Sigh, Teenagers

The young L/N didn't show up to work on the project the next Monday.

Now Y/N wasn't one to change when she'd already set her mind on something, but she never squeezed through those dusty, decrepit books at four o clock after school that day.

She wasn't with the twins, or Harry or Hermione or Ron or Caroline. And she definitely wasn't with Draco Malfoy. So where could Y/N L/N be?

As the lone teenager sat rigidly in the dark without a single sliver of light, she too wondered where she was. She wondered about many things in that space. How her friends were doing, how her parents were faring, how the floor was so uncomfortable, how long it would take her to get out, and how she had gotten in there in the first place.

It started that afternoon. No. Almost a week and a few days ago.

All because Pansy Parkinson fancied Draco Malfoy. But then again, who wouldn't?

Y/N should've been more worried about the girl who'd been glaring tiny holes into the side of her head for something she couldn't control, but she really wasn't. If the Gryffindor had the balls, she would've marched up to the unsatisfied Slytherin and demanded to switch places with the girl. If Pansy wanted Draco so badly, she could have him. But she didn't.

So Miss. L/N ignored whatever the Slytherin girl had thought she was doing for the past week. Clearly, Pansy's intimidation strategy wouldn't stop her self proclaimed lover from interacting with a girl that was now the prettiest in school. Miss Parkinson wasn't too secure with her ability to keep the broody, distant boy, so she fixed it the only way she could think of.

Y/N didn't mention it to anyone that week. Not Harry, nor Ron, nor the twins, nor Hermione, nor Caroline. There was no possible way Y/N could get a stalker at that age, and surrounded by kids that had much better things to do with their time. So she ignored it, passing off the unsettling feeling of eyes on the back of her head as nothing. Besides, these prying eyes weren't present at night when Y/N was sneaking out past curfew for snacks, so she concluded that it was completely harmless. If the unknown witch or wizard wanted to do something, they could've already.

Y/N carried on with her life at Hogwarts as she normally did. Studied with her friends in the common room, gorged herself on treacle tart when it was available at supper, snuck out at night, Nearly fell off the clock tower after being persuaded by the twins to dangle Filch's keys off the sizeable bell that hung at the very top. So the usual.

Even terrifyingly alone with no one to talk to but the walls, Y/N managed to crack a goofy smile at the memory. Through the thick fabric of her black school robes, the girl could feel the ghost of Fred's hands on her waist, keeping her from falling over the railing.

Oh how she wished to be back in the clock tower nearly falling off a railing just to play a mean trick with her two (almost) favorite Weasleys: they still couldn't cook, so Molly Weasley would remain the favorite until they learned to.

The girl's barely perceivable (E/C) eyes gazed at the nearly pitch black floor. Her fingers traced the seams of her school robe, taking in the soft texture and slowly coming to appreciate how she'd never found them uncomfortable.

In the dark, Y/N wondered if she was going insane yet. There was no light source, and her wand was off in some unknown location. The girl wasn't much for a timekeeper, and could only guess that she'd been in this place for what? Three hours maybe? It could've been ten minutes. Maybe even five, but time was nonexistent in the shadows with only her fleeting thoughts to keep her company.

There was absolutely nothing to do. She'd even begun wishing to return to the study hall to do her schoolwork. But noooo, Y/N just had to finish early to go to the library to read her silly little muggle books.

If she'd stayed behind and finished her work just the tiniest bit slower, maybe she could've been walking with Harry to the library right now. She'd have much rather preferred that over her current scenario. And not just because she was stuck in some broom cupboard somewhere in the castle, but because she liked being with Harry.

Harry was calm, mostly quiet, somewhat of a pacifist if Y/N was being honest. But she really liked that about the boy. Hermione could be overbearing sometimes and Ron was a little too blunt for Y/N's liking. The black haired boy was just right. Great company to be around and always sweet and caring in that awkward way.

