Flirt
Y/N should've known that the twins wouldn't accept no for an answer. She shouldn't have slammed into bed the second she was allowed to even though she had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't stay in it for long.
Because, in what felt like the blink of an eye, it was eleven of clock, pitch black, and Y/N was being startled awake by tapping noises on the window. 'Damn it,' she thought. It was already so chilly and dark out. She just didn't want to leave the comfort of her blanket haven. Maybe if she closed her eyes, they would go away.
A minute later, she felt horribly guilty. They were out in the cold waiting for her while she was tucked away inside a warm tower.
With a heavy sigh, she threw off the comforter and tiptoed to the window. Y/N was not surprised in the least to see two grinning Weasleys hovering on their brooms just outside the girl's dormitory. The girl rolled her eyes and pried open the heavy glass. Merlin, she was already regretting this.
The frigid breeze from the outside nipped at her exposed arms and raised goosebumps on her skin. She began to worry that the other girls, who were actually allowed to sleep soundly in the dorms, would feel the chill.
"Weasley o Weasley, wherefore art thou Blithering idiots!" She hissed.
"We really do need you this time," said Fred quietly.
Y/N huffed whilst glaring as menacingly at the twins as she could. She wasn't angry. Just irritated. Her mood slowly soured with each new breeze that brushed past her skin and sunk into her unprotected bones. "I'll see you in the common room," she whispered.
The two boys celebrated with a high five and whooped silently before whizzing away.
What a waste. Y/N would have to change out of her oh so comfortable pajamas and into something less cozy. As quietly as she possibly could, the girl dug through her trunk for her usual nightly sneak outfit.
She grimaced as she dodged Lavender Brown's luggage. Usually, Y/N was great at navigating her dorm room in the dark, but the start of a new term meant the girls had still yet to settle in. And honestly, Lavender wouldn't settle in for at least a month. If anyone's stray items were to be found laying around, it was Lavender's.
Once the common room was in sight, she could see the twins waiting by the dying fire. A dim, orange glow danced back and forth against their features and seemed as if it were setting their ginger hair on fire. They're fiery heads turned as soon as Y/N's footsteps were heard approaching them.
"What's the plan?"
Fred held up a package that was much too familiar for Y/N's liking. "Last resort. We're taking ..that.. route," George explained.
Y/N grimaced. "I hate you," she muttered as she pushed past the two and stomped to the portrait hole. "Aren't you two dimwits coming along?"
"Knew you'd be up for it," they said simultaneously.
"Yeah yeah come on. The quicker we finish this the better," she grumbled before climbing through the hole.
The three knew Hogwarts like the back of their hand. Harry may own the marauder's map, but the trio had enough combined personal experience to make their own. Particularly Y/N who knew far too much about the castle's secret passageways and hidey holes for a normal student. When asked about it her second year, she claimed that the hallways were too crowded during passing periods and she preferred to stick to....less ...populated routes.
Most of the time, the passageways were kept relatively clean and untouched. She doubted that even the spiders knew where they were hidden. How Y/N wished that it were the case this time.
No one had accessed this vent for years, and there was a bloody good reason for it. No one could manage to fit into the tiny space, except the creepy crawlers that inhabited the night.
Y/N groaned the moment she and the twins pried open the absurdly large painting that covered the tiny entrance to where their desired spot. The girl didn't quite fancy the look of the spiderweb decorated corners one bit. She allowed Fred and George to squeeze in first but stood completely frozen when it was her turn.
"We'll be in and out in just a few minutes, Y/N," George assured as soon as he saw his friend hesitate. The girl gulped and dashed inside, making sure to avoid the cobwebs like her life depended on it.
The room was much smaller than she had ever imagined. She wasn't entirely sure whether to call it a room or a closet at this point. There was hardly less than a foot between Y/N and the twins who also tried their best to refrain from leaning against the dusty walls. It would just end up being evidence later on if they were ever suspected.
"That, Y/N-" Fred jabbed a finger up at the teeny vent that would lead to Filch's office.
