Chapter Six: In The Snakes Den

Iris's first week passed at Hogwarts in a flash of homework, impressing the teachers, and spying on Harry. She used Hermione's Prefect status as cover to try and spend some time near him. Besides being the famous Harry Potter who saved the wizarding world, she found him to be a typical fifteen year old. He procrastinated on homework, played sports, had thoughts about a particular ravenclaw girl, plotted the death of the teachers he hated, (okay maybe not plotted their death but he certainly hated them very much).

Then again he was also not typical. It happened on Friday. Iris had gone down with Neville to watch the Quidditch tryouts. Her school didn't believe in physical sports, so she had never seen a quidditch match. Even though it was just tryouts for the new Gryffindor keeper it was exciting to watch. In the end Ron Weasley was named Keeper and they all headed to the common room to celebrate.

As she entered the corridor behind the other students she felt it, a strong emotion with searing pain in her forehead. It was Harry, she could feel his pain and a foreign emotion that wasn't his. That must be the connection Dumbledore told her about. It felt like butterflies in her stomach, she shuddered, Voldemort was very happy about something. Saturday Iris read the article in the Prophet. Sturgis Podmore was arrested for trying to break into a door at the Ministry. He must of been working for Voldemort or maybe he was put under a spell. Did his arrest have anything to do with Voldemorts insane happiness the night before? EIther way he was headed off to the most brutal prison, Azkaban. Iris heard stories of that place. She would never want to end up there.

She also found Harry to be very stubborn. He's detention with Umbridge let Iris know just what kind of witch they were dealing with. A truly evil piece of work, she made Harry write lines with some sort of quill that cut into his skin as he wrote. He took it without compliant, every night he sat and carved into his skin, stubbornly refusing to let Umbridge know how much it hurt. She probably didn't like that. Iris wished she could help Harry, but after some reading in the library she found there was no way to beat a quill. Even the scar it left couldn't be healed completely by magic. That woman was seriously twisted, making children mutilate, themselves. She couldn't do anything about it, yet.

Her First week brought forth a lot of news and information. Ron's letter from his older brother Percy, made Iris's stomach flip in anxiety. Anyone who found Umbridge delightful was off their fucking rocker. More concerning then that was how he spoke of Dumbledore. He sounded pompous in his letter, but confident that the Ministry would find a way to dethrone Dumbledore. It seemed to her that the Ministry could only interfere so much. Perhaps it required votes, maybe more laws concerning the school? She could ask herself questions all day, as well as hear the echos of the trio of rebel teens. One thing was certain, Voldmort would sit back while the Ministry was focused on discrediting Dumbledore and Harry. That was a pretty sick evil master plan.

Sirius brought news in a most dangerous way, through the Floo Network, sticking his head through. She decided she didn't like the man, more and more. Besides the way he acted to her, she could tell he was reckless. Not only did he break his cover by taking them to the train station, he wanted to do it again. Meet at the small wizard town, Hogsmead. What really sealed the deal was when he compared Harry to his father, James Potter. Trying to manipulate a child by comparing him to his dead father, that was fucked up. When she met the man she could tell there was something off about Sirius. He seemed haunted and lost, besides being a judgemental asshole. Thankfully the teens talked him out of it, but she had a feeling Sirius wouldn't stay hidden away for long, even if it was for his safety. Something Sirius said did give her an idea. The Ministry feared that Dumbledore was building an army. She was sure Dumbledore was making connections and trying to get more people to join the Order. Perhaps there was something they could do here at Hogwarts though, a student army. It was time to bring the Ministry's biggest fears to life.

Which would probably be very difficult due to the news Monday brought. Iris had bought her own subscription to the Daily Prophet, on the front page was the article naming Dolores Umbridge Hogwarts High Inquisitor, more like conquistador. The title gave the evil witch a chance to get rid of any professors she didn't like or more importantly who were loyal to Dumbledore. Great idea to give the monstrous witch more power. Iris herself didn't get to see the inspections until Tuesday with Professor Mcgonagall, who manage to ruffle Umbridge's feathers. Professor Grubby-Plank was also inspected, who was more cordigal then McGonagall. Umbridge walked around asking questions, thankfully she missed Iris. After that lesson it was then that she put her plan in motion. She would spend dinner and after whispering to Hermione, We need a new defense teacher. Harry would be a good teacher. Hopefully her constant whispers would give Hermione the edge she needed to talk to Harry, which she did later that night.

All thoughts of the teens were pushed from her mind as her lesson with Snape was upon her. She hadn't been able to clear her mind much, every night Harry's dreams would weave their way into hers. The most she could manage was turning the voices down to whispers. Annoying constant whispering, but even a thousand vices whispering were loud. 15 minutes to seven, Iris left the Great Hall and proceeded down to the dungeons. She heard Slytherin was the "evil" house, and walking down into the dank cold dungeons that gave off a eerie green glow, it definitely gave off evil vibes. Iris knew the truth, Slytherin was not a evil house, it was misunderstood. They still had fears, worries, dreams, and moments of vulnerability. They had been taught to act a certain way and it could be untaught. When it seemed like 3 houses against 1 well she couldn't blame them for being so defensive. Even though war tore people apart it could also bring them together, and for the sake of the future she hoped it would.

