CONTENT WARNING: this chapter contains mentions of blood

.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•

Unsurprisingly Zinnia woke up the next morning in her robes. Zinnia wasn't the kind of person to take care of herself regularly, and that's why she thought her dorm dynamic worked. Hermione would remind Zinnia to actually get ready for bed and Zinnia would remind Hermione that straying from routine is okay sometimes. Luckily since it was the first day, Zinnia actually had a clean change of uniform in her trunk.

She jumped out of bed, almost tripping on the shoes she left askew on the floor, changed into her wrinkly top, of which Hermione straightened out for her once seeing the state of her friend. Zinnia cheekily grinned at Hermione as she placed black eyeliner in her waterline, something she had become accustomed to in her daily routine.

"Come on Z, we're going to be late. We can't make a bad impression on Umbridge" Hermione shouted from right outside the door.

"Coming!" Zinnia sassily shouted as she stuffed her quills and ink in her satchel and headed out the door, braiding her hair as she went. She hopped down the stairs with her hair in her hand and a hair tie in her mouth to be met by Ron, Harry, and Hermione at the end of the stairs.

"Took you long enough, you missed Breakfast," Ron said as they all headed out of the common room and to their first class of the day.

"Ron I reckon you could count all the times you've seen me at breakfast, on one hand, I'm not waking up early for some measly eggs on toast" Zinnia defended as she tied up the end of her hair, the curls falling and framing her face. Ron gave her a disgusted look and poked his tongue
out at her. Zinnia laughed and turned her head towards Harry, who was a few steps further talking to Hermione.

"How did he sleep last night?" Zinnia asked Ron in a hushed tone as she nodded towards the boy, he looked anxious and strung out this morning.

"Honestly not great, he's been having nightmares almost every night" Ron told Zinnia with pity for Harry.

"Explains the mood" Zinnia said with a strained smile. Ron looked at her and shook his head. "What?" she asked Ron, curious about his reaction.

"Just go easy on him," Ron said with worried brows. " all this you know who stuff is getting to him, plus his feelings aren't making it any better" He muttered the last part.

"What does that mean?" Zinnia asked as they turned the corner of the castle, almost at the classroom.

"Just that he's head over heels for you, but won't let himself near you because one he can't control his anger and two he thinks he's protecting you or something" Ron said as they stopped right outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Zinnia opened her mouth to say something back but couldn't find the words. Ron headed into the classroom as she stood there for a bit thinking about what she had just heard.

For one she was mad that Harry thought she needed protection but she was also relieved to hear he still liked her. Zinnia sat on the thought whilst she walked into the classroom, placing herself in the seat next to Hermione.

"What's got you all dazed?" Hermione said, looking at Zinnia's expression.

"Oh nothing, just. Complicated stuff" She said looking over at Herry who was in an animated conversation with Ron.

"Honestly what isn't complicated these days" Hermione said with a frustrated huff right as a paper bird flew over the girls' heads. Zinnia ducked and let her eyes follow the enchanted bird across the room, laughing at Seamus and the Slytherin boys trying to hit the bird. Suddenly as her eyes were following it back to the front of the classroom, the bird burst into flames and silently fell back to Pavarti's desk.

"Good morning children" the ominous voice of Umbridge spoke from the back of the classroom as she lowered her wand. All heads in the room turned to look at the woman adorned with layers upon layers of pink. Zinnia couldn't help thinking that it hurt her eyes to focus on her.

"Ordinary. Wizarding. Level. Examinations. O.WL. 's, more commonly known as Owl's" she spoke whilst walking down the corridor and writing with her wand, the clicking sound of her kitten heels unsettling everyone.

"Study hard, and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe" she said, smiling eerily. Zinnia thought she was a nutter. She flicked her wand and the books behind her made their way down the aisle to land on each student's desk with a disheartening thunk.

