A/N ~ THANK YOU FOR A MILLION READS<3 I love you all so much.

Before you ask- yes, I romanticize rocks🤠 Anyway, we're continuing right from the last chapter...

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"And it's Johnson! Johnson with the Quaffle- what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me-"

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest..." Lee Jordan laughed into his mic. "aaand she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's- ouch- been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe..."

"Still can't believe Crabbe and Goyle are their beaters," Hermione huffed, jumping nervously in her spot.

"And Malfoy's still their Seeker," Y/N added, glaring at Malfoy, who was zooming around the field in search for the Golden Snitch. "There are plenty of Slytherins better than him."

"Don't forget who his father is," Hermione reminded her. Y/N nodded bitterly.

"-Montague drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away-"

As Lee Jordan's commentary rang through the stadium, Harry listened as hard as he could through the din of the Slytherin crowd, all yelling and singing something...

"-dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger- close call, Alicia- and the crowd are loving this- just listen to them... what's that they're singing?"

Lee paused to listen, as the song rose loud and clear from the sea of green and silver in the Slytherin section of the stands...

"Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
Weasley was born in a bin,
He always lets the Quaffle in,
Weasley will make sure we win,
Weasley is our King."

Pansy Parkinson was directing the chant, screaming out the lyrics that Malfoy  presumably made her memorise.

She caught Y/N's glare and swung her short bob viciously, smirking wickedly at her.

"Oh hell no," Y/N growled through gritted teeth, reaching for her wand, but Hermione abruptly grabbed her wrist.

"No, Y/N, you'll only make it worse," she said sternly.

"I won't get caught! I can hex them from here- one by one-"

"Are you listening?" Hermione bellowed, grabbing Y/N's hands and gazing into her eyes. "It won't make any of this any better!"

Y/N shook her off and crossed her arms, but didn't try for her wand.

She stared ahead into the field to where Ron was- pale and sickly, hovering in front of the three hoops.

Warrington from Slytherin was heading towards him, with the Quaffle tucked in his arm...

"-so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper, Weasley! Brother of Beaters, Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team- come on, Ron!"

Y/N held her breath and closed her eyes, but the scream of delight came from the Slytherin end.

Ron had dived wildly, his arms wide, and the Quaffle had soared between them, straight through Ron's central hoop.

"Slytherin score!" came Lee's voice amid the cheering and booing from the crowds below. "So that's ten-nil to Slytherin... bad luck, Ron."

The Slytherins sang even louder:

"WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,
HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN-"

Without warning, at the row in front of Y/N and Hermione, Dennis Creevey's Gryffindor flag burst into dust in his very hand, causing him and his brother to scream and jump away from each other.

Hermione immediately whipped her head to Y/N's direction.

"Y/N!" she scolded.

"Sorry, I can't control them sometimes!" Y/N yelled. "Maybe if you'd let me hex them-"

Hermione sent her a dirty look, making Y/N stop mid sentence and look away.

After a good twenty minutes, Ron had let in three more goals and Angelina had scored Gryffindor one goal.

Y/N saw from a distance that Harry now had a frown on his face and was hurrying through the field, trying to ignore the loud singing from the Slytherins.

"C'mon, Ron!" Rolf cheered, his lion hat roaring from a distance.

"You've got this, Ronald!" Luna whooped, clapping her hands eagerly.

Fred and George had knocked out one of the chasers, making Y/N guiltily satisfied.

Malfoy and Harry were still zooming all over the place, Angelina's eyes were determined, and Ron was bright red in the face.

"WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN,
WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN-"

Harry had seen it at last.

The tiny fluttering Golden Snitch was hovering feet from the ground at the Slytherin end of the pitch.

He dived.

In a matter of seconds, Malfoy was streaking out of the sky on Harry's left, lying flat against his Nimbus 2001.

The Snitch fluttered right beneath one of the goal hoops and scooted off toward the other side of the stands.

Its change of direction suited Malfoy, who was nearer.

Harry pulled his Firebolt around, he and Malfoy were now neck and neck...

Feet from the ground, Harry lifted his right hand from his broom, stretching toward the Snitch...

To his right, Malfoy's arm extended too, reaching, groping...

It was over in two breathless, desperate, windswept seconds.

Harry's fingers closed around the tiny, struggling ball and  pulled his broom upward, holding the struggling ball in his hand and the Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval.

"YES!" Y/N and Hermione punched the air, as the stands burst into applause.

Luna and Rolf was jumping in their spots, clinging onto each other and cheering ecstatically, as their hats roared loudly in sync.

Gryffindor had won.

