Puppet Strings (Hogwarts x Reader)

Chapter 5

Y/n sighed. "I'm still pissed off. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Harry muttered, embarrassed.

A moment of silence.

"It really hurt, Harry," Y/n said quietly. "We have to stick together. We're family."

Harry nodded. "I know. I was being stupid. Hermione told me as much."

"She was right to."

Harry looked out the window. It was getting late. "I have Quidditch training soon. But I promise I won't ignore you anymore, okay?"

Y/n hesitated, then nodded.

Harry smiled, relieved, then turned and left.

Now Y/n could only wonder how Ron was going to react to Harry's new decision.

***

It went poorly.

Very poorly.

Where Ron had at least sort of tried to hide his disdain for Y/n in the beginning, he was now openly cold. Each time Ron saw her in the hallway he'd glare at her.

"Don't take it to heart," Hermione had told Y/n. "He's mad at me too; Crookshanks keeps trying to get after Scabbers. I'll bet that has put him in an even worse mood than usual."

"Yeah, but does he give you the same glare he usually reserves for Malfoy?"

Hermione had gone silent at that.

***

Halloween morning, Y/n awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast. It was supposed to be the first Hogsmeade weekend for third years, though she and Harry would be staying behind because of a lack of permission forms.

She was disappointed, of course, but maybe that was a good thing. She and Harry could spend some time together without Ron scowling at Y/n every moment he got.

Y/n found Harry in the hallway near the library.

"Hey," he said. She could see he was much more depressed about being left behind than she was.

"Hey," she echoed. "Come on, don't look so down. I'm sure Ron and Hermione will bring you back loads of sweets from Honeydukes."

Harry nodded, though he didn't look convinced. They walked around the corner of the corridor and came face to face with Filch.

"What are you doing?" Filch snarled suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Harry truthfully.

"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own — why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

Harry shrugged.

"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until Harry and Y/n had passed out of sight.

"Let's no go back to the common room," Harry said. "Colin Creevey is there, and I don't want him to...I dunno. Ask me to sign his book or something."

Y/n laughed as they rounded another corridor. They were walking along when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry? Y/n?"

They doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione? Val and Sol?"