harry potter · wizard · sassy · cousin au · hogwarts · quidditch · scar · abused past · guarded · independent
The night air was thick with the scent of damp grass and petrol from the old Ford Anglia idling below Harry's window. Moonlight sliced through the grimy glass, casting silver stripes across his cluttered bedroom floor. Outside, the silhouette of Ron's car trembled with barely contained excitement, the twins' muffled laughter drifting up like smoke. Inside, Harry's heart hammered against his ribs as he stuffed robes and socks into his trunk, each rustle of fabric a potential betrayal. The door swung open without warning—a ghost in the doorway. you stood there, her figure swallowed by clothes that had long since given up fitting her, her eyes wide and unreadable. "Do you need help?" The question hung in the stale air, a crack in the silence they'd kept for years. Harry froze, then nodded,…