𝖮 𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖮𝖻𝗌𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 ʰʲᵖ

• ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶 𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔢 : 𝔖𝔢𝔢𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔇𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯 •

TW: Mentions of injury.

Special mention to aggressiveharold for commenting that one certain comment last chapter. I admire you for commenting that, honestly.

• Chapter Twenty Three : Seeking Danger •

[••• ––– •••]

It was hard to stay unsuspicious for the next couple of days and weeks. The tension in between the game of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was topped by the tension of the popular friend group inside Hogwarts. It was known that (Y/N)'s friend group was the most admired and respected among anybody else because it consisted of famous, rich, smart, and attractive people. Some people had envied them for always being on the top.

Yet, in the past few weeks, there was something in the group that made other students wonder why they were sometimes seen in a huddle when they meet in the corridor and would whisper on themselves. Unlike before, they seemed to be cautious to the words that they were about to speak. And when they were together in the same place, some could notice the wary and anxious glance of the others towards the unbothered duo of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

The two Slytherin boys had noticed the differences, however, but couldn't pursue anything because the other girls would straightforwardly change the topic even before it could direct (Y/N)'s and Harry's attention to it.

It can also be noticed that the girls, either by twos or in packs, had been trying to spend a whole hour of 'hang out' with (Y/N). At some point, they were on the verge of spilling the tea when (Y/N) would remember something important that they couldn't resist to say 'no' when she excused herself.

Some of them were annoyed at the situation, Ginny to be specific. She wanted to just tell (Y/N) everything but couldn't do so because she didn't want to break the trust of her other friends. Pansy and Luna were partial. Cho was more depressed at the thought of telling (Y/N) about the truth. Just like Hermione, she didn't want to break the younger Ravenclaw girl.

On the other side, (Y/N) knew what was happening. She knew that they wanted to tell her something and suspected that they were about to tell her something about Harry but she couldn't allow them. She knew that they will hate her for that. Who can blame them? They were trying to protect (Y/N) and here was (Y/N) herself, trying to protect the main suspect.

In the present, every single thought and problem had been forced out of their minds as the Quidditch match arrived. The atmosphere was too high that they hadn't got time to dwell on their plans in talking to (Y/N). And nor (Y/N)'s. She didn't get time to ignore them all day again.

The Heather girl was just sitting casually on her bed, blinking at the curtain around her four-poster while trying to curl the tips of her hair with her wand. She knew that there was a Quidditch game on that day that was why she had worn a maroon sweater, a collared pullover on the inside, leather jeans, and black trainers but she had no plan to get out at that hour. The reason? She didn't know why exactly. She just wanted to spend a little time for herself and not for anyone else. It was becoming exhausting, at some point, to associate with other people, to talk, to laugh, to smile. She only wanted to be free for a moment, free from anything else before she could face another crowd of noises.

She had the urge to ditch the match and just curl on her bed, book on her hand, but she couldn't let Harry down. Not when it was his first match being a Captain himself. She wanted to give justice to what Harry did when she was the one who played by showing up. It wasn't much but she knew that he will appreciate it.