Chapter 41

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The summer breeze now soaring through the air, the group were gathered near the courtyard, enjoying the last time they'd see each other before the long summer holiday, where Y/N and Harry would be living in hell.

"Blimey, Y/N, you and Harry can't go a day without having your throats hunt down." Ron snickered, earning a bored look from the Ravenclaw and Harry as they looked out into the view beneath them.

"Trust me, Ron," Y/N sighed, "I've been wishing for a risk free year ever since first year."

"Would be a bit boring wouldn't it?" Lizzy chuckled, "What's life without a few dragons?"

The group chuckled at Lizzy's remark before slowly the laughter died down, a moment of silence emerged, though it wasn't the awkward type, instead it was more of the type where they didn't have to say a word to each other, just enjoying each others presence.

"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" said Hermione as the Ravenclaw took a glance at her girlfriend on her side before looking back out to the view, "Yeah..."

"We'll have to leave here someday. Best enjoy it while you can, don't you think?" Aidan told as everybody hummed in return.

There was another few seconds of silence, all of them gathered together, admiring the view afar, letting the summer breeze rush through their skins. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"Let's make a group vow," he told as everybody turned their heads towards him with questioning looks, "That no matter what happens, we stay together."

The group all exchanged knowing glances, before the Ravenclaw responded with a shrug, "Sure, I'm in." she beamed as she extended her hand out, palm down in the middle of the group.

Slowly, one by one each of them followed, stacking their palms on top one another before finally, Harry finished on top.

"We all vow," Y/N spoke, "That no matter where the future brings us, we all stick and stay together, not just as friends, but as family."

"Family." they all repeated together as they raised their hands up together, a few chuckles and laughter filled the group, enlightening the cheerful mood within that moment.

Y/N was glad to have them by her side throughout the school year, especially with everything that went on that year, it was hectic, chaotic, painful but in the end they were all still together.

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"The same old compartment." said Caleb, "Perhaps we should name this 'the Ravindor' train compartment."

"Ravindor, wow, Mclaughlin." Y/N snickered, "if only you use that creative brain of yours on actual exams." she retaliated smugly, earning a scolding glare from the dark-skinned boy.

"Excuse you, Y/L/N." he scoffed, "Obviously, I was sorted into Ravenclaw for my creative smarts, not everybody finds boring books interesting."

He held a pointed look, though it soon faltered as he was shot a very stern glare from Hermione, "Maybe you'd find them interesting if you've bothered to actually read them."

"Hey! I have read them." Caleb retaliated while Aidan only shook his head disapprovingly, trying to stifle a snicker from breaking out, "Caleb, the longest you've ever lasted on a book, is about 30 seconds."

"Blimey, you're worse than me." Ron murmured proudly at himself as Caleb rolled his eyes in return, "Shut it. Weasley, you only read books with pictures."

"Well, at least he reads." Harry countered, earning a bored glare from the dark-skinned boy as he irritatedly slumped down to his seat with crossed arms, "Is there anything else to talk about besides my hatred towards books?"

There was a moment of silence, most of them didn't really had anything else to talk about, but Y/N however, was having a mental debate with herself as she shifted her seat and began fiddling her fingers together nervously.

Her anxious demeanor seemed to have caught the bushy-haired girl's attention as she motioned one of her hands to intertwine Y/N's, causing the nervous fiddling of her fingers to stop as she took a glance over to her side, catching the slightly concerned expression spread across Hermione's face.

"Love, is anything bothering you?" she asked softly. Y/N debated over and over again with herself, whether it was the right time she'd want to talk about it. After a few silent seconds had passed, she finally came to a conclusion, "I'm fine, just.."

She broke her gaze away from her girlfriend and turned towards the group, taking a deep breath before slowly starting to speak, "So..I think it's time for me to tell you all what happened that night, the third task."

She noticed her friend's expressions began to falter into sympathetic ones, they knew how much the memories hurted her, they had been so cautious about not ever touching the subject of that night that it made the Ravenclaw think it was only right to tell them, considering the amount of support they had contributed to the Ravenclaw throughout the school year.

