✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Y/N's P.O.V. 

Fred, George and Elijah were escorting her to Gryffindor Tower after the Hogsmeade trip. They were back early so Y/N could meet up with Dean and so Fred, George and Elijah could go to the Slytherin common room and turn all their furniture scarlet red. 

Entering, their faces were red from the cold and Y/N's nose was freezing. 

In the Entrance Hall, Elijah noticed. 

"Y/N?" he asked, keeping his gaze forward while walking. 

"Hm?" 

He took off his scarf, (navy blue with black stripes) and handed it to her. "Take this," Elijah said. 

Y/N could feel her heart rate quicken. "But we're inside now?" she said questioningly. 

Elijah shrugged, "Your face is red from cold - so even though I'd rather see it and pretend you're blushing for me, I want you to be warm." 

What? 

Blushing for him...

Get it together, Y/N! What would Ron say? What would Hermione say? 

Well, Hermione would just say she was betraying Harry.

Which she wasn't, since she was just going to deflect Elijah's advances...oh, and because there was nothing between her and Harry. 

Get it together. 

"You wish I was blushing for you," she teased. But she took the scarf from him and wrapped it around her neck, pulling it up so it covered her nose slightly. 

"Like I couldn't make you blush right now," he smirked. 

Y/N almost felt the butterflies. But, for some reason, it was...not enough? She didn't know why she felt like that- usually, flirting went nowhere. But for Harry and Elijah, she always reacted. 

Harry more than Elijah. 

But...Elijah still affected her. If Harry wasn't going to do anything...might as well...

Get it together. 

"Alright, guys!" Fred interrupted before Y/N could say anything. 

"Well, would you look at that!" George said cheerily. "We're...er...on the staircase!" 

Y/N had to bite back a laugh at Elijah's expression of annoyance. "Thanks for the observation, dumbass," he said. 

"Okay, that wasn't nice, Ellie," Fred said in mock offense, defending his twin. 

Elijah just rolled his eyes and said, "Don't call me that." 

Fred looked at him quizzically. "You let our little troublemaker call you that, but we can't?" 

"She's been calling me that for two years - you can't start now!" 

"Damn right," Y/N said with a proud smile, climbing up the last step and through an archway into the corridor. 

The twins and Elijah explained their plan to change the colours of the Slytherin common room while they walked through the halls. 

"Put a Gryffindor crest on Malfoy's bedspread for me, will you?" Y/N said with a chuckled as they reached the portrait hole. 

Elijah nodded at her, "Will do," he said. 

Fred said the password and the Portrait Hole swung open. The Fat Lady still wasn't back and Sir Cadogan kept yelling, 

"Stand, you rascals, and fight! Fight for your honor!" 

They ignored him and piled into the common room. Y/N's eyes landed on Dean, who had also come back early. He was curled up on an armchair, sketching. 

"Well, this is where we depart," George said, turning back to the exit. 

"Alright, bye dorks!" Y/N said. Elijah hugged her, Fred and George ruffled her hair, then they left. 

She skipped over to Dean and just...laid on top of him. 

"Ger'off me!" she heard Dean's muffled complaints. 

Y/N didn't budge, "Nice to see you too, Thomas," she said cheerily. She could literally hear him roll his eyes. 

Dean tried to push her, but it didn't work. Finally, with a huge heave, Y/N was on the carpet, on the floor. 

"Thomas! What was that for?!" she demanded. It was a joke, of course. She wasn't hurt - Dean wasn't that strong. 

With a shrug, Dean said, "I'm...you...you were on my drawing," he said decisively. 

She tried to peek at what he was sketching. "Anndd....whatcha drawing?" 

"Nothing!" he exclaimed, grabbing the front cover of the sketchbook and slamming it closed. 

"Oookay...?" Y/N said. "Anyway, haven't spoken to your arse in forever." 

Dean looked down at her on the floor, then said in a tired voice. "We pulled an all-nighter yesterday."

"That was forever ago," Y/N said firmly. 

After a little bit of banter, Y/N was laid down on the couch while Dean tried to stack books on her head. After she had six, she attempted to get up without dropping them. 

Obviously, the plan failed horribly. The books came tumbling to the ground, knocking an inkpot off of the table. Crookshanks, who was sitting in a corner, got startled and fled into the girls dormitory. 

Dean and Y/N just sat down again and talked about random things. "Remember how we met?" Dean asked suddenly. 

"How could I forget?" muttered Y/N. It was so embarrassing. 

