❝Y/N Diggory loooves Harry Potter.❞
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧
( AN: this is a really long chapter but one of my favourites! Enjoy<3 )
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧
BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.
Signed: Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic
The notices had gone up all around the school overnight, but they did not explain how every single person within the castle seemed to know that Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, the Minister for Magic and his Junior Assistant to escape.
No matter where Y/N went within the castle, the sole topic of conversation was Dumbledore's flight.
"Dumbledore will be back before long," said Ernie Macmillan confidently on the way back from Herbology. "They couldn't keep him away in our second year and they won't be able to this time. The Fat Friar told me-" he dropped his voice conspiratorially, so that Harry, Y/N, Ron, Charlotte and Hermione had to lean closer to him to hear "-that Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after they'd searched the castle and grounds for him. Couldn't get past the gargoyle. The Head's office has sealed itself against her." Ernie smirked. "Apparently, she had a right little tantrum."
"Oh, I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there in the Head's office," said Hermione viciously, as they walked up the stone steps into the Entrance Hall. "Lording it over all the other teachers, the stupid puffed-up, power-crazy old-"
"Now, do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?"
Draco Malfoy had slid out from behind the door, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle. His pale, pointed face was alight with malice.
"Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," he drawled.
"It's only teachers who can dock points from houses, Malfoy," said Ernie at once.
"Did you hit your head somewhere?" said Charlotte.
"Yeah, we're prefects, too, remember?" snarled Ron.
"I know prefects can't dock points, Weasel King," sneered Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. "But members of the Inquisitorial Squad-"
"The what?" said Hermione sharply.
"The Inquisitorial Squad, Granger," said Malfoy, pointing towards a tiny silver "I" on his robes just beneath his prefect's badge. "A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge."
"Is Rigel on this Squad?" Y/N asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Oh yes!" said Malfoy, beaming at the fact that Y/N had talked to him. "He's sort of our leader, though he doesn't exactly talk to us much these days. . . Anyway, members of the Inquisitorial Squad do have the power to dock points. . . so, Granger, I'll have five from you for being rude about our new Headmistress. Macmillan, five for contradicting me. Wenlock, five for insulting me. Five because I don't like you, Potter. Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so I'll have another five for that. The only exception is Diggory. . . Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a Mudblood, Granger, so ten off for that."
Ron pulled out his wand, but Hermione pushed it away, whispering, "Don't!"
"Wise move, Granger," breathed Malfoy. "New Head, new times. . . be good now, Potty. . . Weasel King. . . I'll see you later, Diggory," he added, grinning at Y/N.
Laughing heartily, he strode away with Crabbe and Goyle.
"He was bluffing," said Ernie, looking appalled. "He can't be allowed to dock points. . . that would be ridiculous. . . it would completely undermine the prefect system."
But Harry, Ron, Y/N, and Hermione had turned automatically towards the giant hour-glasses set in niches along the wall behind them, which recorded the house-points. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had been neck and neck in the lead that morning. Even as they watched, stones flew upwards, reducing the amounts in the lower bulbs. In fact, the only glass that seemed unchanged was the emerald-filled one of Slytherin.
"Noticed, have you?" said Fred's voice.
He and George had just come down the marble staircase and joined Harry, Y/N, Ron, Hermione, Charlotte, and Ernie in front of the hour-glasses.
"Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points," said Harry furiously, as they watched several more stones fly upwards from the Gryffindor hour-glass.
"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," said George.
"What do you mean, 'tried'?" said Ron quickly.
"He never managed to get all the words out," said Fred, "due to the fact that we forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."
Hermione looked very shocked.
"But you'll get into terrible trouble!"
"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him," said Fred coolly. "Anyway. . . we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble any more."
"Have you ever?" asked Y/N.
"Course we have, sis," said George. "Never been expelled, have we?"
"We've always known where to draw the line," said Fred.
"We might have put a toe across it occasionally," said George.
"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," said Fred.
"But now?" said Ron tentatively.
"Well, now-" said George.
"-what with Dumbledore gone-" said Fred.
"-we reckon a bit of mayhem-" said George.
"-is exactly what our dear new Head deserves," said Fred.
"You mustn't!" whispered Hermione. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!"
"You don't get it, Hermione, do you?" said Fred, smiling at her. "We don't care about staying any more. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first."
Fred and George turned away and disappeared into the swelling crowd descending the stairs towards lunch. Looking highly disconcerted, Ernie muttered something about unfinished Transfiguration homework and scurried away with Charlotte.
"Er. . . We should probably go to the Great Hall for lunch," said Ron.
"You go on," said Y/N, changing directions. "I need to have a chat with my dear old cousin."
Without waiting for her friends' answer, she hurried into the Entrance Hall and climbed up the marble staircase. He must be in the Library, she told herself.
And sure enough, Rigel was sitting at the back of the Library, with his leg up on a chair near the window.
"What is up with you?" said Y/N, sliding into the chair opposite to him.
"Oh, hello there, cousin," Rigel said wearily, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading. "What a rare occasion. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I said what is up with you?" Y/N repeated. "Why did you help me by sending Dobby? I mean- how did you even know about the D.A?"
Rigel merely turned the page of his book, still not looking at her.
