Hiii :) It's been a while since my last chapter hasn't it? I had writer's block after the last chapter and I wasn't entirely satisfied with what I had written so I put off publishing it. Then, I started my internship and I came back every day exhausted (The good news was that it fixed my erratic sleep schedule). Anyway, I started getting my creative juices back after I played Hogwarts Legacy and re-read the books again. I finally came up with a version I am happy with and I hope you will enjoy it too 3. I've included a little easter egg from Hogwarts Legacy in the chapter but only certain players would spot it. Hint: it's house related ;)

I hope you will enjoy this chapter and see you in the next one!

13th February 1994

Willow liked to think she had all the good traits revered by Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat did put her here after all. From her and Harry's adventures, she knew she had a good dose of courage and determination in her. Bravery too, she would think. She also acknowledged that she certainly had some of the not-so-positive traits such as recklessness and stubbornness. Regardless, she was proud to call herself a Gryffindor.

However, in an admittedly un-Gryffindor fashion, Willow avoided Cedric at all costs since her little epiphany a week ago. She did try to face him. Truly, she did. She briefly convinced herself that she could bury her feelings deep inside and pretend everything was fine and dandy as she made her way to their usual table in the library. However, one look at Cedric—who was sitting there bent over his textbook and parchment, waiting for her—she turned around and fled. Again. Perhaps she wasn't so brave after all.

As a distraction (and an excuse), she threw herself into finding Scabbers and uncovering the reason for Black's affiliation with him. Percy shed some light on Scabbers' origins but admittedly, it was not as fruitful as she'd hoped.

"Scabbers? Why are you asking about him? Didn't he get eaten by Hermione's cat or something?" Percy questioned, his brow furrowing slightly. It was a stroke of luck that they found him studying in the Gryffindor common room a few nights ago. He had been rather busy as the Head Boy in aiding the professors to enhance the castle's security measures so catching him when he was not in 'Head Boy' mode was rather challenging.

"Yes, well we were just wondering how you came to be with Scabbers. Ron said that he belonged to you before you got Hermes," Harry said.

He leaned back, eyes staring up aimlessly at the well as he recalled his memories. "I found him in Diagon Alley sometime in early November if I recall correctly. I was accompanying Mum that day and when we passed by the Magical Menagerie, I saw a rat near the corner. Naturally, I assumed it escaped from the shop and brought it inside but the shopkeeper denied it was hers."

"So you decided to take him in?" Ron probed.

Percy nodded. "Mum was reluctant at first but I always wanted a pet, you see. After hearing that rats are relatively easy to take care of, she gave in." He paused, eyeing the quartet suspiciously. "Why are you asking this?"

"Ah, we realised that Scabbers lived a really long time, longer than an average rat and we were wondering about his origins," Willow explained smoothly. Percy accepted her reasoning well enough. "There is another thing I was wondering about. Why did you name him 'Scabbers'?"

The Head Boy rubbed the tip of his nose. "When the shopkeeper was looking over at him, she noticed he suffered a recent injury on his foot but it was already scabbing over. Hence, his name." Percy sniffed a little self-deprecatingly. "Admittedly, not the most creative of names. I suppose I was merely a child who had a penchant for naming things over such obvious characteristics."

"A recent injury?"

"Yes, he lost his toe somehow," Percy mentioned off-handedly. He then paused and raised an eyebrow at Ron. "Have you never noticed he was missing a toe?"

"Uhhhhh…"

Percy clicked his tongue. "Honestly Ronald, you need to be more observant than that. How will you become a prefect if you remain as you are? Don't tell me you wish to follow in Fred and George's footsteps. Ron, I urge you to have higher ambitions for yourself. Becoming a prefect would be the perfect first step. After all—" And in usual Percy fashion, he began prattling on and on about the benefits of being a prefect and traits one must have to be one. He was so absorbed in his speech that he was completely unaware of the quartet backing away. It took him a good fifteen minutes to finally realise that he was talking to himself.

