Terry let out a great sob and flew into my arms; I collapsed back against the sofa with the force of him, the wind being knocked out of me. 

"Woah, there." I said. 

"You're back." Terry wept into my shoulder. "My best friend is back..." 

"I was always right here." I said, amused, waving a hand over myself. 

Terry pulled back, his eyes full of tears. "No, Softpaw... no, you weren't. Not really." 

"What's all this commotion?" Draco meandered out of the room with the double bed, rubbing his eyes, and I grinned. "I swear someone's been crying out here for an hour." 

"Drake, baby, Softpaw's back!" Terry wailed, staggering out of my arms and throwing himself at Draco, who stumbled back, eyes widening as he struggled to hold his boyfriend up. "She's back, baby, back!" 

"BACK back?" Draco's eyes widened even more, turning to me. I beamed at him. 

"Back back." I confirmed. 

Draco's face split into a wide grin, and he looked more awake than ever. He guided Terry aside and ran to me, collapsing on top of me on the sofa and wrapping his arms tight around me. Terry joined us a moment later, and the three of us group-hugged, laughing and crying. 

"What's all this about?" Kylie emerged from the dorm room, yawning. 

"Are we getting attacked?" Louis swung around the doorway, his wand out. "Oh, it's just you three." He lowered it. 

"Daisy's back!" Draco said over the top of Terry's head with a huge smile. "Guys, she's not delusional anymore!" 

"Thanks, Dragon." I rolled my eyes. But Kylie and Louis were suddenly grinning, too, and they flung themselves at us, joining our heap. Arms squeezed me from all angles, at least two people's tears wetting my skin; someone was laughing in relief, another was repeating, "Thank Godric, thank Godric," over and over again into my neck. 

Eventually, what seemed simultaneously like two minutes and two hours later, we all separated, flopping onto the sofa or in Kylie's case, lounging on the armrest. Everyone's eyes were twinkling; there was a hope in their faces that I hadn't seen for a while. 

"So, when are we making our escape? Today?" 

Terry, Draco, Kylie, and Louis all exchanged a glance. 

"I mean, I feel like we're on the cusp of a revolution here." Louis said. "Everyone else is getting all riled up, everyone's sick of the regime, we're all fighting back... sure, everyone was pissed off that they wouldn't let us go home for the Christmas holidays. I'm not sure I wanna leave." 

Terry and Kylie turned to glare at him. Louis held his hands up, looking harassed. 

"No, I mean, you guys go on ahead with Daisy, and I'll help in any way I can, of course. But I think I'll stay, in the Room of Requirement, and help the rebellion." 

"That's fair enough." I said. "Y'know, I think I would probably have wanted to stay if I wasn't the Chosen One and had a mission to do. I'd have loved to be the leader of a student-led rebellion." 

I gazed wistfully off into the distance. Terry sniggered. 

"You already were. Remember fifth year?" 

"Oh, yeah." I said. "Anyway, who's coming with me?" 

"Obviously me." Terry said. 

"Me too." Kylie said. "I miss Hermione. Plus, Harry and Ron are my best friends. I want to help." 

"I think..." Draco said slowly. "I think I might stay with Louis. I want to fight back against Snape's regime." 

"Are you sure, baby?" Terry said, his eyes widening slightly. "You'll be in a lot of -" 

"- Danger, I know." Draco smiled. "But I need to fight for what I believe in. And if I can't join you guys on your hunt for whatever it is you're hunting for... then I want to stand up against Death Eaters in our school." 

Terry's bottom lip wobbled, then he threw himself into Draco's arms, sobbing again. "I'm - I'm so proud of you!" 

I snickered as I watched Draco pat Terry's back helplessly. 

"Suzanne and Shannon will be joining us in here tomorrow, don't worry." Louis reassured Terry over Draco's head. "Your babe will be protected, we'll have loads of people around." 

"Yeah, Hopper." I smirked. "Don't worry about your babe." 

"Shut up, Softpaw." Terry raised his face to glare at me for one single second before burying it back in Draco's chest. 

"There's a tunnel behind the TV over there," Louis pointed at the flat-screen, "that leads into Hogsmeade. We're not sure exactly where in Hogsmeade yet, but if any of us need to contact you quickly, I'm sure we could send owls out of there. Or escape. I dunno." 