"I knew from the start," he said simply.
"Knew from the- what?"
"About your meetings," he said calmly. "I attended every single one of them. Well, except the last."
Y/N sat, looking dumbfounded. What he was saying made no sense! But knowing Rigel, Y/N could tell he was capable of doing anything he set his mind on.
"Explain," she breathed. "Now."
For a few seconds, Y/N thought Rigel didn't hear her. Then he slowly closed his book and sat upright, crossing his fingers on the table and looking straight at Y/N.
"I was looking for a way to separate you and Potter," he started. "On mother dearest's orders, of course. So when I heard that Granger girl spreading the word about the secret meeting at Hog's Head, I put a Disillusionment Charm on myself and attended it."
"You put a-" Y/N gasped, but swallowed her words when Madam Pince glanced at them.
"And I attended every single meeting in the Room of Requirement by using the same Charm on myself," Rigel continued.
"How did you know when the meetings were happening? You didn't have that fake Galleon."
"I didn't," Rigel grinned. "But Daphne Greengrass did. Anyways, I was looking for ways to break up you and Potter. The one thing I learned was that you and Potter were the extremely jealous kind. He was jealous of Walker and you, of Cho. I used it to my advantage."
"What. . . did you do?"
"I did warn him, didn't I?" said Rigel, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. "About the Mistletoe?"
"That was you?" Y/N snapped. "But how?"
"Simple," said Rigel, shrugging. "It's a simple Mistletoe prank spell I created with my friends back at Ilvermony. I bewitched the Mistletoe with something similar to love potion, it causes a deep attraction, a desire for the person standing under it to kiss the other person. Like a. . . voice inside your head."
Y/N blinked. "That makes no sense."
"Well, it would, if you were smarter."
Y/N huffed. "That failed, didn't it?" She said savagely. "Harry broke out of the trance. They didn't kiss."
"I was just getting started, cousin," said Rigel. "You know me, I always have a babackuplan. I couldn't work from only one side, I needed to target you too, not just Potter. That's when my other beloved cousin Draco came in.
"I found out about his pathetic crush he had on you and again, used it to my advantage. Before I left the Slytherin common room that day, I gave him a tiny sip of love potion and told him Harry had cheated on you. I let him loose to find you, and that idiot did find you and started confessing his love for you. . . Just what I wanted for Potter to see. I thought after seeing him 'kiss' Cho, you'd say yes to Draco and go to the Malfoy Ball with him. Boom. You and Potter would be done for good."
Y/N felt her stomach bubbling with anger, and her face scrunched up in realization. Rigel was there in all the meetings, the mystery bumps she was hitting, that strange smell of cologne, Rigel's name in the Marauder's map. . . everything made perfect sense.
"You still failed," she said indignantly. "I didn't go to the Ball with him. Harry and I got together again."
"Cousin, you know I always have a backup plan," said Rigel. "It failed, yes, but I would've succeeded if it weren't for Walker."
"Alex? What about him?"
"I know you went to Yule Ball with him," said Rigel, watching her closely. "And I know Potter was inexplicably jealous of him. So I made the perfect plan to ruin your Valentine's day but that stupid Hufflepuff Alexander messed it up by asking that Edgecombe girl out. Kids these days, I swear."
Y/N closed her eyes, trying to process everything. She knew Rigel would go to any length to achieve something but she didn't know he would go this far to break her relationship. All because Harry was a half-blood.
"All those plans," she said slowly. "All those tricks, all those Charms. . . and you still failed, clown face."
Rigel's jaw ticked; but he looked quite calm, tired even.
"There's only so much a man can do," he said. "Even after everything I did, you and Potter didn't crack. You were still holding onto each other tightly, bouncing back every time set a trap. . . so, I gave up."
Y/N did a double-take. "You? Rigel Noah Diggory? Gave up?"
"I have a life outside of your miserable relationship, cousin, I can't be focusing all of my energy on you. I did everything I could, I even tried to break his skull by sending a Bludger during our match but nope, you two wormed out of everything."
Y/N felt pride pool into her stomach at his words; her cousin Rigel, who made sure that he got everything he wanted even when they were just kids, couldn't separate her and Harry. "So that's it then?" She said. "You wouldn't try anything else?"
To her immense relief, Rigel shook his head.
"Nope, do whatever you want, I'll just leave it for the universe to take care of," he said. "Hopefully he falls from his broom or something and dies."
Y/N rolled her eyes. Typical Rigel.
"Okay, but. . . you still haven't told me why you tried to warn us through Dobby. Wait, how did you even know Dobby?"
"That's a funny story, actually," said Rigel. "I was working late one day in the Slytherin common room, and that elf came to clean the room. But when he saw me, he got all excited like, 'You're Miss Diggy's cousin!' and I talked to him, asked him about his friendship with you and Potter. So when Edgecombe snitched on you, I sent Dobby to warn you at once."
"But why?" said Y/N. "You wanted Harry to get caught, didn't you?"
"If I wanted for him to get caught, he'd have gotten caught before the first damn meeting," Rigel snarled. "I didn't send the elf for him to escape, I sent him for you."
"For me?" Y/N laughed. "Why?"
