#(and sometimes people she just thinks are absolutely dreadful) ((she's a hypocrite she's also abusing resources for this <3))

[msommers]

found these lost amongst the million folders i have full of unfinished wips and may as well toss 'em up here bc i'll almost certainly never finish the intended 3-4 set

[bluerosesburnblue]

All Answered: 25 Emoji Asks

Tagged by @callmederok so I’m assuming this was about HPHM!

A bit of a long one (at least if you answered things the way that I did), so don’t feel like you have to do it, but I’m putting the usual tag list of @oveliagirlhaditright, @wilhelminafujita, @missnight0wl, and @batgirl-87 here.

🌟 When your OC loses all hope, who do they turn to first? What helps make them feel better? What calms them down and reassures them? Why?

The first one implies that Seren has a functioning support system, which at the current time she doesn’t. It used to be Jacob, and it will probably be Jacob again when they get things sorted out. When they were kids, he was all she had. Once they’re adults and able to stand on an equal level, though, I think it’ll be a lot better for her.

The whole problem is that once Seren gets upset, there’s very little that can get her out of it besides time. Her instinct is to withdraw somewhere private to just ruminate on everything. She used to cuddle plush toys to feel better, though I think those would get gradually replaced with the creatures that she adopts over time (it’s hard to stay sad with a crup pup licking your face!). But I think the main draw of finding solace in creatures is the fact that they make her feel “needed,” which for someone who constantly doubts their own worth is very reassuring

☀️ What makes your OC genuinely happy? A person, an item, their hobby? Where is the place they’re happiest, or most at home? What is the happiest they’ve ever been?

Again, taking care of creatures is something that genuinely makes her happy with no strings attached. Creatures don’t generally judge you and are incapable of comparing you to your brother, after all. Once she becomes an Animagus, I think turning into a raven and flying about wherever she wants would be something that makes her very happy due to the privacy of flying about unnoticed, the freedom of the movement, and the sense power that comes from mastering the skill. Also, being in animal form makes emotions simpler to process, so there’s very little that could make her unhappy for a prolonged amount of time in that form!

Relatedly, the happiest she’s ever been (at the current point in HPHM) would be her first Animagus transformation. The elation of knowing that you managed to get a very difficult bit of magic done right, pretty much by word-of-mouth on the particulars, and that the new skill would be unimaginably helpful combined with just the adrenaline of the transformation itself and relief of not having to deal with all of the precise timing stuff made it her happiest moment in recent memory

She’s happiest in private areas. Since she’s dorming and her home isn’t really a safe place for her, that ends up being the forest or the school rooftops that she can access post-Animagus

🌙 If your OC could have one wish come true what would it be and why? Would there be consequences to this wish or would they regret it once they get what they want? What would they give in return for this wish to come true?

Ooooof. Uh... that’s really hard because Seren is a Hufflepuff through and through. She wouldn’t be satisfied in the outcome of the wish unless she had to work for it. I suppose she’d probably use it on someone else or just ask them what they wanted and wish for that

If she had to wish for something for herself, though, then maybe she’d just wish for more restful sleep because she doesn’t get nearly enough. No regrets, she probably wouldn’t go out of her way to get the wish. It’d just be a nice, practical bonus to help her mental health

❄️ What makes your OC sad, so sad that they can’t help but cry all day? How do they cheer themselves up? Does their sadness upset any of their loved ones too?

Really, a better question is what doesn’t make her sad? She’s a pretty easily depressed, melancholic person when you get down to it. It wouldn’t even be sadness that would make her cry all day, but frustration at how everything seems to go wrong with the Vaults or with her friends. Stress and existential dread are huge issues for her

Covered it above that she doesn’t really cheer herself up, she just waits it out. I’m sure that the fact that she’s so difficult to cheer up makes her friends, and especially Jacob, upset, too. I guess he’ll just have to turn into a bird and incessantly attempt to cuddle up to her while tickling her with his feathers, huh?

🔥 If your OC known for having temper tantrums? If not, what gets them really angry? What makes their blood BOIL? Is there anyway to calm them down or are they unstoppable? What are they like when they’re angry? Do they take it out on their loved ones?

