one, would check on her occasionally. Bella returned with Luna.
Luna took Iris's hand, 'Her magic is so potent now,' she remarked.
Bella sighed, 'She's far too thin. It doesn't suit her. She looks too fragile.'
Sirius glanced at the two, 'The marks on her. I don't think she could get to Equilibrium where she went.'
Luna inhaled sharply. Bella frowned.
'She has the ring though,' Luna said, 'She should be able to get to an Equilibrium from any Earth. She had the link to Hell in that dreadful place she went to. The one with my sister in.'
'Maybe she wasn't on any Earth,' Bella said slowly, 'I mean. She was in the Infinite. Our universes aren't the only places that exist.'
They all looked down at Iris.
'Wherever she was it didn't look like it was good to her,' Sirius said in anger, 'If the ring was supposed to be looking after her why did it do this?'
'The ring isn't human,' Luna said, 'But it is alive. Iris is brave. She can handle a few cuts and bruises. As for the mirror. The ring could have blocked it if it needed to. Iris was meant to go. I think it knew when to bring her back.'
It was as good an explanation as any. They could only wait for Iris to wake to get a fuller explanation.
Hermione came running in, 'Where is she? Ginny just told me through the floo. Honestly. I leave her alone for ten minutes.'
Luna and Bella were jostled out the way. Bella shook her head in irritation and was about to launch into a tirade at this treatment but faltered when she saw the look of terror on Hermione's face.
Hermione was staring at Iris in a frantic manner, 'Oh, Merlin. What's happened to her?'
Sirius shook his head, 'We don't know. She woke for a few seconds. Told Albus to destroy the snake or we were all doomed and then passed out.'
'Oh, Iris. Look at you,' Hermione said mournfully as she started to cry, 'You're so thin.'
Her fingers traced the marks and scars.
'She's alive. One trip to Equilibrium will restore her,' Sirius said to her reassuringly.
'On the outside maybe,' Hermione sniffed, 'Oh baby,' she sat down by the bed opposite Sirius and held Iris's still hand.
Bella's eyebrows went up to her hairline. Luna gave a grin.
Bella turned to Sirius and gave him a questioning look. He averted his eyes.
Hermione stroked Iris's face as Iris seemed to give a soft smile, 'That's it, darling. I'm here. You're safe now.'
Bella went to say something as Sirius gave a quick shake of his head, 'Later,' he mouthed silently.
Bella's eyes darted back and forth as she seemed to be thinking deeply. Her eyes lit up like a lightbulb. An all-knowing look passed over her face as she gave a smug nod to herself.
'Has the final piece of the jigsaw slotted into place?' Luna asked her.
Bella smirked, 'It has indeed. This certainly answers a lot of my questions.'
Hermione was paying no attention whatsoever to any of this. Her magic was reaching out. Iris seemed to stir.
They all watched as Iris blearily opened her eyes. Gazing around at each of them. She smiled at the sight of them, 'You're all a lovely sight for sore eyes,' her eyes found Hermione.
'Hi,' she said shyly.
'I came as soon as I heard,' Hermione said gently as Iris stared at her intently.
'Where were you?' Sirius asked, 'How long were you gone? You look different,' he asked her as gently as he could. Iris looked bewildered. Unlike herself.
'I saw the future,' Iris said in a vague tone, 'I saw a lot of futures. They are all completely warped. I was away for about three months. I think. All in all,' she added grimly, 'Riddle is...evil is too polite a term.'
'What's he done now?' Hermione asked angrily.
'The future timeline is completely butchered,' Iris shook her head, 'He has to be stopped. His actions are.. he has no idea what he has done,' she stared at the wall, 'Albus. Is he on his way to kill the snake?'
Sirius confirmed he was.
'Good,' Iris said shortly, 'I need to rest. Get some food. Feel like a person again. I've got to go to Equilibrium. Hermione, can you come with me?'
Hermione was already up as Iris stood up shakily.
'Mm,' Bella said with a smirk, 'You take good care of her, Hermione,' Bella winked at both of them as Hermione froze. Iris was too disoriented to notice.
'When I get back I'll tell you all what I saw. I need to make sense of it myself,' Iris said shakily. She seemed distracted. She gave them each a brief hug.
'I missed you all. More than I can say,' she said to them. Her eyes were dour though.
The veil flared up as Iris looked at it with wonder, 'Hello, old friend,' she said softly as she walked through with Hermione.
Hermione was looking at Iris with concern. Iris moved slowly to the side of the tunnel and just stared out at the stars. She had never seen Iris so quiet.
'Can you hold me?' Iris said in a very low voice.
