Puppet Strings (Hogwarts x Reader)

Chapter 1

King's Cross was busy that morning, with travelers bustling to and from train platforms. Mothers kissed their university-attending children goodbye, some lovers parted with tearful exchanges while others reunited in a flurry of giddy affection. Y/n doubted, though, that any of the people here were about to have an experience the same as her's.

Professor Callahan was kind enough to help Y/n get back to the UK. The night before, she'd Apparated with Y/n near Diagon Alley, where she paid for the girl to get a room for the night at the Leaky Cauldron. After a sweet goodbye between the two, the Professor Disapparated. The next morning, Y/n had taken a cab to King's Cross.

It was safe to say that Professor Callahan was quite close to Y/n—Professor Callahan had even asked Y/n to call her Melanie instead of using her title. Y/n did so on occasion, but more often than not continued to call her Professor. It felt more natural that way. No matter what the woman was called, it didn't change the fact that she had been there for Y/n when no one else was. She'd even pulled strings with the headmaster to allow Y/n to stay in the dorms at Ilvermorny over summer so that she didn't have to go back to her wretched aunt and uncle.

That was another thing. The guilt that Y/n was feeling was making her sick. It was an ugly little monster that had had its claws dug into her heart for the past two years, but she was feeling it especially strongly at that very moment, knowing she'd have to face her brother again after leaving him alone in that hellhole.

She thought about staying—she really, really did. But after finding out that she had the chance to attend Ilvermorny, a school that was an entire ocean away from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, Y/n had felt something that she'd never felt before, an emotion so foreign she had at first had trouble recognizing what exactly it was.

Freedom.

She and Harry hadn't ever talked about her leaving after it had happened. Y/n had told him what she was going to do before the fact, of course. He'd been supportive, though she could see the light in his eyes dim a bit at the knowledge he'd be there on his own. Despite Y/n's guilt, he had never seemed too mad or upset. It was more of a bittersweet understanding that this was what she needed to do for self-preservation purposes. Harry had even said if he'd been in her shoes, he'd have done the same thing.

A train whistle blew and Y/n jolted from her reverie. She took a deep breath, though she swore she could feel her bones rattle from nervousness as she did so. Sybella let out a soft hoot from within her cage, the barn owl rustling her feathers impatiently as if to say, Are you going to get on with it or not?

Y/n gathered her courage. She pushed her trunk forward into the brick wall between platforms nine and ten and soon reappeared on the other side, where white clouds billowed from the Hogwarts Express' smokestack as the sounds of students' chatter reached Y/n's ears. She scanned Platform 9 ¾ for a thirteen year old boy with messy black hair, but she couldn't see—

Hands landed on her shoulders and she heard a bright, "Ha!" in her ear. She shrieked, whirling around, heart thundering with adrenaline. Harry stood there with a grin on his face, apparently very proud of the fact he'd been able to sneak up on her.

"Oh my—" She shoved him, but she was grinning. "I can't believe you! That's the greeting I get?"

"Hey, I could have very well ruffled your hair instead, but I know how much you hate that. Consider this a kindness."

Y/n glared up at him and, after realizing that she now actually did have to look up at him due to his height, rolled her eyes with a smile and pulled him in for a real hug. Harry laughed and returned the affection.

"S'good to see you," he said as he pulled away. "How was the journey?"

"Short. One of my professors Apparated me over last night."