I wouldn’t really say that she has temper tantrums, but she does lash out a lot when she’s angry. Basically, a pissed off Seren is very volatile. She doesn’t resort to physical violence unless whoever’s offending her refuses to take the hint and leave her alone, but she’s very likely to get shouty, verbally aggressive and rude, and maybe take her frustrations out on objects in the environment. And it’s very hard to calm her down (honestly it’s hard to calm her down when she feels any strong emotions, and emotions for her are all or nothing so...)

There’s a reason that one of my best friends described her as “intense”

Things that piss her off include but are not limited to: people being hypocrites, Albus Dumbledore, unnecessary cruelty to people, unnecessary cruelty to animals or creatures, Merula Snyde, elitism of any kind (blood, species, living situation, etc.), potatoes, the implication that she likes potatoes, Albus Dumbledore and Merula Snyde, withholding of pertinent information for someone’s “safety,” being lied to, and being compared to Jacob

❤️ What would your OC’s ideal lover be like? Appearance, personality, voice? Would their family approve or would it be civil war?

Hold on, I have, like, a tiered list of Seren ships to reference here

So first of all, I don’t think she cares about appearance. Her self-confidence is low enough that the idea of anyone finding her attractive would probably far outweigh whether she finds them attractive. Though a little bit of messiness in their appearance and a bright smile certainly helps

I think the biggest thing for her would be whether they like creatures and animals. If the answer is no, then she won’t ever feel anything towards someone. It’s hard to like someone who doesn’t care for your passions. The other big things that I tend to take into account for her is the partner’s ability to handle her strong emotions. They usually always fall into two categories: cheerful and determined in a way that keeps her from falling too deep into her melancholy while also being laid back enough to counteract her anger, or quiet, calm people who sort of “absorb” her more passionate parts so that it evens out between the two of them. And being snarky doesn’t hurt

(For anyone curious, the ship list is:

Tier 1: Seren/Charlie and Seren/Talbott

Tier 2: Seren/Chiara, Seren/Orsino, Seren/Kirley, and Seren/Aurélie

Considered but Eliminated Because I Made Them Third Cousins: Seren/Barnaby

God Tier: Seren/Tuna Sandwich)

The only family who would care who she’s with would be Jacob and I think he’d approve of anyone on that list. Though fair warning: if you’re gonna romance Seren you have to be prepared for Jacob to third wheel the entire situation. You’re basically dating both of them he will not leave you alone

🕊️ Would your OC ever get married or are they already wed? If they’re married, describe what their wedding was like! If not, describe their ideal wedding (or do this if you feel like it anyway!)

I think she’d like to get married someday if she found the right person, but it’s not a particular priority. She doesn’t think about it much considering she uh... does not think she’s worth being in a relationship with

If she were to get married, I think her one specification would be that it be a small ceremony. She only has one family member who would show up and she’d be really upset if whoever she was marrying had more people there to support them than there were people there to support her (just rub it in that she’s been disowned yaaaaaaaay), so the guest list would be restricted to close family and friends only. I also think she’d prefer a wedding late in the evening and outdoors, maybe sometime in the spring or fall when the weather isn’t too hot or cold and there’s a nice breeze. Overall, it’d be a pretty casual affair

🍼 Does your OC have any children or want children? What names would they pick? Are they good with kids or a complete disaster?

Nope. Absolutely not. She has no desire for kids. She does not trust herself with kids. She is terrified that because she grew up in an emotionally abusive home that she’d be the same to her kids and she doesn’t want that. She also doesn’t want more responsibility and kids are A Lot, especially if you own a whole ton of pets already and you’re basically your brother’s entire sense of restraint. Not only does she not want kids, she hates her family line so much that she’s ecstatic that she might get to be the last Dwyn if she outlives Jacob

Ironically, though, she’s decent with kids. Though more so in the “cool aunt” way. She’s protective but also, like... an instigator who goads them into some stuff that I’m sure their parents wouldn’t approve of because Seren has weird standards of “normal and safe” (”Hey, kids! Wanna feed an Acromantula? I’ll teach you the safe way to do it!) Personally, I think Teddy Lupin considers her his aunt with how close she was to Tonks and he’s the closest to having a kid she’ll ever get

☕ Give us one (or more if you feel like it) of your OCs deep dark secrets! Why do they keep it hidden? Spill the tea!

