"𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎?"

𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕋𝕠 𝕐𝕠𝕦 - 𝔹𝔸ℕℕ𝔼ℝ𝕊

"Something bothering you Harold?"

─── ∙ ~☾~ ∙ ───

Despite the months transitioning from January into February, the chilling cold remained. There was a Gryffindor match coming up against Ravenclaw and Harry had still neglected to get a new broom. 

After every Transfiguration lesson, he would ask Professor McGonagall on his Firebolt's status which she would then always respond to with a, "No, Potter, you can't have it back yet." 

The twelfth time he went up to Professor McGonagall's desk at the end of class he didn't have to even ask before she informed him again, that he couldn't get his Firebolt back. 

Harry was also stressing about his Dementor lessons. He was still having trouble conjuring a Patronus. He kept focusing on the same memory of the Dursley's but whenever he did it never seemed he could produce more than the simple silver shadow. 

Y/N had insisted on continuing to come with him and help, even though she had already produced her doe Patronus. Harry always felt exhausted by the end of the class and barely made it to the Gryffindor tower by himself feeling like he could drop to the ground and fall asleep in the corridors.

"You're expecting too much of yourself," Professor Lupin observed while the three were in the classroom practicing for the fourth week in a row. Y/N was leaning against the wall watching Harry intently. 

She had already produced her Patronus proudly before turning her attention to help Harry. Harry couldn't help but envy how easy the girl was able to think of a happy memory and easily complete the spell. 

If only he knew the only reason she was able to produce such a powerful spell was because of him. 

"Sir?" Harry inquired after another failure of getting a shape out of his wand. "I thought a Patronus would charge the dementors or something. Make them disappear..."

"The true Patronus does do that, like Y/N's doe," Lupin explained. "But with how much you've progressed, you'll be able to keep the dementors at bay if they show up on the Quidditch Pitch."

Lupin turned his attention to his briefcase and pulled out three bottles. 

"I think you two have earned yourself a drink," he smiled, "this is from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before-"

"Yeah," Harry said happily. "I love that stuff."

Professor Lupin looked at him confused until Y/N, thankfully, interjected. 

"I've brought some back to him from Hogsmeade before," she said quickly taking a sip of the warm liquid and giving Harry a 'this is why you're not in Ravenclaw' look. 

"Yeah, yeah what she said," Harry added shakily, which made Y/N shake her head at his awkwardness. 

"I see," Lupin said but he still seemed doubtful. "Well—let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw!"

"Yeah let's," Y/N smirked. "The only way I'll get to beat Harry again is if he wins."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said playfully rolling his eyes and taking a long sip of butterbeer. 

After a moment of odd silence, Harry asked yet another alarming question to Professor Lupin. 

"What's under a dementor's hood?"

"You absolutely suck at small talk," Y/N whispered to him. 

"Well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us." Lupin explained, "You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

"What's that?" Harry asked. 

"The Dementors kiss," Y/N stated. 

"Very good Y/N," Professor Lupin said impressed. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and...."

"Suck out their soul," Y/N finished sighing her eyes going wide. 

Harry spat out some of his butterbeer. 

"What? They kill?"

"Oh no," Professor Lupin assured. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no...anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just....exist. As an empty shell and your soul is gone forever....lost."

Y/N shuddered as Professor Lupin continued. 

"It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black, it was in the Daily Prophet this morning."

Harry was stunned. Picturing someone getting their soul sucked out through their mouths crept him and Y/N out. 

─── ∙ ~☾~ ∙ ───

Y/N was sitting in the half-empty Great Hall with Cedric on a chilly afternoon. 

"Honestly I'm ready for this year to be over," Cedric said to Y/N as they were working on homework. 

"What do you mean? You're a fifth year, why do you want to go to sixth year so quickly?" Y/N asked. "Isn't that just more work."

"Well Hufflepuff is definitely not going to make it to the Quidditch final this year, and classes are boring," Cedric said. "Y'know I can't wait for graduation. These past years will feel like they meant something and be faint memories."

"I say live in the moment," Y/N debated. "The last thing you want to do is live always longing for another time in your life. You only live once."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cedric said thinking thoughtfully. "I just really wanted to be able to show my dad that my team won the Quidditch cup while I was captain."