///

It was Y/N's first year at Hogwarts and she was just coming back from class with Hermione. Y/N was telling Hermione how Quirrell made her uneasy. 

"His stutter can not be real, Hermione!" Y/N said. 

"Come on, Y/N. So what he's a little odd? Can't be dangerous - like, er...You-Know-Who," said Hermione, nudging her side. 

They continued their conversation and Hermione was telling her about a new book she was reading. Y/N began to complain that the hallway was too crowded, when she suddenly tripped- 

And landed in someone's arms. 

"Oh Merlin! I am so sorry!" she apologized profusely, face burning. 

The person had burst out laughing, propping her upright and continuing to wheeze. Who did he think he was?

"Stop that!" Y/N complained. "I'd like to see you recover from tripping into someone!" 

"You should've seen your face!" the boy said, clutching his stomach. "You looked terrified!" 

She rolled her eyes, "Go away...er...what's your name?" 

"Dean Thomas," Dean said with a grin. "And you?" 

"Y/N Sterling - Gryffindor. This is my friend, Hermione," Y/N replied awkwardly, still embarrassed from the situation.

Hermione gave a small wave and a smile, also laughing at her best friend. Okay, traitor. 

"Okay, fine. Go away, Thomas." 

"How about you go away, Sterling?" Dean retorted playfully. "I mean, it's you who fell into my arms-"

"STOP." 

///

Dean grinned cheekily. "If I remember correctly, It was so romantic!" he said, teasingly making kissy faces at Y/N. "It was like time slowed down! It made it so much easier for me to laugh at you." 

She rolled her eyes and shoved his face away with a groan.

"Dean, Stop."

"You were living the Wattpad life, N/N!" he exclaimed with too much joy. He was so annoying. She was going to kill him. He was going to wake up tomorrow and his bedsheets would turn into pigeons.

For a moment, Y/N was confused. "The...What-Pad life...?" 

"Never mind!" he said quickly.

It was odd, but Y/N thought nothing of it. They started a game of Wizard's Chess, which turned into two, then three...

"Hah! Checkmate!" Y/N exclaimed, pointing at Dean's king, who was under attack from her queen. 

"Hah! You're stupid!" he mocked, commanding his bishop to kill Y/N's Queen. "Take that, Y/N. I'm going to win and you're going to lose. I'm better."

"I won the last two games, don't get ahead of yourself, dimwit," she pointed out with a smirk. He just whined and told her to keep playing.

After a while, (Y/N had won two more games, Dean had won one) Y/N regarded his watch. It was eight fifty. She got up quickly and said, 

"Alright, get up!" 

"Nooooo," Dean whined. "I'm comfortable." 

"And I don't care!" she exclaimed and got up from the floor. When he whined again, she said, "Oh, come on, Thomas. Dinner is in, like, ten minutes and I'm hungry. You have to get up anyway." 

He grumbled a quiet, "Fine," and rose from his seat. Putting on a sweater, he rolled up his sleeves and followed Y/N out of the common room for dinner.  

✦

At dinner, she tried to catch Hermione's eye, even though she was sitting with Dean and Seamus. But...Hermione's gaze was fixed on Harry and she looked incredibly worried. 

Throughout dinner, she saw Hermione speak to Ron while they both glanced at Harry, whose eyes were on his plate. 

There was something wrong. 

Y/N tried to stay upbeat through dinner and she tried to laugh at Dean and Seamus's jokes. But when dinner ended and they could leave, she saw Harry basically sprint out of the Hall. 

Striding over to Ron and Hermione, she immediately asked, "What's wrong with Harry?" 

Obviously, they heard the worry laced in her voice. 

So they explained. First, they started with Sirius Black...okay...yeah, maybe Harry had finally realized that Black was after him. And wanted to kill him. 

But then...they told her, as they had found out at the Three Broomsticks after she left, that it was Sirius Black who was the Secret Keeper for the Potters - Harry's family. He had sold them out to Voldemort. He was the reason Harry had no parents. 

Even worse - Sirius Black and James Potter were best friends. Sirius Black betrayed his best friends, his world, to Voldemort, the greatest Dark Wizard of all time. 

Y/N was furious. Not like she could do anything about it, but she was mad nonetheless. "And you just let him walk away?! You didn't even comfort him?" Y/N demanded. 

"N/N," Hermione said desperately. "He wouldn't speak to us!" 

"He wouldn't even look at us!" Ron added. "He's been quiet since we found out..." he trailed off.