WHAM!

A Bludger hit Harry squarely in the small of the back and he flew forward off his broom; luckily he was only five or six feet above the ground.

Harry coughed, gathering himself back to his feet, as Madam Hooch blowed her whistle.

Both the referee and Professor McGonagall were yelling furiously at Crabbe, as the Slytherins lowered their brooms to the ground.

Y/N darted down the stands, past the cheering and booing crowd and into the field, not caring that Hermione wasn't following behind her.

She rushed over to Harry and leapt into his already open arms happily.

Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, the snitch still struggling desperately in his hand.

"Are you alright?" Y/N asked frantically, slightly muffled by his embrace.

"'Course I am," Harry replied, grinning over her shoulder.

"You did it, Harry-! You were amazing," Y/N chuckled, squeezing him tightly in her arms.

"Really... do I get a prize?" Harry whispered quietly, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

Y/N rolled her eyes and pushed him away with a scoff, muttering annoyedly under her breath.

A grin appeared on the corner of Harry's lips.

He pulled her in by the waist abruptly, making her let out a quiet gasp.

"C'mon, don't you think I've earned it?" he asked, holding onto her firmly, leaving Y/N no choice but to look at him in the eye.

She couldn't help but break into a smile, as Harry stared down at her lovingly...

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" sneered a cold voice from behind.

Draco Malfoy had just landed his broom near by. His face was as pale as his hair and he was clearly trying to hide his fury with a smirk.

"I've never seen a worse Keeper... but then again- he was born in a bin... Did you like my lyrics, Scamander?"

Y/N and Harry ignored him.

They turned away to meet the rest of the team who were now landing one by one, yelling and punching the air in triumph.

All except Ron, who had dismounted from his broom and took off to the changing room, alone.

"We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called, as Katie and Alicia hugged Harry. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly- we wanted to sing about his mother, see-"

Your promise with Remus... C'mon, ignore him, Y/N... don't do it...

Y/N made a fist and started to recite the alphabet backwards in her head like always.

"Talk about sour grapes," said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look.

"-we couldn't fit in useless loser either- for his father, you know-"

Fred and George had realized what Malfoy was talking about.

Halfway through shaking Harry's hand, they stiffened, looking around at Malfoy.

"Leave it," said Angelina firmly, taking Fred by the arm. "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost."

"-but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" said Malfoy, sneering. "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink... Scamander's mini magizoo probably smells better."

Harry grabbed hold of George's arm.

Meanwhile, it was taking the combined efforts of Angelina, Alicia, and Y/N to stop Fred leaping on Malfoy, who was laughing openly.

Harry looked around for Madam Hooch, but she was still berating Crabbe for his illegal Bludger attack.

"Or perhaps," said Malfoy, leering as he backed away, "you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it-"

It happened all at once.

So suddenly.

So quickly, yet, as if in slow motion.

"HARRY- GEORGE- NO!"

Harry had let go of George, and was heading towards him, himself. The looks on their faces were as if they were ready to kill.

George had shoved Malfoy so hard, he fell backwards to the ground.

Harry took over and pressed his knee on the Slytherin's stomach, pinning him down and punching every inch of his face.

"Fuck you, Malfoy!" He bellowed, drawing back the fist clutching the Snitch and sinking it as hard as he could into Malfoy's face.

He wanted to cause Malfoy as much pain as possible.

Y/N stood frozen in her spot with her lips parted, as she watched Harry and George beat up and curse at the screaming Malfoy, who was now bleeding and struggling desperately.

Harry... Who was only flirting with her moments before, was now willing to risk any consequences to hurt Draco Malfoy as much as possible.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" Madam Hooch finally bellowed.

Harry and George were sent backwards by the jinx, but they didn't seem to care or want to stop their attempt of hurting Malfoy, who was now curled up on the ground with tears and blood glazed all over his face.

"I've never seen behavior like it-" Madam Hooch spat, "back up to the castle, both of you, and straight to your Head of House's office! Go! Now! "

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"What?"

"Your Firebolt was taken?"

"You can't be banned..."

"For life..."

"Banned," said Angelina in a hollow voice. It was late in the evening in the common room.

Harry and George had just got back from their talk with McGonagall and Umbridge, looking empty and guilty.

"Banned." Angelina repeated, "No Seeker and no Beaters... What on earth are we going to do?"

It didn't feel as though they had won the match at all.

Y/N, Hermione and the Gryffindor team were slumped around the fire, all apart from Ron, who had not been seen since the end of the match.

Harry was pale in the face, standing in the middle of the room guiltily.

