gnarly-words

[gnarly-words]

who we became

pairing: bellamy blake x kane!reader

description: you went down to earth to find the man you loved, only to find the cruel unknown world had changed him.

warnings: violence/gunshots, blood and injuries, emotional distress, brief mention of death

word count: 2.5k

you clung to the wall behind you for dear life as the ark shook around you, the room going dark every few seconds as the systems tried to fight against shutting down. your father placed his hand on top of yours, gripping it tightly. the room suddenly stopped shaking for a second, relief filling you as you could relax for a second.light started to flood through the windows, the blue of the ozone layer catching your eyes and bringing a smile to your face as you saw the green of land.

"i wouldn't look too happy. we've still got to get through the atmosphere." kane remind you, making you immediately grabbed back onto the tarp behind you.

almost on cue, the room was once again tossed into darkness, shaking so violently that you swore you threw up a little in your mouth. screams sounded as the walls began to creak and groan.

"everyone brace! this is gonna be a rocky landing!" abby griffin shouted from the other side of the room, ducking her head and holding on tighter than she had before.

"dad. if we don't make it. i love you." you gulped, reaching over quickly to grab his hand tightly as he had done before.

"i love you too, peanut." your dad smiled over at you, the last image he saw before everything went fully black and the ark came to a screeching halt as it crashed into the earth.

it didn't stop instantly, skidding across the ground before the ship stopped with a jarring halt. coughs could be heard as people could finally relax and breath. you could feel blood pouring from the back of your head smashing into the wall.

"is everyone okay?" kane shouted out, earning a few gruff affirmations. "we need to get out of here quickly. we don't know what damage that re-entry has done to the stability of the ship."

"kane's right. everyone needs to get out and onto the ground now." abby nodded, already helping people up from the floor.

you stumbled to the ground as you stood up too quickly, your legs like jelly underneath you. The constant tension of all of your muscles from fear had fatigued your body to the point of near exhaustion.

a small voice you recognized could be heard from abby's ear, reminding her of the man that had been left behind on the ring.

"is that jaha?" you asked, holding yourself up against the wall.

abby only nodded. "mecca station is on the ground. repeat. mecca station is on the ground."

"you okay, y/n/n?" kane assessed you over, pausing as he spotted the blood coming from the back of your head. "you're bleeding. here, put this on it till we can get a med bay set up."

you grimaced as you placed the rag onto the back of your head, already knowing it was not a good idea but following your father's advise anyways. you followed abby and your father out into the corridor and up to a top hatch, wincing as the light flooded into the room. abby was the first out, followed by your father, before he was reaching back to pull you up as well.

you couldn't help the gasp that left your mouth as you stepped out into the open air. it was everything you could've imagined and more. the air was so fresh, the sky so clear. the sun was radiating onto your skin, a warmth you had never felt whilst on the ark.

"abby, look." your father nodded towards the mountain range, a small billow of smoke catching their attention.

"there's smoke in the distance. it might be another station." abby relayed back to jaha in her ear. "we'll check it out."

you turned you head away from the smoke and back towards the body of water that was in front of them. you'd never seen so much water in your life, it was probably enough to sustain the entirety of the ark and more for weeks.it looked so fresh. All you wanted to do was run into it and never look back.

"y/n. we should go and help everyone out. maybe have someone look at that cut." your dad nodded to her head, peeling the rag away from her head with a grimace. "i think it's gonna need stitches. sorry, kiddo."

"it's okay, dad. we're on the ground. nothing else matters." you smiled, following him back down the hatch, closing it as you watched the light slowly fade.

alright. rescue team, you're with me," kane shouts, walking out towards the woods. he stopped as he noticed you hiding at the back of the pack. "y/n kane. what do you think you're doing?"

"if all 100 of them are still alive, you're gonna need more than just abby to assist. they've been on the ground for weeks. they're bound to need medical assistance." you gulp, lying about the real reason you want to go with the group.

"fine. but you'll need to stay by abby the entire time." kane nods to abby. "don't let her out of your sight, got it?"

abby only nods, walking up beside you to continue the walk beside the only other medic in the group. you fear what you'll find when you reach the dropship. are there even going to be any survivors? they'd said earth was survivable. but for how long?

"he's gonna be okay, liv. they all will be." abby nudges you, smiling as you leave the perimeter that has been set up around the remains of alpha station.

you continue for hours through the forest, the tall trees towering above you, higher than you thought possible. the sounds of birds chirping scare you at first before they become like the background noise of the humming on the ark. there are little signs of the survivors the further you travel, not even a scrap of clothing or metal from the dropship.

"are we sure we're going the right way?" someone voices the thought that has been floating around the entire group.

"if this map is correct, then yes." sinclair turns back to the man, an unimpressed look on his face.

the group comes to a halt as you hear a struggle nearby, crouching to the ground behind some bushes. kane raises from his crouch with his gun poised, motioning for the others to follow suit. you stay crouched behind a tree, not prepared to see what is going to happen once your father pulls the trigger.

two separate voices call out a battle cry, silenced as a single gunshot sounds, followed by another. no one makes a noise for fear you have attracted others. kane slowly moves forward, his gun still poised and ready to fire. a few others follow slowly, their weapons aimed towards the trees that surround you.

abby holds you back, stopping you from moving further with a shake of her head. the others without any weapons stay crouched behind the tree as kane and the guards assess the area for other attackers.

"we're here now," kane speaks softly to the group, lowering his weapon as he recognizes the faces of the delinquents. "everything's gonna be okay."

kane walks toward the body of the man he'd just shot, flipping him and pulling back with a grimace at the gaping hole in his head from the bullet. he kicks the body over once more to land on his face before signaling for the others to follow through.

you and abby are the last to move, pushing through the trees with a gasp. four figures stand before you, cowering backward as the group grows nearer, their feeble weapons of scraps of metal quivering in their hands.

you move closer to the delinquents, praying that one is wells, clarke, or even bellamy. you feel a wave of joy run through you as you spot the bloodied figure of your boyfriend hunched beside the body. you can't stop yourself before you're running and launching yourself at him. he catches you with a cautious grip.

"y/n/n?" bellamy whispers, pulling away to confirm it's you. "oh my god. i can't believe you're here. you made it."

"hi, bel." you pull back to look at him, gasping as you finally notice the cuts and bruises littering his face and the way he's cradling his stomach with one arm. "abby! give me the med pack!"

abby rushes over with the bag but stops as bellamy shakes his hands at her and turns to the figure beside him. "i'm fine. we need to get back to the dropship."

"where's clarke?" abby looks around for her daughter, not recognizing her within the small group. "is she alright?"

"she was when we left." the unknown, other bloodied figure says from beside bellamy. "we'll take you to her."

the long-haired boy starts to walk further into the woods, bellamy struggling to follow even while leaning on you. you can hear his ragged breathing with each step he takes and become worried he has a broken rib or two. you don't get far before kane stops you, taking leadership once again of the group.

"wait. sinclair!" your father calls out to his newly appointed second-hand man. "we're splitting up. one guard detail comes with me to the dropship. everyone else here goes with you to alpha station. you have the coordinates. we'll follow as soon as we can."

"yes, sir." sinclair nods, turning to leave before he is pulled closer to have something whispered in his ear.

"how many?" you turn to the boys. "how many have survived?"

"last i checked it was 80 something." bellamy gruffs out, wincing as he breathes in too heavily.

"and clarke? she's definitely still alive?" you have to be sure. there is no way you're going to get your and abby's hopes up for nothing.

"she's alive. i promise, y/n/n." bellamy smiles down at you, pressing a small kiss to the top of your head. he pauses as he notices the dried blood on the back of your head. "you're bleeding. what happened?"

"small bump from landing. it's nothing compared to you two." you try to grin reassuringly but give up as you spot the worry in his eyes. "it doesn't even hurt, bel. i'll have abby look at it as soon as we get back to camp, yeah?"

bellamy only nods, turning his attention back to kane as he walks past and begins trying to lead the group in the right direction. "you seven with me. you two lead the way."

the dropship finally comes into sight, metal scraps lying all across the forest floor. the group crouches again at what you assume is the edge of their camp. bodies litter the trees and the floor, their blood still fresh from the previous battle.

"it's too quiet." bellamy shakes his head, lurching forward to find his people. he's stopped by a hand to the shoulder from kane, your father shaking his head.

"we'll take it from here. banks, scalon, you stay with them." kane nods to the two delinquents and to you. "y/n, you stay with them as well. try to clean up their wounds. we'll signal once we're sure it's safe."

you only sigh as you watch your father and the guards creep further away until they're out of sight. you grab the med bag that abby left behind for you, already pulling out wipes to try to clean up the two boys' faces of blood.

"this is definitely going to sting." you give bellamy no other warning before covering his mouth and pressing hard against his cheek with the antiseptic.

he struggles away from you, feeling like you're cutting his face open again as you press harder into his skin. "liv, we don't have time for this. our people could need this more."

"you're hurt, bel. i'm not just going to sit here and do nothing." you crease your eyebrows together, realizing your once sweet boyfriend has been hardened by earth. "at least let me get rid of the blood."

bellamy only sighs, nodding as you continue wiping his face, staying clear of the cuts this time. his face looks almost new besides the scrapes across his skin, something that makes your anxiety calm slightly as you can finally see the extent of the damage. you turn to the boy beside him, quirking your eyebrow as if to ask if he wants the same.

"i'm good. think a little trip to the river will be fine for me." he chuckles before extending his hand to you. "i'm finn. don't think we've met."

"i'm y/n. and no, i don't think we have. i usually didn't stray far from the medic station or alpha so you probably didn't see much of me if you weren't from there." you smile, shaking his hand. "what happened to all of them? those of us outside of the council weren't told much about what was going on down here. wasn't even allowed in to talk to bell when the video system was running."

"grounders. people managed to survive down here this whole time. they weren't happy about us crashing into their land and declared war on us." finn sighs.

"we need a stretcher!" someone shouts from the dropship, alerting both boys who spring up and start to run toward it.

they're stopped before they can make it far, sharing a look that scares you. you can't stop them fast enough before they're sprinting in the direction they came from. you have no option but to follow, diving into the hole in the hedge behind them.

you crawl through until you can see daylight again, reaching out to pull yourself free. a gasp leaves your lips and you gag slightly at the sight before you. bodies upon bodies burnt to a crisp stare back at you. "what happened here?"

"where is everyone?" finn asks, ignoring you.

kane appears from inside the dropship, half carrying a limping boy who is groaning and complaining. "it was awful. there were hundreds of them. if it wasn't for raven, i don't know what would have happened."

you can already see anger filling both boys' bodies at the sight of the newcomer. bellamy approaches the pair in disbelief. the boy has fear in his eyes as he sees bellamy come closer. "bellamy, you're uh- you're alive."

bellamy yells out in answer before slamming his body into the boy and sending them both tumbling to the ground. "you murdering son of a bitch!"

he rains down punch after punch on the boy, and you watch in disbelief at what your loving boyfriend is doing. kane nods to the guard behind him, who approaches with a metal baton. the attack is short-lived as the guard shocks bellamy with the rod and knocks him off. kane stares down at the boy he once allowed to date you in disgust.

"place him under arrest." kane turns away, not wanting to see bellamy struggle further.

you can't watch anymore either, turning your back on him and walking back toward where you came from. you can't help but imagine all the horrible things that must have happened here to make someone so gentle turn so aggressive and violent. you can hear finn trying to excuse his actions, but it all falls deaf to your ears. you watch bellamy being dragged away from the dropship with a sigh. how had everything gone so wrong so quickly?

[gnarly-words]

things we don't say

pairing: george weasley x fem!reader

description: after being together for three years, you'd think you and george would know everything about each other.

warning: established relationship, mentions of sex, pregnancy, vomiting, swearing

word count: 5.5k

april, 1995

you knew the twins were up to something after weeks of whispering in between meals and classes. they hadn't even done any of their usual pranks for an entire week, scaring most professors with what the weasley twins could be plotting.

the great hall was in chaos as you walked past, fireworks spiraling each which way. professor umbridge was being chased down the main aisle by a giant dragon shaped firework, the fifth years that were taking their owls doubling over in laughter. two bodies flew above the chaos, a streak of fireworks following behind their broomsticks. they lead the crowds out into the courtyard, shooting one final explosion of fireworks above them.

you stood frozen at the edge of the crowd, your heart in your throat as you watched the twins cheer on the roaring students. fred and george were sailing off, having staged the most glorious departure hogwarts had ever seen. and he didn't even tell you. you'd spent that very morning discussing your next hogsmeade trip over breakfast, having begged fred to let you and george finally have some alone time.

he caught your eye as they did one final swoop over the crowd, giving you a cheeky wink and smirk. you couldn't give him the same energy back, the shock of their departure still present on your face. you wished you hadn't waited so long to go to madam pomfrey, or to work up the courage to tell someone your fears. maybe the twins wouldn't have left so soon and would be there for you to lean on.

your vision grew blurry as tears welled up in your eyes. you walked away before anyone could see, wiping your face and walking straight back to the common room. your bed was still in the state of disarray that you'd left it earlier that morning when you'd ran to the bathroom to vomit. your half written letter to your parents was abandoned on your dresser, where it would remain for another week.

you barely left your bed for the rest of the day, katie only trying once to get you to come down for dinner before she gave up at the quiet sobs she could hear through your curtains. your other dorm mates weren't brave enough to try and bother you, remembering your outburst when they'd tried to wake you up early to sneak out and watch the sunrise during the winter break.

you slipped the small vial from your pocket, glaring as it glowed at you mockingly. pomfrey's words as she handed you the vial repeated over and over in you head; "pink means positive, blue means negative."

you always hated pink.

the days seemed to drag after the twins' departure, umbridge's reign of terror just getting worse. more rules were put into place, the inquisitor squad gaining more power. the new status seemed to go straight to malfoy and co's heads. you couldn't count how many times you'd found them harassing some poor first years and getting them into detention with umbridge.

you felt powerless against them, not having the usual protection of the twins that gave you the confidence to confront the slytherin. malfoy knew this and took full advantage of your new vulnerability whenever you tried to help the younger students. your hands were marred with countless scars, words overlapping one another, unintelligible.

madam pomfrey grew more and more worried each time you'd visit to get a balm to heal the wounds. she was still the only person in the whole school to know of your secret, only keeping her promise of not telling mcgonagall as you'd agreed to visit her weekly for check ups. katie, alicia and angelina had started to grow suspicious after the third weekly check up, cornering you in the common room after you'd come back one day.

"are you sick?" angelina bluntly asked.

"n-no?" you almost asked back, still shocked by having been lifted off your feet and carried to the quiet corner by the three girls.

"then what the fuck is up?" katie crossed her arms, the youngest seeming to have the biggest reaction to your visits.

"it's nothing. just drop it." you looked down at your feet, knowing full well if you looked at the trio you'd break down and tell them everything.

"is it umbridge? i know you've been getting detention but not every week." alicia lent against the wall beside you, her tall stature making you curl in on yourself.

"we're worried, y/n." angelina's worried eyes made you crack, tears welling up in your eyes.

"oh god." katie was the first to pull you in for an embrace.

"look what you did." angelina shoved the brunette chaser.

"me? you were the one going all mama bear on her." alicia shoved the girl back, the two squabbling like siblings as they covered your shaking form still in katie's arms.

"uhh, katie? why are you trying to suffocate y/n?" ron's voice broke through the girl's attempts at comforting you, the three jumping back to reveal your sobbing form to your brother-in-law. "bloody hell. what did you do?"

he pulled you in for a tight embrace, his familiar scent bringing you a small bit of comfort that you'd missed since george had left. that familiar weasley scent of their mother's baking that seemed to cling to all of their clothes, like molly had magicked them so they would always have a part of home with them.

"i'm okay, ron." you sniffled, pulling away reluctantly from the boy. "i'm just emotional cause of my period."

"oh, okay. right." ron's cheeks blushed furiously, his ears almost going the same colour as his hair. "do you need anything?"

the boy looked over his shoulder, his eyes searching for harry or hermione so he could escape the awkward situation he'd put himself in. you chuckled at his attempts, pushing him towards where the other halves of his trio had walked into the common room.

"i'm fine, ron. go relax before hermione starts badgering you to study." you waved the ginger boy off, smiling as the curly haired girl did exactly as you said she would and dragged him over to an empty table to study.

you sighed as you turned back to your trio of friends, their worried eyes still staring through you. grabbing angelina's wrist, you began dragging her up towards your dorms. you prayed that the other two got the message and would follow you up, their footsteps falling heavy against the steps as they ran to catch up.

you fell heavily onto your bed with a sigh, pulling the still glowing vial out of your dresser and setting it down on your bed. the trio of girl stared down at it in confusion, reminding you that all three had dropped potions after nearly failing their owl exams.

"are we supposed to know why that's glowing?" alicia whispered not so quietly to katie, who shrugged whilst racking her brain for what the potion could be.

"is it a love potion?" angelina picked up the vial, twirling it between her fingers before shaking it. "i thought they were clear."

"it's not a love potion." you took the vial from her hands, setting it down in your lap.

"then what is it?" alicia asked softly, sitting down at the edge of your bed.

you started down at the pink glow, finger trembling as you fiddled with the remnants of the small label you'd ripped off. you couldn't look up at them. what would they think of you when they found out?

"madam pomfrey gave it to me. said it was easier than casting a charm, less magic exposure.” you shrugged, hoping you wouldn't have to say the words out loud.

“exposure to what? you're in a bloody school for witchcraft ad wizardry.” katie asked, blinking slowly and sharing an equally confused look with alicia.

"to the uh... to the baby." you mumbled, refusing to look them in the eye.

angelina's mouth dropped open slightly, her eyes bulging out of her head as she turned to look at the other two. their faces held looks of equal shock and disbelief, each looking to the others to be the first to speak.

"you don't have to say anything. i just needed to tell someone before it went too far." you sighed, falling back into your pillows.

the three girls continued to share confused looks, each trying to get the other to be the first to speak. angelina glared at the younger duo that had seemed to decide that she was picking the short straw.

"are you uhm... are you gonna keep it?" angelina winced as she spoke, not meaning for her words to come out so harshly.

"i have no fucking clue." you groaned, rolling over to plant your face in your pillow. "he doesn't even know."

"what?" the trio asked in unison, angelina ripping the pillow off of your face.

"how have you not told him? you tell each other everything. it's annoying." katie gagged jokingly as she thought of you and george's relationship.

"i only found out the day before he left." you mumbled, rolling onto your side to face your friends. "he didn't exactly give me much time to tell him."

"he's gonna freak when you tell him." alicia chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the bed in between the other two girls.

"if i tell him." you shrug, already plotting how you were going to hide this from everyone at hogwarts.

"how exactly would you do that, exactly? aren't you staying with him over the summer." angelina stared down at you, a concerned look on her face.

"shit." you sighed, dropping back into your pillows, wishing they would swallow you up and let you escape the situation you'd found yourself in.

july, 1995

the crowds of king's cross came into view as they train pulled into the station. you sighed as you spotted the crowd of ginger that had formed near your parents. it seemed you wouldn't be making a quick escape without at least saying hi to the weasley bunch. you followed katie off of the train, waving her off as she rushed to greet her own parents.

you grimaced as the twins waved enthusiastically as they spotted you approaching, fred pushing his brother forward to hug you first. the tall boy scooped you up into his arms, twirling you both around as he peppered light kisses into the crook of your neck. his kisses trailed up to your face, pressing one final firm kiss to your lips.

"hi, georgie." you giggled, finally setting your feet back onto the ground, trying and failing to pull away from him arms.

"oi. i haven't seen you in three months, you're not escaping me that easily, love." he pouted down at you, keeping his arms wrapped around your shoulders as he walked you over to your families.

"and who's fault is that?" you glared jokingly at him, giggling as his spare hand tickled your waist.

"y/n/n!" fred shoved his brother away from you, pulling you into an equally bone crushing hug.

"hi, freddie!" you gasped, pushing the boy away as his arms tightened around you.

"oi! let the girl breath!" george pushed his twin's arms away and bringing you back into his arms.

"you both let the girl breath." mrs weasley rolled her eyes, pushing her sons away from you to pull you into a warm hug. "y/n, dear. how are you?"

"i'm good, mrs weasley." you sighed, enjoying as much molly hug time as you could get.

"three years you've been dating my son. it's molly to you." she raised her eyebrow at you, smiling as she pushed you over to your parents.

you smiled as you parents pulled you into a group hug, your mother whispering in your ear, "did you still want to come back with us?"

you nodded against her shoulder, pulling away with a worried expression. she gave you a questioning look, knowing you'd been looking forward to your stay at the burrow since george had suggested it during the winter break.

"we forgot to say, y/n's coming with us to france for the summer. sorry we didn't tell you sooner, molly. i hope you didn't have too much planned for her stay." your mother pulled you into her side, sensing you needed her comfort in that moment.

"oh, that's alright. is everything okay, y/n, dear?" molly's gaze was piercing, her knowing

"y-yeah. i just wanted to spend some time with dad’s family. i haven't seen them in a while." you smiled awkwardly, trying your hardest to ignore the twins' confused looks.

your father spoke to the side with arthur, their conversation too quiet for you to hear but you heard the words "order" and "meetings" and knew better than to ask. your trio waved the weasleys off as you all reached the entrance of the platform, george stepping forward to wish you farewell. you fell behind your parents' steps walking to meet the boy.

"why didn't you tell me you weren't coming with us?" george pulled you into his arms, his confusion not seeming to out way his love and care for you.

"why didn't you tell me you were leaving early to open your shop?" you huffed, burying your face into his chest.

"touche." he chuckled, pulling away to look at your face. "are you okay?"

"what? of course i am, georgie." you smiled, confused where the boy was going with his question.

"ron mentioned something about you crying a lot right after we left." he caressed the side of your face gently, a worried look in his eyes.

"little tattle." you scoffed, knowing the youngest weasley boy was just trying to bed helpful but still resenting his kindness. "i'm fine, georgie. we're fine. i just missed you."

"you missed me?" a wide grin spread across the boy's face, a teasing look in his eyes. "you missed me like a sad little puppy, admit it.”

"george." you groaned, burying your head into his chest again to escape his teasing.

you couldn't stop smiling as you looked up at him. your smile faltered as you remembered the reason you wouldn't be spending the summer together. you knew you should tell him, it wasn't something that could be written in a letter. but looking up at his face, you couldn't break the happiness that was radiating off of him.

"i'll write you as often as i can." you smiled, kissing his cheek lightly.

"you'd better. remember, i'm not the one that failed their apparation exam." george teased, grinning as you rolled your eyes.

"whatever. i'll come visit you at the shop when i go to get my supplies." you smiled, leaning up onto your toes to press your lips together.

"y/n! hurry up! the portkey is almost open!" your father shouted for you, making the two of you jump apart.

you smiled awkwardly at your boyfriend, giving him one final hug before running to catch up with your parents. the pair were stood next to an umbrella, your mother already opening her arm to pull you into her side

"shit, my bags." you hissed, starting to rush to get your bag from the platform attendants.

"your father already had them sent ahead with kippey." your mother rolled her eyes, still not used to her husband's pureblooded tendencies that he'd been brought up with.

"she wanted to be useful as she's gonna be stuck at home for a month." your father scoffed at your mother, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "right, you ready, y/n?"

you nodded, placing your hand on the umbrella and waiting for the familiar twisting feeling. the world warped around you, your head feeling like it was being turned inside out. you landed softly in your back garden, stumbling as thew world stopped spinning.

your stomach churned as you tried to steady yourself, the feeling of your breakfast coming back up sending you running to the small stream at the bottom of the garden. you barely made it to the water before you were hunching over and heaving up the contents of your stomach. your head pounded as you curled up into a small ball beside the stream, your vision turning black as your parents raced to reach your slumped form.

the blinding lights was the first thing you saw as you peeled your eyes open. your parents were outside in the hallway, worriedly talking to a doctor outside. their eyes lit up as they saw your eyes groggily looking round the room, racing to open the door and reach your side. 

“mum?” you croaked, reaching for her hand as she landed at your side. 

“hi, sweetheart.” she smiled, tears in her eyes. 

“are we at st mungo’s?” you looked around, not recognising the room you were in. 

“we’re at the muggle hospital near ours.” your father smiled from your other side. “mrs anderson saw you collapse and called an ambulance.”

you nodded, remembering the elderly lady from next door often looking out for you whenever you’d run too close to the road or the stream. your parents shared a worried look over you, a silent conversation happening above you. 

“kiddo, the doctors ran some tests.” your father started, stopping as he didn’t know how to ask you the question they both wished to be answered. 

“did you know?” your mother beat him to punch, her eyes drifting from her lap to your stomach. 

“i’m sorry, mum. i’m so sorry.” tears formed in your eyes, a sob building in your throat as you felt the disappointed speech coming. 

“we’re not mad, sweetheart. we’re just worried.” you mother cradled your face gently, wiping the tears that had run down your face. 

“how long have you known?” your father sat on the edge of the bed, cradling your hand between both of his own larger ones. 

“since george left.” you mumbled, gripping their hands tightly.

“jesus, kiddo.” your father sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “does he know?”

“n-no. i didn’t know how to tell him and by the time i’d worked up the courage, he and fred were flying off.” you hiccuped as you spoke, all of the emotions you’d been bottling up bubbling to the surface at once. 

“okay, it’s okay. calm down, sweetheart. the doctor said you should avoid too much stress.” your mother pulled you into a hug, allowing you to sob into her shoulder. 

the doctor walked into the room as you were still in your mother’s arms, your sobbing quietening into silent tears sliding down your face. 

“hi, y/n. i’m dr. lee.” the doctor sat down in the free chair by your bed, a chart in hand. “we ran a few tests whilst you were unconscious. i’m sure your parents have told you the biggest surprise but we need to discuss a plan with you going forward.”

you nodded your head, pulling away from your mother to face the doctor directly. you could see the pity behind her eyes, a small reassuring smile breaking through the obvious emotions she was truly feeling. 

“we did an ultrasound and it looks like your about twenty one weeks along. it would put you at a due of around december twentieth.” dr lee read from the chart, her eyes briefly looking up at you. “everything looks good with baby and they are perfectly healthy for their age.”

you sighed slightly in relief, knowing full well that you had not been eating enough to sustain both yourself and the baby at hogwarts. katie had begun sneaking food out of the kitchens for you but you hadn’t wanted to burden her at almost three in the morning when you were craving pumpkin pasties. 

“your parents said you were on your way back from boarding school when you collapsed. is there anything that could’ve triggered it?” you shared a look with your parents, worried how to respond without revealing anything wizard related to the muggle doctor. 

“we live down a lot of country roads. y/n’s always had a bit of a weak stomach from motion sickness.” your mother smiled, only half lying as you did often have to keep your head out of the window if your father decided to drive home. 

“and have you been eating and drinking enough? we had to give you two iv bags.” dr. lee flipped through her chart once more. 

“we’ve had some end of year exams. i guess i might’ve skipped a few meals by accident to study.” you grimaced remembering that it was far more than a few, specifically breakfast almost every morning. 

“you’ll need to make sure your keeping your fluid and food intake up when you go back in september. you’ll find you’re going to be needing more fuel the further into your pregnancy you get.” dr. lee wrote something on a slip of paper, passing the slip to your father. “i’ve wrote you a prescription for all of the vitamins you need to start taking. we can schedule a follow up appointment when you leave at the front desk.”

dr. lee smiled at your family, standing and leaving the room with a small wave to you. your parents exchanged a look once more, your father sighing as he lost the mental battle they were having. 

“we want you to stay with us and finish your final year from home.” he sighed, already seeing the rage brewing behind your eyes. 

“why? madam pomfrey said she could set everything up so that i can finish the year.” you looked between your parents confused, realisation dawning on you as you remembered your father’s conversation with mr. weasley. “this isn’t just about the baby. this is about the death eaters isn’t it?”

"we'll talk more when we get home." your father sighed again, standing to get the discharge papers from the front desk. "i'll meet you out by the car."

you remained in silence, your eyes following as he left the room. your mother remained sat twiddling her thumbs, her eyes not meeting your own.

"is dad mad at me?" your lip wobbled once more, the tears already flowing before you could stop them, internally cursing the new surplus of hormones coursing through your body.

"i think it's just a lot right now, sweetheart. the ministry has been asking him to help out more and he might have to come out of retirement fully." your mother placed a reassuring hand on your own.

"i didn't realise it was getting that bad." you lent back against the pillows. "i knew something had happened at the ministry a few weeks ago with harry but i didn't know how bad it was."

"you don't need to worry about any of that right now, y/n/n. we need to focus on you and this baby, okay?" she smiled at you reassuringly, leaning down to grab a set of clothes for you from her handbag.

“okay, mum.” you nodded, accepting the clothes with a grateful smile.

august, 1995

the world seems to be laughing unforgivably at you, the summer heat heavy and unbearable. it was a record high for your hometown, with everyone either locked inside with their fans on or cooling at the local swimming pool. you were enjoying the former, lounging on your bed as two fans blasted you simultaneously with lukewarm air. you’d already gone through three separate glasses of iced drinks your mother had brought you, the ice melting within minutes of you sipping the drinks. 

you pressed a light hand against your stomach, feeling the slight bump that hadn’t been there at the start of the summer break. dr. lee had assured you that the smaller than usual bump was normal in first pregnancies, especially due to your young age. you’d grown worried after not feeling the baby kick even though you were over four months pregnant. 

you had barely left your house since you’d come back from the hospital except for appointments or to go for late night walks with your dog, rufus. the trip to france had been cut short, your father’s side of the family shunning you once they found out. they are painfully uptight and traditional, whispering loudly behind closed doors whilst you’d packed to leave their toxic household. 

you father had almost hexed his own sister after she’d suggested abandoning you, your mother being the only thing standing between him and a long stay at azkaban. your parents didn’t say a word once you’d returned home, locking themselves away in their room for a full day before they finally emerged. 

so, instead of walking the streets of the town your father grew up in and helping your grandfather out at the family vineyard, you had spent the abnormally warm summer holed up in your bedroom. the only thing that had kept you going was the constant stream of letters from george and your friends. you’d lost track of how many times you’d heard his owl, errol, smack into your bedroom window, the sound becoming almost second nature as it occurred nearly daily. 

still, after tons of letter send back and forth between you, you never found a way to work in a way of telling george. you would pick up your quill to start writing the words but they always fell flat. they never seemed right, never seemed to feel like the right way to say what needed to be said.

george's letters grew irregular in frequency once the shop had opened, but were still filled with the same warmth that his presence would give. he wrote about the troubles they were having getting their shipments approved and the buzz that diagon alley seemed to have as students going for their school supplies would always make a stop into the shop.

you felt your heart swell with pride at how successful the twins' dreams were going, remembering when their mother would throw out their inventions and tell them to focus on studying instead. you had always offered to help the twins start up their business, wanting to put some of your enormous inheritance to use. but they always refused, wanting to get the money and open their joke shop by themselves.

ding dong.

you waited with baited breath for one of your parents to move to answer the door, rufus already racing down the stairs to bark at the stranger. you cursed yourself for forgetting both of your parents were out getting your school supplies, grunting as you rose from your bed. you threw on a large top of george's you 'borrowed' before leaving your room, your parents' warnings of not letting anyone else outside the family know your secret ringing in your head.

you patted rufus on the head as you passed his happy form, opening the door with a gasp. george's broad smile beamed at you from the other side of the doorway, his arms already opening wide for you to race into. you launched yourself into his waiting arms and sighed at the familiar comfort.

"hi, georgie." you giggled, resting your chin on his chest to look up at him.

"hi, y/n/n." he smiled back down at you, leaning down to press a kiss to your lips.

"wait." you jerked your head back, confusion clear in his eyes. "how'd you know i'd be home?"

"i saw your parents in diagon alley, assumed you'd be home alone." george wiggled his eyebrows at you, laughing as you tried to push away from him in protest.

"hush you." you rolled your eyes, finally pushing away to drag him into the house. "now, come inside before you let all the cold air out."

you continued to drag him through your house until you reached your bedroom. you both flopped onto your bed, george instinctively pulling you into his chest. your breath hitched as his hand brushed the side of your waist, praying he wouldn't notice the new roundness of your stomach.

"how was france? you didn't say much in your letters." george rubbed his thumb against the small bit of skin exposed above your hip.

"it was alright. dad's family weren't as loving as i remember." you tried to sound nonchalant, hoping he wouldn't probe further. "guess the rose coloured glasses finally slipped."

"what's that supposed to mean?" george looked down at you, trying to see around your halo of hair to get to your eyes.

"mum always warned me of their ways. the traditional pureblooded way they want things to be." you shrugged.

"did something happen?" george was never one to jump too quickly to conclusions, but your lack of an explanation worried him.

you froze slightly in his arms, head still resting on his chest. your face was thankfully turned away from his own, grateful that he couldn't see the worry crossing your own features. the warmth that radiated off of him was usually comforting, but in that moment, it just felt suffocating.

