James Potter’s Daughter

“MY EYES!” Harry ripped her glasses off and threw them blindly, disgusted by what she saw. “TAKE THEM! I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE!”

“Shit, shit, shit! Harry, I’m so sorry!” Sirius yelped.

Harry turned to the wall, refusing to even see a blurry outline of the horror she was just exposed to.

“This is the single most traumatic thing to ever happen to me,” Harry cried. “I will never recover. Remus, you’re going to have to pay my therapy bills for years to come.”

Remus, sounding much more calm than Sirius, scoffed lightly. “Your parents were murdered, your relatives were abusive, your girlfriend broke up with you, and this is what you’ll need therapy for?”

“Rem!”

Harry laughed; she adored Remus’ sense of humor. He was much cattier since Sirius moved in with them at the beginning of the summer. Sirius clearly didn’t understand that it was just how they communicated, it was fun.

It felt so blessedly normal.

“It is,” Harry quipped with her back to the room. “So if you’d kindly put your pants on, we could have dinner like civilized human beings.”

“Sorry,” Sirius muttered, a blush on his hollow cheeks. He was fully dressed when he handed Harry’s glasses to her.

When Harry could see clearly, she could clearly see that Sirius looked much better than he had on the evening Harry struck him. With a nice haircut, two weeks worth of home cooked meals, and whatever potions he’d had prescribed at St Mungo’s, Sirius nearly looked like a whole new man.

A whole new man who was shagging Harry’s guardian all over their suddenly too small house.

The two of them had been going at it like rabbits all summer and frankly Harry was itching for the full moon to come so she had an excuse to get away to the Burrow for a couple of days.

“Are you wearing makeup?” Remus asked Harry when they were all seated at the table and sharing a meal that Harry cooked.

Harry despised cooking, but she offered to do it twice a week. If Harry cooked twice, Remus cooked twice, then they could order out three nights a week since Sirius caught their spice cupboard on fire when he tried to cook the second day of summer.

“I am,” Harry said, brightening up. She turned her face from side to side, showing off her first attempt at the mystery that was cosmetics. Pansy had made it look so simple, but it really wasn’t.

“How does it look?” Harry asked, feeling nervous when Remus and Sirius both stared at her without comment. “Did- did I mess it up?”

Sirius bit his lower lip and glanced at Remus who shook his head lightly.

“Um… the blue eyeshadow may be a bit much,” Remus said delicately. “And… and are eyebrows supposed to be drawn that thickly?”

Harry scowled and slapped her fork on the table irritably. “Well it’s not as if I have anyone to teach me. My mother is dead and, despite your best efforts, I doubt if you’ll be gifting me with a sister any time soon.”

Sirius choked on the mashed potatoes Harry had made and Remus sighed up at the ceiling.

“Is this an Elise situation?” Remus asked. “This feels like an Elise situation.”

Harry nodded, feeling extremely fond of Remus in that moment. “Yes, this is an Elise situation.”

“Oh my God!” Elise squealed and grabbed Harry in a hug, the two of them dancing around in a circle right outside Harry’s house. “Your hair! Your clothes!”

“Your boobs!” Harry laughed. “Your height!”

“How did your hair grow so fast?” Elise cried. She took a step back and beamed at Harry while she took in all of Harry’s changes. “It’s gorgeous, you bloody cow!”

Harry smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder. It was gorgeous, it was long and wavy, glossy black, and felt so marvelous to have weighing her down once again. And Harry was so grateful to Sirius for owl-ordering her the hair growth potion that had given her back her hair.

“It is, isn’t it?” Harry hummed. She did a twirl, showing off the pleated dress she wore. “I went shopping, Elise! And you won’t believe how much I spent on new clothes!”

“Is that Burberry?” Elise breathed. “Oh my God, can we go play dress up, please?”

“Only if you show me how to put on makeup,” Harry said. She threaded her arm through Elise’s to bring her inside the house. “Oh, and don’t mind Sirius, he’s shagging Remus.”

“Ooh?” Elise giggled when the two of them walked through the suspiciously quiet sitting room. “And you? Have you made a move on Draco or Fred yet?”

“No.” Harry pouted her bottom lip out, thinking of Pansy. “I dated two girls this year though. One of them slapped me and one of them dumped me.”

“Ooh, you poor baby.” Elise tilted her head to Harry’s for a soft and sweet moment. “Did she do it because your makeup looks like a drunk clown did it?”

Harry snorted, that was the Elise she knew and loved.

“Bloody hell.”

Ron stood in the doorway of his house, gawking at Harry.

“Harry?” Ron breathed. Harry rolled her eyes when Ron reached up and rubbed his eyes with his fists only to gawk at Harry again after he was finished.

“Are you going to invite me in?” Harry demanded when she began to feel terribly self-conscious. Ron only nodded and backed up, so Harry stepped smartly past him and suddenly felt like she wasn’t a welcome guest in the Burrow at all.

“So… so… so you’re like a girl now?” Ron asked, stammering his way through his rude question with all the fact that Harry had came to expect from him. “Or are you a boy? What are you?”

Harry hummed thoughtfully and tried to answer with all the solemnity that the situation required.

“I’m a leo,” she said confidently. She smiled then, a bright and mocking smile. “Oh! Maybe that’s where my parents got my middle name?”

Ron seemed so uncertain on how to talk to the person he had shared a dorm with for the last three years that it was a relief when he ran off to find the twins. Or, it was, until Fred and George came running in the sitting room and saw Harry as herself for the first time.

Harry didn’t want to explain so she only stood up and let the twins see her with her long hair, the dress she’d painstakingly chose, and the makeup she applied expertly.

Perhaps it had been overkill.

Harry should have started small. She could have put on a light ring of eyeliner like Sirius wore and perhaps a pink jumper. There had been no reason to go full glam, but…

But Harry finally had some boobs and her hair back and it felt so lovely that she didn’t want to hide anymore.

“Holy shit.” George was the first one to break the painfully awkward silence. He stepped toward Harry with a grin. “Is this a prank? You think Gin’ll stop blushing at you if you look like a girl?”

“It’s not a prank,” Harry said nervously. “I am a girl.”

“Pull the other one, mate,” George laughed.

Harry held Fred’s very wide and nervous eyes while George mocked her.

“I’m a girl,” Harry repeated, waiting for her first and best friend in the world to say something.

Harry felt like the ceiling had fallen and crushed her to the ground when Fred turned around and walked right back up the staircase, making no comment on Harry’s look.

It seemed like Harry’s grand prank had backfired and she had never felt less like laughing in her life.

“Boys are stupid,” Ginny told Harry when the two of them sat alone at the kitchen table, making their way through a pile of biscuits Molly made them.

Molly hadn’t been upset by Harry’s appearance, she said that she loved Harry’s hair and that a girl her age didn’t need to be wearing so much makeup. She also said Harry would be more comfortable in Ginny’s room and that had been that. George made a bunch of dirty jokes under his breath about Harry having her penis inverted and Percy announced loudly, with a horribly red face, that he supported the transgender community.

Nobody seemed to care that Harry wasn’t transgender, that she had always been a girl, but that was their problem not hers.

Ron and Fred had avoided Harry like she had suddenly acquired the cooties though and Harry was planning on making that everyone’s problem.

“They are,” Harry agreed moodily. “Stupid boys and their stupid… stupidity.”

Ginny grinned and slid Harry two chocolate biscuits. “I don’t care what Mum says, I like your makeup. Is it hard to do?”

“Terribly,” Harry laughed. “Want me to show you?”

“Yes, please!”

Even if Fred fled every room that Harry stepped in, Harry still had a decent couple of days with Ginny while they talked clothes and makeup, boys and quidditch.

But then Ginny’s older brothers showed up, coming to spend the summer with their family, and Harry was in trouble.

“Why didn’t you tell me that your brother is fit?” Harry whispered to Ron.

The entire Weasley family was sitting around the table for the two older boys’ first night home and Harry’s last night at the Burrow. The eldest, Bill, was so terribly attractive that Harry felt herself blush every time he looked at her with his smoldering blue eyes and his pierced ear. And then Charlie, oh, Charlie Weasley was a dragon tamer and Harry had already created hundreds of dirty jokes about that profession in her head while she admired his warm brown eyes and bulging muscular arms.

The oldest two boys had seemed surprised to learn that ‘the twins’ mate’ and the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ was a girl, but Bill Weasley kissed Harry’s hand and Charlie winked at her and Harry was in so much trouble.

Ron jerked his fingers away from where Harry’s had brushed it under the table.

“Don’t touch me,” Ron whispered hotly, his face a dark red.

“What is your problem?” Harry hissed at him.

Ron turned and glared at Harry, their conversation going unheard beneath the louder chatter of Ron’s siblings.

“It’s weird to wear dresses and makeup,” Ron told her stubbornly. “The guys are going to think it’s freaky when we get back to school.”

Harry stiffened in her seat, offended and rather hurt.

“It’s a good thing I won’t be sleeping in your dorm since I am a girl,” Harry said scathingly. “I’ve always been a girl, Ron, the only difference is now you know it.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Clearly,” Harry snapped. She cleared her throat and dropped the argument when Ron’s dad Arthur looked over at them curiously.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Harry tripped on the bottom step of the Burrow staircase and looked guiltily over her shoulder. Bill Weasley was leaning against the wall, watching Harry with a smirk of amusement on his face.

