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It took Iris a while to pull herself back together, but she knew she had to stop crying. She had to keep going on, pretending it was okay, pretending like she didn't know someone was going to die. Iris didn't know what to do, but she knew one thing: she couldn't let it happen.

Setting her emotions aside, Iris gathered herself up off the floor and began the trek down to the main entrance of the castle.

She heard her friends before she saw them. Their attempt at arguing quietly was not going too well, and when she rounded the corner that opened up into the courtyard of the castle she wasn't surprised to see them standing just before the entrance.

The three Gryffindors didn't notice Iris as she walked up to them.

As she got closer she heard Harry saying, "It's not my fault we live in a huge castle, how am I supposed to know where she wen--"

"Iris!" Hermione shouted when she saw her best friend arrive next to them.

Hermione practically jumped on her, engulfing Iris in a tight hug before pulling away with a worried look.

"What happened?!"

All three of them stared at her in anticipation, wanting to know what had made her run out like that.

Iris nervously wrung her hands together, the flash of green echoing across her vision once more, "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered.

They reluctantly nodded their heads in understanding, exchanging glances with each other. Iris hated it, the coddling feeling she got whenever something happened to her. She loved her friends and Harry more than anything, but they needed to know that she could take care of herself.

"Are we heading down to Hagrid's now?" Iris asked, wanting to just move on.

The four students quickly made their way through the tunnel bridge that led to the path down to Hagrid's hut.

"I can't believe they're going to kill Buckbeak! It's too horrible." Hermione muttered, upset.

Ron was the first one out of the tunnel, and what he saw spurred his remark, "It just got worse."

Malfoy, along with Crabbe and Goyle, lurked within a grouping of monolithic menhirs, binoculars in hand, spying on Hagrid, who was standing in the pumpkin patch, tossing dead ferrets to Buckbeak. Iris could faintly see from the distance, Hagrid wiping his eyes as he loped into the hut.

"Did you see the big, fat blubbering oaf?! Oh, this is going to be rich. Did I tell you, Father said I can keep the head--" Malfoy prattled on to his minions.

Hermione's thoughts were screaming, and Iris' eyes widened as she muttered to her best friend, "Hermione--" The bushy-haired girl ignored her and started walking towards the Slytherin boys, "Hermione, no-- I really don't think--"

Goyle caught sight of them as Hermione surged forward, Iris rushing behind, "Look who's here."

Draco turned, a sinister smirk making it's way onto his face, "Ah. Come to see the show?"

"You foul, loathsome... evil... little cockroach..." Hermione shouted at him, whipping her wand out of her pocket when she got close.

Malfoy stumbled back against one of the monoliths, cross-eyed with fear as Hermione jabbed the tip of her wand into his throat. Draco whimpered in fear making Iris squint at how pathetic the scene was.

"Hermione, no!" Ron shouted at her, "He's not worth it."

Hermione slowly lowered her wand, stepping back and going to turn away when Draco started laughing.

Then -- SMACK! -- quick as lightning, Hermione whipped around, landing a looping right hook to Malfoy's jaw, throwing him back into the rock. Stunned as Crabbe and Goyle grabbed his arms and pulled him back to his feet, Draco took off running back toward the castle, Crabbe and Goyle huffing and puffing behind.

Iris' jaw was hanging wide open in shock. Never in a million years had she thought she would witness Hermione of all people punching someone, especially Draco Malfoy.

Hermione turned to her three flabberghasted friends, "That felt good."

⌗ ⌗ ⌗

Hagrid and Iris stood by the window watching Buckbeak while Hermione made tea. The boys were sitting on the plush oversized sofa with Fang snoozing drowsily at their feet.

"Look at 'em. Loves the smell o' the trees when the wind blows..."

Iris pushed back against the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and gently patted Hagrid's arm.

"I say we set him free," Harry chimed in.

Hagrid shook his head, "They'd know I did it. And tha' would only get Dumbledore in trouble. Gonna come down, yeh know. Says he wants ter be with me when they..." he paused, swallowing heavily, "when it happens. Great man, Dumbledore."

Hermione set the tea kettle down, "We'll stay with you too, Hagrid."

Hagrid left the window, turning to Hermione and sternly telling her, "Yeh will not! Think I wan' yeh seein' a thing like this! No. Yeh'll drink yer tea an' be off. But before yeh do -- Ron, I wan' ter see you give Hermione a hug."