"i told you." you murmured, keeping your face out of his probing eye line. “just some family drama. it’s not worth getting into.”

he didn’t speak at first, just simmering in his thought. you could feel the tension building in the way he held you; still gentle, but less relaxed.

“y/n. you’ve barely left the house all summer." he said quietly. “you stopped mentioning france almost immediately. and when i saw your mum and dad earlier, they looked like someone had died. you’re hiding something.”

“i’m not,” you said a little too quickly, internally wincing at your tone. “george, i’m fine. i just- i needed a quiet summer. that’s all.”

“you expect me to believe that?” george pulled back to look at you, eyes narrowing slightly.

Your jaw clenched. “Believe whatever you want.” your jaw clenched, your heightened emotions getting the better of you.

he stood suddenly, pacing once before turning to face you, running a hand through his hair.

“bloody hell, y/n " the worry etched into his features broke your heart, your hands itching to reach out and hold his. "you think i haven’t noticed how different your letters have been? shorter, less you? you’re barely even looking at me.”

you stayed seated, arms folded protectively over your stomach. you knew he was right,but admitting that you were wrong wasn't an option your mind was giving you right now.

“i didn’t ask you to come here." you said, the words sharper than you meant.

he flinched like you’d struck him. for a moment, he looked like he might step back. your eyes were already watering at the pain you'd caused him. but instead of moving away, he just exhaled, rubbing a hand over his mouth.

“yeah. i can see that.” he shook his head slowly, looking down at the floor between you. “but i came anyway. because i love you and i-”

he stopped, jaw working as he swallowed whatever he’d almost said. he turned away for a second, like he needed to gather himself. he turned and faced you again, his eyes were softer now, worried but softer.

“hey.” he said, voice quiet but steady as he knelt before you. “look at me.”

you didn’t.

you couldn’t.

your gaze stayed locked on the worn quilt bunched around your legs.

“hey, love.” he gently reached out, his fingers brushing your elbow. “you don’t have to tell me everything right now. i’m not leaving, no matter what.”

your throat closed up, the tears you’d been fighting finally spilling over. a sob ripped from your chest, his arms immediately wrapping you up. he pulled you close to his chest and cradled your head in his hands.

“you don’t understand,” you whispered against his chest after your sobs had finally subsided.

“then help me understand.” his thumb traced small circles over the back of your head. “i’m not going anywhere, love. not until you tell me you want me to go.”

“it’s not- it’s not that i don’t trust you." you shook your head helplessly, fresh sobs catching in your chest. "i just… i don’t know how to say it.”

“then don’t say anything yet.” his hand slid to cup your cheek, warm and reassuring. “we’ll just sit here. i’ll stay with you. and when you’re ready, you can tell me.”

you finally looked up. hurt was still swirling in his eyes. but they held the same love that had always been there. it made your heart ache to stare into the blue depths of his eyes, knowing what you would tell him would ruin the life he was creating for himself and his brother.

“i don’t deserve you." you whispered, reaching up to cup his cheek.

“that’s bollocks,” he said, a flicker of a smile breaking through. “you’re stuck with me, y/n/n. no matter what.”

and when he pulled you into his arms again, you didn’t fight it.you pressed your face to his shoulder, crying harder than you had in weeks. and he just held you, like he always had, like he always would.

[gnarly-words]

left in flames

pairing: peeta mellark x reader

description: being best friends since you were five, how do you cope with your lifelong crush being reaped for the games.

warnings: blood, graphic violence, child death, mentions of starvation & poverty, canon-typical violence

word count: 2,468

masterlist

Your heart broke as you watched his shaken form climb the steps of the stage. His eyes scanned the crowd with terror deep within them, his hands clenching tightly at his side. A tear fell from your eye as he shook his hand with hers, his fate sealed with the simple action. The district remained silent in unspoken protest, Effie awkwardly stepping away from the mic. You tried to reach his eyes before the peacekeepers guided them into the justice building. His head turned back towards you, his eyes holding the pain he felt being dragged away. 

The crowds began to disperse, but you remained locked in your place. Shock had rooted your feet to the ground, even the shoves of other girls your age not making you budge. Your eyes remained locked on where he’d just disappeared, Haymitch stumbling back up the steps to follow the pair. 

Your mother was the only one who had been able to coax you from your trance, pulling you with her towards Peeta’s parents. They pulled you in for a tight hug and assured you you’d get your goodbyes with him as well. You were numb as you nodded along to their words, following as the peacekeepers dragged the two families towards the justice building.

You stood outside the offices as their families said their last goodbyes, remaining even as the mayor’s daughter walked out of her room. You only entered the room on the left after you knew you were the last to visit, creaking the door open with a sad smile. 

You didn’t wait for him to turn before you were launching yourself into his arms, sobs shaking your body as your tears soaked through his shirt. His hands gripped you tightly, his broad arms wrapping you up as close as possible. You stayed like that for a moment too long, almost using up all of your time in each other’s arms. 

“You have to win,” you mumbled against his shoulder. “You have to come back.”

“We both know if anyone’s coming back, it’s her.” he shook his head against your own, his tears starting to land on you.

“Then try, try and come back. For me.” You pulled back, locking eyes with him.

You were so close you could see the different shades of blue in his eyes. You could count every freckle across his cheeks, see the faint scar above his eyebrow from falling over when you were kids. His eyes flickered from your own to your lips, his breath hitching as you leaned closer. Your lips pressed firmly against his own, years of emotions pouring into one simple moment. 

You were dragged out of the room before you even opened your eyes. The last image you saw of him was him fighting against the peacekeeper, taking him towards the train. You raced to meet his family near the train station, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pair before they left for what might be forever. 

You never got your chance to see him again, your final memory being the image of you both being dragged away from one another. The next time you saw Peeta was as they were paraded around for the Capitol, burning flames surrounding their bodies as they raised their hands in solidarity together.

His cheeks looked fuller than before, clearly having been well fed with the luxuries of their oppressors. His blonde hair was swept to the side more handsomely than you’d ever seen him do himself. You hated the jealous green monster that ticked in the back of your mind at their closeness. You had to remind yourself it was all for their survival. It was all for show, nothing more.

The district was abuzz still the following morning from the spectacle the duo had put on. Corners of the hob were secretly placing bets on which of the pair they reckoned would last longest in the games. Even the rich, merchant side of town was talking about the prospect of the district having a chance at winning. 

You remained at his family’s shop for most of the day, helping Mr. Mellark out at the register whilst Mrs. Mellark and her other sons were in the kitchen preparing another batch of pastries. You greeted each customer with as warm a smile as possible, nodding along as they rattled on at the spectacle the tributes had put on at the parade the night before. Each passing customer merged with the next, their faces not even registering as you passed them their orders and waved them out of the bakery. 

By the following morning, it seemed everyone’s excitement had finally dimmed slightly. The bookies were still taking and placing bets, just not as in the open and joyously as before. Customers asked less about the Mellarks’ opinions of their son’s survival. And by the next day, the district was almost back to normal. 

It all changed when the training scores were revealed, hope rippling through the crowds as they were forced to stand through Caesar's overly chipper announcement. The careers were mountains ahead of the other districts; only the male from eleven seemed to come even marginally close to their scores. It all changed when twelve’s scores were revealed, and the crowd of their district didn’t know what to do with themselves. 

You couldn’t help the grin forming on your face as you saw his score. An eight. It wasn’t the best, but it was good. He had a chance. And with Katniss’ record-breaking score of an eleven, if they teamed up, there was a chance twelve could have a victor for the first time in nearly twenty-five years. 

Your family and the Mellarks tried to celebrate the moment that evening. Your father bought a couple of rabbits that Gale had shot to roast. Your mother made a pie for dessert, using the apples that had finally managed to grow on the tree that had been in your garden since you were a toddler. It was the closest to normal both families had been since the reaping, the absence of the golden boy still obvious despite both Mr. Mellark and your father’s best efforts. 

It was the first time you’d truly smiled since he’d been forced to leave. Your cheeks were hurting from how hard you were laughing, your stomach full with both food and the love your families had created together. 

It all fell apart as you sat on your family’s only sofa, your parents on either side of you. You couldn’t believe the words coming from his lips. He’d never said any of these things to you before. He’d never expressed the way he truly felt about you besides the brief kiss before he was dragged from you to his death. 

A blush formed on your cheeks as he spoke so fondly of you, his cheeks matching the redness of your own. Your parents shared a knowing look over your head as you watched the interview, having long known of the pair of you’s unspoken love for one another. Your father would have to pay his mother for losing the bet on who would confess first, a sulking out forming on his face.

You were the happiest you’d been since Peeta had left. But it all shattered when he said those words that tore your heart into a million pieces. How could he do this to you? How could he break your heart after everything you’d been through together? Was the kiss just a final goodbye? Did he even mean it?

You didn’t stay to watch the interview any longer, storming to your room to cry into your pillow. Your parents left you alone for the rest of the evening, knowing you needed space to process the feeling of betrayal from your best friend. You didn’t even know if you wanted to watch the games tomorrow. If he was going to die, did you really want to watch? Was his death going to be any more painful than the heartbreak he’s put you through with his words?

Sleep evaded you that night, your mind too full of the fears you felt for Peeta and your heart overflowing with the betrayal of his confession. By the time the district began waking up for the day, you were just starting to drift off out of pure exhaustion. You awoke to the sound of talking coming from the kitchen, your parents holding one another.

They silently turned to you, pulling you into their group hug. You all stood in your kitchen until you heard the sirens chiming, alerting the district of the upcoming mandatory viewing. You were expected to stand in the square until the end of the bloodbath, no matter if your district survived or was eliminated in the first thirty seconds, as had been the fate for many of twelve's tributes.

Your family found the Mellarks standing near the edge of the crowd, welcoming your small family into their own. You tried to ignore the pitying stares of those around you, this being the first time you'd been with the majority of the district since the reaping a week earlier.

The anthem blared through the square as the capital seal shimmered onto the screen, larger than life above the stage. The crowd stilled, no more whispers, no more staring at the emotionally grieving family, only the tense, unified breath of the district waiting to watch their children die.

You stood between your parents and the Mellarks, your hands clenched in your coat pockets to hide the way they trembled. The burning sun scorched your skin, but you barely registered it. Your entire being was focused on the screen. On him.

The cameras scanned the circle of tributes, your heart lurching as you spotted Peeta's worried eyes darting across the arena. He was flanked by the girl from seven and the boy from five. He was positioned in a good place to grab a bag and run into the woods before anyone could try and attack him, or he could just escape the bloodbath before it even began and run before anyone even reached him.

You breathed a deep breath out as the countdown began, your parents wrapping an arm each around you. Their hands squeezed you tightly between them as the number grew closer and closer to zero. They felt their hearts break at the pain you were going through, watching the boy they'd grown to love as a son fight for his life.

The crowd grew tense as the screen displayed one final look at the tributes before the final countdown illuminated above the cornucopia. You could feel your heart beating against your rib cage, a painful thump that echoed louder than the sirens had. You scanned the screen desperately for one last look at him, eyes darting between the figures atop their pedestals.

The camera finally panned to him once more, his blonde hair tucked neatly back, face hard with determination or fear. You could see him shake his head at someone off screen, your already broken heart cracking as you realised he was looking at Katniss. He was telling her to survive, to not go into the bloodbath so his love could survive.

Mr. Mellark gripped his wife’s arm tightly, their two sons supporting their emotional father as his wife stared on hardily. Your mother crossed herself, whispering a prayer under her breath, something barely anyone in the districts still did.

You couldn’t breathe. The entire district couldn’t breathe. Not as the numbers finally reached zero and the gong rang out like a cannon.

Chaos exploded across the screen.

The bloodbath truly lived up to its name. Tributes screamed and blades flashed with light and blood. A boy from district four went down immediately, his body limp before it hit the ground. Someone, maybe a career, drove a spear clean through another’s chest. Blood splattered across the ground in a halo around their fallen body.

Your hand shot to your mouth, a stifled sob escaping before you could stop it. You frantically searched the screen for him again, praying that none of the fallen bodies was his.

Finally, the screen cut to his golden hair disappearing into the woods, sprinting away from the cornucopia, empty-handed. Coward, someone muttered behind you. But you didn’t care. He was safe, that's all that mattered. He wasn't fighting for his life; he was disappearing into the trees. Alive and not in danger.

Katniss was not having the same luck as her district partner. Having a knife thrown at her that was narrowly avoided by the backpack she held in her hands, she followed Peeta's idea and ran straight into the woods. She left the seething girl from two who complained to the other careers at losing one of her knives.

The camera didn't linger on the tributes that escaped the bloodbath. It cut back to the carnage that still raged on. A girl from six was slammed into the ground, her scream cutting short in her throat. You looked away, chest heaving. The peacekeepers nearby shifted but said nothing.

You weren't supposed to show emotion. Not this much, at least. You were to watch the games and return to your homes like you hadn't just watched twenty-four children murder each other for entertainment.

The screen finally dimmed after what felt like hours, cutting back to Caesar’s too-bright smile and chipper voice announcing the twelve fallen tributes. Twelve lives that were lost in minutes, never to return to their families. A third of the arena, gone in less than five minutes.

Your knees buckled slightly as Caesar finished his list without saying his name. Relief crashed into you like a wave. It seemed you weren't the only one, Mr. Mellark letting out a breath that sounded like a sob. Mrs. Mellark was still standing stoically beside her husband, the only evidence of her emotions being the lone tear that slid down her face.

The crowd began to disperse again, quieter this time. There were no shoves or murmured bets, just the heavy silence of what they'd all just watched. You didn’t speak as you walked home with your family, still trembling with adrenaline and grief. You didn't even speak when your father had offered to let you go round the Mellark's to watch the rest of the games that day, only shaking your head and returning to your room.

You stared at the ceiling above your bed, wondering how many more mornings you’d wake up to find he was still alive. Wondering how many more nights you'd have to go to sleep not knowing. Wondering if the love that had blossomed when he'd kissed you would last, or if it had already died the moment he stepped into the arena.

[gnarly-words]

hope | pt. 3

description: finally sorted into her house, y/n potter find that the magic of hogwarts wears off quickly.

pairing: sirius black x female!potter!reader

warnings: bullying, mentions of blood purity

word count: 4,505

masterlist

y/n's legs trembled beneath her as she stood with the other first years outside of the great hall. besides her, holly and heather were placing bets on what houses everyone would be sorted into, already having listed half of the group before professor mcgonagall had even introduced the houses to them.

"there's no way you're going to get any of those right, you can't always judge a book by its cover." grace glared at the two, already seeing her name having been written down in the 'slytherin' category on their sheet of paper.

"but you can by a surname." heather teased back, shoving the paper into the pocket of her sister's robes in haste as mcgonagall stared down the two.

"i'm not sure i want to ask what you two are up to, misses avery." she raised an eyebrow at the pair before she turned and swished her robes behind her. "now, if you follow me, it is time for the sorting ceremony to begin."

the tall, grand doors opened to reveal the wonder that was the great hall, a chorus of angels sounding in y/n's head as she stared in awe at the vast beauty of the hall. all traces of nerves left her body as she became enamored by the enchanted ceiling above them that created an illusion of a cloudy night sky.

"you know, I have ten knuts on you being a gryffindor," holly whispered as she came to a stop behind the girl. "you know, family legacy and all."

y/n couldn't react before professor mcgonagall pulled a four-legged, wooden stool out from the corner of the room and placed an old pointed hat atop it. she couldn't quite understand why the professor was making them stand before an old, dusty hat in such a beautifully, ornate room. maybe she should've listened to what mcgonagall was saying before they had entered the hall instead of listening to the twins' gambling.

"first Years! when i call your name, you will step forward so you may be be sorted into your houses." mcgonagall announces, pulling a scroll from the pocket of her robes. "ackerley, stephen."

a glasses-bearing boy stumbled his way through the crowd of first years and wobbled up the steps, his glasses almost flipping off his glasses as the sorting hat was placed on top of his head.

"ravenclaw, for sure. there's no way he's in gryffindor with those wobbly knees." holly giggled as she whispered to her sister, earning a grin from the identical blonde girl.

"shut up." grace gritted through her teeth, already feeling professor mcgonagall's glare burning a hole in the sides of their heads.

"hmm. very intelligent, so much wit. hmmm, i think it will have to be... ravenclaw!" the sorting hat announced to the whole room, eliciting a roar of cheers from the table closest to the girl on the left.

"told you." holly sing-songed, already grabbing a handful of coins out of her sister's begrudged hand.

y/n couldn't focus any further on the squabble between the twins, already zoning out completely as she stared into the soulless eyes of the sorting hat. it seemed to be smirking as it announced each of the passing student's houses, knowing how much power it held in determining the lives of the students before it.

she cast her glance down the tables on her right, trying to catch the eyes of her brother or any of his friends. relief washed over her as she found the hazel eyes of her brother, who was already staring straight at his twin, almost as though he could sense her fear. he gave her a reassuring smile, nodding his head in encouragement for her to face her peers once more.

turning her head back to the sorting hat, she realised the absence of the avery twins beside her, clearly having been sorted in her fearful zone out. Isobel huffed another breath, sharing a forced smile with michelle who was hugging the book she had been reading on the train to her chest.

"black, regulus," mcgonagall announced.

a near carbon copy of sirius approached the chair, a small smirk on his face as he didn't even lower himself onto the chair before the sorting hat was screaming 'slytherin' for all in the hall to hear. his smirk didn't go away as he walked boastfully over to the slytherin table, being welcomed by a series of respectful nods from the pureblooded elites of the snake house.

y/n huffed, already having heard the blasphemy sirius' mother had been spewing to the boy when she and her brother had gone over to visit during the summer. it had been borderline harassment towards the two potters as they sat silently in the cold living of grimmauld place and walburga had been blabbing on about the shame she felt knowing her son had been sorted into a house with those sorts in it.

so, as she watched the raven-haired boy engage in conversation with his fellow housemates, y/n could understand why he had turned out as cocky and arrogant as he did. if she had a mother as cruel as walburga black, she would've started listening to and adopting the same ideologies just as quickly as Regulus seems to of.

mcgonagall began to list off multiple names from the long scroll before her, "dawson...evers...garrick...kolker."

each student was sorted into their house happily, each receiving the same warm welcome from their respective tables, even the slytherins being welcomed with claps on their shoulders and nods of approval.

y/n paused at the next name that the professor read off, recognising the surname from one of her parents' dinners she had listened to from upstairs in her bedroom.

"lestrange, everly," mcgonagall announced the next name on her list.

y/n couldn't help but be captivated by the aura of the girl before her, something she had noticed had occurred to most of the students of the hall. the girl held her head high as she all but glided up the steps, delicately placing herself on top of the wooden stool.

the lestranges were a powerful pure-blood family, having come from paris and traveled to england in the early 1900s. they were well respected by all pure-blooded families in the country but were feared by most others. their affiliation with the rising dark lord and his supporters caused them to be cast out to their fellow dark arts enthusiastic families that had risen in the ranks of voldermort's followers. y/n felt pity for the girl, already knowing she was to be sorted in the house of snakes based solely on her family history and nothing else.

the hat was lowered over her eyes, only the tip of her olive-coloured chin remaining below the ragged material. "hmmm.. very interesting this one, another lestrange, i see. a family of ambition, cunning, and pride. but there's more to you, young one. i sense a thirst for knowledge and a desire for greatness beyond the family name. yes, there's a clever mind in here, and a heart that knows the value of loyalty. hmm... where to place you?"

y/n held her breath on behalf of the girl, whose fidgeting feet and bouncing knees showed the truth of her anxiety behind the confidence she tried to exude.

"i guess it will have to be, slytherin!" the hat finally announced after a beat of silence, a relieved smile revealing itself from under the hat as lestrange ran towards her new house table so fast that the wooden stool rocked in her wake.

mcgonagall huffed in annoyance, already holding a dislike for the girl's fleeting behaviour as she left the raised sorting area.

"lovegood, xenophilius." She sniffed, carrying on with the sorting after settling the still-tilting stool.

if everly lestrange had caused the great hall to be entranced by her elegance and grace, xenophilius lovegood had engrossed them with the peculiar creature resting upon his shoulder and the platinum hair that fell atop his shoulders. y/n stifled a laugh as she caught the perplexed face of mcgonagall as the fluffy creature blinked soullessly up at her.

"oh, i know what to do with you, lovegood. I'll have to put you in...ravenclaw!" xenophilius didn't even sit down before he was already being sent away by the sorting hat.

"dammit." a small voice sounded from the other side of the room, earning many heads to turn towards the source.

y/n tried to hide her smirk as she saw the exchange of coins going on between the two blonde avery twins as one of them had lost a bet on the newly-announced ravenclaw student.

"misses avery, come see me after dinner." professor slughorn announced from the head table, earning a cheeky thumbs up and matching grin from the twins.

y/n finally saw what table the twins had been sitting at; slytherin. she couldn't help but feel sad as she realised she probably wouldn't be in the same house as the two girls whose mischievous nature reminded her of her brother and his friends. she only hoped that either grace, michelle or josie would be sorted into the same house as her.

"potter, y/n." mcgonagall peered over her scroll, staring down at the brunette girl, unmoving in her spot. "miss potter."

y/n stumbled as hands pushed her forward, peering over her shoulder and seeing the reassuring smile of grace. she stepped forward with a deep breath, determination etched on her face as she climbed the few steps up to the wooden stool. she placed the sorting hat upon her head, and it began to speak in its ancient, whispering voice:

"ah, another potter. i remember your brother last year. you both come from a family of legends and heroes, no doubt. but where shall i place you, young one? your heart beats with the fiery passion of bravery, the daring spirit of a lion. yet, there's something else here, something special."

y/n could already hear the pride in her parent's voices as she clung to the hope that the sorting hat would say the word 'gryffindor', but the hat continued:

"you possess a heart full of kindness, a soul that values loyalty and hard work. you have the potential to bring people together, to nurture the bonds of friendship. yes, there's much more to you than meets the eye."

y/n's heart sank as she waited for the sorting hat's final decision, knowing that her hopes were about to be dashed into pieces. her eyes shut as she awaited her fate.

"your determination to be in gryffindor is strong, but so is your capacity for kindness. it's a difficult choice, but i see your true potential. it'll have to be... hufflepuff!"

the great hall fell silent and still for a moment, no one quite believing the words the hat had just said. 'a potter in hufflepuff?' it was something no one ever thought possible, their legacy being descended from true, pure gryffindors. y/n's shoulders slumped in her place on the wooden stool, already feeling the judgement of everyone in the hall. she slowly raised the hat from her head, lifting her head to stare up at professor mcgonagall beside her. mcgonagall only smiled sympathetically at the girl, holding her hand out for the hat.

a slow clap began to ring from the closest table on her left, slowly growing in speed and volume as more and more people joined in with the clapping. y/n locked eyes with her brother, his eyes holding a deep pride as he watched his sister finally be sorted into hogwarts. she felt relief wash over her as she saw the smiles gracing the faces of her brother and his friends, and happily walked over to the tab;e closest to her left, opposite where a sandy-haired fourth-year winked at her.

"don't worry, potter. you'll fit in with us puffs." the boy smiled warmly at her, already making the girl feel welcomed into her new house. "i'm frank longbottom."

"i'm y/n potter. but you already know that." she looked down at her lap shyly.

"no reason to apologise. always a good thing to greet your fellow housemates." frank grinned once more, before looking over her shoulder at something behind her.

y/n turned, confused, finding sirius and james glaring angrily at frank from the table behind them.

"you better not be flirting with my sister, longbottom." james hissed, only slightly serious.

"please, as if he'd want to flirt with anyone but slice." a girl from beside the boys rolled her eyes, earning a chuckle from the others around her.

"he's obsessed with her." a tall blonde girl from the gryffindor table leaned over to the small girl.

"am not." frank sighed, clearly used to the teasing.

"are too." the blonde girl stuck her tongue out before turning back to the sorting ceremony.

"am not," frank grumbled under his breath once more, before turning his head to the end of the hall.

y/n followed his eyes, seeing the brown-haired girl, michelle, from the train all but sprinting over to the ravenclaw table beside her. y/n's sad mood from before returned as yet another one of the friends she'd made on the train was sent to a different house from her. her hope turned to josie as she confidently approached the wooden stool.

"oh, i don't even need to deliberate on this one... gryffindor." The hat announced, the table behind y/n erupting into cheers as the brunette girl skipped over to join her fellow first years at the end of the table.

y/n tried to meet her eye line but was blocked by the many gryffindors congratulating her. she stared down at the empty plate below her, slowly blocking out the rest of the sorting as she lost all hope that her final friend, grace, would be sent over to hufflepuff.

she was so zoned out from the rest of the great hall that she didn't even notice the ginger girl setting herself down on the bench beside her, continuing to sigh sadly down at the table.

"wow, potter. thought you'd be more excited to see me." grace sulked beside the girl, nudging her with her elbow.

"grace?" a grin slowly spread across y/n's face, who had a matching grin on her face. "oh, thank merlin. i thought i was going to be alone here."

"rude," frank grumbled in front of the girls, jokingly sulking as they waited for dumbledore to be done with his long speech about the places students were not meant to go.

"does he say this every year?" grace asked, surprised by how many parts of the castle and its grounds that they were banned from entering.

"basically, though it's still as unterrifying each year." frank rolled his eyes, already used to dumbledore's scare tactics.

y/n couldn't ask the boy any further questions before she was gasping in shock at the mounds of food appearing before her. she had seen the magic of house-elf food before, but nothing the likes of the mass that hogwarts presented before her. her mouth watered at the steam that billowed from the boats of gravy before her, already knowing she would be holding it captive as she filled her yorkshire pudding to the brim with the liquid.

"are you gonna eat any of that or just keep staring at it?" grace nudged her once more but paused as the girl sprung across the table to scoop as much of the food onto her plate as possible. "okay, i guess you are going to eat all of that."

"sorry. i just love roast potatoes." y/n giggled, piling more and more onto her plate before the bowl was empty.

"you know, potter, some of us would also like some potatoes." frank raised his eyebrows from across the table, not quite believing that the small girl was going to be able to finish all of the food on her plate.

y/n stopped shoveling the potatoes into her mouth with a shocked face, not quite believing how selfish she had been towards her fellow housemates. "i-i'm sorry. i can put some back."

frank laughed as he nodded his head over to the platter, where more steaming potatoes had appeared in the bowl as soon as she set it down on the table.

"i'm just pulling your leg, potter. those house-elves in the kitchen make more than enough food to feed everyone in the hall." he winked, diving back into conversation with the raven-haired boy beside him.

"did your brother not tell you how things work here?" grace asked, only finishing half of her plate before the girl beside her was filling hers up for seconds.

"well, i know that the house-elves work in the kitchens. but i didn't realise that the food would just keep reappearing on the tables like that." y/n pouted thinking about her own house elves back home. "ribly would always snap into the room with the food, we didn't have advanced enough charms to have a connection from the kitchens."

grace raised her eyebrows at y/n openly talking about her family having a house elf that they made do chores in their house, not used to the purebloods of the wizarding world.

"oh, sorry. ribly is my personal house-elf. she's more like a nanny and maid than someone i own though. i've always hated that term. she's her own being, why should i own her, you know?" y/n rambled, spooning a portion of pavlova into the bowl that appeared in front of her.

"yeah." grace nodded unknowingly, not quite understanding the rules of owning a house-elf, coming from a mixed household that lived openly in the muggle world.

"you're not from the wizarding world are you?" y/n giggled, clearly seeing the confusion on the Irish girl's face.

"not fully. my dad's a muggle and mum's a witch." grace shrugs, spooning some apple crumbled onto her plate.

"oh, i have so much to explain to you." y/n almost squeals, happy to be able to share her wisdom on the inner workings of the wizarding world and the fantastic beasts within it.

james chuckled as he watched his sister ramble on at the blonde girl beside her, happy that she was making friends in her own house.

"she seems to be getting on well." sirius chuckled, having only ever seen the girl that excited about something when she was talking about the bowtruckle island that she was excited to visit when she attended hogwarts.

"yeah. she is." james smiled, proudly, winking at the girl when she turned to face him over her shoulder.

the two girls shuffled behind their fellow first years as the male prefect, tobias, called for them to follow him out of the great hall towards their dormitory. they walked towards the grand marble staircase that stood out against the castle's stone walls, descending them towards the basement. all around them, paintings came to life as they greeted the new first years and welcomed back the returning students. Isobel giggled as she saw a couple arguing in a painting high above before quickly smiling and waving at the students as they realised they were there. it reminded her of her parents who often bickered before realising the twins had entered the room.

"i still don't get how those paintings work." grace looked on in puzzlement, only having seen wizards photos and not paintings whilst at home.

"it's an enchantment. usually, it's just a replica of the person. but the really good ones are so accurate that they might as well be the person they painted." y/n waved at the friendly wizard who was watering the flowers in his painting as they passed.

"you know a lot about these things. are you secretly like a fourth-year?" grace chuckled.

"no, but i am meant to be a second year." y/n sighed, earning a questioning look from the ginger girl beside her. "it's a long story. but hey. i spent lots of time learning basically everything we're gonna be learning in some of our classes."

"that sounds like such a sad and boring life." grace stopped as they came to a halt before the hufflepuff dormitory.

"yeah," y/n admitted with a chuckle, knowing that her childhood had not exactly been the most fun or fulfilled of ones. "but it wasn't all boring. i got to learn about the magical creatures in the forbidden forest and even got to raise a family of nifflers that lived in my back garden."

grace could see the light returning into the eye, the same light she'd seen when she'd been explaining things about the wizard world at the dinner table. she realised that her new friend was unlike most witches or wizards in the magical world, already liking the fact she hadn't cast her out for not being pureblooded. or how she seemed to hold a deep wonder instead of fear towards all of the monstrous beasts she described to grace.

grace was so fascinated by y/n's descriptions of the thunderbird she had seen once on a visit to the americas, that she hadn't even realised the group had come to a halt in front of the entrance of their common room.

"i want all of you to watch me very closely. i will only be showing the password once and i won't be letting any stragglers into the common room who forget it." tobias winked at the first years, clearly only joking.

he tapped in a rhythm on the middle barrel two from the bottom, before stepping back to allow the lid to swing open and reveal a beaming light through the hole. he looked back once more at the new students before lowering his head and walking through the large gap in the wall, before beckoning the rest to follow through. y/n happily ran forward to be one of the first to enter the basement.

she looked around in wonder at the low-ceilinged room that had a faint yellow glow coming from the many lamps around the room. the walls were covered in vines of leaves that stretched all across the ceiling and out of the circular windows around the room.

the common room was alive with activity. there was a roaring fireplace in the corner of the room, surrounded by comfy-looking, overstuffed sofas that had a few older hufflepuffs already chatting away on. some gathered around a low wooden table playing wizarding chess, and others relaxed with books from the cosy nook that held a well-stocked library. the atmosphere was both lively and tranquil, a place where one could find solace and companionship after a long day of classes.

tobias led the small group of students towards where more stairs lead up to the first-year dormitories, directing the girls to the left and the boys to the right, giving a few giggling boys a hard glare as he reminded them, "i don't think professor sprout would be too pleased being woken in the middle of the night by the alarms that will be set off if we were to enter the girl's dormitories. do you?"

the boys simply lowered their heads sheepishly, before shuffling off to the right to find their dormitory rooms.

"right. i've got to head out for patrol duty soon, but do ask frank or greta if you need anything and they'll be sure to help you out." tobias grinned his pearly white smile before exiting the common room the same way they'd entered it.

y/n and grace shared an excited grin before they raced to find their new dormitories, already finding three other girls sitting and talking on one of the beds. the three girls had claimed one of the beds on the right as you entered the room, leaving the two on the left for the girls to claim.

"oh, hello." the ginger girl closest to them smiled, waving them over to join them on her bed. "i'm elysia. it's nice to meet you two."

"nice to meet you too, i'm y/n ." she beamed back, joining them on the bed as grace sat gingerly at the end of it.

"oh, we know who you are. you're, like, famous among the first years." the curly-haired girl giggled, having already heard many things about the girl from the older students. "i'm olivia."

y/n only grinned, turning her head to the final girl, who held a questioning look in her eyes.

"is it true you're meant to be a second year?" the final girl tilted her head, forgoing any introductions.

"uh, yes?" y/n asked, not understanding why the girl was questioning her.

"then why are you here? why aren't you with the other second years?" she mocked, already knowing the truth but wanting to hear it from the potter girl. "are you dumb? did dumbledore think you were too stupid to be with people your own age?"

"i was sick, but I'm much better now." y/n grinned, earning a smile from all but one of the girls. "but i did get taught like everyone else, so, no. i'm not dumb."

"you clearly are if someone as powerful and smart as dumbledore put you here." the unnamed girl stood from her bed. "i'm going to go down to the common room. see you later, potter."