The one thing she refuses to let anyone know about is the fact that her dad is a Squib. I know, that’s not really “her” secret to keep, but she’s a pretty honest person so she doesn’t have many. It’s not that she’s ashamed that her father’s a Squib, but just that she knows that there’s a lot of wizards who would find that something worth mocking and with everything happening with Jacob she just... doesn’t need the extra stress in her life

I mean, I guess her middle name being Aisling is a secret because she doesn’t want anyone to realize that her initials are SAD. Not really a “dark” secret, though. Her birthday’s another one, but that’s just because she doesn’t want people to go out of their way to get her gifts

And then there’s the whole “unregistered Animagus” thing that would surely get her sent to prison

(*cough* If she had a crush on someone that would be a secret, too. *cough* Wouldn’t want anyone to feel pressured to be in a relationship with her or anything. I don’t consider the First Date quest to be part of her story)

🍂 What are their opinions on the different seasons? Which one do they hate and which one do they love and why?

Hates summer because she can’t deal with hot weather, and because she’s forced to go home to parents that don’t want anything to do with her. Even when she’s an adult and doesn’t have to deal with her parents anymore she still hates it. Her birthday is in summer. She hates people celebrating it. Summer is just a sign that it’s gonna be her birthday again.

Winter is her favorite just because she likes snow (another point for being a raven Animagus: they really like rolling around in the snow and it’s adorable). The cold doesn’t bother her. And she loves Christmas.

She likes fall and spring because of the breezes, but that’s about it. She has no strong feelings for either one

🦋 If your OC could change everything (or just something) about their life would they? What would they change? What do they think would happen if they did? What would their loved ones think?

Everything? Maybe not. But not having emotionally abusive/neglectful parents would be nice. I really think that’s the one thing she’d change if she could, but there’s no good way to go about that that doesn’t screw up some aspect of her life. If her dad isn’t a Squib her never gets the job that he meets her mom at. If her mom isn’t a Muggleborn, then she doesn’t end up at the Cafe her dad worked at after leaving home. If she isn’t born a witch then she never goes to Hogwarts and meets any of her friends, and probably wouldn’t be as close to Jacob. So much of her life has been tied to it that there’s no way to change it without starting a horrible avalanche of consequences

💐 Does your OC like flowers? What are their favourites? Do they keep a garden of some sort? What flowers would they use in a flower crown? (and if you like, research the meanings behind those flowers!)

Yeah, she likes flowers a lot! Herbology’s actually her chill out class because she just likes being around them. At Hogwarts, she likes taking care of the Common Room plants (yes, I know Jane, they’re enchanted to be watered but I like to be sure) and will be keeping houseplants as an adult. Although, they’re mostly medicinal herbs and potions ingredients

She’s a big fan of water lilies and water poppies (gee, I wonder why), but she also has a fondness for odd-looking blooms like Bleeding Hearts. And the thing about flower crowns is that they’d be personalized for every person she makes one for. Actually, that would probably be a Christmas gift one year. Personalized flower crowns for everyone (probably sneak a blue water lily in each of them as a shorthand for “hey, this is from Seren!”)

🌼 Write a short drabble from your OCs POV meeting their LI (or if they don’t have a love interest, their best friend. If you don’t want to do a drabble, describe their first meeting instead!)

(The meetings for pretty much everyone are shown in-game... except for Charlie so let’s do it! Works for friendship because Seren’s slow to fall in love. Ain’t no love at first sight for her)

Her footsteps were just barely audible as she hurried down the spacious hallways of Hogwarts castle, until they were suddenly drowned out by a scream in the distance followed by a firm shout of “Riddikulus!” She didn’t stop until she was outside of the castle doors. The small Third Year leaned back against the cool stone of the castle’s exterior, closed her eyes, and breathed in the cool, late autumn air.

Ever since the boggarts had started appearing as part of the latest curse, Seren Dwyn had been making herself scarce. Part of it was due to the fact that her fellow students were quick to blame her for their appearance. Part of it was due to the fact that the boggarts always took the form of him, and she just couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not until she was certain that he was real, and that he was safe. (Besides, if any of the students who made fun of her found out that her boggart took the form of her brother, then they’d never let her live it down.)

She opened her eyes again and pushed off of the wall, kicking her feet against the ground and running her hand through the hair that fell over her shoulder. The stress was starting to get to her and she knew it. Walking around in constant fear that a boggart might show up only made them much more likely to show up, and she was far too smart to let that happen, or so she told herself. No, she just needed a way to take her mind off of them. Then she could return to the castle without the shapeshifting monsters impeding her search for the next Cursed Vault.

