Second chances *ੈ✩‧₊˚ (harry potter x reader)

You dont believe in wishes, Diggory?

Sirius's delight at having the house full again, and especially at having Harry back, was infectious. He was no longer our sullen host of the summer; now he seemed determined that everyone should enjoy themselves as much, if not more than they would have done at Hogwarts.

And he worked tirelessly in the run-up to Christmas Day, cleaning and decorating with everyone's help.

The tarnished chandeliers were no longer hung with cobwebs but with garlands of holly and gold and silver streamers; magical snow glittered in heaps over the threadbare carpets; a great Christmas tree, obtained by Mundungus and decorated with live fairies, blocked Sirius's family tree from view, and even the stuffed Christmas
elf-heads on the hall wall wore Father Christmas hats and beards.

By the time they all went to bed on Christmas Eve the house was barely recognisable.

They.

On this day of Christmas Eve, it was exactly 6 months since Cedric's passing. I sat in front of the Christmas tree, staring hopelessly at it, reminiscing on the one year Cedric and I had attempted to stay up the entire night to catch Santa Claus. I'd failed by around midnight and Cedric not long after me. We had woken up, still on the floor in front of the tree, but now with presents.

It was small, insignificant if you will. But man did I miss my brother.

It was a constant gap in my life, that nobody will ever be able to fill again. I was experiencing all my 'firsts' without him.

My first Christmas without Cedric. The first, of many.

The gingerbread men, Christmas carols, the tree, the lights, everything, just felt like something I should be sharing with him.

I honestly just wanted to take a page out of Harry's book and go lock myself up with Buckbeak until whenever the hell... but that wouldn't be necessary right now, for everyone in the house was already long asleep.

I fiddled with the locket around my neck that I never took off, my Christmas gift from last year that Ced had only given to me in February.

Without fail, a few tears stream down my face as I stare at the enchanted star at the top of the tree, thinking perhaps that would make my wish come true... The used tissues beside me start to pile up.

"Y/n?" I hear a voice ask and I immediately scramble to wipe my face off with my sleeve and tuck my necklace away.

"Yeah?" I ask with as much of a stable voice I could muster as I turn my seated body to face this person.

Harry.

"What're you still doing up?" he asks and starts to walk up to me. He was in a pyjama bottoms and a t shirt, accompanied with black socks. His hair was messy and judging by his slightly deeper voice, he had woken up from his sleep.

I shrug in response to him, and notice that my tissue pile was still visible from beside me. It was no use hiding it because he simultaneously realised that they were there too, and it didn't take long for him to put two and two together.

"Oh." he says with a soft tone of voice.

"Yeah." I reply, pursing my lips, defeated. I sigh and resume my staring at the tree. It didn't take long for me to feel a presence now sitting down right beside me on the carpet. His legs stretched out in front of him as he leans back on his hands, looking at me.

"I don't mean to intrude but do you wanna uh... talk about it?" he asks, his voice filled with unsureness.

I swallow hard. "No, not really."