Notwithstanding Ron's unsurprising obliviousness, talking to Percy only unearthed more questions; How did Scabbers lose his toe? Where did he come from before Percy found him in Diagon Alley? With it being years since Scabbers was found in Diagon Alley and her being stuck in Hogwarts, she was forced to give up this lead.

"Still nothing?" Willow asked, looking up at Harry sprawled on his bed while he perused the map intensely.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Still no sign of Scabbers anywhere. I'm starting to think he might truly be dead."

She flopped against the side of his bed, directing a frustrated breath at her loose fringe. "Well, he could be on the outermost grounds of Hogwarts. The map cuts off at the Whomping Willow so we can't see anything beyond there. We can't even see Hagrid's Hut."

Harry snorted softly, tapping the parchment with his wand to render it blank before rolling it up. "Right, because Scabbers would be hiding out in Hagrid's place."

Willow sighed deeply, tilting her head back against the edge of the mattress. She stared at the ceiling in contemplation. "Well, he could be hiding in the Forbidden Forest."

Harry wrinkled his nose and sat next to her. "If so, it's going to be impossible to find him. The Forbidden Forest is huge and I don't fancy going into Aragog's territory again."

"You and me both." Willow shuddered. She had never been afraid of spiders—living underneath the stairs where spiders were one's constant companions would diminish those fears—but there was a terrible crawling sensation over her skin every time she remembered Aragog and her legion of children. "Too bad we can't go down there even if we wanted to."

It was near impossible for them to go outside of the castle with the tightened security after Black 'cornered' her in the Gryffindor common room. Many areas of the Hogwarts grounds became out of bounds to the students and there were even restrictions specially imposed on her and Harry. To avoid the possibility of Black confronting them again, McGonagall revoked their newly granted Hogsmeade privileges much to their dismay.

An indignant Harry had a mind to sneak out to Hogsmeade during the weekend using the Invisibility Cloak and the One-Eyed Witch passage again but Remus grew wise to his plan. It shouldn't have surprised them as much as it did that he knew about the existence of the Invisibility Cloak being that he was one of their father's best friends and yet. He was waiting outside yesterday when Harry and Willow exited the Gryffindor Tower on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip. He took one look at the Potter siblings and immediately herded them to his office, advising them not to even think about using the Invisibility Cloak tucked inside Harry's robes in a wry yet amused tone.

Despite how disgruntled they were feeling at the time, it proved to be a good move when they received an owl from Hagrid, the tear-stained parchment notifying them he lost the hearing and Buckebeak would be executed. Those words instantly snapped Harry and Willow right out of their self-pity funk. They, including Ron and Hermione, immediately doubled down on their research for Buckbeak's upcoming appeal.

Currently, Ron and Hermione went to return the books they borrowed and to find some new ones, leaving Harry and Willow a short breather to check the map once more for any trace of Scabbers. Not that they were successful.

Willow released a deep sigh, sagging against Harry's shoulder. Silence stretched between the two of them until Harry cleared his throat, beckoning her attention.

"Hmm?"

"Did…did something happen between you and Cedric?"

His hesitant question caused Willow to stiffen. Slowly, she straightened up and turned to face her brother. "What makes you ask that?"

"You've been avoiding him, haven't you? Ever since Black broke into Gryffindor Tower. I've never seen you go to the library since then. Not only that, you've been so down lately and…well, you've stopped wearing those hair clips, the ones he gave you. Did you two have a fight or something?"

For all his obliviousness, Harry could be rather shrewd at times. She thought she hid it well but somehow, Harry managed to see through her facade. Her first reaction was to play it off but seeing Harry's concerned gaze, she couldn't help but confess.

She shook her head with a sigh as her shoulders slumped forward. "No, nothing like that. It's just…I can't see him right now. At least not until I get my emotions in control."

"What do you mean?"

Willow's cheeks reddened, slightly mortified that she was admitting her crush to her younger brother of all people. "You were right back then when I first told you about Cedric helping me. I do fancy him."