"There's always next year," Y/N said kindly. "And if not next year, the year after that, and if you're not fond of your passing marks you can try again for an 8th year," she said laughing.

"Wow, such wise advice from Y/N Sinclair," Cedric said sarcastically.

"What can I say," Y/N said. "It's an abomination I wasn't put in Ravenclaw Ced."

"Oh so I've moved up to a nickname category," Cedric said smirking. "I feel so special."

"Oh shut it," Y/N said smiling and turning back to her Charms work. Y/N didn't know it yet but memories like these with people she cared about, she would cherish greatly for the rest of her lifetime. 

However long that may be.

─── ∙ ~☾~ ∙ ─── 

"What's wrong Nev?" Y/N asked as she approached the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. 

Neville was standing anxiously outside the portrait looking pale. 

"I wrote them down!" Neville exclaimed. "But I must've dropped them somewhere!"

"Likely story," Sir Cadagon the knight said who was guarding the portrait hole now that the Fat Lady was in shambles from the Sirius Black incident.

"Good even, m'lady!" The knight said to Y/N. "Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

"Shut up," Y/N said fiercely at the painting. Her whole face expression changed when she turned to Neville.

"Hey, it's okay," Y/N said sweetly. 

"I've lost the passwords," He told her on the verge of tears. "I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"

"I know the password, Harry told me," Y/N said comfortingly. "Oddsbodikins."

She entered the portrait hole while Neville stood up quickly. 

"Thank you!" Neville cried, happiness filling him that he was finally able to get in his common room. 

"Anytime Nev," she said as the boy smiled and walked up to his dorm.

She began to look around and noticed a whole crowd, huddled around the couch. 

She had plans with Hermione but instead was met with Ron and Harry's excitable expressions and people passing around a Firebolt. 

The crowd started to disperse as Y/N walked up to the two boys.

"She gave it back to you?" Y/N asked surprised. 

"Yeah in the corridor," Harry said. "But I still don't know who it's from."

"Who cares?" Ron said running his fingers down the broom handle. "I can still have a go on it right?"

"Yeah..." Harry said but he wasn't paying attention to Ron. He was looking at Y/N who was looking back at him with a serious look.

Maybe Ron was right, Hermione is rubbing off on her. Harry thought, trying to read Y/N's face. 

Her eyes went from the broom to Ron and then she rolled her eyes at how slow Harry was in understanding. 

Finally, he nodded, getting what Y/N meant. 

"You know what..." Harry said. "....we should make up with Hermione....she was only trying to help."

A satisfied smile crept across Y/N's face as Ron barely processed the information. 

"Yeah, all right," He said still admiring the broom. 

"Where exactly is she?" Y/N asked. "I was supposed to meet her."

Her eyes trailed across the fire-lit common room and settled on the frizzy-haired girl who was sitting at one of the tables in the back. 

The three approached her while she was knee-deep in her homework.

"I got it back," Harry said holding up the broom and smiling at the Gryffindor girl.

"See Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it," said Ron.

"Well there might have been," Hermione snapped. 

"You two suck at apologies," Y/N said crossing her arms. "It usually starts with 'I'm sorry.'"

"She knows we're sorry," Ron said looking at Y/N. 

"I'd better put it upstairs," Harry said starting to turn. 

"I'll do it!" Ron exclaimed. "I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic."

He took the Firebolt carefully and walked it up the steps cautiously like he was holding a newborn baby. 

"Can I sit down then?" Harry asked Hermione, Y/N had already taken a seat next to her. 

"I suppose so," Hermione said in defeat.

The three started to engage in conversation until Ron's screams were heard running down the stairs. 

"LOOK!" Ron yelled, his face almost as red as his hair. "LOOK! SCABBERS! LOOK!"

He was holding onto his bedsheets tightly and pushed them in Hermione's face. 

"Ron what-?"

"BLOOD! HE'S GONE AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?" 

"N-no," Hermione stumbled out. 

Causing both Y/N and Hermione to flinch Ron threw down ginger cat hairs that were long and spiky on top of Hermione's Ancient rune's homework.

"Ron I-" Hermione started. 

"SAVE IT," Ron bellowed before stomping up to his room.