Y/N just liked hanging with Harry Potter. It felt like second nature to her. Neither talked very much unless they needed to, but that was alright. They didn't need to attempt to make small talk and such, and that was brilliant for Y/N.

But no matter how hard she tried to think of happy thoughts, the event of her arrival always seemed to come back. Her fingers began to grip the edges of her robe instead and wrinkled the fabric as she pictured the scene. She tried not to be too emotional about it, fearing that her friends or a stranger would discover her with tears dripping down her face, squished into the corner, in the dark.

She was a bit emotional at first, pounding on the door and screaming "let me out" like her life depended on it. Though she soon realized the perpetrators weren't going to let her out. Not until her study session with the Slytherin Prince was over.

Y/N was neither angry or scared or panicked when she reviewed that fresh memory.

It was too straight forward. There was really nothing the girl could've done to avoid it when it happened. The lovesick Slytherin girl an entourage, nothing a unathletic bookish girl could stave off. They ambushed Y/N around the corners of the second floor corridor, a good three minute sprint away from safety.

Though, it was surprising that the group used brute force instead of magic on her. Maybe they hadn't learned any spells to match this precarious situation yet. There was also no way they could've threatened Y/N with their wands. Especially not when Y/N was Harry Potter's best friend. Everyone knew the disarming spell was his number one go-to specialty.

'Smart," Y/N thought. Pansy had brought two of her foul friends with her. A tall, blonde girl whom Y/N had never gotten to the know the name of, and an athletic looking boy with spiky Brown hair. She wondered if the boy could have been into quidditch, since it seemed to be the only prominent wizard sport around.

Despite her disadvantage, Y/N didn't go down without a fight. When her wand was snatched away from her by the pug-faced girl, the Gryffindor resorted to all sorts of methods. Kicking, biting, scratching, punching.

If she ever got out of the tiny broom cupboard they had shoved her into, Y/N was going to have to check whether a big purple bruise would form on the blonde girl's left eye. Or if the quidditch player's hand would show a mark after she bit into it to yell bloody murder.

One thing was for sure though. She knew her friends would be proud. Though her parents would not be satisfied to hear that Y/N may have lost her wand in the scuffle. She frowned at the thought of a lost or broken wand for the rest of the year, and how much Ron struggled with his broken wand their second term. Oh her mother was going to kill her when she found out!

With nothing else to do, the lonely girl closed her eyes and pictured every single moment she could. Walking. Then being snatched by two pairs of arms. The sudden realization that the arms were nowhere near any of her friends'.

Then she was staring at a pug. No! It was mean to think of Pansy as a pug right? Or was it okay because the Slytherin girl and her gang shoved Y/N into a closet somewhere in the second floor? Either way, the girl could faintly recall Miss Parkinson snatching her wand and saying someone about keeping Y/N away from her "Draci-poo."

Oh Merlin! Draci-poo! If she ever got out of the damned broom cupboard, she would never stop calling her potions partner Draci-poo. Because honestly! Who would want to be called Draci-poo?!

Even Y/N wouldn't wish that type of nickname upon any of her worst enemies. If she even had any enemies.

A flash of hot anger accompanied with a chill of panic raced through her body. She was really stuck in a dank, dusty, musty storage cupboard, alone. Oh what was she going to do!? There was no use in screaming or thrashing against the door. The second floor corridor was rarely traversed by students (Not at this time anyways) and it was likely that Pansy had put some type of silencing charm on the wood.

Once again, another thing that Y/N was not the most brilliant at was athleticism. There was absolutely no way she could kick down or bust through the door. The door itself was probably older than Dumbledore for Merlin's sake! Currently that was the only old person she could think of, but the point still stood.

Unless that meant that it would've been rotted or weakened over time. Not a bad theory. With more vigor than before, the girl jumped into a standing position and readied herself. Mentally at least. Y/N was still but a teenage girl so really how could she have prepared herself to ram into a piece of wood?

With all her energy, she charged at the door. THUMP! and a groan. Bad idea. Horrible really. The tired girl slid to the floor and hissed as she gripped her shoulder. It would either bruise or be extremely sore. Or both.

