"Y/N and I are going to Slughorn's party together, so it's you we've got to worry about." Hermione said to Harry.
"You can't just take anyone." Y/N added.
Y/N took the books from Hermione and Harry's arms, returning them to their places for them.
"See that girl over there?" Hermione whispered, motioning towards a girl who sat near the window.
Hermione moved in front of Harry to make his staring less obvious as Y/N stood next to Harry.
"That's Romilda Vane. Apparently, she's trying to smuggle you a love potion."
"Really?" Harry asked with a smile.
Harry looked towards the girl in a trance until Hermione snapped her fingers in front of Harry, gaining his attention back.
"Hey! She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the Chosen One." Hermione exclaimed, sounding a bit annoyed.
"But I am the Chosen One." Harry responded proudly while Y/N nodded his head next to him.
Hermione whacked the two boys on the head with the parchment she was holding, making them flinch.
"Okay, sorry. Um, kidding." Harry flinched.
"I'll ask someone I like. Someone cool."
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Y/N and Hermione walked into the party together, hand in hand, much earlier than Harry. Hermione wore a beautiful pink dress with the necklace Y/N had gotten her, they both had their matching rings and bracelets on. Her hair was done simply yet perfectly, she let it flow down the sides of her necks only clipping her hair back with a small pin. Y/N on the other hand wore a formal black suit with a white undershirt. He had a pink tie on, wanting to match the colour of Hermione's dress. The room was littered with students drinking expensive wine and champagne while chatting away. Harry had come in with Luna and brought her away somewhere while Hermione dragged Y/N away to a secluded area.
As soon as the two lovers found a place to retreat into, Y/N instantly wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist pulling her close to him. She smelt sweet, like the fragrance of the flowers in a sunny spring day.
"Y/N?" Hermione whispered at her boyfriend's sudden actions.
Y/N pulled away slightly, only enough to look her in the eyes but still able to hold her close.
"Cormac was staring at you..." He pouted.
Hermione's eyes softened as she placed a small kiss on his lips.
"I'm all yours." She reassured.
"I know but-" Y/N started.
Whenever Y/N got insecure, he would start rambling on and Hermione knew this. Though Y/N was usually a quiet individual, whenever it came to Hermione, he could speak a few thousand words without any problems.
"You look so spectacularly stunning today and pink is definitely your colour, it suits you very well. You just look so beautiful that I don't blame him for staring but he looks at you like you're his prey."
Hermione smiled at her boyfriend's rant, grabbing his hands into hers. Y/N gave her a questioning look, stopping himself from talking.
"Calm down, stupid." She giggled.
Y/N shivered at the sound. Instantly, he felt relieved.
Hermione noticed Y/N's softened expression. She took this as her cue to lean into his chest, guiding his arms back around her as they embraced each other.
The two of them stood in that position for a while, just enjoying each other's presence.
"Y/N? Hermione?" The couple heard Harry's voice from behind Y/N.
They turned to face him, separating from each other but keeping hold of each other's hands.
"What are you two doing here?"
"'Mione's escaped." Y/N said softly, earning a confused look from Harry.
"Escaped?" Harry questioned, concern lacing his tone.
"Y/N means that I've escaped Cormac. He's been bothering me all night, I even left him under the mistletoe." Hermione explained as Y/N moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Everyone knows you and Y/N are together, can't he just take a hint?" Harry exclaimed, annoyed that his friend was being harassed.
Y/N and Hermione sighed in sync while Y/N rested his head on Hermione's shoulder.
"Dragon tartare?" A waiter emerged from the curtains.
"We're fine, thank you." Y/N replied.
"Just as well. They give one horribly bad breath." The waiter explained.
"On second thoughts..." Hermione started, grabbing the plate of food from the waiter.
Y/N and Harry looked towards her questioningly.
"Might keep Cormac at bay." She finished before stuffing her mouth with a few of the snacks.
"Oh, god, here he comes."
She quickly passed the plate to Y/N before turning to escape.