"Is where you'll be going," George finished.
Y/N gulped. It looked awfully dusty. "Help me up would ya," she asked halfheartedly.
"On it," they replied. As if they'd done it a million times, the two boys bent down to present their hands for boosting.
Complete disgust surged through every inch of Y/N's being as her fingers latched onto the dust covered ledge. With her amazing abilities, Y/N struggled to shimmy into the practically microscopic vent that was made of roughly lain stone.
'Women up Y/N, it's only ten feet,' she encouraged to herself.
The space felt as if it were narrowing down and crushing her with every inch she crawled. Because it was. The girl tried her best to keep her breathing even in fear of obnoxiously loud breathes that would give away their master plan. It was extremely difficult though. Y/N was glad for that little light at the end of the tunnel, but she also hated it with ever fiber of her being. She couldn't trust her eyes to show her what was real or not. If she focused on a single spot long enough, surely an arachnid would scurry across her field of vision and come to bite her.
Alas! That light had finally come. She had just arrived at the intricately designed vent covering. Y/N had never personally had a trip into the caretaker's office but she could imagine that the dully colored metal blended right into the rest of the equally dull walls.There was no way Filch would be able to tell where the Dung bomb had come from. Especially since he wasn't even in the office to begin with.
The girl preoccupied herself with forcing open the dilapidated cover with all her might. Why did Y/N have to be the first person to ever open this bloody hunk of metal in a hundred years? Her eyebrows furrowed with concentration as she pushed against the cover with such force that she was sure there would be tiny patterned indents in her skin later.
But something moved. Oh Merlin something moved! Her head snapped to an angle to peer at whatever the bloody hell had just made itself present. Oh dear Merlin this was to much.
From beside her right hand, a horrifically large arachnid stood. It's eight eyes peered right back at the girl, unblinking and unpredictable. Y/N's breath hitched in her throat. She couldn't make a single peep or she'd be through.
At the very least, the decrepit old piece of metal was finally open. What to do, what to do? Should she just close her eyes, toss the dung bomb into the room and flee, or stare the spider in its ugly eight eyes and make sure it wasn't planning on doing anything stupid?
Option two was unbelievably scary, but she had to do it. Slowly, she produced the prank from her pocket and nudged it out of its packaging. If she even touched the tiniest bit of the bomb, it would leave her with the most dead giveaway of a stench in the entire universe.
Rigidly, she threw the Dung bomb into the office and shut the grate. Happy to be done with the task, she scooted backwards. Until she saw it move again. That evil, vile creature!
It advanced. Slowly at first, but then the beast gained speed. Frightened, the girl's hand jolted away from its spot, only to be marred in the process. "Bloody hell!" She hissed. It stung so bad, and who knew how dirty that jagged piece of stone was.
Yet this was still the least of her problems. That damned eight eyed, eight legged menace was still gaining on her. What the hell did she ever do it it? Aside from trespass on its territory...
Nevertheless, she persevered on and nearly reached the ledge. She'd rather fall and break her ankle than face that creature ever again. Her foot was off the edge now. There wasn't anything solid under half her body at this point, and she knew she'd have to jump quite soon. With her legs being the only parts of her dangling off the edge, she pushed off.
Damn was Y/N glad to have Fred and George in her life. Sure, it was their fault that she was in this mess in the first place, but at least they caught her. Well George specifically.
The moment Y/N's feet were back on the sweet ground, she buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. Warm arms slunk around her shoulders and engulfed her into one of the most comforting embraces Y/N had ever experienced in her life.
"Everything alright up there?" he questioned, his low voice sending reverberations through his chest that could've lulled Y/N to sleep.The feeling in itself calmed her down much more than even a calming draught ever would.
"That was awful," she mumbled into his chest.
"You did good," he assured.
Y/N let go- much too quickly in George's opinion.
"You look terrible, " Fred noted. His hands with minds of their own made it their mission to pat the dust off of the girl's hair.