That feeling of chilly helplessness crawled back into her veins and drained Y/N of all her energy. She tried not to cry as she laid her head against the rough, stone wall beside the door. Fortunately, she was best friends with the dark. So she let the suffocating darkness embrace her as she closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

And eventually, there was no need to manually steady her every inhale and exhale for the calm lull of sleep stole away the tired girl's consciousness and promised her of sweet dreams.

~

It wasn't Hermione. No. Whoever's hand was gently shaking her shoulder was nothing like Hermione's hurricane wake up calls. It was someone she'd awoken to before. Someone who she was glad to be guiding her back to consciousness.

Harry!

Her E/C eyes shot open to stare at a pair of brilliant green irises. Without thinking, Y/N launched herself off the floor and onto her savior and friend. Her arms found their way around his neck as she crashed into his unprepared body. Both teens fell onto the floor in a way almost reminiscent of that fateful day at the Quidditch world cup.

Oh how she missed human interaction! And that was saying a lot, since she usually preferred to keep away from it.

The now emancipated girl spotted the wand that she had accidentally knocked out of her friend's hand, then gasped. She quickly made use of what little light was provided by the corridor's torches to search for her own discarded magical tool. Meanwhile, Harry merely got up off the floor and stared, dumbfounded at his friend's strange behavior.

E/C orbs landed on a dark brown stick protruding from the hand of a nearby statue and widened. The teen's swift legs carried her to the stone figure and her fingers deftly snatched her prized possession back. The girl then turned back to her friend, who continued to stare at her.

Harry's thick eyebrows were furrowed together and his mouth was in a thin line. Y/N could now see that he was breathing somewhat heavily as if he had been running, and his marauder's map was crinkled lightly in his hand.

"What? Why were you in the cupboard? Where have you been all this time?" He demanded, almost angrily: the type of angry that a loved one would use when their friend was doing something stupid.

"I...Well-"She began.

"Y/N! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Hermione shouted from the end of the hallway as she and Ron jogged up to the girl.

The girl's eyes flickered between her friends ,and she felt a surge of pride at what wonderful friends she had discovered. A wonky grin sprung onto the girl's pretty features as she thought about it. Hermione-bless her frazzled motherly soul- smacked her friend's shoulder with disbelief.

"Why are you smiling?! We've been looking everywhere for you!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, we knew something must've happened when you didn't show up for supper but Malfoy did," said Ron.

"Did they have custard tart tonight?" the girl asked absentmindedly, now realizing how hungry she was.

"Y/N!" Harry snapped, "Why were you in that cupboard?" he finally asserted, and sadly interrupted Ron who was about to say that she did in fact miss the custard tart that night and would have to wait until they served it again in a few days.

"Fine," the girl grumbled, walking on towards the direction of the grand staircase so her body had something to do while she talked. Or else she wouldn't have known how to function due to awkwardness. "So...You know Pansy Parkinson?" She started.

"Yeah, Pug Faced Pansy. What about her?" replied Ron. Meanwhile, Hermione's much quicker brain put two and two together and she gasped. Harry's less genius but still intelligent, driven mind did so soon after.

"Well...You see...She and her friends sort of shoved me into a closet and threw my wand away. But we're all good now! So no need to worry!" She quickly assured, eager to calm her friends down. It wasn't that Y/N wasn't mad-she definitely was. The girl just knew better than to make a scene out of it or to cry out into angered outbursts.

"I can't believe those Slytherins!" cried Ron furiously. "Evil I tell you! Every one of them! We have to do something!"

Harry, the ever so silent one watched on, his brows still furrowed with displeasure. Harry wasn't one to take revenge unless extremely provoked, and now was definitely the time. He just didn't know what to do. Storm the Slytherin common room? Fight a girl? Both were extremely bad ideas. But still, he wanted so desperately to charge up and wreck the entire house.

"We still have to do something!" Harry shouted.

