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The day was Sunday morning.
Y/n watched as Fred and George bewitched snowballs to hit the window of the Gryffindor common room.
Meanwhile, she had built a snowman. Creeping up behind Fred, she took his scarf, wrapping it around the snowman.
"Oi!" Ron shouted from above. "I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window— OUCH!" He went back in to avoid more snowballs hitting him, slamming the window behind him.
Fred and George bellowed in laughter, high-fiving each other.
Sunday had passed by quickly.
And the night ended with Y/n and Fred sneaking out pass curfew, running around the halls of Hogwarts until they reached their destination in the room of requirements.
A romantic and lavish bed had appeared in the middle of the room that set the mood between them. Continuously shushing each other whilst laughing, the two enjoyed a night of passion and loving before they returned at the break of dawn.
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The next morning, at breakfast, Hagrid had finally returned to Hogwarts. Though his grotesque appearance made some students uneasy whilst Lee, George, and Fred had ran over to him, shaking his hand and welcoming him back.
Hagrid's left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit and there was bruising and cuts amidst his face. And the way he walked made Y/n suspect some broken ribs.
Y/n looked over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione with a shocking look to see that they did not share her same reaction which she suspected meant that they knew.
She wanted to ask what they knew but the time didn't come as it was now time for class.
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Eventually December came around with more snow and cold to endure.
Y/n did ask her brother about Hagrid's appearance at some point, and he told her, "he was on a mission for the Order. He was attacked by death eaters and giants.", which shocked her and she didn't bother to ask anymore questions.
She found herself in the common room along with the many fifth years preparing for their OWLS whilst she completed any and every homework assignment she had. There was no sound, it was silent in the common room as everyone in there was preparing for something.
Y/n was overworking herself and she knew it but she had plans and future goals to achieve. Her internship with McGonagall was something she very much looked forward to. But, on top of the piles of work she had, she had another thing to worry about;
Finding a Seeker and Beaters.
Tryouts were going to be held soon, she already posted the poster up though with great distaste. And with the holidays coming up, she found herself pondering on the gifts to get her loved ones.
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No matter the weather, Y/n stood in her Quidditch robes alongside Alicia, Katie, and Ron. The four were freezing but they endured it.
Y/n looked amongst the participants, the only one she recognized was Ginny Weasley who was trying out for Seeker.
Pressing her finger to her lips, she whistled loudly which caught their attention.
"Did you have to hold tryouts today?! It's cold!" A fourth year shouted. Y/n rolled her eyes, "Umbridge cleared us for today and we had to hold tryouts as quick as possible. How do you expect to play Quidditch if you can't endure the weather?"
The fourth year didn't respond and she mounted onto her broom. "We work under many conditions, and this is one of them. Andrew, Ginny and Waterington, you're up first. Treat this as a real game. Alicia, release the snitch. On my whistle, I will release the quaffle and the game will have begun. Treat us as your opponents. The rest go sit down."
Once the others were sat, she ordered everyone to mount their brooms and on the sound of her whistle, the match had begun.
Ron flew to the goalpost. And he was glad the focus wasn't on him because he surely knew he'd mess up.
Alicia, Katie and Y/n flew around as they showed their teamwork skills by passing the quaffle back and forth.
Though at one point, before Y/n could catch the quaffle, Andrew hit a bludger her way, causing her to drop the quaffle. Y/n looked to him and nodded approvingly before waving her wand to summon the quaffle back into her hands.
Once their little match had ended, Y/n took mental notes. Waterington had stumbled and let the bludger fall many times. Andrew had the precision but not the speed or reaction time.
And Ginny, though she caught the snitch, it flew from her grip before she could grab it again.
All things that could be improved.
"Okay, next group! Emory, Sloper, and Keech."
The match was quick. And not in a good way.
Emory never found the snitch even when it was right next to him, Keech somehow kept hitting himself with a bludger more than anyone else. Sloper was the only good one, though that's only because he could hit anyone else that wasn't himself. Y/n sighed exasperatedly before she eventually blew her whistle and called it quits.
She then spoke with Ron, Alicia, and Katie.
"So... what are we thinking?" She asked them. "I miss Fred and George." Katie said. "And Harry." Ron added. Y/n nodded in agreement. "I do too, but thats not what i meant... I meant about them." They all turned to look over at the participants, each tensing up once they saw that they were being looked at.
"I vote for Ginny as Seeker. She's no Harry, but she can catch the snitch." Katie spoke. "Wait, my sister? Oh, c'mon—!" Ron sputtered but sighed. "Yeah, she's good. Don't tell her I said that." Y/n chuckled lightly, "I vote Ginny as well. Now for beaters..."