“Nothing.” Harry smiled innocently and subtly tucked her belching beverage in her pajama pants pocket. “I fancied a drink.”

“Mhmm, so you weren’t pranking Ron?”

“Me? Prank my seventh best mate?” Harry blinked with as wide of eyes as she could. “Of course not.”

Harry absolutely was, but—

“He’d deserve it if so,” Bill quipped. “What?” he chuckled when Harry turned around to raise a brow at him. “I’ve been hearing all about the twins’ best friend, fellow lover of pranks, the sarcastic and funny Harry Potter. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be shocked if my best mate showed up one day looking like you—”

Harry preened smugly; she was rather attractive. Remus said she got it from her mother.

“—but being a berk about it is uncalled for.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Harry said. She swirled a lock of hair around her finger, trying to lower her lashes and flirt like a girl. “We could sit on the sofa and talk about what a berk he is, if you’re not too tired.”

Bill laughed and Harry took it for a good sign.

“Not a chance in holy hell, kid,” he stressed, causing Harry to scowl. “You’re cute, but not Azkaban cute.”

Harry bounced up the stairs to Ginny’s room with a whole new pep in her step.

Bill Weasley said she was cute.

“You know, my brother Regulus was born as Regina,” Sirius said, plopping down on the porch swing beside Harry.

“I’m aware,” Harry said drily. “I’ve been called a ‘Regulus Black situation’ three- no- four times now.”

Sirius laughed and put an arm around her shoulders, rocking them lightly. “I thought it was a Regulus Black situation when I first saw you at Hogwarts, you know. And I’d love you either way, but I’m glad you’re a girl, Harry.”

“Really?” Harry looked at Sirius and wished that her self-confidence hadn’t been stamped on by a couple of stupid boys, but it had. And Harry was worried that it would only be worse when she got back to Hogwarts.

“Really,” Sirius said warmly, giving Harry a crinkly eyed smile. “When you first came home from the hospital, you had on this frilly and pink little gown and I thought it was the cutest damn thing I’d ever seen.”

Harry smiled even though she felt rather annoyingly sad ever since returning from the Burrow.

“You don’t wish I looked just like James?” she asked Sirius, knowing he had been the closest to her dad.

“Oh, Merlin no.” Sirius laughed and rocked the swing with one foot again. “James was an ugly git, I couldn’t believe it when your mum married him. Now Lily, Lily was a looker. And you might have James’ hair, you poor kid, but you look just like your mum.”

Harry, who secretly hadn’t liked Sirius much - he was stealing her Remus and making too much noise in her house - sat out on the swing with him late in the night, listening to him tell stories about her parents.

“You are ruining my life and I hate you.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.”

“It is not dramatic!” Harry insisted, stomping her foot and glaring viciously at Remus. “Quirrell was a creep, Lockhart—”

Remus growled quietly.

“—was a creep, but you were perfect,” Harry whined. “How could you leave me, Remus? You’re choosing Sirius over me?”

“Hey, no.” Remus jumped up from his chair in the sitting room and pulled Harry in a warm hug. “Don’t say that, Harry, you know I’m not choosing Sirius over you. He’s- you know he’s sick,” Remus said softly. “He can’t stay here alone. He needs me right now.”

“I need you,” Harry sniffled, clutching Remus and burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Ron and Fred hate me, Remus, what if everyone else does too? I’ll be all alone there.”

“Shh…” Remus stroked Harry’s hair and held her while Harry’s annoying hormones bubbled up and made her cry and sob like a baby.

“Harry, dear, I’ll never choose Sirius over you, I choose you both,” Remus assured her. “You are a strong, brave, brilliant, beautiful young woman. If anyone messes with you, I know you’ll make them regret it. But Sirius? Sirius is weak, Harry, he’s weak and he needs my help.

“And, if you choose to not booby trap our house before you go back to school, I got us tickets to the Quidditch World Cup.”

Harry pushed Remus away with a loud gasp. “Remus! Why didn’t you lead with the bribe?? The World Cup?! Always lead with the bribe!”

Remus chuckled and swiped a few disobedient tears from Harry’s cheeks with his thumbs.

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time. And really, you should be thanking Sirius. He was the one who blackmailed the Minister of Magic into giving us tickets to the Top Box.”

“THE TOP BOX?!”

The Quidditch World Cup was the single greatest weekend of Harry’s entire life.

Harry, Remus, and Sirius all went together. They set up a cozy little brown tent that opened to a two bedroom flat on the inside and then Remus and Sirius shooed Harry away to go find her friends while they worked on lunch before the game started.

“Is that Harry Potter?!”

Harry spun around and saw Angelina and Oliver behind her in a camp filled with supporters of the Irish. Angelina’s face was spread in a wide smile and Oliver looked shocked, so it was Angelina that Harry threw herself at.

“Angie!” Harry beamed at one of her best friends. “How are you? How’s the training program?”

Angelina, lucky duck, got accepted in a summer training program with the Holyhead Harpies and Harry had been dying with envy at every letter and newspaper clipping she got.

“It’s brilliant,” Angelina said, stars shining in her brown eyes. “But Ollie here made it to Puddlemere!”

“Ollie!” Harry swatted Oliver’s shoulder happily. “Congratulations!”

“And you’re wearing a skirt,” Oliver said, his eyes wide when he looked Harry over. “You’re- you’re—”

“Still the youngest seeker in a century and the best damn one in Hogwarts,” Angelina sang, winking at Harry and causing Harry’s heart to burst with happiness. “You look gorgeous, Harry. Come on, we’re rounding everyone up so we can watch the match together.”

“Our last team-building exercise,” Oliver said. He offered Harry the arm that wasn’t linked with Angelina’s and Harry thought she might faint with joy.

The Top Box would be wonderful, but Harry’s quidditch team was her first family and she desperately didn’t want to miss out on their last team exercise.

Then they found Katie and Alicia, who were together with Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, out by the vendor booths. None of them had said anything about Harry aside from a few comments on liking her new look and Cho asked Harry where she got her hair products at.

Katie accidentally kept calling Harry ‘he’, but Harry figured it was a small price to pay to have her best friends with her. Plus, spending the day with Cedric Diggory was a dream come true.

Fred and George agreed to go sit with them, skipping out on the Top Box with their family, and then they found Lee on the way to the field and talked him into sitting with them. Harry tried to convince herself that there were just so many of them and that was why Fred wasn’t able to talk with her.

When the veela were dancing on the field and Angelina had George in a chokehold to keep him from jumping down in the field, Fred looked at Harry and Harry smiled sadly.

‘I’m sorry,’ she mouthed.

Fred turned his head away.

“Want to share my omnioculars?”

Harry grinned over at Cedric - Cedric Diggory - and prayed her face wasn’t all splotchy and red with an embarrassing blush. Cedric was handsome in the classical way. He had a long straight nose, wavy golden hair, and grey eyes framed with thick blonde lashes.

Cedric was probably the cutest bloke in Hogwarts.

“I have my own,” Harry pointed out, holding up her golden omnioculars.

“Yeah, but if you shared mine with me then you’d have to scoot closer and probably put your head on my shoulder,” Cedric said with a charming smile.

Harry frowned, “But then I couldn’t see the match as well?”

Katie snorted beside Harry and Harry ignored her because the balls were released and the match began.

“Cedric was flirting with you, you oblivious idiot,” Katie laughed after Ireland won and their group was making their way back to the tents.

“No he wasn’t,” Harry huffed. She glanced slyly where Cedric was walking with the twins, swapping jokes with George.

“Oh, he totally was,” Alicia said, jumping in the conversation. “You went and transitioned this summer and got all fanciable, Potter.”

“I didn’t transition,” Harry rolled her eyes. “I’ve always been a girl.”

“Sorry, I know, I just mean… now the outsides match the insides!” Alicia said brightly. “And you look great!”

“Listen to me.” Harry pulled Alicia and Katie to a stop, needing just two people to understand her. Harry looked from Alicia to Katie very slowly. “I was always a girl, I was only pretending to be a boy. It was for a prank.”

Katie patted Harry on the head and smiled at her. “Of course, Harry, we understand. We love you no matter what, okay?”

How was Harry meant to be annoyed with them after that?

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

Harry hugged Remus for all she was worth. “I do,” she agreed. “I love you so terribly much and I hate that you’re not coming with me.”

“I hate it too,” Remus said. He dropped a kiss to the top of the hood Harry wore and then lowered it, forcing Harry out of hiding. “You don’t need to hide, dear. If anyone has anything to say about you being who you want to be, then they’re not worth your time.”

“But they are worth being pranked maliciously,” Sirius chimed in. Harry spared him a quick glance and saw that, unfortunately, Remus was right and Sirius looked very unwell. He looked fine when they were at home, in the cottage they all shared and filled with laughter and love, but in the middle of a crowded platform with too much noise, Sirius looked very unwell.

Remus smiled at Harry and tilted her face up by the chin. “Keep your head up, dear. No hiding. You are Harry Leo Potter, don’t forget it.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said, snapping out a salute and a forced smile. “Wish me luck?”