"don't mind, emilia. she's just jealous that you stole her thunder." olivia smiled reassuringly after the brunette girl had left the dorm. "her family comes from a long line of hufflepuffs, from helga hufflepuff herself. but having a potter in the house instead? merlin, did you steal any attention she could've got."

"oh, i didn't mean to steal anyone's thunder." y/n pouted, upset that she'd already made a partial enemy. "but that's super cool about her being descended from hufflepuff herself. my family's just some people who were in gryffindor."

"at least your parents are actually wizards. i had to learn everything from some sixth-year i met on the platform." elysia chuckled, earning a giggle from the other girls.

"well, i'm sure we all have lots to learn whilst we're here." olivia grinned, picking up her muggle clothes from the end of the bed. "we're gonna change and then head down to the common room. do you want to join us, potter?"

"sure. let me get changed as well." y/n grinned, running to get her own clothes from the top of her trunk.

the four girls grinned as they ran back down the stairs from their dormitory and joined the first-year boys who were crowded around the two older students who were playing a game of wizard chess. y/n smiled as she felt the community that she was already being welcomed into within the hufflepuff common room, finally able to be a part of something for the first time in her life.

[gnarly-words]

mad as hatter | pt.2

description: y/n navigates a chaotic day in diagon alley with the wasleys, haunted by visions and comforted by unexpected moments of connection.

pairing: fred weasley x fem!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of blood purity

word count: 6k

masterlist

 y/n didn't know why she'd turned up here on this rainy tuesday evening, but she knew it felt right. she'd gotten into a bad situation. she'd had an episode as she was walking down diagonal alley, causing a group of passersby to apparate her to st mungo's. she'd escaped through the fireplace in the ward, stumbling until she ended up in front of the crooked house.

she approached the wooden door and paused. should she be doing this? she knew that it wasn't the most ideal of places to have turned up in the middle of the night, but it was the only place she could think of as she scrambled into the fireplace of the only wizarding pub open at that time of night.

pushing down her doubts, she rapped three times on the door and waited. shuffles of feet and muffled steps could be heard as the only one in the weasley household that could hear the light raps approached the door.

"y/n?" bleary blue eyes stared out at the soaked girl.

"hi, ginny." y/n smiled back weakly, pulling her thin jacket around her body tighter as shivers ran down her spine.

"what are you doing here?" the ginger girl asked quietly as to not arouse the suspicions of her parents or siblings.

"i'm sorry. i couldn't think of anywhere else. it all happened so fast, and you were the first person i thought of." y/n's lip wobbled as she choked out her words. "i should go. this was stupid."

"no, no. it's ok. i just need to make sure no one heard you." ginny called out as she reached for her rain-clad jacket. "i think i've got some clothes that you can get changed into. come in."

y/n trudged after the red-headed girl, following her footsteps that lead them both up the stairs and into the first room on the left. she didn't remember this being the younger girl's room last time she came to stay but assumed they had moved over the summer break. the room was pitch black, the only light source coming from the moonlight through the open window. ginny flipped the switch, the light-bulb flickering as it illuminated the small, dinky room.

"here." ginny handed one of the shirts and old pair of joggers from the large pile of washing over to the drenched girl. "you can get changed in here. i'll wait out in the hallway."

y/n only nodded meekly, ridding herself of the soaked clothes and allowing them to drop to the wooden floor with a heavy thud. she slipped the clothes over her slightly damp skin, the t-shirt falling  to her knees and the trousers having to be rolled at the waist a few times as to not fall down.

"gin. ginny, you can come back in." y/n whispered, the girl's head poking around the door at her voice.

"we're meant to be going down to diagonal alley tomorrow to buy everything for school. you're welcome to join us unless you need to go back home." ginny grinned, settling down on the small bed.

"it's fine, ginny." y/n places a soothing hand on her arm as she sat beside her. "i'm sure your family will have enough chaos with the twins tomorrow. they don't need to worry about me as well. i'll go once the rain stops."

"no. you can't just leave. at least stay for breakfast." ginny pouted, already knowing her puppy-dog eyes would work on the older girl.

"fine. but i need to go back home and get my things before we leave for hogwarts." y/n smiled grimly thinking about having to return to her parents and their rage at the girl disappearing.

"why exactly did you come today? what happened, y/n?" ginny whispered, turning his head to face the raven-haired girl.

y/n paused, not wanting to tell the girl about her deepest secret. "had a bit of a problem in diagon alley. i don't really wanna go into all of it right now but i'm very glad i remembered about the pub your brother's took me to last summer."

"why did come here and not back to yours?" ginny was trying to understand why the girl wouldn't want to go back to her home.

"i- i have no idea. i guess i just went to the place i felt the safest. not exactly comfortable talking to my family about magic and stuff." y/n shrugged.

"ah yes. the muggles." ginny nodded, reminiscing about her brother's hexing on of them last summer. "remember when fred and george hexed your brother into having his head grow three times the size? he looked so fucking funny running around your garden."

"ginny! who taught you that word? was it fred and george? i knew i shouldn't have forced them to spend more time with you." y/n rolled her eyes, before giggling along with the ginger girl.

both girls paused as they heard movement in the hallway, snapping their heads over to door as the footsteps stopped before it.

"ginny? are you awake?" mrs weasley's voice whispered through the door.

"no?" ginny gritted her teeth, already hearing the sigh from her mother. "sorry mummy. i had a nightmare. i'll try and get back to sleep."

"oh. that's alright, dear. do you need me to stay with you until you get to sleep?" mrs weasley started to open the door before being cut off by her daughter.

"no! no, i'm okay mum. i'm already feeling sleepy." ginny faked a yawn, stifling a giggle as she locked eyes with y/n.

"well, alright dear. i'll see you in the morning. goodnight." mrs weasley sounded unsure.

"night, mum." ginny yawned for real this time, exhaustion finally getting the better of her.

y/n waited for the sounds of footsteps to disappear before slipping off of the bed and onto the floor. she picked up her small pile of clothes from the floor and removed her shoes.

"i'll let you sleep, gin." y/n whispered, already reaching the door handle.

"where are you going? you're not leaving are you? you promised." ginny pouted once again.

"i'm just going to sleep on the sofa. we can't exactly both fit in your bed." she grinned as the ginger girl finally saw how much of the bed she had been sprawled out across.

"i can move over. it's okay." ginny tried to plead with her once again, not liking that her friend would possibly leave once she left the room.

"it's alright, gin. i'll see you in the morning." y/n gave a final wave to the girl, closing the door gently behind her.

y/n slowly crept down the hallway toward the stairs, hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up. she made it to the living room without making a sound, collapsing onto the raggedy sofa with a hug. it didn't take long for her to drift off to sleep, burrowing herself into the cinnamon-scented pillows.

"how long do you think 'til she notices?" a voice whispered through the void of y/n's dreams.

"there's no way she doesn't already." a similar voice whispered.

"she's gonna kill you both once she wakes up." a female voice chimed in.

"i'll kill you all if you don't shut up." y/n grumbled, shoving her face further into the pillow before jumping up realizing the pillow was moving.

she shrieked as her eyes made contact with the yellow ones of ginny's pet cat, who hissed at her and climbed all across the girl before scampering off the sofa. the twins laughter filled her ears.

"i'd think very carefully about your next words." y/n glared her eyes, smirking as the tall pair shrunk back away from the girl.

"y/n? is that you, dear?" mrs weasley's voice called from the kitchen, smiling as she entered the living room. "i didn't know you were coming round. did you just arrive?"

"she slept the night." ginny blurted, slipping her hand across her mouth at the reveal. "sorry, y/n/n."

"it's okay, gin." y/n smiled at the ginger girl.

"you turned up last night? why didn't you say anything, ginny?" mrs weasley turned her confusion onto her daughter.

"i asked her to, mrs weasley. i didn't want to bother anyone. i meant to leave before any of you woke up but i guess i must've overslept." y/n looked down sheepishly.

"well, that's alright dear. i was just getting started on breakfast before we leave. you eat bacon right?" mrs weasley was already back in the kitchen before y/n could protest.

"if y/n's staying over she's staying with me!" ginny shouted as soon as her mother left the room, dragging the girl by her arm up the spiral staircase.

"ginny." y/n gasped as they ran further up the stairs. "how the hell do you manage these stairs everyday?"

"when you have fred and george chasing you up and down them all the time, you get used to it." ginny shrugged, pushing open the wooden door to her bedroom.

y/n flopped onto the tartan blanket spread across the bed with a huff. the door didn't stay closed for long as it burst open with the appearance of the twins, an identical annoyed look on both of their faces.

"hand our friend back, ginevra, and we won't make you test out any of our products this summer." fred raised his eyebrow at his sister, who put on her best puppy dog eyes and pout.

"b-but you get to see her all year. i only get to see her for the holidays and summer." ginny curled herself around the older girl's arm.

"you're joining us this year, gin. you'll still see me." y/n looked down sadly at the ginger girl.

"no i won't. you'll be too busy running off with those two and lee." ginny somehow pouted further.

y/n looked up to the twins for help, not knowing what to say to the girl to convince her. george sighed and shared a look with his twin before they both approached the pair and knelt before them.

"hey, we will always have time for you, gin. you're our favourite sister." fred spoke softly to the girl.

"i'm your only sister." ginny grumbled.

"still our favourite." george grinned cheekily, trying to wrangle the girl out of y/n's arms with tickles.

"okay! you can take her. as long as i can play quidditch with you all before dinner. please!" ginny looked up once more with her puppy dog eyes.

"of course, gin. who's gonna help me beat those two idiots?" the twins' faces held offended looks at the girl's words.

"promise?" ginny held up her pinky finger, the three teens hooking their own around it.

"we promise, gin." the trio said in unison.

"now. let's get you out of here, miss thompson." fred shouted, grabbing the girl before chucking her over his shoulder and running out of the room, george trailing after the pair.

"put me down!" y/n giggled, slapping the taller twin on the back as he carried her back down the stairs. "if i throw up you're cleaning it up!"

she was swiftly dropped onto the soft mattress of one of the twins' beds, her head dealing with the sudden change. she could hear mrs weasley's voice shouting up the stairs about the commotion that the trio had made before the door slammed shut and silenced her.

"if you two dare try and test another one of your products on me." y/n stopped the twins before they could even begin to riffle through their trunk of products.

"i hate that you can do that." george grumbled, dropping onto the other bed in a sulk.

"do what?" y/n tilted her head, feigning innocence.

"you know what we mean, y/n/n." fred rolled his eyes, dropping down on his bed beside the girl. "you still haven't told us how you actually do it."

"am i not allowed my secrets?" y/n grinned down at the pair.

george only rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath about it being unfair. fred continued to stare at the girl, whose eyes had glazed over slightly and had a far off look to them. her body rocked slightly on the spot and her breathing picked up rapidly.

"uh, george?" fred alerted his twin, who sprang up from the bed at the sight of the girl.

"y/n?" george tried to snap her out of her trance.

"i don't think she can hear us. is this what she meant by her episodes?" fred sat up off the bed, giving the girl space.

"should we get mum?" george could see the girl's head start to lull to the side and caught it before she could roll off the bed.

"i'm not sure she could do anything." fred shook his head, helping his twin lie the girl down on her side.

y/n's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her hands forming fists at her sides as her body starting to to violently shake from side to side. she gasped awake with a violent scream, scrambling to escape the confines of the bed she'd been placed on.

"y/n/n! y/n! you're okay!" george scrambled to calm the girl down.

"you're just in our room. it's okay." fred held his hands out in front to show they didn't mean any harm.

"i'm sorry. i'm so sorry." y/n shook her head, not meeting their eyes in shame. "i thought it would just pass."

"does this happen often?" fred sat down on the bed carefully.

y/n could only nod, her head still reeling from what she'd seen before. it had been one of the more vivid visions she'd had in a while. she had been seeing from the eyes of the person whom it happened to, never catching their reflection.

"we should tell mum. her or dad may know what this is." george was already heading for the door before either of the pair could process.

"no! please. you can tell them about this." y/n tried to grab the boy but nearly fell off the bed in the process. "no one else can know."

"why? they may know how to help you." george tried to argue.

"i already know what is causing it, and the other things." y/n rubbed her arms nervously. "professor dumbledore tested me in first year and made me promise not to let anyone know. it's why i always went to mcgonagall's office for detention."

there was a pause in the room before fred spoke, "so, you know what it is? what's causing this."

"y-yes." y/n nodded, not wanting to share what she'd promised to keep secret.

the twins didn't have time to probe any further as their bedroom door swung open revealing a worried and red-faced mrs weasley. "i heard a scream. everything okay y/n dear?"

"y-yes, everything's fine mrs weasley. just a stupid prank." y/n tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes like usual.

"are you sure?" mrs weasley gave her a knowing motherly look that y/n could only nod slightly. "and what did i say about calling me mrs weasley? it's molly to you, dear."

"o-okay, mrs wea-i mean molly." y/n smile brightened slightly.

"now, breakfast is ready. wash up from whatever you three were up to and come downstairs to eat." mrs weasley gave the twins a slight glare of distrust before exiting the room once more.

"nice to know mum only cares when it's you that's in trouble." george tutted, pulling on fred's knitted jumper.

"you know that's his right?" y/n raised her eyebrow questioningly, already knowing what the twins were planning.

"yep." george popped the 'p' of his word, grinning cheekily before leaving the room.

fred followed suit and slipped on his twin's jumped, chucking an older jumper that y/n didn't recognise to the girl and sprinting out of the room after his brother. y/n was left struggling to pull the somehow-tightening jumper over head. it felt like the more she struggled, the tighter the jumper became.

"did you hex this?! you bastards!" y/n screeched down the stairs, earning a stern warning from mrs weasley down the stairs.

when y/n finally trudged down the stairs, now jumper-less thanks to percy who had been passing by and heard the commotions, she didn't hesitate to smack the twins upside their heads. she grabbed their plates that were stacked high with several bacon sandwiches and walked around the table, the twins arguing in protest.

"nope! you've lost your molly food privileges for the morning." y/n glared at them, portioning the food out onto an eager ron and Harry's plates. "harry! i didn't realize you were here. good summer?"

"y-yes." harry smiled nervously up at the girl, remembering her being one of the chasers on the slytherin team last year.

"you better eat that up before ron does." y/n nodded to where ron had already cleared half of his plate and eyeing up harry's untouched plate.

harry only nodded, clumsily picking up his sandwich and shoveling food into his mouth at a speed that made ron look slow. mrs weasley shook her head as she returned to the table.

'honestly, do they not feed that boy anymore? oh, the things I'd do to that woman if I ever met her.' mrs weasley's voice echoed in y/n's head, making the girl stifle a giggle at the images of what mrs weasley wished to do harry's aunt petunia.

"everything okay, y/n dear?" mrs weasley asked as she spotted the girl trying to hold in her laughs.

y/n could only nod her head, placing the twins' plates back in their place and sat at the table herself. she could feel the puppy-dog faces the twins were sending her way as she raised the food to her mouth. her eyes turned to the twins, who were sulking in the seats as they saw ron finish their portion of food. y/n sighed, passing a sandwich from her own plate over to each twin, who greedily scoffed down their portions in one bite.

"merlin. do i need to make more sandwiches?" mrs weasley looked round the table, spotting all but two plates completely cleared of food.

"just very hungry this morning i think, molly." mr weasley entered the kitchen, dusting floo powder off of his shoulders. "y/n, i almost didn't see you there. how are you?"

"i'm doing well, mr weasley. how are thing at the ministry?" y/n smiled up at the man.

"oh, you don't want me to bore you with the details." mr weasley smiled once again, following mrs weasley into the kitchen. "you lot ought to get going soon. not much time to get everything we need."

mrs weasley started to gather up the plates with her wand, setting them in the sink where a sponge was bewitched to scrub them clear whilst they were away. y/n was still mesmerized by the open use of magic within the burrow, as was harry whose eyes were as wide as saucers. fred and george dragged the girl up out of her seat and into their living room, passing her one of mrs weasley's coats to wear.

"if you've bewitched this as well i will shove it so far up your arses you'll be chewing cotton for a week. got it?" y/n hissed at them, smiling innocently as mrs weasley passed them.

both twins gulped in unison and nodded their heads. mrs weasley grabbed the pot that sat on their fireplace mantle and ushered harry forward to go through the fireplace first. the bespeckled boy grabbed a handful of powder nervously and stepped down into the fireplace.

"now, you must speak very clearly harry, dear." mrs weasley nodded to the boy, stepping back to not be accidentally warped in with him.

harry breathed in a deep breath, preparing himself for the sensation of travelling by floo powder. he scattered the powder into the embers of flames below him and stepped forward.

"di-dia-gon alley." harry coughed through the cloud of powder and disappeared with a flash of the fireplace.

everyone in the room paused, looking at each other to check they had also heard what he had said.

"what did he say, dear?" mrs weasley turned to her husband.

"diagonally, i believe." mr weasley sighed, already knowing the boy who lived had turned up merlin knows where.

'shit.' y/n heard collectively in her from everyone in the room, trying her best to hide the laugh that was trying to break out.

it didn't take long for all of the weasleys and y/n to make their own way through the fireplace and walk out into the crowded streets of diagon alley. mrs weasley went off with ginny to get her wand, leaving mr weasley in charge of hunting down where harry had gotten lost. y/n suggested heading down towards gringotts, hoping that the boy had ended up in a grate not too far from there. their hopes were lifted as they spotted the large, looming figure of hagrid talking to a familiar pair.

"harry!" mr weasley shouted, coming to a halt in front of the soot-covered boy. "there you are. we'd hoped you hadn't gone too far. molly was so worried. she'll be on her way here soon."

"where'd you end up?" percy stuck his nose up at the soot his father was dusting off of harry's robes.

"knockturn alley." hagrid grumbled from behind the boy.

"brilliant." the twins grinned in delight, having never been allowed near the alley whilst with their parents.

"we've never been allowed in." ron grumbled, also jealous of the raven-haired boy.

"and you never will." y/n scoffed, side eyeing the ginger brothers. "you okay, harry?"

harry only nodded his head, spotting mrs weasley sprinting towards them with a ginny in tow. he was soon crushed into a tight hug by the woman, who continued to brush more and more soot off of the boy.

"oh we were so worried harry, dear." mrs weasley cupped his face, pulling off his askew glasses and tapping them with her wand. "there. good as new."

y/n smiled at the motherly moment, wishing she'd of had someone like mrs weasley in her life growing up. she thought back to her limited memories with her parents growing up, finding a shortage of moments that wasn't about her work. if her parents had spent as long talking about their work trips and office drama as they did about what was going on in their children's lives, maybe they would've noticed her visions sooner or figured out the real reasoning behind them before she left for hogwarts.

mr and mrs Weasley greeted hermione's parents before following them into gringotts. the muggle couple parted ways with them as they went over to exchange the money that they had brought with them. the weasley's took harry down with them into their vault, leaving the thompson girl to exchange her own bag of muggle money and meet her outside of the building.

as she waited, y/n's mind suddenly remembered the vision she had had that morning, wandering to the images of the weird tunnels she had never seen before. a dark notebook was the main focal point of most of her visions, the pages puzzlingly blank of any text. she jumped with a fright at the last image she had seen before being awoken by the twins; a large snake like creature hovering over her with its fangs bared ready to attack.

"y/n!" a voice startled her out of the visions of her mind by a voice she recognised.

"lee!" y/n smiled running up and hugging the gryffindor boy. "how have you been?"

"good. been enjoying the peace being away from fred and george." lee laughed, earning a knowing look from y/n .

"i am hurt, jordan." one of the twins gasped dramatically as they approached behind the duo.

"and to think, i considered you our greatest friend." george held his hand to his chest.

"rude." y/n raised her eyebrow at the pair, who grinned back at her feigning innocence.

"alright, we'll all meet back at flourish and botts to buy your books in an hour. and not one step down knockturn alley!" mrs weasley shouted, being dragged away by an overly excited ginny, but not before glaring pointedly at the twins.

"so, wanna stock up on fireworks in gambol and japes?" lee turned to the twins with an eager smile.

"you two go ahead, we'll catch up with you." fred nodded his head in the direction of the shop, pulling y/n aside.

george and lee walked away confused, muttering to each other about what the older twin wanted with the girl. y/n stared up at the boy in confusion as well, nervous what he was going to ask about.

"are you okay?" fred asked in the most sincere voice y/n had ever heard in the three years she had known him.

"am i- of course i'm okay, freddie." y/n smiled through the confusion. "why wouldn't i be?"

"oh, i don't know. maybe the fucking trance-like seizure me and george had to pull you out of thing morning." fred hushed his voice as passersby gave the couple odd stares.

y/n remained silent, not wanting to talk about what she had let the boys witness. it had been completely against her will, it had been one of the strongest visions she'd had since discovering what she truly was. she was only brought out of her mind spiral by fred's hands grasping firmly onto her shoulders.

"i won't pry further. But promise you'll come to us if it happens again, yeah?" fred looked deep into her eyes, only getting a nod in return before they were interrupted by the return of lee and george.

"done scheming without us?" lee raised his eyebrow, pocketing his bags of tricks from the shop. "where to next, ice cream at florean's?"

"we have a better idea." the twins grinned in unison, dragging the two behind them towards knockturn alley.

"no, no no no." y/n dug her feet into the ground, once again finding herself being chucked over the shoulder of one of the twins as the trio ran into the alley with a giggle.

when the twins, y/n and lee returned to diagon alley, they found themselves running to catch up with harry, ron and hermione who were just walking into flourish and botts. y/n was the first to enter the shop, screeching to a halt at the hordes of people mingling in the shop. the three boys behind her didn't have enough sense to notice and came to a much less graceful stop straight into y/n's back and sending all four of them tumbling to the ground.

"oh, there you three are! what are you doing on the floor? Up, Up!" mrs weasley voice called out to them as they dusted themselves off and stood up into the crowds of mostly women and teenage girls. "now, go get your books off of your father and I'll get them signed for you. just give arthur the money, y/n dear. we got yours for you as well whilst we were here."

"signed?" the twins asked in unison, being ushered away before they could ask any questions further.

"oh, mrs weasley you didn't have to buy them for me.  we were just on our way back anyways." y/n tried to hand the woman over her entire bag of coins but was refused with a signature molly weasley smile.

"you would've had to stand in that queue forever. it's no problem at all, dear. now go and get them from arthur before the twins do something to them." mrs weasley rolled her eyes at where the two tall boys were harassing their father into giving them y/n stack of books.

y/n swiftly made her way through the crowd, handing over the coins to mr weasley with a grateful smile and stood next to the twins. she had no idea what the crowds and lines of people were for but she knew sure a hell that she would be completely zoned out for all of it. her ears slowly became numb to the hustling of everyone around her, instead focusing in on the sound of her own heartbeat. she found that the more she focused in on herself and those close to her, the easier it became to control how much of their noise became her own.

fred and george found themselves leaning in closer to the girl next to them, feeling a sense of calm suddenly. they too became entranced in the silence that had formed suddenly. all movement around them seemed to blur, only focusing in on the sense of ease that had washed over them. the twins finally snapped out of their peace as mrs weasley ushered them to pass over their books to be signed by the blonde smiling man in the front of the shop. they ran forward as they spotted their father confronting lucius malfoy and his rat of a son draco.

y/n continued to stay in her trance, smiling to herself as she was able to properly focus in on all of the visions she'd had the past few days and not just the ones of the snake-like creature. images of her and the twins practicing quidditch in the weasley's garden flashed through her mind; her and ginny having a snowball fight in one of the hogwarts courtyards; her holding hands with a mystery figure. her mind buzzed with happiness for once instead of the usual fear that coursed through her when thinking back on her visions.

"y/n! we're leaving!" mrs weasley's voice cut through the fog of her mind, causing her to lose her footing slightly and bump into the person behind her.

"i-i'm so sorry." y/n turned to help them pick up their fallen books but was met with a scoff.

"don't touch that, you filthy little mudblood." the recognisably sneer voice of one draco malfoy hissed at her, collecting his books and shoving them into the extendable pocket of his robes.

"now, now draco. we're house mates remember? that any way to treat a fellow slytherin?" y/n gritted through her teeth, resisting the urge to do harm to the blonde slimeball.

draco only scoffed, muttering under his breath as he left to find his father about the state of hogwarts allowing in muggleborns. y/n huffed a breath, following the blonde boy out of the shop into the crowds and finding a group of ginger to the right of the door.

"there you are! we should get back. did you manage to get everything you needed y/n dear?" mrs weasley's face held an edge of annoyance to it, worrying the thompson girl that she'd irritated everyone by being so slow to leave the shop.

"y-yes. i got everything. thank you again for buying everything and for letting me come with you, mrs weasley." y/n nervously rambled, holding her stack of books tightly to her chest. "i should probably actually get back to mine before my parents get too worried."

y/n didn't give the weasley's a chance to utter a farewell before she was already halfway down diagon alley. she rushed through the leaky cauldron towards the only working fireplace and rambled out the long name of the wizard pub not far from her home. she felt her body twist awkwardly before the bustling image of the pub transformed into the familiar, much quieter one of the three castaways.

by the time that she'd trudged back to her home, all y/n wanted to do was flop onto her bed and never wake up again. but her siblings and parents seemed to have other ideas, as the second she entered through the front door she found herself being hounded with questions.

"where were you? we were worried sick!" nancy pushed past her husband to reach her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug.

"i stayed at fred and george's. i sent a letter, did it not arrive?" y/n pulled away slightly, knowing that the weasley's owl, errol, was notoriously awful at delivering letters successfully.

"that bird was not coming anywhere near these carpets." nancy scoffed, eyeing up where her youngest was sat watching television and messily eating a bowl of bolognese. "you spill that on the carpet and you'll be the one paying for new flooring, frederica."

"yes, mama." ricky's eyes didn't leave the screen.

nancy could only sigh, staring back at her eldest daughter with a worried smile. "next time, call home to let us know you're staying over."

"they don't have a phone. or at least one that's connected." y/n followed her mother through the doorway, sending her father a sorry smile and he remained silent.

"oh, honestly, what kind of people don't have a phone?" nancy went off into the kitchen in a huff, reheating the food she'd made earlier for the rest of the family.

y/n felt guilty as she looked over at her siblings who were sat around the living room, poking at their untouched bowls of food. only ricky was hungrily eating her food, the youngest being unbothered by the return of her sister.

"sorry if i worried you all." y/n muttered, hiking her books bag further up her shoulder. "i'm not really that hungry, mama. i'm just gonna head to bed."

she didn't give her family any time to try to stop her, instead running up the two flights of stairs to her room. she flopped down onto her bed, sighing as she was finally away from all the noise in her mind. she had hoped that once she'd started at hogwarts that all of her problems would go away, that the voices and visions would stop. but it seems that they only got stronger.

a bang on her window made the girl jump and fall off the side of her bed. looking up toward the window she found errol rustling his feathers as he pecked rapidly at the closed window. y/n rolled her eyes at the small package attached to his claws. she opened the window halfway, allowing the owl to fly down onto her windowsill. errol pecked expectantly at her hands as they tried to untie the parcel wrapped round his leg, earning a small handful of owl treated to be chucked at his feet.

it didn't take long for y/n to untie the package before the bird was clumsily flying back out of her window and into the grey clouds ahead. she unwrapped the parcel cautiously having a feeling who had sent her it.

her thoughts were proven correct as three cornish pixies threw themselves at her face as soon as the box was opened. she screeched, throwing the creatures out of the window and closing the box hastily. attached to the box was a small letter, in chicken-scrawl writing there was the words 'careful. pixies inside'.

of course it was them, she thought.

on the back of the note was a much more legible note, 'happy early birthday y/n . we hope you don't break your present from the pixies. see you in two weeks! - gred and forge.'

she chuckled to herself at the use of the nicknames they had used on themselves since first year. carefully reopening the box, she smiled at the sight of a delicate silver ring and a handful of her favourite wizard sweets. the ring seemed to have a small snake design that wrapped around the whole band, intricately carved scales all over. another note sat at the bottom of the box, intriguing her. 'thank your uncle roger for finally giving back what was rightfully yours.'

she gasped as she remembered a vision of someone wearing the exact ring she held in her hands. her grandmother had worn this exact ring to her parent's wedding, a memory she had found from falling asleep near her mother one night. the woman never seemed to remove the ring, having worn it in every one of the few photos her mother kept of her. she couldn't imagine the troubles the twins had gone through to find this, noting to herself to thank them profusely when she saw them next.

in the very bottom of the box sat one final envelope, her name written nearly across the top. she happily opened the envelope, revealing a card with all of the weasley's faces on the front from christmas morning last year. she giggled at the sight of the twin's bleary eyes and ron's own already shut and snoring. as she opened the card to read inside, a cloud of glitter burst out at her and continued to fall to the floor with seemingly no end.

"knew those two were being too sentimental." y/n hissed, placing the card back in the box and hoping that the glitter would eventually run out.

[gnarly-words]

forgotten souls | pt. 2

description: after ditching her at lydia's party, isaac tries to make it up to y/n whittemore and accidentally reveals one too many secrets to her.

pairing: isaac lahey x fem!reader, (platonic) jackson whittemore x fem!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse

word count: 8,727

masterlist

the birds chirped obnoxiously loud in the early hours of the morning, a blinding light fanning across the room through the small gap in the curtains. y/n's head pounded as she tried to swat away the light that was making her feel sicker than she already did. the movement of her arms alerted the small black blob that lay at the foot of the bed, causing the cat to launch herself paws first onto the girl's chest.

y/n let out an 'oof' at the force of the small cat, shoving her head further into the pillow as the sun's brightness seemed to be unforgiving. poppy curled up on her chest, purring as she pawed at the girl's shoulder. the cat's calls for attention went unanswered by y/n, who was already starting to drift off to sleep again.

"where the fuck did you go last night?" jackson shouted as he walked into the room, his sister hissing at the headache that returned at his tone. "mom said she didn't even know you were back before us."

y/s simply groaned back at the boy, mumbling something he couldn't understand into her pillow. jackson rolled his eyes at the girl, walking over and lifting the pillow off of her head before smashing it back over her head.

"oi! wake up!" jackson continued to wack the pillow into the girl, only stopping when her head finally raised and she gave him a deathly glare.

"hit me one more time, i dare you." she all but growled at the boy, chucking a pillow straight at his face in retaliation.

the duo's squabble was interrupted by the doorbell going, poppy leaping off of the girl's chest and rushing out the door at the sound. y/n continued to glare at the boy, his own face having a matching expression.

"y/n!" their mom's voice shouted up the stairs, snapping the pair out of their glare-off. "there's someone at the door for you!"

y/n was confused at her words, not having had many friends ever show interest in randomly turning up to her house. especially not the morning after the first party of the year and on the weekend. she shared a look with her brother, before the pair raced to get out of the room before the other. poppy was alerted at the movement from the room she'd just ran from, leaping back through the door and onto the girl's bed.

jackson shoved the girl behind him as he reached the top of the stairs, racing down them before the girl could make it back to her feet. y/n could hear him greeting the unknown person at the door, a teasing tone behind his casual words. she huffed as she walked down the stairs, crossing her arms as she reached the front door.

"y/n." jackson turned around with a teasing smile, widening the door for the girl to see who was on the other side. "i didn't know isaac was coming round."

"move, jackass." she rolled her eyes, pushing the boy back towards the kitchen where their mother was preparing breakfast.

she walked through the door frame, closing the door almost fully behind them so the duo in the kitchen couldn't eavesdrop too much. isaac was wearing a cardigan that y/n had seem him wear often, his head hung low and hands fiddling with the sleeves of said cardigan, he only slightly lifted his head to meet the girl's eyes as she cleared her throat, his eyes widening as he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in.

"isaac. what are you doing here?" she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the door frame.

"i-i'm sorry for rushing off last night. i didn't realise the time and had to get back home before eleven." isaac didn't dare meet his eyes as he spoke, already knowing the annoyed look that would be plastered across her face.

"you could've at least told me." y/n rolled her eyes, getting agitated that the boy wasn't even attempting to look at her as he tried to explain his actions.

"i had to get back. my dad-" the boy cut himself off before he revealed too much to the girl. "he's just strict about curfew."

"so are our my parents but i still would've at least given you a ride home." y/n still hated the fact that she had to rely on everyone else for a ride. "i had to walk back by myself cause jackson was off doing god knows what with lydia."

"w-what? you didn't get a ride?" isaac finally looked up, a worried look crossing his face, confusing the girl at his sudden worry.

"yeah, i cut through the woods." y/n shrugged, not understanding why everyone was making such a big deal out of the situation.

"shit, i'm so sorry, y/n. i thought that you'd just catch a ride with jackson." isaac could feel the guilt taking over. "if i'd known, i would've gone back for you."

"yeah, well. you didn't." she huffed out, glaring at her brother who was still lurking around the corner in the kitchen.