Rigel rolled his eyes, looking irritated. It must be a Diggory thing.
"Honestly, Y/N, has it never occurred to you that I might actually care about you?" He explained. "Yes, yes, we drifted apart after I went to America and you started to hate me but. . . you're still my baby cousin. I do care about you, I always care about your dumbass."
He paused, running a hand through his hair, and then went on, "you're the only girl in the family. I mean, sure, Nymphadora's there but she's old enough to get married now. So you were always the little princess of the fam, you were also the youngest. Don't you remember how much we all used to adore you? How much I used to adore you? Like the little sister I never had?"
Y/N felt her heart leap; she could tell that he meant every word he said. Maybe, there was a chance that he could possibly change for the better. But she tried not to show that his words had affected her so much.
"I don't exactly hate you," she shrugged. "I am just not. . . necessarily excited about your existence."
Rigel chuckled. "Whatever you say, cousin."
"No, really," said Y/N sincerely. "I only started to hate you after the. . . y'know, the whole family fight happened."
"The fight between my mother and your mother, you mean," said Rigel. "About how she ruined the Diggory bloodline and all that fiasco."
Y/N nodded. "I sent you so many letters after you went to America but you didn't reply to any of them so I was kinda hurt. Then I sort of started to dislike you. And when I heard that you were replying to Draco and not me, I was pissed as hell."
"It was all my mother's doing. She banned me from all types of contact with you. I was just a kid, Y/N. A seven-year-old boy. What was I supposed to do?"
Y/N puffed her cheeks and looked down, feeling the slightest bit of guilt. And that was the cue to change the subject.
"Why aren't you hanging out with Draco?" She asked innocently. "Aren't you guys like- partners in crime?"
Rigel looked around to see if anyone was listening, then he leaned in.
"Did you know?" He whispered. "About uncle Lucius being a Death Eater?"
Y/N's eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah, not before this year, though," she said. "I only knew when Harry told me after he came back from the. . . graveyard."
"I never did," said Rigel, his voice still a whisper. "I always knew about Aunt Bella but I never thought. . . Draco's dad. . ."
Y/N was confused as to why he was acting this way. Then, something clicked in her mind. Rigel had been acting strange and closed down ever since Harry's interview got published.
"Is it true, that they've all got his mark on their wrist?" Rigel asked, his usual malicious glint in his eyes now absent.
"Yeah. . . why?"
Rigel shook his head and didn't speak for another few minutes; silence fell on the two Diggorys.
"You know I always hated the lot," said Rigel. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters, I may have grown up believing my mother's pureblood beliefs but I always stood by my father's morals: Never ever associate yourself with Dark Magic. . . Maybe that's why I always liked Aunt Rebekah more than Aunt Bella."
He gave a small laugh, which made Y/N crack a smile too.
"You can give up the pureblood shit too, you know," she said. "You'll be a lot happier if you did."
Rigel shrugged. "Not that easy."
"So is that why you've been sulking away from your favourite cousin? Because his dad is a Death Eater?"
"Well, yes, but no," said Rigel.
"Whatever," Y/N sighed, getting up. "That's none of my business. I got what I want so now I am leaving."
She collected her things and was about to walk away when-
"Y/N," Rigel called. "You and Potter. . . you guys have this disgustingly strong bond, true love, as you call it, so. . . keep a tight hold on him. Mother dearest would be disappointed but, oh well, life is full of disappointments."
Y/N smirked. Wow, never in her wildest dreams did she imagine those words coming out of his mouth.
"This doesn't mean we're friends or anything," she said.
"Nope. Definitely not."
"Back to loathing each other?"
"Yep."
"Alright, fuck you, cousin," said Y/N, smiling as she walked away from him.
"Back at ya, cousin," she heard Rigel's voice say and with that, she was out of the Library.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Later that night after dinner, Y/N stayed in the common room, waiting for Harry to return from his Occlumency lessons. Ron and Hermione had gone to bed and the common room was empty.
The portrait hole opened violently and Harry rushed, looking worse than ever. What was happening in Snape's office?
"Harry, Harry, what happened?" Y/N asked, helping him sit down on the couch.
He was shaking like mad, sweating and panting as though he'd run a marathon.
"I- I didn't," he choked out, gasping for breath. "I didn't mean to- Y/N, I-"
"Come here, darlin'," Y/N threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. Harry held her a bit tighter than usual, his whole body trembling. He looked like he wanted to cry.
They didn't say anything for a few moments, just holding each other. Harry found himself slowly calming down in her embrace. Y/N kept kissing the side of his neck and rubbing his back in a way of comforting him.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, slightly pulling away. "What happened?"
"I- I was in there," Harry said, in a shaky voice. "And Malfoy came for Snape- said he needed help to rescue Montague, so he left his office. There was- was a pensive with Snape's memories and I- I don't know what came over me. . ."
"You looked into it?" said Y/N, rubbing his arm, where there was a red bruise.
Harry nodded.
(Snape's memory. . .)
Harry was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, but the four house tables were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. It was clearly exam time.
Sunshine was streaming through the high windows on to the bent heads, which shone chestnut and copper and gold in the bright light. Harry looked around carefully. Snape had to be here somewhere. . . this was his memory.
