"Your secret's safe with me," I said, raising a hand like I was swearing an oath. "I won't snitch on you to the snorer."
She giggled quietly and shook her head, then tilted her head slightly as she looked me up and down. "What about you?" she asked. "You look... awake-awake. Not just 'couldn't fall back asleep' awake." She paused. "You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
I walked around the couch and dropped down into the spot next to her. The springs shifted slightly under our combined weight. I stretched my legs out and slouched back, hands resting on my thighs for a second while I thought about how honest I wanted to be.
"Yeah, I slept," I answered casually. "Just not for very long. I was up most of the night with one of my harem members." I said it bluntly on purpose.
Her cheeks exploded into deeper color almost instantly. Her eyes flicked down at my chest and then away again like her brain was trying to process that sentence and not quite sure what to do with it. She shifted where she sat, tugging her blanket up a little higher over her lap as if it could hide her reaction.
"O-Oh," she squeaked, pushing her glasses up her nose with two fingers. "Right. That would, um... explain it."
I shrugged. "At that point I figured, I'm already up, sun's not, might as well stay awake and start the day rather than try to steal another hour and feel worse afterwards."
She nodded slowly, then laughed quietly under her breath. "You're crazy," she said, but there was no judgment in her tone. "If I don't get at least seven hours, my brain stops working and I start mispronouncing my own name."
"I'm sure you're more resilient than you think. You're a brilliant beautiful witch after all," I told the girl who might have been my sister in another life.
She ducked her head at that, smiling down at the book still in her hands. Her fingers started fiddling with the edge of the blanket, twisting it absently.
There was a small, awkward pause. Not uncomfortable, just... hovering. Like she wanted to say something else but was debating it. Then she looked back up at me. Her expression was shy but determined. "If you're already awake," she said quietly, "and I'm already awake... maybe we could... take a walk? Around the castle?" She hesitated halfway through the sentence like she wasn't sure if she should finish it. "If you want, I mean. We don't have to. I just..." She gestured vaguely toward the window where the sky was still dark. "It's kind of nice being up before everyone else. It's quiet."
I pushed myself up from the couch. "Yeah," I said, giving her a small smile. "A walk sounds good."
Her whole face lit up. It was subtle-her smile didn't get huge, but it softened and brightened at the same time. Her shoulders relaxed, and some of that anxious energy dropped.
I made sure I didn't just vanish from the common room without leaving Lyra and Lyna a note. My beautiful twin pawn maids usually woke up around sunrise.
Lyra / Lyna,
I woke up early and went for a walk around the castle with Jasmine. I'm fine. Don't panic or start hunting for any assassins again. I'll be back before breakfast.
— Harry
Once that was done, I slipped out of the room, down through the common room, and linked up with Jasmine. We spent the next hour just...walking.
It was nice.
We didn't have a destination in mind. We just wandered. We went up flights of stairs and down them again, cut across quiet, empty corridors, and peeked into classrooms that were still dark and deserted. A couple of times, we ran into a suit of armor or a portrait that tried to start a conversation, but we ignored them and kept going. The castle always had something to say, it was rare to find someone who wanted to just listen to you instead.
Outside, the air had that specific early-morning chill that October liked to bring. The sky was that deep, pre-dawn blue that hadn't quite decided if it wanted to be night or day yet. The grounds were mostly empty. Hagrid's hut had a faint candlelight glow inside, and the lake was calm and flat, reflecting a darker version of the sky.
Jasmine walked close to me the whole time. Not clinging like Fleur and Gabrielle did, but close enough that her sleeve brushed mine every couple of seconds. Sometimes our shoulders bumped lightly as we walked, and every time they did, she would look down at the ground and smile in that shy way of hers.
She talked a lot about her mother. Once she got going, it all came pouring out.
Step by step, we moved along the edge of the courtyard, then down toward the stone bridge, and she told me everything. How her mum had always tried to balance being strict and being kind. How she checked Jasmine's essays three times and still told her they were "good but could be better."