"please, let me make it up to you." isaac almost begged as he spoke, still nervously fiddling with the loose threads of his sleeves.

"and how are you gonna do that, isaac?" she raised her eyebrow at the boy, their eyes finally meeting as she waited impatiently for his response

isaac’s hands fidgeted harder with the sleeves of his cardigan, his fingers twisting the fabric like it might give him the right response. his eyes dropped again for a moment in thought, before slowly lifted to meet hers.

"let me take you out, even just for a coffee." isaac nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

y/n raised her eyebrow skeptically at the boy's response. she crossed her arms tighter across her chest and cocked her head to the side in thought. her headache from before was starting to rear its ugly head once more with her annoyance, her lack of patience with the situation not helping.

"you want to make up for leaving me at lydia's party, by taking me on a date?" she raised her eyebrows again, trying to process what the boy was asking.

isaac froze at her clear annoyance, regretting suggesting taking her out as soon as she cocked her head. "i-it doesn't have to be a date, just two friends going to get a coffee. or whatever you want to do instead."

y/n's eyes sharpened at his words, her patience at rock bottom. she rolled her eyes and walked back through the front door, leaving the tall boy stood there confused.

"is that a no then?" isaac nervously asked, already planning on walking back to his bike, tail tucked between his legs.

y/n scoffed from the other side of the door, dragging the boy inside by his wrist and slamming the door shut behind him. the boy was confused beyond belief, his eyes widening at the close proximity of the duo, reminding him of the previous night.

"in case you didn't notice, i'm still wearing my pyjamas." she pointed down to the fluffy slippers on her feet and matching set adorning her body. "not exactly the best choice of outfit for going to get a coffee."

isaac just nodded his head, his eyes following as she walked into the kitchen. his feet were rooted to the floor, not knowing if he should be following her or if he was meant to stay exactly where he was until she was ready to leave.

"me and isaac are going out for a coffee. don't worry about making me a plate up, mom." her voice carried through from the kitchen.

"dressed like that?" jackson scoffed from his place at the table, already helping himself to a second portion of food.

"yes, actually. problem?" y/n crossed her arms at the boy, smiling mockingly at him as he rolled his eyes.

"just make sure you take a coat. it's meant to be cold out today." mrs whittemore smiled at her daughter, peaking round the corner to get a look at the boy that would be taking the girl out.

"i will, mom." she smiled sweetly at her mother, sticking her finger up at her brother.

she walked straight past isaac who was still rooted in his spot by the front door, going straight up the stairs towards her bedroom. isaac stared through the kitchen at the remaining whittemores, almost questioning whether he should follow the girl or not.

"i'd say not to follow her but you're too awkward to try anything." jackson didn't even look up from his phone as he spoke, waving the boy up towards the stars.

"just make sure the door stays open." mrs whittemore smiled at the boy as she brought another portion of food to the table for her food. "did you want anything to eat before you head up. she's probably gonna be a while."

isaac seemed to have lost his voice without y/n's presence, simply nodding and taking a seat at the table. he silently ate the portion of food that had been placed in front of him, eyes still flickering toward the staircase every so often like he was afraid she might change her mind and storm back down. jackson kept sneaking glances at him too, smirking every time isaac pretended not to notice.

“don’t look so terrified,” jackson smirked once more, dropping his fork onto his plate. “she only bites when she’s really pissed.”

isaac stayed silent, unsure whether jackson was joking or if what he said had an element of truth behind it. he wouldn't be surprised, having grown up witnessing the siblings squabbles and the bruises they had left on one anther when they were younger.

after a few minutes of award silence as isaac continued checking the stairs and jackson quietly mocking him, the soft sound of footsteps on the stairs made the duo look up. isaac's eyes followed her as she rounded the corner, y/n now dressed in leggings, boots and an oversized hoodie that looked like it belonged to jackson.

a small black blob was trailing behind her, the cat brushing against her leg at each step. isaac's eyes remained fixed on the cat as it weaved between your legs, wondering whether he would be able to say hi and pet it. his eyes finally found y/n's, the girl quickly whipping around to find the coat she promised her mom she'd wear.

y/n didn’t say anything as she grabbed the coat from the hook near the door, zipping it up only halfway. her eyes finally met isaac’s again, something unreadable in them. a soft look washed over her eyes, still tired but they seemed lighter than before.

“you done being weird and staring at my cat?” she asked flatly, already pulling open the door.

isaac stood so fast his chair squeaked back against the floor, tripping slightly to follow the girl. he paused as he reached where the black cat was now sat on the side table by the front door. his hand cautiously reached out to the black cat, her head butting gently into his palm. isaac smiled slightly at the purrs he could feel under his hand as he pet down her back, finding a particularly good spot behind the cat's ear.

"strange. she usually hates guys." y/n titled her head at the sight before her, the cat now trying to climb up isaac's arm.

"oh, that's just bullshit. five years and she still won't even let me touch her." jackson complained from the kitchen, alerting isaac to the fact that he was still in the presence of the captain of his lacrosse team.

isaac cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to set the cat down gently, who gripped on tighter with her claws. y/n chuckled slightly at the sight of the small cat being dwarfed by his tall frame, reaching out to pull poppy from his arms.

"come on, poppy. isaac has a coffee or three to buy me." y/n smiled gently at the cat, pulling her from his arms with a huff.

her claws pulled at the threads of his cardigan as she whined at losing the comfort of his pets. isaac chuckling awkwardly as he let the girl manhandle the cat out of his arms.

"now, you go and annoy jackson whilst i'm gone." y/n pressed a kiss to the cat's head, setting her down in the entry way of the kitchen.

isaac watched as she looked on at the cat fondly, subconsciously smiling at her.

"ready to go?" her smile diminished slightly as she turned to the tall boy, grabbing her keys out of the bowl.

isaac nodded his head, walking out of the door and waiting for her to give her goodbyes at the bottom of their steps. he walked the girl to his bike, his single helmet already thrust out towards her before she could try and argue against it. she reluctantly took the helmet, swinging her leg over the back of the bike and waiting for the boy to sit down himself.

the pair pulled out of her driveway slowly, isaac taking a much slower route towards the cafe then when he drove her back home before. his mind was spiraling as he felt y/n grip tightly around his waist once again, praying that his heart was not beating as fast as he knew it was.

y/n remained in her position with her head resting against isaac's back the entire ride, only lifting her head to look around whenever they came to a stop at a light. she was still unsure why she'd agreed to let the boy take her out, knowing usually in that situation she would've slammed the door in his face and given him the cold shoulder for at least a week.

the engine hummed quietly as isaac finally pulled the bike into a small parking lot outside a tucked away cafe. it was one of those cozy, brick-walled places that looked like it belonged in a postcard, with ivy crawling up the sides and little iron tables out front that were probably freezing to sit at. even after living in beacon hills for nearly sixteen years, y/n had never once been to this cafe, wondering when and how isaac had discovered it.

she slipped the helmet off of her head, letting out a breath of relief that they were finally stationary. she was still agitated with the boy, but had clung to him the entire ride, scared she'd fly off the bike if she dared loosen her grip. she stepped off the bike and shoved the helmet into the boy's hands, who fumbled to catch it as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. he avoided her gaze and he struggled to get the keys into his jacket pocket and put the helmet into the bike's small storage under the seat.

the pair stood awkwardly for a moment ,the cold morning air brushing through their jackets. isaac smiled slightly as y/n tried to flatten her hair from the wind's attack, finding the less uniformed look suiting her more. y/n shoved her hands into her pockets, glancing up at the boy who still hadn’t moved.

"so, you gonna stand there like a statue all morning or actually buy me that coffee?” she raised her eyebrow at the boy, who seemed to snap out of his stare at her words.

"y-yeah, coffee. right." isaac nodded his head, leaning her over to the main entrance of the cafe.

he held the door open for her, and a little jingle rang out as they stepped into the cafe. it smelt of coffee and freshly baked pastries, a warmth hitting the duo as the door shut behind them. y/n could feel the tension in her shoulders and head melting at the smell, a small smile growing on her face.

they approached the back of the small line, isaac seeming to study the menu like it had the answers to finstock's next pop quiz on it. she chuckled as his eyes widened as he turned his head to read the second panel of the menu that seemed to have double the amount of items as the first.

“do you get nervous every time you order a drink?” y/n teased quietly, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

"there's just a lot of options,” he muttered, clearly flustered. “What even is a flat white?”

"a way to waste five bucks when you could’ve just asked for a latte.” she smirked, tilting her head as she turned to him. "i thought you'd know that seeing as you're the one who chose this place."

"i usually just get a hot chocolate. coffee isn't really my thing." isaac rubbed the back of his neck once more.

y/n chuckled slightly at his awkwardness, her annoyance with the boy starting to wear off the more they spoke. she was reminded of why she'd agreed to take him to lydia's party the night before and go out for a coffee now. he was too socially awkward to pick up on any of the social ques that she would've, like how to any other person their coffee 'friend date' would most definitely be a real date.

when it was finally their turn, y/n ordered quickly, her usual iced coffee already waking her brain up just at the thought. isaac stared at the barista for a moment before awkwardly muttering that he'd have the same as the girl, making y/n whip her head round to face him.

"i thought you didn't like coffee?" y/n asked after they'd paid, walking him over to the end of the counter.

"i've never actually tried it." isaac shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor as she spoke. "thought i might as well try it if you like it so much."

y/n chuckled under breath, pulling out her breath to send a quick text to her mom and let her know they'd made it safely to the cafe. she can already imagine the 'girls talk' she'd want to have when they returned, no doubt already seeing isaac as a new suitor for her daughter.

“i really didn’t mean to leave you last night,” isaac said suddenly, his voice quieter now. “i just- i panic sometimes. i didn’t mean for you to have to walk back alone.”

y/n looked up at the boy who's eyes were still glued to the floor. she could see the worry etched into his face, his eyebrows knitted together and his teeth gnawing on his bottom lip in thought.

"you could've just texted. i would've understood if you just told me." she turned to him, keeping her voice low as she recognized some people nearby from school.

"i-i tried calling but then my dad-" isaac paused once more, not yet ready to reveal the full truth behind the previous night. "i'm not supposed to use my phone after eleven."

isaac's eyes flickered up to her own, guilt pooling in his gaze. he knew she would understand his actions if he just explained what was really going on. but worried what her reaction would be. would she pity him? see him as her little project to build back up.

their order was called, y/n happily walking over to collect their drinks, walking over to a free table by the large window. isaac trailed after her, smiling sheepishly at the girl as she slid his iced latte over. they remained in silence as they both took a sip of their drink, y/n looking expectantly at his expression in response to the drink/ when he gave only a slight nod of his head, she went back to sipping her own drink, her head and sore throat thanking her for the coolness.

"you know, you can tell me whatever's going on." y/n looked across the table at his hunched form with a small smile.

"w-what makes you think something's going on?" isaac's hand held onto his glass tightly.

y/n just shrugged, sipping her drink once more as she waited for the boy to find a moment to feel comfortable enough to speak.

"my dad doesn't like it when i'm home late." isaac muttered, pulling the sleeves of his cardigan over his hands.

"is it so bad if you're a little late?" y/n rolled her eyes, not quite understanding the severity of mr lahey's curfew rules.

isaac just looked down sadly, not answering the girl with words bu this actions said everything she needed him to. her eyes flickered down to where his hands were fiddling with the straw of his drink, his sleeves slipping down slightly to reveal the pale skin of his wrist. y/n's eyes stopped as they reached the purple splotches that circled the skin, a clear outline of a hand wrapped around his wrist. her eyebrows drew together and her hand shot out to stop his hand from slipping the cardigan down further before she could shot herself.

"isaac?" she cradled his wrist in her hands, her eyes leaping up to his wide ones. "what happened?"

isaac shoved her hand away, pulling his hands to sit in her lap and be protected by the cover of his cardigan. he gulped nervously as his eyes flickered around the cafe, hoping no one that they knew had seen the dark marks on his arm.

"it's nothing." he mumbled, keeping his eyes everywhere but on the girl in front of him.

"it doesn't look like nothing, isaac." she lent across the table, trying to keep her voice low. "was it your dad?"

"just leave it, y/n." isaac's head snapped up as he spoke, a pleading look in his eyes. "please."

y/n sighed, leaning back in her seat and staring down at their half drunk coffees. she knew she should push the boy more, knowing if she was in his situation she'd want someone to show that they cared.

the two sat in silence until y/n had finished her drink, the girl immediatly standing and walking away from the table. isaac followed her movement with his eyes, confused. had his almost confession of the truth made her want to leave him there?

"are you coming?" y/n had appeared back with a small pastry bag in her hands, raising her eyebrow once more at the boy.

isaac nodded, downing the last of his drink and following her out of the cafe. they walked in silence to his bike, y/n wordlessly grabbing the helmet and slipping it onto her head. isaac pulled the keys out of his jacket and climbed onto the bike, fiddling with the handle bars as he waited for the girl to say where he'd be driving them to.

"w-where are we going? did you just want to go back home?" isaac had never seemed smaller to the girl than in that moment, his tall frame being hunched over as he tried to hide behind himself.

"you can drive us back to mine, yeah." y/n tried to smile from under the helmet, hoping it showed through the small gap of the visor.

she climbed onto the bike behind him, pulling herself close around his waist. isaac seemed to tense at their proximity, but relaxed as he felt the girl rest her head between his shoulder blades.

they pulled out of the parking lot once more, driving through the woods that surrounded the town. y/n could feel isaac tense up every once in a while, her hands remaining still where they were encircled around his waist. she wondered if maybe his wrist wasn't the only place that had received such a violent bruise from his father.

a light patter fell onto the visor of the girl's helmet, her eyes looking up to see the swirling grey clouds forming above them. the patter soon became a thundering shower the closer they grew to the whittemore house. y/n was thankful for her mother's demand of wearing a coat before she left, feeling sorry fro isaac's soft cardigan that she could feel growing more soaked by the second.

the bike rumbled softly to a halt as they pulled up the end of y/n's driveway, the duo staying in their position for just a moment longer. y/n eventually swung her leg off of the bike, pulling her helmet off of her head and gently fixing her hair. isaac remained with his hands on the handlebars, his body wishing to leave the girl before she asked anymore questions.

"did you want to come in for a bit?" y/n shivered with the coldness of the rain and wind. "just until the rain stops."

isaac looked unsure, his curls dripping water down his concerned face. he slowly pulled the keys out of the ignition, swinging his leg over his bike and pushing it further up the driveway to be under a small cover. the duo rushed through the house's front door, sighing at the warmth that the fireplace had created throughout.

y/n quickly stripped herself of her soaked socks and shoes and hung up her coat, going to pull her wet sweatshirt off of her body before stopping as she remembered the little clothes she had underneath. she turned to go up the stairs, pausing as she noticed isaac was stood stoically in the entrance way of the house.

"are you coming or just gonna start there shivering?2 she raised her eyebrow at the boy, not giving him a moment to answer before she was rushing herself up the stairs.

y/n could hear his slow movements from downstairs as she reached her bedroom, leaving her door open as she rushed into her en suite bathroom. she sighed as she stared at the wet ends of her hair that were tangled from being whipped in the wind. she turned the shower on, stripping and stepping into the warmth.

isaac walked slowly through the door she'd left open and sat awkwardly on the end of the girl's bed. he could hear the shower going from behind the door in the corner of the room, wondering whether he was supposed to stay outside until she was done.

a small 'meow' alerted him to the presence of the small black cat that had been fawning over him before they left. poppy was slowly stretching herself as she walked towards the boy, her head bumping under his hand and meowing once more to demand the pets she so deserved. isaac chuckled at the persistence of the cat, gently petting her as she crawled into his lap and curled into a small loaf shape.

he continued to pet the cat until he heard the shower turn off, pausing in his actions as he waited for the girl to return to the room. he was about to get up and leave the room to give her some privacy when poppy meowed at him and butted her head into his hand.

"you're welcome to shower if you want." y/n swung the door open, isaac's eyes widening as he looked up at her.

the girl had a purple towel wrapped around her body, her hair, now wet from the shower instead of the rain, falling out of a towel she'd wrapped around her head. he quickly averted his eyes after letting them linger for slightly too long, going back to staring at the cat in his lap.

"it's okay. the rain should stop soon." isaac kept his eyes pointed downward, pulling the cat off of his lap as he stood. "i'll step out so you can change."

"the rain's not meant to stop until after five." y/n raised her eyebrow at him, pulling out a set of pyjamas from her walk in closet. "also i can just get changed in here, there's a door for a reason."

she quickly slammed the door shut before popping her head out once more to stare at the boy with a knowing look. "stop being stubborn isaac. you're soaked. go shower and warm up."

she once again slammed the door to her closet shut and left the boy to the silence of the room. isaac remained in his spot stood in the middle of her room, his eyes finally taking in the 'y/n-ness' of it all. from the small trinkets lining her shelves to the photos she had pinned to her walls, it all was a complete encompass of the girl he'd gotten to know over the last twenty four hours.

"isaac! shower!" y/n's voice shouted from the closet, the boy rushing to the only other door in the room and slamming it shut behind him.

by the time that isaac was done in the shower, he had finally realised that he didn't have any clothes to change into. he could always change back into the clothes he'd worn that morning, but a quick look at the counter showed that the clothes that were once a messy pile were gone.

he slowly wrapped a towel that had been hung on the back of the bathroom door around his body and walked through the door. he paused as he found the room empty beside a small pile of clothes neatly stacked on the desk beside the bay window. he recognized the top as one that jackson had rarely worn to class and assumed the pajama bottoms were the whittemore boy's as well.

y/n returned not long after the boy had changed into the clothes, her hands carrying a large tray with mugs and a plate of cookies. poppy trailed behind her, expertly weaving between her legs without tripping the girl up. her eyes lifted to find isaac sat stiffly at the end of her bed, his arms crossing over one another as he tried to cover the marred skin.

"mom made hot cocoa if you wanted some?" she smiled as she set the tray down on her bedside table. "i can grab a sweater if your uncomfortable."

isaac kept his gaze down as he nodded his head, sighing in relief as the girl dropped a grey jumper into his lap. he quickly pulled it over his head, chuckling slightly as he noticed it was almost a perfect fit on him, in contrast to the very much oversized look of y/n's own sweater that swamped her frame.

y/n grabbed the two mugs and carefully walked over to the boy to pass him one. isaac's hands met her own briefly as she passed it over to him, a tingle going up his arm from the contact. the girl settled herself at the head of the bed, pulling a remote out from her bedside and turned on the large tv that isaac had somehow missed on his first glance around the room.

"are you gonna be normal and sit up here or is that where you usually sit on a bed?" her eyes didn't leave the screen as she searched for a show for the pair to watch.

isaac slowly pushed himself up the bed, careful to not spill any of the still slightly too hot to drink hot cocoa. he kept a good distance between them as he lent against the headboard, almost falling off of the side of the bed in his attempts of creating distance.

"alright. i don't care if you've watched it but i'm in the mood for some gray's anatomy." y/n finally pressed play on the remote, falling back against the headrest.

poppy had settled herself in isaac's old spot at the end of the bed, soft purring coming from the cat's small body. y/n smiled as her eyes flickered to her form, happy that her beloved cat was finally warming up to someone other than herself.

isaac stayed stiffly as far away from the girl as possible as he watched the show that he'd only heard of in passing. he watched as the girl was entranced in the medical drama, her face clearly showing her reactions to what the characters were saying on the screen.

"so, why are they fighting?" isaac lent over to the girl, his eyes portraying the confusion that he had of never having watched a second of the show.

"how much time do you have?" y/n raised her eyebrow at the boy, a humor look glinting in her eyes.

she delved into the world of gray's anatomy, eventually just starting the show from the beginning after she found the boy becoming more and more interested.

the sun had finally reached its peak by the time they'd made it through three episodes. isaac could feel the anxiousness from their earlier conversation completely melted away and was now comfortably sat closer to the girl beside him, poppy snuggled between them. his hand had subconsciously reached to settle on the back of the cat, her purrs reverberating up his wrist.

there was a small silence in the room as the tv started to load up the next episode, isaac listening as he heard a loud breath come from the girl beside him. turning his head, he found that the girl's eyes had drifted shut and her head was beginning to drop. she lean further towards him in her sleep, her body falling almost into his lap. his hand instinctively reached to catch it before her head fell, moving so the girl could rest it on his shoulder.

poppy grumbled below the pair at the loss of her comfy place nestled between them, climbing her way up isaac's leg until she curled up in the small of his lap. the boy sat as still as possible to not awaken the two that were using his body as a pillow. he only moved to set down his now empty mug on the bedside table, his own body growing sleepy at the comfort he was brought by their warmth. his eyes slowly dropped closed, the last thing he saw before falling into a deep sleep being y/n's hand curling into the sleeve of the jumper he was wearing.

carrie whittemore was trying her best to not squeal in delight as she snapped a shot of the pair snuggled up with poppy in their laps. she carefully crept out of the room after picking up the mugs, smiling as she sent the photo to her husband. she almost jump out of her skin as she nearly crashed into her son who had been lurking in the hallway.

"jesus christ, jackson." she clutched her hand to her chest, struggling to balance the now empty mugs and plate on the tray.

"why's he in there with her? why'd you close the door?" jackson had not taken his eyes off of the closed door since his mother had shut it.

"i trust your sister. they're just sleeping." she shrugged, knowing her daughter wouldn't do something as nefarious as jackson was thinking, especially with them both still in the house.

"you never said that when lydia would come round. we always had to keep the door open." jackson complained as he followed her down the stairs, walking past her and taking the tray into his own hands.

"that's because i know you, jackson. i know what you and lydia get up to when we're not here." carrie raised her eyebrow at her son, the boy blushing at the insinuation behind her words.

"whatever, it's still not fair." jackson huffed, setting the tray down by the sink.

"complain all you want, i'm not going in and disturbing them." carrie set the mugs and plate in the dishwasher, starting a cycle. "plus, when was the last time your sister had a friend over? middle school?"

jackson paused as he thought over the amount of times he'd seen his sister sat alone in her room after school or on weekends. often sitting at her desk drawing and binge watching whatever her latest obsession was. a small frown came to his face as he realised his sister was often the same in school, rarely interacting with anyone besides himself, and that was usually on the occasion that she needed a ride home.

he nodded his head sadly at his mom, retreating back upstairs and into his bedroom, the sad thought of the lonely existence of his sister still swirling in his mind.

y/n was the first to show any signs of waking up, her arms tightening around the pillow that seemed harder than usual. opening her eyes slightly, she panicked as she could see the rays of orange peeking through her window, telling her that it was well into the late afternoon. lifting her head from its resting place she paused as she finally noticed the position she was in. her arms were woven around isaac's waist, his one arm wrapped securely around the girl whilst the other laid gently on poppy's head that was still resting in his lap.

she slowly pulled herself away from the boy's grasp, her joints cracking as she finally moved from the position she'd been in for a few hours. isaac seemed to sleepy reach out for the girl, a small pout gracing his face as his hand pressed into her hip and brought her back into the position it had been in before.

his breathing grew rapid as his grip on her grew tighter, a small scared whimper leaving his lips. his legs began to thrash slightly, waking the once peaceful poppy who hopped off of the bed at the disruption. small words were mumbled under his breath that y/n couldn't quite make out, something along the lines of 'no, please' and 'don't make me go there'.

she slightly shook his shoulder as his thrashing grew more violent, a bead of sweat beginning to drip down his cheek as a pained expression crossed his face.

"isaac? hey, isaac, it's okay. it's just a dream." she hushed him slightly, trying to pry his hands from their tight grip on her.

her attempts were fruitless, the boy beginning to weep in sleep, tears pouring from his eyes as he continued to try and curl his body in on himself and into the girl's arms.

"isaac!" she shook him harshly one final time, his eyes snapping open.

he pulled himself frantically away from the girl, a wild look in his eyes. his head darted around the room, the unfamiliar surrounding making him even more disoriented. his chest heaved heavily as he struggled to get a deep enough breath in, his heart beating loudly in his ears. he could feel y/n's hand still gently placed on the closest part of him to her, a worried look on her face as she stared at him.

"it's okay. it was just a dream." y/n spoke as softly as she could, keeping her hands in his field of view to not scare him.

isaac's eyes finally stopped roaming the room, stopping on the figure of y/n that as slowly trying to place a calming hand on his own shaking ones. he instantly felt himself relax as he cold hand landed on his clammy one, her hand giving him a reassuring squeeze that helped keep him grounded.

"i-i'm sorry." isaac sniffled slightly.

"it's okay." she smiled reassuringly, hoping it was coming off that way to the still panicking boy. "you're safe now, i promise."

isaac nodded his head, closing his eyes and seeing the flashes of his dream haunting him. he sighed as he turned to look at her once more, feeling an odd sense of calm and openness being in her presence. maybe she would be the first person he told what happened, what was still happening.

"i-t was my dad. i saw him." isaac sniffled slightly, curling his hands into the cover beneath them to keep him grounded. "h-he was towering over m-me. it was like he was really here."

y/n's breath caught in her throat at the confirmation of what the boy had alluded to earlier, her hand remaining on his. she stayed quiet, giving him space to talk without any pressure. isaac stayed silent for a moment, his eyes remaining fixed on the bed sheet and on where poppy had hopped back onto the bed and curled between them once more.

"it never used to be this bad, just a few smacks to the back of my head when i got bad grades or making me stay in my room all night. but it's been getting worse. he's been getting more... violent." isaac sniffled as he spoke, remembering how he used to think his father's beatings couldn't get any worse.

"when did it start?" y/n spoke softly, trying to keep her voice low.

"after my brother died." isaac wiped a tear from under his eye. "he was in the army, never made it back. after he was gone, it was just the two of us."

"what about your mom? does she not try and stop him?" y/n could tell she'd hit a sore sore spot with her words, the boy's eyes growing even sadder.

"my mom died when i was younger." isaac shrugged, like he had no emotional reaction to the loss. "dad never really told me what happened, just that she got sick."

y/n kept quiet, allowing the boy to gather his thoughts. her hands began to mess with his own, tracing a small scar that ran from his thumb to his wrist. she wondered when he'd got it, had it been from his father or some playground tumble?

isaac's watched as her fingers gently ghosted over his skin, her touch soft enough that he could barely feel it. he felt grounded as he watched her fingers trace around the mole on his wrist. he was reminded of what a gentle touch was, something he hadn't truly felt in years.

"he gave me the bruises, the ones you saw on my wrist." isaac spoke quietly, watching as y/n's finger stilled for a moment before continuing it's path around another freckle on his hand. "i don't even remember what i did, i said something he didn't like and suddenly he was dragging me to-"

isaac stopped as he shivered at the thought of the freezer, his breathing quickening as he felt the top he was wearing grow tighter around his neck. y/n's hand squeezed his own reassuringly, the feeling grounding him in the moment and reminding his mind that he was safe.

"you don't deserve any of that, isaac. there's no excuse for hitting your kid." she shook her head, shuffling slightly closer so they were shoulder to shoulder. "nothing you do should make him hit you."

isaac nodded his head slightly., his brain still not letting him believe that he didn't deserve the abuse. that he didn't deserve the comfort that y/n's touch and presence was giving him.

"i wanted to tell someone. a teacher or someone who could actually do something about it. bu ti'm scared. what if he just gets worse?" isaac finally looked into the girl's eyes, a scared and pained look she'd never seen before pooling in his eyes.

"we'll figure something out. you can say you're coming round here to study after school or after lacrosse." she smiled, interlacing their hands together. "you don't even have to come 'round here. just go somewhere that isn't there until curfew."

isaac nodded, smiling at the though of spending more time with the girl. "thank you."

"no need to thank me." she shrugged slightly bashfully. "i'm just wanting to be there for you, if you want me to."

he nodded again, a fuller smile growing on his face. he looked down at their hands, a blush forming as he realised just how close they were. sure, they'd been basically hugging whilst he drove them on his bike. but this was different. he could see the girl's face up close, count every freckle that dusted her face, see the different shades of her eyes as they stared at his own face.

his eyes subconsciously flickered down to her plump lips, his heart rate picking up at the thought of leaning in to press his own against hers. he internally shook his head, ridding himself of the idiotic thought. the girl was just being kind, just being friendly. there was nothing more.

unbeknownst to the lahey boy, y/n's own eyes were drifting towards the boy's slightly chapped ones. she wondered what it would feel like to be that close to him, to lace her hands behind his neck and play with the hairs at the back of his neck. would he lean in as well if she did? would he make the first move to press his lips against her own? or would she have to take that step to push their relationship's boundaries.

both were so absorbed in their thoughts that they didn't notice the door to her room creaking open as an annoyed jackson stood watching them. the boy had been napping in his room when he'd heard the shouting and crying, waking him up and making him sulk over to his sister's room.

"are you two gonna kiss or can i go back to sleep?" he yawned out.

the pair flew from one another, isaac almost falling off of the bed if it weren't for y/n's hand still entwined in his own.

"jackson! what the hell?" y/n shouted, throwing a pillow at her brother, who threw the pillow right back before slamming the door before he could be attacked further.

the two didn't move for a moment after the boy left, neither knowing what to say after they'd been caught staring at one another so intensely. y/n was the first to move, untangling their hands and reaching for the remote that had been flung to the end of the bed in the chaos.

"did you- umm. did you wanna keep watching or did you need to head back?" she cleared her throat as she spoke, trying to keep her voice steady.

"i-i think i should head back. i have to help my dad at the graveyard tonight." isaac didn't dare meet her eyes, knowing his face was still glowing beet red.

"sure. i'll go see if you clothes are dry." y/n quickly shot out of bed, rushing to the door to escape the awkward atmosphere that her brother had created in the room.

she rushed down the stairs to the laundry room, praying that the clothes were dry so she didn't leave the boy alone long enough for him to escape without a proper goodbye. her prayers were answered as she pulled the still warm clothes out of the dryer, piling them up and carrying them back to her room.

she pushed the door open with her hip, smiling at the sight she was greeted with. isaac was lying on his back, poppy curled in a small ball on his chest as he gently pet her behind her ears. she could see the purrs vibrating the cat's body from afar, knowing full well she was losing her spot as poppy's favourite person.

"here's your clothes." she smiled, placing the small pile next to the boy and giving poppy a scratch behind her ear. "i can leave whilst you get changed."

"n-no, it's okay. you can just turned around. i don't want you to have to wait out there whilst i change." isaac struggled to get the surprisingly stubborn cat off of his chest, y/n having to carry the cat out of his arms so he could stand.

"o-okay." y/n blushed slightly, sitting herself down with poppy in her arms on her bay window. "just give me a shout when you're done."

she smiled as she looked out the window, watching at the wind blew gently through the trees. she could spot a fox running through the woods as two even smaller foxes followed behind it. birds were still chirping in the branches, their songs creating a soft soundtrack as the girl relaxed into the cushions.

looking down, poppy was still purring in her arms but was less relaxed than when she had been in isaac's arms. the cat's head was lent over her shoulder, her eyes on the boy that was just starting to get changed behind them. y/n held a tight grip on her, knowing the small cat would launch herself at the boy the first chance she got.

"did my shirt not go in the wash?" isaac's voice spoke from behind, making the girl turn around and freeze as he stood with only his pants on.

"i-is it not there?" y/n struggled to keep her eyes on the boy's face.

isaac simply shook his head, holding up the cardigan that he'd been wearing but no sign of the white shirt. y/n averted her eyes from his form, her cheeks burning even with the slight glance she'd gotten of his surprisingly toned abs and chest. isaac crossed his arms over his torso self consciously, the bulging of his biceps just making the girl's blush deepen,

"you can just wear the top i gave you earlier." she smiled without looking at him, standing to set the cat down.

poppy immediately ran over to the tall boy, pressing herself against his legs and meowing for attention. y/n rolled her eyes at the cat, a slight jealousy filling her at the attention the duo were giving each other as isaac lent down to scratch behind her ear.

"are you sure?" isaac straightened up.

"it's jackson's. he's got like ten other that look the exact same." y/n rolled her eyes. "he won't even notice it's gone."

isaac nodded his head slowly, still unsure if what the girl was saying was true. he picked the top up from her desk, pulling it over his head quickly. he didn't let his eyes fall onto the girl, embarrassed that he'd been half naked in her room.

"i should get going." isaac picked his cardigan up, already walking towards the door before she could protest.

y/n had to almost chase the boy down the stairs to catch up to his long legs. she huffed as she finally found him at the front door putting his coat on in a hurry, his keys already in hand.

"you don't have to leave so quickly, you know." y/n rocked on her feet and crossed her arms over her chest.

"i should really head home." isaac sounded nervous as he spoke, his eyes glancing anywhere but at her.

"o-okay." she frowned slightly at his hurry to leave. "i-i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. you can just forget i offered to help if you don't want me to."

"n-no! i mean, no, it's not that." he finally looked up, panicked when he saw the almost hurt look on the girl's face. "i just really don't want to make him mad again."

she nodded understandingly at his words, walking past him to open the door to let him out. isaac smiled in thanks, walking through the open doorway before pausing to turn back.

