𝒯𝑜 𝒩𝑒𝓌 𝐵𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

January 16th, 1994

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒩𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓃

The days following the blow-up between Iris and Theodore had been a strange readjustment for not just the two of them but just about everyone in their lives, or at least Iris's. Theodore Nott didn't have many people...

Iris had vanished the rest of that day and skipped out on dinner, normal enough. And Theodore tended to return to his solitary way of life when Iris wasn't attached to his hip, so when he ignored the girl's questions of where their friend had vanished, they just shrugged. Normal enough.

No, the first sign of something being wrong for the roommates came the following day at breakfast. Iris always left early with Theodore, and the girls would join them at their usual spot. And Iris did leave early that morning... just she wasn't in her usual spot. Instead, she was on the end of the table, the furthest she could physically get from the boy, as she silently read a book, an apple in hand.

Sharing a look, the girls tentatively made their way to the empty space surrounding Iris, all seemingly in agreement to not mention anything when Iris started up a conversation as usual. But that plan would crash and burn the moment Jane Yaxley sat down, the question flying out of her mouth.

"Why are we sitting over here?"

Tracey, Valeria, and Sally-Ann all cringed back, shooting the blonde cold stares. But much to their surprise, Iris kept calm, "Anyone want to switch me seats in our core classes?" She ignored the question with one of her own, but remaining calm was an achievement nonetheless.

The girls shared another look at the question and how blatantly she ignored explaining what was happening, but Sally tried to keep things light. Flashing a smirk to Tracey, she suggested, "Sure, Tracey here would take you up on that, already is stuck next to Nott in potions anyways."

Tracey shook her head immediately, "Nope, step one of personal growth. Stay away from Nott for at least three weeks. Valeria's orders, she even has a plan to switch my seat in potions out."

Another readjustment is Iris's life... Tracey's grand adventures in gaining confidence. The room was filled with candles and rocks, and the room had been subjected to daily readings of passages Valeria's mother sent her. Valeria and Jane were into it. Iris and Sally-Ann much rather agreed that they should just lock Tracey into a room with Theodore and shouldn't let them leave until she confessed.

Tracey was very opposed to that plan, so all she had was whatever Valeria felt like subjecting her to.

But that's beside the point for now.

Jane sent Iris a smile, "I will switch you seats. Could also get my parents off my back if they catch wind of me sitting beside a Nott."

Valeria pointedly looked up, "Or it will just get you betrothed to him."

Jane cringed back at that, "Or it will get me betrothed, but a risk I can take."

And so began Iris's new life. Her new routine now that she found herself without Theodore Nott.

She spent the early mornings on her own. She sat next to Valeria in all their core classes. Wandered off for lunch, lately finding herself joined by a certain Cedric Diggory. Dinner was a mixed bag, sometimes spent with the girls, other times at the Gryffindor table with Ronald and Harry, the two still ignoring Hermione following the broom incident. Late nights were for homework and gossip, locked away in the dorm. Weekends, for whatever she so pleased, except the library. That place she avoided like the plague.

Iris even added to her routine, finding that she would join Remus and Harry for the dementor lessons every Thursday at eight in the evening.

Overall, Iris's life went on without the companion she spent so many months clinging onto. If anything, she found her life much more social than when she was following after him.