"Well he needs comfort! You two were with him!" 

They both looked incredibly guilty, "Come on, Y/N! He didn't want to talk about it!" Ron defended weakly. 

Sending them both a glare, Y/N stalked out of the Great Hall. Once she was out of sight, she raced through the halls and up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

Entering, It was completely empty as everyone was at dinner. Scanning the room, she saw that Harry wasn't there. "Must be in his dormitory, then," she thought. 

Y/N ascended the boy's staircase. It was always weird, since when the boys tried to climb the girls staircase, it turned into a slide. 

Stopping at Harry's dormitory door, she paused. Through the door, stifled cries could be heard and it broke her heart. 

"Scarface...?" she said softly with a knock on the door. 

When there was silence, no reply, she asked again, "Potter...?" 

Again, silence. 

"Harry," Y/N said almost desperately. "Please, open the door, Harry," she begged.

The quiet was deafening, it filled Y/N's insides with...well, worry was the simplest way to describe it. 

What if Harry really wasn't okay? She had to go in. So, Y/N slowly pushed the door open, stepping into a room filled with four-poster beds. 

On one of these beds was a clump of blankets and under them, Y/N found, was Harry James Potter. On his bedside sat a leatherbound photo album, flipped open to a page of his parent's wedding.

There was James Potter, smiling widely, his black hair sticking up in all directions just like Harry's. There was Lily Potter, arm linked with James and her green eyes glinting with happiness. 

Y/N's gaze shifted to the man beside James. Their best man - Sirius Black. Their best man - the cause of their demise. 

Noiselessly, she sat down at the edge of Harry's bed. "Harry..." she started. A weak, muffled hum responded from under the covers. 

"Harry, come on...Harry...talk to me."

A black-haired head poked out from the blanket. A hand followed, grabbing hers. Y/N sighed in relief - at least he was responsive now. 

"Harry, do you want to sit up and talk about it? Or do you want me to just be here?" Y/N asked. She didn't want to push him into talking if it made him uncomfortable.

"Jus'...be here...for now," he answered in a small voice. 

"Always," she whispered, tightening her hold on his hand. 

A couple minutes later, Y/N heard the sobs commence once more. Without even thinking, she half-laid down beside Harry, her back half propped up against the headboard. After that, she pulled the boy into her embrace. 

She could see a faint blush spread across his cheeks, but he tried to slow his breathing and sobs down. 

Harry wrapped his arms around her midriff and rested his head on her chest, his dark hair tickling her jaw. Y/N hugged him tightly, one hand gently tangled in his curls.

"I..I think I'm ready to talk about it," he said quietly, looking up at her. 

She matched his quiet tone, "Only if you're ready," she said. 

"He was their friend!" Harry said in anguish, his features contorted in something between anger and sorrow. "And he betrayed them." 

"It's scummy. It's why he's been locked away, it's why Black will never amount to anything," Y/N said bitterly, stroking his back. 

"And Peter Pettigrew - he blasted him to bits. His best friend since Hogwarts, who had been nothing but supportive." 

"He died a hero's death," Y/N said solemnly.

Y/N listened to his rants for the next half an hour, agreeing with his points and giving him gentle affirmations. 

Whenever he had to take a pause to cry, she would either quiet down, or whisper sweet nothings in his ear. 

"What if Black comes for you...?" Y/N finally asked. She had to know if he'd even considered it. 

Harry, apparently, had an immediate answer. "Yeah? He can try," said Harry savagely. "He can try to come for me - 'cause when he does?" he paused for a breath. "I'm going to kill him!" 

"Harry!" Y/N said, aghast. "Harry, he is a dark wizard. You can't do it by yourself-" 

"I won't be alone - he will," Harry said with finality in his voice. His breath was a little ragged now and his hold on her midriff tightened. 

She didn't mind, she knew that anger was hard to control. "Harry...I think you need to rest now," Y/N said softly, running fingers through his hair. 

He hummed groggily, "I can't...perks of an imaginative mind," Harry tried to joke. "I'll just...be seeing Pettigrew getting murdered, my parents getting murdered." 

She tried to input something, but he continued, "All through dinner - it was like a film was playing in my brain. It was Black and Pettrigrew and Black was murmuring like a madamn..."My lord, they have made me their Secret-Keeper...their downfall is near...'"

"I'll stay with you," she said immediately. "It worked last time...when you heard the screaming," Y/N whispered, her breath slightly moving his hair. 