“Good luck,” Sirius and Remus said as they both hugged her once more.

It seemed like Harry was going to need all the luck she could get when she stepped on the train and walked almost face first in Pansy Parkinson.

“What are you— Harry?” Pansy stepped away from Harry, pausing mid-snarl to stare open-mouthed at Harry. “Morgana, love, you don’t do anything by half, do you?”

Harry channeled the last bit of dignity and confidence that she had so she could toss her hair over her shoulder and smirk at Pansy. It wasn’t often that Harry got an opportunity to show off her looks to her ex-girlfriend, in fact, Harry only got two chances to do so.

“Why would I?” Harry asked with her eyes hooded, mimicking Pansy’s own sleepy expression. “Would you? If you were me?”

“Not at all,” Pansy agreed pleasantly, too pleasantly, knocking the wind from Harry’s sails. “You look gorgeous, love. Are you coming to sit with us? Draco’s already arrived.”

“I’m off to find my friends,” Harry said, just a touch coolly. It wasn’t Pansy’s fault that they hadn’t been right for each other - perfect personalities and the wrong anatomy - but Harry wasn’t up for being the bigger person just then.

“Fine,” Pansy said, a flash of hurt in her eyes, reminding Harry that she hadn’t been the only one to cry when they’d broken up.

“We’ll be in compartment seventeen if you change your mind.”

Harry waved her off and moved in the opposite direction, going to compartment five to sit with her teammates and friends. Except when she opened the compartment door, dragging her trunk and Hedwig in her cage behind her, Harry saw that there was no room for her.

Lee sat on one bench with Katie spread across his lap with her feet on the seat beside them. George sat beside Lee, in a heated game of rock, paper, scissors with Angelina. Alicia was across from them, chatting politely with the blonde haired Ravenclaw witch sitting beside Fred, her pinky finger interlocked with Fred’s.

Harry would have sat on the floor, they’d crammed nine people in there once, but there were trunks in front of Fred and the blonde witch where Fred had his feet propped up.

“It’s a bit full in here, Harry,” Fred quipped with an odd tint laced through his words. He couldn’t even look at her, he looked somewhere just above her head.

“What?” Alicia kicked Fred’s feet off the trunk. “No it isn’t, pop this up top and I’ll sit on the floor so Harry can have my seat.”

The Ravenclaw girl was staring at Harry quite rudely and Harry thought that if Fred wanted her in there, he would have found a way to make room.

“It’s fine,” Harry said, a bite to her tone. She smiled at everyone that wasn’t Fred or the Ravenclaw girl and shrugged carelessly. “I told Pans and Dray that I’d sit with them, I just wanted to pop by and say hello. I’ll see you at the feast.”

Angelina opened her mouth to say something, but Harry shut the train door a tad harder than necessary and quickly walked back in the other direction to find the Slytherins.

Harry took a calming breath and had her wand in hand, ready to sling hexes if needed, when she opened the compartment door where Pansy, Draco, Theo, and Blaise were at.

“Oh my,” Blaise’s eyes swept over Harry from top to bottom quickly and Harry relaxed when he smiled at what he saw. “The rumors don’t do you justice, Potter.”

“Greengrass owes me ten galleons, I said that Potter was transgender and I was right,” Theo said smugly after giving Harry no more than a cursory look.

Harry looked at Draco and raised her chin, preparing for the insults that her favorite rival would no doubt start slinging. When they didn’t come, when Draco just stared at Harry, Harry arched an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing to say, Dray? You’re not going to call me a freak? Hideous? The ugliest broad that you’ve ever seen?”

Draco’s jaw snapped shut and he narrowed his eyes angrily at Harry. “I am not my father, Potter. And I have had plenty of time to adjust to your new appearance.”

Harry looked toward Pansy, but Pansy was filing her nails in what seemed to be a pointed gesture to not have to talk to Harry, so Harry looked over at Draco again.

“I… I never thought you were your father, Dray,” Harry said slowly, unsure where that tirade had came from. “What are you going on about?”

“I saw you, okay?” Draco snapped. “At the World Cup, I saw you. I saw you hanging on Diggory’s arm in a skirt with makeup on your face. And my father asked who you were and I said your name. And I am not my father.”

Harry was still lost.

“His father’s a bigot and Draco is trying to say that he supports your sex change even though his father liked called you a wide variety of foul names,” Blaise drawled. He waved a hand grandly, gesturing to the bench that Draco and Pansy sat on. “Join us, Potter. I, for one, want to hear about how incredibly painful it must have been to have your bollocks removed.”

Harry smiled and took a seat between Draco and Pansy and thought about how unfair it was that the Slytherins were called cold and heartless when this groups of teenagers were accepting her - the real her - with open arms.

“Okay, but first off, I’m not transgender and I’ve never had a penis,” Harry said. “So, there I was, shopping in London with Remus, and he holds up a pair of jeans. And they are the ugliest jeans I’ve ever seen, but he adored them, so…”

Harry spent the rest of the train ride swapping stories with her friends - and her very handsome rival - about shopping and the best places and best brands to find clothes.

And at the end of the train ride, Pansy gave Harry a hug and they exchanged apologies before they went to the carriages, friends again.

Harry was late getting to the common room, as she’d been held up discussing the Triwizard Tournament with Cedric Diggory who was planning on entering, and she saw that a hush went over the common room when she entered.

“Say a single word and I will force you all to speak in nothing but riddles for the entire first week of classes,” Harry warned them all. She put her hands on her hips and glared at every single Gryffindor who sat in the room and pretended like they hadn’t been talking about her before she entered.

“My incredibly feminine breasts and I are going to bed. For your sakes, I hope tomorrow we will all be the best of friends,” Harry said. She spun on her heel and stalked up the staircase to the girl’s dorm, her head held high.

Then Harry felt like she couldn’t breathe when she entered the girl’s dorm and saw that her trunk wasn’t in front of the fourth bed in the dorm.

“Where’s my stuff?” Harry demanded, looking from Parvati to Hermione to Lavender. None of the girls were looking at her and Harry knew her rather infamous temper was flaring dangerously close to the surface. “Where the hell is my stuff?!”

“In the common room,” Lavender said quietly, refusing to even look at Harry in the eyes like a coward. “We don’t want you in here.”

“It’s not natural,” Parvati added. “It’s creepy having a boy in girl clothes sleeping in our dorm.”

Harry glared at Hermione and saw that the girl she’d reluctantly befriended the year before wasn’t going to jump to her defense.

“I WAS BORN A GIRL!” Harry yelled. She snatched the quilt and pillow off the bed that was meant to be hers and glowered darkly at all three girls. “When you are so miserable, remember this,” Harry warned them. “When you wish you were dead because you can’t walk without being pranked, remember this.”

Harry stalked down the staircase, her bedding in her arms, and sent a furious look through the common room before she left it, slamming the portrait door behind her.

As soon as Harry was in the empty classroom down the corridor from her common room, she curled up on the floor with her blanket and pillow and cried until she couldn’t cry anymore.

She hated those kids; those ignorant, mean, terrible kids.

“Pity party for one or can we join?”

Harry rolled on her side and blinked through a haze of tears to see Lee Jordan in the doorway, a wide white smile on his dark face. Even though Harry didn’t invite him in, Lee bounced inside anyway, an armful of bedding in his arms as well. Right behind him, trailing in in a line with their own pillows and blankets, came Angelina, George, Katie, Alicia, and Fred.

“Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?” George asked, settling down with his stuff and pulling a pack of cards from his robe pocket.

Fred sat down right next to where Harry was curled up at and put his pillow beside hers.

“I’m in,” he said cheerfully. “What’s a sleepover without a good game?”

Harry looked around at her friends, which apparently included Fred once more, and felt her chest fill with warmth.

“Yeah.” Harry sat up and wiped her face off hastily with the sleeve of her robe. “Let’s play cards.”

“And, if we have time, let’s plan some epic revenge on those little twats gatekeeping your bed from you,” Angelina said. She pulled a bag of sweets from her pocket and tossed a pink wrapped one to Harry. “Something that will go down in Hogwarts history as the greatest prank to ever be pulled.”

And that was what they did. By the time they went to sleep, Katie was even using the proper pronouns.

“Aah, Mister Potter, is it time for our annual discussion on your bed being misplaced?”

Harry smiled sweetly when Professor McGonagall actually looked at her. There was a spark of surprise when she saw Harry’s long hair and makeup, but McGonagall was too professional to comment on it.

Professor Snape was not.

“Potter, you ungodly moron, what have you done?” he hissed. “Did Black convince you to do this? The wolf?”

“No, sir.” Harry smiled at Snape, refusing to back down. “This is me, this is who I am. I merely came to let Professor McGonagall know that my bed is precisely where it should be.”

“I…” Professor McGonagall, for the first time in Harry’s memory, looked nervous. “Potter, if this is your choice, I- I support you, of course, but… it would be inappropriate to allow you to—”

“Ma’am, with full respect, if you’d like to verify my genitals match the dorm where I was assigned, I am happy to drop my skirt and panties,” Harry said loudly in the corridor. She heard a few shocked gasps, and Professor Snape turned a satisfying shade of red while Professor McGonagall reared back in surprise.

