Requested by: WriterGirlme

Prompt: Self Given

Warnings: Because of the time skips it's a bit choppy

Extra: Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with finishing up Gods and Monsters. Enjoy!

~*~

Second Year

"Hi, (Y/n). I'm-"

"Hermione Granger, I know," I smiled kindly. I looked to the boys behind her, "Nice to meet you two as well. Is there something you need?"

"We need your help brewing a potion," Hermione explained, "Neville told us that you're the best potion maker in Hogwarts, besides Snape of course."

"What kind of potion do you need made?"

"A polyjuice potion," Ron spoke up, "I've heard it's wicked difficult to make."

"It is a difficult potion," I closed my book, standing up from the bench I was sitting on, "If you can get me the ingredients I need then I can make it for you."

"You aren't going to ask why we need it?" Harry asked, confusion evident.

"You're the Golden Trio," I giggled, "I'm sure whatever you need it for, it's for a good cause. Probably related to stopping these attacks anyways. Send me an owl when you have what we'll need. Lovely meeting you three."

~*~

"Why exactly are we in a girl's bathroom?"

"Because no one ever comes in here," I set a cauldron down on the floor, "Well, no one except for Luna and me. It's because of Moaning Myrtle. She's out and about now, debating on whether or not she should move bathrooms. She never does. Do you have what I asked for?"

Hermione held out a small bag of items. I peeked inside, nodding. Nearly everything I needed was in there. I took out the Lacewing Flies, preparing what I needed so I could stew them.

"This potion is going to take around a month to make," I stated calmly.

"A month?" Ron exclaimed, "We don't have that much time!"

"You'll have to make the time. Unless you want this potion to do poorly. I can't tell you what will happen if it does end up going wrong. The Polyjuice potion if hard enough to brew already."

"I'm sure you can do it," Harry encouraged, watching as I dropped the flies into the cauldron, "You're one of the smartest girls in our year, not just because you're a Ravenclaw."

I flushed with pride at the compliment, "Thanks Harry. The um, the flies need to strew for twenty-one days. After that, I can finish up the rest of the potion."

"Let's hope it's worth it."

~*~

The twenty-one days had passed. Within that time, I found myself talking with the Golden Trio more and more. At first it was just about how the potion process was going, and how I would finish. But it evolved into casual conversation. It was nice, having more than two friends.

Being the first one to enter the bathroom, I took out the rest of the ingredients. The Lacewing Flies were looking great, which was a relief. Harry and the other really needed this potion to figure out what was going on with these attacks. I tried to lift up the cauldron so I could move it, grunting under the weight.

"Do you need some help?"

I glanced up at Harry, sighing in relief, "Yes. Thank you."

Harry stepped up to the other side of the cauldron, helping me move it from the sink to the floor. I sat down in front of it, beginning the final leg of the process.

"Where are Hermione and Ron?" I questioned, dropping in the knotgrass.

"Ron is talking to Fred and George, and Hermione is in the library. They should be here soon though," Harry explained.

"Good to know."

"Can I ask you something?" Harry continued when I nodded, "Everyone here sees me as Harry Potter, but you talk to me like I'm a normal person. Why is that?"

"Because you are a normal person," I shrugged, "I feel like you should be treated as more than The Boy Who Lived. To me, you're just Harry."

"Just Harry," Harry repeated, smiling slightly, "I like that."

"Sorry we're late," Hermione stepped into the bathroom with Ron trailing behind her, "I ran into Ron on my way here."

"You're just in time actually. If you have the hairs, then we can get started," I scooped some of the potion into three different cups, handing one to each person, "Put the hair in and you'll be set."

Each person dropped their respective hair into the cup. The potion fizzled slightly before settling down each time. Together, the three each took a drink from their cup. Hermione ran into a bathroom stall first, then Ron. Harry dropped his cup on the ground and stepped over to the sink.

"Oh, right. Sort of forgot to mention that it was going to taste awful," I winced, stepping over to Harry. He looked extremely different from the way he normally did, scaring me slightly, "Good to know the potion worked."

"Harry?" Ron stepped out of his stall, "We look just like Crabbe and Goyle! (Y/n), you did bloody good work!"

"Thanks Ron, now you guys only have an hour so you should hurry. Hermione? Are you ready?"