"did you really mean what you said? that i could come round?" he looked unsure as he spoke."

"of course i did, isaac." she smiled leaning against the doorway, shivering slightly at the cold air they were letting in.

"i'll see you monday?" isaac waved, walking backwards to still see the girl.

"see you monday." she waved back, keeping her eyes on the boy until he reached his bike and started it up.

she gave him one final wave before stepping back into the warmth of her home. she sighed a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, finally letting the secrets isaac had revealed set in. she felt her heart break for the boy, knowing he'd be going back to such a cruel existence whilst she remained in the comfort of her privileged life. she just hoped that the boy would truly take her up on her offer and finally let someone help him.

[gnarly-words]

hope | pt. 2

description: y/n potter is finally going to hogwarts, though there seems to be mischief occurring before they even left.

pairing: sirius black x female!potter!reader, james potter x sibling!reader

warnings: none

word count: 4.288

masterlist

it was a quiet, cold morning in september when james potter awoke to the screaming match coming from down the corridor from him, which seemed to be happening more and more frequently the closer they got to his sister attending hogwarts. he recalled a previous argument after his sister discovered she wouldn't be able to bring her broomstick to Hogwarts.

"what do you mean i can't bring mine with me? why can james then?" an enraged y/n shouted as she flew down from where she and her brother had been playing with a quaffle they'd found in the shed.

"first years can't bring their own brooms. it says so in your acceptance letter if you'd dare to read past the first two sentences." fleamont rolled his eyes, not looking up from reading his newspaper to see the anger written across his daughter's face.

"but that's not fair. i should've been a second-year at this point, so why can't i be the exception?" y/n threw her broom to the ground, regretting it immediately as she heard the snap of the handle.

"childish behaviour exactly like this is exactly why you won't be taking your broomstick to hogwarts. end of discussion." their father didn't break eye contact with his newspaper as he broke the girl's dreams.

"ugh! this is so unfair!" y/n stormed back through the conservatory door, her stomping on the stairs being heard loud and clear from the garden.

"and she wonders why she's going into first and not second year." fleamont scoffed, taking a sip of his cup of tea.

james sighed and pushed himself out of the comfort of his bed, stumbling down the corridor to find his sister's bedroom in tatters as her trunk still remained half-packed with her robes and textbooks. their father stood beside her trunk holding a familiar creature by its tail as a waterfall of the silverware of the house fell in a heap on the floor. with one final shake, their mother's engagement ring finally fell at the peak of the pile.

"i knew you were stealing, you little rat." fleamont gritted his teeth as he dropped the animal without a care for its health and plucked the ring from the scatterings of her floor.

"dad, he just likes shiny things. you know this." y/n whined, scooping up the niffler from the heap he'd left him in and shushing him and Jamie whined in her arms. "and you didn't need to shake him like that. he would've handed it over if you asked nicely. i trained him to."

"i don't care if you think you've trained him, that thing is out of control." he hissed, snapping his fingers for a house elf to come and clear away the silverware."ribly! coopey!"

ribly appeared in the room, followed by coopey, james' personal house-elf, who ran towards james with a familiar envelope in his hands. the lettering of his name was near perfect, a clear sign of the hands of sirius black.

"this one just arrived for you, master james." coopey didn't wait long before he swept up the silverware into a sack and snapped back out of the room with ribly following suit.

"dad, i can keep him in control. he's just bored." y/n sat on her unmade bed, a sign that she had not long woken from her slumber.

"bored?" fleamont asked incredulously, sweeping past his son with a quirked eyebrow. "if he's bored then let him free."

"but he's never been outside before. what will he do if he gets hungry or gets cold?" y/n cuddled the niffler closer to her chest and he, in turn, cuddled his snout against her chin.

"he's an animal, y/n. he'll be fine." he said, finally turning to assess the damage done to his daughter's room. "clean up in here. we'll be leaving early in the morning for king's cross. i don't want to have to clean up after that creature as well as you when we return."

"but i thought jamie was coming with me? professor dumbledore agreed that i could." y/n stood from her bed, already reaching for the parchment that said the same thing.

"i don't care what dumbledore has said, you're not taking him with you." fleamont sighed, on his last straw with his daughter at this point.

"but, dad." y/n pouted, already knowing that she couldn't fight her father on this. "he'll be good. i'll make sure of it. you'll never even know he was there with me. n'll even-"

"y/n cordelia potter! you are not taking that creature with you to hogwarts and that is final!" fleamont slammed the door behind him with such a harsh tug that it rattled the paintings plastering her bedroom walls.

y/n glared at the floor angrily, her hands shaking as she tried to soothe the shivering niffler in her arms. tears streamed down her face as she refused to look into the pitying eyes of her brother who remained motionless by her bedroom door.

"i just wanted to have a friend at hogwarts." she sniffled, standing to put jamie back into his cage.

"but you'll have me, and the boys. and i'm sure lily and the others will accept you into their group." james came to sit on his sister's bed, hugging one of her stuffed animals to his chest.

"but i'm not going to be in your year, jamie." y/n huffed, throwing her clothes that had become her carpet over the past few days into her laundry basket. "i might not even be in your house."

"what are you talking about, y/n/n? of course, you're going to be in gryffindor." james scoffed.

"but what if i'm not? what if i'm sorted into hufflepuff, or ravenclaw, or even slytherin? i couldn't face mum and dad if i was a slytherin." she shuddered at the thought of the disgust in her parent's eyes if she returned for the holidays.

"well, just tell the hat just that then. just say not slytherin. anything but slytherin." james grinned at his sister, remembering uttering the exact same words just last year.

"and it'll listen to me?" y/n huffed, lifting her head from where she'd been buried in the mass of clothes.

"it will if you actually make it to hogwarts and don't get suffocated to death by all of your clothes." their mother's voice carried through the open doorway she'd popped her head through. "i heard your father yelling. you okay, dear?"

"i'm okay, mum." y/n stared longingly at the sulking niffler in the corner of his cage. "i'm just going to miss jamie whilst i'm at hogwarts."

"you know why he can't go with you, dear. he would just cause too much chaos. it's bad enough with the amount that your brother and his friends cause." euphemia gave her son a pointed stare before starting to close the door behind her. "clean up in here, dinner will be ready soon."

silence once again fell over the room, only the sounds of y/n slowly moving her laundry basket out of the corner of the room where a mountain of clothes was beginning to pile up again. james couldn't help but feel sympathetic for his sister, knowing how much comfort the niffler had brought her whilst he had been away at hogwarts and she had been stuck in a muggle hospital. an idea sprung to his head as jamie's black eyes stared longingly at the freedom of the newly cleared space in Isobel's room.

"does dad actually know which of the nifflers he is?" james tilted his head, approaching the creature to look for any distinguishable features.

y/n could only shake her head as her brother took jamie out of the cage to inspect him closer. his black fur was the same as the rest of his litter, his beady eyes holding just the same amount of mischief as his siblings.

"i don't see any reason for junior not to be replaced by one of the smaller nifflers in the garden whilst you're away." james set the creature back down on top of his cage.

y/n couldn't hold back her grin as she realised how genius her brother's idea was, already knowing which niffler would be the perfect replacement to trick their father. the twins shared a grin as they knew they were going to get away with the mischief.

how exactly y/n had managed to both over and under sleep her alarm for the morning had amazed her. she'd spent the rest of the evening before wrangling one of the nifflers from the garden, tommy, into the cage in her bedroom whilst her brother had hidden the real jamie in his owl's cage shrouded in his invisibility cloak. after the excitement had worn off from the acts of mischief, she had collapsed on her bed, forgetting to close her curtains before the sun had begun to rise that morning.

"y/n/n! are you nearly ready?" james knocked tentatively on his sister's door, scared of the chaos that must be going on inside the quiet room. "y/n/n! dad said if you're not downstairs in ten minutes, he's leaving without you!"

y/n shot up from her bed and raced to change into the outfit ribly had steamed and pressed for her the day before. her eyes caught the owl cage she'd been forced to buy sitting in the corner of her room and lugged the heavy metal out into the corridor, where ribly snapped into existence before leaving once more with the cage in tow.

"mum! where's my wand?" y/n rifled through her chest of drawers, remembering having left the wooden stick somewhere in there. "i can't find it anywhere!"

"miss y/n left this in the kitchens. miss y/n must hurry before she is late." ribly hurried into the room, holding out the light-coloured wand in her hands before picking up y/n's trunk and snapping back out of the room.

y/n sighed in relief as she pocketed the wand into her jacket pocket and picked up the final bag from her side table, picking up the worn journal that fell from the bag in her haste. the tattered leather journal held many memories of her childhood, some being the happiest times of her life, but most being the darkest secrets that not even her brother had ever heard. she sighed as she shoved the journal into the depths of her bag for her to deal with at a later date.

"y/n/n, dear. don't forget to close jamie's cage before we leave." euphemia popped her head around the corner, seeing her daughter already closing the door with a note attached to it to remind her parents and ribly when and what to feed the niffler whilst she was gone.

"yes, mum. i was just making sure he had enough food and water until you and dad were back." y/n grinned mischievously at the niffler, tommy, in the cage.

"well, do hurry up. your father is already in the car with the engine running." euphemia rolled her eyes at her husband's antics.

"yes, mum." y/n skipped out of her room, trailing after her mother as they walked down the stairs and out onto the gravel drive. "dad! did ribly bring you my trunk and owl?"

"yes, now get in the car." he nodded his head to where james was already knocked out asleep in the backseat of the car, his owl cage slotted between their seats. "muggle rush hour will make us late at this rate."

"why don't we just fly then? we'll surely be on time if we're not stuck in queues the whole way there." y/n shrugged, her bag dropping to a heap at her feet.

"you know how your mother gets about us being seen." fleamont rolled his eyes, sharing a tired smile with his daughter.

"she'd be even more unamused if we're late though, dad." james groggily said, having been woken by the conversation.

"that is true, dear. i say as long as we don't go the route you took us last time, we can fly and get something to eat from the muggle bakery at the station when we arrive. how about it kids?" euphemia grinned, setting her purse on her lap as they pulled out of the driveway.

"only if i can get the chocolate muffins they had last time." y/n grinned, her stomach already grumbling at the thought of the gooey inside of the freshly baked muffin she was going to receive at the end journey.

"fine. but don't come writing to me and complain about the sugar crash you'll have on the train." euphemia huffed, settling down in her dear.

"no, she'll just come and whine to me about it instead," james grumbled, before immediately snoring as he closed his eyes once more.

"i loath you." y/n hissed at her brother jokingly, huffing as she caught the smirk that graced his face in his sleep.

y/n too slowly drifted off to sleep to the sounds of her parents conversing over their neighbour, mrs finchley's, dog who had been digging up their plants in the garden for the past few weeks. as she came to once again, she found that they were just flying into the country lanes that they often used as a way to transition from flying to driving once more. streams of green slowly turned to grey and red as they entered the main roads that the muggles used.

"how much longer, dad?" y/n yawned.

"with the rate of these stupid muggles, another half an hour, sweets." fleamont sighed, clearly already bored of waiting in this queue.

y/n only hummed as she looked out of the window, seeing a family similar to their own, squashed into the small black car. two young girls were squashed into the backseat, whilst the mother of the family, being asleep like y/n's own brother, had claimed the front seat by their father. the children were bickering over something that seemed to be irritating the owls in the middle of them as they fluttered, irritated in their cages.

y/n couldn't help but giggle, having been reminded of the times their mother was caught in the middle of an argument between their father and james, a very similar grumpy expression on her face as she tried to enjoy the tea that ribly had made fresh for them all. it was only as she saw the car was actually floating slightly, that y/n realised that they were a wizard family (if the owl cages and father's robes hadn't already given away the fact).

"dad! they're floating!" y/n gasped, pointing their father in the direction of the car that had come to a complete stop beside them.

"oh, anderson. what are you thinking?" fleamont sighed, rolling down his window before shouting across the space between the cars. "oi! geoffrey! you might wanna fully turn off the flying engine. muggles are sure to notice a floating car on the motorway!"

"oh, fleamont! cheers, mate!" mr anderson clearly was unphased by the faulty engine of his car, used to it falling short often. "this stupid crap bucket is definitely on its last legs, ay?"

"mum, who is that?" y/n whispered, having never heard her father never heard of a man named geoffrey or anderson.

"mr anderson, he used to work with your father as an auror in the ministry before your father moved departments," euphemia whispered with a smile.

y/n glanced back over to the small black car, only to find it gone. she pouted as she realised she probably wouldn't ever be able to get to know the two girls from the vehicle. they were probably in differing years to her, or at least different houses. the car began to move forward, driving them off the main road and towards the centre of london.

before she knew it, they were pulling up in front of the station, james already leaping out of the car as he spotted a lone sirius standing waiting for him by the main entrance to king's cross. the boy had been long left by his parents, who had walked his younger brother, regulus, all the way to the platform to see him off that morning. y/n rolled her eyes at the sight of the two animatedly talking about their summer, already starting to walk through the entrance of the station without waiting for the rest of the potters to follow.

"james!" fleamont shouted, popping the boot of the car. "your bags?"

james smiled sheepishly at his father, shuffling back over quickly to where fleamont was glaring at him.

"sorry, dad," James smirked at the floor, wrestled his trunk out of the boot and sprinted over to where the luggage trolleys were to grab two. "here, y/n/n. put your trunk and winnie's cage on here."

y/n grabbed both of her trunks and winnie's cage and placed them on top of each other on the trolley. she sighed as she looked up at the clock above the station entrance, pouting as she realised they wouldn't have enough time to stop off at the muggle bakery like her mother had promised. the quartet walked back over to where Sirius had been awkwardly waiting for james to return to his side.

"hello, potters," sirius smirked his signature smile, hasting his pace as they walked through the station towards platforms 9 and 10.

"hello, dear. have your parents already gone through with regulus?" euphemia struggled to keep up with her husband's hastened step in her kitten heels.

"yes, we got here extra early so that regulus could be treated to whatever he wanted from the muggle bakery." sirius rolled his eyes at his parent's clear favouritism.

y/n grumbled under her breath about not having gotten the same opportunity as sirius' younger brother before she giggled to herself at his matching grumpy face.

"ah! mini potter. you ready to finally become a hogwarts student." sirius winked down at her, having grown since she last saw him during the summer break.

"y-yeah." y/n turned shy, an irregularity to her usually bubbly demeanour. "i'm just worried about the sorting ceremony."

"don't worry, me and your brother will be cheering you on when you get sorted. hopefully into gryffindor." sirius winked once more, before running to catch up with the male potters as they had already reached the barrier to the station.

"c'mon, hurry up!" fleamont waved his arm, pushing james and sirius through the barrier one after the other. "train leaves in ten!"

"coming, dad!" y/n grinned, running straight past her father and pushing her trolley straight through the barrier.

she stopped in awe as the ruby-red train finally came into view in front of her. she hadn't gotten a good view of the train when she'd picked james up, having only seen the carriages in her brief visit before. a sense of pride filled her as she saw the hogwarts crest on the side of the train, a grin filling her face.

"y/n, why don't you hand your father your bags? he can get them sorted onto the train for you." euphemia said, already pushing fleamont to carry the heavy trunks over to the train workers who easily lifted them up onto the train.

james and sirius joined the pair, followed by their father who was wringing out his hands from carrying the bags a short distance.

"oh, my dears." euphemia already had tears in her eyes, though her sentiment was cut short as the train conductor announced the train would be leaving in five minutes. "well, you lot better be off then."

"see you at christmas, potters," sirius said to the purebloods before stepping back to allow the family to bid their farewells.

at the sight of her daughter ready to leave the coup and join james, euphemia sobbed and pulled them both in for a bone-crushing hug.

"mum!" the two groaned.

"we going to hogwarts, not going off to war." james rolled his eyes as he freed himself from his mother.

"i can't help it." euphemia wipes her tears away. "my babies are growing up and there's nothing i can do about it."

"well see you at christmas, mum. it's not too long." y/n smiled up at her mother.

"i know, y/n." euphemia patted her head softly. "now, remember what i told you last night. no pranking anyone. not even each other. that's especially to you y/n."

sirius and james stifled a chuckle with a cough as they knew that they were both not going to be following their mother's orders.

"that goes for you too, sirius. i want no letters from dumbledore explaining how you managed to blow up yet another toilet." euphemia sternly spoke, smiling as she knew that both of her kids weren't going to listen to her. "oh, why am i even saying this? you're all going to be in detention nearly every day anyway."

"you know us so well, mum." james smiled cheekily along with his sister.

"just have fun, okay?" euphemia asked, pulling them in for another hug.

"okay." y/n nodded, turning back to father. "see you at christmas, dad."

the pair waved off their parents as their trunks and cages were taken off of them by the train crew. y/n smiled widely as she was finally able to step foot on the very same train she had watched her brother leave on this time last year.

"sirius and i are going to find remus and peter in a compartment. are you alright to find somewhere to sit?" james asked his sister, helping her up into the train carriage.

"yeah." y/n nodded, though she was shyly looking down the hallway for someone who looked to be a first-year as well.

"i'll see you in the great hall later on, okay y/n/n?" james asked one last time.

"ok, now go before sirius or someone comes to find you again." y/n giggled, shoving her brother in the direction that the raven-haired boy had wandered off in.

as she found herself in the train corridor, y/n watched older students greet their friends and enter compartments together. she longed for a friend in her year to stick by in times like these. she walked in the opposite direction than where her brother had gone, finding that most compartments were already filled with students, many years her senior. she passed by one more compartment before she stumbled upon five girls who looked her age.

"hi. umm. there are no other compartments left. can i sit here with you?" y/n shuffled her feet nervously.

"sure." The ginger girl smiled, patting the seat beside her. "i'm grace-aoife young. but just call me grace, most people can't pronounce my full name."

"i'm y/n, potter." she shyly shook her hand.

"i'm josie thomas." josephine grinned broadly, her dimples showing as she moved along the seat to allow room for the brunette girl. "i think i know your brother. he's in the same year as my brother."

"scott?" y/n asked with a tilted head, recognizing the last name.

"yeah! this is so great that we're both in each other's years." josephine laughed, turning her head to the other side of the compartment.

"it's you! from the station last year!" the first twin, said in wonder, nudging her sister to look up from her journal, an identical look of shock on her face as well.

"hi." Isobel waved shyly, remembering the awkward interaction between their parents that had ended their conversation abruptly last time.

"i'm heather." said the first blonde twin who sat closest to the compartment door with a journal-type book in front of her.

"i'm holly." the other blonde twin said, reading the book that her sister had set down between them.

"i told you she wasn't lying." heather pushed her sibling, finally looking past her shoulder to spot the ginger-haired girl in the corner buried deep in her book.

"oi, michelle. you gonna talk or is that book more interesting than our company?" heather grinned, her sharp canines showing under her gums.

"oh, sorry." michelle smiled sheepishly, closing her book. "i'm trying to finish this book that my brother gave me before we get to Hogwarts."

"what book is it?" y/n asked, trying to get a sneak peek at the cover.

"magical theory by adalbert waffling," michelle replied, setting the book into her bag by her feet.

"i haven't even touched any of my books yet." grace rolled her eyes, grabbing some coins out of her coat pocket.

"at least you're not being forced to read them." michelle rolled her eyes, sinking back into her seat.

"you're definitely going to be in ravenclaw with that brain of yours." holly teased, also grabbing coins out of her pocket as the trolley rolled past.

"anything from the trolley dears?" the trolley lady asked the six girls.

the girls began to list off the sweet treats they were craving as they spotted the fully stocked cart before them. the lady passed all of the sweets over to the girls, who all smiled and ripped into the packaging before she had even wheeled away. it was silent in the compartment for a few seconds, before each of the girls began to share their sweets among themselves. and that was how the train journey remained all the way to hogwarts, with a new friendship blossoming between the first years.

next

[gnarly-words]

mad as hatter | pt.1

description: a magical appearance may finally have a reason for her madness.

pairing: fred weasley x fem!reader

warnings: none

word count: 5.2k

masterlist

y/n wasn't sure when she had her first visions, she'd had them as far back as she could remember. the echoes of voices from all those around her to the flashes of memories she wished she could forget. her parents thought the girl was going crazy, that their daughter was just making things up and eavesdropping on their conversations. She was shunned and shushed whenever she tried to ask questions about her odd dreams or the words that no one else was hearing.

she'd heard every hurtful comment before they even left people's mouths, seen the atrocious things people envisioned as they walked past her. no one believed she wasn't just a no-good nosy child. kids in school would call her psycho, hearing her mumble under her breath in class, and often stare off with a dazed look in her eyes. doctors have tried to get her on every medication possible but nothing helped numb the visions or silence the voices in her head.

she only had one person who ever tried to believe her growing up. there was a boy who lived down the road from her, who often would be sitting by himself in the school canteen. the pair were never officially friends, only ever sitting with one another, but were as close as either of them came to having a real friend.

y/n never learned the boy's name, having only interacted by talking about the school bully who would harass the pair. the pair weren't even in the same year, only really seeing each other during class breaks. so, when her parents decided to move the entire family up north once y/n had left primary school, she was not the least bit upset. sure, she was losing the only friend she'd ever made, but she knew she'd be long forgotten soon.

the thompsons weren't your typical family, both parents worked for the government and often spent the whole day out of the house. they would go on work trips for up to a week at a time, leaving their children to look after themselves. they had to learn how to take care of themselves from a young age, each taking up a role in the household; hughie was in charge of the outside of the house, ensuring none of the neighbours would know they were home alone; ned took care of their finances, ensuring all the bills were always paid and everyone had enough money for food; alex and y/n split the roles of cooking and cleaning the house, only allowing the other to ever try to go anywhere near the stove after the ramen incident with poor ricky, who was in charge of charming all of the nosy aunties who liked to pop round and nose around in their business.

this was how it wasn't a surprise when y/n's hogwarts letter sat unopened for months after they arrived, catching dust in their parents' bedroom along with the other unimportant post. it was only when an enthusiastic hughie came running into the kitchen one late july morning with a bundle of letters that the siblings took notice of the increase in post.

"what you got there hugh?" y/n nodded to the pile of old-looking letters on the dining room table.

"letters." hughie stuck his tongue out to the blonde girl. "they're all addressed to you, y/n."

"really? all, what, thirty of them?" alex scoffed as she entered the kitchen with a sleepy Ricky on her back.

"yeah. see, here. it says 'miss y/n y/l/n, the bigger bedroom in the loft, 3 whiteditch lane.' it even knows which room you're in y/n!" hughie shoved one of the letters into his sister's face.

y/n grabbed the letter addressed to herself, smirking at the words written on the front, knowing she did in fact have the bigger bedroom on the first floor. turning it over she was shocked to find a real wax seal instead of the usual paper closing. whoever had sent these letters to her was ancient, she thought.

"the bloody hell is hogwarts?" alex scoffed, using the kitchen knife y/n had just cleaned to rip open one of the letters. "oh, this has got to be some weird joke."

"what does it say?" ricky tried to peek over her sister's shoulder.

"'dear miss y/l/n , we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry."' y/n read out loud for the siblings to hear, not quite believing what she was reading either.

"what a load of bullshit." hughie scoffed, pouring a glass of juice for himself and ricky.

"language, hubert!" alex smacked him upside the head.

"he's right." ned appeared in the door frame. "there's no way that's real. If so, why hasn't one of us gotten a letter as well?"

y/n was speechless, letting her brother's words sink in. why was it only her who had received these mysterious letters? what was so special about the girl compared to everyone else?

"well, it's no use thinking about anyway. there's no return address and you've missed the date to send them a response." alex shrugged, chucking the opened letter into the recycling along with all the others on the table.

y/n watched as all her siblings sat around the dining room table, dishing out the food she'd just finished making. she couldn't help but feel like they were wrong about the letters. something had clicked in her brain and felt like things were starting to fall into place as she opened it. all of the voices in her head were starting to say the same thing for once, instead of the usual rambling mess that only seemed to disappear around her siblings. she felt like a part of her that had been missing her whole life was finally complete.

"you should forget about those letters, y/n/n. they're a load of nonsense. probably just a prank from billy down the road." ned walked over with a plate of food for the blonde.

"yeh. you're probably right." she smiled falsely, joining her siblings at the table.

"like magic could be real." hughie scoffed, already helping himself to seconds of the pasta.

it wouldn't be until three days later that the siblings were proved wrong as their front door was once again stuffed with triple the number of letters through their letterbox. looking out his bedroom window, hughie gawped as he spotted at least twenty owls sitting on their fence. he'd never seen such behaviour from the animals before, worrying that it was a sort of premonition.

"lexie! you might wanna come see this!" he called out to his oldest sister.

"what do you want?" alex rolled her eyes, not looking up from the book she was reading. "this better not be another one of you and ricky's pranks again."

"it's not. look!" hughie fully opened the curtains, stepping back as two owls flew directly onto the window ledge.

"so? it's just some birds." alex rolled her eyes, walking out of the room.

"it's not just some birds. it's a fucking tonne of them!" hughie tried to protest.

"language, hubert!" ned's voice could be heard from the other side of the house.

hughie could only roll his eyes like his sister, following her out into the hallway. "if you'd actually pay attention to anything other than that bloody book, you'd see i'm not exaggerating."

alex stopped at the top of the stairs, finally looking up from her book. at least fifteen owls were sat in their front garden, all having their eyes trained on the y/l/n house and a familiar letter in each of their beaks.

"uh. y/n! you mind coming downstairs?!" alex shouted, walking into the living room and stopping at the pile of letters stacked high in their front hall.

y/n ran down with ricky and ned following not far behind her. she looked around confused as the owls all began to land on the window ledges. "uh. why are there owls in our garden?"

"i have no idea. but I'm a little scared for when mum and dad get back later." ned started to close the blinds, nodding to the pile by the front door. "i think you have some post, y/n."

"yeh," y/n whispered, walking to the last open window and spotting a couple standing at the end of their drive in unusual clothing.

she drew the curtains without breaking eye contact with the snowy owl that hooted by the window. her siblings were all stood at the base of the staircase, mumbling to one another. y/n could feel their eyes as they all glanced over at her, then at the pile of letters, then back at her once again.

"look. this can't be some weird joke again." y/n finally ended their constant mumbling.

"you can't be serious, y/n." ned scoffed. "there's no such thing as magic or witches or wizards."

"but what if there is? what if somehow this is all real?" y/n tried to argue with her brother.

"oh come off it, y/n." It was hughie who scoffed this time, walking towards the pile of letters. "if magic is real then how come you've never done any, huh?"

y/n didn't know how to answer her brother, trying to remember a time when something had happened without her trying to. the day when it had randomly started torrentially raining after y/n had thrown a tantrum and refused to go to their aunt's house came to mind. or the time when she had fallen from the tall oak tree in their back garden and landed unscathed on her two feet. or the time her parents' cars both suspiciously had flat tyres and weren't able to go to an important meeting on her birthday last year. had it all been just a coincidence? or had she been the reason behind all the strange happenings surrounding her?

she couldn't put another word in before their doorbell went, silencing and stilling the room. no one dared move towards the front hallway. they weren't expecting anyone, their parents had keys to the front doors. y/n moved towards the door, stopping as it slammed open with a blinding light.

"oh, not again!" a voice groaned from outside of the house, walking through the now open hole in the front hall. "sorry about that, dears. not used to these muggle doors."

"what's a muggle?" ricky's small voice asked from behind her siblings, who'd all huddled once again at the base of the stairs.

"oh, now that you're not supposed to know." the woman chuckled to herself, dusting off her odd green robes.

"i'm sorry but who are you? and why have you broken into our house?" ned stood firmly in front of his siblings, arms out protectively.

"oh, how rude of me. my name's minerva mcgonagall, professor of charms at hogwarts." the woman tipped her head slightly, her pointed hat staying perfectly upright.

"oh, not this again," alex grumbled. "look. whatever joke this is, it's gone too far. get out before we call the police."

"well, i know you are not who i am here for then," mcgonagall mumbled under her breath. "i am here on behalf of professor dumbledore. he wanted me to personally guide miss y/l/n to gather her supplies for the year."

"you're not taking our sister anywhere." hughie pulled his sister closer to him.

"i did not expect so much push back on this. but if this is what it'll take for you to believe me." mcgonagall shrugged her shoulders, taking out a wooden stick from the sleeves of her emerald robes and pointing it at the empty fireplace.

it sparked to life into a roaring fire, the stack of letters left scattered by the front door flying into the open flames. one sole letter remained unscathed, landing in the professor's hand.

"h-how did you do that?" ricky's head appeared from behind her sister, wonder glowing in her blue eyes.

"magic, of course." mcgonagall tilted her head at the siblings. "did your parents not tell you any of this?"

"o-our parents aren't magic. they work for the government." hughie, too, was still staring at the burning ashes of the letters.

"what about your grandmother?" mcgonagall pulled out a scroll from her robes, reading the name of the family's closest magical relative. "a hilda kim. she must have told you something, yes?"

"nana kim's dead. uncle roger killed her." ricky spoke before she could think.

"frederica!" ned shoved his youngest sibling with a huff.

"sorry, neddy." ricky returned to her safe space behind alex.

"k-killed? are you sure? she's still registered as an active witch with the ministry." mcgonagall reread her list once more. "i've never had our charts be wrong."

"nana kim's alive?" alex whispered in disbelief.

"no. she's lying. we went to her funeral, remember lex?" ned refused to believe what this strange woman was saying.

"y-yeah. you helped mama write her eulogy." alex nodded, turning to the professor who was still stood bewildered in their living room.

"well. i will have to have a word with the minister himself. never in my life have i seen this be incorrect." mcgonagall tucked the scroll back into her robes.

"who was that man outside?" y/n looked back towards the professor, remembering there was another person with her.

"that was professor dumbledore himself, headmaster of hogwarts. he was seeing to it that i had the right house. you muggles and your weird house names." the professor shook her head.

"so will he be teaching me at hogwarts?" y/n's face lit up slightly at the thought of learning to do what the professor had done with the fireplace and more.

"oh no. professor dumbledore resigned from teaching a few years after your very own grandmother attended hogwarts." mcgonagall finally looked around the home spotting the clock on the wall, jumping at the time she could read. "oh. we must get going, miss y/l/n. we don't have much time to gather your supplies before everything closes."

y/n hesitantly walked forward, still staring at the still roaring fire then back at her siblings' awe-struck and perplexed faces. "how long will i be gone? my parents are coming back soon and i don't want to worry them."

"not long. i would like to have a talk with them myself when we return to explain everything anyway." mcgonagall turned her nose up at the knowledge that the children's parents had left them home alone.

"take this with you, i wrote down the house number in case you forgot." alex pulled away from the sibling huddle to rip out the house's phone number from the phone book.

"call us if you need us to come and collect you, yeah?" ned approached his youngest sister, pulling her into a tight hug. "we'll let you know if mum or dad say anything once they're back."

"thanks, neddy." y/n half smiled, still shaken up from everything that had been revealed before.

"come along, dear. we have much to do." the professor walked back towards the hole she'd made in their doorway. "oh, i almost forgot."

with a wave of the stick she had procured earlier, the door frame reconstructed itself back to the way it was before. the door even looked as though it had had a clean to it.

"there. apologies for the break-in earlier." mcgonagall walked towards the door, hesitantly turning the handle and pulling it open. "i shall see you all later."

"bye, y/n." ricky ran forward, pulling her sister into one last hug before running back up the stairs.

"we'll wait downstairs in case the phone rings whilst you're gone." ned waved his sister off, not quite trusting her safety in the hands of the stranger she was leaving with.

y/n waved her siblings off one last time before following the professor down their driveway. there stood the long-bearded man from before, carefully inspecting their neighbour's new car.

"professor dumbledore. i have miss y/n, shall we go?" mcgonagall raised her eyebrow at the man.

"ah, miss y/l/n. what a pleasure to meet you. albus dumbledore. headmaster of hogwarts." dumbledore held his hand out for the young girl to shake.

"nice to meet you too, professor." y/n shyly shook his hand.

"now, i can't come with you to diagon alley but i do look forward to seeing you at hogwarts in september, miss y/l/n." dumbledore tipped his head slightly before he disappeared with a crack.

y/n gasped in delight, amazed by the wonders of the magical world he was being exposed to. "h-how did he do that?"

"apparition, my dear. you will have plenty of time to learn all about that and more once we get you ready for hogwarts." mcgonagall took out her wand. "now, are you ready?"

y/n simply nodded her head, holding on gently to the professor's outstretched arm. she felt her body twist uncomfortably, seeing the world warp before her and in a blink she landed in an overly crowded high street.

"welcome to diagon alley. here, we will be able to find everything you'll need for your time at hogwarts." mcgonagall was already speeding ahead down towards a tall, slightly wonky building.

