A/N ~ please, if you're doing the 'future me?🎤' thing, don't forget to finish it- I'm getting a lil concerned about the old ones💀

Just to clarify things since ppl got confused, I WILL be finishing this story until the end of 7th year. I gotchu, dw.

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December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a good lot of homework for the fifth years.

Ron and Hermione also became more busy with prefect duties Christmas approached.

They were so busy that Hermione had stopped knitting elf hats and was devastated that she was down to her last three.

"All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay over during Christmas because there aren't enough hats!" she fretted.

Harry and Y/N, who had not had the heart to tell her that Dobby had taken all of the hats, were determined to stare down at their History of Magic essay.

In any case, Harry did not want to think about Christmas.

For the first time in his school career, he very much wanted to spend the holidays away from Hogwarts.

Between his Quidditch ban and worry about whether or not Hagrid was going to be put on probation, he felt highly resentful toward the place at the moment.

The only thing he really looked forward to were spending time with his friends and the D.A. meetings, and they would have to stop over the holidays.

"Y/N, Y/N, can I ask you a favour?"

The Quartet looked up from their essays to see Angelina Johnson towering over them with a hopeful look on her face.

She was in her Quidditch robes, indicating that she had just came back from practice.

"Um... depends what it is," Y/N said weakly, glancing at her half completed essay. "I'm kind of busy, you see,"

"Oh, not now," Angelina said quickly, "it's for tomorrow's Seeker and Beaters tryouts. I want you to keep track of the names of the people that'll be trying out."

"Oh- alright- er... who usually does this?" Y/N asked hesitantly.

"Me. But this time, i'll be busy in the air," said Angelina, "I want to make sure we have the perfect Seeker and Beaters. Will you help? It's not hard, just ticking off people's names."

"Ah, so you're replacing me already." Harry said teasingly, before Y/N could answer. Angelina threw him a look.

"This isn't funny, Potter." she said grimly. "It's your fault that we have to-"

"Alright. Sure." Y/N said loudly, grinning at the seventh year kindly. Angelina's face lit up.

"Perfect! See you tomorrow, five o'clock at the Quidditch pitch then," she gave Y/N a quick pat on the shoulder and went back to sit with Alicia on the other side of the room.

"Oh, Y/N, I heard Rolf was made Hufflepuff's Seeker," Hermione said, looking at Y/N.

"'Course you heard," Y/N muttered, rolling her eyes. "didn't he announce it to the whole Great Hall, yesterday?"

She had the scene perfectly memorized.

How her brother ran into the Great Hall with his Nimbus over his shoulder and Luna Lovegood by his side, both of them jumping and celebrating at the top of their lungs.

"He deserves that spot," Ron sighed, putting down his quill and having a satisfying stretch. "been trying for four years, hasn't he?"

"Yep, he's been practicing since he got his first broom." Y/N grinned to herself.

She remembered how her brother and father would practice Quidditch every summer, having the hopes and dreams of Rolf getting into the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

Y/N had a feeling Rolf would tell their dad about it tomorrow, when he visited him at St Mungo's, since it was going to be Sunday.

She knew their dad would be so proud of Rolf- if only he knew that the years of practice weren't for nothing.

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"Hey, Angelina- erm- did Peters have his go?"

"Yes, Y/N, he already went!"

"Oh... oh no..." Y/N stared down at the piece of parchment on her clipboard in horror. "Hey, Ange- I accidentally crossed out his name."

"You what?" Angelina bellowed, from a hundred feet above her.

She was hovering in the air with the last person to tryout for Seeker.

The team captain looked disappointed and hopeless.

Snow was falling, and they'd been out there for over an hour.

Y/N had casted a warming charm around herself, but Angelina had nothing to warm her up but her Quidditch robes.

"I'm so sorry," Y/N fretted, scribbling Xavier Peters' name onto the paper again. "I think I got him mixed up with that other bloke-"

"Doesn't matter, just write his name at the bottom of the list," Angelina said grimly.

"Yeah, I did!" Y/N nodded urgently. "Alright, last person is... Romilda Vane?"

The bold-looking girl beside Angelina nodded, her black curls bouncing over her shoulders.

Angelina took in a deep breath and told the girl to fly around the hoops three times for a warm up.

She did so, and turned her broom back to the middle of the field.

"I'm going to throw these-" Angelina held up a basket full of what looked like white tennis ball. "-and you have to catch as many as you can, alright?"

Romilda Vane nodded once again and steadied herself.

Angelina threw the six balls across the field, one by one, looking hopefully but desperately at the fourth year... Romilda managed to catch three.

"OK, thank you, Vane," Angelina said faintly, trying to manage out a smile. "very good job, I'll- announce the results tomorrow..."

Romilda beamed and lowered her broom onto the ground.

Y/N gave her a weak smile and watched as Angelina's last hope walked away from the pitch.

Once Romilda was gone, Y/N tilted her head up and squinted at Angelina's figure, which was still hovering in the air and shaking- crying.

"Oh no," she exclaimed sympathetically.

She quickly dropped her clipboard and looked around urgently.

She went and grabbed the broom Romilda Vane has left on the ground and mounted it as quick as she could.

