Slytherin sparks

Tension

A few days later

The next few days had been strange, to say the least. Iris struggled considerably more with Pansy now that she knew something was going on between her and Malfoy.
Life in her dorm had become much more distinctly uncomfortable because of this.
Lessons were still cancelled around the school and students were being encouraged to work from their common rooms to avoid attacks.
Although the teachers were trying to calm students, they had began to send many muggle born's back home. And certainly, the Slytherin house had seemed to take the brunt.

Iris had heard very little from her parents, as usual, just a quick letter wishing her well and letting her know that her father had lost his job at the ministry due to tensions with the Dark Lord returning.
She had never been particularly close with her family, her older sister, Clara, had always been the more intelligent A* student and with Iris generally running at average, she couldn't really compete. Not only that but Iris had been sorted into Slytherin of course, a house her Ravenclaw parents had once frowned upon. In the letter they had sent to her they told her she would be safer to stay at Hogwarts than to come back home.

But the truth was, she hadn't been planning to go home at all. She hadn't been home in a while, not even for last Christmas, and she hoped to keep it that way.

11:00pm Malfoy's dorm

Malfoy stared at the pile of letters collecting from his father, of which he had replied to a total of, none.
All of the letters containing the same themes: Deatheater, Dark Lord, and Disappointment seemed to be the recurring ones.

His mother Narcissa had also sent him a private letter, of which he had read through more than once.

My darling Draco,

I am writing privately to let you know that you may wish to stay away from the Manor currently.
Mudblood's are being tortured in every Inch of the Manor and it is not a pleasant place for a boy.
No matter how much your father convinces you to come back here I would urge you to stay at Hogwarts until the Dark Lord summons you.
Please keep yourself safe.

Your mother, Narcissa.

Until the dark Lord summons you.
Draco felt sick. He certainly didn't like Muggleborn's but he couldn't help but feel slightly sick at the thought of them being tortured around his childhood home.
He had replied to his mother's letter with a simple form of thanks and had decided to ignore the pile of his father's letters that mostly cursed him to get more involved in the planning of the war with you know who.
He decided he would listen to his mother and stay at Hogwarts for as long as he could, spend as much time with Iris as he could.
As much as he longed too, he vowed to not tell Iris much about his family.
When she had asked about them before he couldn't help but put his guard up and tell her practically nothing about them, he could tell she had seemed unsatisfied with that but there wasn't much he could do.
He had to protect her from his family and the Dark Lord and her not knowing much seemed like the best way to do so.
She wanted him to open up and sure he did too, but he knew that he couldn't.
Knowing her inquisitive personality however, he couldn't help but think that she wasn't done asking.

He kicked at the pile of letters in frustration and trudged down from his dorm to the common room, in hope that Iris would be snuggled by the fire, as she usually was this time of night.
This is how they had spent the last few nights, just talking, by the fire. They had also induced in a few sessions of lazy sex on the sofa which was definitely a bonus, and exhilarating doing it in the common room where any of their fellow Slytherins could walk in at any time.