Chapter Text

Zacharias

“Well, boy, be safe, study hard, and don’t get into trouble. Give the Smith name a good reputation.” A man firmly slapped an enormous hand down onto the fragile boy’s shoulder, causing his knees to buckle. The young boy stared up at the tall man that stood before him. His father, hair graying and eyes that wrinkled at the corners, sternly looked the boy up and down and nodded his head once more before letting the child loose. 

“Thank you, sir, I will,” The boy shook his head full of dirty blonde waves, almost as if mocking the man’s lack of. The man’s face twitched, the corners of his mouth turning upwards almost unnoticeably, which caused the boy to frown, eyes widening. A train whistle blew within the near vicinity.

A woman, who towered over the young boy, gave a yelp and engulfed the child into a suffocating hug, crouching down so that she could rest her chin onto his shoulder, her giant handbag slapping him in the side. “Oh! What am I going to do without my little Zachy? Who’s going to keep me company?” The woman cried and squeezed the boy harder.

“Uh, mum, the train…” the boy started, but was interrupted by a quick release of the hug, and his mother straightening her sleek blonde bob. She took the shaded glasses off her forehead and placed them over her eyes, obscuring the boy’s view of her face. She stood side by side with the man and looked down at the young child that was her only son. 

“Now, Zacharias, get on that train and make us proud. Write as soon as you get sorted; put that owl of yours to work. If we hear from any of your teachers, so help me god. Now, get! Before it leaves without you!” She made a shooing motion with her hands, and the boy turned himself around, and stalked away from his parents, rolling his eyes. He boarded the gigantic red steam engine that had the words Hogwarts Express painted across the side in big block letters. Walking down the narrow corridor of the train car, pulling his trolley, laden with luggage and owl, he began searching for a free compartment.

Amelia

“I’m so excited!” a young girl cried happily as she walked hand in hand with a woman, probably in her thirties, down the platforms of King’s Cross Station. In her other hand, she held a worn suitcase that was peeling at the corners. The rest of her luggage was piled in a trolley that the woman was dragging along behind her. The woman grinned widely at the young girl, who was almost a perfect duplicate of herself. Light brown hair, pale skin, freckles. The young girl released the woman’s hand as she stood before what appeared to be a normal brick wall. 

“Well, here we are. You remember what I told you to do?” the woman asked the child, watching her with caution.

“Run right at it. Don’t think twice, and don’t hesitate… I think I’m gonna close my eyes.” 

“Whatever makes you feel most comfortable. Do you want me to go with you?” 

“Nah, I can do it. This IS the right wall, right?” The girl looked around nervously for a sign indicating the way. She spotted a sign sticking out up ahead; Platform 10. She turned around, feet still planted in front of the wall, and spotted another sign opposite her; Platform 9. She nodded to herself, took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and walked straight into the wall.

After a few seconds, she released the breath that she didn’t know that she had been holding, and opened her eyes in awe. Before her, stood a train platform like any other, but yet, it wasn’t. There were children all around screaming and running to and fro. Friends stood in corners comparing frog cards and broom models. A bright red steam engine that was pouring out smoke, almost like a fog, churned and screeched in excitement for the journey to start. A smile crept onto the girl’s face, and she looked behind her, where the woman was smiling just as wide.

“Wow. I haven’t been here since I graduated. It’s still just as magnificent as I remember it..” She turned to face the young girl and crouched down, so they were face to face. “So, Ames, are you nervous?”

“Not really. Just about what house I’ll be sorted into.” The girl began chewing her fingernails, before releasing her hands so they fell restless at her sides. 

“Well, you know that it doesn’t matter to me. Just that you make friends, try your best, and are happy with yourself. Okay?” The woman held up her pinky finger, and the girl laced her own around it, sealing the promise. 

“Okay, mum. I should go get on the train, so I can, ya know, get a good seat.”

“Okay.” The woman smiled once more, stood straight, and waved as the girl dragged the suitcases off towards the nearest door to the train. 

“I’ll write!” the girl called, before vanishing from view.

Zacharias

The blonde boy looked inside every compartment, before settling on one near the front of the train that was empty except for a few students; girls. 

“Is anyone sitting here?” he asked the girls who were giggling in the corner. They looked much older, probably sixth years or something, and the one with the long blonde hair hastily shook her head, before turning her attention back to the other girl, who had shiny black hair that curled in bangs across her forehead. The boy took a seat, nearest the compartment door, and pulled out a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages just as the train lurched forward. He sighed as he flipped through the pages. He knew that this was wrong. He shouldn’t be here. He should be at Durmstrang, where all the students learn big magic, instead of the wimpy magic they were gonna teach here. Just as he was getting lost in thought, the compartment door screeched open, scaring the living daylights right out of him. 

A girl with bushy brown hair and buck-teeth poked her head in. “Have any of you seen a toad? I’m helping this boy, Neville, find it. So, have you?” She looked from the two girls to him, before retreating back out to the hall in a hasty fluster. Her presence seemed to have set the girls off more, as they began laughing louder. The boy turned away from them and spent the rest of the ride to school with his nose buried in his book.

Amelia

Once on the train, the girl realized that she may have been too excited to start at her new school. She realized this as soon as she saw that she was the first one on the train. Oh well, she could sit anywhere she liked. She chose a compartment near the middle of the train, where, if they turned a corner, she would be able to see both the engine and the rear by turning her head ever so slightly. She pulled her new wand out of her bag and impatiently began twirling it through the air and twiddling it through her fingers. Couldn’t they just get there already? Why not apparate or portkey? It would be much faster. 

After waiting in her window seat for what felt like hours, the train began filling up, and soon enough the wheels started rolling. Just as the train blew a final whistle before setting off, three boys stumbled into her compartment, and she nodded for them to sit down amongst her. They all looked about her age, so she asked them such.

“Are you in your first year, too?” She queried, as she scanned the three. The one on the left was dark-skinned and had deep brown eyes. The second was blonde with a large nose that protruded quite strangely. The third had dirty blonde hair, and when he answered her, spoke in a thick Irish accent.

“Yeah, I’m a first year. We all are actually. Are you, then?”
“Why yes,” she replied, trying to be as refined as possible. It wasn’t that boys scared her or anything. She just felt like she had to show them how much more mature she was. It’s a dominance thing, she thought to herself.

“Well,” said the Irish boy, “It’s nice to meet ya, whatever your name is. I’m Seamus.”

“Amelia,” the girl replied, and stretched her hand across the compartment and shook the boy’s oddly sweaty hand. 

“I’m Blaise,” the dark-skinned boy added and gave a small wave with his hand.

“Anthony,” the blonde boy told her, and the three continued their conversation, this time including Amelia in it. 

“So I heard,” said Seamus, “that Harry Potter is in our year! He’s on this train right now! How cool is that?!” Seamus bounced excitedly in his seat, unable to contain his joy. Amelia could understand. The most famous wizard, the Boy Who Lived, was in their year. Wow. Everyone knew who he was. Well, or so Amelia thought.

“Who?” Anthony asked, and looked at each of them in turn. “Who is Harry Potter?” They all stared at him in shock. “What?! I didn’t grow up with wizard parents! They’re muggles, or whatever the word is for non-magical people. Honestly, I don’t know much about this whole, wizard world thing yet.”

“Well,” Seamus began, and then explained the whole Harry Potter story to him. 

“Oh, I see. Quite famous. What house do you think he’s gonna be in?” Anthony asked.

“I’m not sure, but I hope I get Gryffindor. That’s the house known for bravery. I don’t know what I’d do if I got Hufflepuff .”

“I think any house would be nice, even Hufflepuff,” Amelia butt in, but the boys looked at her weird. 

“Slytherin would be cool. I’m a pureblood, and Slytherin is known for all the pureblood wizards, right?” Blaise claimed but seemed surprised at the faces his mates were making. 

“Slytherin is the evil house! All the wizards that come out of there are bad! So, no thanks for me, lad,” Seamus spat and scrunched up his face as if the thought disgusted him. 

“I’d be okay with Ravenclaw,” Amelia began, and the others nodded in agreement. 

“So there are four houses? Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff?” Anthony asked, counting them off on his fingers. Seamus nodded. “Brilliant. Not too hard to remember. How do they sort us, then?” 

Well, no one knew the answer to that. So for the rest of the very long train ride, they spent the time discussing classes, the school, and especially the sorting. It was quite enjoyable, Amelia thought, that she was already starting to make friends. Soon enough though, they arrived at the station, and the train came to a halt.

Zacharias

“First years! First years o’er here!” As soon as he stepped foot off the train, wearing his new set of black robes, he was bombarded with sights and sounds. They were at a sort of station, but the school was nowhere yet to be seen. The boy looked towards the yelling, as he was a first-year after all, and was stunned to find a huge man calling out, and waving the students over towards the boats. The man in question was big. Like, really big. He was at least three times Zacharias's height and had to weigh at least 600 pounds. He saw other students congregating towards the man, so he followed suit.

Once at the water’s edge, the man, who had to have been part giant or something, ushered them into small boats, four people per boat. In his boat was an awkward-looking kid with short brown hair, a small boy with shaggy blonde hair, much like his own, and a dark-skinned boy who was looking in the direction of the castle intently. Zacharias chose to instead look out across the dark lake as they made their way towards the castle. 

Then, sooner than he expected, he saw it. A giant building, with tiers, towers, and stonework loomed over the students. Almost all heads rose upwards and stared towards the sky at the gigantic monstrosity that was their new home, for the next seven years. As they approached the edge of the lake, the large man instructed them to wait ashore to be escorted to the castle. 

As he clambered out of the shabby boat, attempting to prevent the hem of his robes from getting soaked, the giant man spoke again, his voice a deep grumble. 

“I’ve been instructed by the headmaster to take you to the castle, so follow me.” The students shuffled behind the man as they headed towards the expansive fortress-like school.

“Here are the first years, Professor McGonagall,” he said to the stern-looking woman that met them at the door.

“Thank you, Hagrid. I’ll take them from here.” The woman wore a pointed black hat and emerald green robes and had sharp features that made her seem strict and not one to cross. Once inside the Great Hall, the students gathered in a circle around the stern witch, bodies shaking from the cold.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall began. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend time in your House common room.

“The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.” She clasped her hands together when she finished her speech and turned away from the children and towards a large set of ornate wooden doors.

The first years began whispering to one another. Hurried worries and questions filled the hall, echoing around him. Oh god, how Zacharias hoped he was in Gryffindor or even Slytherin. A house of strong students. That would make his parents proud. 

Just then, the great doors creaked open, and the first years were herded inside. 

Amelia

Amelia and her newly found acquaintances continued to chat as they made their way off the train, wearing their gleaming new robes, wands tucked in various places on their person; their robe sleeve, pant leg, and even sticking out of her tall black sock. 

As the four students made their way off the train, they followed the calls of a giant man, who was perched on the edge of a lake. 

“Wow,” said Amelia, “That man’s huge.” Amelia stared bug-eyed at the man and took in his enormous structure.

“You’re telling me!” Spoke Anthony, who was the tallest of their group. 

“Oh, that must be Hagrid,” Seamus chimed, as he continued to stroll towards the lake’s edge, leaving his friends behind. They raced to catch up. 

“How do you know who it is?” Asked Blaise accusingly. 

“My older cousin told me all about the professors and the school.”

“So what does he teach, then?” Blaise questioned.

“I don’t think he teaches anything. Just takes care of the grounds or whatever.”

“Oh.”

“Come on guys! Or there’s not going to be any boats left!” Amelia called, as she snagged them a boat off to the far left. The four students climbed in, and perched themselves, excited to see their first glimpse of the school.

As their boats began rowing themselves, Anthony began scooting himself forward, almost knocking Blaise out of the boat.

“Oi! What do you wanna do? Drown me?” Blaise screeched, pushing Anthony off him and straightening his robes. “Get back in your seat! You’ll see it when the rest of us get to.” He then proceeded to take a handful of water out of the lake and splashed it in Anthony’s direction, where it missed by inches. Seamus and Amelia began laughing, the sounds of their voices echoing off the darkness. About twenty other students turned to stare at them, and Amelia could feel her cheeks turning pink. Soon enough, they turned just-so, that they could see their new school.

It was dusty and tall, and tan in color. Windows lined every wall and stacked one on top of another. It was magnificent. 

All four friends' mouths dropped in turn as they caught a glimpse of the glory before them.

“Wow,” Anthony said, his eyes glued to the sight.

“It’s amazing,” Amelia sighed.

“Lads, we get to literally live here. That’s amazing,” Seamus added.

“I wonder how many stairs there are,” Blaise finished, and the three looked at him in shock, before laughing once more. No sooner had they reached the shore that they were inside the Great Hall, listening to an older witch, who seemed strict yet kind, tell them about the sorting.

Amelia listened intently, not wanting to miss a thing. When the witch, Professor McGonagall as they soon learned, finished, she turned back towards her new friends to discuss.

“I hope we’re all in the same house,” Anthony said and crossed his fingers so they all could see.

Amelia did the same, before adding, “Yeah, but even if we’re not, we might still have classes together, so that’s nice.” Blaise and Seamus smiled, and the four new friends eyed each other in turn, before nodding. 

“Even if we never talk to each other again,” Seamus began, which caused the others to punch him on both arms. “OW, I was saying that even if we never talk to each other again, OUCH, that we will still remember the good time that we had on the train, YEOWCH AMELIA, what was that for?!” Seamus rubbed his upper arm, where Amelia had just socked him with the force of no other. She covered her smiling face with her hand and suppressed laughter. 

Just then, Anthony leaned towards the center of their group and mumbled, “I think that we’re gonna go in now. Look, they’re opening the doors.”

Sure enough, the doors to the Great Hall were opening, and the first years that were located closest were already filing in. 

“Here we go,” Amelia grumbled, and they all walked into the Hall in turn; Amelia, then Anthony, then Blaise, then Seamus.

Zacharias

Once in the hall, Zacharias felt as if all the older students were staring at him. He had stayed behind so that he would be in the back of the group. As he trailed, he caught a glimpse of a stool at the front of the hall. A stool? Were they going to sit and state their case as to what house they should be in? Finally, the little group came to a halt. There was silence for a moment, before a voice could be heard, singing. He stretched onto his tiptoes, and saw, over the other student’s heads, a hat. The brim of the hat was torn, and the flap was moving. He could see it now, yes, through the wrinkles he was able to make out the eyes, and yes, the brim was the mouth. The hat sang about the houses, and the sorting before it hushed itself and sat still on the stool once more.

He heard McGonagall’s voice echo the hall again. “When I call your name, you will come to the front, and the hat will sort you into one of the four houses.” Ah ha. So that’s how it worked. The hat chose for you. He listened attentively, waiting for his name to be called.

“Abbott, Hannah,” was first to be called, and she got sorted in Hufflepuff. He concentrated as Professor McGonagall made her way through the list, alphabetically. 

“Granger, Hermione!” The girl from the train, who had asked about the missing toad, stalked up towards the stool and delicately placed the hat upon her head. It seemed to take forever for her to get sorted, a few minutes it had to have been, before the hat opened its mouth and shouted, “Gryffindor!”

Time moved slowly, with all the students, tall and small, blonde and brunette, getting sorted accordingly. When they reached the P’s, Zacharias heard a name he hadn’t expected.

“Potter, Harry!”

The entire hall went quiet, only muttered whispers, about the famous boy who now strode towards the stool. Harry Potter, the most famous wizard in Britain, maybe even the world, was in his year. Wow. Zacharias stood straighter, wanting to see the shaggy-haired boy with the lightning bolt scar. The hat covered most of the scrawny boy’s face, and only the very bottom of his eyes was visible. He sat a moment, before the hat echoed once more, “Gryffindor!”

The Gryffindor table erupted, and Zacharias knew that that was the house that he wished to be in. He would play Quidditch and room with Harry Potter and support the red and gold. 

Slowly but surely, Professor McGonagall moved through the rest of the P’s, to the R’s and finally made it to the S’s. 

“Smith, Zacharias!” She bellowed, and he nudged his way towards the front of the group, and up towards the wooden stool, center of the room. He sat upon it, and McGonagall placed the shabby hat upon his head, and he heard the hat speak. 

“Ah, what a nice boy, nice upbringing, oh, but wants more out of his schooling,” the hat spoke. Zacharias frantically looked around but noticed that no one else heard what the hat had said. How do you know that? He thought to himself, which caused the hat to chuckle.

“I’m the sorting hat, I know many things. A curious mind I see, and so smart too. Ah, legacy matters to you too, oh. Well then, if that’s what you want to see, better be… Hufflepuff!”

The hat shouted the last word out loud, where the table to the far right erupted in noise. Still in shock, Zacharias made his way towards the yellow-bannered table, where his fellow Hufflepuff’s sat, ready to welcome him.

No, he thought, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be! He was supposed to be a Gryffindor with the lions, not here with the badgers!  A scowl crossed his face. He sat through the rest of the sortings, not even paying attention to who else was going where.

Amelia

Amelia and her new classmates were gobsmacked at the massive room with a sky-like ceiling that showed a clear night with glittering stars, just like it was outside. They were in awe of the long house tables and the number of students per table. But they were most amazed at the singing hat that sat on a stool at the front of the Great Hall. It sang about sorting, and that’s when it clicked in her head.

“That’s how they do the sorting, isn’t it?” Amelia whispered to Seamus, who shrugged and nodded in disbelief.

“I guess so.”

When the hat finished its song, the hall erupted in applause. Then the sorting began. Even with only 40 students in their year, the suspense made the time draw on forever. It felt like they had been there for hours before the first name of their group was announced.

“Finnigan, Seamus!” Seamus looked at his new friends, a look of terror and excitement painted on his face, as he trudged his way towards the front of the crowd. Once upon the stool, they watched with bated breath as the hat was placed on his head. The hat took a few minutes, which caused Seamus to look absently around in confusion. Amelia watched, nervous for her friend before the hat spoke once more: “Gryffindor!”

The table to their direct right exploded in cheers, and Seamus, looking relieved to have been sorted at all, stumbled towards the appropriate house table. He looked towards his friends and nodded sincerely. They waved back and looked at each other once again. Who was next? 

They didn’t have to wait long, as directly after Seamus, Professor McGonagall called the next member of their little group’s name.

“Goldstein, Anthony!” Anthony didn’t look as nervous as Seamus, and strode up to the hat, almost with a skip in his step. After only about ten seconds of having the hat on his head, the sorting hat burst, “Ravenclaw!” Applause sounded once more, and Blaise looked at Amelia sadly. 

The names continued, with students being accepted into each of the four houses with the same amount of cheer and pep each time. The only exception was Harry Potter who got accepted into Gryffindor with the loudest screams yet. So he was in their year, Amelia thought. That would be interesting.

But soon, they surpassed the P’s, and moved through the alphabet, until there were only three students left to be sorted. Amelia stood, still side by side with Blaise. The third student was tall with gangly limbs and had bright red hair, and about a thousand freckles. He looked towards the Gryffindor table, where about three more redheaded children smiled at him. 

“Walker, Amelia!” Amelia walked towards the stool in confidence, not wanting to be scared of a silly hat. She sat upon the stool with ease and, with a straight back, waited patiently for the hat to consult her.

“Hmm, interesting. Smart and brave, aren’t you? And kind and stubborn. But where, oh where, would you make the best fit? With that kind of compassion, there can only be one option. Better be, Hufflepuff! ” Her face burst into a fantastic smile as the table that was nearest the right wall called her over with enthusiasm, and the hat was removed from her head. Once seated at the table amongst a few other of her fellow first-year Hufflepuffs, she looked back towards the hat, waiting for Blaise to be sorted. But Blaise was not next.

“Weasley, Ronald!” McGonagall shouted, and the red-haired boy sat nervously on the stool before being sorted into Gryffindor with the rest of his siblings.

Finally, only Blaise remained. 

“Zabini, Blaise!” McGonagall cried, and he strode forward and settled himself upon the stool, and looked focused as the hat sat upon his head. As if Blaise already knew and accepted his fate, when the hat cried, “Slytherin!” He rose from off the stool and strode towards the table on the far left, and sat beside a first-year with quiffed brown hair, and stunning blue eyes. 

Amelia shrank in her seat. What luck! Each of her and her three new friends was in four different houses! She now felt nervous. She was back at square one, where she didn’t know anyone.

She eyed the people who sat near her around the table. Mostly it seemed to be other first years, but a few second and third years milled around to welcome the new students. She caught eyes with a boy who sat a few seats down across the table. He had messy blonde hair and a sharp jaw and looked much more displeased than she did. They stared at one another for a moment, before he broke away and looked down at his empty plate. 

Soon enough, food came and went, and Headmaster Dumbledore announced that it was time for bed. Feeling the exhaustion of the day finally hit her, she yawned and stood, and the little group of first years followed one of the prefects out of the Great Hall.

They wandered down one of the first floor corridors, towards a set of stairs that led downwards.

“Is our common room in the dungeons or something?” a first-year in front of her questioned.

The prefect shook his head. “Nah. Just in the basements.” Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they followed the hallway past a portrait of a bowl of fruit, until they made it to a giant stack of barrels. “You have to knock on the barrel located two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row, to the tune of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’. That’s our password. If you get it wrong, vinegar gets shot out of these barrels at you. I know that from personal experience, so if you think you’re gonna get it wrong, wait until someone else can help you.” The prefect unlocked the passageway using the just explained password, and a door opened from behind the barrels. He motioned for the first years to enter, and they did. Nervous, yet excited, they filed in.

Zacharias

At first, he thought that the common room would be dark, being in the basement and all, but it wasn’t. A soft glow cast shadows across the room, and a warm fireplace cast heat. A few comfy looking armchairs adorned the hearth, and tables covered in piles of parchment and extra ink scattered the room. Potted plants hung from various hooks on the low ceiling, and colorful rugs layered on the floor. The room itself was not too big, and not too small, and its walls were rounded, making it feel as if they were in a barrel themselves. Small half-moon windows lined the walls by the ceiling, which Zacharias could see that during the day time, light must fill the room. It was quite a cozy room, to say the least.

“Boys dormitories are over that way,” the prefect informed them, pointed towards a hidden doorway to the left. “And girls are that way.” He pointed to an identical doorway, but off to the right. He waved them goodnight and went off towards the boy’s rooms. The first years, unsure of what else to do besides go to bed, headed in their rightful directions.

The doorways to the dorms led Zacharias to a long, curving corridor that seemed to go on forever. He walked until he reached a door that had a plaque that read, First Years , and pushed the door ajar. 

Inside, he saw that the room was pentagonal, but instead of armchairs and tables like the common room, five identical four-poster beds stood; one on each wall. Their own trunks had been placed at the end of one of the beds. The beds themselves were quite simple. Wooden frames with yellow curtains and matching bedspreads. The walls were wood-paneled, and each nightstand held a copper lamp. As his other dorm-mates began filing into the room, Zacharias searched for the trunk containing his own belongings. Once he located it, he sat upon his new bed and looked around at his fellow first-year Hufflepuff boys.

“Hello,” said a boy, as he sat on the bed next to Zacharias's. He announced to the room his presence, and all heads turned his way. “I’m Ernie, Ernie Macmillan. I feel that if we’re gonna be sharing a room for the next seven years, it’s best we get to know each other, don’t ya think?” The boys grumbled in agreement, before sitting on each’s own bed and staring at one another in a circle. “Well, I’m Ernest, but you can call me Ernie. Most of my family were Hufflepuffs, so yeah, I’m pretty glad to be here. Excited for classes to start, so yeah.”

Silence was cast over the room for a few moments before anyone else spoke. “I’m Justin Finch-Fletchley,” piped the boy on Zacharias's other side. Justin waved to the group and smiled at them. “I’m muggleborn, so I was quite excited to learn that I was a wizard. It’s pretty cool that all of this exists, huh?” The other boys nodded and Ernie even gave a small chuckle before silence fell once more. 

“Wayne Hopkins,” the boy nearest the door announced, smiling a genuine smile. How could all these boys be so happy to be in Hufflepuff, Zacharias wondered. It was literally the lamest house. What was it known for, being most polite? As the sorting hat said, it was the house that took all the other students. Students who weren’t special. And what had the hat meant about putting him with his legacy? What legacy did he have in Hufflepuff?

“I’m Oliver Rivers.” Zacharias was snapped back into reality when the final boy in the dorm stated his name. Oliver had dark skin and glasses and looked like he belonged more in Ravenclaw than Hufflepuff.

That’s when Zacharias noticed that his fellow classmates were all looking at him. He jolted in surprise. Why were they looking at him? Right, right, his name. He hadn’t introduced himself yet.

“Uh, hello there.” They all waved. This felt more like a support group than a friendly introduction between new roommates. “My name’s Zacharias Smith. Both my parents are wizards. I was pretty shocked to be in Hufflepuff if I’m being totally honest, but, yeah, I’m here, I can’t change that and I guess I’ll just suck it up.” The boys stared at him in awe. Was he too honest? No, no he wasn’t.

“Just Zacharias?” His thoughts were interrupted once again by a question that was directed at him. He looked over at the source, Justin.

“Pardon?”

“Do you just go by Zacharias, or do you have a shorter, easier to pronounce nickname?”

“Uh, whatever you want is fine. Except for Zachy. I’ve always hated that nickname.”

“Alright, how about Zach?”

“Zach?”

“Yeah, Zach! That’s easier and still just as cool!” Ernie interjected. He had now bounced off his bed and had begun unpacking his trunk. 

“Oh, alright. Zach is fine.” The five boys started unpacking and getting ready for bed, conversation slowly flowing easier and easier. 

Just as they were about to fall asleep, Justin whispered, “Goodnight, mates. See you in the morning.” Echos of goodnight and night, Justin was heard from all angles of the room. 

“Goodnight,” Zach called, as he drifted off.

Amelia

“Isn’t this so exciting?” One of the students called, as the first-year girls made their way down the hall towards the girls’ dorms. She skipped into the room labeled First Years , and her dark chocolate brown hair swished side to side. 

Their dorm room itself, unlike the cozy common room, was quite plain. Each wall consisted of a four-poster bed and a side table that had a single lamp upon it. An ornate yellow rug covered the stone floor. Besides that, the wooden boarded walls and low ceiling made it feel as if they were in a crate-like box. But yet, at the same time, it felt homey and comforting. 

As Amelia began removing clothing and books from her trunk at the bed closest to the door, she looked around at her fellow first years. On the bed next to her was a short girl with long blonde hair, the front pieces tied back. She was chatting with the girl on the third bed, a redhead with bangs that curled across her forehead. They seemed to have already become friends. The other two girls in the room were too busy unpacking to talk. One was the skipping girl, and the other had olive skin and black hair that was dyed purple at the ends. 

As Amelia crawled into bed that night and turned off the lamp, thoughts swarmed her mind. Would she ever get to hang out with Anthony, Blaise, and Seamus? And why hadn’t she talked to these other girls in her dorm? They should become friends, shouldn’t they? It seemed much easier to talk to the boys than it did to the girls. 

Oh well, she always had tomorrow.

Zacharias

The next morning in the Great Hall, Zacharias sat with the students from his dorm while eating breakfast.

“So what do you think’s in the third-floor corridor?” Ernie asked, mentioning the forbidden area Dumbledore warned them about at the previous night’s feast. Zacharias mulled the idea over in his head as he chewed a piece of toast. It did seem strange that they weren’t allowed in an area of the castle. The Forbidden forest made sense but the castle?

“It did seem strange when he said the thing about dying a painful death,” Wayne added. At that moment the first-year girls made their way over to the boy’s area of the table. As they sat, straightening their black and yellow robes, more food magically appeared.

“Scrummy!” said a redhead. She scooped spoonfuls of eggs onto her plate.

“Hey, you guys are first years too, right?” Ernie asked them. They all nodded, and a girl two seats over from Zacharias spoke up. 

“Yes, are you excited that we get our schedules today? We all have the same classes, so we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, huh?” The girl had short brown hair that fell in messy curls at her chin. Her blue eyes sparkled. This was the same girl that he had made strange eye contact with at the feast last night. 

“So excited!” Ernie called and reached his hand across the table in the girl’s direction. “Ernie Macmillan, at your service.”

The girl giggled and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Amelia Walker.”

“I’m Justin!” Justin shouted from across the table, while he dragged his arm through the gravy and bangers, which made a girl with long blonde hair snort-laugh. 

“Justin, that’s disgusting,” Zacharias added, and noticed the girl, Amelia, staring at him. Embarrassed, he turned away from her and helped Justin clean off his sleeve.

“Too bad we don’t know any cleaning spells, huh, Zach?” Justin asked while laughing.
“Yeah, too bad.” Zacharias looked through his peripheral vision and still spotted the girl eyeing him intently. It made him quite uncomfortable. He adjusted the collar of his robes, just as a plump woman with curly gray hair approached them, carrying a stack of papers.

“Hello, first years!” She chimed. They all waved at her, and she leaned into their group. “I’m Professor Sprout, Hufflepuff Head of House, and I’ve got your schedules with me here.” She held up the stack of parchment. “Now just bear with me for a moment, I don’t quite know all your names yet. Hannah Abbott?”

The girl with the long blonde hair raised her hand, and received her schedule with a flourish.

“Susan Bones, ah there you are, here you go.” The red-haired girl was next, and she began looking over her own schedule intently.

“Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Megan Jones,” Professor Sprout announced, giving the schedule to his roommates and a girl with black and purple hair. 

“Ernie Macmillan, yes here you are, and Leanne Moon? Here you go, sweetie. Oliver Rivers?” Ernie and Oliver took their schedules joyfully, and the girl with dark brown hair and a dreamy aura, Leanne, accepted hers before staring back off into space.

“Alright, and finally, Zacharias Smith and Amelia Walker.” Zacharias reached towards the professor, extending his hand to grasp his roll of parchment. At the same time, Amelia’s hand stretched upwards, and they bumped midair. Surprised and confused, Zacharias grabbed his schedule, and retracted his hand back towards himself. Professor Sprout waved to the students as she wandered away towards the fifth years, piled with a new set of schedules.

“This isn’t too bad,” Susan told the general table, as she read off her schedule. “We’ve got Potions and Herbology before lunch, then Charms. Tomorrow we have Defense Against the Dark Arts and, oh, Astronomy at night. Later this week we’ve got Flying class! How exciting!” Susan finished with a flourish as she placed her schedule rolled up in her bag. 

Both excited and not excited at the same time, the group of first years rose from their seats around the table and watched as their breakfast dishes cleared. Then, they headed in the direction of the dungeons, where the potions classroom was. 

Zacharias remained quiet. He still couldn’t get that girl out of his head, and the way their hands touched. Amelia. It creeped him out. He shuddered as the little group walked in their pack down to the dark, cold and quite wet dungeons of the castle.

Amelia

Amelia entered the dungeons with a scowl on her face. What was wrong with her? Usually talking to people was so easy. But that boy. That bloody boy. Zacharias. When she had first seen him at the start of term feast, he seemed quite unhappy, but this morning, he seemed downright unpleasant. She had watched him, trying to figure out his deal, but he probably thought she was just creepy. And when their hands touched, why had she felt that weird feeling in the pit of her stomach? Her thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at class. 

The group of Hufflepuffs shuffled into the classroom, unsure of what to expect. They lingered in the middle of the room, awaiting instructions. Another group of students milled around as well, these in robes of deep blue and black. The Ravenclaw first years.

“Well don’t just stand there. Take a seat, so I may begin to teach.” A voice boomed across the room. It sounded nasally and tired. The students spun in shock, and stared straight at a man with oily black hair and a long hooked nose. His pasty skin made his black robes look even darker. 

The students shuffled towards the tables, calling out to their new friends to sit beside them. Now, where to sit? That’s when Amelia spotted him.

“Anthony! Hey, Anthony!” Anthony, her friend from the train the day before, swiveled his head in her direction. He gave a small wave, and she ran to catch him before he walked away. “Hey, you wanna sit with me?” She rocked herself on and off her tiptoes, awaiting an answer.

“Uh, sorry, Amelia, but I was going to sit with my new mate, he’s from my House, you see,” he pointed in the direction of a lanky boy with long black hair, which he kept pushing out of his eyes. “That’s Michael. I’m sorry, Amelia. Maybe another time?”

And just like that, Amelia felt as if the ties between her and her only friends at this school had been cut. She hadn’t seen Blaise since last night, and Seamus was chatting with a boy at his table this morning, and they seemed to have already hit it off. What was she left with?

Amelia sulked towards the only open seat, next to Leanne, the pensive girl from her House. Leanne seemed about to say something, but was interrupted by the start of Snape’s lecture, that didn’t end until class was over and he had assigned them twelve inches of parchment on things that could possibly go wrong when procuring a cure for boils. As they set off for Herbology, Amelia walked alone back up the stairs to the main floor. At least, she walked alone until she heard a voice shouting her name from behind her. Was it Anthony coming to apologize?

“Amelia! Wait up!” Leanne shouted as she sprinted towards Amelia. Leanne’s messenger bag slapped her side fervently and her robes billowed outwards, showing her blouse and tie that she wore underneath.

“Hey! No running in the halls!” a scraggly haired man holding a mop called out, a tabby cat sitting at his feet.

By the time Leanne reached Amelia, who had come to a halt, she was completely out of breath. She gave a slight chuckle, that sounded more like a wheeze, before standing straight and saying again, “Wait up.”

“Hey, Leanne. What’s up?” Amelia asked, crossing her arms across her chest as she began to walk towards the main entrance once more. 

“I just wanted to ask if you were alright. You seemed pretty upset in Potions.”

“Yeah? Well, that’s because I was.”

“Why?”

And so Amelia explained the whole story. She didn’t mean to, but it just all burst out of her, as if she were waiting for someone to ask. 

“Wow.”

“Wow? All you can say is ‘Wow’? Gosh, Leanne! Give me something more!” Amelia laughed as they walked across the dewy grass, their shoes slowly becoming more and more soaked with every step. 

“Alright, you want more? Wow, that Anthony bloke is a total tool! What else do you want me to say?!” The two were in full out giggles by the time they reached greenhouse one. 

Professor Sprout looked displeased at their slightly late arrival. “Girls! Please find a spot and grab a pair of earmuffs before we start! Thank you!”

By lunch, the two girls were as good as friends. As they took seats across from each other at the Hufflepuff House table, they began filling their plates with sandwiches and their glasses with pumpkin juice. They had noticed that their little group from this morning had already begun to divide itself. Hannah and Susan sat across from Ernie and Justin, the four of them deep in conversation about the Potions essay. Oliver and Wayne chatted with Megan. That just left…

“I wonder why he’s sitting all alone,” Leanne noted as if reading Amelia’s mind.

“Who? Zacharias?” 

“No, the seventh year I don’t know. Yes, Zacharias, you dummy!” Leanne flung a shred of lettuce from off her sandwich at Amelia.

“Sorry! Geesh, I don’t know, maybe he’s busy, reading or something.”

“Maybe we should invite him over here.”

“What?! No, I don’t think so.”

“Amelia, why the hell not?”

“Well…” And she told the whole story. Leanne already seemed like a perfect audience to Amelia. She gasped at the right moments, laughed when acceptable, and acted surprised on cue. 

“Oooh, sounds like you like him!” Leanne squealed, sending her plate flying across the table, making a huge racket.

“Shh! He might hear you!” The entire Hall was already looking at them, but Amelia held up a finger and tried to quiet her friend.

“Well, you’re not denying it.”
“That’s because there’s nothing to deny.”

“Just watch, it’s gonna happen. I’m going to get you two together if it’s the last thing I do.” Leanne flicked her long hair over her shoulder and crossed her heart with her finger as if swearing on her promise. Amelia rolled her eyes. But she didn’t say no.

Zacharias

That probably had to have been one of the longest days of his life. From boring classes and loads of homework, to physically eating alone at lunch, it was awful. And here he sat, in the darkest corner of the common room, writing out a letter to his parents on old parchment. 

Dearest Parents,

Hogwarts is fine so far. I got sorted into Hufflepuff, and most of the other students in my year are quite nice. Classes went well, and all is good here. Just checking in.

Sincerely,

Zacharias

After sending off his owl, Zacharias went to bed that night feeling alone. 

The next few days passed by just like the first. Classes, homework, eating lunch alone. More classes, more homework, no friends. It wasn’t that he wasn’t trying to make an effort. At breakfast, he always tried to add to the conversation, and he talked with his dorm mates at night. But, nothing clicked. 

It was finally Friday, almost the weekend, and there was only one class standing between him and his partial freedom from this hellhole. Flying class. He and his classmates, along with the Ravenclaws, gathered on the Lawn, just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Each student was given a school broom to borrow, as no first years were allowed to bring their own brooms from home. Zacharias always enjoyed flying, ever since he was young, and missed his own broom greatly, as its quality was much better than this Shooting Star. 

“Alright, students! Listen up! Today we are learning how to receive and mount your brooms, and if all goes well, a few of you might be able to fly today. So pay attention, and follow instructions. Understood? Alright.” Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, had the students lined up in two parallel lines, facing one another. She paced the center, and began calling out directions. “Now, hold your hand over your brooms, and shout, ‘Up!’”

And each student did.

“Up!” Zacharias shouted and watched as his broom sailed from off the grass into his outstretched hand. He grasped the wooden handle, feeling each and every bump and scratch in the aged wood. Madam Hooch gave him an approving nod before instructing a student on how to do it right. Looking around, Zacharias noticed that he was one of only three students who succeeded in getting the broom off the ground on the first attempt. 

“Next step, mount your brooms. This is only for people who have actually gotten it off the ground. Not you, Macmillan!” 

Zacharias stepped his right leg over the long handle and grasped it as he would if he were about to fly around his garden at home. As Madam Hooch began instructing them on proper mounting and holding, he was surprised to hear his name being called.

“Now, if you are doing it correctly, it should look just like how Mr. Smith here has done it. Well done, Smith.” She gave him a round of applause, and he heard a few other students doing the same. He felt his cheeks turn red. “Do you feel ready to fly, Mr. Smith? How about you, Ms. Brocklehurst?” Madam Hooch questioned him, before looking at the girl across the way from him. They both nodded, and she instructed them privately on how to take off. “I want you to fly up, around the tree, and back down. Nothing more, alright? Ok, go ahead.”

Zacharias felt adrenaline kick through him as he pushed his feet against the solid earth and pressed his toes down until he felt his body jolt upwards. He zoomed into the air, feeling the breeze in his hair, and he steered himself towards the tree that he had been told to fly to. A smile, the first genuine smile he had had all week, sprouted onto his face, and he cried out in delight as he turned entirely around the tree, and aimed back towards his class. As he landed, the smile faded away once more, and the rush of emotion drained from his body as quick as it had come. He dismounted and placed the broom in the Quidditch shed as the rest of the students had done, and waited to be released from class.

Upon release, he headed straight towards the common room, where he headed back to his dorm. He knew no one would be there this time of day. He collapsed onto his bed after shutting the door, and felt the tears begin to stream down his face. Sobs escaped his lips, and hot tears fell onto his pillow. He wiped them away, but that just caused a greater stream to flow. His face felt hot and red, and he smashed it into his covers to hide himself. He was a mess. And there was no one who could help him. No one.

Amelia

Before long, September changed into October, which brought along Halloween. 

The first years, who by now had divided into designated groups, but still hung out as a whole occasionally to study, were gathered around their usual area of the Great Hall table, about to indulge in the Halloween feast. 

“It looks incredible in here,” Justin said, pointing at the real cobwebs that decorated the corners, and the House ghosts that floated around the tables. 

“I agree,” Leanne added, as she scooped stew from a small cauldron into her bowl. “It smells incredible, too.”

And so the group happily ate and conversed as they had their suppers. It was all peaceful, until the quiet tittering was interrupted by a spine-chilling scream. 

“TROLL! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ‘ought to know,” Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher screamed, before passing out in the middle of the aisle. The students looked at one another in horror. A troll? In the castle?! 

The panic flooded the Hall in a great wave, causing chaos at once. Dumbledore began shouting to the teachers and the prefects to take the students back to their dorms, and the prefects were shouting at the students. The students were shouting just to shout. It was quite intense.

As soon as they had left the Great Hall, Amelia found herself being herded along beside Susan. 

“I wonder how it got in?” Amelia wondered aloud.

“Me too. Hate to be a Slytherin right now. Their common room is in the dungeons.”

This statement caused both girls to laugh, which they did, before they were rudely interrupted by a prefect bustling them into the common room and shushing them with a finger to his lips. Their laughter stopped and they scooted in silently. 

“I hope this isn’t a regular occurrence at this school,” Leanne mumbled as she strolled up from behind, before wandering the length of the room, her head aimed towards the ceiling. 

“Hope what isn’t?” Amelia questioned.
“I hope that things that are psycho don’t regularly get let into the castle. It tends to make one feel unsafe in their own school environment, don’t ya think?”

Zacharias

After the Halloween fiasco, nothing major occurred. Term moved normally, and soon enough, Professor Sprout was roving the breakfast tables, just before the morning post arrived, jotting down who would be staying at Hogwarts over holiday break. 

While Zacharias's family was all at home, he wasn’t sure whether he would rather spend the holidays with them, where he felt alone, or here at school, where he was alone anyway. He chose the latter.

“So, you’ll be staying over break?” Professor Sprout implored. He nodded slightly. “Ah, alright. Family busy, then?” He shook his head. Professor Sprout eyed him suspiciously, but asked him no further questions. He listened as the rest of his fellow Hufflepuffs submitted their names to stay over the holidays.

“Professor Sprout, over here!” Zacharias swiveled his head when he heard that voice call out. And sure enough, there she was. Amelia. Zacharias didn’t know what it was, but she made him feel uncomfortable. He had caught her watching him multiple times already this year, and she seemed to always have her head in the clouds. Probably because she enjoyed astronomy so much. He watched as she spoke with Professor Sprout, just loud enough that he could hear their conversation.

“What is it, dear?” Professor Sprout queried.

“I’d like to submit my name for staying at school over the holiday.”

“Alright. Walker, Amelia, that would be?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Your family away for the holidays?”

“No ma’am. My mother always works on Christmas, and my father left when I was little. It’s just better for me to spend the holiday here. Catch up on some reading and such.”

As Professor Sprout turned away, Zacharias thoughts mulled around in his head. He didn’t know that Amelia didn’t live with her father. To be honest, he hadn’t ever really talked to her, besides sort of introducing himself the first week of school. He shook the hair out of his eyes, before grabbing his sack off the floor and reporting to class early like he liked. Why wait around to walk with someone, when you have no one to walk with?

Amelia

Ah. The winter holidays. Within Hogwarts, all the colorless halls had been spruced up with glistening snowflakes and shining stars. Twelve Christmas trees enhanced the Great Hall, along with tinsel and golden lights in the high ceiling. It was quite magical. 

Once term had ended, Amelia had said goodbye to Leanne and some of her other friends, like Ernie, Hannah, Susan and Justin, who had all gone home to spend the holidays with their families. The halls felt emptier and more spacious as she wandered them. 

The common room too felt cozy yet large, as the fire burned, but only a few students were around to enjoy its warmth. Of the first-year Hufflepuffs, only Amelia, Megan and Zacharias remained. Amelia, like she had said, spent her days leading up to Christmas reading and pondering about the castle, going to every floor, and walking every stair, as she hummed tunes by the Weird Sisters. 

Christmas morning she woke to the sound of ripping paper. Rubbing her eyes, she placed her teal reading glasses upon her freckled nose, and fingered her hair until it almost lay flat, yet was still poofy, against her skull. She saw the source of the sound was coming from across the room, where Megan sat tearing open her presents like a savage animal. 

“Good morning, Megan,” she yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

“Merry Christmas,” Megan replied, as she finished opening her gifts and now sat on the rug at the foot of her bed, watching Amelia earnestly. “So, are you gonna open your gifts?” She motioned towards the miniature pile of presents that sat upon the floor.

Amelia smiled wide and slid herself out of bed. The first present was from Leanne, and it contained Chocolate Frogs, Pepper Imps, and Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. A book was tied below it: a copy of Hogwarts: A History . Amelia smiled at it, and began flipping through the first few pages before Megan shouted at her to keep going, obviously intrigued by what was in the next few boxes. The next two packages were from her mum; one containing a sack of knuts and sickles as spending money, and the other was just a simple slip of paper. To be exchanged for the pet of your choice , it read. Amelia smiled wide, before handing Megan the card, who’s mouth gaped open.

“Your mum’s gonna buy you a pet? Lucky.” Megan seemed to hesitate on the last word. She turned back towards her overflowing stack of gifts, and then back at Amelia’s three presents piled neatly on top of her trunk. She seemed embarrassed. 

Amelia noticed, and shook her head. “Don’t be like that. It’s alright. I don’t have as many family members as you do. I’m used to it.” She shrugged, showing her lack of care, before getting dressed for the day. She slipped on an oversized gray sweater and a pair of trousers, before leaving the dorm, her new book clutched in hand. 

Amelia spent the day in the common room, reading, making a huge dent out of her new stash of Honeydukes sweets, and playing Exploding Snap with Megan when she felt in the mood. By six o’clock, Megan was so stuffed with sweets, she wasn’t even hungry for dinner.

“Please, I’ll be fine. Go without me. Amy, please.” Megan clutched her stomach as she staggered down the passageway towards their dorms, and the loo. “Have fun! Eat a tart for me!”

As Amelia ambled her way towards the Great Hall, she listened to the echoes of her old muggle Converse All-Stars on the stone floors, and the swish of her arms, and book, as they sliced through the air. Once in the Great Hall, she barely recognized the set up of the room. 

Instead of the four normal House tables, they were rearranged into one long dining room table, where both teachers and students were already seated, dispersed among many still empty chairs.

“Have a seat,” Dumbledore called from the far end of the majestic feasting table. Amelia, surprised that the headmaster was speaking to her, took the nearest empty seat to her, and waited for the meal to begin. 

Zacharias

Zacharias awoke as he would any other day. He sat up in bed, leaning his upper body back onto his elbows, and stared around at his room in dismay. His dorm mates' beds were all neatly made with the sheets tucked and pillows plumped, as if they hadn’t been touched for days. Because they hadn’t. Yes, Justin, Ernie, Wayne and Oliver had all gone home for the holidays, leaving Zacharias alone in his dorm on that chilly Christmas morning. But, it didn’t feel like Christmas. 

It had been a few years now since Zacharias had gotten that warm, bubbly feeling on Christmas morning. He remembered how he used to love getting up early to see the fresh snow falling outside his window. How he would race downstairs to the piles of presents stacked around the tree, the lights emitting a warm glow around the fire-lit room. He would tear open his presents, and laugh and smile with his parents. They would have a great day of playing wizard’s chess and gobstones for hours on end.

But then it changed.

His father got a job at the Ministry, and worked all the time. His mother became cold towards him, as if he was more of an acquaintance than her son. They would put on this stern act wherever they went, and Zacharias had gotten sick of it. He had been so eager to come to Hogwarts, but now that he was actually here, he didn’t know if he loved it as much as he thought he was going to. 

He had stayed at school over the holidays to avoid the blatant stares of his parents and their lack of interest in things that used to be fun. 

Zacharias stretched his arms above his head, rubbed the sleep from his dreary eyes, and stalked towards the moderate stack of gifts at the foot of his bed. From his parents probably. He doubted that any were from his fellow Hufflepuffs, as they weren’t what Zacharias would call friends.

Instead of opening his presents, he dressed himself carefully and brushed his teeth. He styled his hair in the small bathroom mirror, and tugged his coat, boots and yellow scarf on, and headed down the corridor towards the common room. In his winter gear, the fire made him feel hot, and he tugged at the neck of his coat as he opened the door and emerged into the Hogwarts basement. Skipping breakfast, he went straight out the front doors, and began wandering his way through the snowy paths, going somewhere yet nowhere at the same time.

Zacharias watched as the subtle wind blew the fragile snow off the trees and onto the ground. He scuffed his boots in the snow, drawing lines with his toe as he walked in the direction of the greenhouses. He was looking at the ground, until he heard his name being called. At least, he thought it sounded like someone was calling his name.

“Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith! Excuse me, Mr. Smith?” Zacharias's head shot up and, like a deer in headlights, he frantically searched for the noise. Madam Hooch, wearing a set of long, purple winter robes and matching boots strode towards him, waving her hand in the air, as if flagging him down. Zacharias stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to catch up to him, so as not to be rude.

“Ah, thank you, Mr. Smith,” she said, catching her breath for a moment, causing a cloud of air to puff from her lips. 

“Of course, Professor,” he replied, and continued walking to match her strides, which had started quite suddenly and were quite fast.

“I have been meaning to talk to you in private, but haven’t yet found the chance. It’s about your flying in class.”

Zacharias felt his stomach drop. Was he really that bad? But Madam Hooch seemed to sense the impending doom on his face, and gave a chuckle, before patting him on the shoulder lightly.

“No, nothing bad. Actually, quite the opposite. You’re a fantastic flier. Did you fly long before coming to Hogwarts?”

With a burst of confidence back in him, Zacharias nodded, and cleared his throat. “Uh, yes. I got my first broom when I was five. I’ve been flying for a few years now.”

“Remarkable,” Madam Hooch sighed, and abruptly halted in her tracks. Zacharias did the same. “Have you ever thought about playing Quidditch, Mr. Smith?”

“Yeah, I have actually. I was planning on trying out next year.”

“Well, I think that’s a great idea. With your talent, you could really improve Hufflepuff’s chances of winning the Quidditch Cup. Because God knows that they need it.” She smiled at him, before walking on once more, Zacharias in her wake. “What position do you play, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Chaser. I’ve attempted every one at least once, but I’m a pretty lousy Seeker, and Keeping just wasn’t my thing. Chasing’s my favorite.”

“Remarkable,” she sighed again. “Well, I’m off to the Great Hall for some breakfast. Have a lovely holiday, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Smith,” Madam Hooch gave him a final pat on the back, before striding towards the Main Entrance to the school, the direction that he had just come from. 

Zacharias continued his walk around the castle grounds, until his fingers got too numb to continue on. By the time he entered the corridors of the school, it was lunchtime, and the fires were burning brightly. But he wasn’t hungry for lunch, and escaped his way back towards the common room, which he found deserted. He weaseled his way back towards his room, where he collapsed on his bed in a fluster. The house-elves had since made it up for him, so it looked as picture-perfect as the others in the room did. His gifts lay untouched, unopened, at the foot of his bed. Instead of opening them, he grabbed a few of his school books, and began flipping through the pages.

He must’ve spent hours on his bed, just reading, before he realized, by checking the watch he always wore on his wrist, that dinner had already started. Stomach growling in extreme hunger, as he hadn’t eaten anything all day, he propelled himself off his bed, and slid into a pair of loafers before quietly making his way out of the dorms.

The common room was empty once more, and so were the corridors that led to the Great Hall. As he turned the corner, around the giant wooden door, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of the Great Hall. 

Instead of the house tables, there was only one table that stretched the length of the room. Teachers and students alike adorned either side, with only a few free chairs remaining. Christmas trees, holly, and mistletoe hung everywhere, so it seemed as if the Forbidden Forest had found its way inside somehow. 

Faces turned to stare at him as he approached the table, looking unsurely for a place to sit. 

“Ah, Mr. Smith,” the man at the head of the table spoke. He was an older gentleman, with a long gray beard and a pair of half-moon spectacles that rested upon his nose. He wore a sleeping cap, and smiled at Zacharias, before motioning him to sit in one of the empty chairs. Not wanting to disobey the headmaster, Zacharias took a seat that happened to be the one closest to him, at the edge of the table. 

“Now that most are here, we may begin the feast. Everyone, enjoy,” Dumbledore gave a flourish with his hands, and plates of goods appeared before them. Zacharias's stomach grumbled louder than before, and he hoped that no one else could hear it. 

As everyone filled up their dishes and goblets, Zacharias took a look around the table, to see who else remained for the winter holidays. There were all the teachers, of course, a pair of Ravenclaw students, probably sixth years, two fourth-year Slytherins chatting amongst themselves, and a whole mess of Gryffindors. It looked like two first years, two-third years and a fifth year, all wearing matching wool knitted sweaters, four out of the five with flaming red hair. He didn’t really care though, as he was starving, after not eating anything for about 24 hours.

As Zacharias took his first bite of steak and kidney pie, he felt a weird tingling travel up his spine. He shuddered, and glanced around at the table. It was as if he could feel eyes watching him. It wasn’t until he looked directly next to him, that he found the culprit. 

Beside him, a girl with chin-length brown hair and pale freckles watched him with her muted blue eyes. This was that girl who had been watching him at the start of term feast, and literally all year, too. Amelia.

Zacharias stared at her with wide eyes, then glared, before scooting his chair an inch or so farther from hers. She let out a surprisingly normal giggle, before taking a bite of her mashed potatoes and chewing thoughtfully. Zacharias rolled his eyes and tried to ignore her, but he couldn’t, as soon after, a hand shot out in his direction. 

“Hello there,” she said as she waved her hand, asking for a handshake. 

“Uh, hello” he replied, staring down at his plate. She continued bobbing her hand up and down, before finally giving up and resting it back at her side.

“I’m Amelia,” the girl tried again, but that was followed by silence. “You’re Zacharias, right?”

“Uh, yes,” he mumbled, before shoving his food around his plate once more. 

“We’re the only Hufflepuff’s here, huh?” Zacharias looked up from his plate and surveyed the table once more, before nodding at her question. He didn’t really feel like talking to anyone right now.
“Well, I guess we’re not the only Hufflepuff’s, right? ‘Cause Megan’s here too, from my dorm, but she just wasn’t hungry for dinner. See, that should be her chair over there.” Amelia pointed towards the final empty chair that stood across the table, before turning herself back towards Zacharias. “Do you ever talk?”

This question took him by surprise. Of course he talked. He talked all the time. But all he could manage to say was, “Yes. I talk.” 

“Really? Because I think the only other thing I’ve ever heard you say is your name.”

Zacharias looked up at her, making eye contact. Her eyes really were a beautiful shade of blue. “I talk. Just not all the time. Not as much as you seem to.”

Amelia laughed, even though his joke wasn’t meant to be funny, but mean. “I’m sorry. I tend to talk a lot when there’s not much to say. Bad habit I guess.”

“It’s alright.”

“So, how are you liking Hogwarts so far?”

Zacharias stilled for a moment, turning the question over in his mind. “It’s okay I guess.”

“Just okay? It’s amazing!” Amelia stared off into space, as if awed by the simple structure of the room. “I love it here. The classes are so interesting, and the people are so nice. Like, can you even believe that we’re wizards? Isn’t that amazing?”

“So you’re muggleborn, then?”

“What? No. I’m a half-blood. Why?”

“Really? You seemed so amazed by magic I just assumed. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Amelia said. “I’ve lived with magic my whole life. I just still find it amazing. Like, we make food cook itself and fly objects across the room just by saying a word and flicking a wand. Don’t you find that the least bit cool?”

“Of course I find it cool, I’m just not awestruck by it,” he turned to face her, and she faced him too. 

“Whatever,” she smiled, before moving on with what had now turned into a normal conversation. “How’s your holiday? Get some nice presents?”

Zacharias took a sharp inhale of breath. Presents made him think of his parents, which made him feel sick. He didn’t want to think about them today, as they’re the reason he decided not to go home over winter break. “I didn’t open my presents,” he stated simply, wanting her to leave it at that. But she didn’t.

“Oh. Why not?”

“Because I didn’t want to.”

“Why not? They’re presents! Who wouldn’t want to open them?”

“Me!” He shouted, pushing his chair back from the table. Amelia seemed to stare at him in shock, but he didn’t get a good look before he stalked out of the room, and down the corridor.

Nosy people and their nosy questions, he thought angrily to himself. He stormed down the steps to the basement, and stood before the barrels that led to the common room. Knocking on the barrels, distracted by the sudden rush of thoughts, he fumed. It wasn’t until he had finished the pattern did he realize that he missed the last knock. 

Next thing he knew, he was drenched in vinegar. 

“Bloody freaking hell!” He screamed, not caring who heard his foul mouth. He began swearing as he flicked the vinegar off his hands and began wringing it out of his clothing. He shook his head like a dog, watching the smelly drops of vinegar fly from his hair, and he felt them as they rolled down his face. He wiped them away, not being able to distinguish them from the tears that began rolling down his cheeks as well. He carefully knocked on the door once again, making sure to get it right this time, before entering the common room and storming off towards the boy’s bathrooms. A trail of vinegar followed him. 

Amelia

She sat in shock at what had just happened. Last thing she knew, they were having a conversation, and Zacharias totally stormed off! Was it something she had said? 

“Ah, time for dessert!” Professor Dumbledore announced as the plates disappeared and reappeared, this time filled with cakes, biscuits and tarts. It seemed that no one else had noticed Zacharias's outburst, or maybe they just didn’t care. Amelia ate her pumpkin tart in silence as she wondered what had happened. She felt like she needed to apologize, but wondered if he even wanted to talk to her. 

Students and teachers began removing themselves from the table and dessert wrapped up, and Amelia had a sudden urge, and acted on it. 

Before the remaining desserts disappeared, she piled a few slices of pie and cake, as well as a biscuit or two, onto Zacharias's clean dessert plate, and covered them with a napkin, before leaving the table and heading back towards the common room. 

As she rounded the corner in the basement that led to the entrance to the common room, she froze at the sight of Filch and Mrs. Norris. The plate of desserts teetered on her hand, and she rushed to balance it. 

“What are you looking at?” Filch spat, and he continued to mop the floor. 

“Nothing,” Amelia spluttered, looking cautiously at the floor. 

“Someone got sprayed by the bloody vinegar… stupid anti-charm on the door. I should speak to Dumbledore ‘bout this one,” Filch grumbled, his words slowly becoming less distinct the more he talked. Nodding, Amelia staggered her way towards the door, avoiding the wet floor, knocked the password and entered the barren common room. 

Now holding the plate stacked high with desserts in both hands, she walked her way towards her dormitory to meet up with Megan before confronting Zacharias. 

“You’re back!” Megan cried when she stepped foot in the dorm. Megan was sprawled across her bed, reading Witch Weekly Magazine. “Ooh, are those for me?” She pointed at the plate of sweets and exaggerated her mouth-watering.

“No, sorry, but they’re an apology present,” Amelia said, as she set the tray down onto her neatly made bed, before kicking off her shoes.

“What did you do this time?” Megan questioned sternly. So Amelia told her the entire sequence of events that occurred at the Christmas feast. 

“I felt bad so I brought an apology in the form of desserts. Think he’ll accept?” Amelia wondered, her brow furrowing.

“I don’t know, Amy. He did seem pretty upset.” Megan paused before adding, “I can’t believe I missed that, though!” Megan crossed her arms before giggling to herself. “So, Leanne tells me that this is the guy you like, right? Zacharias?” 

Amelia stared at Megan in shock, her face still in awe. But soon it contorted. “I’m gonna kill Leanne! I told her not to tell anyone!” Megan laughed even harder, and smiled at her friend. 

“It’ll be okay. Just, be nice, and try to talk less?”

“Alright.” 

Amelia grabbed the plate of desserts and carefully walked down the girls corridor, through the common room, and towards the hall to the boys rooms. Her socks shuffled across the floor, making no noise. Truth was, she wasn’t even sure if she would be allowed into the boys hallway. She was nervous to try. So she didn’t. 

She scurried back to her room, ignoring Megan’s countless questions, and tore a piece of parchment. She scribbled down a note, placed it on top of the cloth-covered snacks, and placed the entire plate at the entrance to the boy’s dormitory hallway. She didn’t think that there were any other Hufflepuff boys who would find it, but she put his name on it anyway, just to be safe. Besides, she really was sorry.

Zacharias

After taking an incredibly long, hot shower, that still didn’t remove the smell of vinegar off his skin, no matter how hard he scrubbed, Zacharias returned to his empty dorm. He changed into a knit sweater and jeans, and fell backwards onto his bed. What had happened? Amelia had asked why he hadn’t opened his presents, and he just freaked. This was the worst Christmas by far. 

Instead of clocking in early for bed, Zacharias gathered his intense pile of worthless presents into his arms, and performed a balancing act as he carefully headed down the corridor towards the common room. He couldn’t see his feet under the huge pile that he wished he could make disappear. As he reached the end of the hallway, his foot bumped into something, and he tripped, falling face first. Only the stack of boxes suppressed his fall. 

“Bloody hell, now what?!” he sat himself upright and pushed the smashed presents out of the way, as he uncovered what was underneath. 

He found a dinner-sized plate, covered with a white cloth napkin, that had a note propped on top, as if waiting for someone to read it. So he did. Lifting the note, he noticed that his own name had been etched onto the front in a tidy scrawl. Zacharias , it read. Curious, he crossed his legs underneath him, unfolded the note, and began to read.

I’m really sorry about whatever I said during the Christmas feast that caused you to go off. I didn’t mean it. I hope that you can accept my apology and that we can start over and be friends. If not, then I hope that at least you will enjoy this sweet treat that I brought for you from the feast. Merry Christmas.

• Amelia

Still curious, Zacharias removed the cloth from atop the dish, and found a small stack of biscuits, cakes and tarts lining every edge of the plate. Of course, some had been smashed in his fall, but a few still remained in one piece. He didn’t know what to say. No one had ever given him an apology gift before, much less asking to be friends. Zacharias looked up from his position on the floor, and scanned the common room, but didn’t see Amelia. He suspected that she was in the girls dormitory, but didn’t want to go in there. Probably wasn’t allowed to anyways. Instead, he ran back to his dorm, placed his plate of desserts on his nightstand, then returned to the common room where he lined the presents from his parents up one by one on the floor, and proceeded to jump on each one in turn, smashing it to pieces. He didn’t need his parent’s fake emotions and ‘caring’ for him. Presents that weren’t genuine. He truly didn’t need them. 

As he pounded his full body weight on each gift, cursing the world, he didn’t notice Amelia watching him from the doorway that led to the girl’s dormitories. She didn’t speak, but instead watched in silence as he broke down every last box, before smashing them all into the bin. The girl stayed silent as Zacharias snuck back to his room, Amelia’s note still clutched in his fist.

Zacharias spent the rest of the evening munching on his half squished cakes, trying to wash the vinegar out of his hair, and thinking that maybe soon, everything would change for the better. And he couldn’t have been any more right.

Amelia

“So, what’s the point of this again?” she asked, her warm breath fogging the air in front of her. She wrapped her yellow and black striped scarf more tightly around her neck and stuffed her frozen hands farther into her pockets. She shook her light brown hair out of her face, and could literally sense her nose turning redder. 

“Amelia!” A voice exclaimed beside her, and she turned towards the sound, a giant smile plastered on her face. 

After the whole ‘Christmas Disaster’ as she called it, for lack of a better name, Amelia had expanded her friendship circle, just enough to include one more. Even though it had only been about six weeks since term had started up again, she already felt that this addition had been a great choice. The date was February 18th, the year was 1992, and Amelia was currently sitting in the bleachers of the Quidditch field, freezing to death from the intense cold. 

“Amelia? Hello?” A hand suddenly waved in front of her face, shocking her back to the present. 

“What? What happened?” She frantically looked around, before a cold set of hands turned her head to the side. She tugged her face away from the cold hands, but not before the person broke out in laughter. 

“I can’t believe that after I explained the whole thing to you, you still don’t understand.” Zacharias rolled his eyes, before pushing his blonde hair out of his eyes with his frost-bitten hands. A smile stretched across his face, 100% genuine.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t understand,” she stated again, before crossing her arms across her chest.

