𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓋𝑒

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Time is so oddly obscure. Some days can feel like years have passed within the 24 hours that marks a day. While other times, it can all seem to pass by in just seconds. It's frightening, to be completely honest.

How easy it is to get stuck into a routine. How easy it is to just allow time to fly by unnoticed. How easy it is to blink and realize weeks are gone. How easy it is for all of them to be so meaningless that your time on this planet can be so simply forgotten.

Iris's routine was easy.

Wake up at five in the morning. The usual morning routine has her out of the door just as Sally-Ann's five-thirty alarm sounds out. Finish up homework in the empty common room. At around six, Theodore Nott and several other early risers would make themselves present. A quiet hum filling the room as they quietly went about the earliest part of their day.

At seven, the common room would fill more, and Theodore Nott would begin his walk to the Great Hall, Iris, of course, always following just behind. When they reached the Great Hall, Iris would finally allow herself to speak, having found that if Theodore had been given at least an hour of silence in the mornings, he would amuse her for a bit.

At seven-thirty, Theodore would bring out his book and take the fifteen minutes of Iris eating to begin his book of the day. And then, until eight, he would do his best to block out more of her mindless rambling; he still wasn't very good at that.

At eight, classes began.

DADA was, without a doubt, the favorite lesson among all students. Professor Lupin had managed to make every lesson just as exciting and hands-on as the first. He wasn't as strict as McGonagall and was easily one of the kindest of the teachers.

Potions was obviously the worst. Word of Snape being dressed into Neville's grandmother's clothing traveled fast, and, as a result, only seemed to make the man more vindictive and cruel. Which in turn, brought out the temper in Iris, the girl only being saved from weekly detentions because of Snape's apparent dislike for her in return.

History of Magic was always dreadfully dull and seemed to be the class where Iris's spirit would die. Theodore would peak up from his notes every now and again to see the girl at her most ghostly. Her body limp in her seat as she wistfully would stare out a window. Theodore never spurred her from her death-like state, finding that Iris was at her best when she was too miserable to bother him.

Muggle Studies was… there. The class was easy; the most eventful it ever got was when Iris and Hermione were forced to interact. The two girls seeming to grow more hateful towards the other every time their eyes met.

And actually… Potions wasn't the worst, nope. Care of Magical Creatures was. After the rather eventful first lesson, Hagrid had seemed to lose all confidence as a teacher. So the class was now subjected to nothing but caring for flobberworms, perhaps the most boring creatures that had ever existed. Iris and Theodore spent most days of that class under a tree, one reading and the other sketching.

Those, along with some other classes, made up most of the day, lunch being the hour Iris would vanish off to the grounds.

Dinner was gossip hour; the roommates would join Iris and Theodore, the four girls carrying easy conversations of their days and any and all school gossip.

Afterward, the Slytherins would retire to the common room, where homework would be started, and constant chatter would fill the space.

And at eleven, the day would end.

Weekends, being free of classes were spent wandering the castle and grounds for Iris. Spent primarily alone and the slightest more eventful than the weekdays. Not much, but time would slow more as Iris enjoyed her days more to the fullest she could.