"but, professor, i didn't bring any money with me. how am i going to pay for anything?" y/n looked around worriedly, catching the knowing looks of passersby as they spotted the Professor walk past.

"your grandmother left some wizard money in a vault at gringotts for when any of her grandchildren came of age. seeing as you are the first of your siblings to attend hogwarts you'll have full access to the vault." mcgonagall claimed the steps up to the looming building.

"a whole vault?" y/n whispered, following the professor.

"yes. now, i'll have you stay out here whilst I go and retrieve it for you. why don't you go down to ollivander's for your wand? best to get it out of the way first." mcgonagall nodded to the black-fronted building with a swinging sign saying as such hanging out the front. "i'll be out shortly."

without another word, the professor walked through the doors and left the poor girl alone on the steps. y/n turned in a few circled before she spotted an old wooden sign with the name that the professor had mentioned before.

she felt slightly sick as she walked into the empty shop, a small pouch of coins grasped firmly in her hands. professor mcgonagall had said that this was where she could find a 'wand', though y/n wasn't sure exactly what that was or if she even wanted one. She thought back to when she'd seen the professor light the fire and repair their front door and remembers her holding a strange stick in her hand.

"ah, miss y/l/m. i knew i'd be seeing you at some point this year." an old man appeared from the aisles of boxes. "here for your wand are you?"

"y-yes." y/n meekly nodded, staring up at the man.

"i remember when your grandmother came for her first wand. 10 inch, ash wood, dragon heartstring core. very powerful witch your grandmother was." ollivander nodded, turning around and mumbling to himself as he reached for a box behind him. "now, try this one."

y/n carefully lifted the light-coloured wand from the box, feeling a stinging sensation go up her arm as soon as she lifted it. with a yelp she dropped it back into her place, shaking off the shock that still traveled up her arm.

"no. no. that won't do. let me try another." ollivander returned to the aisles, going further back before returning once more

the wand this time was a much darker colour, slightly lighter in her hands as y/n lifted it up. no sparks went up her arm this time, taking this as a good sign she gave a slight wave of it. a bust of light came out of the end of the wand, sending a stack of papers flying across the entire shop.

"not that one either." ollivander grabbed the wand out of the girl's hands, rushing back to find another choice.

y/n felt slightly deflated, questioning if the professor had been right. her mother had never mentioned anything about their grandmother since she'd passed, never saying a thing about there being a possibility of any of this being true.

"this one. this one has to be it." ollivander nodded, placing the final box down.

y/n was even more cautious, scared that being a muggle would cause the wand to backfire on her once again. her hopes were lifted as soon as she looked into the box. this wand felt different, it almost seemed to hum slightly in her hands. another shock ran through her arm, this time settling over her entire body. she felt her entire body feel like it was floating, the wand humming in tune with her mind, becoming one with her.

"fred weasley you get back here right now!" a woman's voice screeched from the doorway of the shop.

y/n dropped the wand back into its box in shock, turning and stepping back instinctively as a pair of ginger boys ran into the shop giggling.

"he's not fred, i am." the boy on the left giggled.

"honestly, you'd think you'd of learnt the difference by now." the twin on the right shook his head at the short woman who was angrily walking into the shop.

"that still doesn't mean you can run into shops as you like." the ginger woman rolled her eyes finally spotting the panicking y/n who was trying to creep out of the shop unnoticed. "oh. i'm so sorry dear for my boys interrupting you. see, this is what i mean. you two outside now!"

the twins tried to protest their mother's words, stopping at the deathly glare they received. the two trudged back out of the shop, shoving each other as they went and blaming the other for what happened.

"again, i'm sorry dear. you carry on. i'll make sure those two apologise before you're gone." the woman smiled warmly at y/n before following her sons back outside.

y/n stifled a giggle as she heard the woman's voice immediately start screeching at her sons outside the doorway, only stopping as ollivander cleared his throat. "i believe you have found your wand, miss y/l/n."

"a-are you sure?" y/n walked back over to where she'd dropped the wand in fright.

"oh, i'm most certain. 13 inch, ebony wood, thunderbird feather core. very peculiar wand but i am certain that wand was made for you." ollivander gave her a knowing look. "i think professor mcgonagall is outside waiting for you."

"y-yes." y/n nodded, carefully lifting the box off of the counter and holding it tightly to her chest. she began to walk towards the door before she realised what she'd forgotten to do. "oh, i don't have any money to pay."

"ah, miss y/l/n. there you are." mcgonagall's voice called from behind her, making the girl jump. "i believe you'll be needing this."

the professor dropped a small pouch into the girls hand, nodding her head slightly at the awaiting ollivander. y/n began to dump the coins out of her pouch onto the counter, hoping it would be enough to cover the cost of the wand.

ollivander chuckled as he sorted the coins he needed before sliding the majority of the pile back over to the girl. "you'll be needing those for the rest of your supplies i'm sure, miss y/l/n."

y/n only nodded, shocked that what she was grasping in her hands was really hers. she thanked ollivander before collecting her coins and hurrying out of the shop with the professor.

"i'd just like to apologise again for my boys' behaviour. they would also like to apologise." the ginger woman from before shoved her twins forward as y/n left the shop.

"sorry." they mumbled in sync, looking bored out of their minds.

"i-it's okay. you didn't know anyone was in there. it's fine." y/n smiled, hugging her new wand tighter to her chest.

"did you get your wand?" the one on the right gasped.

"let us see it." the twin on the left egged her on.

y/n paused, not feeling confident enough to share something so personal with the boys she'd only just met. their mother seemed to have the same idea as she smacked them upside the head. "boys! she clearly wants to leave. say you're sorry and let's go get your own wands so you can stop badgering her."

"sorry for bothering you." the twins said in sync once again, creeping the girl out slightly.

"it's okay, honestly. mistakes happen." y/n shrugged, trying to pass them to get to where professor mcgonagall was now waiting for her.

"hope to see you at hogwarts!" the first twin called over their shoulder.

"hope to not see you in slytherin!" the second twin shouted as well.

the two boys were pulled by their ears by their mother into the shop, who sent back an apologetic smile once again. y/n felt herself chuckling at their antics, turning to join mcgonagall who had already started to walk towards a new shop.

"professor, who were those boys?" she asked curiously.

"that was fred and george weasley. trouble, i'm sure of it. merlin help us all these next few years." mcgonagall muttered the last part of her sentence under her breath.

y/n giggled once more, silencing as she caught the professor's stern glare pointed down at her. she didn't dare say anything else about the boys, silently smiling at the thought of becoming friends with the pair at hogwarts.

it wasn't until well past four in the afternoon that y/n and the professor returned to the y/l/n souse. two silver cars sat parked in the drive, a sign both of her parents had returned early from their trip. y/n rubbed her hands against her trousers nervously. what would her parents say when she returned? would they even believe anything professor mcgonagall said? or would it take more fireplaces being lit for them to trust the woman? she had no time to consider her options of escaping before the large oak door swung open to reveal the worried face of her mother.

"oh, y/f/n. i was so worried." nancy held her daughter tight to her chest, glaring over at the woman who had arrived with her. "who do you think you are to kidnap my child?"

"mum, it's fine. professor mcgonagall will explain everything inside." y/n tried to ignore her mother's use of her full name and ushered her inside.

"no. It's not right, y/n. get out of this house before i call the police." nancy shoved y/n inside of the house.

"mum! just listen to her. please!" y/n begged her mother.

"maybe we should listen to her, nance." robert tried to argue with his wife, reeling back at her hard glare.

"i'd like some answers." ned shrugged his shoulders, startling the group at his sudden appearance. "it'd be nice to know where our sister is being carted off to in a month."

"she' is being carted off nowhere's not being carted off anywhere!" nancy's protest fell on deaf ears and robert and ned welcomed the witch into their house.

y/n didn't look back at her mother, instead following her brother into the living room. her siblings were huddled on one of the sofas beside the still-roaring fire. they all sprang up at the sight of y/n, the youngest pulling her into a tight hug and running her ear off with questions about everything she'd seen.

"frederica, let go of your sister and sit down." robert gave his youngest a stern flare before offering a seat doe mcgonagall to sit. "now. tell us where you kidnapped our daughter to."

"i wouldn't call it kidnapping. i simply offered to take her to diagon alley and gather her school supplies." mcgonagall assumed that the children had already filled their parents in on the main things. "i have everything you will need here for taking her to king's cross on september the first."

she slid over another parchment letter, sighing as she finally saw the deathly glare she was still being dealt by mrs y/l/n. "i believe your mother had her reasons for keeping all of this a secret from you, mrs y/l/n. and i am sorry that you do not have the opportunity to go to her and ask yourself."

"did you know her? my mother?" nancy finally said.

"yes. miss abbott, as i knew her back then, was an excellent student and a brilliant witch. she was top of her class. it was such a shock to the whole teaching staff to find out she left the wizarding world after she graduated." mcgonagall looked down at her watch and sighed knowing she'd have to be back at hogwarts soon.

"does this mean that any of the others could be magic as well?" robert held his wife's hand, speaking on behalf of the shaking woman.

"we keep a very close watch on all descendants of witches and wizards for signs of magical abilities. if they had shown any they too would've received their hogwarts letters already." mcgonagall saw the three eldest siblings deflate slightly at her words. "but there is always a chance that your youngest could still be welcomed into hogwarts if she too shows the same magical capabilities as miss y/l/n."

ricky's worried expression grew brighter and more joyous by the second as mcgonagall spoke, already dreaming of her time going off to hogwarts and becoming a witch herself. y/n's face too grew into a smile at the idea of one of her siblings being able to join her.

"i do have to get back to hogwarts but if you have any questions here is the address to send letters to my office." mcgonagall pulled yet another scroll out of her robes and passed it to robert. "were there any last questions?"

y/n's mind went to the voices she'd been hearing, the visions of people she'd never met before in horrific accidents and deaths. could her 'episodes' be a part of being a witch? she didn't have time to ask the professor before her parents were ushering her through their front door. y/n couldn't leave her question unanswered and ran out through the door to the end of the driveway where professor mcgonagall had her wand out ready to leave.

"i have one!" y/n shouted after the professor before she could apparate away. "do witches and wizards often have visions of things? things that never happened to them but felt like they did? or voices in their heads of people around them?"

"what sort of visions?" mcgonagall walked quickly over to the girl.

"w-well like the time that i saved ricky from being run over by a car because i'd had a dream the night before of the exact same situation. or how i saw how my maths teacher was diagnosed with cancer weeks before it happened?" y/n felt herself becoming more and more nervous at bringing up the topic as she spoke.

"and the voices? what are they saying?" mcgonagall pressed on further.

"l-like right now you're wondering if i'm a s-seer? and something called legilimens. what do those mean professor?" y/n gulped weakly.

"i'll be in contact before you come to hogwarts, miss y/l/n. i must discuss this with dumbledore." mcgonagall turned and apparated away before peggy could ask any more questions.

she was worried she'd scared the professor away, she would tell dumbledore exactly what all of the kids at school and doctors would tell her; that she was insane.

next

[gnarly-words]

pretty boy

description: the perfect capitol daughter isn’t so perfect or capitol after all.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!plinth!reader

warnings: mentions of war, mentions of poverty

word count: 6.2k

masterlist

y/n would never admit she was anything but capitol, she refused to acknowledge her past home and only her future. unlike her brother, she didn't sympathise with the friends she'd left in two. instead, she was grateful for the opportunity they had living in the capitol, being at the top of society and comfortably lapping in the luxuries.

her mother would often say she was her least troublesome child, something the girl would gloat about whenever her brother was around. she never complained about the life they were privileged enough to be living, always going with their parents to every gala or event with a polished smile on her face. y/n never complained when their parents would insist she be chauffeured around the city even to the convenience store round the corner from their house.

sejanus sometimes resented his entire family for their ignorance, their lack of accountability for what they left behind in two. the wealth they had gained from betraying their district felt like dirty money to the boy, tainted with the blood of the rebels who died at the hands of his father's weaponry.

he could barely recognise the girl he called his sister, the girl who would go with him every weekend to hand out pastries to the homeless that she'd made the night before. the girl who would try to look after and adopt every stray animal she spotted on their way home from school. she'd been tainted by the luxuries of the capitol and their mindset. no longer would she be his best friend and confidant in all of his deepest thoughts.

even just looking at the girl as she sat opposite him that morning for breakfast, the boy could hardly recognise her. her once matching curly locks were long gone, replaced by a golden blonde colour that made her skin look paler than usual. her curls were brushed out to be looser than they usually were, her baby hairs pinned back to reveal the new piercings along both of her ears.

"caius is not feeling well this morning and won't be driving you. so you're going to be walking. you'll have to get going soon, kids." strabo read his newspaper as he said the words that made his daughter stop mid chew.

"but i still need to get changed." y/n stared wide-eyed at her father, motioning to her silk pyjamas. "i thought we had another driver in case of emergencies."

"syrus has been called away to drive the cranes this morning, i'm sorry, sweetheart." strabo sighed at the sad look in his daughter's eyes, knowing she prided herself on her looks at the academy.

"i can get mrs vardi to steam your uniform quickly before you have to go in, sweetheart." mrs plinth smiled at the blonde, nodding her head at the maid who was already rushing upstairs to get the girl's uniform sorted before she made it into her room.

y/n only sighed, scraping her chair against the floor as she left her breakfast half finished. she excused herself to her room, rushing around to find the specific rings and earrings she had wanted to wear that day. the academy was strict on the uniforms of the students, only allowing approved jewellery and hairstyles by the dean himself. after many complaints from teachers of the plinth girl's disregard of the rule, her father had agreed to donate money to the academy if all of the teachers would look the other way. anything for the favourite child, sejanus had grumbled as he remembered how much money his father had had to bribe the dean with in order for him to let it slide.

the girl had always been both parents' openly favourite child since she was born, both having wanted a girl since they found out they were having another child. the day she was born was the day that sejanus felt he was sidelined in his parents' eyes. now, never would he say he was unloved by his parents; his ma always ensured the boy had everything he could ever want and their father would go out of his way to try and take interest in sejanus' hobbies. but he was never y/n. he was never their perfect capitol-loving daughter who was friends with the children of the highest elites in society.

y/n smiled as she stared in the mirror, finally ready and with a few minutes to spare for her to fuss over her ginger cat, leo, who was stretching himself across the white sheets of her bed. the cat had been brought with them from two, the only part of her past life that y/n refused to part with. she'd found the kitten malnourished and on death's door during a particularly cold winter's evening when she was fetching some bread and pastries from the bakery for her ma. she'd sacrificed the loaf of bread to the poor creature and carried him back home inside her fleeced jacket. ever since then the cat had become a staple of her life, never really being officially adopted by the family until they moved to the capitol and had to declare him as theirs to pass through the border.

"y/‘! you're brother’s waiting for you by the door. are you ready?" she flinched as her mother shouted up the stairs, something she rarely did unless it was too early in the morning for her to have the effort to climb the stairs.

"yes, ma! i'm just coming!" she gave leo one final scratch behind his ear before rushing down the marble stairs.

"please make sure your sister doesn't wander off again." strabo called to his son as he watched him collect his things by the door.

"that was one time, pa." y/n pouted, wrapping her scarf securely around her neck.

"one time too many." strabo rolled his eyes at his daughter.

y/n merely pouted, slinging her workbook bag over her shoulder and stuffing her feet into her new boots. sejanus didn't know why she'd even bought them, knowing full well that her old pair were in perfectly good condition and looked almost identical to the ones on her feet now.

"we'll see you for dinner, ma." sejanus waved goodbye to his parents, opening the door and letting the cold air hit him straight

"are you sure you can't just drive us, pa?" y/n shivered, still not used to the colder winters in the capitol after nearly ten years of living there.

"sorry, kiddo. I've got a meeting in an hour that i can't miss." strabo gave the girl a kiss on the head, jokingly shoving her into her brother's back and slamming the door in her face as she turned with a shocked expression.

"I can't believe he just did that." y/n pouted to her brother, an expression the boy was already getting tired of seeing that early in the morning. "it's way too cold to be walking, why can't pa just let us drive ourselves. we're old enough now, aren't we?"

"oh, quit complaining, y/n/n. don't you remember having to walk everywhere back in two?" sejanus rolled his eyes, holding the girl's arm as they descended the steps of their front door.

"yeah, but it was never this cold back then. plus, we were kids, we'd just race each other to wherever we'd be going." she grinned to herself, remembering giggling as she chased her brother towards the town square each morning.

"yeah, and i'd always win cause you'd give up before we got there and then complain to ma that i cheated." sejanus chuckled, remembering the identical pout to what graced her face now whenever she'd tattle to their parents.

"cause you did!" y/n rolled her eyes at her brother, quickening her pace as the cold was starting to get through her skirt and trousers.

"oh, please y/n/n. being taller isn't cheating. i've just got the better genes." sejanus grinned smugly, catching his sister as she slipped on a bit of ice on the pavement. "see, i would've seen that ice coming."

"oh really?" y/n raised her eyebrow teasing, pushing the boy into a pile of snow. "did you see that coming?"

"y/n!" sejanus had a shocked expression on his face, scrambling to his feet and chasing the girl as she sped off down the road. "that's cheating!"

the pair felt like they were back in two as they chased one another down the street, pushing each other back and forth and sejanus pulling the smaller girl into a headlock.

"sej! sej, stop! my hair!" she whined, feeling the boy ruffling the hairs she'd purposefully pushed back. "i spent an hour pinning this all back this morning."

"oh quit whining, you'll live." sejanus rolled his eyes, letting the girl go nonetheless.

y/n quickly smoothed down her hair, praying that the roughness of her brother's hands hadn't completely destroyed the curls she'd smoothed down that morning. she huffed another sighed as she spotted the mud stains that were splattered across the very front of her new boots.

"now i remember why i started getting the car in the mornings." y/n grumbled, following her brother's actions in walking towards the main road that lead to the academy.

"why? too scared you'd lose every morning?" sejanus grinned down at her, enjoying being able to joke around with her for the first time in while.

"terrified you'd make me look district again with your wrestling every morning." y/n huffed, smoothing out her jacket as they approached the main entrance of the academy.

"hey! don't you dare forget where we come from, y/n plinth." sejanus roughly pulled the girl back by her arm, his eyes softening as he realised his actions. "you can't erase our past, y/n/n."

"i might not be able to yet, but i can sure try." y/n yanked her arm out of his grasp, climbing the final steps by herself.

y/n plastered her most polite capitol smile onto her face as she entered through the doors, waving to anyone who would acknowledge her presence. she made sure to greet her fellow classmates that she passed, rushing up to grab the arm of her best friend as she spotted her about to enter their classroom.

"good morning, clemmie!" y/n grinned at the girl, her first real smile since she'd entered the building.

"y/n. surprised you weren't here already like you usually are." clemensia raised her eyebrow at the girl, her eyes flicking down to the mud that was slowly drying on her shoes. "did you walk here? daddy lose his money or something, can't afford a driver anymore."

"oh, hush." y/n rolled her eyes, knowing the girl long enough to hear the joking behind her words. "our driver was sick this morning and arachne's family had already claimed our back up driver."

"oh, you poor thing. having to walk in the cold all by yourself." clemensia laughed as she saw the girl's eye roll once again.

"like you haven't had to walk to school once or twice in all your life." y/n stopped at they reached her seat.

"hmmm. no, i can't think of any time i have." clemensia winked at the girl, waving goodbye as she walked further down to her seat near the front.

having only just been passing the class last year, y/n refused to sit anywhere but at the very back of the classroom. history had never been her best subject even back in two, having a hard time remembering dates of events of the names of all the generals and rebel leaders in the war. she didn't understand why she'd ever need to know the name of who lead the first raid of the capitol. he was dead now, as were all of the district sympathisers who'd betrayed their nation during the war.

she watched closely as her brother entered the room a few moments later, a familiar blonde walking stoically by his side. sejanus was talking animatedly at the boy who didn't seem to be reacting to a word he was saying. y/n chuckled as her brother finally seemed to give up on the conversation and leave to his seat in front of her.

"done harassing coriolanus for the morning?" y/b raised her eyebrow, fiddling with the pen in her hands.

"done annoying clemensia for the morning?" sejanus teased back at her, knowing the girl would've immediately flocked to her closest friend in the class once she'd entered the room.

"at least she's not my only friend." y/n huffed, regretting her words as she watched her brother's face fall.

"whatever, y/n." sejanus mumbled, turning back to the front of the room.

she felt terrible as she watched his shoulders slump forward, hoping no one had heard the siblings' conversation. the pair were still ostracized by most of their classmates since they'd moved from two, y/n having lost most of her connections to the district that were obvious to them but still reminded of her roots daily by arachne and festus' teasing. the duo had made it their life's goal to ensure the girl never forgot that she was really capitol, that she was lower than them in all ranks of life. they reminded her daily that her family was only allowed to stay because they were liked for the heaps of money they threw into the capitol society.

the class passed slowly for the girl, her head feeling like it was going to explode as professor demigloss seemed to be reading through the final chapter of their workbook at light speed. she couldn't remember a single date or name he'd mentioned in the last fifteen minutes as she struggled to write down everything he was erasing from the blackboard. she knew she'd have to ask clemensia to see her notes before the end of the day so she could try and remember them before their end of term exams in a few weeks.

the class started packing up quickly as the bell rang signalling lunch, each ignoring demigloss' final words as he tried to remind everyone of the essay that was due at the end of the week. only one student seemed to be listening, as he hurriedly scribbled down everything the professor was saying as he too packed up his things to leave for lunch.

"miss plinth, a word please?" he called the blonde forward, drawing everyone left in the room's attention to the girl who had failed to escape the room quick enough.

"yes, professor?" y/n looked around nervously, hoping no one would hear their conversation.

"i have your last exam's results here." demigloss picked up the stack of papers from the drawer in his desk. "and i have to say, i'm impressed. i didn't know anyone could get so much so wrong."

y/n blushed in embarrassment, looking round the room and catching the sorry eyes of her brother at the door. she didn't know why the teacher was calling her out so harshly in front of the rest of the class, never having had trouble with the man before. she questioned whether it was due to her being originally from two, or the fact that she had been allowed to skip a whole year of the academy during her first semester.

"i think it would be best if you have a tutor leading up to your exams. i know you have high grades in the rest of your classes and i don't wish for this to lower your overall result." he nodded his head to someone behind the girl. "i've asked mr snow if he could tutor you after class to help get your grade up before the end of term."

"y-yes, professor. thank you. i'll try my hardest to get my grades up."y/n looked down to the floor, not even looking the snow boy in the eye as she rushed to leave the classroom before anymore could be said to her.

she rushed down the corridor towards the canteen, hoping she'd make it before all of the food she'd eat were gone. she could feel her cheeks still burning read as she turned the corner, embarrassed beyond belief at being called out on her awful grade in front of nearly the entire class.

"plinth!" coriolanus huffed as he chased down the girl, annoyed that she'd left him alone with the professor he could barley stand. "slow down!"

y/n ignored the boy, quickening her pace more as she finally reached the canteen and joined the back of the queue. there was a long line of students waiting to grab their own tray of food, each eagerly watching as more and more food seemed to be brought out for them to grab. this was one of the only parts of the capitol lifestyle that y/n didn't agree with; their surplus of waste. she knew that by the end of the day, all of the leftover food would be thrown away and sent to the incinerators. the amount of food that she saw at the end of the lunch break be taken back into the kitchens could feed a family back in two for a month or more.

"you and your brother are the most frustrating people i've ever met." snow snapped as he caught up with the girl, dragging her out of line and towards a table where her brother was sat.

"hey! i was just about to get to the front." y:n yanked her arm out of his grasp, pouting as she spotted the queue grow longer than when she'd first joined it.

"i don't care. i'm not the one failing and needing a tutor." coriolanus rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag and pulling out his history workbook. "i want these back by the end of the day."

"what?" y/n raised her eyebrow at the boy, not taking the outstretched book from his hand.

"copy my notes and then give the book back to me." snow rolled his eyes.

"how is this tutoring me? i thought you were going to help me not just make me copy your work." y/n rolled her eyes back at him, crossing her arms in a protest.

"fine, take it or don't. i don't care." coriolanus rolled his eyes, dropping the book onto the table and joining the back of the queue.

"what's his problem?" y/n turned back to her brother, who had been watching the conversation the whole time.

"he's just being coriolanus." sejanus rolled his eyes, shoveling more food into his mouth.

y/n pouted once again, not enjoying her brother not taking her side in the conflict. she turned back to the queue that had grown even longer, sighing as she knew there was no way she'd have enough time to wait in line and eat everything without making herself sick.

"you can have my fruit and salad." sejanus was already pushing the bowls towards his sister, knowing she was debating skipping lunch all together.

"sej, you need to eat something healthy as well." y/n rolled her eyes, sitting down opposite him in front of the bowls anyways.

sejanus just shrugged his shoulders, "i'll just ask ma to make me a smoothie when we get home."

y/n couldn't argue with the compromise, tucking in to her small portion of food. the duo sat mostly in silence as they at either food, only talking every so often about the homework for their following class. their silence was interrupted as coriolanus ungracefully sat down beside the girl and immediately began ripping into the small roll on his tray.

y/n watched the blonde out of the corner of her eye as he ripped the bread into small pieces then shoved multiple into his mouth at once, barely chewing before swallowing his food and moving onto the next bit of food. she didn't know why the boy was acting so animalistically with his food, only ever having seen someone eat that way back during the dark days in two.

"i'm done eating if either of you want the rest of my fruit." y/n pushed the half eaten bowl towards the center of the table.

"you sure, y/n/n? you've barely eaten anything." sejanus looked concerned as the girl reached for the untouched workbook still on the table.

she only nodded her head, hoping that her brother wouldn't ask anymore questions. she watched as a hand slowly inched its way towards the bowl, silently dragging it back towards themselves. coriolanus felt ashamed as the girl's eyes locked on him in his attempt at sneakily taking the food. he knew she'd make a comment, question why the supposedly rich boy was going for other's seconds. but the girl did no such thing, she simply smiled at him and turned her head back towards the open workbook.

y/n didn't speak a word to the boys for the rest of the lunch break, quietly copying down coriolanus' notes into her own workbook. his handwriting was some of the neatest she'd ever seen, rivaling even that of her ma who'd boasted about being one of the few in her hometown growing up who was able to read and write in cursive. the boys were conversing above the girl, completely ignoring her presence as though she wasn't there. she didn't catch a word of what they were talking about until she reached the last page of coriolanus' notes.

"if i hear one more person offer me money or anything else to get in favour with my father for that prize i'm going to lose my shit." sejanus huffed, slamming his fork down on his tray.

"sej!" y/n gasped, not used to her brother using such barbaric language.

"i'm sorry, y/n/n but i'm just sick of it." he rolled his eyes, standing to clear away his tray.

y/n followed him with her eyes, worried about what sorts of illicit things he'd been offered in exchange for putting a good word in with their father.

"you shouldn't worry too much about him. no one here would ever actually do anything to him like that." coriolanus spoke up from beside the girl, his tray completely empty of any traces of food. "they all know what your daddy could do if they tried anything."

"leave my father out of this." y/n snapped, quick to defend the man she looked up to.

"just stating the truth." he mumbled, stopping from teasing the girl any further as sejanus returned to the table.

"i'm sorry, y/n/n. i didn't mean to snap at you." sejanus sighed, giving his sister his signature puppy dog eyes and sorry smile he'd use on their ma to get out of trouble.

"whatever." y/n rolled her eyes, picking up her workbook and passing coriolanus' back to him. "thanks for the tutoring session, was so helpful."

coriolanus caught the sarcasm behind her words, smirking as he watched her huff to herself and pack up her bag. the bell rung faster than he'd expected, the trio packed their bags up and moved towards the door to the canteen. y/n walked faster ahead of the boys, hoping to make it to their next lesson before her favourite spot in the classroom was taken once again by arachne.

"you can come round tonight and actually tutor her. she's too proud to actually ask for anymore help." sejanus didn't turn his head as he spoke, continuing to watch as his sister got further and further away.

"i don't want to intrude on her plans." coriolanus too watched the girl, intrigued by her haste in leaving the duo.

"it's a thursday, she usually spends this evening studying anyways." sejanus shrugged, hoping the boy would hear the silent plead in his voice.

"i'll ask y:n what she thinks after class." coriolanus sped off before sejanus could argue any further, almost catching up to the plinth girl before she entered the classroom.

he was intrigued in the girl in a way he never had been before, having only really interacted with her in relation to her brother. their conversations had been limited to the occasional small talk at gala events for the academy or whenever her brother had left them alone.

y/n could feel's eyes in the back of her head watching her, knowing full well that her brother was still trying to apologise for his words from before. she didn't turn back towards the boy, giving him the cold shoulder and sitting herself down in her seat at the back of the classroom that had, thankfully, not been taken by arachne yet.

the class seemed to drag for the plinth girl, her mind completely throwing out all of the information that professor click was throwing at her. the end of the day couldn't come soon enough, her body aching to fall straight into the comfort of her bed. she looked forward to the warmth that their chef's cooking would bring her and the relief a nice relaxing bath would give her.

"y/n, let's go. the car is waiting for us." sejanus stood in front of her desk, his bag over his shoulder and her own held in his hand.

"let me just speak with clemmie quickly." y/n smiled at her brother, grabbing her bag off of him and flagging down her friend.

"y/n , how can i help you?" clemensia smiled at the girl, looping their arms together.

"do you wanna come round tonight and study? i'm thinking we could help each other with that essay for demigloss." y/n smiled hopefully at the girl.

"i can't tonight. mother is making me restart my etiquette classes before the term ends." clemensia rolled her eyes. "apparently young ladies shouldn't slouch and it's a travesty to her that i slouch when i'm tired."

"god, i'm glad i don't have your mother. she'd kill me if she saw my posture at the dinner table." y/n laughed with the girl, remembering being scolded by mrs dovecote once for laughing too loudly at a gala.

"y/n!" a voice cut of the girls' laughter, alerting the pair to the approaching duo.

"what do you want, coriolanus? here to steal my best friend?" clemensia rolled her eyes, pulling the girl closer to her side.

"sejanus said you were studying tonight, i can come by and help tutor you?" coriolanus ignored the teasing of the dovecote girl, his eyes not moving from y/n's.

"i'll be okay. i got your notes from class earlier, i should be fine to study with those." y/n’s confidence dimmed slightly as she spoke of her struggles with the class.

"y/n/n, just let him help. stop being stubborn." sejanus tried to convince his sister, knowing only he could sway her opinion on anything.

"fine, whatever." she rolled her eyes, turning her back to the boys and leading clemensia out of the building.

"so, study date with snow." clemensia gave the girl a knowing smirk.

"first it is not a date, and second, take that stupid grin off of your face." y/n pushed her friend away, crossing her arms as she continued to tease her.

"y/n you know what his reputation is. what are the chances little miss perfect plinth isn't so perfect after tonight." clemensia grinned at the blush already crossing her friend’s face.

"clemensia! you can't say things like that!" y/n gasped, hoping no one had heard the girl's crass words.

"it's not like i'm lying. you've heard the stories of him and that girl behind the train station." clemensia watched as the plinth girl's cheeks grew redder by the second. "jesus, y/n. if i didn't know any better i'd think you were the one i was talking about."

y/n simply rolled her eyes, spotting the family car parked in front of the main gates of the academy. she waved at syrus who was sat in the front seat, their father obviously having fought hard for the driver to take the two plinths home. clemensia gave her a light hug and waved her off as she walked towards her own car.

"oi! hurry up before i make you two walk!" y/n called out to the boys, slamming the door shut and laughing as she watched the pair speed up almost into a run towards the car.

the pair scrambled for the door, coriolanus being bold and taking the seat beside y/n and leaving sejanus to sit opposite the pair. the blonde girl sat stiffly beside him, not daring to move in case she accidentally brushed him with her body, clemensia's words of his reputation still floating in her mind. she remained still for the remainder of the journey, her eyes watching the barren trees pass by quickly.

to say the car ride was the most awkward situation that y/n could remember would be a lie, as the second the pair were left alone in the family's living room, she could feel herself wanting to make any excuse possible to leave. coriolanus seemed to be feeling the same way as he sat completely still on the pristine sofa, not daring to move in fear of ruining the placement of the cushions that their maids had organised whilst the family were gone.

"i-i'm going to see if my ma needs any help in the kitchen." y/n stood quickly, rushing to reach the safety of the kitchen.

"y/n, dear. you didn't mention you were having a friend over." mrs plinth smiled knowingly at her daughter, struggling to reach something on the top shelf.

"ma, it's not like that. coriolanus is just helping me study for our exams." y/n rolled her eyes, grabbing the cookie jar for her and setting it on the side.

"i remember your father and i having many study dates before we began dating." she grinned as her daughter's face grew red.

"he's just helping me study, ma. it's not a date." y/n whispered, not wanting the snow boy to hear them from the living room.