"Good idea." I said. "In fact, we could leave right now, actually! We could go out the weird tunnel then Apparate once we're off Hogwarts grounds!" 

"Yeah." Terry detached from Draco, sniffling and wiping his nose with his sleeve. "Yeah, we could. We should just... just collect everything important, and get away from here. But I need to visit my dorm before we go, and can - can I just have a bit more time with Draco?" 

"Obviously." I said, rolling my eyes, but Terry smiled gratefully at me, and I wasn't actually annoyed. 

Everything important... everything important... why had my mind latched onto those words, like I was forgetting something? I didn't have anything valuable in Riddle's quarters, so I should be fine. Sure, my school uniform was in there, and the Firebolt, but it wasn't like I'd be returning to school any time soon, and the Firebolt wasn't my own that I'd had since third year: that one was stashed safely in Grimmauld Place. This new Firebolt was one that Riddle had gotten for me so that I could play Quidditch here - nothing but the best for his future wife, he'd said at the time. 

Yuck. 

But something inside me was telling me to go back... and it wasn't the love potion... it was something like a gut instinct, like I knew something was - 

"Fuck!" I said. 

Terry, Draco, Kylie, and Louis all looked around. 

"Fuck." I repeated. "Riddle has a - uh - something we need in his quarters." I shot a meaningful look at Terry, whose eyes widened.

"Holy shit, Softpaw, are you sure?" 

"One hundred percent." I nodded. 

"Can I see?" Terry scrambled up from the sofa eagerly. "I'm not doubting you, I just -" 

"- Wanna see because you're a huge fucking nerd who has to know exactly what everyone else knows as well, yeah, we get it." I rolled my eyes again, but grinned. 

"You're right." Terry shrugged. "But can I?" 

"Fine." I sighed, taking his outstretched hands. I let his deep brown eyes gaze into mine, and felt images floating up against my will into my mind. 

*

Tom pushed his hair back out of his face, and his silver band on his ring finger glinted in the candlelight. "I have affixed it to my finger with a Permanent Sticking Charm. I cannot remove it even if I wanted to." 

*

"Amycus," Tom turned to him, Tom's hand drifting down and finding mine; I let him thread his fingers through mine, feeling the pink clouds whirl around in my brain, "is it really necessary to punish Miss Potter? What has she done to earn this?" 

*

"Let's make a baby..." Tom thrust into me as I threw my head back, moaning... 

*

Tom's handsome face beside me on the pillow, gazing at me in tender adoration. 

*

Tom tugging me up to slow dance to a song he liked, ending with both of us laughing and Tom on top of me on the sofa, both of us gazing into each other's eyes... 

*

Tom thrust hard; my eyes flew open and widened as I saw Tom's eyes flicker from red to dark brown and back again. "Fuck... Daisy, I love you..." 

* 

"Woah." Terry pulled back. "That was... not what I was looking for, but it was hella informative." 

"Seriously, Hopper?" I huffed, glaring at the ceiling. "Did you have to watch me having sex?" 

Draco snorted; Terry's eyes were wide. 

"Trust me, I'm scarred for life." He said, reaching out for my hands again. "Don't think we don't have to talk about what I just saw, though. Hold on..." 

*

I decided to leave the kneepads on, standing up suddenly with my Firebolt. I raised my arms to stretch, and Tom said sharply, "Look where you are aiming that thing!" 

I jumped; turning, I saw that I'd nearly knocked off the shelf behind me a little golden cup with a badger engraved on it. 

* 

"Got it." Terry pulled back, blinking. "Thanks, Softpaw! Anyway..." 

I turned away, scratching my arm awkwardly as he turned to the group. 

"Guys, Riddle is in love with her!" He exclaimed, and Draco, Kylie, and Louis all leaned forward, their jaws dropping. 

"WHAT?" Kylie said loudly. 

"Is he even capable of that?" Draco asked, tilting his head. 

"How d'you know?" Louis said. 

"Because he said it!" Terry said with a feverish excitement in his tone. "When they were fucking on their wedding night, his eyes went back to their normal colour and everything!" 

The others sat in a stunned silence as Terry continued. 