Harry frowned, perplexed at how despondent she sounded. "Isn't that a good thing? Why do you sound so upset about it?"

Her lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile. "Not when the bloke I fancy is dating someone else."

"What? Who?"

"Cho Chang," Willow replied miserably."You know, the Ravenclaw Seeker you were up against."

"Yeah, I may recall her face," He coughed, scratching the tip of his nose. "H-how did you find out they were dating?"

She raised her legs, bringing them close to her chest before resting her chin on her knees. "I was in my hideout when I overheard a group of girls in the courtyard squealing about how Cedric and Cho were embracing outside of the Ravenclaw Tower."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean that—"

"I also accidentally overheard Cho asking Cedric out after the match last week at the Ravenclaw locker rooms."

"Oh," Harry blinked, before hesitantly asking, "And you heard him say yes?"

"Well, not really. Crookshanks kind of interrupted him as he was replying."

"What?" He sputtered.

And so, she retold the whole debacle with Cedric, Cho and Crookshanks in detail to Harry, briefly rendering him speechless.

"There is something very wrong with that cat," He mumbled, running his hand through his hair.

She laughed humorlessly. "That's one way to put it. But regardless, his interruption wouldn't have mattered anyway. I know he would have said yes to Cho."

"Come now, you wouldn't know that. And from what I heard you still don't. The gossip mill in Hogwarts isn't the most trustworthy source either. We know that better than anyone."

"I know but even gossip contains a kernel of truth sometimes," She sighed. "Those girls mentioned they overheard Cedric and his friends on the train talking about how he had a crush on someone at the start of the school year. He and I only met after your match against Hufflepuff in November. And I know he tutored Cho back in September. He mentioned it briefly to me before."

"Oh, Willow…" Harry's face fell, putting the pieces together.

She flashed him a sad smile. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to his side. She leaned into him, taking comfort from his closeness.

"I mean it's fine. I never stood a chance. Cho Chang is smart, great at Quidditch and gorgeous. And I'm well, me," Willow mumbled into his shoulder.

Harry didn't know what he should say. He rubbed her arm, settling on, "I'm sorry, Willow. But since he did lead you on, shall I hex him? Maybe use my Parseltongue abilities to direct a few snakes? Non-venomous ones—probably

She poked his side, a weak but genuine giggle bubbling out of her lips. "Don't you dare. And he did not lead me on. He never gave any inclinations of romantic feelings."

Harry pursued his lips in obvious disagreement but kept his thoughts to himself. "Darn, I wanted to use my Boy Who Lived Status to its fullest extent," He grumbled half-jokingly.

She snorted. "Of course, you would use the nickname you hate in this situation."

"If not now, then when?"

Willow shook her head admonishingly but this little banter of theirs did make her feel a little better after wallowing by herself for the past week. "I'll be okay," She said. "I just need some time, that's all."

"Okay," Harry replied after a while, squeezing her shoulders. "But just so you know, the offer still stands."

She laughed lightly. "I know. Thanks, Harry."

Harry pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Anytime."

༻⸻⸻⸻⸻༺

"Is she still avoiding him?" Jenna asked, dropping into the brown armchair in the Hufflepuff common room.

"What do you think?" Noah barely looked up from his Potions essay, only sparing a short glance at Cedric.

Cedric ignored the two of them, keeping his arm across his eyes as he lay across the largest couch in the room.

He heard Jenna's weary sigh. "Why don't you just go to the Gryffindor Tower and wait for her outside? This moping of yours is getting a tad much."

"I'm not moping," He argued, although the words were petulant even to his ears.

"Now, would someone tell me why is Cedric moping on the couch?" The voice of his ancestor, Eldritch Diggory, echoed in mild concern. He must have recently returned to his portrait hanging on the wall in front of them.

Jake wasted no time in answering. "Ah, you see, the girl your dear great-great-great-great grandson Cedric here fancies is avoiding him as if he is carrying dragon pox."

