#AND NO ONE EVEN KNEW IT WAS REALLY ONLY YOU / lucius & severus.

[malfaith]

TAG DROP

[empress-simps]

A Gryffindor's Grief

Pairing: James Potter x Fem! Slytherin! Reader

CW: Reader's family and language

Genre: Angst

Masterlist

Note: My first ever marauders fic! Kinda nervous to post this ngl… I'm still thinking if I should make a second part. I want to hear what you guys think about this! Requests are open! Photos used are from Pinterest! Credits to the owner!

It was forbidden love, really.

Those little moments of not-so-accidental touches, stealing glances, and discreet smiles sent each other's way were your means of communicating with each other.

James Fleamont Potter, a Gryffindor boy that was absolutely smitten with You; Slytherin's Princess.

An odd combination that would only lead to chaos.

Being one of the sacred twenty-eight wizarding families meant that you command power and respect from everyone you meet— intentionally or unintentionally. The idea about blood purity, power, and influence was already in your mind as soon as you were able to grasp things your toddler brain could handle.

You were taught to only mingle with pure-blood families, people who could be useful and loyal to you, and those with power, influence, and wealth. Your family’s distaste for muggles and muggleborns were also ingrained into your mind, as if they programmed you to believe what they believed in. It wasn’t that hard, after all you were surrounded by rich witches and wizards who are blood supremacists.

For someone who grew up with those ideals and values, you thought it was right. Although, your belief came tumbling down the longer you spend time at Hogwarts and got to know James Potter and the rest of the Marauders.

James, he made you feel alive.

It felt as if he was the breath of fresh air that you never knew you needed. Away from that suffocating Malfoy Manor, the scrutinizing gazes of your family, and away from rich pure blood problems. Being with him felt exhilarating, he was the buzz in your life. James brought so much joy into your dark, lavish, and empty lifestyle.

It was quite funny, picturing him as your knight in shining armor, whisking you away from your pretty, gold cage.

"Malfoy!" Evan Rosier, a pure-blooded Slytherin raised his hand in your direction, motioning you to come over and sit beside him during breakfast in the great hall. Cold eyes like Lucius Malfoy's travelled in his direction, a questioning brow raised.

"Rosier, you are being too loud." She commented, walking, and sitting next to him before greeting the person beside him, Regulus Black.

"Good morning, Regulus."

"Good morning, Y/n."

Barty Crouch Jr. looked up from his meal and snickered at the both of you. "Good morning, Mum and Dad." He teased, greeting you both as Evan laughed along with the other Slytherins near them. Heck even Severus has a small smirk planted on his face. "If you wish to make your family line extinct, then please feel free to continue with your remarks, Crouch."

He smirked, putting his hands up in mock surrender "Just kidding, Y/n. Geez. Rough summer, I suppose?"

You felt your lips press into a thin line, an obvious answer to the question; It was horrendous.

Evan’s laughter slowly dies, he shakes his head, “Give her a break mate, she just got the biggest news of her life during summer. Isn’t that right Y/n-“

“Shut your mouth Rosier if you do not want to be hexed into next month.” Her empty threat really doesn’t do damage to Evan, he just shrugged, taking it as a warning that you’re not in the mood for jokes.

Your father, Abraxas Malfoy and older brother, Lucius Malfoy made a huge decision for your future. Hearing rumors here and there about their Slytherin Princess being romantically involved with a blood traitor in Gryffindor enraged your father, Abraxas. That will certainly not do, they will not sit idly and watch as the Malfoy name be... tainted with those rumors.

You remember how you felt dread entering your system, fighting the urge to run and throw up as you mustered up a façade, “Those are just baseless rumors, a plot to ruin my image in school." You held your head high, praying they do not see the truth.

Abraxas stared at you, his daughter, with a monotone expression. "Your brother and I do not care whether those ridiculous rumors are true or not." Lucius nods, agreeing. What a lie. You know your family well enough to not believe what comes out of their mouths in situations like this.

"We do not care if you had relations with the boy, even though it is rumored that he is a blood traitor, you knew well enough not to fool around with mudbloods. Well done, Y/n. Perhaps you could change his views, get him to join our cause.” Lucius looked at you. You could press your lips into a thin line, trying to find an answer.

 “That tactless boy's role is to only be a bed warmer for you, remember that Y/n." Your father stood from the chair he sat in the drawing room. Slowly walking towards you. “Although, I suppose it ends now. I heard Lady Walburga Black is looking for a potential bride to their heir, Regulus Black.”

After a week, it was official; You are to be wedded to Regulus Black, your friend, Sirius’ brother.

You could not do anything about the arrangement, what fight would you have put up? A young girl like you, who does not have any power, influence, and wealth could only suck it up and accept.

How you wish it was James you were betrothed to.

“James, you came.” You breathed out, seeing him take off the invisibility cloak. The moonlight in the astronomy tower complimented his features, he offered a small smile sitting beside you.

The stakes were high, you were sure underlings of your brother (and possibly father) in the school have their eyes trained to you as you enter another year in Hogwarts. You would need to find new ways to meet up with your lover. Regulus’ eyes discreetly looked towards James, who is undeniably looking at you.

“Wouldn’t want for my girl to be alone, you know?”

He joked, intertwining his finger with you, a second nature to the both of you. Squeezing his hand, you softly looked at him. “I missed you, pothead.” He leaned towards your face, kissing you on the forehead. One of the things he does that never fails to make you feel flustered. “I missed you too, love.” You rolled her eyes, slightly shoving him playfully, “Stop being sappy, Pothead.”

“You secretly like it, love. You can’t lie to me.” He grinned, although the last sentence made you tense up. James shot you a concerned look, noticing your body language. “Something wrong, love?” You were torn, deciding on whether you tell him about the engagement rather than keeping quiet and leaving him in the dark about your current situation.

“I got engaged.” Before you could even stop yourself, the words flew out of your mouth. Shit. It wasn’t how she planned to tell him. The light atmosphere suddenly became dark and heavy. You can feel James turn rigid, freezing up as he muttered. “So, it was true, huh?” He scoffed bitterly, hurt overtaking his features. “James…” You gently called, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, turning his body away from you.

She tried to ignore the hurt she felt, pushing it down as she understood why James was acting this way.  “Sirius told me.” He choked out, still not looking at you. James really does know you well, answering the question you haven’t even voiced out yet. The slight tremble in his voice made your heart crack. You bit your lip, of course Sirius found out; he was still a Black after all.

“I love you, James. I really do.”

You spoke to him, you raised your hand, about to put a hand on his back that was still facing you but deciding against it before it touched him. Your hands faltering before dropping down to your sides. He shakes his head violently, his curly locks getting messier than they already were.

“Don’t… Don’t say it like that, love.” He pleaded, slowly turning to face you again, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Don’t say it like you’re about to leave me. This. Us.” He croaked; you felt his large hands placed on top of yours. He brought it up to his lips, kissing the knuckles.

“James…” You managed to utter out, voice getting caught at the throat.

James knew he was acting like a child, but damn- he never thought it could hurt this much. He pictured both of you marrying each other, living in a large house with a big backyard because he insisted it will be great for when you have kids. Merlin, he even imagined about 3 or 4 kids looking like the perfect mix of you both, running out and about with their names already carefully thought out.

out. He daydreamed that the both of you grow old, watching you tell stories to your grandkids about their grandfather’s mischief during your years at Hogwarts.

“I have to, James.” She chokes out, tears spilling onto her cheeks. Those four little words made James’ little bubble of happiness burst with just a bat of an eye.

“Don’t… don’t do this to me, love.” He pleaded; he even went down onto his knees as he saw you standing up from your place beside him. Poor James, luckily it was only you, the moon, and the walls of the Astronomy Tower watched him become a wreck.

“I love you, please remember that you will always have my heart, James. I wish you find happiness.” The part ‘without me’ was unsaid but was heard. It took a lot of courage, strength, and self-control not to fall apart. Deep down, you wanted James to say the same to you, proclaiming his love again for the last time you’ll be together.

“I love you Y/n, so much. No one will ever make me feel the way you did. I’ll find a way; a way for us to be happy together. I swear on my life.” He promised, looking at you straight in the eye. You could only close your eyes before smiling at him, trying to blink the tears away. Stars, you hoped James really does find a way.

“Goodbye, Potter.” She turns, walking away.

Maybe Slytherins and Gryffindors really aren’t meant to be together.

[sofoulandfairaday]

Also got any sev ones?

If I have any Severus Snape headcanons? I think I might have to put this one under the cut bby, it's going to be loooong. Edit: it got severely out of hand, be warned this is insanely long.

BUT FIRST: this is a very long but extremely well-written meta about the Snapes' peculiar type of poverty that you should all read when you have time. Like, save it for later somewhere or whatever, but seriously. Do yourself a favour.

Some people like to headcanon Remus Lupin (!) as the Hogwarts drug dealer. Nu-uh. That's Snape. Severus, for the right price, can and will provide you with any kind of potion (assuming he can steal the ingredients from the supply closet/his fancy pureblood housemates can get him whatever he needs). See this post.

But it's not just potions. He'll write your essays for money (his prices go up as the years go by, but so does his credibility). Snape is the only reason Avery ever passed 4th year Transfiguration.

Until his 6th/7th year, when he was no longer friends with Lily and started expressing a vocal desire to join the Death Eaters, he wasn't accepted or popular in Slytherin House.

Avery and Mulciber, the only people who could be considered his friends, were still pretty classist and racist towards him and even then he only got to be part of their little circle because he knew more curses when he arrived at Hogwarts than half the kids in seventh year.

You see, he wasn't just a Halfblood (they have those in Slytherin), he was also dirt poor, and pretty rough around the edges. He wasn't refined, he swore like a sailor, he was classless, and “dirty” and had worn-out clothes and second-hand books, he was canonically ugly and twitchy as a child, and Sirius (who is still from the very elegant, very posh Black Family) describes him as a little oddball.

Never mind the suave adult Snape (who is very different in the books and in the movies, anyway). My man Eliza Doolittle-ed himself. He did a Tom Riddle.

But he was powerful enough that the hazing and bullying inside his own House stopped almost immediately when he got there. You despised Snape? Fine. You attacked Snape? Suddenly your pet cat has been poisoned and your kneecaps were jinxed backwards.

Also, Lucius Malfoy promptly singled him out, and while he was still in school (Sev's first and second year) he did what he could to shield him, and to make him just a little more credible and refined in Slytherin. Severus followed him around like a little puppy and definitely acted a bit like an errand boy for him and his friends, which is also part of the reason why Sirius calls him Lucius Malfoy's lapdog in OotP. I wouldn't say they were really friends though. He knew them, and maybe they liked him, but he wasn't their equal.

Unfortunately, the Marauders' bullying only got worse as the years went by, and Lucius had graduated by the time SWM happened (I think that and the Prank were the worst, but I also like the headcanon that they were not. That Snape put that particular memory in the Pensieve because it was the time he lost Lily, not because it was the worst time he was bullied by them. From the way he reacted to their attack, this level of viciousness was probably common. By the way, even if you dislike him as a character, if you deny that what he suffered at the hands of the Marauders was vile, I don't know what to tell you.)

I wouldn't say a good rapport with Narcissa Black - because why would a girl from the upper years hang out with a boy from the first three? - but she would be kind to him, and chat politely sometimes. She was impressed with him - the first Halfblood she had ever given the time of day to.

