❝I'm addicted to the feeling of having every single stroke of your fingertips brush through my skin❞

»»-----　♡　-----««

"Mama, mama!" (Y/N) ran up to their (H/C) haired mother with a huge smile on their face.

The floorboards creaked at every thudding noises that (Y/N)'s small feet made, making the mother frown and look down at her child.

"(Y/N), don't run." She scolded with a sigh.

(Y/N) could only giggle while holding up a beautiful lily that she managed to pick up as she was playing in the seemingly gloomy and dead front yard of their rundown house.

"Look, I found this! I thought it might cheer you up!" The (H/C) haired child grinned happily.

Their right cheek was smudged with dirt and their hands were almost dusty and brown.

Their clothes weren't looking so clean either; some patches of their smudged red shirt were replaced with old cloths that the family could find and their cartoonish designed shorts were starting to rip apart from their seams. They were walking around barefoot as well.

The mother stared at the lily for a moment but then widened her eyes at the realization that her child had gone outside to play without her knowing that they were outside.

Her vision at the lily started to spiral and she didn't even notice that her breathing was starting to get erratic and unusual.

"...Mama?" (Y/N) mumbled worryingly, bringing the flower down as it seemed to upset their mother.

Before the child could even react, the mother began to grab (Y/N)'s small shoulders and began to shake them.

"Why did you go outside without my permission!? You know that it's dangerous outside! If your father knew that you were outside alone, who knows what that man could do to you!? You cannot leave this house unless I'm with you at all times, understand!?" She began to rant, almost leaving her out of breath due to her scream that echoed the house.

(Y/N) stared up at their mother with a horrified look on their face. They began to turn pale, scared of what their mother could do next after screaming and upsetting her for going outside without her permission.

Of course, (Y/N) meant well and they were only trying to cheer her up as she was always stressed for having to deal with her husband's behavior, but the mother was paranoid as she couldn't deal with having her only child to leave her alone.

As she began to calm down and her breathing returned back to normal, she took a glimpse down at (Y/N)'s face and her lips slightly parted in surprise for what she has done.

(Y/N) was on the verge of crying as their eyes were starting to well up in tears. The lily that was on their hand was clutched tightly and the stem seemed to snap under their grip.

It looked dead.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." (Y/N) hiccuped and started to wipe their tears, wanting to not show any weakness towards their own mother.

The (H/C) haired woman stared down with her softened gaze before smiling lovingly and placing her hand on her child's head, pulling them closer to her.

"Shh shh... Don't worry, sweetie." She whispered and chuckled softly. "Stay here with me, (Y/N). Don't ever leave me alone. You love me, don't you?" The woman hugged them tighter as a slightly crazed look invaded her eyes and a wide smile that almost made her look eerie and insane.

"Children who love their mothers won't leave them, right?" The woman asked, making (Y/N) look up to their mother with their quivering lip, and glossy tear-filled eyes.

The young child stared at their mother's features for a moment, and letting her almost empty yet crazed look on her face, sink in their mind.

To (Y/N), they only saw their mother as if she had feared for their safety. She was only concerned and didn't want them to get hurt.

Even if the crazed look made them feel unsettled, they composed themselves and had to remember this;

This is their mother.

The same woman who gave birth to them, the same woman who tried to bring them joy and live a happy life despite their father ruining their lives at every second he 'bonds' with them.

With little hesitation, (Y/N) nodded and buried their face closer to their mother's chest.

They sigh in satisfaction at the warmth and comfort that she radiated from her body, almost making (Y/N) fall asleep in her arms.

"Yes, mama." Those small understanding words were enough to make the woman smile gleefully as she started to wonder;

Where the hell did this family go horribly wrong?

»»-----　♡　-----««

Nighttime was fast approaching and before we could even realize that it's already time for dinner, Snape already informed us as he peeked inside our room with his usual cold gaze.

Alem was just reading the book that I got him this Christmas and he was startled to see Snape on the doorway while he was sprawled on the bed comfortably.

Alem bashfully straightened himself while I snickered on my bed, resisting the urge to laugh and tease my brother of how embarrassing it must've been.

I immediately stopped when he shot me a death glare though.

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were talking about stuff that don't really interest me, like how they were going to spend the rest of their summer.

Draco mentioned that I was going to visit them at one point to the two dinguses but I didn't bother to pipe in on their conversation as there's really no use for me to do so.

As for me, I was bored out of my mind and pressed my feet on the headboard of my bed while waving my wand around, letting my signature red quill float around me like water flowing gently through the stream.

"Tonight is your final night in the castle." Snape tiredly stated while eyeing me with an indescribable look. "Every student is required to go to the Great Hall for their last dinner."

The Potions master brought his attention on me, making me flinch and sit up straight.

"And Miss/Mr Rosewood, I expect you to look and act your..." His face scrunched up at the sight of my slightly messy hair and disheveled casual clothes. "...best."

I purse my lips and nodded in embarrassment while mumbling a soft 'yes, professor.'

Snape grunts but said nothing as he walked out of the room, closing the door in the process.

When the Potions master was gone, I could hear Alem chuckling devilishly from his bed, making me turn my head towards my brother with a sneer.

He stopped and only grinned, giving me a look that says, 'sorry, sorry' in a playful manner.

"I don't see what's the problem with your appearance, (Y/N)." Draco piped in, making me place my attention on him as he stood up from his bed. "You look great, nonetheless."

A sigh escaped my lips as I rake my fingers and push my hair back. I send Draco a small smile, silently appreciating his words.

"Thanks, Draco. But, you honestly can't deny that I still look pretty bad." I sigh again

"I'm like a hobo."

"Ho...bo?" The Malfoy heir repeated my words, almost as if it's the complicated thing that he's ever heard from me. I shake my head to dismiss the topic as I stand up from my bed.

"Do we still need to use our uniforms?" I ask while pulling my drawer open, and retrieving a comb.

"I believe so." I heard Draco say and can practically feel his stare on me.

I start to comb through my hair and made sure that no strands were tangled as I did so.

I ignored the platinum blonde haired boy's stare as I walk up to Alem's bed to tell him to get up.

"Get up, brother. We need to go to the Great Hall." I said as my brother groaned while dragging himself out of his bed, placing The Neverland's Promise in his nightstand.

"I don't really see the point of all of us going to eat our final dinner in the castle since we'll technically still be classmates by next year." He stated while taking my comb from my hands and using it to comb through his hair.

"Well, it's the thought that counts. I mean, some of us will surely miss each other during summer." I shrug and laid myself on Alem's bed, grabbing one of his pillows and hugging it tightly.

"I guess that's true. But, I still think that it's a bit pointless." My brother dragged his legs over to the neatly hung Slytherin uniform and robe, on the wall next to his bed.

I didn't reply to him and only watched him grab the uniform and robe.

"And you should get up from my bed, (Y/N). Your stinking smell is gonna infect my pillows and my bed sheet." He scoffed as I practically jumped out of his bed while blushing profusely, finding his words to be offensive.

"Hey, I don't stink!" I exclaimed while watching Alem snicker and enter the bathroom without saying anything.

Pouting, I walk over to my side of the bed and grabbed my disheveled Slytherin robe and uniform that was messily folded and placed on the wooden trunk box at the foot of my bed.

"Geez, stupid Alem." I mutter in between my breaths and stopped to wonder if I really do smell.

I mean, I did sweat a lot this afternoon because of the intense heat.

Before my nervousness could get to me, I flicked my eyes over to my Slytherin robe in my arms and noticed that it was already touching the floor so I clicked my tongue and pulled the loose fabric up.

"And stupid oversized Slytherin robe." I mutter, but this time, loudly. With an annoyed huff escaping my lips, I stare at my robe for a while before groaning.

"I seriously need to get my robe checked next year!" I exclaim. "Stupid fucking-"

I stop myself before I go too far with my cursing, since I realized that Draco and the two dung heads are still in the room.

I turn my head to look at the three to see if they heard me swearing, but it seems like they weren't paying attention on me so I silently sigh in relief.

As I sat on my bed, my mind starts to go in auto pilot mode while waiting for Alem to finish dressing up.

»»-----　♡　-----««

When everyone was already in their uniforms and wore their Slytherin robe, we all went out of our room and out of the Slytherin common room, while chatting to each other and talking about how it's finally our last days as first years in Hogwarts.

Crabbe and Goyle weren't participating much in the conversation, and kept throwing me looks of contempt.

I didn't understand why they're annoyed yet somewhat afraid of me, but I'm guessing that it's because of the library incident.

And I particularly don't care if they don't want to talk to me after that.

My attention is divided to both Draco and Alem, since those two aren't really talking to each other. I didn't question much or complain about it since I know that those two aren't in good terms since day one.

So I'm acting as a mediator to these two.

"Ah, (Y/N)." Draco said, making me turn my attention towards him with a hum.

"Hm?"

"You told me that you are going to visit my home this summer, right?" That question was enough to make me gulp and flinch, since Alem is technically beside me and I can practically feel him staring at the back of my head.

"I... Uh, yes." I stuttered, adding a nervous chuckle at the end of my sentence.

"I asked my mother if it's alright with her yesterday, and she told me that she is looking forward to meet you once more." The oblivious Malfoy heir smiled while I was just trying to ignore Alem's deathly aura beside me.

I could only nod and laugh nervously at his words until I froze and became confused.

"Couldn't you have just told her that a few days before I visit? Why tell her now?" I asked.

"Well," Draco's pale cheeks began to turn into pink as he looked away from me out of embarrassment. "I-It's not like I'm looking forward to see you at the mansion during summer...!"

Such a tsundere, I thought while slightly finding Draco's action to be adorable.

He's such an innocent eleven year old child who doesn't really have real friends to turn to.

"Ehem." Alem's rough and stern cough made me flinch again and divert my attention away from Draco. I sweat-dropped as soon as I saw Alem's narrowed and glinting (E/C) eyes.

It almost felt like he was shooting daggers through his glare, that if looks could kill, I would most likely be dead by now.

"Is there something that I'm missing, my dear sister/brother?" Alem asked and I fumbled around for a moment before chuckling nervously to ease some tension from my body.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow morning..." I dismissed the topic but my brother still kept throwing death glares at me, making me feel uncomfortable since I could feel his anger and annoyance radiating from his body.

We continued to walk to the Great Hall, but this time, everyone was silent.

No one was talking and I thought that this is much worse than having Draco and Alem have a glare showdown and Alem radiating his anger aura on me.

At least, it made me feel like everyone is actually interacting or something.

The silence in the group makes everything so awkward and makes me cringe internally.

How can a simple thing like this make me want to jump out of the nearest window and hope to disappear from this world?

As soon as we arrived at the Great Hall, and before I can even take in the sweet smell of meat and other delicacies that was present in each table, I was suddenly confronted by a certain redhead with a frantic look on his face.

"(Y/N), we've been looking for you everywhere!" Ron emphasized the word 'everywhere' as his wide blue eyes settled into my surprised look.