"Go on without me," Hermione called from inside the stall.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry questioned, concerned.

"Yes, I'm just, not feeling very well. I'll be fine, just go!" Hermione insisted.

"I'll take care of her," I assured the two boys, "You need to go do what you have to. It'll be fine."

Hesitantly, the two left Hermione and me alone in the bathroom. Myrtle was likely to show up at some point though. I walked over to the stall Hermione was in, knocking gently.

"Hermione? The boys are gone. What's going on?"

"You can't see me like this," Hermione cried out from the other side.

"Hermione I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. Just come out. Everything will be alright."

Slowly but surely, the door to the stall opened up. I gasped in shock at what was in front of me. Never had I imagined that the potion would go this wrong for one of the three.

"Bloody hell Hermione, you look like a cat!"

Year Four

Two years had passed since I had become well acquainted with the Golden Trio. Once or twice I had even been pulled into their mischief, even though they always had good intentions. Second year, I was stuck waiting for Ron and Harry to emerge from the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny.

Third year, I joined their crusade to track down Sirius Black, getting thrown back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius after the truth about the night Harry's parents died came to light. All in all, I never had a boring moment after meeting the group.

Harry seemed more attached to me than to his other two friends sometimes. Though I never said anything about it. I liked his company, more than I should have probably, but that was a whole spectrum of emotions I shouldn't have been feeling.

"(Y/n)!"

I spun around, nearly slipping on a sheet of ice in the process. But sturdy arms caught me before I could hit the ground. I smiled up at Harry gratefully, regaining my footing.

"Thanks," I breathed out, a ploom of my breath forming in front of me.

"No problem," Harry smiled, "I um, actually wanted to ask you if you would go to the Yule Ball with me?"

My heart fluttered. Harry asking me to go to the Yule Ball with him? I never thought the day would come. Because of that, I said yes to someone else.

"I'm honored you would ask me Harry, but I'm going with Neville."

"Neville?" Harry's brows rose in shock, "Neville Longbottom?"

"Yes," I nodded in confirmation, "He asked me yesterday. I'm sorry Harry."

"It's fine," Harry assured me, giving me a small smile, "I hope you have fun with him. Maybe you can save me a dance?"

"It would be a pleasure to dance with you Harry. Now I need to get to class. If I'm late for potions Snape would kill me, best student or not."

~*~

"You're a better dancer than I took you for," my eyes scanned the room for Harry while Neville tweiled me.

"If I'm not good at magic then I should be good at something," Neville noticed my straying eyes, "He's over by the fountain. Go dance with him."

"Thanks Neville," I kissed the boy's cheek, "Now go with Luna, she's been eyeing you all night."

Neville flushed scarlet, looking over at the blonde-haired girl. Shoving Neville forward a bit, I left to find Harry. Sure enough, him and Ron were both sulking, their dates dancing with some Durmstrang students.

"Do you mind if I steal him?" I asked Ron, motioning to Harry.

"Go ahead," Ron muttered, leaning farther back.

"You're the best," I tugged on Harry's hand, pulling him up and onto the dancefloor.

"What happened to Neville?" Harry, after a brief hesitance, placed his hands on my waist.

"He's dancing with Luna. Besides, he's not the one I promised to dance with."

So we danced. Through one song, and another, and another. By the fourth song we hesitantly decided to part ways and call it a night. The hours were crawling into the early morning and Harry needed to get as much rest as possible before his next challenge. By that point, I had come to one, shining conclusion.

I was in love with Harry.

Fifth Year

Compared to the chaos, loss, and confusion of the school year, my summer was rather mundane. Magic wasn't a critical part of the household since my parents were muggle. That meant the most magic I saw was during my summer homework.

Back at school however, things were the same as they had always been. Full of rebellious acts for the greater good.

Dolores Umbridge, a woman worse than Voldemort himself, slowly began taking over the school. Taking away right after right until the only things we could do were go to class and eat. Finally, Dumbledore's Army was formed, to teach everyone what they needed to know for the oncoming war.

"Good job today everyone," Harry praised as the DA left the room of Requirement.

"See you at the common room," Ron and Hermione waved goodbye.

"Do you remember how we met?" I looked over the moving pictures on the board.