"Thank, I feel terrible," she answered.
"Right then. Let's go. Only part one and two of our mission has been completed. Can't get caught at the scene of the crime," Fred cheered.
The three shuffled out of the stuffy room and stretched their limbs with much pleasure.
They then shuffled down the dark hallway casually. It wasn't like they'd ever been caught before. Scratch that. It wasn't like Y/N had ever been caught before. Fred and George were another story. They had pretty much trademarked their pranks, and Y/N was merely an accomplice. No one would ever guess it was the quiet girl whom no one ever bothered to second a glance at.
With the lack of talking, Y/N thought it best not to mention the injury that was dripping tiny red droplets down her fingers. Less talking meant less chance of being heard. But Merlin did it sting like a hell.
George was the first of the trio to reach the end of the hallway.He stuck his head around the corner and deemed the coast as clear. Fred and Y/N too sneaked around the corner and followed their lookout. None of the troublemakers liked this hallway one bit. It was much too open for their liking and there wasn't a single hidden nook or cranny to shelter them from Filch or the teachers. And it was nearly impossible to hide in the shadows when the entire stretch was lit up by the moon's beams. One would have no choice but to leap right out of the window if they really wanted to avoid being caught.
But with George leading and Fred behind her, Y/N had no reason to fret. For whatever reason, the twins took it upon themselves to set up in a formation where Y/N could easily have been covered in the chance case of actually being discovered. She'd assumed that it was because the boys felt bad for dragging her along their midnight adventures.
As soon as the three were within the dim light, Y/N took it upon herself to asses her own injury. All the girl could really see were dark smudges across her hand. It was certainly a large nick, but not too deep. It still stung either way. She wondered if any of the girls in her dorm had any bandages, and if they would mind waking up at midnight to allow her to use them. Probably not.
Y/N's poor, nearly blind eyes (Though this was a major exaggeration) squinted harshly at the dark corridor they'd just stumbled upon. She almost wished they were back in that stupid hallway. At least she could see anything there.
She wasn't sure when, but apparently the girl had settled into walking next to Fred; since there was obviously no need for cover at this point.
However, she stuck to Fred's side like a moth would to a flame. The girl cursed herself for not bringing a hoodie or jumper. It would've been too much of a hassle to dig out in the first place. Instead, she glued herself to the tall boy's side to steal his body heat like the freezing parasite she was.
"Trying to pull some moves now are we? I didn't take you for that type," he spoke abruptly.
"What? No, shut up. I'm just cold..That's all," She sputtered.
Y/N didn't know why she answered the way she did. Truly, she didn't mean to, but now that Fred had brought it up, she began to worry. What if she had come across as flirting? Why was it a bad thing? Why was she not actually worried too much if it was a bad thing or not? And since when had her friend started thinking like that?
"Here," said he quietly.
Y/N being the blind bat she was, couldn't tell what was happening for second before she felt something warm being thrown over her head. Gasp. Fred's sweater. "Thanks."
Careful to mind her bloodied hand, the girl slipped her arms through the sleeves, poked her head through the neck hole and let the large garment absolutely bury her in fabric. Looks like Y/N was going to start investing in over sized clothing. She couldn't tell if it was the fact that she was freezing earlier or that the sweater was kept toasty by its previous wearer, but Y/N was never going to take it off. Not to mention, it smelled amazing. Now Y/N was no sweater sniffer, but she swore she could detect hints of the Burrow and Molly's cooking. Honestly, where had this sweater been all her life? Oh right. On Fred Weasley.
Y/N, who had been stalking too close to the wall, felt her world tip as her foot caught on a structure that jutted out like the inconvenience that it was. "Shit!" She yelped in surprise in a rather unladylike fashion.
Shit indeed. The twins whipped around to give Y/N a wide eyed, fearful look. Soft foot steps were heard from the hallway they'd only escaped from minutes ago. A light shined from the end of the corridor and only grew brighter and brighter with each second.
'bollocks,' she thought. Where to run? Where to hide? they were only on the fifth floor. So which secrets were hidden in this hallway?