Eventually, his eyes flickered over to the three other Slytherins beside me and his surprised face fell as fast as he confronted me just a few seconds ago.

"Uh..." Ron stepped away from me while scratching the back of his head. "Could you come down to the Gryffindor table? We need to discuss something very important." He asked while observing Draco and the two other dung heads with a subtle furious look.

"Loud as ever, Weasley." Draco piped in on the conversation, which I didn't really expect. "One second after we step foot in the Great Hall, and you're already starting to bark like a panicked pathetic dog."

Ron's face started to become red due to anger as he takes one step closer while his fists start to tighten. He starts to take a step forward, and looks like he's about to punch him.

"I swear to god, if y'all are going to start a fight here, I am going to drill your goddamn heads through that thick ass wall." My angry voice was enough to make Ron stop on his tracks and make Draco shut his mouth up.

"What does ass mean?" I heard Goyle ask, probably to Crabbe.

"I don't know. Maybe it's an abbreviation for something." Crabbe responded.

Oh, these poor innocent dung heads, I thought before sighing and turning my attention to Alem.

"I'm going over to the Gryffindor table." I told my brother briefly. He stared at me for a moment, until he nodded. I acknowledge his permission to let me go to the Gryffindor table, and then turned towards Draco.

I couldn't say anything to him and instead, I sighed and gave him a "this is why you don't have any friends" look.

He obviously caught the message since he frowned and basically threw Ron a nasty glare, for whatever dumb reason I could possibly think of.

I sigh again and walked over to Ron, basically taking him over by his hand to drag him over to the Gryffindor table before things escalate any further between the two.

»»-----　♡　-----««

The three Slytherins watched as (Y/N) walked over to the Gryffindor table, while dragging Ron with them.

Draco pouted, feeling guilty that he's making the Rosewood twin angry again because of his dislike for Ron, and the Weasley family in general.

"Good job, gel kid." Alem nudged Draco harshly before walking over to the Slytherin table, holding an annoyed look for the platinum blonde haired boy.

Draco said nothing as he rubbed his arm and followed the other Rosewood twin to the Slytherin table begrudgingly.

Crabbe and Goyle shared worried looks, since an angry Alem and Draco isn't exactly the best combination.

Though the two boys aren't exactly close to the Rosewood twins, they know that; when Alem gets angry or stern, it's not a good idea to provoke him any further.

The stern tone when Alem protected (Y/N) during Quirrell's reflex test and the news that Alem had managed to bring down a mountain troll this Halloween by himself, was enough to make Crabbe and Goyle know this.

Since Draco is known to be provocative and has a loud mouth, it wouldn't be long until the Slytherin table catches on fire due to these two's intense anger.

"You're not expecting me to apologize for acting like that, are you?" Draco scoffed before continuing as he catches a glimpse of Alem muttering something underneath his breath. "I was telling the truth; Weasley was noisy."

Alem took a deep breath through his nose and calmed himself down before slapping him across the Great Hall.

Calm yourself, Alem; a moron who doesn't have a brain shouldn't be worth giving your energy to, the (H/C) haired boy thought as he rubbed the sides of his head while scrunching up his face to make it look like he's in absolute pain.

"Okay, gel kid, look-" Alem started until he was interrupted.

"My name is Malfoy-" Draco corrected.

"...I'm not expecting you to apologize, not at all." Alem interrupted him back and basically ignored his correction, giving the platinum blonde haired boy a bitter and resentful smile that almost made the three Slytherins in front of him uncomfortable.

"I'm just expecting you to act a little bit more mature and not throw insults around like it's confetti whenever Weasley or Potter or Granger is around." Alem widens his smile as he takes a seat, making himself comfortable.

"I'm expecting you, a member of the Sacred Twenty-Nine, and is part of a family that is known to be prestigious and in nobility, to have a little bit of decency." At this point, the (H/C) haired boy is just seething through his teeth and is barely keeping his annoyance.

"This 'decency' that you speak of, Rosewood, exists in me." The Malfoy heir spoke almost too quickly. "There are just some people who don't deserve to have that privilege."

"So, your decency exists but apparently, your maturity doesn't." Alem scoffed as he took some fried chicken and placed it on his plate. "Can't say I'm surprised, though."

Draco gritted his teeth but calmed himself down from bashing Alem's head through his plate. He needs to remember that this is (Y/N)'s twin brother that we're talking about.

The brother hates Draco, that he'd be willing to curse him if it was allowed to curse anyone here in Hogwarts. There was just no way for Alem to treat Draco with a little bit of kindness.

Not after what the Malfoy family has done.

"Blood traitor..." Draco mumbled as he took a seat as well, but it was loud enough for Alem to hear.

The Rosewood turned his head towards the Malfoy, his eyes glinting and narrowing in anger.

Draco gulped, almost visibly. He could definitely see (Y/N) in those angry eyes of his, and the thought of (Y/N) being angry at Draco again, feared him so much that he'd most likely die if they do it again.

"Well excuse me for not being a stuck up daddy's boy, who spits on anyone that isn't a pureblood or doesn't share the same views as you do!" Alem exclaimed, gaining the attention of a few Slytherin students who were chatting and minding their own business.

Blaise Zabini was already watching the two a minute ago, and while he doesn't agree with Alem, as he is strongly against muggleborns attending Hogwarts, he's still interested on how this argument will turn out.

The calm-headed Alem loosing his cool is something that Blaise didn't expect to see so soon.

"How interesting; a blood traitor and a pureblood prince are having a heated argument." Blaise rested his head on the palm of his hand, observing the two with an amused smirk on his lips.

"Really? I don't think it's that interesting since it's just two children meddling over things that shouldn't be meddled about." Adrian Pucey, the Slytherin team's third year chaser, responded to Blaise's words while stuffing a muffin on his mouth.

Blaise turned his eyes over to Adrian, with an eyebrow raised. He stared as Adrian chewed and gulped his food down.

The chaser smirks at the two first years and tried to hold his laughter, bringing his hand up to his mouth to stifle his upcoming laughs.

"It's just unbelievably stupid." Adrian added, making Blaise give him a strange look but he also somewhat agreed with him.

It is stupid.

"You know, I was right about this whole dinner thing being pointless." Alem stood up, glaring at Draco for a short while and glaring at the students who were beginning to gossip and watching them with an amused look on their faces.

"My appetite has been completely ruined." The Rosewood twin said before walking out of the Great Hall angrily.

He was just one step away from exploding and releasing all of his pent up anger towards the Malfoy, but he can't do that.

He won't be as low as the Malfoys to do that.

»»-----　♡　-----««

When I arrived at the Gryffindor table, Harry greeted me almost immediately. He was beaming so brightly, that it was starting to become so weird.

It's not everyday that I see Harry smiling happily, especially towards me.

And I know that Harry smiling happily isn't a normal thing that happens all the time, since he's always so salty in the original books and the movies.

I just laughed nervously and greeted him back, sitting down at the table while waving at the Weasley twins, who were sitting quite a few seats away from us.

They waved back, making goofy faces that made me chuckle and made me scream internally of how adorable they were.

I observed the Gryffindor table for a while, and then noticed something odd.

Like, something or someone was missing.

"Hey," I turned to look at the trio. "Where's Neville?"

"Neville?" Harry asked and he looked quite surprised yet confused. "Why are you asking about him?"

I found his question odd, cocking an eyebrow up while throwing Harry a skeptical look.

"I'm just worried because he's not here." I answered, "Why? Am I not allowed to ask about him or something?"

Though I'm aware that my words are somewhat rude, I couldn't help it since Harry makes it look like I'm trying to plot something against Neville. Salazar, he's my friend.

"N-No, of course not." Harry scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously at me. I could tell that he didn't mean to offend me, so I calmed myself down and shook all the negative thoughts I had for Harry away.

"It's just that; you two have been really close lately, haven't you?"

"Uh..." My words trailed off. I couldn't understand what Harry was asking about, nor why he is acting a bit odd tonight. Even his voice was wobbly and cracked a few times.

Maybe something happened while I was gone and hanging out with a whiny ghost in the bathroom?

He seems so... giggly yet cautious and nervous at the same time. He's erratic, to put it shortly.

"Harry, you haven't been drinking a Felix Felicis, have you?" I asked. Now it was Harry's turn to be confused.

"What's a Felix Felicis?"

"Harry, just get to the point already." Hermione sighed as she began to be a little bit impatient since our conversation is starting to go nowhere.

I saw Harry throw the bushy brown haired female a glare before looking back at me with a softened look.

"We are going down to the trapdoor," Harry quieted his voice down for us three to hear, "tonight."

"Okaaaay..." I dragged my voice and forgot that they still haven't told me that we're going down to the trapdoor tonight until now.

I was about to ask them about their plans for the trapdoor before Harry reminded me that he hasn't told me anything about that yet.

I can be so dumb sometimes.

"and if we're going down there tonight, I assume you three already have things planned out?" I asked a question that was meant to be lowkey, as I don't want to make it seem like I know what they're gonna do underneath the trapdoor.

"We kind of already discussed it this afternoon." Ron entered the conversation, stabbing an unidentifiable meat on his plate and bringing it over to his mouth.

"Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you!" Harry exclaimed, making me blink and internally take a deep breath since I'm going to have to come up with another lie to cover myself up.

"I've been..." I coughed, diverting my eyes away from the trio. "In the bathroom."

"The bathroom?" Harry's tone of voice made it seem like he doesn't believe me, but not that I blame him.

"You spent an entire afternoon in the bathroom? What were you even doing there?" Hermione's disbelief in her voice made me look back at them while chuckling nervously.

"...stuff." I answered briefly.

Silence.

The trio stared at each other, clearly still not believing a word I just said.

Hermione just sighed once more, seemingly to give me the benefit of the doubt since she probably thinks that I'm not someone who'd do illegal stuff in private.

"In any case, just be more careful about Malfoy when we go out tonight." She said while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We don't want him to follow us and tell Professor McGonagall about what we're up to."

"Why don't we just camp outside our common rooms after dinner?" I suggest with a shrug, earning a look from the brown haired Gryffindor.

"It's very likely that professors and prefects on patrol will find us. Our housemates will also suspect us for not returning to our rooms, even though it's already late." Hermione turned down my idea as she turned to look at Harry and Ron.

"We go down by midnight and make sure you bring your invisibility cloak, Harry." She turned her gaze towards the raven haired boy, who only nodded at her statement. Hermione then, turned her head towards my way.

"As soon as midnight comes, you should already be at the third floor corridor. Try to be wary of your surroundings, (Y/N); we don't want you to get caught." Hermione said.

I shrug and took a glass of apple juice, ready to drink its contents and savor its sweet flavor. However, Harry's action made me stop and put my attention back to the golden trio.

"Wait, why can't we just bring (Y/N) with us? They're risking themselves to get caught!" Harry exclaimed loudly, making Hermione slap his forearm to make him realize how loud he's getting.