“However, if it’s okay with you, I’d prefer we all stay fully dressed.” Harry smiled again, “I just wanted you to know that the girls have been very welcoming and I believe it’s going to be a wonderful year. I’ll see you both in class!”

Harry turned around and skipped away, part one of Operation F.T.H.G. firmly in place.

‘Fuck Those Horrible Girls’ was going to be the greatest prank ever pulled and Harry couldn’t wait to tell Remus and Sirius about it.

By Halloween night, Harry had put in the work to ensure that the perfect comeuppance was in place for the great reveal. Despite sleeping in the common room every night, Harry had done nothing but sing Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender’s praises to every person who could hear her.

Harry tried to partner with them in classes, loudly informing everyone that they were the more brilliant people to partner with. Harry complimented their spell work, even when it was bloody horrible. And Harry complimented their looks every morning in front of all of Gryffindor.

If anyone asked, Harry Potter was great friends with those three girls.

So far, it had made the three girls twitchy, anxious, nervous wrecks and it was almost good enough to see them sniffing every bite of their food, sweating while they checked their drinks for poison. It had been truly great when Harry told Hermione that her potion looked perfect and Hermione flinched so hard at the compliment that she knocked her own cauldron over and Snape gave her a zero.

It had been great fun, but it was time for the finale so Harry could focus on the tournament with the others.

“You’re diabolical,” George snickered when Harry sat between him and Fred for the Halloween feast.

“Thank you,” Harry beamed. “Alright, final bets, who do you guys think will be the Hogwarts champion?”

“Angie,” George said loyally. He winked at Angelina, always playing every angle he could. “Especially if it’s judging on looks.”

“If it’s judging on looks, then Diggory has it in the bag,” Katie said, giggling and looking over at the Hufflepuff table.

“If it’s based on looks then that blonde broad from Beauxbatons will get it,” Lee said, his eyes going all soft and gooey when he looked toward the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbaton students sat.

Personally, if it was based on looks, then Harry thought Viktor Krum and Cedric would be chosen. But she hoped Angelina got it, of course.

Harry and her friends went quiet when the desserts were served, all of them sending sidelong looks to the three fourth year girls that earned every bit of public humiliation that they got.

It only took two bites of pudding for the effects to take place and Harry bit her lips to keep from giggling when Lavender and Parvati’s eyes glazed over. The girls had sniffed their pudding again, but who could resist the most intoxicating scents, customized to both of them?

“Now,” Harry whispered to Angelina.

Angelina nodded and shot a silent spell at the girls, amplifying their voices for the entire hall to hear.

“Hermione, your hair…” Lavender reached out and fingered a lock of Hermione’s bushy hair. “It’s so beautiful.”

“And your eyes,” Parvati sighed and propped her chin on her hands so she could stare at Hermione. “They’re like melted puddles of chocolate.”

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked them, apparently unaware that the whole Great Hall had went quiet to hear the three of them. “Is this a joke?”

“How dare you?” Parvati gasped. “You’re just.. oh, my… you’ve got geeky gorgeous down to a formula, don’t you?”

“Quit that,” Hermione snapped, swatting at Parvati when she reached out for Hermione’s face. “I don’t fancy you.”

“You dated Potter,” Lavender pouted. “I’m a much better kisser than him, let me prove it.”

Harry, and the rest of the Great Hall, burst in loud laughter when Lavender and Parvati lurched for her and Hermione jumped up with a shriek. Unfortunately, truly unfortunately, it was almost as if someone with excellent use of silent spellwork (proof that Angelina deserved to be chosen as champion) had hit Hermione with a jelly-legs jinx and Hermione fell on her arse right in the middle of the hall.

Lavender and Parvati climbed across the table, driven wild by the Amortentia, and chased Hermione through the hall and out the doors, both of them covered in puddings.

Once the three of them were gone, everyone lost it and Harry had never heard laughter so loud in her time at Hogwarts.

‘Your work?’ Draco asked from the Slytherin table where he sat beside Viktor Krum.

Harry smirked and raised her goblet to him. ‘Of course not,’ she mouthed right back.

“That was certainly interesting,” Professor Dumbledore said, calling for attention to pull the names. “Before the Goblet announced the first champion, I was told that Professor McGonagall would like to see Harry Potter out in the corridor.”

When Harry stood up, she did it with her head held high. The first claps came from her teammates at Gryffindor table and then slowly spread through the hall until Harry was taking very feminine curtsies to a standing ovation.

“Good luck, Ang,” Harry winked at Angelina.

Angelina glanced to where McGonagall was waiting for Harry by the doors with her lips thin and her nostrils flaring. “You too.”

“Of all the pigheaded, idiotic, embarrassing—”

Professor McGonagall paused her rant to breathe while Harry kept up her politely puzzled look.

“Ma’am, I’m confused, I thought you wanted to ask me who I thought might have humiliate my friends?” Harry said with her hands folded on her lap. “If you ask me, I think it was Ron and Seamus, they’ve been bullying Hermione something fierce lately.”

“I know this was you!” McGonagall snapped, slapping her desk irritably. “No other soul in this castle has the gumption, intelligence, and genetic curse to dose two girls with a stolen love potion, jinx the third, and humiliate them - and me - in the process without leaving behind a single shred of evidence!”

Harry beamed. It was nice to have her work recognized as brilliant, but unfortunately she did have some assistance.

“I suffered through seven years with your father, your guardian, and your godfather, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said heatedly. “This reign of mischief ends now. My heart cannot take the return of the marauders.”

“If I catch the person responsible for this terrible tragedy, I will warn them about your weak heart,” Harry said kindly. “If that’s all, ma’am, I’d like to go see who was selected as champion?”

“And I will be calling your guardian in the meantime,” McGonagall said threateningly. “I may not be able to prove it was you, but I recognize James Potter’s signature all over this.”

“Be sure to tell Remus that, it’ll make him happy,” Harry said politely before leaving the office with a pep returned to her step.

Sure, it wound up being disappointing that Angelina hadn’t been chosen as champion, but all of Gryffindor was more interested in laughing at Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender to really mourn their chance at having a champion in their house.

Harry still slept in the common room that night, but Hermione’s red-faced and stammered apology had Harry thinking she’d move up to her dorm soon enough.

“I’m not saying you took the shine from my success last night, but that was certainly a way to take a stand last night, Harry.”

Harry turned in the corridor and found herself absolutely delighted to see Cedric standing behind her with a roguish smile and sparkling eyes.

“Did I?” Harry asked him. “Because I heard there was no evidence to prove who pranked those lovely girls.”

“Really?” Cedric leaned against the wall and gave Harry the chance to admire how handsome he truly was. “Because I heard those ‘lovely girls’ were making you sleep in your common room because they’re bigots.”

“First off, I only sleep where I want to sleep,” Harry informed him stubbornly. “Secondly, I’m certain I don’t know what you mean, Mister Champion.”

Cedric swung his arm forward, letting his fingers brush against where Harry’s hand was at her side and he looked at her through his lashes.

“I’m not a champion yet,” he said humbly. “But if I knew I had a clever and pretty girl to root for me, maybe I can win.”

Harry leaned forward, her eyes lit up with the obvious flirtation by the handsomest boy in Hogwarts. “In that case… I’ll let Angelina Johnson know you’d like her support.” Harry winked at Cedric and ran off, giggling to herself when he was left there with egg on his face.

When Harry looked over her shoulder, she saw that Cedric was laughing good-naturedly and she was extra thrilled to see that his eyes followed her as she ran down the corridor.

“What are you all dressed up for?” Fred asked Harry when she bounced downstairs on the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year.

Harry was dressed up; she’d just hogged the fourth year girls loo for over an hour so she was sure that she looked her best. Her hair was pulled back in a neat braid with her fringe smooth and framing her face. Her makeup was subtle, but cute, and Harry had on a simple pair of jeans that she knew made her arse look great (Elise had approved them over the summer) and an off-the-shoulder top that was modest but still cute.

“I have a date,” Harry said, loud enough that Parvati and Lavender could hear her from where they sat on the sofa. Harry did a slow twirl for Fred. “How do I look?”

Fred scowled, which couldn’t dampen Harry’s spirit at all. “Who d’you have a date with?” he demanded with his arms crossed.

Harry shot a smug smile right at Parvati’s stupid face when she answered. “Cedric Diggory.”

“Bullshit,” Seamus scoffed, just coming down the boys staircase. “Diggory isn’t going out with a fr—”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll jam my wand up your arse and make you like it,” Fred snarled, spinning around suddenly and thrusting his wand in Seamus’ face. “This is for everyone, the next person to talk about Harry’s bloody body is going to be stuck to the ceiling in the Great Hall by their knickers while I get Peeves to pelt them with eggs. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?” Fred yelled, glaring around the room.

Harry felt shy, small, when Fred stormed out of the common room and nobody had anything to say in response to that very chivalrous and aggressive defense of her. Seamus dropped his eyes and slunk out after Fred and Harry tried to push the whole incident from her head so she could focus on her date with Cedric.

She was only held up once more, by Draco and Pansy, just before she made it to the entrance hall where she was supposed to meet Cedric.

“Harry, you look great,” Pansy smiled at her, arm in arm with Draco. “Are you headed to Hogsmeade? You can go with us if you want?”