She reached Snape's office door and knocked, it opened on its own and his voice spoke, "Enter." It was deep and gave her major Darth Vader vibes. Chills ran down her spine as she entered his domain. A fire burned dimly, doing nothing to ward off the chill. Shelves filled with jars of potion ingredients lined the walls of his office. There must have been hundreds of different animal parts, plants, insects, organisms all in a multitude of colored potions. He really went for the whole scary teacher look with his gloomy shadowy office. She looked up to meet his eyes.

Snape sat behind his desk, a quill in hand, the edge of his mouth turned down ever so slightly as he looked up at her. He certainly looked excited to be teaching her. "Sit', he said inclining to the chair across from his desk. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the sarcasm in, and sat down. He said nothing as he looked down and finished grading the paper. Finally after a few minutes in silence, the papers vanished and he looked up at her.

"So, how does this work? I'm usually the one probing people, not getting probed."

"I will attempt to break through your mind you will attempt to stop me."

"Seems easy enough."

"Stand up and take your wand out."

Iris stood up and stepped back as Snape made his way around the desk, his wand out. She took her wand out, and noticed Snape's eyes narrow at it. She looked at her own wand, it was made of Silver Lime, leaves were carved into the emerald encrusted handle, with vines going up the length, it was 13 inches, unyielding, and held centaur hair in the core. She tightened her grip on it. "Fancy my wand? 'fraid you're gonna have duel me for it."

This was her most prized possession. When she was eleven and finally found out she was a witch, she had a hard time finding a wand. There were four known wand makers back home. She visited them all, held countless wands but none felt right. As the start of school started to loom closer she had almost all lost all hope, until she received a letter. It was from a retired wand maker, Norma Tronn Dames, who had heard of Iris's problem and had invited her to see their personal collection of wands that had never found homes. Norma was a kind old lady, she wore her white hair in tight curls up top of her head, she never had children and lived on a plantation in Louisiana. Iris never even looked, as soon as she entered the house it was like the wand was calling to her. She followed it to a museum looking room, where magical artifacts were on display. The wand lay in a case in the middle of the room, the plate read: Kassandra of Troy.

When Iris held it in her hand, warmth spread through her whole body and she felt her power swell up inside her. The glass case startled her as it shattered to pieces. She had dropped the wand and was on the verge of tears when the case was repaired. Dames wasn't mad, on the contrary she was very happy for some reason. She told Iris something she'll never forget, "This wand is special, just like you. Keep it close." She then glamoured the wand so it looked plain. Iris didn't understand then but the older she got the more she did. Her wand was powerful and old, and for some reason Dames entrusted it to Iris. So she protected it with her life. She hadn't need of the glamour for so long, maybe she was a bit rusty, because Snape clearly saw or sensed something, was he that powerful?

Snape looked like he wanted to tell Iris something but his eyes shifted, "defend yourself however you wish. Ready..." he held up his wand, "Legilimens."

Iris winced and gritted her teeth as Snape's spell hit her. The voices in her head amplified quickly, no longer whispers but screams. It was over quickly, but her head still spun from the intrusion. It took a few moments for Snape to came back into focus, he was looking at her curiously.

Severus dropped his eyebrows and fought to put his mask back in place. His spell had work but she didn't fight him off, he withdrew on his own accord. Usually when he performs this magic, memories come in a rush of flashes. The witch before him was different, thousands of voices filled her head, yelling, screaming, and crying. Merlin did she hear that all the time? "Again." he said, coldly. "Legilimens."

Everything flashed together in a blur that Severus couldn't see, as voices echoed hard against his skull. They melded together he couldn't make out one word from another. He pushed deeper but the voices only grew louder. He pulled out has he felt his body hit hard against the desk. He dropped his wand, and grunted in pain. Morgan was on the ground eye closed on her knees, clutching her head, breathing in hard. He picked up his wand and use the moment to study her.

Her fingernails were painted black and held a few rings, ruby hair fell in loose waves from a high ponytail. She wore a blue cloak over her school uniform, her wand near her knee. He eyed it curiously, it appeared to be an ordinary wand made of beechwood, but for a moment he sense something was off about it. He tapped his wand to his eyes, "vedere." The glamour spell around her wand faded for a moment and he saw a wands true self. He burned the image to his memory with the intent to find out more about it later.

"Get up." He sneered at her. He waited several beats in silence, before poking her with his wand. She opened her eyes, a fire burning behind them, "Get up," he sneered again. "We have barely started, weakness will get you no where."

She slowly stood up, her grip tightening on her wand. "You can bully your students, Professor, but not me. I have manage to keep sane by turning the voices down, now whatever the fuck you're doing is turning the up! So excuse me if I can't get this right the first time!"

