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New Fic Sneak Peek:

Thanks everyone with helping me through all the polls!! I've narrowed down my focus and managed to messy-plot all 23 chapters today at work thanks to your lovely voting skills. Planning to have this one written up and completed (enough) to post a first chapter for your eyes by September 1st.

Title: Bad at Love

Chapters: 23

Rating: Explicit

POV: Alternating between Lily and James

Tropes: Hogwarts professors, 5 year age gap, he falls first, accidental pregnancy, colleagues to lovers to friends to lovers, smut with a plot.

Random Chapter Blurb to Excite Ya:

And there, at his desk, sat James Potter.

Elbows planted, shirt sleeves rolled, glasses sliding down his nose.

Looking at her file.

Lily paused in the doorway, cocked her head, and grinned.

“Well, well. Like what you see?”

James looked up, caught, and scoffed immediately; though the tips of his ears betrayed him by turning the faintest shade of pink.

“Just doing a bit of…academic research,” he said, snapping the folder shut with theatrical nonchalance. “You know. Due diligence. Making sure you know what you're doing."

Lily laughed, closing the door behind her. “Well, I was trying to decide who I should ask for advice about my first term. But if you’re too busy reading about my old Herbology grades, I could always try Binns instead.”

James leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, grinning. “You got an ‘Needs Improvement’ in third year. Bit of a late bloomer when it came to repotting mandrakes, weren’t you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You looked at my report cards?”

“I skimmed them.” A pause. “Twice.”

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Reblog if you’re grateful for your commenters <3

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Hunted Moodboard

To give you an aesthetic flavour of my casefic project (as discussed in this post)

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propaganda i won't fall for: that after the second war, andromeda tonks would want to ever reconnect with narcissa unless it was to punch her in the fucking face.

narcissa was 100% okay with everything voldemort was doing right up until her son became a target. when she turned against voldemort in the end, it was not in rejection of the ideology he was pushing. it was because her son might've gotten killed. she was fine with the ideologies.

those ideologies got andromeda's husband and daughter murdered.

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Marriage by Capture

Strangers to Lovers, cosy fantasy

Hinny

Explicit

The new law states anyone who manages to capture you can marry you. Ginny leaves her home and family behind to avoid a forced marriage and tries her hardest to stay out of the grip of men. Harry was orphaned in his teens and has been traveling since, doing jobs here and there but leaving before they realise he has magic. One faithful day, the two have a rather unpleasant meeting in the woods and then another…

Chapter 1: The cave

Harry woke up in a cave, his hands bound together behind his back. His feet were free but the stalagmites and stalactites in front of him would slow down his escape, if he were to make one. He wasn’t even sure how someone had managed to drag him behind it at all.

He noticed a woman by the fire, poking it with a stick to get it going. She had long red hair going down to her middle, the top part put into a braid to keep it out of her face. He grunted as he adjusted his position and noticed his head was throbbing. Then he remembered getting whacked in the head.

As soon as she noticed that he was awake, she took up her sword and walked into the cave towards him. An unneeded measure, he was currently no threat to her.

“How did you find me?” she asked, her face hidden by the shadow.

He blinked for a moment. “How can I find you if I don’t know who you are?”

She knelt down so he could look at her face. She had thin curvy lips and a cute round nose to go with it. Her brown eyes were focused, but the colour was muted by the lack of direct sunlight. Most of all, she looked angry, and quite strong.

“Ah,” he said. “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he told her. “But I didn’t find you, because I wasn’t looking for you.”

She huffed, twirling her sword around. “That’s what they all say.”

“All?” he abruptly looked around in search of the last poor lad that got captured, but to his relief there was no skeleton to be found. “Is capturing men a hobby for you?”

Full chapter on AO3

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Chapter 10: Breaking the monotony

Chapter 10 of part 2 posted of my long canon series detailing the marauders' time at school and after, as well as the start of the war through Fabian, Gidedon, Alice and Frank. The chapter is unusually fluffy for being me. Figured ten chapters in, it was about time! Extract below:

'Alright, my go!' Mary straightened up.

'You can get the good-lookin' boys in our year,' Maeve grinned, 'Black, Potter and Laark.'

Well, that was easy, Lily thought. Charm Laark, and distribute the hex and curse between the two others. Probably hex Potter given he'd had a rough run lately. Curse Black. Well, that'd never end well. Perhaps there was something to be said for cursing Laark, who she was fairly certain would not be able to retaliate.  