“I can’t,” Harry said with a flick of her hair. “I’m going with Cedric.”

“Diggory?” Draco asked, scoffing rudely. “You’re dating pretty boy Diggory?”

“Don’t be jealous, you look terrible in green,” Harry smirked. “If you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with Cedric then you should have asked him before he asked me.”

Pansy snickered and Draco’s face turned red and Harry flounced away. She had a date to go on.

“I was going to see if you wanted to go in the Three Broomsticks, but maybe we could find somewhere more private?” Cedric said, grimacing at the students that kept pointing at them and whispering, gossiping about the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ and the Hogwarts champion with their arms linked strolling down the paved streets.

Harry sighed, disappointed by way their date had gone so far. Harry imagined her first date with a boy to be sweet, romantic, fun. Something like she’d always had with Pansy. So far though, they’d been stalked by a crazy reporter and what seemed to be all their classmates.

“Sure,” Harry said, rather letdown. She let Cedric guide her to the gross Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop and the two of them sat at a table.

“I thought today would go a lot differently,” Cedric said, ruffling his wavy golden hair ruefully. “I’m sorry, Harry, you deserved a better date.”

“It’s fine,” Harry said, toying with a flower petal on the table. “I haven’t dated much, but this is much better than my date with Hermione Granger.”

“I heard about that,” Cedric grinned. “I even got a first hand report about that slap from Andy.”

“Who’s Andy?” Harry asked, unfamiliar with most of the Hufflepuff’s.

“Andy is my best mate,” Cedric told her. “When we were first years together, he went by Amanda, but last year he came out as Andy. Now we get to share a dorm and gossip like girls.”

“Really?” Harry asked, smiling reluctantly. “You weren’t weird about it?”

“Of course not.” Cedric reached across the table and placed his hand on hers, his grey eyes warm and friendly. “I think it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

“Yeah, me too,” Harry said, relieved.

Cedric winked then, causing Harry to blush against her will. “It doesn’t hurt if they’re pretty too though.”

Harry smiled and decided that her date with Cedric was a million times better than her date with Hermione had ever been.

By the time the first task rolled around, all of Hogwarts had gotten used to seeing Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory eating breakfast together and walking in the halls as they laughed and talked. Cedric carried Harry’s books, Harry pranked the students who had rude comments to make about Cedric’s chances in the tournament.

Pansy called them the ‘It’ couple and Harry had never been happier.

“I’m going to be sick,” Harry whispered on the day of the first task. She had gave Cedric a kiss before having to leave him at the champions tent and Harry’s stomach hadn’t turned until she’d climbed up in the stands with her friends - all of them sporting borrowed Hufflepuff scarves and hats - and Harry saw what the task was.

Dragons.

Harry’s boyfriend - her sweet and soft boyfriend who helped lost first years and had a pet kneazle - was going to face off against a dragon.

“Is Diggory fireproof?” Draco asked in a rude drawl. He was seated in the row behind Harry and the Gryffindor quidditch team with Pansy and the other fourth year Slytherins. “If not, you might be single by the end of the day, Potter.”

“Shut your stupid mouth, Malfoy,” Fred snapped. Harry was relieved when he reached over and grasped Harry’s hand, letting her squeeze it tightly. “Diggory might be a pretty boy, but the goblet chose him, right?” he asked Harry quietly, his blue eyes concerned when he saw the raw panic in Harry’s eyes.

“That means he’s smart,” Fred said when Harry nodded. “And Flitwick says he’s a charms prodigy, okay? So he’s not going to die.”

“But if he does, I’d be delighted to warm you bed tonight,” Blaise murmured, leaning forward to whisper in Harry’s ear.

“Gross.” Harry turned around and shoved Blaise, laughing at the way that boy would flirt with anyone. “You’re shameless.”

“It’s starting!” Alicia squeaked. “Fleur’s up first!”

Harry squished Fred’s hand as tightly as she could while they watched breathlessly as Fleur - beautiful and brilliant Fleur - took on a fully grown dragon with grace.

All the way up until Fleur was caught on fire, but she still got her golden egg and high scores.

“They are punishing me by making Cedric go last,” Harry whimpered when Viktor Krum was the next one to enter the arena.

“Oh, yeah, they really tried to think of you when they planned this,” Pansy hissed. She’d slid down from her seat when Fleur had been caught on fire and elbowed George away until she was in his seat beside Harry.

“Dumbledore has always hated me, I told you this,” Harry moaned. “Oh, where’s Snape and his calming droughts when I need them?”

Draco, the greatest rival Harry could ever ask for, tapped her on the shoulder. When Harry looked away from Viktor fighting the dragon for just a moment, she saw Draco offering her a light purple colored potion.

“I knew your pathetic heart couldn’t handle this,” Draco sneered. “Here.”

“You’re a Hufflepuff at heart, Dray,” Harry quipped, letting go of Fred’s hand so she could down the potion. She felt immediately relaxed after drinking it, but frowned when Fred didn’t take her hand again.

“Cry baby,” Pansy murmured before snatching Harry’s hands in her own. Harry gave Pansy a curious look, but she only shook her head.

“It’s Cedric now,” Fred murmured. He leaned forward when Viktor finished getting his scores and watched when Cedric entered the arena.

Harry jumped to her feet, letting off the wet start fireworks she’d smuggled on the field just for that moment, cheering and screaming for all that she was worth. Cedric looked up and caught her eye and Harry practically swooned when he blew her a kiss.

“That boy is whipped,” Alicia screamed over the ruckus the Hogwarts students were making for their champion.

“He is, isn’t he?” Harry yelled back fondly while she clapped her hands together and beamed for her champion.

Harry thought maybe, just maybe, she loved that brave Hufflepuff boy with the perfect smile and patience to listen to her ramble on and on about the candy shop she was going to open one day.

“I hate you,” Harry cried, clinging to Cedric and touching every inch of his bared torso, proving to her fingers that he was healed and he was fine. “Don’t you ever do that to me again or I swear to you that I will kill you.”

“Just to be clear… you’re saying that if I ever face a dragon, get cut by it, and still get the highest score ever again that, as punishment, you’re going to kill me?”

When Harry looked up at Cedric, she glared at his amused grin.

“Yes,” she told him firmly. “I will, Diggory. I will end your life then I’ll bring you back and kill you over and over again.”

Cedric ducked his head down and ruined Harry’s threat by kissing her softly on her lips until Harry’s knees felt weak and her stomach was fluttering with a brand new type of nerves.

“Any witch mad enough to master necromancy for me is a witch I can’t lose,” Cedric murmured, holding Harry up when it seemed like her knees had went weak. “Come on, come sneak in the Hufflepuff common room and we’ll celebrate the worst day of your life.”

“Deal,” Harry said. She stayed at Cedric’s side through the entire walk to the castle and they only paused when she heard the annoying blonde reporter call out to them.

“Cedric! Harry!” Rita Skeeter practically ran to them, patting her blonde curls down with a simpering smile. “I wondered if I could get a quote from you? Cedric, how did you feel to have your boyfriend cheering you on today?”

“Unfortunately, my boyfriend is in the Hospital Wing with the flu,” Cedric said breezily, lying through his perfect teeth. “Thankfully, my girlfriend, Harry, was there to cheer for me.”

Rita looked from Cedric to where Harry was beaming at her boyfriend.

“Harry? Care to comment? Perhaps elaborate on your sex change?”

“I’d love to,” Harry said. She cleared her throat and hoped that Rita Skeeter wrote down every single word she said. “So there I was, a scalpel held to my penis, and I thought to myself, was cutting my enormous cock off worth it just to wear high heels?” Harry laughed brightly and looked down at Rita’s sequined heels. “I don’t have to tell you that the answer was yes. Thank you again for the recommendation, Rita. You were right, Doctor Crew was brilliant in surgery.”

With that, Harry and Cedric giggled like kids clear down to the Hufflepuff common room where Harry discovered that Hufflepuff’s may be quiet in the corridors, but they threw the wildest parties.

“Hey, Harry, quick question.”

Harry turned in the corridor just outside of her defense class and saw Cedric kneeling on the ground, a bouquet of red roses held up.

“Will you be my date to the Yule Ball?” he asked, looking like Prince Charming from the Disney films Harry used to watch at Elise’s home.

“Oh, Cedric…” Harry’s heart melted at the beautifully romantic approach that Cedric took. “I was going to ask you, and you ruined it, you wanker!”

Cedric grinned unrepentantly. “Is that a yes?”

“Of course it’s a yes,” Harry laughed. She whooped and the audience of students that stopped to watch the show cooed and catcalled when Cedric jumped up to bend Harry backward in his arms and kiss her dramatically.

“You should ignore the howler you get in the morning,” Harry told Cedric after Professor Moody gruffly shooed their spectacle away from his classroom doorway. Harry sniffed the roses and knew she was going to be a blushing mess all day.

“You sent me a howler to ask me to the Yule Ball?” Cedric asked.

Harry shrugged blithely and looked up at him with a happy smile. “Did you expect anything less?”

“From you?” Cedric kissed Harry gently and smiled at her like he was the lucky one in their relationship. “Of course not.”

And that was why Harry adored Cedric to the point where she was bursting to tell him she loved him.