"They were all idiots." Alicia spoke. "Andrew Kirke can aim." Y/n added. "Though his movements are slow." Alicia butted in. "Yes but he keeps a grip on the bludger." Katie spoke. "And won't drop it or hit himself like Waterington or Keech. So, decisions are made."
The rest nodded and they began to walk over to the participants. "We have made our decisions. Congratulations to those who have made it and for those who didn't, please don't take it to heart."
"For the position of Seeker, we chose; Ginny Weasley." Alicia announced as Ginny gasped and grinned in delight. "Yes!"
"For Beaters, we chose; Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper." Y/n announced. "There's room for improvement but we'll all work together to get there. Congratulations to the three of you and thank you all for coming out. Tryouts are now dismissed."
Y/n, Alicia and Katie made their way to the locker rooms, chattering on their way.
"This year is not looking too good for us." Y/n groaned, changing out of her quidditch robes. "I'm sure we'll do great!" Katie delightfully declared. "McGonagall wants that house cup, she told me so herself. I don't want to disappoint her or much less all of Gryffindor."
"It's all Umbridge's fault." Alicia huffed. The three girls made their way back to the castle after changing back into their school uniforms and secretly made their way to the room of requirements.
They made their way inside, breathless and freezing. "Well, we replaced you— can we get a fireplace or something in here?" Y/n spoke, a fireplace popping up as she spoke. "Ou." She immediately made her way over.
"Replaced me?" Harry spoke blankly. "You and Fred and George," she responded impatiently. "We've got another Seeker!"
"Who?" said Harry quickly. "Ginny Weasley,"said Katie. Harry gaped at her. "Yeah, I know," said Y/n, pulling out her wand and flexing her arm, "but she's good, actually. Nothing on you, of course," she said, throwing him a very pitiful look, "but as we can't have you..."
"And what about the Beaters?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even. "Andrew Kirke," said Alicia without enthusiasm, "and Jack Sloper. Neither of them are brilliant, but compared to the rest of the idiots who turned up..."
"One kept hitting himself, seriously cannot fathom how that was possible!" Y/n laughed, holding her hands out in front of the fireplace.
Within five minutes, the room had been filled and Fred sat next to Y/n near the fireplace. She told him all about the tryouts and how they went, the two of them laughing at the idiocy of the others who showed up.
"I'll miss you having my back." She sighed.
"I'll always have your back." He cheekily grinned.
"OK," Harry said, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three week break—"
"We're not doing anything new?" said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come."
"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," said Fred loudly. Several people sniggered. "- we can practise in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."
Fred stood up, helping Y/n up onto her feet before they took five paces away from each other.
The room was filled with cries of "Impedimenta" and people froze for a minute or so before they'd continue.
The dynamic was always the same with Fred and Y/n. They'd both manage to stun each other and they'd crack jokes. She'd stun him, he'd stun her and they'd laugh then repeat.
Fred was quick whilst Y/n was calculated.
She knew when to attack at the exact moment to catch him off guard whereas he'd attack the moment he could.
After ten minutes or so, the cushions were brought out and everyone began to practice stunning. At one point, Neville accidentally stunned Y/n when he meant to aim for Dean Thomas.
He frantically apologized to her and she merely laughed and brushed it off. "At least you can stun someone." She encouraged him before making her way back over to her group.
At the end of the hour, Harry called a halt.
"You're getting really good," he said, beaming around at them. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff - maybe even Patronuses."
There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a "Happy Christmas" as they went.
Y/n and Fred cleared out, and looking back, Y/n noticed that Harry was alone with Cho. She gasped softly and covered her mouth in surprise.
"My baby brother's alone with his crush! I feel so proud." She giggled as she hugged Fred's arm, the two making their way to the common room.
"Watch the git make a total fool of himself." Fred snorted. Y/n snorted in response, imagining how awkward and shy Harry must be. "He would, he just doesn't have the charms that I do."
"What charms? Snoring in your sleep isn't as charming as you think, love." Fred rose a brow, smirking playfully. "Ha-ha-ha, oh shush." She smacked his arm. "You talk in your sleep."
The two laughed as they entered the common room, joining their friends who sat by the fireplace. "Guess what I saw~?" Y/n spoke, adding some musicality to her voice as she approached her friends.
"What is it?" Alicia grumbled, still in a bad mood about the tryouts. "I saw Harry and Cho alone after we all left. They're probably still there now, doing Godric knows what." She rose her eyebrows, giggling lightly.
"Aww, Harry's finally making some moves." Alicia spoke. "That's sweet, I don't really see them being together but it's sweet."
"Yes, well, it's been quite obvious for some time that he likes her so it was about time." Y/n shrugged.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was listening to their conversation. And her heart may have shattered just a little as she heard about her longtime crush being with someone else.
Ginny excused herself from her friends and then made her way to her dorm room.