And that was that, days coming and going far faster than felt okay, time wasted and crammed with as much as possible.

~~~~~~

"So you know how Lavender Brown received that 'warning' from Trelawney a few weeks ago?" Valeria made herself present at the table by addressing Sally-Ann.

Iris had decided to make herself present for lunch for once, seeing as she had a Muggle Studies paper due for her next class that had so far been untouched. But ever willing to do anything but her school work, she and the other two girls were quick to turn to Valeria.

Sally-Ann thought for a second as she recalled her memory, "Yeah, something about 'dreading… whatever, whatever… the Sixteenth of October.'"

Valeria settled into her seat and began piling her plate, "Yes, 'That thing you're dreading will happen on October 16th' or something close to that. And we all just assumed it was a ploy to get us riled up."

Sally-Ann rose an eyebrow, "Well yeah, cause it was."

Shrugging, Valeria explained further, "I'm not so sure anymore; Lavender Brown got the news that her pet bunny died this morning."

Sally-Ann's eyes widened a bit, "Oh, wow. That's a crazy coincidence."

Tracey placed down her cup, eyebrows knitting close together as she quickly voiced her thoughts, "Blinky was just a baby though; how could Lavender of been dreading that?"

Iris gave her thoughts immediately after, "She could have been dreading the bunny's death, just in general. But that would have technically happened before today if she just got the news this morning."

Somewhere in the conversation, Theodore had tuned in and was quick to give a counter-argument, "Then she could have been dreading learning that her bunny had died, on a subconscious level but dreading either way."

Iris nodded, twirling her pen as a smile came to her lips, "Divination is such an obscure study."

Valeria hummed, "Yep, and Hermione Granger seems to think it's complete nonsense." Once more, the girls had their eyes back on Valeria, awaiting the gossip that was to come. Theodore rolling his eyes at the eagerness of the group, returning to his work.

Continuing on, Valeria said, "When Hermione heard what had happened from Lavender and one of the Patil twins, she immediately went on her know it all, you're wrong, thing. She told Lavender to her face almost the exact things Iris and Tracey said."

Sally-Ann and Iris both scrunched their noses at the words, clearly not okay with that tidbit of information. Sally-Ann didn't hold back in the slightest, "Pretty cold to do straight to someone's face, especially with how sensitive Lavender is. Hermione is a real pain in the ass with her 'logic' sometimes."

Tracey held a more uncertain look in her eyes, "To be fair to Hermione, it is a bit of a reach to immediately assume that Trelawney actually knew this was going to happen."

Iris jumped back in, "Yeah, but you don't bring in logic while a girl is grieving. And divination is given a fair amount of trust in the wizarding community, I mean, I'm highly skeptical of the practice at times, but you can find reason in many of an actual seer's words. And you'll never see me at a table sitting thirteen.”

Valeria nodded and pointed at Iris, mouth full, eyes widening as she non verbally showed her agreement. Theodore, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow, "You believe that?"

Tracey giggled a bit, "Really, you believe that lie? My mum is so uptight about that saying. Wouldn't sit once during dinner last Christmas because my aunt and uncle ended up not showing up, making it thirteen."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Iris shrugged, "Don't know what to say, just one of those superstitions my family has never tempted fate with."

Theodore's lip quipped up a bit, "I knew that you were a bit crazy but never did I think you would stoop so low as to fall for that of all things. I'm agreeing with Davis here."

Valeria nudged a now flustering Tracey as Iris turned to Theodore with a sharp look, "Well then, if I ever end up at a table of thirteen with you, you'll be the one I shove out of their seat."

Sally-Ann, who looked more and more confused as the conversation went, finally interjected, "Wait guys, what are you people even saying. Have to remember, muggle-born over here."

The three other girls shared a glance and, in unison, ominously chanted, "When thirteen dine, the first to rise will be the first to die."

…

"Oh… well, that's bleak."

~~~~~~

Iris was having a great day. Absolutely fantastic. So why did Professor Isadora Edwards just have to shake up the class order?

Jane Yaxley and Iris got along great, and they did actually pay attention and accomplish getting work done. Of course, while talking endlessly about a fifth-year named Cedric Diggory, but they never disturbed the class.

So why did Professor Edwards just have to decide to move around the pairs for a project? And why out of the entire class did she have to be paired with Hermione Granger?

Iris refused to move when Edwards released the class to begin discussions, forcing Jane to trade-off with a rather tense-looking Hermione. Despite that unease, though, Hermione wasted no time in getting to the point. Her perfect student attitude, consistently winning over any emotion.