She hasn't flown since the summer of last year, and she barely played Quidditch in general. Her legs shook nervously.

Despite that, she secured her F/C woollen hat tightly onto her head and kicked her feet off the ground.

The school broom was definitely a lot worse that Rolf's Nimbus, or any of the Weasleys' brooms.

The tail of the old broom was unbalanced and it went slower and wobblier than any broom she'd ever ridden.

The winter air hit her face painfully, but she ignored it and shot up into the air, steering the broom towards the sobbing Angelina Johnson.

She was higher up that what Y/N had expected.

"Angelina..." Y/N managed out, approaching Angelina's side, a hundred feet into the air. She tried not to look down.

"It's over! We're over-" Angelina sniffed, wiping away her tears annoyedly. There were hundreds of Snowflakes in her hair. "We've got two moderately good Beaters and a Seeker that can catch three out of six balls- balls that don't even have wings!"

Y/N patted Angelina's back soothingly, but didn't know what to say.

"How did Oliver manage to do this," Angelina continued tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "after all the things he'd done for our team, now we're just going to lose the c- oh, shit!"

Angelina's hand had accidentally knocked over her basket of white tennis balls.

She'd managed to get hold of basket again, but one of the six balls had slipped from her grip and was heading towards the ground.

Without thinking or processing anything through, Y/N dove...

She rode the school broomstick after the
white ball, speeding up the old broom as fast as she could.

She sped further down past the ball and stopped a few feet from the ground, reaching out her dominant hand- the white ball was caught right between her gloved fingers.

She let out a relieved breath, before bursting into laughter, laughing at herself.

"I don't know why I went for this little guy," she said to Angelina, bringing her broom back up high into the air. "it's not like it was gonna get hurt or anything. That was stu- are you alright, Angelina?"

Y/N reached the team captain and stopped in front of her.

She threw the ball back into the basket in Angelina's hand, but the girl simply gaped back at her unbelievably.

Y/N stared back in concern.

"We should get back down," she said slowly, "it's freezing and you've been out here for hours-"

"I... I think I found our team a Seeker." Angelina said breathlessly.

"I know... The Vane girl." Y/N said.

A smile spread on Angelina's face and she reached out for another ball from her basket. Y/N stared at her as she got hold of another white ball.

She drew her arm back and chucked it, hard, across the field.

"Hey!" Y/N exclaimed.

Once again, not knowing why she was doing what she was doing, she dove after the ball.

With perfect ease, she sped up her broom and caught it with one hand, right by the left goal hoop.

"What'd you do that for?" Y/N fussed, frowning, as she headed back to Angelina, who was now beaming from ear to ear.

Her tears of despair were now tears of happiness.

"I found our team a Seeker!" she said happily, looking at Y/N gratefully. Y/N was now laughing along with her.

"I know, Angelina." She chuckled. "I saw Romilda catch-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake! It's not Romilda Vane, Y/N- it's you!"

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Harry arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last D.A. meeting before the holidays.

He was very glad he had, because when the lamps burst into light, he saw that the place was decorated for Christmas- by Dobby the house-elf.

He could tell the elf had done it, because nobody else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face with bold letters saying 'HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!'

Harry had only just managed to get the last of them down before the door creaked open and Rolf and Luna entered, both looking at the place in enthusiastically.

"Hello," Luna said vaguely, looking around at what remained of the decorations. "These are nice, did you put them up?"

"No," said Harry, "it was Dobby the house-elf."

"The elf has great decorative taste," Rolf teased, nudging one of the Christmas tree ornaments with harry's face on it.

Harry scowled at him.

"Mistletoe," said Luna dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries placed almost over her and Harry's head.

Rolf jumped forwards and pushed Harry roughly away.

"Ow! What the-"

"Good thinking," said Luna very seriously, giving Rolf a pat on the back. "It's often infested with nargles."

Rolf pursed his lips and nodded.

Harry was saved the necessity of asking what nargles were by the arrival of Angelina, Katie, and Alicia.

All three of them were breathless and looked very cold.

"Well," said Angelina brightly, pulling off her cloak and throwing it into a corner, "we've replaced you."

"Huh," said Harry blankly.

"You and Fred and George," she said impatiently. "We've got another Seeker!"

"Who?" said Harry quickly.

"'Tis I," Y/N had pushed open the door of the room and entered.

She was wearing her woollen hat and was in several layers of clothing.

She didn't look so pleased with the news, but managed to return Angelina's enthusiastic smile.

Harry gaped at her.

"I know, right?" said Angelina, pulling out her wand and flexing her arm. "I've always thought she didn't like Quidditch because she couldn't fly- I mean, no offense- but I was wrong! Wonderful flyer, you are,"

"Beaters are Andrew Kirke andJack Sloper." Katie added, "Neither of them are brilliant, but compared with the rest of the idiots who turned up..." She widened her eyes.

She, Angelina and Alicia left to sit on the cushions, chatting on about their new team members.