Hermione gathered up her stuff and scrambled up to the dorms trying to hide her tears.

"Well that lasted all of five minutes," Harry sighed as he moved into the chair next to Y/N. 

"I don't know this one seemed bad," Y/N said. "Ron would protect that bloody rat with his life."

Harry shrugged. "What were you going to meet Hermione about?"

"Homework, guess that's not happening," Y/N said holding up her school bag. 

"Here I'll help you," Harry said grabbing a piece of Y/N's potions homework. 

"No way," Y/N said snatching the piece of parchment Harry had in his hands back. 

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed.

"You can do Muggle studies," Y/N said handing him her Muggle studies book and parchment. 

"How come I'm doing the boring part of your homework?" Harry complained.

"There's no way I'm letting you near my potions work, and you lived with Muggles it'll be easy," Y/N smiled sarcastically. 

"Fine," Harry said dipping his quill into ink and beginning to write about how a microwave works.

After about a half-hour of working Harry let out a loud sigh. 

Y/N ignored him, still fiercely writing her potions essay. 

Harry sighed again and laid his head on her shoulder. This time he sighed more loudly. 

"Something bothering you Harold?" Y/N asked not looking up from her parchment.

"I'm hungry," Harry whined. 

"Sounds like a you problem," Y/N emphasized. 

Harry frowned, "Let's go to the kitchens." 

"Sure. There's no mass murderer running around," she said sarcastically. "Not to mention Filch, Snape, Mrs. Norris."

"Excuses, Excuses," Harry said unsatisfied. 

Y/N let out a sigh not being able to refuse the green-eyed boy. "Go get your map, If we get caught—"

"We won't!" Harry assured flashing his bright smile before running upstairs to his dorm. 

Harry returned in about seven minutes clutching the map.

"Why'd it take you so long to find a map?" Y/N hissed. 

"Ron had a nightmare," Harry snickered. "Spiders wanting him to tap-dance." 

Stifling their laughs the two snuck out of the Gryffindor tower, and when they got to a certain empty corridor, Harry recited:

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink in the map started to form and it started to show where people were around the castle.

"Still have no idea how that works," Y/N laughed. 

"Come on, no ones by the kitchens," Harry observed looking at the map. He grabbed Y/N's hand as they avoided any passing teachers.

Y/N hadn't been in the kitchen since that early September night with Harry when she had only known him for two short days. 

They noticed chocolate pudding in medium-size goblets set in the refrigerator for tomorrow's dessert. Harry gave Y/N a sly smile before grabbing a goblet of the pudding and placing it on the counter.

 Y/N hopped up onto the counter while Harry was standing facing her. 

Harry grabbed two spoons and handed one to her. They dug into the delicious chocolate heaven that was put in the goblet not caring about the sugar buzz they were about to get. 

"Y'know you never told me what you heard when the dementors came close to you that day on the train," Harry said spooning another bite of chocolate pudding into his mouth. 

"Again you suck at small talk," Y/N said not looking Harry in the eye and stuffing another bite. 

"I'm serious," Harry said his eyes glimmered with concern. "You know about me hearing murderous screams, which is always fun, but what about you?"

Y/N let out a sigh as she rested her arm with the spoon on her leg. 

"I just heard screams," Y/N said. "At first I thought it might have been my family and I was just scared of losing them but they weren't familiar screams."

"You think they were random people?" Harry asked. 

"I don't know about random," Y/N said dipping her spoon into the pudding, "but it definitely wasn't voices I recognize."

Harry placed a hand comfortingly on her leg as she looked down. She quickly stuffed the bite she had already placed on her spoon, into her mouth. 

They both went for another bite when their spoons clashed as they fought for another bite.

"You git, let me," Y/N hissed playfully as she hit his spoon away. She then raised her other hand and lightly slapped his hand and successfully got a spoonful. 

"Ha, I win," Y/N said as she brought the spoon to her lips another sweet chocolaty taste delighted her taste buds. 

Harry scowled at her while she smiled brightly at him in victory.

"Ok, Harold check to make sure no one's coming," Y/N ordered as she jumped down from the counter and wiped her hands clean once they had finished. She used a spell to clean the dirty dishes and placed them with the other clean dishes. 