This request really did concern Hermione. Iris sounded meek, unlike herself. She wrapped her arms around her as Iris sunk into her.
Quite a lot of time passed before they made their way into Equilibrium. Iris looked so misty-eyed that it began to frighten Hermione.
'How long was it since you were last here?' she asked her.
'Awhile,' Iris said in a vexed tone, 'I need to feel it all again. I'll explain it. Soon. Just, give me some time. I need to get my will back. Otherwise, I don't think I have the strength to go back to Earth,' she said in a deathly quiet voice.
Hermione was now getting worried. She had never seen Iris this deflated. Whatever the future held now seemed disturbingly ominous to Hermione. She sat with Iris by a small river in silence for most of the day.
It was late by the time Iris seemed to pull it together. Her grey eyes found Hermione's.
"I'm ready. I'll tell you all together. It's not something I want to have to repeat.'
Hermione gave a small nod. She didn't need to have a high intellect to know what Iris was so frightened of was not to be scoffed at. Iris was always bluster and overconfidence. She seemed almost timid now.
They made their way through the tunnel. It would be morning at the castle now. Hermione gazed in wonder as Iris's skin cleared. She looked a lot healthier and glowing than she had. It seemed to perk Iris up a lot as the scars and grazes disappeared.
She whispered to the ring a small thank you.
Hermione bustled about and organised an Order meeting at Greengrass Manor at short notice. Hermione wasn't overly concerned about Nagini. Kingsley had been confident. Nagini was rumoured to be in Albania. Albus had various methods for locating people. They knew they had to be discreet. Riddle could use time travel to stop this otherwise. Salazar had organised it so the Order could go through the wards for missions such as this.
Fred and George closed their joke shop in Diagon Alley. Neville and his family were making their way back from their holiday in Devon.
Gareth and Dawn were putting together a buffet.
The snake hunters were still not back. Severus had joined them. Kingsley had accompanied Albus with Gabriel assisting. No one had heard anything back yet.
The two Minerva's arrived with both Remus's, two James and Lily. Iris was feeling a bit more sprightly so took their older counterparts through to Equilibrium to regenerate them.
Sirius and Bella were sitting with each other in comfortable silence. Luna was with Draco, Ron and Ginny as they watched the clock tick down.
They had left the two Madam Pomfrey's and Filch and Mrs Norris ambling about doing little odd jobs and preparing the castle for the new term.
The two Harry's had been getting along very well. They were not so different from each other, despite their differing upbringings. The visitor Harry was a lot more bitter and caustic about the Wizarding World but, as Hermione mused, their own Harry had been through a lot of crap too and could relate to the anger at the unfair systems. They could empathise. Harry had shown him the Black hair product which the newer Harry had to ruefully admit was super. The other Harry was fascinated by this Hermione. His face would light up when she spoke in her very clear dialect.
'It's so weird to hear you talk like that,' he had admitted to her questioning look as he would stare at her, 'Our My has sworn like a sailor since I met her. She's such a great person though. We stopped noticing after a while. It's just who she is.'
Hermione had dignified this with a tight smile. She had introduced My to her family and the other Hermione and explained thoroughly the circumstances. They had adjusted with relative ease.
Her Grandmother had been especially intrigued at the differences. This My, though, had been utterly charming on meeting this alter family. Elsie had been astounded at her bravery under such a disturbing childhood and had made a considerable fuss of her. When Ginny had alerted Hermione to the issues at the castle she had left the Grangers to it.
Remus and Minerva were cherishing their reflections in the mirror. They looked and felt years younger. The visitor James was chatting up this Lily to the other James's consternation.
Sirius normally would have commented on this but he was disturbed by the changes in his daughter. She had always been feisty. This Iris looked positively traumatised by what she had seen in the future.
Equilibrium had worked its magic. He was pleased to see her looking physically better but her mind was clearly elsewhere. Hermione said she would tell them what the future held when they were all together. Iris didn't want to keep repeating what she had witnessed. That didn't make Sirius feel all warm and cosy in the slightest. Iris had always had a big mouth at the best of times. She was often insensitive. She was the proverbial bull in a china shop. Sirius could admit these were inherited character traits. That she was tiptoeing around this was cause for concern. He could see Bella was thinking along the same lines. Iris was keeping close to Hermione and with one eye on the clock.
'Any news from Albus?' Iris asked.
'No news is good news,' Sirius told her.
Iris nodded with a small smile.
'I'm sure they'll be fine,' Bella said, 'Albus is more than capable of dealing with Nagini.'