The tapestry! How could she not have thought about it sooner?!
Hurriedly, she dragged the two boys to the worn tapestry hanging on the wall. The urge to cough when dust blew in her face upon swinging open the fabric was strong, but she managed to hold it off. The light was essentially illuminating half of the hallway by now. With a quiet grunt and a "Hey" from the twins, she shoved them into the hallway and shut the flap.
"Y/N?"
Guess it was time to meet her fate. The girl whipped around, not exactly startled, but still alarmed.
"Cedric!" Oh great the one boy she'd sort of wanted to see and she happened to at the worst possible time: at midnight with nothing but a weak handheld lantern to cast its light upon their visage.
"What are you doing out past curfew?" He questioned dutifully.
"What are YOU doing out past curfew," She rebutted.
He chuckled. "I'm a prefect. It's sort of my job."
Y/N face palmed with her uninjured hand. Of course! How could she forget?! Well Merlin, now she had to make an excuse for loitering past curfew. Oh she'd done it now.
"R-right. I was just...uhm..wandering! Yes wandering, a lot on my mind ya know. Good for clearing my head. Lost track of time I guess. Happens you know," she lied, though extremely unconvincingly.
There was no way she was getting out of this situation. Might as well go at it alone.
"Um right so I'll just be GOING TO THE COMMON ROOM NOW," she awkwardly enunciated. Yeah, the twins probably got the message. Like a new born fawn, she stumbled away for a few steps, hoping that she looked even the tiniest bit natural.
"Wait," Cedric called out.
'How bad would it look if I ran right now?..No I can't outrun him. Stupid perfect athletic captain of quidditch,' she speculated.
"Let me walk you back," he offered.
Y/N's jaw dropped ever so slightly. She seriously thought she was going to get ratted out or have points taken off. Instead, he just wanted to accompany her back to the common room? Why?
"To make sure you don't go wandering off again of course," he added lightheartedly.
A bit of Y/N felt dejected. Of course that was why. Why else would he accompany her...
"Yeah okay," she muttered.
Together, they padded through the halls, guided by the dull yellowish glow of Cedric's lantern. Neither student talked. They merely walked.
The girl would've felt awkward if she weren't so disheartened. Y/N didn't even know why she felt this way, but it made sense to be even the littlest bit angry. It wasn't Cedric's fault. But somehow it was at the same time. What did he ever do to her? Aside from being the absolutely gorgeous wizard he was. Merlin who let this boy get that pretty?
Y/N found herself feeling much more self conscious than before she encountered the Hufflepuff. She focused on every individual brick of stone that she passed for fear that she'd die if she looked at the boy instead.
"Are you alright?" he asked seemingly out of nowhere. Or Y/N had been more outwardly disgruntled than she thought. Oh no! What if she was looked like she didn't want Cedric around?!
"Oh it's nothing," she lied, waving her hand around carelessly.
"What's that?" he pointed out.
"What's...oh-" The girl hastily stuffed her hand into the sleeve of Fred's jumper. Oh dear, what if she got blood on it? "Accident. Nothing to worry about," she blurted.
"May I?" he asked as he held out his hand.
Thoughts of that night stumbled and crashed through Y/N's head.
Y/N was a private person. She rarely ever shared her thoughts or deep emotions with anyone. Especially not her vulnerabilities. She just didn't know how most of the time.
But Cedric let her near that night. So she should do the same.
Hesitantly, she scrunched up the overly long sleeve and revealed her bloodied hand to the prefect. Blimey, it looked much worse than it felt. At this point, she'd been trudging through so much that her wound was nothing more than an inconveniencing dull ache in her palm.
When she placed her upturned palm on the hufflepuff's she happily noted that all the blood had dried looked more of a crusty brown color. Much less alarming than when actual crimson droplets spewed out of her skin.
"I suppose I should return the favor from the world cup," said Cedric.
Y/N tensed in embarrassment. "Sorry again."