"Tell Professor Mcgonagall." Hermione suggested.

"Can you all just quiet down! I just want to go sleep right now okay." Y/N finally shouted over them. One look at Harry's murderous eyes told Y/N he wasn't going down without a fight. Though Y/N admired how loyal the chosen one was, she was sore from the closet and wouldn't be dealing with it tonight.

"But-" he started.

"No buts," she countered sternly before hurrying up the shifting stair case. Harry quickly caught up to the girl and attempted to get her to look at him.

They were at the 6th floor now. "What about tomorrow morning?" Y/N paused to stare into his pretty green eyes and sighed heavily. She wished she could lie to him but not with those entrancing emeralds he called his eyes.

"Look Harry, I don't know what you want to me to do, why can't you just leave it alone?"

"Cause-" Cause she was important to him. Because he liked when she hung around him and smiled and laughed and popped in and out of his life with those secret passageways of hers. Cause he hated that she spent hours alone, defenseless, and probably terrified and he couldn't be there for her sooner. But the words never came to him. Hell the thoughts never came to him. Just vague unexplainable emotions. "Well, why aren't you angry about it?!" he instead insisted.

"Because it's not a big deal Harry. Just....Just drop it okay? It's alright now," she pleaded. Her black haired friend remained silent and she took it as his acceptance. The last few steps to the portrait of the fat lady were quiet.

Y/N told the lady the password and climbed inside the portrait hole without another word.

The identical ginger troublemakers she called friends were on the couch when she stepped inside. They greeted her with happy grins and open hearts. "Where've you been?" They asked in that loving, teasing manner they always had.

"Closet," the girl replied briskly before scurrying to the girl's dormitory.

Fred and George were confused but still amused. What a strange girl they were so fond of. A strange girl indeed.

Then the golden trio shuffled into the red common room, wearing collective grim expressions that screamed the need to discuss something. The two boys' smiles faltered for a split second. Everything was alright wasn't it?

~

Y/N abused her access to the kitchens too much. Though maybe in this scenario, it was reasonable. Right? After all, the girl did miss dinner that night and needed some sort of sustenance to survive. Yes that was being dramatic, but Y/N had a beautiful, close relationship with food.

It was around ten thirty that night when she snuck into the torch-lit kitchen. Many house elves had retired for the night, but some restless workers stayed late to serve whoever may approach their lair. Mostly Y/N and a few Hufflepuffs from time to time.

Tonight, Dobby manned the kitchens. He toddled around the room giddily with the colorful garments that signified his freedom. A wonderous sight indeed.

"Y/N L/N has come to visit!" He exclaimed after spotting the girl.

The hospitable house elf then guided the girl to a table to sit. "Hey Dobby, sorry I'm not with Harry," she said, knowing full well that Harry was Dobby's favorite person in the world.

"It's okay, Dobby likes when Y/N visits because Dobby can serve Y/N!" He gleamed cheerily.

Y/N almost frowned, feeling bad that the house elf was so willing to work for her when she could've gotten some food for herself. "It's okay Dobby, no need to serve me. You can just keep me company today," she tried to dissuade.

"Nonsense!" he squeaked. "Whatever Y/N needs, Dobby is happy to provide," he assured.

She paused for a second. That feeling of hesitancy never left Y/N. Not once since Dobby began working at Hogwarts. But if it truly made him happy, Y/N would oblige with Dobby's wants just as he would do the same for her.

"D'you, Um is there still custard tart left? Brilliant choice Y/N! Who needed to be healthy when they had sweets to fill their stomach?

"We do!" the excitable house elf cheered as he hopped away to produce the dessert.

At the same time, two ginger heads of hair popped up through the now thrown open portrait hole and then two lanky bodies followed suit. The light atmosphere of the room seemed to shift immediately. Dobby recognized this and took this as his cue to leave. After placing a place with a slice of custard tart and a fork down for the girl, he vanished into thin air.