And there he was, at a table right behind Harry. Harry stared. Snape-the-teenager had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark. His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping on to the table, his hooked nose barely half an inch from the surface of the parchment as he scribbled. Harry moved around behind Snape and read the heading of the examination paper: DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS- ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL.
"Five more minutes!"
The voice made Harry jump. Turning, he saw the top of Professor Flitwick's head moving between the desks a short distance away. Professor Flitwick was walking past a boy with untidy black hair. . . very untidy black hair. . .
Harry moved so quickly that, had he been solid, he would have knocked desks flying. Instead, he seemed to slide, dreamlike, across two aisles and up a third. The back of the black-haired boy's head drew nearer and. . . he was straightening up now, putting down his quill, pulling his roll of parchment towards him so as to reread what he had written. . .
Harry stopped in front of the desk and gazed down at his fifteen-year-old father.
Excitement exploded in the pit of his stomach: it was as though he was looking at himself but with deliberate mistakes. James's eyes were hazel, his nose was slightly longer than Harry's and there was no scar on his forehead, but they had the same thin face, same mouth, same eyebrows; James's hair stuck up at the back exactly as Harry's did, his hands could have been Harry's and Harry could tell that, when James stood up, they would be within an inch of each other in height.
James yawned hugely and rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance towards Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at a boy sitting four seats behind him.
With another shock of excitement, Harry saw Sirius give James the thumbs-up. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs. He was very good-looking; his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James's nor Harry's could ever have achieved, and a girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though he didn't seem to have noticed. And two seats along from this girl was Remus Lupin. He looked rather pale and peaky and was absorbed in the exam: as he reread his answers, he scratched his chin with the end of his quill, frowning slightly.
So that meant Wormtail had to be around here somewhere, too. . . and sure enough, Harry spotted him within seconds: a small, mousy-haired boy with a pointed nose. Wormtail looked anxious; he was chewing his fingernails, staring down at his paper, scuffing the ground with his toes. Every now and then he glanced hopefully at his neighbour's paper. Harry stared at Wormtail for a moment, then back at James, who was now doodling on a bit of scrap parchment.
He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters "L.E." What did they stand for?
Harry looked around the Hall, searching for Rebekah, then he remembered that she was actually a year younger than them, so she wouldn't be here now.
"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"
Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows and lifted him back on to his feet.
"Thank you. . . thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"
Harry looked down at his father, who had hastily crossed out the "L.E." he had been embellishing, jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius to join him.
Harry looked around and glimpsed Snape a short way away, moving between the tables towards the doors to the Entrance Hall, still absorbed in his own exam paper. Round-shouldered yet angular, he walked in a twitchy manner that recalled a spider, and his oily hair was jumping about his face.
A gang of chattering girls separated Snape from James, Sirius and Remus, and by planting himself in their midst, Harry managed to keep Snape in sight while straining his ears to catch the voices of James and his friends.
"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.
"Loved it," said Remus briskly. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question."
"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.
"Think I did," said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."
Wormtail was the only one who didn't laugh.
"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else-"
"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run around with a werewolf once a month-"
"Keep your voice down," implored Remus.
Harry looked anxiously behind him again. Snape remained close by, still buried in his exam questions- but this was Snape's memory and Harry was sure that if Snape chose to wander off in a different direction once outside in the grounds, he, Harry, would not be able to follow James any further.
To his intense relief, however, when James and his three friends strode off down the lawn towards the lake, Snape followed, still poring over the exam paper and apparently with no fixed idea of where he was going. By keeping a little ahead of him, Harry managed to maintain a close watch on James and the others.
"Now, where's my darling?" he heard Sirius say. "I haven't seen her all day."
"What, can't go a day without snogging her?" said Remus. "She'll be around."
"Aw, Moony, I know you're jealous that she's my favorite Lupin sibling," Sirius grinned.
Remus ignored his remark. "How'd you do the exam?"
"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," said Sirius. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."
"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.
"Where'd you get that?"
"Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Wormtail watched him in awe.
They stopped in the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake where Harry, Ron, Y/N, and Hermione had once spent a Sunday finishing their homework, and threw themselves down on the grass. Harry looked over his shoulder yet again and saw, to his delight, that Snape had settled himself on the grass in the dense shadow of a clump of bushes.
He was as deeply immersed in the O.W.L. paper as ever, which left Harry free to sit down on the grass between the beech and the bushes and watch the foursome under the tree. The sunlight was dazzling on the smooth surface of the lake, on the bank of which the group of laughing girls who had just left the Great Hall were sitting, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.
Remus had pulled out a book and was reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so.
James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom further and further away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded.
After five minutes of this, Harry wondered why James didn't tell Wormtail to get a grip on himself, but James seemed to be enjoying the attention. Harry noticed that his father had a habit of rumpling up his hair as though to keep it from getting too tidy, and he also kept looking over at the girls by the water's edge.
"Hey, Marlene!" Sirius suddenly called a blonde girl who was walking by. "Have you seen my girlfriend?"
"No, Sirius, have you seen mine?" said Marlene.
"No," said Sirius, looking disappointed.
