Caught up in a mischief called love (George X Reader)

Year one: Expectations

YN found herself laying on her bed looking up at the wooden ceiling. Time dragged on, crawling away slower than ever. For the very first time it was just the four of them; her grandparents, Tibby and YN. The fact that the house felt empty when Bill and Charlie left seemed somewhat funny now. Worst of all was the fact that not even her Grandfather's goddaughter came to visit this year. YN glanced at the moving photographs on her mirror, focusing on the certain purple haired lady. Tonks usually visited each Christmas and some time around YN's birthday. She was the first person YN ever wrote a letter to. Actually, she was more than certain that her first memory was looking up at Tonks from her crib, her mouth replaced by a duck's beak.

With a sight YN rolled onto her stomach and reached for one of the letters scattered across her bed. It was one Ron had sent her few nights ago. Unlike the letters from Hannah or Susan, she had alerady read this letter no less than 4 times. She was informed that, other than giving Harry some serious tummy ache, her chocolate frogs also revealed who Nicholas Flamel was. The information was on the back of Dumbledore's card! Yet by the end of the letter, she didn't know what surprised her more- the Invisibility cloak Harry had gotten for Christmas or the fact that Ron admitted Harry was much worse at Wizard chess than she was.

A certain letter, more so a note, was laying on top of the rest. It came Christmas evening, in a neat little envelope. 'Merry Christmas, YN' written in precise handwriting, signed off by none other than Draco Malfoy himself. There were three tiny silver stars at the bottom. And although she expected anything but from Draco, she wrote back right away, drawing three golden stars of her own.

The twins didn't write to her. She kept telling herself they were bound to see each other in a week or so anyway. She kept thinking having a whole castle to themselves was too much to handle, even for the two. The mistletoe that used to dangle above the staircase was now tied to the top of her bedroom mirror. It made her grin, it made her beam with colour, it made her feel tingles in her stomach, it made her burry her face in a pillow, it made her bounce her way around the house. It kept her awake, it kept her bundled up in her thoughts. She held it as close to her heart as possible, yet it was so out of reach.

-----------------------------

YN reached Hogwarts in the same way she left – cramped in a compartment with her fellow Hufflepuffs. Justin spent most of the ride complaining about his mother's disapproval of him attending a Wizarding school. Ernie seemed a bit embarrassed that his letter hadn't reached YN, who on the other hand felt bad for not writing him herself. Hannah was very amused by the tales of Tibby's attempts to comb her friend's hair. Susan per usual fell asleep, this time on Wayde who, despite pretending not to notice, switched though various shades of red throughout the train ride.

Day before the start of the term YN met with the trio in the library, where Hermione told them all about Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone. She certainly didn't miss out on the chance of taking out some enormous dusty musty book she apparently considered as 'light reading'.

After that nobody seemed to have any spare time on their hands. Harry and the twins were occupied by Quidditch practice. Nothing could bring Oliver's spirits, or him for that matter, down. Hermione kept her nose buried in a book at all times. Ron would occasionally join Yn by the Black Lake, since the Clocktower courtyard became too crowded for her liking, as of recently. And of course, each weekend muggle games were played in the common room. But the homework that kept piling up prevented them from doing even things as simple as such.

But everyone made sure to make time for Quidditch. Harry's long-feared or rather unavoidable Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match seemed to trouble Yn just as much. She felt the obligation to root for her own house, despite her ambivalence. It was only right. Justin spent the whole game screaming at the opposing team, despite knowing barely anything about Quidditch. Ernie shook his head at each one of his comments, occasionally begging him to keep quiet. Susan didn't really care about the game, she only had eyes for Cedric. YN was too focused on the match itself to notice what was happening on the stands between Slytherins and Gryffindors. She simply couldn't help herself but cheer each time one of the twins smacked the Bulger away. She was the only Hufflepuff who stood up clapping as Harry caught the Snitch. Which seemed to offend Justin the most, as he tried to convince the rest of the group to publicly deny having any connection to YN whatsoever.