"whatever you say, sweetheart." she patted her daughter on the cheek, passing by her with the tray of food and drinks she'd prepared when she saw y/n was having someone over. "i hope you're not too hungry, coriolanus. our cook won't be back for about an hour so this is all i have to offer."

"no worries, mrs plinth. i'm sure my cook will have something ready for when i return home." coriolanus smiled at the older lady, turning back to his open workbook with a hope that she'd leave the pair alone.

"of course, i'll leave you two to it then." she sent her daughter a wink as she exited the room, closing the door almost fully.

y/n rolled her eyes at her ma's antics, knowing she was obsessed with trying to set her daughter up with as many of the 'eligible young men' as she called them in high society as possible. she couldn't remember how many blind dates she'd been set up on in the last year since she'd turned sixteen, her parents finally agreeing that it was time for the girl to start looking for a husband. why this courtesy didn't extend to sejanus as well, the girl could not say.

"so, do you want to start on post war history or the formation of panem?" coriolanus turned to the girl, pausing as he saw the blush covering her face. "everything okay,y/n?"

"yes, just a little warm is all." y/n smiled nervously, taking a sip of the cold lemonade her mother had brought out for the pair. "let's start with the formation for now then work our way through the war."

coriolanus nodded suspiciously, staring at the snow that was beginning to settle out the window and the plinth's lack of a fireplace running. the girl was obviously lying, he just couldn't figure out why. the pair worked quickly through the notes that he had taken during class, quizzing the girl every so often to test her memory. as they got closer to the end of coriolanus' notes, the boy realised she wasn't struggling as much as he assumed she would've been had she really needed tutoring.

"i don't know why demigloss made me tutor you. you're fine." coriolanus shrugged, taking the last cookie from the plate.

"i just can never seem to remember the dates of things. facts or detailed descriptions of what happened during the war or why the war even began i can do. but i just can't name anyone who was there or when it happened." y/n pouted, deepening it when she realised all of the cookies were gone.

"we'll figure something out next time to get you to remember them." coriolanus huffed, pulling his bag closer to him so that he could start packing away his things.

"next time?" y/n raised her eyebrows. "wasn't this just a one time thing? to help me with the topics i struggled with in the last essay."

"demigloss made it very clear that this wasn't the only topic you were struggling with. he said you couldn't even remember the date the original americas were founded." coriolanus smirked at the girl, having clearly caught her off guard with his knowledge of her grades.

"he shouldn't be sharing such personal details with other students." she pouted, sulking back into the once neat cushions.

coriolanus scoffed at her disregard for the tidiness and organisation that had been put into the room, knowing the family's maids would be in once they left the room to puff them back up to the original shape. he felt the feeling of resentment growing in his stomach as his eyes roam the room, spotting the vast amount of expensive looking trinkets littering almost every surface of the room. they were flaunting their undeserved wealth for him, showing what he could've had, what he should have.

"ma said dinner will be ready in ten if you want to stay, coriolanus?" sejanus entered the room, disrupting the snow's spiral of hate.

"i should be okay, don't want to leave tigris worrying of where i am." coriolanus smiled nervously, hoping to any gods there were that the boy would be his usual amount of stubborn and make him stay.

"if you insist." sejanus shrugged, walking back out of the room.

coriolanus cursed the boy for actually having a back bone for once and not begging the boy to stay over. his hope turned to the boy's sister, praying she would offer him to stay over as a thanks for his tutoring.

"ma will probably want a hand laying the table. will you be okay seeing yourself out?" y/n turned to the boy, seeing the sad look in his eyes disappear as he felt her eyes on him.

"yes. i should be going. don't want to leave my grandma'am waiting." coriolanus smiled stiffly, standing slowly from the sofa.

"grandma'am?" y/n chuckled, finding the nickname he used for his grandmother cute.

"y-yes." coriolanus felt his cheeks blushing. "tigris couldn't quite say grandma as a toddler and it just stuck."

"it's cute. makes me question those rumours about you." y/n winked, standing to leave the room.

"what rumours?" coriolanus' small smile dropped, following the girl as she walked towards where her mother was helping cook dinner.

"oh, nothing. just some things i've heard here and there." y/n shrugged, stopping at the entrance of the kitchen. "i'll see you tomorrow. thanks again for the tutoring session."

"you're welcome, y/n." coriolanus smiled, the rehearsed smile he used for public appearances.

"oh, coriolanus. i'm glad I caught you before you left. cook made a few too many portions and i knew you weren't staying for dinner, so." mrs plinth rushed from the kitchen, a basket full of food in her arms. "i wrapped up some food for you to take back to tigris and your grandmother. i can't thank you enough for helping out our dear y/n."

"ma." y/n groaned, leaning into the wall out of embarrassment.

"oh, mrs plinth you didn't have to do that." coriolanus grabbed the basket nonetheless, his eyes betraying the nonchalance he was trying to give off.

"oh, it's nothing, dear." she waved the boy, bustling back into the kitchen to grab the silverware.

"i'll walk you to the door." y/n smiled at the boy, holding the basket for him as he slipped y/n his shoes and academy jacket. "thanks again for tutoring me, really."

"no problem, goldie." he smiled, taking the basket back without thinking of the nickname he'd given her.

"goldie?" she raised her eyebrow at the new nickname.

"w-well, i've heard clemensia and sejanus call you y/n/n, so i just thought it'd be nice to have something different." coriolanus shrugged, looking down bashful. "i-i'm sorry. i should've asked before just deciding that was your nickname."

"n-no, it's okay. i like it." y/n looked down, a matching blush colouring her cheeks.

"i'll see you tomorrow then, goldie." coriolanus' smile grew cheekier as he spotted the rouge on her cheeks, waving as he stepped out the front door.

"see you tomorrow, coriolanus." y/n waved back, closing the door once she saw he'd made it safely down their icy steps.

"he seems nice." ma made her jump as she snuck up behind her. "should i start chaperoning your 'study sessions' from now on?"

"ma! i told you it's not like that." y/n crossed her arms across her chest embarrassed, grabbing the silverware from her ma's grasp.

"mmhmm. i told your grandmother the exact same thing and look where i am now. i can just see it now, coriolanus and y/n snow." she sighed dramatically, only half joking to tease her daughter.

"ma!" y/n blushed a colour her mother didn't even know a person could go, laughing as she watched her storm into the dining room to set the table.

[gnarly-words]

hope | pt. 1

description: having always been kept tucked away at home, y/n potter is finally introduced to the infamous marauders.

pairing: sirius black x female!potter!reader, james potter x sibling!reader

warnings: mentions of illness, references of abuse

word count: 3,938

masterlist

the night was painted with shadows, the moon casting a silvery glow over the walls of the potter house. a gentle breeze whispered through the window, carrying with it the sounds of chatter in the streets below. curled up in the bay window sat a y/h/c girl with forest-green eyes who stared longingly at the four boys playing in the large expanse of grass behind their house. she longed to be allowed to play with the boys, to know the joy of having friends that weren't her brother or their pet cat.

"y/n potter, you know you can't have the windows open!" euphemia potter shouted as she rushed to shut the open window and wrap yet another blanket around the frail girl.

"mama, i'm fine." y/n struggled out, her voice only allowing her to speak at a mere whisper.

"you're freezing, y/n." euphemia pulled her daughter into her arms, feeling the cold radiating through the many layers of blankets covering her. "you're never going to get better if you keep trying to make yourself more sick."

"but i just wanna go outside and play with the boys for a bit. five minutes, that's all i want." y/n tried to beg her mother, already feeling exhausted from just the movement of walking back to sit on her bed.

"you can play with the boys if they come back inside before they leave. i can't have you outside in that cold. i'm sorry, darling." euphemia pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple, before walking back out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

y/n sighed falling back into her duvet. she couldn't understand why no one would allow her to have fun with her brother's friends as well. why she's locked away in her room whenever they come over during the winter holiday? her mother said it was for her own good and health, but she just felt like a freak in her mother's eyes. like she was something her parents were ashamed of.

for as long as she could remember, y/n potter had been sick. she has spent longer in st. mungo's than she has in her own home. her parents had spent years trying to find answers to her mysterious illness, going as far as travelling over to the americas to visit a well-known healer who was said to have the answers to her illness. but as with all of their other endeavors, they came up empty-handed and with even more questions than answers.

her health had become so deteriorated in the past year that she had to forgo attending hogwarts at the same time as her twin brother, james. her parents had hired a local wizard tutor to home-school her until she would be able to attend hogwarts herself, something that seemed less and less likely the further into winter y/n got.

"y/n! the boys are going in five minutes if you wanna come and meet them!" james' voice carried from the front room into her bedroom, alerting her to the appearance of the boys from the garden.

y/n could hear her mother berating her brother for shouting in the house and to go and help his sister down from her room if she was going to meet his friends. she pulled herself out of the bed, making her way over the door with the blankets her mother had wrapped around her cradling her.

"y/n/n, come on." james burst through her door, grabbing her thin wrist in his arms and already making his way down the hallway. "you're going to love them."

"jamie, jamie slow down. i can't walk that fast." y/n rasped out, her brother coming to a complete halt as he realised, in his excitement, that he'd completely forgotten how ill his sister had gotten in the short four months he was away.

"oh, y/n/n. i'm so sorry. i was just so excited for you to meet them that i completely forgot." james pulled his sister in for a hug, continuing their walk down the stairs but at a much-reduced speed. "i've told them so much about you, you have nothing to worry about."

"exactly how much?" y/n looked at her brother in suspicion, knowing exactly what stories he would love to share with his friends.

"just the good things. mostly." james winked, pushing the door to the living room open to reveal their parents talking to the three small boys. "guys, this is my sister, y/n."

"it's nice to meet you." y/n tried to speak at her top volume, already feeling her throat drying up and in pain from the few words spoken.

"i'm remus lupin, nice to meet you." the sandy-haired boy with scars across his arms and legs smiled as he looked anywhere but her eyes.

"nice to meet you, remus." y/n smiled back, sitting down between her parents who both wrapped yet another blanket that was thrown over the back of the sofa.

"i'm p-peter pett-tigrew." the smallest of the three bowed his head slightly as he greeted the girl.

"and i'm sirius black." the black-haired boy sitting on the armrest of the sofa said with a charming smirk. "what's with all the blankets?"

"sirius!" remus smacked the boy around the head. "you can't just ask questions like that."

"it's okay, remus." y/n smiled, reassuring the boys. "i'm sick. have been for as long as i can remember and the cold makes me much worse than i already am. we've tried everything but have no answers to how I can get better."

"i'm sorry." sirius sounded genuinely sincere as he bowed his head slightly.

"have you tried muggle doctors?" remus asked in a light voice, earning silence as the purebloods of the room looked at him puzzled.

"why in merlin's name would we go to muggles for help?" fleamont asked in disbelief.

"it sounds like a muggle disease that my grandmother had before she died." remus fiddles with his hands. "they can give y/n a medicine that will help heal her back up to full health."

"how would we be able to get this medicine?" euphemia placed a calming hand on her husband's arm.

"my mum can help you get in contact with a doctor who can help heal y/n." remus smiled, looking down at the watch as he noticed it was past his curfew already.

"oh, would you look at the time."fleamont announced as he stood to face the grandfather clock. "well, best be off boys. don't want to be on the end of another howler from your mothers."

the boys smirked to themselves, remembering the howler that was opened during dinner one evening after they were caught messing with the nifflers in the garden. one of them had to be magically lifted out of the tree that the boys had scared it into, a feat that y/n had watched sadly from the window, having forged a strong bond with the runt of the niffler's litter over her time kept at home.

"thank you for having us, mrs potter, mr potter." remus bowed his head slightly as he pulled his jacket out from behind the sofa. "i hope we will be able to come back during the spring break as well?"

"of course, my dears. you're welcome here anytime. even you, sirius." mr Potter smiled knowingly at the raven-haired boy, having attended hogwarts at the same time as some of his family and knowing the legacy his family had left behind for him.

"thank you, sir." sirius seemed shy for the first time in the short while that y/n had met him, clearly not used to such generosity. his reaction made the girl wonder what terrible upbringing could've caused such reactions to such a small gesture.

y/n's eyes wandered to the small, meek boy who was still trapped within the many cushions of the red sofa. his hands were held close to his chest as though he was scared to touch anything around him. His thin, mousy hair clung to his scalp, and his anxious, darting eyes seemed to constantly search for an escape route.  his lips were turned down in a deep frown, spreading all the way up to his brows, creating a crease down the centre of his forehead.

y/n couldn't help but feel the unease that seemed to radiate from him, as an aura of vulnerability marked him apart from the other boys, who each exuded a sort of confidence in the few interactions she had observed from them.

"are you okay, peter?" y/n asked in a hushed tone, bringing the movement of the other boys to a halt.

"you alright, pete?" james approached his friend, worried by the scared look that grew rapidly on his friend's face as he grew nearer.

"i may have broken a mug." peter mumbled, pulling the shards from the pocket of his coat he had yet to take off since he arrived many hours before.

"oh, that's fine, my dear. we have tons of them." euphemia waved her hands, snapping her fingers and calling for one of the house elves. "ribly! come here this instant!"

y/n had always hated how her parents treated the house elves that served them, often overhearing and occasionally witnessing the 'punishments' they would endure for the smallest of mistakes.

ribly appeared in the living room with a crack, already hurrying over to peter with a broom to collect any shards that had escaped his grasp.

"ribly will clean it up, mr peter. ribly will fix it, ms potter." the small house-elf was quick to sweep up the few remains on the ground, only stumbling a few times in her haste, before disapparating out of the room as quickly as she had entered it.

"don't mind her. she likes to be efficient." mr potter chuckled to himself, brushing off the looks each of the children were giving him and his wife. "well, why don't you all go through the fireplace? will be much easier than taking the muggle route home. especially for you, sirius."

y/n watched as sirius gulped at the thought of home, cementing in her mind that he didn't have a happy home outside of Hogwarts.

"again, thank you for having us. it was nice to meet you, y/n. i do hope to see you again." remus smiled timidly once more, hugging james briefly before he walked into the fireplace and disappeared in a green flame with a mumble of his home.

"t-thank you." peter scrambled to follow him, almost forgetting to grab a handful of floo powder before he too disappeared into the ashes.

a beat passed before y/n returned her eyes to an even more anxious and fidgeting sirius.

"mate, we'll see each other in a few weeks. you can't miss me that much whilst you're gone." james patted his best friend on the shoulder, not quite getting the truth behind his apprehension.

"yeah." sirius chuckled dryly to himself. "yeah. i'll see you after christmas, james."

sirius pulled the bespectacled boy into a tight hug, before glancing over at the small girl still squashed against her mother on the sofa. her green eyes held a knowing twinkle in them that hadn't been there before, a sympathetic smile gracing her lips.

"it was nice to meet you, y/n/n." sirius winked, stealing the nickname he had previously heard james calling her. "and thank you, mrs potter again for having us. oh. and do give my thanks to ribly for the tea, i'm sure she deserves it."

euphemia opened and closed her mouth in disbelief, not quite knowing how to respond to the cheek of the boy. y/n stiffled a giggle as she remembered hearing her mother glowing in the praise from the boys over how quickly she had put together tea and biscuits for them when they came inside the house.

"i'll be sure to write to you all about our adventures at hogwarts, y/n/n. Now I know you're real and not this git's imaginary best friend." sirius winked once last time before disappearing into a cloud of green.

silence fell over the potters as the twins tried not to laugh at their mother's shocked expression and how their father was frozen in his spot staring into the fireplace.

"well, i'm not sure who raised that boy but they certainly need a clip round the ear for the cheek he was giving me." euphemia scoffed, brushing off her skirt as she stood to exit the room.

"well, i for one, love them all." y/n grinned, already excited at the prospect of possibly being healed of her illness. "can we do what remus said, father? can we go see the muggle healer?"

fleamont only scoffed, walking out into the gardens with a slam of the door behind him.

"don't worry. i'll convince him. or more likely, i'll annoy him into agreeing." james winked at his sister, moving to help her back up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"and if that doesn't work?" y/n coughed as she finished her sentence.

"oh, it'll work." he only smirked, closing the door behind him after he settled her into the plush duvet and multitude of pillows.

y/n bounced on her toes as she stretched over the crowds to catch a glimpse of the train pulling into the platform. her parents and her brother's friend's parents surrounded her in much less excited states, mrs lupin and ms pettigrew having a conversation about the odd letter they'd received from professor mcgonagall about an incident involving a toilet seat being stolen from one of the bathrooms.

"y/n, settle down. You're going to waste all your energy before the train even arrives." fleamont placed his hands firmly on his daughter's shoulders, stopping her in her place.

"but, father. jamie's nearly here, he doesn't even know i'm better yet. i just can't wait for him to see me." y/n grinned up at her father, their identical eyes staring into one another.

"and you'll be able to see him when he arrives, so long as you calm down." fleamont pressed harder on her shoulder, actually pushing her shoulders further into her back.

"yes, dad." y/n stopped her peering, instead staring behind her shoulder at the small crowd of blondes that had entered through the barrier only moments before.

the group of witches and wizards bared a likeness to one another besides their matching light-coloured hair, two of the girls having matching smirks as they ran ahead of their parents. the mother of the group struggled to catch up with the girls, giving up as she lost them to the masses of parents and children. the pair stumbled out from the crowd beside the potters, too peering over the crowds to catch a glimpse of the train approaching. they soon gave up as they realised they wouldn't be able to see over the masses of parents already pushing to reach the doors of the carriages. as they turned back to find their parents, the taller of the two locked eyes with y/n with a grin.

"it's no use trying. i've already been elbowed by more vicious mothers than i can count." y/n rubbed her arms where the feeling of their bony elbows remained.

"are you waiting for your brother or sister too?" the shorter twin grinned, happy to have found someone who looked to be their age.

"my twin brother." y/n grinned.

"twin?" the taller twin shared a glance with her sister. "why aren't you there with him?"

"i was ill." y/n could already see the pity filling their once cheerful faces. "b-but i'll be starting in september. dumbledore sent me the letter just this morning."

"so will we!" the twins said in a creepily matching tone.

"holly! heather!" a stern voice broke their conversation. "you can't just run off like that."

"oh, it's okay. they've just been here with us, avery. no need to fret." y/n's mother turned to the commotion, clearly recognising the man from her time at hogwarts.

"euphemia." the blonde man nodded his head once, before ushering the girls back to where their mother was sternly watching from afar. "come now, girls. don't want to disturb the potters after all."

"bye!" the shorter twin shouted.

"see you in september!" the other shouted after her before the trio were lost in the crowds.

"mum, who was that?" y/n turned to her mother, who was still staring off with a far-off look in her eyes.

"charlus avery. he was in my year at hogwarts." her mother brushed off the questions that were lingering on the tip of her daughter's tongue. "now, why don't we go find the boys?"

"but-" she couldn't finish her sentence before she was distracted by the familiar brunette head of her brother exiting the train carriage.

before her mother could stop her, y/n was off. she pushed past the vicious mothers from before, who glowered in her path and even pushed a few older hogwarts students out of the way all in her attempt to reach her twin. but her mind was flooded with guilt and gratitude towards the sandy-haired boy who was being rough-housed off of the train by sirius.

"remus!" y/n ran towards the boy as he stepped off of the hogwarts express, wrangling him into a  hug and completely ignoring her brother and his other friends.

"wow. no hello, not even a smile. some sister you are." james grumbled, not looking at the girl as he helped pettigrew carry the large cage of his cat off of the train.

y/n glared at her brother over remus' shoulder, not even giving him a taunt back, before she pulled back and grasped the boy's shoulders tightly. "thank you so much. i don't know what i would've done without you."

"i-i'm sorry?" remus stood in shock, not quite believing the once-sick girl in front of him was almost glowing as she bounced in place.

"we visited the muggle doctor like you suggested and they were able to heal me." y/n giggled, finally seeing her brother standing beside the sandy-haired boy. "jamie!"

"y/n/n? oh my god. you look so healthy." james squeezed his sister tight to his chest, burying his head in her shoulder to hide the tears pouring out of his eyes.

"boys! hurry and help mr potter with the bags!" mrs lupin shouted, waving them over to where mr potter was lugging the bags over to a large pile by their parents.

"sorry, dad!" james ran over to help his dad carry the remaining bags over to the group.

"so, no more blanket forts then?" a cockier than usual voice approached behind y/n.

"well, i can't spend my days at hogwarts in a bundle of blankets now can I?" y/n grinned as both sirius and peter stumbled behind her, trying to catch up with the newly speedy girl.

"y-you're coming to h-hogwarts?" peter stuttered out.

"yep. got my letter this morning. dumbledore must have been eager." y/n skipped her way back to her parents, curling into her mother's side who stared down at her with a fondness in her eyes that james had only seen a few times.

"it's so odd seeing her that.. energetic." james tilted his head to the side, not quite believing that it was indeed his little sister beaming up at their mother at the train platform.

"well, i for one, love it." sirius grinned, chasing after the girl to meet up with his friend's parents.

"remus, has she always had that small furry thing on her shoulder or have i gone insane?" peter leant up to the taller boy's ear, pointing at the creature that seemed to burrowing itself into her neck.

remus could only shake his head before he too was trailing after the girl, staring at the creature that was pulling the golden necklace from y/n's neck.

"y/n!" remus raced forward, pointing at the now-identified niffler. "you've got a niffler! it's stealing your necklace!"

y/n barely blinked as she stared down at the grey-bodied creature staring up at her as if it had been caught red-handed in a robbery.

"oh, jamie. what are you doing here?" y/n merely pulled the niffler out of her hair and tucked him into the inside pocket of her coat.

"i'm coming back from hogwarts?" james asked in question as he turned away from their father.

"oh, not you jamie. jamie junior." y/n proudly presented the niffler to her brother as he was stashing their mother's wedding ring into his pouch.

"that little rat. i knew i didn't lose my ring." euphemia glared at her sheepish husband who had blamed her for the act that morning.

"sorry, mum. jamie just likes shiny things, and your ring is the shiniest thing in the house besides my necklace."y/n pouted, upset that her newfound friend had been the cause of the argument between her parents that morning.

"it's okay, dear. i'll just have to charm it so that it doesn't get stolen again." she said in a manner that she usually used to scold her children.

"but why jamie?" james was still confused, staring into the black eyes of the creature that had stolen his namesake.

"well, uh." y/n was embarrassed to reveal the truth of jamie's name in front of her brother's friends. "i didn't have you at home anymore, so i um. i have my own jamie to replace you when you're not there."

james' confusion quickly turned to smugness at his sister's revelation.

"you missed me!" james pulled his sister into a headlock. "you missed me and couldn't wait for me to get back."

"oh, shut up." y/n blushed as she pushed her brother's arms away from her.

"ain't got to miss him for too long, love." sirius gestured, nudging the girl.

"what does he mean, y/n/n?" james asked, glossing over the nickname entirely.

"dumbledore sent me my letter this morning. i start at hogwarts in september." y/n glowed as she thought of finally being able to attend classes with other kids her age instead of by herself with mrs. flemming and mr. nilsen.

james couldn't fight the grin that broke out across his face as he leapt to pull his sister into a tight embrace. y/n's slight frame was swallowed by james's. she buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of their father's aftershave he had stolen.

james' gentle laughter filled the quietness as he squeezed her tightly. "i missed you so much, y/n/n," he whispered in her ear.

tears welled up in y/n's eyes as she replied, her voice muffled against his shoulder, "i missed you too, jamie."

they held onto each other for what felt like an eternity, the bond between siblings stronger than ever.

"are you two done?" peter squeaked from behind them. "jamie junior has stolen all of my mum's jewellery and i think she's finally noticed."

"oh, merlin. i love your niffler, y/n/n." sirius laughed, watching as the pureblood woman began to flit about the station chasing after the tiny creature as it raced away towards the freedom that was the barrier to the station.

"yeah, he's definitely gonna be a handful at hogwarts." y/n grinned, unbeknownst to the chaos such a decision was going to cause her.

next

[gnarly-words]

made for you

pairing: bellamy blake x gn!reader

warnings: none

word count: 939

masterlist

y/n giggled as bellamy snuck them in through the guard's quarters, shuffling behind him until they approached the second door from the end. bellamy swiped his pass before dragging her in behind him.

"wow. cozy." y/n chuckled jokingly, taking in the jail cell-like size of his living quarters. "and i thought my quarters were big."

"ha ha." bellamy rolled his eyes, chucking his jacket over the hook on the back of his door. "be glad i wasn't put in the bunks. no way would we be doing this."

"that is one good thing." they grinned teasingly, sitting back on the freshly made bed. "privacy."

bellamy grinned before launching himself onto the small bed beside her, pulling them into his arms and tucking his chin over their head. he squeezed them tight to his chest and couldn't fight the grin that had been on his face since he had picked them up from their quarters.

"i'm gonna miss you whilst you're on shift." y/n whispered, playing with the necklace around their neck that bellamy had gotten for their last birthday. "at least i'll have something to distract me."

"oh, yeah? what's that?" bellamy tilted his head down to look at their face.

"i got the internship. i start on monday." y/n grinned.

"what? that's amazing, y/n/n!" bellamy planted a kiss onto their forehead, peppering them down until he reached their lips. "why didn't you say anything? i've been going on and on about my new job here."

"i didn't want to take anything away from you." y/n shrugged, looking down sheepishly. "i know how proud you are to have made it out of training. i didn't want to put the attention on me."

"baby. of course we should be taking the attention off of me. this is big! You should be so proud of yourself." bellamy grinned down at them, beaming with pride at his partner. "you know, i always knew you'd get it. i actually got you something for once you found out."

"oh yeah?" y/n smirked up at him. "do i need to get ready to be pampered?"

"maybe." bellamy smirked back down at them. "let me go get it."

bellamy squeezed them gently around the waist before climbing back out of the bed and walking over to his dresser. pulling open the top drawer, the small, wrapped box stood out like a sore thumb amongst the scraps of things littering the drawer. he picked up the box in one hand and hid it behind his back before turning back round to the girl. y/n was grinning up at him, their eyes twinkling with joy and curiosity.

"ok,i know it's a little early for this. but i hope you like it." bellamy sat down on the bed nervously, passing the box over to them without making eye contact.

"little early? what do you mean, bel?" y/n giggled, unwrapping the box and pausing as they popped open the box.

a simple gold band stared back at them, a small stone delicately balancing in the centre of the ring. they looked back up at the boy with confusion, hoping and praying the gift meant what they thought it meant. "bel? what is this?"

"i already spoke with your dad. he was the reason for that black eye the other week." bellamy chuckled, rubbing his hands against his trousers. "i know it's too early. you don't need to give me an answer. i get if it's no."

"bel? look at me. please." y/n reached out to turn his head towards her, smiling as he leaned his head into her hand lovingly. "yes. my answer's yes."

"wha- i didn't even ask you." bellamy shook his head, reaching to grab the box out of her hands and do this all over properly. "let me start over. do this properly."

"when have we ever done anything properly?" y/n chuckled, allowing him to grab her left hand and slip the ring onto her third finger.

"marry me, y/n?" bellamy smiled at the girl.

"any day, bel." y/n pulled him in for a kiss, melting into his soft lips. she couldn't help but admire the beauty of her boyfriend as she pulled away, rubbing her thumb across the freckles that adorned his face like a constellation. the sparkle of her ring caught her eye. "it fits like a glove."

"almost like it was made just for you." bellamy chuckled, pulling the girl into his lap.

"seriously, it's beautiful, bel. where'd you get it?" y/n tilted her head to the side, worried he'd spent all of his rations on the purchase.

"that's actually why i went to see your dad. it was vera's. she apparently gave it to your dad for you after the first time we met." bellamy chuckled, enclosing her left hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the new ring.

"always knew she liked you. did not realize it was that fast." y/n chuckled, pulling herself closer to the boy so she was curled under his chin.

"well, what can i say? women love me." bellamy smirked, earning a hit to the chest. "sorry, sorry."

"should be." y/n grumbled jokingly, snuggling further into the boy's chest. "i love you, bellamy blake."

"i love you too, y/n kane." bellamy pressed a kiss to the top of her head, turning his head to stare out the small window of his room.

the blue orb that was earth stared back at him, illuminating the room blue and calming the pair as they drifted into a peaceful sleep together.

[gnarly-words]

forgotten souls | pt. 1

description: the forgotten and ignored sister of jackson whittemore is often lurking in the shadows of her brother's fame. follow along as she tried to navigate the supernatural world that her brother has been dragged into and is keeping away from the girl.

pairing: isaac lahey x fem!reader, (platonic)jackson whittemore x fem!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of drugs, mentions of abuse

word count: 8,394

masterlist

noise rushed through the corridor as students brushed past one another to make it to their next class. y/n walked against the flow of students, remaining unnoticed as she opened her locker. she clutched her books tightly to her chest, her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. her headphones were playing a familiar song as she tried to block out the noise. she shoved the books she didn’t need into her locker, slamming it shut as she turned to walk towards her next class.

she scoffed as she watched her adopted brother approach the new girl at her locker. his pervy teenage eyes checked her out openly in front of his ginger girlfriend wrapped around his arm. the new girl seemed oblivious to his obvious flirting, smiling politely at the duo as they entrapped her into becoming a part of their inner circle. y/n could remember a time when she was included in that inner circle, a time when her brother actually remembered she existed. iIt all seemed to change once they joined high school, the boy ditching his brother for his lacrosse teammates. long gone was the sweet boy who would ride his bike home with her after school and watch movies together as they ate whatever meal their chef had prepared for them.

y/n walked past the trio, keeping her head low until she caught the eye of the new girl smiling at her as she passed. she was shocked at the acknowledgement and gave a brief smile back. jackson and lydia didn’t even bother following the new girl’s gaze, continuing their conversation and coercing the girl to watch lacrosse practice that afternoon and to go to lydia’s party on friday. y/n could feel the negative thoughts crawling from the depths of her mind at the cold shoulder she was receiving from her brother. they were confirming all of the things she’d started to believe after the first time jackson had ignored her: how no one would notice if she were gone, how no one ever noticed she was there or even wanted her there. it was everything she had told herself as she often cried herself to sleep.

her spiral was interrupted as she slammed into a solid body, the impact sending her and the books she was holding straight to the floor. she winced as she felt her back slam into the hard floor and knock the wind out of her, praying that not too many people were around to witness her embarrassment.

“shit. i-i’m sorry.” a quiet voice scrambled to help the girl pick up her books, their own bag now being re-slung onto their shoulder.

“i-it’s okay. i wasn’t looking where i was going.” y/n barely looked up as she grabbed the books out of the person’s hands. “thanks.”

she didn’t give the boy a chance to say anything back, rushing down the corridor before anyone else could notice the girl’s crash into him. y/n turned the corner and fled into her classroom. mr harris was sitting at his desk, looking up in surprise at the entrance of a student. 

“whittemore, glad to see at least one student is eager to be here.” he rolled his eyes, going back to grading the papers in front of him. 

y/n walked to the back of the classroom and sat down in her seat. she slumped over onto her arms as she mulled over what a fool she’d made of herself, knowing full well that at least half of the corridor had seen her slam into that boy. her phone buzzed in her pocket, a message from her mother reminding her that she’d have to wait for her brother after lacrosse to take her home. she’d forgotten he’d been the one to drive her to school that morning, not having gotten her licence over the summer like her brother had.

students began flooding into the room, no one blinking an eye as the girl remained by herself in the far corner of the room. coach harris began telling off the rowdy students as they sat down in their seats, his usual annoyance on full show. a shadow cast over y/n’s desk, making the girl look up to find her keys dangling from an outstretched hand.

“you dropped these.” the boy smiled awkwardly down at her, her keys still in his hand.

“t-thanks, isaac.” y/n stuttered out, tentatively taking the keys out of his hand, her eyes not quite reaching his towering build.

“sorry again for crashing into you.” isaac rubbed the back of his neck, guilt forming on his face as he remembered how the girl had scurried so quickly away from him.

“that was you?” she finally looked up to meet his eyes.

“yeah, i wasn’t looking where i was going.” isaac met the girl’s eyes, his blue eyes holding the guilt he felt at running into the girl.

“i-it’s okay.” y/n set her keys down on her desk, a genuine smile forming on her face.

