AN - Last chapter for year three! Also, I made a TikTok (HJPsQuill), I'll be uploading some videos there occasionally, so be sure to check it out!
Ok, onto the story!
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'I can't believe you didn't take me with you!' said Ron reproachfully.
The quartet had left the hospital wing the next day at noon. Y/N, Harry and Hermione had explained their adventure with the Time-Turner to Ron. They were sitting near the lake, watching the Giant Squid wave its tentacles around above the water.
'You were out cold, Ronald,' said Hermione, a book open on her lap.
Y/N threw a piece of toast at the Squid. It grabbed it and dunked it under the water.
'Y/N, you didn't tell us what your Patronus looks like,' said Hermione, looking up at her best friend.
'Er-'
Harry caught Y/N's eye and smirked at her. She blushed slightly and threw another piece of toast into the water, watching it disappear into the water.
'What is it?' said Ron, turning to Y/N. She didn't respond for a moment, thinking hard.
'It's... a doe,' she said slowly, careful not to look at Harry, who now had a grin plastered on his face as he watched his friend cut up another piece of toast.
'What's a doe?' Ron asked stupidly.
'A female deer,' said Hermione quickly, rolling her eyes. Y/N glanced at her friend and saw a smirk spreading on her face. Here we go.
'Oh, cool,' nodded Ron. A moment's silence, then he suddenly snapped his head around and gaped at Y/N.
'Wait! If yours is a doe... and Harry's is a stag... A- A stag is a male deer, right,' he added, looking around at Hermione.
'Yes, Ron, it is a male deer,' said Hermione, grinning broadly.
'So that means you're in lov-' Ron began loudly.
'SHUT UP, RONALD!' Y/N exclaimed, drowning out Ron's voice. She flopped onto her back while Ron and Hermione laughed at her embarrassment.
'I - am - not,' she huffed, still avoiding Harry's gaze. 'It's just- a coincidence,' she concluded, putting her hands over her face to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight.
'Is it, though?' a voice whispered above her. She pulled her hands away from her face to see Harry smiling softly at her, his cheeks slightly pink. Her face flushed.
'I- Yes... it is...' said Y/N, looking into his emerald eyes. They shone even brighter in the sunlight. She quickly looked away, feeling her face go hotter still.
'But it was different before,' murmured Harry, lacing his fingers in Y/N's hair. 'It was a Y/P (Your Patronus), wasn't it? Saw it when we did anti-dementor lessons with Lupin...'
Y/N was spared replying. A massive shadow had fallen on them and they looked up to see Hagrid beaming down at them.
'Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night,' he said. 'I mean, Black escapin' again, an' everything' - but guess what?'
'What?' the quartet said, pretending to look curious.
'Beaky! He escaped! He's free!'
'That's wonderful!' said Hermione, shooting Ron a reproving look because he looked as though he was about to laugh.
'Yeah... can't've tied 'im up properly,' said Hagrid, gazing happily out over the grounds. 'I was worried this mornin', mind... thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night...'
'What?' said Harry quickly, tearing his gaze away from Y/N to look at Hagrid.
'Blimey, haven' yeh heard?' said Hagrid, his smile fading a little. 'Er- Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'... Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see... An' he was loose on the grounds las' night... He's packin' now, o' course.'
'He's packing?' said Harry, alarmed. 'Why?'
'Resigned, didn' he?' said Hagrid. 'Says he can't risk it happenin' again.'
'I'm going to see him,' said Harry, scrambling to his feet.
'But if he's resigned-'
'-doesn't sound like there's anything we can do-'
'I don't care, I'm still going to see him. I'll see you later.'
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'Are you alright, Harry?' said Y/N, watching the raven-haired boy stare into the unlit common room fireplace.
It had been over a week since Sirius Black escaped with the help of Y/N, Harry and Hermione. Professor Lupin had resigned, leaving the school the next day. The quartet spent most of their days outside, or in their mandatory end-of-year classes they still had to take (Y/N had missed a few of these, not bothering since they didn't have any exams left).