Mary snorted: 'Potter, good looking? You've got to be kidding me!'

'Maybe Maeve's blinded by something?' mused Lily playfully.

Mary giggled: 'Ooo, Potter and Maeve!'

Truth be told, there weren't exactly many good-looking boys in their year, so Lily wasn't sure who she'd pick in Potter's place. She wasn't as convinced as Mary that Maeve had missed the mark, but she was always up for winding her friends up. Besides, if Mary and Maeve were going to tease her all the time for supposedly having a crush on Severus because they were friends, then Maeve had better tolerate the same joke being thrown her way about Potter. 

Maeve shrugged, unbothered: 'Who'd you have as the third then?'

Mary answered without missing a beat: 'Fawcett, of course.'

'Fawcett?' Maeve burst out laughing. 'He's got the face of a wee baby!'

'But his brother is sooo hot,' said Mary without any trace of embarrassment. 'If Casper turns out half as well, I won't be complaining.'

'Okay, Black, Fawcett and Laark.'

Just then the door opened, and Eloise and Georgiana came in. 

'No Alice?' asked Georgiana.

'Not yet, but be quiet,' said Maeve, 'we're about to hear who Mary would charm, hex or curse.'

'Oooo,' Eloise practically jumped over to them, 'who are the victims?'

'Black, Fawcett and Laark,' Lily explained.

'I don't get it?' said Georgiana. She didn't look particularly bothered about not getting it, however. 'Isn't there supposed to be a theme?'

'Apparently,' Lily started, 'these are the good-looking boys in our year.' 

'I can see Black-'

'Everyone can see, Black, Ellie,' interjected Georgiana.

'But Fawcett and Laark?'

'That's because there are no other ones in our year,' sighed Georgiana. 'It's just Black, and that's a no from me, thank-you-very-much.'

'Which is why you decided to look at the year above.' Eloise rolled her eyes.

'What's this?' 

Lily hadn't thought Mary had been paying much attention, focusing instead on who she'd charm, hex and curse, but now her friend straightened up, looking curiously at Georgiana.

'Georgie is dating Wilkes, y'know, in the year above.'

Dating? As in... was Jacob Wilkes Georgiana's boyfriend? Did they kiss and stuff? Lily couldn't fathom the idea of anyone in their year actually dating. But if she had to guess who would first end up with a boy, Georgiana would probably have been her bet.

'How did we not know this?' asked Mary, a note of accusation in her voice as she looked at Georgiana, who shrugged.

'I only found out yesterday,' supplied Eloise, 'their families were together for Christmas, and one thing led to another, I suppose.'  

'It's not a big deal,' said Georgiana, though a smile played on her lips and she looked even more beautiful and impressive than usual.

'Sure,' Eloise rolled her eyes. 'Anyways, go on, Mary. Surely you'd charm Black, but where d'you go from there?'

'Eugh, Ellie, you're related.'

'So are you, probably,' Eloise shrugged at Georgiana. 'And I can find him handsome even if I don't want to snog him.' 

'Mary?' Maeve prompted.

But who Mary would charm, hex and curse was something they weren't meant to learn that evening, because just then, the door opened again, and in came Alice Fawley. That might not have been enough to interrupt the game, but the person who followed her through the door was. Lily stared at the Head Boy and Gryffindor's Quidditch captain, Fabian Prewett. 

What on earth was he doing here? For once, though, finding the answer to that particular question did not seem to be the first thing on Mary's mind. She leaned over and whispered:

'That's a good-looking one, if you ask me.' 

Lily eyed him. Prewett was a bit stocky, perhaps, but Mary wasn't wrong: he was definitely good-looking. They both had to suppress a giggle.

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baby dragons whose scales are much more shiny and iridescent in order to hide in their parents' hoards

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Ch 9: January full moon

🫂 Lots of Remus and James moments 🌕 Remus suffering from the full moon and suffering from his own guilt (because it's Remus) 😏 Sirius being Sirius 🤠 Trouble finds James 🍀 James has luck on his side (when does he not? don't answer that) 👻 Peeves causing chaos ❤️‍🩹 Madam Pomfrey being a saint

Extract:

The Sunday before the January full moon, Remus awoke with a pounding headache. He squinted at his alarm clock through the darkness. It wasn't even six yet. Pouring some cold water into the glass on the nightstand, he pressed the glass against his throbbing temple. It eased the pain a little. Once the glass was too warm to do any further good, he drank the content. Water was something both muggles and wizards seemed to agree on as an effective remedy against headaches. Remus had yet to be convinced. 