"You don't need to apologize."
"Right sorry. Oh uh sorry um I'll just stop talking now." What a fool this boy has made her into.
He only flashed that dazzling smile in amusement. "Terego."
Y/N watched with slight awe as tiny pieces of her own dried plasma chipped away piece by piece and disappeared until her hand looked like it had been before the accident. Minus the gash of course. Speaking of, the wound didn't look too bad now. Most likely because it wasn't covered in the danger substance.
"Episkey," he mumbled.
Y/N's hand sealed up and seemed to revert to the time before the spider harassed her. She opened and closed her hand a few times and was quite satisfied when her her now nonexistent wound didn't sting and burn when she did so. "Thanks."
"No problem. "
Y/N wasn't sure how much long she could take of this. Why did she have to get so nervous around him? He's only the most attractive, kind, sweet, and charming boy in Hogwarts.
"Y'know, I was sort of hoping to see you under different circumstances," he said a bit shyly, as if testing new waters.
Meanwhile, Y/N once again felt the horror of possibly getting in trouble. "Same," she absentmindedly replied, already wrapped up in the thought of her wilting away in detention. "Wait...huh?"
Cedric smiled knowingly but said nothing else.
Y/N had never been more happy to see the painting of the fat lady down the hallway. Apparently, this feeling was quite reciprocated by the painting, who sighed happily as the two approached.
"My my, what have I done to be blessed by you two strapping young lovers. Not sneaking out at night for a rendezvous are we?" she asked with that full, hearty voice that could only belong to that one wine aunt who would gossip at every family reunion. Merlin, Y/N wished the fat lady was asleep right now.
"No, we're not..." Cedric started.
"A couple.." Y/N finished.
"But you two would make a great pair. You even finish each other's sentences! My, I haven't seen such a good looking pair since back in my hay day," she rambled. The two students gave each other a wonky look that yelled "I can't believe I'm hearing this right now." But both smiled at the absurdity of it all.
"Balderdash," Y/N sighed.
Eventually, the fat lady quit her yammering and swung open the painting. "Night," she bid shyly, wondering if the way she said it sounded weird or not.
"I'll see you around Y/N," said he, before walking down the hall and disappearing from sight.
Said girl climbed through the portrait hole while wondering what that was supposed to mean. He was hoping to see her? He was going to see her around? Did that mean he wanted to see her? Or was he being polite? Did that count as flirting? There was no way anyone would flirt with her though. That was absurd. Maybe he was simply the type of person to flirt casually with people. Y/N had definitely heard of those types of people before.
The common room was quite dim when she got to it. Though the fire was crackling ever so slightly, it was nearly gone. Unlike earlier, the two ginger heads of hair sticking out from the couch were shielded in darkness rather than burning in the firelight.
"Hey," she greeted quietly.
Two identical, happy faces turned to greet her. "Smooth talker now are we," they teased together.
"Shut up you dimwits. I'll have you know I didn't get detention or any house points taken off," she chirped as she sat-or more appropriately balanced- on the top of the couch. "I'd say that's a win if anything."
"Blimey, you're good," George complimented.
"Thanks, I'm just brilliant like that." She yawned. "I'm going to sleep now. And if you two try to wake me again, I might just murder you this time."
"I'd like to see you try," Fred taunted.
She stuck out her tongue, flicked his forehead, and slid off the couch lazily. "Night."
~
As usual, a groggy Y/N woke up to her friend harshly shaking her awake. The girl could've swore Hermione was saying something along the lines of "Ten minutes" and "Going to be late", but she was far too tired to care.
"Five more minutes," she grumbled as she threw the sheets over her head for that much welcomed darkness, only to gasp when her comfort spot was violated. Her comfortable blanket was no longer on her ever so cold body, but in Hermione's hands. "You're so mean Hermioneeee," she whined, finally opening her crusty eyes and squinting at the fully dressed girl.
Drearily, Y/N tumbled out of bed and left to clean up for the day.