'Hm?'
'You look a bit down,' she said, reaching her hand out and stroking his hair back. 'What's on your mind?'
'Just... thinking about the summer holidays,' said Harry truthfully. He had been dreading returning to the Dursleys. He had thought, for some time, that he'd be able to go live with Sirius once his name got cleared, but Pettigrew had gotten away and Sirius was back on the run...
'I know you wanted to live with Sirius, Harry,' said Y/N quietly, ensuring no one was eavesdropping. 'Having to live with your aunt and uncle must suck. But you won't be alone this summer.'
'What do you mean?' said Harry, looking around at his best friend.
'Well, I live twenty minutes away, don't I?' Y/N grinned. 'I'll come see you every day if I can.'
Harry watched her for a moment. That's true... He still had Y/N. And her mere presence was enough to cheer Harry up when he was down.
'You okay?' Y/N frowned slightly when Harry kept staring at her.
'What? Yes, I'm fine,' said Harry. Merlin, since when did she look so pretty? He quickly looked away, feeling his face become warmer.
'You don't want to see me during the holidays?' she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, already knowing the answer.
'What? No- no, of course I want you!' Harry blurted out. Y/N's eyes widened a bit and Harry realised what he had said. 'I mean- want to see you- this summer-' he stammered, his face burning hot. Y/N chuckled at his expression, and Harry felt his heart skip a beat as he watched her. Since when did Y/N make him feel like this?
'And by the way,' Y/N lowered her voice, leaning closer to Harry. 'I cast my doe Patronus before you cast your own stag Patronus... So, really, who's the one who's in love?' she smirked.
Harry's face grew, if possible, even redder. He looked away to hide the colour on his face, pretending to be interested in a prank Fred and George were pulling on an innocent first-year. Y/N laughed and ruffled his hair.
'Coincidence,' muttered Harry, facing Y/N again. 'Am I right?' he grinned.
'Right you are, Harry,' Y/N smiled back, amused.
'Listen, about that night, when we saved Sirius,' said Harry suddenly, 'when I-'
'I know,' Y/N cut across him, knowing he was referring to the kiss. 'Just a spur-of-the-moment thing, right?'
'I... yeah, that's right,' said Harry, nodding solemnly. 'Just... a friendly gesture...'
Hermione suddenly burst into the common room, followed by Ron. She holding three letters in her hand, looking frantic. She rushed over to where Harry and Y/N were sitting.
'I failed everything, I just know it!' she fussed, sitting beside Y/N, tossing a letter on her friend's lap and dropping another one on Harry's head without paying attention.
'Hey-'
'What?' said Y/N, unfolding the letter and reading it. 'Our exam results!'
'Y/N, McGonagall said if you skip another class, you'll get detention,' said Ron, dropping next to Harry, ripping open his own envelope.
'It's the last week!' sighed Y/N, reading her results. 'She can relax a bit... Let her hair down... I passed everything!'
'Me too,' said Harry and Ron together, scanning their letters.
'Hermione?' said Y/N, peering at Hermione's letter. 'Of course, passed with flying colours.'
'No surprise there,' grinned Ron.
'Well, I suppose I did well...' said Hermione, still scanning her letter, a frown on her face. 'But my Runes exam was rubbi-'
'Hermione, you got three hundred and twelve percent on your Muggle Studies exam,' said Y/N. 'And ninety-eight in your Runes exam, relax.'
'Sorry, what?' gaped Ron. 'Three hundred and twelve?'
'Yes...' said Hermione thoughtfully. 'But I spoke to McGonagall, I'm dropping Muggle Studies so now I can have a normal schedule again-'
'I still can't believe you didn't tell us about that Time-Turner of yours...' Ron huffed. 'We're supposed to be your friends!'
'I knew,' said Y/N, grinning.
'How?'
'I pay attention and I made Hermione tell me,' said Y/N truthfully. 'Like I paid attention and knew Lupin was a werewolf.'
