As Hermione and Iris left to take their things to her room, Lily just watched her go with an enigmatic smile followed by a shake of her head and a smile before heading off to the kitchen.
The 422nd Quidditch World Cup had been the highlight of the year for witches and wizards from all across the globe; Iris, Hermione, and the Potters were no exception.
James and Sirius were half-pissed on firewhiskey and cheering loudly with the Irish supporters as they made their way out of the stadium. Remus was far more controlled though he had an amused smile on his face as he watched his two friends.
Lily was looking on the scene with mirth as she watched her husband loudly cheering off-key chants and Sirius breaking off to chat up what appeared to be a French Veela. Judging by the quick and resounding SLAP, it hadn't gone over well for Padfoot. He hadn't even looked all that surprised and just responded by laughing and rejoining Iris' Dad, and Remus as they walked back. Though Sirius was swearing all he was doing was asking for her autograph.
The twins had wandered off ahead to see whether they could catch a glimpse of their idol, Viktor Krum, as he came out of the changing rooms. They even had a poster that they hoped Viktor would sign. And judging by the determination on their faces, if they managed to lay eyes on him, Viktor would not be getting away without signing.
Iris and Hermione simply walked back towards their campsite with a smile on their faces, basking in the euphoric glow of the match. More than once they dodged laughing and rowdy fans as they chased another around. The entire atmosphere was one of a party. The girls had been careful to stay close to Iris' parents as they came back to their tent.
Upon returning to their tent, they had both gone up to Iris' room, ostensibly to put down some of the souvenirs they'd gathered. However upon entering the room, Hermione suddenly turned around and gave Iris a concerned look. "Don't think that I have forgotten your earlier nightmare Iris."
"Hermione, it was nothing, really." Iris softly replied, not daring to look her best friend in the eye.
"You still aren't able to lie to me Iris, and telling me not to worry about you is just silly. So you might as well quit stalling and tell me what happened that has you so shaken up." deadpanned Hermione as she adopted what Iris has come to call Hermione's "mom stance."
Iris sighed a bit, "Alright… look. I told you that it was different than the others. That I wasn't seeing from hiseyes, I was someone else. It was strange though, even though I know it couldn't be real, I felt like I knew him. I felt his pain, his anger, his determination, everything."
Iris sighed again, and ran her hand through her hair, "It wasn't just that, I knew exactly what he was going through…because I have felt the same way for so long. The burden of bearing the people's hopes upon your shoulders, the anger at Fate's cruelty, and the determination to end it; to succeed no matter what, all of it…so familiar…"
Iris suddenly looked up and shook her head, "At the same time there was such, despair. Like, he thought he had failed everyone's hopes and had no real reason to go on for himself anymore. Like he had only that one goal in life, destroying Voldemort. Nothing else mattered, not even himself. He had no one left and was utterly alone. And then he comes face to face with Voldemort. Back alive and powerful. And creepy as hell."
Iris looked away and turned to rest her forehead against the glass of the window that was charmed to show the still bright-as-day forest. "I know, it sounds like I am crazy. But it felt so real."
There was a long, pregnant silence that filled the room as Iris finished speaking, bowing her head with a resigned sigh. It was several moments later when she felt the warm, comforting arms of her friend envelope her in a tight hug. Not bone-crushing or smothering, but tight enough to let Iris know that she was safe and she was not alone. What Iris didn't expect was for those arms to be joined by another pair of arms. She looked up only to see her mother gazing upon her with tear-filled eyes and a sympathetic expression.
"Don't you ever think that you're alone Iris. I am here with you always, and nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise", came Hermione's muffled voice.
"Hermione is right; you are not alone in this sweetheart. You never will be alone. You have your father, you have me, you have a loving family, sisters, and your Uncles, even if Sirius is crazy, and most importantly you have Hermione." She choked out. "No matter what, we are always going to be there to support you."
Choking back her own tears that were threatening to fall, Iris managed to reply in a soft whisper, "Thank you." They had spoken right to the heart of the matter. The thing that had freaked her out most about the dream or whatever it was, hadn't been feeling someone else's feeling. It hadn't been confronting a Voldemort, alive… or whatever that thing with no nose was. It hadn't even been the pain she had felt in her chest from the spell that had impacted whoever she was seeing through.
No. The thing that had her freaked out the most was how utterly and completely alone that person felt. Like he literally had no one. She hadn't been able to shake that feeling since she'd woken up. The feeling of being utterly and completely alone. She didn't know how someone could stand that. And she had been feeling that ever since. And Iris best friend, and her mother had both instinctively known just what it was that would bother her most and had spoken to it reassuring her. Reminding her that she wasn't alone.
They slowly broke the hug. As Hermione opened her mouth to speak again, the sounds of rushed steps came pounding towards the room. Wands in hand they all to turned to face the door, just as Ivy stopped outside the open door panting lightly.
"Death Eaters! Coming this way! Dad says to run!"