"Trust me, Harry, I didn't want this," Y/N said bitterly, pulling off her thick coat. "but Angelina insisted. You know I would never try to 'replace' you-"

But to her surprise, Harry chuckled in relief and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you kidding?" he laughed, "if it were to be anyone else but me, I'd want it to be you! I've been telling you to tryout for ages."

"Really?" Y/N grinned, pulling away to look at him in the eye. It was pretty obvious he really meant it.

"Hell yeah," he huffed. Y/N smiled in relief. "And I'm so proud of you."

He grabbed her chin gently and tilted her head up, before bending down and connecting their lips.

Y/N closed her eyes and kissed him back, having the impression that her bracelet illuminating from her wrist, but didn't bother to check.

The arrival of Ron, Hermione, and Neville however, brought the moment to an end.

Ron and Rolf had shouted a heated 'Oi!' at the top of lungs only seconds into the kiss, making Y/N and Harry jump apart.

Within five minutes, everyone had arrived safely at the room, filling the spots on the cushions.

"Okay," Harry said, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new-"

"We're not doing anything new?" said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper, loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come..."

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," said Fred loudly. "but it's not too late to leave, best friend."

Zach went red, but didn't move from his spot.

Several people sniggered.

"We can practice together with the mannequin," said Harry, pointing to one of the practice mannequins that came with the room. "just to recap what we've learned."

Everyone nodded and followed Harry to the middle of the room to form a wide circle, surrounding the mannequin of what looked like a death eater with a wheel instead of legs.

Once they'd form the circle, the wheel of the mannequin started to roll, making the figure head towards Parvati Patil.

"Impedimenta!" she exclaimed.

Her spell hit the figure's arm, making it topple to the other side of the circle, towards Luna.

"Expelliarmus!" said Luna, making the wand in the mannequin's hand fly out.

"Nice one," Rolf whispered, shining Luna grin.

Next, the Mannequin rolled over towards Y/N. She took a deep breath in and held up her wand.

"Try 'Reducto', Y/N," Harry suggested, giving her a knowing wink.

Y/N nodded and grinned, lowering her wand. She concentrated on the moving figure, as it approached her, fast.

She closed her eyes and felt them sting, as she targeted her powers to the figure in front of her.

Finally, with a loud burst, the figure was turned into dust.

Harry wolf-whistled loudly and clapped, as Y/N slowly opened her eyes to see a pile of dust sinking through the floor.

Harry's claps were followed by everyone else's as they raised their eyebrows and gave Y/N impressed looks.

Another mannequin appeared for them in the middle of the room, and they continued their practice for another twenty minutes.

Later, they divided into pairs and practiced and reviewed their old spells.

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt.

"You're getting really good," he said, beaming around at everyone. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff- maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement.

The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a Happy Christmas as they went.

Feeling cheerful, Harry collected up the cushions with Y/N, Ron and Hermione and stacked them neatly away.

Ron and Hermione left before Harry and Y/N did- they were making sure everyone safely back at their common rooms.

As they waited for the Ravenclaws to leave, Y/N grinned at the ornaments on the Christmas tree with Harry's face compressed widely on them.

She tucked one of them inside the pocket of her robes to bully him about it later.

She then turned back to see that Cho Chang was still there.

"No, you go on," Y/N heard Cho say to her friend Marietta.

Marietta gave her a sour look, before leaving the room with the others.

Y/N saw that Cho was standing in front of what Ron called 'The Mirror of Erised's rip-off'.

The mirror was a curious thing- it was another object that came with the room.

Pictures of what everyone in DA desired the most had slowly appeared on the mirror, one by one, throughout the time that they've spent there, until everyone had a picture each.

Y/N's picture was, of course, her mum and dad. So was Harry's.

She slowly stepped closer to the mirror to see that Cho was staring at her picture- a of Cedric Diggory.

"Hey, are you alright?" Y/N asked the girl quietly, giving her a caring look.

"Oh-! yeah, I am." Cho said, but Y/N saw her quickly wipe away a tear with the back of her hand. "Sorry if I'm bothering you... I just- I- was looking at him and- I miss him a lot."

"I'm sorry about what happened," Y/N said gently, "I might not understand exactly how you're feeling, but I've also- recently lost a loved one... two, actually. And I can confidently say that you're not alone."

Cho gave her a small smile and her eyes teared up.

"Thank you," she whispered, "I'm sorry about your parents. It must be horrible."

"It really is. But then again- everything happens for a reason, right?" Y/N gave her a warm grin.

A tear rolled down Cho's face as she forced out a smile and nodded.

"I'll see you after the break," she said quietly, "Merry Christmas,"

"Merry Christmas," Y/N smiled.

She watched as Cho glanced back at Cedric's picture once more, before wishing Harry a Merry Christmas and leaving the room, after her friends.

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Harry's body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible.

He knew he was dreaming, but he also... wasn't.

He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone.

It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colours.

A man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark.

Harry put out his tongue... he tasted the man's scent on the air- he was barely alive.

Harry wanted to taste his blood, but he must resist his craving and continue his duty...

But it was impossible.

Giving into his urge, he reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man's flesh.

The man was yelling in pain... then he fell silent.

He slumped backward against the wall- blood was splattered all over the floor.