"Wouldn't have it any other way..." Harry mumbled sleepily. His voice was tired, it was...it sounded hollow. 

Y/N would do anything for him to feel better. Anything. 

"Go to sleep, Potter," she said. When he didn't answer, Y/N realized he was already out. 

With the hint of a smile, she pushed his hair out of his face and brought her lips to his forehead, gently kissing his scar. 

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

She had left Harry's dormitory early in the morning. Y/N didn't want to wake up so she slipped out of his embrace as softly as she could. Sliding a pillow between Harry's arms, she left. 

Her fear was that he'd wake up and panic, or just...yell at her. In his tired, anguished state, maybe he just...wasn't thinking. Maybe he'd be weirded out if he knew that she stayed.

Hopefully, Ron had been too tired the previous night to notice Y/N in Harry's bed. 

If he did notice...Harry would probably get hexed. 

Checking the clock, she saw it was five in the morning. Entering her dorm, she clicked the door shut as quietly as possible. When she turned around, she saw Hermione sitting on her bed, arms crossed. 

"And where have you been?" Hermione demanded. Her eyes were squinted in suspicion.

"Erm..." Y/N tried to stall. 

It didn't work. "Go on, you can do it," Hermione said. 

"With Harry..."

"The whole night?" Hermione's eyes widened, then a smirk crept onto her face. 

Y/N could feel herself go bright red. "No! Not like that. I was...comforting him about yesterday," she clarified. 

Hermione furrowed her brows. "He let you? Every time Ron and I brought it up, he just ignored us." 

Shrugging, Y/N sat down beside Hermione. "I'm really worried for him," she said. 

Placing an arm around her shoulder, Hermione said, "We all are. It'll get better, alright? We'll help him through it. It's got to be easier than the time we beat Quirrell." 

That put a small smile on Y/N's face. Her best friend was amazing at comforting her and making her feel better. "How do you always say the right things, Herms?" 

"Herms?" Hermione said amusedly with a raised brow. "Never called me that before - it's always Mione."

"Oh, come on! You get called 'Mione," by everyone!" Y/N said, careful to keep her tone soft as to not wake the other girls. "Had to spice it up." 

The bushy-haired girl considered it for a moment. "I like it," she finally decided. 

With joking inflection, Y/N said, "You better like it." 

"Now..." Hermione pondered, studying Y/N. "I can't just keep calling you Y/N and N/N. Beautiful name, but everyone calls you that," she copied the way Y/N talked to her earlier. 

"Use that brain of yours, Herms," Y/N teased. 

"Oh, shove off, Sterling," Hermione scoffed playfully and nudged her. 

With a gasp and a hand over her heart, the h/c said, "That's mean." 

"That's why I said it," Hermione teased, sticking out her tongue. "Anyway...I was thinking, "Trouble," for you." 

"Okay, ouch. I didn't know you hated me," Y/N said cheekily. 

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh, stop," she said with a grin. "Well, Elijah calls you "Rascal," and sometimes he puts "Pretty," in front of it-" 

"Shut up," Y/N murmured. 

"Which is something we need to discuss, but I'll let it slide for now," Hermione continued.

Y/N pretended to worship her, "Oh, thank you for your decision to let me be happy!" she said sarcastically. 

Hermione stuck her nose in the air, "You're welcome. But anyway, they call you that...Ronald calls you N/N, which...okay...could be more creative."

"It's not my fault your boyfriend is weird," Y/N pointed out while snickering as Hermione groaned. 

"Anyway, Harry calls you Sterling - which, you guys need to work on that. Last names are lame," Hermione said. "But to me, you're Trouble!" 

"Okay, Herms." 

✦

Harry's P.O.V. 

Harry woke up with a sense of loss. His arms were holding something...which he then realized was a pillow. 

Had Y/N even been there last night? Or was he imagining it? 

Did she think he was weak for crying? Did she leave because she never actually wanted to stay...? Was Y/N embarrassed of him? 

He slowly sat up and glanced at the clock. Twelve ten p.m. 

Putting on his glasses and looking around the room, he saw Ron staring at him in half worry and half...annoyance? 

"Morning..." Harry said uncertainly. 

"Mate, stop playing it off. You're not okay," Ron said, brows furrowed. 

Harry shook his head, " 'M fine, Y/N...helped...I think," he told Ron, getting up and making his bed. Y/N did it better, but she wasn't here. 

"Yeah, while she was tangled up in your arms?" said Ron, slightly annoyed. 

So she did stay. Harry hadn't imagined it. Thank Merlin. 