Harry pursed his lips and contained his annoyance as he leaned closer towards Hermione while keeping his voice silent.

I couldn't hear what he was saying since he was almost starting to whisper quietly in Hermione's ears so I drank my apple juice for a while until Hermione sighed while rubbing the sides of her head with her fingers.

"Harry, I've told you many times before when we planned it this afternoon; we can't bring (Y/N) with us because the four of us won't fit." Hermione said, strictly as if it's final. "Besides, their common room is literally at the dungeons and we'll probably get lost trying to find it since we don't even know where exactly is the Slytherin common room if we were to go and fetch them."

While Hermione was disagreeing with Harry, I could tell from the corner of my eye, that Harry definitely didn't like the idea of me risking myself to get caught by not being with them to go to the third floor corridor.

Why does he care so much, though? If anything, he should think that it's less hassle for them and he'll just have to worry about Ron screwing things up while they're going there.

"Yeah, and (Y/N) can take care of themselves, mate. They're not that stupid to let themselves get caught by professors, much less prefects." Ron piped in on the conversation while stuffing a muffin in his mouth.

"Did we all forget that Malfoy followed (Y/N) without them knowing that he followed them? What if he does it again? You know that we can't let him tattle on us." Harry tried to reason again but his face became crestfallen when Hermione shook her head and gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Harry. But it's more of a risk for us if we let them hide with us or go fetch (Y/N) from the common room." When Hermione said those words, Harry clicked his tongue and looked away with an annoyed look on his face.

"Why are you so keen about this, Harry?" Ron's face lit up as a smile curled up on his lips. "Is it because-"

"No, I just don't want my friends to get hurt." Harry stopped his red-haired friend before he could even continue as he stole a glance towards my way before looking back into the distance, probably to give himself some time to think.

"That's all." Harry said briefly.

Ron scoffed playfully while nudging Hermione with a suggestive look on his face. The female Gryffindor rolled her eyes and shook her head, letting the apologetic look on her face disappear.

While I'm here disregarding the possibility of Harry liking me.

We're eleven year olds; I doubt that Harry has any feelings for me. He's probably just warmed up to me or thinks of me as a very close friend that he doesn't want to lose.

There's just... no way.

It just feels wrong.

"Anyway, we just need to stop Snape from getting the stone first." Hermione said as she was about to dismiss the topic. "Protecting it is a must."

I was about to open my mouth until Hermione brought a finger up, shushing me as if she knows what I'm about to say.

"I know what you're going to say, (Y/N). But, we're going to say that it's Snape until we're proven wrong." I frown at her words, but also somewhat internally laughed at it since I can just imagine her face when she gets the news that it's actually Quirrell.

I just like to rub in the fact that I'm right, okay?

"Fine." I sigh, crossing my arms and glancing over to the Slytherin table to see if Alem has killed anyone yet.

But to my surprise, my brother is nowhere to be found. Only Draco is there, and even he looks a bit pissed.

"Oh for christ's sake, did something happen again between those two?" I groan and began to stand up from my seat, giving the trio an apologetic smile for leaving so early.

"Who are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Alem and Draco." I groan again while arranging my oversized Slytherin robe. "Anyway, I'm sorry for having to leave so soon but I think I'll go back to the common room now."

"Don't you think that those two are going to be fine without you?" Harry pouted and seemed like he didn't like the idea of going back to the common room so early.

"Alem and Draco arguing is like the start of world war but in Hogwarts." I said, "though, I don't know which one is Germany and which one is America."

"You know about world history?" Hermione sounded surprised while Harry and Ron was just looking at us back and forth with a confused expression on their faces.

"I know, I'm surprised too. I always sleep during history classes so I don't know what my brain was on during those times." I said, jokingly. "Then again, everyone knows about world war two so..."

"I know briefly about it; I've read about it in a history book one time." Hermione rested her head on the palm of her hand, eyeing me skeptically but the skeptical look disappeared as fast as it came.

"The only thing I know from Germany is their Quidditch team." Ron sighed, making me laugh and snap my fingers at him.

"At least you know something from Germany besides Hitler." I said. The trio's confused face settled in slowly, almost as if they're trying to figure out who Hitler is. Though I'm sure Hermione knows about him, just not as much.

"Anyway, I'm heading out." I stretch for a while as I turned around and waved them goodbye with a smile. "I'll see you all later, alright?"

They waved me goodbye as well after they regained their composure. Harry was the only one who greeted me goodbye before I completely left the Gryffindor table.

I glance back at the Slytherin table, eyeing Draco and the other Slytherins who were minding their own business.

Zabini is now talking to Draco with Pansy by his side. The dark haired girl seemed to be a bit out of it and is in her own mind, which is odd, since I figured that she'll be all around Draco and pestering him with her cringey attempts at flirting.

Meanwhile, Zabini has that same cocky smirk on his lips as he talked to Draco. He has the aura that makes other people be annoyed by him, because he looks sort of narcissistic.

I didn't bother to walk over to the Slytherin table since I only want to find Alem. My brother is way important than those two, and he's most likely back at the common room.

If not, he's probably at the library. It's either one of the two.

»»-----　♡　-----««

Alem groaned, ignoring the stares of the other students that passed him by. They were a bit unsettled of how angry and annoyed the (H/C) haired boy seemed to be.

"Stupid Malfoy. I hope he falls down in a ditch and get slugs shoved inside his mouth." He cursed underneath his breath while tightening his fist to try and control his anger and not accidentally punch a wall.

The boy was about to turn his head to his side, ready to rant to (Y/N) about how close-minded a certain Malfoy was. But, he stopped and frowned when he realized that (Y/N) was with Harry, Ron and Hermione right now.

They're probably talking about the sorcerer's stone right now. Sweet Merlin, I hope (Y/N)'s not getting in trouble again. Alem thought and prayed for his twin's safety and that they won't do anything dumb or stupid.

Though, it's more likely that (Y/N) will do something stupid that will endanger their life.

"Hi, Rosewood." A familiar girl's voice caused Alem to raise his head and look to see who called his last name. It was Romilda Vane, waving at him while nudging a blushing Lavender Brown.

Alem chuckled nervously and waved back as he passed them by. He could've sworn that he heard Lavender squeal and Romilda giggling happily for her friend, though Alem felt uncomfortable by it.

"(Y/N) was right; I shouldn't be proud about having that Gryffindor girl liking me." He muttered as he climbed down the stairs towards the dungeon, where the Slytherin common room was located.

Alem continued to walk towards the entrance, and stopped in front of it. He stared at the crack on the wall for a moment, quivering his lips as something in him stopped him from saying the password.

It reminded him of Draco, and how he thinks that purebloods only deserve respect. It goes against everything that Alem's parents taught him, especially his mother.

The boy gritted his teeth and exclaimed loudly, ruffling his hair due to his frustration.

"Argh! I hate him so much!" He continued to groan in frustration for a few seconds until a voice made him stop.

"So, if you're done being dramatic, could you just cough out the password and let me in already?" Millicent Bulstrode crossed her arms, her finger tapping her forearm impatiently.

Alem turned to look at Millicent with a deadpan look until he growled and took a step to the side.

"What are you doing?" Millicent asked, eyeing Alem curiously.

"Letting you in." Alem responded coolly.

"The entrance is still closed." She started to growl at the Rosewood.

"Well, why don't you just 'cough out' the password yourself?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You were the first one before me! Besides, you need to learn how to be a gentleman and be kind to girls like me!" She started to throw a fit, stomping her foot on the stony ground of the dungeons.

Alem felt like he was about to throw up due to how self-entitled she was.

"I can learn how to be a gentleman, just not to girls like you." He sneered at the girl, who could only look at Alem with a look of disbelief.

"H-How dare you!" Millicent started to tear up with her lips quivering. "D-Don't you know who I am!?"

"...no, and I don't care to know." Alem shrugged, diverting his attention somewhere besides the now-crying girl in front of him.

"I'm part of the Bulstrode family! A pureblood family!" She exclaimed, her huge round face now becoming red due to her frustration and anger for the Rosewood in front of her.

"Like I said, I don't really care. But hey, aren't you a half-blood?" He scoffed while rolling his eyes in annoyance, "so you're not technically from a pureblood family, are you?"

Alem, then fake gasped and placed a hand on his chest while looking at Millicent with a sad, apologetic gaze.

"I'm so sorry if I have to break it to you, but you must be adopted!" He wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eye and pretend to sob. "Oh, do I feel sorry for you."

Of course, Alem was joking. He knew who Millicent was and that she's part of the Sacred Twenty-Nine. He wasn't wrong about her being a half-blood.

The question is;

How did this girl not know that Alem's family is part of the Sacred Twenty-Nine? Does the family name 'Rosewood' not ring a bell to her?

Millicent began to cry out loud and covered her face with her large hands. Alem stifled his laughter and took large deep breaths to compose himself.

"M-Mark my words, Rosewood! Y-You'll... you'll regret this!" She hiccuped in between sentences and her sobs only got more intense when she saw Alem stifling his laughter. "I'll make you regret... this!"

The girl ran off while crying out loud, bumping into a few Slytherin students, who were confused as they turned their heads to stare at Millicent's retreating form.

Alem laughed out loud as he couldn't control his laughter anymore.

It definitely relieved some stress in him, and although it wasn't a very professional thing for Alem to do, especially to a girl, he just couldn't help it. He eventually stopped laughing when the Slytherins, possibly third or fourth years, shot him a disapproving look.

He could only shrug and grin at them as they said the password, letting the crack in the wall widen and show the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Alem followed right behind them, smirking to himself.

Such a snake he is.

»»-----　♡　-----««

When I went back to the common room and back to our dorm, Alem was already in his bed. His legs were crossed and his large pillow was situated right behind him, letting him rest his back on it while he held the book and nestled it on the center of his crossed legs.

He continued The Neverland's Promise. I should've expected him to; he's pretty obsessed with it.

He often spoils me the book and telling me how the main characters were pretty smart and clever, despite being children.

He sets the book aside and bookmarks it with a random crinkled paper, beckoning me to come sit next to him while smiling. That's weird. Something must've happened to him.

First off, he told me how annoying Draco was in the Great Hall, and it was the reason why he stormed off. I somewhat agreed with him; Draco was pretty much annoying.

His loathing for the Weasleys can't be helped, but come on, even Professor Snape will say that he's going too far.

Second off, he made Millicent Bulstrode cry. A howl of laughter escaped my mouth when he told the part when he jokingly said that she was adopted.

Salazar, I wish I had seen her crying face. Oh, it would be the highlight of the night for me.

Despite the girl having nothing to do with me, she's still a stuck-up girl in a pureblood family, who thinks that they are superior in any way. That's enough to make me want to see her cry and fail.

"Honestly, it was," Alem did a chef's kiss while laughing along with me. "the best thing I've ever done in my first year, besides turning Professor Quirrell's Aguamenti into a clean block of ice during DADA."