"Why didn't you tell us why you were in the closet?" Fred began. Damn it, one of her friends snitched.

"Because it wasn't worth telling. I'm here aren't I?" she stated before taking a bit of the tart with the silver fork and placing it into her mouth. By now, the twins had settled into their usual seats but had a serious look to them. None of the teasing from earlier that night. Rats! She really thought she'd gotten away from that.

"Y/N," George warned like a mother scolding her child. Y/N had never seen the twins so serious in her life. Nor this outraged. It was nothing like Harry or Ron's outbursts, but she could tell there was rage simmering in their eyes.

"Fine, I got stuck in a closet cuz of Pansy and her goons, happy?" She admitted vehemently. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Glad you asked," they chimed simultaneously. Oh no. "Why don't we throw dung bombs into the Slytherin common room and lock them all inside? Would be some great pay back don't'cha think?" Fred, the instigator, suggested.

Y/N looked to George for help, hoping that his mediator mind would suggest otherwise, but his dark eyes told her all she needed to know. "No," said she.

"What do you mean no? They locked you in a cupboard for hours!" George nearly shouted.

"Yes, but not all Slytherins are responsible for this. Besides, I've got a better idea." Then in came another bite of her tart.

"Yeah? And what's your plan?" Fred questioned, his entire upper body angled towards the girl.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

~

Y/N went to bed that night with no idea what her plan was. She just didn't want the twins taking things too far on her behalf. But Y/N was still a brilliant mind when she needed to be, and this situation called for it.

The next morning, Y/N was forced out of her blanket haven with less struggle than the usual amount. Clearly, Hermione took notice and gave the girl a strange look. The bushy haired book nerd had known her friend long enough to see that Y/N was planning something, and it worried her slightly. Though she said nothing of it.

Somehow, Y/N and Hermione were able to meet Harry and Ron in the common room for once. Had it not been for the sleepy girl every morning, the boys would have been the ones considered to be late to breakfast. The two didn't mind. It was a rare occasion but not unwanted.

"Morning Y/N," Harry greeted, but somehow sounded more awkward than he had planned. Maybe it was the staring. Y/N just sort of look really pretty and cheerful that morning, he couldn't help but stare.

"Morning," she returned before darting to the portrait hole.

"Woah there, where are you going?" Ron called.

"Library," she replied. "Don't worry. I'll be back before breakfast is over."

The girl scurried away quickly. Out the portrait hole and towards the haven of knowledge. It was virtually the same route to the grand hall anyways. Just minus the fact that the library was a floor above where she should've been eating breakfast.

With little hesitation, Y/N hopped down one of the grand staircases with her eyes glued to each step lest she accidentally fall victim to a sprained ankle. Yet at the last step she noticed the staircase had begun to shift, so the girl took one extra big hop and nearly crashed into someone.

"Oh sorry bout that," she apologized as she took a glance at the sculpted Adonis himself. Her eyes widened slightly as she remembered the world cup and the first night in school.

"Y/N? What're you in a rush for? Breakfast isn't over in a while," said Cedric.

"Oh uh I was just going to the library."

"Well aren't you studious," he complimented.

"Not exactly," she mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Well I'll be going now," she chirped before stepping past the boy in the meager hopes that she wouldn't make a fool of herself or reveal her plan and get in trouble.

"Wait I'll come along," he called, hurrying after the girl. The brunette didn't actually need to do anything in the library, however. It was really just a last minute decision the boy made. He figured now was a great time to attempt to spend time with Y/N as he hadn't seen her for weeks with his busy schedule. But what if that was on purpose? Maybe Y/N didn't want to see him and she was just being polite every time they interacted?

Extremely false. No one could simply NOT like Cedric Diggory.

"You don't mind do you?" He asked, just to make sure he wasn't intruding on possibly sacred alone time.

Merlin! Cedric Diggory wanted to accompany Y/N! Cedric Diggory wanted to accompany Y/N! Yes! Yes! "Of course!" She chimed. Then she paused, her mouth slightly open in retrospection. Brilliant! You've done it now Y/N. "Wait no. I-uh, I meant like of course you can come," she babbled.