His forehead hurt terribly... It was aching fit to burst-

"Harry! HARRY!"

He opened his eyes.

Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat; his bedcovers were twisted all around him like a straitjacket.

He felt as though a burning metal rod was pressed against his forehead.

"Harry!" Y/N was shouting his name.

She was on her knees on the floor next to him, with her hand gripping onto his arm.

Ron was also standing over him looking extremely frightened.

There were more figures at the foot of Harry's bed.

He clutched his head in his hands- the pain was blinding him... He rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.

"He's really ill," said a scared voice. "Should we call someone?"

"Harry! Harry! " Y/N continued,

Harry had to tell them, it was very important that he tell them- especially Ron.

Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again.

"Your dad," he panted, his chest heaving, as he looked at Ron. "Your dad's... been attacked..."

"What?" said Ron uncomprehendingly.

"Your dad! He's been bitten, it's serious, there was blood everywhere."

"I'm going for help," said the same scared voice, and Harry heard footsteps running out of the dormitory.

"Harry, mate," said Ron uncertainly, "you... you were just dreaming."

"No!" said Harry furiously; it was crucial that Ron understand. "It wasn't a dream- not an ordinary dream... I was there, I saw it... I did it."

Y/N know immediately that it was, again, Voldemort.

"Harry, you're not well," Ron said shakily. "Neville's gone for help..."

Harry was too tired to argue. Dean and Seamus were whispering somewhere nearby.

Y/N was sitting on the floor breathlessly, swapping uncertain glances with Ron.

Whether one minute passed or ten, they finally heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, and heard Neville's voice again.

"Over here, Professor..."

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose.

She didn't question why Y/N was in the boys dormitory.

"What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?" She demanded.

Harry had never been so pleased to see her- she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix that he needed.

"It's Ron's dad," he said, sitting up again. "He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious- I saw it happen."

"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

"I don't know... I was asleep-"

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"No!" said Harry angrily.

Would none of them understand?

None of them but Y/N, perhaps...

"Professor, please- believe me, he's not dreaming," Y/N said, her eyes glued determindly to McGonagall's.

Despite the piercing pain on his forehead, Harry was so grateful for her, he could kiss right then and there.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and spoke,

"Alright. Explain to me what happened, Potter."

"I was- I did fall asleep," Harry started loudly, "but It was real, I didn't imagine it- Mr Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked... by a gigantic snake."

At this, Y/N saw Ron's face go pale, as he started to believe Harry that it wasn't just a dream.

Y/N put an arm around his torso and hugged him from the side.

"there was a load of blood," Harry continued, "he collapsed.. someone's got to find out where he is- please."

"I believe you, Potter," said Professor McGonagall curtly. "Put on your dressing-gown. We're going to see the headmaster. You should come too, Scamander, Weasley,"

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"In the scene, were you looking at the snake or standing next to Arthur Weasley?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Y/N could feel Ginny tense up beside her.

She looked at the redheaded girl and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

All the Weasley sibling were called to Dumbledore's office, and were standing in the room a few feet away from Harry, who stood, isolated, in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk.

Fred, George and Ron were still- all pale in the face, looking as though they were going to be sick.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, refused to meet Harry's eye.

"Sir," Harry said patiently, "would you just please tell me what's happening to me-?"

"Everard," Dumbledore said to a nearby painting of one of the former Headmasters, "You've heard the conversation? Please alert the Ministry- Arthur was on guard duty tonight."

The wizard in the painting nodded and disappeared.

Harry waited for a few silent moments to make sure Dumbledore wasn't talking anymore.

"Sir-"

"Phineas," The Headmaster called, heading towards the painting of Phineas Black, as though Harry wasn't even there.

"It's alright, Gin," Y/N whispered, hugging Ginny tighter, for she had started shivering worriedly.

"Phineas, go to your portrait in Grimmauld Place," Y/N heard Dumbledore say to the painting. "Tell Sirius Black Arthur Weasley has been attacked and his children, Y/N and Harry would be arriving in a few minutes."

The portrait nodded and disappeared behind the frame like the other one did.

"All of you, gather around here," Dumbledore ordered, motioning for them to come around his desk.

Fred, George and Ron walked numbly over to the table.

Y/N steered Ginny forwards, for she seemed like she was barely able to breathe.

Harry, who was shaking with what Y/N knew was fury, stepped closer to the table, trying to catch Dumbledore's eye.

He desperately wanted to ask why the headmaster was avoiding him.

But the old wizard simply ignored his gaze and stared down at the silver toothbrush on his desk.

"Have you all travelled by portkey before?" he asked the six students. They all nodded. "Good. Now, this one leaves in- fifteen seconds... ready,"

Y/N touched handle of the toothbrush with her index finger, as Harry and the other Weasleys squeezed in and did the same.

"On the count of three, then... one... two... three-"

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Everyone was so shocked from the events, they didn't even get the chance to greet Sirius properly.

When they'd arrived at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, everyone sat still in the living room, peaky and anxious, holding a bottle of butterbeer each, as Harry explained what had happened to his godfather.

When they finally received news that Mr Weasley was alive and sent to St Mungo's, the Weasleys finally agreed to go to sleep- it was almost three in the morning.