Cedric released a grunt, wounded at the reminder. It had been a week since he last talked, let alone saw Willow. She was never at their table in the library, nor it seemed in the Great Hall during mealtimes. Catching her between her classes was an impossible task. It was almost as if she knew how and when to avoid him at all times. And to top it all off, his friends finally figured out about his infatuation with Willow (running out of the Great Hall right after hearing about Willow raised many questions. It was just his luck that his friends happened to be quite the perceptive bunch when they wanted to be).

"Ah, my dear boy…what did you do?" Eldritch asked sympathetically.

"Nothing!" He cried dismally, throwing his arms up. "I did nothing!"

"You must have done something for her to avoid you like this," Kaylee quipped sceptically. "Maybe it has something to do with those rumours floating around."

"Rumours?" Cedric repeated with a frown. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. "What rumours?"

"There's a rumour that you and Cho were in quite the passionate embrace near the Ravenclaw Tower. Many think that the two of you became an item since then."

Cedric sputtered in complete shock. "'Passionate embrace?!' I did no such thing! All I did was give her a friendly hug, which she initiated by the way. And to make things clear, Cho and I are not together. I turned her down."

Jenna waved her hands impatiently. "Yes, yes, of course we believe you. But you know how rumours get around Hogwarts. Mayhaps Willow heard the rumours and she's avoiding you because of it."

Cedric shook his head vehemently. "I doubt it. Willow hates the gossip as much as me. After all, she and Harry always find themselves in the thick of it, most of the rumours blown wildly out of proportion."

"Well, the Boy-Who-Lived does have that tendency. Remember last year, there were those whispers about him being the Heir of Slytherin?" Jake snorted. "Which reminds me, when you do start talking to Willow again, could you ask about whatever happened with them and the basilisk? The stories floating around about what happened last year are very inconsistent."

"Sure, I'll put it on the top of my list," Cedric said sarcastically. He heaved another sigh and slumped into the couch, his thoughts circling Willow.

"Maybe the problem is," Jenna began, closing her Herbology textbook with a loud snap, "That you did nothing. That you are still doing nothing."

Cedric frowned in confusion. "I don't follow."

Jenna sighed in exasperation and began explaining to him slowly as if he was a child. "Cedric, you can be an extremely decisive person. Once your mind is made up, you don't hesitate to go for what you want. And yet, you have this odd tendency to hold back when it comes to things that matter, things that are close to your heart. The same as how you are hesitating now when it comes to her."

He shifted uncomfortably, averting his eyes from her penetrating gaze. "I don't know what you mean."

Jenna shot him a look, her signature don't-take-me-for-fool look. "Cedric, when you and Ian had that fight in your third year and he started avoiding you, it took you only 3 days before you had enough. You cornered him after Transfiguration and locked yourselves up in an empty classroom to talk it out. So, why aren't you doing the same for her? Why are you simply sitting like a miserable sod when you should be finding ways to talk to her?"

Cedric didn't answer her, keeping his eyes trained on the stack of textbooks piled on the table before him. A part of him wanted to do the things Jenna was asking—no demanding him but he couldn't. He was too afraid. He didn't want to push her or her boundaries, he didn't want to make the wrong move that might ruin all the trust he built between them.

Jenna expelled a heavy sigh when he remained tight-lipped. "Fine Cedric. Be that way." She shook her head, prying open her Herbology textbook and settling in for her revision but not before she murmured, "I don't understand what you are so afraid of."

Cedric winced. Jenna's bluntness always landed its mark. Eldritch's voice washed over them not a moment later, gentle. "I reckon this girl must be rather special for you to be all tied up in knots. Just as your father was when he was courting Ava. Or should I say attempting to."

That managed a chuckle out of Cedric. He had heard about his father's clumsy yet endearing endeavours to woo his mother during their time in Hogwarts. It was painfully obvious to everyone around them that Amos Diggory was completely whipped for Ava and the bumbling fool he became whenever she was around. His mother was charmed instantly.