"Your previous instruction on this subject has been disturbingly uneven." she rambled on, Zinnia didn't bother listening to the rest of what she was saying as she read the title of the book in front of her: Dark arts Defense, basic for Beginners. She couldn't believe it. Looking at the cover it looked like it would be taught to children, in fact she was about eighty percent sure she read this when she was seven. Zinnia only noticed the obvious grimace on her face when Hermione put her hand up whilst nudging Zinnia to knock it off.

"There's nothing in her about using defensive spells?" she asked civilly, Zinnia flicked through the pages and also noticed the strange lack of spell instructions for a book provided to a magical school.

"Using spells? Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom" she said boastingly with that malevolent little giggle.

"Cause this is a school for magic." Zinnia said instinctively and blatantly, pointing out the obvious irony of Umbridge's instruction. The stout professor turned her head sharply towards the girl, Zinnia quickly realizing that was a mistake.

"Attitude! Ms Beaumont." she sharply said with a scowl. Zinia raised her eyebrows and looked to her desk to roll her eyes, not wanting to get into any more trouble.

"We're not gonna use magic?" Ron called out, the teacher turned politely and returned to her fake smile.

"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way" she said as if she were explaining it to first years.

"What use is that, if we're attacked it won't be risk-free" Harry stated obviously to the ignorant Umbridge. Zinia smiled to herself, loving when Harry gets sassy.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class" Umbridge sharply turned to the front of the class, willingly showing a distaste for Harry or anything he had to say.

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about" she finished again. Ignoring the skewed faces of all her students.

"And how's theory supposed to protect us from what's out there?" Harry rightfully stated, Zinnia sat up, prepared to defend Harry at a moment's notice and fight Umbridge for all she's worth. However, Hermione put her hand over the girl and shook her head in warning.

"There is nothing out there dear! Who do you imagine would want to attack children such as yourselves?" Umbridge spoke with a willing ignorance. Zinnia's blood was boiling, if not for Hermione's restraints she would charge at the woman.

"Oh. I don't know. Maybe.... Lord Voldemort" Harry stated bluntly, not giving a single damn what anyone else in the room thought. 'That's my harry' Zinnia thought.

Umbride strained her face as she looked around the room, growing increasingly frustrated and letting her ruse of kindness drop.

"Now let me make this quite plain." she began as she walked quietly down the isles "you have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again this is a lie!" she smiled.

"It's not a lie. I saw him! I fought him!" Harry defended

"Detention! Mr Potter" Umbridge cracked, once again making a beeline for the front of the room. Zinnia shared a fumed glance with Hermione.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry wittily replied, not giving up the fight nor caring about how many detentions he was given.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!" The Professor stated, her face turning red with frustration

"It was murder! Voldemort killed him! You must know that." Harry's voice was getting louder and louder.

"ENOUGH!" the shrill shriek of Umbridge's voice rang out as her nostrils flared with rage. "McGonnagal's office. Now!. I'll see you in my office later Mr. Potter." she giggled cruelly as Harry picked up his bag and stormed out of the classroom, everyone watching when he slammed the door.

"Are you serious?" Zinnia blurted out, drawing the all the attention to herself however her eyes were only glued on the teacher that just threw out her best friend

"If you have something to say please raise your hand" Umbridge smiled sickly.

"All he was trying to say was..." Zinnia tried to defend harry

"Do you want to join him, Miss Beaumont?!" the professor shouted. Zinnia went to open her mouth and reply but Hermione elbowed her and shook her head. Although she wanted to tear into the woman, Zinnia thought it would be best if she didn't get in trouble too. So she stayed silent.

"Very well, you'll still be polishing trophies after school for speaking out of turn Miss Beaumont '' Zinnia let out a huff of disbelief but still did not let a single word slip from her lips. "Now. lets begin".

.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•

The day seemed to move too quickly from there on, knowing she would be in the cold halls later that night made the time inbetween now and her torture seem all too quick. She barely spoke all day, too frustrated with the teacher and the idiots who put her in this school. The only time she did speak was to mutter profanities under her breath. When the end of Divination finally came about, Zinnia reluctantly made her way to McGonagall's office.