"And it's in his mannerisms as well, even if he didn't say it outright like that, you could still tell; he holds her hand, he dances with her, the way he looks at her... it's all so obvious, there's no way anyone could act the way he does around her without being in love." 

"But he's VOLDEMORT." Draco said. "How could he be capable of that, Terry?" 

"I have no idea." Terry said. "Well, okay, I do have a few theories. It's possible that being intimate with somebody who completely shares his views and interests has awoken something within him. His obsession is with the Dark arts, really rough sex, and torture, right? And Softpaw, while under the influence of Amortentia and then Stockholm Syndrome, appeared as if she shared those obsessions." 

"Yeah, but she didn't, not really." Kylie said. 

"Not the point. He may have been aware of that on some level," Terry said, "but maybe his need for Softpaw to be his overrode his awareness that it wasn't real. Or he wanted it to be real so bad that he ignored the fact that it was due to his manipulations that Softpaw was acting that way." 

Draco shifted on the sofa; Louis's eyes flicked back and forth between me and Terry. 

"I have a second theory." Terry continued dramatically. I could tell he was enjoying this. "Voldemort, when he was first resurrected, brought back, whatever - he was a bald scary fucker without a nose, right, Softpaw?" 

I nodded. "It was so weird. He looked like an egg." 

"And then he turned himself into Tom Riddle; he made himself look like the diary memory, didn't he?" 

I nodded again. "Because he knew that was one of my traumas. He knew that Tom Riddle was who I was most scared of." 

"Right." Terry nodded. "Well, how did he know that? He looked into your memories, he saw what Tom Riddle, Diary Version, did to you. I have a theory that maybe altering his appearance altered something else, too. Maybe he brought his mentality back to his younger self. What, he looked like his sixteen-year-old self when he changed? And that was three years ago? So he'd be around nineteen now, going by physical ageing." 

"Okay, dude, don't excuse his predatory actions by saying he's only two years older than Daisy." Louis rolled his eyes. 

"I'm not, Lou - listen." Terry insisted. "You're right, he's way older than nineteen, obviously. But if he brought his mentality back to his late teens - and I'm not saying he brought his knowledge of the world and the wider aspects of his brain back to his teens, no, not at all, otherwise he wouldn't be able to still be leader of the Death Eaters and be currently winning the war right now - no, he'd be very much seeing relationships with others through the lens of nineteen-year-old him. Manipulative, charming, sinister but hypnotising, enthralling... being handsome opens so many more doors for him than being a creepy egg, he'd be able to charm and twist people around his finger much more easily. 

"But more than that, the mentality of young-adult Voldemort still allows him to fall in love. I daresay later on in his life he lost the ability to love, but I don't think he was completely stone evil and unfeeling at twenty. Yeah, of course he's not completely a nineteen-year-old, he is still dominated by his psycho Voldy self, as shown by his talent at leading the Death Eaters and the abnormal cruelty he's shown, but the way he acts towards Softpaw... it's how he would have acted at nineteen when he really WAS nineteen." 

The group was silent for a moment. 

"Solid theories, Terry." Draco said weakly. 

"Yeah." I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "Please, let's get out of here. I'm not sure if I'm comforted by the fact that Riddle feels like a teenager and now apparently is in love with me. It seems worse than before, somehow. I think I might prefer him trying to get my Grace and kill me." 

"We have to get that cup." Terry said firmly, then clapped a hand over his mouth, looking scandalised. "Shit - uh - also, youreprobablypregnant." 

"What?" I said. 

"You're -" Terry took a deep breath. "You're probably pregnant." 

I looked down at my shoes. "Yeah, I know." 

Terry was looking at me sympathetically. He hadn't been able to get to me consistently after Riddle had found out what he was doing with the contraception, and on the honeymoon I'd almost definitely been impregnated. 

"Listen." I said. "I'm gonna go get the cup -" 

"Shh!" 

"- And I'll come back up here and meet you guys. We have to leave today. I don't feel safe anymore, he'll know sooner or later that the potion doesn't work on me anymore." 

I stalked over to the door, but Terry hurried over, catching me by the arm. I turned to see his anxious face. 

"Softpaw..." He said. 

"Yeah?" 