She felt a squeeze being sent to her hand from her girlfriend as she returned one, signaling that she was okay and that she was really ready to talk about it.

And with another deep breath, she began to talk, starting with the moment she stepped foot into the maze. She told them the obstacles she had to face, Fleur lying unconscious on the ground, Krum being under the Imperius Curse, and attacked Cedric.

Then, as she reached the part where Cedric and her were discussing on who should take the Cup, her voice began to shake, the horrible visions she tried so hard to push away slowly flooded back in again.

Though, once she felt an hand slowly and comfortingly rub on her back, her voice stabilized itself again, the warmth feeling of her girlfriend's touch had managed to calm her down, reminding her that she wasn't back at the graveyard anymore, she was at home, with her girlfriend, her friends who she had considered family.

With the bushy-haired girl's comforting touches, it made it easier for Y/N to continue her story, the visions were still flooding in, but whenever it started to get too much she'd focus back onto her girlfriend's contact as she was slowly drew all sorts of shapes and patterns onto her back, making her snap back to reality and push the visions away.

She was given the same reaction as Sirius when she had mentioned about the cut, all of her friends were holding deep frowns, but Hermione had a frown deeper than anyone, as if she had just experienced the cut on her own.

Then, she continued on until, finally she reached the part where she dueled with Voldemort, their wands connecting. She was hesitant to tell what happened next, though she thought it was best for Harry to know, that his parents had once again, saved her life.

"You saw Mum and Dad?" Harry asked, his eyes were glittering at the Ravenclaw, eager to know more about his parents. Y/N nodded, "They saved me, Har. Again."

"I would've told them about you, really, I knew they'd want to know, but time was limited, I couldn't really have a conversation with them.I'm sorry. Har." she added, the feeling of guilt rushing up her body. But Harry was smiling at her, he didn't seem upset, instead he looked the total opposite.

"Don't be." he beamed, "I'm glad you saw them, I'm glad they saved you. Makes me more proud to be their son, doesn't it?"

Guilt was no longer found in her body as a smile curled up her lips, she didn't expect Harry to take the information so well.

She continued about Cedric's last request, how she had gotten back to the portkey with Cedric's body, how the fake Moody had dragged her to his office, how she had saw the real Moody down in a very deep empty trunk, how Barty Crouch Junior had been the mastermind of the entire plan of Voldemort's return.

It did pain her to talk through it, but after she finished, she felt better. She felt as if all the poison had been extracted from her body, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She could tell it was a lot of information for the group to process as there was a long silence after she finished. All of them deep within their own thoughts, until finally, Ron spoke.

"Can't believe you had to go through all that on your own." he said, "Don't think I'd be able to handle all of that in one night."

"Thanks for telling us, Y/N/N." Lizzy told genuinely, "we know how much that night affected you, we know how hard it must've been for you to relive and tell us."

Y/N smiled and let out a soft sigh as she leaned back onto her seat, her girlfriend's hand no longer behind her back but back to her lap, the other still intertwined, "It's fine, actually, it feels good to let it all out again."

"It just comes back from time to time, but I'll get over it." she assured simply, "Besides, I should be thanking all of you."

She was sitting upright again, glancing over her group of friends with a genuine look, "Well, even though we might've had some disagreements and arguments..." she trailed off as she shared a glance with Ron and Hermione before averting it to everybody else, "You all were still there for me when I needed it most, even when everybody, and I mean, everybody thought I was evil for being Voldem-"

"Sorry, You-Know-Who's cousin, you all still stuck with me throughout the year, honestly, thank you all." she stated genuinely before she fished around her pockets for a certain something, "With that being said..."

She whipped out the bag of coins, the winnings of her Triwizard Tournament, "You all should have this, not me. Take it, divide it equally, anything, just take it, I don't deserve it."

Though, none of them motioned to accept the bag of galleons as they all stared at the Ravenclaw as if she was crazy.

"You're insane to think we would take that." Aidan scoffed, "It's your winnings, Y/N. We only did what true friends would've done, we don't need money for it."