Now Y/N wasn't talented in much aside from sneaking around. She couldn't sing without croaking like an out of tune frog. She couldn't dance with her awful two left feet. She couldn't blow into an instrument even with the best teacher in the world. And she certainly wasn't the best wizard around. But at least she could practice the art of speeding through her morning routine like the flash.
In a few short minutes, the girl had already made herself presentable and thrown on her uniform. Though, she did so rather sloppily and skipped tucking her top into her skirt. Y/N decided she wouldn't be caught breaking uniform policy if she simply kept her robe on at all times.
Hermione was already waiting for the not so early bird in the common room. "How about next time, you let me sleep to the very last minute and I'll just skip breakfast?" the tired girl suggested.
Her bushy haired friend promptly delivered a smack to the girl's shoulder. "That's not how it works! You need to eat breakfast," Hermione scolded as she climbed out of the portrait hole with Y/N.
The two girls rushed down the halls in a routine like fashion. This type of behavior occurred far too many times for it not to be normal. Even other students knew better than to dawdle around the hallway when Hermione and Y/N were storming right through it.
Though this day felt oddly out of routine. Yes the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs were freely ranging bout the castle now, but the hallway seemed much more crowded than usual. She could give a free pass to the newcomers for not stepping aside, but even the returning students stopped in their tracks and shot double takes.
"It's not my fault Fred and George convinced me to plant a dung bomb in Filch's office," Y/N muttered.
Her friend skid to a halt with an expression of complete and utter shock on her face. "You must be joking! Breaking curfew! Planting that in a faculty's office!" she shrilly exclaimed. "You could've been caught and expelled!"
"Yes well I'll have you know I was caught, but NOT expelled," Y/N retorted as she continued walking but at a normal pace.
She wouldn't have thought it possible to push her friend to such a point, but Hermione was most certainly fuming. So much so that Y/N was just the tiniest bit nervous for once. "But he didn't take away house points or give me detention or anything!" she quickly added. "He just walked me back to the common room."
"Y/N you got lucky, but you've got to stop doing that."
"Doing wha- Oh pardon me," she yelped as she bumped into a random Durmstrang student. An attractive student too. Tall, sculpted jawline, curly dark brown hair, pretty hazel eyes. No doubt an upperclassman.
"No, the pleasure was all mine," the student replied strangely. "I'm Xander, by the way," he introduced, sticking out his hand to presumably shake.
Y/N eyed his hand, then Hermione for some silent advice. "Y/N," she finally replied, giving him her own hand. In an unexpected turn of events, the boy named Xander promptly took her hand and raised it to his lips. A soft kiss was placed on Y/N's knuckles.
The girl's eyes bulged out of her sockets and immediately darted to her friend. What the bloody hell was this. "I'll see you around," said the boy before walking off down the hall casually.
"That was..."
"Strange...Let's just go."
Throughout breakfast, the girl stared blankly ahead. Now that she was not in motion, she was essentially a sloth. It wasn't until she made eye contact with Harry did she really wake up. "Y/N, it's time for class," said the boy.
"Right," she muttered before getting up out of the bench.
"See ya later Y/N," the twins bid at the same time as she walked off with her three other friends.
~
Arithmancy? Boring. Care of Magical creatures? Slightly boring. Herbology? Bland. History of Magic? Bland but with a spicy kick.
Caroline Adwell. The only person Y/N knew before attending Hogwarts. An upbeat, charismatic, yet talented in qudditch and every other aspect of life, muggle. Unconventional, with an Italian background and possible ties to the muggle mafia, and a great grandfather who may or may not have assaulted an enemy with a fork to the eye. And unfortunately, a Ravenclaw. There wasn't anything wrong with being Ravenclaw. Just that it meant that Y/N would hardly ever have class with the girl. The only class the two shared just happened to be the worst one: History of Magic.
Though Professor Binns' constantly droning and lack of attention served as ample opportunity to chat within class. It wasn't like the professor would notice anyways. The ghost was too busy droning listlessly about French wizards and enchanted guillotines and whatnot.