His hair was wet and his clothes were dirty. He stared at his friends uncertainly.

Y/N went forwards and wrapped her arms around his torso, comforting him without saying any words.

"It's just so unfair," said Alicia numbly.

"And banning Fred when he didn't even do anything," said Katie.

Y/N took Harry by the hand and led him to an armchair by the fireplace, before sitting herself on the arm of the chair.

Harry sighed and placed a hand on her leg, leaning on her slightly as she side-hugged him.

"Trust me, I would've done something if I could," said Fred, with a very ugly look on his face. "I would've crushed the bleached ferret to a pulp if you three hadn't been holding me back."

Harry stared miserably at the dark window, fidgeting with Y/N's bracelet gloomily.

"I'm going to bed," said Angelina, getting slowly to her feet. "Maybe this will all turn out to have been a bad dream... Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find we haven't played yet."

She was soon followed by Alicia and Katie.

Fred and George sloped off to bed some time later, glowering at everyone they passed.

Y/N got up from the arm of Harry's chair to take one of the empty seats, but was stopped, when he grabbed onto her wrist.

"Or you could stay here," he said quietly, patting onto the space next to him.

Y/N felt her heart lift and tried to contain her delight as she squeezed herself beside him in the big armchair.

Harry took her in his arms and rested his head on hers tiredly.

"Have you seen Ron?" Hermione asked in a low voice, moving closer to an empty sofa next to them.

Harry shook his head and Y/N looked around in concern.

"Where is he?"

"I think he's avoiding us," said Hermione. "Where do you think he-?"

But at that precise moment, there was a creaking sound behind them as the Fat Lady swung and Ron climbed in.

He was very pale indeed and there were flakes of the early November snow in his red hair.

When he saw Y/N, Harry and Hermione, he stopped in his tracks.

"Ron," Y/N whispered- she didn't know exactly what to say.

"Where have you been?" said Hermione anxiously, springing up.

"Walking," Ron mumbled. He was still wearing his Quidditch robes.

"You look frozen," said Hermione. "Come and sit down!"

Ron walked to the fireside and sank into the chair farthest from Harry and Y/N, not looking at any of them.

"I'm sorry," Ron mumbled, looking at his feet.

"What for?" said Y/N and Harry together.

"For thinking I can play Quidditch," said Ron. "I'm going to resign first thing tomorrow."

"If you resign," said Harry testily, "there'll only be three players left on the team... I've been given a lifetime ban. So've Fred and George."

"What?" Ron yelped.

Hermione told him the full story; Harry could not bear to tell it again, resting his head on Y/N's shoulder and staring blankly into the fireplace.

When Hermione had finished, Ron looked more anguished than ever.

"This is all my fault-"

"You didn't make me punch Malfoy," said Harry angrily.

"-if I wasn't so lousy at Quidditch-"

"-it's got nothing to do with that-"

"-it was that song that wound me up-"

"-it would've wound anyone up-"

"The both of you- drop it!" said Y/N impatiently. Both Ron and Harry fell silent. "this- bickering isn't helping."

Hermione stared out of the dark window in silence.

Ron sighed deeply and buried his face into his hands.

Harry felt the worst he's ever felt in a while.

"Well," said Hermione, her voice trembling slightly. "I can think of one thing that might cheer you all up."

"Oh yeah?" said Harry skeptically.

"Yeah," said Hermione, looking away from the pitch-black window, a broad smile spreading across her face. "Hagrid's back."

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They arrived at Hagrid's hut minutes later.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry called through the keyhole of Hagrid's hut, which was finally bright and had smoke coming out of the chimney.

"Shoulda known!" said a gruff voice from inside.

The Quartet beamed at one another under the Cloak, which barely fell over their ankles.

They could tell that Hagrid's voice was pleased.

"Bin home three seconds..." Hagrid chuckled. "Out the way, Fang... Out the way, yeh dozy dog."

Seconds later, the door creaked open, and Hagrid's head appeared in the gap.

Hermione screamed and Y/N and Ron gasped.

"Merlin's beard, keep it down!" said Hagrid hastily, "Under that Cloak, are yeh? Well, get in, get in!"

The four of them squeezed past Hagrid into the house and pulled the Cloak off themselves so he could see them.

"Oh, Hagrid !" Hermione exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"It's nuthin', it's nuthin'!" said Hagrid hastily, shutting the door behind them.

But it definitely was... something.

Hagrid's hair was matted with congealed blood, and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amongst other purple-and-black bruises.

There were many cuts on his face and hands, some of them still bleeding.