"So, with the theme of the project being 'Prominent Families of the Muggle World,' I thought we could push the boundaries a bit, and instead of just choosing a muggle family, we choose one with ties to both the muggle and wizarding."

Iris, who had all her attention on her drawing, suddenly narrowed her eyes, her body freezing as the girl continued, "And I got the project about a week ago.

"So I started thinking a bit beforehand. And remembering that you mentioned your family being involved in both worlds, also with the fact that many teachers have mentioned your family name as if it is important, I did some research…." Hermione faded off a bit as she carefully watched the still frozen Iris.

Taking a moment, Hermione caught her breath, "So anyway, I found a few mentioning of Blackwell in some books, the oldest I could find so far was born in 1898, his name was—"

"Philip Vince Blackwell, son of Vincent Gray Blackwell. Philip fought in World War 1 and had strong involvements in taking down the dark wizard Grindelwald," Iris lifted her head to meet Hermione gaze, eyes alight with a dangerous glint, "I don't need you to tell me my family's history—"

"Well, that's perfect because your family is hard to find in the library, and I do really think you would be perfect for this project," Hermione interrupted. A very wrong choice.

Iris didn't glare, she didn't yell, she didn't even tense. Quite the opposite, actually. Iris sat back, face blank and eyes simply locked on her prey. She was calm as could be, and yet, the power she gave off was more than enough to make her words hit.

"My family's history is private information that I refuse to use in an attempt to feed your curiosity…." Iris allowed a second of silence before standing up, perfectly in tune with Professor Edwards dismissing the class.

But she did not leave in silence, instead choosing to lean into Hermione's ear as she grabbed her bag, "And if you continue to dig into my past… into my life… I won't take well to that. So I suggest treading carefully."