'You knew-'
'Yes, Harold, I knew,' sighed Y/N, looking around the common room. 'Anyway, last day tomorrow...'
She watched Fred and George transfigure the first-year's book so that it had crab arms and legs, and the student ran away from the book in fear, while it chased him around. Y/N laughed to herself.
'Gred! That's mean!' said Y/N, watching as the student hopped onto a table while the book scrambled around it.
'Forge, what's Y/N talking about?' said Fred to his twin, grinning mischievously.
'No idea,' said George, grinning and winking at Y/N.
Y/N laughed and shook her head. She turned back to look at her friends and noticed that Harry was staring at her, a stupid smile plastered on his face.
'You want a picture?' smirked Y/N. 'Colin is just over there, he can help with you that.'
Ron and Hermione snickered as Harry's face flushed, looking away from Y/N. Why is he so shy and nervous all of a sudden?
She got up and stretched, heading to the spiral staircase that lead to their dormitories.
'I'm gonna go pack,' said Y/N.
'Me too,' said Hermione, getting up and disappearing up the staircase, Y/N following behind.
'So,' said the bushy-haired girl as she entered their empty dorm.
'So...?' Y/N repeated, pulling out her school trunk and beginning to pack.
'What's going on with you and Harry?' Hermione smirked, organising her books in a neat pile.
'What? Nothing!' stammered Y/N, throwing her clothes pell-mell into the trunk.
'You guys have been ogling at each other and blushing and being touchy all year, don't give me that 'nothing' crap,' Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling.
Y/N didn't say anything, pretending to be busy organising her leftover potion ingredients. The silence stretched for a few minutes until Hermione broke it.
'Do you have a crush on him?'
Another silence.
'Yes...' Y/N muttered so quietly that Hermione didn't hear her.
'What?'
'Yes, Hermione, I like him!' exclaimed Y/N louder. 'Woo! Fun!'
Hermione giggled in a very un-Hermione-ish way, making Y/N raise an eyebrow at her friend.
'Since when were you so interested in stuff like this?' Y/N asked, watching Hermione fold her robes.
'Well, I'm not, but you two are my best friends, so obviously I'm going to be interested...'
Y/N shut her trunk and flopped onto her bed, staring at the wooden canopy above her. She thought about Harry in a more-than-a-friend way, and butterflies suddenly swarmed her stomach.
'Are you going to date him-?'
'What?!' said Y/N, looking around at Hermione. 'Mione, we're thirteen years old, calm down. And I don't think he likes me, anyway.'
Hermione made a loud 'tuh' sound, as though not believing what Y/N was saying. 'You've got to be blind, you should get glasses like your boyfriend-'
'He's - not - my - boyfriend -' Y/N blushed, staring back at the canopy. 'We're just- friends.'
'Uhuh.'
Y/N got up from her bed and grabbed her empty owl's cage, staring at it without really looking at it.
Then she voiced something that made her feel slightly nauseous and self-conscious. 'I think- I think he likes Cho Chang. You know, the Ravenclaw Seeker...'
'What?' said Hermione, looking around at her friend.
'I saw the way he looks at her,' mumbled Y/N dispiritedly, cleaning out her owl's cage. 'She's really pretty too, so I don't blame him.'
'You've got to be kidding!' exclaimed Hermione, frowning at her friend. 'Y/N, Harry loves you! He loves you! Cho is probably just a silly crush... But I assure you that he loves you.'
Y/N shrugged, and her mind wandered to how Harry had almost kissed her a few nights before... He was so close. But he said it was friendly, so it didn't really mean anything. And what about their matching Patronuses? That was surely a coincidence...
But the way he looks at Cho... Y/N's stomach churned at the thought and she sighed.
'Cheer up, Y/N,' said Hermione kindly, patting Y/N's shoulder. 'Come on, we're late for dinner.'
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The gleaming, crimson Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station. It was finally time to go home, but Y/N was not enthusiastic about leaving Hogwarts.
'I'll miss this place,' she sighed deeply, staring up at the distant castle.