"I know she only does it because she loves me," Jasmine said, tugging her blanket tighter around herself as we cut along the side path toward the greenhouses. Her voice had that soft, fond tone people used when they were complaining and bragging at the same time. "But sometimes I feel like I'm disappointing her even when I'm not. Like if I'm not the absolute best at something, she thinks I'm not trying hard enough. She always brings up her best friend Lily Evans-she called her the smartest witch she ever knew, but I'm not a fan of always being compared to her. Especially since mom betrayed her best friend and fucked Lily's fiance..." Jasmine trailed off and then winced. "...Sorry," she finished.
I just shook my head and chuckled. "Honestly, it's fine. You know I don't care about any of that." We passed under a stone arch and started circling back toward the main courtyard. I watched our breath come out in pale puffs in front of us. I started telling her about my own living mum Serafall.
I kept the really lewd Serafall stories to myself, obviously.
By the time we finally circled back to one of the inner courtyards, the horizon was starting to lighten. The sky had shifted from inky blue to something paler, streaked with faint hints of purple and orange. The chilly October air nipped at our faces and hands, but the castle walls shielded us a little from the wind.
We found a stone bench tucked against one side of the courtyard, beneath a window with long, narrow panes. I sat down first, the cold stone biting through my trousers immediately. Jasmine hesitated for half a second, then sat down right next to me. Not a polite gap away-right next to me. Our thighs touched.
The cold made itself known in the next thirty seconds. I could feel Jasmine shiver once, then again. She tugged the blanket she'd brought around her shoulders, but her fingers looked pale at the tips, and I could see goosebumps forming along the side of her neck and just under the collar of her uniform.
Without overthinking it, I lifted my right arm and set it very deliberately across the back of the bench behind her. Then I slid it down and around her, pulling her gently but firmly into my side.
She stiffened for a split second, surprised, and then melted into me like she'd been waiting for exactly that. She tucked herself in, folding her legs up a little and leaning her weight fully against me. Her head rested just below my shoulder, beside my chest, and I could feel the faint, steady rise and fall of her breathing against my ribs.
"Better?" I asked.
"Yes," she said quietly, almost on an exhale. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and from being this close. "Much."
I let my hand rest on her upper arm, fingers spread lightly over the fabric of her robe. I didn't grope, didn't wander. I just held her and let the Sitri warmth bleed into her. Devils ran hotter than humans by default, and I didn't mind using that as an excuse.
For a few minutes, we just sat there like that. Jasmine didn't talk. She stared straight ahead at the open courtyard as the sky slowly brightened, eyes half-lidded behind her glasses. I could feel her relaxing more with each passing minute, tension seeping out of her shoulders as the chill eased and the quiet morning wrapped around us.
Footsteps crunched softly on the gravel path behind the bench.
It wasn't the heavy stride of a professor or the shuffling drag of a tired first-year. It was light, confident, and steady-someone who was fully awake and not freezing to death.
I turned my head over my shoulder toward the sound.
Lilja was walking toward us from one of the archways, framed by the soft, early morning light. The sun wasn't fully over the horizon yet, but there was enough glow to catch the edges of her hair. Every strand of that vibrant red caught a bit of the light and seemed to burn like actual embers. She wore her Hogwarts uniform-Slytherin colors, neat and crisp-and somehow managed to make it look like expensive formalwear. Her robe fit her perfectly, the black fabric hugging her hips and chest in just the right ways. Her emerald-green tie matched her eyes almost exactly.
She spotted me immediately. Her lips curved up into a warm smile that softened her whole face. Her eyes flicked briefly down to where Jasmine was tucked against me, and then back up again.
Jasmine noticed her footsteps too. I felt Jasmine stiffen very slightly at my side, the way a cat does when someone new walks into the room. She didn't move away from me, but her fingers tightened on the blanket in her lap. The corner of her mouth dipped into the smallest little pout.
"Good morning," Lilja said as she stopped a few steps in front of the bench. Her voice was calm and even, but there was a little pleased lilt to it when she looked at me. "You're up early, Harry."
"Morning," I said, smiling back at her. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep much. Figured I'd make the most of it. Jasmine had the same idea."
Lilja's gaze shifted fully to Jasmine now, taking her in. I watched the way she studied her-step by step, detail by detail. Messy brown hair, slightly crooked glasses, blanket pulled around her shoulders, pressed firmly into my side. It wasn't a hostile look.
It was more like an evaluation. Who are you, and how much do you matter to him?
