The school holiday was amazing. Y/N would mostly spend her time sleeping all day and all night like the real lazy person that she was.

But other than sleeping, she also wrote letters to her friends and boy— she had TONES. Hermione was one of the most active among her friends to write her a letter and naturally, she'd write a letter back.

Each of Hermione's letters consisted of two pages long with at least a thousand words. Sometimes, Y/N can't help but feel like she is reading an essay rather than a message from a friend.

Hermione often wrote about how busy she was with doing schoolwork and studying for all the subjects of the second term.

Even though it was a school holiday, a time when kids were supposed to do anything BUT study, Y/N was impressed but not surprised that Hermione would study at any given chance that she got.

Ron's letters were pretty brief and straightforward. He always talked about how annoyingly affectionate his mom was or the troubles he and his brothers had caused to his mom.

As for Harry...

Y/N never got any reply from him. NOT ONCE. Not even a word. She suspected it was because of various factors such as Mr. Dursley locking Harry's pet owl, Hedwig, from sending any letters and Dobby's intervention from Harry receiving his letters.

But Y/N wasn't too worried about that because she knew that Ron and the Weasley twins would eventually save Harry from the hellhole that was the Dursleys.

There was only about half a month left until the next term began on September 1st. This meant only one thing: young witches and wizards head back to Diagon Alley to buy new books for the upcoming year, along with other things.

On one lazy afternoon, Y/N had received a letter and it was from Hermione. She opened the envelope and read the letter:

'Dear Y/N,

I have great news from Ron! He said that he managed to save Harry from his dreadful relatives, the Dursleys. I don't know how I just hope it wasn't anything illegal–'

Oh, it was definitely illegal, Y/N thought with a smirk.

'My family and I are heading to London next Wednesday so I was planning for us to meet up at Diagon Alley. I've already informed Ron and Harry about this, I do hope they come. Even if they don't, I hope to see you there at least.

Hope to hear from you soon! Love from Hermione.'

Y/N thought this was a great idea so on the following Wednesday, she had made sure Mr. and Mrs. Willow and her would go to Diagon Alley without failing.

Diagon Alley

Y/N had forgotten to ask Hermione when and where they should meet up at Diagon Alley, so now she was standing awkwardly in the middle of the street, looking around like a lost puppy, hoping Hermione could see her.

But after standing for about half an hour, she felt like it was best if she just headed to Flourish and Blotts first, bought her school books and hopefully reunited with them there.

She did just that and entered the bookstore which was mostly full of middle-aged ladies asking for the blonde, curly-haired man with pearly white teeth behind the table for his autograph.

Y/N had to push through the crowd of fans to simply breathe. There was a long line of people queuing to buy the man's autograph that stretched outside the shop.

She thought this scene was too familiar, it had to be. The man who was signing his books at the front of the shop was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart.

She couldn't help but cringe at the sight of Lockhart, smiling, and regarding himself as one of the best. She knew he was just all talk and no action, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the man.

"I see you're also here to buy books." A familiar voice came up behind Y/N. 

She swiftly turned her body around and was face-to-face with Draco Malfoy. He was leaning against the bookshelf with a book in his hand titled "Jinxes Throughout the Centuries" with a bored expression, shutting the book with one hand before setting it down on a stack of books.

He pushed himself off the bookshelf, walked closer to Y/N, circling her as if she were prey, and scrutinized her, "You've gotten taller." He commented, a bit condescending.

"Thanks," her heart pounded, feeling a bit self-conscious, "You too..." Her face was flushing.

Draco noticed the slight blush on her cheeks and smirked, "You're red. Are you blushing because of me?" He teased.

"What? No, I'm not!" She tried to deny it.

He laughed, enjoying seeing her so flustered. He wasn't able to do that the year before and would usually be the one who ended up flustered. But now, the tables have turned and he was simply relishing the feeling of control again.

"I am not blushing!" She insisted.

He only chuckled seeing her getting more flustered.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are~"

"No, I'm NOT."

He leaned closer and whispered, "Yes, you are."

She flared her nose and snorted before smirking slyly as if she had something up her sleeves, "Fine, maybe I was blushing. But can you blame me when you're my view?"

His heart skipped a beat at her words, he was caught off guard. He was speechless and couldn't think of any snarky remark to say to her. Now he was the one flushed and flustered.

At that moment, he looked away and tried to remind himself that she was inferior to him, that she was nothing but a commoner, someone raised by Muggles, and he could never be with someone as lowly as her.

At least that's what he told himself.

His expression turned cold and distant in the blink of an eye, but he couldn't do much about his beating heart. All he could do was deny the fuzzy feeling churning inside him and shove it deep down within his soul.

"Tsk, stop saying nonsense..." He muttered through gritted teeth.

She grinned seeing him flustered, enjoying teasing him a bit too much.

"I'm not," she spoke gently, "you do look good." Her words were laced with her real admiration for him.

That seemed to flustered Draco even more. Not from the compliment, he loved the same attention when others gave him but when it came to her, it was the sincerity of her words that made him feel embarrassed and slightly vulnerable.

"Anyway, what have you been up to during the holidays?" She curiously asked while crossing her arms and leaning against the bookshelf.