“...alright. Alright,” she whispered to herself in an attempt to bolster her confidence. She knew that she wasn’t technically allowed out this late, but there was only one place she was aware of to escape the boggarts and relax at the same time. And so the little Hufflepuff set off towards Hagrid’s Hut.

The long walk down had done wonders to lighten her mood, and she practically skipped up the steps to knock on the door to her favorite half-giant’s abode. She swung her fist up to pound the thick, wooden door loud enough for Hagrid to hear when she froze in her tracks. There was laughter. One of the voices was Hagrid, of course, who was so loud that he nearly drowned out the second voice. But she caught it.

Oh, stop being such a coward! she chided to herself, letting out a shaky breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Strangers always made her nervous, irrational as she knew that was. Just knock!

Her fist had barely touched the door when loud howling erupted from inside of the building. Taking that as her cue, Seren opened the door, gripped the edge of the doorway to avoid being knocked over, and allowed her favorite pup to leap up at her and start licking her face. He’d gotten so big! And, for the first time since the boggarts appeared, the girl started laughing. Genuinely, wholeheartedly laughing. And when her laughter started dying down, she noticed that it hadn’t just been her. The unfamiliar voice had joined in as well.

She looked up and her eyes finally met those of Hagrid’s guest: a boy of roughly the same age as her with a very familiar shade of red hair that he’d unsuccessfully attempted to tie back into a ponytail despite the fact that it was far too short. He was sitting on the floor, his back leaning up against the wooden crates that had been left in the corner and the pile of blankets next to him indicated that Fang had been laying down by his side. The freckles on his face highlighted his huge grin, an expression that extended up to his deep brown eyes. He was, by far, the cheeriest person she had seen in months.

He waved at her, and she could’ve sworn that she’d seen that exact same thing before. “Hello!”

“H-hi?” She waved back, and then quickly put her hand down. You’re making it awkward, ya eejit!

“You’re Seren, yeah? It’s nice to finally meet you in person! Not to be rude or anything, but Bill’s stories about you just haven’t been cutting it.”

“Oh!” That was it! She’d never talked to this boy before, but she had seen him around the castle. There were several times where it had seemed like he’d waved at her in the hallway and she’d just looked away and continued walking, assuming that he must have just been waving at someone else. But the red hair, the fact that he knew Bill... “You- you’re Charlie Weasley!”

Well, damn. Now she just felt rude in hindsight.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. If he’d even thought of those incidents at all, he certainly didn’t let it show. “Yeah! I was wondering if we’d ever run into each other. Hagrid said that you visit a lot.” He chuckled a bit. “I just thought it strange that we hadn’t once been here at the same time!”

“Charlie an’ I were jus’ talking abou’ tha’ purple Chinese Fireball tha’ they found las’ week! Ya hear abou’ tha’ one?” Hagrid asked.

Seren finally slid into the hut fully, closing the door behind her. “No. Been a bit busy,” she muttered, striding across the room and plopping herself down right next to Charlie, knowing full well that Fang would follow her to his little nest. Normally she would be nervous sitting this close to someone else, but something about Charlie just felt... safe. She glanced over at the boy and then quickly glanced away when he met her gaze. Maybe not that safe, yet. But she felt that she’d get there. “Tell me about it?”

Visiting Hagrid’s Hut that night had been a wonderful idea, she thought. And every time Charlie waved at her in the hallway after that, it took her mind off of the curses and the fear pervading the school. She had one more person around who was happy to see her, and that made all the difference.

🥀 Has your OC ever been hurt by someone they love? Ever been betrayed? Abused? Attacked? Give me the angst! (if you’d like, write a short drabble about it!)

Well, let’s see. Her mother resents the fact that she has magic and neglected her. Her father’s afraid of her because she has magic and he doesn’t and his mother used magic to abuse him. Her grandmother didn’t think she was good enough to be her heir and ignored her. Her brother disappeared on her... yeah, I’d say she’s been hurt by people she loves. Loved.

🏞️ If your OC could travel to anywhere in their world where would they go? Why? If they could live there would they?

