LIKE LIGHTNING | Harry Potter x Reader Fanfiction

⁕ runny nose ⁕

Y/N POV

As it turned out, being drenched in lake water with chilly winter air blowing was not a good thing. For the next week, I had the worse cold of my life. It started with a small runny nose that I waved off as allergies, but two days after the second task, I woke up trembling, my body feeling hot and cold at the same time. Standing up, the headache in my head grew and I had to sit back down again. I groaned and laid back in bed. I was unsure of how I'd get to my classes; I hated missing them. It seemed as if whenever I was absent, even more work was given than usual. 

Around fifteen minutes later, I heard Arabella wake. I was usually the first of us to wake and when I still hadn't gotten out of bed, I heard her step towards my four-poster and pull back the velvet curtains. Opening my heavy eyes I said sarcastically, 

"Morning." 

"Oh, you do not look good." She said with a smirk. 

"Really? I thought my beauty would strike you dead." I said, covering my eyes with my left forearm. She laughed and went to get dressed for class. I sat up, groaning and she spun back around and pushed me back into bed. 

"You're not going anywhere, you need to stay in bed today." Arabella said in a mom like tone. 

"But I can't miss class. You know how much I hate missing class." I whined at her. 

"Does it look like I care? Sit." She said without another word. I mean, what was the harm in staying in today? I closed my eyes and let myself fall back asleep. 

※※※

My lungs felt like fire as I took deep breaths, my bare feet crunching on twigs and dry leaves. I could hear a sound like thunder from behind, and the ground shook beneath me. Cold air blew my hair around my face, tangling itself into knots. I was running. Running from something, but I didn't know what. 

I tripped and fell onto the ground. My palms and knees beginning to bleed upon impact. I felt It crawl up from behind me; its breath hitting my neck. I laid there, eyes closed, hoping that whatever monster crawling upon me would leave. And leave soon. A single finger traced my spin and I tensed up even more. Feeling the sharpness of its craw digging into my skin, almost piercing the skin. 

Then, as it always did, the air stilled and I felt the creature's presence leave. I sighed, flipping onto my back. Then opening my eyes and looking up at the forest's canopy, I saw it drop, its face of nothing opening up into a great wide black mouth that swallowed me whole. Its yellow eyes staring into me as I opened my mouth to scream. 

※※※

I woke with a start, grasping at my bedsheets. Pulling the velvet curtains back to let more light in, I slowed my breathing, trying to calm myself. I hated that dream. It came at the most random days and left me feeling sick to my stomach for the entire day. It had been my worst nightmare since I was a little girl, and no matter how much I tried, it had never gone away. I didn't even know what subconscious part of my mind had created it. When I felt a bit calmer, I checked the small clock on my nightstand. It read: 12:46 p.m. 

I let out a sigh, it wasn't too late in the day. I still felt the occasional chill course through my body, but now I was able to stand up and move around. There wasn't anybody left in Ravenclaw Tower and I got dressed at my own pace. Slowly combing through my hair and putting on my robes. It would be lunchtime in twenty minutes, and although I wasn't hungry, I wanted to see everybody. There wasn't much to do up here besides maybe reading and stare out the stained glass windows. Both of which I liked, but was not interested enough to do at the moment. I grabbed my bookbag, just in case I was feeling up to the task of actually going to class.

Making my way out of the dorms, I walked through the halls of Hogwarts. It was cold and I thanked myself for layering up. Still sniffling I sat down at a bench near the Transfiguration classroom, waiting for everyone to get out. Being alone with my thoughts was the worst and I shoved down any thoughts of the nightmare. Finally, the students were dismissed and I watched as the trio walked out of the room, laughing to themselves. I got up and made my way over to the three of them. 

I came up silently behind Harry and slipped my hand into his. He turned, his face startled before noticing me and then smiling. 

"Y/N. Where were you?" Harry asked, leaning in to kiss me. I pressed a finger to his lips and let out a little laugh before saying, 

"I don't think you want to do that. I'm kind of sick." I said. 

"I'll take my chances." He said back, giving me a small peck. I felt myself grow hotter than I already was as I blushed. 

"Hey Y/N." Ron said, finally noticing me. Hermione turned a second later, a smile on her face. 

"Sorry, I didn't show up. I didn't feel well earlier. I think it was because of the second task." I explained as we walked towards the Great Hall. 

"You must hate being sick. I know how much you hate missing class." said Hermione. 

"I'll have a bunch to catch up on." I said, sighing. 

"It's alright, I'll help you." she said as we sat down. 

"Thanks 'Mione." I said thankfully. 

Almost as if the hall knew, a hot bowl of soup appeared in front of me. I sipped at the broth, feeling the liquid warm me up from the inside out. To the boy's dismay, Hermione and I talked about class. Harry held my hand underneath the table, rubbing his thumb over the top of my hand. Even the small gesture made me feel a million times better. We then changed the subject to the Triwizard Tournament. The judges had explained that the final task wouldn't be until June 24th, giving us plenty of time to think of ideas of what it might be. 

"Do you have any idea of what it might be?" I asked Harry, turning to face him. 

"I dunno. They didn't give us any clues this time." He replied. I could tell by his face that this time he would be taking the challenge seriously. Not waiting till the last minute like the second task. 

"Well, we should start earlier this time." Suggested Hermione. I agreed with her and looked at the two boys. 

"Come on, give the man a break. He just got past a dragon and the merpeople." said an exasperated Ron. 

"Thank you Ron." said Harry, and they high five. Hermione and I glared back at them, but Harry just giving me a goofy smirk back. 

"Whatever, we're starting tomorrow." I said, watching the boys groan out of the side of my eyes. 

Then I saw Ron's small owl, Pigwigeon, fly his way through the Great Hall to us. He dropped a letter in the middle of the table and landed in Ron's hand, giving him an affectionate nibble. I thought Pig was adorable and gave him a little rub as I watched as Harry opened the letter. 

"It's from Sirius." He whispered to us. We all leaned in to hear more, "He wants us to meet him in Hogsmeade during the next visit." I knew Harry had been keeping in touch with Sirius about the Triwizard Tournament, but meeting in person? This meant, he wanted to tell us something important. Rummaging through my bag, I pulled out a spare piece of parchment paper and some ink, and a quill. Harry wrote back, agreeing that the four of us would meet up. 

Attaching the letter back onto Pigwidgeon, Ron threw Pig into the air, letting him struggle to fly back up into the Halls rafters and out the window. Ron had a weird way of showing affection towards his animals, but I knew he loved Pig, so I just snickered at him. He noticed me and kicked my leg under the table.

"Hey, I'm the sick one here, this is abuse." I said, kicking him back in the shin.

"OW!" He cried out. I just laughed at him. Feeling much better than when I first woke up, I decided to go to the remaining classes of the day. Interlocking arms with Harry, we made our way out of the Great Hall.

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Hiiiii! I'm back. Sorry for not updating these past few days. I had school and my mom's birthday! But I am on Thanksgiving Break so I will try to update every day of this week. :)) 

Word Count: 1514