Draco quickly composed himself from his earlier thoughts and crossed his arms over his chest, subconsciously imitating her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He said sarcastically.

"Yes, I would very much like to know."

He rolled his eyes, "Well if you must know, I've been practicing flying."

"Oh–" she reacted surprised, "You're planning to join the Quidditch team this year." It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

He hummed in agreement and looked arrogant, "Stupid Potter, I should have been the one to play Quidditch last year," he said grudgingly. "He was only allowed to because he's famous."

She gave him a knowing look, "We both know that's not true."

"What do you know?" He hissed.

Y/N can't help but chuckle to herself. A bit of everything, really, she thought.

"What are you laughing at?" He scowled

"Nothing," she shook her head, "I was planning to join Quidditch myself."

"You?" He raised a surprised brow, laced with mockery in his eyes as they trailed her body up and down.

"Yes. Me." She raised her chin confidently.

He burst out laughing, he thought it was ridiculous.

"You kidding me? You wouldn't even last a few seconds on the pitch." He wiped his tears.

"Well, we'll never know," she shrugged, "we'll just have to see for ourselves."

"Uh-huh, and who are you playing as, the seeker?" He suggested jokingly.

"Yes–"

Draco snickered loudly, "You may be good with books, Willow, but I doubt you're good at flying."

"And why not?" She raised her eyebrow questionably.

He scoffed and looked at her annoyed, "Because you're a nerd," he muttered begrudgingly and leaned his face closer to her with sharp narrowed eyes.

"Who said I'm only good with books?" She challenged, her gaze locked intensely with his.

Draco sneered at her and her words. He hated how she sounded so cocky and the thought of her not only good at her academics but also sports was hurting his ego more than it already was, thanks to Potter.

Y/N could see the grudge in his eyes which made her face soften in understanding, "Don't worry, Draco, I'm sure you're good at something." She smiled.

He just scoffed and looked away, taking her kind words as a mockery when his attention suddenly drifted to Harry Potter and his two friends who had entered the shop.

"Potter..." He muttered condescendingly.

Y/N's head immediately followed Draco's gaze. They had been so engrossed in their conversation that she didn't even notice the three had entered the shop.

They both could see that Harry was currently getting praised by Gilderoy Lockhart and the crowds, and Draco couldn't help but sneer at the sight.

"Look at them– he's not that special, you know."

Y/N just observed everything quietly.

Draco continued, "He's only famous because of that stupid scar. If it weren't for that, he'd be a nobody."

He saw Harry slowly walking away from Lockhart when Draco had the sudden urge to approach him. Y/N saw this and quickly followed Draco from behind.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Draco sneered, capturing Harry's attention, "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Ginny retorted, glaring at Malfoy.

"Potter, you got yourself a girlfriend!" Draco said in a mock impressed.

Ginny turned scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

"Y/N!" Hermione gasped excitedly when she saw her, and Y/N's face couldn't help but light up too.

"Hermione!" She walked past Draco and quickly stood beside Hermione.

Ron's blissful expression faltered upon seeing Malfoy. "Oh, it's you... Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into his cauldron and started towards Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket as Y/N quickly stood between them.

"Gentleman, please–" Y/N said, her arms stretched out to put a safe distance between the two blokes.

"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over the Weasley twins. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

Mr. Weasley sounded almost encouraging them to fight.

"Well, well, well– Arthur Weasley."

Draco's father chimed in, wearing the same sneer in the same way as Draco. Like father, like son.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

While Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy were exchanging cold remarks, Y/N couldn't help but notice how Lucius's hand reached for Ginny's cauldron and extracted one of her books.

She knew better than anyone else that this was the moment when Lucius Malfoy would cunningly give Ginny Tom Riddle's book to possess her without her knowing it.

Knowing what she knows, she wanted to prevent that from happening, but then she thought twice. If she were to prevent Ginny from getting the book, the plot of the second year would surely change from the originals. She can't risk that.

As much as she'd like to save Ginny, she can't risk changing the plot too much. Fearing she'll live in a future that she's not familiar with, she is forced to do nothing and stick with what she knows.

Suddenly, a brawl broke out between Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. It was something to do with Lucius insulting Weasley, saying he disgraces the name of the wizard.

Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backwards into the bookshelves as dozens of books came falling over all their heads.

The crowd stampeded backwards, knocking more shelves over. The assistant was crying in the background for them to stop when suddenly, a loud voice rumbled.

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up —"

Hagrid was walking towards them, navigating through the sea of books. In an instant, he pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Both shared a few bruises and a black eye.

Lucius was still holding Ginny's book when he thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with obvious malice.

"Here girl, take your book. It's the best your father can give you." His words were laced with mockery as he pulled himself out of Hagrid's grip and left the shop with Draco.

No one had noticed except for Y/N that Ginny's book looked different now. Lucius had successfully switched her book to one of Voldemort's.

As much as she wanted to warn Ginny about it, she knew she must resist and let the original plot go as it was supposed to.

Not long afterwards, they all left the Flourish and Blotts and returned to their shopping. Y/N had a nice brief chat with the Golden Trio after a long school holiday before they all went on their separate ways and left for their respective homes with all their new books.