Closing his eyes, Remus tried desperately to chase oblivion again, but with no success. After about an hour, Remus gave up reaching for the ever-evading rest. The other boys were still asleep. Remus got up and changed quietly so as not to wake them. 

Walking through the empty corridors at Hogwarts, Remus was met with further reminders that most people were yet to rise. On all sides, he was surrounded by sleeping portraits and the closest thing he came to meeting any sign of life was... well, when he passed ghosts. It felt strange, making his way to the same place he'd started avoiding lately.

'Really? Already?' had been James constant question every time Remus had left him, and eventually, Remus found it easier to avoid the Hospital Wing altogether. 

The guilt had been a little harder to avoid. As had Sirius' appraising eyes. 

Remus knew he hadn't needed to worry about the matron being awake. Firstly, he knew—probably better than anyone in the castle by now—that Madam Pomfrey was always an early riser. Secondly, loud coughing greeted Remus as he pushed open the doors to the Hospital Wing.

Taking a seat close to Madam Pomfrey's office, Remus waited until she emerged from behind James' privacy screens. Every loud rasping bark hurt twice, first as a stabbing jab behind his left temple, then as guilt squeezing his chest. The coughing probably sounded worse than it was, but that was a small comfort because it sounded dreadful.

It was also a little disgusting. The nausea accompanying the headache intensified as Remus heard the unmistakable sounds of retching mingled with the coughs. Remus closed his eyes, taking a few steadying deep breaths. Soon, he'd have the potion, and then this, too, would pass. Or, at least subside to something more managable. 

'We're not playing any dangerous games this month, are we, Lupin?' asked Madam Pomfrey sternly as she handed him the small vial. 'I want you in one piece on Tuesday. There's quite enough to worry about at the present.'

'Of course,' Remus muttered. 

'No need to be anxious about your friend. I will make quite sure Potter does not know that you are gone during the night.'

Fearing perhaps exactly what Madam Pomfrey might do to James, or maybe Remus was too worn down from keeping things secret all the time. Whatever it was, something made him admit the truth: 

'No need. He knows.' Remus swallowed the potion before continuing: 'Sirius and Peter too.'

Remus had always had the impression that Madam Pomfrey was not easily fazed, having seen too much for too many years. Still, he couldn't help but look nervously at her. He wasn't exactly sure what he expected, maybe for her to tell him off, or insist that they immediately speak to Professor Dumbledore, but she only gave a curt nod. 

She remained standing there by his side, silently. Remus got the impression she was doing a lot of thinking. Eventually, the matron said: 'It is probably for the best. You telling them. Now Lupin, is there anything else I can help you with? How's the headache?'

Remus didn't bother correcting her. Never in his wildest dreams would he have told the boys about being a werewolf, because he would never have imagined their response. He still had trouble believing it. 

They said they didn't care.

Guilt, never really far from the surface, once more reared its head. If James wanted him there by his side, could Remus deny him that? There was homework to worry about, certainly. But James, Sirius and Peter were his friends, despite everything, and that was far more important than the date of some Statute or other.

'The headache's gone,' said Remus. It was close enough to the truth. 'Is James ...?' 

'You can say hi on the way out, but you both need -'

'Rest.' Remus sent her a weak smile. 'I know. Thank you for the potion... and everything.'

'It's my job,' said Madam Pomfrey, but her voice was unusually soft. 

On his way out, he therefore stopped by James' bed. 

'Good morning,' Remus offered as James opened his eyes. 

'Remus,' muttered James, his eyes finding Remus, but without his glasses, Remus doubted he could see more than a blurry outline.

'Early, no?'

'Headache,' explained Remus. 

James nodded: 'Back later?' 

'Of course.'

The answer should have been no. No, I need to rest, James. The words had not come. James smiled sleepily, closing his eyes. Remus left the Hospital Wing, looking forward to when he could do the same in his own bed.

...

Read full chapter on AO3

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Rated: E

Exploding Ministry memos and one or two requisite dragons and cursed magical objects. Old school romances with a dash of new workplace flirtation. James Potter and Lily Evans may have missed each other the first time around…but not this time, if Ministry regulations have anything to say about it.

Chapter 2! which is double the word count that I intended it to be, but they had Things they wanted to say, so who am I to shut them up?

happy april and happy reading!