"What happened?" Y/N demanded, staring at Hagrid's appeal worriedly.

"Told yeh- nuthin', " said Hagrid firmly. "Want a cuppa?"

"Come off it," said Harry, "you're in a right state."

"I'm tellin' yeh, I'm fine," said Hagrid, straightening up and turning to beam at them all, but wincing. "Blimey, it's good ter see you four again- had good summers, did yeh?"

"Hagrid, you've been attacked!" said Ron.

"Fer the las' time, it's nuthin'!" said Hagrid firmly.

"Would you say it was nothing if one of us turned up with a pound of mince instead of a face?" Ron demanded.

Hagrid grunted under his breath but ignored them, turning around and grabbing five cups from the cupboard.

"Giants attacked you, didn't they?" Hermione asked quietly.

Hagrid froze and turned back to face them.

"Giants? Who said anythin' about Giants?" he growled. Y/N could see the slight panic in his eyes.

"Well... we kind of guessed," said Ron, "it was pretty obvious."

"'Course it was," Hagrid grumbled, slumping down onto a chair noisily.

"C'mon, you can tell us," Y/N persuaded, "you tell us about the giant attack and Harry'll tell you about his dementor encounter-"

"Harry was attacked by dementors?" Hagrid roared, looking at Harry unbelievably.

"You haven't heard?" Hermione's eyes grew wide.

"I don' know anything that's been happenin' since I left." said Hagrid. "I was on a secret mission- didn' wan' owls followin' me all over the place- ruddy dementors! Yeh're not serious?"

"No, that's Harry's godfather." Y/N grinned.

Ron and Harry pursed their lips and Hermione kicked her leg under the table. Hagrid chuckled hollowly.

"Knew yeh and Black would get along," he smiled.

"So you do know about Sirius," said Harry.

"Dumbledore told me all about 'im and the reformed Order, before I left fer the mission." Hagrid said. "And 'bout Beaky, o' course. Bless 'im... Now tell me about them dementors."

Harry glanced at his friends for approval and they all nodded urgently.

He told Hagrid all about the attack and the hearing that followed it.

"Ruddy Ministry!" Hagrid huffed. "How did-"

"I told you about my summer, now you tell us yours," said Harry. The Quartet nodded in agreement.

Hagrid muttered something under his breath but sighed heavily, agreeing to tell them about his summer.

"Me an' Olympe went ter find the giants," he started. Hermione goggled at him. "Well, they weren' really hard teh find... they're huge, yeh see... Dumbledore sent us ter try teh convince them to join the cause."

"Dumbledore sent you to the giants?" Harry asked, feeling his blood simmer.

"Well, tha' wasn' the only reason," said Hagrid quickly. "I wen' ter find my family, yeh see... from my mother's side."

Y/N gave him a sympathetic look.

"She's dead. Killed by the lot o' them." said Hagrid emotionlessly.

"Oh, Hagrid," Hermione whispered.

"It's nuthin', it's nuthin'..." the half-giant repeated. "Didn' know her well, anyway... an' the mission was no use- the death eaters already won them over."

"Death eaters did this to you?" Harry asked.

"Nah, didn' meet any o' them," said Hagrid.

"So it was the giants?" Y/N asked patiently.

"Not exactly..." Hagrid said hesitantly. He opened his mouth and shut it several times, as if he wanted to tell them something. "I wan' to take yeh lot abou'-"

But the rest of his words were drowned in a sudden outbreak of rapping on the door.

All five of them stared at the window beside the doorway in panic.

The shadow of somebody small and squat rippled across the thin curtain.

"It's Umbridge!" Ron whispered.

"Get under here!" Harry said quickly, seizing the Invisibility Cloak he whirled it over himself, Y/N and Hermione, while Ron tore around the table and dived beneath the Cloak as well.

They huddled together and bent their knees so the cloak would cover them all and backed away into a corner.

Fang was barking madly at the door. Hagrid looked thoroughly confused.

"Hagrid, hide our mugs!" Y/N hissed.

Hagrid seized the four mugs and shoved them under the cushion in Fang's basket.

Fang was now leaping up at the door. Hagrid pushed him out of the way with his foot and pulled it open.

Umbridge was standing in the doorway wearing her green tweed cloak and a matching hat with hideous earflaps.

Lips pursed, she leaned back so as to see Hagrid's face- she barely reached his navel.

"So," she said slowly and loudly, as though speaking to somebody deaf. "You're Hagrid, are you?"

"Y-yeh, tha's me," Hagrid replied, still looking confused.

