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Y/n was staring at the golden egg that was mocking her across from her bed. A week had gone by and she still didn't know what it meant. Every time she opened it, an ear bursting scream would erupt. Her eardrums would feel like they were bleeding and she didn't know what to do with it. She and the other contestants, even Severus, had all tried to brainstorm about what they could do but so far, nothing had worked.
Y/n was getting worried that they were all doomed. The second challenge was two weeks away and they still didn't have a clue.
The two things that made it the worst was that every time she went outside, to think or to hang out with Regulus to get away from the crowds, there would be a deer standing right there, following her around. And the second thing was that y/n's parents and James were avoiding her.
James claimed they were giving her space to think, but y/n wanted them to talk to her, she needed them to talk to her. The Rowles talked to her. They told her about the rest of her family, everyone back home. She bonded with her mother, Astrid, and talked about Regulus with her. Axel went on walks with her and Regulus in between classes. He told them about his life stories, about the odd people he had bet who ended up being the smartest people ever.
Y/n loved Regulus. She loved how he understood just what she needed and when she needed it. It was like he could read her mind.
He knew when they needed to be serious and study but he also made sure the atmosphere stayed light and fun. She missed their prefect patrols that had been stopped due to the tournament, seventh years had to patrol. He listened to her as she ranted about her parents and James. He made her feel loved.
And her brothers, well, they did their best to make up for lost time. They studied together and she and Eliasson worked together to try and figure out how to open the egg.
But James, whenever she went to sit with him at any of the meals, or talk to him during practice, he would get up and walk away, ignoring her. It hurt her. She didn't know what to do.
"Hey, you wanna take a quick break and go shopping for a dress?" Lily scared y/n, peeking her head through the door.
"A dress?" Y/n didn't understand.
"For the Yule Ball, you idiot," she laughed, walking into the room.
"James asked you?"
"Yeah, at lunch, right after you left," she murmured. "But that's beside the point, you need to look fabulous as Hogwarts champion,"
"Not a champion yet," y/n got pulled off of the bed by Lily.
"Yes you are. Now let's go," She linked arms with y/n and pulled her all the way to Hogsmeade.
There was a dress shop that had dresses in the windows that y/n had always admired but she never went into the store. When Lily pulled her into the small looking store, she saw that it wasn't as small as it seemed, it was huge on the inside. The walls of dresses went up hundreds of feet and stretched even further than that. There were dresses of every color and length and style, organized in every way possible.
An older lady trotted over to the amazed looking girls. She had a kind face and gray hair that was piled on the top of her head, only being held by two large pins. Her dark face accentuated her piercing gray eyes. She had wrinkles around her eyes that made the girls know that she had smiled so much in her life that she would die one day a happy woman.
"My name is Madam Pewster, How may I help you sweet girls today?" Her rich accent asked.
"Hi! I'm Lily and this is y/n, we're looking for dresses for the Yule Ball," Lily said.
"Ah yes," her accent slurred. "The Yule Ball. What colors are you thinking?"
Y/n hadn't thought about it. Regulus's favorite color was green but she wasn't sure she wanted to do green. She wanted something that would make his jaw drop, make his eyes stay on her the whole night. She got pulled out of her thoughts as the store shifted and brought forward several dresses that were exactly what Lily had described.
The one that she ended up choosing was a gorgeous green dress that had off the shoulder sleeves and white ribbons lacing up the back. When she tried it on, y/n just grinned at her, knowing that was the perfect dress for her friend.
Then Lily's smile faltered as she looked at herself.
"Do you think I look bigger?" Lily asked, looking in the mirror. "I feel ugly,"
"Lily, you are absolutely gorgeous," y/n grinned. "And if you don't get that dress, I will force it on you the day of the Yule Ball and drag you to the dance,"
"Okay, okay," she laughed. "I'll get it,"
Madam Pewster looked y/n up and down, a curious look on her face.
"And you, my dear?" She asked. "Or would you like for me to help you choose?"
"Uhm, I'd love your help, if you don't mind," she chuckled. "The last dance I went to, my dress was just given to me,"
"What dance was that?" Lily laughed.
"The Malfoy's engagement party, I went with Reg over break," y/n explained.
"You never told me that,"
Madam Pewster circled around y/n, examining her features.
"Ah, yes, I have a few dresses that would just look stunning on you," she said.
She waved her wand and the store shifted again, dresses being pulled at and put back in place, the racks spinning to find the right dress. Suddenly, five dresses appeared in front of y/n. (You can pick whatever dress you want but I'm going to just like use the black and white dress)
They were the most over the top and extravagant dresses she had ever seen.
"Are these a little much?" Y/n asked.