Do you know who wasn't (lol)? Bellatrix. Who had graduated years before and just could not understand why Narcissa and Lucius would be so fond of this little scrawny upjumped Halfblood.

With the exception of Andromeda (who doesn't know who he is) and Narcissa (who really likes him), all of the Blacks hate Snape. Regulus doesn't hate him per se but thinks him unrefined and overreaching and they also have a bit of a not-so-friendly competition going on even though they come from different years. Sirius and Bella... well, you know. (credit: @hxuse-xf-black, I think this hc is theirs)

One of my favourite headcanons is that the last Black family event Sirius ever attended was Narcissa's wedding (1976) [the last one Andy ever attended was Bellatrix's (1972)]. He was there as the bride's cousin, obviously. But but but. Snivellus Snape was also there, as the groom's best man (alongside Evan Rosier and Rodolphus Lestrange). The two almost get into a Muggle brawl, and an enraged Bellatrix is the one who has to separate them (how dare you try to ruin Cissy's big day?!). She would have happily let them kill each other on any other occasion, but that was her little (only) sister's wedding and she very violently cursed them both.

Started smoking cigarettes when he was young and never really stopped.

What tea does Snape drink?

Bad personal hygiene since he was a boy, especially in his periods of worst depression. Paradoxically, he was at his most groomed during his Death Eater years (1978-1981) because he had to deal daily with the likes of Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange, who might have been domestic terrorists but had standards.

Speaking of which. Bella hates him. I still have to decide how Rodolphus feels about him (Rod definitely defends him when the two of them are having a row, just to piss her off, but I don't know how he actually feels). I think they had slightly different social circles. As Sirius says, they were all - at different points in time - part of a gang of baby Death Eaters in school. But I see Bella & Rod as very close with Rabastan, and Rabastan as very close to Barty (the four of them even tortured the Longbottoms together, which means they definitely talked to each other in the very hectic days after Voldemort's downfall). In my headcanons Barty and Regulus are glued at the hip, so basically that's the five of them already.

It was a period of brilliant students for Hogwarts, nothing like Harry's time. James and Sirius were prodigies, Regulus gives me mad scientist vibes (also, he must have been knowledgeable in the Dark Arts seeing as he figured out about Voldemort's Horcruxes in no time), Barty brought home twelve O.W.L.S. (how?), and Snape was inventing curses.

The latter three were tentative allies in school, but Barty&Reg (who definitely had something going on if you know what I mean), pureblood and proper, with all of the entitlement that must have come from their bloodlines and talent, definitely were not his fans.

No one could understand his fixation with “that Mudblood” (Lily); Lucius was particularly overjoyed when he heard of their falling out. (This came back to bite him in the ass when he was the one who had to physically drag him out of his house, at Spinner's End, after she died and he was determined to rot and kill himself with alcohol.)

Cat person. But never owned any pets because he could not keep one alive. Except of course when he owned a rat... err... I mean, when Peter lived with him.

I am convinced the man took stimulants. Whatever the equivalent of wizard cocaine was (probably a potion he made himself, with minimal comedown and as little side effects on the body as he can), he took. He seems to spend his nights patrolling the corridors and his days teaching, so when does he sleep?

Extremely light sleeper anyway.

Can go without eating for a long time.

He is the personification of self-loathing.

I can see him self-harming in different ways. He denies himself the small pleasures of life, he smokes until his throat burns and his lungs hurt, and insists that he works best without protective gloves (more sensitivity or whatever) which means that his hands are covered in small cuts and stains from corrosive (possibly painful) potions.

Does whatever he can to look as little like his father as possible, whether that be growing a beard, or gaining weight, or cutting his hair.

He maintains that learning Occlumency saved his life. Legilimency is about control, and even that not-so-hidden sadistic part of him, and also the self-protection that comes from knowing your opponent's moves before they can strike. But Occlumency and the sort of meditative bliss that comes from Occluding heavily was an integral part of his transformation, and very definitely helped with the very obvious anxiety that plagued him as a boy. It's yoga + good weed at the same time. That's the feeling.

The Lily thing. Part of it was romantic but in the light I-am-thirteen-and-have-a-crush-on-my-best-friend type of way. He definitely thought he was in love with her when he was sixteen/seventeen, after they had cut ties, and that's how he explained it to Voldemort, too (and that's how Voldemort explains it to Harry - he desired her). But. Truthfully? No. After a while, and especially after her death, it wasn't about the love he felt for her, it was about the debt he owed her. She was the first person to be kind to him, and he betrayed her. Directly caused her death, and sold her to the most evil wizard in history. Whether you love someone romantically or platonically, being responsible for their death, or leaving a child as an orphan takes a toll on your psyche that's almost impossible for me to comprehend or explain. Imagine the level of guilt that he felt. She was his first friend, his first crush, his first everything. And his love for her was the love Dante felt for Beatrice, the love that moves the sun and the other stars. I hate it when they reduce it to “he just wanted to bang Harry's mom haha”.

With that being said, Snily is probably the most boring Severus ship of all.

Never planned for the future. He honestly didn't think he would survive the war; his character is pretty much doomed by the narrative, and I am convinced that the only thing that kept him going was fulfilling his promise to Dumbledore, taking down the Dark Lord. He always thought Voldemort would eventually discover he was a spy and kill him for it. And as sad as it is (and that's why I love those kinds of fanfics!) I cannot see him ever adapting to a post-Voldemort world. It would take a lot of work on himself for him to find peace and I don't think he loved himself enough for that. I don't think he wanted to live.

Also, while I love the fanfics where he eventually makes up with Harry, and they have a civil relationship, I cannot see it happening in canon.

The narrative draws very explicit parallels between Snape and Voldemort, there are so many (but not limited to): the social class they come from, their blood status, the abuse they face as children, this iconic line which is one of my favourites in the whole series: But he was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here, the details we can infer of their relationship with Dumbledore when they were still students, the transformation they operated on themselves to become more polished, their interests (both of them invent curses and the like), the way they identify with their mothers' heritages, their dynamic is extremely interesting to me.

My headcanon is that Snape was one of the few people Voldemort actually liked (and perhaps he saw himself in), which would explain why he doesn't heed Bella's advice about him. Of course, it was a very tepid intellectual appreciation (just a tad warmer than his - very cold - expression of regret at having to kill him in the Shrieking Shack), but it was there. I think they had a teacher-student dynamic which doesn't get explored enough but was clearly there: Voldemort teaches Snape how to fly without a broom; he is reportedly the only Death Eater to whom he teaches this. I think Snape was absolutely fascinated with LV in the beginning and climbed through the ranks impressively quickly. Just as rapidly (maybe more) as purebloods Regulus Black (whose cousin was LV's right-hand woman and possible mistress) and Barty Crouch (who would have been an asset seeing his father's position). Keep in mind these guys weren't even 20 years old and had all met Voldemort personally, probably more than once. They would have been part of his inner circle.

I can see Voldemort appreciating Snape's interest in magic, especially his academic interest. I think it's especially fascinating if compared to Voldemort's relationship with Bellatrix (who was the opposite of Snape in every sense): I think someone like Voldemort would be attracted to someone like Bellatrix (rich, pure of blood, self-assured, inhabiting a world built for her, etc.) but on the other hand he would also resent her for these very things that were her prerogative, and not his. On the other hand, Snape would understand him on a personal level, he would simply get some of Voldemort's lived experiences (and personality, let's be real) in a way his other Death Eaters wouldn't. But, because he still represents his past in a way (and hasn't remade himself quite yet), Voldemort would also view him with contempt. (And a great deal of superiority, but he's like that with everyone).

Snape doesn't join the Death Eaters because of the Cause. I can see him hating Muggles and perhaps looking down on Muggle-borns, but I don't think of him as a convinced pureblood elitist in the way the Lestranges and Malfoys were. He joined for power. He wanted revenge, and he wanted to feel powerful and important in a world that would make him feel small (part of the reasoning behind Bellatrix's joining in my headcanons), which makes him much hungrier than his peers, which would make him stand out to Voldemort.

His invention of the Sectumsempra spell and its counter-curse is extremely impressive, even Bella had to recognize this when she found out, and she demanded it be taught to the younger recruits, (but really to herself).

Hates summer like no one else has ever hated summer.

Helped with Draco's conception. I headcanon that Narcissa had fertility problems (this extends, for me, to most women of the Black family) and Severus helped her and Lucius with it. (This hc isn't mine, but I love it to death.)

Any and all silly headcanons about Snape teaching sex ed, dealing with periods, etc give me life. You've all read them though, so I won't repeat them.

Worked as a potioneer for Voldemort too, perhaps alongside someone who was even better than him (older, more knowledgeable). The things he learned turned out to be super useful to him in the future.

His favourite food is fish and chips, or something equally proletarian, like beans on toast... that sort of thing.

Detested living with Pettigrew (and I hc that Voldemort did it as a form of cruel punishment: he's forced to live with - offer shelter to - the man who caused Lily's death).

Because I like angst, I really like the idea that the person he was closest with, in the entirety of the Hogwarts staff (except maybe for Dumbledore) wasn't McGonagall, it was Charity Burbage. I need more fics with an in-depth exploration of their relationship (whether it be romantic or platonic) because it has amazing potential, both for angst and fluff.

Idk how anyone can ship Snily when these two are right there

Also, she would be the second woman Severus loves that Voldemort has killed. This time it's even worse.

I doubt he could ever have had a functioning relationship with her (or any other woman, or person), because what flesh-and-blood woman could ever beat the lamented and idolised spirit of Lily Evans? She would stand no chance. Again, this makes it worse.

I'm going to stop here because this is getting embarrassing. Kudos to you if you got to the end of this.

Headcanons: James | Sirius | Remus | Lily

[fanficshiddles]

The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 9

For the duration of the week, Loki felt concerned about the twins after seeing them with Chris. It niggled at him almost constantly. The only time he didn’t really think about them was when he was with Claire. He had her take over some of the lessons quite a bit that week, partly so he could just enjoy watching her.

Having her scarf at home really helped him to adjust being around her scent, he didn’t rely on the vaseline quite as much as he had at the start. Though he was slightly ashamed to say that he even slept with the scarf next to him on his pillow, it seemed to calm him. He found he had the best sleeps he’d ever had with her scent nearby.

The whole issue with Claire using his gloves to masturbate with, of course, still remained high in his thoughts. So much so he decided to test something out one morning…

He arrived to the school wearing the gloves, making sure to keep them on as he went to his classroom. He deliberately arrived a little late, knowing that she would be there already setting up. When he walked in, he greeted her with a charming smile as always and she greeted him back.

However, he noticed her eyes were drawn instantly to his hands. He could’ve sworn that he spotted her cheeks turn a bit pinker before she turned away from him and began busying herself with writing up today’s work on the chalkboard.

With a big smirk on his face, he went to his desk to get sorted. He removed his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket, draping it over the back of his chair.

‘How’s Bat?’ Claire asked, eventually turning around to face him, her cheeks back to normal.

‘Asking after the cat before me? How charming.’ Loki chuckled.

‘Of course. She is the boss after all, isn’t she?’ Claire grinned.

Loki grinned back at her. ‘She is indeed. She’s good, apart from having an utter mad moment this morning at three am. Yelling and skidding around the floor, before ending it by jumping onto the bed and attacking my feet.’

Claire laughed. ‘Brilliant. I love hearing about Bat’s adventures.’

‘How would you like to see the star herself again this weekend?’ Loki offered.