“I thought you grew up a witch. How can you not know how Quidditch works? It’s literally the only wizarding sport known to man!” Zacharias exclaimed out loud, before turning his attention back towards the field, where players were gathering on the ground, ready to begin. 

“I did!” Amelia claimed. “But that doesn’t mean I follow Quidditch. The only reason I’m here right now is because I couldn’t think of a better birthday present for you, besides joining you at one of these stupid practices. So the least you can do for me is explain the rules, so I understand what’s going on.” Amelia stared at him, with an evil glare, which caused him to break into fits of laughter once more. She looked around at the stands, which were almost completely empty, except for the random student here and there. 

“Alright, I’m sorry. You’re right, this is the best gift I could’ve asked for. I mean, it’s definitely better than the copy of Flying with the Cannons that Ernie gave me. No matter how hard he tries, I’m never going to switch my allegiance from the Wasps. Never.”

Amelia laughed, a feeling that warmed her entire body. She shivered once more from the thought of being cold before she lightly shoved Zacharias in the arm. “Just hurry up and tell me how to play, Zach! It’s bloody cold out here!”

“Alright, sorry! So there’s the seeker, the keeper, three chasers, and two beaters. The point of the game is to try and score in the hoops, and to catch the golden snitch, which is worth…”

“Well, I have to admit. That was a lot more fun than I thought that it was going to be.” Amelia declared as they walked back towards the school from the field. 

“You really think so?” Zacharias asked, their shoulders bumping against each other every once and awhile. 

“Yeah, I really do. It’s fast-paced. Interesting. Makes you get excited and all fluttery inside.”

“Well, that was just practice. Wait until I take you to a real game. They’re way better.”

“So that’s really what you want to do? Play Quidditch?” Amelia asked, looking sideways at him. 

“I think so. I mean, I’d like to at least play on the House team. Madam Hooch says that I’ve got pretty good chances of getting on.”

“Well, when you get on the team-”

“IF I get on the team,” Zacharias interrupted.

Amelia huffed. “WHEN you get on the team, I’ll come to watch every game.” 

Zacharias stared at her in shock. “Really? Why?”

“Because we’re friends,” Amelia answered in a heartbeat. The pair walked back towards the school, side by side.

Zacharias

Zacharias had to admit: It was nice having someone to hang out with all day. The addition of Amelia as a friend had really boosted him socially. Not just did he have one person to hang out with, but he was able to talk freely with the other students in his year. Chatting at meals and sitting together in class with others became much easier to him, now that some of his original confidence had been restored. While Amelia didn’t hang out with him full time, as Leanne was still her best friend, Zacharias had made himself a very good guy friend.

“Hey, Zach! Guess what my mum just sent me!” Zach looked up from his chair in the common room, where he was reading part of his textbook for Charms class. He watched as Justin ran towards him, knocking over chairs and almost stepping on other students in the process.

“What this time?” Zacharias asked with interest, closing his book and setting it beside him. He motioned to the chair across from him for Justin to sit, and he did, collapsing into it haphazardly. 

“I’m not sure. Haven’t opened it yet. Was waiting to do it with you.”

Zacharias felt a huge feeling of warmth swell in his chest but pushed it down. “Really? Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!”

Justin tore open the small square package and dumped the contents out onto his lap. A few smaller, more colorful boxes, rattled out onto the chair, and Justin gathered them up, reading the packaging, before exclaiming in delight. “Lemonheads! Yes! I love these.” Justin tossed Zacharias one of the small boxes that fit in the palm of his hand. 

“The original Lemonhead,” Zacharias read off the bright yellow box. “Lemon Candy.”

Justin had already torn open his own small box, pouring the contents out in his hands. Small, fluorescent yellow balls rolled out, and he popped them into his mouth without a second thought. “These are some of my favorites,” Justin claimed, his cheeks chipmunked from the sweets. 

“What do they taste like?” Zacharias asked, wary of this new treat. 

“They’re kinda sweet and sour. Lemony, but it’s good. You suck on it, ‘cause it’s a hard sweet. Try it.”

Nervous, but also excited, Zacharias opened the box and placed one of the yellow spheres onto his tongue, before closing his mouth, thinking deeply. After a few moments, he announced, “Not bad. Actually, they’re pretty good.” Zacharias looked around the room, before spotting Amelia in the corner, chatting across the table with Leanne. “Hey, Amy! Come here!”

Amelia looked towards him, then rose from her chair and stalked in his direction. “What?”

“You know that Justin’s mum sends him these muggle candies from time to time, and, well, you’ve gotta try this one. Here,” Zacharias reached for her hand and placed one of the yellow candies onto her palm. She looked at it strangely, before putting it into her mouth, and sucking thoughtfully. 

Justin and Zacharias watched her eagerly. Amelia finally spoke. “That’s not bad. Kinda sour for my liking though. The, what were they called? Gummy bears? Yeah, I liked those a lot better. Much sweeter. These are like a muggle sherbert lemon. Okay, but not great.” Amelia then skipped back towards Leanne, still sucking on the sweet. 

Zacharias looked defeated, but Justin patted him on the knee. “Well, they can’t all be winners. Until next week, my friend.” And Justin stood up, gathered his sweets, and went to place it in his trunk in the dorms. 

Zach smiled over at Amelia, who smiled back before both friends looked away laughing.

Amelia

Soon enough, the slow churning of school seemed to speed up in no time. The snow came and went, classes seemed longer by the day, and Quidditch matches would occur, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Of course, Amelia tried to make the best of the situation. She attended most Quidditch games with Zach, and she and Leanne always did their homework together in the common room. Meals had become time for their friend groups to chat and share anecdotes of their lives, and they often held study groups in the library from time to time. Amelia had even become a member of the Astronomy club. 

“Astronomy is lame,” Leanne declared one afternoon as they sat under a tree outside, on the first warm day of spring. April was finally upon them, and they were attempting to savor every ounce of the nice weather. 

“Is not! It’s so fascinating to learn about the stars, and why they are where they are and what they represent. Did you know that there are over 10,000 stars in the sky?” Amelia lay on the grass, her elbows propping her chin up as she leafed through their potions book. 

“You’re such a nerd,” Leanne complained, jotting notes down in her own potions book. 

“Says the girl who joined Frog Choir.”

“It’s a singing group! That’s not nerdy at all!”

“Okay, sure. Whatever you say.”

“Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“Lover Boy’s coming this way.”

Amelia scowled at her friend, disapprovingly. “Would you quit calling him that? I know you know his name.” 

“Yeah, but it’s too much fun seeing you squirm. Anyways, I’m serious. Zach is heading over here.” Amelia looked up from the book she was pouring over and watched as Zacharias made his way towards their tree.

“Hey, Amy. Hey, Leanne,” He called, waving at them, and hiking his bag farther up on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Amelia replied, waving back, a smile slowly expanding on her face. She pushed her brown hair behind her ear and watched as he walked over, and took a seat beside her.

“Whatcha studying?” He asked, taking books out of his bag.

“Potions, sadly.”

He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling, as he shook his blonde hair out of his eyes. Leanne and Amelia caught each other’s eye for a quick second, before looking back towards Zacharias, without being dodgy.

“That’s fun,” he said, breaking the tension. 

From there, their conversations would take a lighter tone, with jokes being announced and opinions being passed back and forth like Exploding Snap cards. 

The spring season slowly chugged forwards from there. As exams neared, their group found themselves spending more time in the library studying, often taking over an entire table. Amelia was having a blast. She didn’t want the school year to end. 

Zacharias

Soon enough, finals were fast approaching, which gave the students barely any time to do anything besides study, study, study. Professor Flitwick had been reviewing materials in class with them. Professor Snape had glared at them and warned them that his final was always particularly challenging. Professor Sprout just smiled and told them not to worry. As long as you study, she had said, you’ll do fine. 

And soon enough, the end of April turned into May, and May spiraled its way into June: the last month of the term. The next thing Zacharias knew, their exams were scheduled for the following week.

“I think I just need to review my potions notes one last time,” Justin declared from where he sat cross-legged on his bed late one night.
“Nooo,” Oliver moaned, his face smashed in his pillows. “You’ve gone over it enough. You’ll be fine. Just go. To. Bed.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I think I forgot to go over the cure for boils, so maybe I should just-”

“No! Just, get some bloody rest. God.” Oliver leaned across his bed and switched off his lamp, casting the room in darkness.

“The less you think about it, the better,” Zacharias piped up, before snuggling farther down under the covers.

“Alright, alright. Thanks, Zach. See you blokes tomorrow, bright and early.” A chorus of goodnights and see ya tomorrow echoed across the small room before it fell silent, with only the sound of snores being heard.

Zacharias awoke the next morning to the sound of a yelp, which was followed by a thunk, another screech before finally, “Sorry!”

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Zacharias sat up in bed, his hair feeling ruffled, yawned, and began to study the scene that had just unfurled. Ernie lay splayed across the rug in the center of the floor, all the sheets having been removed from his bed and relocated as extra padding. He was moaning in pain as he nursed his foot in his hands, mumbling something about needing ice. Wayne hovered in the doorway, a look of guilt washing over his face, before heading back towards Ernie, and picking up the thick Transfiguration textbook that lay among Ernie’s various limbs.

“I’m really sorry, Ern. I honestly didn’t know that you had been planning on kipping on the floor. So I just walked. To be totally honest, you were in my way,” Wayne tossed the textbook onto his bed, and outstretched a hand in Ernie’s direction. Accepting the offer, Ernie clutched Wayne’s arm and slowly rose off the floor, hobbling off his bad foot.

“Yeah, haha, very funny. I couldn’t sleep so I slept on the floor. But what were you doing getting up at, what time?”

“Four o’clock,” Justin grumbled from somewhere amid the untidy pile of sheets.

“What were you doing up at four anyway?” Ernie yawned and reached his arms behind himself, stretching.

“I was gonna study before the finals today.”

“Just, go back to bed, Wayne. It’s not for like, five more hours. Geesh.”

And so five hours later, the boys awoke, gobbled down breakfast while cramming in one last study break, and joined the girls as they headed for the first of their finals. 

While they weren’t too challenging, Zacharias still felt like he might have failed.

“I totally missed all the questions about the Goblin Rebellion during the History of Magic one,” he claimed as they walked towards the grounds, having just completed their last exam for the day, Potions.

“You think that’s bad? I didn’t add enough flobberworm mucus to my Wiggenwald potion, so the final product was more slime green than turquoise,” Amelia crossed her arms before smiling and skipping ahead towards their friends who had already claimed a spot on the lawn, beside the Great Lake. As the pair settled onto the grass beside their friends, Leanne sighed, staring up at the clear sky, as if watching the stars; but it was perfectly sunny, not a cloud in the sky. “I can’t believe that term ends in two weeks.”

“Ugh, so not enough time,” Megan whined, as she flipped through the latest copy of Witch Weekly . 

“You guys, we're gonna write to each other over the summer, right? So that we can meet up in Diagon Alley to gather our school things?” Amelia looked around nervously at her friends.

“Of course!” Susan cried, wrapping her arms around Amelia’s neck, catching her off guard.

“You too, Zach? You’ll write to me?” Amelia looked over accusingly at him, and he could feel his heart leap into his throat. 

“Uh, yeah, sure, I mean, if you want me to, uh, yeah,” he stuttered, before taking a seat on the grass amongst his friends. 

“My birthday’s a few weeks before second term starts, so maybe I could convince my mum to let you guys come over,” Amelia exclaimed, looking around earnestly at her friends, waiting for a reply. 

Leanne screeched excitedly, before nodding her head. She then got distracted by something across the lawn, cupped her hands around her lips before shouting, “Oi! Justin! Over here you prat!”

The entire group turned their heads as Justin walked aimlessly over towards the group, his head still buried in a textbook. He looked about ready to pass out from exhaustion. 

“Hey, mates. Was just getting in some last-minute studying for tomorrow’s finals. Can’t ever be too prepared!”

“Yeah, well, why don’t you let your mind get a bloody break?” Ernie moaned once more, before banging his head mockingly against Hannah’s shoulder. The group burst into giggles. 

“Oh, alright, fine.”

Amelia

A few days later, finals had ended, and they were a week away from the end of the term. Amelia, while excited to see her mum again and go home for the summer holidays, knew that she was going to miss her new friends greatly over the two months. As she wandered the halls of the school, she heard her name being called, and whipped around, her short hair slapping her in the chin. Brushing it out of her face, she locked eyes on the person who had been calling her name, as they ran down the hallway.

“Amy! Amy! You’ll never believe what I just heard!” Leanne rushed towards her, giving Amelia strong deja vu. 

“What’s up, Le?”

“So you know how the third-floor corridor has been closed all year? How we were gonna die a painful death or whatever?”

“Yeah… so?”

“There’s a rumor going around that Harry Potter and two of his friends, first years , broke in and saved the entire school! There was some stone in there that made the owner immortal or something. How mental is that?!” Leanne spilled the entire story, barely taking a breath between sentences.

“Wait, really? Harry Potter saved the school? No way. I don’t believe it.” Amelia stared at her friend dumbfounded. Could this really be true?

“Amy! Amy! Leanne! Wait up!” This time, both friends turned to find Zach racing towards them, his robes billowing out behind him as he ran the length of the corridor, stopping once he reached where they stood. 

“What’s going on, Zach?” Amelia asked, continuing her pace down the hall, her two best friends following in her wake. 

“You’ll never believe what I just heard,” he began before he got cut off by Leanne placing her hand in his face.

“About the philosopher's stone?” Leanne asked, and Zach’s smile melted off his face. His shoulders sagged, and he stared at Leanne, a look of disappointment crossed his face.

“What? Do you already know? Aw shoot. I was so excited too.” The girls laughed at him, in a friendly manner, before Amelia put a delicate hand on his shoulder, and guided him into the Great Hall for lunch. 

“Guess you’ll just have to drown your sorrows out in pudding, then.”

Zacharias

“And the winner of the house cup, with a total of 472 points, is… Slytherin!” Dumbledore’s voice echoed around the Great Hall, as green and silver flags swung from the starry ceiling. Zacharias adjusted his black hat upon his head and tilted to see the sand timers beside the staff table, which counted all the house points. 

“I can’t believe we lost,” Ernie grumbled, resting his chin in his hands, sulking on the table. “I tried so hard to get as many points as I could. I even let Susan talk me into reading my textbooks outside of class, and it backfired! I’m never doing that again.”

“At least we didn’t get last place,” Leanne began before she was interrupted by Dumbledore’s voice once again.

“But, if I am not mistaken, we have some last minute points to be rewarded…”

Five minutes later, the Hufflepuffs sat stunned into silence, staring out at the room, now decorated with red and gold banners. 

“Take back what I said before,” Leanne sighed, shaking her head.

“Last place?!” Ernie cried again, finally giving up. He let his head fall against the table, making a loud bang as he did so. They heard a moan of pain before Ernie fell silent in sadness.

“Well, that’s disappointing.” Amelia shook her head, dejectedly, just as the food for the end of the year feast appeared before them on the table. Piles of pies, roasts, and stews stood proudly on the table. The first-years dug into their last dinner at Hogwarts before the holiday, chatting about their summer plans and the assignments that had already been assigned as summer work. 

“Hey, Zach?” Zacharias, who had been too busy eating and barely listening to the conversations that surrounded him, suddenly looked around for the source calling his name. He heard laughter from across the way and saw Amelia staring at him humorously. 

“What? Were you calling me?” he asked, wiping at the food that stained the corners of his mouth. Amelia nodded as her laughter subsided.

“Yeah, I was.”

“What’s up, Amy?”

“Got any summer plans, Zach?” she looked at him curiously, seeming genuinely interested.

“Uh, not that I know of. But if I know my parents, they’ll probably drag me around Britain to one boring wizard convention after the other. Quite annoying, really.” he rolled his eyes and dug back into his bread pudding. 

“Sounds scintillating. I have no plans either. Maybe we could do something, then.” Zacharias looked over at his friend, knowing her well enough to see that she was tiptoeing around something.

“Yeah? And what would that be, that we could do?” 

“I’m not sure.” Zacharias glared at her. “Alright, alright! Stop staring at me like that! I was just thinking that maybe you could teach me to play quidditch, as it really is quite an interesting sport.”

Zacharias stared at her wide-eyed, mouth agape. “Really? Are you messing with me? Please tell me you’re not bloody messing with me.” Amelia shook her head, and Zacharias grinned at her as big as he could, showing his enthusiasm. The rest of the feast went by in a blur of conversation and summer plans. Soon enough, they were tucked into bed, their last night as first-years. 

Amelia

The next morning, there wasn’t even time for the post owls to arrive before the students were packed and herded towards the doors by the teachers. Amelia followed the crowd of first years back to the edge of the lake, where the boats that had transported them to the school on the first day of term awaited. 

Amelia climbed into the nearest boat, barely even noticing her robes skimming the surface of the water as she happily chatted away with her new friends. She settled herself into a seat and watched as Zach, Leanne, and Justin followed suit, tucking their own robes underneath their arses, containing them inside the boat.

“Bye!” Leanne called back towards the castle as they sailed away. “See you when autumn rolls around!” The friends waved at the school, before breaking into fits of laughter once more, that carried them all the way to the Hogwarts Express .

The steam engine remained the same, bright red as always, steam billowing out the smokestack in clouds of gray. Amelia lingered on the platform, staring at the sky above her. As much as she was excited to go home, she didn’t ever feel like leaving. She wished she could stay here forever. And she bet that she wasn’t the only one. 

“Come on, Amy! We’ve gotta get a compartment!” Zach called to her from inside the nearest car, poking his head out the door.

“I’ll be there in a minute!” She shouted back, not even looking in his direction. She wandered the platform a few minutes longer, watching the other students arrive in the horseless carriages and talking with their own friends. As she boarded the train, lifting her robes so as not to tread on them, she listened to the soft chatter of voices in the distance. Oh, how she was going to miss this. Miss all of this. 

As Amelia strode down the train corridor, she peaked into each compartment, searching for her crowd. Checking every car, she frequently stumbled upon other first-years or Hufflepuffs that she knew, and waved, or called hello in passing. As she passed through the second car, she noticed someone in one of the compartments that she hadn’t seen for a while. 

Blaise was smiling amongst a group of green-clad first-years, who were sitting in a circle, making faces and twirling their wands around. A boy with bleached blonde hair seemed to be in charge of the group, drawing the most attention. Amelia didn’t even notice how long she was standing there until she saw someone wave at her. Blaise smiled and raised his arm so casually, it seemed he could have been merely swatting a fly out of the air. But she knew what it meant, and waved back, grinning, before charging forward on her quest to find her friends… her best friends. 

She finally made it to their reserved compartment at the back of the train, in one of the very last cars. They had snagged it for themselves, so only Hufflepuff’s were occupying it.

“I saved you a seat, Amy,” Zach called, patting the seat beside him; a window seat.

“How’d you know I liked the window?” she questioned, gratefully accepting the seat.

“I had a hunch.”

“Hey, guys!” Oliver exclaimed, before showing them a box of Exploding Snap cards. “Wanna play?” Choruses of delight chimed throughout the car as the train chugged forwards, away from the station and back to London.

The hours passed quickly, as the friends kept themselves occupied playing games, trading frog cards, and pigging out on treats from the trolley. Soon enough, the sky had reached past noon, and they were pulling into Kings Cross Station, having already changed out of their school-issued robes into muggle attire. 

As they exited the train and stepped onto the platform, Zacharias pulled Amelia aside, catching her off guard. 

“Zach, what are you-” she stuttered before he put a finger to his lips and tugged her into a secluded corner. He released his grip on her arm and stared into her eyes.

“My parents,” he stated simply, before looking down at his feet. 

“What?”

“My parents are the reason why I didn’t open my Christmas gifts. They’re quite much, and sometimes I don’t think that they even know me. They can make me so frustrated, acting so… formal, towards me. I just, I didn’t want to think of them over Christmas. So when you asked me at the feast why I didn’t open my presents, that’s why. Sorry for getting so mad. I don’t think that I ever formally apologized or thanked you.” He looked up at her for a second time, surprised at the look of empathy etched onto her face.

“It’s alright, Zach. I understand. Just write to me if you need someone to talk to, alright? That’s what friends are for.” She gave him the most genuine smile, before patting his shoulder. “We should probably get back to our parents now though, right? Before they wonder where we got off to?” Zach nodded, and the two walked side by side back to their respective families. They waved to each other as they went in opposite directions. What a year, Amelia thought to herself. What an amazing year.

Chapter Text

Zacharias

The summer passed by in a blur. The friends constantly sent letters to one another by owl post, discussing schoolwork, funny anecdotes, and recalling random moments from the past year. 

Zacharias spent most of his summer tucked up in his room, hiding away from his parents, who didn’t seem to care that he was home for the holidays anyways. They never checked in on him or asked how he was doing, or queried if he wanted to play a round of wizard’s chess. His father was a workaholic, who publicized his love of his job. If Zacharias didn’t know where he was, he was definitely at the Ministry, surrounded by piles of paperwork. His mother, on the other hand, spent her hours apparating in and out of the house, visiting friends and others to assist with design needs: fashion and furniture. 

That often left Zacharias to fend for himself, with only the company of the family house-elf, Rinny, and his owl, Norton, hooting softly from his cage that sat atop Zacharias's dresser.

One afternoon, as Zacharias lay back on his navy blue bed sheets, staring at his ceiling in boredom, he heard a faint knock on the door, before it creaked open ever so slightly. He jolted upright and looked towards the door, where a creature, about three feet tall, waddled its way into the room nervously. The small creature had sallow skin stretched across its body and large bat-like ears that hid most of its face, as it was looking downwards towards its bare feet. The only thing the creature wore was a pale-pink cloth sack, hanging limply from its bony shoulders. 

“Master Zachary?” the creature asked, lifting its head so that its giant green eyes were visible.

“Yeah?” Zacharias asked casually, not at all appalled by the creature's entrance. He stared around his room, waiting for the creature to talk.

“You… you’ve got a letter, sir. It’s waiting for you in… in… in the kitchen.” The creature shuffled side to side, before opening the door once more, and walking out.

“Thanks, Rinny,” Zacharias replied, before heaving himself off the bed. “Be down in a second!” he called out to her as she left, and began shuffling around the room, searching for a pair of socks. Once found, he raced down the stairs and slid into the large kitchen of the manor house.

On the counter sat a single letter, addressed to him in the neat print of his friend. Tearing it open with excitement (as what twelve-year-old wouldn’t be excited to receive mail?) he pulled the letter out and read:

Dear Zach,

So, I was about to write to a few of the others but wanted to write to you first. I was wondering whether you would be free to meet on August 21st in Diagon Alley. As I’ve already mentioned about a hundred times, it’s my birthday that day, and so I was thinking that we could all meet up, celebrate, and do our school shopping together. Write back to let me know if you are free. Hope to see you soon!

Your friend,

Amelia

He had barely finished reading the letter before he started pacing the room, pondered to himself two things: one, what to get for Amy for her birthday? And two, how was he going to convince his parents to let him either go alone or accompany him there?

Amelia

Amelia loved the summer holiday. Not that she actually traveled anywhere to spend her holiday, but she enjoyed spending time in her small flat where she lived with her mum. They lived on the outskirts of a small city, on the third story of a rustic brick building. It wasn’t much, but it was home to her. 

In the first few weeks of the holiday, Amelia spent it doing her stack of schoolwork, tidying the apartment, and reading a lot of books. But by the beginning of August, she began to get bored. Frustrated one afternoon, she stormed into her room and collapsed back on her bed in a fluster. Her pale yellow sheets only wrinkled slightly, and she stared wide-eyed around at her room, more to give her something to do rather than to inspect it.

The walls were a jade-ish shade of teal, brightened as the sun from the curtain-framed windows shone its rays upon it. Much of the walls were covered with various posters and photographs, all but a few that were moving in their squares. The Weird Sisters , one poster of a rock band read. Spellbound , said another. Photos of Amelia with her new friends scattered a cork board pinned on the wall and littered her dresser top. On the nightstand beside her bed stood a delicate silver picture frame displaying a recent photo of Amelia and her mum together, side by side.

The rest of the room was neat, but decorated with various knick knacks and trinkets: her wand and robes tossed on a chair, books in stacks on the floor, star charts and maps piled messily atop her desk. 

Staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that she had found at a muggle shop in the city, Amelia sighed sadly. She missed her friends. She missed Hogwarts. She couldn’t wait to go back in a month and see them all. Or sooner. She had sent all her friends owls asking to meet in Diagon Alley for her birthday, and she was waiting for their replies. Of course, that had been yesterday, but she was so impatient, due to being home alone for the entire summer. 

Rising stubbornly off her bed, Amelia troded out of her room, leaving the door ajar, and padded her way down the hallway, which was adorned with photo frames of all sizes. In each one, Amelia and her mum stood side by side: at the beach, at the park, on a birthday, Christmas, special occasions and dozens more. Not one showed her father. But his absence was never missed by Amelia, who didn’t even know him.

Once in the kitchen, she found herself a snack in the fridge, and sat upon a stool, watching the window expectantly. When nothing arrived in those five minutes, she rose once more and headed towards a small glass box in the corner of the living room. Opening the lid, she reached inside with both arms, stretching towards the bottom until she grasped her target carefully in her hands. 

“And how are you this afternoon, Tad?” she asked the item, which, now exposed, showed to be a wet green toad. It had wrinkly skin and looked quite slimy, and had the appearance of being a fat, grayish pickle.

Amelia placed the toad on her shoulder, as she continued to pace the glassdoors that led to the small balcony outside, watching the sky cautiously. The toad croaked slightly on her shoulder but otherwise seemed undisturbed by this sudden change of scenery. 

And just as she was giving up on her letter search, a small owl, with speckled brown feathers, flew down and landed on the railing of the balcony. Excited, Amelia rushed towards the visitor, toad still upon her shoulder, and slid the door open, allowing the bird to fly inside and rest. She unfurled the letter from around its leg. She read:

Amy―

So I’ll be seeing you in Diagon Alley, then? My parents said that I can go, though it took some hard convincing on my part. Can’t wait to see you. 

― Zacharias

Amelia screeched in glee, causing both Zach’s owl and Tad to jolt from shock. She couldn’t be more excited for her birthday to come.

Zacharias

When he said that it had taken some hard convincing to get his parents to allow him to go to Diagon Alley, he hadn’t been joking. It wasn’t that they didn’t want him to go, because they really did want him to leave them alone and to exit the premises, but neither of them wanted to take him.

“I could just go by myself,” he had argued, arms folded across his chest, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.

“No, that’s unsafe!” his mother had angrily sighed, “You’re only 12, you can’t go all the way to London alone!”

“Well, then you take the boy,” his father had shouted, not looking up from reading that morning’s copy of the Daily Prophet. 

“I can’t, I’m busy,” she had claimed. His father rolled his eyes. They bickered for a while longer, Zacharias just staring at them silently, knowing that the worst thing he could possibly do was interject with his own opinion. The pair finally agreed that Rinny, the house elf, would take him, as it appeared that neither parent could take the time out of their busy days to accompany their only son to meet with his school friend. Shaking his head in disappointment, Zacharias sulked back towards his room, where he shut the door and didn’t open it until dinner time.

The next two weeks passed by in what felt like a blur. Soon enough, it was August 20th, and the next day he would get to see his friends, before heading off to Hogwarts for their second year. 

“Zach! Over here!”  Amelia called, waving her hands in the air wildly. Zacharias turned his head in the direction of the soft voice, and his face lit up at the sight of his friend who was smiling uncontrollably. Watching the main road of Diagon Alley carefully, he jogged towards her, his hands stuffed casually into his jean pockets. 

“Hey, Amy. Happy Birthday,” Zacharias said, his voice subsiding to a mumble, as he spotted a woman standing beside Amelia who looked extremely similar to her. He eyed her nervously but, once spotted, the woman just grinned.

“Hi! You must be Zacharias! I have heard so much about you from Ames, how are you?” The woman spoke, her voice much higher than Zacharias had at first would’ve guessed. Her hair was shinier than Amelia’s, as if it had been straightened with heat and brushed thoroughly. She wore a pair of mom jeans paired with a pale blue blouse, and a large handbag hung from her shoulder. The only difference between the mother and the daughter were their eyes. While Amelia’s eyes were a dazzling blue like the ocean, her mothers’ were a chocolatey brown, rich and deep.

“I’m alright ma’am, thank you,” Zacharias replied, being snapped out of his daze. He watched as many of his fellow Hufflepuffs began gathering around Amelia, chatting excitedly as their parents hovered nearby. 

“Are you here alone?” Amelia’s mother asked apprehensively, before touching Zacharias lightly on the shoulder. Ah ha, Zacharias thought to himself. The sympathy of a concerned parent. Well that’s something you don’t see everyday.

Zacharias just shook his head in response to her question. “No, I’m not alone.” And as if summoned by his word, Rinny burst out of the crowd, dodging legs and attempting not to get trampled.

“Master Zachary! I had wondered where you had gone! Stick with Rinny, sir. That is what Masters requested. Rinny will keep Master Zachary safe.” Zacharias just shook his head disapprovingly, before feeling his arm being tugged by Amelia.

“Come on, Zach! We’re going to get our school books!”

The rest of the day went without many hiccups. The small group of second years, including Leanne, Justin, Ernie, Hannah, Susan, and Megan wandered Diagon Alley, pausing at window displays and laughing hysterically as they strolled down the side path. They stopped at Florean Fortescue’s for ice cream, where they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and showered Amelia with gifts. 

“I love it, thank you,” Amelia said to Hannah, who had gifted her with a badger pin, bedazzled with gemstones, to wear on her school robes. Hannah smirked. “Who hasn’t gone yet?” Amelia asked the group, pointing at each of her friends in turn. 

“Zach hasn’t gone!” Justin called, nudging his friend in the shoulder. Zacharias blushed, before extracting a flat package, about the size of his hand, from his back pocket, wrapped in old newspapers and tied with a piece of twine. Compared to the mound of clothes, accessories, and sweets on the table in front of Amelia, Zacharias’s present seemed small and insignificant. He could tell by the way his friends eyed the gift that they thought so, too; the way they glared at it in disgust. 

“Sorry,” Zacharias mumbled, placing the gift gently on the table in front of her, before stepping backwards and looking towards the cement under his toes, so as to distract himself from the situation. “I know it’s not extravagant or anything, but it’s what I had to wrap it in and―”

But Amelia didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, she took her time unwrapping the paper, delicately ripping it in straight lines across the creases, just as she had done for every other gift. Once the gift was bare, she flipped the small card over, and smiled excitedly. “How did you know?” She asked, looking up towards Zacharias, who was hovering near the back of the group, hidden by the children’s faces. He glanced at her, their eyes connecting, as if having an understanding just between the two of them of some secret. Zacharias didn’t say anything, just looked briefly at her and then looked away.

“What is it?” asked Leanne, attempting to peer over her friend’s shoulder. 

Amelia held the gift up for the rest of the group to see. In her hands was a flat rectangle, words etched into the bottom of what looked like a bronze picture frame. Inside the frame, a woman sat waving generously, before rising from her seat and walking out. “It’s Dorcas Wellbeloved. One of the four chocolate frog cards I’ve been missing from my collection. I’ve been looking for this card for forever… thank you, Zach.”

And before he could tell her not to, she rose from her seat and strode toward him, wrapping her arms around his middle, pinning his own arms to his sides. His body froze immediately, surprised by this sudden act of affection. He felt stiff, unsure what was happening. 

Amelia hugged him tightly, her arms giving no signs of letting go, until he cleared his throat and gently attempted to push her off. “Uh, no problem,” he said, concluding the sentiment. Amelia released him, and gathered the group once more, announcing it was time to continue their fun filled day. 

A few hours later, as the sky began to darken considerably, and the group slowly dispersed, saying their last goodbye’s before the new school year began, Zacharias stood alone, staring up at the star-filled sky. The small lights twinkled, flickering in and out within the inky black of the night. Shop lights all around him went out one by one, until he was left standing nearly alone, in a nearly dark street. With his head tipped backwards, towards the sky, he felt calm, content, collected.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today,” he heard a voice say from behind him. Startled, Zacharias caught a glimpse over his shoulder of a girl his age with chin length brown hair: Amelia.

Looking back towards the night sky, he shrugged. “I guess.”

Amelia took the space beside him, and tilted her face upwards as well. “You’ve barely talked to anyone today, not even me or Justin. Are you alright?” She turned her head slightly, as if to face him. 

Zacharias nodded solemnly, before closing his eyes tightly and taking a deep breath of the clean air. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Really? You can talk to me, you know. I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I feel that you should know that I’m great at keeping secrets, as well as a good listener, I’m told.”

Zacharias took another deep inhale, eyes still shut. “Adults make me nervous.” He confessed, before pausing, wondering if Amelia was going to interrupt him, but she didn’t. Instead, she said nothing. “Maybe it’s because my parents are so unpredictable, but, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” He stopped short again, but Amelia still remained silent. “Your mum seems great though.”

“She is,” Amelia said, and he could hear her smile through her words. “We’re very close. She knows me better than anyone. She’s my best friend.”

The pair stood in silence for an extended moment, just gazing at the sky in awe, before Zacharias spoke under his breath, barely audible. 

“I wish I had that.”

Amelia

“Hey, mates! Did you miss me?” Amelia teased as she entered the train compartment the group had claimed for themselves. Setting her small terrarium on the ground and taking her trunk in both hands, Amelia attempted to heave her suitcase onto the luggage rack above the seats, before falling backwards with a giggle.

“Need some help there?” Justin asked, before taking one end of the trunk and aiding Amy in lifting it. Once the task was accomplished, Justin took a bow, and the rest of the group played along as they clapped and humored Justin. Justin sat back down in his seat, right beside Amelia, and smiled. “I missed you, Amelia. I feel like it’s been forever since I saw you.”

“We all saw each other two weeks ago,” Ernie informed, which caused Justin to throw a Bertie Bott’s bean at him. 

“I think he was making a joke, Ern,” Leanne said, rolling her eyes. Leanne, who had been sitting on the floor, scooted herself towards Amelia, until she was close enough to wrap her into a tight hug. “Hey, bestie. Missed ya.”

Amelia blushed, unable to contain the joy of seeing her friends again. “It’s so nice to see all of you,” she grinned, looking around the compartment at all her friends. However, upon doing the full inspection, Amelia furrowed her eyebrows. “Wait, where’s Zach?”

Justin also scanned the compartment, before sliding open the door and glancing down the thin corridor of the train. “I don’t see him.”

The train whistle blew loudly, causing the group of second year Hufflepuff’s to jump in their seats. “The train’s gonna leave soon,” Hannah said, glancing nervously at the group.

“There he is!” Ernie, who had claimed a window seat, exclaimed, his index finger pressed up against the glass. Rushing to the window, the friends watched as a small boy with messy blonde hair, lugging a trunk and an owl, made his way towards the train, just as the whistle blew for the second, and final, time. The platform had already begun to empty out as Zacharias made his way onto the stairs. And just in time, too. With a roaring start, the train lurched forward, and away from the station. 

A couple of minutes later, Amelia saw Zacharias through the windows of the compartment, and waved him down. A look of relief washed over his face as he entered.

Once everyone had settled down in their seats, Amelia turned towards Zacharias. “What happened? You almost missed the train.”

“I know, I know. But my parents forgot that today was, well, today.” Zacharias rolled his eyes.

Justin chuckled. “So how’d you get here? Magic?”

“Floo.”

“That sucks,” Susan said, before impatiently changing the topic. “But did you guys hear who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is?” A dreamy look appeared on Susan’s face.

“Yes!” screamed Hannah, before the two girls held hands and squealed. “He is SO cute!”

“Who? Who?” Ernie asked impatiently.

“Gilderoy Lockhart!”

“The author?” Amelia asked, and Susan nodded excitedly. 

“Yes! He’s so amazing―I just finished Voyaging with Vampires , and it was

Chapter Text

NOT WRITTEN YET!

Chapter Text

NOT WRITTEN YET!!!

Chapter Text

Zacharias

Summer was great. As much as he missed his friends, especially Justin and Amy, he was glad to be home, even if home wasn’t glad he was back. But after the previous year’s events with the Triwizard Tournament, he was perfectly happy to be away from Hogwarts for a few months.

He had been writing to his friends constantly; not a day went by when Zacharias wasn’t receiving or sending a letter, barely giving his dusty colored owl a break to rest his wings before being sent out into the skies once more. 

Soon enough, August rolled around, and the heat of the summer blazed on, causing him to take to the indoors.

One afternoon, on the fourth of August, he was lounging in the living room, reading Quidditch Through the Ages for the gazillionth time, when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. Tilting his head backwards, Zacharias stared up at his father, who stood towering over him. 

“Hello, sir,” Zacharias said sharply, before moving himself into the upright position and facing his father correctly.

“Zacharias,” his father replied, before turning away and sitting in the cushy armchair across the room. “Zacharias,” he repeated.

“Yes, sir?”

“I don’t like that school of yours.”

“Why not, sir?”

“After what happened last year? The place it has put the ministry in, I tell you. The things that that silly boy, Harry Potter, has said about He Who Must Not Be Named’s return? Quite the nerve Dumbledore has to stand behind that child, don’t you think, boy?” his father crossed his arms over his chest, and leered towards Zacharias menacingly.

“Well, sir, I think that Dumbledore knows what he’s doing. I like Hogwarts, and I don’t think that the entire school can be judged based on one sole scenario, don’t you agree, sir?” Zacharias had been taught at a young age how to speak professionally and politely to his father, and this conversation was no exception. Zacharias watched as the hint of a smirk appeared, then withered away from his father’s face. Was that a glint of pride in his eyes? 

“Interesting argument you make there. I’ll leave you to read then.” And with that, he whisked himself off his chair and out of the room, leaving Zacharias alone once more. 

The day passed by in a blur, and just as he was falling asleep, Zacharias realized something: Today was the first day in which he hadn’t received a letter from Amy. 

Amelia

“Honey, are you ready to go?” Amelia heard her mother call from down the hall. 

“Coming!” Amelia sprang off her bed, and began gathering her things from around the room. She snatched her purse off a hook in the corner, slid an old pair of boots onto her feet haphazardly, not caring to tie the laces. She only slowed down to adjust her hair in the full-length mirror, positioning pieces of chin-length waves so that they framed her face. She smiled at her reflection before once again setting off in a hurry out her bedroom door and down the hall. “Here, I’m here, here, sorry!” She skidded to a stop in the kitchen, where her mother stood patiently, a smile plastered across her face.

“Are you ready?”

Amelia opened her arms wide, and pumped her fists into the air. “You know I am! My favorite day ever: the Walker girls’ shopping day!” Amelia rushed towards her mother before wrapping her arms around her neck, and her mum accepted, encircling her daughter’s waist. 

“Oh, Ames. I love you, baby girl,” She sighed. “Now, let’s go!” Still smiling and laughing, the two women left their flat, happily.

Once outside their building, they stood under the shining sun and began walking towards the city center, for their day of shopping. Even though the events of the school year past had been so dreary, Amelia wouldn’t let that ruin her perfect day.

Once they had entered the heart of Surrey, the city closest to their apartment complex, it took them a few moments before gathering their bearings and choosing the first of many shops that they would be inspecting today. After a morning of browsing, and a small lunch at a corner cafe where they sat outside sipping cups of tea, they continued their busy day. 

It wasn’t often that the pair were able to treat themselves to a day of shopping. Money was always tight, as Amelia’s mother worked most holidays just to get by. But every once and awhile, a small bonus would fluctuate, and they always used it accordingly.

Laden with a few small bags of different pieces of clothing, jewelry and accessories each, the witchy pair wandered through the muggle city. They were barely even paying attention as they strutted down sidewalks and across streets. 

“We definitely should try the vintage store next. I think that a cute top for these shoes would be perfect,” Amelia claimed, as she looked before crossing the road, jumping on the white lines across the way to catch up to her mum, who was quite a ways ahead. 

“Definitely. I love that. We’ll find you something cute, babe. Something cute for my cutie.” Her mother turned towards her, smiling. How happy the pair was.

And then, it all happened too fast. 

“Mum!” Amelia screamed, but she felt like her voice was falling into a dark abyss, and she was being spiraled down after it. The car seemed to come out of nowhere. The next second, it was speeding forward, way faster than the speed limit, the red traffic light doing nothing to stop it. Black car, black tires, black windows, blackness. She could hear the screeching replaying in her head over and over and over. The sound of nails on a chalkboard. The sound of tires skidding out of control. 

The smell of burnt rubber overwhelmed the air, and the heat felt thick against her sweaty skin.

Then she heard it. The noise echoed through her mind. The lifeless thunk of flesh on metal, bone on concrete. She felt herself scream over and over and over, but she couldn’t hear anything. A soft ringing filled her ears, and she closed her eyes, which only caused the scene to reply over and over and over behind her eyelids. The tears began running hot down her cheeks, and she began running forward towards the scene. She felt numb. 

Then her body caught up to speed and everything seemed to move in real-time once more. 

Amelia ran towards the site, where her mother’s body lay on the ground, almost lifeless. She sobbed, tossing her bags aside and kneeling beside her mum, trying to assess the situation. But she couldn’t. All she could see was blood. Blood everywhere. Things, limbs , were bent wrong and her mum was just lying there. Dead. No, no, Amelia thought. She can’t be dead. Maybe they could bring her back. Maybe she wasn’t completely gone yet.

She continued to sob, laying across her mother’s body, not caring about the mess and mangledness of her. “Someone get help! Help!” she screamed, not to any in particular. She could feel a crowd begin to form around her, and heard sirens in the distance. She felt someone sit beside her and heard them gasping and sobbing and apologizing to her over and over and over. 

Time seemed to speed up. People in white rushed towards them with a stretcher. Then she was in an ambulance. Hospital corridor. Let me stay with her , she begged. Please . 

Waiting room. She waited for hours it seemed. She felt numb, senseless, alone. She cried until the tears streamed no more. 

Time kept moving slowly and speeding up, like she was stuck in a broken clock. Only a few words could fix her broken feeling, but those words never came. Instead, when a man in scrubs exited the operating room, he only had to utter a couple before she completely broke down.

“I’m sorry.”

She sat stunned once more, frozen. She didn’t want to think, or feel, or be. She wanted to disappear forever. The doctor began spiraling off into a realm of medical nonsense. But all that passed through her head was silence. The doctor disappeared again, and she was alone once more, so the scene could pass through her head over and over and over. This time, she actually sat in that chair for hours, before a woman she had never seen before approached her cautiously. Amelia could assume why. She probably looked like a mess. Covered in tears and blood, her face red and blotchy from crying her eyes out. 

“Hello, Ms. Walker? I’m Cecilia Thompson, from the,” she whispered the next part, “Ministry of Magic.” 

Amelia’s head perked up at this, and she started silently at the woman, before nodding her head towards the seat beside her. Cecilia accepted with a weak smile.

“Now, Ms. Walker―”

“Amelia.”

“Sorry. Now, Amelia, I’m going to be your social worker, is that alright? After this most recent… event, we needed to discuss a few things with you about your, uh, living situation.”

Amelia looked at the woman in confusion. “Living situation?”

“Yes,” Cecilia replied, nervously. “You’re underage, and therefore we can’t allow you to live alone. It seems that you have no emergency contacts, besides your mother, of course, and your mother has not stated on any papers that we’ve seen who you are to go to in a… circumstance, such as this one. There is no information regarding your father, any grandparents, close friends, or otherwise. Therefore, it may take us some time to track down any relatives of yours who might be willing to accept you into their homes. That is, unless you have any information that we don’t?”

“I want to go home,” Amelia whimpered.

“I know you do, sweetie. I know. But is there anything, anything at all, that you know about any other family that you can tell me? About your dad, maybe?” Feeling like a toddler, but honestly not caring, Amelia shook her head silently. “Alright then, we’re going to try and find a place for you to live for the time being, at least until we find some more useful information. Come with me, Amelia.”

Droopily, Amelia trudged after her social worker, and they made their way out of the muggle hospital. Amelia turned behind her, not wanting to leave her mother behind, before she was whisked away by Cecilia once again, to be flooed to the Ministry.

Zacharias

A week. It had been an entire week and no word from Amy. Zacharias wouldn’t deny that he was really worried. They had never gone so long without talking to one another, so much as a letter. He couldn’t help wondering whether something really bad was going on. 

He spent most of that week lying around the house, worrying about his friend, as he really had nothing else to do with his time. He wrote to Justin and Ernie often, but it just wasn’t the same as writing with Amy. He could read, but he had already done so much of that; having re-read all the books on his shelves twice already. He had no siblings to play chess or exploding snap with, and no neighbors to make a proper quidditch team. Zacharias often wished he had a sibling; someone to turn these dull summer days interesting. But he did not, and was stuck entertaining himself.

One afternoon, eight days without any letters from Amy, Zacharias heard his name being called and shot up in his bed and turned towards the door.

“Master Zachary, a letter from school,” Rinny proclaimed, waving the letter above her head as she came tumbling into the room. The poor house elf tripped over her own feet, that were far too big for the rest of her body, and fell to the floor, landing at Zacharias's ankles. 

“Oh, thanks,” he replied, taking the letter and gently tearing open the envelope. 

“What does it say, Master Zachary?” the house elf had gotten back onto her feet, though she still stood quite unsteady. Unfolding the parchment, Zacharias was surprised when a small silver badge fell into his palm unexpectedly. “Did Master become a prefect?” Rinny questioned, standing on her tippy toes to try and get a better view of the item in his hand.

Zacharias tossed the generic school letter, stating his supplies requirements, onto his bed, and stared once more at the badge in his hand. “I’ve been named Hufflepuff Quidditch Team Captain.”

“Ooh! That’s exciting, Master! We must celebrate!” Rinny began dancing around, before racing out of the room, obviously to prepare a celebration of sorts. Zacharias continued to stare off into space, in awe of his achievement. But, then a sickening feeling came over him, and settled in the pit of his stomach. He was replacing Cedric, Cedric Diggory, as quidditch captain. He suddenly felt nervous. What would people think of him accepting the dead boy’s job? But someone had to do it, and if Professor Sprout thought him the most qualified, then he would captain the team, in Cedric’s memory.

I can’t wait to tell Amy about this , Zacharias said to himself, smiling, before it faded from his face and he looked towards his owl that sat calmly in his cage. What’s the point? She obviously hasn’t, or can’t, respond to him right now.

Lying backwards onto his bed, Zacharias looked up towards his ceiling, holding his shiny new badge in the air, feeling lonely. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a very long time. 

Amelia

A week. It had been the most awful week of her entire life, and she wasn’t exaggerating. 

“You have twenty minutes, alright? I have a meeting at two, and need to get there early, so just grab what you need so we can go.” Cecilia stood, her arms crossing her chest, as she checked the watch that was wrapped around her wrist, its band shining in the dim lights. She eyed the place anxiously, before taking a seat on one of the kitchen stools that stood cold and bare.

“Alright.” Amelia nodded towards Cecilia, before walking in confidence around the location. Not just any location, her own apartment. 

After her mother had passed away so suddenly, Amelia was left with nowhere to go. That is, she had no family to stay with, and wasn’t yet of age and therefore wasn’t allowed by wizard, and muggle, law to live on her own.

For the past week, she had been staying in a wizarding home for adolescent girls, which Amelia thought was just a posh way of saying orphanage. The home was barren, consisting of about twelve girls, with bland furniture and the head witches who made Amelia feel unsettling. She had been sharing a room with a girl slightly younger than herself, who would cry herself to sleep each night, which caused Amelia great distress. It was hard enough having to deal with her mother’s death, and now this. Due to this sudden change in living arrangements, Amelia had none of her things, school or personal, and had been wearing borrowed clothes and been using extra toothbrushes and such. 

But now, being inside the one place in the world she considered home, besides Hogwarts, she felt overcome with all the grief she had been withholding to seem strong. Walking into her own bedroom, with the teal walls and unmade bed, she collapsed backwards and began to sob. She smelled the familiar scent of her sheets, and clutched her comforter tightly, not wanting to ever leave this place. 

“Fifteen minutes!” She heard being called from down the hall. Wiping away her tears, which didn’t help as they kept flowing, Amelia rose from off her bed, and grabbed an old bag from off a chair and began searching her room for essentials. Grabbing clothing, personal items and such, she stuffed them into the sack unceremoniously. She rushed around the apartment, going room by room, picking the items she needed most. When she reached her mother’s bedroom, she slowed to a stop, before taking a deep breath and stepping inside, one foot at a time. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath, and gasped for air, gulping in large mouthfuls. The room smelled as if her mother was still here; had never even left the room. She wandered around carefully, looking at the different knicknacks on the dresser and pictures that were tacked into frames on the nightstand. She took the most prominent photo; a recent picture depicting Amelia and her mother last summer, taking a selfie on their new wizarding camera, which they’d never been able to afford before; and clutched it to her chest before curling up on the bed, sobbing once more. Her heart ached, and she couldn’t make the pain go away. 

“Five minutes, Amelia! Are you almost ready?” Amelia continued to cry, but stood from the bed, straightening out the ruffled sheets, and headed back towards the living room, hiking her overflowing bag farther up on her shoulder. 

Amelia signaled Cecilia’s attention, waving her hand weakly. Cecilia rushed towards Amelia in a flurry. “Where’s your school trunk? And other school bags? Those are most important.” Amelia pointed towards the hall, and Cecilia ran off to receive them. “Perfect, perfect.”

“Hey, Cecilia?” Amelia asked, pushing away her knotted hair, that over the past week had lost it’s delicate curl.

“Yes?” 

“When’s the next time I get to come back here?” 

“Oh, honey, well, with no one to pay rent and such, it’ll be going up for sale pretty soon I think. So, yes, well, we better get going.” Cecilia headed towards the door, bags dragging behind her.

“Wait!” Cecilia turned back towards her, blonde hair whipping her face. “This is my last time here… ever?”

“Well, sweetie, I, uh, I’m sorry.”

“What about Tad?”

“Who, dear?”

“Tad. My toad. If I leave him here, he’s gonna starve.”

“Well, I guess it’s alright if you bring him along. We do have a strict no owls rule at the home, but I guess a toad will be alright. Come one then, sweetheart. We are already behind schedule,” Cecilia strode once more towards the door, flinging it open and turning the corner out into the hall. 

Amelia stood alone in the apartment, staring around at its colorful walls and homey vibes, before picking up the glass terrarium in the corner, and heading towards the door for the last time. Staring around at the room for the last time, she felt the hot tears run down her cheeks, before she whimpered, “Goodbye.” She then walked into the corridor, and didn’t look back. 

Zacharias

“Zachy, we’ll see you at Christmas?” Zacharias's mother was doing her spiel once again, squeezing Zacharias tightly before releasing her hold and standing coldy away from him. 

“I don’t know, ma. We’ll see. Goodbye, sir,” he turned towards his father, and gave him a quick nod, before eyeing the platform in front of him. After five weeks of not hearing from Amelia, even after her birthday, he was anxious to see her and figure out the reason for their awful lack of communication. He waved to his parents as he began weaving his way towards the train, nudging students out of his way, while looking around the platform aimlessly. 

Then, he spotted her. She stood a ways away from him, looking sullen. Amelia was surrounded by a group of other girls, who he had recognized around the halls of school, and an older looking woman who was speaking to the girls as a group. Amelia was nodding along, not smiling as the group headed towards the train and split off in different directions, towards different cars. 

“Amy! Hey, Amelia! Hey, wait up!” Zach ran in her direction, apologizing to students as he rushed towards her, his trolley rolling along behind him. Students jumped out of his way, and he reached her just as she was boarding the train. “Hey, Amy! Where have you been? I’ve been sending you letters all summer and haven’t gotten any replies. Are you alright?” He leaned forward, still trying to catch his breath, as he watched her pause, and her shoulders shrug. She turned so that he was now facing her front, and she took a step so she now stood on the platform, instead of the train. 

“Leave me alone, Zacharias. I have to go. Don’t bother finding me on the train,” she looked him in the eyes, before turning away once more and darting onto the train and down the corridor. Confused, Zacharias boarded the train as well, and found his own compartment. He sat, a questioning look etched on his face, as he wasn’t sure what just happened. He stared around the compartment aimlessly, not sure what to think, not even noticing when Justin and Susan entered the compartment and sat around him, talking about the new school year. 

Zacharias tried to erase the interaction from his mind, and it worked, but he couldn’t get the image of Amy’s face out of his eyes. Her and her deep blue eyes. Her wet, glassy blue eyes. 

Amelia

She raced onto the train. After seeing Zach, after purposefully ignoring his letters all summer, she just couldn’t face him and tell him the truth. She really just wanted to be left alone. She found an empty compartment near the back of the train, and curled up onto one of the chairs, hoping that no one else would enter. 

Her summer had been rubbish. After gathering her few belongings, she spent the last month of summer in the home for girls, receiving letter after letter but never finding the motivation to reply. She spent the summer filled with grief, and when the home wouldn’t even grant permission for her to attend her own mother’s funeral alone, she felt the emotion worsen like the tide. Her days were filled with reading and sulking, staring at walls and crying until her eyes were red. And now, she had to deal with all of that, and school too. Hopefully it would prove to be a good distraction, as she really felt she needed one right about now.

“There you are! I looked up and down the train, but didn’t see you. Wait, Amy, are you alright?” Leanne had entered the compartment, and closed the door softly before collapsing into the seat beside Amelia. “Amy? Talk to me. Did Zach do this to you?”

“No, no, no,” Amelia sobbed, turning towards her friend and resting her head on her shoulder. Leanne wrapped her arm around her friend, comforting her carefully.

“Gosh, Amy. I don’t hear from you for weeks, and you return in pieces! What happened to you?”

Feeling safe and for the first time in a month, not alone, Amelia spilled the entire summer to Leanne, sobbing all the while.

“Bloody hell.” Leanne sat in awe as soon as the story had concluded, staring at her friend in shock. “Bloody fucking hell. I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling right now. Bloody, bloody, bloody hell. Come here, Amy. I’ve got you now.” Leanne wrapped Amelia in a tight hug, smoothing her hair and doing the things any best friend would do. 

“Oh, Le, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to live at that girl’s home for forever. I just wanna go home. To my home. My real home.”

“I know, it’s gonna be alright.”

“Just promise me this,” Amelia turned towards Leanne, looking her deeply into the eyes, before extending her pinky finger. “You don’t tell anyone about this. No one. Not a soul. Got it?”

Leanne wrapped her own pinky around her friend’s, and squeezed. “I promise.”

“And especially not Zach, alright? Just, please, don’t.”

“Alright, alright, I got it. Gosh.” Leanne raised her arms, in mocking defense, which caused Amelia to suppress a smile. “There it is!” Leanne called, smiling back, allowing hers to stretch from ear to ear. 

Zacharias

After trying to put what happened with Amelia out of his mind, Zacharias attempted to focus on his friends in the moment, chatting about their summers and the new school year.

“I can’t believe that we’re fifth years now, it’s crazy,” Justin sighed, leaning against the window dramatically. Zacharias kicked him in the shin lightly, causing Justin to shriek in pain playfully. “What was that for, Zach?”

Zacharias shrugged, before looking out the window himself. “Nothing, just, well, it’s not even that big of deal. Fifth year is just fourth year, plus another year. Nothing special. If anything it’s worse, since we have to deal with our O.W.L.’s.”

“Don’t have to be such a downer, Zach,” Megan called from across the compartment, where she sat reading one of their new textbooks while sucking on an acid pop. Her purple hair was as bright as ever, and she wore dark eyeliner and lipstick that hid her face in shadows. Zacharias rolled his eyes, and continued to stare off into the distance.

“But things are changing,” Justin butt in. “I mean, Ernie and Hannah were made prefects, isn’t that brilliant? And weren’t you made Quidditch team captain?” Justin looked towards Zacharias once more, questioningly, and Zacharias just nodded slightly. “Are you okay, Zach? You seem… off.”

“I’m fine,” Zacharias snapped back, glaring at his only best friend who would talk to him right now. “Just want to get to school, that’s all.” 

Amelia

It felt like hours that they were on the train; it always did. As soon as they pulled into Hogsmeade station, Amelia rose from her seat and began gathering her few items; wand and such; and began heading out of the compartment. Leanne followed close on her heels.

“I’m gonna find us a carriage, alright? Are you sure that you don’t want to wait for Zach?” Leanne rushed to walk side by side with Amelia, as they descended from the train and onto the platform, heading in the direction of the horseless carriages. 

“No, I just want to get to the feast. Let’s just find an open carriage.” Amelia looked across at the glorious carriages, but stopped in her tracks, stunned. 

“Okay. Well, here’s a free one―Amy? Are you alright? You’re white as a ghost.” Amelia was standing, frozen in place, her eyes glued on the horseless carriages, her mouth agape. Her hands trembled, and she felt like she couldn’t move. 

“Le?”

“Yeah, Amy?”

“Since when did the carriages have horses on them?”

“What? What do you mean?” Leanne looked back and forth from Amelia to the carriages, her eyebrows slowly furrowing farther in confusion. “Uh, yeah, I don’t see any horses on those carriages. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Amelia blinked and shook her head, but no matter what she did, the creatures didn’t go away. Their dark skin seemed to be stretched across their bony skeletal frames, giving them a deathly look. They had thin faces, and large batlike wings tucked on their backs. A long tail arched from their rear-ends, hairless, with just joints connecting the entire way down. Amelia looked back towards Leanne, a look of utter shock inscribed on her face. “I swear I’m not a nutter. They’re right there.” She motioned towards the nearest strange animal. 

“I didn’t say that you were mental. Just―let’s go.” Leanne tugged on Amelia’s arm, and dragged her towards the nearest open carriage, pulling her up and setting her carefully into a seat, and looked at her nervously. Shaking her head, the carriages began moving forward, all the way towards the castle, and the feast. 

Zacharias

As the horseless carriages began to arrive, students filed into the Great Hall, filling up the House tables, eagerly awaiting the sorting and Dumbledore’s start of term speech. Zacharias rushed into the hall, leaving his friends out by the carriages, his mind only focused on the mission he had to do. He needed to talk to Amelia; resolve whatever had happened before. He searched the hall urgently, cocking his head above other students, when he spotted her.

Amelia was sitting at the Hufflepuff house table, chatting quietly with Leanne, not even noticing the other students around her. Zach rushed towards the pair, weaseling his way around other students. 

“Amelia! Ames!” Zacharias called out, and watched as Amy and Leanne both turned their heads in his direction. While Leanne smiled and waved, Amy bowed her head and averted her gaze towards the empty table.

“Zach-Attack! Hey!” Leanne called, rising from her seat. “Look at you! You must’ve grown, what? Three feet since last spring? Gosh, you’re so tall.” Zacharias felt his cheeks redden, embarrassed by the sudden change of the spotlight onto himself. It was true though. Over the summer, Zacharias had hit his growth spurt, and returned much taller than he was before, reaching almost 5’8, without being done growing. His limbs were long but still had structure, probably due to his extensive quidditch playing. Suddenly shy, Zacharias shook out his blonde hair, and nodded towards Leanne.

“Hey, I’m not the only one who’s changed. I love your hair, Leanne.” Leanne smiled widely, before running her fingers through her hair, which had changed length massively. What used to reach her waist now barely tickled the bottom of her ears. Her plain brown hair was more diverse, featuring layers that looked sick piled on top of itself. Besides that, Leanne had found ways to work more color into her school uniform, with pins and jewelry that featured different hues and shades of reds, oranges, greens, purples, and almost any color imaginable. 

“Aw, thanks, Zach-Attack. I’m glad you noticed. I’ve sort of, well, found myself this summer, and wanted to show it.” Leanne twirled around, her robes billowing through the air. 

“That’s really cool. But, uh, I was wondering if I could have a minute and talk to Amelia alone for a sec?” Zach looked towards Amelia, but she continued to avoid eye contact, scowling at the table once more. 

“Alright,” Leanne skipped off towards Justin and the others who had just entered the Great Hall. Taking a seat at the table across from her, Zacharias tapped his finger on the table before clearing his throat.

“Hey, Amy, uh, well, I just wanted to talk about earlier.”

Amelia looked up at him, staring into his eyes, her own red and bloodshot. She eyed him maliciously before speaking with a harsh tone, “Go away, Zach.”

Taken off guard, Zacharias tried again. “It’s just, after not hearing from you all summer, I wanted to catch up, chat and―”

“Go away, Zach!” Amelia spat more harshly, speaking through gritted teeth. “I said GO AWAY. I don’t want to talk about this with you right now. Just leave me alone and stay out of it. It’s none of your business.” she spoke pitilessly, rising from her seat. Zacharias saw tears streaming down her reddened face, anger and frustration flaring in her eyes, her fists curled at her sides, her knuckles white. 

“Okay,” he said, just as firm, before rising from his seat and walking away, not bothering to look back. He didn’t bother talking to Leanne or Justin, who began pestering him on what happened and what was wrong. He didn’t listen to the sorting hat’s new song, or Dumbledore’s speech. He wasn’t listening when a new woman in a bright pink outfit and high pitched voice talked and talked. He barely paid attention to his friends, or his food, and went through the rest of the evening in a haze. 

Amelia

School had barely been in session for a week when changes began to occur. Amelia thought that she had already endured the worst, when obstacles kept flying at her. She trudged through her classes day after day, ignoring her fellow classmates and even Leanne most days, not wanting anyone’s company, or sympathy, for anything. She dressed each morning, not bothering to fix her tangled chin length waves, or make herself look any more presentable.

At the beginning of the second week of term, a ministry worker, who happened to now be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge, declared herself High Inquisitor of the school, giving herself authority overall, approved by the ministry. 

Just what she needed, Amelia thought to herself as she headed towards Herbology one particularly sunny afternoon. First the events of the summer. Then, her weird seeing things that don’t exist. The whole situation with Zach being too nosy, and now the ministry interfering at the only place she truly feels like she can call home? The ministry already took away her first home, and now they were going to do it to her second. Those bastards. Not even the sunny day brightened Amelia’s mood.

She felt alone. Surrounded by teachers and students the entire day did nothing to lessen this feeling. She felt gutted. No jokes being said or happy memories being reflected on brightened her sadness any bit. She felt like there was a hole in her chest, that kept getting dug deeper and deeper, and the further it went, the more painful it became. Soon enough, there would be nothing left besides herself but a giant gaping hole left in her soul. And she couldn’t shake that feeling.

Zacharias

Besides in class, Zacharias hadn’t seen Amelia at all in the two weeks since term had begun. They never talked, never sat with each other at meals or in class, and to be totally honest, it was really taking a toll on Zacharias. He couldn’t help but feel like some of this was his fault. And it angered him that nothing he could do would make it any better.

Justin had tried to talk to him about it, but Zacharias had just shrugged him off angrily. What could Justin do to improve this situation? It was obvious that Amy hadn’t wanted to talk to him, and how could Justin change that? He couldn’t. So Zacharias had distanced himself from his other friends, only slightly, as sometimes he felt that none of them could understand the toll that losing his best friend had taken on him. 

But, soon enough, a distraction arose that fit perfectly to divert Zacharias's mind. Quidditch tryouts. As new captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team, it was his job to coach and direct the team, and under that job description meant rounding up new players. 

“Hey, Leo,” Zacharias called, catching up to one of his fellow quidditch team members. Leo Cadwallader, a sixth year chaser, turned his head, and smiled when he saw Zacharias heading in his direction.