"No one's coming...wait," Harry furrowed his brow.

"What?" Y/N said leaning over his shoulder. 

"Peter Pettigrew," Y/N read. The name was moving around in a corridor. "Isn't he supposed to be dead, I thought Black y'know...killed him."

"That's the story," Harry said looking intently at the map. "He's not far from here come on."

"What?" Y/N said whipping her head around as Harry now had his handle on the kitchen door. 

"You're not the least bit curious on why the map insists a dead man is alive?" Harry asked giving her a pleading look. 

"Fine," Y/N said. 

"I could have been friends with normal people but noooo I had to befriend freaking Harry Potter who insists on chasing dead people,"  Y/N muttered as they made their way through the halls quietly. 

"Oh shut up, you know you love me," Harry said smirking. 

Y/N rolled her eyes trying to hide her smile as the two stuck close together. 

"Lumos," Harry recited causing a bright light to come from his wand. 

They glanced at the Marauder's map confused as to why they saw nothing in the dark hallway. Their names Harry Potter and Y/N Sinclair were moving together but the name Petter Pettigrew was insisting that the supposed deceased man was right in front of them.

However, there was no human to be seen. The footsteps shown on the map sped up as it showed  Peter moving around them. They turned trying to follow his steps. 

"Ahhh!" Harry and Y/N shouted as they saw themselves in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. 

"I don't understand," Harry said frantically. 

"The map says he's here and alive, so why can't we see him?"

"I don't know Harold but I think we have worse problems," Y/N said pointing at the map that now read Severus Snape and that he was coming this way from a corridor nearby. 

"What are we going to do?" Y/N said going into a state of panic. 

If they got caught out of bed, by Snape, with the marauder's map, there was no telling what would happen. 

"Mischief Managed," Harry muttered. "Knox." 

And with that, the bright light from his wand was put out. The two could barely make each other out in the pitch darkness.

"Relax, he won't take house points away from you," Harry said to the dark silhouette that was Y/N, reminding her of her current residency in the Slytherin house.

"He will expel us if we have the Marauders Map!" Y/N whisper shouted squinting her eyes to look at Harry dumbfounded. 

Snape's footsteps were growing closer and closer that they could now hear them. 

Thinking on instinct Harry pushed Y/N into the nearest broom closet. 

"What are you—" Y/N hissed, but she was cut off with Harry's hand over her mouth. 

He pressed a finger to his lips gesturing for her to be quiet. 

They were practically on top of each other given the particular broom closet they were in had barely enough room for one person, let alone two. 

Not to mention the brooms and buckets that already had a place in the tiny area. 

Y/N realizing this was not the best time to get butterflies at Harry's touch, so she tried her best to stomp the flutters she was feeling in her stomach. 

The two were breathing extremely heavily and Harry was looking into Y/N's Y/E/C eyes intently. 

The two listened closely and it sounded as though the footsteps were fading and then they heard complete silence.

Harry let out a sigh and opened up the broom closet to let them out, but instead, a bright light immediately was flashed into the pair's eyes. 

"Miss Sinclair, Mr. Potter, care to explain what you are doing in a supply closet this late at night?" Snape asked in his usual monotone voice. 

Harry felt his heart quicken as he frantically tried to think of an excuse. There was no use lying about where they were but they needed a lie that wouldn't expose the Marauders Map.

"Snogging," Harry blurted out, mentally facepalming and trying to avoid Y/N's wide eyes. 

"Snogging?" Snape said looking incredibly disgusted. 

"Yes professor, now I'd appreciate it if you would lower your wand," said Harry sassily

Snape slowly lowered his wand pointing more to the two's chests than their faces.

Despite how stunned she was with Harry's response she went along with it. "Umm yeah, sorry Professor we'll go to bed now."

"Separate beds," Snape said harshly. "And 20 points will be taken from Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Yes sir," they said. They turned ready to leave before Snape ordered them to stop. 

"Shit," Y/N cursed under her breath.

"What's that in your hand Potter?" he drawled. 

"Spare piece of parchment," Harry quickly explained turning back around. 

"Open it," Snape instructed. 

Y/N was holding her breath while Snape was looking at the two skeptically. 