"Come find me later, love." She whispered before escaping, leaving the two boys to deal with Cormac.
"I think she just went to powder her nose." Harry blurted.
"Slippery little minx, your friend." Cormac said with annoyance.
"She's my girlfriend." Y/N growled, looking him in the eyes.
Cormac gulped, turning his attention to the plate in Y/N's hands before grabbing a few of them and eating them.
"What is this I'm eating, by the way?" Cormac asked through a mouth full of the Dragon Tartare.
"Dragon balls." Harry replied.
Snape suddenly came from behind the curtains, making the two boys turn their heads as Cormac threw up on the ground. Y/N peeked from behind Harry to see that Cormac had puked on Snape's shoe and not the ground, forcing him and Harry to try not to giggle at the scene.
"You've just bought yourself a month's detention, McLaggen." Snape spat.
Y/N and Harry quickly tried to make their escape but was stopped by Snape.
"No so quick, Y/N, Potter." He scolded.
"Sir, I really think I should rejoin the party. My date and Y/N's girlfr-" Harry started.
"Can surely survive your absence for another minute or two." Snape cut him off.
"Besides, I only wish to convey a message from Professor Dumbledore."
The two boys looked at each other in the eyes. Y/N tilted his head at Harry who just shrugged his shoulders.
"He asked me to give you both his best, and he hopes you enjoy your holiday." Snape continued.
"You see... he's traveling, and he won't return until term resumes."
"Traveling where?" Y/N questioned, looking the taller man in the eyes.
Snape didn't respond and walked away, leaving the two boys looking confused. Suddenly, Draco was dragged into the room, held by Filch.
"Take your hands off me, you filthy Squib!" Draco yelped as he was dragged towards the middle of the room.
"Professor Slughorn, sir." Filch presented Draco.
"I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party."
"Okay, okay. I was gatecrashing. Happy?" Draco spat, admitting his false claim.
"I'll escort him out." Snape said before dragging Draco out of the room.
"Alright, everyone, carry on, carry on." Slughorn dispersed the crowd with a laugh.
Y/N searched the heads of all the guests before spotting his tired looking girlfriend sitting on a chair in a corner.
"Tired, love?" Y/N asked her, taking a seat next to her.
Hermione hummed a response as she laid her head onto his shoulder.
Y/N chuckled at Hermione. She was adorable when she was tired.
"Do you want to go back?" Y/N said, grabbing her hand and interlocking their fingers.
Hermione sat quietly, thinking on it for a moment.
"I don't know..." She mumbled.
"I have an idea." Y/N said before standing up.
He grabbed Hermione by the hands, pulling her with him to the door.
Y/N lead Hermione through the halls of Hogwarts. The two of them giggled at each other along the way as they quickly jogged through the many paths of the hall. Y/N knew the castle better than anyone, he knew exactly how to sneak outside without anyone catching them.
Hermione was excited, she hated breaking rules but when she was beside Y/N, she felt safe, as if they could stand through everything as long as they were together.
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"They all look the same from down here, but that doesn't make them look any less pretty." Hermione whispered, breaking the silence between her and Y/N.
The two of them were sitting by the lake, on a fallen log, staring at the sky.
The sky was clear, revealing all of the stars. The moon shone brightly and was reflected beautifully by the water shining in front of the lovers.
"Beautiful..." Y/N sighed out.
Hermione hummed out a response, but Y/N wasn't talking about the stars. He sat there, staring down at his half-asleep girlfriend. She looked perfect. Her clip had fallen off along the way to the lake, leaving her hair flow slightly with the soft breeze. Y/N felt her shiver a bit, making him take off his suit jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders as he wrapped an arm around her.
"Thank you." She whispered before placing a small kiss on Y/N's cheek.
"I always thought they were lonely." Y/N spoke up, breaking the silence once more.
Hermione leaned in closer onto Y/N's shoulder, letting him continue.
"They're all too far apart from each other, so all they could do was shine their lights at each other from afar, and at me."
Hermione felt her eyelids grew heavier, listening to Y/N's soothing voice.
