Saving Iris

To Let Him Know

Iris appeared in her chambers as herself, too stressed to keep up the charade though she knew she had been playing with fire by orbing straight to her room, barely taking the time to make sure no one was around. She threw off her coat and paced back and forth in the sitting room, trying to hold herself together.

For a moment, she had lost control. Felt the ancient magic within her taking over and had done nothing to stop it. Couldn't stop it. If it hadn't been for Oliver, she wasn't sure what would have happened.

Would she have hurt that student?

Iris shuddered, not wanting to go down that road.

It was a Quidditch match, for God's sake. And further proof that she barely had a handle on her magic. She needed to leave. It was too dangerous. Next time she could seriously injure someone - another student, perhaps.

"What was I thinking?" she hissed to herself, tears filling her eyes as she turned to rush into her bedroom and start packing.

"You were just worried for Harry's safety. I dare say that's nothing to be ashamed of," a voice said from the corner of the room.

Iris jumped and spun around, nearly yelping in surprise. Dumbledore stepped out of the shadows cast by the fireplace, infuriatingly serene while Iris was clearly panicking. He waved his wand and the room filled with light.

"Nothing to be ashamed of?! I lost control of myself," she snapped. "I told you that it was dangerous. I was this close to hurting that innocent student!"

"Now, now, my dear, I do not think things were quite so dire as you make them to be. From what I observed, you were already coming out of it before Mr. Wood distracted you," he replied. "It takes time, but you are gaining more control. And no one was aware that anything was amiss save Mr. Wood and Professor McGonagall."

Iris gaped at the old wizard, now believing that he was clearly going mad, while simultaneously wondering just how he had observed the whole thing. She hadn't seen him in the box.

Not so dire? Did he not understand just what she was capable of? What she could do if she allowed the magic to take over?

"I can't control it. Snape is right. I'm too volatile and I will hurt someone if I stay here. I should have never gone with you," she stated, though her heart was breaking. "Everyone was safer when I was on my own."

She didn't want to leave or go back to the life she had lived before, observing from the outside. Constantly looking over her shoulder. Harry would think she had abandoned him. She'd be doing to him what had been done to her as a child, though knowingly.

She would be alone again.

And Oliver... Her heart nearly seized at the thought of leaving him, even though she knew she had to. As much as she tried to deny that she had anything more than a growing fondness for the Quidditch player, deep down she knew it was more than that.

Something far more.

"Iris, you must believe in yourself. You can control it, but only if you stop thinking of your gifts as a curse and yourself as weak," Dumbledore said firmly. "You are anything but weak."

Iris couldn't respond. She was partially angry - she didn't think herself weak, just that this power was too strong. And what did he know? Dumbledore didn't carry an ancient magic within him that had the power to destroy just as easily as protect.

"Ah, there it is. That spark," Dumbledore said, smiling slightly. "I ask that you wait before you make any decisions on leaving. You are perfectly safe here. I can assure you that no one can hurt you, nor will you hurt anyone else. Think of Harry. He will be ever so upset if you, his remaining family, left."