"He's right." Hermione agreed, "Besides, what you had to go through that night, you deserved it. We didn't teach you how to fight You-Know-Who, you did that yourself. It's only fair if you keep the winnings, love."

A sigh was all that escaped the Ravenclaw's lips as her friends all seemed determined for her to keep the money, none of them willing to accept it. Reluctantly and very unwillingly, she stuffed the bag of winnings back into her pockets.

Just then, the train began to slow down, that only meant that they were now back at King Cross station, platform 9 and 3 quarters, where they'd all officially be parting ways.

They all got off the station and got themselves trolley's for their large trunks and pet cages as they walked through the crowds, each of them searching for their own family members.

"I see them!" Aidan told as he pointed into the distance, where a small crowd of familiar wizards and witches were gathered, smiles curled up their faces as they dashed over to them.

The sounds of their trolleys and heavy footsteps seemed to have caught the parents's attention as they all turned around, grins formed on their own faces at the sight of their children.

"Y/N, Harry, long time no see!" Natalie(Caleb's mother) exclaimed as she motioned to wrap Y/N and Harry in a short friendly hug, "Hello, Mrs Mclaughin." the Ravenclaw greeted, earning a grin and nod from Natalie.

"Wow, mum, hugging them first instead of your own son." Caleb scoffed playfully as his mother rolled her eyes in return before motioning beside her son to wrap him in a side hug, "Don't get jealous with me now, Caleb, I had your dad repeat to me 10 times on how to get onto this platform."

Y/N shared a snicker with Hermione as she watched Caleb and his mothers interaction, it was really the first time the Ravenclaw had seen Mrs Mclaughlin set foot on platform 9 and 3 quarters, usually it'd be his father(Jason Mclaughlin) who'd pick him up from the train.

"Is it her first time here on platform 9 and 3 quarters?" Hermione asked curiously, earning a nod from the Ravenclaw as they both continued to watch Mrs Mclaughlin nagging Caleb about his 'ungratefulness'.

"Yeah, she's a Muggle." Y/N told, turning her gaze to her girlfriend on her side, "Usually his father would do all the magic related stuff. Mrs Mclaughlin is more reluctant about it."

"Mhm...definitely relatable." Hermione hummed as she took another glance at Mrs Mclaughlin and Caleb before turning back to the Ravenclaw, only to realise her amusing quirked up eyebrow expression at her.

The bushy-haired girl rolled her eyes and sent a playful nudge to the Ravenclaw's side, "Quit it." she scoffed, "It's not easy for Muggles to process all this wizarding magic all in one day, it's like fantasies coming to life, some Muggles might even think they've gone delusional."

"Well, guess reading Hogwarts: A History about a thousand times before actually coming to Hogwarts did have some benefits then." Y/N mused, earning a playful swat on the shoulder before a few voices had cut them off.

Lizzy and her mother(Hannah Greene) came and said their goodbyes to the Ravenclaw and the bushy-haired girl before they disappeared off in the distance, then Aidan with his dad, then Caleb with his mum.

Finally, it was only left with Y/N, Harry, Hermione and the Weasley's. It seemed that all the parents were trying to catch up with Mrs Weasley that she didn't have time to come over to greet Harry and Y/N.

"Hello again, Y/N, Harry." Mrs Weasley beamed as the duo returned the same grin before Mrs Weasley glanced further to Y/N's side, "Hello to you too, Hermione."

"Hi, Mrs Weasley." Hermione replied politely as the Ravenclaw motioned one of her arms to wrap themselves around her hip, feeling the busy-haired girl leaning to her closer to her side for more contact.

"Y/N, you've been holding up okay, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked with slight concerned as the Ravenclaw quickly replied with a nod, "Thanks to everybody's support, I've been well."

"That's good to hear." Mrs Weasley said as she flickered her gaze towards Harry and Y/N, "Sorry that the two of you aren't able to come stay with us at the Burrow."

"It's alright, Mrs Weasley." Harry responded genuinely, "Me and Y/N'll look out for each other at the Dursleys, they won't bother us much since, there's now two of us."