"Why you?" Hermione asked with a yawn.
Y/N smiled softly at his sleepy girlfriend, picking her up onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Hermione yawned once more, leaning her head onto Y/N's chest.
"Because I wanted to befriend one of them." Y/N answered with a smile, resting his chin onto Hermione's head.
Hermione smiled at her boyfriend's innocence as she closed her eyes. She knew Y/N had a rough childhood and didn't have anyone to talk to. It was nice hearing about his thoughts.
"I love you..." Hermione mumbled as she let the sleep take over her.
Y/N placed a small kiss on his girlfriend's head, feeling her body grow heavier as he brought her closer to him, making sure she was nice and secure in his hold.
"I love you too..." Y/N whispered.
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It was the first week of Christmas break, the day before Christmas. The snow was heavy outside, leaving inches of soft snow on the ground. The sky was dark yet some light was able to seep through. In the household of the Granger's were Y/N and Hermione, decorating the house for Christmas. Hermione's parents were out doing the groceries, leaving the two to decorate for their favourite holiday.
Y/N tried his best to decorate the tree but grew bored of hanging the small, colourful balls on the tree. He quickly left his girlfriend to it while he made his way to the kitchen, starting on making cookies.
Though Y/N was messy when baking, he was very good at it. For someone who loved sweets, this was expected. He quickly worked away at the ingredients, creating his favourite sugar cookies.
"Which one?" Y/N heard Hermione's voice from behind him.
She had a small twig from the tree stuck in her hair, making Y/N chuckle a bit. He heard Hermione also chuckle at him when she saw that he had flour stuck to the side of his cheek. She walked over to him, wiping the flour off while Y/N took the twig off of her hair.
Hermione held out two different stars in front of him. One was a small plastic star, it was a bit battered and old, with a few things written on it. The other was made of glass, with a bright light coming from inside.
Y/N grabbed the plastic one, inspecting the writing on it.
"It's old, we've had it since I was a kid." Hermione explained, reminiscing her childhood.
"I like this one." Y/N smiled.
He loved learning about his girlfriend's childhood memories.
"Great choice." Hermione giggled before retreating back into the living room.
Y/N continued to make his cookies, carefully inserting the tray into the oven. He set a timer for 12 minutes before following Hermione to the living room.
There he saw his girlfriend, struggling to reach the top of the tree. The tree was very tall, even taller than Y/N, he could just barely reach the top of it, it was beautifully decorated.. The lights gave the tree a magical feel and only the star was the missing piece.
Y/N chuckled before coming up to his concentrated girlfriend, jumping up to the tree.
"Need some help, love?" Y/N asked.
"Yes, please." Hermione responded after being startled.
Instead of Y/N just grabbing the star and placing it himself, he decided he would simply help his girlfriend reach the top. The star held a special place in Hermione's heart and Y/N wanted her to do the honors of placing the star.
He bent down and motioned for Hermione to get on his shoulders. Hermione hesitated before taking a seat on his shoulders, holding onto Y/N's head tight due to her fear of heights. Y/N made sure to hold onto her tightly and securely.
She squealed as Y/N stood up, lifting her up to reach the tree. She took her time, placing the star on the tree, making sure it was perfectly angled. It was as if her fear of heights disappeared completely when Y/N was the one holding her, she felt safe.
"Okay, you can put me down now." Hermione instructed, admiring her work of the tree.
Y/N had a cheeky smile on his face, turning his body with Hermione still latched onto his head. He quickly ran across the room, making Hermione squeal, remembering her fear.
"Y/N!" Hermione scolded, hanging on for dear life.
"Yes, love?" Y/N teased, bringing her to the kitchen.
"Put me down!" Hermione screamed.
Y/N only giggled as a response, running around the counters while Hermione squealed more.
His cookies' timer suddenly went off, making him have to put Hermione down. He gently kneeled down, for his girlfriend to come down.
Hermione took deep breaths, calming herself down before playfully smacking her boyfriend on the arm as he made his way towards the oven.