Read Magnolia Chapter 2: Pasts on Ao3!

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Oh i agree with you with other aurors calling them nepotism babies 😂 but i think the older ones have soft spot for neville even thought they didnt get to see him as baby but “he is alice and frank’s kid, that’s our nephew”

Neville swallowed hard, his hand hovering on the door to the Auror Office.

He hadn’t thought twice when Mr. Shacklebolt—no, Minister Shacklebolt—invited him to join the Aurors alongside Ron and Harry, waiving the usual test scores and three years of training. He’d accepted immediately. Eager to prove himself. To finish what they'd started. To carry on his family’s legacy. To make his Gran proud.

And now, standing at the threshold of what felt like his destiny—one he had only ever dared to voice to Trevor—he was suddenly unsure of everything. Did he deserve to wear Auror robes? Was he skilled enough? Smart enough? Brave enough?

He had half a mind to turn around and hide in his grandfather’s old greenhouse when a familiar voice called out behind him.

“Neville! Great, you're here!”

“Hey, Ron,” Neville said, managing a small smile as Ron clapped him on the back. Harry stood beside him, stoic and straight-backed as always, giving Neville a nod.

Neville squared his shoulders, trying to mimic Harry’s confidence.

“Let’s get in there before they realize what a mistake they made, offering a bunch of Hogwarts dropouts full-time jobs,” Ron said cheerfully, pushing open the door.

“Technically, I didn’t drop out,” Neville said. “I can still take my exams this summer with everyone else in our year.”

Ron gave him a baffled look. “Why would you do a mad thing like that?”

Before Neville could answer, they stepped up to the front desk where an elderly witch sat behind a stack of paperwork.

Are you three lost?” the witch behind the desk asked, arching one penciled brow as she looked up from a stack of parchments.

“No,” Harry said with calm certainty. “We’re here to meet with Robards. It’s our first day. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom.”

At the mention of Neville’s name, the woman froze. Her gaze flicked sharply to him, narrowing slightly, as though trying to place a face she hadn't seen in years. Then her eyes widened.

“Longbottom?” she repeated, almost breathless. Her eyes scanned his features, flicking from his jawline to his nose to the set of his eyes, as though searching for echoes of someone she once knew.

Neville shifted his weight and offered a small, uncertain smile. “Er… yeah. That’s me.”

Without taking her eyes off him, she turned in her chair and called over her shoulder. “Margaret! Margaret, get over here! You won’t believe this!”

Another elderly witch poked her head out from a side office, half-spectacles perched on the edge of her nose. “Yes, Eunice? What is it now?”

“Guess who this is!” Eunice said, gesturing grandly toward Neville.

Margaret peered at him, blinking. “Haven’t the foggiest.”

“Neville Longbottom! Alice and Frank’s boy!”

Margaret gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “No! Merlin’s beard… He’s so big!” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Little baby Neville—oh my goodness, look at you! You’re the spitting image of your dad when he first walked through those doors. Where’s Alfred? He has to see this.”

And then she turned, cupping her hands to her mouth and calling down the corridor with surprising strength, “Alfred! Get out here! Alice’s boy is here! Come quick!”

In what felt like a matter of seconds, people began emerging from doorways, their conversations halting as they caught wind of what was happening. A group of middle-aged Aurors came striding over, curiosity quickly turning into wonder. Someone whispered, “Frank’s son?” and then the murmurs spread like wildfire.

Neville found himself in the middle of a growing circle of people—men and women, many with graying hair and worn expressions softened by emotion. They came forward one by one, shaking his hand, patting his shoulder, nodding with solemn reverence. He could hear snatches of words—

“Your mum saved my life in '77—duel in Knockturn Alley—never got to thank her.”

“Frank trained me when I was a recruit. Best duelist I ever saw.”

“Thought I’d never see the day...”

For a moment, Neville didn’t know what to do with his hands or his face. He could only blink and nod, his throat thick as he shook hands with teary-eyed strangers.

Then Eunice stepped forward again, her voice warm as she took his hand between both of hers. “It truly is an honor,” she said. “Don’t you worry—we’ll take good care of you. Alice and Frank’s boy, here in the office. It’s a miracle.” She smiled up at him, eyes glistening. “Welcome home, Neville.”

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Is it time already?

The voting form in now live!

So head on over to the event collection and take a guess who wrote what!

Did your sleuthing pay off? It is not too late to start a murder board or get funky in the (spread)sheets!