"Well, you are a contestant, aren't you? You deserve to be a little much," she smiled, her smile lines around her face becoming more defined.
"Hell yeah she does!" Lily cheered.
Y/n rolled her eyes but a smile played upon her lips. She examined the dresses, admiring each of their beauty, but she was drawn to the black and white one. There was something about the dark black of the dress, surrounded by white details and white sleeves and a white cape, that made the dark color look bright. It was perfect.
Y/n brushed her hand over the soft fabric and watched as the embroidered butterflies seemed to flutter with the ripple of fabric. It was magical, eye catching, even enchanting. She had a childlike grin on her face as she looked down at the dress in front of her. All of the dresses were beautiful but she seemed to be drawn to it.
Lily smiled at her friend's excitement. She had seen her through her hardest moments. Times when y/n would run into her dorm room and start sobbing on Lily's bed, crying because of how hard life was at the moment. She would guide her through the ups and downs of Hogwarts, helping her find her place.
But this year, y/n never came in crying, she never complained about how she hated being in James' shadow. Lily would watch as she started floating around with a dreamy look on her face. She was happier than ever. And it was all because of Regulus.
Lily hadn't understood what y/n was going through at first. She just teased her, saying that Regulus was the first boy she had ever shown interest in. She thought it was funny because y/n had hated him for years on end. But after watching y/n retreat to Regulus, instead of her, after Halloween, she realized that Regulus was exactly what y/n needed all these years. And y/n was all Regulus needed. And Lily loved that. She loved seeing her friend finally happy with life.
"Do you like that one?" Lily asked, smiling at y/n.
"I love it," y/n looked at Madam Pewster. "I'll take this one,"
"Ah, nice choice, Miss Potter, and your's is beautiful Miss Evan's," Madam Pewster grabbed y/n and Lily's dresses. "I'll go ring you two up,
Y/n and Lily stared at her for a second.
"Uhm, we never told her our last names, or am I just losing it?" Y/n looked at Lily.
"Nope, not crazy," Lily breathed out.
The two paid for their dresses and were about to walk out of the store when Madam Pewster called back to them.
"Oh and Miss Potter, I would try opening it underwater," Madam Pewster winked.
Y/n'a eyes widened and she dragged Lily back to Hogwarts. It was almost dark when they got there, the half moon as their guide.
"Why are we running again?" Lily asked, out of breath.
"The egg! I have to listen to it underwater!" She yelled.
She crashed into someone, sending them both to the snow covered ground. She looked up and saw Regulus sitting there, a lopsided smile on his face.
"I'll leave you two to figure out this egg thing, I'm too tired to run anymore," Lily laughed and trotted (like a deer ;)) away. "Besides, I'm late for my patrol with Remus,"
"Hey there pretty lady, I've been looking for you," he grinned standing up.
He reached his hand down for her to grab. She took it and he hoisted her back to her feet, taking the large bag from her hand.
"I guess you didn't expect to RUN into me," y/n smirked.
"Actually, you did the running. I was walking peacefully," he commented. "What was Lily saying about the egg?"
"Ok, so we were getting dressed for the Yule Ball, right?" Y/n was so excited to tell him about what Madam Pewster said. "And the lady who owns the shop, Madam Pewster, yelled at me when we were walking out. She said 'try opening it underwater'. I think she means the egg,"
Y/n watched as the gears seemed to turn in Regulus's head. He nodded and looked at her.
"I guess that would make sense. The sound frequencies would be slowed by the movement of the water, you could maybe hear what it's saying," he said.
"Wow, I didn't know my boyfriend was a nerd," she joked.
Regulus whacked her arm and they snuck to her dorm to get the egg. Y/n grabbed the egg and looked at Regulus.
"How the hell am I supposed to hear this underwater? Where would I even do that?" She whispered as to not wake her roommates.
"We do have access to the prefect bathroom. Y'know the huge tub in there? That could work,"
"I've never actually been in there before," she admitted.
"I went once, just kinda odd sharing a bath with other people," he said. "I like to keep my space from Xenophilus,"
Y/n laughed quietly at the thought of the two of them sharing a bath. They took a quiet walk from the Gryffindor castle to the prefect bathroom, trying to avoid Remus and Lily. Y/n's jaw dropped at how beautiful it was. There was a beautiful moving mosaic of a mermaid that let just enough of the moonlight in that they could see each other.
"Alright, let's hear what this annoying egg has to say," y/n put the egg down.
"She pulled off the shirt and almost laughed when she saw Regulus covering his eyes, a prominent blush covering his face.
