Iris Black struggled her whole life to put up a strong front for her sisters. Their parents and older sister had always been a lot meaner to Iris than Andromeda and Narcissa and as the years went by, the toll it took on her only grew. Iris' only esc...
TW: mentions of abuse. FYI, this whole story is full of abuse and mentions of it, so just be prepared. Also, I will be referring to things as they are in America, such as things like measurements and things that I just don't know other versions of.
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Iris, Andromeda, and Narcissa made their way onto the train so they could head to school for their fifth year at Hogwarts. The triplets had been forced to stay away from Dorcas and Marlene, the friends they had made on the train in first year. When the triplets had gone home over Christmas break, Iris was treated quite harshly for their interactions with the Gryffindor girls.
Currently, the triplets were making their way to their usual train car with Grace. They got there right after Grace and Iris sat next to her, her sisters sitting on the opposite side of the compartment. There was a prefect meeting in one of the other compartments that Iris probably should have gone to, but she was told she didn't have to, as she already had all the information she needed from the letter that got sent to her a week before school started.
Grace and her siblings engaged in a conversation as Iris absentmindedly ran a finger over her scars. That morning before leaving for the train station, her house elf had cast a charm that healed all her wounds, the only evidence left behind was a few scars littering her skin. A voice from beside her woke her out of her daze.
"Riss? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, Grace. I'm fine, just a little tired." Iris made sure to stay involved in the conversations for the remainder of the train ride, only ending the conversation to dress into her robes.
As she was returning to her compartment, she ran into a tall boy with Gryffindor robes slung over his arm. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't really look-"
Iris looked up and recognized the boy as the Gryffindor prefect, Remus Lupin. "It's fine," he said, a small smile on his face.
Iris could tell as she smiled back at him, that his smile was almost forced, practiced even. Just like hers was. She also noticed the scars on his face and neck, almost like hers. While she was noticing these things about him, he was noticing the same about her.
"I must get back to my friends. See you around sometime, I guess." Iris shrugged, moving past him and towards hers and her friends usual compartment.
Before she knew it, they had reached the school and got off the train, heading to the carriages. Iris was unable to see the thestrals, as was almost everyone else at the school. But, Iris did know about them, as she was one of the smartest in her year, second only to Lily Evans.
As Iris climbed into the carriage, she couldn't help but think about how glad she was that this school existed. Without it, she would be around her parents a lot more, and abused a lot more. She didn't think she would be able to take it. She could hardly handle it as it was, leading her to be immensely grateful that this was Bellatrix's last year at the school.
The carriage pulling to a stop and Andromeda's hand on her arm pulled her out of her daze, signaling that they had arrived. Grace and the other two Black sisters knew that when Iris got quiet, sometimes it was better to just let her be quiet. Her sisters knew more than Grace, such as why she got quiet. This led them to be even more careful around her, and to feel terrible that they couldn't do anything about her situation, and even if they could, they were both too scared to do so.
The girls made their way into the school, heading straight to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Iris spotted Regulus, one of her cousins that she had gotten to know, and immediately began to lead her sisters and friend toward him.
Iris sat down in the seat on the right of Regulus, Grace on the right of her, and her sisters across the table from them. "Reggie!"
Regulus turned his head towards his cousin and smiled, engulfing her in a hug. "Hey, Rissie."
Iris and Regulus had met when he had come to Hogwarts at the beginning of her second year. The two had clicked almost immediately, forming a strong bond. Iris had helped him ease into life at Hogwarts, and he helped her sort of stay on the good side of the Bellatrix and the Lestranges.
After some complaining from Iris about how long the first years were taking to be sorted, dinner finally appeared on the table and they began eating, settling into conversation. Throughout the meal, Iris felt eyes on the side of her head, and when she finally gave in to look to see who it was, the eyes staring back at her unsettled her so much, it almost sent a chill down her spine.
Lucius Malfoy, the betrothed of her sister Narcissa, was staring at her, sending her a wink when he noticed that she had caught him. Iris had to resist the urge to gag as she turned back to her food, trying to enjoy her first day back, and her first day out of her parents' grasp for a few months.
With a wave of McGonagall's wand, everyone's timetables floated off of the table in front of her, moving swiftly through the air and gently landing in front of the person it belonged to. Iris and Grace placed theirs next to one another, comparing classes as the other three did the same with each other, though Regulus knew the chances they had any classes together would be quite slim as they were in different years.
Iris' Time Table:
Monday- Herbology - Sprout Defense Against The Dark Arts - Marigold Potions - Slughorn Charms - Flitwick Hospital Wing - Pompfrey Transfigurations - McGonagall
Tuesday- Divination - Trelawney Defense Against The Dark Arts - Marigold Potions - Slughorn Charms - Flitwick Free period Transfigurations - McGonagall
Wednesday- Herbology - Sprout Defense Against The Dark Arts - Marigold Potions - Slughorn Charms - Flitwick Hospital Wing - Pompfrey Transfigurations - McGonagall
Thursday- Divination - Trelawney Defense Against The Dark Arts - Marigold Potions - Slughorn Charms - Flitwick Free period Transfigurations - McGonagall
Friday- Herbology - Sprout Defense Against The Dark Arts - Marigold Potions - Slughorn Charms - Flitwick Hospital Wing - Pompfrey Transfigurations - McGonagall
"Looks like we've got Herbology, Divination, and Defense Against The Dark Arts together." Grace said to Iris, glad she wouldn't be alone.
When the girls arrived in the Slytherin common room after dinner, they quickly bid Regulus goodnight and made their way to their shared dorm, all ready to fall asleep. Iris was especially tired, after having been sleep-deprived all summer long.
That night, when Iris fell asleep, all that was on her mind was how glad she was to be away from her hom- she couldn't even call it a home- her house and how excited she was for the school year to come.
Little did she know, that this would be her most eventful school year yet.