Our amazing authors are at the edge of their seat.

@itstherisingdaylight, @tedwardremus, @annabtg, @joyseuphoria, @jamesunderwater, @neverenoughmarauders, @livelaughlovetoread @siriuslychessi, @ginnyw-potter, @sophie-hatter-jenkins, @kay-elle-cee, @emmathecasualauthor, @littlefoldedpaperstars, @formerlympp, @blackseatwenty and @charmsandtealeaves

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Excuse ME. This is a formal cease and desist letter to pause Shirtless JP May before you kill me

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🦆 🦆 🪿

Okay, but real question. Did anyone else play "Quack Dilly Oso" as a child? Because the first thing I thought of when I read this was that. You triggered a deep childhood memory. And now all I can do is sing that song in my head. Gahhh!

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🦆 🦆 🪿

Okay, but real question. Did anyone else play "Quack Dilly Oso" as a child? Because the first thing I thought of when I read this was that. You triggered a deep childhood memory. And now all I can do is sing that song in my head. Gahhh!

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Strawberry Mentos & Black Liquorice 

by LiveLaughLoveToRead

Summary:

Many think James and Lily Potter got together in 7th year, but their story is much more complicated.

When Sirius said 'Nah, She didn't', it held multitudes.

But we don't know about what happened because of the darkness that made them hide their love.

This story shines a light on what was meant by those three words.

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It’s hereeeeeeeeee! Welcome to Mystery Microfic May for 2025 duckies! 

Thank you to this year’s participating authors: 

@itstherisingdaylight, @tedwardremus, @annabtg, @joyseuphoria, @jamesunderwater, @neverenoughmarauders, @livelaughlovetoread @siriuslychessi, @ginnyw-potter, @sophie-hatter-jenkins, @kay-elle-cee, @emmathecasualauthor, @littlefoldedpaperstars, @formerlympp, @blackseatwenty and @charmsandtealeaves

The event collection is now live!

Get to reading! Next week we will release polls to confirm your guesses! (Watch out for our master post next week). Polls will run for 7 days and we will then reveal authors once the polls have expired. Happy sleuthing! 🕵️‍♂️

Authors remember if you’re going to comment on works do so using guest comments or you’ll give yourselves away 😉

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a @jilymicrofics - strangers

Sirius had gotten there as fast as he could. It wasn’t possible to extract himself from his mission the moment he discovered the Order had been fed misinformation, but the second he had covered all his bases, he apparated back to the safehouse searching for his friends, and he found them, as he feared, in the infirmary.

It wasn’t the first time, and he highly doubted it would be the last, yet he winced at the sight of the handful of Order members being tended to, and his heart sank when he saw his two best friends sprawled out, seemingly unconscious, on beds next to each other. James almost looked like he could be sleeping, no bandages or blood stains, only his singed and torn clothing let on that something had happened to him. James' wife, Lily, on the other hand, had several bandages wrapped around her arms and head, though her dark auburn hair was still visible under the gauze.

After bombarding the exhausted-looking Medi-witch for any insight into what had happened, all Sirius could do was wait. An hour passed, then two, then three when James finally stirred from his slumber. Sirius had never felt so relieved to see those hazel eyes, bloodshot and unshielded by his glasses, lock with his.

“Padfoot? Bloody hell, what happened?”

Sirius grimaced. “Ambushed.”

“Shit. Is everyone—? Did anyone—?”

“Everyone made it back… one way or another. Still waiting on Lily to wake up.”

“Who?” James asked, fumbling around the table next to him in search of his specs.

Sirius frowned, but repeated himself. “Lily.” He nodded to the bed on James’ left.

Placing his glasses back on his nose, James leaned forward slightly to get a better look. “Ah, who is that? A new recruit?”

Sirius rose now, concern sending goosebumps across his skin. “No… James, that’s your wife.”

James frowned, eyes darting between the two. “Wife? Is this your idea of a joke?”

Sirius shook his head; he could think of nothing less funny than the way his best friend was glancing at his wife like the two were complete strangers.

"Perhaps you should get some more rest, Prongs. It's been a long day. I'll see if we can get you a sleep draught. We can talk more in the morning."

James nodded, stifling a yawn behind his hand. "That sounds like a good idea. Rest should help."

Sirius nodded his agreement, urging his numb legs forward in search of help, ignoring the dread that was quickly building in him at the thought of Lily waking up to a husband who didn't remember her.