Deep in the middle of the forest where no one can find her. Actually, despite the fact that she’s not very close to her mother, I think she’d still like to visit her mother’s homeland of the Faroe Islands. It certainly helps that they aren’t too densely populated. I think she’d mostly just want to visit because she thinks she might be able to figure out more about herself if she can see where her roots are and understand them better

I can’t see her moving there, though. It would remind her far too much of her mother and she kiiiiiiiinda wants to break away from that and just move on. That’s kinda the whole point. You can’t move on from something if you don’t really know what you’re moving on from

🏡 Describe your OCs ideal house! Give us a tour around! What’s their garden like? Their bedroom? Kitchen? Where is it and how many people live there?

So I’m just gonna describe her future shared apartment with Jacob because that’s pretty close to ideal

It’s not too big. Only a few rooms, but they each have a purpose. There’s the main sitting room and the kitchen right behind it. Down the hall is two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the “laboratory,” which is basically just a makeshift potions room because like hell are we paying for pre-made things when we can just prepare the raw materials and brew them ourselves (also experiment with potentially illegal brews just shhhhhh). Most rooms have some manner of houseplant in them. There’s a miniature Wiggentree near the front door for good luck that also houses Seren’s Bowtruckle, Durward, who protects the apartment from invaders

The whole place is filled with houseplants and small areas for Seren’s myriad creatures to settle into. Otherwise, the decor is pretty scarce, though Jacob has tons of framed pictures that he’s taken around. Muggle tech is in some spots where it would be easy to hide if they need to. Seren’s room in particular has a lot of fairy lights hanging around in it, and there’s books of every kind scattered about

There’s an entire shelf in that kitchen just dedicated to alcohol. Too much alcohol. Kids, please, I’m concerned about the way that you’re handling your mental health levels of alcohol (alcohol doesn’t do much for them. That’s what the Gillywater in the back is for.)

🔪 Has your OC ever killed someone? Ever had to defend themselves against violence? How did this make them feel? Or, alternatively, has your OC ever attacked someone? Seen someone die?

Not... yet. She has not killed anyone... yet. But she’s getting really close to trying. She’s never seen anyone die, either, but I can guarantee you that if that doesn’t change during the events of HPHM, then it will soon afterwards

As for violence and/or defending herself, well... *gestures in the direction of the entirety of HPHM* I dunno, you tell me. Though I will say that during the part where Rakepick breaks MC’s wand, I’ve always thought of it more as Seren waiting until after class to confront her and then attacking first, eventually getting her ass handed to her and her wand broken while she’s down. And I think she’d be more frustrated at herself than anything else because how could you be such an idiot of course you lost. You’re the worst. You don’t deserve to have these wounds healed just live with it. You useless failure

💎 Does your OC collect anything? Is there a reason? When did they start and is it beginning to turn into a little bit of a hoarding issue? What do they do with their collection?

Trauma. Actually, not really? Unless you want to count her creatures as her collection, but I don’t because they’re not really objects. And if you need a reason for them, I’ve mentioned it a whole bunch up above. It basically starts with inheriting Jacob’s owl and snowballs from there, though most of them are going to be given away at some point because it’s hard to take care of a lot of pets when you’ve been freshly disowned and are still unemployed

📚 If your OC was given some kind of forbidden knowledge, what would they do with it? Would they tell anyone? Use it for evil or good? How would it change their outlook on life, if at all?

Depends on what the knowledge even is. In general, she’s not big on keeping things from others for their own safety, so more than likely she’ll tell someone. But she’s also not an idiot and if it’s something like seriously, seriously so bad that it would be disastrous if even a hint of it may get out, then she may keep it between just herself and Jacob. Kinda hard to keep secrets from your mind-reading brother

There’s a very real possibility that she just will not care and continue on. Since she’s a detective it may influence the way she solves cases but... She wouldn’t use it for evil, that’s for sure. But she also may not use it for good because we never specified what the knowledge was and if it would be relevant to anything

🌗 Early mornings or late nights? What do they spend their time doing during these hours?

Late nights. The ones she doesn’t spend trying desperately to sleep and just not succeeding, she usually spends researching things that may be useful for the Vault search/detective work. Maybe a bit of experimenting or gift crafting if there’s a birthday or holiday coming up. She’s not an insomniac like her brother is, but she does share his tendency to just... not. Sleep. Sometimes. Though she’s far more likely to medicate herself to sleep

👑 If your OC was made royal (or is royal) how would they use their power? Are they a good leader or bad? Do their subjects like them or is it ‘off with their head’? Do they enjoy being royal?