"I never saw you as the type of person who would do that, Alem." My laughter died down as I sigh in satisfaction, making me feel like I've lost a few weights off of my shoulder.

"Well, she just became my stress reliever. I was frustrated so I needed to cool off for a while, as evil as that was." Alem shrugged. I hummed, not really caring about Alem's questionable ways of relieving stress.

"Oh, by the way," It was my turn to grab Alem's attention and I sighed at this, hesitating whether or not I should tell him that I'm sneaking out with Harry tonight.

But I definitely need him to watch Draco, in case he follows me again.

"Um," I push my hair back while casting my eyes away from him, "I'm sneaking out with Harry and the others again tonight..."

I look back at him and he held a deadpan look, until his eyebrow cocked up in confusion.

"Why?" He asked briefly. "I mean, isn't it time that you four wrap up this sorcerer's stone nonsense and just... properly finish the first year without getting yourselves in trouble?"

Alem rolled his eyes before groaning. "Honestly, I'm getting worried for you, (Y/N); I know that you're someone who gets in trouble all the time, but you've been caught once and that didn't end well for you. You're the most troublesome out of all the Slytherins here."

"I'm not technically the only one who got caught though." I blinked.

"The point is, just accept the fact that there is no sorcerer's stone and no one is trying to steal it, even if it is real." Alem held his head in frustration.

It was my turn to roll my eyes, ignoring his statement since he most likely doesn't understand anything about us doing this sorcerer's stone mystery.

"There's actually something that I want you to do, besides scolding me and telling me that there's nothing wrong going on with the sorcerer's stone." I told, making Alem raise his head and look at me.

"What is it now?" He asked with a groan.

"So, you remember how Draco followed me to Hagrid's hut and told Professor McGonagall about it?" I asked and noticed how his body stiffed when I mentioned about Draco following me.

"Is Hagrid the name of the half-giant gamekeeper?" He asked, his body now loosening.

"Yeah. That's his name."

"Okay, continue." He made a weird circular motion with his hand.

"Um, so I want you to look out for him. In case he tries to follow me again." I breathe in sharply through my teeth. "We can't really let anyone follow us or know what we're doing tonight, so yeah."

"Yet here you are, talking about how you four are doing something illegal later tonight." Alem face-palmed, making me laugh and put up a thumbs up for him to see.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you won't tell anyone because I'll most likely get expelled when you do." I grin, but it disappeared as soon as Alem slapped me with one of his pillows, making me hold my arms up to shield myself from his deadly attack with his pillow.

"You're.lucky.that.you.are.my.sister/brother!" He said, slapping a pillow on my face every time he finishes a word. I kept yelping and telling him to stop as I am now fully laying on his bed.

Alem stops after a while, tossing the pillow that he used to torture me, to the side.

He huffs and pouts as I sit up once again, combing my hair with my fingers since I felt that it got messy.

"You better be careful, you idiot." He clicks his tongue. I laugh and made a peace sign while grinning at him.

"Don't worry, bro; I may be dumb but I'm not dumb enough to not be careful."

Although, I did kinda felt like I'm going to die later on. I'm so getting in trouble tonight.

I just hope that my "poisonous" apple plan works on Quirrell and Voldemort.

»»-----　♡　-----««

As the clock continues to tick down to midnight, the castle grows silent and felt like everything is now calm and peaceful.

With the school year ending tomorrow, it seems that every students are now happily sleeping in their rooms as they no longer had any more schoolwork to worry about.

However, as the clock strikes midnight, with the sound of the grandfather clocks in each common rooms resonating and mixing around the castle, (Y/N) opens their eyes and slowly sits up.

They observe the room for a while, and stopped their eyes on their brother's 'sleeping' form on his bed.

"Alem," (Y/N) called out to their brother with their voice being barely high enough as a whisper. "It's time."

Alem slowly opened his eyes and they immediately narrowed, shooting (Y/N) a glare as he sits up from his bed. "I'm getting so sleepy; remind me why I have to do this again?"

He softly groaned and kept his annoyed voice down. (Y/N) could only chuckle and pat their brother's shoulder. "Don't worry, Alem. Just remember that I won't get in trouble if you're also helping me."

"I will personally murder you once you come back." Alem ignored (Y/N)'s attempts to lighten up the mood but they could only roll their eyes playfully before walking over towards their nightstand and slowly opened their bag, pulling out an apple and pocketing it.

"Why are you bringing an apple with you?" Alem asked as he rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on (Y/N) and whatever they're doing. The other Rosewood twin smirked while placing a hand on their hips.

"You know what they say; an apple a day, keeps the doctor away." The boy didn't understand what (Y/N) just said and only pulled up a confused and tired face.

(Y/N) scoffed playfully, patting Alem's shoulder again.

"Just kidding, bro." They smile. "The apple has the paralyzing potion in it."

Alem almost choked on his spit, and he widens his (E/C). He looked completely awake and startled, catching (Y/N) off guard because they didn't expect that reaction from him.

"Are you mad!? What in Merlin's name are you even going to do with that!?" The boy slapped his twin's forearm, feeling concerned for their actions and what they're going to do with a spiked apple.

"Keep it down, you idiot. You're going to wake them up!" (Y/N) slapped Alem's forearm back. "And don't worry, I have this under control."

(Y/N) placed their hands around the nightstand, trying to feel their wand in order to grab it. They felt as though they need to bring it with them, especially tonight.

When they felt their wand in their hands, they place it in their other other pocket.

"How could I not worry when you literally have a poisoned apple in your possession right now!?" Alem whispered in a harsh tone. "Well, it's not technically poisoned but you know what I mean!"

However, (Y/N) only ignored Alem's rant and made sure that they didn't forget anything. "Like I said, I have this under control. You don't have to worry so much." They rolled their eyes and tip-toed their way to the door.

"Well bro, adios. Wish me luck." (Y/N) made a peace sign as they slowly opened the door, earning a slightly loud creaking sound. Alem winced at the sound and only scowled at his twin while crossing his arms.

"Be careful, you idiot." He briefly told. (Y/N) nodded as they walk out of the room, gently closing the door before walking out of the Slytherin common room themselves, ready to try and not get caught by Filch or any of the professors as they make their way towards the third floor corridor.

(Y/N) felt every single one of their nerves shaking. They were nervous, to say the least.

They take a few deep breaths every 10 seconds to try and calm themselves down, but whenever they remember Quirrell removing his turban and revealing Voldemort pressed at the back of his head, (Y/N)'s nervousness only grew.

It doesn't help that Voldemort and Quirrell know that they're not actually from this fictional world. The discussion that (Y/N), Quirrell and Voldemort had last time in the trophy room was also added to (Y/N)'s nervousness.

For god's sake, my stomach hurts. I want to take a shit. (Y/N) internally cried and cursed to themselves for feeling too nervous.

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room, the trio was being stopped by a crying Neville.

The chubby boy looked very down and his downcast eyes was enough to make Hermione and Ron feel bad for him.

Harry, however, only casted his green eyes away from Neville, while feeling nervous as he didn't want to get caught.

"I... I'm sorry. I can't..." Neville lowered his fists, tears glimmering in the corner of his eyes. "I want to stop you but... I can't."

Hermione and Ron stared at each other. They felt bad for Neville and they really wanted to cheer him up ever since Ron had heard that Neville found Trevor, his frog, had his stomach cut open and was placed right underneath his pillow as he was searching for him.

Ron could still remember Neville's sobs and how disturbing it was that someone had actually done this to Trevor. Prank or not, Ron thought that this was going way too far.

Harry stood in the corner the whole time, tightening his fists and feeling cold sweat running through his forehead.

He doesn't want to get caught and he doesn't want someone to suspect him.

Does he feel guilty? Of course, he does.

He just had to do it just to keep Neville away from (Y/N). Just to give him the message to stay away from them.

"Neville, I'm really sorry about what happened to Trevor but we really need to get going." Hermione was cold and dismissive about Neville's feelings, but she didn't meant to be. Neville understood that as he wiped his tears and nodded.

"I'm sorry for... holding you up. I just t-thought I could stop you but... it's not possible." Neville hiccuped.

Harry wanted to say something to comfort Neville, but he couldn't as he was the one who caused him to be this sad in the first place.

It would be very hypocritical of him if he does.

"Tell you what, Neville," Ron walked up to the chubby boy, placing his hand on his shoulder and smiling apologetically at him. "Let's bury little Trevor outside tomorrow morning. He deserves to get a proper burial, at least."

Neville looked up to Ron and nodded, feeling grateful that Ron is trying to cheer him up. The redhead retracted his hand away and waved the chubby boy goodbye as he walked towards the exit of the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione could only smile apologetically at Neville as she followed Ron from behind. Harry stopped in front of Neville for a while.

The raven haired boy could only frown when he remembered how close Neville was with Trevor,

and he took him away from him.

"I'm sorry, Neville." Harry apologized, blinking at Neville who looked surprised but then smiled bitterly.

Even Harry could tell that he was only forcing himself to smile as he is so pained.

"What are you apologizing for, Harry?" Neville chuckled, "It's not your fault."

Harry felt a bitter taste in his mouth when Neville said those words. He very well knew that it's his fault and he felt guilty for not being able to tell the truth to Neville.

However, when he remembered how close he was being to (Y/N), he kept telling himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong.

Harry lost his parents; Voldemort killed them and took them away from him.

Now, when Harry has found someone who he could love and hopefully, be with without them leaving his side, he couldn't bear to see them being so close with someone besides their twin brother.

Trevor is basically Neville's best friend and despite him only being a frog, Harry knew that Neville cared and loved Trevor,

and he just went off and killed him out of jealousy.

Wouldn't that make him the same as Voldemort in a way?

No, Harry refused to believe that. He doesn't want to compare himself to the monster who never gave him a home to return to until now.

The monster who took the only people who could've given him love and appreciation.

"Harry, let's go." Ron called out, making Harry snap out of his senses and immediately nodded at Neville, as if he's apologizing for his loss and hope that he feels better soon.

Neville nodded back and watched as Harry walked over to the two Gryffindors, who were standing right at the exit of the common room.

Ron and Hermione looked back at Neville to see if he'd be alright by himself before fully leaving the Gryffindor common room. Harry couldn't be bothered to look back, however. He doesn't want to.

He doesn't want to look back on what he's done.

After all,

it's easier to blame others for your mistakes than you, yourself.

»»-----　♡　-----««

"Baki baki ni ore, nani wo?" I whisper-sung while sitting on the floor next to the third floor corridor door and hugging myself for comfort.

I genuinely wanted to go to the bathroom due to my nervousness. It's making my stomach grumble and ache.

"Kokoro wo dayo." I continue, trying to jam with Tendou Satori's song from Haikyuu by moving my fingers as if I'm dancing to it.

"Konagona niku dake, nani wo?" I divert my fingers over to the door, when it suddenly and coincidentally opened. I yelped and held my chest as if I suddenly had a heart attack.