"And who is this?" Lilja asked, tilting her head slightly. Her tone was polite and curious, but I didn't miss the way her eyes sharpened just a fraction.
Jasmine reacted instantly. She straightened up a bit against me but didn't actually pull away. Her shoulder was still firmly pressed against my ribs, and I left my arm where it was around her. She cleared her throat, and when she spoke, her words came out a little too fast, like she was trying very hard to sound casual and not at all threatened.
"I'm Jasmine McKinnon," she said. "I'm in Gryffindor. Fifth year." She pushed her glasses up with one finger and added quickly, "And I'm a FRIEND of Harry's." The "friend" part came out a tiny bit too loud.
That little extra emphasis made my mouth twitch with a grin.
Lilja's eyes flicked between us once, and then her gaze sharpened. "McKinnon...?" she repeated quietly. Her voice went softer for half a heartbeat, like the name knocked something loose inside her. Then her eyes widened. "Is your mother Marlene McKinnon?"
The way she said Marlene's name made both Jasmine and me freeze.
It wasn't some random "oh, I've heard that name before" tone. It was personal. Familiar. Lilja sounded like someone had just yanked her straight back into a memory she hadn't expected to confront.
Jasmine stiffened against me and sat up straighter, blanket shifting in her lap. "Do you... know my mum?" she asked carefully. Her fingers tightened on the wool. "Like... know her, know her?"
I turned my head and looked at Lilja too, properly now. Her emerald eyes weren't distant-they were focused and sharp, but there was something else in them. Nostalgia? Pain? Guilt? It was a weird mix, and it didn't match any of the polite Slytherin transfer-student masks she'd been wearing so far.
How the hell did a Valkyrie from Asgard know Jasmine's mom, of all people? I guess Marlene was a member of the Dumbledore's order of the Phoenix, but if the Norse had been part of that, Voldemort would have been slapped before his evil regime could have gotten off the ground.
Lilja's mouth opened, then snapped shut again. She actually sputtered for a second, which was honestly kind of adorable for a woman normally so composed. Her gaze dropped to the stone beneath our feet, jaw clenching once as she visibly fought with herself. "That's... not important right now," she said finally, shaking her head a fraction too fast. "It's... complicated."
That wasn't an answer. Not even close. And the way she dodged it just made me more suspicious.
"If you say so," Jasmine replied. Her tone was light, but the defensive edge underneath was obvious. She adjusted her glasses with two fingers and glanced between me and Lilja like she'd suddenly remembered her position on the bench and how close she still was to me. "I should probably head back to the common room," she said after a beat. "Make sure Lavender and Parvati actually wake up in time for breakfast. If they miss another morning, McGonagall's going to lecture all three of us just on principle." She shifted like she was about to stand, then hesitated. I watched the indecision flicker across her face-eyes dropping to my shoulder, then to Lilja, then back again.
Then she went for it. Jasmine leaned up, turned her head, and pressed a quick but unmistakable kiss to my cheek.
Right there. Right in front of Lilja.
Her lips were soft and warm, and I felt the heat shoot straight up into my ear. By the time she pulled back, her cheeks were bright pink, but her eyes were smug as hell.
"See you later, Harry," she said, much more confidently now. Her smile turned just a little wicked as she flicked a glance at Lilja, like she was very deliberately staking her tiny little Gryffindor flag in me. Then she gathered her blanket around her shoulders, hopped off the bench, and scampered back toward the castle.
I watched her go, amused and a little impressed, then turned back just in time to catch Lilja's expression.
She looked... flustered.
She was staring at the spot on my cheek Jasmine had kissed like it had personally insulted her. "She's James Potter's daughter as well, isn't she?" Lilja asked suddenly. Her voice was soft, but there was that same loaded tone she'd used with Marlene's name.
I frowned at that. She knew James's name too? Then again, a lot of people thought he was the "father of the boy-who-lived" for almost two decades at this point.
"Yeah," I said slowly.
Lilja's eyes shuttered for half a second. Something tight flashed in her gaze-guilt again, maybe-but it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. "I see," she murmured. "Is that so..." Her voice went distant on the last part, like she'd slipped halfway into some old memory again. Then she gave a tiny shake of her head, pushing it away. "Never mind. Don't worry about it."