If Seren was ever made royalty, then she would abdicate almost immediately. Use her position to establish a democracy and then leave. Like, that’s her whole thing. She’s a very competent leader. Very kind, but stern. Very good at shutting her emotions down and delegating. But she HATES being in charge. She prefers working alone or with 1-2 partners where everyone’s equal. So if she was ever made a royal, she’d use her power to plan for her absence, and then leave

💕 How is your OC like with physical affection? What are their boundaries? Do they enjoy being touched or is that a no-go? Is there any reason behind this?

In general, Seren is a “no touch” person. She doesn’t give affection to most people, she stiffens up when she receives it. And it’s because she’s not used to it and is constantly worried that she’s going to mess it up or intrude on others’ boundaries

She’s really only comfortable receiving physical affection from people that she’s very close to. Her brother, friends close enough to be considered siblings, potential love interests, and any possible future in-laws (though she’s more likely to reject them than others). I think the only person she’s totally comfortable giving physical affection to is Jacob. With him she can be pretty rough. But everyone else she’s much more shy about it with. She may get more bold if she’s been with a romantic partner for a long time, but in general you’d be lucky to get a hug from her

☁️ What’s something your OC wishes they could forget? Why is this? Or, what is something that your OC has forgotten? (or do both!)

Mmm. That’s hard, because Hufflepuffs are honest people and that includes being (or trying to be) honest with herself. So forgetting something would be going against that to her. I suppose if she had to pick something, she’d forget about MERULA SNYDE. Once she’s out of Hogwarts just ERASE HER FROM MEMORY SHE’S NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. Merula is just so insignificant to her and I want to see the look on “The Greatest Witch at Hogwarts’” face when, years later, the girl that she obsessively made fun of in school just looks over and goes “Who are you?”

I don’t think there’s anything specific that she’s forgotten about other than the general stuff, like some instances of kids making fun of her in Muggle school. You know, the normal stuff that just fades over time

👀 Describe your OC through the eyes of another person! (bonus + specify who)

From Jacob’s perspective:

She’s everything that he could’ve wanted in a friend. The perfect straight man to his funny guy, whose look of disinterest just makes all of his jokes sell harder. She’s smart enough to keep up with him, quick-witted enough to challenge him. But she needs to be protected. Protect her. That’s his little sister and he can’t fail her again. He loves the way her eyes light up when she starts rambling about creatures, how she takes every little adventure he comes up with and escalates it into a full-blown epic

When he sees her again it’s like that person’s not even there. Someone else is. Her eyes that were the color of the deep ocean look murky. Lifeless. The bags under her eyes rival his own. Her hair’s short now, and a mess, but he can’t help thinking how much it suits her. Makes her look like her own person and not like she’s trying too hard to be their mother. She always tried too hard to be their mother. She almost reminds him of himself, or she would if she hadn’t put so much of her own spin on everything. When she turns to him he’s worried about what she’s going to say.

“Jay, ya fecking dope. You stupid...” She sighs, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. “I missed you so much.”

Ah, there she is. That’s the Seren he remembers. So it wasn’t that she’d changed. Not really. She just stopped hiding who she was from everyone else.

❓ A random fact or short drabble! Or make up your own question to ask the OC!

Students shuffled out of the way as they saw her approach. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days (and she hadn’t) or like she was about to get into a gang fight. Her hair was even messier than normal, the bags under her eyes so deep that they could hold all of her schoolbooks and then some.

She’d stopped caring about the uniform a while ago. Her yellow tie was haphazardly thrown around her neck without even an attempt at tying it and her hands were stuffed into the pockets of the navy hoodie that she now wore at all times as she strode down the hallways. The scowl on her face was probably what kept her fellow students away, but that hardly bothered her. Better they get out of the “cursed student’s” way than risk being petrified. As though she had any control over that. As though she weren’t the one doing everything to stop those curses.

Five years. Five years of that nonsense and she was done with it. A sixth year now? Noooooo thank you. But a sixth year was what she was getting. Nothing much she could do about that except put a stop to it as fast as possible.

Find Sickleworth. Sickleworth leads you to Rakepick. When you find her, make her regret buying you a new wand. Find Sickleworth. Find Sickleworth.

Her mind was racing through all of the steps that she’d need to take and all of the possible ways that a fight with her ex-mentor could go down when something jolted her out of the mental rut she’d ended up in. A yelp, or perhaps more of a whimper. As she finally rounded the corner down to the Hospital Wing where she’d hopefully find her target, she spotted the source of the disturbance.

