It's been almost four days since they entered the trap door. Y/N, Hermione, and Ron came out thankfully fine, but they couldn't help but worry about Harry's well-being. For all they know, he's in a coma at the hospital wing, being tended by Madam Pomfrey after Dumbledore had saved him.

What happened to Harry and Professor Quirrell was kept a secret. Naturally, the whole school knew about it and had heard that Harry was trying to stop Voldemort from gaining the Philosopher's Stone.

Because of that, he was seen as a hero to all the other students and quickly won himself some admirers.

A lot had happened while Harry was unconscious. Without him to play as Gryffindor's seeker, of course, Slytherin won the last Quidditch match, earning them lots of house points, and winning the House Cup for the seventh year in a row.

That night, Hogwarts was having an end-of-year feast in the Great Hall. The place was decorated with huge banners bearing the Slytherin serpent, hanging from the walls and covering the wall behind the High Table.

Y/N was sitting at the Ravenclaw table when she saw Harry enter the room. She was relieved to see him doing well, and her ears perked when she heard Dumbledore speak, about to make his announcement.

Dumbledore made a few opening remarks, announcing that they had reached the end of the school year and other such things, before addressing the Houses' points.

"In fourth place, Gryffindor, with 312 points; in third, Hufflepuff, with 352 points; Second place, Ravenclaw with 450 points; and with 472 points, Slytherin house."

A storm of cheers and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table while the other houses looked miserable and defeated.

Y/N could see Draco banging his goblet on the table from excitement. However, she knew that happiness would be short-lived.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still and the Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"I have a few last-minute points to dish out. First– to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has ever seen in many years. I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

The whole of the Great Hall burst into a loud cheering, yelling and applauding. Y/N swore she could feel the vibration from all the noises, but happily cheered with the crowd anyway.

Percy Weasley can be heard across the tables telling everyone, "That's my brother! My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

And after a few seconds, the crowd calmed down and it was quiet again.

"Second– to Miss Hermione Granger... For staying composed when faced against the vicious Devil's Snare and staying by her friend's side when they couldn't carry on. I award Gryffindor fifty points."

The crowd applauded again, and Hermione buried her face in her arms. Y/N smiled at the sight, suspected it was from embarrassment.

"Third– to Mr. Harry Potter..." Dumbledore said. The room went deadly quiet. "...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor sixty points."

The crowd applauded but looked rather confused now as to who was the winner of the House Cup.

Gryffindor had completely tied with Slytherin. If only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point, people thought.

The room was filled with whispers; students were discussing amongst themselves who'd be the winner; and some were saying with haughty chin that their house deserved more points.

Dumbledore raised a hand and the room automatically fell quiet.

"There are all kinds of courage," he said with a smile, "it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but it takes an even greater deal to stand up to our friends. I therefore award 20 points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

And just like that, the room wreaks havoc with sounds of cheers, mostly from the now wild Gryffindor table. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, adding to the chaos.

Someone outside the Great Hall might as well have thought that there was some sort of explosion happening in there.

"Lastly–" Dumbledore suddenly added, everyone went silent again in anticipation, some were even hopeful.

"To Miss Serene Willow..."

Y/N's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped from shock as she didn't expect any award from her. That wasn't part of the story, but then again, Y/N's assistance wasn't part of the story either.

Her housemates were shaking her with excitement upon hearing someone from their house getting called out by Dumbledore.

"...for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Ravenclaw fifty points, which makes a total of five hundred points. Congratulation."

The Ravenclaw table thundered into a proud cheer, applauding and whistling while ruffling Y/N's hair. It was an even louder cheering compared to moments ago when Gryffindor had initially won the House Cup.

Slytherin barely clapped with the crowds after losing their 7th year's House Cup record; Gryffindor cheered but people could see the disappointment in their eyes for being second place; whereas Hufflepuff was enjoying the unexpected plot twist and was just being supportive.

Ravenclaw had beaten Gryffindor, as well as all the other houses, and won the House Cup.

"Nice one, Y/N!" One student congratulated her while proudly ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, good work, Y/N!" Another one chimed in and also ruffled her hair.

"Wait– but what did I do!?" She asked with pure shock and bemusement.

"You won us big points, that's what you did!"

"How??" Y/N asked incredulously. In her mind, Gryffindor was supposed to win like in the original, no matter what happens.

"Doesn't matter how– WE WON!" One boy enthusiastically replied.

"No– we're not supposed to win!" She cried and people gave her weird looks.

"What are you talking about?" Their eyes narrowed.

"Nothing..." Y/N muttered sheepishly and just accepted that she had changed fate yet again. "I was just sure that Gryffindor would win, that's all."

Despite her surprise, a small smile tugged on her lips as people cheered for her. She can't believe Ravenclaw had won the House Cup, all thanks to her. Y/N couldn't help but feel— proud— of herself.

"Which means, we need a little change of decoration."

Dumbledore clapped his hands and instantly, the green hangings became divine blue; the Slytherin serpent vanished and a proud Ravenclaw eagle took its place.