Claire raised her eyebrow and her heartbeat quickened a little. ‘Oh? What’s the occasion?’

‘It’s my dad’s birthday on Saturday, I’m hosting a mini party. The rest of the teachers are invited, some of dad’s friends and colleagues from the hospital will be there, too.’

‘Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?’

‘Of course not. My dad’s been wanting to meet you, actually.’ Loki smiled.

‘Really? You’ve told him about me?’ She raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Of course. You’re my perfect assistant, plus he was delighted to hear that you knew about him and his work. Any chance to talk about that, he will lap it up.’

‘Well, if you’re sure, I’d love to come.’ Claire said excitedly.

‘Excellent.’ Loki grinned.

-

Saturday rolled round and Loki had everything prepared at his place for his dad’s party. He had the double doors open from the kitchen out into the back garden patio, where he had a fire pit blazing to keep everyone warm. As there was going to be too many people to have everyone inside the kitchen comfortably. He had plenty of alcoholic drinks laid out ready on the counter inside, along with a huge spread of food on the dining table.

Claire, Jessica, Michael and David all arrived together first after sharing a taxi. Hannibal and Matt were not long after. Severus didn’t want to go, as expected and Jeremy couldn’t make it. Then some colleagues and friends of Lucius arrived.

‘I should have known I’d find you with Bat.’ Loki grinned at Claire when he found her crouched down in the corner of the kitchen, petting Bat.

‘Of course. If I go missing, just look for Bat.’ She grinned back at him. ‘When is your dad arriving?’

‘Any minute now.’ Loki said excitedly.

‘Does he know about the party?’ Claire asked as she continued stroking Bat.

‘Nope, he thinks he’s just coming round for dinner.’ Loki grinned.

‘I hope he likes surprises, then?’ Claire laughed.

‘He does, nice surprises anyway.’ Loki chuckled.

Michael stood at the window, keeping an eye out, he spotted Lucius coming down the road so called at everyone to hide while Loki went to the door to let him in. Of course, as soon as Lucius stepped inside, he could smell everyone there, but it was still a lovely surprise.

When Lucius walked through to the kitchen everyone threw their hands up and shouted surprise!

‘I should have known you were up to something, Loki.’ Lucius laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

‘Did you really think I’d let your fiftieth birthday pass by without a party?’ Loki smirked.

‘True.’ Lucius laughed. ‘Thank you all for being here.’ He said as he looked around everyone.

Everyone began to mingle, Loki dragged Lucius over to meet Claire straight away, since she was the only person there that he didn’t know yet.

‘Dad, this is Claire, my assistant that I’ve told you about.’ Loki introduced, he wasn’t sure why he felt really happy about them finally meeting.

‘Ah, lovely to meet you. Loki has told me all about you.’ Lucius took her hand in his and briefly kissed the back of her hand before letting go.

‘So good to meet you. Happy Birthday!’ Claire smiled widely.

‘Thank you. Tell me, how are you finding working with my son? I hope he’s not too demanding.’ Lucius chuckled.

‘Oh he’s ruthless, makes me do all the work, I never get to rest. Beats me black and blue daily too, just the worst boss ever.’ Claire teased.

Loki mocked a gasp and put his hand over his heart. ‘I let you have that one hour off the other day!’

The three of them laughed, then Lucius had to go mingle with others but he made sure to talk to Claire plenty too, she had so many questions about him starting up the hospital and the school and Lucius loved talking about his work, even if he couldn’t tell her the full truth about it all.

Everyone had a good time, eating and drinking while mingling. Lucius, Loki, Claire and a few of the others were outside by the firepit.

'Then he realised that the only way to get' Lucius suddenly paused mid-sentence.

He turned around and spotted a shadowed figure in the dark. Claire felt shivers run down her spine as she followed Lucius’ gaze. Then the figure stepped forward out of the darkness, it was Chris. He had the typical smirk on his face as he walked over to them.

‘My invite to my own dad’s birthday party must have gotten lost in the post, hmm?’ He glanced to Loki, then looked back at Lucius. ‘Happy Birthday, dad.’ He handed him over a giftbag.

‘Thank you, Chris. It’s good to see you, son.’ Lucius gave Chris a squeeze on the shoulder, then he looked at Loki, who was close to combusting on the spot.

Lucius stepped closer to Loki. ‘Let’s try and get along just for one night, hmm? Please?’

Loki tore his eyes away from Chris and looked at his dad, his gaze softened and his shoulders sagged very slightly as he nodded in agreement.

Claire felt a little awkward but luckily Jessica came over and dragged her away.

‘If you try anything funny tonight, you’re out of here. Just because dad thinks there’s still good in you, doesn’t mean I think so too.’ Loki snarled quietly at Chris when Lucius went off to talk to one of his colleagues.

Chris put his hands up in defence. ‘No funny business from me.’

Loki really wasn’t happy having Chris in his home, especially uninvited, but he would deal with it for one night for his dads’ sake. He knew that Lucius still loved him, that he felt partly to blame for the way Chris ended up.

So, Loki gritted his teeth and bared it, inviting him inside to get a drink and food.

Claire had been petting Bat again inside, but when Chris and Loki walked into the kitchen, Bat went running over to Chris and started purring around his legs. Chris chuckled and crouched down to give her a scratch.

‘Can’t believe you’ve still got this little runt.’ He sounded surprised.

‘Of course, I do.’ Loki said in response.  

‘I remember the day I found her as if it was yesterday. She must be what, fifteen now?’ Chris stood up and Bat wandered off to look for her next victim to coax affection from.

‘Fifteen and a half.’ Loki said dryly as he sipped his drink, eyes locked on Chris to make sure he wasn’t going to do anything.

‘You found her?’ Claire asked Chris.

Chris grinned. ‘I did. Tiny abandoned kitten at the riverside, in a box. She was around six weeks old, completely helpless. I’ve never been a huge cat fan, but I knew Loki was. I got her seen by a vet, got some supplies and a little ribbon for her neck, then gifted her to him for his birthday the following week.’

Claire wasn’t sure why she found herself so surprised at hearing that. With their relationship currently, it was really hard to imagine.

Loki was reluctantly dragged away as a few of Lucius’ older friends wanted to find out all about how Loki was getting on with teaching.

‘Did you name her or did Loki?’ Claire asked Chris as she went to get some food from the table, Chris followed her over.

‘Loki did. I would have picked a more sophisticated name, obviously.’

‘Bat’s a cute name, she suits it.’ Claire shrugged and did her best to keep a little distance from him as she kept moving along the table, piling stuff onto her plate, but he ended up crowding her at the end of the table.

‘Not as cute as you are.’ He teased, leaning in close so she could feel his breath against her neck.

Her cheeks turned a little red as a bad shiver ran down her spine. She didn’t know how to respond to that, but she managed to back away a little and held her plate up on front of her, so she had something between them.

‘I need to speak to Matt about something. Catch you later.’ She said quickly and began walking away from him.

‘Not if I catch you first.’ Chris growled low, but Claire heard what he said.

She made a beeline for Matt and Hannibal who were sitting just outside near the fire pit.

‘What’s Chris doing here?’ Hannibal asked her.

‘Not really sure, I know he wasn’t invited and Loki isn’t happy at all, but he’s putting on a happy face for his dad’s sake.’ Claire said quietly.

‘Yeah, Loki looks like he wants to deck him.’ Matt said while looking at Loki, who stood just inside the kitchen speaking with a few people, but his focus wasn’t entirely on them as he just glared over at Chris, who spoke to Jessica and Michael.

‘They weren’t always like this.’ Lucius sighed sadly as he had overheard the three talking when he went to join them.

‘No?’ Claire asked.

‘No. Loki adored Chris when he was a baby, right up into his teens. He looked up to him. And while Chris didn’t like to admit it, he always had a soft spot for his younger brother.’

Claire smiled, but then it fell. She couldn’t imagine the two being that close, considering how they acted now. ‘What happened that tore them apart so much?’ She asked.

‘That’s not my story to tell, I’m afraid. Though even I don’t agree with some things Chris does, he’s still my son.’

Claire looked back over at Loki, then at Chris. What on earth drove them apart so much?

‘I’m surprised they can be civil enough at work.’ Hannibal commented.

‘They both like their job too much to let it effect that.’ Lucius said.

To everyone’s surprise, Chris managed to behave himself for the duration of the party. Claire made sure to stay away from him unless with someone else. She found herself sticking close by Loki for the night, especially when she began feeling tipsy from the wine.

When people began to leave later into the night, Loki noticed Chris hovering, often looking at Claire. Which of course worried Loki.

‘Is there a chance any of you can get Chris to leave with you? I’m getting worried with the way he’s hovering around and trying to get Claire on her own.’ Loki said quietly to Jessica, Matt and David.

‘I'm just leaving, leave it to me.’ Jessica patted Loki on the shoulder.

Jessica headed over to Chris. ‘Hey Mr, be a gentleman and walk a lonely woman home, will you?’

Chris rolled his eyes but to Loki’s relief, he obliged to walk her home. He said bye to Lucius before heading out, he tried to speak to Claire, but Loki managed to get her away from him in time. As soon as Chris left, Loki visibly relaxed.

‘He really gets under your skin, doesn’t he?’ Claire asked Loki softly.

‘He does, but I had to let him stay, for dad’s sake.’ Loki sighed.

‘Well, I’d say that definitely makes you the better man, putting issues aside for the happiness of your dad.’ Claire smiled at him and put her hand on his arm, squeezing.

Loki swallowed hard at her contact, god he wanted more of her. He was so relieved that he managed to control himself better around her now, though he still found it challenging.

‘Thanks, Claire. I must say, having you here too has made this all the better.’ Loki admitted.

Claire felt her cheeks heat up at his comment.

‘Well son, thank you so much for this party. It's been really wonderful.’ Lucius interrupted.

‘You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it and that everyone managed to keep it a secret.’ Loki grinned as he gave his dad a big hug.

‘Lovely to meet you, Claire. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.’ Lucius said warmly to her.

‘You too.’ She smiled at him.

Loki walked with his dad to the front door. ‘She’s lovely, Loki. I can see why she’s your soulmate. I wouldn’t worry too much about Chris, I’m sure he’s only toying with you.’

‘I’m not so sure about that.’ Loki grumbled.

Lucius squeezed Loki’s shoulder before heading out. When Loki went back to the kitchen, he realised it was just Claire left. She had started tidying up.

‘You don’t need to do that.’ Loki said as he rushed to take the plates from her.

‘It’s ok, I want to help. Can’t leave you with all of this mess since everyone else has buggered off.’ She laughed.

Loki’s heart melted completely.

‘Well, on one condition.’ Loki said firmly.

‘What’s that?’

‘You let me walk you home afterwards, since it’s so late.’

‘Ok, deal.’ Claire nodded.

[burningdreambanana]

Tom Riddle was actually always pretty stupid and incompetent

Book 1 : I understand why he couldn't get the stone from the mirror but why did it take him so long to get passed three obstacles so easy three eleven years old were able to do it? Also apparently he has the ability to travel as a spirit form and take control of a humane body so why did he wait in a forest for a decade instead of paying a visit to one of his death eathers in liberty and try to get his body back?