"Well, they're always together, aren't they?" said Remus. "Where there's Rebekah Lupin, there's Dorcas Meadowes."
"You find one, you'll definitely find the other too," said James. "A package deal."
"Yeah, I'll let you know if I see her, Sirius," said Marlene. "And you let me know if you see Dory."
Sirius gave a half-hearted nod, and Marlene walked away.
"Tut that away, will you," said Sirius, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, "before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."
Wormtail turned slightly pink, but James grinned.
"If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket. Harry had the distinct impression that Sirius was the only one for whom James would have stopped showing off.
"Where is Bex?" said Sirius, looking around desperately. "I need to see her."
"She's probably in class, Padfoot," said James. "Sleeping in History of Magic or something."
"Yeah, Vixen hates History of Magic," sniggered Wormtail.
"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."
"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me. Here. . ." and he held out his book.
But Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."
"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is. . ."
Sirius's head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.
"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."
Harry turned to see what Sirius was looking at.
Snape was on his feet again, and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up.
Remus and Wormtail remained sitting: Remus was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.
"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly.
Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.
"Impedimenta!" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.
Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.
Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. Wormtail was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Remus to get a clearer view.
"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.
"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."
Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular. Wormtail sniggered shrilly. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.
"You- wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, "you- wait!"
"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"
"Too bad Vixen isn't here to join us," said James. "She's missing all the fun."
Snape let out a stream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened.
"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "Scourgify!"
Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him-
"Leave him ALONE!"
James and Sirius looked round. James's free hand immediately jumped to his hair.
It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes- Harry's eyes.
Harry's mother.
"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.
"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"
"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean. . ."
Many of the surrounding students laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Remus, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and nor did Lily.
"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."
"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on. . . go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”
Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.
"I've told Bekah countless times, didn't she tell you?" said Lily. "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."
"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, and turned back to Snape. "OI!"
But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.
Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James and Wormtail roared with laughter.
Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"
"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape keeled over again, rigid as a board.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.
"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.
"Take the curse off him, then!"
James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.
"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"
Lily blinked.
"Fine," she said coolly. "For your sake, I am glad Bekah didn't hear that. I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."
Someone rushed past Harry at a great speed, their (h/c) hair whipping past them. Harry got a good look at their face and his stomach churned with pleasure; it was Rebekah. She looked exactly like Y/N, with only little corrections on the face.
The expression she wore on her face, however, was similar to the one Y/N wore every time she was near Malfoy.
"Bekah, don't!" Lily shouted, but Rebekah ignored her.
"What did you just call her, you swine?"
Rebekah bent down and punched Snape right in the nose and Harry heard a small crack and knew at once that Snape's nose had broken. It was bleeding freely when Rebekah straightened up. Harry could tell where Y/N had gotten her temper and punching skills from.
"Hey, Miss Lupin," said Sirius, grinning handsomely at her. "How'd you get here?"
"Hello, love," said Rebekah, her scowl now turning into a smirk. "Just jumped off the window from Binns' class. I'll get back to you in a minute," she winked at him and turned to Snape, "I need to teach Snivellus here a lesson for calling Lily-"
"Oh it's alright, leave him!" Lily pleaded, pulling Rebekah back by her shoulders. It seemed like Rebekah was the only Marauder Lily liked. "Leave him, Bekah!"
"Apologise to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.
"I don't want you to make him apologise," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is."
"What?" yelped James. I'd NEVER call you a- you-know-what!"
"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."
She turned on her heel and hurried away.
"Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"
But she didn't look back.
"What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.
"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius, throwing an arm around Rebekah.
"Oh don't mind her," Rebekah told James, twirling her wand between her fingers in the exact same way Y/N did. "I'll talk to her later."
"Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right-"
There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air.
"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"
But whether James really did take off Snape's pants, Harry never found out. A hand had closed tight over his upper arm, closed with a pincer-like grip. Wincing, Harry looked round to see who had hold of him, and saw, with a thrill of horror, a fully grown, adult-sized Snape standing right beside him, white with rage.
"Having fun?"
(End of the memory. . .)
"I- wow. . ." Y/N breathed when Harry finished his story. "Snape threw you out of the class after that? How did you get this bruise?"
She nodded at his arm but Harry waved her off impatiently.
"That doesn't matter, Y/N!" He said. "It's the memory- I always thought Snape was lying when he said my dad was arrogant but he really was arrogant! I mean, he was a bully!"
"Harry, don't do that," said Y/N.
"People like Hagrid, Sirius, and Rebekah had told me that my father was a wonderful man- but look how Sirius and Rebekah were! They were as bad, weren't they? At least my mother was decent. . . but she was shouting at my dad, she clearly loathed him. How could they have ended up getting married?"
Harry looked pleadingly at Y/N, as though the solution to all of his problems were written on her face. Y/N sighed heavily.
"Listen to me," she said calmly. "What you saw there was Snape's memory. The scene was in his point of view, and we all know he's always hated your dad and his friends."
"It still doesn't the fact that they were bullies!"
"You idiot, listen to what I am saying!" Y/N said desperately. "Okay, imagine if Malfoy's child looks into his memory and watches the scene when I punched him in fourth year. They'd think I was the bad guy, wouldn't they? Because it's Malfoy's memory. His child wouldn't know why he deserved that punch."