She knocked on the door and heard McGonagall's thick accent mutter for her to come inside. She swung the door open and leaned on the frame.

"I'm here for my detention" she said unenthusiastically with a fake grin. Mcgonagall smirked to herself at the girl's cheek.

"Sit down Beaumont" She said, not looking up from her papers. Zinnia dragged her feet towards the large maroon armchairs and slumped her body down on one. Mcgonagall removed her glasses carefully and folded her hands in front of her.

"Tea?" Mcgonagall simply stated.

"What?" Zinnia asked in confusion, expecting a lecture from the Professor about etiquette.

"Well I would offer you a biscuit but Potter ate them all" she smiled.

"Professor I don't understand, I'm supposed to be polishing trophies so I'll just..." Zinnia started.

"You will not be polishing any trophies dear, I managed to get you out of this dettenton since I was supposed to be supervising, however the reluctant professor Umbridge wouldn't budge on the Potter boy" Mcgonagall explained as she pushed a made cup of tea towards the young girl.

"So you agree she's satan spawn" Zinnia smiled as she raised her cup to Mcgonagalland then to her lips. The professor smirked and inhaled.

"I would never speak ill of my colleagues, however we have our... disagreements" Mcgonagall wisley put her words as she watched the girl drink her tea. "Now Miss Beaumont I will give you the same advice I gave Potter. Don't let her get to you, no matter how much she gets under your skin you cannot let her have the upper hand by giving in. I will not lie that we are under close surveillance this year at Hogwarts, so if I were you, I'd keep my wits about me." Mcgonagall softly spoke. Zinnia looked into her empty cup with a sight and looked back at her teacher.

"I'm worried about him" Zinnia shakily let out.

"We all are, but his family can keep him safe" Mcgonagall finished, putting her glasses back on. Zinnia understood exactly what she meant. She smiled and went to leave the office.

"Oh, Professor? Next time you get biscuits you can get the ones with the cinnamon and sugar on them, they're my favorite." she said grinning like a begging child. Mcgonagall raised her eyebrow and returned her head to her paper.

"Goodbye Miss Beaumont." she stated, closing the door with her wand. Zinnia nodded and swiftly turned around.

Walking the halls, she decides she would meet Harry after his detention to try and ease his suffering. No matter if they were fighting or not, he looked like he had been through it today. Just as she approached the stairs leading up the the office door, Harry came racing out, bumping into her shoulder on the way down

"Zinnia, what are you doing here?" He asked, out of breath and with tears brimming his eyes. He looked genuinely stunned to see her and he kept looking back at the door to make sure it didn't open again.

"I came to see you, are you feeling alright?" she went to touch his face, as a tear almost fell from it but he turned away and started quickly walking up the hall.

"Im fine." he said through gritted teeth, which Zinnia knew was obviously a lie.

"Come on, Harry, talk to me!" She caught up with him, but barely kept the same pace.

"I said I'm fine!" he said again.

"Harry just tell me what happened" she said as she grabbed Harry's hand to stop him from going any further, however Harry winced and immediately pulled his hand away. Zinnia furrowed her eyebrows and her breath quickened.

He was hurt. Harry was mad at first but after looking at her deep concern he just stood there, taking her in. Zinnia slowly reached for Harry's arm and lifted up his robe that was hanging over his hand. She let out a tiny gasp at the fresh and bloody letters carved into Harry's skin that read 'I must not tell lies'. She was utterly infuriated. She did not speak a word but merely turned straight back around to Umbridge's office.

"No Zinnia don't" Harry said as he grabbed her arm, keeping her from going anywhere.

"SHE HURT YOU HARRY!" she raised her voice, an air of disbelief to her breath. "She can't carve you like an animal, we have to tell someone!"

"NO i wont! I wont give her the satisfaction" Harry stubbornly stated.