"Of course I do. It's hard to forget. You helped us without asking why," Harry chuckled.

"I'd be a disgrace to Ravenclaw if I couldn't figure it out," I chuckled, "Do you remember what I said? About who you are?"

"I'm Harry, not Harry Potter."

"Yeah," I took a step closer to him, "Nothing I do is because you're Harry Potter, it's because- Mistletoe."

Harry glanced up, easily spotting the blooming plant. I tugged on his collar until his lips met mine. It was shorter than I wanted it to be, but with the suddenness of it, I wasn't entirely surprised about that.

"Goodnight Harry," I smiled brightly.

Harry and I never really got the chance to talk about what our relationship was, or rather, what it could turn into. Soon after Christmas break, Dumbledore's Army was snitched on, Umbridge bringing the whole operation down and driving Dumbledore out of the school.

The climax of the year came thundering down when The Golden Trio, and my own trio infiltrated the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort's rising army invaded, and Harry's godfather Sirius was killed in the process. There was no point after that in which I felt like it would be a good time to ask him what we were.

Keeping in contact with everyone over the summer to see how they were handling what was happening was a big priority. With Harry, it felt as though I was stepping on glass. He was handling what happened well, he was used to loss after all, but he was devastated all the same.

Another year of holding back my feelings.

Year Six

6th year let everyone know that something big was coming, and there was no way to avoid it. That applied to both my love life and Voldemort's return to power. Harry, lost in his grief and long-term rivalry with Malfoy, became obsessed with proving his involvement with the Death Eaters.

I had no doubt, because of his family's past, that Malfoy was up to something, but Harry was going to kill someone, or get himself killed if he kept on pursuing Malfoy the way he was.

Earlier in the year, at some point, Harry received a potions book written by the .Half-Blood Prince'. Said book was full of tips on how to make potions properly. It even included a spell. And Harry, in all of his think in the moment glory, used it on Malfoy.

"We need to hide that book Harry," the Golden Trio and I were sitting in the castle courtyard.

I had snuck into the Gryffindor Common Room once or twice before to either help them with homework or one of their quests, but it was always easier to meet in places that were allowed. Although, I was quite sure that McGonagall knew I snuck in, she never acknowledged it.

"(Y/n)'s right," Hermione agreed, "You seriously hurt Draco. Who knows what else that book could do. It could be Tom Riddle's diary all over again."

"Where would I hide it?" Harry seemed extremely hesitant to give the book up.

"I know a place," I stood up from the bench, motioning for Harry to follow me, "I'll return him in one piece."

"Yeah, take your time you two," Ron teased.

Taking Harry's hand, I led him through the winding hallways and changing staircases of Hogwarts until we finally arrived in the Room of Requirement. None of us had been inside together since last year.

"There are a lot of things in here," I marvelled, looking around the large room, "Alright, hand me the book and I'll go hide it."

Harry did as I asked, closing his eyes and holding out the book. I wandered through the endless piles of junk until deciding on a random one. I shoved the book back behind a few things, nodding in satisfaction when it couldn't been seen anymore.

Crash!

My head whipped around, wand out and ready I ran to the source of the noise. It was Harry, holding his bleeding hand on the floor. The remnants of a glass object were next to him.

"What happened?' I questioned, leaning down to get a better look at his injury.

"I thought you were getting closer to me, so I moved back and ran into something," Harry winced.

"Harry I wasn't even near you. In any case, why did you move back? Am I just that awful to be around?" My brows furrowed in anger, though I still attended to his wound.

"Well no, I just thought that it would be strange for you to be so close to me when you're with Neville."

"With...Neville?" The majority of my anger dissipated and turned into amusement, "You thought that I was with Neville?"

"Aren't you?"

"No!" I laughed, standing up, "He's one of my best friends. Nothing more. I've liked you for so long I haven't looked at anyone else."

"You like me?"

"God Harry, you're so dense!" I laughed even harder, "Never for a moment did I really try to hide it. All this time, you thought that I liked Neville. You really are amazing Harry."

Harry flushed, "I like you too. If that makes up for me being so dense somehow."

"Not really," my laughter had died down to a few short giggles, "But it's good enough for me."

As the sound of something sprouting sounded from above us, we looked up, smiling and speaking in unison.

"Mistletoe."