"But you punched him because he insulted Ron's mother!" said Harry. "I mean- alright, I guess Rebekah's okay, she only did that because Snape called my mother that word. But my dad started it all just because Sirius was bored!"
"Harry, you don't get it," said Y/N in a calm tone. "I grew up hearing the stories about my mum and her friends. James might've been a bully but he had character development, didn't he? How else could your mother have married him? A strong woman like her? Do you really believe the Lily Evans could've been forced to do something she didn't want to do?"
Harry stayed silent. Y/N continued,
"People do immature stuff in their teenage years, but your dad matured as an adult, Harry. That's what matters. That's what made your mother fall in love with him."
"Did she really?" mumbled Harry. "You didn't see the hatred in her eyes, Y/N. I just. . . What if something else was involved like- like a love potion?"
To his surprise, Y/N laughed lightly.
"Love potions don't work like that, silly," she said. "If you were conceived under a love potion, you wouldn't have the ability to love at all. But you love me, don't you?"
Harry nodded almost immediately. "So much."
"There you go," Y/N smiled. "James Potter was a great man, Harry. I mean, come on, he ran outside to face Voldemort single-handedly just so he could buy some time for his wife and son to escape. Are you really going to compare that man to his fifteen-year-old teenage self?"
Harry looked down, guilt fawning over his face but Y/N's smile did not waver.
"I bet there's a lot to their history that we don't know. I am not justifying your dad's actions, Harry, but I really don't think you should judge him after seeing one memory in Snape's point of view."
Well, she's right, Harry thought. Maybe there was more to the story than what he saw, maybe Snape did do something really horrible to his father and his friends. He wished he could ask someone who actually knew about the rivalry between his dad and Snape.
"Listen, you can talk to Mum and Sirius about this when we go home after school ends," said Y/N, as though she was reading his mind.
Harry nodded again, feeling lighter than he felt all evening. He could always count on his girlfriend to make him feel better, she had that special magic in her. He took her hand in his, locking their bracelets together. He understood that she was straying the topic away from James and onto more casual things. They talked about school, their friends, the D.A meetings.
Speaking of the D.A meetings. . .
"If you tease me about that Patronus change, Potter, I'll claw your eyes out," said Y/N when Harry mentioned it.
"We've got matching Patronuses now," said Harry with a playful grin. "Because you looove me. . . Y/N Diggory loooves Harry Potter so much that her Patronus changed. What a scandal."
"Shut up," Y/N rolled her eyes. "Alright, everyone knows how much Y/N Diggory loooves Harry Potter, but how much does Harry Potter love her back? What's his story?"
Harry tilted his head and leaned one side of his face on the couch, gazing up at her with a soft smile. Y/N did the same.
"This is going to sound so cheesy and cliche," Harry started. "But I knew you were the one the moment you entered my train compartment that day. You were the first girl who smiled at me, who asked me what my name was. In first year, I thought you were the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. I used to get so flustered around you at first, remember? I used to go like this," he gave an exaggerated shudder, "whenever you sat beside me. Then I got used to your presence as days went on. We became inseparable."
"Romantic since eleven years old, huh?" teased Y/N.
"Yeah, now second year was here and to my horror, the things I felt for you did nothing but increase. Ron knew what was going on, he always read me the best but I brushed it off as a pathetic crush, I told myself it'll go away. But then you went and got yourself petrified along with Hermione. I can't even explain the fear I felt when I saw you lying there, motionless. That's when I realised how big of a part you played in my life, how life without you was just. . . not it. The best part of second year was when you hugged me for the first time, after you got unpetrified, remember?"
"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey told me what you did and I was like, 'aww, he's so brave'," said Y/N. "Then when I saw you in the Great Hall I was like, 'ah, screw it' and hugged you. My brother was glaring daggers at you from the Hufflepuff table."
Harry chuckled, squeezing her hand.
"Second year was over. And third year, oh Merlin," Harry shook his head. "That's when the jealousy nerves started tingling. I hated whenever a guy that wasn't me looked at you or talked to you. I hated every second you weren't with me. But we started spending lots of time together, you joined Quidditch, accompanied me to Lupin's Patronus lessons. I was so in awe of you and you also kissed me on my cheek for the first time, increasing my feelings that I was so desperately trying to crush under my foot."
"Hmm, keep talking," said Y/N, chuckling. Harry gave her a look and went on,
"We were finally in our fourth year, the year I realised what I felt for you wasn't a pathetic crush. I genuinely liked you, a lot. It was undeniable. But then Walker came in between us, taking you to the Yule Ball with him, that bastard. . . but a single Firewhiskey bottle changed everything. The Afterparty happened. You kissed me. That was it, that was my final straw. I couldn't sleep for days after that kiss. I just had to tell you how I felt about you and I did. Everything was finally going my way. . . then the whole graveyard thing happened and. . . you left, not even sparing a goodbye. I was forced to go back to the Dursleys without seeing at least once."
Harry paused and looked at her face, like he couldn't have enough of her. He thought he could look at her all his life and never get bored at all.