Waving, he slowed to a stop and headed towards the side of the corridor, so as not to be in the way of other students. “Smith! My favorite chaser, besides myself of course. What’s up, man? Have a good summer?” Leo grasped Zacharias's hand firmly, before slamming their chests together, in a sort of guy handshake-hug situation. Leo looked down towards Zacharias, his crooked smile showing his almost perfect teeth. Standing at about 6’2, Leo had a pretty muscular build and quaffed dark brown hair. His eyes were a dazzling green, and he seemed, at first glance, to be quite an intimidating guy. But of course, he was a Hufflepuff afterall, and was probably one of the nicest blokes Zacharias knew, besides Justin. 

“Hey, yourself, Cadwallader. Yeah, my summer was fine, but that’s not what I’m here about. So, I’ve been made team captain and―” But Zacharias got cut off by Leo slapping him on the back happily and congratulating him on his accomplishment. 

“Aww, congrats, man. I was wondering who they made captain, after, ya-know. Last year. My bets were between you and Rickett. But, wow, nice going, Smith. What’s up?”

“Uh, thanks. So I’m captain, and well, we need a new seeker after last year, so I was planning on holding tryouts this Friday, alright? Be there, or be square.” Zacharias attempted to sound firm, but it came off weak. “Spread the word, alright? I want everybody there.” Leo nodded, before heading off in the direction of the Charms rooms.

Friday rolled around finally, and after spreading the word to his fellow team members, and pinning an announcement about the tryouts on the notice board in the common room, he felt ready to start his job and find a new seeker for the team. It was about 5 o’clock, just before supper, when the sun was still on the horizon, casting the field in orangey shadows. Looking up into the stands, Zacharias saw many prospective players, as well as a few people just watching. Out of the corner of his eye, Zacharias saw Justin waving at him, both arms above his head, and Zacharias couldn’t help but smile back. 

Continuing to search the stands expectantly, Zacharias heard his fellow players heading towards him, pulling him away from his search. It didn’t matter anyways. She wasn’t here. 

“So are we gonna do this thing or what?” Leo laughed, taking a seat in the stands besides Zacharias. Zacharias nodded sternly, and motioned for the other players to sit, before he took control of the microphone.

“Okay, hello there,” he waved, unsure of how to start, but a hint of anger flared in his voice. “I’m Zacharias Smith, Hufflepuff quidditch team captain, as well as a chaser. Beside me are the rest of my team. We got Leo Cadwallader and Heidi MacAvoy, my fellow chasers,” He motioned towards the two that sat to his left, and they waved to the students that sat in the stands. “Our beaters are Anthony Rickett and Maxine O’Flaherty, and our keeper is Herbert Fleet over here.” The three students to his right waved as well. “So as you all know, you’re here trying out for the seeker, as after last year’s, uh, most tragic events, we’ve been left without one. So, when I call your name, come down in front here, state your name, year, and we’ll walk you through it, alright? Okay, here we go.”

The tryouts were long, and brutal; more people had arrived then Zacharias initially thought. As soon as the last potential player had shown his moves, the six teammates collapsed back in their chairs, completely knackered. 

“Well, that was, something,” Maxine groaned, covering her eyes in dismay.

“I thought the third kid who went wasn’t that bad,” Herbert added, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Why did I not think that this would be so difficult? Seeker is the most important role of the team! No offense guys,” Heidi added, flipping her long blonde braid back over her shoulder. 

“My god, I bloody miss Cedric,” Anthony sighed, resting his chin in his palm.

“Yeah, me too bud. But we have to choose someone, so I agree with Fleet,” Zacharias finally declared. “The third kid was the best of them all. I think we should choose him.” Flipping back through the notes that he had taken, that now sat in a disorganized pile, Zacharias turned to the page of the student they were discussing.

“What was his name, Smith? Something with an ‘S’ I think,” Leo questioned, and leaned over Zacharias’ shoulder to get a better look. 

“Noah Summerby,” Zacharias read. “He’s a third year, but he’s pretty good. So we’re all agreed? This Noah kid is it?” The rest of the team chimed their agreement, before Zacharias released them to have dinner.

What a day, Zacharias thought to himself. What an awfully interesting hell of a day. Still frustrated, he marched off to the Great Hall to eat dinner with the rest of his team. 

Amelia

Some days were worse than others. As the weeks went on, and the term was in full swing, Amelia continued to distance herself from her friends, including Leanne, often not wanting any sort of interaction with anyone. She never raised her hand in class anymore, choosing to sit in the back, rather than in the front like she used to. She did the bare minimum; just enough to get by. When she wasn’t in class or in the Great Hall, she hid herself away in her dorm room, camping out in her four poster bed with the curtains drawn, blocking out anyone who tried to get her to talk. She would spend hours up there, days if she could, just ignoring the world. But she did things besides ignoring everyone. Most of her time was spent crying, curled up among the few items of memorabilia she had left. She felt alone, but too surrounded all the same.

But being hidden away didn’t mean that she didn’t notice things. She noticed how Zach slowly became more and more irritable without her. She often overheard Hannah and Susan talking about how awful he’d been; taking his anger out on others.

“Why is he being such a tool?” Hannah asked Susan one night, as they walked into the dorm to get ready for bed. “Like, all of a sudden, he’s so entitled and being so rude to everyone. I don’t understand.”

“He’s just a stupid boy,” Susan replied, shaking her head disapprovingly. Her long red hair fell back perfectly into place as she smoothed out her bangs. “All boys are dicks, well, maybe except for Ernie…” then Susan would laugh, and Hannah would shout something, almost embarrassed, that would cause them both to burst out into giggles. Meanwhile, Amelia just sat and pretended that she was asleep, not wanting any part in the conversation. Maybe in the past she would have wanted to contribute, or say something witty, but not anymore. That wasn’t who she was any longer. 

One Saturday, Amelia was having a particularly foul day, so she curled up in her bed, skipping breakfast. About an hour later, she heard her name being called from the doorway of the room. “Amy, are you in here?” The voice, that was most obviously Leanne’s, was followed by the sound of shuffling feet, before the curtains were pushed away and light streamed onto Amelia’s face.

“Leanne! What the hell was that for?!?” Amelia wiped at her eyes and nose with her blue sweater sleeve, before yanking the pale yellow curtain back in place. 

Frustrated, Leanne ripped the curtain backwards again. “Amy, you can’t stay up here forever! Hiding away from the world isn’t doing you any good. You’ve barely gotten out of bed for the last two weeks. This isn’t okay. At least eat something, please.”

Amelia huffed once more, and sat herself upright, her baggy sweater creating a bubble around her. “No thanks, Le. I’m not hungry. I’m not getting up. You don’t understand―”

“I don’t understand? Then help me to understand!” Leanne was shouting now. Her arms were spread wide, and her face reddened in anger. “You need to tell me what’s going on, or else how can I understand?! These past few weeks have been all about you; how you feel, what you want to do; and you know what? I was okay with it before, I was fine letting you grieve your own way, but now? I’m sick of it. Have you even asked me how my summer was? No. You didn’t even mention that I look, like, way different than the last time you saw me. Did you bother asking why? No. I didn’t hear from you ALL summer, and now I barely hear from you now! You need to talk to me, Amy, please just talk to me.” Leanne crossed her arms over her chest, and felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I can’t,” was all Amelia replied, staring straight at Leanne unforgivingly.

“Alright then. Come find me when you can. Until then, leave me the hell out of your shitty life.” And with that, Leanne stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Amelia broke down into tears once more. 

Zacharias

Being alone at the age of fifteen was much different than the last time he felt this alone, at the age of eleven. This time, it felt much more gut-wrenching. He felt empty and that made him sick. He felt angry, but felt too weak to bottle it up inside. So he unapologetically took it out on his friends.

One afternoon, just after the notice for the first Hogsmeade weekend had been posted, Zacharias was reading in the common room when he overheard Hannah and Ernie talking in hushed whispers at the couch adjacent to his chair. 

“So do you think we should go? I mean, Harry Potter teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts? He’d probably do a better job than Umbridge ever could.”

“Yeah, I definitely think we should, Hannah. I already told Justin and Susan about it, and they seemed interested. It’s in the Hog’s Head, next weekend. We can go together.”

“Alright.” That was when Zacharias couldn’t help but to butt in.

“Uh, guys, what were you talking about just now? I couldn’t help but overhear something about Harry Potter, and teaching us magic?” Ernie and Hannah looked at one another suspiciously, as if exchanging words without even speaking, before Ernie leaned towards Zacharias and murmured to him quietly.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Hermione Granger said that we could just go to the Hog’s Head next weekend in Hogsmeade and hear him out; see what he has to say. I guess you could come, if you’re interested.” Zacharias nodded his silent thanks, before returning his focus back to his book. But he was decided, maybe he would go. He’d always wanted to see what Harry Potter’s deal was. And after the events of last spring, he was all the more curious.

Amelia

…

Zacharias

The next weekend, Zacharias had entered Hogsmeade alone, bundled in an old pilly sweater and laden with sickles and galleons in his pockets. But before he could stop at Zonko’s or Honeydukes, he headed straight for the far side of the small wizarding town, where the Hog’s Head Inn was located. The Hog’s Head was a place not many students visited in their time in the town, as it was always dark, and was overall quite a sketchy location. Most students opted for the Three Broomsticks, so Zacharias was surprised at the turnout for the small meetup when he walked in. 

Expecting only a few students, as Zacharias walked in behind a Gryffindor, he was shocked to see around twenty students filling up all the chairs, along with two dozen butterbeers covering the entire bar counter. 

“Cheers!” A tall red haired boy called from near the counter, as he began handing out the drinks. “Cough up, everyone, I haven’t got enough gold for all of these…” When a butterbeer found its way into Zacharias's open hand, he passed forwards a few sickles to pay for his drink, which was gladly taken by the tall boy. As everyone began settling in, getting strange looks from the barman, Hermione Granger, a girl with poofy brown hair, began introducing them, stumbling over her words nervously. Rolling his eyes, Zacharias waited impatiently for Harry Potter, the reason they all were here, to begin talking. But he didn’t have to, as soon enough the conversation took an interesting turn.

“Because… because… because Lord Voldemort’s back.” Every student stared wide-eyed at Hermione. But Zacharias wasn’t in the mood for games. 

He rolled his eyes, before calling out aggressively, “Where’s the proof You-Know-Who’s back?”

“Well, Dumbledore believes it―” Hermione began again nervously.

“You mean, Dumbledore believes him, ” Zacharias spat, before nodding his head towards Harry Potter. He couldn’t believe they were just spitting out information without any evidence on the subject. Zacharias’s father, who worked as a ministry lawyer, always taught him that a point of view must never be taken if you are not adequately able to argue your position with substantial evidence. Zacharias couldn't just stand by as this group of teenagers just said whatever they pleased. 

“Who are you ?” Harry Potter’s best friend, who was gangly with red hair and freckles, asked rudely. Ron, was his name? Yes, Ron. 

“Zacharias Smith,” he said, introducing himself. “And I think we’ve got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who’s back.” Hermione began to intervene, defending her friend, but Harry Potter himself stepped in, speaking directly at Zacharias. 

“I saw him. Dumbledore told everyone what happened last year, and if you didn’t believe him, and still don’t believe me, then I’m not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone.”

Zacharias shook his head once more, dismissively. “All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought his body back to Hogwarts. He didn’t give us details, he didn’t tell us exactly how Cedric got murdered, I think we’d all like to know―” Everyone was staring at him now, and Justin did a ‘cut-it-out’ motion with his hand, but Zacharias rolled his eyes and looked straight at Harry. 

“I’m not talking about Cedric Diggory, alright? So if that’s what you’re here for, you might as well clear out.” But no one, including Zacharias, rose from their seats. And the discussion continued.

“Is it true you can produce a corporeal patronus?” Susan asked, twisting her red plait around her finger. Harry nodded, and everyone stared in awe. Even Zacharias was shocked. Patronuses are a hard piece of magic to create. Soon enough, everyone was asking questions, all at once.

“And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore’s office? That’s what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…” a Ravenclaw in their year asked.

“And in our first-year, he saved the Sorcerer’s Stone from You-Know-Who!” A chubby Gryffindor boy, Neville, shouted.

“And that’s not to mention all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard’s Tournament last year―getting past dragons and merpeople and acromantulas and things,” Cho Chang, who was on the Ravenclaw quidditch team, pronounced.

Harry Potter replied shyly to each statement, confirming each one, before calling attention once more. “Look, I… I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to be modest or anything, but… I had a lot of help with all that stuff…”

“Not with the dragon, you didn’t!” the boy to Zacharias right called.

“And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer,” Susan added.

“No,” said Harry, “No, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I’m trying to make is―”

But Zacharias couldn’t help interrupting once more. He was getting fed up with this crap. “Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?” 

Ron glared at Zacharias before loudly speaking, “Here’s an idea, why don’t you shut your mouth?”

“Well, we’ve all turned up to learn from him, and now he’s telling us he can’t really do any of it.” Zacharias crossed his arms over his chest. 

“That’s not what he said.” One of the red haired twins snarled.

“Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?” The other inquired, before displaying a long metal instrument. 

“Or any part of your body, really, we’re not fussy where we stick this,” The first replied. Zacharias just scowled, not afraid of their empty threats. Hermione moved the discussion along, now that they all had finally agreed to meet for these private lessons. The next question was when, and where.

“Hang on,” Angelina, the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team proclaimed, “we need to make sure this doesn’t clash with our Quidditch practice.”

“No,” said Cho, “nor with ours.”

“Nor ours,” Zacharias added. Hermione continued to jot down notes and information over the next ten minutes as they decided when, and where, to hold the meetings. When the latter couldn’t be resolved, Hermione reached into her bag and removed a long piece of parchment and a quill, before asking everyone who was interested to sign. 

A few people, himself and Ernie included, were skeptical to make the commitment of writing their names on the parchment; what if it were to be lost? But they all caved eventually, with Zacharias being the last to jot his signature onto the paper. 

The rest of his Hogsmeade afternoon seemed insignificant compared to weekends in the town past. Zacharias realized how much quieter it is to walk the barren streets alone, and how lonely it can be to sit in the Three Broomsticks without company. What was even the point of going to Zonko’s if there was no one to play practical jokes on? 

Amy was his anchor. She tied him to the ground, kept him steady. Without her, he felt like he was being washed away in the currents; blown off course. He thrashed wildly without her strength, floundering like a boat in a storm. He missed his anchor. 

Amelia

…

Zacharias

“Hey, Captain, did you see the notice?” Zacharias was working on his Transfiguration essay in the common room, when he gazed up to see Leo leaning over his table; Anthony and Heidi clustered nearby. 

“Uh, no, I haven’t. What’s going on mates?” Zacharias set down his quill carefully, before turning towards his teammates.

“That witch, Umbridge, has made a new ‘Educational Decree’. Says no clubs, teams, or societies are allowed to be formed. That includes Quidditch. Ugh, that old hag is just out to ruin us, and turn this school to hell!” Anthony huffed in distress, before pacing the room in a fluster. 

“You’re joking,” Zacharias said, utter disbelief on his face. His teammates shook their heads.

“You gotta be the one to talk to her, Smith. You’re our captain. You can do this,” Leo slapped Zacharias on the back, before shoving his hands into his pockets.

“We’ll be here for moral support,” Heidi added, giving a half smile.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go. Best just to do it now and get it over with.” Zacharias rose from his chair, and headed towards the door out of the common room. Taking his time, practicing in his head what he was going to say, he headed towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, and Professor Umbridge’s office, where hopefully she would be at during this late hour. 

When he arrived, he knocked, before nervously shifting his weight from his right foot to his left. Right, left. Right, left. Right, left. 

“Can I help you?” Startled, as Zacharias hadn’t even heard the door open, he took a step back to look at the person that stood before him. Professor Umbridge was a stout little witch, with toad-like features and squashed brown curls that clung to her head. She was dressed in head to toe pink, and when she smiled, she looked almost like a troll. Her voice was high pitched, squeaky and annoying, but Zacharias stayed strong, thinking about what Heidi had said. His team was counting on him―he had to do this.

“Uh, yes. Professor Umbridge? I’m Zacharias Smith, captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and I’m here to―” But before he could speak any longer, she ushered him into her office with a flourish of her hand. Once in the small room, with the door shut behind him, did he get a good look at the place. Cats were everywhere. Not physical cats, but magical cats living inside the ornamental plates and photos that lined every inch of the wall. The wallpaper was pink, and so was the rug, chairs, and lamps. Lace doilies rested upon each surface, creating a very dollhouse aesthetic to the room. Zacharias felt like vomiting right there on the rose colored carpeting. 

“Have a seat, Mr. Smith, I’ve been expecting you,” Professor Umbridge was already seated in her overly cushy chair as Zacharias took a seat across from her desk, unsure of how to start. “So you’re here to request for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team to be reinstated, hmm? Well, well, well, I’ll just have to think of that one. You see, Mr. Smith, the Slytherin team, many of whom are on the Inquisitorial Squad, have stated their own case that proved very effective, and I would hate for any other teams to conflict with their practice and game schedule, wouldn’t you?”

“I, well, I,” Zacharias took a deep breath, knowing that he needed a whole lot of patience if he was going to negotiate nicely with this dreadful woman. He imagined that he was back at home, like this past summer, sitting in the living room with his father, trying to persuade him of a different viewpoint. Envisioning it in his mind, he centered himself before speaking once more, “I am aware, Professor Umbridge, that you have taken a particular liking to the Slytherins and their Quidditch team, but let me assure you that reinstating my team would not do any harm to their schedules. As captain, I can find ways to work things to your liking, as High Inquisitor, and to the other teams’ liking. But just as well, how can Slytherin have any actual matches if there is no other team to compete against? Thank you,” Zacharias rose from the blush pink chair, while keeping his gaze locked on Umbridge, “for your time. Hope that you’ll get back to me soon.” And with that, he headed towards the door. He had his hand on the knob when he heard the toadish woman clear her voice deeply. 

“Heh hum!” Turning around quickly, he watched Umbridge as she stood to match his height, which didn’t seem to work as he was about a foot taller than she. “What a compelling argument you make, Mr. Smith. I’m surprised I didn’t see you interested in joining my Inquisitorial Squad. As for your request, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team shall be rightfully reinstated as soon as possible. You are dismissed.”

Heading back to the common room, with a skip in his step, Zacharias allowed his mind to think about Amy. He wished he could tell her about what just happened, she would've been so proud. Thinking about it now, he hadn’t seen much of Amy, besides for class. He never saw her anywhere. Soon enough, he reached the common room, and entered to find six eager faces staring at him, wide eyed. 

“Well, team,” he began, “you all better be on time for practice this Thursday, otherwise I might just need to cut you from the team.” Smiling, he looked over his team, who all began celebrating, wrapping each other in hugs and highfives.

“You’re a saint, Cap,” Leo called, squeezing his shoulders, “A literal god.”

Amelia

…

Zacharias

Once the entire Quidditch situation had been resolved, his life moved on like normal. Well, sort of. Quidditch practices were reinstated, and Noah, their new seeker, was getting better by the day, catching the snitch in record time. Zacharias kept a sharp hold on his team, being strict and firm during their practice sessions. No one came to watch in the stands anymore. 

The first meeting of the Defense Against the Dark Arts group was organized, and Zacharias arrived with Justin, unsure of how things were going to play out. But no matter how hard Zach tried to adjust his mindset and attitude, he couldn’t seem to find a positive attitude when he was in the vicinity of Harry Potter. Zach didn’t want to seem weak in front of such a powerful young wizard, but he was pretty sure that he just came off as selfish and mean. At least, that’s what Justin told him. 

“Mate, you need to chill out a tad. No one’s going to attack you for saying something nice, ya know?” Justin said one day as they were walking back to the common room from their second meeting. The group, which had been named Dumbledore’s Army by a short red haired girl, named Ginny, met only every once and awhile, as it was hard to organize around everyone’s schedules. But so far they had been quite educational and productive, even Zacharias thought so, though he didn’t show it in the meetings. 

“I know, Justin, but I just don’t understand how learning the disarming spell will benefit us in a battle against You-Know-Who! Like, we’re going to cause his wand to fly away, and then what? Kill him? It’s not logical.” Zacharias rolled his eyes and shrugged as they entered the common room. 

“Well, I think it’s interesting. We haven’t even taken our wands out in Umbridge’s class, much less learned how to do a simple disarming spell. I got it on my second try, so suck that!”

“Yeah, that’s true, I guess. God, that Umbridge woman is such a hag. Could learn a thing or two from, well, basically anyone, if you know what I mean.” Laughing, the two boys walked off towards their dorm, Zacharias genuinely smiling for the first time in a while. 

Amelia

She had been in such a state lately, even getting out of bed felt like a chore. She didn’t feel like doing anything; eating, doing her work, and especially going to class. But she did, though not in high spirits. She barely ate at meals, and spent all her free time in her dorm, trying not to interact with the outside world. 

One particularly chilly afternoon in late November, Amelia was wandering out towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson that afternoon. Their professor for the class, Hagrid, was a nice man who tended not to know the difference between safe and unsafe teaching, which caused his lessons to be unpredictable. Today, coming prepared for anything, Amelia approached the class with caution, and wasn’t even surprised when Hagrid announced that they were going towards the Forbidden Forest to look at a new creature. 

“This way, here, class,” Hagrid called, and he led the way towards the woods, “I got me some raw meat here, ya see, ‘cause this creature likes the taste of it, and’ll be attracted to the smell so we can see ‘em. Ah, here comes one now I think.” 

Amelia, who was standing at the back of the class, staying hidden away from her old friends, felt her jaw drop as the creature approached the class and stopped to pick up the raw steak from the ground, flinging it into the air before chewing it thoughtfully. The other students in the class looked just as taken aback as she did. 

In front of them was the creature that Amelia had seen pulling the carriages the first night back to school. The large winged, bat-like horse, whose flesh seemed stretched across it’s thin frame, trotted carefully to a stop, and another one followed suit. 

“Where’s the creature?” Hannah called out, and Amelia looked at her strangely. What did she mean where ? It was right there, standing five feet in front of her! 

“Good question there, Hannah,” Hagrid said, nodding towards the blonde girl, “This here is a thestral. Now, if you can see ‘em here, just raise your hand into the air, yes, that’ll do.” 

Amelia, nervous, slowly raised her arm into the air, so that it stood well over her fellow classmates. She watched as the other students’ heads swiveled this way and that, trying to get a good look at who could see these mysterious creatures. Amelia locked eyes with Zacharias for just a second, as he watched her in shock. 

“Alrighty there, it seems we’ve got about three of ya who can see ‘em. Now, as I said, these are thestrals. They’re quite clever really, and dead useful. We use ‘em to pull the carriages to and from the station. Now, can anyone tell me why some of ya can seem ‘em, and some of ya can’t? Terry?”

“You can only see them if you’ve witnessed death,” Terry stated, before looking back around at his fellow students. 

“Yeah, nice job, Terry. Ten points to Ravenclaw fer that one. So, do any of our three people ‘ere wanna share? It’s alright if ya don’t. Mandy?”

“My grandmother,” the Ravenclaw girl stated plainly, eyeing the other students cautiously. 

“My uncle,” Terry added quickly, before being silent once more. Amelia felt all eyes turn towards her, but she just shook her head before stepping backwards nervously. 

“Alrighty, then,” Hagrid continued, “Does anyone wanna touch one?”

As soon as class ended, and Hagrid released them for the day, as that was their last class, Amelia hiked her bag farther over her shoulder and turned on her heel, ready to bolt away. She felt embarrassed and upset, and wanted to be alone as soon as possible. But things don’t always go as planned.

“Hey, Amelia! Wait up!” She turned her head, her locks obscuring her view, but was able to make out Zach heading in her direction, jogging to keep up. “Amy, wait!”

For a second, she thought about stopping. She thought about waiting for Zach, just like old times, so they could walk back to the common room together, laughing about the thestrals and how silly they were. How insane it would be to see one. But wishes and reality don’t always align. Amelia could see them, and she really hated that she could.

So when she saw Zach headed towards her, she bolted. She ran across the lawn, her bag slapping her side, the wind flying through her hair, robes billowing behind her. She felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks once more, but she ran as fast as she could, not looking back. She ran alone. She kept running and running until she made it back to the castle, and slipped inside, unseen. She didn’t let herself break down until she was back into the comfort of her dorm, blankets swaddling her fragile body, curtains closed and door shut. She cried, squeezing her knees to her chest as tight as she could, and she wished that she never had to let go. 

Later that night, when the dorms were silent, as most everyone was asleep, Amelia stirred from her bed and left the room soundlessly. Her feet padding their way down the hall towards the loo, she shuffled silently inside, the cold tile causing her feet to shiver. Amelia looked around, making sure no one was near, before she tugged on the handle, causing the bath’s faucet to sputter to life, sending out a constant stream of piping hot water. 

Barely making a sound, Amelia stripped her clothes off, item by item, until she stood, staring at her naked figure in front of the bathroom mirror. Her body was pasty and slim, cold and boney. Not wanting to look at herself any longer, Amelia stepped into the hot water and immediately sank down to the floor. 

Shutting the steaming water off, Amelia adjusted her position until her knees pressed to her breast, the cold air on her knees sending chills racing up her spine. Slowly, inch by inch, she scooted herself a little flatter into the water, so that the water inched up her chest until only her neck and face were exposed. She closed her eyes, sucked in a large gulp of air to her lungs, then completely submerged herself underwater.

Her first thought was that it was peaceful. Quiet. Warm. Amelia allowed her body to sink further until the back of her head was resting on the bottom of the tub, her body contorting so that every inch of flesh was within the warm environment. Time seemed to pass slowly, or quickly, she didn’t know. Time seemed lost altogether. She felt her chest begin to tighten, then burn, as her lungs demanded a new breath of fresh air. I can go longer , Amelia thought to herself. Longer . She tried to ignore the pounding that was building in her head, the screaming that her lungs were announcing. Just a little longer . Just hang on a little bit longer. But her body’s natural instincts overtook her desire.

Resurfacing like a bullet through air, Amelia popped above the water, coughing and gagging up the backwashed water that had threatened her lungs. Amelia continued to spasm and choke up the water that had almost gotten the better of her as she wiped the water out of her eyes and off her face. Not being able to stay strong in this moment of weakness, Amelia slid her knees back towards her naked chest, and broke down into pieces. 

“Go away!” She screamed, tugging at her hair with her hands balled into fists, her voice echoing around the empty lavatory. “GO AWAY!” she smacked her temples with her knuckles, as if attempting to knock something out of her mind. “Just make the pain stop,” she whispered to herself, before closing her eyes once more and sobbing in the tub.

Zacharias

“Fifth years! You all know what time of year it is, don’t you? Now, if you’re planning to remain at Hogwarts over the holiday, just call out your name so I can jot it down on my list,” Professor Sprout warbled as she perused their table, eyeing each student individually. 

“Me, Professor,” Amelia whispered, raising her hand in the air, just slightly. 

“Yes, of course, Ms. Walker. You were already on my list. Anyone else, fifth years? No? Alright then, just you, Amelia, it is.” Professor Sprout instantly rerolled her parchment, and sauntered down the Great Hall table, searching for her next victims.

It was breakfast in the Great Hall one December morning, and Zacharias was sitting in his normal spot of the table with his fellow Hufflepuffs. 

“Can’t believe it’s the winter holiday next week already,” Ernie sighed, shaking his head. “Next thing you know, we’re gonna start studying for our O.W.L.’s. God, how time flies.”

“They really weren’t joking when they said that fifth year is when it really gets hard,” Oliver added, munching on a piece of dry toast. 

“Yeah, but the break will be nice, won’t it?” Megan chimed in, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “It’s too bad you’re going to be here all alone over the holiday, Amelia. Your mum’s busy with work again?”

Startled, Amelia looked up from the book she was reading, and stared at Megan as if she were a car, and Amelia were the deer in its headlights. “What? Oh, um, yeah. Yes. Busy. Right.” And with that, she returned to her reading, blocking out the conversation.

As the group dispersed to head to class, Ernie hung back, corralling Justin, Hannah, Susan and Zacharias back towards the table.

“So, you blokes coming to the DA meeting tonight? It’s the last one before the holidays.”

“Of course!” Susan called, smiling wide. “It’s the thing I most look forward to every week.”

“I’ll be there,” Hannah said.

“Me too,” Justin added, before leering at Zacharias. “And you will too, right? And you’re gonna be nice about it?”

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” Zacharias shrugged, rolling his eyes. “But we better start learning something useful. Like the Patronus charm, or something that can actually inflict pain.”

“Be patient, mate! Be patient. At least Harry does a better job than Umbridge does, her and her stupid Ministry approved lessons.” Zacharias cracked a smile, and the group of friends headed off towards their class, laughing all the while.

Amelia

…

Zacharias

Zacharias awoke Christmas morning, startled to see that he was in his bedroom at home. The past week had been a crazy one, with their final D.A meeting of the season, teachers summing up lessons and handing back midterm tests, and boarding the Hogwarts Express to head home for the holidays. Had he been on speaking terms with Amelia, he might have stayed behind to keep her company, but he felt no need to since she wasn’t talking to him. 

This precise Christmas, his room felt dark and cold, due to the fact that his curtains were drawn, casting dark black shadows around his navy colored room. But in the slit between them, Zacharias could just make out traces of snowflakes finding their way to the ground on the other side of the glass. Stretching his arms above his head, Zacharias arose from his bed, and slid on a pair of worn out slippers before ascending his way downstairs. His flannel pajama bottoms and baggy t-shirt did nothing to muffle the sounds of the creaking stairs, and he saw his parents look towards him as soon as he reached the landing. 

“Merry Christmas, Zachy!” his mother called out to him. She outstretched her arms in his direction, but he simply crossed his own over his chest and took a seat on the far side of the living room, in one of the dusty, lesser used chairs. 

“Morning,” Zacharias replied, stifling a yawn and ruffling his blonde hair with his other hand. 

“Merry Christmas,” Zacharias's father spoke gruffly, nodding at his son in acknowledgment.

“Merry Christmas, sir.”

“Now, uh, Mila darling, would you like to hand out the gifts?” his father pointed his fat finger in the direction of the oversized tree, underneath which had presents bursting out on all sides. As his mother passed out the gifts accordingly, Zacharias's father turned his attention towards him, almost as if in hopes to start a conversation with his son on this very family-focused holiday.

“So, Zacharias, how is that school of yours? Treating you well, I hope?”

“Yes, sir,” Zacharias replied, accepting the gift that his mother was placing in his lap. 

“And how about those friends of yours? What are their names? Uh, J, J―J―Jake? And Samantha?” He took a sip of coffee before eyeing his son.

“Justin and Amelia,” Zacharias retorted, shaking his head disapprovingly. 

“Right, right. I knew that. And the team… how’s Quidditch treating you, son? Well?”

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

“The captain’s not too bad, is he? Not treating you like a circus clown, rather than a sports player?” 

Confused, Zacharias wrinkled his eyebrows and cocked his head at his father. “Are you joking?” he asked, unsure of how to respond.

“What do you mean?” his father replied, but was interrupted by his mother announcing that they could begin to open their presents, now that they had all been passed out.
“I mean,” Zacharias continued as he ripped the wrapping paper off of a long boxy gift, “are you being serious right now? About the team captain?”

Huffing in frustration, his father frowned. “Of course I’m being serious, Zacharias. If you’re having problems with your captain, I’d be happy to speak with Dolores Umbridge about it, and she could fix the issue, if any. What a remarkable woman. You just say the word, boy, and I can interfere.”

“You’ve got to be bloody kidding me right now,” Zacharias mumbled, almost laughing, whilst rolling his eyes. 

“What did you say, boy?” 

“Nothing, nothing.” Zacharias turned his attention back to his first gift, which he had just lifted the lid off of. Inside the large box, encased by a deep red velvet fabric, lay a wooden bat, about two feet long, with a roughy carved handle, and two thick black bands of wood encircling the center. A beater bat. 

“Do you like it?” His mother asked, leaning towards him expectantly. “We know how much you love your Quidditch, so we got you, what’s it called, Henry?” she looked towards her husband, seemingly unsure of what the object in the box was at all.

“The boy knows what it is, Mila. It’s a bat for Quidditch. Do you like it?”

At a loss for words, Zacharias just sat stunned, staring down at the box in his lap. Taking a deep breath, as to calm his nerves, he placed the box gently on the floor before speaking in an even tone, “Not really.”

His parents stared wide eyed at him, needing to do a double take at his words. 

“Not really?” his father questioned, unsure of what else to say. “We paid a hefty price for that item. What do you mean ‘not really’?”

Getting frustrated now, Zacharias stood, so that he was staring down at his parents. “Why would you even get me this?”

“Henry!” his mother shrieked. “I thought you said that he was a beater!”

“He is, Mila dear, he is,” his father stood, looking his son in the eye, even though Zacharias was almost taller than his father. 

“No, I’m not,” Zacharias snapped. “And you would know that if you even bothered to care! The fact that you don’t even know what position I play is pathetic! Have you ever even seen me play? No. I’m a bloody chaser for God’s sake!” Fuming, Zacharias watched as his parents stared at him in horror. “And maybe if you had bothered to talk to me, or get to know me, you would know that I’m the captain of the Quidditch team. And the fact that you don’t know the names of my friends is just upsetting. I’ve had one hell of a school year so far, and you two don’t even bother sending me a letter to check in with me. 

“And to think that I’ve had shittier Christmases than this one,” Zacharias stated plainly, before storming out of the room, leaving his parents speechless. Once in his room, he slammed the door and collapsed backwards onto his bed, wishing he had someone to talk to right about now.

Amelia

Christmas morning, Amelia woke up early, though she had really no reason to. Not being able to fall back into the peaceful state that she only found when she slept, she slid herself out of bed and towards the center of her empty dorm room. 

At the end of her bed, perched upon her school trunk, sat two small gift boxes, each wrapped in brown paper, with a note written on them in ink. 

To Amy , the first one read as Amelia picked it up. From Leanne . Amelia wrinkled her brow and unwrapped the gift, surprised to find a small box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans inside, it’s red and white stripes crisp and multicolored beans dazzling. Reaching unsurely for the next gift that she wasn’t aware she was going to receive, she read the tag once more. 

Ames , it stated plainly, lacking a signature. Tearing the paper back carefully, Amelia was shocked to see a small box, one that someone would put a piece of jewelry into. Cracking the lid of the black velvet, inside sat a crescent moon. That is, a necklace with a crescent moon charm hanging from the bottom in rose gold. Zach , she thought to herself, shaking her head in awe. He always gave her the most perfect gifts, and this was no exception. She went to push the present away, but felt that she couldn’t. It was the perfect gift. Instead, she rushed towards the bathroom where, using the mirror, she guided her hands to put the simple piece of jewelry around her neck. 

She just couldn’t believe that these friends of hers, though she hadn’t talked to either of them in months and she knew they both were very upset with her, would send her a Christmas gift. She hadn’t sent them anything. 

After getting dressed, in a holiday sweater and leggings that complimented her new necklace, Amelia spent the day wandering the castle alone, having a few bites to eat and reading in the library. She hadn’t visited the library much in the past year, as it was always crowded and crammed with other students, and that was what she had been attempting to avoid all the year long. 

That night, after the Christmas dinner feast, where less than ten students sat surrounded by the faculty, Amelia was heading back towards her dorm, to spend the rest of her Christmas enjoying it on her own. 

“Amelia, dear,” she heard a voice calling out to her as she descended the steps towards the Hufflepuff common room. Turning her head, she saw Professor Sprout calling her from the top of the steep steps.

“Yes, Professor?”

“Would you come with me, dear? We need to see you in the Headmaster’s office,” Professor Sprout motioned for Amelia to come with a flick of her wrist, before setting off at a pace that Amelia had to jog to keep up with. 

“Professor? What’s going on?”

“You’ll understand in just a moment, dearest.” And that was correct. In just a moment, they reached the grand entrance to the Headmaster’s study, where Professor Sprout paused a minute, checking words on a scrap of paper that she had pulled out of her pocket, before looking up at the door nervously. “Iced mice!”she called, and the door spun open, revealing the office. 

Upon entering, Amelia realized that she, in fact, had never been in Dumbledore’s office before. The walls stretched high towards a vaulted ceiling, and picture frames of past Headmaster’s adorned every inch of wall space. The bookshelves were skyhigh, and knickknacks covered the tabletops and the floor. A bright orange phoenix stood on a stand off near Dumbledore’s desk, where the headmaster himself sat in a large chair, his half-moon spectacles perched upon his nose. Across from him at his desk, stood three chairs. Two of which were empty, awaiting Professor Sprout and herself, and the third was filled by someone with quite familiar blonde hair, twisted so that it framed her ears. 

“Cecilia?” She mumbled unsurely, before stumbling her way into the chair beside the person. The woman turned towards Amelia smiling, as it was, in fact, her social worker.

“In the flesh,” she smiled before wrapping Amelia up into a tight hug, squeezing her harder and longer than necessary. “How are you doing, baby girl?”

“I’m alright,” Amelia lied, and turned towards Dumbledore in confusion, not understanding the circumstances to which she was now here. 

“Amelia,” Dumbledore began, before looking at each person at the table in turn, “Your social worker, Ms. Thompson, has informed me of some information this morning, and we thought it crucial for you to know. And there really is no better time than the present. Ms. Thompson? Would you?” Dumbledore motioned for Cecilia to begin speaking, gesturing towards her with his hand.

“Thank you, Dumbledore―”

“Please, call me Albus.”

“Thank you, Albus. Amelia,” Cecilia turned towards the teenage girl, staring at her long and hard. “As you are aware, ever since the events of the summer, I’ve been searching for a placement for you―so that you don’t have to return to the girl’s home this summer. I’m here today because I have finally succeeded in finding someone who’s agreed to take you in over the summer holiday. Be your legal guardian, and so forth.” 

Cecilia smiled expectantly at Amelia, but she just stared back in shock. “You found someone? I didn’t think I had any other family. Who is it?”

“I’ve found your father,” Cecilia explained, which left Amelia in a state of shock. Her father? She felt faint. “Yes,” Cecilia continued. “I was aware that he was a muggle, which is always more difficult to track down―no surprise that it took me a few months―and then there was the case of explaining all the information and the unfortunate circumstance. Of course, we had to do this by muggle correspondence only, which just took about forever―if only he would’ve let me set up a meeting with him originally! But soon enough, after learning all the facts, he’s agreed to sign the papers and be your legal guardian, which shouldn’t be too hard as he is already your biological father. I’ve met with him about twice, and have informed him of where to pick you up at the end of term, so that you can spend the summer in his care, before returning to Hogwarts next September like normal.”

Amelia sat stunned in her seat, unable to move. Her father? “My father?” she asked, voicing her concern.

“Yes, dear. Your father.” Cecilia stated, resting a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. 

“But, when? And, how? I—I don’t understand.”

“Well, once I got my hands on your birth certificate, I had immediate access to his name. From there I was able to find him with the assistance of a muggle social worker friend of mine, who was able to track him down to his address in Birmingham. Then I simply sent him a few letters and he replied back, quite surprised if I may add, about the information regarding you. He informed me that he was aware that you, and your mother, were of wizarding descent, but he was not aware that you attended Hogwarts or anything related to the habits of your wizarding lifestyle that you had with your mother. He said that he would be happy to open his home to you, and that he would work out the rest with you, when you two reunited. So yes, Michael Jones, age 44, muggle. And, as you are still a minor, it’s either this or the girl's home— so I’m sorry but there’s little choice in the matter for you.”

“I, I don’t know what to say,” Amelia stumbled, as she stared around the room aimlessly. 

“It’s alright, sweets. You don’t need to say anything. I understand this may come as a shock to you. But, he did send me this, to give to you.” Cecilia reached behind her into her bag, and returned with a small gift box, laden with a silver bow. “Merry Christmas,” she said, handing over the present. 

Amelia accepted the offer, taking the gift gently in her hands, before whispering, “I’ll open it later. Just need some time to, uh, process, if you know what I mean.”

“Of course,” Cecilia said, before rising from her seat. “Well, I must be off. You know how to reach me if you need anything, correct, Amelia?” Amelia nodded, seeing herself out of the office. She staggered along the halls all the way back to her dorm, where she shut the door and plopped onto her bed, dropping the gift in front of her. 

She just sat, staring at the small box before her, until she put on a brave face, and took the top of the box off. Inside, sat a small, mechanical looking square, that had buttons on the sides, and what seemed to be a square with holes inside. Something definitely muggle, as she had no idea what it was. Along with the strange box, was a pair of earbuds. She recognized these, from their distinctive shape and cord that attached to a hole in the box. It seemed to be some sort of electronic noise machine or something. Shrugging, but understanding the meaning behind the gesture of the gift, Amelia tucked the present into her trunk, before lying back on her bed once more, staring up at her canopy in shock. She really didn’t know what else to feel. Not sad. Not mad. Not alone. Just, well, surprised, that’s all. She felt surprised that this man, her father, would want to take her in without even knowing her. She shook her head in disbelief, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, still fully dressed.

Zacharias

“Hey, Zach! Welcome back!” Justin called, flagging down his friend as they both reentered their dorm, lugging their trunks behind them. Zacharias nodded towards his friend and began unpacking his things, but listened as Ernie, Wayne, and Oliver made their way back into their empty dorm as well. 

“Did you guys hear?” Ernie questioned, bouncing onto his bed.

“Hear what?” Wayne asked. 

“I read it in the Daily Prophet this morning. Ten Death Eaters broke out of Azkaban last night! Probably going to rejoin You-Know-Who. How unsafe do we feel now?” Ernie laughed, before wrinkling his face up in a mix between fear and disgust. 

Justin began to laugh, before altering his face into one of utter shock. “Really? Death Eaters? What did the Ministry have to say about that?”

“They just wrote it off as something that would've happened either way, better sooner than later, Fudge said. I bet Umbridge is gonna address it tonight at dinner, if you know what I mean. Being a Ministry employee and all.” Zacharias shook his head, before turning his attention back to his trunk. How crazy this school year has been.

Amelia

After the initial shock about her father wore off, Amelia went back to her normal moping around, staying hidden in her dorm, only coming out for class and meals; sometimes, not even meals. To her, the fact that she would be moving in with her father, meant moving on from her mum’s death, which is something that she just wasn’t ready to do yet. Besides, living with her father was just as much like living with a stranger … and who would want to live like that for an entire two months or more?!

One Saturday morning, Amelia awoke to someone standing over her bed, eyeing her carefully. Startled, Amelia sat up quickly, covering her chest with her arm, although she was wearing a shirt that covered her completely.

“Leanne! I didn’t see you there,” Amelia said, finger combing her hair back.

“Uh, yeah,” Leanne shuffled her feet, staring down at the ground, unsurely.

“Can I help you with something?”

“Yeah, I was wondering whether you wanted to join me in Hogsmeade today. We could shop around, chat, have a drink at the Three Broomsticks… what do you say? You in?”

Amelia paused for a moment, before shaking her head. “I can’t. I’m not allowed to go to Hogsmeade, as my permission slip isn’t valid anymore.” She didn’t exactly lie to Leanne. Yes, she hadn’t wanted to go, but if she had asked, Leanne probably would have stayed behind with her. “I’ll probably just hang out in here for the day, catch up on some reading and such.”

“Oh, alright then. I guess I’ll see you later.” And with that, Leanne trudged out of the room, the skip that was normally in her step, gone.

Zacharias

“Hogsmeade weekend!” Hannah called, sitting down at their normal breakfast table, beside Ernie. She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder, before she spooned baked beans onto her plate.

“Hell yeah!” Ernie called, reaching across the table and giving Justin a very loud, and by the looks of it, very painful, high-five. 

“I’ve been looking forward to this since Christmas. The farther you can get me away from that Umbridge woman, the happier I am,” Justin joked, sipping his glass of orange juice, before rising from his chair, and leading the pack towards the doors, where Flich was marking students off a list on a clipboard. “So, what’re everyone’s plans, then?”

“Ernie and I are headed to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Hannah sighed, before looking at Ernie, almost with hearts in her eyes. Ernie looked at Hannah too, just as starry-eyed. 

“Oooh!” Susan shrieked, before encasing the two in a group hug, “I love you two together! It makes me so happy!” Apparently, in the past few weeks, Zacharias was unaware that Ernie and Hannah had become a ‘thing’; going on dates and holding hands in the hallways between classes. Dating, as one might call it.

“What about you, Zach?” When he heard his name being called, Zacharias snapped out of his daze and tried to focus back on the conversation, but came up empty.

“What was the question?” he mumbled, looking around in surprise.

Laughing, Justin repeated, “What are your plans for in town, Zach? Susan and I were thinking of heading to Dervish and Banges, just to shop, then maybe poke around Zonko’s. You’re welcome to join us, if you have no other plans.”

“I’m alright, but thanks though.” And with that the group began the treacherous walk towards the small town.

The weather was cold, icy almost, sending shivers down Zacharias's spine. He wrapped his coat around him tighter, pulling his hat farther down over his hair, which was providing no warmth, surprising given its length; just reaching his ears. Rubbing his mittened hands together in the frosty February air, he watched as his breath fogged around himself. He thought about Christmas, how it was just as cold as it was now, if not colder. How he had left his parents sitting in the living room, awaiting his return that never came. How they probably felt about him taking his presents and opening them when he was alone. How he tossed each gift into a ‘give-away’ pile, knowing that some young witch or wizard out there would appreciate it more than he ever could. And as soon as the day came to return to Hogwarts, he was out of there, jumping on the train before he could even wave goodbye. 

Once they reached the Shrieking Shack, the entrance to the quaint village, the group dispersed in four different directions: Ernie and Hannah off onto their date and Justin and Susan away on their shopping adventure. Megan, Wayne, and Oliver laughed as they headed towards Honeydukes, stashed with coins to buy their worth in sweets. And Zacharias, who headed straight towards the Three Broomsticks, alone, to warm himself up with a flask of butterbeer.

Once inside the toasty pub, Zacharias waved to a few students he recognized around the room, before stumbling up to the counter and ordering himself a drink, placing a few sickles in the palm of the barman, thanking him generously.

Finding a small empty booth near the back corner of the pub, Zacharias sipped his butterbeer, feeling its full effect as it warmed his body from head to toe. He stared around the room as he consumed his drink, just thinking to himself peacefully. Peacefully, that is, until someone clattered down into the booth across from him, bags crashing onto the wood of the chair, making quite the racket. Zacharias examined the figure, hidden from view due to a large hood hoisted over their face. 

“Hello?” Zacharias asked, attempting to peer under the hood of the large coat. But suddenly, the person removed their coat, revealing their olive-skin and ear-length black hair, rainbow pins adorning most of the front of her robes.

“Hey, Zach-eroni,” Leanne breathed heavily, seemingly out of breath.

“Hey? Are you alright?” He looked at her oddly, concerned for her health.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just out of breath is all. Ran here from the post office when I saw you walk inside. Not that I was watching you but, well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you lately.” Leanne paused for a moment, holding her hand up, as if asking Zacharias to wait, before rising from her seat, prancing over to the bar, ordering a drink, and sitting down once more, butterbeer in hand.

“Talk to me? You can always talk to me at meals, you know. Although, now that I think of it, I don’t see you much at mealtimes.”

“I know. I’ve been sitting at the Gryffindor table a lot, with a new friend of mine. You’ve probably heard of her, she’s a chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team… Katie Bell?” 

Zacharias thought for a moment, until he was able to match a face to a name, nodding agreeingly. “She seems nice.” 

Leanne snorted into her drink, smiling. “Yeah? Well, she is. But, that’s not why I stalked you down, it’s about Amelia.”

At the sound of her name, Zacharias looked up from his drink, unsure of where this conversation was about to go. “I’m listening,” he said. 

“Well,” Leanne began, before looking around nervously, making sure no one would overhear her. “You have to promise me that you won’t repeat any of this information to anyone, alright? I myself was sworn to secrecy, but feel like you have the right to know, as we happen to be in the same boat here. So do you swear?” Leanne held out her pinky across the table, and Zacharias accepted, twisting his own around hers, no questions asked. 

“I promise.”

“Alright, just listen. I know that since the beginning of the school year, and even before that maybe, Amelia hasn’t really talked to you. For me it was the same, until I went and bloody cocked it up. I haven’t spoken to her, like really spoken to her, since the end of September. She’s had a rough year, but I don’t know much of how the past few months have gone. But here is what I do know…” And with that, Leanne reported every small detail that she could remember back to Zacharias. Everything about Amelia’s mother and the home for girls. “I don’t know why she would push us away in a time when it seems that she would need friends the most… beats me. But I do know that it’s important for you to know this, Zach, which is why I told you.” Leanne took a deep breath. “Just, keep an eye out for her, okay? I don’t know what’s been going on with her… situation, but I do know that something’s gotten worse. She’s in a really dark place, and I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. Thanks for hearing me out, Zacho.”

“Thanks, Leanne. I had no idea that she was going through this. God, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to see the person you care about most in the entire world die, right before your eyes. It’d be traumatizing.” 

Leanne nodded solemnly. “Well, I best be off. Katie’s waiting for me. But it was nice talking with you, Zacster. I’m surprised that we don’t talk more often.”

“Me too. We have quite a bit in common it seems, besides for Amy.”

“I guess so.” And with that, Leanne floated up and out of the pub, back onto the sunny streets of Hogsmeade. 

And Zacharias was left alone once more, this time with much different thoughts than earlier. They overwhelmed his brain, and he felt like breaking down in tears, but knew that he couldn’t do that here. He had to stay strong… for Amy. Because God knew that she needed his strength.

Amelia

…

Zacharias

“Happy Birthday, Zach!” The entire Hufflepuff table called as he approached, sitting down to enjoy his breakfast. Smiling shyly, he selected an apple from the overflowing fruit bowl, and shook his head in disbelief, all the while a smile was slowing inching its way wider onto his face.

“Aw, guys,” he said, smiling full force now, unable to contain his emotion. How could he? His birthday did only ever come once a year. It was a day to be enjoyed, not skipped over like every other.

“Happy sixteenth,” Justin sighed, as he walked up behind Zacharias, wrapping his arms around him from behind. Justin let his head rest onto his friend’s shoulder, before singing ‘Happy Birthday’. The rest of the table soon joined in. 

“”Uh, thanks, Justin, but I really don’t have time for this. Gotta eat and assemble the troops. Big game today.” And with that, Zacharias stood from the table, waved goodbye to his friends, before setting off down the pathway that followed their house table, searching for his fellow Quidditch players.

“Well be in the stands, cheering you on!” Justin shouted, causing many faces to turn. Zacharias sent him a thumbs up.

He found his team huddled together near the far end, closest to the door, and they all turned to look at him when they saw him coming. 

“Is it time?” Leo asked, checking his watch nervously. Even though the Hufflepuff team had basically lost every game, they still became nervous for each new match that faced them. This time though, the stakes were just a tad bit higher in their favor. They were playing against Gryffindor today, but Umbridge had given three of their best players a lifelong ban, causing them to be replaced with a few, less talented beaters and a seeker. 

“Yeah,” Zacharias replied, motioning that it was time to motivate. 

“I can’t believe that Harry Potter and those Weasley twins got banned,” Herbert exclaimed in disbelief. “We might actually have this one in the bag!”

“Not so fast, Fleet,” Heidi replied, as she put her hair into a high ponytail. “Their new seeker, Ginny Weasley, is in my year, and she’s really good. Don’t play like we’re gonna win by default, because who knows what could happen.”

“It’s all up to you, Noah,” Anthony said, slapping his hand down onto the poor third year’s shoulder, sending his knees buckling. “Not to put any added pressure on you or anything.”

“I know, I know. Gotta catch it early on if I can,” Noah said, before wiping his extremely red nose onto his sleeve.

“Are you sick, Noah?”

“Yeah, just have a small cold, but I’ll be alright. A cold can’t really affect my playing, can it?” And with that, Noah gave a huge sneeze, that sent his body flailing. The entire team broke out into bales of laughter, before staggering into their changing rooms, getting ready for the crucial match. Zacharias felt the nerves overtake him, but he tried to stay strong. He was sixteen now, afterall. 

“And, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team! Led by captain Zacharias Smith,” Cheering sounded from the crowds as the players advanced onto the field, brooms in hand, their faces already turning pink from the cold air of mid February. 

“Captains,” Madam Hooch called as she strutted towards the center of the field. “Shake hands.” Zacharias extended his arm across the centerfield mark, and grasped the Gryffindor captain, Angelina Johnson’s, hand firmly, before releasing it quickly, ready to start playing. “Alright,” Madam Hooch said. “Take your marks! Three, two, one, takeoff!”

And with that they were up. The game moved fast, so fast that Lee Jordan, quidditch commentator for the match, could barely keep up.

“Quaffle is in possession of Hufflepuff by Smith, who passes to MacAvoy, who sends it off to Cadwallader, back to MacAvoy and, oh! She gets stopped by Johnson. Gryffindor takes hold of the ball, Johnson to Spinnet, Spinnet back to Johnson, and a nice pass to Bell.”

Zacharias tried to stay focused, calling things out to the other players as he flew around the field, keeping up with the quaffle.

“Close bludger there by Sloper, one of the replacements for the Weasley twins, and nice dodge by MacAvoy. The snitch is nowhere to be seen yet, but, wow, can Weasley, Ginny Weasley that is, fly! Smith takes control of the quaffle and… there it goes, score by Smith! Hufflepuff up ten points.”

The game progressed going in the same fashion. The new Gryffindor keeper, Harry Potter’s best friend, Ron, wasn’t quite as good as Zacharias expected, which allowed the Hufflepuff’s to quickly rise in points. Herbert Fleet, the Hufflepuff keeper, blocked most of the shots that came at his goal posts, and Weasley was no match for that. 

“And so the game goes, 220 to 60, Hufflepuff. Neither Weasley nor Summerby have seen the snitch yet, so the game continues. And wait, what’s that? What’s going on over there?” Lee Jordan was pointing out towards the middle of the field, where Noah Summerby, new Hufflepuff seeker, was seeming to have a sort of spasm. 

“Noah! Are you alright?” Maxine shouted, and he nodded, quickly, staring directly at the sun, causing the entire arena to be utterly confused. 

“Is he okay?” Lee called over the megaphone, still staring at Noah, who produced a thumbs up with one of his free hands. “Oh, okay then. Continue the game I guess.”

But soon, and out of nowhere, they all heard lots of shouting from the red and gold area of the stands, and Zacharias watched as Ginny Weasley rose up into the air, golden snitch clutched in her hand. 

“Wha―how?” Zacharias called out to Anthony Rickett, who flew close by to him. 

“Noah!” Anthony called, beckoning the boy over towards them. Noah flew slowly, ashamed. “What happened? She caught it like, five inches away from you.”

“Sorry, guys. I was in the middle of a sneeze, ‘cause of my cold, and she literally nicked it right out from under my nose. I’m really sorry, Zach.” Zach shrugged it off, and turned back towards the commentators box, awaiting the final score. 

As if summoning it with his wand, Lee Jordan handled the microphone once more, and shouted, “The final score! Even though Gryffindor caught the snitch, earning them an extra 150 points, the final score is 220 to 210… Hufflepuff wins!” In shock, the entire Hufflepuff team flew down to the ground, before tackling each other in hugs and smiles.

“We won!” Leo exclaimed, all 6 foot 2 of him jumping around like a child. “I can’t believe it!”

“Why would she catch the snitch if they were losing?” Heidi questioned, looking towards Zacharias.

“Because we’ve been out here in the cold for two hours? No, but seriously, probably because she knew that there was no way that they were ever going to be able to catch up. Better to just end the game and accept defeat. I’m not complaining though. Come on, let’s go back to the common room and celebrate.” And with that, the entire team, arm in arm, trudged back to the changing rooms to swap clothes before celebrating their victory.

Amelia

Amelia awoke late that morning, and found herself alone in her dorm room. Not a soul could be heard for what felt like miles. As Amelia lay back in her bed, she listened carefully, hoping to hear a sound, indicating that someone was around, that she wasn’t utterly alone, but no comfort came. A feeling that caused her to be sick to her stomach washed over her. She missed her mum.

She didn’t understand why this realization had just set in now, but it was here, and she couldn’t shake it from her mind. After grieving all summer, and all school year, it had just hit her now that not just was she upset that her mum was gone, but she missed her, and nothing on earth could fill that hole that was now embedded in her chest. Amelia felt the comfort of hot tears roll down her cheeks, as she thought about her mother. Her mum. Her favorite person to walk the planet. Oh how she missed her. And oh what her mother had missed! Amelia’s fifteenth birthday, the start of her fifth year, the holidays, Christmas, the new year, and so much more. 

Feeling the tug of her aching heart, Amelia motivated herself enough to stand from her bed, brush her teeth, and change into half decent clothes; a blue knit sweater, black leggings, powder blue Chuck trainers, with her hair hiding her face like she usually had it. Emerging from the common room, into the empty school halls, Amelia trudged slowly to the Great Hall, which was completely deserted, except for a few lingering trays of eggs and grits. 

Where was everyone? Amelia wondered to herself, as she wandered up and down the rows of the Great Hall. That’s when she heard it. Cheering; roars of excitement. Quidditch. 

Of course, the big Hufflepuff-Gryffindor quidditch match was this morning. 

But even now knowing where everyone was, Amelia still felt completely alone. Right now, she thought to herself, if she screamed, no one would hear her. If she was talking, would anyone listen? Would a friend comfort her if she needed it, or had she pushed away all the people that truly cared?

All of a sudden, Amelia sprung into action, walking at a brisk pace, her shoes squeaking on the pale tile floors. Almost as if she were floating, Amelia made her way up flight after flight of stairs, her mind buzzing. She began mumbling aloud to herself, almost inaudibly.

“Where was I a year ago today, huh? I was having the time of my life. Friends, family, school. No stupid teachers. No stupid ministry. No stupid dead parents and friends who are long gone. Who knows where I’ll be a year from now?!” As Amelia turned the corner of the last staircase, she stopped for a moment, and whispered slowly, “Who cares where I’ll be a year from now?”

With that, Amelia began pacing around the room that she now found herself in. The Astronomy Tower. She couldn’t remember the last time she was up here, just for her. She thought back to the times where she would come when it was dark, just to look at the stars. Astronomy club, drawing star charts for class, and passing her exams with flying colors, always. Drifting towards the edge of the tower, where full-length, open-air windows and grand columns surrounded it completely, allowing for light and air, Amelia stood at one of the railings, looking out upon the fields of mountains, covered in snow, stretched out in front of her. 

Without thinking twice, Amelia pushed herself up onto the bar, using the wall as a crutch, and stood precariously on the three inch bar, her toes pointing outwards towards the sky. She picked a spot on the horizon, gaining her balance, before looking down, surprised by how intensely high up she was. The Astronomy Tower was the tallest tower in the entire school, and Amelia didn’t deny it. Standing with her toes jutting over the bar, as if they themselves were floating, Amelia shivered and looked around, before yelling, “Hello! Here I am! Standing on the edge of the bar!” she paused a moment, eyeing her surroundings. “If I even let go of this wall here, I’m gonna fall off plummeting to my death!” she looked left and right, but saw no one. “Maybe I’ll just jump off!”

The wind whistled quietly around her, the cold air encircling her, causing her fingers to start to go numb. “Just face it,” Amelia said in barely a whisper, “No one cares that you’re here. No one cares that you exist. No one would notice if you were gone.” Amelia tapped the rubber soles of her Converse together, watching as the laces, tied tightly in a bow, flopped from one side to the other, easily swayed by the movements of her foot.

Amelia looked down past her shoes once more, eyeing the grassy lawn far underneath her. “No one will notice if you’re gone,” she repeated to herself again, strongly. “No one will notice if you’re gone.” Wavering. “No one will notice if you’re gone.” Unsure. “No one will notice if you’re gone?” Questioning. Before allowing herself a second thought, Amelia jumped off the bar. 

Backwards. She jumped off and landed safely, both feet slapping the clean tile of the Astronomy Tower floor. She felt the waterworks being turned on once more, and this time with good reason. Turning towards the stairs, Amelia ran. She ran as fast as her legs could possibly take her, jumping down stairs and zooming around corners.

Because that was just it. She wanted someone to notice if she was gone. 

Amelia ran with all her might. The tears streamed down her face, her hair was blown backwards by the speed of her sprint. She dashed as fast as she could: seventh floor, sixth, fifth, fourth, third. 

“Hey! No running in the halls!” Filch howled after her, mop in hand, but Amelia ignored him. She kept moving.

She wiped at her eyes with a knitted sleeve, her face feeling red and flushed. She heard voices now, meaning the quidditch match had ended. But she kept running. Sprinting, dashing, racing, darting, scurrying, scampering, almost flying. Her feet ached and her legs felt weak but she didn’t stop. Third floor, second, first, basement. She rounded the corner to their common room, hearing cheering and laughing, conversation and joy. The common room door was cracked ajar, as people made their way in and out, seemingly celebrating. 

Amelia didn’t slow. She ran full force, students moving out of her way, unsure what else to do. A straight path cleared for her, and Amelia seized the moment, rushing straight into the common room. Tears poured from her eyes, she felt like a mess, but she didn’t stop, didn’t stop, didn’t stop. Didn’t stop, that is, until she threw her arms around Zacharias's middle, squeezing him as tightly as she could, tears still falling silently from her eyes. 

Zacharias

Taken by complete shock, Zacharias stood for a moment, arms raised, unsure what to do, now that he had a human attached to his waist. Amelia squeezed him firmly, her arms completely around him, and Zacharias stared around the room in shock, looking at Amelia’s head which was burrowed into his chest, before wrapping his own toned arms around her small frame, and propping his chin against her shoulder. 

The room had gone silent. The celebrating, partying, eating, and cheering had fallen to a quiet mumble, as everyone stared around the room, unsure of what had just happened. 

“Do you wanna go somewhere else?” Zacharias whispered directly into Amelia’s ear, staring nervously around at his fellow quidditch players, unsure of how they were going to react to what just happened. Hoping they wouldn’t think of him as soft. Amelia nodded her head slightly, and Zacharias released their hug. Reaching for her hand, Zacharias grasped her tightly, and waved to everyone, thanking them for the party, and the two disappeared down the hallway into the boys dormitories. Once inside his room, the one labeled Fifth Years , Zacharias took a seat on his bed, and motioned for Amelia to sit beside him. 

Amelia accepted, before resting her forehead in her hands and sobbing once more. “I’m so sorry,” she wailed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve once more. Zacharias reached across the bed, grabbed his box of tissues, and handed it to Amelia, who accepted it gladly, blowing her nose almost immediately. “I’m such a mess.”

Zacharias nodded along, a serious expression on his face, not wanting to scare her off. This was the most that she had spoken to him all school year, and he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

Amelia continued, avoiding eye contact at all costs. “I just, not talking to you, or anyone, this year has been so bad and I, after everything that happened this year, I can’t do it anymore.”

“What can’t you do?”.

“Pretend like everything’s okay when it’s not,” she said. “I’ve been hiding away in my dorm trying to avoid, well, everything. Zach?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to tell you something that I should’ve told you earlier, but I couldn’t. I was scared. Can I trust you?”

“Of course.”

