𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 || 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

Harry Potter x reader

A sigh escaped my mouth as I heard Harry nearly trip on the stairs behind me, rolling my eyes in exasperation.

"Come along, Harold! Keep up!" I called over my shoulder, wisps of chocolate brown hair escaping the bun I had put it up in.

I continued to walk along in the dark corridor, Harry's heavy footsteps behind me thudding on the old stones of the castle.

"That's not my name," he grumbled indifferently, nearly making me snicker just before he spoke up louder, "What are we even doing here? You know we're not supposed to be down here in the Slytherin quarters,"

I shrugged as I turned to face him, the Marauder's Map clutched tightly in both hands.

"No, but I told you before - I saw something interesting and I wanted to check it out," I explained again in a slightly condescending tone as if he were a small child.

He rolled his jade green eyes from behind his thick-rimmed rounded glasses and brushed a hand through his dark brown hair, briefly making his lightning-shaped scar visible before it was hidden once more by his hair. The navy blue hoodie he wore clung to his frame as he trudged along behind me obligingly once I'd began walking again.

"Just because you notice something doesn't always mean you have to go see what it is," he muttered under his breath.

I smirked at the comment, "You should know by now I don't work that way, Harold,"

He made a face at the use of my nickname for him before returning my smirk.

"Doesn't mean you can't change, doll-face." he shot back playfully.

A blush tinted my cheeks but I brushed it off, rolling my eyes once more as I led the way around a corner before we began to walk along a different corridor. I should probably explain now, shouldn't I? Harry and I had been friends since children - practically our whole young lives. I was friends with Ron as well, of course but it was different between us. There was something...something special there that I didn't have with Ron. Although maybe that partially stemmed from the numerous times that Ron had mocked me in the past.

I rolled my eyes at the thought. The only drawback of being the twin of my brainiac sister, Hermione. I loved her, I did but there were times when the association meant I got picked on, too. And not only by Ron but by other Hogwarts students for different reasons - the main one being because I was Muggle-born. It didn't bother me, though - they may have been Muggles but they were my parents and I loved them deeply. I guess that was how Harry and I first bonded - he may be the famous Boy-Who-Lived but he had been raised as Muggle as they come.

My boots made loud noises as I stepped across the stone floor before my eyes caught sight of footprints moving on the map...footprints that hadn't been there before. I gasped quietly, only loud enough for Harry to hear as I gazed down at the piece of paper in my hands in horror.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, stepping up from behind me.

"Someone's coming!" I hissed in his hear, grabbing him by the arm and leading him the other way.

My eyes quickly scanned the walls before my gaze landed on a janitor's closet at the end of the corridor. We raced over to it, barely having time to slip inside and lock the door when I began to hear footsteps becoming louder and louder outside. Instinctively, Harry gathered me to his chest before pulling us back farther into the closet, the recesses of the shadows enveloping us completely. I could hear his quiet breathing in my ear, warm breath fanning the back of my neck as I clung to him fearfully. In all of our escapades, this had never happened before. I don't know what would happen if we were caught down here. Especially now that Umbridge was in charge.

My heart pounded in my chest, blood pumping loudly in my ears as I let my eyes flutter closed, fingers digging into the soft material of Harry's hoodie. Despite the fear coursing through my veins from the immediate danger outside, I felt...safe. Here in his arms. Like nothing could touch me, nothing could harm me. For...not only had I always been the best friend of The Boy Who Lived...I had always harbored a crush on him. And it wasn't your average little schoolgirl crush that would go away after a month or two...I'd liked him for years.

But I was scared to tell him, scared to let him know of how I felt about him. It would ruin our friendship, I knew that much. But as his arms held me, his body flush against mine...I knew I wouldn't be able to keep the secret much longer. I couldn't - it wasn't fair to myself or to him. The door handle jiggled then and I started to let out a gasp of surprise when I felt Harry grip me tighter to him. I buried my face in his chest, fear overwhelming me when suddenly, the person outside the door stopped.

We waited with baited breath, the two of us there in that closet...until finally, I had the courage to dig the Marauder's Map back out of my pocket where I had stashed it. And sure enough, the person - whoever it had been - were gone, their footsteps having disappeared completely. The only sounds to be heard then were the both of us sighing breaths of relief, Harry's arms letting go of me. I pouted at the loss of warmth, swallowing down the sudden urge to whine.

"That was a close one," Harry breathed out tiredly, pulling on the strings of his hoodie absentmindedly.

I nodded in agreement, my eyes flicking over to him. His bright green gaze was still visible even in this darkness, making me feel weak in the knees. It was now or never, I guess.

"Harry...Harry, I need to tell you something," I began uncertainly, my voice shaking slightly from the words in my heart.

He glanced over at me curiously, his gaze expectant as he waited for me to go on.

"I..." I started but with one last glance into those beautiful cerulean eyes, I faltered, "Oh, never mind,"

I turned away from him then, about to exit back through the door when he caught my wrist unexpectedly, spinning me back to face him.

"Wait! What is it? What were you going to say?" he asked softly, begging me to go on with his eyes.

I bit my lip, gazing down at my shoe briefly before biting the bullet and lifting my eyes to his, "I like you... There, I said it..."

He was quiet a moment and for the life of me, I thought I'd messed up - made a huge, irreversible mistake that even I would never be able to fix. But slowly, a grin split his face and before I had the time to even react, his lips had found mine in that small janitor's closet. The kiss was soft and sweet, gentle just like Harry before finally, he broke away from me with a smile, surprising me completely.

"It's about time, doll-face."