"What!" The two said immediately, faces slowly turning red.

Hagrid spoke again, urging them on, "Go on! You two've been at it all year. An' I'm sick o' it.

Acutely uncomfortable, Hermione and Ron step forward and perform perhaps the most awkward hug Hogwarts has ever seen. Iris bit down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing at them.

Hagrid's forehead wrinkled in concern as he watched them, "Crikey, tha's jus' abou' the most pathetic hug I e'er seen. But yeh did it, an' tha's wha' matters. There's jus' one other thing..."

"I'm not kissing Fang if that's what you're thinking..."

Hearing his name, Fang -- Hagrid's giant boarhound -- thumped his tail happily on the floor. Hagrid turned, taking the lid from a flour tin.  A tiny head, ears flecked with powder, emerged making Iris take in a sharp breath.

"Scabbers! You're alive!" Ron cheered in excitement.

Hagrid handed Ron the rat, "Yeh should keep a closer eye on yer pets, Ron."

Iris stared the faux rat down, wondering how she could have missed it all these years.

"I think you owe someone an apology," Hermione commented sassily.

"Ron snapped back, "Right. Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know."

Hermione glared, "I meant me."

Hagrid, Harry, and Iris watched the two like a tennis match, all internally rolling their eyes.

"Crikey. Here we go agin..."

SMASH! A glass jar on the shelf shattered. Iris jumped more than she would have liked to admit. She watched in interest as Hermione scooped up a jagged star-shaped stone, not expecting a second stone to come sailing through the window and bounce off the back of Harry's head.

"Ow!"

The twins turn to look out the window. While Harry was looking one way, toward the path from the castle that they had just come down themselves, Iris focused herself in a different direction.

Her eyes slowly widened as she found what she was looking for... Harry and Hermione were out in the pumpkin patch? It was then that Iris noticed a third, one that was hidden from her at first. As she attempted to push into it a sharp stabbing pain shot straight into her mind and she quickly inhaled her gasp of agony as she brought her hand up to her aching head.

"Hagrid..." Harry spoke from next to her.

Everyone turned to look out the window. Dumbledore and Fudge were approaching. Behind them, in a fluttering shroud of crows, the Executioner followed, axe at his side. Hagrid began to panic.

"Yeh got to go! It's almost dark. Anyone sees yeh outside the castle it'll be trouble! Big trouble! 'Specially you two," He gestured at Iris and Harry before throwing a blanket over one of the very odd creatures he had sitting in his house.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The door shook. Hagrid stiffened in fear. Iris reached up, putting her finger to her trembling lips, as Harry spoke softly to the others. 

"C'mon," her brother whispered, waving them toward the back door.

They all quietly shuffled over and Iris said a few last words to Hagrid, "Hagrid... It'll be fine, it'll be okay."

At that point, she was really trying more to reassure herself.

Hagrid watched her with a brokenhearted expression as he shooed her out mouthing, "Go on!"

As the four friends exit through the back door, the three older wizards enter through the front.

A veil of crows fluttered onto the roof. More drop into the patch, beginning to slowly circle Buckbeak.

Iris and the others duck behind the pumpkins, watching Hagrid solemnly greet the others. Fudge appeared at the window, observing Buckbeak carefully.

Just then, a Shhh! is heard.

They all whipped around to see the branches of the trees behind them dancing oddly.

Iris felt the same three presences as before as she stared into the black of the forest. She didn't dare try to venture back out into the mind that caused the aching pain in her head, but she had a sneaking suspicion she knew who it was.

"What?" Harry asked when he noticed both Iris and Hermione staring into the forest.

They exchanged a look where Hermione clearly was telling her not to say anything, "Nothing, I just thought I saw... Nevermind."

The trio slipped silently back up the hill until they were standing at the top, just out of view o the pumpkin patch. Beyond them, Hagrid's hut glimmered desolately in the dying sun. High in the clock tower, a bell began to toll.

DING!

DING!

DING!

The quartet stopped at the top of the grassy hill, fighting their tears. Another quartet of bleak shadows flew from the hut. One of the shadows, Dumbledore, raised his hand and pointed, directing the attention of the others away from Buckbeak. Dumbledore spoke briefly-- unintelligible from the distance they were at, then the crows begin to shriek excitedly and the Executioner separates from the others, disappearing behind a low stand of trees.

