── ⲇ ──
The first task drew nearer and nearer.
And an article by Rita Skeeter had came out.
She interviewed the champions, for nearly seven pages, she went on and on about Harry, and in one line she mentioned Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour (their names spelled wrong) and absolutely no mention of Cedric.
"Sometimes at night I still cry about them..." Y/n read on and on, letting out a few chuckles as she read the article. "What total bullshit."
But as her eyes trailed, she noticed the mention of her name. So she began to read it.
"My sister... well, what much can I say? Y/n abandoned me when I was nine years old, never even sent a letter or postcard... if anything, she barely counts as my sister..."
Y/n could feel her the lump in her throat as she struggled to swallow. And as she looked up from the article, she noticed a few stares in her direction. A few were whispering.
She quickly gathered her things and rushed out of the Great Hall. As she rushed out the dining hall, she brushed past someone on her way out.
"Sorry-" she quickly muttered, her voice breaking as her eyes began to cloud.
"Y/n-!" She heard Fred call out to her. But she ignored him. But what she couldn't ignore were the whispers and the gossip.
"She abandoned him."
"I hear she left him alone on that doorstep."
"She probably sold them out to You-Know-Who herself..."
Y/n rushed out of the castle until she was out at the courtyard. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. Loosening the collar of her shirt, she still felt out of breath.
She could still feel stares on her. Though the courtyard was empty, she felt them.
Laying against a tree, her chest heaved. Though the air was cold, she began to feel hot. Like a sinner in church.
Looking into the distance, she saw the bushy hair of Hermione Granger and the disheveled hair of Harry Potter.
She stood up, making her way over to them.
"Harry!" She called out. Hermione was the first to turn around. Harry seemed to be ignoring her. Perhaps he thought it was someone trying to prick a bit of fun at him.
"No, I don't need a hanky!" He exclaimed, turning around before meeting her eyes. "Oh.. hey, Y/n—"
"Hey? Hey?! You vent to Rita Skeeter that I'm practically not even your sister and all you say is 'hey'?!" She yelled at him.
Deep down, she knew that she shouldn't believe what Rita Skeeter wrote.
But deep down, that's exactly how she felt about herself.
She barely counted as his sister.
"You believe her?" Harry irked. "I would expect you, of all people, to not buy into that article. That article is rubbish and you know it." He looked up at her, his eyes stern.
"Doesn't mean it isn't true." She mumbled. She began to walk away.
"Oh, sure. Walk away, it's what you do best." Harry called out to her which made her stop in her tracks. He began to speak again. She could hear Hermione trying to pull him away.
"It wasn't just you, you know."
"Don't do this, Harry." Hermione told him.
Y/n turned around, a confused expression on her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That night... it wasn't just you... who had a bad time. The only one to lose something." He said, recalling the night of their parent's murder.
"It's not a competition." She irked.
"I nearly died..."
"Oh, apparently it is." She rolled her eyes.
"I NEARLY DIED!"
She stared blankly, quiet for a moment.
"I know..." she trailed her words. "I was there... You're not the only one who lost their parents."
"No, but I'm the only one with a reminder." He referred to his scar.
"Physically, yes." She responded, narrowing her eyes as she began to step closer.
"Don't, ever, for a second think that I don't carry that weight on my shoulders. Our mother's screams, his laugh, your cries. Those memories play in my head every night when I close my eyes. I couldn't cry because I was busy rocking you to sleep! I hid in the closet, for hours, scared that he was going to come back and kill us! And all I could focus on was protecting you! I always had to protect you! I carry those memories with me, so don't think for a second you're the only one with a reminder, because you are my living reminder!"
She shouted at him as they both stared into each other's eyes. He didn't respond as Hermione began to pull him away. She felt a pair of hands on her own shoulders.
Not caring who it was, she dropped to her knees as she let the tears pour out. Footsteps shuffled beside her before she heard them kneel down and embrace her.
Fred. He had followed her and watched her breakdown. He never knew how to comfort her, so instead he embraced her.
Unbeknownst to him, that was how he comforted her.
── ⲇ ──
Y/n and Harry didn't talk after that.
They've argued before, but this was different.
The tension was high. Perhaps beyond repair.
── ⲇ ──
"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" The soft voice of Alicia Spinnet reached Y/n's hot, burning face as she walked into their dorm.
"Did Fred send you?" Y/n peered, sniffling as she wiped her nose of snot.
"He did... talk to me, love. What happened?" She asked as she went over, sitting by her best friend's side. Y/n sighed. "I know... that I shouldn't believe what that article says... but a part of me knows it's true."
"I read it, and it's pure rubbish. And you know that." Alicia rubbed Y/n's shoulder gently. "Don't you?"
"No..." Y/n muttered. "Is it, though? I did abandon him, and I left him in the hands of the Dursleys... I mean Rita Skeeter's right, I barely count as his sister..."
"You're still blood. And you have proved to be a great sister during his time at Hogwarts. And not just to him, to Ron and Ginny as well." Alicia spoke softly, and gently. "And no, it doesn't change the fact that you left him, but you two were brought together again. This is your opportunity to make things right between you two, make up for the time apart."
"What if I can't?"
"You can. I know you can. Give it some time first, I'm sure it'll work out in the end."
Y/n turned to face Alicia's freckled face. Alicia had a warm smile on her face which radiated sunshine. Y/n couldn't help but smile as well.
"Thank you." Y/n whispered softly, leaning her forehead against the other's.
"Of course... I love you... and I'm here for you, always." Alicia whispered as well, closing her eyes as she planted a soft kiss onto the other's forehead.
── ⲇ ──
It was a free afternoon and the gang decided to head to Hogsmeade.
Fred, Y/n, George, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia all headed to The Three Broomsticks. Tagging along with them was Ron.
Who just like Y/n, was not on speaking terms with Harry.
As they sat at a table, Y/n spotted Hermione by herself at a table. She was looking at a notebook. She seemed to be... talking to herself?
Lee had disappeared from the table and soon came back with a tray of butterbeer.
"For the ladies." He handed Y/n, Alicia, and Angelina their drinks. "And for the ladies." He handed Fred, George, and Ron their drinks.
"Why, thank you, kind sir." George responded hotly with a bat of his eyelashes and a smile to match. He took a sip from his drink as did the others.
As Y/n sipped her drink, she gazed around the pub and began to notice Hagrid's large figure with Professor Moody. They made their way over to Hermione.
Leaning back, she covered her ears with her hair as she sipped her drink, her eyes practically bore into the back of Mad-Eye Moody.
"Nice cloak, Potter." She heard Moody whisper as he was leaned down, looking at Hermione's notebook. No... not her notebook.
At Harry.
"Can your eye- I mean-" she heard Harry's whisper. Yet she couldn't see him. "Yes, it could see through Invisibility Cloaks." Moody responded.
Ah, the invisibility cloak.
"Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear the cloak." Hagrid whispered before standing straight. "Nice ter see yeh, Hermione." He said before walking out.
What would Hagrid want? And at midnight, but Harry has to talk to Sirius tonight.
Y/n was pulled out of her thoughts by the collaborated whispering of Lee, Fred, and George.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Not sure yet, has to be perfect."
Their whispering was meant to be low and unheard, but she heard them. She could hear anything with the ears of a bat.
And with the form of a bat, she decided she'd keep an eye on Harry and see what it was that Hagrid wants with Harry.
Without getting caught.