"So, who are you cheering for today?" Pansy asks me, wiggling her eyebrows as she looks at me through her vanity mirror. I was laying on her bed, flipping through one of her fashion magazines while she was putting on her make-up.

"Slytherin, of course," I answer, trying to keep my grin hidden away.

"I almost believe you," she laughs. She continues with her make-up, finishing the look of with dark green winged eyeliner, looking absolutely amazing. She turns around, resting her arms on the back of the chair.

"Are you excited to see him tonight?" she asks me.

I nod, the corners of my mouth pulling upwards instantly when I think about tonight. I had been looking forward to this evening all week, especially since he barely had any time to write this week as his team went to practice every night to get ready for this match. I couldn't wait to finally be with him again.

"I have to admit that I am a little bit jealous, a forbidden romance is so sexy," she sighs.

"There's nothing sexy about it, we haven't even kissed yet."

"And who's fault is that?"

I groan, rolling myself over so that I am now laying on my back.

"I swear, I'm only letting you into this dorm room tonight if you kissed him," she says as she gets onto the bed as well, resting her head against mine.

"Thank you Pansy."

"For what?"

"Being so supportive of my relationship with Harry."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You used to bully him."

"I used to bully everyone," she replies in a dry tone. We were both silent for a few moments before we started to laugh. I had never approved of how she used to treat other people, nor did I approve of Draco's behavior, and I was very glad to see that that phase of their lives was over.

Thinking about it, we were quite an odd group of friends. You had Pansy and Draco, who both used to be the biggest bullies, being rude to everyone they came across. Then there was Blaise, who was flirting with as many girls as he could, the life of every party. Theodore, who usually just sat with us quietly, yet somehow always managed to be missing whenever we got into trouble. And then there was me, the one who always tried to fix whatever chaos my friends had created.

However, we had all matured a lot, and I felt blessed to have grown up with all of them.

We stayed in her bed for another hour before it was time for us to get out, get our thick winter coats on and head to the quidditch field.

It had started snowing yesterday, and even though the sky was clear right now, Hogwarts was still covered by a little layer of white snow.

It was very crowded on our way of to the field, everyone wanting to watch the game. While every game of quidditch was exciting to see, Slytherin against Gryffindor was always the most anticipated one.

We walked up to the Slytherin tribune where we met up with Theodore, who was saving us a spot at the edge so we would have a good view. He put his arm around Pansy and she snuggled against him, a happy expression on her face.

I looked around me, seeing the many Gryffindor flags being waved around. I wasn't surprised to see that there weren't many people hoping for Slytherin to win, we weren't a very popular house after all.

Blaise had been very on edge this week, since this was his first year on the team. Now that Draco had quit, I did wonder how the game would go. Blaise was a good player, but whenever the Slytherin team had won, it had been because of Draco.

My eyes stayed mostly on Harry,, but everyone on the Gryffindor team was playing brilliantly. Especially both of the Weasleys. And while I couldn't stand the girl, Ginny Weasley was a very talented quidditch player, having scored four times already.

While most of the game had gone by without much hostility, that changed when I saw Harper, the guy who took Draco's spot on the team, shout something to Harry, before ramming into him, causing Harry to almost fall of his broom. I could feel my entire body tensing up as my eyes remained on Harry. I suddenly felt Pansy her hand holding mine, knowing I was anxious. Luckily Harry kept his balance, and started to speed after the snitch, catching it and thus winning the game.

The smile on Harry his face was incredible, I couldn't help but smile myself. I know how hard he had trained, and how nervous he was about being the captain. But he had done an amazing job, and I hated that I couldn't support him openly.

I heard a lot of curses from all around me, everyone on our tribune clearly being in a sour mood.

The Slytherin team left the field almost immediately, while the Gryffindor team stayed, hugging each other while the entire stadium cheered for them. I saw how Ginny Weasley wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. And while everyone had hugged, this was quite obviously very different. Harry had his arms around her waist only for a few moments, as he had with everyone, but she didn't let go yet.

"That little bitch," Pansy sneered, seeing it as well.