Amelia took a deep breath before continuing. “Over the summer, in early August, my mum died. She got hit by a speeding car, and I was just a few feet away, watching the entire thing happen. She died right there, I saw it. I spent the rest of the summer in this home for other girls with nowhere to go, and I just, I didn’t feel like writing to anyone. Once school started again, I was embarrassed, and upset, and didn’t want your pity, so I told Leanne, but that was before I messed up everything with her, too. The rest of the school year has been a struggle, with so many things that I’d rather not mention.”

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to,” Zacharias stated, cracking a small smile. “I’m just glad you’ve finally felt comfortable enough to talk to me. Thank you.”

“But I haven’t even told you everything yet! How can you just accept my apology so fast? I’ve been the worst friend.”

“You’ve been grieving. It’s alright, Ames. You can tell me whatever you want, whenever you want. I’m here for you. I’ve always been here for you. I was here four years ago, and I hope to be here for you for the rest of our lives. You’re my friend. And I hope I’m yours.” Zacharias looked at Amelia, and she met his eyes, and they stared at one another long and hard, before Amelia wrapped her arms around him once more.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his sweater, as she nuzzled into his shoulder. 

“No, thank you,” he said, just as quiet, resting his head onto hers.

“And happy birthday,” Amy added, and Zacharias smiled softly, before squeezing her tighter than ever before.

Zacharias didn’t tell Amelia that he had already known about her mother. He didn’t tell her that he had known for a few weeks now. He didn’t say how he felt, or the hell that she had put him through this year, because none of it mattered. He had his friend back; his anchor to his ship. He didn’t need a beater bat, he needed a friend. And that was the best birthday gift he could’ve asked for. 

Amelia

“So wait, your dad is taking you in over the summer? No way. I don’t believe it,” Zach exclaimed one afternoon as the pair sat in the library. Studying for their O.W.L’s had begun, as March was only a few months away from their tests. But, with so many missing months to catch up on, the two barely got through any studying at all.

“SHH!” Madam Pince called from across the aisle, putting a frail finger to her lips, which just caused the two to break out in more fits of laughter, causing Madam Pince to disgruntledly ask them to leave. Once in the hall, they wandered towards the common room, stacks of textbooks in each arm.

“Yeah, it’s true,” Amelia sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve never even met the man, and now I have to spend two whole months with him. What a world we live in.”

“Well, maybe he’ll at least allow me to visit. It can’t be worse than being at my house for an entire summer holiday. Christmas was long enough,” Zach said, bumping Amelia with his shoulder. She scoffed, before rolling her eyes. “Well, what else do you know about him?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Oh come on! All you’ve told me is that you’re going to his house over the summer. There must be more. A name, a gender―”

“Oh shut up!” Amelia said smiling, as they approached the common room. “Fine, fine! His name is Michael Jones. He’s 44 years old. Oh, and he sent me a present for the holidays. At least, that was when I got it.” Zach looked intrigued at this second part. 

“Really? What was it?”

Amelia knocked the password on the barrels, the door opened outwards, and they stepped inside. “Not sure, some sort of muggle item I think.”

“Maybe Justin knows what it is, being muggleborn and all.”

“You’re probably right! I’ll go grab it, and you go see if Justin is around here somewhere.” And with that, Amelia scampered down the hall, into her dorm, waved to Megan, dug into her trunk, before returning to their work table with the small present. Justin was being dragged towards her by Zacharias, who had a strong hold on his shirt.

“Zach! Let go! I was studying for Transfiguration!” 

“Yeah? Well, that can wait. Amy and I have been meaning to study all day, and we haven’t got around to it, so you can take a break. You deserve it.” And with that, Zach deposited Justin into a chair. “All you have to do is tell us what the hell it is, alright? Then you’re free to go.”

Justin sighed, before reaching his hand out to take a look at the present. “This is the item?” Amelia nodded. “Simple. It’s a Walkman. Can I go now?”

“What the hell is a Walkman?” Zach asked, leaning his elbows on the table, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.

“It’s like a personal radio. Plays music. I suspect it came with earbuds or something? Yeah, see, Walkman. Quite a common gift for muggle teens.” Justin rose from the chair, waved to them, an annoyed look on his face, before heading back to his studying.

“A Walkman? Hm, interesting. I guess it could be useful,” Amelia pondered, before turning back to their studying. “We probably should get started on reviewing these notes, Zach. I really don’t want to fail our O.W.L’s.” With that, the pair flipped open their textbooks, and began quizzing each other on different charms and potions, joking all the while. 

Zacharias

“What is the D.A?” Amy pondered as Zacharias headed out of the common room late one night. 

“It’s this group that Harry Potter and his friends formed. Ernie, Justin, Susan, and Hannah are in it with me. We learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. It’s way better than whatever that hag teaches us in class everyday. I joined earlier this year, when you wouldn’t talk to me, to give me something to do. Something besides Quidditch,” Zacharias explained, before scanning the common room to make sure that no one was around, before pushing the door open and sneaking out.

“Well, be careful! I can only cover for so many of you for so long!” And with that, Zacharias disappeared, off to the much anticipated class; casting their patronuses. 

Amelia

“Come in, Ms. Walker!” Professor Sprout called from her office, ushering the teenage girl towards a large yellow armchair, much like the ones that adorned the common room hearth. Amelia strode into the room, took a chair, and crossed her legs one over the other, waiting patiently for her career advice meeting, which she had been informed about just a week prior, to begin. 

“What are we waiting for, Professor?” Amelia asked after what felt like a long time, but was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Professor Umbridge, who flew into the office in a spiral of pink fabrics and took a seat in a chair near the door, before closing it behind her.

“I’m here, I’m here,” she squealed, before extracting a quill, ink, and parchment from her bag, perched to take notes. “You may begin.”

Professor Sprout grunted, before looking across the wooden desk towards Amelia. “So, Amelia, dear. We’re here today to discuss the many different wizarding careers that could be yours in the future, and to understand what interests you. With the O.W.L’s fastly approaching, it would be to our benefit to understand which classes would be best for you to progress in, and which classes you would be apt to drop, if that be the case. So, Amelia, do you have any idea what sort of career field you would be interested in, maybe based on subjects you enjoy here?” Professor Sprout leaned forward, resting her large elbows on the table quite precariously. 

“Actually,” Amelia began, eyeing Umbridge nervously, “I have. I really enjoy Astronomy class, and was wondering if there was a career that would fit in that field.”

“Of course! Astronomer is a great career if that’s what you’re interested in. What do you think, Dolores?”

Umbridge perked up from behind her clipboard, and cleared her throat quite loudly. “Sounds like a waste of a career to me, Pomona. With the improvements in the wizarding communities these days, the sky will be the least of anyone’s problems. Maybe a more practical career, like becoming a Healer, or going into Ministry work would be more efficient.”

“I don’t think so,” Amelia stated, glaring at Umbridge out of the corner of her eye. “I’d rather take my chances with Astronomy, thank you very much.” She looked back towards Professor Sprout expectantly.

“Well, yes, of course, Amelia. So, with Astronomy, here’s what I recommend. Of course, entering Professor Sinistra’s Astronomy O.W.L class is a must, but Charms and Transfiguration wouldn’t do you any harm. What electives do you take this year, dear?”
“I’ve been taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.”

“Yes, yes, Divination also has to do with predictions and the stars, so going for Professor Trelawney’s Divination class wouldn’t be a bad thing either. Any extracurriculars, Amelia? I see you with your friends, Zacharias and Leanne, but do you currently attend any clubs outside of classes?”

“I often partake in the Astronomy club, why?”

“Oh, nothing. That’s just fine, dear. Just fine. I think you’re all set. Any thoughts, Dolores?” Umbridge shook her head slightly. “Alright then. Amelia, would you please call Zacharias in here? He’s next. He should be waiting in the hall.”

With that, Amelia was excused, went out into the hall, and wished ‘good luck’ to her friend as he headed inside for his own career advice.

Zacharias

“Ah, Mr. Smith, come in!” Zacharias rushed to sit down, wanting to skip the whole introduction spiel, and get on with the advice. The less he had to be in a room with Umbridge, the better, he thought to himself slyly. As he zoned out for a moment, lost in his thoughts, he snapped back to attention when Professor Sprout aimed a question at him. “Any thoughts on a career, Zacharias?”

“Not exactly, Professor,” Zacharias began, before clearing his throat, “But I love Quidditch, and really think that, um, playing professionally would be the thing for me.”

“Professional Quidditch, then?”

“Yes, maam.”

“Alright, then. With Quidditch, I think that continuing to take some of the more standard classes are best, as there isn’t too much actual magic required in the play of Quidditch. Might I recommend thinking about taking a―yes, Professor Umbridge?” Zacharias swiveled around in his chair, to face Umbridge, who was clearing her throat so loud that he couldn’t focus. Her toad-like face was set in a scowl, and she smiled a wicked sort of grin before stating what she seemed to have wanted to say all along.

“Not to intrude, Pomona―”

“You already have.”

“Yes, well, I’m just wondering whether planning to become a professional Quidditch player is the most practical of careers. Ms. Walker and her astronomy seemed wary to me, but quidditch? I think that there are much better routes to take, Mr. Smith.”

“Yeah?” Zacharias questioned, feeling a tinge of anger flush to his face. “Ok, then. Go on.”

“Well, your father works in the Ministry, does he not, Mr. Smith?”

“Yes. He does.”

“In the Department of International Magical Cooperation, as head of the International Magical Office of Law, am I correct?”

“Yes, that's correct. And your point being?”

“Well, your father is an astounding man. Great career, a wonderful family, and I just thought that you would want to follow in your father’s footsteps. I couldn’t even imagine how disgraced he must feel to have a son that wants to play quidditch as a lifetime career,” Umbridge spat, rising from her chair and pacing the room, making Zacharias even angrier. 

“Do you even know my father, Professor? Because, not to be rude, but I feel like I might know him a tad bit better than you, as he is my father.” Zacharias remained seated, not wanting to let his pent up anger get the better of him.

“I’m just saying that working for the Ministry is a much steadier source of income for a young man like yourself, and that quidditch is dangerous and unpredictable, and well, just not a great career, or even pastime, at all. How many students do you know that were able to become professional players right out of Hogwarts?”

“Actually, a lot more than you might think.”

“Excuse me! Professor Umbridge!” Professor Sprout called from the other side of the cramped office. Zacharias stared at the two women yelling over him, in awe. “I think that Zacharias should be allowed to become whatever he pleases, and that it’s up to HIM to make his own decisions. Not everyone wants to be like their parents, and you must understand that! I believe in Zacharias! I will assist him through his studies and more if that’s what he needs. Zacharias, you may be excused, that’s all for today.” Not sure of what else to do, Zacharias carefully rose from his chair, creaked the door open and slipped outside, leaving the two women to settle their own problems. Because that was one situation that he did not want to be a part of.

Amelia

April flowed into May, and May to June. The fifth years had been studying for the O.W.Ls nonstop. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every free moment in between. Quizzing one another on different wand movements, potion components, and wizarding wars. They would hunker down for hours in the library, common room, and sometimes even the boy’s dormitory, pouring over stacks of books, notes, and old essays, into the early hours of the morning. It was exhausting.

Even the teachers had been focused on preparing for the crucial exams. They spent every moment reviewing past information, important lessons and lectures, and reminding the students, time and time again, to study, study, study. 

“This is too much!” Justin whined late one night, before flopping backwards onto his bed, crashing into Susan’s notes.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, tugging the various pieces of parchment out from under his limp body, before herself falling backwards onto Justin’s pillows. “Nevermind. I needed a break anyways.” All ten of the Hufflepuff fifth years were packed into the boy’s dormitory, all piled on each of the beds and on cushions on the floor. Papers were strewn everywhere; books lay open to random pages, and pots of ink were placed haphazardly―as if they could be spilled over onto the yellow rugs at any moment. 

“No breaks!” Hannah called from Ernie’s bed, where she lay reading her Charms book, with her head resting in Ernie’s lap. Ernie stared down at her, a smile on his face, before bending low to kiss her on the cheek lovingly. 

“Uhhh,” Wayne said, his face turning red. “Could you guys do that somewhere else? Like, somewhere I’m not looking? Thanks.”

“Sorry!” Hannah giggled, before Ernie pecked her on the cheek once more, just to spite Wayne. The entire room erupted into fits of laughter, and Amelia looked over at Zacharias, who was only a foot away from her, sitting at the top of his bed, as she was at the foot.

He sat crossed legged, his head bent low over his Divination textbook, as he traced lines on his palm unknowingly. Writing words, it seemed to Amelia. Writing invisible words on his palm of what he was studying. He seemed oblivious to what was going on in the room, almost as if he couldn’t hear anything at all. His blonde hair was swept into his eyes, his clothes ruffled and untidy, his tie askew. But his bed was perfectly made. He flipped a page, before looking up, confusion written on his face. He looked around the room, before his eyes settled on Amelia, scrunching his eyebrows at her. “Are you watching me?”

Amelia pushed her blue reading glasses up farther on her freckled nose before widening her eyes and covering her mouth with her hand. “Maybe. And what if I was?”

“Well, that would be creepy. I’m trying to study. What are you doing?”

“Studying.”

“Oh yeah? Doesn’t look much like it to me.”

“Oh shut up!” Amelia exclaimed, before stretching her leg out attempting to kick him in the shin, but was unsuccessful. Giving up, she looked towards Leanne, who was sitting widespread on the floor, and was giving her the look . The look that somehow, Amelia knew exactly what it meant.

Faster than expected, the O.W.L’s came. Nothing special. Not even as difficult as Amelia had thought that they would be, just long and brutal. A few weeks later, their real final exams took place. When they took their last final, Transfiguration, Amelia walked out, a large smile plastered on her face.

“What’s that for?” Leanne asked, running to catch up with her strangely happy friend.
“Tests are over. Why not be happy?” Amelia asked, stretching her arms out wide, smiling as the warm sun hit her face as soon as they stepped onto the grass of the great lawn. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I thought that you were happy about something else.”

“Like what?”

“Uh, maybe the fact that your first-year crush on Zacharias is definitely going somewhere? Come on, Amy! I predicted it, and now it’s finally happening!” Leanne plunked herself down in the shadiest spot of an open tree, as many people were taking their seats all across the lawn, celebrating the coming end of term. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Le. Nothing is happening. He doesn’t even like me,” Amelia sat beside Leanne, and watched as the other students ran wild across the grass. 

“Uh, yes he does, Amy. I can tell. The way he looks at you. It’s, wow. Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. You guys are definitely going places.”

“Places? Like where?”

“Like a place where you’re more than friends…” Leanne burst out laughing after this last statement, before bumping Amelia in the shoulder, almost proudly. 

“STOP! Nothing’s happening! Oh my god, please, stop!” Amelia whined playfully, then froze.

“You heard yourself there didn’t you?” Leanne asked skeptically, and Amelia simply nodded, not saying anything. The two sat in an awkward silence, neither speaking for a long time.

“Maybe you’re right,” Amelia began, but was interrupted by Leanne.

“I’m always right.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he does like me.”

“Hell yeah, he does.”
“Well, even if he does, I don’t want to assume anything, so I’m not going to act on it. Let him make the first move.”

“Well, that’s stupid. You should always make the first move. It’s key.” Leanne leaned back against the tree, and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Not for me,” Amelia stated boldly. “That’s the guy’s job. So what, Le? You’re just gonna ask a guy out, instead of waiting for him to ask you? Seems scary.”

Leanne paused for a moment after Amelia’s statement, as if deciding whether to say something or not. A nervous look washed over Leanne’s face, and she pushed her short dark brown hair behind her ear, where it barely was able to be held back. “Hey, Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gay. You said ask a guy out, and well, I don’t even like guys. I like―girls.” 

Amelia looked over at Leanne, a blank look on her face, before a smile broke out wide. “What?!” Amelia laughed, before wrapping her arms around Leanne’s shoulders, entrapping her in a tight hug. “Really?!”

“Yeah,” Leanne said weakly, trying to push Amelia off her. “I like girls. Just girls. Not guys. Guys can suck my metaphorical dick. So stupid. I mean, no offense, but―”

“None taken! Blimey, this is amazing! I mean, I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks, Amy. It really means a lot. Really, it does. I told my parents over the summer, and they sort of just ignored what I said, like I hadn’t even said it at all. I meant to tell you in the beginning of the school year, but with everything you were going through then, I didn’t think the timing would have been good. You had a rubbish start to the school year, didn’t you?”

Amelia released her hug, and sat still for a moment, staring down at her knees that had somehow worked their way up against her chest. Her breathing became labored and she felt her heart race. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep breaths, before opening them once more, now more centered. “Yeah, I did. It still hurts.”

“I know.”

“But everything turned out okay in the end, didn’t it?”

“You know it. It always does somehow.”

Zacharias

“And the winner is… Gryffindor!” Dumbledore shouted from the front of the Great Hall, causing commotion to break out among the far right table. Red and gold banners fell from the sky-like ceiling.

“Why am I not surprised?” Zacharias questioned, serving mounds of potatoes onto his empty plate. “It’s always Gryffindor. Some real favoritism in this school, isn’t there?”

“Fifth year in a row we’ve gotten last place,” Ernie sighed, adjusting his tall black hat on his head. “How is that even fair?” 

“It’s not,” Amelia said, and sighed loudly. “Last in everything. It really gives a bad look for Hufflepuff. No wonder everyone always hates us, huh, Zach?” She nudged Zacharias in the ribs, and he winced, stumbling back from her elbow.

“Oh, shut it.”

After the uneventful feast, where Professor Umbridge was oddly not present, the students spent one last night in their beds before finishing packing their things and heading back on the carriages to Hogsmeade station, where they would catch the train home.

As they boarded the train and entered their normal compartment near the back, Amelia shook her head in dismay. “Guess we can’t call them the horseless carriages anymore, huh?” She laughed, but it earned a laugh from no one else, only a few weak smiles. “You blokes are the worst, you know that? The worst.”

Once settled in a compartment, Zacharias looked around, surprised to see that many of their fellow Hufflepuff’s had not joined them. Justin, Susan and Leanne all sat across from him, chatting and trading coins to pay for snacks from the trolley. Ernie and Hannah were off with the other prefects, and Wayne, Oliver and Megan were god knows where. Zacharias sat beside the window to the outside, and leaned his head against the glass, trying not to smear it. Amelia sat beside him, digging in her luggage, searching for something. 

As the train lurched forward, and moved from a slow chug to a faster pace, Amelia appeared from out of her bag once more, clutching her Walkman in her hand, the earbuds in the other. “Wanna listen with me?” She asked Zacharias, holding up both items. Zacharias gave a small shrug, before smirking as he placed one of the small earbuds into his right ear, Amelia placing hers in her left. They were now connected by the white string, that also connected to the small black box in Amelia’s hand. She pressed the button that read ‘play’ and music softly began to sound into Zacharias's ear. 

He looked over towards Amelia, who was somehow lip singing the words, yet he didn’t know this song at all. He watched her for a moment. Her eyes closed, her pink lips moving along slowly in time with the words to this muggle song. Her body swayed side to side, even though her feet were curled up underneath her on the bench of the compartment. Zacharias noticed Leanne looking at them strangely, but he didn’t care. He looked back out the window, and watched as the trees and the sky passed by. Peaceful.

After a few hours, Amelia had exhausted herself out from singing and dancing, and slowly began falling down in her seat. She rested her head upon Zacharias's shoulder, which caused him to tense up. But he relaxed after her breathing slowed, eyes closed, asleep on his strong shoulder, her hands clasped against the side of his thigh. He leaned his own head against the window once more, and closed his eyes, enjoying the music; enjoying the moment. Perfect. 

Amelia

“We’ll be arriving at King’s Cross Station in 10 minutes!” A prefect called from the aisle that ran parallel beside the compartments. Amelia slowly opened her eyes, before squinting them closed once more, as the light that shone from the adjacent window was quite bright. 

“Ames, we’re almost at the station,” Zach told her, shaking her awake once more.

“What time is it?” She asked, sitting upright, for in the past few hours she had somehow slid down so far in her seat that she was horizontal, taking up most of the bench.

“It’s almost three o’clock,” Leanne called from across the compartment, where she was shoving a stack of chocolate frog cards into her suitcase. 

Justin smirked, before frowning, as if a bad thought had come to his mind. “I guess I’ll see you guys in two months… unless we hang out before then.”

“We’ll see,” Amelia murmured, before eyeing Zacharias suspiciously, signaling him with her facial expression. He looked at her, uncertainty drawn on his face, but didn’t say anything.

Ten minutes later, the train pulled into King’s Cross Station just as the prefect had said. Students rushed off the express and onto the platform, hugging family members and waving goodbye to friends. Zacharias hung back, and let everyone, including Leanne, leave the compartment, so that only he and Amelia remained. “What’s going on, Ames?” He asked, taking a seat, watching as other students continued to file off the train.

“I’m nervous,” Amelia confessed, sitting beside Zach shakily. “I know that I’ve met him―my dad―but I don’t remember that. I don’t know what he looks like, or how he acts, or, well, anything. I—I’m scared.”

Zacharias looked her in the eye, maintaining eye contact as he spoke to her directly. “There’s no reason to be scared. I’ll go with you. Meet him if you’d like. Show him what to be scared of.” Zach smiled at this last sentence, before flexing his muscles exaggeratedly. It caused Amelia to chuckle slightly, shaking her head in disbelief. “Come on.” Zacharias rose from his seat, grabbed his trunk in one hand, and outstretched his other towards Amelia. 

She clasped his hand firmly, feeling the callousness of his palms, and the strength of his long fingers. She gripped his hand tightly in one hand, her bag just as tight in the other. Together, they walked off the train, hand-in-hand. 

Once on the platform, Zacharias mumbled something inaudible, as if speaking to himself annoyedly. 

“What was that, Zach?”

“Nothing, nothing. It’s just, well, it seems my parents have decided not to come pick me up; I don’t see them. Have to get home on my own I guess.”

“Oh.”

Zach shrugged, but continued to guide Amelia through the throngs of people, the crowds and the sounds. “It’s whatever. I honestly could care less about my parents. Right now, this is about your parent. Wanna go through together, or you first?” They had reached the barrier that led to the muggle world, where Amelia’s father would be awaiting her arrival, hopefully. 

Squeezing Zach’s hand tighter than before, barely even obsessing over the fact that she was holding his hand at all, Amelia pressed herself closer to him, comforted by his presence. “Let’s go together. Count of three. One…”

“Two…”

“Three.”

On three, the pair walked casually at the barrier, eyes closed, and opened to find themselves in a less crowded station, signs advertising platforms 9 and 10 on either side of the wall behind them. Amelia began looking around anxiously, unsure of what exactly she was looking for.

“Over there,” Zacharias said, nudging her and nodding with his head, as both his hands were full, in the direction of platform 11. 

A man, dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt, and loafers was standing around awkwardly, scanning the crowd without purpose. His hair was dark brown and quite untidy, almost windblown, and his skin was pasty, with a slight suntan. Light scruff outlined his jaw, and his eyes were a deep blue, the same as Amelia’s. He shuffled his feet apprehensively, while biting his lower lip. In his hands was clutched a paper sign. Written in marker it read, Amelia Walker , in bold lettering. 

“Yeah,” Amelia said, frozen in her tracks. Zach stood beside her, watching her nervously, unsure of how she was feeling.

“Are you ready to do this?” he asked her, and she nodded slowly, so the pair approached the man. As they came closer, the man locked eyes on them, and eyed them strangely. 

“Amelia?” his voice was deeper than his appearance made out to be, and it wavered fearfully.

Putting on a brave face, Amelia nodded, straightened her posture, and released her hold on Zacharias's hand, leaving it sweaty from her grip. “Yes, that’s me,” she stated. 

“Uh, hi. I’m, uh, Michael. You can call me whatever you like, that’s fine.”

“Alright, Michael,” Amelia said, nodding. She looked back towards Zach, who was still standing there, as moral support. Amelia looked between the two men, at the man that was her father, and the boy next to her that was much, much taller than both of them. 

Taking the hint that Amelia was subtly giving him, Zacharias outstretched his hand towards Michael, and smirked smally. “Uh, nice to meet you, sir. Zacharias Smith.”

“Michael Jones,” he said back, nervously, accepting the handshake.

“I’m Amelia’s friend,” Zacharias continued. “If you try anything , I will hear about it.” Zach turned towards Amelia. “Write to me. Please. Keep me up to date. I wanna know everything. Everything . I’ll see you soon, okay? Hopefully before we go back to school. Sounds good?”

Amelia stared up at him, gave a quick jerk of her head yes, before wrapping her arms around his waist, and his around hers, squeezing one another in a farewell hug. 

“Ames?” he whispered, moving her hair behind her ear with his thumb.

“Yeah, Zach?”

“Promise me that you’ll be careful, alright? And be safe? And write to me. A lot. I don’t care if it’s a letter a day or nine letters a day, just keep me posted.”

“Alright.”

“Alright.” Zacharias released his grasp and began walking off in the direction of the exit, off to find a Floo as his ride home. He turned slowly, and waved, but Amelia had her back turned as she walked towards the opposite exit with her new guardian.

Chapter Text

Amelia

“Gosh, where did I park the car?” Amelia’s new guardian, her biological father, Michael , searched frantically up and down the street, clicking his car keys, and listening for any sort of sound. After pacing the street a few times, he perked up, pointed towards a small silver vehicle, and motioned for Amelia to follow him. Unsure of what else to do, Amelia followed his lead towards the parked car, where he unlocked the trunk and extended his arms towards her. “Here, let me take your bag. Is the rest of your luggage going to ‘magic’ it’s way there?” Michael asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone as he slid her suitcase into the trunk and slammed it shut.

“No,” Amelia said, shyly. “I have no other luggage. That’s it.”

Michael looked confused, but seemed to not want to get into the matter, choosing instead to open the drivers’ side door and take his seat in the car. Amelia cautiously did the same on the passengers side, a frantic look on her face. 

Michael watched her strangely, before pointing towards a black strap that was to her left. “Uh, your seatbelt?” 

Amelia’s face flushed, embarrassed as she rushed to click herself in. “Oh, right, sorry. I’ve, uh, never been in a car before.”

Michael stared at her in shock. “Never? Don’t you wizards have magic flying cars or whatever?” Amelia just shook her head. “Oh, well, alright. Here we go.” And with that, the car lurched forward, and they were on their way. 

Amelia sat, staring out the window, until they reached the highway where she pulled her Walkman out of her back jeans pocket, and went to plug in the earbuds, just as she had done on the train, as she wasn’t sure how long the drive was. 

Michael looked over at her sideways, a smile seeming to have found its way onto his face. “Ah ha! I see you got the Walkman I sent you! I wasn’t sure whether that social worker of yours was going to pass it on. I’m glad you got it though. Are you enjoying it?”

Amelia resigned from positioning the earbuds, and instead turned towards Michael, understanding that he obviously wanted to have a conversation with her. “Yes, thank you. I like it a lot.”

“So you didn’t already have one? My wife said that all the teens have them now, but I wasn’t so sure, so I got it for you anyways.”

The word ‘wife’ lingered in her mind. But she shook the thought out, thinking it best to ask about that later. “No, I didn’t have one. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what it was. We don’t really have ‘personal radios’ in the wizarding world. I had to ask a muggleborn friend of mine about it.”

“Muggle… muggle born? What’s that?” Michael kept his eyes focused on the road, but glanced over at her, trying to keep a connection going throughout their conversation. 

Amelia sighed, knowing that moving in with a muggle family was going to involve a lot of explaining about her ‘normal’. “A muggle is a non-magical person. Like yourself. A muggleborn is a wizard who was born to two muggle parents. My friend, Justin, is muggleborn.”

“Interesting. So the boy at the station, was that your muggleborn friend?”

Amelia touched the necklace at her throat, the crescent moon that Zach had given her for Christmas, and sighed. “No. No, Zach is a pureblood; both his parents are wizards.”

“So what does that make you?”

“Half-blood.” Amelia made a move to put her earbuds in, and this time was not interrupted. She watched as the electronic map announced that they would be there in two hours. God. Two hours? She didn’t know if she could survive two hours of this awkwardness. Two months of this awkwardness. It was going to be a long summer.

Zacharias

“Mother? Father?” Zacharias called as he walked through the front door, back into the mansion that surprisingly, he still called home. After not being able to find a Floo nearby, he ended up calling the Knight Bus for a ride. He looked around the house, but saw no one. Dropping his bags by the door, and kicking off his shoes, he wandered the house, heading through doorways and down corridors, searching for someone―anyone. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

“Rinny is here, Master Zachary.” The voice of the small house elf came from behind him, and he turned to see the wrinkled creature peeking out from behind the door that led to the kitchen. “What is Master Zachary doing home already?” Rinny asked, shuffling her feet from side to side.

“The school year’s over, Rinny. I’m home for the summer. Just wondering where my parents are. Do you know?”

“Masters have gone away, sir. Gone away on a business trip to another country. Greece, sir! They’ve gone to Greece. Just last week, they did. Rinny watched them go! Said they would be gone for many weeks, and said Rinny would be alone! But you are here, and now Rinny is not alone, and Rinny has a Master to serve!” The poor house elf began dancing around Zacharias, before shuffling back off into the kitchen, mumbling something about cooking dinner and cleaning.

Zacharias trudged back to the foyer, grabbing his bags angrily and stomped up the stairs and into his room. No one even knew, or cared it seemed, that he was back for the summer. His parents were out of the fucking country, and they hadn’t even bothered writing to him about it. He felt like screaming. It had been less than an hour of summer vacation, and he was already dreading it. So instead of taking out his anger on an object in his bedroom, he slumped at his desk, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and scratched out a long and lengthy letter to Amy, so that it would be waiting for her when she finally arrived at her new address. He sent his owl off with it, and collapsed backwards in his desk chair. 

Amelia

About halfway through their trip, her Walkman died. She shouldn’t have spent the entire train ride wasting its battery. Amelia pulled her earbuds out frustratedly, and kicked her shoes off, so that she could tuck her feet underneath herself. She saw Michael glance at her oddly out of the corner of his eye.

“Batteries died?” He asked casually. 

Amelia just nodded, before deciding that if this was going to work out, she’d have to start warming up to him, and actually talking to him, instead of shunning him like he had done something wrong. Which he had, but that was a long time ago. Times had changed. “Yeah. I spent, like, four hours on the train this morning listening to it with Zach.”

“Why don’t you just use your magic and recharge the battery then?”

Amelia smiled, and gave out a small snort, which caused Michael to look at her sideways. “Haha, yeah. Good one. I would, but I can’t. First lesson for you about magic, and me being an underage wizard… we can’t do magic at home over the summer or we get expelled.”

“Really? Oh, alright then. Good to know.” Silence fell upon them for a moment before Michael cleared his throat and spoke once more. “So listen, Amelia… Mia? Amy? Do you have a nickname you like to go by or…?”

“Amelia’s fine.”

“Okay. Amelia,” he continued, “I was wondering whether you wanted to talk. Maybe get to know each other a little bit before we get back to the house.”

“I mean, I have nothing else to do, sure.”

Michael smiled. “Good. So, tell me something about yourself.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, tapping his hand against the steering wheel. “The basics. Name, age, grade, other fun facts. Things that are important for everyone to know about you. Whatever you think, I’m listening.”

“Alright. My name is Amelia, but you already knew that. I’m fifteen, almost sixteen, and am going to be a sixth year student in the fall. I like astronomy and spending time with my friends.”

Michael smiled once more, seemingly happy, and turned to look at her, so that she could see his entire face. Amelia’s eyes went wide, and her mind began moving fast. Thoughts raced through―thoughts of a black car speeding, speeding, speeding. Thunk . She closed her eyes, her breathing began to race: faster, faster, faster. Her foot tapped uncontrollably, and she heard herself talking, but wasn’t aware of the words leaving her lips. “Keep your eyes on the road!” she heard herself shout. “Keep your eyes on the road.” She sealed her eyes, the flashback playing on the back of her eyelids. The car. Her mum. Blood. So much blood. She felt herself slipping, until she heard her name being called. 

“Amelia? Amelia!” She carefully opened her eyes, and suddenly became aware of the hot tears that rolled down her face. Her breathing deepened―she felt like she needed air. Looking around, she saw Michael staring at her, nervously, and she almost started panicking again, before noticing that they were pulled over onto the side of the highway. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Amelia whispered. “Sorry, sorry, sorry. You can keep driving, I’m fine. Sorry, sorry.” Her hands were shaking, so she placed them underneath her thighs to still them. 

Michael was staring at her, shocked. “You don’t seem fine. What happened?”

“I—I don’t wanna talk about it. Just drive, please. And keep your eyes on the road. Please. I just wanna get wherever we’re going. And please don’t mention this to anyone.” Amelia’s hands began fiddling with the crescent moon charm that lay at her throat, and thoughts of Zach filled her head. She felt herself calming down, but noticed Michael still staring at her.
When he saw her looking, he slowly merged back onto the highway. A moment of silence passed until he talked once more. “Nice necklace. Was it from your mother?” Amelia froze, and she could tell that Michael had sensed that he had said the wrong thing. Keeping his eyes on the road this time, he cursed under his breath, before apologizing. “Sorry. I shouldn’t assume. Let me try again. Nice necklace, who gave it to you?”

“Zach.”

“The boy from the station? I thought his name was something longer.” Michael said.

“Yes, Zach. His name is actually Zacharias. But, enough about me… tell me about you, Michael.”

“Me?” Michael asked, skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“I know nothing about you. You have the entire summer to learn about me, I guess. But I would like to know where the hell we’re going, and who’s all going to be there when we do. Cecilia didn’t tell me anything about you except for your name.”

“Oh yeah? Well, alright then.” Amelia settled back into her chair, her panic attack subsiding. “Well, I’m Michael. I’m married, and have been for about ten happy years. My wife and I have an eight year old son. We live near Birmingham, just outside the city in the suburbs. I work a 9 to 5 job as an accountant, and my wife is a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom.”

Amelia absorbed the information, before staring out the window, confused. “Wait, 9 to 5? But it’s the middle of a Thursday.”

“Yes, I took the day off of work to come and pick you up from the train station.”

“Really? You could have just sent your wife.”

“Well, I thought that it would be best if it was me, not her… if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“The last time I saw you, you were just a baby. And now look at you. You’ve really grown up, Amelia.”

“Uh, thank you?”

“Of course.” The air grew still. “Listen, I totally understand if you don’t want to call me ‘dad’, okay? When I left you and your… mother, I was young and naive, and just didn’t understand what was going on in my life. It was stupid of me, and I know that I can never make up for the past fifteen years that I’ve missed. I know that my leaving upset your mother, and I’m really sorry about everything that you’ve had to face this past year. And even if you can’t accept my apology, I hope that we can at least become friends.”

“My mum was my best friend,” Amelia whispered, looking out the passenger side window, staring out at the horizon. The car was silent. “It was just me and her for as long as I can remember. I miss her.”

“I’m really sorry, Amelia. Helen was a great person, she really was. One of the best out there. Your social worker, Cecilia, did not tell me the entirety of the circumstance of her death, I don’t expect you to tell me now, but whenever you feel ready to talk it out, I’ll be here, and so will my wife and anyone else you want to talk to. Okay?”

“Thank you,” Amelia said, and smiled at him, and he gave her a weak smile back, before they continued the rest of the car ride in silence. 

Thirty minutes later, the car turned onto an exit that led off the highway, and soon enough they were in a residential area, where all the houses were two stories tall with brick fronts and brown roofs. Green hedges decorated the sides of the roads, and a black driveway led up to each house's similar garage. “Here we are,” Michael announced as they pulled into the driveway of a house that looked different from the rest. 

Instead of being a cookie cutter of the ones nearby, the roof was shaped differently, with more slants and different color siding and brick. The driveway was grey stone, and a large tree stood boldly beside the house. As Amelia exited the car, she stared up at the house in the dim mid afternoon light, in awe of the place she would now call home. 

Michael, meanwhile, was removing her suitcase from the trunk and talking about the house. “It’s bigger than the other one’s in the neighborhood. We wanted more space and to be different from those other, more boxier, ones. It’s got four bedrooms, which is quite a lot, you see. We use one as a guest room, and the other as Kacey’s office, but it still has a pullout couch for additional guests. Well, come on, inside we go. Dinner should almost be ready.”

Amelia followed Michael nervously as they marched through the front door. 

“Honey? We’re here!” Amelia was surprised by the sudden skittering of feet, and watched as a woman, about Amelia’s height, sputtered towards them, smiling. The woman, obviously Michael’s wife, looked on the younger side, as her face was just starting to show signs of wrinkles and her style was quite with the times. She had long brown hair that lay straight as straight could be. Her eyes were hazel, with flecks of green decorating the brown undertone. Her pale skin held no sign of freckles, and her slim figure did not seem to give any hint that she was a mother of any sort. She wore a pair of skinny blue jeans and a polka dotted blouse, with mismatched socks on her feet.

The woman came right up to them, wrapping her arms around Michael’s neck and kissing him on the cheek, welcoming him home. She released him, smiling, before wrapping her arms around Amelia, hugging her tightly. Amelia stood frozen, unsure of what was happening. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Amelia! We’ve been so excited for your arrival!” She released her, and stared at her smiling. Amelia couldn’t help but let her eyebrows furrow, causing laughter from the cheery woman. “Oh, it’s alright, don’t be alarmed! Michael only told me what he knew, which wasn’t much. But, you are much more beautiful than I expected!”

Amelia smiled, not sure how to take this compliment. But she didn’t need to, as Michael burst in to add, “Of course. She looks just like her mother.” 

Amelia felt her cheeks begin to redden, and her face felt flushed. “Thank you.”

“Of course! Now, I haven’t introduced myself!” The woman exclaimed. “I’m Kacey, Michael’s wife. You can call me Kacey, or whatever you’d like, really.” Amelia nodded. “Gosh, I must be freaking you out, I’m so sorry. I’m just so excited to meet you! To tell the truth, I’ve always wanted a daughter. And teenage girls are so fun. I really hope that we can be friends.” Kacey smiled a genuine smile at Amelia, and Amelia felt herself start to feel comfortable in this new, yet strange, home.

“Why don’t you show her to her room?” Michael interjected, nodding his head towards all of Amelia’s things, which stood smack dab in the center of the hallway. 

Kacey nodded. “Of course. Could you finish dinner, dear? When the timer goes off, just take the lasagna out of the oven, and let it cool. We can eat in about twenty minutes. Quinn is out at Jack’s, so if you could go and get him, that would be great too.” Michael nodded, and headed into the kitchen. “As for you,” Kacey continued, motioning towards Amelia, “Let me show you to where you’ll be staying.”

Kacey led Amelia up the stairs, which creaked on almost every step. The wooden banister was dark in color, a beautifully stained wood, and helped guide her up the rickety old staircase. Once at the top, they walked past many doors, which Kacey pointed to and named as they wandered their way down the hall. “First door here is Michael and my room, then Quinn’s. Here we have the loo which you will be sharing with Quinn, and my home office aka second guest bedroom. And finally, your room.” The door at the end of the hall stood closed, concealing what was inside. Amelia’s name had been written on a piece of thick cardstock paper, in beautiful calligraphy, with the cursive letters flowing into one another, like a real work of art. 

“This is beautiful,” Amelia said, tracing her name gently with her index finger. 

“Oh, I’m glad you think so. Calligraphy is a hobby of mine, so I thought I’d do that, just so that you won’t get confused by which room is yours. And here we go.” Kacey turned the handle and pushed the door open, revealing the bedroom.

Inside the room, it was not quite as bare as Amelia had been expecting. The walls were a bright white, and the floor hardwood like everywhere else in the house. The bed stood to her right, a twisted wrought iron headboard above a queen sized bed. The sheets were a pale blue; the comforter the same. Many fluffy pillows and decorative throws sat upon the well made bed. Two wooden nightstands stood on either side of the headboard, a simple gold and white lamp on either table. A wooden desk sat in the corner of the room, with a large comfy chair pushed against it. The large picture window cast light onto the bed, with gray floor-length curtains framing either side. Amelia stared, awestruck.

“I tried my best to decorate it like I thought someone your age might enjoy, but I didn’t know any specifics as to what you liked. Cecilia wouldn’t give any information to Michael when I made him ask, so I had to just guess. We painted the walls white, and left it partially bare, because we thought that it would make you feel more at home if you could pick a few of the room decorations yourself. So the wall color is up to you, we’ll help you paint it of course, and Michael and I have set aside a little bit of cash so you can buy a rug or other little decorations to make it your own.” Kacey continued to spout out information, probably due to nerves. Amelia didn’t care. She loved it here, and said as much.

“I love it.” She stalked around the medium sized room, and sat upon the bed, bouncing on the springy mattress. 

“Really?” Kacey asked, smiling.

“Really.” 

After spending the next few minutes in her new bedroom, Amelia and Kacey returned back downstairs, to enjoy their first family dinner together, something Amelia had never really experienced before. Amelia followed Kacey through the maze of the house, around corners and through doorways, until they appeared in the dining room, which was right off of the kitchen. It wasn’t too large, and she could see the living room through a doorway to her right. A rectangular table, that seated six, was placed in the center of the room, with majestic chairs pushed around it carefully. The walls were a slate gray, with blue undertones, and a few paintings hung precariously on the wall. 

The table itself was nothing posh, but was covered in a crisp white tablecloth, and set with four place settings, in a square. Michael entered the room carrying a casserole dish, and set it down in the center, before shouting out of the room, calling everyone to dinner. 

“You can sit over there,” Kacey told Amelia, motioning to the chair across the table from her. Amelia accepted and sat down nervously, and watched as Michael took a seat beside her. Only one chair remained, and just as that thought crossed her mind, a boy crossed the threshold into the room, and stalked towards the chair.

It was a young boy, and as Amelia had already learned, he was eight years old. He was pretty average height for his age, and average build; scrawny yet strong. His hair was that of his fathers’―brown and tangled, with a slight curl. He had the hazel eyes of his mother and the skin of her too, as pasty as pasty could be. He wore an old pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt, and sat down in the seat next to his mother haphazardly. He brought his eyes up, and stared around at the table, almost bored, before locking eyes on Amelia. His face scrunched, eyebrows furrowing, before spurting out, “Who’s that?”

Amelia felt her face flush. 

“Quinn,” Kacey burst in, calming the awkwardness, “That’s Amelia. Remember I told you this morning that she would be arriving today?”

“Oh, right. I forgot.” And with that, the child, Quinn, focused on the square of lasagna that had been placed onto his plate. Amelia did the same, unsure of what exactly was going on. 

“So, Amelia,” Kacey began, trying to fill the silence that had taken over the room. “How was the car ride?” 

Amelia locked eyes with Michael, before clearing her throat and responding quickly, “No yeah, it was, um, it was good.”

“Well, that’s nice,” Kacey said, while thoughtfully chewing her lasagna. “And how was it at the station, Michael? Not too difficult to find one another, I hope?”

“No,” Michael said. “We found each other pretty easy. Well, Amelia found me . All because of that sign, I’m pretty sure.”

Kacey laughed. “I knew that sign would be helpful.” 

Silence fell across the room, no one speaking for many minutes. At last it was broken by a faint tapping, like a pebble hitting glass. 

“What is that sound?” Michael asked, looking around the room, frantically. He examined the walls and gazed towards the ceiling, searching for the source of the odd sound. 

“I think it’s coming from the window,” Quinn said, the first thing he had added to the conversation all night. “There’s something over there.” Quinn rose from his chair, and strode confidently towards the glass. Unlatching the window, he pushed it open, and jumped back when a large bird flew inside, its wings sending gusts of air towards the table, blowing things askew. 

Kacey, Michael, and Quinn all began shouting, alarmed, before attempting to hide while simultaneously herd the bird back outside. Amelia stood and watched as the bird landed on the window sill, and stuck it’s leg out towards her, where a note was tied to its ankle. After taking a closer look at it, Amelia realized that it wasn’t just any bird, but an owl.

“Stop!” Amelia cried. The whole family stopped in their tracks, and stared at her. “It’s fine. It’s not going to hurt you.”

Michael walked back towards his chair, keeping his eyes peeled on the owl. “What do you mean?”

Amelia grumbled to herself, annoyed at the muggles’s lack of understanding. “In the wizarding world, owls are how we send our post to one another. We don’t have a ‘postal service’ like you muggles do. It’s mail. For me, obviously. So, it’s alright, calm down.” Amelia watched as Quinn and Kacey took their seats back at the table, and Amelia approached the owl, petting its feathers.

She rushed back to the table, grabbed a small crumb of bread off of her roll, and placed it in her palm, where the bird pecked at it, thankful. She heard Quinn gasp in awe. Without giving in to the distractions, Amelia untied the letter from around the owl’s leg carefully, then closed the window, closing the owl inside. Taking the letter back to her chair, she placed it beside her plate, and looked around the table carefully.

They all stared at her in shock, before questions and comments erupted from their mouths.

“What the hell just happened?”

“Michael! Watch your language!”

“That was awesome!”

“Why did you close the window? How will it leave?!”

“ Owl post?”

“Who’s the letter from?”

Amelia held her hands up in defense, and also to tell them to calm down. “It’s alright, chill out. Everything’s fine. Yes, we use owl post. And I myself don’t have an owl, so this one knows not to leave without my response, so there was no reason to leave the window open. Sorry, but this is how I’ll be communicating with my friends all summer.”

Silence fell, before Michael spoke. “Okay, Amelia, we’re sorry. It’s just, all this wizard stuff, it’s new to us and quite confusing and difficult to understand.”

“I know. I’ll try to spoon it out slowly, not all at once. It’ll be easier.”

Kacey eyed the owl nervously, before turning her attention back towards Amelia. “Who’s the letter from, then? Is it Cecelia checking in on you?”

Amelia picked up the letter carefully, and slowly unrolled it, being sure that it wouldn’t tear. Just from reading the beginning, and knowing the handwriting, she already knew who it was from. “It’s from a friend of mine, from school. Zach.”

“Oh, Zach,” Michael said, drawing out his statement. Kacey looked at him oddly. “I met this ‘Zach’ at the station, when Amelia first came up to me.” Kacey nodded.

Nervous once more, Amelia rolled the letter back up, before speaking. “If you all don’t mind, I’d rather read it in private. Not be rude or anything―”

“No, of course, I’m sorry.” Kacey nodded, and motioned towards the general direction of the stairs. “We’ll deal with the clean-up here. You go on ahead.”

And so Amelia did. She rose from her chair, grabbed her letter, extended her arm for the owl, and headed back to her room, letter in hand, owl on arm.

Once in her new bedroom with the door closed and locked, Amelia sat at her desk and poured over the letter from Zach. It made her simultaneously smile and frown, and when she was done, she made a scramble for her suitcase, where she dug out her extra parchment and ink, as well as a quill. And so she began to write.

―Zach

I’m sorry to hear about your arrival home from school. Sounds like complete crap. Your parents don’t even know what they’re missing.

How was my time with my new family so far? Well, it’s quite rocky. The car ride was awkward and unnerving, especially when I broke down after having a panic attack about my mum. And when your owl showed up, it sounded like a mob scene. It’s gonna be quite a challenge getting used to these muggles. But I’ll manage.

But, you should see the place here! It’s a beautiful house, and quite large too. I have my very own bedroom, and they’re letting me choose the wall color, and decorate it as I please. They all seem pretty happy to have me here. There’s Michael (who you met already), his wife, Kacey, who is quite lovely, and their son, Quinn, who I don’t know too much about yet. I promised to keep you updated, and I will stick to that promise. Write to you soon.

Sincerely, Amelia

Zacharias

The next two weeks passed by in a blur of mail and boredom. Zacharias's parents had not bothered coming home from their trip yet, even after receiving about twenty letters from their son asking about their estimated time of arrival home. Therefore, Zacharias spent those first two weeks of summer moping around the house and doing his schoolwork, with Amelia’s daily letters the only thing keeping him going. He was lonely and miserable, and did a lot of reading. Like, a LOT. It felt as if he had read every book in the house and every copy of the Daily Prophet that was delivered to the doorstep. 

All of it was mainly just to distract himself from the urging feeling of loneliness that nagged at his brain, day and night. He missed people. He missed his friends. He even missed his parents, though not as much as he probably should’ve. 

Even flying around outside on his broom was no fun, as there was no one to practice with. The few times he tried to get Rinny to coach him, she scampered off back into the manor, mumbling something about chores and cooking. 

But the letters from Amelia kept him entertained. For those first few weeks, he heard about each moment of her days with her new family. How Kacey was always home, and how great of a conversationalist she was. How her new brother, Quinn, was quite obnoxious and full of energy, running around the neighborhood at high speed. How they let her paint her room pale yellow and buy new clothes, so that she had things to call her own. How each night they had family dinner and discussed their days. 

She always mentioned how she’s taught them things about the wizarding world, and how well they’re adapting. It’s not easy for muggles to understand things like owls, the Floo network, and Hogwarts, but Amelia said that they were catching on quickly. 

So while Amelia’s letters were filled with fun anecdotes, and Zacharias could feel her happiness and joy radiating out of the paper itself, his letters were quite the opposite. 

He spoke about his boring days, and his lack of interest in anything but seeing her soon. 

Fifteen days into summer recess, Zacharias received a letter from Amelia in the midst of his exhausting afternoon.

Zach,

Guess what! Wait, don’t guess, I’m just gonna tell you. I’ve been telling Michael and Kacey a lot about you (I mention you constantly) and they’ve agreed to allow you to visit!! I’m assuming that your folks aren’t home yet, so hopefully you can find a way to get here. There is no Floo network connected to the house, but I believe in your problem solving capabilities. Oh god, please say that you can come… I could show you my room and around the neighborhood, and we could have a wonderful day. 

Write back as soon as you know. How about Sunday? Two days seems like enough time to get everything in order, don’t you think?

Fingers crossed, Amelia

Zacharias felt giddy. He wrote back immediately, putting his agreement set in stone. He was too excited for Sunday to come.

Amelia

Sunday, July 7, 1996. Amelia awoke early that morning, not being able to contain her excitement. She got out of bed, and began bustling around her room, making it tidy, while getting dressed at the same time. Amelia stood in front of her new bedroom mirror, which was decorated with small twinkly lights, holding different items of clothing up in front of her figure. She spent twenty minutes deciding what to wear, before settling on a pair of ripped jean overalls and a white sleeveless top. She finger-combed her hair so that it fell in loose waves down to her shoulders, as she had just gotten it cut, after letting it grow out over the school year. She felt mature, much like an adult. As she got older, her figure had slowly shaped more into that of a woman’s, rather than just a teenage girl. She had curves now, hips that jutted out, but not too wide. Her chest was noticeably rounded, with perky C cups tucked away, hidden underneath her overall flap. Sliding on a pair of socks and worn out brown boots, she raced downstairs and into the kitchen, smiling.

Kacey was already there, cooking eggs on the stove, and looked up as Amelia burst in. “Good morning! Someone’s in a good mood.”

Amelia took a seat at the kitchen table, and slid a few eggs off the serving platter and onto her own plate. “Yes, I am.” She stuffed eggs into her mouth and chewed happily.

“I can’t wait to meet your friend, Amelia. I hope he’s just as great as he sounds.”

“Oh, he is. Zach is the best. I can’t wait for you to meet him. And for him to meet you. By the sounds of his letters, his summer has been awful; nothing like mine here.”

Kacey nodded, before joining Amelia at the table. “Just, don’t go mental. You don’t want to scare him away. What time is he arriving?”

“He’s taking a portkey, which is like a wizarding transportation device, so he’ll be arriving around noon. Probably stay for lunch and dinner, before heading back home.”

At noon on the dot, Amelia began pacing the front hall frantically, walking back and forth, back and forth. She was too nervous to stand still; too anxious to stay in place. Kacey hovered by the stairs, and Michael sat beside her, knees spread wide, elbows resting upon them. Quinn was out with friends, and wouldn’t be back until dinner, like always. When they heard a loud solid knock on the door, Amelia jumped, and rushed to open it. 

The door swung open to reveal what seemed to be a man, based solely on height. He was tall, just slightly below six foot, with a strong yet average build, and tousled blonde hair atop his head. His eyes were a staggering blue. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a light gray shirt, matched with an eclectic pair of muggle trainers, probably some high end designer brand. He stood with his arms clasped in front of himself, eyeing the house nervously. Zacharias.

Amelia’s eyes glimmered in the afternoon light. “Zach!” she called, a grin stretching across her face, as she rushed out the door and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head upon his chest, as she couldn’t reach his shoulder, and breathed in his scent, sweet yet woodsy; clean with earthy tones. Amelia felt his strong arms encircle her back, resting at her hips softly.

“I see that hugging is the new normal for us, then,” he said, and she could feel him smile. 

“I missed you,” Amelia whispered. 

“I’m glad. Glad you didn’t forget about me.”

“I would never.” Releasing their hug, Amelia staggered backwards, clearing her throat. “Come on in.” She walked back into the house, and Zach followed closely, and shut the front door behind himself. “We can move into the living room, instead of standing here in the hall.” Amelia led the way towards the small living room, which was quite simple, with a standard couch, chairs, and coffee table placed center over an antique rug. She took a seat on the couch, Kacey and Michael in chairs.

Zacharias approached Michael, held out his hand, and spoke softly. “Nice to see you again, sir.” Michael shook his hand, before Zach strode over to Kacey. “Thank you for allowing me to come over, ma’am.” Finally, he took a spot on the couch beside Amelia. 

“There’s no need to call me ‘sir’, Zacharias. Michael is just fine.” The pair looked at him, care filling their eyes, and he attempted to smile back.

“I’m sorry, si― Michael. Sorry. It's… habit.” He smirked smally.

Michael bowed his head, but looked confused all the same. “So, Zacharias― Zach? It’s nice to see you again, after our first encounter on the platform.”

Zach’s face turned red. “Uh, yeah, I’m really sorry about that.”

“Don’t be! You were being a good friend. It was pretty cool of you.”

“Oh, uh, thank you?”

“So, Zacharias… sorry, is it Zacharias or Zach?”
“Zach is fine.”

“So, Zach, we’ve heard so much about you! How’s your summer?”

Amelia watched as Zach leaned back against the couch, obviously taken off guard by this question. He looked around the room at each person in turn, before looking helplessly at Amelia. His eyes were wide in a panic, as if he didn’t know how to answer the question. As if he were trying to have a conversation just through eye contact. He turned his focus back towards Michael, where he sputtered before bursting, “Are you asking how I’m doing?”

Michael looked just as confused as Zach did. “Uh, yes?”

“Oh, sorry. It's just such a strange question.”

“Is it?” Kacey interrupted, inspecting Zach nervously, as if she thought something was wrong with him.

“I mean, yeah. No one at home ever asks me how I’m doing or how my summer’s going. It’s just―nevermind. I’m alright, thank you. My summer’s pretty much sucked though. However, I’d rather not get into it.”

“Sorry,” Michael said.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’d just rather not think about it right now. Don’t want it ruining my day, is all.”

Kacey smiled, before rising from her chair, and motioning for Michael to follow. “I think we’ll leave you two alone for now. Dinner’s at six.”

And so, for the next few hours, the pair spent the afternoon chatting about school, summer, their friends, and other random little things that came into their minds. They laughed, played games in Amelia’s new bedroom (with the door open), and walked around her new neighborhood, almost getting lost. By the time dinner rolled around, they were both half starved and out of breath from laughing. As they sat around the table, an extra place setting for Zach beside Quinn, they smiled and retold their day to Michael and Kacey, who smiled back and eyed the two oddly, the same way Leanne would often look at them. 

Quinn showed up to the table right as the chicken pasta casserole was being dished out, and as he sat, sweaty and flustered, he looked towards Zacharias, who sat at the end of the table beside him, and wrinkled his brow. “Who are you?”

Zacharias smiled, swallowed his mouthful of penne, before replying, “Zacharias. I’m Amelia’s friend.”

“Oh,” Quinn said, dishing spoonfuls into his already full mouth. “Are you a wizard, too?”

Zach smiled. “Yeah, I am. That’s how I know Ames. We met at school. How about you? Why are you so sweaty?”

“I was playing football with a few of my mates who live down the street. We get together and practice a few times a week so that when we get back to school we can be chosen for the school team.”

“So you’re a sports fan?”
“Yup. I doubt you wizards enjoy watching football.”

“Actually, I like football. Not as much as I like Quidditch, though.”

“Quidditch? What’s that?”

“It’s the national sport of the wizarding world. Did Ames not tell you about Quidditch?” Quinn shook his head, causing Zach to snap his neck towards Amelia, who shrugged, a smile creeping onto her face. “You monster!” He cried in mock horror, which caused Quinn to burst out into giggles. 

“Listen, Quinn is it? Yes? Alright. Listen up, the next time that I come to visit, I’ll teach you all about my favorite sport, Quidditch, which is played in the air on broomsticks. In exchange, you will teach me how to play football. Sounds like a deal?” Quinn nodded feverishly, a smile the widest that Amelia had ever seen stretched on his small face.

After dinner had finished up, Zacharias announced that it was probably time for him to go. He thanked Michael and Kacey for allowing him to visit, and they smiled widely, telling him that he was always welcome in their home, whenever he wanted. He promised Quinn that he’d return, to uphold their contract, and then Amelia walked him out. She opened the large oak door, and stepped outside after Zach. Shutting it behind them, she stared Zach in the eyes, smiling happily.

“Quite the impression that you made on them, huh?”

Zach just shrugged. “It felt nice, ya know, being somewhere where people care that I’m there.” Amelia nodded thoughtfully. “It gets lonely at home sometimes. Well, all the time. I can already see myself coming over here way more often.”

“You better.”

Zach smiled at her. “I will.” They stared at one another in the silence, the dark casting strange shadows across their faces, the stars their only real source of natural light. They stayed silent a moment longer, staring at the stars and at one another, before Zach broke it, saying, “I better get going on home. I’ll write to you soon, okay? So I can come visit later this week. Unless that’s too soon?”

“Too soon isn’t a thing,” Amelia pronounced. They stared at each other a moment longer: blue eyes into blue eyes. Their bodies were only a few inches away; Amelia could feel the warmth radiating off of him. Their faces were inches from touching, but they didn’t. Instead, Zach placed his hands on her shoulders awkwardly, patting them like his father would do to him, and stalked away, waving as he walked down the front path. Amelia continued to wave, even after he turned out of sight and away. She continued to wave until the butterflies in her stomach subsided back to caterpillars; hidden inside their chrysalises. 

Zacharias

Zacharias spent the majority of the next few weeks traveling between Amelia’s house and his, spending just as much time at each abode. At Amelia’s house, he had really been accepted as one of the family, as they treated him as if he were their own son.

It was strange, to Zacharias, the idea that he was someone’s son. That someone wanted him as a son, not just because they were blood related in that status. Michael and Kacey found him funny and interesting, and genuinely enjoyed having him around. Zacharias always felt special whenever he went over there, which is probably why he went over so often.

A few times, Leanne or Justin had visited as well, but Zacharias could tell that they just didn’t click in as well to the entire dynamic as he did. Maybe it was because they had loving families who cared about them, or maybe it was just that Michael and Kacey didn’t find them as endearing as they did him. 

“Hey, I’m here!” Zacharias called one afternoon, as he let himself into the house; the door was unlocked. He began wandering the rooms, before finding Kacey pouring over a cookbook at the kitchen table. “Hey, Kacey.”

She looked up for a moment, waved at Zacharias, before turning back to her book. “Hey, Zach. Amelia’s around here somewhere. I just restocked the pantry full of snacks, so just grab something if you’re hungry, you know the drill.”

Zacharias opened the pantry and grabbed a bag of crisps, before jogging out of the room. “Cheers,” he called.

Upstairs, he found Amelia sitting in the middle of her bed, crossed-legged, a heavy textbook placed in her lap as she held her hand out, practicing wand movements, just without the wand. 

“Hey,” Zacharias said, sitting upon her bed.

“Hey,” she replied, and shut her book. She nodded towards his snack. “I see you’ve already made yourself at home here.”

“I always do. So, what are our plans for today, Ames?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Surprise? Alright, lead the way.” Amelia sprung off her bed, her baggy jeans swishing as she strode out of the room, down the hall, and out the door, calling that they’d be back later. Zacharias followed, having to run to keep up to her swift pace. “Where’re we going, Ames? Come on, tell me!”

“Nope.” The pair walked together side by side, for a few blocks in the neighborhood, until Amelia stopped, and directed Zacharias to close his eyes. “I found this just the other day, which is surprising, as we’ve literally walked all over this entire neighborhood. So keep your eyes shut!” She guided his stubborn self forward a few dozen paces, turned his body ninety degrees, before instructing him to open his eyes on the count of three. “One… two… three!”

Zacharias opened his eyes, squinting at the sudden addition of the sun. When he was able to focus, he saw what Amelia had brought him to see. A park, well, more of a playground really, with a climbing structure, slides, and a swingset stood sadly before them. “The big surprise is a playground?” he asked skeptically.

Amelia, instead of seeming downhearted, just smiled wider, skipping towards the swings. “Hell yeah it is! Didn’t you ever play on one of these as a kid?”

“I mean, yeah, I guess I did… maybe, but I still don’t understand why it’s such a big surprise.”

“I’m taking you on a trip down memory lane. But, we’re making better memories. Just, stop being so cynical and join me!” Amelia had already found her way onto the seat of a swing, and was rocking herself, using her legs to push. Zacharias begrudgingly sat on the swing beside her, and it groaned under his body weight. The two began to swing higher and higher, laughing as they reached the sky. 

Amelia mindlessly started to hum a tune, and soon enough the two were bursting out in song. Amelia spread her arms wide, balancing as to not fall off the swing, and laughed even harder, her hair being blown behind her as the wind traveled through it. Zacharias couldn’t help but to smile along, watching her.

He didn’t know if it was because of everything that had happened the past few months, or just over the summer, or even just this moment under the bright afternoon sun. But Zacharias realized one thing as he watched Amelia blissfully enjoying the day. 

He loved her.

Amelia

Black. She was dressed in black. Black lace sundress, black socks, black boots. Her face was solemn as she fussed with strands of hair that she positioned to frame her face. She watched herself in the mirror carefully.

Why was she in black? The summer had been fantastic. Her O.W.L scores had come back, and she had gotten good marks. No, it wasn’t because she was going goth. The black was for an entirely unrelated reason. 

The date was Sunday, August 4th, 1996. And one year ago, Amelia had witnessed her mother’s death. 

So when Amelia walked down the stairs that morning, head to toe in black, it wasn’t a surprise when all eyes turned on her as she sat down for breakfast. 

“Emo for a day?” Michael joked as she sat in her chair, leaving her plate untouched. Amelia stared at him wide-eyed, and felt a single hot tear roll down her cheek dramatically. She couldn’t help being emotional on such an… emotional day. A flood of guilt washed over his face. “Oh, god, Amelia, I’m sorry. I was just trying to make a joke―”

“A year ago today,” she interrupted, her voice sounding quite hoarse, “My mum died.” Silence fell over the room, as they all just stared, sympathetic looks in their faces.

“Oh, honey,” Kacey said, wrapping her arms around Amelia from behind. “Is there anything we can do for you? To make today any better?”

“I wanted to visit my mother’s grave,” Amelia said quietly, nodding, “as I’ve never been there before. I wasn’t able to go to the funeral, as there wasn’t even one; we didn’t have any family members or friends nearby. But it’s quite far away, so that’s not happening. There’s nothing else I can really think of that you could do.” Kacey nodded, and began clearing the table noiselessly. 

