Magic Bracelet
There's a saying that says, life is like a mosaic where all the pieces would fit together and become its own set of reality. Zoia finally realized this is that time; the change of tone; a new season; the end of book one. All she has been doing all these years is for this moment.
The comforting warmth of childhood love is slipping away from her, a reality check that she is not a kid anymore. Her childhood is over and this is the time for adulthood, real life.
Is she ready? Sure not, but that's life. We can't pause or turn back time just because we're not ready, that's the harsh truth. But is she excited about it? Yeah, a bit, more like the nervous kind of excited. She knows she's not alone in this, everyone has their struggles, especially during the change between adolescence and adulthood.
Today's the last day of the N.E.W.T.s exam also known as her eighteenth birthday. She is beyond excited for the examination to be over.
"Happy birthday," Harry said in a raspy voice, waking the slightly awake girl up.
Staying over for the night was definitely one of the best decisions Harry has ever made because he got to be the first person to see eighteen-year-old Zoia.
Harry decided to study with Zoia and her roommates last night and chose to stay in. The last examination is going to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, both written and practical. He has been the most nervous for the whole night since this is very vital for his auror career.
"Thank you," she fluttered her eyes open, slowly grinning.
"That's the smile," he pinched her cheek.
Before she could reply, the curtain of her bed is opened harshly for them to meet the sight of her roommates, Ginny, and Allie with a sushi cake.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOIA!"
"Oh, my," Zoia squealed, "It's tiers of sushi!"
"That was my idea just so you know," Harry muttered.
"Thank you," Zoia said gratefully before kissing his cheek.
"Well, are you going to eat it?" Asked Monica.
"Obviously," said Zoia. "Well, do any of you guys want it as well?"
"Yes." They answered in unison.
"Okay, but we have to eat it on the floor, I don't want crumbs on my bed."
"Okay, Zoia," they replied.
"Hermione wanted to come by the way but Ron kept her," Ginny huffed, "But no worries Zoi, Hermione always has plans."
"It's alright," Zoia chuckled. "You guys can start eating now, Harry and I are going to brush our teeth first."
Zoia dragged Harry to the bathroom. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. This is her first birthday with Harry — as her boyfriend! Not to mention this is her last birthday here at Hogwarts. She's eighteen! She's legal in the muggle world now.
Once they finished brushing their teeth, Harry tutted, "You're a cougar, dating a seventeen-year-old boy," shaking his head.
"Oh shut up," Zoia pulled him by his shirt for a kiss.
"I love getting ready in the morning with you, can we shower together after this? It saves water you know," Harry smirked.
"That is definitely not the reason you want to shower together but yes sure," she answered. "But remember, just showering. We can't get our heads anywhere else, especially with that. We're going to take our examination."
"Okay okay!"
"Hey! Are you both shagging or what? We already started you know," Monica called them. "We're going to finish it if you both won't come out."
"Come," Harry chortled.
"Harry!" Zoia slapped his head playfully.
"It's a bit funny!"
"You're such a child," Zoia shook her head.
Zoia immediately pulled Harry out of the bathroom to approach them and her sushi — her sushi.
"Harry and I didn't shag, we just brushed our teeth," Zoia announced to everyone.
"Yeah, it definitely took almost twenty minutes to just brush your teeth," Monica snickered.
"Like I only lasted for twenty minutes." Harry scoffed.
Everyone looked intrigued at Harry while Zoia's face turned flushed red.
"Harry!" Zoia hissed.
"I am tainted!" Ginny shrieked, covering up her ears.
"Oh shut up." Harry rolled his eyes.
"How about you shut up and eat this sushi," Zoia suggested, bringing her chopstick in front of his mouth.
"There's no wasabi there right?"
"How about you find out," Zoia smirked at him.
"Zo, I can't-"
"There's no wasabi nor chili powder, Harry," Zoia said firmly, "Now open your mouth."
"Yes yes yes," Harry nodded his head vigorously and complied.
"I never expected this day would come but here we are," Monica whispered to Ginny.
"I know," Ginny chuckled, looking at Zoia proudly.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Turns out Ginny was right, Hermione (and Ron) had something planned all ready for her, a box filled with cupcakes, adorable cupcakes. Meanwhile, her parents just sent her a letter saying that they will celebrate her birthday when she gets back. She's just thankful her mother is okay and is getting better.
Zoia doesn't know if this is considered a special power but every single important note she made during her review always came up in the examination. Harry always said it's some freakish talent she had, however, she thinks maybe she's just highly observant — or it is a special power.