Terry traced his fingers over my skin, before pulling his hand back. "Be careful, okay?" 

I smiled at him, opening the door. "I'll try." 

~~~ 

Sneaking around the castle at night without getting caught was something I was particularly talented at, having had six years of practice. It was even easier in my Animagus form; I reached Riddle's quarters in no time, changing back and opening the door quietly. 

I silently thanked my past self for thinking to wedge a doorstop underneath it, to keep it open in case I returned. I used to do it every night I met the DA, and though I hadn't planned to return tonight, I had thought to do it just in case something went wrong. 

Creeping through the dark drawing room, I kept an eye out for the golden cup, my eyes darting between shelves. Where had I seen it, where had I seen it... 

And then I noticed a dark shadow out of the corner of my eye. I jumped violently, spinning around; Riddle was leaning against the doorframe to the bedroom, his arms folded, and his red eyes gleamed through the darkness at me. 

"What are you doing, Daisy?" His voice was casual, but I could hear the quiet danger barely concealed within. "Where were you?" 

"I, uh..." I hesitated, taking a step towards him. "I was just taking a walk. Couldn't sleep, you know." 

I let out an anxious giggle. Riddle's lips curled. 

"Can't you sleep either?" I said, my voice getting more high-pitched with each word I said. Very aware that I had to pretend that I was still under the effects of the love potion if I wanted to survive this encounter, I said reluctantly, "Do you want me to distract you?" 

Riddle's smirk grew wider. 

Taking that as a yes (...?) I padded over to him, my heart pounding. When I was a foot away from him, he suddenly reached out, grabbing my arms, and slammed me against the nearest wall, his face inches from mine. I nearly had a heart attack, panting as I stared into his red eyes; cursing myself for being so stupid and forgetting about Legilimency, I looked away quickly, looked down at his lips... 

...Which crashed down onto mine, moving against mine, and I let his tongue into my mouth, trying hard not to make any sounds of pleasure that my body was desperately trying to let out. What was wrong with me? Why was I actually wanting this... 

Riddle's hands moved roughly down my body, and I forced myself not to melt into him. He reached down into my pyjama shorts, and I gasped into his mouth as his hand moved over my panties, his fingers slipping past them, rubbing gently against my most sensitive area. He traced his fingers over my hole, and I made an involuntary noise against Riddle's mouth, hating myself for the reaction I was having. 

Riddle's tongue swept around my mouth, running slickly over my own tongue as he slipped two fingers into me. I trembled in his arms as I realised how wet I was. He rubbed against my insides, rubbing deliciously against a sweet spot inside me, and a soft moan slipped past my lips before I had the chance to stop it. 

"Do you like that, Daisy?" Riddle purred quietly, pressing his forehead against mine. "Do you like my fingers inside you?" 

I whimpered, shutting my eyes. Riddle gripped me harder, slamming his fingers in deep, and I gasped. 

"Do you? Answer me." 

"Y-yes." I said shakily, weakly; next second, Riddle was hoisting my legs up around his waist, hands under my ass, and his underwear was at his feet; my pyjama shorts were moved to the side, and Riddle was rubbing the tip of his length against me. 

"Do you want me inside you?" He breathed into my ear. "Do you want my cock buried inside you, Daisy?" 

I shut my eyes again, swearing internally; fuck this, fuck him, fuck everything - I shouldn't want this, I shouldn't be liking this, this was so wrong, he's my enemy and my answer shouldn't be - 

"Yes!" I cried out, and I moaned loudly as Riddle slid deep inside me with one thrust, filling me. I arched my back off the wall as his grip tightened on my thighs, withdrawing then slamming back into me. 