But a knock at the door interrupted the silence. Quinn ran off to answer it, and they heard surprised shouts, before heavy footsteps headed back in their direction. 

And there Zacharias stood, Quinn piggybacked on top of him. He was his normal self, but wearing a nice suit; black with a white shirt. He squatted and Quinn slid off his back, groaning. “Come on! I wanna go again!”

“Maybe later, Q, but I’ve got some business to take care of first.” He straightened his suit before holding his hand out towards Amelia, and she accepted gracefully. Squeezing her hand, he forced her to rise out of her chair, and he smiled caringly. “Sorry to interrupt, but we have somewhere to be.”

“And where’s that?”

“Well, I’m here to take a girl to visit her mum. If that’s what you want?” Zacharias watched as Amelia’s eyes filled with tears, happy tears, and she nodded with a stern smile on her face. Zacharias turned to look towards Michael and Kacey. “We’ll be back later, if that’s alright with you? Don’t worry, I know, back by eleven.” They smiled at him lovingly, and the two were off. Out the door, down the street, and around the corner to an empty plastic water bottle on the sidewalk. 

Following Zach’s lead, Amelia bent down and grabbed one end of the water bottle, as Zach grabbed the other. While still subconsciously holding one another’s hand, the portkey whirled them away.

They arrived in the middle of a cemetery, where the morning sun shone in through gaps in the branches and glimmered off dewdrops that dazzled on spiders' webs. The grass was bright green, too green for such a dreary place, and the graves stood in rows, stone after stone after stone. 

“Do you know which one it is?” he asked, releasing her hand and patrolling the aisles, reading the names off the headstones.

“No,” she murmured, looking as well. “I’ve never been here before.”

They spent the next few minutes searching, until Amelia let out a stifled sob. “Did you find it?” Zach called from afar, looking up towards her. Amelia’s sobs burst out, and she pointed towards the grave in front of her. Zach stood beside her and slung his arm across her shoulders. 

Helen Elizabeth Walker , it read across the top. Beloved daughter, mother, friend . Near the bottom the dates stood out easily readable. November 19, 1959 - August 4, 1995.

Amelia couldn’t help herself, the emotions kept coming. She cried into Zacharias's side, wrinkling his good suit. He rested his head upon hers, not saying anything, which Amelia appreciated. She knelt to the ground, settling down upon her knees, and just stared, glassy eyed at the weathered gravestone. Zacharias sat too, but a ways off, giving Amelia some much needed space.

“Oh, mum,” Amelia whispered, not caring if she sounded like a nutter for talking to her dead mother. “I miss you.” She paused for a moment, regathering her thoughts. “What a year I’ve had without you. It feels like I’ve been through hell and back again. I could barely live with myself after what happened―after seeing it happen. I couldn’t live with myself.”

Amelia saw Zach furrow his brows out of her peripheral vision. 

“I’m about to turn sixteen, mum. You never got to see me at fifteen, though. I’m living with Michael… and his wife and son. They’re nice. Did you ever meet them, mum? You would’ve liked them, because you always said that you liked anyone who liked me. They seem to care about me. Even Michael, after everything that happened between you and him, that you never told me much about. But I still miss you more than anything.”

Amelia took a breath, the tears slowly subsiding with each added word. “I wish that you could see me now. It took me a long time to come back to my senses, and shake myself back to how I used to be. It was Zach.” Amelia turned to face him, before tilting her head towards the sky. “Zach is the only reason I’m standing here today, mum. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be up there with you.” Amelia finally collapsed, her entire body falling backwards onto the hard ground, her spine arching with the curves of the dirt. She lay flat, just staring at the perfectly cloudy sky; so picturesque. So disgustingly perfect it made her sick.

Amelia heard a rustling nearby as Zacharias lay on the ground beside her. He didn’t even seem to mind how quickly his suit became caked with dirt. Amelia turned her head, and he his, and they looked eye to eye, before breaking the contact and gazing back towards the blue sky that peeked out between the cottony clouds.

“How’d that feel?” Zacharias asked nonchalantly.

“Good,” Amelia replied, shaking her head in disbelief, “Really good.” They lay in silence for a moment. “Zach I―”

“It’s alright, Ames. You don’t have to tell me anything. I’ll understand either way.”

“Zach?”

“Hmm?”

“I was in a really bad place this past school year.”

“I know.”

“Well, I did some quite irrational things― I was just so messed up.”

Zach nodded.

“You’re not going to ask what I did?”
“Like I said, you can tell me if you want to tell me. I’m not gonna force it out of you.”

Amelia took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. “I needed to stop. Make the whole world just freeze in time, or go backwards, I don’t know. I was too embarrassed to ask for help, and too weak to fix it on my own. I thought that the only way to make the pain stop was by stopping everything. Including my life, I guess.” Amelia sat up, and watched Zach’s facial expressions closely. 

His eyes opened, and he went from shock, to confusion, to straight up concern. He bolted upright, and stared her in the eye. “Ames… wha… why? H―when?”

“So now you’re asking all the questions.” Amelia joked, attempting a weak smile.

“Why would you ever even think something like that?”

Amelia sighed. “I was upset, Zach. Alone. Have you ever been so alone that you just couldn’t take it anymore?”

Something flashed through Zach’s mind, Amelia glimpsed it in his expression, but it passed in an instant. He seemed strict now, almost angry. “Yes, I have.”

“Well, I felt that way. I missed my mum. I needed to feel like I was achieving something, even if it wasn’t something good. But the angel on my shoulder always won out, which is why I could never follow through with it. I always thought about what there was to live for, and that made me stop.” Amelia began fidgeting with the blades of grass, tying them together in knots. “God, I was stupid. I regret it all now. Everything I did. I am truly glad that I’m still alive. That I’m here on this planet with my friends, and family, and trees, and grass, and clothes, and summer, and school, and all these amazing things I would’ve missed.”

Amelia watched as Zach stared aimlessly off at the horizon, not speaking. Just thinking. After a few moments, he finally broke the silence. “What made you change your mind about reaching out to me, Leanne, and the others?”

Amelia took a deep breath, wondering how best to word her response. “I realized that when hitting rock bottom, the only way to go is up. And if you don’t know how to scale a wall or build a ladder, it's best to scream at the top of your lungs and hope that someone sends you some rope. I was just too focused on where I was to figure a way out.”

“Well, I’m really glad that you finally did come around. And that you’re still here.”

“Me too.”

Zacharias

The rest of summer holiday passed by so fast, he didn’t even have the time to enjoy it. First there was Amelia’s birthday, where just a few friends came over to celebrate, have cake, and chat. Then, there was the trip to Diagon Alley where Zacharias lectured Quinn as they wandered through Quality Quidditch Supplies, while Michael and Kacey shopped for their school books with Amelia. They all met back up in front of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, the new joke shop, before heading back to Amy’s house to have dinner.

Zacharias spent the majority of his time at Amy’s house, as his own home always made a sick feeling churn in his stomach. His parents had returned mid August, after traveling across Europe: without him. Since they returned, Zacharias hadn’t talked more than one sentence at a time to either of them. To think of it, he hadn’t spoken more than a sentence to them since Christmas, when he all but yelled paragraphs. But Zacharias didn’t care. He chose to keep the interaction between his parents and himself to a minimum, and continue on the trek towards their all time low. 

Soon enough, September 1st rolled around like it did each year, and Zacharias slipped out of the manor early that morning, loaded with his trunk and his owl, and set off for the station, not bothering to wish his parents adieu. They hadn’t told him when they left for the summer, so he decided not to tell them that he was leaving for the school year. Karma. 

Once through the Floo, he took the short walk to King’s Cross Station, before entering the platform, right on time. Platform 9 ¾ was bustling. Children screaming, trunks and luggage scattered everywhere, creating an obstacle course for Zacharias as he made his way to the train. That was, of course, until he heard his name being called. Well, not his name, but a nickname of sorts.

“Z! Hey, Z!” Zacharias turned to see Quinn running towards him at full speed, a huge smile plastered on his face. Over the past few months, Zacharias had created a special bond with the young boy, and the two were now like brothers. Zacharias himself had never had any siblings before, and so he cherished the relationship that he had with the eight year old. 

“Q!” He shouted, and high fived the boy as he approached. 

“You weren’t gonna leave without saying goodbye, were you?” Quinn asked cynically, before throwing his head back in laughter and grabbing Zacharias by the fingers, as both his hands were full of stuff. “Come on, you have to see mum and dad before you go.”

And so the two weasled their way through the crowd, and towards Michael, Kacey, and Amelia, who stood near the end of the train, giving out last hugs and kisses; smiles and waves. Quinn waved to them, and the group smiled when they saw Zacharias in tow.

“Oh, Zach! It was so nice to spend the summer with you, too,” Kacey cried, wrapping her arms around his neck in a motherly fashion. “You are always welcome to stop by for lunch or dinner or holidays: over Christmas break, Easter, next summer. Whenever you are free. We’d love to see you.”

“Aw, thanks. That means a lot.” Michael slapped Zacharias on the back, before waving goodbye. Zacharias turned towards his best friend. “You ready to go, Ames?”

“All set!” Amelia called, perky as ever. The two waved as they boarded the train together, and took up residence in their normal compartment. No one was there yet, if they were even coming at all, so Amelia and Zacharias closed the door to the compartment and began making themselves comfortable, putting Amelia’s Walkman to good use once more. 

And soon they were off, the train chugging along, their friends, who had later entered the compartment, laughing away over their new textbooks, and music blasting in the ears of Zacharias and Amelia. What more could they want?

What neither seemed to notice, though, was that they sat next to each other: hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. But no one said a word.

After a few hours, Leanne finally made her way into their compartment. 

Amelia bolted upright, tugged her earbud out, and outstretched her arms for a hug. “Le! Where were you?”

Leanne accepted the hug, before shutting the door and taking a seat upon the raggy floor. “I was chatting with Katie….you know, Katie Bell? We’re pretty good friends.” Leanne sensed Amelia’s jealousy. “But not as good of friends as you and me, Amy. Never.” Amelia took a seat on the floor beside Leanne, and the two girls began giggling and chatting, catching up on their summers, and seemingly gossiping about who knows what. “Did you hear that Ernie and Hannah broke up? Just a few weeks ago….yeah. That’s why they're not here with us. Trying to keep their distance for a bit. Which seems pretty hard, considering they have all the same classes, are both prefects, and literally did everything together.”

Zacharias watched the two, in awe of how quickly they could converse, but kept his eyes focused on Amelia, watching the way her hair curled around her ears and chin, and how her lips moved when she spoke. How her eyebrows inched like little caterpillars, and how her long eyelashes batted carefully at her cheeks.

After many long hours, they arrived at school, sat through the long winded speech and sorting ceremony, before indulging in some much needed sustenance; since Zacharias literally had not eaten all day. He continued to watch Amelia, surrounded by friends and other students, catching up with them, being the social butterfly that she was. She was about six seats down the table from him, but he watched her, intrigued, all the same. That is, until Justin, who had sat with Ernie on the train, took the seat beside him, his mouth full of chicken.

“God, Zach! Be a man!” Justin cried out, before lowering his voice so that only Zacharias could hear.

Zacharias turned to face him, confused. “What?”

“I said to be a man. I’ve been watching you and―”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Zacharias said sarcastically.

Justin glared at him, before brushing his brown hair out of his eyes and taking another bite of dinner. “Would you just shut up and listen to me for a second? Like, one second. Just keep your stupid mouth shut, and let me finish. Thank you . I’ve been watching you, mate. The way that you look at her.” He nodded his head in Amelia’s general direction. “You like her, don’t you?”

Zacharias scoffed, trying to play it off casually. “Like her? No, we’re just friends. Best friends.”

“So? That doesn’t mean that she’s off limits. If anything, she’s the most ideal person for you. The person you most have a chance with. Come on, Zach! I thought we were friends! You can tell me anything, and me you. Right?”

Zacharias sighed, and leaned closer towards Justin, his voice subsiding to whispers. “Fine, fine. Just―fine.” He took a deep breathing, before continuing. “Yes, I like Amelia. As….more than friends. But I don’t want to ruin our friendship, so….yeah. I’m not gonna ‘be a man’ and act on it, ‘cause I don’t know if she feels the same way.”

An enormous smile broke out on Justin’s face, and he began squirming in his seat. “I knew it! I knew it! Zach and Amelia sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i―”

“Shut it! I told you that in confidence, so don’t go flaunting it around. Nothing’s happened between us, and nothing ever will.” Zacharias's face shifted into a frown of longing.

“Oh, something will. Don’t you worry, Zach, I’m on it. I’ll be your guide, your….coach! Like in Quidditch, but instead, in the world of romance .”

“Like you know anything about romance, Jus.”

“You’re right, I don’t, but you don’t either, so, you really can’t say anything about it.” Zacharias mulled it over in his mind as Justin looked at him eagerly, his hands clasped together as if begging.

“Fine, fine, you can ‘coach’ me. So what’s the first step, coach?”

Justin sat thinking a moment, before speaking. “Just don’t fuck it up, mate. That’s all you can do right now.”

Zacharias rolled his eyes. “Wow. What fantastic advice.”

“What I don’t understand, Zach, is that if you like her so much, why are you sitting all the way over here?” Justin watched Zacharias carefully, as his face flushed red.

“I-it’s, well, I, uh, she’s busy and, well, I, just, I don’t want to interrupt her conversation.”

Justin grinned maniacally, and Zacharias just glared at him. “You’re nervous! You’re insecure !” Justin cried hysterically, his eyes growing wide as he began to taunt Zacharias with this new information. 

“Shut it! Just be quiet already!” Zacharias hushed, slapping his hand over Justin’s mouth. But that tactic was short-lived. Soon enough Zacharias was yanking his hand back and wiping it on his trousers, a look of disgust on his face. “Did you just lick my hand?”

“Hey, that’s what you get for stopping my flow of words. It’s alright, Zach, I understand your issue.”

“And that is?”

“You suffer from something that I’ll diagnose as, wait for it: ‘fragile masculinity’.”

“The fuck?”

“It means that when things don’t sound manly enough, you think that it's gonna affect your general dude aesthetic.” Justin said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I do not.”

“Yeah? Then why such a problem with the idea that you're insecure? Loosen up, Zach! Relax.”

Zacharias huffed, and stabbed at his dinner with his fork. “Girls are insecure, not guys.”

Justin gaped at Zacharias in shock. “Did you honestly not just hear yourself? Anyone can be insecure! I am, I bet all the girls are, yes, but so are the guys in our year. Like, everyone ever! Well, maybe except for Leanne. She’s so confident it scares me.” Zacharias stared stunned, before shaking off his frustration. He rolled his eyes and cracked a smile. “There it is!” Justin hollered. And with that, the two continued to eat their dinner, talking about Quidditch and ‘guy stuff’, leaving the talk of girls for another day.

Amelia

“What a day!” Leanne called as she collapsed backwards onto her bed, about a week into first semester. The day itself had been filled with their new O.W.L level classes, all of which required a lot more work, and a lot more effort. “They expect too much from us, I believe,” she sighed, closing her eyes. 

“Just a tad,” Amelia agreed, as she began changing into her pajamas, ready to receive a much needed kip. Hannah, Susan, and Megan all lay in their own beds, working on essays or preparing to sleep, too. 

“So, Amy, what’s the deal with you and the Zach-meister?” At those words, all the girls' heads shot up, suddenly interested in the conversation.

Amelia stared around at them in utter surprise, before stating defensively, “What? We’re friends, just friends. Nothing’s happening. Nothing’s happened. Why? Did someone say something? Did you hear something? Speak, speak!”

Leanne covered her mouth with her hand, holding back spurts of laughter. “No, Amy. No one heard anything. I was just wondering, as you two spent so much time together this summer. I wanted to know if Zach knew what he was missing.” Leanne gestured towards Amelia, who stood half naked, in a pair of flannel pajama trousers and her white bra. Amelia looked down upon her own body, suddenly self conscious. 

“What do you mean, Le?” Amelia asked, attempting to cover her perky chest with her arms. 

“She means,” Hannah butt in, “That you have a great body that any man would be lucky to have. The perfect figure.”

“If Zach doesn’t like you now, I swear, he never will,” Susan said, which caused everyone to turn towards her, shocked.

“Su!” Megan cried, before hurling a pillow in her direction. “Why the hell would you say that?!”

“Sorry, sorry! I’ll shut my mouth now.”

Amelia looked at them nervously, turning circles around the room. Her hands continued to cover her chest, but Leanne motioned for her to put them down. “Amy, babe, you’re gorgeous. What Hannah and Susan are trying to say is that Zach is blind if he can’t see how beautiful you are. That he doesn’t deserve you. I mean, look at that, and that, and, wow.” Leanne motioned towards Amelia’s body, and pretended to faint backwards onto her bed in astonishment.

Sliding her shirt over her head, and unhooking her bra, Amelia slid under her bed covers. “I hope you’re right, Le. I’ve liked him since the first time I saw him in first year. And each year after that, each time we hang out and chat, I like him a little bit more.” Amelia turned to face Leanne, shaking her head incredulously. “I love him, Le. I really love him.”

“Have I ever been wrong about these things? Exactly. So just trust my hunch on this one. Just wait. Watch. It’ll all work out the way it’s intended in the end.”

Zacharias

As Zacharias walked out onto the Quidditch field, he felt as if all the weights that had been stressing him out and dragging him down had been lifted. He took a deep breath, feeling the autumn air fill his lungs, clean and fresh. He felt the sudden urge to fly―get on his broom and just clear his mind. Blow all the thoughts right out. But, he had a job to do, and instead headed towards the table that sat near the edge of the Quidditch field, a few of his fellow Hufflepuff team members milling around. When a tall brown haired boy saw him heading in their direction, his face lit up, and he began clapping slowly; mockingly.

“Smith! Having a diva moment, were you?” The boy laughed, before outstretching his hand, which Zacharias slapped in a firm handshake.

“Nice to see you too, Cadwallader. Glad you’re still here, or else we’d have to find three new players; finding two is already hard enough.” He took a seat at the center of the table, and began organizing pieces of parchment, and stared at the long line of awaiting players. “God, this is gonna take forever.”

“Yeah,” Leo sighed, taking the seat beside him. “Too bad Maxine and Herbert were both seventh years. Our team was actually really good. But I’m not sure what the addition of a new keeper and a new beater is going to do.”

The rest of the team took their seats at the table, and the tryouts began.

After a few hours they had seen each potential player, and Zacharias had released his team for the day. As he entered the common room, exhausted, he was distracted by a group of people gathered around the notice board. Wondering what all the fuss was about, Zacharias shimmied his way towards the board, and saw a piece of parchment pinned near the top, announcing the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. 

“This is your chance, Zach!” Zacharias turned his head suddenly, thrown off guard by a shout-like whisper into his ear. He saw Justin standing by his left shoulder, grinning absurdly. “You know what I’m talking about….coach to coach….haha!”

Zacharias pulled Justin by the sleeve away from the hoards of people, almost angry. “No. This is not a ‘chance’. I already told you, Jus, nothing’s going to happen. Did you not hear my whole thing at the beginning of term about not wanting to ruin anything?”

Justin shook his head, annoyed. “Yeah, I did, Zach, but did you really think that I was actually listening, or caring, about the stupid words that came out of your mouth? I was talking with Leanne, don’t worry I was subtle, and she basically agreed with me. Go for it.”

“Leanne really said that? I thought you were afraid of her.”

“Well, yeah, I am. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t talk to her about important matters of the heart if the situation calls for it. Her exact words were actually,” Justin cleared his throat and put on his best impression of Leanne’s voice. “‘Has Zach lost his balls?! God! Be a man! What, is he scared that he’s gonna get hurt? Aw, poor Zachy, scared to get his feelings hurt by rejection!’”

Zacharias just stared, lost for words.

Justin continued on, back to his own voice. “Of course, I tried to defend you, but it was pretty hard. Sorry, but she made a good argument. You’re a Quidditch player for god's sake! You get injured all the time! Physical injury, emotional injury, I imagine they’re basically the same thing. Once again, I wouldn’t know.”

Zach sat down in the nearest arm chair, resting his elbows on his knees; thinking deeply. “I hate to say this, Jus, but you’re right. I’ve gone soft, haven’t I?”

Justin took the seat across from him, smiling wimply. “Yeah. So, what are you waiting for? Go ask her on a fucking date already!” Justin motioned for Zacharias to stand, and pointed towards the door. “She’s in the library, go!”

Seizing the moment as he was still on this emotional high, Zacharias rushed out of the common room and down the corridors of the school. His feet created a loud echoing sound on the floor, as he swiftly made his way to the library. Just outside the door, he took a step backwards, and froze. He faced the nearest portrait, which depicted an artist painting a countryside landscape. 

“Excuse me, sir?” Zacharias asked the painting, and watched as it turned to face him, curiously. “Yes, I was wondering….do I look okay? I’m about to ask someone out, and I just want to make sure that I look….presentable.”

The painted painter squinted his eyes, before replying. “You look finely handsome, young man. Good luck!”

Taking a deep breath once more, Zacharias entered the library, and looked around nervously, pinpointing Amelia, who was sitting alone in the back, surrounded by stacks of textbooks. The way she leaned over the desk, her hair falling on her face, her wavy curls flying wild. The way her lips moved as she read things to herself in her mind. 

Zacharias approached her timidly, as if she was a strange creature, rather than a person. “Hey, Ames,” he said quietly, sticking to the rules of the library, but it didn’t matter. He felt like there was no way he could be talking any louder. He was scared that she could hear his heart beating in his chest.

Amelia turned towards him, smiling her genuine smile as always, before closing her book and motioning to the seat beside her. As Zacharias sat down, she rearranged her stacks of books, to expand the ‘walls’ that surrounded her, so that Zacharias was included now too. “Zach! How’d you know I was here?”

“Justin told me,” he said, gripping his hands tightly to prevent them from shaking so much. Amelia seemed to notice, and took it that something was wrong.

“Zach? Are you okay? What’s going on? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?”

Attempting to laugh, Zacharias shook his head. “No, no, I’m fine. It’s just, I had something to ask you.”

“Ask me?” Amelia looked puzzled, and Zacharias couldn’t blame her.

“So, the first Hogsmeade weekend is in two weeks, and I was wondering whether you wanted to go and maybe get a drink in the Three Broomsticks?” Zacharias asked, more anxious than ever.

“Sure. I’ll ask Leanne and Hannah too. Did you and Justin already decide when, or are we going to decide that? And what day is tha―” 

Frustrated now, but still nervous, Zacharias carefully put his index finger to Amelia’s lips in a shushing motion, causing her to stop talking. “Let me try that again.” he removed his finger, before clearing his throat and looking her dead in the eyes. “Amelia….I was wondering whether on the next Hogsmeade weekend you wanted to go and get a drink in the Three Broomsticks. Alone. Just the two of us. No one else. And, ya know, because I asked you, I’d pay for everything.”

Amelia stared at him back, her eyes as wide as saucers. Then, they squinted quite cutely, before a smile cracked on her face. “Zacharias Smith! Are you asking me to go on a date with you?”

“Yes? Yes. Yes, yes I am. Why? Is that good, or no, is that bad? No, I’m not? No, wait, yes. What?”

Amelia just continued to smile, it getting wider and wider across her small face. “You are asking me out! Is this real? Am I dreaming?” Amelia went on to pinch herself on the arm exaggeratedly, before yelping in pain and looking back up at Zacharias. “Nope, not dreaming. So, yes, I’d really like to go on a date with you, Zach. I would really, really, really like that.”

Stunned, Zacharias nodded, before rising from the creaky wooden chair and pointing behind him towards the door. “Well, great, yeah, thanks, that’s great. I’m really looking forward to it. I, uh, I guess I’ll see you at dinner later?” And with that, Zacharias bolted out of the library and down the hall, before stopping unexpectedly. He began to smile really wide, and leaned against the wall, quite dramatically. “Yes,” he mumbled to himself. “She said yes.”

Amelia

“Gosh, I still can’t believe he just straight up asked you out. Just walked up to you and asked you on a date? I’m still in shock.” Leanne sighed as the two girls walked towards the doors out of the school, in the direction of Hogsmeade. It was October, so the weather wasn’t too cold yet, but both wrapped their robes around themselves quite tightly to contain their warmth. 

Amelia looked at Leanne in disbelief, before playfully nudging her; shoulder to shoulder. “Hey! I’m just as in awe as you are, but you don’t see me questioning it. So, what are your plans for our Hogsmeade trip anyways? Hanging out with Katie Bell again?”

“Yup. Katie and I are planning on getting drinks in the Three Broomsticks before heading back on the early side. I promise, I won’t spy on you.” Leanne held her hands up in mock defense as they reached the gates, and she began to wave, motioning to someone approaching Amelia from behind. “Good luck, and don’t forget to have a good time! Let me know about it later!” And with that Leanne walked off towards Katie, who was waiting, a ways off. 

Amelia turned around to see Zacharias standing nervously, shuffling his feet, his hands stuffed into his pockets. His blonde hair was falling into his eyes as he looked down at the ground, before he looked up at her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Amelia stuttered, at a loss for words. She felt herself beginning to break a sweat. 

“Shall we?” Zacharias asked, outstretching the crook of his arm towards her, which she accepted gratefully. The two, now connected, began the long trek towards town, almost in silence. Both incredibly panicked, the conversation started out slow. But by the time they reached the center of the small village, they were laughing like two friends, as if neither of them were on their first date. Ever. 

As they wandered the town, they slowly made their way towards the Three Broomsticks, which they entered, surprised to see the large number of people already there. Amelia moved closer towards Zacharias, suddenly very aware of the fact that people were looking at them. Self conscious. 

“Hey, Smith! Wanna grab a drink with us?” A member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team called out from across the pub. 

“Sorry, Leo, not today.” Zacharias looked towards Amelia, before guiding her away from the group. 

But Leo just hollered and whistled, before waving them off. “Zach! You player ! Talk to ya later, cap!”

The two took a seat at a small booth near the back of the pub, hidden behind shrubbery to gain themselves the smallest ounce of privacy. Zach headed back to the counter to order their drinks, and Amelia waited at the table, anxiously. Her foot tapped against the stone floor; her nails against the table. But soon enough, Zacharias returned and placed a bottle of butterbeer in front of her, already opened.

“Sorry about Leo. He comes off as tough, but really he’s a sweet guy.”

“It’s alright, I don’t mind.” Amelia looked around the booth unsurely. Unsure how they were at a loss for words after barely a half an hour. 

But Zacharias kept the conversation going normal, and soon enough they were chatting and laughing like….friends. Because they are friends. 

“Okay, okay, your’s was funny, but here’s mine: Slughorn let me get away with my essay being 12 inches instead of 18, because I told him that I had spent my time remaking the potion instead. Like, remade it from scratch, in my cauldron, in my copious amounts of free time. Insane, I know. But he totally bought my shit!” Zacharias exclaimed, a look of astonishment on his own face.

Amelia snorted, laughing. “I don’t believe that for a second! He really didn’t give you a ‘T’ on the assignment?”

“Nope. Got an ‘E’― Exceeds Expectations. I think the only expectations I exceeded were my own….the fact that I even wrote anything at all.” Amelia stared in awe at Zacharias, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. The conversation lulled, which caused a change in topic, brought this time by Amelia. 

“I have to say, Zach, thanks for asking me―inviting me?―out today. I didn’t think you had the guts to do it on your own.” Amelia watched as a look of guilt passed over his face, before he spoke, his voice wavering.

“Yeah, about that, listen, I have something to confess.”

“Oh?”

“Well, the truth is, a few months ago, at the beginning of the term, Justin took it upon himself to be my coach. My relationship coach, which makes absolutely no sense, but I rolled with it. A few weeks ago after practice, Justin said something to me that I guess really resonated. So then I went and asked you out. I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for Justin.”

Amelia just shrugged before scooting herself closer to him on the bench, so that they were about a foot apart. “Okay, so Justin encouraged you. He was your wingman, so to speak. But who actually got the courage to ask me face to face?”

“Me, I guess.”

“See, it was you. Stop dismissing yourself, Zach. Give yourself some credit here. I think you’re amazing. I was so happy when you asked me out. I like you, Zach. I really like you.”

Zacharias smirked. “I really like you, too.” 

Amelia looked into Zacharias dusty blue eyes, and he into hers. They stared at one another a moment longer, before Zacharias slid himself even closer to her, their thighs pressed against each other, the warmth radiating from their bodies. Zacharias moved his hand up to her jaw, slowly and shakily; unsure whether to continue. Amelia gulped, nervous, but didn’t stop him. Zacharias's firm hand titled her face upwards, towards his, and he bent low, before placing his lips onto her own. 

Amelia felt the burst of warmth as their lips touched together, her eyes open in surprise at the sudden eruption of feelings in her mind and in her chest. Her heart swelled, sending shivers across her body. Her eyes fluttered before closing softly, and pressing into it, accepting the affection. 

Zacharias held her face in his single handed grasp, his lips soft against her own. Smooth. And when he pulled away, opening his eyes to stare into hers once more, all Amelia could do was smile, her face reddening in the cheeks. 

“Wow,” Zacharias said, smiling at her nervously, his face also quite red.

“Wow,” Amelia repeated. “I’ve never done that before. Kiss anyone, I mean.”

“Me either.” The two tittered in an awkward silence, before Zacharias murmured. “Did you like it, though?”

“Yes.” 

“Me too.” Silence a moment, before Zacharias looked around the secluded area of the pub, and whispered in her ear. “Want to get some air?”

Amelia nodded over-vigorously, and the pair quickly scattered out of the pub, hand in hand. 

“Amelia? Zach? Blimey! Thank goodness you two are back! Amelia, come quick!” Hannah called, racing towards them from the spot where she was pacing in front of the entrance doors, biting her fingernails.

Amelia stepped forward cautiously, and reached out towards Hannah, releasing Zacharias's hand. “Hannah? What’s going on?” 

“It’s Leanne! She’s in a right state! She said that Katie had found this necklace in the bathroom of the pub and took it with her, even though Leanne advised her not to. And as they were headed back to school, Katie touched it, and it cursed her or something! Leanne is hysterical! Come on!”

Zacharias

“She’s going to be fine. Just in shock, is all. Really worried about Katie, too, which is understandable.” Amelia announced as she sat beside Zacharias on the yellow sofa of the common room. She pressed herself up against him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. 

Zacharias nodded, but in case she couldn’t feel it, he cleared his throat before speaking. “Good, good.”

“Leanne always powers through,” Justin said from across the room, where he was busy doing his homework. “She’s a fighter.”

Megan shook her head. “I don’t know, Justin. She was really good friends with Katie― cared about her a lot more than I think you think she did. Think about it if you were in her shoes. I know I’d be pretty upset.”

“Just glad she’s alright,” Hannah said, before turning her attention towards Zacharias and Amelia. “Soooo you two! Are you finally a thing or what?”

Zacharias felt his face blush, and Amelia lifted her head off his shoulder, straightening herself. “We’re not― it’s not― I swear it’s just― we― uh….” Zacharias spluttered.

“We went on one date, Han. We’ll see where it goes. Now butt out!” Amelia reached as far forward as she could towards Hannah without leaving her seat, and attempted to swat her, quite cat-like. The girls laughed and soon everyone had burst into fits of giggles over the situation. But Zacharias couldn’t help but notice Justin eyeing him mischievously, with a glint of skepticism in his eye. 

“Are you sure that you’ve got this?” Amelia asked Zacharias, staring him deeply in the eyes. She squeezed both his hands tighter, but he just smiled. 

“Definitely.”

“Just promise me you won’t be too mean. I know how you get sometimes….especially when it comes to the Gryffindors. You come off as snarky and rude and others take offense. Just, please try? At least?”

Zacharias let go of her soft hands and wrapped his strong arms around her body, squeezing her deeply into a hug. He brushed his lips up against her ear, before speaking into it softly. “Sorry, but I can’t make any promises.”

Amelia began to squirm out of the hug, and she squealed as he chased her down the hallway, and tried to hug her again. “Zach! Stop! Be nice!” 

When he finally was able to capture her again, he pulled her towards him, before gently resting his hands on her lower back, and his lips on hers. Their kiss only lasted for a few seconds, before they broke, and he heard someone calling him away. “Ames, I’ve gotta go.”

“Alright. I believe in your commentating skills!”

“Do you?” He asked skeptically, before pecking her on the cheek and dashing off towards the box in the quidditch stands, and she went to her own seat. 

Amelia

“So, how’d I do?” Zacharias asked her later that night at the feast as he piled roasted vegetables onto his plate. 

“Awfully,” Justin interrupted, his mouth already full of various food items. Amelia wrinkled her face in disgust and Leanne slapped Justin on the arm.

“Dude, that’s gross. Didn’t your parents ever teach you any manners?”

“And didn’t your parents ever teach you how to be nice?” The two began squabbling, and it wasn’t until Amelia interfered did they cease.

“Hey, hey, you two, stop! And Zach, well, you did….fine. You did fine.” She gave him a weak smile, before taking a sip out of his glass of pumpkin juice. 

“Fine? Just fine? Come on, Ames. Tell me the truth. I know that you can’t lie for your life.”

Amelia rolled her eyes, but gave in. “You were mean, Zach. I warned you that you would be. All your comments towards either team, even the Slytherins, were spiteful and nasty and just made you seem like a bad guy. No wonder Harry Potter doesn’t like you. You give him attitude.” 

“I do not,” Zacharias said, staring at his friends in wonder. “Ernie, oi, Ernie! Were my quidditch match comments rude?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Goddamn it. You were supposed to be on my side, Ern!” Zacharias shouted down the table, but Ernie just chuckled and went back to chatting with Wayne and Susan. “And you,” Zacharias said, and turned to face Amelia once more, as they sat across the table from one another. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Yeah? Says who?”

“Says me!”

“Women shouldn’t have to follow the rules that a man sets in place,” Leanne interrupted. “It’s 1996. Women have equal rights with men and don’t need to be bossed around anymore. We can make our own decisions, thank you very much. Plus, it’s not even like you guys are dating.”

A moment of silence followed Leanne’s statement, and Justin looked back and forth between the pair. “Wait, you guys didn’t deny it….no way.” Justin’s hands began to shake from excitement. “No way, no fucking way!” he screamed, rising from the table. “Finally! I am the best relationship coach ever! Beat that, cupid!” Justin began dancing up and down the table, until Zacharias was finally able to calm him down. 

Amelia giggled, but knew that her face was bright red. Zacharias looked at her carefully, but she just shrugged and gave him a soft smile. He grinned back, shaking his head in disbelief.

Dating. They were officially dating. 

God, she had an official boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boy friend. Boy-Friend. The word didn’t fit quite right in her mouth yet, but she knew that it would, she just had to give it a bit of time. 

Zacharias

“Decorating? Already? Gosh, it’s literally the first of December and already all the trees are up,” Zacharias stated, motioning towards the twelve beautifully decorated trees that lined the walls of the Great Hall, and the holly and mistletoe that hung from the ceilings between strings of tinsel. 

Amelia scoffed, before smiling and squeezing his hand, as they sat down beside each other at their usual breakfast spot. “What? Is the holiday season a bad thing? It’s my first holiday with Michael and Kacey, so I’m quite excited.”

Zacharias began stabbing sausages from the serving bowl quite violently before depositing them onto his plate when he looked towards Amelia, shaking his head. “Yeah, well, if I had a family like you’ve got to spend Christmas with, I’d be excited too. I haven’t talked to my parents since before summer ended, so I’ll probably end up spending the holiday here. Alone. Away from you. Just a tad less worse than it would be to go home for the holidays.”

Amelia stared down at her plate, but couldn’t prevent a smile from sneaking up the corners of her mouth and blossoming onto her cheeks. Brushing her waves out of her eyes, she looked towards Zacharias. “Zach.”

“Ames,” he replied, his eyebrows furrowed with sarcasm. 

“What if I told you that I already talked to Michael and Kacey about spending Christmas with us? What would you say to that?”

Zacharias's eyes widened, before a smile broke out across his face. “I say that that would be awesome. The best. Why? Did you― no way. No fucking way. Amelia Walker, you better not be messing with me!” Zacharias had somehow scooted backwards on the bench, now arms distance away from Amelia, as he watched her carefully. But Amelia just smiled and nodded her head.

“I sent them a letter about it last week. And they said yes. You can stay in the guest room, and they’ll pick us up from the station. We’ll open presents and have Christmas dinner, and, and….what do you think?”

Zacharias shook his head, and continued to grin at her, his hair falling casually into his eyes. “I think that you are literally the best person I have ever met in my entire life.” And with that, Zacharias slid forward suddenly and placed his lips onto hers, his hands cupping her cheeks. His legs straddled either side of the bench, and he felt her hand grace his thigh as they snogged tenderly. He pulled away and stared her in the eyes, before wrapping his arms around her thin frame, engulfing her in a large hug. 

But Zacharias felt something. Something different than all the other times that he had hugged her like this― kissed her like this. He felt numb yet comfortable all at the same time. He felt three words tingling his tongue, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he squeezed her tighter, promising himself never to let her go. Ever.

“Amelia! Zach! Over here!” Amelia turned her head towards the voice, and smiled as she saw Michael waving a gloved hand high in the air. His breath fogged in the cold air, and Amelia felt shivers run down her back, causing her to wrap her coat tighter around her body. 

“Are you cold?” Zacharias asked, before slinging his free arm, the one that was not carrying his small suitcase, over her shoulder, causing her to inch much closer towards him. “Come on, they’re waiting.”

As the two students approached Michael on the platform of King’s Cross Station, they waved and smiled, before receiving and giving hugs like family.

“Aw, it’s so nice to see you two.” Michael said, before guiding them out. “Kacey and Quinn and waiting in the car; we all were so eager for your arrival.”

As they reached the car and opened the doors, a warm blast of heat hit their faces from the heaters. Quinn waved from the small backseat, whilst patting the cushion beside him. “Z! Z! Sit next to me!”

Zacharias slid into the three seater first, and took the middle seat for himself, before Amelia followed, squishing him into the center. “Well, this is quite cozy.” The understatement caused Quinn to laugh, before Michael slid into the driver's seat, and geared up to go. 

“Everyone ready?” A chorus of agreement sounded through the small vehicle, and soon enough they were off, on the long ride back ‘home’. The conversation started out slow, just the basic routine of catching up on school, life, and work. It wasn’t until about halfway through the trip when the conversation took a controversial turn.

“So, Zach,” Kacey said, turning her body sideways in her seat to face him. “Amelia told us that you didn’t want to spend Christmas with your folks. Any reason there?”

Zacharias inhaled, his entire body stiffening. He felt Amelia’s hand encircle his arm, her body pressing against his just slightly; to calm him down. 

Kacey seemed to sense the sudden change in the air, and spoke swiftly. “Of course, you don’t have to tell me. I don’t mean to pry. Just asking. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Zacharias interrupted, nodding, before taking another slow, deep breath. He looked towards Amelia for reassurance, before nodding once again, more for himself than for anyone else. “It’s alright, Kacey. Really. You’ve become so much like family to me, and I hope that you know that I feel like I can confide in you.” Zacharias looked around the car; at Amelia, at Kacey, at Quinn with his headphones on as he stared out the window, not paying attention to anything that was happening, and even at Michael, or the back of his head anyhow. “My parents, especially growing up, were never the most….parental people. Money can do awful things, if you know what I mean; causing more problems than fixing them. My father’s job, well, we can say that his job became like his favorite son. Spent all his time at the office, none at home. And if he wasn’t home, well, my mother didn’t see a need to be home either. She spends most of her time spending the money my father makes, or just out with her friends, traveling.

“I never had family dinners or storytime growing up. My parents spent as little time as they could at home, which is where I spent all my time. So yeah, my parents didn’t play a huge role in raising me, so I often feel like they barely know me.” Zacharias took a breath, and looked over at Amelia, his anchor. She just gave him a reassuring smile.

“That sounds awful,” Kacey exclaimed, which caused him to chuckle. 

“That’s not even the worst of it.” Kacey’s eyes widened and she stared at him, struck. “Last Christmas, I went home to spend the holiday with them, though let me just say, I really was on the fence about going. We got into a bit of a row, and it ended with me storming off after yelling at them about how they don’t know me at all. For the most part, I stayed in my room until I went back to school, except to eat and use the loo. Talked to them just barely over the summer, and haven’t written to them in over a year. I’m so sorry to pester you with all my horrible family drama, Kacey.”

Kacey just shook her head, before placing her hand lovingly on Zacharias's knee. “It’s alright, Zach. We care about you, and I’m always here to listen.”

“Me too,” Amelia said, and he nodded at her, before she kissed him quickly on the cheek. 

Zacharias's face reddened, and he motioned with his head towards Kacey. “Ames….” But Kacey just laughed, and turned back towards the front of the vehicle. 

“It’s alright. I had a feeling that you two were set out to be more than friends. But that’s why you’re staying in two different rooms. No funny business. No closed doors. No sneaking off without telling us. Got it?”

“Got it,” the pair mumbled, both their faces slightly pink.

“Don’t want any sort of teen pregnancy on our hands,” Michael said cynically, which just caused their faces to go redder, resulting in Kacey and Michael bursting out in laughter, before slapping each other a high five. “Mission successful.”

Amelia

The rest of the car ride was spent in almost silence, just the roar of the engine and the sounds of other cars on the highway; the smell of burning fuel. Amelia sat with her head resting upon Zacharias's shoulder, staring out the front car windshield at the trees and endless white sky. They sat listening to music, like always, enjoying the first moments of their long vacation together. 

As soon as they pulled into the driveway and piled out of the car into the frigid air, the best Christmas holiday of both of their lives began. Those first few days leading up to Christmas went by in a blur of snowfalls and snowball fights, biscuit baking and decorating, and watching classic films by the fire with a warm cup of cocoa. Iconic. 

“So, just guessing, what do you think that one is?” Quinn asked Zacharias, pointing towards a medium sized gift that sat center underneath the tree. Zach just shrugged.

“Well, what did you ask for that’s approximately that size? Another football?” 

Quinn scrunched his face up tightly, before sighing deeply. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just wanna open them now!” 

Zacharias laughed, and threw his arms around the young boy, tackling him to the floor. “Well too bad! They’re for tomorrow!” Amelia watched as Zach ruffled the boy’s hair, then stood up and outstretched an arm. “Come on, it’s time for bed if we’re gonna get up real early tomorrow morning.” Quinn stood begrudgingly before racing up the flight of stairs, his feet pounding noisily on the floor. Zach chuckled to himself, before stalking towards the couch, where Amelia sat, her legs curled up underneath her. 

He propped his strong arms up on the sofa, so that they straddled either side of her body; and so that they were face to face. Amelia looked into his eyes caringly, and he into hers, before breaking the eye contact as a toothy grin expanded onto his face. “I’m having the best time, Ames. Really. I truly am.”

I’m glad,” she replied, before turning her frame so that her legs were crossed pretzel style. 

“Thank you….for inviting me.”

“Of course.” Amelia then puckered her lips and closed her eyes, tempting him to kiss her. Zacharias chuckled softly, and then she felt his lips against hers, and she reached to grab his knitted jumper. They were just getting into it, when they heard someone clear their throat from the doorway, and they leaned apart quickly, their eyes wide with horror. 

Michael stood nearby against the arched door frame, a smirk adorning his face, his arms crossed over his chest. “Uh, I just came to say that it’s time for everybody to clock in for the night. That means everybody . In their rooms. Their own rooms. Until tomorrow. Not one a.m., more like eight, or even nine. Got it?”

“Got it,” the pair mumbled, before standing and heading towards the stairs, both equally embarrassed for being caught. 

“Good night, guys!” Michael called after them, but they just waved as they turned the corner down the hallway. Once standing in front of Zach’s room, Amelia looked at him before bursting into a small fit of giggles. 

“Ames! It’s not funny! He could’ve gotten really mad― thrown me out or something.” Zacharias exclaimed, staring at her in shock.

“Oh relax. They wouldn’t have done that.”

“They could’ve.”

“They wouldn’t’ve.”

“See you tomorrow, Ames.”

“Night.”

Zacharias

“Z? Are you awake? Z! Wake up!” Zacharias awoke to a burning sensation in his chest, one where he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Gasping for air, he opened his eyes and found a nine year old boy perched on his chest, squishing the air slowly out of his lungs.

But instead of being mad, Zacharias just smiled. “Merry Christmas, Quinn,” he said groggily, before pushing the boy off him and rising out of bed. Quinn toppled off the futon, before standing, clad in a matching pair of blue plaid pajamas. His brown hair stuck up in odd places, but his smile was as bright as ever. Motioning towards the door, Quinn began bouncing on his heels. “Come on, Zach! It’s Christmas! We have presents ! Hurry up!” And with that, Quinn bounded out of the room, leaving the door askew. 

Yawning, Zacharias tousled his blonde hair and followed Quinn downstairs, barefeet padding softly on the hardwood floors. Sticking his hands in his flannel trouser pockets, his grey t-shirt barely covering his body, he felt goosebumps shiver up and down his arms. 

“Merry Christmas!” Zacharias heard Kacey call from nearby the tree, where she sat crossed legged, removing gifts from underneath it and restacking them into five piles. She pointed towards a tray that sat on the coffee table. “There’s muffins there, and hot chocolate and coffee in the kitchen if you want to grab some breakfast before the present brigade begins.” Zacharias nodded, before staggering off in the direction of the coffee maker. 

Once settled on the couch with a mug of coffee (one sugar, one cream), Zacharias smiled at Quinn, who sat anxiously on the floor. “Where are they? Mum, please can we start without them?”

“No! I said nine, and it’s 8:53. You can start in seven minutes. Just, chill until then.”

“Here!” Zacharias turned his head to see Amelia scurrying towards him, cocoa in one hand, a sweater in the other. She slid into the seat beside Zacharias, before slipping into the red and white Christmas jumper, covering her tank-topped chest, and allowing her fleece trousers to be just visible. She scooted closer towards Zacharias, before sitting upright, waiting just as anxiously for her own gifts, which almost caused him to laugh. 

Michael finally took a seat, which gave Quinn the notion that he could begin. He went about tearing wrapping paper off of boxes and oddly shaped packages, exclaiming at everything his hands came in contact with. And this all happened in a timespan of about two minutes. 

“So,” Amelia asked nervously, “How does this work? Do we all go at the same time? Do we do it just as savagely?” She mockingly glared at Quinn, who didn’t even seem to notice, too indulged in his new toy. 

Kacey just laughed. “Yes, that’s fine. Here’s your gifts, Amelia, and here, hand these to Zach.”

Zacharias couldn’t control the look of shock that passed over his face, and he gaped at Kacey, his eyebrows furrowed. “Uh, I’m sorry. For me? I didn’t think my parents would send me anything.”

Kacey just continued to smile. “Your parents did send you one thing, it arrived this morning. But yes, for you. They’re from us: me, Michael, and Quinn.”

Zacharias took the small envelope from Kacey’s outstretched hand, and slit it open carefully, peering inside and pulling out a simple slip of parchment. The aged yellow paper was folded in half― just words written on a page, nothing else. Zacharias skimmed the letter before rolling his eyes and scoffing to himself.

Zacharias,

Merry Christmas. Your mother and I have traveled to Fiji for the holiday, and therefore are not home. If you need anything, contact Rinny directly, and she’ll work it out with you. See you in June. Hope you have a nice holiday with those friends of yours. Talk soon.

Sincerely, Father

Amelia, who had bent over Zacharias's shoulder to read the letter, looked at him in surprise. “That’s from your dad ? It’s so formal!”

Zacharias just shook his head and slipped the letter into his trousers’ pocket. “Yeah, I know. I just can’t believe that they went traveling without telling me. Again . But honestly, I don’t even care at this point. They can burn in hell.”

All eyes in the room went onto him in utter disbelief, and Kacey rushed to cover Quinn’s ears.

Zacharias cringed. “Sorry! Sorry! I’ll watch my language. It’s just so angering. Why even bother sending me anything at all?”

“Well, let’s just….move on, shall we? Many other gifts to open!” Kacey said, and so they did. Amelia opened all of hers: various stargazing related extremities and more, Michael had mostly clothes and Kacey things for around the house.

Zacharias found himself increasingly surprised at the stack of gifts in front of him. As he carefully tore open the packages, he was dumbfounded to see books, clothes, and other knick knacks that he actually found enjoyable. “Th-thank you. I needed some of those, how did you know?” he said, signifying a package of socks that he had just unwrapped. 

Kacey nodded. “I noticed that many of yours had holes in them, and were too past the gone to fix. Let me know if they don’t fit― I’ll buy a different size.” Zacharias smiled, before rising from his spot on the sofa and wrapping his arms around Kacey. 

“Thank you. My parents have never, ever in their lives, checked to see whether I needed new socks, or anything else, for that matter. Thank you.”

The rest of the holiday went by in just as high spirits. They stayed inside, in their pajamas, all day; reading, watching films, and messing around with their new items. 

“Is the Hulk still your favorite, or have I changed your mind, Amy?” Quinn asked, as he played with his new action figures on the floor, Amelia sitting across from him with her ankles crossed. 

Amelia smiled. “Yes, the Hulk is still my favorite. He’s big and green and that Hulk smash is unbeatable. What’s so special about Captain America anyways? We don’t even live in America!”

Quinn shook his head, before holding up his figurine of a man with a red, white, and blue shield, and waved it around in the air. “It doesn’t matter where he’s from. Captain America’s loyal to his country and would do anything to protect it. He’s so brave that he doesn’t need superhuman strength to be the best. He just is.”

Amelia just shrugged. “Yeah, okay, but can Captain America do this?” Amelia began causing the Hulk action figure to step on all the other toys, as she put on a deeper voice and roared. “Hulk smash!” Amelia called, which caused Quinn to roll over laughing. 

By around ten o'clock, after they had eaten a large dinner and had home decorated biscuits for dessert, they found themselves lounging around on various chairs in the living room. Quinn was passed out on the floor, curled in a blanket. Amelia sat with her head in Zacharias's lap playing with the crescent necklace at her throat, and he twirled her hair in his fingers. 

“I think it’s time we get Quinny off to bed, don’t you think?” Michael whispered as he arose from his armchair. The fire was dying and the house was quiet except for the natural creaking of the floors and walls settling into place. Kacey had gone off to bed not too long ago, so it was no surprise to either of the teens when Michael announced this. As Michael scooped Quinn up into his arms, he turned towards the pair, just as he had done the night before. “Since it’s Christmas, you two can stay up as long as you’d like― you’re responsible and I’m trusting you. Sounds like a plan?”

“Yes, sir,” Zacharias said instinctively. 

“Yes, Michael.”

“Good. See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” they chorused as Michael ascended the stairs. Once he could no longer be heard, Amelia shot upwards onto the couch, and began to rise, outstretching her hand towards Zacharias.

“Come on. I haven’t given you your present yet.” Zacharias took Amelia’s hand, and the two snuck their way quietly, so as not to wake anyone else in the house, up the stairs, down the hall, and into Amelia’s room.

“Wait― your gift is in my room: the guest room, that is. Let me go grab it.” Zacharias slipped out, and a few minutes later returned, carrying a decent sized box, wrapped in brown paper. Amelia sat upon her bed, a large, flat box in plaid paper laying on the duvet. After gently closing the door and sitting across from her, the two traded gifts. “You go first.” 

“Okay.” Amelia lifted the gift and weighted it in her hands, before giggling and brushing her hair behind her ear. Zacharias watched her nervously; he really wanted her to like it. Amelia peeled the paper back ever so gently, it was driving Zacharias insane. But soon enough, she had exposed it enough to be able to identify the object. “No way,” Amelia said, filled with awe. “Is this what I think it is?” She took the item out of the box and held in her hands a golden spyglass, aged but still shining bright. She telescoped the tube a few times, staring through the lens, before looking at Zacharias through it, which caused him to laugh.

“You look ridiculous,” he said, smiling. “But you like it? I thought that it would be good to look at the stars with when you travel and―”

“It’s perfect, thank you. Now, it's your turn.”

Zacharias lifted his gift gently, and unwrapped it carefully, but not as careful as Amelia had been doing. Once open, he found a leather satchel in his lap.

“I saw that your school bag seemed old,” Amelia interrupted, explaining herself. “But there’s other things inside of it. Extras.”

Nodding, Zacharias opened the bag and reached his hand inside, surprised to be feeling many different things. The first thing he pulled out was a small zippered pouch, which inside had different broom cleaning tools. The second item was a picture frame, and inside was a wizarding photograph of Zacharias and Amelia; a photo taken over the summer of them laughing and chatting, not even knowing the picture was being taken. “This is really nice,” Zacharias said, holding it up. “You look beautiful.”

Amelia’s face blushed, but Zacharias didn’t notice. He was too busy reaching his hand in for the third time, this time extracting the final item. It was gold and circular, with different rings of metal and an hourglass set into the center. A leather thread snaked in a circle around it, creating a loop that someone might wear. “What is this?” Zacharias asked, holding it up. 

“It’s a time turner. You can use it to turn back time,” Amelia explained, before hesitating. “Zach?”

“Yeah?”

“I have a confession to make.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember Christmas in our first year? When I left biscuits in the hall?”

Zacharias looked up towards her, shocked that she still remembered that. “Yes, of course I remember.”

“Well, I was hidden nearby, watching you to make sure that you got it instead of someone else. Understandable, right?” Zacharias just nodded. “Well, I continued to watch as you….smashed all your presents. And so after you left, I went through the bin to see if there was anything that you would have regretted getting rid of, and I found this. Turns out they’re really rare, and super valuable. Your parents probably spent a fortune. So I kept it, and chose to give it back to you when the time was right and, well, I think that time is now.”

Zacharias just stared. “This is from my folks?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then I don’t want it. Not if it’s from them. Thank you, I truly mean it, but I―”

“Just hang on to it, please. You might need it one day.” Amelia looked at him anxiously, before he sighed and nodded his head, signaling that he would keep it. “Thank you, Zach.”

Zacharias stood up, and gathered his gifts that were scattered across the mattress. “I better get back to my room; go to bed.” He turned to leave, but then he heard Amelia whisper something.

“Or you could stay here.”

Turning quickly on his heel, Zacharias looked at her with wide eyes. “Stay? I can’t― Michael and Kacey would― it’s not a good idea, Ames.”

“Please?” The silence that followed her question seemed to fill the room.

“Alright, of course. Let me go change.”

Amelia

As soon as Zacharias walked out of the bedroom, Amelia raced around, tossing her gifts onto her desk and rushing towards the closet to put on night clothes. She debated what to wear in her head for about five seconds, which felt like five years, before settling on a baggy blue t-shirt and pajama bottoms that cinched at the waist. She let her hair fall down to her chin, and looked at herself in the mirror, scrunching up her face and biting her lip seductively. 

When Zacharias reentered the room in almost the same outfit, he cracked a smile and couldn’t help but point towards her, grinning mischievously. “Is that my shirt?” 

“Maybe.” Amelia said, smirking, before heading towards her bed and climbing under the covers. She seemed cool and collected on the outside, but inside she was freaking out. She was about to sleep in the same bed as a boy. A boy . Gosh, did she feel grown up.

As Zacharias settled beside her, she snuggled up close to him, resting her head on his chest, but couldn’t prevent her mind from wandering:

She wasn’t wearing a bra, what if he noticed? Where was she supposed to put her hands? How, What, Why?

Amelia didn’t know the answer to any of these questions, but tried to put them out of her mind as Zacharias wrapped his arm around her back and rested his head upon hers. 

She felt home. She felt like this was where she belonged― in Zach’s arms. Why did she fit here so perfectly?

“Zach?” A sudden surge of confidence flooded her veins. Maybe it was the moment, maybe it was because she couldn’t see his eyes, couldn’t see how he would react, but she felt fearless.

“Yeah?”

It was now or never. “I love you.”

A beat, then she felt the sheets ruffle and Zacharias sit up straight, before he turned to stare into her eyes. “I-I love you, too. I love you, Ames.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and continued beating uncontrollably, Amelia reached her hands up to his sharp jawline and placed her lips on his, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The door already closed, they fell backwards onto the bed, arms entangled, lips never parting. They snogged; tongues exploring new worlds, hands roaming to foreign places. It was thrilling and new and scary all at the same time, but Amelia enjoyed it all the same. Soon enough, they broke apart, gasping for air and collapsing backwards, just the sound of breathing breaking through the silence of the night. 

“Wow,” Zacharias said, smirking, before breaking into labored chuckles.

“Oh shut up,” Amelia said, but just smiled to herself. She slid closer to her lover boy, and cuddled in.

Shortly, the two were peacefully fast asleep, happy, and in love.

Zacharias

The next morning, Zacharias woke up feeling groggy, and feeling lost. He was lying on his back, staring up at the vast whiteness of the ceiling, before hearing breathing beside him. Panicked, he turned to find Amelia’s sleeping body curled up on the opposite side of the bed. Remembering where he was and why, Zacharias scurried out of her bed, and carefully opened the door, not wanting to wake her. 

Once in the clear, past the point of being caught, he took his time getting undressed and dressed again, brushing his teeth and heading downstairs for breakfast. The first floor was quiet; lacking any people. So he brewed himself a cup of coffee and sat at the small kitchen table, sipping his beverage and skimming the muggle newspaper, not really interested in anything he was reading.

When he finally heard footsteps descending the staircase, he was on his second cup of coffee, and he looked up, eager for some company. 

“Morning, Zach,” Michael said, stretching his arms above his head, before grabbing a spare muffin off a platter, then taking a seat at the table across from Zacharias.

“Morning, sir.”

Michael’s face scrunched at being called ‘sir’, but shook it off. “Sleep well?”

Zacharias felt his face flush, and tried to put the thoughts of him and Amelia sleeping in the same bed out of his head. “Yeah. I slept great.”

“Good.”

An awkward silence settled in between the two men, both unsure of what to say. 

“So, uh, you and Amelia, huh? How’s that going?” 

Zacharias was startled by the question, but at the same time, he felt his neck begin to redden. Michael was Amelia’s dad. So was this the boyfriend-father discussion? Zacharias felt nervous, but he put on a brave face and sat up straighter. “It’s good. It’s going good, yeah.”

“You're treating her properly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You two have known each other for a long time, isn’t that right?”

“Since first year….when we were eleven.” Zacharias sipped his coffee before smiling to himself, reminiscing on the past. 

Michael’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “You guys were best friends.”

“Were? We still are. She’s my best friend in the entire world. You don’t have to worry, sir. I’d never hurt her. I have no intentions of breaking her heart.”

“I believe you, Zach. Just remember, I care just as much about Amelia as I do about you.”

Zacharias felt his chest tighten. “I know, sir.”

“We’ve gone over this, Zach. You don’t have to call me ‘sir’. It makes me feel so formal; so professional.”

Zacharias turned his head, and gazed out the window, feeling tears in his eyes. He nodded solemnly, before wiping at his subtly falling tears discreetly. Gathering courage once more, he turned back towards Michael, stuck out his hand, and spoke sternly. “Of course. Thanks for talking with me.”

Michael shook Zacharias’ hand, and smiled. “Anytime, Zach.”

Amelia

“Apparition lessons, huh? Are you excited?” Zacharias asked Amelia as he took a seat in an armchair nearby her, after reading the notice on the bulletin board. School had just restarted after the holidays and already it brought a cornucopia of new challenges.

Amelia shrugged. “I think so. Might be nice to have another way to travel. We could visit each other over the summer much easier.”

Just then, Justin rushed towards them, arms flailing in the air. “Oh my god! We’re gonna learn how to apparate! Guys, did you hear?” Justin called, smiling ear to ear. Zacharias shook his head, and Amelia rolled her eyes, which caused Justin to deflate. “Why am I always the last to know everything?”

“Remember the three D’s everyone! Destination, Determination, and Deliberation! Now attempt to apparate from where you are standing now, into the hoops in front of you. Off you go children,” Professor Twycross called and made a flourish with his hand, motioning for the students to begin practicing. 

Amelia looked towards Zacharias nervously. 

“Are you scared?” he questioned her, raising his eyebrows.

“Just that I’m going to splinch myself halfway across the room.”

“Just focus. Take your time.” Amelia nodded, before setting her feet a foot apart, and concentrating deeply on the yellow hoop that lay on the ground five feet away from her. She scrunched her face up tight, and held her wand steady, before imagining herself appearing in the hoop. And sooner than she had expected, she felt as if she was being sucked inside a vacuum cleaner; being swirled away. It felt nauseating, as she twisted and turned, and she almost lost focus. But a few seconds later, the feeling subsided, and she found herself standing in the Great Hall once more, her toes just gracing the yellow hoop. Excited that she had done it, she looked around happily, until she noticed that she was on the outside of her yellow circle, not the inside. “Aw man.” Amelia whined, and she looked towards Zach, who was also just barely inside of his circle.

But he just shrugged. “Next time, I guess.” Smirking, he strode back towards his starting point cooly, and went to position his wand arm when a scream was heard from a few spots down. Amelia looked up frantically, and heard Professor Twycross speak in a rushed tone.

“It’s alright dear, oh goodness. We must get you to Madam Pomfrey at once. Yes, yes, come come dear. Slowly, yes, that’s it.”

Amelia leaned towards Leanne, who was on her other side, and whispered casually. “What happened?”

“Someone got splinched,” Leanne stated simply, shaking her head before shuddering, as if the thought both scared and grossed her out at the same time. 

“Well, yeah, I understood that. But who? Hey, Justin, who got splinched?” Amelia called farther down, as Justin was nearer to the victim.

But Justin didn’t respond. He was just staring at Susan’s now-empty spot beside him, pointing with both arms where she must have ended up; but his arms were directed in two different directions. “Her, her, her body was there, and her left leg there….” Justin spoke rasply, before sitting on the marble floor in shock. 

“You alright, Jus?” Zacharias called down the row. 

“I’ll, I’ll be fine. I just need a second. And maybe some water.”

“Well, that was eventful. At least Susan’s alright,” Amelia said, sighing. It was later, after their first lesson on apparation.

“Yeah, but I imagine that she’s gonna be pretty shaken up. I can’t even picture what that must feel like― leaving an entire limb behind. Brutal.” Zacharias stated.

“Yeah,” Amelia repeated. “Brutal.”

Zacharias

Seventeen. That was how old Zacharias was when he awoke that morning. He woke up a tad earlier than usual, and stretched his arms over his head before taking in the surroundings of the dorm, rubbing his arms to warm them in this cold basement in the middle of February. 

“Good morning,” Zacharias heard from beside him, and saw a sleepy Justin who was fighting to keep his eyes open, but smiling sincerely all the same. “Happy birthday,” he said groggily.

“Aw, thanks, Jus.” 

After dressing into his yellow and black robes and teasing his hair back with his fingers, he made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, where he was surprised to see a package, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine, sitting upon the table of his usual spot. Scoping out the room, he locked eyes on Amelia, who strode his way, grinning.

“I told you not to get me anything,” he said as he sat down in front of the gift. 

Amelia smirked, before leaning across the table to kiss his forehead, then sat down across from him. “It’s not from me, you twat. Happy birthday, though.” And with a flourish, she displayed a small box that was hidden within the folds of her cloak. 

Zacharias rolled his eyes, but couldn’t resist. “I told you not to get me anything,” he reiterated, but he knew that Amelia could tell that it wasn’t sincere. “So who do you think this one is from, then? Justin?”

“I think it's from Michael and Kacey.”