She got her written exam done twenty minutes before the time which means she will spend those times checking her answers again and again. She looked at a couple of tables in front of her to see Harry still doing his work. She was smiling to herself until one of the invigilators called her out.
"Are you trying to cheat Ms," the older man looked at her paper, " Robinson?"
"I wasn't," Zoia trembled, shaking her head vigorously, "I was daydreaming."
She caught some of the attention of students, including Harry.
"If I caught you cheating, I will not hesitate to disqualify you from all examinations, Ms. Robinson." Said Professor Treeshard, one of the examiners.
"You won't catch me doing such a thing because I will never cheat."
"Then let's keep it that way." He said before walking away from her table.
Zoia felt completely furious at the accusation that she kept checking her papers harshly causing her to almost tear her papers. It seems like Harry could feel her emotion even from his seat that he decided to sneakily look over his shoulder to see her frowning, glaring at her paper, and clutching her quill. He holds a peal of laughter at how adorable she looks when she's angry and decided to look away before he got accused of cheating as well.
"That was humiliating and I was scared he was going to actually disqualified me from my N.E.W.T.s. Imagine retaking it," Zoia groaned, complaining to Harry and Monica once they left the hall. "Now we just have to do the stupid practicals."
"Hey, calm down," Harry cupped her face.
"How can I calm down? I almost have to retake my-"
She was cut off by him kissing her while Monica shook her head at the sight. However, Zoia felt all waves of anger towards that bigheaded examiner washed away from her. Once he pulled away, she felt her cheeks reddened because he had kissed her in public, causing some people to look at them.
"We just did PDA!" Zoia hissed at Harry.
"At least you're not angry at Treeshard anymore," Harry smirked at her.
"Thank Merlin there's not many students," Zoia sighed. "Thank you, by the way, I'm happy now."
"Glad I could be the problem solver," Harry pulled her closed by the waist and kissed her temple. "Another good luck kiss perhaps?"
"Sure," Zoia chuckled, pulling him for another kiss.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Harry has planned a picnic at Zoia's playground in the room of requirement with all of her close friends. With the help of the elves in the kitchen, he's able to prepare as much food as possible. Knowing Zoia, he knows she wouldn't like big parties that much, small gatherings with loved ones are her go-to.
Zoia's reaction was priceless when she saw how he had decorated the place, not to mention the food and picnic mat. Harry has made a birthday party Zoia always craved when she was younger.
"Birthday girl needs to wear her crown, c'mon." Harry suddenly puts the birthday crown girl on her head while the rest wear the happy birthday cone hat. Harry also knows pastel pink is her favorite color (since most of her stuff is this color), almost everything is pastel pink.
"This is so amazing." Zoia breathed out.
"Let's sit there with everyone, we have a cake for you," Harry pulled her with him.
Once they sat down, she squealed when she saw her cake.
"It's a bento cake! It's so adorable!"
"Sorry it's a bit on the smaller side, I just figured after the sushi cake and Hermione's cupcakes, you wouldn't want a ginormous cake. I also think with all of this food, we don't need more cake — I mean there's a bunch of desserts," Harry rambled nervously.
"Hey hey," Zoia cupped his cheek, "It's perfect."
Harry grinned when he felt her lips on his cheek.
"C'mon, I can't wait!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.
"Of course you are," Ginny scoffed while Hermione just shook her head with a smile on her face.
By the end of it all, Zoia had to open all of her presents which she is beyond grateful for. Harry as per usual spoiled her with a bunch of gifts though he said he has a surprise gift he'll give her later, in private. Her mind obviously went somewhere else, but he quickly added it's not that though it is still on his list.
After hours of playing and eating in the playground, one by one they went back to their dorm, leaving Harry and Zoia alone, laying down on the picnic mat.
"So what is the surprise gift?" Zoia asked. "Merlin, I am overjoyed with surprises today."
"You deserve it," Harry looked at his side, studying her.
"What is it? I'm very curious," she looked at him excitedly.
"Let's sit down," he suggested.
"Ooohh, it's getting serious," she teased him, once they're both sitting.
"Yes actually," he sighed nervously.
"You're making me nervous Harry. . ."
"Move in with me."
Zoia slightly parted her lips in surprise.