"(Y/N)?" Harry's whispered voice as he slipped his head out of the invisibility cloak made me sigh in relief and stand up, dusting off any dirt that came in my pajamas.

"Salazar, I thought it was Filch or something." I said, watching as the trio removed the invisibility cloak so I can see them well enough.

"Same here; we heard a voice outside the door so we thought that it was Filch and you got caught or something." Ron looked very relieved when he settled his blue eyes on me.

"What were you even doing down there?" Hermione asked.

"Waiting... and trying to calm myself down." I huff and walk over to them, ready to follow the trio towards the door where Fluffy is waiting.

"I know how you feel; I've been trying to calm myself down for the past five hours now." Hermione fanned herself, letting a panicked look settle on her face. Ron rolled his eyes and nudged the brown haired girl.

"Calm down, Hermione. I'm sure nothing bad will happen." Ron tried to calm but I crossed my arms at his statement.

"Don't jinx it, Ron." I sigh and started to walk over towards the door at the end of the corridor.

Everyone was silent for a moment, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was.

"Are you okay though?" Harry's small and concerned voice caused me to smile, making him know that I'm alright and there's nothing to worry about.

Though, I am pretty much nervous since I don't want to die right at the end of the first year.

"I'm fine, Harry. Thank you for worrying." I said.

"Just tell me if you're feeling bad or anything of the sort." The raven haired Gryffindor smiled back. "I'll be here."

I didn't respond. Instead, I turned away from him and bit my lip in conflict. He's starting to act a lot like Louis back in my school.

However, I just can't see Harry more than just a friend who I can hang out with to feel that sense of adventure I've always wanted to feel since I came here.

He's my friend, but I admit that I'm just being friends with him because I know interesting yet dangerous things happen to him all the time, and I want to be a part of that. I want to take the risk even though it scares me.

However, I should slap myself and think about the possibility that Harry is just being a very close friend.

He's never had actual friends before, so he's being like this. I shouldn't jump into conclusions, or else it will destroy the friendship that I have with Harry.

"You're very confusing, you know that?" A familiar childish voice made me jerk my head up in surprise. I turn around beside me and saw Erised walking right next to me with their hands placed inside their signature hoodie pockets.

"You have someone who might start to have feelings for you but then you disregard them and think that they're just being overly friendly." They throw their strawberry blonde colored hair back. I turn around to see if the trio is still there, and they are.

However, they seem to be walking aimlessly and their eyes are only being brought straight and forward, almost as if they're in the imperious curse.

"You know that I could never see Harry as nothing more than just a friend of mine." I retort back. Erised flickers their eyes up towards mine and scoffs as a smirk begins to curl up on the corner of their lips.

"Well you know, that might just change soon enough." They said, and I grew confused at their words.

Do they really expect me to just fall in love with Harry, when he's literally younger than me, if we're speaking about my real life age?

By the time Harry becomes 30, I'll most likely be 48 in real life.

However, I shook those thoughts away and grew stern as I began to ask Erised the question that I've always wanted to ask them ever since I've 'regained' my memories on the second night.

"The deal." I said.

"So that's what you want to talk about right now?" They stretch before retrieving a lollipop from inside their hoodie pocket. "To be honest, I've already forgotten about the deal that you had to make by the end of the first year because you've already done it."

Erised removes the wrapper off of the lollipop and brings it over inside their mouth. "Twice, actually."

I choked on my spit and my eyes became as wide as a saucer, staring at the childlike entity that's walking quite calmly beside me.

But then, I face-palmed and held my head in frustration with a groan escaping my mouth.

"Jesus christ, if I already did the 'thing' that I needed to do before the first year ends, why didn't you tell me sooner!? I wouldn't be panicking and be so goddamn paranoid if you told me!" I exclaim. Erised rolled their eyes and pointing their finger towards me accusingly.

"Oh shut the fuck up; it's not like you asked until now. Don't be such a goddamn crybaby." They cross their arms.

"Okay wait, so..." I stop them, holding up my hands. "What was the thing that I needed to do?"

"Well, the deal was; you should let, at least, one person to be infatuated with you by the end of the first year or else I will kill you myself." They said, holding up one finger as they moved their lollipop around their mouth.

"So, does this mean that... Harry really does like me? And who's the other guy that likes me?" I start to panic and making exaggerated hand movements, pointing right at the aimless walking Harry right next to me.

"Maybe, maybe not." Erised shrugged. An irk mark appeared in my forehead as I became irritated with their carefree and calm actions.

"Erised, I'm about to go and see a parasite version of Voldemort with Harry in the next two hours; I've no time for jokes." I scowl and leaned closer towards Erised.

They bring their free hand towards my face and basically pushed me back, making me groan and yelp because I didn't expect them to do that.

Salazar, I almost bumped into aimless Harry.

"Go figure it out yourself. It's your goddamn life, not mine." Erised groaned.

"This is important, Erised! I need to know who I should carefully act around with!" I exclaim and then immediately realized something, before blushing and fumbling with my fingers. "Of course, maybe except Cedric."

"Oh god, you're not starting to get infatuated with Cedric, are you?" Erised's wincing voice and scrunched up face was enough to make me feel as if they're actually cringing with what I just said and did. " You do realize that he's going to die, right?"

"I'm not letting him die." My voice became stern and serious as I tighten my fists and remembered how Voldemort ordered Wormtail kill Cedric as he was only a spare and is irrelevant to his plans of returning as the dark lord. "Not this time."

"Are you sure you should do that? I'm speaking from my experience, (Y/N); if someone shouldn't be saved and is meant to actually die, one shouldn't try and save them or else there'll be serious problems later on." Erised's eyes glinted dangerously, and it reminded me of how Alem's eyes would do the same if he was angry or pissed.

However, I could only scoff and turn away from them as I crossed my arms.

"I mean, you did save me from the boring, normal world I was in. Look where I am now." I show Erised the aimless trio and then myself at the end of my sentence. I couldn't deny that I did change in some way as soon as I came here in Hogwarts.

I mean, it was pretty obvious anyway.

"Where you are now. Not where you're going to end up in." Erised corrected me, pointing their finger again.

I roll my eyes at this and then held my head as I started to feel my head hurt due to this conversation that I'm having with this child.

Every single time I have a conversation with them, my head always hurts.

It's probably because they're always such a pain in the ass and in the head and I wouldn't hesitate to slap them if I ever have the chance to.

"If you're not going to tell me anything, just let me do my work and finish this year once and for all." I sigh. "I still have a stuttering turban-wearing fuck that I need to kick right in the balls."

"I really can't take you seriously when you swear, (Y/N). Especially when you look like a child." Erised chuckles and gave me a smug look, as if they actually see me as nothing more than a child, rather than an 18 year old.

"Oh, you're the one to talk." I bring up my middle finger while scowling at the strawberry haired child.

Erised brings up their middle finger as well, smirking while narrowing their eyes in anger as an irk mark appeared on their forehead.

"I'll see you later, stalker." They said before disappearing as soon as I blinked my eyes. Suddenly, everything felt as if time continued to move and flow.

I blink once again and felt myself manually breathing as I was immediately greeted by a brown, wooden door.

"(Y/N), are you sure you're okay?" Harry's voice caused me to startle, however, I immediately turned to look at him to reassure him that I'm fine since I don't want him to worry about me again.

"Y-Yeah, why?" Great, I stuttered. Why do I feel so awkward with him now?

"You've been staring at the door for ten seconds now, and you haven't been responding to us if we call out your name." Harry frowned. I turn to look at Ron and Hermione, who shared the same worried look that Harry had.

"Oh sorry, I was uh..." I snapped my fingers, trying to think of any lies to poorly cover myself. "Monologuing."

"Doing what now?" Ron asked until Hermione sighed and pulled out her wand.

She gently asks me to step out of the way and I obliged, making way for Hermione as she cleared her throat and pointed her wand at the lock on the wooden door.

"Alohomora." She said as the lock on the door opened. Hermione puts her wand away and eyes the three of us.

"We wouldn't get anywhere if we keep talking. Come on." She rolled her eyes and beckoned for us to come inside the room.

We followed her inside, me being the last as I gently closed the door so that no one would know that someone opened the door here.

"Is that..." Hermione turned her head over towards the harp that was placed near the foot of Fluffy. The three-headed dog huffed its nose, sending us its hot exhale before Hermione could even finish her sentence.

I quickly turned around and pinched my nose to prevent myself from smelling Fluffy's breath.

"God, that must stink." I whisper and watched as the trio did the same thing. They begin to breathe deeply once again but we all became paralyzed as Fluffy began to sniff his nose towards our direction with his eyes still closed.

"Oh shit." I whispered but it was loud enough for Hermione to hear, as she slapped my forearm for swearing. Harry seemed to panic and fumbled around his pockets to retrieve something.

My mouth slightly parted as Harry took out the flute that he got from Hagrid this Christmas.

Of course, Harry doesn't know that I know that he got it from Hagrid.

As Fluffy began to growl, Harry brought the flute up to his lips and began to play.

One single note was enough to make Fluffy loosen up and fall asleep. Harry didn't even have to blow two notes. The raven haired boy brought his flute down in confusion.

"I guess Hagrid wasn't lying when he said that Fluffy falls asleep right after someone plays him music." Ron shrugged and sighed in relief. This relief was short-lived as soon as Fluffy began to growl and open his eyes.

Harry immediately began to play the flute again, doing random melodies just to keep Fluffy asleep. Ron, Hermione and I looked at each other to see what we need to do next.

I pointed at the trapdoor that Fluffy held his paw on. "We need to move his paw." I said, making the two Gryffindors nod and walk over to his paw.

They lift each side of Fluffy's paw and moved it away from the trapdoor with a grunt.

"That looks heavy." I commented, while Ron rolled his eyes and brought his hands down to the ring handle of the trapdoor. He pulls it open, revealing only a dark abyss that makes it impossible for one to see what's down there.

"What do you see?" Hermione peered over from behind him. Ron shook his head and stood up, sighing as he did so.

"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down." The redhead looked back down on the dark abyss. "We'll just have to drop."

"Gee, that looks safe." I cringed as I looked down at the trapdoor. Although I know that the Devil Snare will catch us and cushion our fall, I can't help but scrunch my face at the thought of falling down from such a tall height.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" I turn my head away from the trapdoor and looked at Ron, who was looking at Harry. The raven haired boy nodded but continued to play the flute.

"I don't know how deep this thing goes." Ron sighs, taking a brief glance at the trapdoor before nodding his head towards me. "Give the flute to (Y/N) so they can keep him asleep."

I blink my eyes at Ron but didn't complain, since I just needed to keep playing to keep the dog asleep.

I walk over to Harry, making him stop playing the flute and handing it over to me with slight hesitation.

Fluffy began to twitch and growl after a few minutes silence, so I immediately brought the flute up to my lips and continued to play.