"I am Dolores Umbridge," said Umbridge, her voice ringing around the hut. "now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher-"

"Tha's brave of yeh," said Hagrid, "there's not many'd take tha' job anymore-"

"-and Hogwarts High Inquisitor," said Umbridge "which means it is my job to inspect you, as well as all the other professors."

"You're inspectin' us?" Hagrid echoed blankly, looking after her.

"Oh yes," said Umbridge softly, looking back at him with her hand on the door handle. "I will ask you this, Hagrid- where have you been?"

"Vacation." Hagrid replied bluntly. Y/N mentally face palmed herself.

"Vacation?" Umbridge's voice and eyebrows went higher.

"Well- change o' scene, yeh know-"

"Mountain scenery?" said Umbridge swiftly.

She knows, Y/N thought desperately, feeling Hermione breathing shakily by her ear.

"Mountains?" Hagrid repeated, clearly thinking fast. "Nope, South of France fer me. Bit o' sun an'... an' sea."

"Really?" said Umbridge. "You don't have much of a tan."

"Yeah, well... sensitive skin," said Hagrid, attempting an ingratiating smile.

"The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid." said Umbridge. Y/N had the obvious impression that she wasn't buying his lie. "Your inspection will be held on Monday, next week. Good night."

She left, closing the door behind her with a snap. Harry made to pull off the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione seized his wrist.

"Not yet," she breathed in his ear. "She might not be gone yet."

"She's goin' back ter the castle," Hagrid said in a low voice, after a silent moment. "Blimey...  inspectin' people, is she?"

"Yeah," said Harry, pulling the Cloak off. "Trelawney's on probation already."

"Well, yeh lot better get back now," Hagrid grunted, "I promise I'll tell yeh everythin', tomorrow."

"But we want to know if you're alright or-"

"Look, don' you go worryin' abou' me," Hagrid said firmly. "Now, get back up to the castle... an' don' forget ter wipe yer footprints out behind yeh!"

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The next day was a Saturday. The Quartet immediately left the Great Hall when they'd finished breakfast, to head to Hagrid's hut.

They of course wanted to know the whole story to Hagrid's mission in the mountains with the giants.

But they were stopped on the way.

"Ooh, hey Harry!" rang an ear-bleeding voice.

The Quartet froze by the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, as Pansy Parkinson's giggles grew louder from behind them.

"How many Nifflers has she been giving you to be with her?" the Slytherin girl sneered.

The next thing Y/N knew, Pansy Parkinson had shoved past her and was clinging onto Harry's arm.

"The hell, Parkinson!" Harry tried to break loose, but she held onto him tightly.

Ron and Hermione were already yelling at her furiously.

Y/N felt her head buzz with anger and was practically speechless of Pansy's childish act.

"Are you going down to the lake, Harold?" Pansy asked Harry sweetly, ignoring Ron and Hermione's insults. "I'll join you,"

"Harold?" Y/N scoffed. She just realized how stupid that name sounded, coming from someone else's mouth.

Pansy giggled again and leaned onto the struggling Harry.

"Tell her, Harry," the girl sighed happily. "about yesterday night... the stroll we took around the castle... ah, it was romantic."

It was the Quartet's turn to laugh now.

"Oh, I know this method too well," Y/N laughed, "let's not forget about the woollen hat incident. I'm sure Malfoy had told you about it?"

To Y/N's surprise, the mention of Malfoy made Pansy a lot more infuriated.

Her face glowed red and she clenched her jaw intensely.

"Yeah, nice try, but Y/N sleeps with Harry every night." Hermione said spitefully. Ron sniggered, as Pansy's face reddened. "that's embarrassing for you, Parkinson."

"Your existence is embarrassing, Granger," Pansy spat, glaring at Hermione from head to toe. "you don't get a say in this. Your blood is as filthy as the bottom of my-"

She was cut off her own gasp.

Y/N and Ron had reached for their wands and were pointing them directly at Pansy's throat.

"Feel free to finish that sentence," Ron snarled, glaring at Pansy in disgust.

"Harry! Stop them!" Pansy shrieked, jumping behind Harry, shielding Y/N and Ron with his body.

Y/N cringed; she felt bad for Pansy sometimes, truly. Poor girl was embarrassing herself without even knowing it.

"Hey, it's not worth it," said Harry grimly to Y/N and Ron, "lower your wands."

"Excuse me?" Y/N bellowed.

Her pity for Pansy vanished, and the red gem on her bracelet flickered.

"You're mental!" Ron chimed in, looking at Harry as if he's gone mad.

Pansy poked her head from behind Harry's back and shone Y/N a nasty smirk.