'Yeah, me too,' said Harry quietly, pushing his trunk into a carriage. Y/N's eyes fell on the raven-haired boy and she smiled slightly to herself. His hair looked slightly messier and he was wearing the jumper she had bought him the previous summer.
'And I'll miss you,' she said out loud (by accident).
Ron and Hermione cocked their eyebrows at them, smirking.
'Harry, I love you, Harry I doooo,' Ron began in a singing voice.
'When we're apart my heart beats only for youuuu,' chorused a pair of voices from behind them.
'Shut up, you two,' muttered Y/N, glaring at the Weasley twins, her face slightly warm. They laughed loudly and ran past them, carrying what looked like a mini-explosive.
'Aww, are you gonna miss me, Y/N?' Harry teased, smirking at his friend. 'I'll miss you too.'
'Don't you two live twenty minutes from each other?' said Ron, finding an empty compartment and settling in.
'They can't go a day without each other,' smirked Hermione, wiggling her eyebrows at Y/N and sitting down next to Ron.
'Oh my God,' Y/N rolled her eyes. Harry blushed slightly, sitting opposite his two friends.
Y/N put down her cat's carrier and sat next to Harry, closing the compartment door. She opened the flap of the carrier and her cat hopped out, greeting Crookshanks by sniffing each other's noses.
'They're cute, aren't they?' said Y/N, watching the two cats.
'Adorable,' cooed Hermione, petting Crookshanks.
'You two are mental,' muttered Ron as quietly as he could.
'I heard that, Ronald,' said Y/N, glaring at the redhead. 'Just because Scabbers turned out to be a balding middle-aged man-'
'Harry, what's that thing outside your window?' Hermione said suddenly, pointing at the window Harry was sitting beside.
He stood up and pulled open the window, and a tiny owl zoomed in, dropping a letter that was far too large for it to carry on Harry's head. It zoomed around their compartment, and Crookshanks watched it fly around with yellow eyes. Y/N's cat sat up and followed the tiny owl with round eyes.
Noticing their watchful eyes, Ron snatched the owl safely out of harm's way. It stared at him with big eyes and hooted softly.
Harry picked up the letter and saw that it was addressed to him. He ripped it open and shouted, 'It's from Sirius!'
'What?' Y/N, Ron and Hermione said excitedly. 'Read it aloud!'
'Dear Harry,
I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle's. I don't know whether they're used to owl post.
Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about the owl's reliability, but he is the best I could find and he did seem eager for the job.
I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle is lifted.
There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt -'
'Ha!' said Hermione triumphantly. 'I told you so!'
'Well, it wasn't jinxed though, was it?' said Ron. 'Ouch!' The tiny owl nibbled some of his fingers, hooting happily.
'- Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of gifts from your godfather.
I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable.
If you ever need me, send word. Your owl will find me. I'll write again soon.
Sirius.'
'What did he enclose?' said Y/N, watching Harry pull out a slip of parchment from the envelope. His eyes scanned over it quickly, a smile spreading on his face.
'I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends.'
'That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!' said Y/N, grinning. 'You'll finally get to see Hogsmeade without having to sneak around! It's weird with the Invisibility Cloak...'
'Yeah... Hold on, there's a P.S.' said Harry, looking back at Sirius' letter.
'I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat.'
'Keep... him?' said Ron with uncertainty. He looked at the owl closely, and then to their surprise, held him out for Crookshanks and Y/N's cat to sniff.
'What'd you reckon? Definitely a real owl?'
Crookshanks purred and Y/N's cat blinked slowly, tucking his paws under his body and falling asleep promptly.
'That's good enough for me,' said Ron happily. 'He's mine.'
'What are you going to name him?' Y/N asked, watching the tiny owl hoot happily in Ron's hand.
'Dunno...' said Ron. He let go of the owl and it flew around their compartment before settling between Hedwig and Y/N's owl. Hedwig puffed up her chest and ignored the small owl, while Y/N's owl watched it with curiosity.