Salazar, I don't know how to play a flute so I'm just randomly pressing holes in the flute to make a melody. Fluffy went back to his beauty sleep after I played it again.

I could've sworn I saw Harry blushing for a brief moment but it might've just been my imagination. The boy walked over to the trapdoor and looked over it, while I watched them as I continued to play the flute.

I couldn't exactly hear what they're saying, but I frowned as I saw Harry lowering himself down the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips.

I could see Harry's lips moving but I could only hear some of the words he's saying, such as 'something happens' and 'Dumbledore'

Ron nodded with a frown as Harry lets go, dropping himself down to the hole and disappearing from our line of sight.

The only thing that the three of us in the room could hear, is my horrible flute-playing skills as we all looked at the hole of the trapdoor expectingly.

"It's okay!" I heard Harry shouting from below, after a few seconds of not hearing anything from him. "It's a soft landing - you can jump!"

Before anyone can even say anything, Ron already jumped down the hole and disappeared from our line of sight as well.

Hermione shuddered at the height of the fall but turned to look at me.

"Do you want to go next?" Hermione asked and pointed at the hole. I shook my head and waved my hands in a 'shoo' motion, indicating that she can go ahead and jump first. The brown haired girl nodded and stared at the hole for a moment before shutting her eyes close and jumping down with a yelp.

'Now, all that's left is me.' I thought as I walked over to the hole and looked down. I bring my hands over to my pockets, feeling the apple and my wand still in my possession.

I remove the flute away from my lips and placed it in the pocket where my wand was located.

I place both of my hands on my pockets to secure the safety of each items and to make sure that they wouldn't fall.

As soon as Fluffy began to growl and twitch his eyes open, I hold my breath and jumped down, feeling the cold, damp air rush past me as I fell down.

After a few seconds of falling, I felt myself landing on something soft.

I sit up and try to adjust my eyesight around the dark, and it wasn't until I finally managed to see the three Gryffindors being confused at what they just landed onto.

"Where-" I tried to sound as confused as possible but stopped as soon as I felt long and dark tendrils twisting around my legs and slowly creeping up to my hips. I blushed heavily and thought of tentacle- never mind.

God, I didn't have to make it so weird.

I flick my eyes over to the two Gryffindor boys, who fought against the plant and tried to pry its long twisting tendrils out of their bodies.

Hermione was the only one who's still looking confused until her eyes lit up as if she had realized something.

"Stop moving!" Hermione exclaimed as she remained perfectly still on the plant's grasp. "I know what this is - it's a Devil Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called! That's a great help!" Ron shouted sarcastically as he leaned back and tried to stop the plant from curling itself up on his neck.

"This is getting so weird." I cringe when I felt the plant snaking up on my arms. I felt a bit ticklish but didn't say anything as I continued to remain calm and let the plant do whatever it's going to do.

"Shut up! I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Hermione shuts her eyes close and looked like she's trying to frantically rummage through her brain to find any information about the plant.

"Well, hurry up - I can't breathe and it might kill us before we even know it!" Harry choked out and continued to squirm to try and get some space to breathe.

I hold my breath and close my eyes gently once I felt the plant swallowing me whole with its tendrils.

However, once I felt myself being dropped to the ground, I immediately catch myself, and stand up to observe the three Gryffindors who are still panicking while trying to catch my breath.

"(Y/N)!?" Harry called out, moving his head from left to right to see where I've went. "Where did they go!? Are they dead!?"

"Oh bloody hell, now (Y/N) is gone!" Ron cried out and only struggled around the plant frantically.

"God, I wish I am." I muttered with a laugh before cupping my hands and placing them on my mouth.

"I'm very much alive, Harry!" I yelled out. "Just calm down! It won't hurt you!"

"W-Wha... Where are you!?" Harry called out but he's seemed to have calmed down after hearing me yelling.

"Shut up!" Hermione exclaimed again. "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? - it likes the dark and damp-"

"So light a fire!" Harry yelled.

"Yes, of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried out as she also began to squirm around the plant to search for anything to help them.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD!?" Ron bellowed out, making me startle about how loud his voice became. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT!?"

"Okay, that's it." I scoff, pulling out my wand from my pocket and pointing it at the Devil Snare. I think I've seen them suffering enough for tonight.

"Lumos Maxima!" I cast, bringing out a bright and blinding white light from the tip of my wand.

I shield my eyes away from the light and heard the plant scuttle and rustle away, followed by three loud yelps from the Gryffindors that fell to the ground with a thud.

As the light began to fade away, I place my wand back in my pocket. "You're welcome." I give them a peace sign as they groaned and slowly stood up.

"Oh, are you alright?" Harry was about to walk towards me but I took a step back and laughed.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry. I'm tougher than you think." He frowned at my actions but didn't say anything.

We all leaned ourselves on the cobblestone wall, wiping sweat from our foreheads and trying to recollect ourselves from what just happened.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione." Harry said, panting.

"Yeah, and lucky (Y/N) doesn't lose their head in a crisis." Ron clicked his tongue and bitterly stared at Hermione. "'There's no wood' honestly."

Hermione could only shoot Ron a nasty glare as she crossed her arms while huffing angrily.

"This way," Harry pointed down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward, after a few seconds of rest.

The raven haired boy started to walk towards it as we followed quietly behind him.

I sigh and rubbed both of my hands together, feeling a bit chilly. I suddenly remembered the night when we all went to the forbidden forest, and Draco offered me his black cloak since he saw me getting chilly.

I scoff at the memory, thinking as if it's like a shoujo anime moment that only happens once.

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered, making me snap back to reality and perk my ears to listen closely.

None of us said a word for a second as we tried to sharpen our ears to listen.

A soft, rustling and clinking sound seemed to come up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" Hermione asked un surely.

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me." I shrug while crossing my arms.

"There's light ahead - I can see something moving." Harry pointed as we continued to walk over towards it, nearing the room to satisfy our curiosity.

Once we reached the end of the passageway, a brilliantly lit chamber was hung up on the arching ceiling above us.

It was full of small and jewel-like birds tumbling and flying around, circling around the chamber and seemed to mind their own business.

"That's actually kinda pretty." I commented.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we try to cross the room?" Ron stared up at the flying birds and squinting his eyes to try and get a better look at them.

"Eh, better to try than to regret later, I suppose." I said before sprinting over to the other end of the room, where a large wooden door with a ring handle was waiting.

"Wait, (Y/N)-!"

I could only give them a thumbs up, as slow my pace and jogged backwards while facing them with a smile on my lips.

I only stopped once I already reached the door, watching the trio's confused yet awed faces.

Well, I knew that they weren't going to hurt me so I went for it. If I didn't know anything about those birds, I would've yeeted myself out of this room.

The three Gryffindors walked over to where I was, Harry giving me a sigh and a look that basically said 'don't do that again'.

Ron placed his hand on the ring handle and tried to pull it open but it didn't even budge, not even after Hermione tried to unlock it with Alohomora.

"Of course it's not that easy." I crossed my arms.

"So what now?" Ron asked and looked around the room for anything useful to use.

"You know, maybe the birds aren't just here for display." I pointed up at the tumbling and flying birds in the chamber, making the trio look up to see what they can do with them.

"Yes, there's something odd about them." Hermione added, supporting my theory.

"Wait a second," Harry took a step forward as he squinted his eyes for a moment and then widened them as if he'd realized something. "They're not birds! They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So, that must mean..."

Harry began to scan the room. "Yes, look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"With Harry's Quidditch skills, this might be easy for him." I commented, placing my hands on the pockets of my pajamas.

Harry gave a smile for a brief moment until Hermione piped in with a concerned look on her face.

"But there are hundreds of them! We can't just try and fit in all of the keys for the door!" Hermione said.

"We don't have to try all of them if we know the key that we're looking for." I replied and watched as Ron walked over to the door and examined it.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle." Ron walked away from the door and turned to look at Harry to see what he's going to do next.

"Let's go." Harry nodded as he led us to the corner of the chamber, where the broomsticks were. I grumble as I grabbed one myself.

Though I've taken Madam Hooch's flying lessons, I'm not exactly the type of person who one could say a good flyer.

I always lose control of the broom once or twice, making me twist and turn around for ten seconds before getting it in control again. It's so weird.

Once I hopped in the broomstick, I followed the three Gryffindors up in the air, trying to catch one flying key, though I know that the 'key' that I'm trying to catch isn't the right one.

They're also damn impossible to catch - always swooping in different directions before our fingers could even touch them.

"Oh fu-!" I shrieked when I felt my broomstick going in different directions again.

I keep my firm grim in it so I wouldn't fall down, but it's getting really hard since the broom is trying to kick me out and make me fall down to my demise.

"(Y/N)!" I heard Harry call out but I couldn't be bothered to respond to him as I'm focusing on trying to steer and control my broom.

Ten seconds have passed and the broom stopped trying to shake around, making me sigh in relief and go down to the ground, stepping away from my broom.

"(Y/N), are you okay!?" Ron called out, making me look up at them.

"I'm... getting too dizzy! I need to sit this one out!" I waved and yelled at the three Gryffindors in the air and sat near the locked door.

I could only watch as they try to catch the flying key with one broken and crumpled wing.

Eventually, they did succeed in doing so as they all flew down to the ground with Harry holding the key to the locked door, after he literally crushed both of its wings on the wall.

I give him a thumbs up and a smile as he walked towards me, ensuring the fact that I really am okay.

Honestly, if I took a shot every time Harry asked if I'm okay right after a dangerous thing just happened to me, I'd probably be knocked out.

When the key was still trying to struggle against Harry's grasp, he immediately ran over towards the door and rammed it on the key lock, twisting it open with two hands to bring more force to it.

Once a loud click was heard, the three Gryffindors, along with me, smiled at our victory for our second test.

Harry pulled the key out, letting it fly away slowly as its wings were too battered and crumpled to even fly fairly.

I walk over to the trio after my dizziness subsided, ready to face the next test.

"Ready?" Harry asked us as he placed his hand on the handle, and we all nodded in response.

He pulls the door open, entering the next room with us following gently behind him.

We couldn't see anything - it was pitch black. The only source of light that we have is from the previous room that we were in, until the door slammed itself close once all four of us were inside and closing us in the darkness.

It wasn't long until a strong foul and disgusting smell invaded my nose, making me cover my nose with the sleeves of my pajamas.

"Is it just me, or do I smell something very disgusting in this room?" I asked, cringing at the smell.

Eventually, a flicker of light dawned upon us and the first thing we saw was a huge slobbering troll with a larger mace than the one that we tackled in Halloween.

My jaw opened in surprise when I saw how large the troll was, almost as tall as a two-storey house.

I immediately closed my mouth when I felt and somewhat tasted the taste of garbage in my tongue.

"Bloody hell..." Ron muttered nasally, as he was also pinching his nose.

When the troll set his eyes on us, he roared and raised his mace, ready to hit us with it.