"No, Harry's right." said Hermione briskly, grabbing Ron's wrist. "Just ignore her. Let's just go down to Hagrid's."

"Says who, Muddybear?" Pansy sneered, her confidence creeping back. "Harry's coming with me."

"No, thanks," Harry said uncomfortably, shaking Pansy away. "good day, Parkinson."

With that, the four left Pansy by the fountain, gaping dramatically after them as though they'd each took turns to slap her.

Y/N looked back one more time to see the Slytherin storm back into the castle.

"What were you two playing at?" Ron said heatedly to Harry and Hermione, once they were far from the courtyard. Y/N wanted to know the same.

"She was clearly trying to piss Y/N off," said Hermione, "so why give her the satisfaction when you can simply just ignore her?"

"That wasn't why I wanted to hex her!" Y/N exclaimed. "She called you that slur as though it was simply a 'hi' or a 'good bye'!"

"I appreciate your defence, Y/N," Hermione sighed, "but you can't try to hex her or anyone every time they say Mudblood."

Y/N didn't say anything else, but scowled ahead.

Harry stepped closer to her and grabbed onto her hand- but to everyone's surprise, she shook it off and sped her walk.

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Later that morning, after they've visited Hagrid and made him finish his story about his mission with the giants, the four Gryffindors went to hang out at a spot between the woods and the lake.

The cold air and water was piercing their exposed skin, but they didn't really bother.

Hermione was the only one who refused to even get her feet wet, so she sat by a nearby oak tree.

She leaned against its trunk and started to read one of her Arithmancy textbooks.

Y/N sat on a big rock in the shallow water, feeling dozens of bumpy pebbles beneath her feet.

Her feet had gone numb from the freezing water, so the pebbles simply felt like a nice massage.

Harry was also sitting on one of the bigger rocks, staring dreamily at Y/N, who simply stared at anywhere else but him.

Ron was skipping rocks, going on and on to Hermione about how absurd Hagrid's mission was.

"Can't believe Hagrid even survived that," the redhead said unbelievably. "I mean, he's strong and all, but the giants- twenty feet? Can you imagine that?"

Y/N couldn't tell if Hermione was listening to him or not, but she most definitely didn't seem like she was.

"Can I sit here?" Harry asked.

Y/N looked up at him to see the boy towering over her, but he didn't wait for an answer.

He sat himself right next to her on the same rock, rolled up his sleeves, and put an arm around her shoulder.

"You're going to make me fall," Y/N muttered annoyedly, side-glaring him.

"And I thought you already fell for me." said Harry, shining her a satisfying grin.

Y/N remained her straight face and stared ahead, slightly clenching her jaw.

"FIVE SKIPS!" Ron yelled from a distance, "DID ANYONE SEE THAT-?"

"What's wrong?" Harry suddenly asked, unwrapping his arm from Y/N's body. "You usually would've smiled at that. Did I do something wrong? Niff?"

"No, you didn't." Y/N replied flatly, her voice sounding harsher than usual.

"Oh..." Harry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Can I ask you a very weird question?" Y/N asked loudly.

Harry blinked at her for a good five seconds.

"Er... sure?"

"It's- very odd... and out of context." Y/N warned.

"Sounds like you," Harry teased, chuckling to himself, but quickly fell quiet from Y/N's look. "'course you can. Shoot."

"If I were a pebble, which one would I be?" Y/N asked, looking below in the water. She could see all the colourful little rocks surrounding her and Harry's feet.

"Come again?" Harry chuckled. "You want me to compare you to a... pebble?"

"Precisely," Y/N responded smoothly.

"If you say so," Harry grinned.

He squinted around the water surrounding them for a moment, and when he spot a certain pebble right beside his left foot.

He reached into the piercing cold water and pulled it out, placing it on his palm.

Y/N's heart shrank slightly when she saw the pebble.

It wasn't one of the colourful ones- it also wasn't one of the smooth ones.

It was simply just a random rough pebble in the most boring shade of grey with some white streaks.

"That's... that's the one?" Y/N asked hesitantly, staring at the pebble in the middle of Harry's palm.

"Yep... that's you." Harry smiled at the pebble quite proudly.

A small silence fell, with only Ron and Hermione's distant bickering in the background.

"But... that's... why?" Y/N asked, trying not to sound disappointed, as she stared down at the ugly little rock. "You merely looked around, I don't think you've seen the other-"

"I've decided, and my decision is final. This is you." Harry said with a broad smile, looking at the tiny rock in his hand.

"Er- Why, may I ask?" Y/N asked bitterly.