Book 2 : Opening the chamber in the 1940s was pretty stupid when you remember that Dumbledore knows he's a Parseltongue and thus a likely descendant of Slytherin making a primary suspect. The only reason he got away with it is because Dumbledore yet again kept crucial information to himself instead of informing the authorities who could have used Veritaserum to get the truth out of him. Also him and the Basilik only managed to kill one person despite all their attempts which is pretty weak. His plan to kill Harry was based entirely on a twelve-year-old being able to rapidly find where the Chamber was (something not even Dumbledore had been able to do in decades) and going there alone (what if Harry had asked McGonagall to come instead of Lockart?). Also he forgot about Phoenix healing powers which is very stupid for someone who is supposed to be so knowledgeable

Book 4 : His convulated plan only worked because Barty Crouch and Harry are actually competent and some dumb luck. What if Harry had failed despite Barty's (relatively small) help? What if he had not to really try since he and Dumbledore know the whole thing is most likely a trap? What if Cedric had been a little bit more selfish and actually grabbed the Cup alone when Harry told him to? Also him torturing his own followers is pretty stupid. And he had Harry at his mercy, why did he felt the need to untie Harry and duel him? How is he not embarrassed to show his followers he wants to prove his more powerful than a fourteen years old? Where's the dignity?

Book 5 : His plan was even more stupid and convulated, and once again relied on incredible luck. He expected a fifteen year old to escape school, break into the Department of Mysteries without being caught where his Death Eaters would also have been able to safely infiltrate and he also expected his Deaths Eaters to be able to take back the prophecy to him without being caught. So my question is, if it's so easy to get in and out of the Ministry, why not just do it himself? Instead of relying on such a shaky plan that took him all year and relied on Harry not being able to contact Sirius (if he had used the mirror, or only been able to do the floo call some time later all could have changed). Also he supposedly did all that because he was scared of even the small possibility of being seen at the Ministry and yet after waiting all year, he ruins it all by showing up anyway

Book 6 : Not sure why he wastes so much energy trying to punish Lucius. Just ask Severus to kill Dumbledore at the beginning of the year and stop wasting time. I get that the memory with Slughorn functions like an exposition scene to the Horcruxes but you have to wonder why Tom thought Slughorn would know if it's safe to do seven horcruxes? It's not like he ever seemed to be particularly knowledgeable in dark magic and he doesn't get an answer anyway. Also why didn't he kill him a long time ago? For someone who cared so much about immortality, the way Riddle acted about his Horcruxes is ridiculously stupid and careless : Ok, I get that he feels only special objects are worthy of his precious soul but why oh why did he also decided to hid them in places significant to him? Why not throw the locket into to bottom of some enchanted well in Mexico? Or keep the diadem hidden in some tree in Albania? Or keep the ring on his finger ? Like the second he thought about it for a minute he realized there was a chance Dumbledore knew about the cave and his link to the Gaunts. It's so short-sighted. He also apparently decided to never check on them even though it only takes a few hours as we saw at the end of Book 7, otherwise he would have find out that Regulus had stole the locket and been more wary.

Book 7 : Humiliates his most faithful and skilled Death Eather (Bellatrix) for no reason. After failing to kill Harry yet again at the Battle of the Seven Potters you'd think someone actually smart would sit down and reconsider the whole thing and dive deep into how love protection magic works and wand lore. But no he just decides he needs a more powerful wand (very primitive) and wastes months looking for it everywhere even though Dumbledore's grave seems like a pretty good way to start. Uses Avada Kadavra on Harry yet again in the forest. I'm not one of these people who think he should have used a gun or even had a Death Eater do it necessarily but there are other spells that can kill. Why not simply set Harry on fire or have him choke to death. And what's funnier is that he still relied on Avada Kadavra in their final duel, what did he thought, fifth time the charm? And why did he rely on Narcissa to check on him? I thought he was supposed to not really trust anyone but himself? Heck he could have had her check if he was so scared of Harry and then go himself to make sure it's true.

Finally, it's pretty weird how Voldemort was aware of his connexion with Harry, even used it but never seemed to wonder why it existed. Maybe if he would have, he could have guessed that Harry was a Horcrux.

To end this rant I want to say that while I still love Harry Potter (these books are much funnier than I realized as a kid) Voldemort is just a very sad villain : he spent ten years working in retail (lol), ten years practising dark magic somewhere (ok pretty cool), tried and failed to become a teacher (lol), spent more than a decade trying and failing to take over Wizarding Britain despite the Ministry being super incompetent and corrupt and having many prominent families on his side (lol), more than a decade as a spirit form in Albania, two years doing god knows what and then actually took over Britain for nine months before dying at the age of 72.

[thetorturedpoetsintern]

It's that time of the year again when you don't know whether to read the course materials or stalk your new professors online to see what they're like before you meet them in person so here's what I think we'd find if we stalked the Hogwarts teachers (of course, in an alternate modern reality where they had social media and internet that worked near magic). More under the cut:

Albus Dumbledore - the classic profile of a headmaster; lots of bragging about his school's results, not much about him personally; his Facebook profile picture is him with a Facebook Banner that says "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus"

Minerva Mcgonagall - her profile picture is a cat but just a few know that it's actually her in her animagus form; she mostly shares cozy posts and quotes that make her feel inspired that day

Filius Flitwick - he doesn't have a profile pic; in fact he doesn't post or shares anything, his social media profiles are strictly for communication purposes

Severus Snape - this man is a ghost, on purpose; at the first glance he's just another boomer with no concept of social media whatsoever but what you don't know is that he's lurking on other platforms using his favourite username @/thehalfbloodprince; if you knew where to look for him, you'd find him on reddit where he keeps himself informed and where he gets to vent by commenting on morronic outtakes; otherwise his only "official" platform he's on is LinkedIn but with no profile pic, obviously

Rubeus Hagrid - his profile pic is him and Buckbeak; lots of content about magical creatures; he doesn't actually post about it, he just shares those posts

Pomona Sprout - her profiles are filled with the plants she grows; even her profile pic is one depicting a screaming mandrake; she thought it looked cute

And that's on the regular Hogwarts professors. Now a special mention to Lucius Malfoy who has an Instagram profile aesthetically pleasing and color coordinated. This man dresses for the camera so there are lots of pictures with him and other people; his posts are also like travel journal logs, pay attention to them and you'll be able to figure out his next event.

Also Narcissa keeps a pretty minimalist but cute Instagram profile, also color coordinated like her husband's (she actually taught him that). She's really proud of Draco so there are mostly pictures with the two of them or faceless pictures of things that she found aesthetically pleasing.

[turvi]

Headcanon

Thank you for the request @reiketsunomizunomegami hope you like it.

Young Severus Snape x Slytherin Reader

You were known as the ice bitch. While you hated that name you knew why students like to call you that. And you didn't care. One cold glare from you was enough to make students scatter. You would be lying if you said you hated this feeling

Your parents were one of the most influential and wealthy wizards but you never needed their power and wealth to assert your dominance over people.

But that never stopped some boys from trying to win you over. While some boys tried to win you over for your wealth most were enamored by your beauty.

'You are so beautiful you should smile some more' 'oh yeah? maybe you could do that for me when I kick you between your legs'

You didn't think you would ever have feelings for someone. Until you saw him. His long greasy hair, onyx eyes, aquiline nose. You didn't know his name and you were cursing yourself at how you missed someone like him.

Many times you would catch yourself staring at him, your heart fluttering when he catches you staring at him.

You couldn't stop yourself from glancing at him every now and then. You had a love-hate relationship with this feeling. On one hand, you hated to feel like this because it made you feel vulnerable but you also loved how it felt whenever you saw him

As some other snobby Slytherin was talking to you, you still couldn't stop glancing at this boy. 'So my father told me that I am capable of inheriting his wealth very soon since I am so capable' 'yeah right uh who is that?' to be honest you couldn't hear a word he said you were busy looking at your man who was sitting under a tree reading his potion book. Excuse me! YOUR MAN?

'Oh him I honestly don't know if I should feel bad for him or resent him' 'why is that?' 'well the marauders bully him and well he is one ugly git'

The boy in front of you turned around to see you giving him your infamous murderous look. You heard him gulp. 'Name' 'Arthur' 'I am asking his name' ' Severus Snape'. He ran away quicker than a chicken.

'Severus Snape' you couldn't stop a slight smile that grew on your face. Even his name is beautiful. You said his name a few more times to see how it would feel to call him yours. Now you could ask him out.

The only issue is that you don't know how to. Obviously, this isn't your first time talking to a boy. Hell, you can punch a boy right now if you wanted you just because you could. But feelings? That was not your department.

But you were not the only one struggling with their feelings. Currently Severus was seated with his friends at the Great Hall when he saw you pass by. You walked with such grace and elegance it almost felt like the whole school was kneeling in front of you.

Lucius noticed this 'Mate you have been eyeing her for weeks why don't you ask her out?' 'Is this a sick joke Malfoy? Have you seen her? Most importantly have you seen me?'

You noticed obviously that Severus was different than you. Where he wore hand me downs you wore something new and fresh everyday. But despite these differences you wanted to ask him out and really get to know him. So you asked for Narcissa's help.

Let's just say Narcissa was very happy to introduce you two. 'Oh Godric it's finally happening our Y/n is in love and with none other than Severus. Oh I knew you would love him'.

Slowly and steadily with a lot of effort from both of you (more like Narcissa and Lucius) eventually you and Severus were together. Severus had believed this relationship will be shortlived due to how rich and powerful your parents were nonetheless he still made efforts to win your heart everyday and to no ones surprise it worked everytime.

Both you and Severus were not clingy lovers but would hold hands give a few kisses here and there when no one is looking. When you first kissed him on his cheeks he hid his blushing cheeks behind his hair which you then tucked behind his ears. 'Don't hide yourself'. His heart would flip with how soft you were with him

Other? eh not so much. Specially not marauders who were bullying him. You would tell him that you are not soft with him and to prove a point he asks to let his hand go you would hold it tighter.

One day they cornered him 'Is it true Snivellus? Is ice bitch your girlfriend now?' 'Don't call her that' 'Aww look he is angry now' 'Padfoot I think he spread the rumour I mean have you seen her no way she is with a greasy git like him'

And you hexed him you couldn't take it anymore. 'Say another word about my boyfriend and I'll hex you again this time it will hurt more'.

Needless to say they knew what you were capable of and ran away. 'You didn't have to do that' 'Yeah I didn't have to but I wanted to' 'Why?' 'Because Severus I don't know if you noticed this but it heals my soul to watch you smile and my heart beats for you and you only so Merlin forbid if someone hurts you I will show them hell'

Slowly you got comfortable with each other and hug for a minute longer, kiss for a second longer. After two years of dating you decided it was good time to introduce him to your parents. He wasn't nervous actually he was scared. He didn't want to lose you and he thought it was possible when your parents get to know that he was not wealthy or powerful.

He was surprised to see your father greet him warmly. When your hugged him his eyes teared up. 'Oh Severus it is so good to finally meet you, Y/n told me so much about you' 'MA!'.

He was sated with the hearty meal your mother cooked for him and all the childhood stories she had to provide. Even though it was embarrassing your heart was singing watching Severus laugh heartedly. He held your hand underneath the table and caressed your palm with his fingers.

When dinner was over your father talked with Severus separately while your mother talked to you. 'You are happy' 'I am ma, he makes me happy always will' 'Well looks like I have a wedding to arrange' 'How do you already know he will marry me' 'because he looks at you like your father used to look at me'.

