Prompt:

Tracey Davis suspects something is fishy about Potter. Sure, he's handsome, but that doesn't make up for his sneakiness, and the fact he keeps going to The Forbidden Forest in the middling hours of the morning. Following him, she discovers his dreadful secret — one of... fluffy proportions.

It was the early hours of a November day. The ground was covered with a crisp thin blanket of snow. The perfect weather. Tracey loved taking an early morning walk as her feet crunched the snow, it made her forget about all the in-house drama and Umbridge's incompetence and policies. She took a deep breath. Finally a moment where she doesn't need to worry about anything.

She didn't like the direction Hogwarts was heading with Umbridge as High Inquisitor. She currently benefited from it, considering she was in Slytherin, but how long would it take for them to start targeting half-bloods too? She currently had the protection of Daphne, and by extension the House Greengrass, but would that be enough?

It was in those wee hours, that Tracey once again spotted Harry Potter sneaking in the Forbidden Forest with buckets in his hands. She wondered why he kept going there. Is it the place where Dumbledore trains him, away from all students and potential collateral damage? He does seem to be more muscled lately. There was a reason after all that she had suggested that she was the one to keep an eye out on Gryffindor's quidditch practices. It definitely had nothing to do with how he looked shirtless. Oh no, it was purely for strategic reasons, of course.

During the past months, she had noticed that his attitude has changed since last year. Sure, on the surface everything might seem the same for those who don't really know him, but she had developed the very healthy habit of keeping an eye on him over the past years. She had lost count of how many times she had to throw some stinging hexes at Astoria for all her crush remarks. She didn't have a crush on him, honestly!

Before this school year, he always had a certain air of uncertainty surrounding him, as if he wasn't sure if he truly belonged. Now though, it was as if the world rested on his shoulders. He constantly seemed so solemn yet determined.

She always did have a thing for brooders, as much as it seemed to clash with her own bubbly personality. Opposites attract after all. Maybe Astoria was onto something after all. Not that she would ever dare to utter admittance of that to her. Tracey would never hear the end of it.

This time however, curiosity got the better of her. She took another deep breath and she decided, against all common sense, to follow him. The Forest seemed extra dangerous now since that half-giant isn't at Hogwarts anymore. She wasn't exactly fond of him, but she had to admit he did have a way with those beasts.

The trek through the dense cluster of trees was at a faster pace she had imagined, and she could barely keep up. She was starting to sweat - something she hadn't deemed possible in current temperatures. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, she mused after she had to pull herself free from the thorns of the undergrowth, again. Her mother might actually murder her this time if she ruined another set of robes. For now she was just grateful that Harry somehow hadn't heard her. It's not like she was being particularly stealthy.

After a journey that felt like hours - although realistically was only 5 minutes, they arrived at a clearing. She kept herself hidden behind an exceptionally thick beech.

The clearing was completely empty, not a single soul in sight apart from Harry himself. This is just getting weirder and weirder. She slowly started to cool down and a chill made it up her spine. She was contemplating turning around to sneak away and find her way back towards Hogwarts, when a loud whistle made her jump out of her skin. Had he seen her?

No, his attention was fixed on the southern side of the clearing. He was clearly waiting on something or someone, but who or what? What has he been up to?

Her question was soon answered, as she heard the beating of hooves on the frozen ground swiftly approaching them. Dozens of unicorns flooded into the clearing. She didn't even know there were that many of them in the Forbidden Forest, or even in Britain in general! Weren't they supposed to be nearly extinct?

Some of the younger ones had a beautiful golden coat that was glinting in the morning's sun. They swarmed Harry so he could pet them. They looked so fluffy! She wished she could pet them too! The older ones kept their distance, as they warely stared at Harry's interaction with their foals, ready to protect them at a moment's notice. A few of the more bold unicorns made their way towards the buckets that laid forgotten on the ground, their intent as clear as day.

She couldn't help but squeal at the cuteness of it all... Which drew Harry's attention. Startled, he spun around and fixed his bright emerald eyes on her. Shit. She should've followed Daphne's advice and stayed inside. A blush spread over her face. What was she supposed to say now?

AN: I normally don't really write prompts or stuff like this, but LuthiensLight challenged me to write one as a promotion for his Hacey themed Discord server named Hacey's Haven, and I actually enjoyed writing it out, even if the 'fluffy proportions' lead to something different than he might have had in mind. Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed the prompt. If you're a fan of Hacey stuff, then be sure to check out the Discord named above ;)

Shout-out to Malak from the Emerald Library Discord for proofreading this prompt on such a short notice!

Lastly, a Happy Birthday to one of our favorite fiction characters ^^