"You know, when you told us that you fancied Willow Potter, I didn't really believe you but after what we've been told about her, I get it now," Jake commented nonchalantly.

Cedric's shoulder went rigid and he turned to face Jake with narrowing eyes. "What do you mean 'what we've been told about her'?"

Jake shrugged, completely ignorant of his steely tone. "Well, we were rather curious about the red-headed lioness that stole our token Hufflepuff's heart, so we made a few…inquiries."

"You did what?" Cedric growled, his gloomy state forgotten.

"Relax, Diggory," Jake said airily, popping a grape in his mouth. "We were subtle about it."

"You wouldn't know subtlety even if it bit you in the arse," Cedric grumbled.

"Please, I am the definition of 'subtle'," He retorted, causing everyone in the vicinity to roll their eyes, Eldritch included. "Anyway, everyone we talked to only had praises, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones especially. Makes me wonder why she would saddle herself with you."

"Kick a man while he's down, why don't you?" He grunted.

"I live to keep you humble. Although, I must say it is quite refreshing to see our confident Hufflepuff Heartthrob in such a state," Jake joked, winking at the disgruntled Cedric. "If her not speaking to you for a week has already gotten you this worked up, she's surely a keeper."

༻⸻⸻⸻⸻༺

"This one…this too…this would definitely be useful…"

"Hermione—"

"…Richmond Furrows is a poor writer but we can't rule out that he may have something useful about laws regarding magical creatures in his book…"

"Hermione—"

"…then again, can we truly afford to waste time reading him droning on and on about his irrelevant life stories again…?"

"HERMIONE!"

Ron's heated shout snapped Hermione out of her musings instantly. She glared at him, aghast. "Ron! We're in the library," She eyed the area warily for any sign of Madam Pince and continued in a hiss, "Keep your voice down."

"I've only been trying to catch your attention for the past 5 minutes," Ron retorted irritably. "You've been piling book after book…there is only so much I can carry."

Hermione blinked at the realisation of the precarious stack of thick books in his arms, almost blocking Ron's face from view. "Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'," Ron echoed with an eye roll. "Any more and my arms may just collapse. Aren't these more than enough?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully as she scanned the book titles once more. "Hmm, I think we need a bigger spread… You can check these out and head on up first. I'll look around a bit more."

Ron groaned in relief. "Cheers. See you later, then." Carefully navigating around the bookshelves, he headed to the counter with the books balanced gingerly in his arms. Hermione felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she watched him struggle but quickly turned to the bookshelves to focus on the task. She was returning Furrows' book to its position after skimming it through—his needlessly bombastic language contained more drivel than actual information, she decided—before she heard a voice calling out from behind.

She swivelled around to find Ian leaning against the bookshelves with a broad grin.

"Ian!" Hermione greeted him brightly, her lips naturally curving into a smile that matched his. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding material about the Fanged Geranium for a Herbology essay," He answered easily, strolling towards her. "Then I saw Ron Weasley ambling around with a mountain of books in his arms. So, I got curious." He leaned closer, eyes roaming her face before he pulled back with a satisfied nod. "You're lookin' mighty better."

Hermione nodded a little bashfully. "Yeah, I took your advice. I told Willow everything."

They talked on the same night after Black's break-in. Even Ron and Harry were there, at Willow's insistence. And so, in front of the dying fireplace of the deserted Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione revealed everything to them; the Time-Turner, her mounting stress from continuously using the device and her tremendous workload. Once she was done, it felt like a huge boulder was lifted off her chest. She never imagined keeping such a huge secret from her best friends would have been so anxiety-inducing.