Cedric never minded when Harry was busy pulling pranks. In fact, when Harry had commandeered an empty classroom to brew her own batch of potions that would change a person’s skin to whatever color she chose - a challenge as she was having to invent them from scratch - Cedric sat in the room with her and helped.

The potion was nearly perfect, but it was only lasting for a couple of hours when Harry needed it to last for weeks, and Cedric even went to the library to help her research it.

When Ernie and Hannah grumbled loudly and pointedly the morning that the entire Hufflepuff house had randomly gotten red hair after drinking their morning drinks, Cedric had laughed and admired his own hair, saying that everyone looked better ginger.

The point was, Harry loved Cedric and she was going to tell him at the Yule Ball.

Draco caught up with Harry on the first morning of Christmas break with a nervous look on his face. “Hey, Potter, do you have a minute?”

Harry looked over the way that Draco was twitching, his fingers twisting anxiously in the sleeves of his robes.

“No,” Harry said, walking away.

“Wait! Potter!” Draco jogged to catch up with her. “Why not?”

“Because you look like you’re going to be sick and whatever prank you think you’re going to pull on me, I’m not interested,” Harry told him smoothly. “Good luck next time, Dray.”

“I’m not planning a prank!” Draco snapped when Harry walked away again. “I am trying to ask you something!”

“Oh.” Harry turned around and gave Draco her complete attention. “I’m sorry, what is it?”

“I… I just…”

Harry had never heard Draco stammer before and she tilted her head curiously when he did it then.

“Do you want to go fly?” Draco finally said, huffing and kicking his boot on the floor.

“Oh, god, yes,” Harry breathed. She beamed at Draco, thrilled by the offer. “I’ll get Cedric and Cho and we can all fly together, maybe even find Viktor and we can have a five-way seekers battle?”

“Great. Yes,” Draco said, not sounding very happy at all. “I’ll meet you out there.”

“Oh! Wait!” Harry spun around after she’d been halfway down the corridor. “Dray! You should ask Cho to the ball! She’s single too!”

Draco didn’t look very enthusiastic about the idea, but Harry liked it quite a bit and pestered him and Cho both while they had their seekers battle until they agreed to go together.

Harry lost, Viktor Krum kicked her arse, but she was consoled by hot chocolate in the Hufflepuff common room while she cuddled up with Cedric and they talked about quidditch and classes and how they’d still find time for each other after Cedric graduated that spring.

The Yule Ball was wonderful.

Harry had been stressed, having to be a ‘champions date’, but Remus and Sirius sent her a beautiful gown to wear as an early Christmas present and Harry felt as if she’d grown five inches when she walked in the ball beside Cedric that evening.

“You look beautiful,” Cedric said as they danced in each others arms in the center of the Great Hall. “How did I get so lucky?”

Harry smiled sweetly at him. “I just wanted the prestige of being the girlfriend of a champion,” she teased him. “If you lose, I’m moving on to Viktor.”

Cedric glanced over where Viktor was dancing with Pansy - Viktor had planned on asking out Hermione Granger, but he said he thought she might not be interested considering the display on Halloween. Harry had held back her laughter at his bemusement and kindly suggested he ask Pansy, as she was gorgeous, witty, and a wonderful dancer - and then Cedric smiled down at Harry.

“Harry… I- I—”

“Shh…” Harry said, putting her finger over Cedric’s lips while her heart raced inside her chest. “Not here. When you win the tournament, when all this stress is off your shoulders, then you can say it, okay?”

Cedric kissed Harry’s finger and she put it back behind his neck.

“Okay, Harry,” Cedric said, smiling so sweetly. “When I win, I’m going to tell you how I feel and you’ll say it back and we’ll live happily ever after, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, melting to know that the boy she loved so fiercely loved her as well.

Harry danced to the quick songs with her friends, she swapped one song to swing Pansy around the dance floor, both of them giggling like silly schoolgirls over their handsome dates, and she danced almost all of the other songs with Cedric.

One slow song she danced with Fred when his date, Angelina, cut in and asked Cedric for a dance.

“You look great,” Fred told Harry while they held hands and danced slowly.

Harry smiled and laughed when Fred spun her out in a showy twirl. “You don’t look as much like a troll as usual,” Harry told him playfully. “Much better than George.”

“Oi! We’re identical!” Fred said with mock-indignation.

“Nope.” Harry reached up and traced Fred’s face, where the one odd shaped freckle George had was missing. “You’re the better looking twin, Freddie.”

Fred smiled, so terribly sweetly, and opened his mouth—

“Mind if I steal my girl back?”

Fred let go of Harry immediately and took a step away from her, giving Cedric a forced smile that had been much more lovely a moment before.

“Have at it,” Fred said. His smile hardened some. “Be nice to her, Diggory, I’d hate to hurt that pretty face of yours.”

“I will be,” Cedric said, smiling down at Harry. “For as long as she lets me.”

“Forever,” Harry said, overflowing with happiness.

When the clock struck midnight and the ball ended, Harry was pulled in an empty classroom that had been lavishly decorated with candles and flowers and tears prickled her eyes.

“What’s this?” Harry asked tightly.

“I wanted to give you your Christmas gift before you left in the morning,” Cedric told her. He pulled Harry over to a cushioned settee, letting her perch in her expensive gown right on his leg. “Open it, please,” he said, grabbing a silver wrapped box from the floor beneath the settee and offering it to her.

“Yours is on your bed,” Harry said, toying with the sparkling ribbon Cedric tied her gift with. “I wanted it to be a surprise, I can go—”

“No, don’t,” Cedric said, shushing her with a quiet chuckle. “Yours comes with an explanation, but I’ll be happy to open yours just before I go to sleep tonight.”

“Okay,” Harry said, rather bashful. She untied the ribbon and carefully peeled back the wrapping paper until she found a navy velvet box. Harry could practically taste her heartbeat as it hammered in her throat and she slowly opened the box.

“Oh,” Harry gasped, surprised. Inside the box was a dainty golden chain with a gold ring on it. When Harry tilted the box, she saw that the ring had an infinity sign on it with a single simple Diamond in the center of that.

“It’s… it’s a promise ring,” Cedric said, sounding hesitant for the first time since Harry met him. He reached out and pulled the necklace from the box, holding it up. “With your potions, pranks, and quidditch matches, I knew you wouldn’t want to wear it on your finger, but… but it’s my last year here and I’d like you to wear this. And,” Cedric’s eyes were shining when Harry looked from the ring to him, “and when you graduate, maybe we can trade this for a different type of ring?”

Harry tried not to cry, she really tried to stay strong, but she turned her head, sweeping her hair to the side, and let out a sob so Cedric could gently put the necklace on her.

“I love it,” Harry told him. “I- I- I got you a sweater!” she cried, hugging Cedric tightly once the necklace was on her. “A stupid, sweater!”

Cedric chuckled and kissed Harry’s silly tears off her face. “Did you make it?”

“No!” Harry wailed. “I bought it! It’s cashmere!”

“I love cashmere,” Cedric murmured. “I love cashmere so much and I can’t wait until the third task is over so I can scream from the Astronomy Tower exactly how much I. Love. Cashmere.”

“Oh, no, REMUS!”

Remus ran back in the room, a tray of biscuits in his hands and his apron covered in flour. “What?”

Sirius gestured at where Harry had been sitting on the floor, innocently telling her godfather about the Yule Ball, and shrugged at Remus when he looked questioningly at her.

“She’s in love!” Sirius wailed dramatically, flapping his hands at Harry. “Look at her face, Rem! Look at it! Who does she look like, right now?”

Remus squinted at Harry for a tense moment before he broke out in a wide smile. “She looks like James!” he cried, clearly delighted while Sirius seemed devastated. “Oh, Harry! You never mentioned anyone in your letters!”

“It’s the boy from the papers, isn’t it?” Sirius snarled. He smacked a fist in his open hand and glowered darkly at Harry. “I’ll kick his pretty arse!”

“Hush,” Remus scolded him. He sat on the sofa beside Sirius, offering the tray of biscuits to Harry with a smile. “Is it, Harry? We didn’t believe it, Rita’s reputation is rather spotty, but is that who has you so happy?”

“It is,” Harry beamed. She pulled her ring out from beneath her newest Weasley jumper and held it up so Remus and Sirius could see it. “His name is Cedric and I love him, I truly love him.”

Sirius pouted the rest of the short holiday Harry got to have with them, but as Harry was the one who Remus took to see a healer for contraceptive potions, Harry couldn’t feel too badly for him.

“Contraceptive potions?” Ginny giggled when Harry was in the third year girls dorm, having a sleepover with Ginny as she had decided to rotate between her, Alicia and Katie, and Angelina. “Have the two of you…?”

“No,” Harry whispered hotly. “I… er… I tried, okay?” Harry’s face had burned bright red. “I tried after the Yule Ball and he told me I was too young and he wanted to wait until I was older and more sure.”

“Oh that’s bloody romantic, that is,” Ginny sighed. The two of them were laying on Ginny’s bed, side by side, staring up at the canopy in the dark. “When will you be sure?”

“If he doesn’t shag me before I’m sixteen then I’m going to tie him up and dance naked on his lap until he caves,” Harry quipped.

Ginny snickered and kicked Harry’s ankle with her bare foot. “He might like that,” she whispered. “I bet Hufflepuff’s are kinky.”