When Dean Thomas, who was on the team this year as well, tapped her on her shoulder she finally let go of Harry.

"Want me to fight her again?"

I looked up at Pansy and chuckled.

"Please don't, I don't want anything to happen to that gorgeous face of yours again," I say, putting my hands on both of her cheeks.

"Can we go now?" Theodore asks, clearly in a foul mood because we lost as well.

We both turn to face him and nod, my hands still on Pansy's cheeks, making Theodore laugh a little at how silly we must've looked.

The next few hours had been downright depressing. Blaise had just started drinking his second bottle of fire whisky, and everyone was talking trash about the Gryffindor team. As I was sick of biting my tongue, I went to the dormitory to calm down and get dressed. I had just put on my black slip dress as Pansy walks inside, holding two little bottles in her hand.

"Here, take one," She says as he hands me one of the bottles. We clink them together before both shotting the drinks down. I feel the alcohol burning my throat, my face scrunching up. I put the empty bottle on my bedside table and slide my feet into my favorite pair of black heels.

We were supposed to meet outside of the Slytherin common room at ten, and since there were only a few minutes left, I took one last look in the mirror and decided I might as well make my way down. Pansy walked with me, just in case someone would question where I was going, but luckily everyone seemed to be too drunk to even notice us walking by.

"Have fun, and remember; no bed without kissing."

I grin at her before opening the door and stepping outside, the dark and empty corridor awaiting me.

"Make me proud!" I hear her whisper as the door falls closed behind me, making me laugh softly. I lean my back against the cool, stone wall next to the door as I wait for Harry.

After twenty minutes, and no Harry in sight, I started to get worried. Part of me wanted to wait a little longer for him, but I had a feeling something must be wrong. He wouldn't stand me up like this for no reason, he wasn't the type of person to do that. So instead of waiting I made my way through the Gryffindor tower, hoping not to be seen by either a teacher or a Gryffindor student.

As I was getting closer, I could hear a girl softly crying. And while I didn't want to be seen by anyone, I couldn't help but walk towards the sound. When I walked into the staircase I saw Harry sitting on the steps with a crying Granger next to him, her head resting against his shoulder. When they noticed me presence, she quickly sat up straight, whipping away her tears quickly. Harry got up right away, walking to me.

"Zara, I'm so sorry-"

I shake my head, looking at Granger who looked absolutely devastated. It was quite clear that something bad had happened for her to be in such a state, and I understood he had to be there for her.

It was then that I realized how strange it must look to Granger that he came up to me like that, apologizing.

"Potter-"

"She knows," he says, grabbing my hand and giving it a little squeeze.

I looked at Granger again, who gave me a small smile as she wiped away another tear, before facing Harry.

"I'm sorry I didn't pick you up, truly. I really wanted to celebrate with you tonight, but a lot went down and-"

"Harry, it's okay," I tell him, taking his other hand and squeezing it as he had done to me. "I don't know what happened, but you should be there for her. We can celebrate some other night."

I place left hand on his shoulder as I press a soft kiss against his right cheek.

"Congratulations on your win," I whisper in his ear before I take a step back. While the corridor was dark, I could still see how red Harry's cheeks turned in the little bit of moonlight that was shining through the window, making me grin.

"I hope I can meet you properly soon, Hermione," I say sincerely. She smiles at me again before speaking.

"Me too, Zara," she sniffles.

I look back at Harry one more time, then turn around and walk away. I wasn't even gone for a full minute when I could hear someone running, the sound nearing me.

"Zara, wait!"

I stopped walking when I heard it was Harry's voice.

"Harry? What are you-"

Before I could finish my sentence his hands were on my cheeks, and his lips were on mine.

I know it's been a very long time since I uploaded, a month to be exact. But I wasn't very well mentally and had to take some time for myself. Whenever I feel like that, I kind of forget how much joy writing can give me. So I forced myself to write again today, and it really cheered me up. I hope you will all enjoy this chapter, as I made it extra long, yet wanted to end with a little bit of a cliffhanger haha. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you for your patience 3