Zacharias glanced at Amelia out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah? And how would they have known that it was my birthday? I don’t remember telling them that.”

“I might have mentioned it in passing.”

“Really? You didn’t specifically send them a letter telling them about it? Because that seems like something you would do.” Zacharias stared at her, while slowly tearing the gift wrap off the present at the same time. 

Amelia rested her head on her arms, seemingly defeated. “So what if I did? They love you; they would’ve been sad if they had missed your birthday.”

But Zacharias wasn’t listening anymore. He had lifted the lid off of his hefty box, and was shocked at what lay inside. A pair of brown leather boots, ankle high with matching laces and buckles at the top; the soles clean, smelling strongly of fresh rubber. Zacharias ran his hand along the metal of the buckle rings, the eyelets of the laces. “Wow,” he murmured to himself, before taking the shoes out of the box and weighing them in his hands. “Quidditch boots,” he then said to Amelia, who he could tell was confused as to what they were. “Brand new ones. I’ve been borrowing a pair of Leo’s old boots lately because my feet have just grown so fast in such a short period of time— I think that I was telling Kacey about that. Haven’t talked to my parents about buying me a new pair because they’re mad expensive. This is― wow― such an amazing gift. I’ll have to write them later to thank them.” 

Amelia sighed. “Great. There’s no way that my gift can ever top that. Goddamn it.” 

But Zacharias just smiled, before setting his incredibly large shoes aside. “Having you is all the gift I need.”

“Bleaughh!” Justin called, pretending to gag as he swaggered up to the House table. “How cliche! ‘ You’re the only gift I need’ , come on! That’s so gross― get a room!” He slid into the seat beside Zacharias, before reaching across his friend and picking up the discarded boot, examining it from all angles. “Cool, a shoe.”

“Dude,” Zacharias said, exasperated. “You’re sixteen. How do you expect to get a girlfriend if you constantly act like you’re twelve?”

While the statement was rude, Justin didn’t even flinch, or seem the least bit offended. “Well, my dear friend, I expect that one day I’ll find an inherently attractive woman who finds my childlike tendencies endearing, charming, and maybe even sexy. Then I’ll get hitched before she can change her mind. Simple. Teenage dating never lasts, so I’m not gonna waste my time with any of these dramatic fools. No offense to you two. You guys are great together. Honestly. Just, ignore what I last said. Teenage love is precious and other rubbish like that.”

Zacharias rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop the thought from lingering in his head a tad longer. Was it true that what he had with Amy wasn’t always going to be? All good things come to an end, his mother had always told him as a child. But she was referring to playtime before bed. Zacharias loved Amy― he wanted to be with her forever. But he couldn’t help but wonder if even forever had an expiration date.

Amelia

“So, seven?” Zacharias asked, snapping her out of her daze. Amelia looked up in a panic, not even realizing that she had spaced out while reading over her essay. Wow, was it really that bad?

“What? Oh, yes, sorry,” But Zacharias just chuckled quietly to himself, displaying a wide grin, before stuffing his hands farther into his pockets and heading towards the door. “See you after practice!” Amelia shouted, as she watched him go. “I love you!”

“I totally forgot to ask at supper, how rude of me,” Amelia said, swinging Zacharias’s hand as they wandered the corridors of the castle before bed. “How was practice? All’s well?”

“Yeah. It was alright. Sometimes feels like they all see me as the devil, though. Start getting mad at me for telling then what moves to try and where to go; who to pass to.” 

Amelia shook her head. “Zach, I’ve told you this time and time again: sometimes when you get frustrated or annoyed, you get mean. You just have to learn to be less so.”

Zacharias dropped her hand and stopped in his tracks, turning to face her. “What? You’re agreeing with them? You weren’t even there!” 

Amelia froze, and stared at him, before crossing her arms over her chest, flustered. While she spoke the truth, the truth was definitely not the right thing to say in the moment. But, she had started, and couldn’t stop. “So? I’ve seen it happen before, Zach. You like to control things; control people. That’s how you are. But sometimes I think it’s best if you listen to what other people have to say, and let them make some decisions.”

“What?”

“You can’t control everyone around you all the time, Zach! It’s this bad habit that you have where you think that everyone will do whatever you say, if you say it with enough force.”

Zacharias balled his hands into fists, attempting to let his anger out. “I do not. Just― stop.”

Amelia felt her body shake. “You just did it again.” Her tone changed to be more tranquil; so she sounded more collected. She didn’t want to raise her voice at him. “I think that you just need to find a way to control it. I know you, Zach, and I know that you have all this anger: from your parents, your home, your childhood; that’s all pent up inside of you, and you just need to find better ways of letting it out. A way that’s not on your friends or teammates. I can help.”

But Zacharias was too wound up to be calm. “REALLY? What are you doing, trying to diagnose me? I’m not the only one with issues here, Amy. You have bad habits, too. Like, I don’t know, how about when you didn’t talk to anyone last year because you were too concerned about yourself and your own feelings? Did you even care what the rest of us were feeling? NO!” His tone was snarky, filled with spite. “You’re like a locked door half the time, and an open one the rest! It’s so annoying how unpredictable you can be! I CAN’T READ YOUR FUCKING MIND!”

The words stung, tears dampened the corners of her eyes, but they had started this, and Amelia couldn’t back down, especially when Zach was talking to her with such fury. “Yeah?” Amelia spat, her face now flushed with rage. Her voice rose, pounding strong like waves against the shore. “You think you’re better than me? You’re smart, athletic, have two living parents, a big house, and a house elf, not to mention that you’re rich as hell, but all you can focus on is the fact that you got placed in Hufflepuff ! WHO CARES?! Be grateful for what you fucking have. Most of the kids in this school would die to be in your place, Hufflepuff or not, so suck it up and move on. No one cares, but you. You linger on these little things that don’t matter and―” Amelia paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, before continuing. “Do you know the lengths that I would go to get one more moment with my mum? One more moment. JUST ONE . And you could see your parents every holiday if you wanted to. I HAVEN’T SEEN MY MUM IN AN ENTIRE YEAR BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD. You haven’t seen your parents in an entire year because you had an argument and didn’t WANT to see them! This whole thing that you have against your parents is so fucking stupid, I just― I can’t even. Your parents are alive, and well, and yeah, maybe they don’t know you as well as they should― so then help them! God , why hold such a stupid grudge? My advice, not that you’ll care to take it, would be to get off your arse, and write them a letter telling them everything you’ve whined about to me this past year. Because I can’t do this shit anymore! Hearing all these little things! IT’S DRIVING ME MAD! I would literally DIE to even see my mum again, just see her, that’s all. You know that. So just do it. Fix this stupid, babyish feud and who knows? Maybe it’ll repair these anger issues that you have, too.

“I’m just trying to tell you it like it is,” Amelia continued, her voice subsiding from the anger. “I know I’m not the only one when I say that you become an arse when you get mad― such an arse that no one wants to be around you. And that’s not good. So take my advice, or don’t, I don’t care either way, just― stop doing this. Stop being mad at the people who care. Talk to me when you’re in the mood to be nice.” And with that, Amelia turned around and stalked away, not looking back. 

Zacharias

“UGH!” Zacharias screamed, flustered, as he slammed the door to the boys’ dorm and stomped over to his bed. No exaggeration. Zacharias had literally stomped, screamed, and slammed his way from the corridor all the way to the dorm. Mashing his face in his comforter, Zacharias screamed, the cotton the only thing muffling the sound.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Justin asked, rising from where he was sitting on his bed, studying. Justin tapped Zacharias’s shoulder, peering nervously over at his friend. “Hey, Zach? Are you okay?” Zacharias sat upright, and eyed his friend bitterly, the fire still alight in his glassy eyes. “Hav― have you been crying?” Justin smirked, which caused Zacharias to get mad once more, and he violently shoved Justin off of him and onto the floor with a thud. Justin slammed into the ground, shocked, and sat up slowly, rubbing his aching arm and back. “Dude, what the fuck?!”

Zacharias just scowled before pounding his mattress harshing, almost resembling a toddler throwing a tantrum. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” he yelled, but Justin rose from the floor and went towards his friend once more.

“Hey, hey, I forgive you for that last sudden outburst, but, just― what’s going on? What happened?”

“I said leave me alone, Justin.”

“Tell me what happened and I will.”

“Leave me alone, Jus.”

“What happened?!”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!” Justin spoke loudly.

“What happened?” Zacharias repeated, standing for emphasis. “I was just talking about the team when Amelia starts screaming shit at me. Like, what the fuck?! Then she told me to go to her when I calm down! Like, what?!” Zacharias furiously paced the room, kicking his shoes off in the process. “Calm? I AM CALM!”

Justin sank down onto his bed, crossing his legs before resting his chin on his hand. He watched his friend walk back and forth, over and over, before speaking. “Are you sure that’s how it went? Doesn’t really sound like something Amelia would do for no reason.”

“Oh, so you’re siding with her? Come on! That’s exactly what she did!”

“Listen, Zach, you need to calm down. Just relax. Chill out. It’ll be fine. You guys had a fight― all couples fight. In a few days you’ll be back to normal. You just need to get yourself together.”

Zacharias froze in front of Justin, and stared at him. “Get myself together? Get myself together? She was accusing me of having anger issues !”

At that statement, Justin gave a solemn nod and turned himself around, so that his front faced his book and his back faced Zacharias, wanting to remove himself from this conversation as much as he could. 

Four days. Zacharias avoided Amelia and Justin for the next four days, which wasn’t easy. They all had classes together, meals together, and he shared a dorm room with Justin, but he tried as best as he could. On day five of staying away, and day three of hanging around Ernie and Hannah, they finally started to ask questions. 

“Listen, Zach, it’s not that I don’t love you, ‘cause I totally do, but I am curious as to why you’re avoiding Amy. Like, come on, you guys are the power couple of our year. What’s going on?” Ernie asked at breakfast that morning. 

Zacharias could sense Hannah leaning in closer, and he rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, you obviously fought about something― that’s really the only explanation.” Zacharias looked at Ernie with a glare, as he continued to stuff scrambled eggs into his mouth. “Fine,” Ernie continued, placing his napkin on the table and clasping his hands; stretching them out so as to crack his knuckles. “If you’re not gonna tell me, I’m gonna guess until you do. Drive you nuts until you confess.” Ernie continued to crack his neck and stretch his muscles, as if preparing for a race.

“That’s not gonna work,” Zacharias snapped. 

“Oh yeah? Try me. Hannah, would you be the timekeeper? I wanna beat my high score.”

“Alright. On three. Two. One. Go!” Hannah clicked the dial on her wrist watch as Ernie cleared his throat.

“School? Class? Pets? Your hair? Shoes? Clothes? Food? Table manners? Her family? Your family? No spark? No love? No sex? Lies? She’s gay? You’re gay? Money? Drugs? Alcohol? Stress? Someone’s bored? Her friends?” Zacharias watched in awe as Ernie took a breath, brushed his shaggy hair out his face and continued on. “Jealousy― you like someone else? Too different? Someone’s unhappy? She’s pregnant? You’ve drifted apart? Someone only has a few months left to live? Different interests? Bad personality traits? She’s too stubborn? Your anger issues? Someon―” 

“Wait, what?” Zacharias said, his eyebrows creasing as his head perked up. 

Ernie smirked. “Did I guess it? Hannah, what’s my time?” 

“28 seconds.” Ernie pumped his fist before turning towards Zacharias, a serious look on his face. “Listen, mate, what’s going on? You can talk to me about it.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Zacharias mumbled.

Hannah waved her hand in the air, signaling attention. “Actually, of anyone, we would understand the most.”

Ernie rubbed the back of his head, his arm flexed in the air. “Yeah. We actually broke up because of a fight. Hate to see that happen to you two lovebirds. Not everyone can remain friends post-relationship like me and Han.”

Zacharias, who hadn’t previously known this information, felt himself relax. “Why did you say ‘anger issues’?”

Ernie nodded, and shrugged. “When you get upset, you get upset . When you get mad, you get mad . You have such a, a, a heightened sense of emotion. It’s a bit intense sometimes.”

“I think that’s what Amelia was saying, too.”

“So? Is that why you’ve been avoiding her? Your anger has been ‘heightened’?”

“I think so. What do I do about it?”

“You get yourself together, and you talk to her about it.” Hannah interrupted, sincerely. “I bet that like the rest of us, she just wants to help you. Don’t let those negative feelings get in the way of the feelings that matter.”

“Th-thanks, mates. I don’t know why I got the way I did. Should’ve just talked to Justin when he asked.”

“It’s alright. I bet Justin forgives you.” Hannah said, placing her hand gently on Zacharias’s arm.

“Definitely,” Ernie added. “And remember, we’re your friends too, Zach. Your relationship gurus, always here to give you valid relationship advice. Unlike that shit Justin gives you.”

Zacharias smiled softly, before rising from the bench and patting Ernie on the shoulder. “Thanks, Ern. You too, Hannah. Means a lot.” And so Zacharias walked himself a dozen seats down the table, before motioning for Amelia to slide over towards him. 

The pair sat across the table from one another, neither speaking, just staring at each other intently. Amelia’s thin arms were folded across her chest, her toes tapping against the stone floor, as she stared at him scoldingly. Her lips were pressed tightly into a line.

“I’m a dick,” Zacharias burst out, but Amelia said nothing. “I shouldn’t’ve been like that. I got mad, and I realize now that that might have been over the top.” His words were met with silence once more. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, ruffling it before sighing loudly. “What else do you want me to say, Amy?”

Amelia shrugged. “What else is there left for you to say to me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“And?”

“….You were right?” 

Amelia stuck her hand out across the table, which Zacharias accepted unsurely. She firmly grasped his clammy hand, shaking it gently with her own. “Thank you. Apology accepted.” Using her forearms, she shoved the contents of the table: plates, trays, silverware and napkins; to either side haphazardly, as if she were parting the sea, before rising from her seat and hoisting herself onto the table, being careful not to step onto her robes. Zacharias watched as Amelia brushed her mousy locks behind her ear before clamouring over the table, her sleek black combat boots squeaking against the mahogany wood.

She straddled the bench beside Zacharias, and eyed him a moment before wrapping her arms around him, nuzzling her head into his chest. “I just care too much about you― I don’t want to fix you, I just want to help,” she mumbled, and he could feel her breathing in his scent.

Zacharias slowly moved his arms so that they were resting on her back, and his lips were kissing the top of her head. The noises of the Great Hall seemed to fade away. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, I really am. I swear that I’m gonna try harder to keep my temper under control.”

Amelia sat upright once more, shaking her head. “Yeah, but it wasn’t just about that. Your parents―”

But Zacharias cut her off. “I think I’ll take this one item at a time, alright?”

“Alright,” Amelia said, giving in, before placing a lingering kiss on his parted lips. 

Zacharias rose from his chair, as did Amelia, and the pair walked out of the Great Hall, hand in hand. “Let’s never let things escalate like that again.”

“Seconded.”

Amelia

Relationships had been repaired. Bonds had been strengthened. Knowledge had been furthered. Weeks continued to pass in a constant stream of classes, homework, meals, and laughter. Even Easter break went by in a rush. They barely had time to enjoy the week off from school when it all started back up again. Of course, it would have been more enjoyable if Amelia could’ve visited Michael and Kacey, but she found herself knee deep in assignments, and thought it would be best to use her time-off wisely and catch up in the race with her ever growing mountain of work. 

But soon enough, the chill in the air dispersed, and leaves began growing on the trees once more. The icy wind turned to a warm breeze, and the frostbitten ground thawed into the classic green landscape that defines the Hogwarts grounds. Birds chirped and the pleasant scent of pollen filled the air― pleasant for those who didn’t have seasonal allergies, of course. And on April 22, 1997, the sixth years were in an odd mood at breakfast.

“And just like that,” Justin said ominously, before snapping his fingers for emphasis, “You could tank the entire thing. Boom. Apparition test, failed. Better luck next time!”

Hannah rolled her eyes. Wayne scoffed, before heading back to his book on Apparition theory. Oliver smirked, and Megan continued to eat, unfazed. Zacharias just patted Justin on the shoulder, in an attempt to make him calm down. “You’ll do fine, Jus. If you splinch, you splich. So what? You can always retake the test.”

“Yeah, but I want to apparate now!” Justin whined, before facepalming and sinking further into his seat. 

Susan cleared her throat, before leaning in towards the center of the group. “Spliching hurts like hell though― speaking from experience. Just remember the three D’s. We’re all gonna do great.”

Ernie, who was sitting off towards the edge of the circle, grumbled, before slouching; his face propped up against his palm. “All but me and Amelia,” he sighed before meeting her eyes. She gave him a look, and he nodded, as if they were the only ones who understood something. The group continued to chatter about how they were all in it together, when Ernie erupted with a squeal. “Fuck!” He screeched, before slapping his hand over his mouth. Amelia giggled. The rest of the Hufflepuff sixth years froze in place and all stared at him.

“Would you blokes stop? Please? Stop bloody rubbing it in! It’s not Amelia and I’s fault that we’re not seventeen yet! Bloody hell,” Ernie moaned, before storming out dramatically. “Amelia! We’re leaving these losers!” Ernie called sarcastically, and Amelia smiled, gave Zacharias a quick kiss, wished her friends the best of luck, before running off to spend the next hour with Ernie.

  “So, how was your date with Ernie?” Zacharias asked mockingly, as he poked Amelia’s shoulder with his finger. It was later that evening, and the pair was sitting together in the barren common room, enjoying the peace and quiet. Only the faint crackling of the dying fire interrupted their conversation. 

Amelia blushed, before playfully slapping him in the side of the head. He winced, but only to annoy her even further. “Oh shut up. You know that if I wanted to date Ernie I’d have to break up with you first. Speaking of which, there’s something I needed to talk to you about….” At that, Amelia burst out chortling, her cheeks aching from smiling so wide. Zacharias just smirked and rolled his eyes, before placing his arm around her shoulders. 

“No, but honestly, Ernie wasn’t too much of a pain? ‘Cause if he was a bother, you know I’d beat him up for you, right?” 

“I know, I know. But we actually had an enjoyable afternoon playing chess out on the lawn. Chatted some. I’m glad you passed your apparition test, though.”

Amelia felt Zacharias place his head onto hers, and could feel his warm breath on her scalp. “Me too. Makes it easier to visit you over the summer….God, you smell good.”

Amelia grinned to herself. “Thank you. You don’t smell too bad yourself, loverboy.” She turned to look at him, and found that their faces were centimeters apart from one another. 

Her eyes fluttered, which caused her lashes to tickle her cheekbones. She sighed softly as Zacharias gently placed his lips onto hers, then tightened his hold on her waist. She tilted her head and pressed into the affection, feeling her heart race just as fast as if it was the first time all over again. The rush. The adrenaline. Never, in a billion years, would she have ever imagined that she would be kissing a boy. Specifically, her childhood crush. She felt special. Like she could rule the world. Like she had already conquered it. And, wow, did it feel like heaven. 

When they finally broke for air, Zacharias rested his forehead against hers. “God, I love you so much, Ames.”

“And I you. On another note, did you ever write to your parents?”

Zacharias leaned back towards the farside of the couch, running his hand across the faintly growing stubble on his face. “Wow, Ames. You really know how to ruin a moment, don’t you?”

She watched as a twinkle flickered in his eye, and a simper on his face, and just shrugged contemptuously. “So I’m told.” 

Zacharias

Time continued to fly as fast as ever. The end of the year was quickly approaching, as they finished units in their lessons and studied for their upcoming finals. Finally, the end of May approached, and only a few weeks remained of term before summer recess. 

As Zacharias entered the Great Hall one June morning, he couldn’t help but notice the somber mood that was dispersed across all four tables. Even the teachers seemed to be upset over something, barely even picking at their food. Professor Mcgonagall had swapped out her emerald green robes for sleek black ones, and he wondered if those were tears in her eyes.

As he sat in his normal seat at the middle of the Hufflepuff House table, he tapped Justin on the shoulder, and whispered, “What happened? Why is everyone so sad?”

Justin turned towards his friend, his face tilted downward in a frown, before speaking softly, “Dumbledore died.”

Zacharias went rigid, not sure how to react to this information. His mouth dropped open in shock, and he covered it with his hand. Amelia, who had just joined the group, stared at him nervously, before herself hearing the tragic news. 

“Blimey,” was all that she managed to say, before tears glistened in her eyes. “When? How? Where?”

Ernie filled Amelia in on as much information as he knew, which wasn’t a lot. They were only students, after all, and hadn’t yet been briefed on the recent turn of events. “I heard he fell from the Astronomy tower. Got pushed off by someone. Michael Corner said that it was Snape. Happened a few days ago, but they didn’t want it getting out to the public yet, so I just found out this morning. Really horrible, isn’t it?”

Susan tugged at her orange plaits before squealing and bursting into tears. “What are we going to do without Dumbledore?! Hogwarts’ is gonna fall apart!” The girls attempted to console their friend, but it was to no avail. The group sat in silence, not sure what else to talk about on such a sad morning. 

“All final exams have been cancelled! Yes, all final exams have been cancelled due to the recent events!” Professor Sprout called, as she paced the aisle way beside their table. 

The students looked up, shocked. “Professor?” Ernie called, signaling Professor Sprout over to their pod. 

“Yes, Macmillan?”

“What’s going to happen with the school?”

Professor Sprout drew in a long breath, contemplating an answer before responding with, “I’m not so sure. But that is not our main concern right now. Professor Mcgonagall has taken over as interim Headmistress, and we’re taking it one incident at a time. Professor Dumbledore’s funeral has been scheduled for next week, and all students are welcome to come. Of course, we have received many complaints from parents already these past few days,” Professor Sprout continued, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Parents who are concerned for their child’s safety now that Death Eaters and You Know Who have invaded the premises. Parents who believe that Hogwarts is no longer safe. Many have chosen to come down to the school to remove their children from the property and to take them home. But of course, you all are welcome to remain at the school for a week longer or so. Now, I really must go,” she finished, before rushing off to comfort a group of second year students. 

“Well, I don’t know about you guys,” Oliver said, adjusting his glasses, “But I’m definitely staying for the funeral. It’d be selfish not to.”

The rest of the sixth years nodded, all in agreement.

All lessons had been suspended. All exams had been cancelled. The Hogwarts Express would be escorting all students home immediately following the funeral. Hogwarts had turned into such a dreary place, all due to the missing presence of the greatest wizard of all time. 

A few days before the funeral was to take place, Zacharias and Amelia found themselves walking back towards their common room, hand in hand. They were chatting quietly in the almost deserted corridor, when a loud commotion sounded from behind them.

“Sir! You can’t just barge through the school like this! Please, sir!” Professor Sprout called, her tiny shoes clicking against the floor so fast it sounded as if she was tap dancing. Zacharias and Amelia turned around, confused, and were surprised to see an adult man, dressed in slacks, a tie, and dress shoes, briskly walking down the hall. His face was stern, his hair short and flecked with gray. And while the pair were a ways off from the scene, Amelia couldn’t help but question what was happening.

“I wonder what’s going on,” she mumbled to Zacharias, leaning towards him so as not to be overheard. Zacharias could see out of his peripheral vision Amelia looking towards him, but he could only focus on the man. Zacharias felt the color flush from his face, his hands go cold and clammy. His heart began to race, and he felt faint. Anger flooded his system, and he couldn’t make it stop. “Zach?” Amelia asked, tugging on his sleeve, nervously. “Who is that?”

Zacharias took a few labored breaths, locking his eyes on the man. He didn’t even dare to look at Amelia as he replied, “My father.”

Zacharias could sense Amelia’s panic as the man drew closer to them, Professor Sprout still tailing him. As the man locked eyes on his son, his face grew serious, and he strode towards Zacharias hurriedly, his wrath showing in each step. Without thinking, Zacharias dropped Amelia’s hand and stepped away from her, glaring at his father, furiously, standing in a sort of protective stance.

“Zacharias!” he shouted, his eyes cold. “Come. We’re leaving this wretched school. Forget your things― that elf of ours will come by to get them later. Let’s go.” He swiveled back around, and began stalking towards the door, giving Professor Sprout a mean look.

Zacharias felt his entire body shake, his hands go sweaty, and he cleared his throat before speaking, as confidently as he could muster. “No.”

“What was that?” his father spat, fury ablaze in his eyes.

“I said no. I’m staying here. For the funeral.”

Henry chuckled for a second, before his face went back to looking grave. “Very funny, Zacharias, but that will not be allowed. Now, come, let’s go. I’m on a tight schedule.”

“No. I said no.”

“Zacharias― I don’t care what you want. I never asked for your opinion. A lot is going on at the Ministry due to what’s been happening at this godforsaken place one calls a ‘school’, and I will not have my son mixed up in this. We’re leaving at once. Now.” The man rushed towards Zacharias, grasped him by the upper arm, and began dragging him towards the door. 

“Stop! Let me go!” Zacharias shouted, trying to remove his father’s hand and attempting to dig his heels into the stone floors, to no avail. “I’m seventeen! I don’t have to do what you say anymore! LET ME GO!”

By this point, a small crowd had gathered around the scene, and were watching the entire thing play out. 

“I don’t care, Zacharias― I DON’T CARE! WE’RE LEAVING NOW, GODDAMMIT!” He tightened his grip on his son’s arm, before slapping him straight across the face. The room went dead silent as Zacharias winced from the pain, and rubbed his reddening cheek with his free hand before scowling even harder at his old man and refusing with all his might as his father continued to drag him towards the main doors, not looking back.

Zacharias locked eyes with Amelia, a sad, almost pleading, gaze in his eyes, before he mouthed, I’m sorry . And then, he was gone. And there was nothing that he, or anyone else for that matter, could do about it. 

Amelia

As she sat in an aged wooden chair, out on the lawn by the Black Lake, wearing the same lacy black dress she had worn over the summer, Amelia couldn’t help her mind from wandering. 

Amelia, who had never, before the other day, met Zacharias’s father, now felt that she understood the hatred that Zacharias had for him. She had always just assumed that Zach had made him out to be a monster― not that he actually was one. But now, she wasn’t so sure what to believe. 

She felt tears roll down her cheeks, and she leaned back in her chair with a sigh. Even here, with all of her friends sitting beside her as they watched the only headmaster that they had ever known being buried in a white tomb, she felt numb. She wished Zacharias was here.

After the ceremony, all the students were ushered towards the train, which would take them back to King’s Cross Station for the summer holiday. As Amelia settled into a compartment chair, feeling alone, she rested her head against the window. 

“You okay, Amy?” Leanne asked, sitting across from her friend in the compartment. She tucked her short brown locks behind her ear, and crossed her steel toed boots at the ankle. The rest of the Hufflepuffs of their year filed in after her, filling up the seats and even resorting to sitting on the floor. 

“Not really,” she replied, not wanting to lie.

“I heard they’re considering closing the school,” Hannah said with a sigh. “I can’t even imagine what I would do if that happened.”

Wayne shook his head before slumping against the wall. Megan was fiddling with the ends of her purple ponytail, while Susan rested her chin on her knee. 

“I might not be returning to school next year, even if it is open,” Justin blurted out, before rubbing his face with his hands. “If these rumors about them targeting muggleborns are true, then Hogwarts is probably not the safest place for me to be.” Silence followed Justin’s statement, as the reality of their situation sank in. 

“UGH! I can’t take this!” Ernie shouted, flustered. “Dumbledore’s dead, school might be closed forever, summer means less time to hang out with all of you, and to top it all off, Justin might never get to see Zach again! I fucking miss Zach. He would say something idiotic and we’d all mess with him, then he’d get mad, and in the end we’d all be laughing our arses off over something stupid.”

“Yeah,” Leanne said, a smile creeping across her face. “Zach-Attack has a way of just turning a room from fine to chaos. In a good way.”

“I had no idea he had such issues with his dad,” Susan added, shrugging. “I just thought that all rich people had happy lives.”

“Same,” Oliver spoke, looking up from his book. 

Amelia didn’t like this conversation anymore. She knew Zach better than all of them did, combined. She felt anger begin to boil in her chest. “Why are you all talking about him like he’s dead? Please, stop it.”

All eight heads swiveled in her direction. “We’re not―” Ernie began, but Amelia silenced him.

“Zach’s been through a lot. Most of you don’t even know the half of it, if any at all. It’s been a hard year for all of us, yes, but especially for him. Some of it’s hard to understand….I’m not a pureblood….but I doubt that Zach would want us to be talking about him behind his back. You know how he gets….” Amelia mumbled quickly, before wiping at the tears that were slowly dripping from her eyes. She sniffled and dabbed at her nose with her sleeve. 

“Sorry, Amy,” Justin said, before sliding closer to her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, encircling her in an awkward hug. “It’s just, we all miss him. And it’s better to talk about something nice, like the funny things we find about Zach, than crappy things like death and school closing. You know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Amelia replied, a weak smile faltering onto her small face. 

“There it is!” Ernie called from across the compartment, pointing towards Amelia with both hands. Small giggles broke out from everyone, and soon enough their spirits were slowly lifted.

“Let’s just enjoy one last happy day together,” Leanne said, grinning, “before shit hits the fan, and the world goes to hell. Am I right?”

Chorus’ of agreement echoed throughout the small room.

“To us,” Justin called, raising his glass of pumpkin juice that he had gotten off the trolley. Eight glasses joined his in the air, and they clicked them together ceremoniously. 

“Cheers!”

Chapter Text

Zacharias

“Zachy, dear, just eat something. Please. Or you’re going to starve yourself,” a woman begged, her smooth blonde bob barely moving as she tilted her head towards him. She nudged his plate with her jewelry-covered hand; half a dozen rings adorned her slender fingers, gold bangles stretched up her arm, and her nails were glittered with gemstones of various colors and sizes. 

Zacharias scoffed, before shoving the plate farther away from his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. “I choose to starve, thanks.”

“Eat, boy. Do as your mother tells you,” the man, who sat at the head of the table, exclaimed, eyeing his son scoldingly. 

“Once again, no thanks. I’m not hungry. Besides, if I was hungry, you two would be the last people I’d choose to share a meal with. So thanks, but no thanks.” Zacharias glanced around at his parents’ faces before staring down at his lap once more.

Zacharias’s father huffed, before slamming his fist on the table, causing Zacharias to look up in alarm. “FOR GOD’S SAKE, ZACHARIAS! EAT THE DAMN MEAL!”

Zacharias scowled at him. “LET ME LEAVE THIS FUCKING HOUSE AND I WILL!” In their rage, both men had pushed their chairs backwards and stood up, staring at each other eye to eye. The energy in the room pulsed, the air was fuming with anger. Zacharias’s mother sat still in her seat, as if afraid to move an inch. 

“You are not going ANYWHERE, you hear me, boy? Not now, not anytime soon, not until this whole…. situation ….has passed. I don’t want anyone― that includes you ― getting involved with this. And until this thing blows over, no one is exiting the property,” Zacharias’s father declared, his finger flying all over the place. 

“It’s not like I wanna leave so I can side with You Know Who! I’M SEVENTEEN, LET ME OUT OF YOUR FUCKING HOUSE!”

“Do NOT use that tone with me, boy! I’m very aware of that. But I don’t want you siding with the Ministry, as I don’t agree with their plan of action regarding You Know Who. Truthfully, I just don’t want you running off to side with Dumbledore. So stop this nonsense and just do what I ask.”

Zacharias’s eyes were wide with fury, and his hands were balled into fists, but this last statement by his father made him laugh. “Dumbledore? Dumbledore ? How can I side with Dumbledore if he’s dead ? LET ME LEAVE.”

“Henry? Zachy? Please, just, calm down. We can discuss this like adults. Just have a seat and let’s finish dinner,” Zacharias’s mother pleaded, her face wide with horror at the two men. She motioned for them to return to their chairs, but neither seemed to care. 

“Not now, Mira.”

“Like adults ?” Zacharias added, sarcasm flooding his tone. “ LIKE ADULTS ? Oh, so NOW you recognize my age. I can legally do whatever I want, yet, for some reason, I’m not allowed to leave. That’s all I want. TO LEAVE.” Zacharias spoke slowly, allowing the truth of his words to sink in, annunciating on what mattered. As he saw his father about to speak, he interrupted him and kept going. “I haven’t seen my friends, or my girlfriend, in a month. A month . Why? Because you won’t let me leave. And I respect what you believe in and what you don’t want to fight for, which is our wizarding rights, but at the same time I don’t understand why. All I want to do is get out of this-this damned house, and get away from you . So why can’t you let me have this one thing? This one thing that I really want? I’d really love to know.” Silence rippled across the room as Zacharias finished his statement and collapsed backwards in his chair, before looking up expectantly at his father. Waiting for a reply. “I was serious,” Zacharias said after a moment longer. “Please, indulge me.”

Henry cleared his throat before sitting down at the encouragement of his wife. He lowered his tone to a much calmer key, and spoke with reason. “It’s safer here. Out there, and even at that desolate school of yours, it's just calling for you to die. Anyone to die. Why risk it? We have a nice house here where we can ride out the waves until they’ve calmed. I don’t want either of you getting hurt.”

Zacharias looked at his father, expecting to see some sort of sadness or sympathy on his face, but he remained stoic as ever. He turned towards his mother, but she just cleared her throat. “You may be seventeen, Zacharias, but you are still a child. You are still in school and you are still ours to watch over. We want what’s best for you. Like your father said, we don’t want you getting hurt.”

“But don’t you see?” Zacharias croaked, his voice hoarse as he wiped at his teary eyes before looking around at his parents. “Can’t you see that I’m already hurt? That I’ve been hurt for years?” 

“Preposterous!” his father exclaimed, shaking his head. 

“But it’s not!” Zacharias spoke again, his words strengthening once more. “This place causes me pain. This house. All of it. Pain over and over again.”

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed. He spoke gruffly. “Pain? What you should be feeling, boy, is gratitude . Your mother and I have slaved our asses off to provide you with this life that you live. This big house, your nice clothes, our wealth; not everyone lives like we do. So you should be grateful.”

“I didn’t ask you for any of this,” Zacharias snapped. “I don’t care about any of this!”

“HEY!” Henry shouted. “You better watch your tone, boy! You better watch what words come out of that mouth of yours.”

“Oh yeah?” 

“I’m serious.”

“Yeah? Well, so am I.” Zacharias took a deep breath in as he rose from his chair. Things were about to get ugly. “I don’t care where we live. I don’t care about my clothes or my stuff or the other priceless shit we have lying around. I don’t even care about the money! What I DO care about is this ! US! A normal kid with normal parents who give a fuck! ALL I’VE EVER WANTED WAS PARENTS WHO GAVE A FUCK!”

“YOU NEGLECT ME, YOU ABANDON ME AGAIN AND AGAIN! YOU GIVE ME CRAP FOR EVERYTHING. I GREW UP WITHOUT PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED ME OR CARED ABOUT ME AND NOW LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME! LOOK AT THIS AWFUL SHELL OF A PERSON THAT YOU’VE MADE ME INTO!” 

“Zacharias,” Mira started, but Zach kept plowing right on through. 

“KIDS NEED TO BE LOVED. I NEEDED TO BE LOVED. BUT I GUESS THAT THAT WAS EVEN TOO MUCH TO ASK. SO NO, I DON’T NEED YOUR SYMPATHIES OR APOLOGIES. NOTHING CAN MAKE UP FOR THE DAMAGE THAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME.”

“GO TO YOUR ROOM, ZACHARIAS!” Henry screamed, pointing his finger, as if he was punishing a family dog. “GO!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, OLD MAN, AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!”

“LEAVE THIS ROOM IMMEDIATELY―I’M WARNING YOU, ZACHARIAS!”

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? KICK ME OUT? PLEASE DO!” Zacharias yelled, whilst opening his arms, as if inviting his father to give him what he wanted in the first place: freedom.

“YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, BECAUSE I AM IN CHARGE HERE, NOT YOU. NOW GO TO YOUR ROOM AND STAY THERE!” Henry’s face was a deep shade of red. Smoke was all but coming out of his ears. He looked as if his head might just fly off. 

Zacharias, visually, was about the same level of red. His lips were pursed, and he looked as if he was about to say something more, but knew that this was a losing battle. But as he began to storm off, he whipped around, and shot an angry, desperate, expression at his parents. “I HATE YOU. I really fucking HATE YOU.” And with one last glare, he stormed out. 

Once at his room, Zacharias slammed the door so hard, its racket could be heard for miles. “AGHHHH!!” He screamed as he yanked at his hair with his fists. “AGHH!! FUCK YOU!” He shouted as his fist made contact with the wall beside the bedroom door. 

As he moved his hand away, he found a hole the exact size and shape of his knuckles carved out in the wall, exposing the insulation behind the drywall. Zacharias stared, shocked, at the hole in the wall, before looking at his iron fist. His knuckles were red and raw, and small cuts had formed on them, which caused minimal amounts of blood to trickle down his palm. “Fuck,” he mumbled, as he went off to wrap his hand up with gauze. “Fuck.”

Amelia

…it was pretty bad. There was a lot of yelling, by both me and my father, and a hole may or may not have been punched in the wall by yours truly. I was really pissed. So was he. Yet, at the same time, it was good. Therapeutic in a way. I got everything off my chest. And now, they don’t even care that I’m home. I could apparate out and they wouldn’t even notice, which means that I’m pretty much set to leave the house now. 

I miss you so much, Ames. Tell Michael and Kacey that I say ‘hello’, and tell Quinn that I hope to see him soon. I hope to see you soon, too, of course. I miss you the most. 

Damn, I bet you lads are having a much better summer than I am. Truthfully, I bet everyone is having a better summer than me. 

Love you,

Zach

“Letter from Zach?” Michael asked as he passed by Amelia, who was perched on one of the kitchen chairs like a bird. Her mismatched socks were precariously balanced upon the wooden seat, propping up her entire body. She smiled at Michael, before squinting from the sun that shone right into her eyes through the open window.

“Yep,” she replied, nodding, before tossing the letter on the table and dropping into a criss-cross seat. 

“And how’s he been doing? We haven’t seen him around here all summer,” Michael asked, watching Amelia before pulling out a chair for himself and sitting down, crossing his legs at the ankle. 

“Not great. His lifetime lasting row with his parents has seemed to have escalated further after a big argument with his dad. The truth was spoken, and apparently it wasn’t taken well and things didn’t turn out in the best light. But he said that it was good to get those words and thoughts off his chest anyway. He said it felt almost freeing. His parents pretty much don’t care about where he is anymore though, so he might be coming around here soon. He asked me to say ‘hello’ to you and the rest of the family, though.” Amelia had been watching Michael, but soon her gaze fell towards the rough wood of the table, and she began fidgeting with her bracelet; tying it in knots and looping it around her various fingers.

“Oh, gosh, poor Zach,” Michael said awkwardly. 

“Yeah, but he’ll be okay. He’s had spats with his father many times before. I’m just glad he finally spoke what was on his mind. I’d advised him to that a long time ago,” Amelia spluttered, glancing towards Michael nervously. They made eye contact as she held her breath before continuing. “I admire his bravery. The way he was able to just― just say it. Go for it.”

“Speaking your mind is never something to be downplayed,” Michael added, nodding. 

Amelia bobbed her head, half listening, before clearing her throat and continuing once more. “Well,” she said, speaking quickly. “I think it’s time I put my own advice to good use.”

“Oh?” At this statement, Michael ran his slender fingers through his gelled hair, watching Amelia carefully.

“Yes. The truth is better out than in, don’t you think?”

“I do.”

Amelia adjusted her seating position, so that she was now sitting upon her feet, her posture straighter and her eyes forward. “Michael.”

“Amelia.”

“First, I want to thank you. For taking me in, even though you didn’t even know me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“But I wanted you to know that you shouldn’t’ve had to feel obligated. I want to know that you didn’t agree to be my guardian because you felt sorry for me, or because you felt guilty.”

 I didn’t―” Michael started, holding out his hand to stop Amelia, but she frowned at him before continuing on. 

“Let me finish, please. Thank you,” she took a deep breath, centering herself. “For years, my entire lifetime, really, it had just been me and my mum. And I never thought as a kid that that was weird, or that was strange, or different; it was my normal. I never wondered where my dad was, or who he was, but I will be honest and admit that the one thing I did wonder was why he had gone. I remember being a kid and just looking at the photo gallery in the hall, and just thinking to myself, what would it be like if he was still here? Would he be in all of these photos, too? Why did he leave? Of course, I never asked my mum. I wasn’t sure if it was my place to do so. But that’s alright. Sometimes, two is always meant to be two, never three.”

“I think it was around my eleventh birthday, right before I went off to Hogwarts for the first time, that mum first explained to me why you had left. She said that she wanted me to be able to answer, if any of the other kids asked about it at school. She said it was because he ‘couldn’t handle’ learning that we were wizards. Of course, I was upset at first, but I got over it. I kept telling myself, his loss . His loss, his loss, his loss . And then I moved on with my life. It was something that stuck in my head, but it wasn’t important. It didn’t matter to me. I was a girl without a dad, and that’s who I was; I didn’t need one.”

Amelia paused in her story, as she studied Michael’s face. His eyes were wide and earnest, his lips thin as a line. Patting her eyes dry of tears that were yet to come, Amelia proceeded with her tale.

“Two years ago, mum and I went shopping in the city. It was midday, we were crossing the street, and I watched as a small black car shot down the road right towards us, full gas, no brakes. It hit her so fast she didn’t even see it coming. But I did. I saw the whole thing. And I could do nothing. I just froze there, unsure whether it was really happening or not. I’d always thought that when mum died, it would be of old age. Or even of something magical related: a potion gone wrong, dragon pox, or even hit by a curse or something. Never in my life would I have ever expected some stupid muggle car to knock the breath out of her.

“And so I spent fifth year in my dorm at school; alone, upset, and constantly on the verge of tears. I shut my friends out, I shut everything out, and blamed the world. It definitely was my lowest point. And once I learned that you would be taking me in, It got even worse. 

“But that was before I realized how amazing you, and your family, were, are , to me, and my friends, and just in general. After my mum died I thought that I was gonna be alone forever, but next thing I knew I had friends, a best friend, a boyfriend, a brother, a new mum….and a dad.”

At these words, Michael looked up towards Amelia, tears glistening in his eyes. She watched as he mouthed the words to himself, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

Amelia felt the tears begin to well in her own eyes. “I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for you. I couldn’t have asked for a life any better than this. Thank you, dad.”

By this point, neither father nor daughter could contain themselves any longer. Wrapping his arms around her small waist, Michael held Amelia close, encasing her in a strong fatherly hug. She wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes as they swayed together softly. 

Amelia had never experienced a hug as powerful as this one. And she didn’t know if she ever would again, so she decided to enjoy it as best as she could, for as long as he would allow her to. 

Zacharias

“Are you sure that this is the right place, Zach-eroni? I mean, I don’t want to mistrust your judgment, but―” Leanne whined, before motioning towards the houses that lay in front of them with a general sweep of her hand.

Zacharias rolled his eyes at her before checking the slip of parchment in his hand. “No, this is it: 52 Palmcroft Road, Ipswich, Suffolk. That’s what the letter said, anyhow,” Zacharias informed, before nodding towards the house that stood in front of them. 

“How….unique,” Amelia said as she shielded her eyes from the sun using her hand, squinting towards the building that was providing them no shade at all.

The house itself was nothing spectacular. On the right was a one-car garage with a long stone driveway leading towards it. To the left was a large patch of green grass, surrounded on two sides by a stonewall that only came up to Zacharias’s mid-thigh. The lawn itself had no sense of personality; that is to say, no trees providing shade, no flower bed bursting with petals of an array of colors. Nothing. The boxiness of the house made it feel as if it radiated sternness, with a lack of imagination. The worst part was, that in this muggle neighborhood, each of the houses surrounding them looked exactly like this one. Down to the size of the chimney and the color of the front door.

“Wow,” Leanne mumbled as she trailed her hand across the concrete top of the stone wall, her hot pink nails contrasting against the off-white. “After all that travel time, I’d expected something a little more….special.”

“Yeah well,” Zacharias shrugged. “It would have taken us less time to get here if Ames could apparate like us.” 

“Hey!” Amelia shrieked, before tossing her head back in laughter. “I’m sorry that I don’t turn seventeen until next week . Blimey, it’s not my fault my birthday’s not sooner.”

The trio stood side by side in silence, their backs to the road, as they stared up at the house, unsure of what to do next. 

“I guess I’ll lead?” Zacharias asked the girls, before taking their silence as a ‘yes’ and marching towards the door, hearing the thunks of their shoes following him. Once at the stark white door, he knocked twice before standing back, awaiting a response. 

Leanne tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, before leaning her back against the siding of the house. “Isn’t it common courtesy to answer the door within the first few minutes that someone knocks? This is taking forever,” Leanne complained, before running a fidgety hand through her short locks. 

“You didn’t have to come, you know,” Zacharias told her, but Leanne just shrugged.

“Hey, I wanna see Justin too, alright? Just let me complain. It passes the time.”

But after another few tries knocking, and another ten minutes waiting, Amelia voiced what they all had been thinking. “No one’s here.”

“But the car’s in the driveway,” Leanne said, pointing towards the black Ford Fiesta that sat quietly, bold against the white stone and sunny day.

“So? That doesn’t mean that they’re here.”

While the girls argued about the meaning behind a parked car, Zacharias reached his hand out and jiggled the brass handle, and was surprised to find that the door creaked open with ease. “Well, the door’s unlocked.”

Both girls' heads snapped in Zacharias’s direction, their eyes shooting contrary looks.

“Zach! You can’t just enter someone else’s house! That’s illegal!” Amelia shouted under her breath, before glancing around the street, as if nervous that someone would catch them for loitering outside the house itself.

“Whatever. I say we go in,” Leanne said, nodding. “What’s the worst that’s gonna happen? Justin’s going to find us inside? He’ll get a kick out of it. Come on, let’s go.” And with that, Leanne pushed past Zacharias and into the house through the open door. 

Zacharias and Amelia looked at one another awkwardly, before both following Leanne into the empty house to have a look around.

“Leanne!” Amelia yelled in a whisper, motioning with a flick of her wrist for Leanne to come back towards the foyer.

Leanne pivoted on her heel, her long floral shrug creating a cape-like effect behind her. “What?”

“Come here!”

“Why don’t you come over here?!”

Amelia looked around the house carefully, as if scared that someone was going to catch them at any second. Turning towards Zach with a pleading look, she clasped her hands together. “Zach! Tell Le to get over here so we can talk before we start breaking the law!”

Zacharias just smirked, shaking his head. “Leanne! Come!”

Leanne strode back towards the pair, crossing her arms over her chest before perching her body on the back of the sofa. “Yes?”

“I say we split up― cover more ground that way. Check every room and closet to make sure that he really isn’t here. Sounds good?” The girls nodded, Leanne confidently, Amelia nervously. “Leanne, you take the upstairs floor, I’ll check down here. Ames….how about you keep watch? Alert us if someone is coming.”

Amelia nodded silently, before sitting on the edge of the seat of the front bench, and peering out the crack in the front door. Zacharias motioned to Leanne that they move farther into the house, and so they did. 

“Lookout?” Leanne asked, her eyebrows creasing in the middle.

“Yeah, I know,” Zacharias said, shrugging. “But it’s the only job that I could think of that could calm her nerves. Meet you back here in ten, alright? It shouldn’t take longer than that.” And so the pair divided and conquered. 

As Zacharias shuffled through the living room, he checked behind every piece of aged furniture for any signs of life, but there was none. It took him even less time to scour the tiled kitchen, and the dining room was empty as well. As he opened creaky cupboards and cabinets, he noticed that the shelves were full of food, as if someone was about to come back in and cook up an amazing meal. The fridge, which was filled with photos of Justin and his parents taped to the door, was bursting with produce, but most had begun to rot― turning brown and bruised. All the lights were off, the bathroom was spotless. As Zacharias strolled back to the main living space, he glanced towards the front door, where Amelia was still seated. 

“Anything?” he called to Leanne, who had descended the stairs as he entered the room.

Leanne shook her head with a sigh. “Nothing. Some clothes are missing from drawers, and the toothbrushes and things from the bathroom, but no one’s here.”

“Yeah,” Zacharias agreed, and the pair headed back towards the door, motioning to Amelia that they could leave. Once they were regrouped outside, Zacharias shut the door and stuffed his hands into his pockets, disappointed. “By the unlocked door, all the lights being off, the rotten food, and the missing essentials, I would say that no one’s been in here for at least a few weeks, maybe more.”

Amelia looked up at Zacharias with tears in her eyes, before clinging to his waist as she buried her head in his shoulder. “I hope Justin’s alright! He said that he might have to leave, and he’s gone! Oh, I can’t bear it!”

Zacharias ran his hand over Amelia’s head, caressing her hair and cheek, before squeezing her tight. “I know, love. But there’s nothing we can do. Just pray that he’s alive and safe.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Leanne said, glancing up and down the street nervously. “I wouldn’t want to be caught in this muggle neighborhood by the Ministry. They’d convict of us of being too cordial with those that aren’t our ‘own kind’.” And with a loud crack , Leanne had apparated off the street.

Amelia, who was still upset and sniveling into Zacharias’s shirt, concealed herself further in the cotton. Zacharias sighed and wrapped his arm further around her. “Hold on tight, then. There’s no way I’m taking you on the Underground like this. This is my first time doing side-along, so fingers crossed you don’t get splinched.” And with a second crack , the pair vanished from view of the street. 

Amelia

“Now you be safe, okay? And we’ll see you at Christmas?” Kacey gushed, wrapping her arms around Amelia’s neck in quite a motherly fashion. 

Amelia nodded solemnly, as she glanced around at the platform of 9 ¾. What was usually bursting with children excited to go back to school, now seemed drab and dreary. Instead of students in robes running to the train, excited to see their friends again, children with fear in their eyes gripped their parents' legs as they were loaded into the train cars. Kids cried and screamed. No laughter. No smiles. 

The general amount of students present seemed lackluster as well. A good portion of the students, it seemed, had just not bothered returning to school. Others, Amelia knew, like Justin, had fled the country for their own safety. The platform felt darker than usual. 

Amelia looked towards Kacey, Michael, and Quinn, her eyes sparklingly due to the light of the train. “I’ll see you soon. Stay safe, alright? And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

“Will you?” Michael asked, concerned. All summer, Amelia had been informing them on the happenings in the Wizarding World. They knew about Voldemort and the situation at Hogwarts, and how unsafe it was for most, if not all, wizards in Britain. 

Amelia was about to speak once more, when she felt a pair of strong arms sling themselves across her chest. A tall body pressed against her from behind, and she could feel the pulse of his heart and the rising and falling of his chest against her back. 

“She’ll be alright. She’s with me. I’ll protect her.” Zacharias said, smirking. Amelia craned her neck sideways and looked up towards him, her eyes glassy, and they fluttered as she felt him press his lips against hers. As they separated, she felt his warm breath by her ear. “I’m here for you, Ames. Alright?”

“Alright,” she mumbled, before swallowing and catching her breath. The final whistle of the train blew, calling all last minute students aboard. 

“Amelia! Wait!” Amelia turned around, surprised to see Quinn racing after her. Kneeling down to the ground so that they were at eye level, she waited for him to meet up with her. Once they were standing face to face, Quinn outstretched his hand, his Captain America action figure tight in his grasp. 

Amelia looked him in the eyes, as he smiled at her and placed the toy into her hand.

“Be brave,” Quinn said, nodding towards the doll. “For him. Show him.”

Quinn ran back towards his parents, and Amelia waved one last time before boarding the train with Zach.

The train ride was oddly silent. Usually, the group of Hufflepuffs would be excitedly chatting about their upcoming classes and plans for the year, and eating sweets and playing games on the compartment floor.

But Justin’s absence seemed to be a void that none could fill, or wanted to. All nine of them, the seventh year Hufflepuffs, sat in silence on the train, none knowing what to talk about, or what they were going to find at their school. 

And after what felt like days, the time for wondering was over― they had arrived.

As Amelia stepped off the train, she already knew that the worst had occurred. The town of Hogsmeade was dark and grim. The streets were barren― no one could be seen walking for miles. Many shops lights were off, and signs were tapped in windows declaring things like, Closed , and Go Away , and Not Open Until Further Notice . 

Even for mid afternoon, the sky seemed black and overcast. As the students were ushered towards the chariots, Amelia even noticed that the thestrals seemed bonier than usual. More deathlike. 

“Come on,” Zacharias ushered her, grabbing her hand and leading her towards a carriage. “Better not stall.”

The ride was just as bleak. The wind howled around them, causing Amelia to shudder and wrap her arms around herself. The trees swayed angrily, the carriage creaked over every stone and every stick. It wasn’t until the school was in sight that all the students' mouths opened in shock; they gaped at the view before them.

Dementors. Everywhere. The sky was thick with the fog of the robed black creatures. Their bodies lingered in the air and across the lawn of the school― from the ink black lake up to the front steps. The school was not as warm and inviting with the presence of these soul-sucking creatures. 

“What the hell are they doing here?” Ernie mumbled under his breath, as he stared up at the building in awe. 

“Oh my god,” Megan said.

“I’m scared,” Hannah admitted.

“Fuck,” Leanne breathed, before collapsing backwards into her seat. 

As soon as they entered the building, the students were guided towards the Great Hall, and they sat without hesitation at their designated tables, as they awaited the sorting to begin. 

Amelia watched as the surprisingly sizable group of first year students made their way to the center of the aisle in front of the staff table. 

Professor Mcgonagall approached the hat that sat upon the stool, and gave her usual spiel about the sorting ceremony, just as she had done every past normal year.

“And now, we shall begin. Atkinson, Jack!” A small boy shuffled his way to the front of the room, his sandy blonde hair obscuring his eyes. His pale skin was slightly freckled, and as he sat upon the stool, his toes not even reaching the ground, Amelia clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her shriek. 

Zacharias turned towards her, panicked, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Ames?! Are you okay?”

Amelia nodded, wiping at her eyes, before speaking. “That boy looks like Quinn.” Amelia watched as Zacharias inspected the boy under the hat, and he nodded, not sure what else he could say to make the situation any better.

Finally, Amelia couldn’t keep her strong front anymore, not like it had been very strong anyways, and she broke down into tears. Zacharias wrapped himself around her once more, as if shielding her from the harmful world. She cried into his chest, breathing in his scent, as the rest of their friends encircled her. “I’m just so scared for them,” Amelia sobbed. “I don’t want them to die because of their connection to me. It’s not fair.” 

“I know, I’m worried for them, too,” Zacharias spoke, before tilting her chin up towards him. “But listen to me― listen,” Amelia’s eyes met his. “We’re all, all of us, gonna get through this together.”

Quinn’s words echoed through her head, ‘ be brave…for him. ’ And yes, Quinn may have been referencing Captain America with those last few words, but Amelia knew who she really had to be brave for. Not for Captain America. Not for Quinn. Not for Michael, or Justin, or Leanne, or anyone. 

For Zach. 

Amelia locked eyes with her loverboy once more, and nodded forcefully. “Yes, together.”

Zacharias

If Zacharias had been scared of the emptiness of the train, or the freakishness of the dementors outside, nothing compared to the fear he felt watching Professor Snape walk up towards the podium and announce that he was the new Headmaster. 

The entire hall went still, a cold air rushing over it in waves. Snape? Their headmaster?

“This school’s headed to shit,” Zacharias heard Leanne mumble beside him, and concluded that he probably couldn’t have said it any better himself. 

“Now, listen here,” Snape, Headmaster Snape , drawled, turning his head side to side as he surveyed the students, his greasy hair swishing back and forth against his long face. “There have been two staff additions this year. Alecto Carrow will be replacing Professor Burbage in Muggle Studies, and her brother Amycus Carrow has agreed to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. I require that you provide them with your utmost respect. Going further, many of the things tolerated in the past at this school shall not be any longer. Stepping out of line shall be reprimanded accordingly, by any and all means necessary. So I warn you to watch your tongues, or you will have to face the consequences.

“On other notes, all Quidditch matches, tournaments, and practices have been canceled for this season. I will not be receiving any questions, complaints, or suggestions on the matter. Any thoughts can be taken up to the Head Boy or Girl, who will not be instructed to pass the information along to myself. That will be all.” And with the last of his monotone speech, Snape twirled himself around, black robes billowing out behind him, and returned to his seat as the food was magically dished before them. 

The hall was eerily quiet. The rambunctious chatter that usually occurred was more subdued, with only whispers being heard from sections of each table. Each house table in general had a large percentage of students missing, which also added into the decrease in volume. The Hufflepuffs ate in silence until conversation was begun by Ernie.

“Aren’t the Carrow’s death eaters? Or do I have my facts wrong…?”

“No, you’re right,” Susan nodded grimly. “I mean, just look at them. They look like walking death. I can’t believe that Hogwarts has come to this low point― hiring death eaters.”

Leanne shook her head, pausing before speaking as she swallowed her food. “I don’t know if it is as much a low point as it is just You-Know-Who finding ways to interfere at Hogwarts; just as the Ministry did in fifth year. With Snape as Headmaster, now the entire school is controlled by dark magic.”

Amelia, who had been sniffling off to the side, her tears finally subsiding, piped up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they started using dark magic on us as punishment, like Snape hinted at just now. Great god, we’re all screwed over!” 

Zacharias laid a comforting hand on her lower back and sighed. “Yeah, but at least people are doing things to stop Vol―” But before he could finish his sentence, Ernie slapped his hand over Zacharias’s mouth. 

Panic was etched on his face, with his eyebrows raising and his eyes widened. “Zach! Don’t say his name!” 

“And why not? Didn’t Dumbledore always say ‘fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself’?”

“Yeah, but the name’s been tabooed. My dad told me about his mate who said it, and next thing he knew death eaters were breaking into his flat trying to murder him: curses flying all over the room. We have to be careful what we say, especially around here with death eaters lurking in every corner. Watching our every move.”

Zacharias frowned. “Okay, fine. But I’m not going to give in to them, and let go of my thoughts about him . They can’t make me do that. They’ve already taken away Quidditch from me. No season?! What the fuck!? Ernie, Hannah, you mates getting these ‘thoughts’ that I’m providing you? Just remember, Snape doesn’t want to hear from you, as Heads of the entire student body,” Zacharias joked, bumping Ernie in the shoulder.

“Oh, shut up,” Ernie grumbled, straightening his pin and shaking his head. “I don’t know...it just doesn’t feel right. Being Head now….with all the shit that’s been going on.”

“I’m surprised we even got it,” Hannah said. “I would’ve thought a Slytherin would have been granted this status.”

“Nah,” Leanne finished, her face turned away from the group. “I bet they have more suitable roles for those evil arses. Just watch.”

Amelia

“Hey, Amy, are you alright?” Susan asked, waving a hand in front of her friend’s face. Amelia shook herself out of her funk and gave a half-hearted smile to the red-haired girl. Readjusting their books in their arms, the pair followed the rest of their class into the room. 

The curtains were all closed, casting darkness across the vast room. As the students filed into their desks, a middle-aged man with shiny black hair and a lengthy nose perched over a pair of thin lips strode towards the front of the class. Flicking his wand, sconces on the wall blazed alight, before he stood in front of the seventh years. He stood with his feet wide set, his arms falling at his sides, sleeves pushed up so that the dark mark could be seen tattooed on his left inner forearm. A death eater: Amycus Carrow.

Amelia sat poised on her stool, hands clasped on the table where her books were neatly lined. She felt Zacharias’s knee bump hers under their shared desk and their eyes connected, just as their professor began class.

“Students,” he said, frowning, before pacing the aisle. “Put your wands away. Now!” He spat, and they rushed to do so. “Today we’ll be discussing our one true master, the Dark Lord. Write notes clearly, as I won’t be repeating anything, and I won’t allow for any excuses. Good. Now, let’s see, any purebloods in the room, hmm? Anyone? Don’t be shy!” Amycus laughed, which sent a chill down Amelia’s spine. 

The class sat silent, no one wanting to speak out. Amelia eyed the room, attending particular care to those she knew to be purebloods, and watched their faces widen with horror. 

“No purebloods, huh? Now that can't be right. We honestly can’t have an entire classroom full of muggle scum, can we? Full of half-blood traitorous bloody muggle scum?!” His laugh pierced the room like a hyena, his head tilting back from the complete strength of it. “You―” Amycus called, pointing his long bony finger at Hannah, “What’s your name, silly girl?”

“H―Hannah,” Hannah stuttered. 

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” Amycus called, appalled. “I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR FIRST NAME, YOU IDIOT GIRL! YOUR LAST NAME! YOUR LAST NAME!”

“Abbott,” Hannah spoke again, her voice subsiding to whispers.

Amycus calmed down. “Abbott, huh? One of the sacred twenty-eight, eh? Any else in ‘ere? You―” Finger now flexed in Ernie’s direction, “Aren’t you one of ‘em, too? 

“Uh, yes.”

“Which one?”

“Mac―Macmillan.” Ernie said, his voice wavering just as Hannah’s did. 

Amycus turned once more, away from Ernie, and sidled up the aisle until he was at the desk in front of Amelia and Zach. He stared at the tall boy sitting there, eyeing him oddly, before a smile broke his lips mischievously. “You. I know you. What’s your name?”

The boy looked up into the face of the death eater, only a hint of fear hiding behind his bright eyes, before whispering under his breath, “Neville Longbottom.”

Amycus’s face light up, and he chuckled. “Longbottom! Oh, how thrilling! I remember hearing about what Bellatrix did to your parents years ago; wished I could have been there to see it. Been there to see their faces, seething, screaming, agonized faces! Oh how they deserved every ounce of pain inflicted upon them, those dirty filthy muggle-loving traitorous pure-bloods!”

The whole class took a large intake of breath as Neville scooted his chair backwards and rose to face the man, looming over him, as Neville was quite tall. “Don’t you dare talk about my parents like that,” Neville mumbled boldly, his hands clenched in fists. “You have no right, talking about them like that. LEAVE THEM OUT OF THIS!”

Amycus looked angered. He staggered backwards, put off guard by the sudden confrontation, and stumbled over the desk behind him. Regaining his stance, he grasped his wand in his right hand and stood pointing it at Neville’s chest. “Think that you can speak to me like that, boy? Maybe it’s time you get a taste of what your parents felt, eh? CRUCIO!”

“AGHH!” Neville screamed, before falling to the ground and writhing from the pain. “ARGHHH!”

At this, the students knew that Amycus had gone too far. Many students rose towards the scene, in an attempt to protect their fellow classmate, but were prevented.

“Reducto! Reducto! Stupefy!” Amycus called, shooting spells at various students all around the room, sending them smashing into tables and desks. 

“Leave him alone!” Zacharias shouted, standing in the aisle and aiming his wand at the teacher. Amelia gasped, before tugging at the sleeve of his robes. 

“Zach, stop, don’t, you’ll get in trouble! Just wait until help comes!”

But Zacharias ignored her, shoving her hand away. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” 

Amycus glared at Zacharias, before pointing his wand away from the innocent body of Neville, lying unconscious, towards Zacharias. “Yeah? Well then, leave me alone! EXPULSO!”

Amelia watched as Zacharias’s body got shot through the air like a bullet, until his back slammed against the far wall, a cracking sound echoing throughout the chamber. Desks had been blown to shreds, with papers swirling through the air. Zacharias’s lifeless body slumped to the ground, his head sagging towards his chest. 

“ZACH!” Amelia screamed, rushing towards his helpless body. 