"I dont give a rats arse about how satisfied she gets if i stop her from doing this." She tried to leave again but Harry pulled her in this time, underestimating his strength and bringing her in so that their faces were inches apart. Zinnia let out a shaky breath through her nose as her cheeks flushed against her will. This time instead of being a flustering ball of nerves she looked him straight in the eye, tired of the games.

"Harry, I care about you more than you will ever know, and whatever you feel towards me whether it's still how you felt on the stairs last year or utter hatred for some unknown reason, I don't care, not one bit. Because I'm not going to let that old hag ruin you." she spoke in a soft voice, almost a whisper that shuttered through Harry's body.

He stared at her longer than he should have, he wanted to do nothing more than kiss her and push her away at the same time. He looked down to his hand and his heart sunk, knowing the dangers she would endure being with him.

"Just forget about Zinnia, forget about all of it" He hesitated as he turned around and walked back to the tower. Zinnia's heart ached. She told him. She told him how much she cared and he walked away. She didn't move, all she did was stand still in the middle of the hall and let one tear drip from her face. But that was all she would allow.

"What was that all about?" she heard an all too familiar Irish accent from beside her.

"Great of course you're here" she sharply added, turning towards the lanky slytherin boy.

"Jesus, i'll go fuck myself then." He said with disappointment and surprise as he turned to walk past her.

"Wait" Zinnia said to him, feeling bad for her outburst. "Sorry, Just a bad day" she smiled with tight lips.

"Wanna talk about it?I happen to know some lovely archways to sit in," he smiled kindly. Zinnia lifted her head in gratitude.

"No, but I would love to see that archway" she smiled at him as they both headed through the winding corridors to the open arches in the hall, looking out over the sun setting in the courtyard. They both sat down and sighed contently at the view.

"So Beaumont, I have a burning question" he said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it,distracting the girl from whatever just happened with her and Harry.

"Ask away" she turned her head from the courtyard and looked at the boy, the lighter lit up the features of his face that the lowering sun could not catch. She couldn't help notice that he was quite handsome. Not without the guilt of thinking about Harry though.

"Your name is Zinnia." he said bluntly

"Yes.." she said still waiting for the question

"That's a strange name, are your parents like hippies or whatever?" he asked nonchalantly, blowing smoke out of his lips.

"I wouldn't exactly call them hippies but possibly on the verge" she laughed along with the boy. "All my siblings are named after flora. There's me Zinnia, Daisy, Poppy, Aster, Primrose, Violet and Basil. Plus my mum's name is Dahlia but that was purely coincidence since Beaumont is my fathers family name." she rambled, stopping abruptly when she realized she was speaking too quickly. She looked up to the face of Robbie as a smile grew on his lips.

"My God, that's pretentious," he laughed. Zinnia's mouth fell open from his teasing

"Coming from a Slytherin!" she laughed back at him

"No no, unlike my housemates I remain an outcast, a lone wolf if you will" he defended with a tinge of sarcasm

"And that's still not pretentious?" she raised her eyebrows at him. He opened his mouth then admitted defeat by letting out a throaty chuckle. For a moment there she almost forgot the heartbreak she just went through, but alas the sinking feeling came back and her face dropped. Robbie noticed and lifted her head up gently with two fingers.

"He's not worth the trouble Beaumont" he said leaning back on the stone behind him.

"I wish i could say the same" she whispered back, she too, leaning against the stone and returning her sorrowful gaze to the sun disappearing in the horizon.

.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•.✰.•

(A.N- hey y'all, you've probably noticed i haven't been posting as much recently.

there have just been a lot of changes for me in the last couple of months so just a heads up that i won't be posting that often and i can't promise frequent chapters

although i do still love writing this fic and want to see it to the end❤️‍🩹

also a massive massive thanks for 2.15k reads i'm so thankful to y'all🥰

comments and votes always appreciated, feel free to tell me what you think or what you want to see in further chapters💕 )