He chuckled at Hermione while taking the cookies out of the oven.
"You're an idiot." Hermione huffed, taking a seat on a chair, opposite of Y/N on the counter.
"But I'm your idiot." Y/N chuckled, getting the frosting he prepared out of the fridge.
Hermione tried to be angry at Y/N but couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face as she watched her boyfriend start decorating the little cookies.
"Can I help?" Hermione asked, grabbing one of the trays of cookies.
"Of course!" Y/N chimed, not taking his eyes off of the cookie he was decorating.
Hermione took a few of the piping bags filled with icing and started decorating one of the snowman-shaped cookies.
Y/N was concentrating very hard, poking his tongue out slightly, decorating two little gingerbread men.
"Look, it's us!" Y/N said happily, showing Hermione his neatly decorated cookies.
He decorated it to look like him and Hermione. Though, due to them being gingerbread men-shaped, they looked a bit silly.
Hermione chuckled at Y/N's innocence, giving him a bright smile. She had no idea how her smile made his world tip over it's axis.
"It's cute." She giggled.
Y/N pouted at her giggles but couldn't fight back the wide grin that had formed on his face due to the sound of her laugh.
Hermione copied Y/N's idea and made the snowman look like one of their friends.
"It's Harry." Hermione laughed, showing off the wonky looking snowman.
Y/N chuckled at it. His laugh was soft and childish, making Hermione's stomach do barrel rolls.
After finishing the cookies, the two of them stepped back to see their hard work. The cookies looked amazing and it took all of Y/N's patience to wait until the Granger's got home before eating them.
Hermione noticed a small bit of frosting that somehow got onto Y/N's cheek. Without a word, she went over to him, pulling his head down. Much to Y/N's confusion, he let her do what she had wanted. Hermione licked the frosting off, making Y/N blush.
"You had some frosting." She giggled at her frozen boyfriend.
"T-Thanks." Y/N stuttered.
His flushed face quickly turned into a cheeky smile when he wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, pulling her closely. The couple shared a passionate kiss which deepened every second that went by. Their tongues met and danced around together as they snogged each other. They only separated when they felt the need for air, panting as they looked into each other's eyes.
"Y/N..." Hermione got out between her deep breaths.
Without any word, Y/N latched his lips back onto Hermione's, pushing her softly towards a wall. He placed a hand on the wall, next to Hermione's head while using his other hand to guide Hermione's leg, lifting it to the side of his leg as they pressed their bodies together. Hermione's arms snaked their way around Y/N's neck, pulling him closer to her.
Their tongues met once more, fighting for dominance. Y/N brought his arm from the wall and onto Hermione's butt, squeezing it lightly, making her moan softly. Y/N took this as an opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, winning their fight of dominance. Once again their make-out session was disturbed due to lack of air. They separated, staring at each other in the eyes as they took deep breaths, panting.
"I love you, 'Mione." Y/N whispered.
Hermione opened her mouth to respond but was quickly stopped by Y/N placing his hot lips onto her neck, gently nibbling on her skin. Hermione let out a soft moan at the contact, moving her hands to the back of Y/N's head to pull him closer.
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"Merry Christmas!" The Granger's yelled as the clock hit 00:00.
They had finished dinner a few hours earlier and were sitting by the fire on the couch, watching the T.V until it was Christmas time.
"Merry Christmas." Y/N said softly.
Hermione yawned, leaning her head on Y/N's shoulder. Her parents moved towards the tree, bringing out two boxes and placing them close to the couple.
"Go on. Open them." Mrs. Granger urged them with a smile.
The couple grabbed the neatly wrapped presents, taking one each. They both unwrapped it at the same time, a grin growing on both their faces to see a box of books each. The Granger's really tried hard to please the two book worms and they had succeeded.
"Thank you so much." Y/N said politely, trying to hide his growing smile.
Hermione gave both of her parents a tight hug before turning back to Y/N.
"I've got something for you too, Y/N." Hermione gushed before running up the stairs, going to her room.