"So I can tag along," he chuckled.

"Yessir," she replied nervously. Agh! Spending time with her crush could be incredibly nerve racking sometimes. Not that she didn't want to, but once again, Y/N was really bad at flirting, recognizing flirting, and also talking to Cedric in general.

"So how's school been so far?" he asked in an attempt to make small talk.

"Oh you know... The usual I suppose. Snape's still a git as always, the professors are giving us way too much homework, and I got locked in a closet by some slytherin yesterday. So nothing much," she explained quickly, not even comprehending the words that came out of her mouth until seconds later.

Cedric's pretty face turned into a frown as he looked at the girl. "What? Did you tell a professor?" he asked, concerned. Y/N shook her head and pressed her lips into an awkward, too wide smile.

"Do you want me to take house points off?" the prefect asked.

The two had arrived at the library when Y/N shook her head again, sending tiny strands of (H/C) locks swaying left and right. The girl lowered her voice as soon as they passed through the large double doors and effectively Madam Pince's desk. "No it's alright."

"Is there anything in particular you're looking for?" He asked as his eyes darted around the shelves of leather bound books.

'Anything even remotely close to an unforgiveable curse.' Oh wait. That would be suspicious wouldn't it. "I suppose you'll just have to find out won't you," she replied smoothly. As smoothly as she could attempt at the very least.

Her (E/C) eyes flickered to the keeper of knowledge like it was second nature. Which it truly was. Somehow her nights of lurking around the stone walls of this fine institution she attended, creeped its way into her days. Nonetheless, the less witnesses the better.

Y/N ducked into a promising aisle of bookshelves just by the section occupied by books on counter curses. She took note to check that section later. Y/N wasn't that evil after all.

Cedric let out a low whistle as he strode into the narrow space after the girl who had already begun to search for her desired knowledge. "Hexes?"

Y/N didn't answer. Instead, she made a shushing motion with her index finger and smiled. Somehow, her fingers found their way trailing down the worn spine of a text possibly older than she and her companion combined.

For someone who was skilled in scoping out her environment, the girl was doing an awfully brilliant job of missing the way the boy's aquamarine eyes watched the scene fondly.

There is a certain beauty in watching someone interact with something they love. Their eyes light up, sucking in all the stars that dot the night sky and the galaxies beyond comprehension. They always look as if in another dimension, alone with the object of their affection, where nothing could ever reach them.

But Cedric was in Y/N's little world now too. She parted her gaze from her book to see what the handsome Hufflepuff was up to. The brunette boy with his ever developing crush and his ever so terrifying confidence refused to look away, knowing that it would be too telling if he did.

Y/N cursed those two jewels wedged into the boy's eye sockets. Suddenly, the girl had forgotten how to breathe. The action in itself was so simple, yet so taxing. In and Out, in and out. Merlin! Was she even breathing normal in front of him?

She had had enough and quickly swiped a random book from the shelf to cover her probably blushing face with. Her eyes glued to the tiny, black letters scrawled across the pages with the intent to ignore her companion.

Eventually, Y/N found herself ensnared with the words that promised of whimsical, cruel, long lasting, hourly, anything you could think of, hexes and curses. She let her body prop against the large shelf as she perused the aged pages. And yet every few seconds, she'd let her wandering orbs find Cedric.

The first time, she noticed he too was entrapped in an old book, and leaning against the opposite shelf. The second time she noticed his thick, marvelously shaped brows twitched with every tiny micro expression he made when reading. The third time, she thought about how they always found themselves alone.

Usually though, they were always in the dark, in places they shouldn't have been. Y/N supposed their little library hangout? session? trip? date?? was a step up. A huge step up in fact. With the sunny, warm rays, she felt as if all her interactions with the boy weren't some figment of her imagination.

He was real, and he was right in front of her. In public. She had no idea in the slightest as to why it felt like such a big deal, but it just did.