This was so wrong, everything within me was screaming at me to stop this, I shouldn't want this, I shouldn't be loving this so much, but I was. I was loving his fingers digging into me, causing bruises; I was loving his teeth sinking into my neck, his groans vibrating against my skin; I was loving his length moving inside me, sliding so good against my g-spot. 

I wasn't under the love potion or any kind of Stockholm Syndrome, yet I was willingly having sex with my worst enemy. So why wasn't I feeling ashamed or resisting anymore? The moans were pouring out of my mouth, I was biting my lip, angling my hips into his, scratching down his back - maybe it was the fact that it was so wrong that made it so hot for me; the feeling of so wrong, it was right. 

But of course it wasn't right. I hated him. He was evil. 

But his face was so handsome, his body so toned, and his dick so good. I tried resisting, but he was so irresistible. It was fine for one last time, right? We'd fuck, then we'd go back to bed, then I'd sneak out and get the cup, and leave. 

Riddle thrust extra hard into me, and I yelped. His teeth sank into my neck again and again, and he sucked so hard that I knew he'd drawn blood. Out of nowhere, his little knife appeared in one of his hands, and it was digging into my chest; I cried out, my core tightening around him as he carved another heart into my skin. 

What was wrong with me? There must be something seriously wrong - I was approaching my high, my high with RIDDLE of all people, all because he was cutting hearts into my skin, stretching out my hole, groaning so low and deep into my ear - no, no, no, I shouldn't be liking this, I should be running; but instead my body ignored me, clenching around his length - 

Riddle throbbed inside me, and it nearly tipped me over the edge. He opened his eyes, glaring deep into mine as he rutted against me. 

"You have been a very naughty girl, Daisy." 

"W-what?" I breathed weakly. 

"I know what you did." Riddle purred. "You went running to your little friend again. The Amortentia does not work on you any more, does it?" 

"I - I -" My chest was bursting in terror, but my core was still lit up in pleasure. In fact, I felt myself get a little wetter at Riddle's seductive yet dangerous tone. 

He thrust harshly into me. "I saw you leaving earlier. I know where you have been. You have been with Boot. You are no longer on my side. You are planning to escape. Are you not?" 

My mind was screaming at me to wrench free of him and run, but my body was begging me for more Riddle. 

"Y-yes!" I cried out, panting as he slammed into me again and again. 

Riddle's eyes burned into me. "I am going to have to teach you a lesson then, aren't I, Daisy? I am going to have to punish you for your disobedience." 

"Mmm..." I moaned against my will. 

"Bad girls need to be disciplined." Riddle purred softly into my ear. "And you are not running from me, Daisy. You will never escape me..." 

Riddle throbbed again; I felt his warmth exploding inside me, and in turn I came around him, moaning his last name breathily, scratching his back harshly as I arched mine, and I spent several long moments in bliss, my eyes rolling back in my head. 

When I came down from my high, I was aware that Riddle was smirking down at me, still inside me. I felt dirty, guilty; I scrabbled at him, sliding away from him, and sprinted across the room on shaky legs, all too aware of what I had just done. 

The horror inside me at my betrayal to literally everyone I knew was no match to the terror I felt as Riddle pointed his wand at me. I fumbled for my own wand and raised it, yelling, "Protego!" His Cruciatus Curse bounced off my Shield Charm, shattering the window; I stumbled backwards, my heart pounding in time to the blood pulsing out of my heart-shaped cut. I cringed as I felt Riddle's fluids trickling down my thighs, and his smirk grew wider as he stared mesmerisingly into my eyes, his gaze dropping to my crotch a moment later; I knew he'd just caught a glimpse of what I was feeling, and the shame inside me grew. 

"You cannot run from me, Daisy..." Riddle said softly, and as the second Cruciatus Curse shot out from his wand, making a distracted me collapse against the door, I knew it was true... 