Y/N and Harry went up to the room they stayed in during summer, and Y/N fell asleep right away.

Harry, however, barely had any sleep...

When Y/N woke up, very late that morning, Harry pretended to have enjoyed a refreshing nap too.

Their trunks arrived from Hogwarts while they were eating lunch, so that they could dress as Muggles for the trip to St Mungo's, where Mr Weasley was.

Everybody except Harry was riotously happy and talkative as they changed out of their robes into more comfortable clothes.

Ginny looked bright and relieved, Ron happily ate lunch, and Y/N and the twins had already managed to set a quick prank on Sirius- replacing his cereal with dog food.

"Never do that again," Sirius growled, after he got his new bowl of cereal.

Y/N and the twins were howling with laughter, earning chuckles from Ginny and Ron.

Y/N caught Sirius' eye and swore she saw a pleased grin behind his frustrated scowl.

After that, they greeted Tonks and Mad-Eye, who had turned up to escort them across London and laughed along when they saw Moody in normal muggle clothes.

It was an interesting sight.

Tonks gave Y/N a long hug and told her that Remus would meet with them eventually.

The metamorphmagus was very interested in Harry's vision of the attack on Mr Weasley, just like how she was invested with Y/N's powers.

Although- Y/N could tell Harry was feeling slightly uncomfortable with her questions.

"There isn't any Seer blood in your family, is there?" she inquired curiously, as they sat side by side on a train rattling toward the heart of the city.

"No," said Harry, thinking of Professor Trelawney and feeling insulted.

"No," said Tonks musingly, "no, I suppose it's not really prophecy you're doing, is it? I mean, you're not seeing the future, you're seeing the present... It's odd, isn't it? Useful, though..."

"Hey, Tonks, how's Remus, by the way?" Y/N asked quickly, as she noticed Harry's uneasy expression.

Harry caught her eye and grinned at her thankfully.

"Oh! We're- he's- doing alright," Tonks replied swiftly. Y/N could tell she was trying to control her hair from turning scarlet.

"Huh..." Y/N smirked, running her tongue through the front row of her bottom teeth. "So have you two realized that you're in love with each other yet?"

"You're talking nonsense," Tonks rolled her eyes. "But we've- yes, we've got... friendlier... and-"

Y/N gave her a 'don't lie to me' look.

"Fine, you've got me!" Tonks hissed under her breath, as Harry pretended to not hear their conversation. "I'm falling for him! Ahh- Fun!"

"Yes!" Y/N exclaimed in triumph, clapping her hands loudly.

"Lower your voice!" Tonks scolded, looking around at the glaring people in alarm.

"My badass Hufflepuff and my Moony-" Y/N said dramatically, "Wait till Rolf hears about this!"

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"Hello," she said kindly, moving forward to the front desk of St Mungo's hospital. "My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us-?"

"Arthur Weasley?" said the witch, running her finger down a long list in front of her. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn ward."

"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley. "Come on, you lot."

Y/N had been to St Mungo's a good amount of times before, when she'd visit her unconscious father back in fourth year, every Sunday.

She'd been avoiding him, and she knew it. Everyone did- but they didn't dare mention it.

She just could not accept how he was practically dead, just like her mother- with his alive body mocking the fact.

Y/N felt odd knowing that her father was somewhere in the building.

She really wanted to see him. How she missed her mum and dad... but she just couldn't see him. Not yet. Not today.

It was stupid, but it was for the best.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks said. Y/N didn't even realized that they've arrived at Mr Weasley's ward. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once..."

Mad-eye grunted in approval. Mrs Weasley pushed open the door to the room and all seven of them entered.

There were only three patients in the room.

Mr. Weasley was occupying the bed at the far end of the ward beside the tiny window.

Harry was pleased and relieved to see that he was propped up on several pillows and reading the Daily Prophet, beaming and bright as usual.

"Hello!" he called, throwing the Prophet aside. "Bill just left, Molly, had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later."

"How are you, Arthur?" asked Mrs. Weasley, bending down to kiss his cheek and looking anxiously into his face. "You're still looking a bit peaky."

"I feel absolutely fine," said Mr. Weasley brightly, holding out his good arm to give each of his children a hug. "If they could only take the bandages off, I'd be fit to go home."

Y/N and Harry gave the family a bit of space and hung at the back.

"So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" asked Fred, pulling his chair closer to the bed.

"Well, you already know, don't you?" said Mr. Weasley, with a significant smile at Harry. "It's very simple- I'd had a very long day, dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten."

"Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?" asked Fred, indicating the newspaper Mr. Weasley had cast aside.

"No, of course not," said Mr. Weasley, with a slightly bitter smile, "the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got-"

"Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley warningly.

"got- er- me," Mr. Weasley said hastily, though Harry was quite sure that wasn't what he had meant to say.

"So where were you when it happened, Dad?" asked George.