Iris gave a tremulous nod, 'I know,' Albus had been brilliant with the crown Horcrux. All the Auror's had exceeded themselves that day. Kingsley and Severus were with him as a backup. Still. Like Harry said. It was the waiting that was the excruciating part. The not knowing. Her nerves were still stabilising. Iris looked around at the people in the room and sighed. She wasn't looking forward to telling them of the future. They had a chance to change it. To protect their future selves. That was the only positive. Ghastly and horrifying were mild terms to what she would have to describe to what would happen to them all if Riddle accomplished his ambitions.
Hermione gave her a one-armed hug, 'Come on. Tell us what you know. I've left a note with Madam Pomfrey for Albus. If they get back to the castle they'll meet us at the Manor.'
Iris started. Time was ticking on. It's what it did. Crept up on you.
She took a deep breath. She had a job to do.
People were perched everywhere in the Greengrass living room, nibbling sandwiches and drinking from tasteful miniature goblets filled with fruit juice. Iris took her place at the front. They all looked at Iris expectantly. Fleur had decided to avoid Iris and instead keep an eye on Fluffy at Hogwarts for obvious reasons.
Iris opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again. She looked down at her hand, mortified. It was shaking. She took a deep breath.
'Cigarette,' she stated. She waltzed out of the room to the patio. Now Hermione was really getting agitated. Iris never had a problem with public speaking. If anything she was always rather too mouthy for Hermione's sensibilities. This was much worse than she thought.
There were murmurs before Iris came back into the room.
'Sorry,' she apologised, 'This is going to be really hard for me to say.'
They all leant forward.
'The ring and the mirror combined forces to send me forward in time to September,' Iris told them, 'It chose that key date because the next two months are the last era of some modicum of civilisation in this world.'
There were deep sighs of disappointment around the room. Even Fangs was watching Iris with distress.
'November 14th is the current deadline for when there is no turning back,' Iris told them. Percy wrote the date in his Filofax, 'However, that date can change. Riddle has butchered the timeline so many times already.'
People around the room were becoming more agitated with this dire news.
Iris turned to the three Hermione's to draw some strength from somewhere. She gulped. Her throat was very dry as her heart rate increased, 'Riddle is going to use time travel to sabotage everything and anything the resistance and our global allies try to do.'
There were a few knowing nods. After Bill and Fleur's wedding, they suspected this would be Riddle's tactics.
Iris clenched her jaw. She wished Dumbledore was here. She closed her eyes.
'I have seen the effects of destroying a timeline and it is mental,' Iris said. There were more knowing looks.
'No. I mean,' Iris stammered, 'Things happen. Impossible things. China launches a nuclear attack on Europe on November 15th,' there were gasps around the room.
Iris breathed deeply, 'But somehow the missiles are turned around over Russia and sent back to destroy China and all the nearby countries. Over a billion people are killed.'
Silence.
'Riddle changed the timeline. China had wiped out Europe in the original timeline. To change an event of this magnitude was er, the unforeseen consequences of this are..,' Iris bit her tongue, 'Britain has the dome. It protected us from the destruction and fallout but Europe…,'
Iris clenched her fists, 'I don't know how to tell you this,' Hermione's eyes went wide with alarm. Iris. Her Iris. Brave and fearless Iris was crying. Again.
She hugged Iris as the others were starting to get a creeping feeling in their guts.
Iris breathed deep, 'Time travel is not to be used like that. There are so many other reasons as well but, you see. The souls of all those people who died originally in Europe had already passed over through the veil.'
Bella put her hand over her mouth. She was a very quick student. Sirius followed closely after her. Luna had closed her eyes tightly.
Iris looked at them all with her eyes scrunched up.
'When our Severus went through the veil there was a delay. He assumed it was because of his misspent younger years. It wasn't. It was because it wasn't his time. The veil is all-knowing in that regard. What happened is,' she paused. Iris pulled it all together, 'Millions of people within an hour morphed into a sort of Riddle Horcrux soul piece that sits in limbo. Their bodies mutilated and broken. Their souls had been split in two. Half on Earth. Half in either Hell or Equilibrium. In Equilibrium, they look like deformed, burnt children. They were in agony. They couldn't move. It hurt them to even touch them. Even the touch of an Angel was excruciating for them.'
She looked around the room. Their faces looked aghast.
'We tried to help. We tried to merge them but it wouldn't work. Gabriel couldn't do anything. None of the Angels could. Lucifer tried. Nothing would work. Even Satan tried. He said it was too much punishment even for one who led even the vilest of lives. Too much even for Riddle. Their Earth bodies died. The last I heard was the Angels could put their souls back together but they were traumatised,' Iris breathed deeply again, 'The veil was under massive pressure from all those people who died in the nuclear attack. It wasn't their time either. Riddle wouldn't stop.'
