Wands and Wishes

Epilogue

Sometimes it all felt like a bad dream, like she and Lily had gotten into a fight worse than the one they had her third year but everything would be fine as soon as one of them worked up the courage to apologize and Sirius was off wandering the forest with James and Remus but would be back as soon as the three of them found their way home. Some nights she woke up covered in a cold sweat, searching the shadows for enemies that weren't there while other days she would wake wondering if any of it were real.

Three weeks had passed since life as she knew it came to an abrupt end. Her birthday had come and gone with little acknowledgement, Remus had sent her a letter wishing her a happy birthday despite the unhappy circumstances. She had tried to convince Dumbledore to let Harry remain with her but the only response she ever received was that being in the care of muggles was what was best for him. Sirius had been sentenced to life in Azkaban for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, no one world listen to her when she tried to explain that it was Peter who had betrayed them not Sirius for her words were taken as a desperate attempt to save the life of the man she loved.

She had lost everything. The life she once dreamed of having was nothing more than a mocking memory.

There was nothing left for her here, just bitter reminders of a life that would never be, so she would run, create a new life for herself and try to forget that any of this had happened. Of course it would never be that simple, one could not simply run from their past and hope that it never finds them. But she could at least pretend, at least until she was needed again.

As she approached the airport terminal her heart ached despite all her efforts to forget. Her heart ached for her sister and brother-in-law, how they would never see their child grow and how they gave their lives so willingly to protect their little boy. It ached for her nephew, knowing that his life with Petunia wasn't going to be easy let alone happy. But most of all her heart ached for Sirius, how they would never be able to give life to a dream that once gave them strength to fight, and the relentless guilt he drowned himself in over the loss of his friends.

Iris took her seat on the muggle contraption and stared out the window, looking into the dreary English sky, it would have been easier to apparate but she wanted to forget magic existed, forget that it had taken her sister, forced the man she loved into prison, and kept her nephew, the only piece of her sister left, away from her, at least for a little while.

As the plane taxied onto the runway, gaining speed with every moment that passed, she had a fleeting thought of Severus as she bid farewell to everything she was leaving behind.

Notes:

Thank you to everyone who has read this. You have no idea how much it means to me that people actually enjoy this story. Iris' journey continues in "Wands and Wonder" which should be out mid-autumn.
Thank you again, so much.