"Ron, look, I know you think of her as a sister-" 

"Just stop."

Falling silent, Harry got changed into a grey trousers and a navy pullover jumper. He and Ron exited the dormitory and entered the common room. 

Hermione had her homework spread over three tables and Y/N's legs rested in Hermione's lap as she read a book. The rest of the common room was empty.

"Morning," Ron said, plopping down beside Hermione. 

"Good morning!" Hermione said cheerily. Y/N just hummed in acknowledgment. 

"Where is everyone?" asked Harry, looking around at the deserted room. 

Y/N put her book, "Pranks for Prats," in her lap and said, "First day of Christmas break - everyone's gone." 

"I was just about to wake you up for lunch," Ron said sheepishly. 

Harry slumped into a chair next to the fire, watching the snow falling outside the window. Crooksanks was basking in the heat near the mantle. 

"You don't look well, Harry," Hermione said anxiously, peering into his face. 

Y/N sat up and agreed, "Took him forever to get to sleep, Herms," she said. 

Ron rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I think you could've comforted him without getting into bed with him, Sterling," he said. 

Harry went pink, when you put it like that...

"Weasley, you're just jealous because you want Herms in your be-"

"Harry, Listen," Ron interrupted. "We were all discussing..."

"About me? Or for me?" Harry said irritated, not meeting their eyes. 

Y/N's face soften, "For you, Harry! Always for you." 

He sent her a grateful look and turned his attention back to Ron, who was looking at Hermione for help. 

"You must be really upset about what you heard yesterday-" Hermione started. 

"Thanks for the understatement, Hermione," Harry muttered. 

Hermione just frowned and continued, "But you mustn't do anything stupid. Y/N had already told you - do not go after Black." 

Harry didn't say anything. He could tell they had rehearsed this conversation while he was asleep. 

"You won't, will you, Harry?" Y/N asked worriedly. 

"Because Black's not worth dying for," Ron added. 

Again, Harry was silent. He just stared at the ground, fiddling with his his sleeves.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up, "You weren't thinking of...killing him, Harry?" 

He didn't answer her question, but instead said, "You heard what Fudge said. Azkaban doesn't affect him, its not a punishment for him. 

His three friends looked stricken. "Harry! You can't kill Black!" Y/N exclaimed. 

They all fell quiet. After staying like that for a while, Ron said, "Look," casting around for a ubject change. "It's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas. How about we go visit Hagrid?" 

"No!" Y/N and Hermione said. "Harry isn't supposed to leave the castle." 

But Harry had already made up his mind. "Yeah, let's go to Hagrids," he said with finality. 

They threw on their coats and scarves (Harry wore the one that Y/N made for him and was extremely disappointed when she didn't notice) and left the common room. Their footprints left indents in the powdery snow as they walked to Hagrid's hut, which looked like an iced cake. 

Ron knocked loudly on the door but there was no answer. 

"Is he out?" Y/N asked, her teeth chattering from the cold. 

Harry put his ear to the door and heard low sobbing. "Hagrid! Open up!" 

Suddenly, they door swung open and Harry almost fell. "Yeh heard!" Hagrid cried, pulling Harry into a bone-crushing hug. Which hurt, by the way. 

The other three rescued Harry, taking Hagrid's arms and guiding him to sit down a chair. Harry saw that his eyes were rimmed red and her was face was wet with tears. 

The moment Hagrid sat down, he started sobbing uncontrollably. The quartet stared at him in shock. 

"Hagrid, what is it?" Hermione asked, aghast. 

"'s Beaky!" Hagrid said through tears. 

Harry spotted an official-looking, opened letter on the table. "Mind if I...?" he asked Hagrid, who nodded and beckoned Harry to read. 

Harry read aloud,

"Dear Mr. Hagrid, 

After considering the incident with the Hippogriff, we have accepted the assurances of Albus Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the matter." 

"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" Y/N exclaimed, patting his arm reassuringly. 

Harry kept reading; "However, we must register our concerns. After many complaints from Lucius Malfoy, we have come to a decision. This matter will be taken by the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures committee and the hearing will take place on April 20th. You will bring yourself and the Hippogriff to London on that date. Until then, please keep the Hippogriff tethered and isolated, 

Yours in fellowship..."

The signature was followed by too many names to count. Harry put down the letter and stared at Hagrid sadly. 

"Oh," said Ron. "But - you said Buckbeak isn't a bad Hippogriff, Hagrid! I'm sure he'll get off." 