You both were returning to your humble abode. When he looked at you he knew how wrong those people were about you because no one loved him like you and no one will. Maybe the children you both will have. But that is a conversation for next time. Severus was blushing and actually very happy and glad that he asked your father for your hand in marriage. Your father already patting his back and telling him that he already has his blessing.

'So you talk to your mother about me?' you were blushing profusely Godric he has really made you soft. 'Only sometimes' you replied with a cheeky smile and he pressed a sweet kiss on your lips.

A year later you got married and you were officially known as Mrs. Snape. Some peers from Hogwarts were surprised to watch you smile so much while for others it was their first time watching you smile.

[smilingformoney]

Abbie

Abbie calls Severus 'Dad' for the first time.

Dad Snape & Daughter!OC

Read on Ao3 or under the cut:

August 1994

Severus was reeling, Abbie’s words echoing in his mind.

Thanks, Dad.

Dad. She’d called him Dad. Was it accidental? Was she embarrassed? He’d slipped out of the room so quickly he had no time to gauge her reaction. He stood in the kitchen now, staring at the washing up he should be doing but instead trying to preserve the memory in his mind in case it was an accident and she’d be calling him Professor again shortly.

For some time now, he’d been resisting calling her Abbie. He felt it presumptuous to do so, to decide that their relationship had become so familiar. How could he, her teacher and estranged father, be so bold as to call her by a nickname?

And yet… she had called him Dad. Not Father as Draco called Lucius, but Dad, an affectionate name in itself. It supposed not just the biological fact of fatherhood, but an intimate relationship between parent and child.

He had come to terms some time ago with the fact of being her father… but being her dad was another realm entirely. It was something he knew nothing of. How could he, when he had no dad of his own? He had a father, yes, but Tobias Snape had never been a dad.

He wondered if she had been thinking of him as ‘Dad’ for a while, but never daring to call him such, just as he was concerned with calling her Abbie. He hadn’t done enough to deserve the honour of being ‘Dad’, he was sure of it. Yes, he’d saved her from an overdose, but he’d have done the same for any student. And yes, he was looking after her this summer - but only by the vaguest description of the word. She was independent enough to look after herself, and if anything, she was doing more cooking than he was. And true, he had looked after her today when her first period came, but what sort of father would he be if he was unable to care for his teenage daughter through such a time in her life?

He wanted to ask her. Did you mean to call me Dad? Do you think of me as Dad? Are you sure you want me as Dad?

He would test the waters, he decided. Observe if she was embarrassed with him, and if not, perhaps he would even dare to test the waters himself and watch her reaction if he called her Abbie…

—

It took him a few days to muster up the courage. It was a stupid thing to be worried about, really. He had faced countless horrors in his life, and yet here he was, anxious about showing his daughter affection.

He almost did it the first day. He gave her space for a few hours, then called her into the kitchen for dinner. He watched her carefully, but she didn’t seem to show any indication that she was embarrassed about her earlier slip. Nor did she call him Dad again, but she didn’t use any other form of address either. So he decided to wait a little longer. If she called him Dad again, he decided, then he would try calling her Abbie.

It happened on the second day. As was now a habitual occurrence, when she realised he had again skipped breakfast, she brought a plate into his study.

“Dad, you really need to eat more,” she said as she entered the room, one hand pushing the door closed and the other balancing a plate of bacon and eggs on toast.

His stomach leapt when he heard it, but he kept a cool expression. He had fooled the Dark Lord for over a year; he could fool a teenager.

“I eat as much as I need,” he replied curtly. “I seem to have survived so far.”

“Oh, so you won’t be needing this, then.” Abbie turned back to take the plate away.

“Don’t you dare.”

Abbie smirked triumphantly - which made her look frustratingly like her mother - and placed the plate on his desk.

“Don’t say I never did anything for you,” she remarked. She hesitated, as if waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t speak, pretending instead to be interested in his work, she turned and left.

When the door closed behind her, Severus let out a sigh. He should have echoed her words. Thank you, Abbie. I’m glad you’re here, Abbie. Will you stay every summer, Abbie, and bring your mother too?

On the third day, Severus was determined to do it. What was the worst that could happen, that she would ask him to call her Abigail? That she would reject his attempt to connect, insisting on a barrier remaining in place between them?

Well, perhaps that would be the worst for him. For her, it would be the best scenario, to keep her distance.

He was in the garden that morning when he heard her banging pots and pans around in the kitchen as she began to cook. He had only a small patch of garden behind his house, but he utilised the space the best he could to nurture ingredients that bloomed their best in the summer.

He hadn’t realised she had poked her head out of the back door until he heard her voice.

“Do you want breakfast?”

He stood and turned, surprised. She had never asked before; she had simply presented it to him when she realised he never ate it for himself. But he had always accepted it, and he always cleared his plate.

“I wouldn’t turn it down,” he said.

“But do you want it?”

He realised then what she was asking. She wanted to know if he really did appreciate it when she cooked, or was he eating it merely out of politeness?

“Yes,” Severus said sincerely. “I do. If… it’s offered.” I will never ask. What sort of father asks his daughter to feed him?

“Good, because I already made it. Come on.”

Inside, Severus noticed that the table was set not with her usual fry-up, but a stack of pancakes on each of two plates.

“Eat the butcher out of bacon, did you?” he remarked.

“I thought I’d try something different. Do you have any jam, by the way? I couldn’t - oh!” She gasped in surprise as a jar of jam came flying from a cupboard and set itself down on the table between them. Severus put his wand back into his pocket, smirking.

“The Ministry wouldn’t notice if you performed underage magic, you know. They’d simply believe it was I casting the spell.”

“Are you suggesting I break the rules, Professor Snape?” Abbie gasped in mock horror.

“Never, Miss Payne. An observation, that’s all.”

They both sat down to eat, and Severus scoffed as he watched Abbie unload jam onto her pancakes.

“Restrain yourself, Abbie. You’ll drown them with that much jam.”

They both froze then. He hadn’t even said it consciously. It was so natural, so normal, and he was so comfortable that it just slipped out.

“You just called me Abbie.”

Severus raised an eyebrow. “Yes, and I believe you’ve called me Dad twice now.”

“We’re there now, are we?”

“I don’t know. Are we?”

There was a long pause. Then, Abbie glanced down at Severus’ plate, which contained a single pancake.

“If you’re going to eat it so plain, at least eat more than one.”

Two of the pancakes lifted themselves from the stack and joined the first on his plate.

“Was that underage magic I just saw?”

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Abbie replied nonchalantly as she added sugar to her jam with pancakes. “Maybe the pancakes just really wanna be eaten.”

“So you’re not holding your wand under the table?”

A clattering sound came from under the table, sounding suspiciously like the sound of a wand hitting the floor.

“No.”

Severus shook his head, choosing not to pursue this battle.

“Just so you know, I’m tallying up points to take from Gryffindor when term starts. You’ll be in negative numbers by the 2nd of September.”

Abbie grinned cheekily. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Dad.”

Yes, was the message. We are there now.

[cerise-grenadine]

Hello!

For the Snapedom AU Ask game, can I get your answers to 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, and 26?

1.) Do you have a name and/or a tag and/or a master post for your AU (so I can peruse your blog and admire your creativity)?

2.) What is the premise of your AU (one sentence summary, tropes, your big “What-if” question, etc.!)?

5.) What are the major divergence points in your AU?

6.) Is there any part of the canon narrative you really like to build off of or interrogate with your AU?

9.) How and why does your AU!Snape differ from the canon!Snape?

26.) Does Severus have any major interests (mycology, astronomy, sci-fi, baking elaborate puff pastries, art forgery, etc.) in your AU that we never got to see canon!Snape indulge in?  Do these interests play a major narrative role?

i'm sorry, if you ask me about my AU, i will infodump 😔🙏🏻

1.) Do you have a name and/or a tag and/or a master post for your AU (so I can peruse your blog and admire your creativity)?

Yes! SlythenclawAU!Snape. it's quite meh but i never really took the time to think of one.

2.) What is the premise of your AU (one sentence summary, tropes, your big “What-if” question, etc.!)?

A long time ago there was a teenager in boarding school who got tired of waiting for the 5th Harry Potter book and decided to make a Snape-centered sequel herself (it's not particularly focused on anything but the ✨ fluffy romance 💖).

5.) What are the major divergence points in your AU?

Honestly, it’s easier to point out the parts in common 😅 It’s only canon-compliant up to Goblet of Fire (with some parts of OOTP included now), meaning Severus was pretty much a blank canvas. We knew he was a smart skinny bastard who disliked the Marauders and was about to resume his job as a DE spy, that was it. As a result, his background is completey different. He has a different family, a different childhood (still terrible), different motivations, different traumas, and Lily was never even a thing.

6.) Is there any part of the canon narrative you really like to build off of or interrogate with your AU?

Not so much one part in particular, but there are themes I like to think about (I won’t say write, I haven’t written a thing in years). Everything that has to do with guilt and forgiveness is interesting to explore with Severus, because he’s both a victim and a culprit: how to forgive, should one forgive, how to make amends, isn’t asking for forgiveness selfish and placing the weight of the pardon on the victim, how to live with guilt when some things can’t be forgiven... In the same vein I like to explore his guilt towards Lucius, who is a genuine friend and a genuine Death Eater; he feels guilty for betraying his friend, and feels guilty for still considering the man a friend.

9.) How and why does your AU!Snape differ from the canon!Snape?

I think the major difference (apart from no Lily) is that he’s more adjusted as an adult. It’s not necessarily visible to the Hogwarts staff or students 😬 the teeth incident or his breakdown at the end of POA are still a thing and the British wizarding world really brings out the worst in him. But he actually has a solid support network in the form of siblings and adoptive parents he met when he was 21. They live abroad and he keeps them secret to avoid DE retaliation so they don’t meet often, but still they are very supportive and it has helped him a lot sorting things out during his late twenties/early thirties. Having this one anchor, being loved and loving them back, has really done him a lot of good and he strives to better himself (at least in private). By the time his love interest appears, some things have healed enough that it’s not her job to fix him, she merely becomes yet another support to help deal with the rest (and the first one in the Brit WW). Don’t worry, he still has nightmares, and tons of guilt, and petty tantrums, but overall he’s in a better place than canon!Snape and has hope for the future. Also I don’t usually include Occlumency/Legilimency. Ho and he’s very French (sorry not sorry)

26.) Does Severus have any major interests (mycology, astronomy, sci-fi, baking elaborate puff pastries, art forgery, etc.) in your AU that we never got to see canon!Snape indulge in?  Do these interests play a major narrative role?

Yes! he’s a huge nerd (the kind who solves equations for fun when he can’t sleep), so he likes to study a lot of things.

Apart from normal magic things, he’s very knowledgeable about human anatomy and medecine, it makes him a better brewer and practitioner of healing magic (also his brother studied Muggle medecine for a while + his brother’s adoptive father was a heart surgeon). He is also an exellent cook (who doesn't eat much), because what’s the difference between Wolfsbane and mayonnaise, you just put stuff in a big saucepan and stirr dutifully it’s the same thing really.

