"Those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly." For Iris Potter, these words defined her whole life. Born with a natural talent for Legilim...
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Iris woke up late that night to the sound of sniffles in the bed next to hers. She rolled over to confirm, before she whispered very quietly, "'Mione?"
The sniffles stopped, and her voice whispered back in the dark, "Yeah."
"What's wrong?" Iris asked, trying not to wake the other girls in the room with her voice.
Hermione's voice cracked as she said, "Nothing... I'm fine."
Iris sat up and scooted out from under her covers. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and quietly padded over to Hermione's bed, carefully crawling in next to her best friend. Hermione leaned into Iris, her body shaking with sniffles and tears she was trying to hold back.
"He's an idiot, y'know... for not seeing it," Iris whispered, staring into the darkness above them.
Hermione sighed, "You're just saying that because you see everything."
Iris hummed lightly in agreement. "It's true, though. "
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Not long after that night, snow began falling upon the Hogwarts grounds. Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already single-handedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees for the Great Hall; garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor, and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors.
Iris and Harry had become bridges between their two friends. Hermione and Ron stopped speaking after Ron and Lavender made it official, though Iris sometimes wondered if the boy even noticed Hermione's absence with his face always glued to Lavender's at the mouth. Hermione refused to sit in the common room while Ron was there, so the twins generally joined her in the library, which meant that their conversations were held in whispers.
"He's at perfect liberty to kiss whomever he likes," said Hermione, while the librarian, Madam Pince, prowled the shelves behind them. "I really couldn't care less."
She went on, "Was I under the impression that he and I would be attending Slughorn's Christmas party together? Yes," she huffed, "Now, given the circumstances, I've had to make other arrangements."
"Have you?"
"You have?"
Harry and Iris spoke at the same time, slight shock coating their voices.
"Yes, why?" Hermione said defensively.
"Well, I just thought seeing as neither of us could go with who we'd really like to... we should go together, as friends."
Hermione froze before turning sharply to Harry, "Why didn't I think of that?" she lamented.
Iris watched Harry's eyebrow quirk as he asked, "Who are you going with?"