~~~

"I have called the whole school down here." Riddle told me with a hint of cruel excitement in his voice. "A perfect demonstration of what happens to troublemakers and rebels in this school, right before breakfast. Do you think they will appreciate it?" 

He looked down at me, a little smirk curling at the corner of his mouth, as if expecting an answer that I couldn't give. I glared up at him. 

Fuck you, I thought as hard as I could as I stared into his eyes. Fuck. You. 

Riddle's lips curled even more. I tried to intensify my glare, but it was hard to do under the cloth that was tied tight into my mouth, gagging me. I wriggled my wrists against my bindings, but the ropes burned against my skin. My knees were probably bruising against the stone floor of the Great Hall, as I knelt before the staff table. 

"Ah, here they are." Riddle and I watched as the students streamed silently into the Great Hall, marching towards their House tables. Silently, until their eyes caught sight of me, and then they all, wide-eyed and pale, started whispering like a wind through forest. I watched as Riddle's eyes moved around the room, gleaming with pleasure, and I felt my chest sink even more with shame for what I'd done just an hour before. 

"You are all here this morning," Riddle said clearly across the hall, his voice high and cold, and I could see the shock on the faces of the students; he'd never addressed them directly before, "to witness what happens to students who defy me in this school. Miss Potter here has been identified as the ringleader of a forbidden student organisation called Dumbledore's Army, and will be punished accordingly." 

I blinked in shock as I spotted Terry in the crowd. He was hiding slightly behind Anthony and Michael, his face white as he stared back up at me. 

"Watch and take into account that this may be you next if you defy me." Riddle said, then turned to me. His scarlet eyes glinted, and he raised his wand. "Crucio!" 

I fell back onto the stone floor, screaming into my gag and writhing. Pain like I'd never felt before wracked my body, and I shuddered as what felt like ten thousand bolts of electricity shot through me. 

"Terribly sorry, Daisy," Riddle's very non-apologetic voice came through the blood pounding in my ears, as the pain stopped, "I forgot to take these off. Maybe we will hear your screams better if you are not restricted." 

I could hear the Carrows' mean laughter in the background as Riddle bent down, tugging the gag down around my neck, and made a single movement with his wand; I felt the ropes binding my wrists fall off. I shook my hands out, flexing them and wincing in pain. 

"Miss Potter was not exactly cooperative on the way up here." Riddle informed the students, and I caught sight of Spieler grinning appreciatively at Riddle. Ew. Why doesn't he just suck Riddle off, while he's at it? "So I had to bind her. To make sure she behaved until you all arrived. Crucio!" 

I collapsed back onto the ground, screaming and shuddering and hurting so bad that I was aware of nothing else. My throat was raw and stinging from the forcefulness of my screams, and my hands were clawing at the ground, my back arching as I buried my forehead against the stone floor, my eyes clenched shut but tears still escaping from them. 

The pain stopped again. I rolled over onto my back, panting, and glared up at the smirking Riddle. "F-fuck you." 

Riddle's smirk grew wider. "Now, that is no way to talk to your superiors, Miss Potter. That is indeed very rude. I do not think you have learned your lesson at all; Crucio!" 

Again and again I fell onto the floor; again and again I writhed and screamed and jerked in pain - until a commotion was heard through my yells, and the pain suddenly stopped. I glanced up; Riddle's smirk had vanished; I whipped my head around; Floppy was sprinting from the Slytherin table towards me, his eyes back to their normal grey, but something was different, something had changed; the grey was softer than I'd ever seen it in all my years of knowing Floppy, as if there was a different person behind it - 

"Potter!" Floppy yelled, and I noticed with a jolt that he was clutching my Firebolt in his hands; then it had been thrown into the air as Riddle aimed a curse at him; I caught the broom deftly, laughing wildly as I couldn't believe my luck - Riddle turned, furious, aiming a curse at me, too, but it was too late - I was zooming through the air towards Terry, reaching out a hand; he took it, I yanked him up as I passed Anthony, and Terry clung onto me, swinging a leg over the broom behind me, ducking as another curse shot over our heads, then three more just about missing us as I swerved. 

"Where the fuck did Floppy get Riddle's Firebolt from?!" Terry laughed hysterically as I took us out of the double doors and through the Entrance Hall, hearing Riddle's furious shouts behind us and dodging yet more red bolts of light. 

"I don't fucking know!" I yelled back, diving under the entrance to the castle and swerving us back upward as we emerged out into open air. It was still dark, and it was snowing, but the sun was rising behind the thick clouds, showing a slight yellow glow over the horizon; I spluttered as a snowflake landed in my mouth, and directed my broom around to scan the windows of the castle. 

"What are you doing?" Terry quizzed, panting, and I shook my head, focusing on the windows... there. I leant forward over my broom, urging it forward, and we shot towards the smashed window of Riddle's quarters. I reached my arm in, scrabbling my hand around the various ornaments on the shelf beyond, scratching my arm painfully on the jagged glass sticking up from the windowpane, but I got it - curling my fingers around a handle of the cup, I yanked it out and turned the broom immediately, flying us straight towards Hogsmeade. 