"Move!" I yelled and ran out of the way to avoid the troll's attack.

The mace's impact caused a loud rumbling and crashing noise, making me wince and stare at the small crater that the troll made with it.

I click my tongue and removed my sleeve away from my nose, retrieving my wand from my pocket to try and damage it.

I've been practicing my stamina and new spells that I don't know before. I hope that I won't get tired this time.

"Lacarnum Inflamarae!" Hermione shouted, shooting out a small jet of fire towards the troll. It barely did any damage to him as he roared and raised it towards Hermione.

I was about to go and push her aside, but thank the heavens, she ran away in time.

Ron and Harry wasn't doing much, casting Aguamenti and Wingardium Leviosa to try and do some damage to it.

"Why is there are a giant troll in these chambers!? Are they really keen on trying to kill us!?" Ron screamed as he runs away from the troll's incoming attack while dragging Harry along with him.

"Just keep on attacking it! We need to tire him out somehow!" Hermione yelled and casted another spell.

I click my tongue and crouched down to ready myself with my wand held in my dominant hand.

"I'm not gonna embarrass myself this time." I muttered as I sprinted towards the troll, pointing my wand at him.

"Bombarda!" I cast as the spell hits the back of the troll with a loud boom echoing around the chamber. The troll roared in pain, turning around and narrowing his eyes at me.

"uoy..." The troll spoke, which startled me for a moment. I stop, glaring at the disgusting creature with a scowl.

"Trolls can talk!?" I heard Ron scream from the other side of the room.

"uoy hcta clli wi, mi htnio ppasi idt nowi." I scoff at his words and rolling my eyes in annoyance, crouching down again to ready myself.

"I don't understand a shit you just said, but not that I need to." I said. "I just need to kill you, that's all."

The troll grumbled and then roared, raising his mace and began to throw it in my direction.

When everything felt as if time has stopped and moved slowly, I quickly ran out of my previous spot when I saw him throwing the mace in my direction.

Dust collected around the spot where I was in as the troll ran over to it, making me laugh because of how stupid he was. I came up from behind him, pointing my wand at his large smelly feet.

"Glacius!" The troll's feet eventually turned into ice, immobilizing him and causing him to struggle. His struggle caused him to fall on his back and roar once again in pain.

I run over towards his face, pointing my wand at it. "Bombarda Maxima." A loud explosive sound echoed around the room as the troll groaned and rolled around in pain.

Dust began to settle around us, shielding me away from the trio as I sighed pointed my wand again.

"I should finish this as soon as possible. I'm tired of running around and chasing this disgusting shithead around the chamber." I shield my nose using my sleeve when the foul smell invaded my nose again.

It smells so much, I can't.

"Incarcerous." Thick ropes began to wrap itself around the troll's upper body tightly, making him groan and struggle to remove himself from the ropes and the Glacius I placed on his feet.

I climb up to his chest and walked over towards his neck, raising my wand as I looked down at the troll with cold (E/C) eyes.

"Diffindo." I swipe my wand down as a clean, yet deep cut came on the troll's face. He began to roar in pain as blood trickled down to his ears and to the nape of his neck.

I clicked my tongue and pointed my wand at his open mouth. "Bombarda." The troll immediately closed his mouth as another set of loud explosions has been released from the tip of my wand.

I could only squint my eyes to shield them away from the extremely harsh and blowing wind that's passing through my face.

I sigh and glanced over at the mace that the troll threw at me before pointing my wand at it.

"Wingardium Leviosa." The mace began to float, however, I struggled for a moment to keep it up as it was heavy and I haven't tried to levitate any heavy or large objects with this spell before.

When I got accustomed to its weight, I levitate it over towards the troll's face.

I stare at him for a moment, breathing ever so slowly as if I'm concentrating and taking in the pained expression that the large creature had on his face.

And then, I smiled as I felt something flash through my eyes for a brief moment.

I raise my wand, making the mace rise up as well. In an instant, I swipe my wand down to the troll's face.

A loud, sickening crunching sound was heard as the mace slammed itself hard on his face.

I exhale before raising my wand again and swiping it down, letting the mace slam down on his face again.

This time, the crunching sound was no longer as loud as it was a second ago.

Instead, I could only see the creature's nose flattened and his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets.

I continue to slam the mace down for a couple of times, not even realizing that I'm already going too far with torturing the troll.

However, it's not like I care about him in the first place.

I clicked my tongue once blood began to spray and splatter around my pajamas, sighing and looking over at the broken and smashed face of the troll.

His eyes weren't inside his sockets anymore as they hung limply on the sides of his head. His teeth were smashed and some had blood in them.

The rotting smell of blood and the troll's disgusting garbage scent made me scrunch my nose and cover it with my sleeve.

"Fucking disgusting." I turn away from the troll just as I heard rushing footsteps coming towards my way.

I carefully climb myself down from the troll's body and pocketed my wand away, pushing my hair back and taking small breaths to recollect myself from what just happened.

"(Y/N)!" Hermione was the first to rush over to me. A concerned expression spread across her face when she observed my slightly bloodied pajamas.

"That's..." She cringed but then shook her head. "Are you okay? The troll didn't do anything to you, did it?"

"No, I killed it before he tried to do anything to me." I answered nonchalantly while dusting off any dirt that I might've gotten on the upper part of my pajamas and my sleeves.

"Eugh, is that troll blood?" I heard Ron's disgusted voice as he walked up to me and scrunched his face at the lower part of my pajamas that have been stained by a filthy troll's blood.

"I might've gotten carried away, but it's better than letting it kill us." I shrugged with a sigh, looking over at the trio, who suddenly had surprised yet confused look on their faces. I raise my eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"Your eyes, (Y/N)." Harry gulped. "They're red."

"What?" I repeated and blinked at the response, looking down on the ground to try and figure out why my eyes are like this all of a sudden.

I do recall Alem mentioning something about me having red eyes, but it happened at the first night of school so I don't remember much.

Since I don't have any mirror to look at myself or any answers to answer my question, I sigh and walked past the trio.

"Maybe it's nothing that we should worry about; let's just keep going." I said dismissively.

"(Y/N), having red eyes isn't usually a good sign." Hermione piped up from behind me. "They say that transitioning to red eyes from your original eye color means that you are changing drastically... for the worse. As if you're not actually someone who you think you are."

"Hermione, I think I'm fine. The same thing happened to me at the first night in the castle, and nothing's happened to me so far." I sigh, now feeling annoyed that Hermione's trying to push the subject.

I hate discussing about personal things that I know I don't have the answer to yet, because I wouldn't know how to solve them if I did.

"I'm just telling you to be a bit more cautious, (Y/N)." Hermione said. I didn't respond and now, everyone is silent and isn't saying anything regarding of the subject matter.

"Anyway, I'm just glad that you're alright, (Y/N)." Harry smiled at me, though I can tell that it's a bit forced as he saw the blood on the lower half of my pajamas.

I could only shrug in response as Ron basically popped himself up in front of me.

"How did you manage to beat the troll!? Our spells weren't even doing anything to affect it!" Ron practically had stars in his blue eyes, which I found adorable.

I chuckled and watched as Hermione felt as if she was being stabbed when Ron said that their spells weren't even affecting the troll.

"Don't bother them too much." Harry sighed in annoyance, pulling Ron away from me before I could even reply to him.

The redhead whined but didn't say anything as we all walked over to the wooden door at the other end of the room.

Harry placed his hand on the handle and pulled it open. Making me quirk my eyebrow and thought why couldn't we just run over to the door if it was unlocked in the first place.

Just like this chamber before we stepped in, we couldn't really see anything in it. It was just pitch black.

However, as we stepped inside, light flooded the room to reveal an astonishing and familiar sight.

We were all standing on the edge of a huge chessboard. I looked around and saw that we were behind the black chessmen, and they were all taller than us and carved from a black unidentifiable stone.

I peered over from the black chessmen and shuddered when I saw the faceless white chessmen facing us in the distance.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered to us, not knowing what to do in this confusing state.

"Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it?" I asked, tuning my head over to Ron, who smiled nervously as he observed the towering chessmen as if he was challenging them.

"We've got to play our way across the room." The redhead finished my sentence with a nod.

"How?" I saw Hermione gulp and hugged herself as she flickered her brown eyes over to the white chessmen.

"Judging from the chessmen and how we're literally in a chess board, I think this means that we're going to have to be chessmen." I whistled and flickered my eyes around the room to see if there's anything interesting.

When I heard footsteps walking over towards a black knight chessman, I brought my eyes back to the chess board and saw Ron reaching his hand out to touch the knight's horse.

My mouth slightly parted open when the stone sprang to life as the horse pawed the ground.

"When this is over, I might have to consider if this is actually real or just a weird fever dream that I have." I muttered, watching as the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at room.

"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?" Ron asked, unsure.

The black knight nodded, making the redhead sigh and turn to look at us with a finger placed on his chin, as if he's thinking deeply.

"Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess-" Ron stopped abruptly as he turned to look at me. "Have you played chess before, (Y/N)?"

"I only know a bit of the rules." I shrugged.

"We're not offended." Harry said quickly as soon as I finished my sentence, taking a step forward as his impatience is beginning to show. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry, you can take place of that bishop." Ron pointed over at the bishop chessman and then pointed at the chessman next to it. "Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle."

Ron finally brought his eyes back on mine, seemingly pondering for a moment before pointing at the queen piece.

"(Y/N), you can take the queen's place." Ron said. I didn't complain, but it does feel a bit odd to take the queen's place and it reminded me of that one chess scene in No Game No Life. I missed that anime.

"Well, what about you then?" Hermione asked as she walked over to the spot Ron told her to go.

"I'm going to be a knight." Ron said, determination flaring through his eyes as the chessmen that had their roles taken by us, looked at each other and nodded.

The knight, bishop, queen and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty squares that we're going to fill in.

Harry and I walked over to our respective squares as the game had begun.

I felt a pit in my stomach as a white pawn had moved two squares forward, even though I know how this will end.

I observed Ron as he started to direct the black pieces. Of course, they obliged and silently moved wherever he wanted them to go.

"Harry, move diagonally four squares to the right." Ron snapped Harry out of his nervous thoughts and turned his head from left to right for a moment until he nodded as he processed Ron's words, doing what he was told.

After our team had made its move, the white queen has smashed our other black knight down to the floor, dragging him off the board, where he lay quite still and facedown.

I winced at the loud smashing sound the white queen made as I hugged myself as a way of comfort.

"Had to let that happen." Ron said, looking shaken for what he has done to the poor black knight. "However, it leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione. Go on."

Hermione nodded and did what Ron told her to do. The game continued and the tensity of the game was enough to make me furrow my eyebrows and watch as the black pieces continued to be smashed down to the board and dragged away by one of the white pieces.

It doesn't help that the white pieces show no mercy whenever they take a black piece away from our team.