And then she was gone, leaving behind an even more curious mind.

~~~~~~

Burnt popcorn that assaulted the nose. Fresh strawberries that exploded with flavor. Chocolate that melted onto your fingers.

Blood red nail polish wafting through the air. Black eyeliner was discarded to the edge of the room. Pink and yellow hair rollers everywhere.

A fortress of blankets and pillows in the center of the room. Clothes hanging off of any and every surface. The record player, energizing the room with the beats of a drum.

The alarm clock, unnoticed and uncared for, currently displaying a proud 11:46. The shimming moonlight from the window, overruled by candles and glowing wands. Five girls on the floor chattering endlessly.

When Sally-Ann had mentioned a need for a girl's night at dinner, Iris mundanely dropped that she had never had one before. The news of never attending any sleepover kicking the teens into high gear.

And so there she was, her first girls' night. Staring up into the dark ceiling, vaguely listening as Jane Yaxley and Sally-Ann debated whether it was too early to bring out "the notebook." Taking in the calm that overcame the room after several very fun and yet hectic hours.

…

"Iris," said girl spurred from her daze, turning her head to meet Sally-Ann.

"So we are letting you in on a huge tradition for us…." Iris rose an eyebrow, glancing around to see all the girls sat up and looking very serious, "We call it 'The Notebook'…."

Iris sat up, smirking, "Oh yeah, do you I don’t know… share class notes in it.”

Face devoid of all emotion, Sally-Ann shook her head, carefully handing off the pink notebook in her hands off to Iris. Still slightly amused, Iris took the notebook, gently opening it and then reading over the first page…

And then she let out a bark of laughter, Valeria and Jane giggling along, breaking their serious facade. Sally-Ann and Tracey, on the other hand, well, they weren't amused.

Exasperated, Sally-Ann puffed, "We hand you our deepest darkest secrets, and you laugh…."

Still giggling, Jane defending the action, "Well, Sally, you were acting like it was some classified government secret."

Tracey seemed to have shelled into herself further in her blanket, "It may as well be, could you imagine if that got out."

Valeria smirked, "Yep, and it would bring me lots of joy in seeing Sally's confident act around boys crumble as Draco Malfoy learns on her undying love."

"Where in there does it say that Valeria? Come on, point it out. In fact, how about we talk about yours. Who's it about again—"

"Shut your mouth right now, Ann!"

"You did not just call me Ann!"

"Oh, I fucking did!"

As the screaming match continued, Jane turned to Iris. The brunette curiously scanning the notebook still in her hands.

It was a curious thing. The front very obviously marked its contents, "The Love Lives of Our Hogwarts Years." And the next page was titled 'First Year,' the names of Valeria, Sally-Ann, and Tracey just underneath. But then it became confusing. Every few lines, the name of one of the girls would be labeled, along with a date and then lines of black space. And then another name.

The spaces were inconsistent, some, one line, others a whole page.

Turning page after page, Iris eventually made it to second year, Jane's name adding to the list of creators but only showing once at the end. And then came third year. The four names and far less in terms of names and dates.

Running a finger over one of the blank spaces, Iris tilted her head. She felt something. That much she was sure of.

So lifting her head, Iris looked at Jane, the questions in her eyes not needing to be said as the blonde nodded. "Okay, girls, how about we explain to Iris what this is."

Calming almost immediately, Valeria and Sally-Ann turned to Iris. Sally-Ann, always the voice of the group, moving closer, "Okay, so you can probably get the general idea of this. The big secret is that every time one of us gets a crush or notices that someone is attractive, we write it here We also use it as a diary about dates and feelings and whatnot. And of course, we had to include some form of magic to keep the contents of our hearts secret. Valeria was the one to do the magic stuff…."

Valeria picked up almost immediately, "The vanishing charm itself was simple. It's just invisible ink at the most basic. But the actual complications came in how it would reveal itself. We played around with passwords, but we wanted the words to even be able to be hidden from each other because sometimes we aren't ready to tell each other and just want the feeling out somewhere.

"Finding the solution was rather difficult, but then I had a very lengthy conversation with Sir Blumis' portrait, and it got me thinking. What if we could imbed parts of us into the notebook, just as parts of past witches and wizards are put into a portrait? It took me nearly all of last year to work out, but I eventually got it. And now the written words, our hearts written out on paper, can only be read when the reader is given permission by whoever wrote it. Otherwise, the notebook will start to tell you off, as if just a prank."

Iris hummed as she allowed the words to settle, eyes floating back down to the notebook still in hand. Sally-Ann leaned over, eyes skimming the page, taking in all the words that were invisible to the newest member of their group.

Smiling a bit, she pointed at one by her name on third year, her amused "Draco Malfoy" carrying out into the room. And suddenly, the page began shifting.

The once empty spot, now filled with the messy scribble that is Sally-Ann's handwriting. And it read: Draco Malfoy's new haircut brings him up to a solid 8/10.

A glint appeared in Iris's eyes, "Falling for the enemy, are you Sally-Ann?"

Smile gone in an instant, the girl lightly pushed Iris's shoulder, "Shove off Blackwell, now go back to the first page. We gotta add you in."

Complying, Iris did as asked, but when she was suddenly approached by a needle bearing Valeria, she did seem a bit regretful, "Yeah, sorry Iris, it's a blood-oath."

"This seems almost cultish, but anything for Tracey to explain her undying love for Theodore."

The mentioned girl went red at that, her hands going to her face, "No… I was hoping it wasn't so obvious."

Jane snorted at that, "Oh hun, at this point, I bet even Nott himself knows.

~~~~~~

The girls stayed up for who knows how long, going over the notebook's contents with the new member of their group. They laughed over the endless amount of crushes Sally-Ann seemed to have had. They teased Tracey because the only name she ever wrote about was Theodore Nott, her admiration for the boy popping up at the beginning of the second year. They reminisced over when Valeria one day began writing down the names of girls. And they lightly hounded Jane over her hidden to all, page-long confession of love.

And they even all watched as Iris added her name, the date, and the words, “Cedric Diggory is the only Brit I would willingly make out with."