DING!

All goes very still... the wind loses its voice.

DING!

Sunlight kicked off the axe as it rose over the trees into view.

DING!

The axe hung seemingly forever, etched against the sky, then dropped from sight. A sickening chop rang out causing Iris to let out a strangled sob. Ron and Harry stared toward the trees in numb disbelief. Hermione clutched Iris' hand tightly, face turned away, trembling...

DING!

The sun set, dropping behind the mountains in the distance. Iris turned, seeing a frenzied spray of crows stain the bloody sky, their primal shrieking rising like a curse.

Slowly, Hermione's hand fell onto Ron's shoulder and Iris' gaze fell with it, continuing down the length of Ron's arm to his hand, where a drop of blood hung from his finger, dropping like a tear...

DING!

They all stared at the blood running down his finger.

"Scabbers! He bit me!" Ron gasped.

Iris quickly found the rat, scurrying away quickly in the grass and her eyes narrowed as she immediately took off after him, Ron just a few steps behind her.

"Iris, Ron! No!" Hermione shrieked after them.

Iris and Ron reached the summit of the hill, disappearing over the top with Hermione and Harry following closely behind.

As the other two stopped short behind them, Iris and Ron kept going until Ron suddenly dove at the rat, capturing him within the grasp of his bloody hands.

"Now behave yourself," Ron warned the rat, while Iris just glared at it.

Only when Harry shouted from behind her did she finally look up at where they were, "Iris, Ron! RUN!"  Her eyes significantly widened when she realized they were standing under the Whomping Willow.

Ron, however, had seen something different, and he threw his hand up pointing to behind Harry and Hermione yelling, "HARRY, HERMIONE RUN!"

The two and Iris whipped around to see what he was telling them to run for.

"It's the Grim!" Ron continued.

Iris, however, knew better and recognized the enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog as Sirius. That didn't ease her mind though as she knew what he had come for, or rather, who.

Abruptly, Sirius took off, bounding forward in the gathering gloom as Harry shielded himself, only for Sirius to leap clear over him.

"Aaaahhh!"

Sirius' sharp canine teeth flashed and -- SNAP! -- closed on Ron's foot, dragging him towards the trunk of the Whomping Willow like a rag doll. Instantly, Harry dashed forward, leaping out to grab Ron's hands... but he and Ron just keep skidding along the ground.

Iris let out a low shriek as she watched them get dragged away by her godfather.

Hermione then yelled out, "I've got you--"

She pitched herself onto Harry's feet... and the three of them go tumbling along.

"Oh my god! Why me?! Just why?" Iris muttered in disbelief at what her life had come to, before running swiftly after the group.

Ron was screaming as Sirius didn't relent. The added weight of Harry and Hermione didn't appear to slow him down.

"Harry!" Ron shouted in fear as they got closer to the base of the tree. Through being dragged all the way across the grass, the ginger boy still had kept an iron grip on his rat.

Iris watched in a mild panic as Sirius vanished into the gap at the base of the tree and began to pull Ron through with him.

Harry was trying as hard as he could to pull Ron back, though it wasn't working very well, "Hold on, Ron!

But it was no use. The dog was too powerful. Iris grabbed Hermione's ankles and pulled them in an attempt to help. She had no idea what Sirius thought he was doing. This was not the right way to go about with this. Iris looked around desperately, then found herself looking directly in Ron's eyes. She read his thoughts loud and clear.

"No, Ron..."

One by one, Ron releases his fingers from Harry's forearm, sacrificing himself.

"Nooooo!!!" Harry shouted at his best friend, realising what he was doing.

But Ron closed his eyes, releasing his hands fully, and disappeared. As his voice echoed deep into the earth... Harry and Hermione rise to stand beside Iris, peering into the hole.

Next thing she knew, Iris was smacked in the side and being thrown into the air. She could feel the bones in her right arm shattering from the impact of the Whomping Willow branch.

Iris screamed in pain when she crashed onto the earth, going immediately to cradle her broken arm as darkness clouded her vision, the pain slowly taking over until she saw no more.

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Haha

sorry this took so long to be posted, but I actually hate this and the next few chapters with a burning passion.

so anyway, I hope you guys don't hate me just yet, but you probably will soon.

mwahaha

I would say the next chapter will be out soon, but every time I say that it takes a month, so we'll just see

:)))