Y/N took this as a chance to pull out a small box from his pockets, making Hermione's parents look at him in shock.
"I don't suppose-" Mrs. Granger started, making Y/N's face go red.
"No-No- I know we're too young. They're just earrings." Y/N stuttered.
They sat in silence for a while until Mr. Granger spoke up.
"In the future, just know. You have our blessing." Mr. Granger comforted.
Y/N went an even brighter shade of red as he thought of Hermione being his wife. Though he was extremely flustered at the moment, he couldn't stop the growing grin on his face.
"What were you guys talking about?" Hermione asked, walking up behind the couch.
"N-Nothing." Y/N blurted, turning to face her.
Hermione shrugged her shoulders before placing a small kiss on Y/N's forehead, making him melt at her touch.
"Here." She whispered, handing him a small box.
Y/N smiled, taking it while also placing his gift to her in her hands.
"You shouldn't have." Y/N chuckled.
"But I did." Hermione responded, smiling softly at him.
"I didn't know what to get you, really. But I hope you love it."
"I'm sure I will. But-" Y/N paused, taking a deep breath.
Hermione looked up at him with a concerned look.
"Being with you." Y/N started once more, placing a soft kiss onto Hermione's lips before continuing.
"That's all I really want."
Hermione blushed at Y/N's words, frozen still in her spot.
"Ahem. Well... We'll be going to our room now." Her parents said, breaking the silence before running up the stairs, leaving the couple alone.
Y/N stood up from the couch, walking over to his frozen lover before whispering into her ear.
"Open it."
Hermione snapped out of her thoughts, moving her hands to open the small box to reveal a small necklace with a small, red butterfly.
"I figured the necklace I gave you had gotten small." Y/N blurted.
"It's beautiful..." Hermione whispered with a comforting smile.
"Help me put it on?"
Y/N obliged, taking the necklace from her hands, pushing her bushy hair to the side. The two shared a quiet moment as Y/N clipped the necklace around Hermione's neck softly. His warm hands made her shiver at the contact with her neck.
"Thank you." Hermione said as Y/N returned in front of her.
"Your turn."
Y/N pulled out the small box that Hermione had given him from his pockets, opening it to reveal a new bracelet. On it were a few small cherry blossoms, laced around the silver bracelet.
Y/N smiled before wrapping it on his other wrist, opposite of the wrist with his matching bracelet with Hermione.
"I love it, thanks, love." Y/N exclaimed before placing his lips onto Hermione's, giving her a soft kiss.
The couple stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes, feeling their love for each other grow even more.
"I look at you and see..." Y/N broke the silence.
"The rest of my life in front of my eyes."
Hermione smiled softly at his sweet words before wrapping her arms around his neck. Y/N had grown very tall, 3/4's of his head was past the top of Hermione's meaning she had tippy toes. She gently pressed her lips onto Y/N's, sharing a sweet kiss which tasted of Christmas cake.
"I love you..." Hermione whispered before locking lips with Y/N once more.
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School had started once again. Y/N and Hermione walked down the halls with Harry as he explained to them what had happened at the Burrow. Apparently, Death Eaters had attacked Harry and burned down the Burrow in the process.
Y/N looked frustrated, walking along Hermione who had her eyes locked onto the newspaper she had in her hands.
"It's so easy for them to get to you!" Hermione exclaimed, keeping her eyes on the newspaper.
"You're bloody lucky you weren't killed. You have to realize who you are, Harry."
She finally lowered her arms, carrying the newspaper with one hand and locked fingers with Y/N with her free hand.
"I know who I am, Hermione, alright?" Harry whined.
Hermione glared at him, making him whisper a quick sorry. Y/N's gaze softened at the thought of Harry Potter still being scared of wandless Hermione. He wouldn't blame him thought, angry 'Mione was very scary.
The trio turned to the right, walking through the busy halls to see Ron and Lavender sitting on a window sill. Lavender sat a little bit above Ron who seemed bothered by her touching.
"Lav, come on. Of course I'll wear it." The trio overheard Ron say.
