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Sky High Existential Crisis

Hufflepuffs were not nearly as innocent as everyone believed! Three seventh years were invited to the Gryffin's commons and brought brownies. Everything was fine, though it was odd that they kept the third years down away from the sweets, still nothing too weird. That was until Draco Malfoy ate one of said brownies. He was now face down on the floor mumbling to himself.

"We thought everyone knew what they were!"

"No! We were expecting regular sweets!" Ron was being the responsible one and scolding the Puffs. "Look at what you did! You gave him anxiety!"

As if understanding that people were talking about him, Draco lifted his head off the floor slightly before letting it fall again, creating a muffled thump. Harry, who had been wheezing on the floor with Hermione, finally managed to stand while using a shaking Neville as support. Even Luna was laughing at the mellow version of the up-tight boy. They walked over and sat down next to the boy.

"Hey buddy, are you alright?"

"Do you ever think about how pointless everything is? You wake up one day and your entire life has been mapped out for you. I'll have to marry a girl I don't even really know," despite how muffled his words were, everyone could understand him, many wincing at the deadpan way he stated it. "Do you ever just stare at blokes? Some of them are just so... so pretty. Like Blaise! He has such pretty eyes."

"Yeah he does. Have you told him this?"

"No. Father wouldn' t be happy with me. I have to like girls so the Malfoy line continues. I have to marry Astoria. I have to be the perfect son."

As one, everyone turned to face Harry, who looked ready to hunt down Lucius Malfoy themself. They ignored these feelings in favor of running a hand through Draco's hair in an attempt to console him.

"Hey, aren't you related to Sirius?"

"Mhm, Mother was a Black before she married Father. He's my cousin or something like that. I'm hungry."

They just laughed a little before looking at Ron, who nodded and moved to get some snacks for the two. Harry started a conversation with Luna, Neville, and Hermione about the other two schools while continuing to stay beside Draco. Once Ron returned with snacks, he sat down on Draco's other side and would occasionally hand the other boy something to munch on.

"This year, I'm letting someone else have the dangerous adventures! I am going to have a normal year if it kills me."

"We could make signs and hats to support the Hogwarts champion!" Luna chirped happily, leaning against Hermione. "A totem pole hat with all of the house mascots maybe?"

Everyone was so invested in the conversation that they didn't notice Draco move until he had managed to crawl his way into Harry's lap. He grabbed their face and squished it, making funny faces back at them. Harry just laughed, not noticing Neville glaring at the boy, though Hermione did, and moved his hands. He pouted for a second before deciding to just take a nap on their shoulder, falling asleep almost immediately, and the only sound he made after was the occasional mumbles.

"Neville, could I have a word with you?" Hermione's sweet smile did nothing to belay the instant crushing fear that slammed into the boy, after all that was the same smile she gave him in first year before hexing him. He merely nodded, flashing his own weak smile at the others, before being dragged away by the girl. "Alright, now that we can talk privately, spill it. You keep glaring at people near Harry. You like them don't you?"

"You know, sometimes I hate how much you notice. Yes, I like them a lot. And I don't know what comes over me when I see them with other guys. It doesn't happen around Ron! Yet, I want to shove Malfoy away from them! And I get this weird pressure in my chest and I almost growled at Viktor! I don't know what's going on!"

Having dealt with similar anxiety attacks from Harry, Hermione forced Neville to sit down and take deep, slow breaths. She helped him to calm down before continuing their conversation. She had already resolved to drag the boy to the library to see if they could find anything that could explain the odd behavior.

"We better get back to the others, I fear for what they get up to when I'm not there." The others were sitting in a circle waiting for them to get back. They wanted to play some stupid games before bed after all.

Once the two were situated; Neville sat besides Harry and Hermione in between Ron and Luna; they started a game of truth or dare. Nothing too terribly interesting happened at first, just harmless questions and silly dares. That is until it was Luna's turn to ask.

"Neville, truth or dare?"

"Dare?"

"I dare you to try to steal someone's wand without them noticing before the game is over!"

The seemingly harmless dare quickly turned into a game of its own as the teens tried to stealthily steal someone else's wand. Once your wand had been taken, you were out. The current winner, aka the person who had gotten the most people out, was Ron. He had managed to get Luna and Hermione out. Now it was a real showdown!
Ron moved first, lunging at Neville who failed to move in time. The two were wrestling, trying to get the upper hand, and were so focused on each other that they didn't notice Harry steal both their wands as well as Hermione and Luna's. They stood a few feet away, watching on in amusement as the two boys grappled for no reason.

The two would probably have continued their little skirmish if Professor Mcgonagall hadn't walked into the common room. Within seconds everyone was sitting quietly and attentively, other than Draco who was dead asleep in one of the plush armchairs, and all remnants of the Hufflepuff brownies had disappeared.

"Off to bed, all of you! I want lights out in five minutes or Gryffindor house won't be hosting anymore sleepovers. Am I understood?"

No one bothered to answer as they scattered, trying to get everything cleaned up and in bed before their time ran out. Ron helped Harry get Draco up the stairs and into their dorm. Dean and Seamus were staying in the Slytherin dorms, mostly to hang out with Theo who they had been friends with before being sorted, so Draco would be sleeping in one of their beds.

"Goodnight, guys!" Harry called out into the dark of the dorm room having collapsed onto their bed with a sigh. They received two calls back, one of which was extremely muffled. The next few months were sure to be exciting and they planned to make it as miserable for Dumbledore as was possible.