"Won' make a difference!" Hagrid said. "Lucius Malfoy's got the committee wrapped 'round his finger! Moanin' 'bout Malfoy's injury-"

Y/N said with a fierce look, "I think its time someone gave his dumbarse son a real injury-" but Harry widened his eyes and she fell quiet.

"-I've been a mess lately. Buckbeak's been pawing for freedom 'n everything," Hagrid said sadly.

"So what will we do?" Hermione and Harry asked. 

"Well, there ain't much I can do," Hagrid answered, his voice weak. 

"We can help, Hagrid, we can-" Ron said, but Hagrid intervened. 

"If I...I were ter..disobey the law...I don't ever want ter be sent ter Azkaban again." 

✦

Though their trip to Hagrids had been far from joyful, Harry had something to distract him from Black. The quartet went to the library immediately and began shuffling through books to find something, anything, to help Hagrid.

"Oh! Look a Hippogriff, it says he...oh...nevermind..." Y/N said glumly, reading "Heard of Hippogriffs?" she slammed the book closed. "He was disemboweled by a genetically altered wolf before the hearing could happen."

"Heres something!" Harry said, running a finger along the line of words he was reading. "Oh...nevermind...it was in seventeen twenty-two and the Hippogriff was beheaded." 

They read in mostly silence, occasionally speaking up when they came across something relevant. So far, there was nothing. Ron had gotten close, though, when he told them about a Hippogriff who only got his arms cut of, giving him a peaceful bleed to death situation. 

"This might help - look!" Hermione suddenly said, pointing to her book. 

The other three glanced over, then Hermione flipped the page. They all shielded their eyes. 

"Nevermind!" Hermione said in a tiny voice as Y/N, her best friend, laughed.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The next day, they spent the whole morning outside in the snow. Ron and Y/N had insisted on building a snowman.

Hermione couldn't say no to Ron. 

Harry couldn't say no to Y/N. 

So there they were, scarves over their noses and hands shoved deep into their pockets. 

"Harry, Herms, get your arses over here!" 

"Coming, Trouble," Hermione said tiredly. Harry followed, putting on his gloves. 

It was freezing, even through Hermione's warming charm. Harry didn't know how the other two were completely fine. 

They walked over and Ron gestured to two snowmen. "Judge them!" he said excitedly. Ron and Y/N stepped out of the way so Harry and Hermione could get better views of their creations. 

They played into it immediately. "Hmm, Mrs. Weasl - I mean, Ms. Granger, these look absolutely magnificent!" Harry said, circling the snowmen. 

"I would agree, Mr. Potter!" Hermione chuckled, examining the face of Ron's snowman. 

"Just tell us which one is betterrrrrr," Y/N whined. Her nose was red and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. She looked positively cute. 

"Do they have names?" Harry asked pompously. "Creations of art such as these must have a name to be recognized." 

"Uh, yeah!" Ron said as though it was obvious. "Mine's name is Chudley." 

"You are such a dork, Ronnie. Really? After the Quidditch team?" Y/N teased. Hermione laughed.

"Oh yeah, N/N? What's your snowmans name?" Ron retorted. 

Y/N looked around, her eyes falling on Harry and Hermione, the judges. 

Harry raised his brows at her, beckoning her to disclose the snowman's name. When she didn't say anything, he tried to give some input. "How about..." he said cheekily. 

"How about...? Not that I need help, I just want to hear your creative opinion," Y/N said. 

He could've said something simple, like..."Bob." 

But Harry was feeling...flirtatious, to say the least. With her face red from cold, he could easily convince himself that the blush was a reaction to his words. 

Plus, he really wanted to see her reaction. His denied feelings for her had to have something. 

"How about, 'ISnoggedHarryPotterAndILikedIt'?" he suggested with a sly grin. 

Ron and Hermione's mouths fell open. 

Y/N was beet red, "Harry!" she exclaimed, turning away in embarrassment. 

"Y/N!" he said. "C'mon, gimme an answer - you like that name?" 

He was feeling extremely risky. The look on his face was priceless, though, no matter how many hexes Harry would have to endure from Ron. 

"No! Because it's not accurate! Also, where is this confidence coming from? - I haven't - we haven't snogged!" Y/N managed out. 

Harry rolled his eyes and approached Y/N, turning her to face him. Getting her to look into his eyes, he said, "Maybe we could change that?" with a smirk. 

If possible, she turned redder. If you put her next to a Gryffindor banner, you'd see no difference. It satisfied Harry immensely, but then again, he was usually really awkward about these things. 