"Salazar, when Hermione said that this game is barbaric, she wasn't really lying." I winced and crossed my arms as another black piece was dragged away by a white piece.

"Wizard's chess always looks barbaric." Harry spoke, still shuddering. "I just hope that none of us will get hurt by this."

"Well, if sacrifices are needed, I think one of us have to." I sigh. "I mean, this is probably the most dangerous obstacle we've ever come across, besides that giant troll."

Harry didn't reply to my sentence, so I dragged my attention away from him and returned it to the redhead boy, who was the only one darting around the board and taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there." Ron said, turning his lips into a thin line as he began to think again.

Suddenly, the white queen turned her blank face towards him, seemingly ready to drag him off of the board if he a move.

"No, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed when she seemed to have caught the gist of the white queen.

"It's the only way - I've got to be taken." Ron said softly, making Hermione shake her head and watch the boy with a grave expression.

"Ron, don't you think that there's another way?" I asked, though I know that there's really none.

"You don't have to do this!" Hermione exclaimed again, but Ron snapped his head towards the brown haired female with an annoyed expression.

"That's chess!" The boy snapped. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me - that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!" He looked at the raven haired boy, who looked surprise, but didn't say anything about Ron sacrificing himself for us to progress,

which is odd.

Harry seems to be deep in thought as well, as if he's retreated back in his own mind.

"But-" Hermione said.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Ron-" The girl started to speak again but was interrupted by the redhead once more.

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the stone!" Ron sternly raised his voice, making me look over at Hermione, who had a frightened look on her face.

I feel bad that she got interrupted by Ron twice, and that's on the first word.

"Ready?" Ron called with his face paling due to his nervousness but he still seemed determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won."

I gulped as Ron silently moved over to the spot where he was about to move to.

When Ron moved to the square, Hermione loudly gasped in horror before screaming as the white queen pounced, striking Ron hard across the head with her stone arm.

I glance over at Harry to see if he's responding to this, but he just seems to be staring at the scene that's happening with a deadpan look. Ron getting struck across the head, wasn't getting into him.

I purse my lips in confusion, but didn't dare to ask him as now was not the time.

Harry was supposed to be concerned for Ron or even tried to stop him as he moved on the board, but the raven haired boy didn't do any of that.

Just what the hell happened to their friendship? Did something change?

The white queen dragged Ron over to the side with blood trickling down from his forehead and Hermione was about to go after the redhead, but Harry suddenly called out to her. "Don't move!"

This made Hermione stop before she can even leave her spot. "Don't forget - we're still playing." Harry reminded as he took a deep breath and moved three spaces to the left.

The white king became stiff, almost crumbling as he took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet.

They all sighed silently in relief when they realized that they'd won, as the chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear.

Hermione jogged over to Ron as soon as the game ended, while Harry and I walked over from behind her.

The brown haired girl stared at the boy with a grim expression, frowning as tears threatened to spill in the corner of her eyes.

"What if he's-?" Hermione asked nervously and looked up to us.

"He'll be fine, Hermione. I'm sure of it." I smile sadly at the girl. My attempt to comfort Hermione through my words was enough to make Hermione's lips curl up into a small smile as she looks back at Ron.

"You two go ahead," Hermione sniffled, wiping her tears from her eyes. "I'll make sure he's alright."

Harry and I stared at each other for a moment, until I moved my eyes away from him and back to Hermione.

"I understand, Hermione. We'll be back soon." I said, but I was immediately held by Harry by the hand.

"(Y/N), stay here with Hermione - it's too dangerous for you up ahead." He asked, worry lacing itself in the tone of his voice.

I roll my eyes and crossed my arms, having quite enough of Harry treating me as if I'm a child who needs protection all the time.

"I killed a giant troll just one room ago by myself. I think I can handle myself." I said while removing his hands away from mine. However, he tightened his grip as if he didn't want to let go.

"(Y/N), this is different; this is Snape we're talking about and Voldemort might just be with him. I can't risk you getting hurt." Harry said, with his pleading green eyes trying to convince me to not just go with him.

"You're probably out of your mind if you think I'm letting you face Voldemort alone, Potter." I scoff, not letting his pleads stop me from changing my mind. "If you can't risk me getting hurt, then I also can't risk you getting hurt."

Harry widened his eyes when I said those words, letting his grip on my hand loosen.

"Besides, I did make a promise to Hagrid to keep an eye out for all of you." I took this opportunity to slip my hand away from Harry's and crouch down to Hermione, who's still staring at Ron's unconscious form.

"Hermione, I want you to take Ron and grab brooms from the flying-key room. They'll be your ticket out of here. Go straight to the Owlery and send Hedwig or Garrett to Dumbledore to let him know what's going on." I instructed, making Hermione nod but she still looked somewhat confused.

"Who's Garrett?" She asked.

"That's Alem's owl." I replied with a shrug. "I think Alem will understand if we use him. He kinda knows that we're sneaking out tonight anyway."

"But (Y/N)-" I stand up once Harry began to speak again. I face the raven haired Gryffindor with a stern look on my face.

"I am not letting you go out there alone." I said, dismissively. Not letting Harry continue his sentence as he's probably going to convince me to not follow him again.

I've made up my mind - I am going with him.

"You can do it, Hermione." I look back down at the brown haired girl, who nodded again, but this time, she looked determined. She stood up and threw her arms around the two of us, pulling us in a hug.

"H-Hermione..." I blushed when I realized how close she was getting, and I can smell her flowery and strawberry-ish scent.

"Harry, (Y/N) - you two are great wizards, you know." She whispered gently, making me blush even more.

Salazar, I shouldn't have to blush so much around Hermione when she gets too close!

"I-I'm not as good as you..." I stuttered, lowering my face and practically burying myself in her arms out of embarrassment.

"Neither am I..." Harry replied, sounding a bit bashful due to Hermione's sudden closeness.

"Me?" Hermione scoffed as she pulled away, smirking playfully at us. "Books and cleverness? Oh, there are more important things."

"Friendship," She turned to look at me with a gentle smile.

"and bravery." She turned to look at Harry.

"Are you sure that you're not meant to be a Gryffindor, (Y/N)?" Hermione playfully asked while I snorted, placing both of my hands in behind the back of my head.

"Well, the sorting hat never lies. I might be in Slytherin for a reason." I smirk at the brown haired girl, who giggled and crouched down to help Ron up.

"Please do be careful. I won't be able to forgive myself if you two end up like Ron." She frowned, while I just gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, Hermione. Harry and I both have each other to kick Voldemort's ass." The girl rolled her eyes before waving and walking away while supporting Ron with her shoulder.

We watched as the two opened the door to where the giant troll was until it closed, letting the two disappear from our line of sight.

"Well, should we get moving?" I look over at Harry, who blushed for a moment and brought his hand up. I stare at his hand for a moment, not understanding what he's trying to say.

"Could you..." He breathed for a moment before continuing. "Could you hold my hand as we go?"

I almost flipped when he asked that. It feels awkward, now that he's not being so subtle with his feelings now, but I obliged anyway since I didn't want to be rude by turning him down.

Besides, we're about to face Voldemort so I should cut him some slack.

I gently intertwine my hands with his and watched as Harry's face seemed to have exploded in red. Not gonna lie, even I thought it was adorable, seeing Harry's face become red.

Maybe there's really nothing bad with having this boy like me. I mean, nothing bad would really happen, right?

"Let's go." I chuckle and led him towards the door. We were both silent and I took a deep breath, placing my hand over at the handle.

What I didn't expect was Harry placing his hand on the handle as well.

I look over at him and nodded. He nodded back as we pulled the door open, revealing a dark and damp passageway. I take a deep breath before I start walking while holding hands with Harry.

He hasn't said a word, but I'm a bit glad that he hasn't since this will probably make it more awkward than it already is.

Light became visible at the end of the passageway, and the nearer we get, the more my nerves start to kick in.

I really hope that I'm not going to die at the end of my first year during this encounter. It will seriously suck if I do.

Once we've reached the end of the passageway, Harry's mouth parted open in surprise while I'm just grumbling nervously, hoping that this half-baked plan of mine will work on those two.

Quirrell stood idly in front of a familiar mirror, the Mirror of Erised. I felt Harry's grip in my hand tighten, but I didn't say anything as he took a step forward.

"You!" Harry gasped in disbelief. Making Quirrell turn around with an eerie smile creeping up on his face. He wasn't acting as the Quirrell that the trio used to know,

This is the real Quirrell.

"Me," The DADA teacher said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

He then turned to look at me, his smile only growing wider but a scowl was still quite visible on his face when he did so. Apparently, I piss him off too much.

"And of course, our dear runaway (Y/N)." He bows down, making me roll my eyes in annoyance since he called me a runaway. "Fancy meeting you here - I was sure that you would've died on the room where the giant troll was in."

"Well, try again because your troll isn't strong enough to hold me down." I growl at the man.

"Clearly." His eyes landed down on the bottom half of my pajama, where the splattered dried blood of the troll was in. "Astonishing red eyes, dear (Y/N)."

Quirrell complimented, but I didn't respond as I only wanted to kick him right in the stomach, and he probably didn't even mean that compliment. This red eyes must be his doing as well.

"Well, now that the two main stars of the night are here; shall we start?" Quirrell's eyes glinted dangerously in the dark, while Harry was still shaking in disbelief beside me.

I narrow my eyes at the DADA teacher, and brought my eyes at the turban he was wearing. Voldemort was listening, that's for sure.

Harry is still trying to recover from the shock, and the first year is about to end.

I sigh and glanced over at Harry, sighing softly as I have to make sure that he won't take much damage in this encounter. I promised Hagrid that I'd look out for him.

'It's time to change things tonight, (Y/N) Rosewood' I thought as I brought my hand to my pocket where the apple sat comfortably in for the last few hours.

'Let's just hope this works'

»»-----　♡　-----««

A/N:

ok so like, this reached 18k words lmao I'm dead as I've been writing for five days straight for this chapter.

I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I've been getting a bit busy with organizing my application for my new school in online classes. I hope you understand.

I'm just glad that they moved it to October 5th, so yay more time to write lmao

Speaking of writing, the next chapter is the final chapter for the first year. Honestly, I can't even believe that we've made it through the first year. I was sure that no one would read this fanfic and I'd drop it midway to start a new one-

There will be hints sprinkled in the next chapter to give you an insight of what happens in the second year. Mostly because I'm excited for the ideas and everything that will happen in the second year and I've already outlined it-

*cough* Tom Riddle *cough*

*cough* a Hufflepuff who we've never actually met before *cough*

*cough* Alem *cough*

Okay now I'm just straight up spilling the hints bUT I CANT HELP IT ALRIGHT REEEEEE it's up to you to find out what those mean tho :V

By the way, you might've missed something in this chapter but I'm not telling you what because that'll ruin the mystery.

Anyway, I have nothing else to say except thank you for helping me get this far and I hope you stick around for the final chapter of the first year!

I'll see you guys very soon!