“lahey! you gonna sit down or have we all gotta wait for you to stop flirting with whittemore?” mr harris shouted, standing at the blackboard with his arms crossed.

isaac and y/n both blushed at the accusations, the former rushing over to his desk without another look at the girl. y/n slumped in her chair, feeling the stares of her brother and lydia in the side of her head. the duo were as shocked as the rest of the class at the teacher’s words, not believing that the girl was even interested in another person, let alone being so openly ‘flirting’ in class.

mr harris seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and continued his rampage on the students, calling out anyone who was even slightly drifting off. y/n kept her head down and took notes on everything the man was saying, praying not to get on his bad side once again. her phone buzzed once more in her pocket, the girl sneaking a look to find a message from an unknown number that just read ‘sorry’.

looking around the room, she found isaac’s eyes on her, an apologetic look in his eyes before he turned back to his work. she was confused how the boy had gotten her number, but assumed he’d asked her brother for it sometime during lacrosse practice. she smiled to herself slightly at the thought of the boy going out of his way to ask for her number, but quickly wiped it off her face as she looked back down at the notes she’d been taking.

the bell rang, making all of the students rush to get up and leave. y/n took her time, knowing she didn’t have anywhere to go as she’d have to wait for her brother after lacrosse practice before she could leave. she walked out of the classroom and towards her locker, her eyes glancing over at where she saw her brother once again flirting with the new girl. the poor girl seemed too nice to brush Jackson off, smiling as he spoke to her. 

y/n watched from afar as her brother got way too close to the girl, praying that lydia would make an appearance soon to stop him before she would have to step in. it seemed whatever almighty being above was listening as the ginger girl appeared behind the boy with an annoyed look on her face. jackson’s demeanour took a full 180 as she wrapped her arms around him, his full attention going onto his girlfriend as they walked the new girl away from her locker. the trio walked down the corridor together, all eyes following them as they sauntered past.

she knew she should probably follow them towards the lacrosse field, a place she only rarely frequented when she was forced to wait for her brother after classes. during the colder months, she’d spend her time in the library until practice was over, but recently she’d found the quietness of the room too much for the spiralling voices in her head. besides, she had more inspiration for her sketches watching the boys running across the field than the boring few bodies sitting by themselves in the library.

the lacrosse benches were almost half full by the time y/n made her way outside. she resented her brother for deciding he was not only going to be an asshole but an asshole who played for the favourite sports team in the school. if he was just an ass then maybe she’d already be home snuggled in bed with her cat. instead, she’d have to endure the brutal display of masculinity as the boys crashed into one another.

she sat down on the very edge of the bench, setting down her bag and pulling out her sketchbook. if she was going to be forced to sit and watch the boys play, she might as well get some good practice out of it. unbeknownst to her, lydia and the new girl, allison, were sitting almost directly behind her, ogling at jackson as he ran across the field. y/n was shocked as she looked up from her sketchbook, watching as scott mccall caught every single ball thrown his way. the usually clumsy and asthmatic boy seemed to suddenly have the reflexes of a ninja, shocking even coach, who watched on in awe.

it seemed her brother wasn’t as impressed with the boy’s new talents, slamming through the lineup of players to get to the front. she internally winced as her brother ran forward and aggressively swung his lacrosse stick towards the boy, the ball going almost directly into scott’s leg before he blocked it with his own stick and caught it. cheers erupted around her as the boy realised he’d caught the ball, coach finstock looking mildly impressed by mccall’s sudden athletic prowess.

it seemed the newly athletic scott had caught the attention of both lydia and the new girl as the pair cheered for the boy as he continued to catch every ball thrown at him for the rest of practice. y/n could already feel the annoyance radiating off of her brother as he watched his girlfriend and the rest of the student body present fawn over the boy. she knew it would be all she’d be hearing about for the rest of the day, the rest of the week if she was being entirely honest.

she knew she’d seen enough of the practice to get some inspiration for her sketchbook when she saw mccall block a goal for the twelfth time. her boredom was kicking in and making the girl want to be anywhere but there. her eyes drifted from the field to the bench where a few of the lovingly nicknamed ‘bench-warmers’ were sitting, and she spotted a familiar curly-haired boy.

isaac was curled over on himself as he sat watching practice, his knee bouncing and his eyes constantly moving towards the watch on his wrist. she wondered what had gotten the shy boy so stressed; was it the fact that practice was running so late? or was he bored with sitting on the bench for so long? her eyes never broke from his form even as he was shoved by coach finstock with the rest of the team back towards the school, signalling the end of practice. she couldn’t help her curiosity as the boy flinched slightly at coach’s aggressive nature, shocking the girl as isaac had a good couple of inches on him. it seemed she wasn’t the only student at beacon hills that was hiding a secret; there was something dark that the tall boy was hiding, and y/n was determined she’d find out what that something was.

it seemed y/n’s guess of her brother holding his grudge against scott for more than just that afternoon came true, as, when she turned the corner to go towards the library, she found her brother pinning the poor boy against a locker. she couldn’t hear what he was shouting at the boy, but knew from his body language that it was anything but kind. if the interaction went on any longer, y/n was sure she’d be seeing a scott shaped dent being formed in the locker her brother had him pressed up against. 

“jackson, leave him alone.” she rolled her eyes as she jogged to reach the duo, scott’s eyes pleading as they looked over at the girl. 

jackson didn’t budge as his sister approached, continuing his glare into the boy’s eyes. “i know you’re hiding something, mccall. i’m not sure what but i’m gonna find out. no matter how long it takes.”

he shoved him one last time into the locker before stalking away towards the locker rooms. scott sighed in relief as he was finally released from the tight hold, sagging until his arms hit his knees. y/n approached the boy carefully and tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. 

“you okay, scott?” she almost jumped out of her skin as the boy leapt back into the lockers at her touch. 

“shit. sorry, y/n.” scott frowned as he saw the fear in the girl’s eyes at his sudden movement. “i’m fine. just jackson being-“

“a jackass as usual?” y/n finished for him, a surprised look on his face at her words about her own brother. “i’d say you get used to it after a while. but after almost sixteen years, he’s still as insufferable as when we were kids.”

scott laughed at her words, surprised at her blunt nature as he’d barely heard the girl say a word since the first day of freshman year. “at least one of you whittemores isn’t a complete jerk.”

“glad i can help improve the name.” y/n smiled at the boy, carrying on down the hallway towards her locker.

her phone began buzzing in her pocket but she was unable to answer it as her hands were full with the books she’d been studying. as she reached her locker, the phone began buzzing relentlessly again, sighing as she realised whoever was calling wouldn’t be stopping their attempts at contacting her anytime soon. she shoved her books into her locker before pulling out her phone and seeing her mom’s name on the screen.

“hi, mom.” she leant against her locker.

“hi, y/n/n. jackson’s got lacrosse tryouts today, right?” her mom’s voice sounded distant as she spoke, growing closer as she finished her sentence.

“yeah, i just saw him leaving in his kit.” y/n rolled her eyes as she remembered the arrogant boy walking down the hall.

“you’re gonna need to wait for him to finish again.” she was blunt in her words, the sound of a keyboard typing in the background.

“can’t i just walk? it’s still gonna be light out.” y/n groaned at the idea of having to wait for her brother for the second time that week.

“no, absolutely not. they found a body in the woods the other day. i’m not having you going out there by yourself, y/n.” mrs whittemore sounded exacerbated as she spoke.

“mom, i don’t even go near the woods. i can just cut through the graveyard.” she felt the annoyance growing in her chest.

“thats’ worse and you know it.” she could hear the exasperation in her mom’s words at the suggestion

“fine, i’ll wait form him.” y/n rolled her eyes at her mom’s adamance. “bye, mom.”

she didn’t allow the woman to utter another word before she was shutting off her phone and shoving it into her pocket. she stormed back to her locker, her mind solely focused on grabbing her sketchbook. if she was being forced to stay behind, she would have to direct her anger somewhere other than herself or those around her.

it appeared earlier’s drama between scott and jackson had carried on through to tryouts as the two boys had it out for one another. scott was knocked to the floor in the first five minutes of y/n arriving more times than she could count. the mccall boy finally seemed to get his ninja reflexes back, sprinting across the field and leaping across the other players to make the shot.

once more, y/n felt her eyes being drawn to the benches of players waiting to play. though this time her eyes weren’t on the tall, curly-haired boy they were last time, but the buzz-headed best friend of scott, who seemed to be the only person not cheering for the boy making first line. was stiles just jealous that he was still stuck on the bench whilst scott would be playing in their first game? had something happened between the two that were usually thick as thieves?

it seemed her thoughts had made the girl completely oblivious to everything happening around her. coach had sent the players back to the locker room, leaving only a few stragglers behind to help him carry the kit back inside. included in them happened to jackson, who was still looking irritated at his throne of top lacrosse player being threatened by scott.

“jackson! mom said you gotta drive me back.” y/n crossed her arms as she approached her brother, matching his annoyance at the situation.

“can’t.” jackson brushed her off without an excuse, taking off his helmet and following the rest of the players towards the locker room.

“what do you mean ‘can't’? in case you forgot, i don’t have a car to get home.” y/n followed the boy, ignoring the annoyed glances of the other players who were walking alongside them

“then walk. not my problem.” jackson rolled his eyes, entering into the school without holding the door open for her. 

“why’ve you gotta be such a dick? you’re already heading back anyways, why can’t i tag along?” y/n jogged to catch up with him.

“i’m taking lydia back home before her party, and i’m not having you third wheeling us like usual.” jackson finally looked back at her, stopping as they reached the locker room. “walk. it’s good for you.”

y/n sighed in annoyance as the boy walked off without another word. of all the times her brother was a jackass, it was at its peak whenever it came to him having his ‘alone time’ with lydia. she wrinkled her nose at the amount of times she’d had to interrupt those alone times whilst home alone with them.

“i can give you a ride.” a voice appeared from beside her, making the girl nearly jump out of her skin.

y/n yelped at the sudden voice, holding her hand to her chest to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. “jesus, isaac.”

“s-sorry. i thought you realised i was walking with you.” isaac rubbed his neck guilty, a habit y/n was noticing he did often.

“it’s okay. and don’t worry about it. i can just walk.” y/n gave him a grateful smile, starting to walk past the locker rooms.

“i’m already heading that way. i help my dad out at the graveyard sometimes.” isaac set down the bag of equipment that he was struggling to hold up.

“really? i’m surprised i haven’t seen you. i cut through there all the time.” she turned back around, finding the boy leaning against the wall outside the locker rooms.

“i usually only help out at night. so unless you’re going for midnight strolls through the graveyard, then probably not.” isaac chuckled nervously at the thought, y/n smiling at the sight.

“only occasionally.” y/n winked, matching the boy’s pose opposite him.

“if you want, you can wait out here and then i can drive you home?” isaac looked up at the girl sheepishly hoping she’d agree.

“really, isaac, it’s okay. i don’t wanna burden you.” she sighed, her resistance weakening.

“take it as an apology for making you crash onto the floor the other day.” he pouted his lips slightly, hoping it would trick the girl into agreeing.

“okay. but be quick. i have a very persistent cat at home that needs my attention.” y/n rolled her eyes at the thought of the black cat that was no doubt sunbathing on her bed at this very moment.

isaac nodded quickly, grunting as he lifted the bag back onto his shoulder and entered the locker room. y/n sent her mom a quick text to let her know she’d be getting a lift home, a very quick flurry of alerted messages coming back from the women. she rolled her eyes at the obvious helicopter parenting, sending back a reassuring text that she’d let her know when she left and when she got back home.

both her parents had been extra cautious when it came to y/n, more so than they were with jackson. it had all heightened after she ran off during a family hike when the siblings were five and she didn’t turn up again until the next morning, muddy, bloodied and bruised. she was most annoyed that her mother was most concerned with the foremost of those things, offended that the girl would ruin her new jacket she’d bought her especially for that hike. y/n said she didn’t remember ever wandering off, her last memory being a game of tag she and jackson were playing before she woke up on the floor of the woods. she always had her suspicions of what had happened but kept the thoughts to herself and just let her parents pamper her.

“i said i’m not giving you a lift, y/n. why are you still here?” jackson’s annoyed voice cut through her thoughts.

“i’m waiting for my ride, jackson. don’t worry your ugly little head about it.” y/n rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall to glare at her brother.

“with who?” jackson put on his, only just, older brother act.

“does it matter?” y/n rolled her eyes once more, getting fed up with the overprotectiveness of her family.

“if it’s greenberg, i will kill him.” jackson’s jaw tensed as he thought about the boy being alone with his sister

“it’s not greenberg. god, why do you care so much?” she pushed off of the wall, turning to face him fully.

“because you’re my sister.” he was offended at her tone.

“didn’t seem to care when you left me at target last year.” y/n pouted as she remembered leaving the boy at least twenty voicemails before he finally realised he’d left her behind.

“oh my god, it was like a twenty minute walk home. would you give it a rest?” jackson was exacerbated, beginning to give up on the argument.

“would you give this conversation a rest?” she threw his comment back in his face, smirking as he glared at her,

“whatever, just don’t go hooking up with any of my teammates.” jackson rolled his eyes, walking away from the girl.

“jackass!” she shouted down the hall, slumping back against the wall.

“i do not miss that part of siblings.” isaac’s voice made the girl once again jump out of her skin,

“jesus christ! you have got to stop doing that.” y/n slumped once more against the wall.

“sorry, you just seem jumpy.” isaac shrugged. “ready to go?”

“Yeah.” y/n pulled her bag up higher on her shoulder, following the boy down the corridor.

she was confused as she followed him into the parking lot, not seeing any cars in the part of the lot they were walking towards. she paused in her steps as she spotted the lonesome vehicle that the boy was approaching.

“you know when you said ‘drive’ i thought you meant a car.” y/n raised her eyebrows at the bike propped up in the parking lot.

“oops?” isaac sheepishly pulled out his helmet, placing it in the girl’s hands.

“don’t you have a spare?” she looked at his empty hands as he shoved their backpacks into the storage under his seat.

“not with me.” isaac shrugged, lifting his leg to straddle the bike. “you wear it. i’ll be fine.”

“you’re the one driving, you should wear it.” y/n shook her head, trying to shove the helmet onto his head.

she underestimated the tall boy’s strength as he easily fought off her attempts and shoved the helmet onto her head, securing it in place for her. her eyes glared at him jokingly through the visor, a cheeky grin staring back at her through the tinted screen.

“now, where we heading?” he flipped the visor all the way down, ensuring her eyes were protected from the wind.

“my house? the one you said you were driving nearby” she raised her eyebrow behind the visor, still not climbing onto the death trap on wheels.

“and that would be?” isaac winced, realising he’d been caught in his lie.

“isaac, do you even know which side of town i live on?.” she glared at him suspiciously.

“okay, maybe that was a little lie. but, hey, we’re here now.” isaac shrugged, grabbing his keys to start the engine. “get on.”

y/n stared at the bike suspiciously, not quite trusting that the machine would get her home in one piece, experienced driver at the helm or not. the boy seemed to sense her hesitation, turning his head to look back with a soft look in his eyes.

“you’ll be fine. don’t you trust me?” he held out his hand for the girl, patiently waiting for her to accept his trust.

“i spoke to you properly for the first time like three days ago, isaac.” she rolled her eyes, accepting his hand and swinging her leg over the back of the bike.

she gripped the sides of the seat that he wasn’t occupying nervously, praying that she wouldn’t fall off as soon as he started the engine.

“i’d recommend holding onto me or the handlebars if you wanna not fall off.” he spoke over his shoulder, kicking the stand up and backing them up out of the parking space.

y/n gulped as her hands tentatively moved to around his waist, a firmer than imagined torso greeting her hands under his thin top. his own hands pulled her in closer, giving her hand a squeeze before he revved the engine and sped off out of the parking lot. y/n squealed as she felt the wind flowing in her hair, her head tucking into his shoulder out of fear.

it seemed the ride to her house lasted longer on isaac’s motorbike than in jackson’s porsche. she finally got used to the feeling of the wind blowing past them as they sped down the roads, her head resting firmly against his back instead of in his neck. she could feel isaac’s heart racing against her hand on his chest, a grin forming on her face at the thought that she was the cause of it.

y/n didn’t want to admit it, but she was disappointed as she spotted the familiar whittemore house come into view. isaac slowed the bike down and came to a halt at the end of their driveway. she paused in her position before slowly removing her hands from their sort-of embrace. she pulled herself off of the bike, stepping back to allow isaac to do the same. the boy pulled her bag out from its place under the seat, handing it over to her with a blushing smile.

“thanks for the ride, isaac.” y/n smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up with a matching blush.

“you're welcome.” isaac rubbed the back of his neck once more. “i’ll see you monday.”

“y-yeah, see you monday.” y/n waved slightly to the boy, walking up the inclined driveway towards her house.

“are you going to the party?” his voice carried up the driveway, causing the girl to pause in her stride.

“what?” she turned back, confused.

“lydia’s party tonight. are you going?” he shoved his hands in his jean pockets, swaying back and forth on his feet.

“parties aren’t really my thing. I was planning on just staying in and watching some movies.” as she said it, y/n realised how sad her plans sounded in comparison to going to the first party of the year, held by the most popular girl in school.

“o-oh, okay. cool. yeah. nevermind.” isaac looked down, disappointment flashing in his eyes for a brief moment.

“d-did you wanna go?” she inquired, curiosity peaking.

“m-maybe. did you-” isaac didn’t get to finish his sentence the sound of the house’s front door swinging open alerting the duo to the presence of another.

“oi! mum’s been calling you for ages. get inside.” jackson shouted down the driveway, barely acknowledging his teammate that had driven his sister home.

“just ‘cause you're three weeks older than me doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do!” y/n shouted back up to her brother, glaring at the boy who’d interrupted their conversation.

“still older, dipshit!” jacksons stuck his finger up at her, retreating back into the house.

“asshole!” y/n turned back to isaac with an apologetic look in her eyes. “i‘d apologise for my brother but if i started now i’d never stop.”

“don’t be. he’s been an ass since i met him in middle school.” isaac chuckled at the display of sibling rivalry. “i should go before he decides to come back out.”

“y-yeah. thanks again for the ride.” she waved the boy off, walking back up her driveway and through the front door.

she watched through the small window beside the door as isaac drove away on his bike, disappointment filling her that they never got to finish their conversation. y/n turned to face the glaring figure of jackson that was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“what?” she snapped at him, moving to walk past him and up to her bedroom.

“when you said you got a ride from one of my teammates, i thought you meant someone who actually plays.” jackson followed her up the stairs, his annoyance clear in his voice.

“he’s still on the team isn’t he?” she turned her head to glare over her shoulder at him.

“benchwarmers don’t count.” jackson scoffed, watching as she walked towards her bedroom door.

“not all of us have daddy’s money to buy steroids to keep in ‘tip-top shape’” she rolled her eyes before slamming the door in his face.

“those are prescription meds and you know it!” jackson shouted through the door, his footsteps retreating away in anger.

“whatever you say, junkie!” she shouted back, flopping onto her bed beside the sunbathing black cat, poppy.

she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, opening her texts to find over thirty messages from her mom worrying where she was when jackson had arrived home without her in tow. she sent a reassuring message to the woman who was finally on her way back from a meeting to let her know she’d made it back home in one piece. her finger hovered over isaac’s name before she shut off the device. she knew she would say something she’d regret if she sent something straight away to the boy. instead, she set down her phone and curled up around the sunbathing cat that purred at her presence.

her peace was short lived as only a few minutes after she started to drift off, lydia was barging into her room. the ginger girl walked straight over to y/n’s closet, rifling through her clothes until she pulled out a short black dress that was long forgotten behind her many hoodies.

“jackson told me you have an admirer. put this on and invite him to my party.” lydia threw the dress onto the bed, mulling over the girl’s shoe options before deciding on a pair of heeled boots. “come round with me and jackson and i’ll do your hair and makeup before everyone else comes round.”

with a flurry of ginger hair, lydia left as quickly as she entered the room, leaving the girl confused as she stared down at the outfit that had been selected for her. how had she been invited to a party, coerced into inviting isaac, and had an outfit selected for her all in the span of a minute? only lydia martin would have the capabilities and extroverted nature to pull off something like that.

“if you don’t text him, i will!” lydia shouted through the door, scaring the girl as she stared down at the clothes. “we’re leaving in twenty!”

y/n begrudgingly climbed out of her comfort in her bed, walking over to her vanity and staring at her reflection. she wished she’d washed her hair the night before or spent more time over the summer taking care of her skin. all of her blemish stared back at her mockingly, making the girl want to cover up the mirror and curl back up in bed. she pulled her hair out of it messy style and tried to come it into something moore presentable for a party. when she was finally happy with the state of her hair, she changed into the outfit lydia had chosen for her and zipper up her boots. she sat staring at isaac’s contact in her phone, stressing over whether she should text him or not. would it be better if he was invited directly by lydia or would he prefer y/n be the one to invite him? was that too forward? would she be coming on too strong?

fuck it, she thought. she typed out a quick message asking if he wanted to go, sent it and threw her phone down on her bed. regret filled her as soon as she sent the message, wanting to delete her number and destroy her phone so she’d never know the boy’s response. it seemed isaac wasn’t lying when he said that he was nearby where the girl lived, as he responded quickly.

‘Why the sudden change of heart’ isaac responded, his confusion clear in his text.

‘lydia happened’ she felt guilty at her response, realising it seemed as though she was being forced into inviting the boy.

‘i see. i’ll be there at 8?’ isaac sent back quickly.

‘see you then’ y/n shut off her phone, falling back onto her bed with a sigh.

she felt the purring body of poppy snuggling into her shoulder, the black cat curling into her as she seeked out the girl’s warmth. the little void gremlin seemed to never have enough of her, always seeking out of the girl that she shared a room with. poppy never trusted any others like she did with y/n, often hissing at jackson or her father whenever they got too close. her mother was the only exception to the rule but only if y/n herself wasn’t around.

“y/n! let’s go!” jackson’s voice shouted from the other side of her door, his fist banging on the door.

the ride over to lydia’s wasn’t long, but it  felt like a lifetijme when the couple were making out in front of her at every red light they appraoched. y/n let out a breath of relief as they finally pulled into lydia’s driveway, shoving herslef out of the car so that she could escaoe their make out session. Lydia giggled as she walked out of jackson’s car, skipping her way up her drive and into the house. The siblings followed after her, shoving each other as they went until jackson almost went head first into the bushes.

it seemed that lydia’s idea of ‘helping’ y/n with her makeup was plastering the ngirl’s face with an entirely new one. she couldn’t recognise herself in the mirror, her eyes popping with the dark eyeshadow and lydia having pulled her hair back off of her face to expose more of her cheeks. y/n thanked the girl before she exited the room, allowing the hostess to rifle through her clothes and find the ‘perfect’ outfit to greet everyone.

she made her way downstairs, sitting down in the martin’s living room and twidling her thumbs. her exhaustion got the better of her as, before she could stop it, she was drifting off and dropping her head onto the back of the sofa. it wasn’t until almost an hour later that jackson appeared by her side, hitting her in the head with a pillow to wake her up.

“get up, loser!” jackson set down the pillow, dropping onto the sofa beside her. “lydia’s finally almost ready and people are gonna start showing up soon.”

“can’t i just hide away in lydia’s room or you car until you wanna leave?” y/n groaned at the idea of having to spend her evening with nearly the entire school’s population.

“i think lydia would murder both of us if i let you do that.” jackson frowned, lowering his voice so said girl couldn’t hear what he said from upstairs.

“your girlfriend scares me sometime, jacksie.” she shivered at the memory of a very angry lydia during the summer break over something jackson had said.

“what did i say about calling me that?” jackson groaned, pushing the girl away from him and standing from the sofa to look out the window.

“that it was your favourite nickname and you can’t wait to hear more?” y/n smiled cheekily at the boy, the siblings sticking their tongues out at one another.

,ydia’s footsteps ran down the stairs hastily, the ginger girl huffing as she held up two different pairs of shoes. “white or black?”

jackson looked scared to answer, knowing that there was most definitely a right answer that the girl wa\s looking for. y/n just rolled her eyes at the fear in her brother’s eyes, giving the girl a once over before answering.

“black, matches your outfit more.” y/n nodded, standing from the sofa to join her brother in looking out for arriving guests.

“i knew it.” lydia huffed, running back up the stairs whilst trying to get the black heels onto her feet.

the doorbell rang as y/n reached her brother, the girl giving him an expectant look that said ‘i’m not answering it’, making him roll his eyes. the boy begrudgingly walked over to the main door and opened it, a scowl forming on his face at the person in front of him.

“lahey, didn’t realise you were invited.” jackson crossed his arms, trying to size up the taller boy

“leave him alone, jackson. lydia said i could invite him.” y/n rolled her eyes, walking over and shoving her brother out of the way to let the boy in. “hi, isaac. ignore the jackass. come on in.”

jackson glared at the girl haired boy as he entered his girlfriend’s home, not trusting that the bench-warming teammate should be trusted around his sister. He followed the pair into the kitchen, keeping a careful eye on how close the pair were getting as she began to make them both a drink

“are you gonna have a drink or are you just gonna stand there glaring at us?” y/n glared at her brother, looking over his shoulder as lydia raced down the stairs skilfully in her heels.

“who was at the door?” she asked, pausing as she spotted the tall boy stood in her kitchen. “isaac. I didn’t realise you two were friends.”

“y-yeah.” isaac nodded, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck once more.

“well, what we drinking? i say we have a few shots to get this party started.” lydia skipped over to the wall of alcohol that lined the large kitchen, mulling over what substance she’d force the others to drink with her.

“anything but tequila.” y/n could already feel her stomach turning at the thought of the drink.

“vodka it is!” lydia cheered, pulling out the clear bottle and setting up four shot glasses.

the trio watched as she expertly poured the four shots, each grabbing their own glass before downing the drink. isaac coughed at the burning sensation down his throat, too shy to admit that it was his first time trying anything alcoholic. he smiled down at y/n reassuringly as she gave him a worried look, setting down his shot glass and reaching for the much weaker drink she’d poured the pair.

people started flooding into the house, the duo staying tucked away in their corner of the kitchen. isaac was still nursing his first drink whilst the whittemore girl was onto her third cup of whatever concoction danny had mixed together in a large bowl. she was leaning way too close to the boy than she would've if she were sober, laughing at something he’d said over the booming music.

“do you wanna dance?” she stumbled to reach his ear, hoping he’d heard her over the music.

“what?” he shouted back, leaning down to hear the girl better.

“dance!” she shouted back, nodding her head to where a bunch of people were moving to the pulsing music.

isaac looked nervous as he followed her head, already feeling his palms sweating at the thought of dancing with the girl in front of her. he downed the rest of his drink, hoping that it would give him the courage to agree. y/n raised her eyebrow as the boy reached for her own glass, downing her drink as well.

“you good?” she raised her eyebrows further at the boy, who nodded quickly, taking her hand and leading her out of the kitchen.

she was surprised at his directness, following behind as he dragged her through the crowd. the music grew louder as they exited the house, the crowds of people growing as they entered the backyard. isaac stopped as they reached the center of the crowd, turning to face the girl who was already staring up at him. he slowly unfurled their hands, looping his arms around her shoulders and drawing her nearer. y/n followed suit, wrapping her arms around the boy as they began to sway together to the music.

the pair seemed to forget everyone around them , only pausing in the bubble as y/n was pushed into the boy by a stumbling scott. the boy barely glanced back as he stumbled through the crowd, allison chasing after the boy. isaac gulped as he looked down at the girl pressed up against him, his hands falling from her shoulders to her waist as he held her up. she looked up at him through her eyelashes, her eyes flitting across his face until they landed on the light blush covering his cheeks.

she smirked through her drunkenness, bringing her hand up to brush against his cheek. isaac's eyes widened at the movement, his grip tightening slightly on her waist. the two felt themselves leaning in towards it each, the alcohol diminishing any doubts they would usually have.

"y/n!" lydia's voice cut through the duo's moment. "have you seen allison?"

"she ran off with scott." y/n nodded her head to where the duo had previously ran off.

lydia rolled her eyes at the thought of her new best friend running off with the mccall boy, rushing off in the direction y/n had pointed. y/n turned back to the still shocked boy, a matching blush forming on her face as she finally realised what they had almost done. she barely knew the boy, but after three glasses of alcohol she was openly flirting and almost kissing him.

"sorry." she blushed further, stepping away from isaac slightly to return to the position they were in before.

"i-it's okay." isaac smiled, hus eyes flicking around the growing crowd nervously. "do you want another drink?"

y/n nodded, confused as she watched him step away and return back into the house. she felt she'd scared him off with her forwardness, her drunken self having taken too much control over her actions. slowly, she walked through the crowd towards the house as well, hoping she'd find the tall boy instead of waiting by herself in a sea of teens she didn't know or care about.

she sighed as she saw him standing awkwardly in the corner of the kitchen, a couple making out in front of where the fresh cups and remnants of danny's punch was. isaac seemed to give up on his attempts, moving around the kitchen to go back towards the garden. he stopped as he spotted the clock on the wall, squinting to see the time in the dark room.

y/n pushed through the crowds of people to try and get to the boy. she froze as she reached where she last saw him, the curly-haired boy no longer awkwardly waiting to get them drinks. instead he was pushing through the crowd towards the front door, frantically pulling his keys out of his pocket as he did.

"isaac!" y/n shouted after the boy, trying to push through and follow him.

the crowds didn't budge as much as they did for him, the girl finding herself making little progress in her pursuit. by the time she'd reached the front door, she spotted isaac's figure already sat on his bike and wheeling it out of lydia's drive. she stopped as she caught his eye slightly, confused why he'd suddenly ran off.

isaac sighed as he caught her eyes, guilt forming as he watched her shoulder sag. he flipped his visor down, speeding off before he could see anymore hurt in the girl's eyes. y/n was left standing on the front porch of the martin house, any traces of alcohol leaving her as soon as she saw isaac drive away. groups of teens cheered behind her as some game or bet was won, their antics going unnoticed by the girl.

she considered heading back inside but paused as she spotted the teens that were currently holding someone upside down doing a keg stand. well, there goes her plan of returning to grab her jacket. turning back towards the driveway, she made the decision that she'd just wait and see when jackson or lydia would appear again so she could get a lift home. she stole an unopened bottle of rum that someone had left on the steps, nursing it to keep her warm and occupied until someone made an appearance.

it took her all of an hour of non-stop cheering back in the house for the girl to realise neither would be coming outside. in that moment, with the large amounts of alcohol that was still in her body, she chose to walk back to her house. she had no idea which way she'd end up going, through the graveyard? no, too creepy. along the main road? she was likely to get hit by some idiot speeding. instead, her tired and now, very drunk, mind made the decision that she was going to cut through the woods.

she stumbled her way down lydia's driveway, her sights set on the large expanse of woods across the road from the girl. her mind felt at ease as she entered into the trees, the noise of the party slowly fading as it grew farther away. she could hear the rustling of the leaves as a breeze went through the forest.

unbeknownst to the girl, a freshly turned scott was sprinting through the same woods. y/n jumped at sounds of footsteps nearby, hastening her steps until she reached a clearing. she felt safer now that she couldn’t hear the party or the footsteps, her fuzzy head clearing as she looked up at the full moon peeking through the trees. peace filled her as she closed her eyes, the world seeming to slow down and drown out around her as she took in a deep breath.

her moment of peace was disrupted by the buzzing of her phone. she hoped it would stop but whoever it was seemed to be insistent on getting her attention. looking down at the name on the screen, she scoffed as she saw the name of the boy who’d abandoned her at the party. her drunken mind finally made a good decision, rejecting the call and shoving her phone back in her pocket.

the rest of her walk back to her house was spent with the girl drunkenly singing along to a song that was stuck in her head from the party. She paused in her steps as she finally reached the end of her driveway, pausing as she spotted a light still on in the house. Her parents were never the types of people to leave a light on, especially downstairs.

she assumed after she’d left the party, a good 30 minutes prior, her brother would’ve noticed that she’d left. but as she walked into the house and quietly shut the door behind her, she sighed in both relief and disappointment. neither her mother or father were waiting for her as she arrived, there wasn’t anyone seemingly awake in the house besides herself.

she went up the stairs, slowly creeping across the landing to reach her bedroom. relief filled her as she finally made it into her room, falling face first onto her bed with a thud. she was already starting to drift off into sleep when a light ‘meow’ from beside her stopped her. y/n turned her head to the side, her eyes meeting the golden orbs of the void that she called poppy.

“hi, poppy.” she giggled, rubbing behind the cat’s ears in the way she knew she loved. “at least i know you won’t abandon me.”

poppy gave a light purr at the girl’s actions, butting her hand further into her hand. the cat crawled up the bed until her head was burying itself under y/n’s arm, the pair assuming a familiar position as they curled into one another. y/n sighed at the comfort the cat gave her, finding more safety in the small creature than in the entirety of the student body of her school.

drifting off, y/n was oblivious to the danger and harm occurring to those around her that evening. in the dark of the night, nightmares flooded the minds and scarred the bodies of unwilling participants.

next

[gnarly-words]

gnarly-words' main masterlist

harry potter

hope - sirius black x female!potter!reader pt.1 pt.2 pt.3

mad as hatter - fred weasley x fem!reader pt.1 pt.2

things we don't say - george weasley x fem!reader

hunger games

pretty boy - coriolanus snow x fem!plinth!reader

left in flames - peeta mellark x reader

teen wolf

forgotten souls - isaac lahey x fem!reader pt. 1 pt. 2

the 100

made for you - bellamy blake x reader who we became - bellamy blake x kane!reader