"Do I need a reason?" Harry chuckled, looking sideways at Y/N's disappointed face. "I chose it because I just felt like it. It was my intuition."

Y/N continued to stare at the pebble blankly in confusion.

"There's no specific reason why it caught my eye," Harry shrugged. "But it got my attention first- and now that I've chosen it, I'm emotionally attached to it. Can't change my mind. This is you."

"Fine, say it is me." Y/N muttered, trying not to roll her eyes.

"Yes. Y/N the Pebble." Harry grinned. "I like Y/N the Pebble."

"Okay, but what about... this one?" Y/N pulled out a unique-looking emerald pebble from the shallow water. "Isn't it pretty? Prettier than Y/N the Pebble?"

"Not in my eyes, no," said Harry cooly.

"But it's- green," at this point, Y/N felt like she was bullying herself. "What about- this pink one?"

She pulled out another rock from the water. Harry shook his head.

"No, it doesn't interest me." he said.

Y/N started picking out random colourful rocks out of the water and shoving it in front of Harry's face. "-or this smooth white one? For heavens sake, this blue one-"

"Are you listening?" Harry laughed, putting a hand on her knee. "I chose Y/N the Pebble. The other pebbles won't change my mind."

"But there's nothing special about Y/N the Pebble." Y/N fussed, glaring at the grey rock on Harry's palm.

"It's special enough for me to choose it out of millions." said Harry, looking at her in the eye.

"What about Pansy the Pebble?" Y/N asked quietly, picking out a beautiful clear rock from the water, holding it right under Harry's nose. "You wanna trade it for Y/N the Pebble?"

"No. And that's final." said Harry. "Offer me all the pebbles in this lake, and I would still choose this one. Y/N the Pebble."

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

In a span of a few days, Hogwarts had turned from cloudy and chilly to being completely covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Fred and George didn't waste time to attack Ron with a dozen snowballs- bewitching them to hit the window of the boys' dormitory, while he and his friends tried to study.

"Oi!" bellowed Ron, finally losing patience and sticking his head out of the window, "I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window- OUCH!"

He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow.

"It's Fred and George," He said bitterly.

"'Course it is," Y/N sighed, slamming her Runes book shut. "This is no use. I work best at night."

"Oh, c'mon- make something out of your lunch break," Hermione said sternly, giving her a look. She was sitting cross-legged next to Ron, on his bed.

Y/N threw her book to the side with a loud sigh and fell back onto Harry's bed, burying her face into his white pillow.

Harry laughed, also putting away his book and copying her actions, slamming his face into his poor pillow.

The two laughed uncontrollably, muffling inaudibly.

"You two know how important our O.W.L. exams are, right?" Hermione pursed her lips disapprovingly.

"Let them be, Mione," Ron sighed, also shoving his quill and ink back into his bag. "Our lunch break is for us to have a break."

"Fine. Do whatever." Hermione huffed with her nose in the air.

"It's not like I'm not going to study," Y/N said, emerging her face from Harry's pillow and rolling onto her back. "I just don't want to, right now..."

"And you've been saying that for how long?" Hermione questioned, frowning her eyebrows.

"Two months, tops." Y/N replied casually with a shrug, leaning her head on Harry's, as the both of them lay on his bed on their backs, with their eyes closed. "Have fun studying, Herm-"

"Bloody hell! It's time for our next class already," Ron exclaimed, looking down at his watch. "We've got Hagrid, next? Umbridge'll be there, will she?"

"Please, Merlin, I hope not," Y/N groaned, as she slapped her hands on her face.

"Oh heavens, it is time!" Hermione said urgently, also looking down at her watch. She shut her four books and tucked them neatly into her bag. "Quickly, Y/N, Harry! Are you coming, or not?"

"Coming, mother," Y/N grinned widely, bouncing off Harry's bed.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled Ron up by the arm.

"Let's go, Ronald. Grab your book!" the bushy-haired girl ushered.

Ron grabbed his Care of Magical Creatures book numbly, and was yanked out of his own dormitory by Hermione.

Y/N threw her book into her bag and swung on her robes and tightened her necktie.

"Harry, we're actually going to be late," she said in a low voice, as Harry continued to gaze at her lovingly, with his back still leaned on his bed.

"Oh- right," Harry muttered, finally breaking his stare from her. "we're... late."

He climbed off his bed, got to his feet and steadied himself, as Y/N tied her hair away from her face.

Suddenly, without any warning, his scar burned... painfully.

It was so abrupt that Harry didn't even bother to hide his shock. His hand flew to his forehead and he hissed in pain.