Amycus wandered over, before narrowing his eyes at her. “Class dismissed,” he said to the general room, before lowering his tone. “Let the boy know he has detention with me every night for a week, alright, baby?” Amelia felt herself gag from his pet name. “See you in class next week, sweetheart.” And with a twirl of his body, he left the room into his office, leaving Amelia and her classmates to deal with the damage and the wreck.

Amelia took charge. “Can someone go get Madam Pomfrey, please? And Professor Sprout? Please? Anybody!” She sobbed, pressing her hands up to Zacharias’s droopy face. 

There was blood sprayed across the floor, oozing from somewhere on his person, but she was no doctor. She didn’t know where. But it was bad. A pool of blood seeped across the cracks in the floor, wetting his robes and trousers and staining her fingers. She rested her head against his chest and listened, relieved that she heard his heart beating. “Oh, Zach!” She sobbed, her face in his shirt.

“Someone called for my assist―oh my goodness!” Madam Pomfrey shrieked, rushing towards Zacharias and Ameila. The healer looked about frantically, before shaking her head in disbelief and ushering students out of her way. “We must get him to the hospital wing at once!” 

Amelia, unsure of what else to do, stepped aside to let the mediwitch work without interruptions. She was perched over his body, which she had slid to be flat on the ground, and could be heard mummering spells, her wand pointed at his chest. 

Just then, Professor Sprout strode into the room, a Ravenclaw seventh year guiding her brusquely. “Good gracious! What in Merlin’s name happened here? No matter. Poppy, can I assist you with anything?”

“I’ve got it covered here, Pomona. But I think I saw Longbottom lying over there, unconscious, so if you could escort him back to the hospital wing with me that would be much appreciated.”

“Of course. Students, your lesson has been interrupted today, you are excused. Miss Walker, as it seems that you are already headed for the hospital wing, would you mind taking Mr. Longbottom? Jones, please assist her,” Professor Sprout directed. Megan nodded, and the pair wandered over towards Neville, who had just begun sitting up, rubbing the back of his head. “I have a class to teach, but I will stop by later to hear the entire story, hear you me.” Professor Sprout rubbed her face in exasperation before waddling her stout little body out of the classroom. 

Amelia sighed, discreetly wiping silent tears from her eyes, before lifting Neville from underneath the shoulder. “Come on, Neville. It’s going to be alright.”

“W-was that real?” he asked, shaking his head as he regained consciousness and leaned his weight onto the two girls escorting him out of class.

“I’m afraid so,” Amelia sighed. 

Zacharias

“Ames? Are you there?” Zacharias peeked his eyes open and smiled to find the pale, blue-eyed face of his girlfriend grinning over him.

“Zach!” She called happily, before attempting to wrap her arms around his neck, but failed miserably due to the bandages that he now saw encased much of his upper body. 

He began studying the wrappings, before looking up at Amelia nervously. “Was it bad? How long have I been out?”

Gritting her teeth, Amelia spoke cautiously, as if to sensor her language. “You haven’t been out long, just under a day―”

“A day?!”

“It could have been worse,” Amelia snapped, sighing. “Especially for as bad as it was. A concussion, a broken wrist, a few bruised ribs, some large gashes across your torso―glad it was nothing too permanent. It took some time for Madam Pomfrey to heal everything, so she gave you quite a few sleeping draughts.”

“No wonder I feel so sore,” Zacharias chuckled to himself, but Amelia didn’t laugh. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his face going serious.

Amelia paused, before the words came tumbling out of her mouth in quick succession. “Zach, I-I was so scared! I wanted to help, I really did, I wanted to be brave and stand up to what he was doing but I was frozen! Then you took action, and I was awed. But then seeing you there, knocked out by his jinx, the fear came flooding back. I-I want to be brave so badly, but I can’t seem to get that awful fear out of the back of my mind!”

Zacharias watched her closely. The way her eyes widened with her words. The way her soft lips quivered as she spoke, as if she was about to burst into tears, sobs escaping her lips. She hid behind her hair, using it as a makeshift shield, hiding from the scary parts of the world. Zacharias reached his good arm up to brush her hair out of her face, and she let him, before resting her hand atop his on her cheek.

“You know,” Zacharias whispered, gazing at her intently, “there are other ways to be brave than standing up to duel a death eater.” 

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Well, I’m not so sure now that you put me on the spot, but there’s got to be. You just have to find a form of defiance that fits your areas of expertise, that’s all. And work your way up to battling wand to wand. Alright?” He asked, booping her on the nose until she let out a laugh and smiled.

“Alright.”

Three weeks later, things took a turn for the worse. Rumors had been flying about the Ministry taking over Hogwarts once more, but rumors had finally become the truth. 

“It’s right here, in the Daily Prophet,” Oliver said, sliding it towards the center of the dining table so they all could see. Zacharias put down his fork to read outloud to the group.

“ ‘‘Ministry plans have been set in motion to make Hogwarts a better educational facility,’ says new minister, Pius Thicknesse. Thicknesse, who was quick to replace ex-minister Rufus Scrimgeour, after his most tragic death this past August, reveals his new plans of benefitting the school’s curriculum and policies so as to further enforce rules. ‘Dumbledore was too lax on those young wizards, when what they really need is some strong teaching methods and a nice firm hand’,’ ” Zacharias finished, scoffing as he did so. “ ‘A nice firm hand’ , what rubbish! No, what we really need is a better Headmaster.”

Susan rocked herself in her chair, before being stilled by an annoyed Hannah. “This isn’t good. I bet You-Know-Who’s behind this. He always is. And enforcing rules? Sounds like things are just going to get much nastier.”

And things did. A week later, the students awoke to find Madam Pomfrey’s medical supplies trashed; items torn to shreds, potions smashed upon the floor, and fresh cotton wraps and even the linens were destroyed beyond repair.

“It’s going to take months to restore all my potions,” Zacharias heard Madam Pomfrey say to Professor Slughorn after class that day. 

And the torture didn’t stop either. Amycus and Alecto Carrow seemed to have taken the idea of ‘punishment’ to heart, and were enforcing it wherever they possibly could. Even Filch, who had been begging for years about restoring medieval torture methods, remained silent; watching from the sidelines. Students whispered about dark curses being used on students in detention. Classes held outside were hooked on the constant fear that one of the dementors would swoop down and begin sucking their souls out. No one felt comfortable to go anywhere alone, barely even to stay in their password protected common room by themselves. Solitude was a state of being that very few desired.

But time marched on. Autumn spiraled down with the swirl of the falling leaves, and the conditions of life at Hogwarts just got more and more drastic. Everyone was scared, but all were afraid to show their feelings, in fear of something worse happening to them because of it.

“G-Goodnight, mates,” Wayne mumbled one evening in early November as the boys prepared for bed, tucking themselves in under their covers. 

“Goodnight,” Ernie chimed, before sweeping his wand across the room, causing the lamps to diminish and the room to be cast in darkness. A squeal was heard from Wayne’s bed, before the lamp on his bedside table was lit once more.

Zacharias, who had already laid down in his bed and closed his eyes, opened them with a start and sat up suddenly, confused by what was going on. “Is everything alright, Wayne? It’s time for lights out.”

“I-I-I just, well,” he stumbled.

“What is it?” Oliver questioned, his eyes wide.

“I would feel better if we left a light on, that’s all.”

Silence fell across the room, before Zacharias’s head smashed down against his pillows once more, and he sighed. “Alright, just be prepared to see my bedhead if any of you mates wake up before dawn.”

The tension that had settled across the room broke at this statement, and the boys chuckled to themselves before drifting off to sleep, the warm yellow light casting flickering shadows across the walls.

Amelia

Had she been acting cool? Unfazed by the sudden seriousness of the most homely place in the world to her? She hoped so. 

Amelia was a wreck. There were only so many awful and scary things that her mind could take, one after the other. The ever worsening stack of dominos was sure to topple onto her at some point, right? But until then, she kept a brave face during the day, and allowed herself the freedom of her emotions at night, when she was alone and could perform a ‘muffliato’ charm on her canopy. 

“Goodnight, Ames. See you in the morning, alright?” Zacharias told her late one evening as he gave her a final squeeze before heading off to bed.

“Alright,” she whispered barely loud enough for herself to hear, let alone Zach who was on the other side of the room, before wrapping her arms around her waist and pivoting on her heel, strolling off in the direction of her dorm.

She trudged inside and flopped down on her bed, feeling her eyes grow wet with tears.

“You okay, Amy? You don’t look so good….” Hannah pointed out as she rang her wet hair out, the water dripping across the floor. 

“I’m fine. It’s just, I get scared that something’s gonna happen to us, or the boys, while we’re sleeping, ya know, and that when we saw them now was the last time ever.”

“Well, that’s deep,” Megan chuckled.

“And dark,” Susan said, her eyes wide with horror. 

Amelia sat up quickly and shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant that, well, don’t you guys feel safer when all of us are together? Like, when we’re with the boys?”

“Why? ‘Cause they can ‘protect’ us? I doubt it,” Hannah grumbled, tossing her towel onto her bed.

Leanne shrugged. “Personally, I feel no safer together than alone. But that’s just me. It’s probably because Zacho has such a safe presence for you, Amy.”

“Safe presence?”

“Yeah, I mean what I said. Are you telling me that you never noticed the sort of calming effect that his words have? Like, not when he’s being angry or passive or anything, but when he’s just being funny and neutral. It’s― it’s almost peace-bringing.” Leanne said solemnly, before her tone changed. “Don’t tell him I said that or I’ll kill you.”

Amelia scowled. “I guess I never thought of him that way. As being tranquil, I mean. He’s just Zach to me.”

And as much as she tried to remove Leanne’s voice from her head, she couldn’t. The words haunted her as she attempted to get some shut eye. Safe presence . Safe presence . Safe presence safe presence safe presence safe .

A few hours later, at one thirty in the morning, Amelia was still awake. Her eyes were the size of quarters as she gaped up at the ceiling, her mind rushing a mile a minute. Too much was going on. Too much was not going on. How was she supposed to sleep? The words that had been haunting her echoed through her mind once more. Safe presence . Guess that it was time to test that theory. 

As quietly as it was physically possible to do so, Amelia kicked the covers off of her pajamed body and slipped her feet out of bed. Tugging her topmost throw free, she glanced around at her fellow females, making sure that none were awake to witness her rendezvous. Sneaking out of the room, Amelia pitter-pattered her way down the hall, across the common room and into the boys’ dormitory corridor, before stopping at a closed door about halfway down the hall. 

Her heart was beating in her chest. Why was she so nervous? It wasn’t like she was breaking any rules. Nor did she have the intention to do anything the least bit naughty. But her heart raced and her face flushed all the same. Her blanket graced the tops of her toes gently as she pushed the door open, surprised to find the room filled with light that emanated from a nightstand near the door. 

Looking around cautiously, Amelia watched the sleeping figures of the four boys curiously. She had never really seen a sleeping boy before. It was like being at the zoo― but when it’s dark and the wild animals seem almost tame. 

Amelia didn’t want to be caught standing in the doorway though. So she stepped farther into the den and shut the door behind her. Eyeing the room, she scanned each bed one by one. 

The bed nearest the door, the one with the light on, contained Wayne; curled so deep within the covers she could barely make out his face. The next bed over was Oliver― how weird it was to see him without his glasses on! The next bed was empty. No trunk, no books, and the covers were neatly made. Must be Justin’s , Amelia thought to herself. But, in the fourth bed was her target. 

Zacharias slept sprawled out on his side, only his waist down actually covered by blankets. His t-shirt was askew and his hair was a tangled mess, but otherwise, he looked just as handsome sleeping as he did awake― at least, Amelia thought so. His limbs were flung across the bed, and his canopy was pulled haphazardly; like he didn’t really care whether it was open or closed. Striding as quietly as she could over towards his sleeping figure, Amelia wrapped her knit blanket tighter around herself, before perching on the side of the mattress.

Turning her body so that she was horizontal, and perfectly spooned against his chest, Amelia closed her eyes and breathed in the boyish scent that she somehow found attractive. 

Safe presence my ass, Amelia thought to herself as she lay staring at the faded blue shirt that formed a wall a few inches in front of her eyes. She closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep, in hopes of spurring that exact situation. 

Within a few minutes, she was out cold.

Zacharias

The next morning, Zacharias awoke to a shiver shimmying its way down his spine, causing him to curse the cold. His blankets lay strewn on the floor and his pants were hiked up almost to his knees. I need to get new night trousers , was his first thought of the day. 

The second was that something felt off. His bed― something was different. The mattress lay as flat as an expanse of sea, and the curtains that formed the canopy were slid all the way open on one side. A yellow knit throw, one he couldn’t have ever remembered owning, sat in a crumpled pile on the floor. That definitely wasn’t his.

“Hey, Ern? Is that yours?” He asked, rubbing at his head in question and he motioned towards the lifeless afghan. 

Ernie sat upright, so as to get a good view of the object, before shaking his head. “Nope, never seen it before in my life. Maybe one of the girls left it in here at some point?”

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t think that it’s been here for that long….” Zacharias began before trailing off. 

“What? What is it?” 

Zacharias shook him off. “Nothing, nothing, nevermind. It’s nothing.” The pieces started coming together in his head. The empty feeling of the bed. The cold. The open curtain. The blanket. He’d bet his life that Amy had been in here last night. There was only one way to find out.

Confrontation? No, no, no. Zacharias pondered on the notion that she had slept in the boy’s dorm all day. If she had snuck in, then obviously she didn’t want everyone to know that she had been there, right? And his intention wasn’t to embarrass her. He did care about her more than life itself. So he’d just have to see for himself. 

That night, Zacharias fell asleep in his bed, after having shoved the throw underneath his bed frame. Except, he didn’t fall asleep. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

It felt like hours that he lay there, in truth it probably was, before he heard the dorm room door creak open and soft footsteps cross the room cautiously. Zacharias shut his eyes tight, and lengthened his breath, so as to give the impression that he was asleep. He felt a familiar body place itself next to his, before it too began to snooze softly. 

Opening one eye, Zacharias was not surprised to see Amelia curled beside him, a new blanket draped across her body. She looked peaceful. At least, more peaceful than she had seemed for weeks. Zacharias sighed to himself, shaking his head. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do with this information. He didn’t mind her sleeping here, if it made her feel more comfortable than he really did not care, but he was concerned as any boyfriend is apt to be. But, if she had decided not to say anything about it, he decided that he too would not say anything on the matter.

By the time he woke up the next morning, she had fled the scene once more.

It was early November, about a month later, before anyone actually said anything. As Zacharias dried his freshly washed face on a bathroom towel, Ernie, who had been flossing beside him, snuck glances his way before speaking up. “Hey, Zach?”

“Hm?”

“What’s the deal with Amy?” Zacharias looked at him oddly, acting as if he didn’t know what the other boy was talking about. Because, in many senses, he didn’t. 

“What about Amy?”

Ernie sighed and tapped his fingers against the marble sink. “Nothing, just― don’t think I haven’t noticed her sneaking into the dorm every night. We’ve been roommates for seven years now, and still no one listens when I say that if a fucking feather fell in my vicinty, I would be awake in two seconds.”

Zacharias swallowed, before turning to Ernie, such a serious expression written on his face that Ernie went still. “Listen to me, alright? Everything that’s been going on: the torture, the war….all of it freaks her out. Like, really badly. She, uh, I think she feels safer sleeping in here….with me.” Zacharias knew his face was blushing, and usually it would be the kind of thing Justin, if he were here, would tease him for. But, this was Ernie, and Ernie just nodded in understanding. 

“Uh, well, that's alright, mate. Whatever makes her feel safer, right? I get it, I totally do. Scary times we’re going through.”

“Yeah, thanks, Ern.”

“Of course, I was just curious.”

“Which is understandable.”

The pair began walking out of the bathroom together, but Ernie paused before reentering their room. “It is nice though. Having a fifth person in the room again. Just being able to feel that fifth presence.”

Zacharias just nodded, thoughts of Justin flooding his brain once more, before he slid into bed and drifted off to sleep, knowing that he would awaken in the wee hours of the morning to find a brown-haired beauty in his bed.

Amelia

As November continued to march forwards, the sky overlooking the Great Hall went from sunny skies to autumnal clouds. Swirls of colorful leaves splashed against the walls and the entire lawn sprouted into a desert of oranges, yellows, reds, and browns. Students could be seen walking across the quad quickly, hudling against one another to keep warm as the cool air caused chills to form across the students’ skins. The breeze began to howl, and it wasn’t just from the dementors.

“Autumn came late this year, didn’t it?” Amelia asked her fellow Hufflepuffs as they hunkered themselves down in the Great Hall. It wasn’t time for any meal, but they found this was the only place that was large enough, while still allowing them to speak freely at any volume, to do their various assignments.

“I guess so,” Leanne sighed, staring up at the dark cloudy sky that had just begun to drizzle rainwater. Silence settled over the group, as the annoyance and boredom that had been creeping upon them all day finally reached their minds.

The moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat near their table. 

“Eh hem! Sorry, sorry, excuse me, uhm,” the boy stumbled. All turned their heads towards the noise, and were startled to see Neville Longbottom shuffling up towards their little group. Amelia had never really taken too much notice of Neville before. He was a Gryffindor afterall, and they barely had any classes together. He was quite brave back in September during their D.A.D.A class, but that was the only time that she could ever think that he had ever stood out to her. He was friends with Harry Potter, and probably had done something heroic due to Harry, but otherwise, nothing she could pinpoint.

But here he stood, his dark brown hair growing roughly and his face looking tired. 

“Uh, hey guys,” Neville repeated, shifting his weight from side to side. “I was wondering if I could talk to you guys alone,” he said, glancing from Ernie to Hannah to Susan to Zacharias. His eyes continued to search before looking back at Ernie in confusion. “Where’s, uh, where’s Justin?”

Ernie gulped. “Muggleborn,” he sighed. “He’s not here.”

“Oh.”

“What’s up, Neville?” Zacharias said, removing his arm from around Amelia’s shoulder. 

Neville looked towards him and nodded, getting back on track. “Right, if I could talk to you guys alone….it’s about, um, the D.A .”

“The D.A?” Amelia questioned, looking over towards Zach who’s eyes had widened. “Isn’t that the defense group you guys were a part of….fifth year, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Neville said. “If I could confer with you guys alone….”

Amelia stood, placing her palms flat on the table. “I want to hear what you have to say,” she demanded. 

Neville exchanged a look with Zacharias, but Amelia could care less. “She’s not going to let you leave without telling her,” Zacharias sighed with a smirk, motioning towards an opening in their cluster for Neville. “She’s persistent that way. Pretty hot, ain’t it?” 

Neville looked frightened, but Amelia (by the urge of her boyfriend and the use of his strong hands) sat back down to listen.

“So here’s the deal,” Neville began, and the entire group moved in closer― both those who had been a part of the D.A. previously and those who had not. “With everything going on here lately, I felt that maybe we should start up the D.A. again. It’s probably the most important information any of us could use right about now, and it would be a nice break from the reality of all that goes on here anyways. I’ve got a few people on board now― Ginny and Luna are both definitely in― but I have yet to talk to a few others. So, what do you think?”

“I think,” began Ernie, before lowering his voice to whispers, “that I’m definitely in.”

“Me too,” Hannah agreed, smiling. Susan and Leanne nodded in unison. 

“I think I’ll stay out of it. Just would rather not stir up any more trouble for myself, that’s all,” Oliver sighed, and slid away from the conversation. Megan and Wayne went with him. 

“Zach? You in?” Ernie asked, crossing his fingers in mock exaggeration. 

Zacharias chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, if getting that concussion showed me anything, it’s that I’m out of practice.” 

“Great,” Neville began, speaking quickly, as if he was running out of time. “We just ne―”

“I’m in too.” 

Every face turned towards Amelia, as she just nodded solemnly. “You heard me right, I want in. Please, just give me something to do.”

Neville smiled. “Well, we need to find a way to communicate to everyone when the meetings are. We used those charmed coins Hermione made last time, but everyone’s seemed to have lost theirs, so we need something new. If you could figure something out for that, that would be great.”

Amelia grinned. “Call it done.”

“ Call it done ? Joining the D.A ? Either you’ve gone mental or….no, you’ve definitely gone mental.” Zacharias scoffed as he pulled Amelia to the side, the rest of their friend group walking out of the Great Hall and off towards their next classes― not even noticing that their friends weren’t following. 

Amelia smirked. “What? I thought that you were the one who told me to ‘find the thing that made me feel brave’ or whatever. I think that this is it. The whole war has everyone in a frenzy and I just feel like there’s nothing I can do to help. Maybe this is it. Helping to coordinate this group so that people can learn to defend themselves when the time comes. So I can learn to defend myself when a moment arises and I'll need to know how to do just that. Don’t you agree that my mind is in the right pl―”

But Amelia was cut off as a pair of lips met hers mid sentence. Her eyes were wide with alarm, but fluttered closed when she realized that she wasn’t being attacked quite yet. His hand reached upwards to cup her face, and they stood there for a moment: him holding her jaw, tilting her face towards his, their eyes closed and lips parted. The pair broke apart with a small smack sound. 

Amelia felt her cheeks redden. “What was that for?”

“Nothing.”

Amelia raised a single eyebrow. “Nothing? Yeah, I doubt it. Spit it out, loverboy. Tell me the truth.”

Zacharias shrugged before wiping at the corners of his mouth with his pointer and thumb. “What can I say? What you did there― speaking up and taking a stand― it was bloody attractive. Couldn’t help myself.”

“Oh, really?” Amelia asked, unsure.

“Yeah. Do you need confirmation?”

Amelia bit her lip, almost seductively. “Maybe.”

Zacharias grinned before pulling her off towards a more secluded corner of the empty Great Hall. Allowing her back to be up against the wall, Amelia watched as Zach eyed her up and down, before reaching for her jaw once more and catching her in a kiss. She reached one arm up and allowed it to rest against the base of his neck. Her other hand trailed across his chest.

Their delicate kiss continued to gain momentum as she felt his arms droop from her waist to further down, before settling just below her hips, his hand lingering on her arse. Their kiss began to deepen, as she parted her lips and allowed his tongue to explore the caverns of her mouth. He backed out and began biting her bottom lip, as his hands continued to feel her body. 

He stepped closer towards her, pressing his body tighter against her figure. She could feel his heart pounding as he began trailing kisses down her neck and on her collarbone. 

“Zach,” she whispered in his ear.

“Yeah?” He mumbled, continuing his thorough work of kissing her exposed chest.

“We should get to class before anyone comes looking for us.”

“Or,” he said, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “We could just continue doing this.”

Amelia shook her head. She pushed him away from her and began straightening her clothes as she shook her head. “We can’t. We are still at school, you know.”

Zacharias nodded and leaned down to grab his bag off the floor. “I know, but we barely get any time to ourselves anymore. The war, always being around everyone― not that I don’t love being around them, but we don’t get time just for us.”

“We will, soon,” Amelia said, taking his hand in hers and placing a kiss on his knuckles. “Once the war is over, we’ll have all the time in the world.”

Zacharias

He didn’t know how she did it. He never knew how she did it. He’d say it was like she was magic, but obviously they all were, so that wouldn't have made any difference.

Within one week of Neville talking to their group, Zacharias found himself getting a lesson from Amelia on how the new notification devices were meant to work. 

“Hey!” she barked before snapping her fingers in front of his face. He broke out of his daze and smiled up at her, but was surprised to find a scowl written across her brow. 

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Are you even paying attention? I was in the middle of my explanation. Do you need me to start over?”

“Uh….”

Amelia rolled her eyes before huffing and picking the object up off the table once more. “This,” she said, indicating the thick embroidery floss bracelet in her palm, “is the new way to contact all the members of the D.A. Everyone will get one, and wear it at all times― in case we need to call an emergency meeting or something, everyone will know. Plus, it’s not too suspicious because it just looks like a friendship bracelet. I’ve charmed it (and boy did it take forever to find the right ones!) so that when we magic the change onto Neville’s, it changes on everyone else's. The bracelet shows a set of numbers. First day, then month, then time of meeting. Pretty clever, if I do say so myself!” Amelia finished, looking ever so proud of herself. Zacharias couldn’t help but smile.

“I just have one question,” Ernie, who had also been listening to the spiel, interrupted.

“Fire away.”

“What happens when a teacher reads it? Or, if it falls off and we lose it?”

Amelia perked up, and began answering as if she were in an infomercial. “Great question, Ernest! You see, another charm that I added to it was an ownership charm combined with a small permanent sticking charm. This combination creates a type of magic on the bracelet that once it is put on by the owner, it can not be removed by anyone but the owner. Therefore, no one can force it off of your wrist, nor can it fall off. In terms of having others read it, that was just a simple disillusionment charm. Easy peasy.”

“More like complicated-womplicated,” Leanne sighed, allowing her head to fall back onto the sofa. 

“I think it’s amazing,” Zacharias declared, glaring at Leanne out of the corner of his eye.

“Thanks,” Amelia said. “By tomorrow, everyone will have one. I bet Neville is just really set to get this group back together―pronto.”

“Why couldn’t I have gotten a blue one?” Zacharias asked, inspecting his wrist as he and his girlfriend walked towards the Room of Requirement, the night of their first D.A. meeting.

The bracelets had all been passed out and put to use a few hours after Amelia had told them about it, and the bracelets instructed that there would be a meeting the next night. It seemed to have worked without flaw. 

Amelia huffed. “Hey! We only had so many of each color, so, you get what you get and you don’t get upset!” She grabbed Zacharias’s wrist from him and examined it. “At least you didn’t get pink or something.”

Zacharias sighed before yanking his arm back protectively. “I guess. But I’m one to believe that red is so much worse! It’s the color of Gryffindors….yuck.”

“Sure,” Amelia said, picking her battles. “Now quiet! We’re here.”

The pair stood outside a vast expanse of stone wall, opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, on the seventh floor. Zacharias, who had been here many times before in his fifth year, had already instructed Amelia (who had never entered this room of the castle), how to access the door. 

Scrunching her eyebrows and concentrating on thoughts of the D.A, Amelia watched as a solid wooden door appeared in thin air in front of them. Zacharias grinned at her, where she just stood in amazement.

“Awesome, just― wow,” she sighed in awe. 

Zacharias nodded, before reaching for the handle and opening the door. “For you, milady.” 

“Thank you, kind sir,” she said, before curtseying as she entered through the door that he held ajar for her. 

“Here we go,” he said, and gathered in the bustling room, ready for the events to begin.

“H-h-hello there everyone,” a shy voice called from the front of the room. All eyes turned towards the voice, which was coming from a tall kid with shaggy brown hair and askew Gryffindor robes hanging limply from his lanky body. He was standing anxiously on a table, looking around the room hastily. “Hello there,” he began again, obviously nervous to be talking in front of everyone. “Thank you all for coming here. So, as you probably already know, well, of course you know, I mean, I told you about it when I gave you the bracelets but, um, well, we’re here to reform the DA.” The boy cleared his throat.

“Um, so, I guess I see some new faces, so I’m just gonna, um, introduce what the DA is I guess. Oh! And, um, I’m Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom. The DA, which stands for Dumbledore’s Army is a group that Harry Potter formed two years ago, to teach some of us who were interested about Defense Against the Dark Arts, as we all know that Umbridge did a crummy job of it. So, I thought that in these hard times, with the Carrows breathing down our necks, along with the rest of their death eater friends, it might be nice to learn how to defend ourselves again. Or, for some of you, to learn for the first time.

“Okay, so by this point, everyone should have gotten their charmed bracelets, created by the wonderful Amelia Walker.” A round of applause erupted for Amelia, and Zach turned beside him to see her face as red as beets, blushing from embarrassment. 

“Yeah, Ames!” Zach hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth, even though she was standing right next to him and probably could’ve heard him whisper the same statement. 

“Oh, shut it,” she mumbled, as the clapping died down. 

Neville chuckled as the attention focused back on himself. He seemed to feel more comfortable with being head of the room, and that caused the rest of the students to feel all the more relaxed. “Alright, let’s get started shall we? Two years ago we covered a lot of basic spells: Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Reducto, and more. Some of us were even able to summon corporeal patronuses. But, I think that since it’s been a while, even for those who have already learned all this stuff from Harry, that we review it and teach the new faces. We’ll start with expelliarmus today, the disarming spell, and work our way up harder. Ginny, Luna, and I will work our ways around the room if anyone needs help. Now, pair up, preferably a new person with an original DA member, and get started!”

Amelia turned to face Zach, and smirked. “Alright, ‘original DA member’, teach me your skills. I’m ready to learn. What do I do first?”

Zach smiled. “Just follow my lead, newbie.”

The next few weeks passed by in a very similar fashion. Meetings were always in private, and very near lights out. Each week they covered a new spell, and reviewed old ones, trying to make sure that everyone had mastered them all. Neville, in Zach’s opinion, was doing a great job of being the new leader of the group, and had himself seemed to improve from how he had done in fifth year. If Zacharias recalled correctly, Neville had been inadequate at performing pretty much any spell they did, but obviously not anymore.

That first week they had covered Expelliarmus. The next, stupefy, just as Neville had said. Third was reducto, then bombarda, and confringo. Ginny Weasley even instructed them on how to do a perfectly executed bat-bogey hex by setting it on a practice dummy. 

Not just did Zach feel like being part of the DA again was great for himself, he could see how it was working wonders on Amelia. The girl who used to mope skittishly around the school, crawling into his bed secretly at midnight no longer existed. No, instead, in her place, was the brave-faced teenager who was ready to face anything.

“I don’t know what it is about it,” Amelia was telling Zach one afternoon as they walked to Potions together. “I just feel like I’m finally a part of something bigger than myself. Not just am I learning how to perform these spells to be able to protect my own arse in times of battle, but we’re helping others as well. And isn’t that just wonderful? It makes me feel like, well, like maybe we stand a chance against You-Know-Who and his stupid death eaters. Like maybe, we’re all gonna make it out alive and unharmed.” 

Zach nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we did. But, well, I feel like at this point, with a war definitely on the horizon, it’s inevitable that someone’s going to get hurt in the crossfire.”

“Yeah, but hopefully not anything too drastic. I’m optimistic.”

“I know you are,” Zach smiled as he kissed the top of her head. “Okay, now hush. We can’t be overheard talking about this. Who knows what the Carrows will do if they ever found out about the club. We’d probably all end up dead before the war even started.”

“No truer words were ever spoken,” Amelia sighed, before skipping her way into the dungeon classroom, the conversation lost in the hustle and bustle of standard school.

Amelia

“Have a happy Christmas everyone! We’ll continue meetings after the holidays, but maybe this time a little less publicly. I appreciate you guys trying to recruit new members and show your rebellious sides, but I think that the Carrows may be onto us,” Neville spoke aloud to the group, his face tense and serious. Murmurs around the room followed his declaration. “I know! I know!” he continued, raising his arms in order to control the crowd. “It was my idea in the first place to start a rebellion, but I think that, to stay safe, we better just lessen the approach. So after the holidays, let’s just keep the DA between us already recruited members, alright? Good? Okay, have a happy Christmas.” And with that, they were dismissed for the evening, and began leaving the Room of Requirement in shifts.

Amelia was standing off to the side of the room with Zacharias, waiting for the first years to leave, as Neville strolled over towards them, Ginny and Luna following closely behind. 

“So, what do you guys think? About reeling back on the rebellion? Everyone seemed kinda upset at that,” Neville spoke, worry in his tone. 

Zacharias squeezed one of Neville’s shoulders, in a supportive gesture. “I think you did the right thing, Nev. As right and good as it is to show how we feel about what’s been happening, it’s just as important to keep us all safe.”

“Agreed,” Amelia piped in, smiling. Neville nodded, but still looked torn. 

“Let’s just see how things change over Christmas, alright? And adjust the plan from there?” Zach suggested, and that seemed to satisfy Neville enough that he relaxed. 

“Yeah. Redecide after the holidays. Good idea.”

As Neville walked away, Zach turned towards Amelia, shaking his head. “Poor guy. I mean, he’s been doing a great job running this whole show, but boy am I glad I don’t have his job. I don’t envy him one bit.” 

“Yeah,” Amelia mumbled, as they stepped out into the corridor and started the walk back to the basement. The pair walked in silence for a few floors, heads filled with thoughts. It wasn’t until they were almost back at the common room when Amelia spoke again. “But hey, holiday! We leave in a couple days…will I get to see you at all over the break?”

Zach rubbed his hand against the back of his neck and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I gotta go home and see my folks, but I don’t know how ‘war-crazy’ they’ve gotten. You remember what happened after Dumbledore died, right? Who knows how they’ll react this time.”

“Right. Well you know that you’re always welcome at my house. Michael and Kacey almost love seeing you as much as they do me.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true,” he smiled. 

Time moved quicker those next few days, and next thing she knew, Amelia was stepping onto the platform at King’s Cross Station, and hugging Zacharias goodbye. 

“I’m going to miss you so much,” she mumbled into his sweater, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. 

“Me too,” he sighed, before kissing the top of her head and removing her death grip from around his stomach. “I love you,” he said, kissing her on the lips. 

“Love you too.”

“Stay safe.”

“I will.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“I won’t.”

“And say ‘hi’ to everyone from me.”

“I definitely will do that.”

Zach gave her one last hug, before the pair counted to three, before both apparating to their final destinations. Pop!

“I’m back!” Amelia called as she apparated into the foyer of the place she’d called home for the past few years. She dropped her bag and began poking her head in various rooms, looking for some sign of life. “Is anyone here?” she wondered aloud, hoping someone would answer her calls. She wandered upstairs and pushed the doors to the rooms open as she made her way down the hall and towards her own bedroom. “Anyone…?”

It wasn’t until she pushed open the second door at the top of the stairs did she find what she was looking for. Peering into the bedroom, Amelia saw a young boy lying on the blue-sheeted bed, his back to her, while his hands fidgeted with something just out of her sight. 

“Hey, Quinn,” she said, rapping her knuckles on the doorframe. Quinn just turned his head to the side, before going back to what he was doing.

“Hey, Amy.”

Awkward silence filled the air for a moment, before Amelia cleared her throat and spoke again. “Where are your parents?”

“Out.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Amelia huffed, before wandering her way further into the room, and sitting at the end of his bed. Quinn finally sat up, shaking his brown hair out of his eyes, and glared at her, his action figures discarded on his duvet. 

“Why are you sitting here?” he asked, clear annoyance in his tone. 

Amelia felt herself holding back a laugh. Who knew that ten year olds could have such teenage angst! She put on a serious face. “Am I not allowed to sit here?”

“No, I was just asking why you were.”

“Well, because I just got home…it’s Christmas break.”

“And?”

“Aren’t you glad to see me?” Amelia asked, trying to sound upset. She wasn’t really though, she understood enough about siblings to know the classic ‘I hate my sibling’ bit. 

Quinn shrugged, before grinning slyly, obviously messing with her. “I guess. Is Zach with you?”

Amelia gasped, fake offended, before shoving him over onto the bed. “No, he’s not. But what about me!?” She reached over and tickled him, as he squirmed trying to get away, the sounds of laughter filling the small room. “Say you’re glad to see me, and I’ll let you go,” Amelia offered.

“Never!” he laughed, hiccuping. 

“Say it…” She said, her hands hovering over him, threatening to tickle him more.

“Fine! Fine! I’m glad to see you!” he said, his laughter subsiding, before smiling at Amelia. “I’m glad to see you.”

“Good.” 

“But I’d be even more glad to see Zach.”

Christmas break itself was pretty uneventful, as compared to past Christmases and past holiday breaks. Later on the same day she arrived, Michael and Kacey returned from their last minute Christmas shopping, and the holiday played out in much of the same sequence as past ones had. Pajamas, cookies, movies, colored lights. Dinners as a family at the dining room table. Presents Christmas morning beside the tree, drinking coffee and cocoa. Hugs and smiles, laughter and jokes. 

It was Christmas afternoon, after all the presents had been torn open, with paper strewn across the floor and cookie crumbs on the carpet. Quinn lay passed out in the overstuffed chair in the corner, while Amelia sat crossed legged on the floor beside the couch, thumbing her way through a new hardcover book on the zodiac constellations. Michael, too, lay on the floor, his head leaning against his wife’s knees. 

“So,” Michael said, breaking the comfortable silence that encased the cozy room. “How’s the, uh, war situation, Amelia?”

Amelia looked up from her book, before closing it and shoving it aside. She glanced towards Quinn, where he slept soundly, before replying in a moderate whisper. “Not great.”

“No?” Michael asked, him too looking towards the sleeping child. This conversation was obviously not for the faint of heart.

“No, it just keeps getting worse. Dementors are constantly patrolling the school grounds, death eaters teach and punish students whenever they’d like, and You Know Who continues to gain support from wizards across the country. And with Harry Potter and his friends M.I.A, there's really no end in sight yet.”

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. “Why can’t you stop him without this Potter kid?”

Amelia shrugged. “Apparently there’s some prophecy that says that he’s the ‘chosen one’ or whatever. I think it’s complete bullshit, but what can we do? You can’t really change a prophecy.”

“I thought you could break prophecies,” Kacey chimed in. 

“You can,” Amelia explained, “But in this case breaking the prophecy is complicated. The prophecy states that ‘neither can live while the other survives’, which means that either they both have to die, or they both live. But it has to be Harry. Otherwise, nothing changes.”

“But there are movements to slow You Know Who’s rise to power? Has the Ministry taken action, sent out any aurors or forces?” Michael asked, clearly glad to flex his knowledge of wizarding politics. 

Amelia gave a sad smile. “They’ve tried, but there’s really not much luck. You can’t locate a dark force. And the death eaters are too power-hungry to be reasoned with. All the aurors who’d get sent out would just end up dead. At school we’ve rebanded our Defense group, so that we can all learn spells needed to fight combatively. It’s the closest we’ve got to rebellion at school. But we can’t even be fully publicized, as that would mean some nasty consequences for us members. Punishment and torture and the like.”

“So no end in sight?”

“Not until Harry Potter returns. Until then, we’re just biding time until war starts.”

Amelia was packed. Her traveling trunk was full of old clothes and new gifts, and she was ready, yet simultaneously terrified, of returning to Hogwarts. 

“Are you alright?” Kacey asked, as she strode into Amelia’s room, looking around to make sure nothing was left behind, before locking her caring eyes onto Amelia. 

Amelia nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She picked up the small trunk and heaved it out the door, through the hall, and down the stairs, before setting it down beside the front door. She looked up towards Kacey who had descended the stairs after her. “I’m just going to miss you, that’s all.” 

Kacey smiled, before opening her arms and squeezing Amelia tightly in a motherly hug. “And I, you.” 

Michael strode into the room, and smiled at the two women, who were still wrapped in their embrace. “Aw, nice. My turn for a hug from Amy.” He also opened his arms, and Amelia smiled as she accepted his hug. 

“I’ll miss you, too.”

“You will?” he asked, as he took a step back, his hands on her shoulders, in order to look at her.

She smiled. “I always do. Besides, it’s nice to know that after a few months, hopefully after all this awfulness, war and such, I get to come back here to see you all. We can have a happy summer together, all four of us. Speaking of the four of us, where’s Quinn? I haven’t seen him since dinner last night.”

Kacey strode over, shaking her head. “He’s a bit upset. I told him to come down here and say goodbye to you, but I guess he’s not going to.”

“Upset?” Amelia asked, concerned. “What’s wrong? He seemed okay last night.”

“He’s been having a hard time at school lately, with his friends. I also think that he was quite disappointed that Zach didn’t come over at all to see him. All that, and he’s just sad that you have to leave again. He gets lonely sometimes.” Kacey explained.

“Poor guy,” Amelia sighed, feeling sad for her brother. “I wish I could stay longer, but, school. Tell him I said goodbye, though, okay? And that Zach’s sorry that he wasn’t able to come over.”

“I will.”

Amelia looked at Michael and Kacey again, before giving each of them one last hug. “I love you, guys. I’ll see you soon!”

“We love you!” they chorused. And then she was gone. 

Zacharias

“So Quinn was pretty disappointed that I didn’t come, huh?” Zacharias asked Amelia as they sat down in the Great Hall for breakfast the first morning back of classes.

“Very,” Amelia agreed, as she served eggs onto her plate, cursing as some fell onto the table. “He missed you. You really couldn’t get away from your parents?”

Zach shook his head, eyes rolled in obvious annoyance. “No. They decided that after my truth bomb over the summer, we should spend as much time together as possible. I barely even got a second alone to piss. If anything, having to spend more time with them made me hate them more than I thought possible. I honestly can’t wait until we graduate, so that I can get my own place and never have to live with them ever again. I’d see them once a year, for Christmas and only Christmas, and then ignore them for the rest of my life. Maybe even Christmas is too much.”

Zach heard Amelia sigh, but she didn’t respond to him. He knew that she was restraining herself. The last time she had spoken her mind about Zach’s relationship with his parents, it had not ended well. 

And just as the buzz of an unsaid argument started to fill the air around them, they heard a panicked voice running towards them.

“Ernie! Hannah! Susan! Zach! Amelia!” Neville yelled in a whisper loud enough that only they could hear. Zach looked up just as Neville slid himself into the seat across from Susan. Zach looked questioningly over at Ernie, before they both scooted closer to Neville, until the six of them had created a small mob around the bread basket. 

“What’s wrong, Neville?” Hannah asked, as the shock-stricken Neville calmed down. 

“It’s about the D.A.” he said, fear still written across his face.

“Well I’d figured out that much,” Zacharias added, cheekily. The rest of the group gave him glares that shot needles into his skin. “Sorry! Go on, Neville.”

“Thanks,” Neville continued. “Well, mates, I got some bad news for you this morning. Luna’s been taken by death eaters. She was dragged right off the Hogwarts Express on the way home, if you didn’t know. They’re trying to bribe her father or something, hold her hostage, I’m not exactly sure, but she’s been missing since Christmas!” The group was silent. Kidnapped? Luna? 

“So, what’s going to happen with the D.A.?” Amelia asked, voicing the question that they all had been wondering.

“I guess Ginny and I’ll keep it going. Keep rebelling, and keep fighting back. Keep teaching defense. It matters now more than ever, right?” 

“Right,” Zach agreed.

At the next D.A. meeting a few days later, the atmosphere was much quieter than usual. It wasn’t so much due to the simple fact that Luna was gone, as she never really said much, but more the fact that she had been kidnapped by Death Eaters. The fear that the same thing could happen to any one of them remained at the forefront of their minds. 

“I know everyone is a bit shaken up over what happened to Luna,” Neville began, his voice rising in order to speak above the whispers that bounced around the echoey room, “but we have to remember that we are in the middle of a war. And awful things can happen in war, and what happened to Luna is just one example of that. But we can’t do anything to reverse what happened to her.”

Ginny brushed her red locks over her shoulder and stepped onto a chair, so that she was about level with the older boy. “Neville’s right. The best way that we can help Luna is by continuing to learn how to defend ourselves, and each other, and by standing up for what we believe in. They feed off of fear and weakness, and so as long as we show strength in the face of danger, we can make it through this.”

The room sat silent, stunned, before Amelia, who was standing by Zacharias’s elbow, began applauding. The applause increased in volume as the rest of the room joined in, cheering on Neville and Ginny. 

“Woo! Yeah!” Amelia shouted, smiling, as she pumped her fist in the air, as if she were at a concert, or a rally. Her enthusiasm helped in lifting the spirits of the students around her, as when Ginny stepped off her stool, the Room of Requirement was filled with its normal chatty chaos as any other meeting day. 

“Thanks, Amy,” Ginny said as she passed by the pair.

“That was brilliant,” Zacharias added, nodding to the redhead, before turning back to his girlfriend. His face started out serious but quickly broke into a smirk. “Have I ever told you how fucking amazing you are?”

“Maybe once or twice, why?”

“Because it’s the truth. You are fucking amazing.”

Amelia blushed. “If you say so.”

Amelia

“I can’t believe this!” Ernie cried as he left Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the rest of the Hufflepuff seventh years. “Why does he insist on giving us so much work? And none if it is even relevant. I mean, look at this,” Ernie pulled a slip of parchment out of his bag that he had scribbled the assignment down onto. “Twelve inches on the rise of You Know Who. Is this even legal? Zach, your dad does wizarding law, right? Tell me, is this legal?”

Zach, with his arm slung over Amelia’s shoulders, shrugged. “I have no fucking clue. I don’t listen to a thing my father says. But, ‘cause of the war, I’m gonna guess that whatever You Know Who says, goes.”

The rest of the group nodded, which caused Ernie to sigh sadly. “I know. But I hoped that maybe that wasn’t the case.”

Classes were over for the week, as it was Friday afternoon, so the students split apart as they reached the main entrance, with some heading downstairs to the dorms, a group off to the library, and the rest to grab a snack from the Great Hall. Amelia and Zach were left standing alone in the hall, which echoed with the sound of distant footsteps. 

“So,” Amelia started.

“So,” Zacharias said, mocking her. She cracked a smile. “Wanna just walk around?”

“Okay.”

Amelia hooked her arm in the crook of Zacharias’s, and they wandered up the stairs, up a couple floors, and down the halls, chatting and wandering aimlessly. Just talking. About everything and nothing. 

As they wandered, chatting about Amelia’s family, whom she had just received a letter from earlier that day, they didn’t notice Alecto Carrow approaching. They had been laughing pretty loudly, and didn’t hear her high heels clicking on the floor until she was within two feet of the couple.

At the sound of their laughter, she whipped her head in their direction sternly, and glared at them. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked, her eyes shooting daggers at both of them. 

Amelia stood stunned, confused by what was going on. She fidgeted with the lanyard bracelet at her wrist. 

“Meaning of what?” Zach spoke up, his eyebrows furrowing. Amelia tightened her grip on his arm. 

“Meaning of this .” Alecto spat, motioning towards the two. “You think that you can just go walking these halls, disrupting class with your loud chatter? Being inappropriate in public spaces? Talking about,” at this she lowered her tone evilly, “muggles?”

“We weren’t―”

“DON’T ARGUE WITH ME!” she yelled, raising her voice. She whipped her wand out of her sleeve, and aimed it at Zach’s chin. Amelia could feel his body tense.

“I―I’m not arguing. I’m just trying to explain to you why we―”

“NO TALKING! SHUT YOUR MOUTH, BOY!”

Amelia saw a look of panic cross Zach’s face, and released her grip on his arm bravely. “Leave him alone!”

Alecto turned herself away from Zach to face Amelia. “Yeah? Or what?”

“Or…or…or I’ll―”

Alecto cackled. “Ha ha! Stupid girl. Don’t mess with me.” She aimed her wand at Amelia’s chest. 

Amelia slowly reached down and tugged her wand gently out of her boot, before brandishing it, and aiming it at Alecto. “Leave us alone!”

Alecto looked stunned. “DON’T POINT THAT WAND AT ME, GIRL! DETENTION! BOTH OF YOU! TONIGHT!” And with that, she ran back the way she came with a flourish of her cape. 

They waited until she was completely gone to speak once more.

“You shouldn’t’ve done that, Ames. You just made her angrier.”

Amelia shook her head. “She shouldn't have messed with us in the first place. I didn’t want her to hurt you.”

“I don’t think she would have injured a student here in the halls. But who knows what she’ll do tonight at detention when we’re behind closed doors.”

“You’re late.” Alecto paced the floor of her classroom, the Muggle Studies room, as Zach and Amelia wandered in, just past seven. 

“Sorry,” they said unison, their nervousness evident in their tones. 

“COME IN FURTHER!” she yelled, and the couple shuffled in until they were in the center of the room. “Better. Now, your detention will last two hours. If it happens again, the next detention will be three hours, so I hope you learn from your mistakes.” Alecto Carrow made her way towards her desk, where she sat in the wooden chair and propped her small feet up on the tabletop.

“What do you want us to do?” Zach asked. Alecto popped her body back out of her chair, and walked around her desk, a malicious smile plastered on her pointy face. 

“I want you,” she indicated Zach, “to torture her,” she pointed her crooked finger at Amelia. 

“Pardon?”

“TORTURE HER! Make her feel the pain she rightfully deserves! NOW!” Alecto shouted.

Zach’s eyes went wide, and Amelia could see them become glossed over with tears. “I-I can’t do that. Those curses―they’re forbidden to be used by students.”

“Not anymore,” Alecto smiled, sitting back in her chair, as if she was about to watch a professional duel. “Now get busy with it. After an hour, you’ll switch. Hop to it!”

Amelia and Zach faced each other, standing about ten paces apart. Both had silent tears falling down their cheeks.

“Do what she says, Zach,” Amelia croaked, attempting to smile at him, but it came out weak. “We don’t want to make this situation any worse than it is.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Amelia blinked hard, before wiping at her teary eyes with her sleeve. “I’ll be okay,” she sniffed. “I promise.” She gave him one last attempt at a smile, before squeezing her eyes shut and tightening her body, as if awaiting the pain. Her short brown hair had begun to frizz, giving the appearance that she was wearing a halo.

“Okay,” Zach mumbled, feeling the hot tears in his eyes. He aimed his wand at her chest. “Crucio.”

Zacharias

“Hey, where have you guys been?” Leanne asked as they stumbled back into the common room late Friday night. “We were worried.”

The pair were leaning on one another as if they would fall over without the support. Amelia’s face was red and her nose was running, and watery streaks ran from her eyes. Zach didn’t look much better. Their robes were disheveled and their hair gone askew, and they looked as if they had just walked through hell and back again. Red gashes poked out from beneath their sleeves and collars, small spots of blood staining their robes. Zacharias appeared to have a giant black bruise forming on his left cheek. 

“Oh, Leanne!” Amelia cried, and ran to her friend, before engulfing her in a giant hug. “It was awful , so awful!”

Leanne looked towards Zach, worriedly, touching her own left cheek as if to ask for answers. He sighed, carefully eased himself into an armchair, and spilled the whole story, filling in the rest of their friends as they joined them in the common room. 

“Holy shit.”

“That’s messed up.”

“Now that definitely isn’t legal.”

“Are you guys okay?”

“This school is literally on its way to hell.”

Zach squeezed his eyes shut. “Let’s just―not talk about it anymore. I don’t want to have to think about seeing, ya know, Ames in pain, anymore. That was torture enough. Then having her do it to me…I just don't want to have to relive it again.”

“We’ll have to tell Neville during the D.A. meeting tomorrow. He’d want to know,” Susan noted, which caused a round of agreement. 

“You mates should really go see Madame Pomfrey. You’re injured.”

“I really just want to go to bed,” Amelia whispered. Zacharias took her hand in his, waved off their friends, and wandered towards the boy’s dorms, not caring that everyone was watching Amelia go to bed with him. After that evening, he didn’t think any of their friends would question them sharing a bed ever again. 

“Shit.” That was all Neville had to say in response to hearing about Zach and Amelia’s ‘Carrow detention story’. Amelia and Zach had arrived ten minutes or so early to the D.A. meeting, in order to meet with him privately, and catch Neville up to speed on the previous night’s events. Neville stood there, his own black eye making him appear to squint at them, as he massaged his temples. “It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?”

Zacharias, not knowing what to say, just nodded. “But what can we do about it? Our efforts at revolution don’t seem to be very effective.”

Neville shrugged. “At this point, I don’t think that there is anything we can do. Just wait it out, I guess. Or at least wait until Harry returns.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Amelia voiced.

“He will,” Neville said forcefully. “But that's not the main concern right now. Right now, the concern is safety. And you two definitely don’t have that.” Neville began wandering the room hastily, grabbing boxes and blankets and dragging them to different locations. “Ever since that time that the Carrows were chasing me and the Room of Requirement revealed itself to me, I’ve been staying here off and on, as a way of escape. You know, sleeping here. Since then, I’ve allowed a few others to house themselves here, too. As long as someone remains in the room at all times, anything we bring here remains, and D.A. members are always able to access the Room.”

Zacharias, who had been following Neville around in his hurried state, nodded his head. “Yeah, Neville. We know all this already. What does any of this have to do with us?”

Neville looked up at him, before he brought their attention to what he had been busy doing. “Ta da!” Neville was directing their attention towards a group of hammocks, each tied to thick posts, with pillows and blankets adorning each section of thick fabric. At the end of each hammock was an open trunk that was empty except for an extra blanket. 

“What is it?” Zach asked, unimpressed.

“It’s your new beds! Now that the pair of you have caught the attention of the Carrows, I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to go back out wandering the halls and such. Like I said, there’s a couple others, including myself, who live here full-time, and I think that it’s best if you guys do too. I’ll get Leanne and Ernie to gather your things, and bring them here. We’re working on constructing a tunnel to Hogsmeade, so that we can get food without having to go to the Great Hall or the kitchens.”

Amelia and Zach both stared, stunned. “Nev,” Amelia sighed. “You can’t be serious!”

“Dead serious.”

“But, but, what about school?”

“What about it? I doubt anyone will notice that you’re missing. Nobody tells me that they’ve noticed my absence.”

“Yeah, but, if we don’t go to school, we can’t graduate in June!”

Neville stared at her stone-faced. “Do you honestly still believe that there’s going to be a normal graduation ceremony in June?”

Amelia hesitated. “N―no.”

Zacharias took her hand, before kissing the side of her head. “He’s right, Ames. We should stay here. That way, neither of us has to worry as much about each other ending up dead. And won’t that make sleeping easier?”

“I―I guess so.”

“Great,” Neville said, breathing a sigh of relief, as he appeared glad that he didn’t have to do much more convincing. “Now come on, we’re learning the Patronus Charm today. I think that this’ll make it easier for us to communicate, you know? Owl post and word-of-mouth takes too long.”

About an hour later, after Neville and Ginny’s lengthy, yet informative, demonstration, the D.A. members were allowed to pair up, and practice their Patronus charms. 

“Remember!” Ginny shouted, as she paced the aisles, “Think of your happiest memories. And if it doesn’t feel strong enough, don’t be afraid to try again until you get it. It may take some practice.”

Amelia caught Zach’s eye. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

He smirked at her, before stepping aside. “Be my guest.”

Amelia

Amelia moved forward, squaring herself in the center of their allotted space. She took her attention away from Zach, away from the craziness of the events that had transpired, away from the pain the scratches on her arms were causing her. She tightened her grip on her wand, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

She allowed her mind to wander, weaving her way back through her memories to find ones that fit under the category label of ‘happy’. Definitely not many from recently, that’s for sure. As she worked her way back to her childhood, Amelia found her mind focusing on one person. Mummy? Her mother’s face, laughing in her old apartment. Her first home. She was eight, sitting at the high counter in the kitchen, watching her mother fiddle at the stove. She wasn’t sure what her mum was saying, but Amelia could feel herself laughing hysterically at whatever it was. The warmth of the memory flooded her veins.

“Expecto Patronum!” Amelia exclaimed loudly, her mind fixed on the memory of her mother. She peeked one eye open, and looked around, seeing no blue light in front of her. She shifted her one-eyed gaze at Zach. “Anything?” 

He shook his head. “Try again.”

“Not even a little spark?”

“A tad. But not enough to really count as anything close. Pick something else.”

This time when Amelia closed her eyes, she jumped forward a couple years. Her first time seeing Hogwarts. The sorting ceremony. Seeing Zach for the first time. The way the entire night gave her butterflies. Her stomach felt fluttery just thinking about it now. 

“Expecto Patronum!” She opened her eyes, but only saw Zach shaking his head at her.

“Third time’s the charm,” he said, supportively. 

She nodded in agreement, and closed her eyes once again, this time more tightly. She thought about nothing for a long while, just focused on her breathing and the blackness of the backs of her eyelids. She thought about the word happiness, and allowed it to consume her, until she felt herself smiling from the new memory that appeared in her mind. The picture was so vivid, Amelia felt as if she could almost relive the moment. Walking into the unfamiliar house. Being engulfed in a strange hug. Being shown a beautiful new room just for her. The warm smiles and welcoming faces of Kacey and Michael. Her dad. The acceptance she felt immediately from the minute she was brought unexpectedly into their happy home. 

This time, she didn’t shout the words. She spoke them from deep within, no matter how cheesy that sounded. “Expecto Patronum!”

From the tip of her wand, a blue trail of light emanated out, before it spiraled around her, forming a small orb of blue light. The orb spun circles around her until a small creature made itself clear in her viewpoint. 

“Is that a hedgehog?” Zach asked, inching his way around the charm and towards Amy.

Amelia grinned ear to ear, and nodded. “Yes, it is, and it’s beautiful.” 

“What memory did you pick?” Zach asked as they watched the tiny spiked creature scurry its way through the air, receiving applause from surrounding students. 

Amelia smirked. “It doesn’t matter. I did it, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Now it’s your turn, Lover Boy. Let’s see if you can do it any better.” Amy playfully pushed at his shoulder, making him blush.

Zacharias

Zach closed his eyes. That’s what Amy had done, so it must help in some way with the memory-finding, happiness-bringing, spell-casting that he was about to do. But, he felt quite confident that he already knew what happy memory to choose. He didn’t have that many, after all. Anything before he was eight, before his father got that job at the Ministry, was mostly happy. That was when his parents still had felt like his parents. But, like most people, he couldn’t remember back that far all that well. It was fragmented, and there wasn’t enough glue in the world to piece those small parts back together to make one happy memory out of it. 

Anything else to do with family wasn’t usable either. That just left the past seven years: his Hogwarts days. And obviously Amelia made him the happiest out of anyone. 

That day, two summers ago. Visiting her at her father’s house. Watching her pure joy on the swings. When he realized that he loved her, and always would. He knew that that had to be the memory.

“Expecto Patronum,” he said softly, just above a whisper. He kept his eyes closed, until he heard a gasp escape from Amelia’s lips. He blinked open, and glanced around, not seeing anything. 

“Look up,” Amelia whispered to him, and he craned his neck, where he was shocked to see a majestic bird soaring overhead, flying circles around their area. 

“What is it?” Zach asked, aiming his wand downwards to attempt to get the bird at eye level. 

Neville had approached the pair at this point. “That, mate, appears to be a falcon.”

“And on your first try,” Amelia said, shocked. 

Neville slapped him on the back, smiling. “First try, Zach, is that right? That is fucking impressive.”

“Thanks,” Zach heard himself mumble. He was too mesmerized by the large bird still soaring above him. A falcon. Definitely not what he was expecting, but it seemed accurate nonetheless.

Amelia

“Hello to those of you just tuning in now. This is Potterwatch. I am codenamed River, and today I am joined by Rapier, codenamed, obviously. Any new additions today, Rapier?”

“Nothing too out of the ordinary today. After the events of last week, Death Eaters have remained pretty out of sight from aurors. To recap for those who may have missed our last airing, it was reported that a group of Snatchers had obtained who they believed to be Harry Potter and brought him, along with two others, to Malfoy Manor. All of this is speculation, of course, since no Potterwatch member was there as witness, but it appears that Wormtail, a dark side accomplice, as well as Dobby the elf, a known resistance supporter, have been killed. ‘Harry Potter’, friends, and some hostages from Malfoy Manor were all believed to have escaped unharmed. If that is Harry, we here at Potterwatch just want to give you support and wish you luck on whatever your aims may be. Back to you, River.”

“Thanks, Rapier, for that update. I just received a message from Royal, that wishes us to advise our listeners to be much more cautious than before. The Ministry has eyes everywhere, and so please avoid any method of travel that they may track, especially floo and apparition. All stores security has been amped up and all locations, including Gringotts and Hogsmeade, are being actively monitored for suspicious activity.”

“But, this doesn’t mean that those who are a part of the resistance should stop fighting! It is more important now than ever before that we come together, as wizards alike, to make a change. Muggles, wizards, and squibs! As our good old friend would say: constant vigilance!”

“Thanks, Rapier. And on that note, our next broadcast will be happening in a few days, so please tune in! The code will be: Moody. Before we sign off, we would like to acknowledge the list of names of those who lost their lives in this ongoing battle without being acknowledged for it. I do not have the most updated list with me, that’s usually Romulus’s department but he is away for a few days, but you can catch all those names next time. This is River and Rapier, signing off. We wish Lightning good luck, and good luck to all of you listening.”

The radio turned to static as Zacharias switched it off. “Well that was intense.”

Amelia sighed. “It always is. But it’s important to listen to it. I like to know what’s going on outside these walls, considering we can’t even leave this room.”

“Speaking of not leaving this room,” Neville interrupted, as he strode over towards the pair, grinning. Though he was wearing a comfy knit sweater and trousers, he limped towards them as if he were uncomfortably in pain. On his face he was sporting a black eye, as well as several cuts across his nose and cheek. 

Zacharias cut him off. “What the fuck happened to you? You just healed from last time.”

Neville shrugged. “Yeah, well, you know how it goes. Every time I go to paint more graffiti to recruit new Dumbledore’s Army members, some student always snitches me out to the Carrows. Besides, you shoulda seen the other guy.”

“By ‘other guy’, do you mean Seamus? ‘Cause he looks like he’s been through hell and back again.” At the sound of his name, Seamus’s head whipped around, and he waved exaggeratedly at the group before turning back towards Hannah, who was attending to a cut that was gushing blood down the side of his head. 

“Whatever,” Neville sighed, sitting tiredly on a crate that was being used as a table. “I will never look as bad as Ginny, Luna, and I did after trying to take Gryffindor’s sword from Snape’s office. We all looked like we’d been attacked by dragons after that incident. But that’s besides the point. I was gonna ask you guys what your Easter plans are.”

“Easter plans? I don’t think anyone is really happy enough to attend church right now.” Amelia questioned, but Neville just chuckled. 

“I meant more like if you’re going home or staying here. I’m staying, so’s Seamus, as well as a few others. Ginny’s going home, but I was really hoping that you would stay, Zach.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I was planning on picking up some boxes of food from Aberforth at the Hog’s Head through the new tunnel that appeared the other day. So, are you sticking around?”

Zach nodded. “Definitely.”

“Me too,” Amelia chimed in. “I don’t want to endanger my folks anymore than I have to, then being muggles and all. It’s safer for me, and them, if I stay here.”

Neville smiled. “Great.”

Zacharias

The next week went by quickly. Many of the younger students decided to return home, either because they were scared or their parents requested them to. But, a lot of the seventh years remained. Zach and Seamus, along with a few others, helped Neville carry boxes of supplies through the underground tunnel that stretched from the Room of Requirement to the Hog’s Head pub, which Aberforth Dumbledore owned. The first time that they ventured through the tunnel and reached the otherside of civilization, the triumph of it was exhilarating. 

“YES!” Neville shouted celebratorily, pumping his fists in the air, his wand skimming the ceiling of the tunnel. 

“Would you pipe down? Someone will hear you!” an older man, with a long gray beard and just as lengthy hair whispered, his tone almost scolding the boy. 

“Sorry,” Neville whispered. Zacharias looked around the room. From the rocky, dirty tunnel that they had appeared from, the warm and wooded feeling of the Hog’s Head pub was quite a contrast. The lights were off, a desk sat collecting dust in the far corner, and a table stood in the center of the room, covered with various scraps of newspaper clippings, books, and pieces of parchment. Where Zach stood at the mouth of the tunnel was higher up, as the tunnel began above the mantelpiece. A large portrait was swung open, as Neville had purposefully designed the tunnel to be hidden by the portrait, just as the Fat Lady was used for the Gryffindor common room, as Neville had described it, at least.

“Here.” Zach was snapped out of his daze when Aberforth pulled him off the tunnel ledge and shoved a crate of supplies into his arms. Zacharias could smell the sweet scent of baked goods wafting out through the thin cracks of the slats, and already felt hungry. 