"That's my business," said Mr. Weasley, though with a small smile. He snatched up the Daily Prophet, shook it open again. "I think I'd rather-"

"You were guarding it, weren't you?" said George quietly. "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

"George, be quiet!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" asked Fred, ignoring his mother. "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

"That's enough," said Mrs. Weasley crossly. "Mad-Eye and Tonks are outside, Arthur, they want to come and see you. And you lot can wait outside,"

"But we just arrived!" Ginny protested.

"You can come say good bye later," Mrs Weasley said firmly, "us adults have serious matters to discuss."

"We're seventeen-!"

"Out, Fred,"

And with that, the Weasley children, Y/N and Harry were ushered out of the room.

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

They stayed at Grimmauld Place for the rest of the few days, before the Christmas break even started.

Everybody spent the days putting up Christmas decorations.

Y/N had been reunited with Remus, on one of the late mornings, in the kitchen...

"There she is," Sirius smiled.

Remus, Tonks and Mrs Weasley turned to see Y/N by the door of the room, already sprinting towards her godfather.

She laughed in delight as she and Remus crushed each other with equally tight hugs.

Remus Lupin was looking tired and ragged as usual, but his face was bright and smiling.

"Moony, it's so good to see you," said Y/N breathlessly, as Tonks beamed at the two of them.

"I missed you, Y/N," Remus sighed, and Y/N knew he meant it. "and your salty cookies, of course,"

Tonks burst into a howl of laughter and Y/N pulled away from her godfather, but she couldn't help but laugh a bit herself.

"That's not fair- Harry and I don't have any inside jokes," Sirius huffed.

But when Tonks continued to laugh, he couldn't help but laugh along with his niece, too.

Y/N could not remember Sirius ever being in such a good mood.

He was actually singing carols, apparently delighted to have company over Christmas for the first time, in a very long time.

Y/N and Harry could hear his voice echoing up through the floor to their bedroom every night.

They would catch each other's eye and sniggered, pleased to see that Sirius was finally cheerful.

Harry couldn't bear walking around the house with everyone looking at him weirdly- he only felt completely comfortable and trusted when he was alone with Y/N.

He hated having to look at the Weasleys, knowing that- somehow- he was the one who almost killed Mr Weasley.

It was around six o'clock in the evening on December 20th, that the doorbell rang and Mrs. Black started screaming again.

It came as a slight shock when somebody hammered hard on the door of Y/N and Harry's bedroom a few minutes later.

"I know you're in there," said Hermione's voice. "Will you please come out? I want to talk to you."

"It's Hermione!" Y/N exclaimed, delighted, as she pulled open their bedroom door to see Hermione standing behind the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked her- maybe a little too harshly, "I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad."

"Well, I don't really like skiing," Hermione admitted, as Y/N pulled her into the room to sit down in front of the fireplace. "but don't tell Ron that- I told him it was good, because he was laughing so much."

Y/N chuckled, just as their bedroom door swung open again- and in came Rolf, followed by Ron and Ginny.

"Knock, for heavens- what are you doing here?" Y/N groaned, as she saw her big brother enter the room.

Rolf dropped his bag to the floor and flipped his hair, yawning and stretching tiredly.

"Nice to see you too, little sis," he said bitterly, shoving Y/N's head as he, Ron and Ginny sat down on the rug in front of the fire with the rest of them. "so we're back here again."

"I like it here," Ginny shrugged. Y/N and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Harry, don't pretend," Hermione said suddenly, making everyone's eyes fall on her. "Ron told me you've been distant ever since you arrived here. How're you feeling?"

"Fine," said Harry stiffly.

"Oh, don't lie, Harry," Hermione said impatiently. "Ron and Ginny say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's."

"They do, do they?" said Harry, glaring at Ron and Ginny.

Ron looked down at his feet but Ginny seemed quite unabashed.

"Hey, hey," Rolf said defensively, "let's not point fingers here-"

"Well, you have!" said Ginny, ignoring Rolf. "And you won't look at any of us except for Y/N!"

"It's you lot who won't look at me!" said Harry angrily. "I didn't want anyone to talk to me- anyone who didn't understand," he added, when Y/N's face fell.

"Well, that was a bit stupid of you," said Ginny angrily. "do you not remember who you saved from You-Know-Who's possession, three years ago in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then, he remembered.

"I forgot," he said quietly.

"Lucky you," said Ginny coolly.

"We could've just talked, mate..." Ron said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, and he meant it. "So... so do you think I'm being possessed, then?"

There was a short silent pause.

"Ginny- you can help," Y/N said thoughtfully. "when Voldemort took control over you- how was it like?"

"Well, I couldn't remember anything." Ginny said slowly. She then turned to Harry, "Are there big blank periods where you don't know what you've been up to?"

Harry racked his brains.

"No," he said.

"Then You-Know-Who hasn't ever possessed you," said Ginny simply. "When he did it to me, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing for hours at a time."

Harry hardly dared believe her, yet his heart was lightening almost in spite of himself.

"Harry, you've had these dreams before," Hermione said, trying to sound reassuring. "You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year."

"This was different," said Harry, shaking his head. "I was inside that snake. It was like I was the snake... maybe Voldemort transported me to the Ministry?"

"One day," Hermione said with a big sigh, "you'd read Hogwarts: A History and know that you can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts."