Several jars around them exploded, covering them in bits of plants and animals. Severus narrowed his eyes at her, she looked back at him, cooly. Neither moved or spoke for several minutes. He had to admire the girls resolve, so fine he would play this differently. With a swish of his wand they were both cleaned up and his jars repaired. He fixed his face into a bored expression, keeping his voice even. "It seems we have much to discuss before continuing the lesson."

He turned back around and sat at his desk, the girl had yet to move. He lifted an eyebrow, cocking his head slightly to the side, "I do not bite."

"That remains to be seen." She replied, scoffing at him, sitting down, her voice unusually soft.

"I assume you read the book I loaned you." Her eyes flicked to his mouth as he talked. Curious.

"Yes, I read it twice, not that it was much help."

"A skillful Legilimens can access one's emotions, memories, and thoughts and correctly interpret them. You are different. Your abilities allow you to passively perceive the surface thoughts of individuals…" he paused, watching her carefully, her eyes flicking to his mouth as he talked. "I was prevented from entering your mind completely."

"Could you hear what I could?"

"Yes. Tell me, has it always been like that?"

Iris bit her lip and nodded, "for as long as I can remember." Which was the first day she arrived at the orphanage twenty years ago. That day had burned itself into her memory. She was four years old, wearing a yellow Big Bird blanket sleeper, knocking on the door. She had no memory of anything before that, just her first name and age. She eyed the wizard before her carefully, he was to be her private tutor so how much could she trust him? Was he really a spy or a double agent? She moved her gaze up, the fire behind her burning softly in his dark eyes.

He raised an eyebrow, expecting her to continue. She licked her lips, fuck why did he have such an intense stare. Arrogant bastard. Her heart beat harder, the voices growing louder. A headache was brewing behind her temples but she had to move on, if it meant freedom it was worth it.

"The spell made the voices louder, they are screaming in my head. I'm…" Her stomach clenched tightly, she didn't trust lightly. This was something she didn't talk to anyone about, her biggest secret, her burden. "I'm reading your lips. I can't hear anything but the voices. It's something I taught myself a while ago."

"Occlumency is a branch of magic not so easily mastered and your path forward shall be arduous. If you cannot handle a little pain," he gestured to the door, "then I am wasting my time, you may leave."

Iris resisted the urge to face palm herself, but her expression certainly fell. Was she really expecting empathy? So buckling up and dealing with it was her only option. "Gee, aren't you full of wisdom." She closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. Why was life always fucking her six ways to Sunday?

When she opened them, Snape was still staring at her, expecting an answer. She stood up and leaned over his desk, "lucky for you, my mother didn't raise a bitch." She placed her hand on top of his, and stared into his eyes. Nothing, she couldn't hear anything, couldn't feel anything. He really was a wall of stony silence. She pulled back as his eyes narrowed to deadly slits. He could be mad, but it worked. The voices had lowered down to whispers, loud but manageable now. She sat back down, crossing her legs and arms, lifting her chin up. "I'm here to learn and I'm not afraid of a little pain."

"Then let's continue the lesson." He purred softly at her.

Wait, was his voice always so silky or did he just do that on purpose? Iris shivered despite the fire's warmth. What the hell did she just agree to? A deal with the devil probably, as she took in the dark wizard before her.

Iris made her way to her room three hours later, her head pounding. The halls were thankfully empty as she started the long trek from dungeons to tower. Every step made her head throb but she continued on. Finally the corridor of the Fat Lady was in sight. The portrait held a large sleeping lady in pink, unwilling to wake her up or deal with the children inside Iris veered off to the left, where a small lioness statue stood. She tapped her wand revealing a red door that opened up to room near her bed. She really had to thank Dumbledore or Hogwarts or whatever magic deity thought to have this extra door in her room. Right now it was a lifesaver as she collapsed into bed, fully clothed, giving into the exhaustion.

Severus had yet to move from his spot, his stare fixed at the dancing flames. Morgan had left fifteen minutes prior, his lesson with her was certainly riveting. In the hours since their short chat, he had attempted to break past her natural defense but hadn't succeeded. When the voices grew to much for her, a unconscious spell of some sort would fire off and he was pulled away.

He still didn't know what to make of the foreign witch. If he was being honest with himself and who else did he have these days anyway. Begrudgingly he had to admit she was very powerful. What did he know about her? He made a mental list

1) orphaned at four

2) adopted by muggles and moved to the States

3) was a cheeky brat

4) kept her wand hidden

5) natural born Legilimens

The wand was concerning but that wasn't the most pressing issue he had, it was her ability. Or more so his lack of knowledge. If she was properly trained, what kind of damage could she do? Could she grow stronger then the Dark Lord? He clenched the hand she had touched earlier, with the little stunt. Was it really her power that made his walls crack heavily. The bloody witch's would have broke through his mind if she held on a second longer. He would need to be vigilant in her presence, his secrets must never see the light of day. Perhaps she wasn't powerful and it was those bloody green orbs of hers that shook him. Either way he would proceed with caution. He must keep his emotions in check around her.

A bit of a shorter chapter then usual. I'm really trying to make this story better, I read every chapter over and over and start at the beginning again to make it it's all cohesive

thank you for all the new follows I appreciate it

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