Iris took another deep breath, 'We found out he turned on the Nazis. They have been experimenting with Witches and Wizards. At first, it was to distort their magic into Riddle's warped dark but they had gone further. They were going to recreate the magical gene. They had discovered it. Dad, you went undercover into one of their research facilities. You found they had found a way to make it even more powerful and change an adult's genetics. They had somehow obtained Riddle's DNA. They were recreating his genetic code. It was fascinating to them. They think he is immortal and they were certain they could replicate that. They planned to overthrow the actual Death Eaters with immortal, magically powerful Nazi's. I don't know how far Riddle had travelled forward in time to find that out or whether he read Hitler's mind but somehow he knew.'
Hermione couldn't speak. She understood now why this had been so difficult for Iris to talk about. Iris looked terrified.
'Our allies globally, every one of their plans was intercepted and turned against them. America is…,' Iris closed her eyes, 'America knew the Nazis had taken Africa, South America and India. They knew the Nazis had their bases and forces in South America. We know the American resistance had planned to attack. There was a global panic. China and Europe had fallen. Millions of people were collapsed in the streets. We tried to tell them not to do this but it was madness. They were convinced Riddle wouldn't turn on his own allies. They thought he wouldn't use time travel to interfere knowing what would happen to people. I don't think even they could imagine what a twisted monster he truly is.'
Iris gripped the table to steady herself.
'America launched an attack on the South but Riddle used this against Hitler and his Nazis and all those other people who were of no part of this. He had been thrilled with his success in Europe and China. He turned the attack around. They would have all been killed but then Riddle and his Death Eaters went back in time to use the magical technology to turn the missiles and bombs back to America. The same thing happened. Their souls in South America were split in two. North America and Canada were flattened. The veil is not human. It couldn't comprehend what was happening. It couldn't comprehend time travel. It eventually collapsed after what happened in America. I could only get into the tunnel. I couldn't get any further than that. I was blocked completely. So were the Angels. They couldn't get through to us to help. The founders had gone to Origin for answers about all those people who had their souls split. They couldn't get back through. James and Lily couldn't visit us either. We were on our own.'
People were barely daring to breathe.
'The fallout was extreme,' Iris continued with an effort, 'Those people who hadn't been killed in the nuclear attacks were poisoned slowly or went underground. The food was inedible. The air was poisonous. In Britain, we held out for a few weeks. The dome protected us. Riddle and his men had saved us till last. I think his followers must have been under some sort of mind control at this point. This wasn't war. It wasn't anything any of us have ever known. Riddle was decimating the human race. It didn't matter whose side you were on. Everything, everyone was being destroyed. Riddle was..ugh,' Iris clenched her fists, 'I know Mum thought Riddle was contaminating his followers magic for a long time. Dumbledore thinks he is pushing something into their dark marks. He's messed with their minds too. They were mindless drones. Just mindless. They eventually managed to destroy the dome with magic and nuclear bombs on Christmas Eve. The power they generated to do that was immense.'
There were frightened gasps in the room.
'They had specialised equipment to protect themselves and they set to work. They operated from the skies first in planes and helicopters. They contaminated the air to weaken our Equi magic. They destroyed the Ministry. Only Kingsley got out. He came straight to Hogwarts. They killed the Queen. The toxic fallout was poisoning people. A lot went underground but many were killed instantly. It was Magical mixed with Muggle poisons. They used Riddle's time travel method to navigate all our next moves. We think he must have some sort of gateway to do this. They knew where we would be. Most of the Wizarding World was wiped out quickly. The Muggle military was destroyed by their poisons and weapons. Against their advanced weapons, they didn't stand a chance. I couldn't get the portal open.'
Iris looked very pale, 'The veil was shut down,' she repeated in a distant voice.
Both Luna's especially looked very frightened at this news.
Iris closed her eyes, 'The people who were killed after the veil shut down. I saw some of them in the tunnel. They were with the stars. They are the lost souls. Less than ghosts. They can't move on.'
Everyone in the room was catatonic at this news.
'We tried to tell them to stop but they wouldn't or rather, they couldn't listen to us. We couldn't reason with them. Riddle has broken their minds with his twisted magic. Riddle seemed confused when people didn't turn into split souls. He'd obviously tried to use the time travel as he had before for his own sick agenda. I could use the power of the ring to resurrect myself or portal the people near to me out of a bad situation but I couldn't connect to the source of the black and white magic. We got to Hogwarts in the vain hope the wards might offer some protection.'