"And you never left your bed," Y/N added, "you couldn't have been there, Harry."

So I'm not the weapon after all, thought Harry.

His heart swelled with happiness and relief, and he felt like joining in as they heard Sirius in singing 'God Rest Ye Merry, Hippogriffs' at the top of his voice.

"Hey Niff," Rolf started, letting out a quiet snort as he spotted a pair of Quidditch gloves on Y/N's trunk. "You got Harry's Quidditch gloves mixed with your winter ones."

"What?" Y/N turned to see the gloves Angelina had sent her that morning. "Oh, no- they're mine. Oh, and I'm Seeker for our team.

"WHAT, NOW?" Rolf bellowed loudly.

"Quiet down!" Ginny hissed.

"YOU WHAT-? THE WHAT? THE- WHEN?" The blonde's voice shook and his eyes were wide.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other and burst into laughter, as Rolf got hold of Y/N's shoulders and shook her roughly, demanding for answers.

"Just- a- few weeks ago!" Y/N gasped. "It's temporary! Until Umbridge gets sacked."

"No, no, no-" Rolf wined, finally letting go of Y/N and slapping both his hands on his face. "you do realize the next match is Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor? And I'm Hufflepuff's Seeker?!"

Y/N's heart skipped a beat.

She's completely forgotten that her brother had made the Hufflepuff team.

"Even though I would enjoy dumping you in a pond, I don't want to hurt your feelings," Rolf continued dramatically, "don't take it personally when you lose, alright?"

"Woah, woah, woah, who says you'll catch the snitch?" Y/N scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring bitterly at her brother.

"Well, this is fun," Ginny sniggered, as the Scamanders glared at each other intensely.

There was a moment of silence, as the Weasleys snickered and Harry and Hermione grinned at the siblings in entertainment. Until...

"-tell me, baby- Do you recognise me? Well, it's been a year, it doesn't sur- what's going on here?" Sirius was standing at the doorframe of the room, beaming brightly at all of them.

Everyone turned their heads to his direction.

"Y/N's Gryffindor's Seeker!" Rolf exclaimed.

"You are?" Sirius exclaimed loudly, his face grew- if possible- even brighter. Y/N nodded once. "That's amazing! Merlin, Sean would be so proud!"

Sirius came to Y/N's side and thumped her on the back eagerly and ruffling her hair.

"I'm Seeker, too!" Rolf said bitterly. "I'm Hufflepuff's Seeker-"

"Oh, really?" Ginny snarled loudly, "and I think I'd remember, after you'd announced it to the whole country!"

"I miss when you fancied me," Rolf said sarcastically, as Y/N secretly high-fived Ginny from the back.

"You did great too, Rolf," Sirius chuckled, "Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about your banishment, Harry," he added, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"As Y/N said, it's only until Umbi- Umbridge gets sacked." Harry said with a casual shrug.

"I see your mood's lightened," Sirius acknowledged. Harry gave a small nod.

"Sirius, were you singing Last Christmas?" Hermione giggled.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at her direction with a frown.

A smile slowly crept onto Sirius' face and he bursted into a booming voice-

"LAST CHRISTMAS, I GAVE YOU MY HEART, BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY, YOU GAVE IT AWAY-" the wizard clicked his fingers and clapped his hands, leaving the room while he sang on the top of his lungs.

Y/N blinked blankly after him and Harry chuckled.

"That's enough muggle radio for him today..."

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

Sirius worked tirelessly in the run-up to Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating with everyone else's help.

By the time they all went to bed on Christmas Eve, the house was barely recognizable.

The tarnished chandeliers were no longer hung with cobwebs but with garlands of silver streamers.

Mrs Weasley had magicked magical snow in the living room.

A great Christmas tree, obtained by Mundungus and decorated with live fairies, blocked Sirius's family tree from view.

Y/N was blissful to see that Harry was smiling much more, since the snake incident.

She woke up on Christmas morning to find out she was woken up by Harry's arms wrapping around her waist.

She stirred lazily, which to Harry was a clear sign that she was awake.

He chuckled quietly and kissed her at the back of her head. Y/N could feel his breath brush against her neck.

"Merry Christmas, Niff." said Harry, his voice breaking slightly because of how early it was.

"Merry Christmas, Harold," Y/N replied, feeling her own voice rasp. "what time is it?"

Y/N turned around to face him and Harry quickly leaned close and kissed her on the cheek.

"Five in the morning," He said brightly.

"Harry!" Y/N exclaimed, pushing him away with her weak morning strength.

"I've brushed my teeth!"

"It's not that!" Y/N groaned, pulling her blanket over her head. "Christmas is not an excuse to wake me up at five in the morning,"

Harry looked at her puffy eyes and tangled hair for a second and let out a snort of laughter.

"No, no, no kidding, I'm gonna kill you... after I wake up." Y/N's voice muffled from under her blanket. "Back to your bed, Harold!"

"But your poor presents are dying to get unwrapped," Harry said, clicking his tongue. "look at this little red one from your possessed boyfriend-"

"Don't joke about that." Y/N said grimly, emerging from under her blanket.

"So you agree to wake up?" Harry grinned.