Both those skills are pretty much background stuff; but there is one big hobby that is very important in his life, for several reasons: playing the piano 🙌🏻✨

He is very attached to it because his mother taught him (and she died young) and it’s his one pastime and antidepressant. He will focus on fast-paced pieces when his anxieties keep him awake, will hammer away his anger when he’s had a row with someone... it helps him calm down and clear his mind, and sometimes he will learn complicated parts just for the fun of it simply because he enjoys himself. He is a selfish pianist however. Music is very private to him, he is not a performer and will only do it sometimes for very close people he loves. He owns two pianos, his mother's grand piano at home (which has been through some stuff and is his most prized possession), and a baby grand at Hogwarts gifted by his siblings when he started teaching (it was needed for his mental health and the not-murdering of students). He’s learned how to tune his piano the Muggle way (the only true way, it sounds better, and yes of course he’s pedantic about it) and can talk about the links between mathematics and music for hours. Also +30 years of piano training have given him an acute sense of rhythm and very precise motricity skills that are highly valuable in potions work.

His lover being a musician herself (of the performer kind), music is very important in their relationship and has been central in their getting together. In fact, she first kissed him as they were playing together, so his sister jokes he would never have gotten laid if not for the piano she gifted him (she’s right)(his entourage also jokes sometimes about the kind of fingering skills a pianist with decades of experience has)(he hates it)(because he’s a giant prude)(they’re also right)

[wellpresseddaisy]

Beginning to See the Light

@greens-your-color What happens when Darius takes Severus into Society the first time. (No biting, although I think Lucius wanted to chomp on someone for both of them.)

“…heard you’re allowin’ your boy to racket about with the Potter set.”

Severus heard the adenoidal tones that meant Gwendolyn Whitlow found another victim. He drew back slightly, letting the curtain of his alcove shield him. Old habits died hard, he supposed, but listened in anyway. One never knew what one might learn.

“Oh, yes. Family, you know.” Lucius answered coolly.

“Isn’t one of the girls not magically born?” She made that sound like a communicable disease.

“Miss Whitlow, I know you, tragically, have yet to enter the beautiful precepts of parenthood, but when one’s only son is determined to do the right thing by his…relative, then one simply must support him in that endeavor. The Granger girl is more palatable that I imagined.”

Severus could see, in his mind’s eye, Lucius’ expression given the chilly tone. He’d bet a month’s salary Lucius had his monocle out. Or perhaps he twitched a fan at her. The monocle, Severus decided, was more likely. Lucius’ liked people to feel as if they were being examined and found wanting.

“Don’t you worry at all about low company?”

“Quite frankly, Miss Whitlow, Draco’s manners and marks both have done nothing but improve since he took up with Potter, not that it is any of your business. I think, perhaps, it’s time to repair your own ignorance on the subject of the non-magical world.”

Miss Whitlow sputtered something at that. Severus swallowed hard. Low company. He’d been that, once. The little urchin graciously taken in hand by Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black. Eileen’s boy, so tragic she’d gone and married that muggle.

He didn’t belong here. He’d never belonged in this glittering world of balls and routs and card parties and boxes at the opera. His world was chalk dust and bubbling cauldrons and sticky children managing to have the most ridiculous accidents possible in class.

“Right, my lad, that’s quite enough of that.”

Severus startled as his husband suddenly loomed up at his side.

“I…Dare…I’m…” he floundered at seeing the stern set of Dare’s jaw.

“Hiding behind a curtain and thinking you could never belong here?” Dare raised an eyebrow.

How did the bloody man know that?

“Oh, Severus. Do you think I never had those moments myself?”

That put a different complexion on it.

“Come with me, pet. We’re going to plead a headache. You look peaky enough.” The wry twist of his mouth took the sting out of that one.

In short order, Severus found himself standing on the pavement waiting for their carriage. Dare wrapped an arm about his shoulders.

“Why don’t we try somewhere more to our taste?” Dare asked.

Severus looked up at him, the misery of ruining their first evening out together in Society dissipating with his surprise.

“Where?” he asked.

“Will you trust me?”

Severus felt his heart melt at that and tried to keep from smiling soppily. “Of course I trust you.”

“Then hold on. I sent the carriage back.”

Severus tucked himself close, closer than one really needed for side-along apparition, and closed his eyes. One squeezing moment later, he felt their feet hit pavement again.

“We’ll have to put your hair up, if you don’t mind, but the rest should be right.” Dare held up a clip and Severus turned around.

His husband’s hands were gentle as he carefully combed his fingers through Severus’ long hair. He plaited it quickly and clubbed the heavy length of it up at the nape of Severus’ neck with the clip. Severus looked at the brigtly lit façade before then and choked on air.

“A dance hall? Dare, if someone sees…”

“No one here will utter even one peep about us. They knew my father.”

How he said that and kept a perfectly innocent expression Severus would never know. He snorted.

“He used to dance here?” he finally choked out.

“Apparently,” Dare bit his lip. “That would have been in the forties. He used to bring his Slytherin cronies with him, slumming it.”

“The imagination boggles,” Severus murmured.

“Come along,” Dare grinned, anticipation lighting his eyes. “I’ve been watching you in set dances all evening. I cannot believe Mrs. Sedgwick thinks waltzing immoral, even now.”

Severus let Dare lead him in, suddenly happy he’d worn the flame-colored evening pajamas Narcissa and the tailor insisted he required for less formal events. The flowing trouser legs gave him some comfort—Dare seemed like the sort who danced energetically.

Who would ever have thought that Tobias Snape deciding that the best way to tire out energetic magical children was to teach them both swing and jive would come in handy? He could hear his mother even now, leaning out the kitchen window over the cramped back garden and laughing:

“Toby, why is Severus learning all the lifts?Surely that would be for Lily?”

“Nay, ‘leen. The lass’ll be taller than our Severus in weeks! Growing like a weed, that one.”

So Severus learned how to be lifted and all the aerials. Did Dare know any of them? He supposed he’d find out. They secured a table around the edge of the dance floor after checking their cloaks. Dare marked it as engaged and led Severus out to the floor.

Severus let him swing them into the flow of dancers, following his lead in a slow fox trot.

“Can you keep up?” Dare grinned down at him.

“With this?” Severus raised an eyebrow.

“This is just a warm up, my lad.” Dare stole a quick, smacking kiss.

It was. The more decorous fox trots and waltzes slowly trailed off into Stompin’ at the Savoy and One O’Clock Jump. Severus matched steps with Dare, following his lead easily. Several numbers he didn’t recognize passed as he and Dare familiarized themselves with each other.

He’d forgotten the joy of it, giving over to the music, the bass thumping in his blood up and down the scale as the band kicked the tempo faster and faster. He’d never felt like this dancing with Lily—so wholly in sync.

He realized that many of the other dancers had cleared off the floor, leaving more space for the jitterbugs. Dare laughed down at him, and swung him out, his hair falling over his forehead.

“Can you do the aerials?” he shouted over the pounding drums.

“All of them,” Severus bellowed back. “My father said it was my patriotic duty so I could show up the Yanks and scandalize the Malfoys!”

Dare snorted and steered them to an emptier section of the dance floor.

“Want a go?”

“Yes!”

He hadn’t trusted Lily’s muscle strength enough to try anything like a candlestick or an around the world with her. They’d confined themselves to some of the tamer pops and throws. He might regret it in the morning, but he couldn’t resist Dare’s infectious enthusiasm.

Frankie flips, around the worlds, k flips, tick tocks, and coffee grinders followed in quick succession. Severus knew they were drawing a crowd, but he didn’t care. He matched Dare step for step.

“See now, Davey, I told you that were Tommy’s boy. No one else danced like that.”

Severus caught Dare’s eye and laughed in delight as Dare supported him into a candlestick.

[sofoulandfairaday]

1 for the ask game

from: choose violence ask game

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Err... all of them? I'm not even kidding. More on this here.

Bellatrix: fortunately there's been progress in the fandom, but for years everyone loved to describe her as an overly sexualized, crazy, shrieking mindless slave, when she's actually quite the opposite. She is sadistic, but not insane, she's passionate but not irrational (she is the only one who knew Snape was a traitor; to me, it's because of a peculiar mix of rationality and intuition that shows her to be actually quite intelligent). Nothing suggests her being promiscuous in the text and I would actually argue the opposite of her (why would she ever lower herself to sleep with someone who she deems her inferior - so basically everyone -, even just to satisfy mere physical desires? This post, to me, is Bella at her core).

Narcissa: this is canon Narcissa, all of you are perfectly entitled to your soft babygirl headcanons, of course, but then again you are perfectly entitled to be wrong <3 [also, shameless self-promo: x]

The blorboification continues for every single member of the Black family and I hate it so much you have no idea:

Andromeda: somehow described as a soft little girl who loved her mean, mean sisters so much and had to run away? Bitch stood up to seven centuries of tradition, and abandoned her sisters and parents, to marry a boy she had fallen in love with maybe two years prior (we know this based on Tonks' age). Good for her, but as I have said previously, both Narcissa and Andromeda (and Sirius, really) strike me as a bit selfish. The one with the romantic attachment to the idea of her family, the child most like Walburga, is Bellatrix.

But this is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what this fandom does to Regulus and Sirius.

Regulus: canonically a Voldemort fanboy, with newspaper clippings of him everywhere, and a blood supremacist. Sirius says it better than anyone: Reggie is soft. But not in the way the fandom believes, nope. He's just a coward who, much like Draco years later, was super excited to be like Bellatrix (Lucius) until he realized what killing really meant, what fighting a war really was, and most importantly because Voldemort touched him personally (Kreacher, whom he loved). Voldemort was probably a little more deranged than he had been at the beginning of the First War, and someone that had inherited the Black pride/haughtiness probably didn't like being branded like cattle and treated like a slave, on top of everything else.

Sirius: fanon Sirius is basically another character. Canon!Sirius is: tall, canonically incredibly handsome, quite masculine (in an explicit and toxic way, especially as a teenager in the fucking 1970s - the skirt-wearing, feminist one-liners spouting version of Sirius is something I just cannot get behind), a dick, a bit classist ((don't come @ me with your "oh, but what about Moony?!" because a) we don't know Remus' wealth when Lyall and Hope were still alive, we only know he can't get a job as an adult because of his condition and b) Remus is Sirius' exception, in the same way Lily is Snape's when he calls her a Mudblood - everyone else is in his eyes)), brave to the point of recklessness, quite cruel, funny, witty, magically talented, loyal to a fault, extremely charismatic and everything else outlined here. For the same reasons, I'll say Remus too.

Don't even get me started on Severus Snape. Other people have spoken on this better than I could ever. At least here on Tumblr, though, it seems to me that things are getting a little better after years of absolutely bizarre takes. Or maybe I've blocked all of the idiots idk.

Dumbledore. More on this here and maybe I'll outline my ideas better in a future post.

Also: I do not accept any characterization of Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch jr, Reggie, and Rabastan Lestrange as anything less than violent blood supremacists. Yes, they can be nuanced and gay (and only for each other might I add), but these people are the KKK (metaphorically, of course, because I hate comparing real-world tragedies to completely fictional ones, but still).

Lucius: a complete dick, but definitely not abusive. The man couldn't raise a hand to Draco if the Dark Lord threatened to kill him over it.

Speaking of which: my darling Lord Voldemort. Not much to say about him really because I know that some people do write him in a very interesting way (and I am open to interpretations of his character even if they are different from how I see him - and I have a very fucking specific vision of him). The problem is that perhaps three (3) of these people write him with Bellatrix and that saddens me.

Now, I mostly read First Wizarding War stuff or Death Eater stuff so I can't really speak to many other characters, especially in Harry's generation, but anything other than cowardly Draco is not a good Draco characterization to me. Ron is hands-down the best one in the Golden Trio and Ron Weasley bashing is pathetic. Hermione has faults but is ultimately a strong, take-no-bullshit girl and I'll take that over basically any and all female YA protagonists. And Harry is sassiness personified, but with a heart of gold, and oh-so-caring. Which is also why I can't read dark!Harry for the life of me. It just makes me giggle.