"Shut up, Potter!" 

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Y/N's P.O.V. 

On Christmas morning, Y/N bounded out of bed and shook Hermione awake. Was it rather aggressive? Yes, but it was Christmas!

" Herms! Get up!" she exclaimed, ripping their blankets off of them. 

"Y/N stopppppp," Hermione whined, attempting to pull the covers back over her head. Y/N threw the blankets on the floor and Hermione gave up and got out of bed. 

"Presents!" 

Hermione and Y/N grabbed their stacks of presents and got comfortable on the floor. "You first," Y/N said to her, eyeing a parcel in her hand. "Open mine."

Hermione teared open the wrapping and two boxes fell out. One was large and the other was relatively small. She opened the larger one first. 

"Trouble - I've been looking for this book everywhere!" Hermione said happily, holding up a copy of Creatures: A Codex.  "Oh my Merlin - Y/N - It's the original!" 

"Perks of having a defense against the dark arts nerd as your uncle - er, dad," Y/N replied with a matching smile. 

"Open the next one!" 

Taking the smaller present, Hermione unwrapped it more gently. A sleek black box slipped out and she opened it. 

Inside, lay a pair of glimmering owl-shaped earnings. 

"See! I got them because owls represent wisdom and you're literally so smart but if you don't like them I can see If I can get a refund-" 

Y/N's sentence was cut off as Hermione pulled her into a tight hug. "I love them so much, Trouble!" 

With a satisfied smile, Y/N watched as Hermione put them on. They glinted in the morning light, then Hermione's hair covered them slightly. 

"Okay, your turn. Open mine!" 

 Y/N complied and took the package that was labelled, From Hermione. Gently, she took off the wrapping and almost cried at what she saw. 

It was a scrapbook full of moments from their previous two years and a few of this year. The cover was beautifully designed and in an elegant scrawl, it was titled, Herms and Trouble. 

"Herms...I love it so much. I...I actually can't describe it," Y/N said, pulling Hermione into the biggest hug. 

Hermione hugged her back tightly and they stayed like that for five minutes. 

"It's a shared thing - whatever we put in it will show up in the other person's book," Hermione explained, pulling an identical book from her beside drawer.

"I love it so much - I love you," Y/N said earnestly. It was one of the bests gifts anyone had ever gotten her. 

They continued to open the rest of their presents. Remus had got Y/N a new cloak and Ron had gotten her some joke products from Zonkos. 

Fred and George have her a Joke-In-The-Box, basically a Jack-In-The-Box, but something new popped out each time.

Elijah gave her a new pair of gloves and a book. 

Even Cedric got Y/N something. It was a silver hair pin that came with a note. "Don't pie me in the face," it read. She smiled.

But...Harry's gift...was by far the best. 

When she opened it, she immediately got butterflies. It was a bracelet. Delicate and silver, it fit perfectly on her wrist and when she looked closer, she saw something engraved into it. 

Harry and Y/N

Was the inscription on the edges. Y/N's heart basically exploded. Obviously, it was as friends, but it was cute nonetheless. 

And...it was really similar to what she had gotten him. 

For him, it took forever to find something. Finally, Hermione had suggested a bracelet - but a more 'masculine' one. So, she had gotten him a silver band with little lightning bolts engraved on them.

Y/N and Hermione unpacked their Weasley jumpers (from Molly Weasley) and wore them. Hermione picked up Crooshanks and loosely wrapped a piece of tinsel around his neck to give him that holiday spirit. 

The cat just looked annoyed.

"To the boys?" Hermione asked.

"To the boys."

✦

"And what're you two laughing about?" Hermione asked, walking into the boy's dorm beside Y/N. 

"Don't bring him in here!" Ron said hurriedly, grabbing Scabbers from his bed and putting him in his pocket. 

Her eyes moved to Harry, then to his wrist. With great delight, Y/N saw that he was wearing the bracelet she got him. When their eyes met, he smirked and she looked away. 

Ron and Hermione made small argument about Scabbers and Crookshanks, but Y/N had tuned all that out. On Harry's bed sat a broom. Not just any broom, though. A Firebolt. 

"Is that a Firebolt?!" Y/N exclaimed, rushing to his bed. 

"No, it's a cauldron," Ron said lowly. She shoved him. 

"Harry...who sent you that?" Hermione said. 

"I dunno," Harry replied, standing beside Y/N. She felt her heartrate quicken a little bit - especially after his comments in the snow yesterday. "Didn't come with a note."