"Hold on!" Terry cried. He turned back towards the castle, and I clenched the broom in between my thighs, wincing as the cuts on my forearm started to sting badly. "Accio briefcase marked with a 'B'!" 

"What the..." I muttered to myself as a small briefcase burst from a window in a tower up above; it zoomed towards Terry, who caught it with a shout of glee. 

"Go, Softpaw, go!" My best friend yelled, and we both bent low, me over the broom, him over my back. With our combined efforts, we zoomed into the village of Hogsmeade, crash-landing in the middle of the main street. We stumbled up from the ground, reaching out for each other; someone came running at us from the end of the street, and I fumbled for my wand, which Riddle had let me keep in my pocket due to his extreme cockiness and arrogance, but it was only Kylie; she slammed into us, and we all took each other's hands, turning on our heels - 

CRACK. 

We were standing in the middle of the snow-covered green in the centre of the houses of Grimmauld Place. The sky above was a dark grey, but deep orange and yellow were glowing over the tops of the houses as the sun rose, both the glow of the sun and the glow of the streetlamps lighting up the snowflakes falling thickly on us. 

"We did it!" I exclaimed breathlessly, throwing my arms up. 

"Was aiming for the front door, but close enough." Terry muttered. 

"Yeah, there's no one around." Kylie panted, glancing around. 

The front door of number twelve opened. I glanced down at myself, tugging the Slytherin cardigan tighter around myself; I was freezing. I was also aware of how I looked; in my pyjamas, with Blaise's cardigan thrown over the top, my chest bleeding through my pyjama top, a gag around my neck, bleeding hickeys visible underneath it, my hair all messed up and tear tracks down my face, my arms all cut up and bloody, my wrists rope-burned, my knees bruised... but my twin brother, godfather, and other best friend didn't seem to mind as they flew out of the house towards me, their faces ecstatic. 

"Holy fucking shit! Softpaw!" George yelled. 

"Daze! Daze! Is that really you?" Harry shouted, laughing wildly. 

"Sweetheart, oh, sweetheart -!" Sirius was almost crying. 

Harry flew into me first, squeezing me so tight I couldn't breathe. I dropped the cup; I wobbled on my feet, fresh tears making their way down my face as I hugged Harry back. 

"I missed you so much." My brother murmured into my ear, stroking my hair. I sobbed into his shoulder, tightening my grip on him. Then Sirius joined us, hugging both me and Harry to him tightly. The three of us sobbed together, grabbing at each other, each of us repeating how much we missed each other. 

Eventually, we all pulled apart, Harry and Sirius wiping their faces and staring down at me. Confusion and concern crossed their faces as they took in my appearance, but I turned to George, who opened his arms, beaming through his own tears. Ron and Hermione were approaching behind him, looking both shocked and relieved at the same time, and I buried my face in George's chest as he squeezed me into him. 

"We really did miss you, Softpaw..." George said, kissing my forehead. 

I beamed up at him, giving him another squeeze around the waist. "Where's..." 

Then I saw him. Fred was standing in the doorway of number twelve, hair all messed up, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in weeks... but it all seemed to melt away as his eyes made contact with mine, his face brightening instantly like the sun coming up over the horizon, his frown turning into a smile so wide and handsome that it made my heart flutter. 

As if in slow motion, I peeled myself from George's arms; Fred descended the steps slow at first, then broke into a run. I sprinted over the snow towards him, propelling myself forward with such force that just before I reached him, I slipped and slid on the ice, falling right into his arms. 

Fred caught me, lifting me up into the air and spinning me around, bringing my face down to connect our lips. I moved my lips with his, laughing into each other's mouths as we spun, feeling weightless. Eventually, we lost balance, falling backwards into the snow. 

I lay on my side, facing Fred, who gazed back into my eyes. I rested my cheek on the soft blanket of snow beneath us as we giggled, our faces pink, our arms wrapped around each other, and I admired the little flecks of snow on Fred's fluffy ginger hair, on his eyelashes, on his nose... 

And Fred was beaming like I'd never seen him beam before. 

"This is the best Christmas present ever." He breathed. I giggled twice, happily, in disbelief at my fortune. And I kissed him again.