[xoxothesubwayfugitive]

Lucius is often characterized in fic as the ultimate dominant with a ton of sexual experience, but I have trouble writing him that way (even though I love reading it) because I view him as so loyal to Narcissa. Even though we know they are slightly older than many other Marauders era parents, we still have to assume they were married quite young and probably were dating at Hogwarts, so I don't really see him as having had an opportunity to sow his wild oats before their marriage, and I don't see him or Narcissa as wanting to open their relationship or wanting to cheat on one another. There's just not room in my imagining of them for him to have acquired a significant BDSM background beyond run of the mill rough sex and a little bit of a controlling personality, so even when I'm writing him with my OC after Narcissa's death, he's quite hesitant to push her to her limits. Of course he knows what he's doing (😈) but ultimately he's afraid of causing harm and he probably doesn't know how to be fully immersed in a "scene", preferring instead to just be a caring partner who will sometimes branch into something more intense.

Which is why they need Severus, who has had nothing but time to learn about every sexual deviance in the book, to join them and be the "bad guy", something you can read about here and here. Sample below the cut

"I want…" She hesitated, and looked over to where Severus was waiting patiently, almost bored. She would have been afraid to make eye contact with anyone else at that point, but she knew he would be expecting it. That he wouldn't shy away when he had decided he wanted something. "I want Professor Snape to join us. To teach me things." Snape didn't flinch, or smile, but she chanced to break away from his eyes and look to his crotch, where she saw a bulge that made her involuntarily spread her legs.

Lucius lifted her up by her elbow at that. "Go stand in front of us."

Felicity was wearing a fairly modest spring outfit; a blouse with a small V-neck and ruffled collar, and a mid-length satin skirt in deep teal. She felt both prudish and half naked under their scrutiny.

"Lucius tells me you call him Daddy, Felicity," Severus began, adjusting himself to sit more upright as he did so. He observed her over the rim of his glass as she scrambled for a reply.

"It's not…it's just a name. We don't do the other stuff. It's just something I like to say." She was almost pleading.

"Relax. It's sweet," he replied. She couldn't believe she was hearing him call something sweet, and seemingly mean it. "So he can be Daddy, and I'm Professor."

"And what does that make me?" she asked.

"What are you usually?"

Felicity twisted her fingers together behind her back. "My name, usually. "Love". It's really not – it's not like a game or anything."

"Lucius never calls you a slut?"

Her breath hitched, and she chanced her first glance to her husband, who was smirking a bit, although she could tell it wasn't malicious.

"Yes, Professor. Sometimes." Felicity could feel her chest reddening.

"Is there anything else he calls you sometimes?" Snape sneered.

"He calls me a good girl."

"And you like that, don't you?" he taunted.

"Yes, Professor."

Lucius leaned forward in his seat and brushed his fingers along the sensitive skin of her wrist. "Tell him how wet it makes you, love," he urged gently. Felicity swallowed hard and then returned Snape's gaze again.

"I love being his good girl, Professor," she acquiesced. It was easier when Lucius asked it of her.

"You submit to him so nicely," Severus observed. Lucius laughed and Felicity turned to smile with him; it was a joke between them that she was usually bitterly stubborn, only able to fall into the role of docile wife when they were completely alone and they had both switched off their normal thoughts in favor of pure sex. Even then, it was challenging for him to push her when she resisted, and challenging for her not to resist.

[americannslytherinn]

i don’t miss you, i miss the misery

Ship: Werewolf!Severus Snape x Sirius Black (Hateship)

Word Count: 1372

Summary: To explain the AU a bit, James didn't save Severus from following Remus into the Shrieking Shack and Remus attacked him, but Severus managed to survive the ordeal. Dumbledore provided Severus with a safehouse after he graduated while Remus was carted off to Azkaban sometime after, and James and Sirius walk free. This fic takes place between graduating from Hogwarts and Severus returning to Hogwarts as a teacher, basically pre-James & Lily's deaths. Sirius appears on Severus' doorstep to announce Remus' capture and to seemingly apologize for treating him so horribly... one can imagine how that turns out.

🗡️NO TERFS NO BIGOTS NO PROSHITTERS🗡️

It was late autumn in the Scotland woodlands, on the cusp of winter, a thin layer of frost covering every dead leaf and frozen trail. The cold crept into Severus Snape’s cabin, even when he kept it as hot as he could stand it without burning the place down. Even upon contracting lycanthropy, his blood continued to run cold. Still, that was the only thing he felt remained the same, besides the solitude. That night in the Shrieking Shack back in Hogsmeade had upheaved his life beyond words. He didn’t know what had happened to those involved that night, and he preferred to keep it that way. Dumbledore had found him his safehouse, and he was convinced that was where he would stay for the rest of his days. It seemed not even the Death Eaters could reach him here, though he swore he had seen Lucius combing the woods some evenings.

Buried in three sweaters, his cloak, heavy pants, thermal underwear, a lengthy scarf, and two pairs of fingerless gloves, Severus tended to his fire, poking at the logs and feeling the warmth on his pale face. His muscles stilled, hair standing on end, ears prickling as he thought he heard a knock at the door- he knew he heard a knock at the door. He could smell them, too. Sweat and musk and oils on their skin, the dirt under their nails, but stronger yet, plain soap and… pomade. He was torn between throwing the door open and thrusting his wand forcefully at who he knew was out there, and simply ignoring it altogether. Unfortunately, the knocker wasn’t patient, and pounded on the door a second time, shaking it in its frame. Severus could make out a muffled yell.

“I’m knocking because I’m trying to be polite- don’t make me blast down the door, because I will, Snivellus!”

Full of rage in the blink of an eye, Severus rose from where he crouched before the fireplace and whipped his wand out of his pocket, yanking open the door. “How did you find me?” He growled.

Before him stood Sirius Black, tall, well-built, and horribly, deceitfully handsome. “I asked Dumbledore. They locked up Remus.”

Chest still heaving, Severus blinked, realizing how tired and lost Sirius looked. He kept his wand pointed at his chest, hand steady.

“Azkaban,” Severus said it aloud to confirm it for himself. “If anyone should be locked away it should be you and James Potter!”

“I know.” There was a hard glint in Sirius’ eyes and his jaw locked slightly as he admitted this. “May I come in?”

Colour rose in Severus’ face as he began to splutter in disbelief. “You- you really- after- what- who do you- Come? In??” He spat, his wand hand jerking forward almost of its own accord and angry sparks flying from the tip, missing the hem of Sirius’ travelling cloak by inches.

“May I please come in?” Sirius pleaded through gritted teeth before holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers. “It’s getting a bit nippy out now that the sun’s gone down, Snape, and I forgot my gloves.”

“The gall of the Black family knows no bounds,” Severus hissed as he reluctantly stepped aside, his eyes not wavering from Sirius for a second. “What?! What could be so important, besides telling me your so-called friend received what should’ve been your downfall, that you need to violate my home with your presence on tonight of all nights?!”

Sirius entered the cabin and closed the door behind him, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering something… something that almost sounded apologetic. It was such an odd noise to come from the man before him that Severus faltered, lowering his wand slightly.

“What?”

“I said I’mf… sfrrfymf…” Sirius mumbled, trailing off again and refusing to look him in the eye. Severus opened the door again.

“If you’ve nothing to say, get. Out.”

“Severus, I’m sorry I goaded you into going after Remus!” Sirius barked, still not looking him in the face. A shiver ran through Severus’ body as he slowly closed the door again. His eye twitched as he stared ahead.

“You’re lying to my face.”

“I’m not! I was stupid, it was stupid, I didn’t understand--”

“You understood full well that I would be maimed if I went into that house. If I had died, my blood would’ve been on all of your hands. James and you and Remus, the whole damned lot of you.”

“I should’ve taken Remus more seriously!”

“That you should’ve, Black. You were a terrible friend amongst terrible friends.” Severus sneered, relishing in the fact he could insult Sirius in this state, yet he still did not trust that the man was entirely remorseful. It had not been that long ago that this all had happened, after all, and Sirius seemed very set in his path. So desperate to shake off the name “Black” that he did not care who he hurt along the way.

“I know,” Sirius wrung his hands. “I haven’t slept since I saw it in the papers… Remus’ sentence, I mean.”

“Did it take his wrongful imprisonment to shock you into reality, Black?” Feeling more powerful than he ever had while being in the same room as one of his tormentors, he couldn’t help himself. With a passionate thought and a subtle twitch of his wand, Sirius suddenly flew into the air, hung upside down by his ankle by an invisible force. He yelped in fear while Severus’ breathing quickened in excitement. “Do you see how it feels, now?”

Sirius struggled in the air, red in the face. “Put me down Sni- Snape! I’m trying to be nice, please, give me some credit!”

“Nice? Don’t kid yourself…” Severus spoke disgustedly as he settled into his armchair, bemusedly eying Sirius’ floating body. “You haven’t a nice bone in your entire body.”

“I could say the same for you.” Sirius’ face grew dark as he glared down at him. Suddenly, Severus was back on his feet.

“Only because you and your friends exacerbated what problems I already had! You didn’t give me a chance to be ‘nice!’ Even Lily…” He froze, choking on his own breath, eyes bulging. Silence, aside from the crackling fire, descended upon the cabin like a wake of buzzards upon a carcass as Sirius and Severus shared a long stare. For the first time that evening, Severus’ hands began to shake, and his sense of power began to diminish.

“You’re not wrong, you know,” Sirius finally spoke after a moment or two. “But really, whose fault was it that the two of you fell apart? She tried to show you kindness, expecting the same in return, but you couldn’t even handle that.”

Severus settled back down into his chair, still silent.

“Maybe we’ve both been daft this whole time.”

“Watch your head.”

“What--?”

Suddenly, Sirius came crashing back to the floor, landing on his back and knocking the air out of his lungs. Severus watched him lazily as he slowly resumed a standing position.

“I don’t accept your apology. I don’t trust you. And I certainly don’t feel like ‘bonding’ over mental instability, Black.” Severus stood once more. “In fact, I believe you’ve only come here because they carted off your boyfriend and now you’re looking for another emotional support werewolf to fill the void and, forgive the expression, lick your wounds.”

Subtly, Sirius swallowed as Severus continued. “I now ask you, as kindly as I can, to fuck off and never bother me again.”

“I suppose I can tell you then that it was Lily’s idea for me to visit you in the first place.”

Severus’ eyes blazed with fury and a loud bang filled the room, along with a flash of light and a wooshing sound that passed within seconds. When the light cleared, Sirius Black was nowhere to be seen, having clearly apparated from the scene. Instead, there was now a large, black scorch mark on the opposite wall, where Severus’ hex had missed.

“Blast it all…!” He snarled and kicked out angrily before swearing as his foot connected with his coffee table, gripping it and hopping up and down for a moment. How I hate that man.

[fool-of-a-took1]

I will now share my list of the worst ships I’ve seen because wtf

1. Edmund Pevensie/Severus Snape

(Hehehe nooooo why noo)

1 Work

2. Draco Malfoy/Lucius Malfoy

(WHAT IS THIS?! INCEST!)

