LIKE LIGHTNING | Harry Potter x Reader Fanfiction

⁕ common room whispers ⁕

It was around 9:00 when I snuck out of my dorm. I hadn't had any time to tell the gang what had happened during the day. I was too caught up getting everything in order for my classes. Typical me. I grabbed an old grey cardigan and slipped it on over my pajamas. There were still some Ravenclaws in our common room by the fire. They didn't pay me any attention as I made my way down the spiral staircase and into the heart of the castle. Hermione had told me the passowrd to the Gryffindor common room and I slipped in easily. 

I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the left side of their common room. I had been sneaking over ever since second year so those I knew smiled as they saw me make my way across the room. 

"Hey guys." I said, taking a seat next to Ron. They all said hello back and I sat there quietly, watching them talk among themselves. I loved watching others do their thing, I didn't have any need to take part in their conversations. Their presence was comforting alone. Hermione was working on an assignment and after 20 minutes she finally put down her quill and leaned back into her chair. 

"If I don't mind asking, Y/N, but what happened before Defense Against the Dark Arts class?" Harry asked.

"Oh. Yeah, um it was stupid Malfoy again." I said, picking at my nails. Now that I thought about it, I felt a bit of embarassment. I didn't want it to look like Malfoy had gotten so deep underneath my skin. 

"It was nothing. It's fine." I said looking at them.

"It seemed like something earlier today." said Harry, turning to face me. 

"And no, it's not fine. Anything Malfoy does is bloody awful." chimed in Ron.

"Fine. I'll tell you. Malfoy came up to me to tease me at the end of class. It was so weird.. I let my temper go and told him I'd bite him and he seemed to like it. It was GROSS. Anyway he ended up calling me a mudblood and I- uh- I uh slapped him." I made jazz hands and gave a fake smile. 

"Ugh, Malfoy. I wish I could strangle him!" said Hermione. 

"I wish I could've seen you slap him though, that would have been-"

"RON!" started Hermione. 

"No Hermione, Ron does have a point. It was kinda funny." I started to giggle. Then we all began to laugh uncontrollably. Harry held his stomach and there were tears at corner of Rons eyes. 

Hermione covered her face and then said in between laughs, "Well...it's getting late..I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight." She packed up her work and made her way to the girls dorm room. Then it was just me and the boys. We talked about Quidditch tryouts, they were next Saturday and I was desperately unprepared. 

"I get the rules of the game and how to play-" I said, trying to explain myself, "I just can't see myself actually being good at it." 

"Nonsense, y/n. You'll be great." said Harry. 

"And Harry'll be at the tryouts too, if you fall off your broomstick, he'll catch you." Ron said jokingly. 

"Hey-I'm not that bad." I said, putting my hands up into the air. They laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. 

"Yeah right, remember the time at the Burrow when you practically killed youself?" reminded Ron. 

"Alright, alright, I could use some improvement. But thats what practices are for." I argued back, remembering that summer day. I had gone over to the Weasleys for a week during my 1st year and we had played a small game of Quidditch in the lot behind their house. We were careful to not disturb the muggles in the neighboring town. I was keeper and when I went to block the quaffle Ron had thrown at the makeshift hoops we made, I had literally just fell off my broomstick. Nearly impaling myself on a nearby broken tree branch, Mrs. Weasley had made me sit and watch the boys play. Fred and George had the best laugh after seeing me on the ground, wheezing for air. At the time, I felt like I was dying but now it was a really funny story. In my defense, it had been one of my first times even being on a broomstick. Now, having a couple more years of experience on me, I felt like I should take a chance and try out for my team. 

"Just make sure you stay on the broom this time. K" I heard Fred's voice from behind me." 

"What the- why are you here?" I asked, giving him a glare. 

"Oh nothing, just the usual. Evesdropping." said George from the other side of me. 

I slapped my face, of course they would pop into the conversation when something humiliating came up about me. I swatted them away. 

"Don't you have pranks to pull?" I said, sweetly, a fake smile on my face. 

"Ah yes, actually we do. Come on Fred, let's go..." George's voice trailed away as they walked away. 

"Where were we again?" I asked. 

"I think I'm gonna go to bed now too." said Ron, "I've got to wake up early write a letter to mum." he muttered. Me and Harry said goodnight and then were silent for a moment. There wasn't much to talk about and I moved my eyes around their common room. It was beautifully decorated in gold and red. The fire was now just tiny flickers of orange and I yawned. 

"I would have punched him.." said Harry quietly. 

"What?" I asked, confused. 

"Malfoy. He needs to shut his mouth sometimes." 

"Oh, yeah.." I said

"It just-" He paused and looked at me. I stared right back. The dark room made his eyes a dark green almost too dark to even remember they were that color. I felt a little nauseous but in a oddly good way. "I care about you. Just like I do for Ron and Hermione, but something about what you told me... it made me feel, worse. I don't even know how to describe it." 

"It's alright." I said breathlessly. Why was I feeling so tingly? "I would have done the same for you." 

"I know you would." He said, staring at the embers in the fireplace. I looked at his side profile. His touseled hair stuck out everywhere and his features were prominent in the dim lighting. I never noticed how sharp his jaw was, or how his glasses perfectly framed his face. He caught me staring and I looked away, blushing. "I shouldn't feel like this." I thought. "He's just Harry." 

 "I think, I'm gonna go back to Ravenclaw tower now." I mumbled, slowly standing up. Then he pushed off the chair and gave me a hug. My eyes widened. I moved my arms from by my sides to around his body. I felt his chin on top of my head and I leaned into the hug. I hadn't had a hug like this in forever. A hug that made you feel like your existence actually mattered to another person. I felt my emotions start to build up. I hadn't cried after the incident with Malfoy, to me it was just another conflict with him. But Mudblood was an derogatory term in the Wizarding World, and I hadn't realized till now how much it burned. My eyes burned. I pulled back, looking up at his face. I saw my reflection in his glasses. 

"Thank you. Harry." I said. My voice a whisper. 

"Always." He said in the same volume. 

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Not me crying while writing this chapter because I used my own feelings in it. I had meant to use the word Always later on in the story but it kinda just came out. So yayy. Thanks for all the reads. I'm now one of the top storys for harryxreader. That is crazy. <3