To Y/N's great surprise, Hermione didn't seem excited at all. "You okay, Herms?" Y/N asked. 

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Ron said. 

"Well..." she began. "Who would send Harry such an expensive broom and not even tell him that they sent it?" 

It made sense to Y/N. Maybe something was awry. 

But before she could say anything, Ron shrugged and said, "Dunno. Anyway, Harry, will you let me have a go on it-" 

"Nobody is riding that broom just yet!" Hermione said shrilly. Y/N was definitely on her side about this. 

Ron looked at her incredulously. "What do you think Harry's going to do with it? Sweep the floor?"

Crookshanks suddenly pounced at Ron, causing him to flail and bellow, "GET THAT CAT OUT OF HERE!" as Crookshanks's claws tugged at his pajamas. 

The cat leapt off Ron and onto the floor. Ron tried to kick him, but greatly misjudged and kicked Harry's trunk, howling in pain. 

There was a loud whirring sound, which turned out to be a Sneakoscope that was in Harry's trunk. 

"Ugh - shut up!" Harry told it, stuffing it into some socks. 

"You better get that cat out of here, 'Mione," Ron warned. 

Hermione huffed and picked Crookshanks up, then stalked out of the boy's dormitory. While passing Y/N, she whispered, "Meet me back at our dorm," then said, "Merry Christmas!" to the boys and left. 

Immediately, Y/N said to Ron, "Can you stop? It's a cat! It's going to chase rats." 

Ron rolled his eyes, "Okay, sure. Anyway, thanks for the jumper and the Canon's poster," he said.

"Anytime, Ronnie," she grinned back, then turned to Harry.

 "Er...I'm gonna go brush my teeth," Ron said quickly, disappearing through a door at the edge of the dorm that Y/N presumed to be the bathroom. The girls had one like that, too. 

"So..." Harry began awkwardly. She loved this side of him. "Did...er...did you like the present?" 

"I loved it, Harry!" Y/N said, giving him a hug. When she pulled away, she noticed his touch linger on her. 

"I see you absolutely love what I got you, since, you know, you're wearing it," Y/N pointed out, grabbing his hand pulling his wrist into view. 

"Oh, shut it, Sterling." 

"I will not!"

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Y/N only felt a little bit sorry. After the amazing Christmas feast, Hermione and she went straight to Professor McGonagall. They had told her about the Firebolt and how there was no note. 

They were following McGonagall up to Gryffindor tower. Once they entered, the three proceeded straight to the boys dorm. 

Just as Y/N suspected, they were sitting on Harry's bed, admiring the Firebolt. 

"So that's it, is it?" McGonagall said beadily. The two boys' heads snapped in her direction. "Miss Granger and Miss Sterling have informed me that you received a broom, Potter. 

Their heads whipped to Y/N and Hermione. Y/N just shrugged while Hermione turned red. "Herms - be confident about it!" Y/N whispered. 

"May I?" the Professor asked, not waiting for a reply before taking the Firebolt from Harry. "Hmm, and there was no note at all? No card? No indication of any kind?" 

"Er - no..." Harry said, glancing at Y/N. 

"Its for his own good,"  Y/N reminded herself. 

"Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this," McGonagall said, standing up. "It will be checked for jinxes and other magical means of interference. Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch will strip it down."

"Strip it down?" Ron asked, like McGonagall just burnt his house down. 

McGonagall said nothing, nodded to Y/N and Hermione, then turned and left. 

Harry just looked at Y/N, who stared back guiltily. Ron, however, rounded on them. "What did you have to go running for McGonagall for?" he demanded.

Hermione and Y/N locked eyes - Y/N gave her a nod. Then, defiantly, Hermione said, "Because I thought - and Y/N and McGonagall agree with me - that the Firebolt was sent by Sirius Black!" 

─── ☆: *.⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ .* :☆ ───

hi guys! another chapter donnneeeee

EIGHT HUNDRED READS IS ACTUALLY CRAZY IM SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU AND I HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THE STORY SO FAR!!!

(i'm seeing my reads go up and not my votes 🤨 so if ur reading and not voting, pls vote 😭) 

if ya'll like the nicknames "herms" and "trouble" pls tell me! if not, i can change themmmmm

i'm gonna try my best to update (i promise promise promise) even tho examsn r in like a week 

anyway, don't forget to comment n vote, i love reading ur unhinged thoughts <3 

- dizzyann1e