"Relax, I'm not gonna fully strip, I just figured it'd be better to not walk back to my dorm in wet clothes in the middle of the winter," she laughed. "You can look,"
Regulus took his hand away slowly and saw y/n in front of him in just her underwear. She got in the water and motioned for him to follow. He took off his clothes and climbed in next to her. The water warmed his bones quickly and he wanted to sigh at how nice it felt.
Y/n took the egg and looked at Regulus. He nodded it and she submerged the egg underwater. Regulus dunked his head under water, y/n following in suit, and she opened the egg. Instead of the shrieking it normally released, they were met with a beautiful voice.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back,"
Once the voices stopped, the pair emerged from the water. Regulus leaned against the side of the tub and ran his fingers through his hair.
"We can not sing above the ground," he pondered. "Well, considering the fact that it shrieks when opened above water,"
"It's talking about sirens," y/n finished.
She moved closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I think what it's saying is that they'll take something I love, hide it among their land underwater, and I have an hour to retrieve it, or I won't get it back," she concluded.
"Seems right enough," Regulus moved his arm around her.
He was trying to ignore the burning sensation in his red face. He knew it wasn't a sexual situation but he had never been shirtless in front of anyone, not even his friends, because of his scars. He looked down at the scars that scattered his chest. They had always been his biggest insecurity.
Their peaceful silence was broken when they heard footsteps approaching. Y/n looked at him wide eyed before pulling him low, hidden from view by the wall of the tub.
"See, I knew the open door wasn't a flook," Remus's voice spoke. "There're clothes scattered all over the floor,"
"Alright you were right, shut up," Lily's voice emerged.
"Whoever's in here can come out now, we know you're here," Remus called.
"Yeah, we can toss you some towels if you're not decent," Lily laughed.
Y/n looked at Regulus and he was holding his mouth, clearly holding in laughter. They came up from the water and were met with the disappointed faces of Remus and Lily. Regulus stayed just enough under the bubbles to cover his scars but y/n rolled her eyes and leaned her arms on the side.
"Really? Couldn't have done it in the peace of your dorm room? Or the astronomy tower like normal people?" Remus sassed.
"What do you think we were doing?" Y/n asked, innocently.
"Don't make me say it, now get dressed," he sighed.
"But I really don't know what you think we were doing," she smirked.
"Both of you, get dressed or I'll tell James what you were doing," he threatened.
"Fine," y/n sighed, climbing out of the tub. "But we were just listening to what my stupid egg had to say,"
Lily spotted the egg and realized what she meant.
"Open it underwater," she mumbled.
"I feel like I'm missing something," Remus said.
Y/n wrapped herself in a towel and looked at Regulus who was still in the water. She realized that he didn't want them to see the scars.
"C'mon Black, I wanna get to bed," He said.
"Uhm, could you turn around maybe?" Regulus asked.
Lily obliged but Remus just rolled his eyes. He was tired and cranky and basically done with this,
"I swear to God, if you don't have underwear on I'm gonna scream," Remus grabbed his arm, too tired to wait for him and pulled him out of the water.
"Remus wait-" y/n tried to stop him.
A quiet 'oh' left his voice as he looked at Regulus's chest, looking specifically at the scars that covered it. Y/n quickly shoved a towel at him and he wrapped it around his shoulders.
"Sorry," Remus mumbled.
Y/n and Regulus quickly got dressed and were both escorted to their dorms. Y/n by Remus and Regulus by Lily. When they got to the staircase leading to the girls' dorms, y/n turned to face Remus.
"Please don't tell anyone about his scars. Especially Sirius. They're really personal to him and it took him so long to trust me enough to show-" y/n was cut off by Remus hugging her.
"Don't worry," he laughed, pulling away from the hug. "I know a thing or two about scars. I'm just glad he trusts you enough to share something that personal with you,"
"Well, I hope I can be that person to others too," she hinted to him.
"I assumed you knew and just didn't say anything," he cocked his head. "I mean, you saw me,"
"What?" Y/n asked.
"The large cat thing, a puma I think? That was you?"
Suddenly y/n understood.
"Oh my God, you're a werewolf?" She whisper-yelled.
"Yeah," he laughed.
"So who were the other animals? Like the weird rat and dog. And the deer? The deer has been following me around. It's quite annoying,"
"Take a wild guess," Remus sassed.
Y/n thought about it for a second before answering.
"Peter, Sirius, and," her eyes widened. "James! James should the rat for how much he's been stalking me,"
"What? He's been stalking you? I thought he'd been avoiding you,"
"He has. But the deer has been following me around," she seethed. "Anyways, good night,"
"Good night,"
Y/n tricked up to her dorm and flopped on her bed, her wet hair falling on her face. She brushed it away and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the sirens were going to take from her.
She wasn't very materialistic and they wouldn't take a person, right?
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