"Yeah, but only for the presents," said Y/N, "don't think you can wake me up this early any other day-"

"Yeah, yeah, up, up," Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Y/N's blanket away from her reach, earning loud complains from her. "Nice hoodie you got, there."

Y/N looked down at what she was wearing- Harry's grey hoodie.

"Don't flatter yourself," she muttered, rubbing her eyes, as she sat up on her bed. "can you grab me my beanie?"

"You mean the one thirteen-year-old me knitted for you?" Harry smirked, grabbing Y/N's F/C woollen hat from the nightstand and budging it onto her head.

"Will be back here in five," Y/N said, trying not to smile as she got off her bed. "I need to wash my face, or I might actually rub my eyeballs off."

She exited the room and fast walked to the toilet down the hallway.

She quickly brushed her teeth and splashed a good amount of cold water on her face, before returning to Harry, who was already sitting on the floor in front of his pile of presents.

The yellow jewel on Y/N's bracelet flickered as she slumped down in front of her presents excitedly.

She caught Harry's eye and they both grinned.

"I'll open yours last," they said in union, before bursting into chuckles and starting on their first present.

They both received books from their godfather and another's.

Hagrid had given her a big block of his iconic rock cake, Tonks had given her a magical alarm clock that'd play any sound of her choice-

"That's thoughtful," Harry teased, "see, even your godfather's girlfriend knows you wouldn't even if the house was on fire."

He earned himself a terrifying glare from Y/N.

Next was a bunch of eatables from her not-so-closer friends as usual, which she never complained about.

A periwinkle Weasley jumper from Mrs Weasley (which she immediately put on), a vinyl album from Jacob and Queenie, a luxurious broom polishing kit from Newt and Tina, along with a note-

'Congratulations on getting into the team, Y/N! We're beyond proud of you and brother. We'll see you very soon. Don't ever forget that we love you! Merry Christmas!'

"Dumbledore must've told them," she muttered to herself. "Oh, grandpa... I don't even have a broom yet."

She hasn't seen her grandpa since the day her mother passed away, but growing up as a Scamander, she learned to understand her grandfather's occupation.

Hermione had given her a hardcover book with gold foiling called 'The Gifted Vol.275: Exitiumagi' that she immediately loved and couldn't wait to read.

She received a bunch of selfcare products from Fleur, some fuzzy socks from Rolf, a pair of purple and black handmade earrings from Dobby, and Ron had given both Y/N and Harry a big lot of Every-Flavour Beans.

Finally, they were down to each other's presents.

"You go first," said Y/N eagerly, eying the neatly wrapped present she had given to Harry.

By the look in her eyes, Harry just couldn't say no.

Y/N sniggered quietly to herself and watched as he opened the tiny navy blue box eagerly.

Inside the blue box, was a tiny velvet draw-string bag.

Inside the bag, was a ring.

A vintage ring with a singular jewel as a pendant.

"I got you back!" said Y/N triumphantly. "It's a mood ring- from the same shop you brought this bracelet from," Y/N held up her wrist. "The colours represent the same emotions as my bracelet."

"And I thought you were proposing to me," said Harry sarcastically, but he was smiling widely, as he slid on the ring. "Very witty,"

It immediately turned from a subtle sage green to glowing pink.

Y/N smiled to herself. It was exactly just how she'd imagine it on Harry's hand.

"It's not going to glow like this all the time, is it?" he asked quietly, as his cheeks blushed pink.

Y/N got hold of his hand and squeezed it warmly, making Harry's ring glow even brighter.

"Holy sh-"

"It's kind of like the one from the movie My Girl, but just more accurate," Y/N said excitedly. Harry frowned at her questioningly. "Oh, never mind- do you like it?"

"What do you think?" Harry scoffed, grinning delightedly at the ring on his hand. "but you don't understand- this is- I- just open your present. Go on!"

Y/N didn't hesitate to open Harry's present that came in a red box wrapped shut with a white ribbon.

She threw the ribbon away and peered inside the tiny box.

She gaped blankly when she realized that inside, amongst a pool of shredded parchment, was also ring.

A fine, thin, bronze ring with a tiny eye-catching stone attached to it.

"We think the same way," Harry grinned, watching Y/N as she examined the ring up close, smiling at it in awe.

"You've got to stop giving me jewellery, or you might spoil me," Y/N chuckled, examining the beautiful ring in the box. "Woah... Harry... this is- this- wait,"

Y/N's jaw dropped.

The stone on the ring wasn't just a random stone, after all... it was a pebble.

Y/N the Pebble.

"You are... ridiculously sentimental," Y/N laughed, both impressed and pleased. "I love it so bloody much. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem," Harry smiled at her warmly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

He watched her as she quickly slipped on the ring and extended her hand out to examine it.

Harry quickly grabbed her extended hand and compared it next to his.

Both had rings, both had scars- hidden by a thin layer of magic.

.∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

A/N ~ sry I probably scared you, but if you didn't know, the title is just a line from Last Christmas :)

I'm surprised people are still reading this ff with my once-a-week updating schedule🤠 ty for being so patient with me x

Happy Women's History Month!!

-ScribblingQuills