Harry was leaning his head against the window, watching the small towns fly by with an odd expression on his face.
'You alright, Harold?' said Y/N, ruffling the boy's hair. He turned to look at her and smiled.
'I'm fine, just thinking about the holidays.'
'Harry, you've got to come and stay with us,' said Ron suddenly. 'It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! I'll fix it up with Mum and Dad, and I'll call you-'
'Or you can send him a letter so the Dursleys don't murder Harry,' grinned Y/N.
Ron rolled his eyes.
'Come on, Harry, how about it? Dad can usually get tickets from work.'
'Yeah, alright,' Harry grinned widely then turned to Y/N and Hermione. 'How about you? Are you coming to see the World Cup too?'
'Maybe,' said Hermione thoughtfully. 'I'd love to see wizards from different nationalities, I bet their spell words are different than ours-'
'Always a nerd, Hermione,' Y/N chuckled. 'And I don't know, I'll ask my parents.'
'You can come stay with us,' said Ron. 'I'll get my parents to convince yours to let you come over, you cannot miss the World Cup-'
'Alright, alright,' Y/N smiled.
'You should come too, Hermione,' Ron added, looking around at the bushy-haired girl. 'Ginny's always going on about having other girls in the house, so if she has you two she can finally shut up about it.'
'Must be tough, having to live with six brothers,' said Y/N. 'Anyway, if my parents don't let me go, you guys can come kidnap me, I give you permission.'
They spent the rest of the train ride talking, laughing, and eating (Ron went through at least ten Chocolate Frogs and two Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans boxes before Y/N told him about diabetes, and Hermione warned him about tooth cavities).
She kept looking at Harry, her eyes lingering on him longer than usual, looking away whenever he caught her eyes. What she didn't know was that Harry was doing the exact same thing. He loved watching her talk, laugh, and even when she wasn't saying anything, he simply admired her. When she took a short nap, leaning her head against his shoulder, Harry felt butterflies erupt in his stomach, and he restrained himself from looking too pleased.
The train pulled into King's Cross station, and the quartet stepped out and went through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters. Y/N spotted her parents and walked over to them. They were in a deep conversation with Mr Weasley.
'Hi,' said Y/N, hugging her two parents. 'Hello, Mr Weasley, What are you guys talking about?'
'Ah, Y/N!' said Mr Weasley cheerfully. 'I was just telling your parents about the Quidditch World Cup, you'll come stay with us this summer, I've got all the tickets arranged already.'
'Thank you, Mr Weasley!' Y/N grinned gratefully at him. She turned back to her parents. 'I'll go say bye to my friends, I'll be back.'
Y/N left her trolley with her parents and walked over to Ron and Hermione. She hugged her two friends tightly.
'I'll miss you!' said Hermione, pulling away from her friend.
'We'll meet at the Burrow,' said Y/N cheerfully, then turned to Ron. 'Right, Ronald?'
'Yep,' he said, turning to watch Mr. Weasley, who was now explaining how Floo Powder worked to Y/N's parents, who looked slightly confused. Y/N chuckled lowly, ruffled Ron's hair, and hugged Hermione, bidding them good-bye.
She looked around the station and located Harry, who was watching her hopefully. Y/N strode over to him quickly and embraced him warmly.
'I'll miss you,' Harry whispered in Y/N's ear. She pulled away from him slightly and stared into his eyes.
'I won't,' she grinned. 'I'll see you in, like, two days.'
Harry smiled at his friend, his face warming up. She was so close... He could see into the depths of her eyes, and Merlin, they were beautiful. Y/N looked around the platform, then quickly planted a kiss on Harry's cheek while no one was looking.
'Bye, Harry,' she said, pulling away completely and walking back to her parents, waving at the raven-haired boy.
Harry's face was glowing red, a soft smile plastered on it. 'Bye, Y/N...'
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AN - End of the third year! I hope you guys liked this chapter, thank you for reading!
Will be posting Author's Notes before the start of Year Four :)
Thank You!
- HJPsQuill