"Buried, almost tangible secrets filled the space between them, and so, without a second to think, she closed it."
The scars of war opened more wounds than Harry Potter thought possible. As he returns to Hogwarts for his eighth and final year, he le...
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Harry strolled down the corridors, feeling quite pleased with himself as his footsteps echoed off the empty hallway. He whistled once, a singular low note, and paused to listen to the sound ricochets off the walls, complete with the annoyed chattering of the numerous paintings around him.
He descended the stairs into the lower east floor, where the Great Hall was, surely filled with laughing students by now. He could hear the faint noise of clattering plates and ineligible conversations as he drew closer, and his pacing grew faster with anticipation for the hot meal waiting for him.
He continued down the stairs, his pace quickening as he saw a group of chattering Hufflepuffs. Harry jumped down the stairs and slipped in between their ranks, keeping his head down so he would not be noticed.
"Oh my — Sarah look, it's Harry Potter!" an excited seventh-year girl giggled.
He knew her voice all too well. Her name was Constance Hopkins, a constant staple in Ron's jokes. In their second year, she had had a crush on Harry large enough to compete with Ginny Weasley's. Then her focus went to Ron, and stayed fixated on him for a year before it went back to Harry. Ron made so many jokes that it got to a point where Harry had to cut him off, after he and Hermione were forced to hear him recount every interaction for what felt like the millionth time.
Harry inwardly groaned as the people around him woke up at his name. He so desperately wanted to stay hidden.
The Hufflepuffs all immediately turned around. Some briefly waved before looking away. They had noticed, in true Hufflepuff fashion, that he seemed distressed and decided not to bother him. Another girl, the one named Sarah, tugged on Olivia's sleeve and gazed at Harry with a disbelieving expression. He stared back at her, slightly weirded out by the fascination on her face.
"Merlin, it really is him. Anna, get over here," whispered Sarah to her friend beside her.
Harry looked over his shoulder to glare at them, and found himself staring down at Annabelle instead.
Annabelle turned her piercing eyes to Harry, regarded him for a fraction of a second, and flashed him a warm smile before facing her friend again. She stood significantly shorter than him, and though he had grown quite a lot over the summer and was taller than most girls, it still felt like something worth noticing.
"Yeah, Sarah, we all know that he goes here. He's human, isn't he?" said Annabelle. "You alright, Harry?"
Harry felt a rush of gratitude at her carefree tone, nodding in response. Annabelle did not seem to care about Sarah's affronted look, and beamed at him before turning to her group of friends. Annabelle's grin never wavered, passing Harry one last look before retreating back to the group of friends. He smiled back, grateful for her compassion.