A tiny, tiny Crup puppy was shuffling about near the door to the Hospital Wing, doing its very best to avoid being stepped on by the throngs of students that payed it no heed. It let out a whimper again, the noise drowned out by the chatter of students, as it backed up against the wall. It seemed as if no one noticed it at all. No one except the girl in blue, anyway. She didn’t even hesitate to walk on over to the little pup and squat down in front of the trembling little thing.

“Hey, there, buddy,” she murmured, stroking the little creatures head as gently as she could. “What are you doing out here all alone?”

The tiny creature didn’t make a sound in reply. It only turned to lick her outstretched hand. She was glad that she was facing the wall at the time, because she suddenly found herself choking back tears.

“Did everyone leave you behind, too? Find some- find someone better to be around?” If anyone who knew her had heard her in that moment, they would’ve been shocked. No one had heard that kind of tenderness in her voice in months. Months that had felt like years to the quiet, somber girl.

She placed her hands around the pup as gently as she could before scooping him up into her arms and standing upright so that she wasn’t in the way of the Hospital Wing.

“I know what it’s like,” she whispered into the soft fur on the puppy’s head. “Everyone else may leave. But I won’t. That wouldn’t be fair to-”

Bang!

The tender moment was broken as an older gentleman came careening into the area, his artificial leg slamming hard into the stone wall that he must not have seen due to the decreased depth perception from his missing eye. If the students had been shuffling out of the girl’s way, then they were sprinting out of the man’s as he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “SPUD!? HAS ANYONE SEEN A CRUP- oh, Miss Dwyn!”

“Afternoon, Professor Kettleburn,” the girl said as she nodded towards the man, completely unfazed. Actually, she was much more impressed that nothing had been broken. That was a rarity with the good professor. “I ah... I assume this one’s yours?”

“Why, yes!” he replied, marching right on up to the young student. “One of our Crups just recently had a litter, you see. I was marching the little devils back to their room after a nice, long walk when I noticed that the smallest of the bunch had gone missing! Such a quiet little one, that Spud. Easy to overlook. But I see you found him! Of course you did! I should have expected one of my best students to come to a creature’s aid!”

“Yeaaaaaaaaah.” She shifted awkwardly on her feet, adjusting the puppy so that he was in a better position.

I should have expected as much. Why else would a Crup be here?

She glanced away from the man, before sighing and muttering under her breath, “So I... assume you want him back?” The magical dog licked her hand yet again, and she forced her eyes shut as she prepared to give him back.

Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. Don’t cry in front of your professor. DON’T-

“Miss Dwyn?”

Her eyes shot open as she finally met the gaze of the kindly professor. His expression was as soft as hers had been just minutes ago. Or at least, it seemed so. Sometimes it was hard to tell with the bandages covering his face.

“I’d feel terrible separating a creature from someone he’s bonded with. Especially if that person is one of my favorite students! You should keep him. He gets overlooked easily, but you... I’m certain that you would take good care of him.”

While the hallway was far from silent, it felt as though it was as the girl in blue processed her professor’s words.

“But- I- Wh... Are you sure?” she gasped out, hugging the pup closer to her body. “The... there’s no way that they’d allow me to keep him. A-a-and even if they did, I’m so busy that I couldn’t...”

“Sure you could!” The professor waved his artificial hand in a dismissive manner. “You’ve always gone out of your way to help with any and all creature related matters. I’m sure that with a good word from yours truly that Professor Dumbledore would let you keep him! You’ve more than proven that you could handle it.”

A little yip came from the girl’s arms in seeming affirmation, twin tails wagging. A few tears escaped the girl’s eyes.

“...thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, Miss Dwyn! If you wait here, I’ll go and fetch his things so that you can set up a nice little spot for him in your dormitory.”

And the man marched off, in the slightly clumsy but nonetheless upbeat manner that he always did. Still, the girl could have sworn she caught him say under his breath “No one deserves to be alone, after all.”

She leaned back against the wall, scratching her new pup’s chin and, when she thought that no one was looking, kissed his tiny head. Just being around the little guy made her feel more relaxed than... well, than she could ever remember feeling. She looked off down the way that the professor had left. She supposed that she would have to stick around for a while. Sliding down the wall into a sitting position, she placed the magical dog down on the ground to let him roam freely and smirked to herself.

“Of all things, though, why’d you have to be named after potatoes?”