The boy let out another low whistle as he flipped through a different book. "These are some pretty advanced hexes Y/N," he noted, glancing up at the girl. She didn't say a word, just let the butterflies wreck havoc in her body at the sound of her name.

"There's a whole three chapters dedicated to puking hexes too," he muttered, once again flipping through the pages.

"Really? I didn't know there were that much out there," she hummed, placing her book back into its previous, empty spot.

"Vomit every time you see muggle, slugs, every time you see someone you fancy, every time you hear balderdash..."

Y/N's head perked up immediately. Anxiously, she hurried up to the tall boy and eyed his book. "Can I see?"

"Yeah sure." Cedric tilted his book for Y/N, who had settled beside him, to see.

The girl was far too preoccupied to notice how her arm grazed against his or how blatantly they looked like a canoodling couple. It was no wonder that the fat lady jumped to so many conclusions without ever seeing the two together before.

But sadly, their beautiful little moment had to end. The bell tower from across the castle stole their last seconds together with its heavy chiming, signaling the end of the breakfast period.

"Well, I'll be going now, Professor Burbage doesn't like it when we're late to class. I'll see around then," she bid before taking the book from the Hufflepuff's hand and hurrying to Madam Pince's desk to check it out.

Cedric ever so gentlemanly stuck around until Y/N was out of the door, carrying her temporary copy of hexes. "Fourth years have a break during sixth period Thursday right?

The girl stopped in her tracks, wondering what the question was about. "We do."

Cedric's lips curved into a pleased smile that sent another shockwave of butterflies through Y/N. "So do sixth years. I'm usually in the middle courtyard. Feel free to join us-" He paused, nervous"- if you're not busy of course."

Y/N wanted to scream. She wanted so desperately to make a scene and collapse on the floor in a heap of mushy butterflies. It took everything in the girl's willpower to stop herself from looking any less than lovesick fool. "I think I'll take you up on that when I can," she replied, hoping that her voice didn't seem too strange.

"I'll see you then."

The boy walked back in the direction of the grand staircase while Y/N headed the opposite direction with her thick book and a dreamy grin on her lips. It wasn't until she was totally alone in the corridor that she began to jump victoriously, chanting "YES!" silently to herself.

Then an epiphany struck the poor fool. There was a measly minute left until class started. Y/N had never sprinted with such intensity in her entire life.

~

For the next week, Hermione noticed something off about the (H/C) haired Gryffindor. The girl was either extremely focused or distracted. Her mind never seemed to spend too long dilly dallying over the intricacies of ancient ruins, nor arithmancy, and certainly not potions.

Harry and Ron, who were far less intuitive than their bookish friend, simply assumed it was girl business, since Y/N seemed to disappear into a bathroom at every chance presented. Not to mention, the sudden increase of food being shoved hurriedly into the girl's mouth before she was dashing off to Merlin knows where.

In reality, Y/N was dashing off to experiment. Although, it was quite unlike the girl to try anything new without the two identical ginger menaces by her side. She wouldn't have wanted the boys to witness her puking her guts out every few hours whilst moaning Mrytle floated above her, laughing like she had been told the most humorous joke in the entire world.

Her first few attempts on Wednesday were failures all together. The sweets she had enchanted were nothing more than that: sweets. She knew whom she fancied was not the issue, for it was a fact that the photo of that boy from the band in America sparked her fancy. Yet, not a single sign of nausea, nor gagging, nor bile. Reluctantly, Y/N had to silently agree that she was glad not to be losing her lunch that day.

Thursday, Y/N managed to crush her own spirits when she didn't appear at the middle courtyard. She had murder on her mind, and Cedric could not get in the way. Even though she wished he would. Cedric Diggory was a sacrifice she needed to make to see through with her revenge.

However, the results were far better that day. The first try had the girl huddling on the floor of the bathroom stall wondering if she was really up for the challenge. The next try had her gagging and hunching over the girl's restroom toilet in great distress. Once the photo was removed from her line of sight, the girl was perfectly fine. Brilliant!