They all grimaced at that.
Hermione squeezed her hand. Iris was barely getting through this. She could barely look at them.
'You were all killed,' she whispered.
They had suspected this but to hear it said sent waves of nausea through them.
'All of you were brilliant. We all fought hard. We purged so many of them. They got to Hogwarts though. In the end. The Death Eaters. After they had killed so many people. They flattened entire cities. Murdered millions of Muggles and Magicals with their magical killing machines. They had murdered so many of us. The elves, Centaurs and the unicorns left Valinor to try and help us. It was so desperate that even the Goblins joined us to fight against this.'
Iris's chin was wobbling as those in the room drew sharp breaths. That was a sign of end times. The Goblins had fought alongside them. The situation had been so desperate, 'They got into Hogwarts on New Year's Day. They used bombs on the castle. Decimated it. The Chamber was destroyed. Winston was crushed. They had found a way to trap the silver snakes. Some sort of magical laser. It was a massacre on both sides. Hundreds of Death Eaters were slaughtered too. They joined the lost souls. In the end, it was only our Harry, Riddle, Nagini and I left.'
Iris deliberately didn't look at Hermione.
'Riddle likes to talk. You know. He likes to brag. His big plan was to leave a handful of survivors scattered around the Earth. Some had gone underground into bunkers or the mountains. He said he was to return to the Earth a thousand years later, once it had been cleared of the nuclear radiation. He said he had seen it. One of his future selves had erected a statue of him on the Hogwarts grounds to celebrate his victory. To let him know he was the victor. It was his for the taking. He would finally be the ultimate ruler of Earth. For him, it would be a few minutes wait. He had no intention of sharing power. He didn't care about his followers. He didn't care about those people with split souls or those lost in the abyss. Not one of them. He had no comprehension of just what he had done,' Iris paused, 'Harry took the head of the snake off with the sword of Gryffindor while Riddle was boasting about his.. achievements,' Iris spat the word.
'That enraged him enough for him to lose focus. The world started to crumble around us. Judgement day was upon us. This was more than nuclear. The sky was grey like in that other place we went through. We could hear the planet breaking. The mountains around Hogwarts were crumbling,' Iris ran her hand through her hair. Her grey eyes were at that moment, 'I jumped on him and used my razor in my boot to kick his leg down to hold him in one place long enough for Harry to get close enough to him to strangle him. Riddle's flesh burnt the moment he got hold of him. He grabbed him everywhere he could. Lily's protections worked against him. Riddle sort of fluttered away like bits of dust after a few minutes. He seemed almost surprised,' Iris looked at her Harry who had a sombre look on his face.
Iris looked at her hands. They were still a little shaky, 'We tried to get into the tunnel but it was crumbling along with the Earth. We watched the world end together. The prophecy was true. Harry had defeated Riddle, but for what? We could do nothing to save all those people. Nothing to save ourselves. The world exploded and we were separated in the blast. I fell into nothingness. Blackness. The ring and mirror brought me back here to this time,' Iris sat down in a chair as she wrapped her own arms around herself.
There was silence for a minute.
'So, what does this mean then?' Ron asked in a dry voice.
Iris cringed. Ron knew what it meant. They all did. This was the part she had been dreading, 'It means the sooner we kill Riddle the better. We have to change the timeline. If we can't..,' Iris put her head in her hands, 'You know. I thought everyone dying and having to move on before their time was the worst thing that could happen. It's not. That is a happy ending compared to this.'
'What do you mean, if we can't,' Ginny prodded. Her already pale face looked devoid of any colour.
'If we can't kill Riddle it would be a kindness for us to kill all those people and ourselves before the bombs get sent,' Iris said in a voice she didn't recognise as her own. It sounded off. Vague. Distant.
There. That was it. The thing she had been dreading to say.
Iris looked at them all. She held eye contact with this world's Harry, 'You said, Harry, as the tunnel was crumbling that you thought there was a chance the ring might send me back to now. The prophecy said at the end the other would survive. You thought that maybe I was the other the prophecy referred to and that both you and Tom were the neither. You, you asked me, in case we failed by the time the bombs were launched, that I was to take you to Equilibrium and to let, let you go if that happened. To take as many of you as possible there,' Iris stammered to Harry.
Harry looked at her in a querulous way, 'I wouldn't say that. I'm here to the end, Iris,' he sounded certain.
'You didn't see what we did. I'll show you the memories. Harry. All of you. You need to see those people. The lost souls,' Iris looked haunted. She glanced at the horrified faces.
'I'll show you,' she said bitterly, 'then you will realise why you said that.'