"Someone's popular," the Ravenclaw observed.
"What?"
"Girl, everyone's been checking you out since you arrived," Caroline insisted.
"Um no. Why would they do that? Last time I checked, I still don't exist."
"Well check again. I don't know what that air in the states did to you but now you have these things," she stated, pointing at Y/N's chest, "And the face of a goddess."
"That's mad. I do not," the girl refuted.
"Sureee sweetie. And have you had any strange encounters with boys recently?"
"Well this one dude did that fancy hand kiss thing, but I'm sure he was being polite."
"Merlin Y/N! That boy was hitting on you! Who was it?" she exclaimed.
"He was not hitting on me Caroline. Like I said, he was just being polite. Maybe it's a cultural thing."
"Whatever you say Y/N. But if any boy starts harassing you, tell me. I'll fork them," she threatened.
"Calm down, I don't need you to tear the mickey out of anyone."
~
Caroline's words, however, stuck to Y/N for the rest of the day. Not the forking of course, but the ones about boys. It was impossible not to think about that when at least four other boys reacted the same way that Xander bloke did. Not to mention, she'd met more boys than she'd ever need to in a lifetime. Suspicious to say the least.
So fine. Maybe Y/N was attractive. So what? She was still her, and she still only liked associating with her close circle of friends (Which now apparently included Cedric Diggory for some reason).
At least these strange interactions stopped by the second day. And when I say, stopped, I mean Y/N started taking ...alternative routes, and promising to meet up again with the trio in the next class.
"Hey guys," she called, as she emerged from a random cell door, startling her friends who were only passing by the dungeons to get to potions.
"Blimey Y/N. How'd you get there?" Ron questioned.
"Lot of ladder climbing," she answered.
Harry and Hermione both paused to pat some dust off of their friend. Had to at least attempt to look presentable. Though maybe this was just a ploy from Harry to avoid potions class or at least stall their inevitable doom. Y/N too agreed with this method. She was absolutely horrendous at anything involving potions.
The classroom was just as dank, cold, and dark as she had last remembered it at the end of last term. Yet still, she hated it with a burning passion. The girl had been called on only to embarrass herself with the wrong answers farrrr too many times.
Unwillingly, she took her usual seat besides Hermione and waited. 3....2....1.
The door slammed open and in came the teacher that Y/N and Harry hated the most. His dark robes swished marvelously across the floor as the professor stormed into the classroom. Y/N sighed under her breath. So dramatic.
"We will begin this year with a project, given your deplorable exam scores from the previous year. You will be assigned a partner for this project, but you will not be given class time to work on this. Written here is a list of potions you and your partner must brew for the other to drink by next month. You will document your findings in an essay and turn it in by November."
Y/N's head snapped to throw a horrified look at her friends. Since when did they do partnered projects in this school? For potions of all subjects too. And wasn't Snape even the least bit concerned for poisonings. Merlin that was a lot of work!
"The best students will be paired..with the worst," the teacher continued.
And like that, Y/N was no longer in panic mode. It was perfect. Hermione was arguably the best student in class, and Y/N was comparably one of the worst! Hermione would be forced to help the girl in potions and they would both get a decent grade.
"Now, I will begin listing your partners. Harry Potter with Neville Longbottom-"
Expected. Of course Snape would stick to the houses. What Slytherin would ever want to fraternize with a Gryffindor?
"Hermione Granger with Pavarti Patil." Oh brilliant, Y/N's hope was absolutely destroyed. She visibly frowned as her back slouched in the stool. Well this was a rather disappointing turn of events. The girl's eyes began scanning the classroom's Gryffindors in wonder of who she'd be paired with. Her next best option, believe it or not, seemed to be Ron. After all, he did help brew the Polyjuice potion back in their second year, and he wasn't too bad in this class. Plus, she was already good friends with Ron and didn't need to engage in any awkward introductory type conversations or small talk.
"Y/N L/N with Draco Malfoy."
'WHAT?!'