Y/N shared a knowing glance with Harry before turning back to the woman that stood in front of them, "Yeah, don't worry, we'll manage." she assured as Mrs Weasley smiled, though Y/N could tell that there was still uncertainty hiding behind that her smile.

"Right, just make sure you two look out for each other, and make sure-"

"Mum, you don't have to keep nagging them." Fred appeared as pushed between Y/N and Hermione, breaking their contact as Fred swung his arms over Y/N and Hermione's shoulders.

"They're teenagers." George chimed in, wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulder as he gave a playful pound to the raven-haired boy's chest, "see? They're tough now."

"Besides, Y/N's already had enough nagging from her girlfriend," Fred joshed as an offended expression spreaded across Hermione's face, "Isn't that right, Y/L/N?"

Fred was now staring at the Ravenclaw intently, though she could feel another pair of daggers being sent from the girl beside the tall ginger. She took a short glance at her girlfriend and caught her narrowed scolding eyes, glaring into her soul, quickly she flickered her gaze back to Fred.

Her lips opening and closing, though no words seemed to roll out of her tongue. Thankfully, a scoff from Mrs Weasley broke the awkward tension as all of their attention shifted back to the woman in front.

"Enough of this nonsense." she scolded, glaring at Fred and George, "Leave them alone, they've had enough of a rough year, no need for more headaches from both of you."

"Don't know about headaches," George sounded as he faked a thinking expression, "But we do know about swelling tongues." Fred continued as he and George fished around their pockets before grabbing out a small neatly wrapped piece of candy.

"Would you like a Toffee," Both of them asked in sync, George nudging the toffee towards Harry while Fred nudged his towards the Ravenclaw.

"I thought I told you to get rid of them!" Mrs Weasley spat angrily. "Oh no we did." Fred retaliated, "These are new ones." George added as Mrs Weasley's anger rose.

Y/N and Harry were trying to stifle their snickers while Hermione rolled her eyes and scoffed, shaking her head disapprovingly. Mrs Weasley was just about to tell the twins off before she took a quick glance at Y/N and Harry, surprisingly she seemed to have suppressed her anger as the only thing she said was, "Enough, both of you. Let's get going now."

She then glanced over to Y/N, Harry and Hermione and smiled, "We'll see you all soon, take care of yourselves." she beamed as Fred and George stuffed their toffees back into their pockets before waving them goodbye.

The Ravenclaw knew Fred and George were going to get all the scolding when they return to the Burrow, Mrs Weasley's expression had shown it off. But, a sudden thought came to mind as she started to ruffle her own pockets.

"I'll be right back." she told, before Harry or Hermione could utter a word she had dashed off towards Fred and George, quickly she tugged both of their wrists, causing them to turn around with questioning looks on their face.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked, "Want a toffee?" George added.

The Ravenclaw shook her head as she grabbed a thick bag out of her pockets, the same bag that had her winnings, "Here, you two take these."

Curiously, Fred opened the bag in his hands, his eyebrows quirking up as he shared a glance with George before trying to give it back to the Ravenclaw, "Have you gone mad?" Fred asked, "There's like a thousand galleons in here."

"Exactly," Y/N told, "You two have it."

"You're right, Fred." George sounded, "She's gone mental."

The Ravenclaw rolled her eyes before she shook her head, "Just take it alright, use it for your joke products, the world could use some laughs from now on." Y/N told sincerely, "Also, get Ron some better looking dress robes, please."

"Y/N, we can't-"

"Just take it." Y/N interjected, "It's better off in your hands than mine."

After much convincing and persuading, Fred and George finally accepted the money before they headed back to reunite with their family.

Y/N felt good, she knew the Weasley's were always on the poorer side, though they never would let Y/N or Harry pay for any of their stuff. She was glad Fred and George had accepted her winnings, she couldn't think of anyone better than the Weasley family to have deserved this money, especially after everything they've done for her and Harry.

She was now back beside Harry and Hermione, she noticed in the distance a man and woman waving towards them, though they weren't anyone Harry nor Y/N recognized. That's when it clicked, it was her girlfriends parents, meaning, it was time to say goodbye to her girlfriend for nine whole weeks.

