𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 | 𓆙

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛

     As you walked across the snowy fields, you felt the cold through your boots. It was late afternoon on a Sunday, and you were making your way to the Quidditch Pitch. You weren't exactly supposed to be flying this year, but you couldn't help yourself. Besides, anything was better than sitting in the common room watching Pansy and Draco. You walked over to one of the seating stands, lifting the Slytherin tarps that covered it. You saw where you hid your backup broom, the Thunderbolt VII. Mum had bought it for you, seen as you had a tendency to break your brooms in matches. You reached for the broom, brushing off the thin sheet of dust with your mitten.

      Just as you were about to take off, you saw a figure whizzing from above. You shielded your eyes from the sun, trying to peer at the mysterious flyer. Before you could react, the figure swooped down towards you. You screeched as you thought they were going to crash into you, but the figure halted just inches in front of you.

"Same idea, huh," a familiar voice said. Harry.

"Yeah, I guess so," you said, grinning at Potter.

"That's a really nice broom," Harry exclaimed, admiring your Thunderbolt VII.

"Thanks, my mum bought it for me as a backup," you said.

"Backup? I wish I were rich enough to have a Thunderbolt VII as a backup," Harry jeered. You giggled and hit his arm playfully. "Do you want to fly?" You nodded your head and got onto your broom. You flew off quickly, leaving Harry behind. He soon caught up with you, cutting in front of you. You cut back in front of him, escalating your speed even more.

"Come on, Potter, you have to try a little bit more than that at least," you sneered, looking over your shoulder. Harry grinned from cheek to cheek before speeding up to fly next to you. You looked over to him to see him focusing straight ahead, gliding directly through the fluffy clouds. You smiled to yourself as you watched his brown hair blowing in the wind.

     You and Potter had definitely flown far away from the Quidditch Pitch, although it didn't matter because the blanket of clouds served as sufficient coverage. No one could see the two of you. It was just you and Harry. Suddenly, Potter swooped downwards on his broom at the speed of light. You laughed loudly and did the same. Potter looked over his shoulder, watching you chase after him. You felt like you were untouchable. Flying with Harry in such a vast expanse infused you with a sense of happiness you didn't know had existed. You caught up to Harry, flying slightly in front of him. You stopped for a second, admiring the setting sun that painted the sky in front of you. 

"It's beautiful," you said, glancing at Harry, who was hovering beside you. He watched you admire the sun setting, noticing how it's golden rays danced across your glowing skin. You looked to him, realizing his gaze. "What," you said, giggling at Harry's expression. Harry shook himself out of his trance.

"Sorry," Potter said quietly, looking away quickly. You laughed and looked back to the sunset.

"So, did you find a date to the ball yet," you asked him, still admiring the view.

"U-uh no, actually. I haven't really been looking," he said awkwardly. You glanced over to him, smiling slightly.

"Well, you might want to get on that, Potter. The ball is in five days," you mocked. Harry shook his head and grinned.

"Yeah, I know. I'll figure something out."

As you glanced at Harry, you noticed a single snowflake land on his freckled nose. Harry jokingly crossed his eyes to try and look at the delicate flake of ice. You laughed at him, pretending to try and knock him off of his broom.

"Come on," you said between laughs as you flew back to the Quidditch Pitch, Harry soon flying beside you. The two of you swooped down to the snowy field at the same time, slowing down just enough to hop off your brooms.

"I'd do anything to be playing quidditch again. This whole Triwizard Tournament is making me miss how Hogwarts used to be," Harry said, following you to tuck your broom back under a nearby bleacher stand.

"Me too. I think the tasks are far too vile and dangerous for students to be participating in. No matter the age. I would just hate to see anyone I care about get hurt," you said softly. Harry looked at you for several seconds before nodding his head.

"Right, yeah," Harry said, choking on his words slightly. His face suddenly filled with remnants of sadness, which in turn deeply saddened you.

      You knelt down to the ground, discreetly bunching up the snowy particles into a ball. Before Harry could figure out what you were doing, you sprung up and chucked the snowball at him. The snowball made contact with his face, falling down and leaving an icy white residue on his glasses and face. Harry giggled, brushing the snow off with his mitten. Potter got ready for his redemption, bunching up an even larger snowball and throwing it at you. You reached your tongue to lick up the snow that was on your nose, causing Harry to begin laughing uncontrollably. You wiped the rest of the snow off of your face and coat, beginning to shiver from the frigid temperatures. Harry noticed you chattering your teeth.

"We should go inside," Harry said, nodding towards the castle. You shook your head and walked beside Potter across the snowy terrain.

"Can I ask you a question, Harry," you chirped.

"Yeah, anything."

"That golden egg, the one that you got from the dragon on the first task. Did you ever figure out what the purpose of it is," you asked, curious as to why it would just be a simple egg.

"No, I haven't exactly figured that out yet. I haven't been able to figure out how to open it without it making that horrid screeching sound again," Harry said in a confused tone. You thought for a second, thinking about what the egg could be referencing regarding the next task.

"I wonder if the other champions have figured it out yet," you said.

"I don't know. I haven't really talked to any of them either. Besides, even if I did, I bet none of them would tell me how to reveal the clue. It is a competition, after all," Harry said. You shook your head.

"Right, of course," you said quietly, feeling a bit daft. You and Harry reached the entrance of the castle, stepping into the warmness of the inside temperature. Now that you were inside, you and Harry stood by the door awkwardly. You didn't want to part ways. You wanted to spend more time with him.

"Listen, Harry. Don't be a stranger. I really enjoy spending time with you," you said, looking into Harry's greenish-blue eyes. Harry licked his frostbitten lips slightly.

"Yeah, of course. I like spending time with you too," Harry said, keeping a mutual piercing gaze. You giggled and reached up to tidy your hair.

"Alright then," you said, "I'll catch you later, Potter."

With that, you waved Harry goodbye. He waved back, smiling dorkily. Harry made his way to the moving staircases while you went in the opposite direction towards the dungeons.

    The stone passageway to the common room slid open after you spoke the password. You spotted the backside of platinum blonde locks, which urged you to attempt to rush to the safety of your bed. He had heard you, of course. Without looking back towards you, he spoke cooly.

"Where have you been, (y/n)," Draco said. You cleared your throat, frozen in place.

"Flying," you said just barely above a whisper.

"With who," he asked, twirling his wand between his fingers.

"No one. It was just me," you lied.

"It's foolish to go out flying in this weather."

"It was quite nice, actually. The su-"

Pansy entered the common room with a loud bang, interrupting your sentence. She glanced from Draco then to you. Confidently, she strode over to Malfoy. She sat on his lap, glancing up to you with a devilish gaze. You furrowed your brow, returning the scornful look.

"Pansy," Draco whispered. "Don't embarrass me."

You sneered, rolling your eyes at the now distraught Parkinson. You turned on your heel and made your way up to the girl's dormitories.

No matter how hard Pansy tried, no matter how far she pulled herself down, she couldn't take you down with her.