Third time's the charm they say. And indeed it was. Y/N had never puked before, and she never wanted to again. Especially not when a dead girl was floating above her shoulder, laughing shrilly about her misfortune. Needless to say, Myrtle didn't exactly like pretty girls very much.

While she only dosed herself with a single chocolate that lasted an hour, it was still quite the irritation. Y/N immediately felt nauseous the moment she regrouped with her friends to study for an upcoming transfiguration exam.

"Are you alright?" Harry had asked.

To which, Y/N felt the faintest hint of the urge to vomit creeping up her throat. Those bloody side effects!

"Yeah just feeling a bit under the weather that's all," she had replied, looking away and finally feeling the urge receding from her being.

Then later that night, the girl felt nauseous once again. At such an inconvenient time too. The moment she stepped into the great hall for dinner, she was feeling her already emptied stomach begging for revenge.

Y/N had not found a singe clue as to why the heavenly meal seemed so unappealing. Then, every time Fred or George leaned over to make a comment about Moody or Filch, she was trying her best not to hurl all over the table.

It wasn't until Y/N was alone again that the nausea evaded her.

~

Everything went smoothly that Friday. Everything. Pansy accepted the mysterious box of chocolates on her desk like it was nothing. Y/N knew that forging Draco's signature on the slip of paper was a brilliant choice. And poor Malfoy hadn't a single clue.

Especially not when Pansy Parkinson discarded her entire breakfast onto his pristine school shoes the second he walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts that morning. Moody was Moody to say the least. Pansy was sent straight to Madame Pomfrey, albeit with a bit of hesitancy.

The poor Slytherin Prince was harassed once again that night at supper. If his mood wasn't already atrociously ghastly from that morning, it was downright murderous when Parkinson reappeared for dinner without a cure from Pomfrey. And without her cure, the Slytherin girl spewed chunks right onto Malfoy's expensive school robes.

While the Great Hall's inhabitants collectively gasped in shock, Y/N received two well deserved high fives from the twins.

It was rather unfortunate that Y/N's bully had to have a thing for Malfoy. AKA, her partner. Y/N had without a doubt set herself up for doom that following Monday.

The blond was seething when she arrived in their little hidden corner. Y/N had barely shimmied through the stack of books at the entrance when Malfoy opened his permanently sneering mouth.

"Thought that being Saint Potter's friend meant you were too good for a pathetic little project did ya?" He spat, his lips already morphed into an ugly sneer.

Y/N simply sighed and dropped her books on the table. The girl was so screwed. How was she going to get out of Malfoy's wrath now? Though she noticed that most of her pre-potion brewing work had been completed and all the two really needed to do at this point was brew the calming draught, write the essay, and restart with the wit-sharpening potion.

Malfoy, however, clearly had other plans. The boy was out for blood and this time it was Y/N's. "Not talking now are we?" He pushed.

Y/N's eyes found themselves meeting Draco's smug, grey ones with an intensity that neither knew could exist. She stared him down, almost as if challenging him to continue. Oh why did her battles with Malfoy always end up like this?

"Can't even speak? You'd think all that time off dawdling , you'd learn word or two" he sneered.

With her teeth painfully gritted, Y/N abandoned her chair in favor of stalking around the table with the restrained fierceness of her house's namesake. The cornered Slytherin stood up from his seat, also strikingly on guard.

Despite his towering height, Y/N managed to remain unaffected. "I'll have you know-" she started, lessening the distance between her and the blonde with every step. "-that your-" she stopped to dig an accusing finger into his chest, "- daft, obsessed girlfriend locked me in a storage closet for hours!" She hissed.

"Parkinson is not my girlfriend," he retorted, staring back down upon the girl before swatting her hand away from his body.

"Well she sure acts like it. Draci-poo."

Then Y/N was gone, leaving a dumbstruck Draco in her wake. That stupid nickname!