Harry snickered too and the two of them spent the next hour coming up with more and more ridiculous kinks that their classmates might have until they passed out with their legs all tangled up and smiles on their faces.

Two days before the second task, Harry and Cedric spent Valentine’s Day on the quidditch pitch, chasing each other on their brooms and having a terrific paint-balloon fight that Cedric himself had planned.

Only the worlds greatest boyfriend would combine pranks and quidditch and call it a Valentine’s Day date.

“You are the worst boyfriend ever and I can’t stand your stupid perfect face,” Harry gasped. Her head had finally broken water and the potions Snape had given her the night before had broken and she was finally conscious again.

“You were the thing I’d miss most, some people would find it touching,” Cedric said, grinning at Harry while he pulled them along to shore.

“Did you find me first?”

“I did. Pansy and Fleur’s sister are still down there.”

“Okay,” Harry said brightly, kicking her legs to propel herself forward. “As long as you saved me first then I’m touched. But I’m also cold and was poisoned by Professor Snape, so let’s find a blanket and get your scores, love.”

Truthfully, despite Professor Snape’s snarky comments the night before about Harry allowing herself to be put in a risky position for a boy, Harry was flattered that she was the thing that Cedric would miss the most.

And even though Snape made a lot of pointed remarks while Harry and Cedric waited on the shore of the Black Lake for the other champions, he also gave Harry a Pepper-Up potion and a warm blanket.

When Cedric got full points, securing his first place running in the tournament, Harry had been bursting with happiness when all her friends came to congratulate him. Harry had been so happy, she impulsively invited them all to the Hufflepuff common room for the celebration party.

And if Harry thought that Gryffindor parties were rowdy, and Hufflepuff parties were wild, then that was because she’d never been at a party with both houses mixed together, plus two Slytherins.

It was a very long night that Harry swore to never forget.

“Harry, mate, you’ve got to call the elves off.”

“No.”

“Please, please, what do I have to do to get them to leave me alone?”

“Mmm, I’m not sure. They don’t like taking orders from a girl,” Harry drawled, not looking up from the book she was writing in. She really didn’t want to cave and go ask Snape for help, but she just knew that there had to be a way to combine pixie dust to her original potion and make it so people glowed in the dark in neon colors for a week at a time.

“Harry,” Ron whined. “Please? I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry for whatever I did to piss you off.”

Harry did glance up then and she smirked at Ron’s look of discomfort. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied easily. “If you’ve upset the house-elves, you should take it up with them.”

And the elves would laugh at Ron and feign innocence. Those impish little elves adored Harry and she adored them. Harry didn’t like to use words like ‘army’, but if she ever wanted to take over the school, she certainly knew where to find a couple hundred of soldiers.

“I am out of clean pants,” Ron hissed, his face and ears as red as his hair. “What do I have to do to get them to wash my pants again?”

Harry closed her textbook and gave Ron a wide and feral smile.

“I am so glad you asked, Ron,” she said sweetly. “Here’s what you’ll need to do…”

Harry sat with Fred and George the next morning, forgoing her usual breakfasts with Cedric so should could watch Ron earn back his clean laundry through the most painful humiliation to ever exist.

“If Diggory doesn’t marry you, I will,” George snickered when Ron stepped in the Great Hall, a bouquet of daffodils in his hands, and a green tinge to his face.

Harry flapped her hand around, trying to catch Draco and Pansy’s attention.

‘Watch!’ she mouthed to them, nodding to where Ron was walking up to the Head Table.

By the time Ron made it there, the hall had fallen silent, aside from a few questioning whispers.

“Ahem…” Ron cleared his throat and Harry had to give him points for true daring nerve when he stepped right up to the table and put his daffodils in front of Professor Snape’s cup of tea.

“Severus Snape, roses are red, moonstones are silver. I love you like alcohol loves your liver. If you refuse to meet me for a shag, it really will be a drag. I’ll admire you from a far, the man with hair that looks like tar.”

“He did it,” Harry breathed to the twins, too impressed by Ron’s courage and disdain for doing his own laundry to even take note of how utterly apoplectic Snape looked. “That mad bastard.”

“That dead bastard,” George whispered, also looking horribly impressed, when Ron let out a whimper as Snape practically leapt across the table and grabbed him by the ear, pulling him away.

The first laugh to break out in the hall didn’t even come from Harry, the twins, or Ginny - all of whom were too stunned by Ron’s quaffle sized bollocks - it came from the Headmaster himself.

Then Professor McGonagall chuckled, then Moody snorted, and then the entire hall was ringing with laughter.

“You’re a hero,” Cedric told Harry with fond exasperation the next morning when Harry got no less than seven owls with chocolates and ‘thank you cards’ sent to her. “Here I am, fighting for my life in a tournament with a death toll, and my girlfriend pulls one prank—”

“One absolutely brilliant prank,” Cedric’s best mate, Andy, said with a crooked grin for Harry. “Did you have Weasley at wand point beneath that cloak of yours or something?”

“Nope.” Harry popped a chocolate in her mouth and smirked. “I was eating bacon while poor Ronald lost his mind and professed his love to Professor Snape.”

“You know, I didn’t believe it before, but there have been some rumors about Snape coming on to students,” Andy whispered to them, glancing furtively up at the table where Snape still had the darkest glare on his face, even twenty-four hours after the event.

“I heard those when I was a first year, but I think it’s all tosh,” Harry said, waving Andy and his silly rumors away. “Snape’s completely lovely.”

“Babe, didn’t he give you a weeks worth of detention because you talked too loudly in the corridors yesterday?” Cedric asked Harry, stealing one of her gifted chocolates and winking at her cheekily.

Harry laughed and waved an airy hand. “He’s just upset because he assumes I had a part in Ron’s crush. It’s been lovely, really, he’s helping me with my potions.”

“Teachers pet,” Andy coughed. Harry swatted his hand when he tried to steal a chocolate, but that brat did it anyway.

“Don’t you two have a third task to train for?” Harry asked pointedly, pulling all her chocolates to herself and glaring mockingly at Cedric and his friend. “Go on, Andy, go train my boyfriend up so he can win a trophy almost as pretty as I am.”

“Or what?” Andy said challengingly. “You’ll prank me?”

Harry and Cedric both raised their eyebrows at him, giving Andy plenty of time to rethink his statement.

“Yeah, okay, let’s go, Ced,” Andy finally muttered, glancing over at the Gryffindor table where Ron was sitting, looking like a leper - a leper with clean clothes - at the end of the table.

Cedric kissed Harry, a chaste and polite kiss, and winked at her. “I love pranks,” he said.

Harry kissed his hand then let it fall, playing along with their game they’d been playing since Christmas. “And I love chocolate,” she said.

Susan Bones sighed wistfully from a few seats away from Harry when Cedric ran off, jostling Andy playfully.

“You two are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Susan said, Justin nodding vehemently beside her. “Is it like a fairytale, Harry? It seems like a fairytale.”

“It is,” Harry said, glowing in the happiness of finding her soulmate just as early as her parents had found one another and Remus and Sirius found them. “It’s just like a fairytale.”

Harry was too nervous about the third task to truly focus on her final exams, but she cheated off Pansy in Transfiguration and partnered with Neville in Herbology, so she thought she probably did fine.

Snape would certainly have to give her full points on her potion, as much as he might not want to. After all, it was only thanks to weeks of detentions spent brewing and creating potions together that Harry was so confident in her exam.

And at lunch, Harry planned on sitting with her friends, which had grown to include Neville and Ginny, but she was stopped by Cedric and his parents before she could make her way to her seat.

“Mum, Dad,” Cedric beamed at his parents with his arm around Harry’s waist, “I’d like you to properly meet my girlfriend, Harry.”

“Mister and Mrs Diggory,” Harry offered her hand and her most dazzling smile to the Diggory’s. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”

Instead of shaking her hand like normal people, Harry was pulled in a tight hug by Mrs Diggory which made Harry melt in her embrace. For no reason at all, Mrs Diggory’s hug made Harry miss Remus so terribly. Then Harry’s hand was shaken enthusiastically by Mr Diggory, who began blabbering about how they certainly didn’t mind if Cedric’s girlfriend was ‘one of those transgenders’ as long as she ‘was perfectly fertile’.

Harry gave Cedric a beseeching look while her eyes bugged from her skull, imploring for him to do something, while it seemed like the Diggory’s had their entire future - down to their children’s names - planned out.

“Mum, Dad, please,” Cedric chuckled nervously, his handsome face pink. “You’re embarrassing us. Let’s go sit and you can ask Harry all those questions you keep pestering me about.”

Harry let herself be dragged to the Hufflepuff table where she sat between Cedric and his mum and the Diggory’s didn’t hold back on switching between questioning her—

“What do you want to do when you graduate? A candy shop? How interesting!”

—and complimenting her-

“You’re much more beautiful than the papers described! You can hardly tell that you used to be a boy!”

And by the end of it, when Cedric got pulled away to go line up with the champions, Harry had been terribly flattered when the Diggory’s offered to let her sit with them.

“He’s brilliant, ma’am,” Harry told Mrs Diggory after they gave Cedric their hugs, kisses, and well wishes and took their place in the stands, surrounded by Harry and Cedric’s friends. “He’ll be fine.”