“Thank you,” Zach mumbled. Zach glanced over towards Seamus, who had followed him out of the tunnel, to see that his arms, too, were brimming with boxes of supplies. Seamus shrugged, before clambering back towards the tunnel, returning the first round of shipment to the Room of Requirement.  

“Don’t thank me now. You can thank me once this godforsaken war is over.” At this point, Aberforth shifted his attention back towards Neville. “So this tunnel connects to a hidden portrait on your side, too?” Neville nodded. “Good, good. It will be much easier to keep in touch this way. If you ever need anything, if there’s ever any emergency that you kids can’t figure out on your own, just come my way. I’ll be here. If anything goes crazy here, I’ll send Ariana to fetch you.”

“Ariana?” Zacharias inquired, not sure which student he was referring to.

Aberforth shut the painting and motioned to the image of a young girl, probably about fourteen, who sat poised in the portrait. She had a round face, with long blonde hair that had the front pieces pinned back. She wore a blue frock, with her hands clutched around a small brown school book. 

“Alright. You two best follow Seamus back now. It’s almost curfew here. Every day or so you can return here to pick up something to eat. I just need a count from you, Neville, of how many students there are in the resistance now. It’s always growing. Be safe.” Aberforth shoved a couple bags of food into Neville’s unexpecting arms, before ushering the pair back into the tunnel, and closing the portrait door harshly behind them.

“I get the feeling,” Zacharias said and he and Neville wandered their way back through the dark tunnel, “That he didn’t really want us there.”

“You don’t say?” Neville laughed sarcastically. The two boys chuckled as they made their way back to base.

Amelia

The addition of the new tunnel made feeding the increasing resistance group much easier. After Easter break ended in the first week of April, though the group was saddened after Ginny didn’t return, the general membership of Dumbledore’s Army had doubled in size. More students were taking refuge from the Death Eaters in the Room of Requirement, after having been tortured for their blood status, or for standing up for their friends and the resistance. But, some students continued to attend class, and stopped by often to catch their fellow students up on the happenings of the outside world. 

“It’s awful. Just awful. I can’t go more than a day without something bad happening. Amycus ‘accidentally’ hit me with the Leg Locking curse after Defense class the other day. And yesterday, we all showed up for supper to find the Great Hall trashed: food everywhere, the tables flipped, the sky dark and thundering. And it wasn’t even Peeves’s fault,” Leanne explained, sighing greatly. She took a seat on an empty crate that functioned as a chair beside Amelia’s hammock. Her eyes were wide, with dark circles underneath. Her hair was untidy, and her face flushed. “And,” Leanne grumbled, as she adjusted the neck of her robes, “a fucking Slytherin pulled a knife on me! Some random fourth year hazed me in the hall and almost slit my fucking throat.” Leanne tilted her head in order to reveal a long cut crossing the base of her neck. It was fresh: red and raw, with small droplets of blood staining her shirt. 

Amelia, concerned for her friend, rushed towards the make-shift first-aid station that they had positioned in the front of the room. With so many injuries, it was something that they had established pretty early on. 

As Amelia attended to Leanne’s wound, attempting a healing spell and covering it with gauze and tape, Leanne continued her rant. 

“It’s like facing a warzone everyday. But, if we all hide away in here, they’d wonder where everyone went, you know what I mean? I mean, damn, I envy you, mates. I wish that I could hide out here.”

Amelia shook her head. “No you don’t. Yeah, we get to be safe from Snape and the Carrows, but we have the task of keeping everyone here safe. Being a role model for the younger kids, running errands to the Hog’s Head, preparing the food, tidying the room, teaching spells. It’s exhausting.”

“Believe you me,” Zacharias, who the girls hadn’t realized had been eavesdropping on the conversation, chimed in. “If I could go out there and face the Carrows, you know I would. I feel helpless, stuck in here. I want action.”

“Why can’t you come out?”

Zacharias looked off into the distance, a darkness appearing to cloud his vision as his mind went somewhere else. Leanne glanced at Amelia, a worried look etched on her face. Amelia bit her lip nervously. “Neville won’t let him,” she explained to Leanne quickly, before gathering her supplies and rushing to return it back to the first-aid station.

Amelia busied herself with putting the cotton pads and antiseptic away, before she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and heard Leanne’s voice whispering in her ear. “Amy, why won’t Neville let Zach leave? It’s obviously making him upset.”

Amelia turned towards Leanne, sadness filling her blue eyes. “He wants to fight. But Neville is afraid that Zach’s temper will put him into more danger than it’s worth. So, he has to stay here. I’ve been meaning to talk to Zach about it, but everytime someone mentions it, it’s like his mind goes somewhere else. And you know I don’t like talking to him about his anger issues.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Though she had her own hammock, Amelia shared Zacharias’s bottom bunk most evenings. That night, she awoke to the sounds of him rising from the cot, his footsteps soft on the stone floor. Peeking open one eye, she watched as he hobbled around other students, sleeping peacefully on their cots on the floor, and columns that rose towards the vaulted ceiling. As he approached the door out, Amelia sucked in a breath. She saw the dark shape of his arm reach towards the handle, hover, before it dropped against his side. Instead, Zacharias tiptoed towards the far corner of the room, where he sat against the wall, quiet.

Amelia crept out of bed, and approached him carefully. Her conversation with Leanne that afternoon had been making her realize that the pair hadn’t had a chance alone to talk in quite some time, not with how busy they’d been trying to help Neville run the D.A. Without Luna and Ginny to help him lead, Zach, Amelia, Seamus, Ernie, and Hannah, as well as a few others, had stepped up to help Neville out. 

When she was finally close enough to make out his face, she spoke. “Hi.”

He was sitting up against the wall, with his long legs splayed out in front of him. His face was cast to the side, peering in the direction of the fake frosted window, which was letting a small sum of light into the pitch black room. At her voice, he looked up, his icy eyes piercing through the dark. “Hi.”

“Can I sit?” Amelia asked, motioning towards the spot beside him. He nodded. “Are you alright?” She questioned, reaching for his hand which lay in his lap. 

“Peachy.” The word dripped with sarcasm.

Amelia placed her other hand against his cheek and turned his face so he was looking at her. Though she had known him for so long, it was the first moment Amelia had ever looked at Zach in which she could not read his expression. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
Zacharias huffed. 

“It’s being stuck in here, isn’t it? That Neville won’t let you leave? You want to take action, and fight, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“And you think it’s unfair?”

“I guess.”

Neither said anything for a minute. They just continued to look into each other’s eyes as they sat side by side against the wall. 

“Your temper,” Amelia began, but Zach cut her off.

“I don’t see why it’s a problem.” His blood began to boil already, and Amelia continued speaking in her calmest tone.

“Neville thinks it’ll make you too aggressive, which sends out the wrong message, especially for the younger students who look up to us.”

“I can control it.”

“Can you?”

“I can,” Zach said forcefully, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Then go.”

“Go?”

“Go out,” Amelia said, motioning to the general room with a wave of her arm. “Fight. And I’ll come with you.” Zach shook his head. 

“No.”

“No?” 

He leaned his head onto Amy’s shoulder, as he continued to caress her hand with his thumb. “It’s safe in here. I want you to be safe. I need you to be safe. War is too dangerous, and outside of this room, it’s war. If it takes me being locked up in this room to get you to stay here, then so be it.”

“I’m seventeen, Zach. I don’t need you to protect me. I’m very capable of fighting my own battles.”

He kissed her hand. “I know. You are incredibly qualified to fight. But, I’m not protecting you for your own sake.”

“No?” Though she knew he couldn’t see her face, Amelia wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. “Then for who? My family?”

“No. For mine. Because if you’re gone, then I’ll be just as good as dead, too.”

The next few weeks of April, tensions began to rise. Potterwatch kept the D.A up to date on Harry’s latest moves towards defeating You-Know-Who. Death Eaters were attacking wizards left and right, and the torture against Muggleborns was on the rise. At one point, Neville got a letter from his grandmother, Augusta, whom the Ministry had attempted to arrest due to her connection with Neville, as they were aware of his leadership position in the resistance. 

“She’s in hiding,” Neville informed them, as he chewed his lip out of concern. “She says she’s alright, and that I’m not to worry about her. She’s proud of me, and wants me to keep fighting.”

Inside Hogwarts, the resistance kept up the fight, trying to resist the power of the Carrows and Snape. Now, more than ever, D.A members were publicly speaking their beliefs: shouting them in class or at meals, disobeying orders in detention, or painting them on the walls of the corridors. 

Of course, increased publicity meant increased punishment. Any member of the D.A who left the Room of Requirement always returned looking like they had just walked through hell. Neville had a black eye, and anytime it started to fade, he would get hit again and it would swell even worse. Seamus returned one evening in late April looking like he had been mauled by a Hippogriff.

“He just started shooting things at me. Sharp things. It all happened so fast, I don’t even know what hit me, literally. And now I’m fucking bleeding like a stuck pig.”

Around 9 o’clock at night on May 1, 1998, Neville rushed into the Room of Requirement, screaming excitedly. 

“Oh my fucking god! It’s happening! Everyone be prepared! Did you mates hear this?!” Neville began jumping around the room like a shot. “Terry was shouting about it at dinner, and I wasn’t sure if it was true, but it is!”

Amelia, who had been playing chess with Zach quietly, looked up at him. He shrugged. The pair stood up and wandered towards Neville.

“Hey Nev!” Zacharias shouted over the noise as he pushed his way through the crowd, Amelia on his heels. “What’s going on?”

“Apparently Harry, Ron, and Hermione BROKE IN to Gringotts, STOLE something, then ESCAPED on a FUCKING DRAGON. And this happened like, an hour ago!”

“What?” Zach asked, running a hand through his hair. “Really?”

“Really!” Seamus said, bouncing his way into the conversation.

Neville nodded in agreement. “I have a feeling that Harry’s coming. Coming here. War is on the horizon, Zach.”

Amelia looked between the three boys. Seamus looked as if he was about to attend a birthday party. The smile on his face was that wide. Neville looked stoic, as if his time to take over the throne had come. Zach looked about ready to punch and break someone’s nose. 

“So, what do we do?” Zach asked the question they all were wondering. 

Neville nodded. “I’m going to use the old Dumbledore’s Army coin to try and contact some of the former members. If Harry’s being this public, which he hasn’t been for months, then something big must be happening…soon. I’ll let the D.A alumni know what’s going on, and to come to the Hog’s Head straight away. Seamus, go find some of the others in the Great Hall and the dorms and let them know to come here as soon as possible. Use the bracelets to alert people quicker. Let’s get everyone to this room. I don’t want to worry the younger kids until it’s absolutely necessary, alright? So, just remain calm.”

Amelia looked at Neville, a smirk on her face. “Remain calm, hm?”

Neville looked at her, cracking a grin, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess coming in here screaming wasn’t the right move. Oh well, what’s done is done. Now, boys, let’s get to it!”

Amelia and Zach spent the next hour calming the younger students down, after Neville’s big outburst. Seamus, along with some help, had been successful in bringing most of the D.A members to the Room of Requirement. Now, everyone sat bunched together on the cots, speaking in groups about what was happening and what the plan was. 

“Hey, Neville…” called Susan, who was sitting at the first-aid station chatting with Hannah.

“Yeah?”

“Ariana. Look.” Susan pointed towards the portrait that hung high on the wall nearby. Sure enough, Ariana Dumbledore, the young blonde from the picture in the Hog's Head, was sitting there, pointing at Neville. “I think she wants you to go with her.”

Neville rushed towards the picture, stumbling up the ladder. He opened the frame, hobbled inside, and shut the door behind him. The room fell silent.

“I wonder what’s happening,” Amelia voiced to the small group she was sitting with.

“Maybe some past members of the D.A or the Order arrived,” Lavender suggested, as she pinned her blonde curls out of her face. “Or maybe Neville’s right, and Harry actually did show up.”

“I guess we just wait,” Michael Corner said, and the group nodded in agreement. Wait. They just had to wait.

Twenty minutes later, the portrait creaked open again, and the group heard Neville’s voice, happiness flooding his tone. “Look who it is! Didn’t I tell you?” 

Everyone’s head shot up and towards the door, where they saw Neville standing. He stepped aside to reveal him: Harry Potter.

“HARRY!” Seamus screamed excitedly, which caused everyone to erupt out of their seats. 

“It’s Potter, it’s POTTER!”

“Ron!”

“ Hermione! ”

They all rushed towards the portrait, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were descending the ladder behind Neville. The hoard of ecstatic students tackled the newcomers, engulfing them in hugs and handshakes.

“Okay, okay, calm down!” Neville called, which caused the group to retreat a couple feet. Harry looked a bit dazed as he stared around at the transformed Room of Requirement. Amelia observed Harry interestingly, curious as to why he returned to Hogwarts. 

Amelia zoned out as Neville explained to Harry about the workings of the Room of Requirement. She exchanged a glance with Zach after Neville mentioned that the Room had only been active for a couple weeks. Everyone in that room knew that the Room had been like this for months . Neville appeared to have decided to stretch the truth a bit, probably to not worry Harry as much. He had enough to deal with, being the Chosen One who was wanted by Chief Death Eater, the Dark Lord himself. Amelia shook herself off of her train of thought and turned her ears back to the conversation, where Harry appeared to have been on the verge of fainting. 

Neville was speaking. “Are you alright, Harry? Want to sit down? I expect you’re tired, aren’t―”

“No,” Harry said forcefully. “We need to get going.”

“What are we going to do, then, Harry? What’s the plan?” Seamus asked.

Harry looked annoyed. Confused and annoyed. “Plan? Well, there’s something we ― Ron, Hermione, and I ― need to do, and then we’ll get out of here.”

“What d’you mean, ‘get out of here’?”

“We haven’t come back to stay. There’s something important we need to do―”

“What is it?”

“I―I can’t tell you.” At this statement, everyone whispered amongst themselves. Finally, Harry Potter, the savior, shows up, and he can’t even tell anyone anything.

“What the fuck?” Zacharias whispered in Amelia’s ear. “I mean, you know I hate this guy, but he really just thinks he can stroll in here and then just leave? No way.”

“Believe me, I don’t like this any more than you do,” Amelia mumbled, nodding her agreement.

Neville continued to attempt to reason with Harry, who was refusing to tell them anything. “Why?”

Harry hesitated. “Because…Dumbledore left the three of us a job, and we weren’t supposed to tell―I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the three of us.”

“We’re his army,” Neville said firmly. “Dumbledore’s Army. We were all in it together, we’ve been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own―”

“It hasn’t exactly been a picnic, mate,” said Ron.

Neville sighed, frustrated. “I never said it had, but I don’t see why you can’t trust us. Everyone in this room’s been fighting and they’ve been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here’s proven they’re loyal to Dumbledore ― loyal to you.”

Harry looked like he was about to argue more, when he was interrupted by the portrait door swinging open behind them once more.

“We got your message, Neville! Hello you three, I thought you must be here!” Luna and Dean stepped boldly through the doorway. Seamus shrieked excitedly and ran to hug his best friend as Luna waved and smiled happily at the crowd. 

“Luna, what are you doing here? How did you―” Harry sputtered.

“I sent for her,” said Neville, holding up the gold coin that was used by the original group of D.A members. “I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I’d let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows.”

As Harry began to argue with Neville, Luna, and those he knew best, about the true meaning of the trio’s visit, Amelia looked up towards Zach. He was standing straight, his eyes focused on the group in front, his ears tuned towards the conversation. She could sense his anger, his frustration towards Harry, and the whole situation they were in. Being stuck inside can make a person go stir-crazy; Zach more than most. Amelia felt that his anger was just waiting for the opportunity to burst out of this room onto anyone who came into his path.

Amelia herself simply felt that she wanted to help. That was what she had been trying to do all along, after all. With the bracelets and facing Alecto Carrow, all Amelia had wanted to do was her part towards the war effort. Maybe now, it was finally time for her to prove herself and fight. 

“Oh Jesus, Nev,” Amelia heard Zach mumble under his breath. Amelia stepped up onto her tippy toes in order to see over the heads of the students in front of her. Neville’s face was reddening, the tips of his ears looking as if they’d been sunburned. 

“Then let us help! We want to be a part of it!” Neville shouted angrily, his hands clenched in fists. Just when Amelia thought it could only get worse, the portrait opened once more, and some familiar faces stepped inside the room. 

“That’s Fred and George Weasley,” Zacharias whispered to Amy, as they watched the two redheads reunite with their younger brother. “They were beaters for Gryffindor. Their younger sister, Ginny, who’s been seeker for Gryffindor in Harry’s absence. Oh, and Lee Jordan, commentator,” he pointed to the girl and boy who walked in behind the twins, waving to the crowd, “And that’s Cho Chang, ex-seeker for Ravenclaw.” Amy rolled her eyes at Zach’s love of Quidditch. Even after all these years, she still couldn’t keep track of the different roles of the team, let alone any past players from the four houses.

“So what’s the plan, Harry?” one of the twins, the one with the bandaged ear, asked. George, Amelia believed. 

Harry looked irritated. “There isn’t one.”

“Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favorite kind,” the other twin, Fred, balked.

“You’ve got to stop this!” Harry yelled at Neville. “What did you call them all back for? This is insane―”

Dean held up his fake Galleon. “We’re fighting, aren’t we? The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight. I’ll have to get a wand, though―”

Bravely, Ron turned towards Harry. “Why can’t they help?” The room hushed. Amy felt Harry’s defense begin to weaken.

“What?”

“They can help.” The trio conferred quietly for a moment, which allowed Zach and Amy to exchange a questioning glance. Zach pulled Amy towards him, his arm slung across her shoulders, before placing a kiss on the top of her head. 

“Okay,” Harry Potter announced, bringing the attention back onto himself. “There’s something we need to find. Something―something that’ll help us overthrow You Know Who. It’s here at Hogwarts, but we don’t know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?” As Hufflepuffs, both Zach and Amy lowered their heads, feeling unable to help. Harry looked towards the Ravenclaws expectantly, before Luna spoke up about a lost diadem of Ravenclaw. 

“Yeah, but the lost diadem is lost , Luna. That’s sort of the point,” responded Michael dejectedly. Harry looked toward Cho Chang, before Ginny interrupted fiercely, offering that Luna would take Harry to the Ravenclaw common room to show him what the diadem looked like. Neville pointed Harry and Luna towards the door, before they both disappeared into the hall and out of sight. 

The room stood silent for a moment, as the rest of them waited for Neville to dole out instructions. 

  “What now, Neville?” Seamus shouted, looking around at the students left in the Room. 

“We wait for Harry, and man the passageway to the Hog’s Head,” said Neville.

“When I got your message,” Ginny spoke, turning towards Neville, “I alerted some of the members of the Order about Harry’s reappearance. They should be on their way now.”

As soon as Ginny said that, the portrait swung open on its hinges once more to reveal the passageway, in which wizards were spilling out. Some of these witches and wizards Amy recognized from the Daily Prophet, and others from previous years of school. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, their old D.A.D.A professor Remus Lupin, and former students Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Oliver Wood, and Katie Bell. When Katie entered, Amelia looked towards Leanne with a smug look on her face. Leanne responded by mouthing the words ‘ shut up’ . The rest of the Weasley clan also arrived, including the oldest son, Bill, and his wife, Fleur, the former Tri-Wizard Tournament Champion. 

As the members collected themselves and checked in with Neville and the other students, Amelia noticed Harry and Luna return to the Room, after having been gone for a good fifteen minutes, or so. The door had been flung wide open in all of the mayhem, and Harry was standing a ways away, a few steps down from the door.

“Harry, what’s happening?” Amy heard Professor Lupin inquire. She grasped Zach’s hand and weaved her way through the mob of students closer to the conversation, in order to hear what’s been going on. If it’s this chaotic here, Amelia knew that it must be worse on the other side of the wall. Zach nodded in approval once he saw where she was taking him, and the pair stopped when they were within listening distance of Harry and Lupin, even if it was only snippets that were being heard.

“Voldemort’s on his way, they’re barricading the school ― Snape’s run for it―They’re evacuating the younger kids and everyone’s meeting in the Great Hall to get organized. We’re fighting.”

“Come on,” Zacharias pulled Amelia towards the bottom of the stairs as a rush of students followed behind them. “We should go to the Great Hall and see what’s going on.” Amelia took Zach’s hand in hers, held it tightly, and the pair ran to the first floor of the school. War had begun.

Zacharias

As they approached the Great Hall, the stairways and corridors were so packed with students it was like trying to move through molasses. Zacharias, using his height to his advantage, attempted to weave his way through the younger students, many of whom were crying or holding onto themselves out of fear. Professors and members of the Order were seen through the windows, casting protection spells around Hogwarts, with giant barriers of magic forming a bubble around the entire castle. In all of the chaos, they had lost track of Neville, Ernie, Leanne, and their other friends. 

“Stick with me,” Zacharias commanded Amelia, taking her attention away from what was happening around them, back to him. She looked back at him and the pair locked eyes. “Let’s go into the Great Hall and see what’s going on.”

The Great Hall seemed at first glance to be unaffected by the threats of war. The enchanted ceiling was dark and spotted with glittering stars, and the four long House tables were underneath, just as they always were. Yet, the students sitting at the tables looked rumpled, as many of them were wearing dressing gowns and traveling cloaks, rather than their school robes. The school ghosts floated around aimlessly. However, every single eye in the room was fixed on Professor McGonagall, who stood poised behind a podium that was positioned in front of the staff table. Zacharias walked at a quick pace towards the front of the room, but kept his eyes focused on Professor McGonagall. In all of the commotion, Zacharias did not realize that he had lost his grip on Amelia’s hand.

“…evacuation will be overseen by Mr. Filch and Madam Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organize your House and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point.” Professor McGonagall spoke clearly, not even a wavering of fear in her tone.

Ernie, who had been sitting at the Hufflepuff table with the younger students, as well as Hannah, Susan, and a few of their other friends, stood up suddenly. Zacharias steered himself towards Ernie, until he was standing a couple paces away.

“And what if we want to stay and fight?” Ernie shouted over the noise. A smattering of applause was heard in response.

“If you are of age, you may stay.” Zacharias was having a hard time focusing between the loud chants of battle, the nervous chatter, and the running panic of younger students.

“We have already placed protection around the castle,” Professor McGonagall was saying, “but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects―” 

But whatever she was saying was lost as the Hall was drowned out by a different voice. This one was much deeper, and had a much different message.

“I know you are preparing to fight,” It boomed. Students screamed, and Zacharias felt as if he was living a horror picture, like the muggles watch. “Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood.” It was Voldemort. Zacharias knew it. There was no use not using his name now, he was already here. “Give me Harry Potter,” Voldemort demanded, “and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight.”

The room was loud with the sound of silence. All eyes in the room turned until they set their sights on Harry, who froze. A Slytherin girl, one Zach recognized from his year, stood up and shouted, “But he’s there! Potter’s there ! Someone grab him!”

Though Zacharias had never liked Harry Potter, even he thought that giving Harry up to Voldemort would do no good. Harry had been talking about a way to defeat Voldemort, hadn’t he? Finding the lost diadem would help stop Voldemort? Of course, Zacharias wasn’t sure how finding a tiara would stop the darkest wizard of all time, but it seemed like Harry had a plan, and that was good enough for him. So when the Gryffindors stood and formed a wall to protect Harry, with the Hufflepuffs following suit, Zacharias stood his ground, too, pulling his wand out just as Ernie was doing. He looked over at Amelia, before realizing that she was no longer standing beside him.

He felt the panic set in. His face flushed, sweat forming droplets above his brow. Where had he lost her? When did their hands let go? Zach’s head whipped around anxiously, as he scanned the room for her mop of mousy curls. Where was she?

It was getting harder to find her, as Professor McGonagall had begun the evacuation of the younger students, who were filling out of the Great Hall in groups. Many of his friends, who were all of age, over seventeen, remained seated at the table, staying to fight. Zacharias began running towards the corridor, his mind set on finding Amelia.

“ZACH!” He heard someone calling his name, and momentarily stopped to see who it was. Ernie. Zacharias continued to walk backwards, but stared at Ernie. “Where are you going?!” Ernie shouted after him, his face etched with a look of betrayal.

“I can’t find Ames!” Zach retorted, and swore that he could see Ernie sigh with relief. 

“Come back when you find her!”

Zacharias was about to respond, but hesitated. To be truthful, his goal wasn’t to come back. He needed Amy to be safe, and that meant escaping. He would return once he knew that nothing bad could happen to her. Instead he replied, “See you soon! Good luck!”

Zach raced out of the Hall, glancing around the entire corridor looking for Amy. About a quarter of the way up the marble stairs, he heard his name being called. 

“Zach! Zach! Over here!” He pushed his way back down a couple steps and to the right, where he saw Amy standing beside the railing. She appeared to have been shoved to the side by passing students.

She reached out her hand towards him, and he took it, before wrapping his arms tightly around her. He nestled his head into her neck, and breathed in the floral scent of her hair. He ignored the jostling of the other people around him, and focused on his arms around her. 

“Oh god,” cried Zacharias as he felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks. “I thought I lost you.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered to him, her grip tightening around him. “I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

“I love you,” he murmured, his voice breaking as he planted a kiss on her neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” said Amelia, softly. “Come. The battle’s started. It’s time to go.”

Zacharias released his hold on her and nodded, wiping at his eyes. “Yes,” he said firmly. “Follow me.” With that, Zacharias surged back into the crowd, making his way up the stairs. He knew that they were evacuating the students through the passageway to the Hog’s Head in the Room of Requirement. It was the only way out to safety. So that was where he was headed.

The stairway was noisy, with yelling and crying filling the air. Zacharias shoved his way through the first-years, making his way to the front of the queue. 

He had reached the entrance to the Room when he finally turned back, gazing behind him. That was when he realized that Amelia was no longer there. 

The fear that once again filled his mind was unexplainable. “Amy?” Zacharias shouted, stepping out of the way of the young Ravenclaws who had reached the doorway. “Ames?” he scanned the stairs, and came up empty. “AMY!” he bellowed, feeling the air being sucked out of his lungs. No, no, no. How could he be so fucking stupid to lose her again? He had to go back.

Preparing for the battle that he knew was inevitable, the battle that he had been so expectantly waiting to fight in, Zacharias drew his wand from where he kept it concealed in his school trousers. He was wearing his white shirt, the sleeves rolled up and the bottom untucked, and his Hufflepuff sweater vest over the top. His hair was unruly. 

Clutching his wand tightly in his right hand, he raced back down the stairs, towards the Great Hall once more. It was increasingly harder to go this way, like attempting to travel upstream in a river with the current working against you. But, the further down the stairs he went, the more the crowd thinned. By halfway down, the battle was in full effect, with duels happening all around him. 

The sky was dark, it had to have been past midnight at this point. The torches lining the halls allowed light to fill the otherwise dark corridors. Zacharias moved slowly, spinning in small circles, to prevent anyone from sneaking up on him from behind.

Zacharias heard a column crumble behind him, before spotting who sent the spell. He ducked for cover as another red flash was sent in his direction.

“Stupefy!” Zacharias shouted, aiming his wand at the unknown assailant, but missed the target. “Flipendo!” Zacharias sent the Death Eater flying backwards into a wall further up the staircase. While the person was momentarily distracted, Zacharias took off back down the stairs.

Another spell whizzed past his head, and he knew that the Death Eater had regained themselves and were chasing him. 

Zacharias bolted down the stairs, glancing over his shoulder every once and a while in order to dodge the mass of spells that were being shot at him. Good thing this guy had really bad aim, Zacharias thought to himself as he watched another red flash streak past him. It hit the floor and caused the ground to shake. Zacharias saw other small duels going on around him, and it was noisy and chaotic, but yet somehow less so than before. Unlike before, now he was zeroed in on his own war, this one-on-one with this masked man. 

“Expulso!” shouted Zach. The curse hit the man square in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the wall. He smashed against the marble, before crumpling to the floor, unconscious. Zach didn’t know whether the man was dead or not, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was finding Amy.

As he made his way down the rest of the stairs, Zacharias checked his watch. How had so much time already passed? He must have been in the midst of that duel for longer than he thought. Zacharias gripped the wood of his wand tighter, and turned the corner into the corridor that led to the Great Hall. Though there was no one battling in the hall, a couple bodies lay splayed across the floor, or propped against walls. Zach averted his gaze, not wanting to look at the people, who were all dressed in the Hogwarts uniform. Students, dead.

But, even from down the hall, Zach could hear the noise of the battle that was happening inside the Great Hall itself. By this point, after having fought a Death Eater himself, Zach knew that the protective barrier Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had encased the school in was no longer. Dark magic had broken the barrier and flooded the school.

Zach stood beside the large wooden door to the Great Hall, his back straight against the wall. Slowly, he peered inside, stunned by what he saw.

Duels, everywhere. He saw students, professors, and other wizards he had never seen before all facing werewolves, Death Eaters, and Dementors. A few giants, their heads piercing the enchanted ceiling, were punching the walls and attempting to flip the House tables. Spells were flying, people were screaming, and curses were being shouted. Bodies lay helplessly on the ground. Zacharias watched as allies shot spell after spell at the Death Eaters, who kept deflecting them. It was a sight to behold. 

Peering down the hallway that he was in, to make sure that nothing was about to attack him, Zacharias stepped out from his hiding spot behind the door. Amy was in there, he could feel it.

Zacharias took a deep breath, before running into the Great Hall. 

Spells raced past him. 

“DUCK!” someone screamed, and he dove for cover, shielding his face with his arms as something burst into flames behind him. “Stay down!” As soon as he heard the second explosion, Zacharias looked up, and was surprised to see Wayne standing above him. Wayne reached out his arm, and Zacharias grabbed hold, allowing Wayne to help pull him off the floor. 

“Thanks,” said Zach, but Wayne just shook his head, before firing another hex at the Death Eater he was battling. 

“Reducto!” yelled Zach, sending the spark at the man, whose face was so angular it appeared sharp. When the man dodged the curse, Zach called over to Wayne, “Who is this guy?”

“Dolohov, I think,” Wayne responded, as he cast the protection charm over the both of them to deflect an incoming spell. 

“Have you seen Amy?” Zach asked.

“I haven’t seen anyone, been a little too busy here,” Wayne joked, cracking a smile, before it faded as he focused once more on the battle at hand. 

Zacharias slapped his friend on the back, wished him good luck, before carefully making his way across the Great Hall. 

That was when he saw her.

Near the back of the Great Hall, just beyond the Hufflepuff House table, there she was. Amelia. Her hair was loose, the curls having turned to waves, and they kept splashing up against her face, and getting in her eyes. Her cheeks had reddened, and her blue eyes were concentrated on the man she was dueling. She was wearing muggle clothes: a pair of dark blue jeans, a t-shirt, and an oversized gray-blue flannel, which was flailing behind her, as she moved around like crazy, sending and dodging curses. 

She was beautiful. And badass. She kept firing curse after curse, her aim so precise she could have shot a bullseye if the man had been wearing a target. Too bad that he kept deflecting the curses and ducking at the spells. 

Without thinking about the situation, only thinking about her, Zacharias called out her name. “AMY!”

At the sound of her name, Amelia’s eyebrows furrowed. She gazed up from her duel and examined the room, before locking her eyes on Zach, who was standing about twenty feet away. Zach reached his arm out towards her, and saw the corners of her mouth curl up into a smile. 

Zach? Her lips soundlessly formed the shape of his name as she began to smile at his appearance. 

“SECTUMSEMPRA!”

Time almost seemed to have stopped. Her smile disappeared quickly as Amelia felt the bolt of white light from the Death Eater’s wand tip hit her squarely in the chest. Her eyes fluttered and she appeared to be floating as her body fell to the ground, her head falling backwards against the stone floor. Gigantic cuts slashed across her torso and limbs, blood gushing from the sizable wounds. Her arms were spread wide, and the floor around her began to pool with the red of her own blood. 

“AMY!” Zach screamed, the sound piercing the room. He rushed towards her unconscious body, kneeling beside her. “No, no, no,” he cried to himself as he looked at her pale face, her blue eyes closed. Pushing a curl out of her face, Zacharias inspected her wounds, all of which were bleeding without signs of stopping. “HELP! HELP!” he shrieked, before laying his head on her chest, the lack of heartbeat causing a sob to rise in his throat. “Help,” he begged as he wrapped his arms around her body and lifted her lifeless frame into his lap. He cradled her body and sobbed, feeling the hot tears streaming down his face. “Amy, no please, no, you can’t die,” he cried, speaking to her. He touched his bloodied hand to her face, where her cheek was still warm. “I need you. Please, no, please, you can’t die, you can’t be dead, please, Ames.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, before holding her body closer to his, her arms laying limp. “HELP,” Zacharias wailed. “SOMEONE PLEASE HELP HER!”

The noise of the battle continued around him, but Zach was oblivious. Amelia was dead. She wasn’t breathing, her heart wasn’t beating, she had no pulse. The gashes that ravaged her body wouldn’t stop bleeding, they were so deep. He didn’t know what to do. He had failed to protect her, and so he vowed, in that moment, to never leave her side. He would always protect her, from now on. So Zach hoisted Amelia up into his arms, bridal style, his tears dripping onto her cheeks, and carried her to the side of the room, where he gently lay her down beside the wall. 

“I’ll be back for you, Ames. I promise,” Zacharias sobbed quietly in her ear, after brushing a lock of her hair out of the way. “After I fucking murder the son of a bitch who did this to you.”

Now, with a newfound anger, Zacharias felt his body pulse with energy. He scanned the area, before spotting the Death Eater who had murdered her. With a shit-eating smirk, he was in the midst of battling a Ravenclaw student, who appeared to be losing. Zacharias felt his face flush red with anger, and he gripped his wand tighter in his fist, his knuckles glowing white. He shoved his sodden hair off his forehead, before glaring at the man, his eyes filled with hatred.

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Zacharias screamed, his cries heard, even above the noise of the room, as he charged at the Death Eater. The Death Eater turned towards his voice, and his eyes widened with surprise as the teenage Hufflepuff tackled him to the ground. Zacharias sat on top of the man, straddling his torso with his thighs, before ripping the man’s wand from his hand and snapping it in half. “MOTHERFUCKER!” Zacharias cried, tears streaming down his face as he pinned the man’s arms against the floor before attacking the man, scratching his face and body until blood ran down the Death Eater’s forehead. Zacharias shook the man’s body forcefully before he aimed his wand at his throat. So much had just happened so fast the Death Eater was defenseless, and looked that way. 

“Did I kill your girlfriend?” The Death Eater asked slyly, smiling in response, his rotting teeth clearly on display. Zacharias leered at him before pressing the tip of his wand against the man’s throat harder, almost choking him, which wiped the smile off his face.

“Don’t tempt me,” Zacharias grumbled, “I could fucking kill you right now.”

The Death Eater scoffed. “Yeah right! You Hufflepuff’s are too soft to kill anyone. No wonder it was so easy to kill that girl of yours. Too easy.”

Zacharias’s breath hitched in his chest, before he whispered. “Oh yeah? Well, good thing I’m not like other Hufflepuffs.” And with that, Zacharias stood, towering over the man, whose mouth stretched corner to corner. Zacharias kept his wand pointed at the man as he smashed his foot, hard, into the man’s face. Zach heard the crack as the hard sole of his boot broke the man’s nose, causing thick red blood to stream down the side of his face. The man looked up at Zacharias in shock.

“I hope you rot in hell,” Zacharias spat. The man’s eyes widened, and attempted to hold his arms up in defense, before realizing they were still pinned underneath his torso. “AVADA KEDAVRA!” Zacharias screamed, the Unforgivable curse aimed at the Death Eater’s chest.

The green light flashed bright before Zach’s eyes. When it disappeared, Zach was left staring at the man’s lifeless body, blood still trickling down from his broken face, creating a small pool on the floor. “Sick bastard,” Zacharias sneered before he spit at the man, wiping the saliva from his chin. 

As Zacharias made his way back towards Amelia, he walked past the bloodstained floor where she had been killed. The crimson paint splattered the tile, its wetness reflecting the starlight from the enchanted ceiling. Zach just stared at it, before he closed his eyes, feeling woozy. He turned around, and promptly vomited the empty contents of his stomach onto the Great Hall floor. Hunched over, his wand feeling much looser in his grip, his entire body heaved, his sickness creating a pool that was no match for the river of blood beside it. But soon, his heaving turned to sobbing, and Zacharias stood up, his tears soaking his cheeks.

As he wandered back towards the wall where he had left her, he barely even noticed the commotion of the battle that continued around him. Spells continued to be cast, people continued to scream, and friends continued to die. Zacharias stood with his back against the cold stone wall, before sliding down to the floor and adjusting Amelia’s body so that she was curled in his lap. He sobbed and mumbled nonsense to himself, watching the battle from the sidelines, as he rocked back and forth, cradling her in his arms. 

Amelia

“ Mum?” I see her standing there, a few feet away from me. She looks as beautiful as ever, her hair just like mine: short and brown with a slight curl. She’s waving to me, her arm raised. I look up, and see the familiar sign for Platform 9 ¾, but something about it is different. Now, looking around, I notice what it is. 

It’s white. Blindingly so. The entirety of King’s Cross Station is illuminated with the white of a thousand suns. It’s strangely quiet, too. Usually the station is loud, with all the hustle and bustle of heading to and from Hogwarts. Perhaps there’s no train today.

I move towards her, but that’s different, too. The air around me seems as if it is filled with a dull mist―a cloud of white vapor that parts as I walk through it. The fog floats around me, draping me with its soft fabrics until I find myself wearing a long white gown. Had I not been wearing any clothes before? I can’t remember.

I feel angelic. As I approach her, my mother, I feel as if I’m floating. Blissful.

“Is it really you?” I ask the figure who so clearly resembles my mum. She just smiles, the lines at her eyes creasing.

“But,” I hesitate. “You’re dead.” I look around again, the white vapor creating the illusion of the platform. “Am I dead?”

“Do you believe you’re dead?” she asks, reaching out to touch my hand.

“I-I’m not sure. I don’t remember dying. The last thing I remember was…Zach. I remember seeing Zach. And then I was here.” I pause, unsure which of the thousand questions I have to ask next. “Where are all the trains?”

Mum looks around, as if she hadn’t noticed that we were at King’s Cross. “One will come,” she replies, with a smile. “When you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“What comes next.”

I see a bench a few feet away and take a seat, staring down at my bare feet, my soles pressing into the floor of the platform. Mum comes and sits beside me. 

“What’s wrong, Ames?” Mum asks me, as she caresses my cheek with her hand. I sigh, before turning towards her, my heart filled with turmoil. 

“What about everyone else? Won’t they miss me?”

“Who else is there?” Mum asks, squeezing my hand.

I take my hand away, and look back towards the direction I came, but there’s nothing there. I stare Mum in the eyes, mine full of emotion. “You’ve been gone for a while, Mum. I have Dad now. And Kacey, and Quinn.”

“I know.”

“And Zach!” I say, with desperation. “I can’t leave him alone. He needs me.” 

Mum nods, listening deeply to what I have to say. “So?”

I rise from my seat, the skirt of my dress brushing softly against my legs. “I have to go back. Can I go back?”

Mum rises, and points in the direction of the train schedule, which is positioned in front of a brick wall a ways away. I rush towards it, the mist mushrooming as I send it curling out behind me. I scan the departures quickly, before reading it over again. I turn around, sadness filling my face. 

“I―I can’t go back?” Mum comes over and wraps me into a tight hug. 

“I’m afraid not, baby.”

I feel a tear slip down my cheek. But it doesn’t feel like a tear. It’s more like a warm gust of wind brushing against my face instead. “Then why am I even here?”

“You have to be ready for what comes next.”

I look into her eyes. Her eyes. They're brown, even in the whiteness of the in-between world around me. It reminds me of just how different we are. Perhaps I am not completely my mother’s daughter.

“What if I’m never ready?”

“Then I will wait here with you.”

“Will I ever see Zach again?”

“When his time comes, yes.”

“And when is that?”

She laughs, before reaching out for my hand, which I take easily. “No one can know that, my love. You will just have to be patient. But I promise you, he’ll be here.”

I allow her to guide me closer to the tracks. “And will he be okay without me?”

“Eventually, yes.” We’re standing at the edge of the platform now.

“I love him,” I tell her, as I peer down the tunnel, where two white lights shine, stronger than the rest of the white world that surrounds me.

“And he will always love you.” She holds my hand tightly as we step onto the train together. As the doors close, I sigh, content. 

It is a great feeling, to be loved for eternity.

Zacharias

Zacharias remained oblivious to the rest of the battle. His eyes were blurred over with tears, and his gaze remained fixed on Amelia’s pale face, void of emotion. He didn’t even notice when the chaos of the room dimmed to a hurried hustle, until the sounds of battle died out entirely. 

“Ex-excuse me? Sir? Let me help you―” a young woman, who Zacharias didn’t recognize, had crouched down in front of him. She reached out towards Amelia’s body, before Zacharias tightened his grip on his girlfriend’s lifeless form. 

“DON’T TOUCH HER!” he screamed, causing the girl to step backwards in fright, her eyes wide. 

“But, sir, we should put her with the rest of the dead―”

“SHE’S NOT DEAD!” he shouted, his hand fumbling on the floor beside him, looking for his wand. The girl held her hands up in defense, slowly backing away from Zach. She motioned with her head to a few aurors nearby, and they closed in on Zacharias. “GO AWAY!” he cried, wiping tears from his face with the back of his hand.

“It’s alright,” an auror said calmly, attempting to reason with him. “We’re just turning the Great Hall into a hospital wing, that’s all. And we want to help your friend here. What’s your name?”

Zacharias furrowed his eyebrows at the man, but didn’t move. “Nobody is to touch her but me.”

“We just want to move her to a different spot in the room, that’s all,” the man said, coming closer to Zach one small step at a time.

“No. Stay away. LEAVE ME ALONE!” The man took one more step forward, and when Zacharias attempted to scoot away, his back still flat against the wall, the man nodded to the two other people beside him. 

All at once, the two male aurors went to grab Zacharias, each one taking one of his arms. The first man was able to pry Zach’s wand out of his fist. They pulled Zacharias to his feet, and resisted against his struggling body. Meanwhile, the young witch from before went straight towards Amelia’s body on the floor, where she checked the open wounds, before magicking a stretcher. She levitated Amelia’s body onto the stretcher, and began floating her towards the center of the Hall, where medinurses stood ready to do a further in depth examination. 

“NO!” Zach shouted, flailing his body in an attempt to break free from the two aurors. “BRING HER BACK! STOP! PLEASE, NO!” His hair was disheveled, his clothes torn, and his face was red and wet with the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. He continued to struggle against the men. “PLEASE! PLEASE!” He was beginning to tire himself out. “Please,” he sobbed, his legs giving out, causing the two men to be holding up his full body weight. “I need her. Please. Please, bring her back to me. I need her, please.” Zach was choking on his words, but he didn’t care. He could see the young witch who was in control of the stretcher moving further and further away. 

“Are you going to be okay now?” The auror asked him, before he was interrupted by a loud voice echoing through the Hall. The voice seemed to fill one’s head with static and noise, and the terrifying sound of his deep voice.

“I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour.” It was Voldemort. Apparently Harry had managed to continue to escape the evil bastard.

“HARRY YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Zacharias screamed, his throat starting to become sore from so much yelling. “JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY, YOU TWAT!” The aurors’s grip on his arms tightened, and Zacharias shut his mouth. He didn’t like being restrained like this. “Amy?” Zach called out. The room had started to fill, and was more crowded with people than ever. The house tables had been removed completely, and groups of survivors stood gathered in circles, comforting each other. Cots lined the walls and were filled with injured fighters. Zach watched as the young witch placed Amelia’s cot in the center of the room, beside a few other cots with lifeless bodies. 

Zacharias looked over at the auror on his left. “Please, let me go sit with her. Please,” Zacharias begged. The man glanced over him to the auror on Zach’s right, who gave a curt nod. The pair released Zacharias, returned him his wand, and watched as he bolted across the room, weaving his way through the hoards of people. 

“Ames,” Zach sobbed as he kneeled beside her, brushing a strand of hair off of her forehead. The young woman from before, who apparently was a mediwitch, kneeled on Amelia’s other side. The witch began to pull a bedsheet up and over Amelia’s body, and had reached the waist before Zach put his hand out to stop her. “No.”

“Sir, she’s dead. I’ve been instructed to―”

“I don’t care! I need to see her.” The woman looked annoyed, but released the cloth and moved on to a different patient. 

Zacharias placed his forehead against Amelia’s, and allowed his tears to fall onto her face. “I love you,” he whispered to her, before settling himself into a more comfortable seat beside her. “And I will never leave your side again.” Zach closed his eyes, suddenly feeling the exhaustion that had overtaken his body. He rested his head on her chest, her lack of breath making him slightly uncomfortable. And right there, he fell asleep.

He awoke to the sound of cheering. As he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed that the enchanted evening of the Great Hall ceiling had been transformed into a gloriously sunny day. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, and noticed the smiling faces of the crowded room. 

“He did it!”

  “By Dumbledore, Harry Potter, the boy who lived…again!”

“I can’t believe Voldemort is defeated!”

“War is over!”

Zacharias, still not adjusted to the brightness, squinted up at the man hovering above him. “Did you say ‘war is over’?”

The man grinned down at him, before slapping Zach on the shoulder. “Yes I did, mate! We did it, we won!”

“Great,” Zacharias replied, distracted. He had begun scanning the crowded room, searching for someone, anyone, he recognized. But he didn’t have to, because soon enough, he heard someone calling his name.

“Amelia? Zach? Ernie? Hannah? Anyone?” The recognizable voice of Leanne was heard over the noise and chatter of the celebration. Zacharias finally saw her. Her clothes were tattered, but she seemed fine otherwise. Just a bit dusty. When she finally spotted him, she smiled and waved. “Zach! There you are!” She strode towards him, the pep in her step not yet extinguished. “I’ve been looking for you―” her smile melted away as soon as she arrived at Zach’s feet.

“Hey, Leanne.”

Leanne’s face was in a state of shock. Her mouth was agape, her eyes wide, and she froze in place. “She’s just resting, right?” Leanne asked, motioning towards Amelia’s body.

Zach didn’t say anything.

“Right? Zach, answer me!” she sobbed, the waterworks starting. Leanne crumpled down into a ball, and Zach embraced her, feeling his own tears starting up once again. This was going to be a long day. “What―what happened?” Leanne asked, noticing the slashes and bloodstains on Amelia’s clothes. 

Zach sat back from Leanne, and closed his eyes. “I don’t want to think about it anymore, okay?”

“Alright,” Leanne nodded, her crying diminishing to quiet sniffles. “Does anyone else know yet?” Zach shook his head. “Did you know that Wayne died, too?” Zach didn’t say anything, so Leanne just nodded her confirmation. “Yeah. I found out last night. Megan and Oliver were with him when it happened. Did…did Amy die last night, too?”

“She’s not dead,” Zach stated harshly, not making eye contact with Leanne.

“What? Yes she is, Zach. She’s not moving.”

“She’s gonna be fine. She just needs some time to get better.”

“She’s clearly not breathing. Are you okay, Zach?”

“SHE HAS TO BE FINE, I PROMISED HER!” Zach shouted, jumping to his feet in order to stare down at Leanne, having the higher ground. Leanne motioned for him to quiet down, and pulled at his pant leg for him to sit with her. He obeyed when he saw the same aurors from last night staring at him curiously.

Leanne wiped at her face with her sleeve. “Listen, Zach, I don’t know how it happened, but I’m not blind. She’s gone, okay? Any ‘promise’ that you made to her before she died doesn’t count anymore. Come on, let’s go.” Leanne managed to stand up, before turning her head away from Amelia’s body. “I love you, Amy, but I can’t look at you like this. I―I can’t.” She waited a moment, before looking down at Zacharias, annoyance in her eyes. “Come on, Zach, let’s go.” He didn’t move. “Zach! Hello? Earth to Zach!”

He didn’t move his eyes away from Amy’s face. “I’m not going. I have to stay with her.”

“But we should go look for the others…Ernie, Hannah, and the rest. Help out with the post-battle reorganization.”

“I’m staying.”

“Why?!” Leanne snapped, her arms extended outwards. “Why are you so insistent on staying with her? There’s nothing you can do for her anymore. She’s gone . And I know it’s sad and you’re feeling like you failed her or something, I don’t know, but it’s fucking stupid, Zach! I loved her, too, you know! You’re not the only one! We’re all going to miss her, but the best way to not feel so alone is to be with those who know and care. So let’s go find our friends, and then we can all grieve together.” Leanne stormed away, her grief spilling out behind her in waves of anger. She didn’t look back to see if he was following her.

“Sir?” Evening had fallen again. Zacharias opened his eyes, and sat up from his spot. He had managed to make enough room on the cot so that his body pressed up against Amelia’s side, and he could rest his head on her shoulder comfortably. The savory aroma of buffet style supper filled the air, and Zacharias spotted a portion of one of the house tables stationed off to one side. He looked towards the mediwitch who had shaken him awake just moments ago. Realizing that she now had his attention, the witch continued to speak. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to get off the cot. We’re relocating all of those who’ve…passed away…to a different room, so the Great Hall can be used for meals and recreation.”

Zach stared at her. “You’re moving her? Well then, I’m coming with you.”

 The witch shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not an option. I was clearly instructed not to let family remain with the…deceased.”

“But she needs me.”

“She’ll be in good hands, I promise. However, I was informed that you are welcome to go to her dorm, gather her things, and go home. Owl post will be sent shortly regarding the funeral. And of course, you are welcome to help yourself to dinner.” The witch breezed towards Amelia, and levitated the stretcher in the air, before floating her towards the corridor. Zach just stood and watched her go. He wanted to cry, but felt that he was out of tears. With Amelia gone, and Zach unsure whether he would ever see her again, he began heading towards the Hufflepuff dorms. As he passed the buffet, he felt his stomach rumble angrily, but shook his head. Even though he was hungry, since he hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning, it didn’t seem fair to Amy to eat. And just picturing that pool of blood made him lose his appetite, anyways.

Amelia

The silence is so loud.

Zacharias

Most of the castle was ruined. Walls were demolished into large chunks of marble, and the floors were cracked from their impact. However, the Hufflepuff common room, which was tucked away in the basement beside the kitchen, was mostly fine. The barrels that acted as the door were broken, causing the tile to be slick with vinegar, and the common room to be clearly exposed to the corridor. Zacharias carefully stepped into the hole, and found himself in the common room. 

He strode right through the main room and down the hall towards his own dorm. There would be no use going to Amelia’s dorm―boys weren’t allowed in the girl’s hallway. It wouldn’t matter anyways. Considering that he and Amelia had been living in the Room of Requirement for the past few months, barely any of their important things were still in their dorm rooms. However, Zacharias found his trunk standing neatly at the end of his four poster, and his bed made up nice and tidy. Flipping open his trunk, Zacharias was surprised to find it packed with his things that he had left in the room months ago. Ernie, that neat freak, must have done this after he went into hiding. 

As Zacharias sorted through his spare clothes and books, double checking that everything was accounted for, his hand brushed against a cold piece of metal, deep within the depths of his trunk. Pulling out the foreign object, Zacharias was surprised to see his ancient time turner in his palm, the one Amelia had regifted to him two Christmases ago.

Time turner, time turner. Turn back time. Turn back time. Years, weeks, days, hours. Thoughts raced through Zacharias’s mind as he felt an idea formulating. Why couldn’t he just turn back time? He could see her, speak to her, be with Amelia again. Hell! He could stop her from being murdered!

Slamming the lid to his trunk, Zacharias, with the time turner clutched in his fist, raced out of his dorm and down the hall, back towards the main common room. As he sped through the hallway, he suddenly felt a rush of cold air, like ice, flow through his veins. Stopping suddenly, Zacharias turned around to find the Hufflepuff house ghost, the Fat Friar, hovering behind him.

“Woah my boy! Watch where you’re headed there!” he chuckled, his round stomach bouncing with each chortle. 

Zacharias’s face flushed. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to run…through you…like that.”

The Friar shook his head, dismissing the apology. “It’s alright. Where are you going that you’re in such a rush anyhow? The battle’s already over.” The Friar looked Zacharias up and down, as if just now noticing that the boy was caked in blood and dust. The ghost spotted the time turner hidden in Zach’s fist. “What are you doing with that? Nothing careless, I hope?”

“What’s it to you?” Zach spat, turning on his heel to go. “If I change the past, no one will even notice after it’s done,” Zach mumbled under his breath, but was surprised when the Friar appeared in front of him once again, blocking the exit.

“Now now! Hasn’t anyone at this school educated you on the dangers of using a time turner for personal benefit? It’s irresponsible! And it never works out quite like you had hoped that it would.”

Zacharias rolled his eyes, and attempted to sidestep the ghost, but was blocked once again. He could just run straight through the ghostly apparition, but it hadn’t made him feel so good last time, and he wasn’t interested in a repeat of that icy sensation. Flattening himself against the wall, Zacharias was able to squeeze his way past the Friar, and out into the basement corridor, watching his step on the vinegar slicked floors.

“You can’t bring back the dead, Mr. Smith!” The Friar called, following him.

“Says who?” Zacharias called back.

“But what about everyone else? The others who died in battle? Or the others who may die instead if you save whoever you are going back in time for? What about them?”

“Fuck them.”

“Now now now! That is not a Hufflepuff attitude! Not one bit! Where’s your house pride, my boy?” The Friar asked, after finally catching up to Zacharias’s quick pace.

Zacharias stopped and turned to face the hovering ghost. “I’M NOT A HUFFLEPUFF! OKAY? I’m nothing like the others. That stupid hat was wrong in placing me here. I’m an unkind, disloyal, hotheaded asshole! I have no legacy here―if anything my legacy is in Slytherin with the other purebloods. But no! I’m stuck here with the fucking loser squad. So just LEAVE. ME. ALONE.” 

The Friar watched as Zacharias stormed off once again, his anger trailing a few steps behind him. “Legacy?” The Friar called. “Of course you have a legacy in Hufflepuff.”

“What? No I don’t.” 

The Friar laughed his deep belly laugh that rumbled throughout the hallway. “Yes of course. You’re a descendant of one Hepzibah Smith, if I recall. A descendant of Helga Hufflepuff herself. Oh she was a nice girl, Hepzibah, oh yes. Always said hello to me, asked me how my day’s been. Yes, yes, the Smith family line has been tied to the Hufflepuff House for generations, over a course of centuries. Essentially ever since Hogwarts was founded. You didn’t know?”

Zach, now intrigued, shook his head. “No.”

“Don’t you see?” The Friar asked, coming towards him, and placing his hand a few inches above Zach’s shoulder, in a fatherly manner. “Being a Hufflepuff is in your blood. It’s in your nature.”

“But,” Zach hesitated. “People tell me I have anger issues. They tell me…how mean I am―Hufflepuffs aren’t supposed to be like that.”

“Everyone has their flaws. It’s about whether we choose to acknowledge the good traits in a person, along with the bad, that matters.” Zacharias remained silent for a moment. “So why don’t you just let go of the time turner, my boy? The consequences of it will not highlight your good traits, but your bad ones―and is that really how you want to be seen?”

“No.” Zacharias loosened his grip on the cold metal disk, and felt the chain slip from between his fingers. It clattered to the ground with a small clang, before it settled on the cold stone floor. Not being able to think clearly anymore, Zacharias crumpled to the ground, bringing his knees to his chest. And he cried. He sobbed, his tears soaking his trousers, but he didn’t care. He rested his forehead down and allowed the sadness to wash over him, and pull him out to sea.

Amelia

It’s so beautiful.

Zacharias 

What day was it? How much time had passed? So much had happened in such a short period of time, that Zacharias wasn’t even sure what was real. Pulling his trunk behind him, that was filled with both his, and Amelia’s, things, Zacharias struggled to walk down the path towards the Hogwarts gate. The sun was just above the horizon, and Zach wasn’t sure whether it was setting or rising. Other’s milled around the Great Lawn, embracing each other. Yet, Zach walked alone.

Finally approaching the rusted gate, Zacharias turned around, and stared at the magnificent school that stood before him. What once had great towers and aged stone, now appeared as a glorified pile of rubble. Zacharias was so engrossed in the ghastly sight he didn’t hear someone approach him from behind. 

“Are you leaving?” a soothing voice spoke on his left. Zacharias turned his head, and was bombarded by the sight of ginger hair that cascaded down the person’s shoulders. The person shifted, and Zacharias caught sight of their pale face.

“Yes,” he said.

Susan pushed her locks behind her ear. “Where are you going?”

Zacharias shrugged. “Don’t know. Home, maybe. Justin’s. Anywhere but here.”

Susan nodded, and stared at Zacharias. “Are you going to tell her family?”

“I guess I’ll have to, at some point. But after that…” Zacharias shook his hair out of his eyes, and turned back towards the Hogwarts gate, staring off at the mountains beyond.

“What then?” Susan asked, looking up into his sad eyes. 

“I think I’ll go away for a while.”

“Where?”

“I’m not sure yet. Somewhere…without magic. Somewhere, where I can forget.”

“Forget what?”

“Everything.”

19 Years Later

Zacharias

“Woah! Look at this! Isn’t this just the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen!” The little girl cried, taking in her surroundings. A bright red steam engine blew its whistle, and children on the platform ran to and from the train. Owls flew overhead, and trolleys clattered against the stone floor. A large sign, reading Platform 9 ¾, was attached to the brick wall where the girl had just emerged from, seemingly out of the blue. The girl danced in circles around her parents, her bright blonde hair spinning out around her. “Mum! Isn’t this amazing?” The girl questioned the woman behind her. 

The woman nodded, staring around her. “So all of these people…are wizards?” she asked, gesturing to the crowd. She turned towards the man beside her, who had a glazed look over his eyes. He looked off absently, and didn’t acknowledge her. The woman shook the man’s arm gently, attempting to snap him out of his daze. “Honey? Are you alright?”

Zacharias shook himself off and wiped the strange look off his face, before glancing towards his wife. “I’m fine, Sarah.” He gave her a half-hearted smile, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“So, Zach, honey, does this all look just like you remembered it?” Sarah asked. Zach simply shrugged. 

“Daddy! Daddy! That boy’s got a toad with him! Can I get a toad?” The little girl came running up to him, pointing to a boy a couple feet away. “Pleaseeee?”

“Maybe next year, Ellie,” he said, but wasn’t looking towards her. Instead, he was looking a ways behind her, where he saw a familiar figure. “Let’s go get you on the train now, come on.” Zacharias turned around, and pushed his wife and daughter hurriedly towards the tracks, much to their disagreement. His efforts to evade being spotted, however, were for nought. 

“Zach? Zacharias Smith? Hey! Wait! Zach!”

“Zach, honey, someone’s calling you,” Sarah pointed out, but Zach continued to urge her forward with a guiding hand on her lower back. Furrowing her eyebrows, Sarah came to a quick stop, forcing Zacharias to halt in his tracks. Zach cursed under his breath, which caused a look of confusion to bloom onto Sarah’s face. Slowly, Zach turned around, and the Smith family watched as a man with brown hair weaved his way through the dense crowd towards the group. 

Once out of the thick of it, the man smiled at Zach and his family, before extending his hand towards him. “Hey, Zach. Long time, no see.”

Zacharias grimaced, before returning the handshake. “Hey, Justin.”

Justin smiled, his grin so wide it seemed to take up the entire width of his face. “It’s nice to see you, buddy! And this must be your family that I’ve heard nothing about!” Justin joked, before shaking Sarah’s hand and waving to Ellie. “I’m Justin,” he introduced himself.

“Sarah,” Sarah replied, before pointing to their daughter. “And this is Elizabeth. She’s starting at Hogwarts this year.”

Justin smiled, before turning back to Zacharias, who had his head down, his eyes focused on the ground. His face had turned a light shade of pink. “So,” said Justin hesitantly, shuffling his feet. “I haven’t seen you in a while, Zach. Not since after the…you know. I thought I’d at least see you at the D.A reunion a few years ago, the one that was hosted at the Quidditch World Cup. I thought to myself, ‘hey, Quidditch and the D.A. Two of Zach’s favorite things. He’s bound to be here.’ But you didn’t show.”

“I was busy,” Zacharias stated, before looking away again.

“Busy…sure.” Silence fell over the conversation, as Justin stared at Zacharias deeply. Zacharias continued to avoid the man’s gaze, looking everywhere but his face.

Sarah, unsure what was causing her husband to be acting so strange, spoke up, “So, Justin, how do you know Zach?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Justin asked, slightly offended.

Sarah shook her head, her eyes wide. “No. But to be fair! We knew nothing of Zach’s wizarding life until Ellie’s Hogwarts letter arrived in the mail a few months ago. He never talks about it. He just mentioned that he went to Hogwarts many years back, and that it was up to Ellie whether she wanted to attend or not.”

Justin nodded, understanding. “Uh huh. I see. So you’re a muggle, Sarah?”

“So I’ve been told.” Zacharias listened to the conversation between Justin and his wife, but didn’t interject. Justin just ignored him.

“Zach and I were friends at Hogwarts,” Justin told Sarah. “I’ve known him since we were eleven. Us, and our other friends, were all in Hufflepuff together, in the same year.”

“So you two graduated school together?”

Justin stared daggers at Zacharias. “Not exactly, right Zach?”

Zacharias looked up finally, and made eye contact with Justin. “No.” Zach spoke firmly.

“Anyways,” Justin continued, disregarding Zach’s signal to stop, “My son is starting Hogwarts this year, too. I got married to one of our friends, Susan. I bet she’d want to say ‘hi’, but she’s busy making sure he’s got everything. I saw Ernie earlier, but I’m not sure where he went. And Zach, did you know that Hannah got married to Neville Longbottom a few years ago, and now he teaches at Hogwarts?”

Zacharias couldn’t help himself. He let out a small chuckle. “Really? What does he teach?”

“Herbology, I think,” Justin smiled, sensing Zach starting to open up. “Yeah, I see everybody quite often. They’d love to see you, Zach. Feel free to reach out. It’s been years―we need to catch up.”

“I don’t know,” Zach hesitated, turning away. “We have to go now, Justin, it was nice seeing you―”

“I can’t believe this―you’re still hung up on her? Zach, let it go!” Justin called after him, and Zacharias turned around, his eyes full of anger. “Don’t run anymore! You have friends who miss you. Is this what Amelia would have wanted?”

Zacharias stepped towards Justin, his eyes red and sad. “I don’t know what Amy would have wanted, because she’s not here.”

Justin put his arms on Zach’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Zach. What happened to Amy. You do know that, right?” Zacharias wiped his face with his knuckles, before giving Justin a curt nod. Justin nodded his head in response. “I’ll talk to you soon, Zach. You can’t get rid of me as easily this time.” He turned towards Sarah, who had the most confused look on her face. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, and her lips were close to a scowl. “It was nice meeting you,” Justin told her, before he weaseled his way back through the crowd.

Zacharias sighed, the tense feeling in his body that he hadn’t realized was there, finally releasing. He closed his eyes, and felt a sense of calm take over his body. He stayed silent. He stood with Sarah as they watched their daughter board the train, waving from a window. He stayed silent as the train blared its horn and pulled out of the station. He stayed silent as the platform became more and more vacant. As they turned to leave, Sarah looked towards him, and broke his silence.

“Who’s Amelia?”