Y/N could see Draco's face was in horror and disbelief. He was disgusted that Slytherin had lost the House Cup and had a sour expression throughout the night.

TIME SKIPPED TO THE NEXT DAY

Everyone had just received their exam results and to Harry and Ron's surprise, they passed with good marks. But none were more surprised than Hermione Granger.

"WHAT!?" Hermione screamed incredulously when she saw her result, "I came in second!?"

Hermione would usually get the highest marks in class, at least in Gryffindor's class, so it came to her as a great surprise when she came in second instead of first place amongst the first-years.

Her head snapped up at Y/N, "What place did you get?"

"I got first–"

"WHAT!?" She yelled again.

"Second place is not bad, Hermione." Y/N tried to comfort her.

"Ahem, do you even know me?"

"Right, right," she chuckled, seeing Hermione looking upset was quite adorable.

"Aww, better luck next time~" Y/N teased her.

Hermione snorted before doing revisions to make up for all the marks she had lost against her.

Y/N just playfully rolled her eyes at Hermione before joining the others in celebrating their passing on the exam.

"Oh man, even Goyle passed..." Said the disappointed Ron.

Harry and Ron had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, would get thrown out, but to their surprise and dislike, he passed, too. It was a shame.

"Oh well, you can't have everything in life, can you?" Ron sighed.

The next thing they knew, their wardrobe was empty; their trunks were packed; notes were handed to all students not to use magic over the holidays; they rode the boats like they came to be at Hogwarts on their first day; sailed across the lake; and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

The train was much more lively than Y/N remembered a year ago when she boarded the train for the first time. Back then, she was a bit reserved and only knew a handful of people.

But now, everyone was her friend. Well, mostly everyone, with Malfoy and his friends being an exception. But still– now she's friends with almost everyone on the train.

She'd casually entered any compartment and they'd banter almost immediately.

And after that exchange, she'd move on to the next compartment and banter with them all the same before moving on to the next. She did that for a while throughout the trip back to King's Cross Station.

But along the way, she found herself standing outside of Draco's compartment. She stopped outside the room, looked through the compartment window, and saw Draco with his small group of friends inside: Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Y/N contemplated whether it was a good idea to approach them. Draco hated her, after all. But before she had the time to decide on a definite answer, the compartment door suddenly slid open, and standing before her was Draco himself.

He looked momentarily surprised before scowling at her, "Now you're stalking me?"

"WHAT– N-no I'm not." She flustered, "I just wanted to drop by and say hello and maybe... goodbyes?"

"Now why would you do that?" He narrowed his eyes and looked sceptical.

Y/N opened her mouth and was about to reply, but he interrupted.

"And DON'T say it's because we're friends."

Her lips turned into a thin line.

"Can't I at least say happy holidays to you?"

"Fine, happy holidays to you, too," Draco said, not at all sincere.

Yet, she smiled with a hint of pure happiness in her eyes from his words alone and didn't look offended by his tone. The same uneasy feeling started churning within Draco.

He could never understand how she could remain so friendly despite his attitude. He can't help but find her patience quite impressive.

Sometimes, he wanted to test that patience and see how far she'd keep up the friendliness until she finally snapped.

Draco knew he could be unbearable if he wanted to and he knew exactly which button to push to get under people's skin.

But the longer his eyes gazed at her smiling lips, the more hesitant he was to do anything against it.

Does he want to take that happiness away, to see those smiles turned upside down?

He didn't want to admit it, no, he CAN'T admit it, but his heart thumped a bit faster whenever he saw her smiling with those lips, those kind eyes, and hearing her melodies voic—

He shook his head vigorously, trying to deny the thought. He was a pure-blood. A rich one, that is. And she was– someone from the lower status, a commoner, a Mudblood.

He and her, he couldn't even begin to imagine the possibilities. NO. It was too scandalous to even think about it, he didn't dare to think any further.

He cleared his throat loudly and looked down at her with his usual haughty expression, hiding the hint of vulnerability he felt.

"Move. You're in my way." He snarled.

"Oh, sorry–" She spoke apologetically while moving to the side.

He walked past her and made his way down the corridor toward the bathroom. Meanwhile, Y/N stood at the same spot, watching Draco walk further away from her.

She stared for a few moments until he was a few meters away before she continued visiting the next compartment like nothing ever happened.

Platform Nine ¾

After hours of travelling, the train had finally arrived at King's Cross Station. It took all of them a while to get off the platform.

When passing through the gate, the students were paired into twos and threes so they didn't attract any attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

On the other side of the platform nine and three-quarters, Y/N could see Mr. and Mrs. Willow was already waiting for her arrival amongst the sea of parents.

She could also see Molly Weasley with her daughter, Ginny, eagerly waiting for her sons. And then there's the Dursleys, who looked impatient while waiting for Harry's arrival. It wasn't out of excitement or anything but out of nuisance.

"Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." Mr. Dursley said harshly before walking away.

Harry hung back for a last word with Ron, Hermione, and Y/N.

"See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have– er– a good holiday." Said Hermione, looking uncertain after Mr. Dursley, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

"Oh, I will," Harry grinned, "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."