"That's my Won-Won." She squealed, tightening his tie for him before hugging his arm tightly.
"Excuse me, I have to go and vomit." Hermione whispered, pulling Y/N away, leaving the halls.
Y/N chuckled before waving goodbye to Harry.
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"I'd like to know where you get your information." Slughorn's voice rang out as the scene unfolded itself to Harry and Y/N.
The two boys were back, looking into the memories at Dumbledore's office.
"More knowledgeable than half the staff, you are."
"Sir..." The younger Tom spoke up.
"Is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?"
"Now, Tom. I couldn't tell you if I knew, could I?" Slughorn responded with his cheerful voice.
"By the way, thank you for the pineapple. You're quite right, it is my favorite. But how did you know?"
Tom sat in silence for a bit, not knowing how to answer.
"Intuition." He bluffed, shaking his head slightly.
Slughorn looked around, seeing the time.
"Gracious. Is it that time already? Off you go, boys, or Professor Dippet will have us all in detention." He chuckled, deciding not to question Tom further.
The rest of the boys left, leaving Tom alone with Slughorn. Tom then started touching the weird objects in Slughorn's room, making one of the hourglasses make a musical sound.
"Look sharp, Tom. Don't want to be caught out of bed after hours." Slughorn warned.
Tom didn't answer, instead he looked plainly at the professor.
"Is something on your mind, Tom?" Slughorn asked, raising an eyebrow at the student.
"Yes, sir." Tom said as he wandered around the room.
"You see, I couldn't think of anyone else to go to."
He stopped in his tracks, turning back at Slughorn.
"The other professors, well, they're not like you." Tom had a suspicious tone in his voice, laced with pride and cunningness.
"They might misunderstand."
"Go on." Slughorn said before taking a sip of his coffee.
"I was in the library the other night... in the Restricted Section..." Tom explained, walking slowly up to Slughorn with his hands behind his back.
"And I read something rather odd about a bit of rare magic..."
He stopped in his tracks once more, standing in front of Slughorn.
"And I thought perhaps you could illuminate me." He asked.
"It's called, as I understand it..."
Y/N and Harry couldn't hear what he said next due to the memory starting to fade.
"I beg your pardon?" Slughorn asked.
The volumes of their voices were now barely audible.
"I don't know anything about such things, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" Slughorn yelled.
"Now, get out of here at once, and don't let me catch you mentioning it again!"
The memory quickly faded away as the last image of Tom's stoic expression disappeared. Ink swirled around the water before the two boy's heads were lifted out of the water.
"Confused?" Dumbledore asked as soon as the two boys caught their breaths.
He had a stern look in his face, staring the young boys down.
"I'd be surprised if you weren't."
"This memory was different... Something was missing..." Y/N observed.
"What happened?" Harry asked, putting his glasses back on.
"This is perhaps the most important memory I've collected, it is also a lie." Dumbledore said, walking towards the two boys.
"This memory has been tampered with... by the same person whose memory it is, our old friend, Professor Slughorn."
Y/N tilted his head after wiping the water off of his face with his handkerchief.
"But why would he tamper with his own memory?" Harry questioned, looking back into the glowing water.
"I suspect he's ashamed of it." Dumbledore responded hastily.
"Why?" Y/N asked.
"Why indeed." Dumbledore wondered.
Y/N and Harry shrugged at each other before turning back to Dumbledore.
"I asked you both to get to know Professor Slughorn, and you have done so." Dumbledore stated.
"Now I want you to persuade him to divulge his true memory... any way you can."
"We don't know him that well, sir." Harry said gently.
Dumbledore looked at the two boys before dipping his hand into the water. The two boys watched with curiosity as he lifted his hand back out, letting the drops of water fall back in.
"This memory is everything. Without it, we are blind..." Dumbledore said softly.
"Without it, we leave the fate of our world to chance. You have no choice. You must not fail."
Y/N and Harry grew concerned expressions, the fate of the world had been left in two 16 year old boy's hands.