"It was torture, you know. The four weeks at the Dursleys, with no word from you. It felt like a physical ache. That is when I realised that I simply can't live without you. I just can't. Whenever I imagine my life, you're just. . . always there, in the front seat. That's when Harry Potter realised that he was completely whipped for Y/N Diggory. He was head over heels for her. And he told her how he felt, surprisingly she felt the same and there it is. That's his story."
Thoroughly overwhelmed with emotions, Y/N threw her arms around him and crashed into him in a tight hug, laying her head on his shoulder and burying her face in his neck. Harry pulled her closer to him, wishing he could stay like this forever.
"You're right," came Y/N's muffled voice. "His story does sound cheesy and cliche."
Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"Far less epic that the Patronus change, huh?" He asked her. She nodded, causing Harry to laugh even more.
"Harry Potter sounds like a cheeseball," said Y/N quietly.
"He's not a cheeseball to everyone, though. Only to his impatient prick."
"Stop," Y/N whined. "My heart feels all mushy. I don't like it. Abort mission."
"Yes, ma'am," said Harry, settling in for a long night of random conversations about why penguins couldn't fly and what crazy hair colour would look good on him.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧
It was the first day of the Easter holidays and Hermione, as was her custom, had spent a large part of the day drawing up revision timetables for the four of them.
Ron had been startled to discover there were only six weeks left until their exams.
"How can that come as a shock?" Hermione demanded, as she tapped each little square on Ron's timetable with her wand so that it flashed a different colour according to its subject.
"I dunno," said Ron, "there's been a lot going on."
"Well, there you are," she said, handing him his timetable, "if you follow that you should do fine."
Ron looked down it gloomily, but then brightened.
"You've given me an evening off every week!"
"That's for Quidditch practice," said Hermione.
The smile faded from Ron's face.
"What's the point?" he said dully. "We've got about as much chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year as Dad's got of becoming Minister for Magic."
The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was to take place on the last weekend of May. Although Slytherin had been narrowly defeated by Hufflepuff in their last match, Gryffindor were not daring to hope for victory, due mainly (though of course nobody said it to him) to Ron's abysmal goal-keeping record. He, however, seemed to have found a new optimism.
"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" he told Harry, Y/N, and Hermione grimly over breakfast on the morning of the match. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"
Y/N kicked him hard under the table. "I think the fuck not, you trick arse bitch," she said firmly. "We're going to win."
They walked to the pitch together. Harry gave Y/N a kiss on the cheek for luck and pressed a note in her hand. She opened it.
Dear Miss Quaffle,
Ha. You thought this was going to be a sappy note. Let's see if you can catch the Snitch faster than the youngest Seeker of the century.
Y/N scoffed and rolled her eyes. She called out to Harry, who was walking backwards to the stands with Hermione with a bit of grin on his face.
"You're such a cocky bastard, Potter!"
"Love you too, Diggory!"
Harry blew her a sarcastic kiss, earning himself another eye roll from his girlfriend as he seated in the topmost row of the stands with Hermione.
Meanwhile, Dean was playing cheerleader for his best friend by singing, "You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do this! You can do this! You can do this!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Y/N kicked him in the knees, already plenty nervous.
"I am just encouraging you!" said Dean.
"No!"
"Here are the Gryffindors!" Lee said into his mic. "Johnson, Bell, Weasley, Weasley, Pott-er-no- Diggory, Kirke, and Sloper!"
Angelina went up to shake Roger's hand and when Madam Hooch blew her whistle, all fourteen brooms flew up.
"And they're off!" said Lee. "And Davies takes the Quaffle immediately, Ravenclaw Captain Davies with the Quaffle, he dodges Johnson, he dodges Bell, he dodges Weasley as well. . . he's going straight for goal! He's going to shoot- and- and-" Lee swore very loudly. "And he's scored."
Harry and Hermione groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors. Predictably, horribly, the Slytherins on the other side of the stands began to sing:
"Weasley cannot save a thing
He cannot block a single ring. . ."
"It's Johnson with the Quaffle- passes to Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor soars towards the goalpost- ugh, hit by a Bludger from Ravenclaw, Katie drops the Quaffle- caught by- Bradley of Ravenclaw, he dodges a Bludger from Sloper, going straight for the goalpost- come on, Ron, you can do this! -HE DID IT! RON'S SAVED IT!"
Y/N's heart thundered as she heard the loud roar of cheers from the Gryffindor side, fully drowning the 'Weasley is our King' song from the Slytherins.
She turned to look at Harry and Hermione but to her dismay, they weren't there.
She brushed it off and turned away to search for the Snitch, and saw that Cho was trailing just behind her. Y/N made a mental note to keep an eye on her, in case Cho spotted the Snitch first.
If there was one thing Y/N learned after playing a Seeker for fifteen minutes was that being a Seeker was so freaking boring than being a Chaser.
She missed the thrill of soaring past everyone and passing the Quaffle back and forth, the unexplainable satisfaction when she put a Quaffle throw the hoop.
All she did now was watch the other Chasers and Beaters fly around while she floated lazily, looking for the Snitch.
How did Harry do this all the time?
"-the Gryffindor Keeper is on a roll today!" She heard Lee yell happily. "The Quaffle is currently in the hands of Ginny Weasley- sister of former Beaters Fred and George, and Keeper Ron, Mrs. Weasley did give birth to a whole Quidditch team-"
"Jordan!"
