An American at Hogwarts

New Year, New Warnings

Break didn't last all that much longer, but it was absolutely amazing. We hadn't told Marie's parents about us since she couldn't quite figure out how to break the news, but I'm pretty sure they knew anyways. We did an absolutely horrific job of hiding it, so they'd have to be blind not to, and, with her dad being a legilimens and all, I was almost certain that they could at least tell something was different. They didn't quite show that they knew, though, which somehow made things both more and less awkward for me. More in the sense that I wasn't quite sure how they felt about it (although Marie assured me they would approve), and less in the sense that I didn't have to worry as much about the possibility of them disapproving, since they weren't showing that they did. Regardless, as January came around, we headed back to London to go back to Hogwarts. We arrived at King's Cross early and met with Hermione on Platform 9 3/4. Marie ran off with her to talk, almost certainly about what happened over the break, so I was left alone with her parents. He father lightly put a hand on my shoulder.

"Treat her well, Y/N! You'll have to answer to me otherwise, and trust me, you don't want that!" He said the last part with a smile and a wink, but that didn't do much to reassure me. Her mother jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"You're scaring the poor kid, Henry! I thought we agreed not to joke around like that?"

Henry frowned and gave me an apologetic glance. I waved my hand dismissively.

"It's ok, I was just a bit shocked. Kinda came out of nowhere."

He smiled down at me. "Well just know that both of us approve. You clearly make her happy, and, well, after what you told me over break, if there is any student at Hogwarts I trust to keep her safe, it's you. I'm still going to try to get around to help you train by the way. No promises, it's rather difficult to get access to the school in the middle of term, but I'll do my best!"

"Well I look forward to it if you are able! Training with an Auror would certainly be quite the opportunity!"

He smiled and pushed me forward a bit. "The girls are waiting for you I think! Go on, you don't want to miss the train! And do try not to almost blow anyone's kneecaps off again. Not that I blame you all that much. If Draco is anything like his father, he deserved what he got. I'd just rather not have to see you being tried at the Ministry."

I shook both their hands and climbed aboard, quickly finding Marie and Hermione. As I entered the cabin, Hermione gave me a knowing smirk.

"Well? How was break?"

I took a seat next to Marie and pulled her close.

"It was wonderful."

We spent most of the ride telling each other what had happened over break. Hermione was absolutely giddy at the news, which frankly surprised me a bit. She never seemed much the type to get like that over relationship gossip or whatnot, but I couldn't help but smile at her excitement. It was rather infectious.

Soon enough, we made our way into Hogsmeade Station. I was a bit more ready to face the thestrals this time, but they still brought on a bit of silence. Marie must have noticed this, because she held me tight the entire ride back, drawing an amused glance from Neville, who was in the carriage with us.

We made our way back to the Gryffindor common room and immediately got bombarded with greetings and stories by Ron and Harry. Harry had apparently gotten an invisibility cloak over the break, which he had used to sneak into the restricted section to try and find out more about Flamel. While he hadn't been successful in that, he had apparently become a bit obsessed with a mirror in an empty room, which he claimed showed him his parents.

Hermione frowned after hearing that story. "Ron was right, Harry, that thing was dangerous. Magic items like that are never a good thing, trust me."

Harry sighed, as if he had heard that countless times. "I guess...

I wrapped him in a hug, trying to cheer him up, which sort of worked.

"Well how was your break Y/N? You and Marie do anything fun?"

I grinned and pulled her close to me. "Maybe."

Ron groaned, pulling out a couple sickles and handing them over to Harry, who patted me on the back.

"We made a bet that you'd get together over break." He explained, grinning almost as wide as I had been.

The day went on as normal, for the most part. Me and Marie sat in front of the fireplace, leaning on one another as we read from our transfiguration textbook. As the sun began to set, I was startled by a tap on my shoulder. I lazily spun my head around to find Professor McGonagall smiling lightly at me.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Me and Marie both blushed deeply and shook our heads.

"If you have a few minutes I'd like to talk to you about something, Mr. L/N. Privately, if possible."

I nodded and gave Marie a peck on the lips as I stood up. McGonagall smiled at her. "I'll have him back to you in no time whatsoever, don't you worry."

I followed her out and through the winding corridors until we made it to her office. I sat down slightly nervously. I seemed to have a tendency to get pulled into meeting with Professors, which did bother me a bit, even if none of them had been bad as of yet.

"I just wanted to check in on how your advanced training was going. And more to the point, inquire as to precisely why you are so dedicated to it. Not that it is a bad thing, it is simply out of the norm for a student your age, and I am rather curious about it."

I took a deep breath. "You have to promise you won't tell anyone, Professor. Besides Dumbledore, I suppose, and perhaps the other Professors as well. I could get in big trouble for talking about this."

She frowned slightly but nodded.

I explained to her what had happened to my sister. It felt a bit easier than it had back when I told Marie and Hermione, I suppose since that had been my first time talking about it, but I still got choked up at times.

"After what happened, I made a promise to myself. I'm not going to let anything like that happen to anyone else I care about ever again. That's why I'm so dedicated I suppose. I feel like if I train enough I can protect people."

McGonagall gave me a sympathetic smile. "Well. I must say that was a bit more than I expected, but it is as good a reason as I could possibly imagine. Do promise me two things though. First, don't push yourself too hard. You are still only twelve, no matter how advanced your skills are for your age. Keep your limits in mind. And second, don't do anything reckless. Again, know your limits."

I nodded. "I'll try, Professor, promise."

She smiled. "Good. Off you go now, I imagine your girlfriend misses you quite a bit. You two are rather cute together, by the way."

I blushed profusely, thanking her for the advice as I left. I still wasn't all that used to people talking about us as a couple. It felt nice, though, I must admit.