Harry proceed to open the now blank parchment in front of Snape. 

He touched his wand to the parchment and said, "Reveal your secrets,"

Y/N felt her stomach lurch as she saw the ink form on the paper. 

"Read it," Snape ordered. 

Y/N started to read, "Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and-"

Y/N's eyes expanded two sizes as the messages started to reveal.

"Go on."

Harry looked up at Snape slightly smirking. 

"-begs him to keep his abnormally long nose out of other people's business," he finished. 

Snape froze.

"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git," Y/N continued reading. 

Snape wasn't protesting so Harry continued to read out, "Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that, ever became a Professor."

"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day and advises him to wash his hair, the slime ball," Y/N finished trying her best not to laugh.

"You insolent little-" Snape sneered.

"Professor," a voice called from behind Professor Snape. 

Snape whipped around shining the light from his wand directly at the mystery person. 

"Well Well. Lupin," he said. "Out for a little walk in the moonlight are we?" 

Professor Lupin just cocked his head to look at the two. 

"Harry? Y/N?" He asked. "Are you alright?"

The two nodded surely at the Professor. 

Snape leaned forward and snatched the map out of Harry's hands. He then turned to Lupin, "I have just now confiscated a rather curious artifact from Miss Sinclair and Mr. Potter after I found them in a  broom closet. Take a look Lupin, this is supposed to be your area of expertise. Clearly, it's full of dark magic."

"Oh I seriously doubt it, Severus," Professor Lupin said taking the parchment from Snape and looking over it. 

"It looks to me as though it's merely a parchment designed to insult anyone who intends to read it," he chuckled. "I suspect it's a Zonko's product."

Professor Snape reached to have it back but Lupin quickly moved it away from him. 

"Nevertheless," Lupin stated sternly, "I shall investigate any hidden qualities it may possess. It is after all, as you say, my area of expertise. Y/N, Harry would you come with me please." 

The two started following Professor Lupin while Snape watched them suspiciously. 

"Professor Goodnight," Lupin said sternly. 

The three rounded the corridor before Lupin turned to talk to them. 

"Professor I-" Y/N started. 

"I don't want to hear explanations," Professor Lupin said bluntly. "I trust you two, your bright students."

The two nodded their heads quickly. 

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously but I would have thought that what Harry hears when the dements draw near, would have had more effect on you two. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them gambling their sacrifice."

"Yes sir," Harry said shortly.

"And I know your both teenagers but I don't think it's appropriate for you two too-"

"Oh no-"

"We were just-"

"Uh-"

"It's not what it looked like-"

"Nothing happened-"

"Snape's got it all wrong-"

The two got flustered tripping over each other's words. 

"Oh well despite what I've seen," Lupin said raising an eyebrow. "I think it's time for you two to head to bed,"

"Yes Professor," Harry said while Y/N nodded. 

The two awkwardly made their way away from Professor Lupin and down the hallway.

"No other excuse came to mind Harold," Y/N said looking at him in amusement. 

"It was the first thing that came to mind!" Harry said impatiently. "Aren't you happy I got us out of that mess?"

"Correction. Lupin got us out of that mess," Y/N said rolling her eyes. "Now we have two Professors who think I just snogged you in a broom closet."

"Don't act like you weren't wishing that's what was really happening when we were in that broom closet," Harry smirked. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Y/N said crossing her arms. 

"Oh nothing," Harry said innocently. "It's just that I could tell you liked it."

"You're not thinking straight," Y/N insisted feeling her cheeks heat up.

"So you felt nothing when I was this close to you," Harry said moving closer to her, almost as they were in the broom closet. 

"Nothing," she said plainly keeping direct eye contact and making sure she wasn't showing evidence of her knees going weak.

"What a shame," said Harry still with a giant smirk on his face. 

He backed away slowly and sent one last wink towards Y/N before walking off and turning the corner towards the Gryffindor Tower. 

Y/N felt herself let out a huge breath. Freaking Harry Potter. She thought as she made her way to the dungeons. 

What a flirt.

─── ∙ ~☾~ ∙ ───

𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟑: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖

A/N: I just fell in love with Marauder's all over again. Anyways, thank you for the votes, comments, and reads, I love you all 💕