“Oh, don’t call me ma’am,” Mrs Diggory smiled, clearly Cedric got his smile from her. She looked down at Harry’s bosom where Cedric’s ring rested. “If you won’t call me Mum yet, please, call me Ruth.”

It was a good thing that Harry loved Cedric already or else she might feel guilty that she was planning on marrying him just to steal his mum away for herself.

“He’s got this, Harrikins,” Fred murmured from behind Harry when the horns sounded and the champions all entered the maze. “He’s got this.”

“He’s going to win and the two of you will be Hogwarts legends,” Pansy said. She rubbed Harry’s very tense shoulders sweetly and Harry had never been so grateful that their friendship survived their breakup last year. “You’ll get married in a few years, you’ll open your candy shop while he becomes the next Minister of Magic, and you two will have babies so pretty that veela will weep.”

Harry, and Ruth, who was apparently eavesdropping, both laughed and Harry grabbed Pansy’s hand off her shoulder so she could kiss it before dropping it back in place.

“Thanks, Pans, I love you,” Harry said, meaning it very deeply and entirely platonically. “Now be quiet so I can panic in peace.”

When a little vial slipped in Harry’s robe pocket, she sent a grateful look to Draco who rolled his eyes in reply.

The third task was perhaps the most terrifying because none of them could see what was happening. With the first task, at least Harry could keep her eye on Cedric. During the second task, Harry had been thankfully unconscious. But then, all Harry could do was hold Ruth’s hand and Pansy’s hand and whisper prayers that her champion came out, a winner or loser.

Cedric would never be a loser, not really. Even if he came in third, Cedric was still the most brilliant and kind person she had ever met. Harry was mostly sure that her year had only been minimally free of rude comments and snark half due to her feared reputation and half due to respect for Cedric.

Cedric Diggory was a shining star- no matter what his standing in the Triwizard Tournament was.

But when a trumpet sounded and a portkey cracked in the winners circle and Harry saw a flash of golden hair, she jumped up and screamed and cheered for all she could.

Fireworks were sounding, music was playing from somewhere, and Harry and the Diggory’s were pushing through a crowd of screaming Hogwarts students to get to Cedric.

“Miss Potter, no.”

Out of nowhere, Professor Snape grabbed Harry’s arm, yanking her backwards while the Diggory’s were stopped from getting to their son by Professor Sprout whose soft face was swollen and covered in tears.

Harry turned to Snape, planning on quipping off a smart remark about him trying to keep her for himself and then she saw the look in his eyes.

Snape’s eyes were never soft, they never looked… sad.

“Sir?” Harry pulled on Snape’s arm and she realized the screams weren’t cheers, but sounded hysterical. “Sir, C-Cedric?”

Snape shook his head and Harry ripped her wrist away just as Amos and Ruth pushed past Sprout and the three of them ran to where Cedric laid on the ground beside the Triwizard trophy, covered in blood.

“Cedric?” Amos tried to push past Dumbledore, who was holding him back while McGonagall had her arms wrapped around Ruth. “Cedric?!”

“That’s my son!” Ruth screamed, thrashing in McGonagall’s grasp. “My baby! Cedric! MY BABY!”

Harry saw when Hagrid bent down and lifted Cedric in his arms and Harry screamed and pulled against whoever was holding her hands when Cedric’s head lulled back, his eyes unfocused and dull as they stared at the sky.

“CEDRIC!” Harry screamed. “CEDRIC!”

“Hospital Wing,” Fred said to someone, holding Harry too tightly for her to escape. “Ask Flitwick to use his floo, get Remus, he’s at Lupin Cottage. Tell him it’s an emergency.”

“Okay,” Ginny said just before running off, zigzagging through the crowd to beat the others to the castle.

Harry heard none of it, the image of Cedric’s eyes lifeless and dull in her mind and her voice wrecked as it tried to decide between sobbing and screaming.

“I know, Harry, I know,” Fred whispered. He wrapped his arms around Harry from behind and began carrying her toward the school while Harry shook and sobbed with the truth she couldn’t even think to herself.

Everything became a blur.

Harry sat outside the Hospital Wing and choked down the calming draught that Snape all but forced on her. It stopped Harry’s sobs, but not the tears that silently poured down her face while the Headmaster, Professor Sprout, and the Diggory’s were inside the Hospital Wing.

All the Weasley’s sat in the corridor with her, Fred letting Harry curl up on his lap like a heartbroken kitten. Pansy stroked her hair while Draco, Theo, and Blaise sat on the floor across from George, Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and Katie.

When Harry heard a familiar voice, she looked up miserably, not feeling entirely rational with two calming draughts. Even with the potions though, Harry would recognize that man anywhere.

“Dad!” Harry flung herself from Fred’s lap to Remus’ arm, not even noticing that she let the term slip from her. “It’s- it’s Cedric, Dad! It’s my Cedric and they won’t let me in and they won’t—”

“Shh, dear, shh…” Remus held Harry tightly, keeping her standing, and rubbed her back. “Sirius is going to go find out what’s going on and you and I are going to stand right here, okay?”

Harry couldn’t talk anymore - she knew what was going on, the Triwizard Tournament had a death toll and Cedric looked as if he’d been chewed apart by a beast - so she just let Remus hold her.

When Sirius came back and touched Remus’ shoulder, whispering to him softly, Harry knew.

Remus held Harry up and guided her past her teary eyed and solemn faced friends, all respectfully quiet, to enter the Hospital Wing.

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t,” Harry whispered frantically to Remus, unable to step toward that white curtain where she could hear sobs coming from. “Please, I can’t…”

“Harry,” Remus grabbed Harry by the shoulders and ducked down so Harry could see his wet amber eyes and his devastated expression, “I won’t make you go back there. I won’t, Harry. If you can’t do it, we’ll turn right around and leave this room. But I think that if you don’t go in there and say goodbye that you’re going to regret it.”

“He was my Lily,” Harry cried, her chest cracked in half and all her blood pouring on the ground. “He was my Lily.”

“I know,” Remus said. He pressed a long kiss to Harry’s forehead and he repeated himself. “I know, dear. Let’s go in there and say goodbye to your Lily, okay?”

Harry took a shuddering breath and she nodded, even while every fiber in her body didn’t want to do it.

“Don’t let go of me, Dad,” she whispered. “Please.”

“I won’t,” Remus promised.

And Remus didn’t let go of her.

Remus held Harry’s shoulder when she saw Cedric, cleaned up and pale, his eyes closed and his chest still on the bed. Harry threw herself on Cedric’s chest, begging him to wake up.

“Please, Ced, please,” Harry cried in his motionless chest. “Please, I love you, I love you, I love you so much.”

Remus held Harry’s hands when Professor Dumbledore told Harry and the Diggory’s about the acromantula that had attacked Cedric just before he got the cup.

Remus held Harry back when Harry screamed at Dumbledore and tried to claw his face off.

“YOU SAID THEY’D BE SAFE!” she screamed, her voice breaking in the face of the most horrible injustice ever done to the most just boy to ever walked the earth. “YOU SWORE IT! YOU SWORE IT!”

Remus even managed to keep a hold of Harry’s pinky when her and Ruth sobbed together. Harry’s heartache couldn’t compare to the woman who lost her only child, but the clung together in their grief and wept.

“He loved you,” Ruth whispered between her cries. “He loved you, he told me you were the one.”

“I loved him,” Harry said, desperate for the whole day to be a nightmare. “He was my Lily, he was my only Lily.”

Harry wanted to fall asleep and wake up, the day restarting. Snape convinced Remus to give Harry a dreamless sleep, Harry fell asleep in the Hospital Wing in a bed beside Cedric’s, Remus holding her just like a father would do.

When Harry woke up, Cedric’s body was gone and she was still there. A ghost left to mourn the loss of the truest of loves.

Remus decided to stay in the castle until the end of term since Harry wouldn’t leave.

How could she when the corridors that she once spent with Cedric were the only places she could remember him so clearly?

The two of them went straight from the Leaving Feast to Cedric’s funeral and Harry sat through it with endless tears and grief so heavy it was weighing her down to a world she didn’t want to be in anymore.

When it was Harry’s turn at the coffin and she looked down at the first and only love she knew she would ever have, Harry bent over and kissed Cedric’s cold cheek.

“I love you,” Harry whispered to the shell of her champion. “Goodbye, love. I’ll see you again one day.”

“Harry, darling.”

Harry, Remus, and Sirius stopped from leaving the funeral home by Ruth and Amos. Ruth looked as terrible as Harry felt and Amos looked lost, like he didn’t know how he wound up there.

“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Sirius said to them quietly, offering solemn handshakes. “If- if there’s anything we can ever do…”

“There is,” Ruth said. She held out a bag toward Harry and picked up her hands, wrapping Harry’s fingers around the heavy sack. “This… this was Cedric’s, Harry. And I think that he would want you to have it.”

When Ruth broke off with a choked cry, Amos looked up at Harry with grey eyes that hurt Harry to look at.

“Take it and open your shop,” Amos said dully. “It’s- it’s what Cedric would have wanted.”

Harry left the funeral one thousand galleons richer and feeling like she lost everything that had ever mattered to her.