Voldemort was growing stronger every day, and his plans were falling into place... and Harry knew it.

He could feel it- and it was making his blood boil.

"Harry?" Y/N said quietly.

Without warning, Harry grabbed onto her red and gold necktie and pulled it towards him, hard.

She was yanked forwards, crashing into Harry's torso, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Harry-! What're you-?" Y/N looked deeply into Harry's eyes and knew right away- Voldemort was getting to him, again. "It's Voldemort, isn't it?"

At the word 'Voldemort', Harry's released her tie, backing away and breathing slightly heavier than normal.

"What..." he looked back at the wide-eyed Y/N. "I didn't know what- my scar was just- I'm sorry-"

But his words were cut off by Y/N loud and firm claps. It was like she was trying to wake him up.

Harry froze and blinked blankly at her.

"Hey! Voldy!" Y/N yelled, as if she was trying to talk to someone with Mandrake earmuffs on. She clapped her hands between each word. "Get- out- of- my- boyfriend's- head-!"

"I don't think it works like that," said Harry, with a confused but impressed look on his face.

"But did it work?" Y/N asked with a bright grin.

The pain on Harry's forehead was gone, and his urge to want to destroy something had vanished.

"Damn right it did..."

"Yeah, we're late to our next class, Harold."

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly.

Y/N stared in confusion at the wide clearing in front of them.

It seemed as though Hagrid was showing them some sort of... invisible creature.

She looked to her side to see Harry and Neville looking ahead of them with raised eyebrows, as the others exchanged looks of confusion.

Malfoy, who was well healed from the Quidditch fight, was sniggering with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Now... put yer hands up, who can see 'em?" Hagrid looked around.

Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded at him.

"Yeah... yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," he said seriously. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An'-"

"Excuse me," said Malfoy in a sneering voice, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground.

The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Pansy Parkinson squealed.

Bits of flesh were stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air.

At that moment, Y/N finally understood.

Thestrals.

"What's doing it?" Pansy demanded in a terrified voice. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals," said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft 'oh!' of comprehension from behind Y/N's shoulder.

"But aren't they unlucky?" Lavender Brown asked fearfully, looking around in alarm.

"Nah, these lot jus' pullin' the school carriages," Hagrid waved his hand, "unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate. Now, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?"

Hermione and Y/N raised their hands.

"Y/N, go on," said Hagrid, beaming at her.

"The only people who can see thestrals," she said calmly, "are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly, "ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals-"

"Hem, hem."

She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready- Dolores Umbridge.

Apart from the Umbridge part, Y/N enjoyed the rest of the class.

She even had the courage to pet one of the Thestrals, which felt quite odd, since... she couldn't see them... (yet, lmfao)

Umbridge was now firing questions about Hagrid at the Slytherins... Out of all people, she chose Pansy as her main interviewee.

"Do you find," the horrid woman started, "that you can understand Professor Hagrid when he speaks?"

"Well... it sounds more like grunting a lot of the time," Pansy suppressed.

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.

The few unbruised bits of Hagrid's face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy's answer.

"Er- yeah, good stuff abou' thestrals." he continued, "They're good navigators, they are. Jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go-"

"Assuming they can understand you, of course," said Malfoy loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles.

Umbridge smiled sweetly at them.

Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now.

"You hag, you evil hag!" she whispered, as Umbridge asked Pansy Parkinson another question. "I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious-"

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Y/N half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle after class. "Hagrid is amazing and Thestrals are completely harmless."

"I'm surprised so many people could see them, though," said Ron. "Three in a class-"

"Yeah, Weasley, we were just wondering," said a malicious voice nearby. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking along right behind them.

Hermione started to increase her walking speed, even though it was nearly impossible, with all the snow.

"D'you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you'd be able to see the Quaffle better?" Malfoy sneered.

He, Crabbe, and Goyle roared with laughter and headed back to the castle, while shouting out the chorus of 'Weasley Is Our King'.

Ron's ears turned scarlet.

"Ignore them, just ignore them," intoned Hermione.

Y/N was having a hard time reciting the alphabets backwards, trying to distract herself from the nasty urge to follow Malia Gryffindor's steps...

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △r⃒⃘ ➵ ♆

A/N ~ Woohoo, we're officially half way through fifth year and this whole fanfic. Dunno how to feel about that :/

Also, opening auditions for Y/N's bracelet!! I've found one on Pinterest, but it's kind of... unfitting. Feel free to dm me a pic or drop a link in the comments if you find one that's accurate to the description :)

Love you all, truly,

-ScribblingQuills