"-just giving some side facts, Professor- Ginny smoothly dodges a Bludger and nears the post. . . and. . . SHE SCORES! GINNY SCORES! It's twenty-ten Gryffindor!"
Ginny winked at Y/N when she flew past her; Y/N grinned proudly before resuming her search for the Snitch.
"Chambers with the Quaffle this time, dodges Weasley, dodges Johnson. . . he's going in. . . and- RONALD WEASLEY HAS SAVED IT AGAIN!"
Y/N yelled with the other Gryffindors, beaming at Ron, who looked nervous but confident. Y/N could hear the Slytherins singing louder, the sound was coming from two sides.
Wait. . .
Two sides?
"Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King."
The song was growing louder, but it was issuing not from a crowd of green-and-silver-clad Slytherins, but a mass of red and gold Gryffindors. Just like how Parkinson was conducting the Slytherins at the front of the stands with her back to the pitch, Dean was conducting the Gryffindors.
It was Dean Thomas versus Pansy Parkinson.
"WEASLEY IS OUR KING,
WEASLEY IS OUR KING,
HE DIDN'T LET THE QUAFFLE IN,
WEASLEY IS OUR KING."
Y/N wheeled around to watch Ron, who was looking practically delightful now, his face set. But when she turned back to Cho, she felt a jolt of excitement. The Golden Snitch was hovering just below the Ravenclaw hoops.
She aimed her Nimbus in its direction and took off. Cho, noticing her sudden flight, also turned her broomstick to follow her; they were neck to neck now, their hands reaching forward. . . just a little bit further. . . Y/N gave her broomstick a sudden lurch and closed her fingers around the Snitch.
"Y/N DIGGORY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP!"
"I GOT THE SNITCH FASTER THAN THE YOUNGEST SEEKER OF THE CENTURY!" Y/N screamed hoarsely into the sky.
When she pulled her broomstick down to the ground, she was immediately tackled by Angelina Johnson in a fierce hug. Angelina was crying just like Oliver used to do as the rest of the team threw their arms around them. The Gryffindor team sunk into the ground in a group hug, most of them crying happy tears.
"We won! Oh my god, we won!" Angelina cried, as the Gryffindors from the stands filled the pitch, screaming with joy.
Even Professor McGonagall was crying.
Y/N and the rest of the team broke up to wish each other congratulations. She was suddenly engulfed in a sisterly hug by Cho.
"I know we lost but oh, I am so proud of you!" Cho exclaimed with a watery smile. She pulled away and kissed Y/N on the forehead. Though she knew it was silly to think of, a part of Y/N couldn't help but feel like Cedric himself had said those words to her.
"T-thanks," she choked out, then she was pulled into another hug by Ron this time. Y/N let out an excited squeal.
"RONNIE, YOU WERE WONDERFUL!" She yelled over the noise, hugging Ron tightly.
"SO WERE YOU! YOU CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Ron yelled back, his freckled face fresh with joyful tears.
"I LOVE YOU, RONNIE!" Y/N shrieked into his ear, completely overwhelmed. Ron laughed.
"LOVE YOU TOO, SIS!"
Suddenly, the two of them were lifted onto the shoulders of the rest of the crowd and they swam towards McGonagall, who was waiting with the Quidditch cup.
Angelina passed the cup over to Ron and Y/N; they raised it high in the sky together and the Gryffindors went wild again.
Ron and Y/N searched the crowd for Hermione and Harry but they were still nowhere to be found. The crowd slowly walked back to the castle, bearing Ron and Y/N's solitary figures upon its many shoulders and chanting: "Weasley is our King."
"That's my little sister, bitches! Woohoo!" Zach yelled, clapping furiously.
"Zach! Language!" scolded Daphne. "There are first years here!"
"Oh no- I am so fucking sorry, honey," Zach said apologetically. Daphne facepalmed.
Finally, Y/N saw Harry and Hermione standing on the other side of the pitch, looking dumbstruck but happy nevertheless.
"HARRY! HERMIONE!" yelled Ron, waving the silver Quidditch cup in the air and looking quite beside himself. "WE DID IT! WE WON!"
Y/N passed the Quidditch cup fully over to Ron, jumped down from the crowd and sprinted towards Harry. She threw herself at him and kissed him fully on the lips as Harry quickly lifted her up in his arms and kissed her back.
If the cheers were loud before, it was nothing compared to what was happening now. The whole pitch was screaming with all of their might, sending birds up into the sky in the Forbidden Forest. Hell, even the Professors were beaming and clapping.
Y/N pulled back, her heart exploding in her chest but Harry didn't put her down. Y/N rested her forehead against his and said breathlessly,
"In front of the whole school, remember?"
Harry chuckled and dove in for another fiery kiss, triggering a second wave of cheers from the crowd.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Author's note♡
If you remember the chapter "the summer" (you def don't) you'd know that today's Ceddy's birthday in this fic. So happy birthday to ymco Cedric Diggory :)
QOTD: who is your least favorite hp character that's not Umbitch? Mine's dracoward malferret.
~mads<3