"Here," he rummages through his pocket, "It's the key to my beach house you love so much. We can live there — together," he showed her the key. "I honestly don't know if you think we're too young for this — I actually think you're thinking this right now," he chuckled, "But ever since we got together I never wish to be parted from you. We have spent all these years, even before we were together, living in this castle, and the thought of living apart from you after all these years made me — sad. I just can't imagine living without you around, not seeing you in the morning, having breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you; spending my days with you."
Once Harry was finished, Zoia took a deep breath before letting out her thoughts.
"First off," she began, "I truly do love that beach house, living there would be such a dream."
Harry chuckled at that.
"I think moving in with you would be a great idea, and I would love that very much. . ."
Harry squealed internally until he realized there was a but.
"But. . . I don't want to move out just yet," she said hesitantly. "It's not because of you or us, truly. If it was up to me and if I want to be selfish, I would. I don't know if you can hear my heartbeat now Harry but it's beating like crazy. It made me so happy that you wanted me to move in with you," she smiled at him, "But with everything that's going on with my mum, I really don't want to be apart from her."
Suddenly Harry felt guilt eating him up.
How could he forget about this?
"I know mum is going to be okay, she has to be but I have to always be prepared for the worst. I just want to spend as much time as possible with my mum and be there for her. She's sick and I don't want her to be alone just with dad," she said. "I have been away from her because of school, now that I'm graduating, I feel like this is my time to take care of her."
"I understand, Zo" he nodded, putting the key back inside of his pocket.
"I'm really really sorry, Harry," she apologized, "I wanted to, I really do."
"I know, don't worry about it," he tucked her hair behind her ear, "I'm really sorry too, I should've thought this through more."
"You just did what people in love would do. I heard Ron and Hermione wanted to move in as well once they made enough money later," she said.
"Yeah, I know," he chuckled.
"Are you still going to move out?" She asked him.
"I don't know, I mean I was planning to move out because of you. Now that this is the case, I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe I'll just keep living at my parents' house for a while."
"How about this," she suggested, brushing his hair back, making his scar visible, "We can stay at your beach house every weekend if you want? So I can accept your surprise gift and we can semi-move in together."
"You really don't have to do that, Zo. . ."
"I want this Harry, only if you're up to it. I really want to move in with you," she said.
"Anything you want I'm down Zo," he replied. "If semi-moving is what works for you, I'm okay."
"How can you be so understanding," she immediately pulled him into a tight hug. "I love you so much."
"I'm just doing what a boyfriend should do," he chuckled, running his fingers through her hair while inhaling her scent. "And I love you too, very much, very much."
"So. . ." She began once they pulled away from the hug, "Are you going to give me the key?"
"Oh yeah yeah," he immediately scrambled through his pocket. "As you can see here, I have made it a bracelet for you so you won't lose it. I thought about making it a necklace but I thought it would be a bit harder to take it off and such," he rubbed his neck nervously. "I charmed the bracelet — well my mum did. It won't ever fall off by itself unless you take it off and how you take it off is using magic. Let me show you."
Harry put the bracelet in between them, grabbed his wand, and then tapped his want at the bracelet.
"Mischief," he muttered and suddenly the bracelet opened itself.
"It's like — it's similar to your stalking map!"
"It's not a stalking map but yes," he chuckled. "This was my dad's doing. He thought it would be a great idea."
"He's not wrong," she murmured, still in complete awe.
"It will lock itself when you put it on so it wouldn't be hard, it's magnetic," he said, "Let me show you. Give me your hand."
He delicately touched her hand and effortlessly put on the magnetic bracelet on her wrist.
"Try to take it off," he suggested.
She tried everything to get it off her wrist. He was right. It won't come off unless with magic.
"You're amazing," she shook her head at him.
"I know," he smirked.
"I love you so much," she immediately kissed him all over his face. "Thank you for this gift, for the other gifts, for planning my birthday, and most importantly, thank you for being the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for. Thank you, Harry, you're the best — the absolute best person I've ever met."
"It's really not hard to be the best when I have you as a girlfriend," he cupped her face, smiling gratefully at her. "Happy birthday, Zoia."
"Happy birthday, Zoia," she repeated, grinning at herself before pulling him for yet another kiss.
It truly is not a hard thing to be the best when you're surrounded by the most amazing people.
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[ ✎ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ♡! ]
There will be seven more chapters showing their life after Hogwarts so don't worry, it's not really over yet.
I'm actually very excited for those chapters because as I said before (I think) I have written the very last chapter since I started this book and everything will make sense in a way.
Besides that, I'm also excited for you guys to know what I will name (or Zarry will name) their children. I think it's genius honestly idk...... HAHA
Ily, and have a good day <3