Willow's reaction was expected and yet unexpected to say the least. Hermione knew that she would have been astonished at hearing her using a highly confidential, rare magical device to go back in time to attend her conflicting classes but she did not expect her anger. Willow was enraged at the fact that Hermione would put herself in such a position, burdening her mental and physical health and that the professors allowed her to do so. Hermione could only stare in wide-eyed silence as Willow thoroughly berated her, demanding she valued her well-being better and never to take such extreme measures in the pursuit of knowledge ever again.

Despite her best friend fuming before her, Hermione couldn't help but crack a smile at the time. Her being at the end of her rope when she threw herself into her studies was nothing new, in all honesty. It was a habit she took from her mother who shared the same tendencies when it came to analysing medical papers and breakthroughs in the field of dentistry. Most of the time, people would leave her alone, only offering sympathetic pats on the back or hollow words of advice such as 'don't work too hard' and the like. Willow was the only one in Hermione's life—besides her father—who had shown active concern, preventing her from completely going under.

Willow would persuade her to take breaks, slip her a snack or two or—when the situation calls for it—drag her outside to get a breath of fresh air. She'd been doing this since they became friends in the first year and Hermione had never appreciated her more.

Ron and Harry's reactions fell more within her realm of expectations. Ron was especially enraptured by the idea of the Time-Turner, no doubt devising the many ways they could use it to their advantage. He became disgruntled, however, when Hermione revealed what she intended to do. She spoke with Professor McGonagall the following day, successfully dropping Muggle Studies and Divination. With those two conflicting classes gone, there was no longer any use for Hermione to keep the Time-Turner (to which she relinquished it to Professor McGonagall without hesitation).

Instead of the grin she expected to see, his expression became drawn, a deep crease appearing between his brows. He briefly hesitated before asking, "Speaking of Willow, how is she?"

Hermione leaned her hip against the bookshelf, crossing her arms as she cocked an eyebrow at the sandy-haired boy. "Are you asking as Cedric's friend?"

Ian shook his head firmly. "No, I am asking as her friend. I haven't seen her since last week and the times I've managed to spot her, well—"

"She's looking a bit down in the dumps? Her smile appears a touch forced?" Hermione suggested tersely. "Should I be thanking your best mate for that? He seemed to have broken her heart in some way. Perhaps I should return the favour."

It wasn't difficult to figure out the shift in her friend's behaviour. Her sudden aversion to the library, her purposefully taking the obscure, needlessly long routes to her castles and the lack of golden hairclips in her hair only added up to one thing.

Ian shuffled uncomfortably but he never broke his gaze from hers. "I'm not entirely sure what went down between the two of them but I know Cedric would not have done anything to hurt Willow. If he did, I'd be first in line to give him a good thumping."

Hermione's cool mask cracked when a smile managed to slip through but she hastily schooled her features. "How about those rumours flying around? Him and Cho?"

Ian's tone was so firm, it brooked no argument. "He doesn't like Cho. He rejected her last week, the same day when Black broke into the Gryffindor Tower. He hasn't seen her since then. And besides, the person he fancies is Willow. He has since the start of the year"

Hermione's eyebrows flew up, slightly stunned. She was less surprised at the revelation (his frantically demanding Willow's location when he chanced upon her, Ron and Harry the morning after Black's break-in spoke volumes) but more at the latter part of Ian's sentence.

"'Since the start of the year'?" Hermione repeated. "Didn't they only meet after the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match? How—"

"I can't say but I assure you Hermione, Cedric only has eyes for Willow." Ian's gaze was unwavering, sincere. Despite Hermione wanting to lead Cedric to his demise, she couldn't help but believe Ian. For now.

"Alright, I'll leave Cedric alone for now," Hermione conceded, raising her hands. However, she marched up to Ian and jabbed his sternum. "But you better tell him to get off his arse and do something about this entire situation, with both the rumours and Willow. If not, my wand is itching to cast a few new hexes and jinxes I've learned. Got it?"

Ian blinked a few times, taken off-guard at the small yet ferociously protective version of the brunette scowling before him. A smile began to grow on his lips, unbidden.

What an interesting girl you are, Hermione Granger.