"My parents are here," the bushy-haired girl told softly as the Ravenclaw let out a sigh before turning to her girlfriend, lips pursing slightly together, "I guess this is goodbye then."

Hermione sighed as she hesitantly nodded, "Promise you'd write during the holidays?" she pleaded, flickering her gaze to Harry and back to her girlfriend, "Both of you."

A soft snicker escaped the Ravenclaw's lips as she playfully nodded her head, "Suuree... we'll write everyday." she laughed sarcastically, earning an unamused roll of eyes from the latter.

"Alright, don't want to keep your parents waiting now do we." Y/N told as she leant down and planted a short kiss on her girlfriends cheek, "I'll see you soon, angel."

The bushy=haired girl slowly nodded as another sigh escaped her lips, "See you soon." Y/N and Hermione held their gaze for a few seconds, neither of them making a move to break away.

"Just one more thing before we leave." Hermione asked pleadingly causing the Ravenclaw's eyebrow to furrow together as she hesitantly nodded, "Sure-"

Instantly, she felt a pair of soft lips clashed onto hers, her girlfriends arms wrapped around her neck tightly, which caught her off guard as she stumbled back a little, though quickly she steadied herself as she wrapped her arms around the bushy-haired girl's waist, embracing the feeling of her girlfriends soft and sweet lips against hers.Oh how she was going to miss this.

It was the sound of Harry clearing his throat that caused the two to finally unwillingly broke away, "I love you." Hermione breathed, earning a low chuckle from the latter as she pulled her girlfriend in for one last short peck on the lips, "Love you too, I'll see you soon. Granger."

And just like that, both of them very reluctantly said their goodbyes, watching the bushy-haired girl reuniting with her parents as she shot Y/N and Harry one last wave before disappearing off into the distance.

"Why am I always the third wheel?" Harry grumbled as the Ravenclaw playfully snickered in return, "Don't worry Potter, you'll find yourself a girlfriend soon and as I said before, I could always be your rebound."

"No thanks, I'll pass." Harry retorted before he caught sight of a familiar big sized Uncle, who both of them hated. "Surprisingly, he showed up." Harry mused as he pointed the Ravenclaw to the direction of where Vernon stood, he seemed very impatient, pacing left and right in his elephant sized legs.

"This is going to be so much fun." Y/N deadpanned as they made their way towards Vernon. He looked extremely disappointed at the fact that Y/N and Harry actually showed up, perhaps he was hoping this was all a joke.

"Oh, you two are here." Vernon mumbled lowly as he opened the boot of his car, "can't believe I signed up for this."

"Just do what you do best, Uncle." Harry grinned sarcastically as he and Y/N started to place their heavy trunks into the boot of his car, "pretend we don't exist."

"You bet I will." Vernon retaliated as he hopped into the driver seat, Y/N and Harry hopping to the backseat, while Hedwig had the front seat and Owlfred sat in between the duo.

Y/N could tell Vernon was getting quite uneasy with the fact that there was a hooting snowy owl sitting right next to him as he started his car, he kept side glancing at Hedwig, as if he would jump out and eat him alive like some godzilla at anypoint.

"Just keep driving, Uncle. The owl won't bite." Y/N retorted as Vernon shot the girl a harsh glare through the rearview mirror, though the Ravenclaw was unbothered, "'Cause if she did, I would've let her out ever since we stepped foot into this car."

Surprisingly, Vernon had yet to explode onto either Y/N or Harry, all he did was shoot them very very harsh glares, though Y/N knew, their punishment would all come down when they reached Privet Drive.

Just nine weeks. The Ravenclaw told herself, besides she'd be able to write letters to her girlfriend, her godfather, her parents, the weasley's, it wouldn't be so bad would it?

Little did she know, she'd be in for a very very eventful summer.

To be continued....

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Thank you for reading Book 3 of the Hermione X Reader (Ravenclaw) series! I hope you enjoyed it so far and would continue to follow along Y/N and Hermione's journey through the next book! 💕

Book 4 'Only You' is out now on my profile!

Have a great day!😚