348 Works

3. Helen Parr | Elastigirl/Violet Parr

(INCEST)

13 Works

4. Dash Parr/Violet Parr

(Stop with the fucking incest)

9 Works

5. Bob Parr | Mr. Incredible/Violet Parr

(STOP IT)

9 Works

6. Dash Parr/Helen Parr | Elastigirl/Violet Parr

(FUCKING HELL)

4 Works

7. Simon Brown/Nanny McPhee

(No just no)

Not on ao3

8. Peter Pevensie/Susan Pevensie

(INCEST!! AGAIN!)

129 Works

9. Edmund Pevensie/Peter Pevensie

(INCEST!)

94 Works

10. Aziz/Ben/Doug/Evie/Jane/Jay/Mal/Carlos de Vil

(So many people)(actually don’t really have anything against it I just almost died trying to read the tag)

4 Works

11. Draco Malfoy/Fred Weasley

(Fuck no)

83 Works

12. Harry Potter/Severus Snape

(NOO absolutely NOT)

15,246 works (oh that’s bullshit)

13. Sirius Black/Charlie Weasley

(PEDOPHILIA! And just wrong generally)(idk, might not be pedophilia but it’s not right)

46 works

14. Hermione Granger/James Potter

(Dude wtf, they ship her with everyone)

271 works

15. Sirius Black/Severus Snape

(Nope nope ew ew ew!!)

2,126 works

16. Peggy Carter/Newt Scamander

(Not really bad ig but it’s interesting)(and how did that happen?)

1 work

17. Newt Scamander/Theseus Scamander

(Incest.. again)(people really like that for some reason)

1,155 works

18. Albus Dumbledore/Newt Scamander

(Okay first of all love Dumbledoor slander second of all NO!!)

184 works

19. Arthur Weasley/Ginny Weasley

(Aww come ooon stop it! Stop the incest! What is wrong with people?)

30 works

20. Hermione Granger/Rubeus Hagrid

(Wow they really do ship her with anyone)

21 works

21. Fang/Hermione Granger

(How? How did we get here? How did we make it worse?)

5 works (and it’s not even only one)

22. James Potter/Severus Snape

(NO NO NO JUST NOO)

929 works

23. Sirius Black/Lily Evans

(Yeah no not really my ballpark)(how did you even get it to this?)

75 works

24. Fenrir Greyback/Remus Lupin

(Definitely have not read this because I wanted an abusive relationship with Sirius swooping in later…)

122 works

25. Sirius Black/Tom Riddle

(… I’m not even gonna try)

30 works

26. Neville Longbottom/Severus Snape

(Why is this a thing?)(he is a teacher that fucking bullied him)

161 works

27. Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter/Severus Snape

(I’m sorry, is your brain fried?)

442 works

28. Sirius Black/Severus Snape

(Stop it, seriously)

2,126 works (okay I told myself not to comment on the amount but wtf is that?)

29. Regulus Black/Severus Snape

(ABSOLUTELY NOT!!)

483 works

30. Regulus Black/Sirius Black

(I mean I already knew blackcest was a thing but come ooon)

456 works

That’s not even all of it, I have more

(Also fyi I did know and expect the incest but I write it down because it’s bad and it’s a lot)

[lumosatnight]

Kill Your Darlings 2022 Recs!

@hp-mcd-fest has ended, and I still haven't recovered from all the amazing fics! There were so many (SO MANY) good ones. MCD has always been hit or miss for me, but boy did these fics hit!! And hit reallll good. Here are 7 of my favorite stories from the fest!

—

💀 Five Graves by Chelonie [Triwizard Contestants, M, 3.7k] 💀 This fic tore my heart out and then pummeled it into the ground. And I would 1000% read it again. What if the Triwizard Tournament went wrong?

"The Departments of International Magical Co-operation and Magical Games and Sports have worked hard to ensure that during this revival of the Triwizard Tournament, no Champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger."

💀 I'll take a quiet life by @deliciousblizzardshark [Harry/Severus, E, 5.0k] 💀 A mourning Harry who is so desperate he brings Snape back from the dead. Absolutely delicious angst.

Severus is dead but Harry, who has just come to understand what they mean to each other, is master of death.

💀 Snake Eyes by @diana-skye [Myrtle/Tom, M, 1.3k] 💀 I ADORE Myrtle fics! She's just a girl, really, an insecure teenager looking for acceptance. The Tom in this is ruthless and amazingly characterized.

There’s a single moment, between yellow eyes and nothingness, where she remembers. [Or - What if Myrtle wasn't a random victim of Tom Riddle? What if he was someone she knew, even someone she loved?]

💀 Breakfast, interrupted by Hrair [Lucius/Narcissa, Hermione/Draco, T, 5.2k] 💀 This fic is so funny. I was laughing the whole time. Who knew MCD could be so enjoyable?

All Lucius Malfoy wants is to have a proper, pureblood heir and to eat his breakfast in peace. Is that really too much to ask?

💀 a long way back to the light by @swoontodeath [Colin/Harry, M, 3.8k] 💀 LOVED this fic. Just the right amount of creepy and also a dash of mystery. Colin is such an underused character imho.

Colin Creevey should have died seven years, three months, and four days ago. Actually, Colin Creevey did die seven years, three months, and four days ago. It just didn’t stick.

💀 Nine Hundred and Twelve by @cannibalschism [George Weasley, T, 5.1k] 💀 TIME TRAVEL, ANGST, WONDERFUL METAPHORS. This story has it all. I love the description of time travel in this fic—as unnatural, unknown. George is so desperate to get Fred back that he forces his way through the unyielding layers of time.

After long nights, impossible exams, and years of studying, my application to join the honourable ranks of those Wixen known only as Unspeakables has been accepted. Dad could not be more proud. Mum bleeding cried at the ceremony. My siblings congratulated me for finally doing something other than grieving Fred. They all said this would be good for me, that this would be a fresh start. They don’t know I did it all for you. All for you, Fred.

💀 Sartre Versus the Stoics by JK_Terfling_Can_Suck_My_Silicone_Dick [Draco/Harry, M, 19.5k] 💀 If you want to have a good cry, I HIGHLY recommend this fic. It deals with grief in such a wonderful, very real way. It definitely has the same vibes as Stop All the Clocks, another heart-wrenching Drarry fic.

After Harry Potter kills himself without warning, his friends and family are left to pick up the pieces on their own

—

💀 Read more MCD fics in the Fest Collection on AO3 💀

(Also, psssst @bluesundaycake if you're running MCD fest next year, I'd love to help out. I loved it so much!!!)

[smilingformoney]

Severus and Persephone attend the Potters' wedding, which proves to be much more difficult than Severus anticipated.

Read on Ao3 or below the cut:

It was the day of the wedding, and needless to say, Severus was a mess.

Almost every single person Severus didn’t want to see again was going to be there. Potter and his friends, Lily’s family… really, the only person he was going for was Lily.

And Persephone. She was expecting to go with him, having agreed to be his plus one, and so he couldn’t let her down.

He had finally found an outfit that he liked and Lucius called acceptable. It was a relatively simple outfit - a white shirt under a black waistcoat and black tailcoat with straight black trousers and simple black shoes - but the designer was some French wizard Severus had never heard of but who Lucius claimed was a top of the line designer, and anyone who was worth anything would recognise it immediately.

Severus was just happy that it wasn’t extravagant. It fit well to his body, he had to admit, and he almost looked like he wasn’t a rat from the streets of Cokeworth.

He spent far too long trying to decide what to do with his hair. Lucius tried to convince him to style it, but Severus refused point-blank to touch Sleakeazy’s - it was the brainchild of Potter’s father, and the revenue from the invention was the root of Potter’s wealth. If Snivellus showed up to his wedding wearing his father’s invention, Potter would see that as a win.

Instead, Severus tied it back. His hair was thin and had few layers to it, so it was easy to gather it at the back of his head in a half-bun. He felt he looked decently respectable, and hopefully he wouldn’t stand out too much from the wealthier Potter and Evans families.

He knocked on Persephone’s door and waited. It was the first time he’d been to her house, and although he was curious about the inside, he daren’t impose himself. She lived in an enclosed square in the middle of London, only a short walk from Diagon Alley. It was off a busy muggle road, but the square itself was quiet and the moment Severus turned into it, he seemed to pass some kind of invisible barrier that muffled the noise of the main road. It was, he deduced, a magical community enchanted to prevent muggles from accidentally wandering in.

The front door opened and Persephone stepped out. Severus had to stop himself from gasping. She looked stunning in a long black dress with an elegant silver trim around the neckline, which dipped just low enough to show a little cleavage, making him blush, but remaining appropriate. Her hair, which was rarely out of a ponytail, was down, one side tucked behind her shoulder and the ends slightly curled. She even wore make-up, something he’d never seen on her before. Her red lipstick made her lips look temptingly kissable; the only flaw in her entire look was the foundation she wore on her face. Not that it looked bad, but it covered her freckles, which he liked on her.

“Close your mouth, Severus, you’ll catch flies.”

Severus was snapped back to reality when she spoke, and he blushed, realising he’d done nothing but gawp at her.

“Sorry. I just - you look… different. Your hair is usually up.”

“And yours is usually down.” Persephone lifted her hand to gently push a stray hair from his face, and Severus blushed further to feel even the slightest brush of a touch from her. “I like it like this. I can see your cheekbones.”

She frowned slightly, then drew her hand back and rearranged her face into a polite smile.

“Well, Mr Snape - shall we?”

Severus nodded, offered his arm to her, and apparated them away.

They arrived in the alleyway behind Spinner’s End. Severus often used it as an apparition point, knowing it was never used, and it wasn’t too far a walk from the church. The ceremony was to be non-magical, as not all of Lily’s family knew she was a witch, and so arriving there directly by magical means was out of the question. Their story, they agreed, would be that they had come from Severus’ house.

“Is that a magical community you live in?” Severus asked as they made their way away from the river and towards the nicer part of town. “I noticed a magical barrier at the end of the road.”

“Yes, the whole square is Ministry workers,” Persephone replied. She went to lift her skirt as she stepped over a puddle, but Severus waved his wand to vanish it instead, leaving her path clear. “It’s all Ministry-issued housing.”

“They gave you a house? How did you convince them to do that?” Severus asked, only half-joking.

“I told them I’d be homeless otherwise.”

She said it so casually, as if the threat of homelessness was something that happened in everyday life. Growing up on a council estate in the Midlands, for Severus it had been such a thing - he had seen plenty of neighbours lose their houses shortly after losing their jobs. But Persephone didn’t seem to be of the same sort as he - she had a proper accent, as if she’d moved to London from somewhere nice like Winchester or Oxford, although her naturally rough voice countered it to prevent her sounding like she was as posh as the Malfoys.

He didn’t know much about her, really. He had no idea where she was from - maybe she had moved from Oxford. Maybe she was a born Londoner. Maybe, like him, she was from further north and hid her accent.

Persephone glanced at Severus. He was a strange man. Most people - including herself - would be fishing for more information about her brush with homelessness, but the information passed over him as if she’d told him her favourite colour. She knew the area they had apparated to was near his house, although she didn’t pry as to exactly where that was, and it was clearly run-down. They were walking now along a river, but it wasn’t a pleasant walk. The river was brown, surely devoid of aquatic life, and the occasional lump of rubbish floated by. At one point, a shopping trolley appeared to be wedged in the riverbank. Across the river was a factory of some sort, though it seemed to be closed and out of use.

She had been interested to learn from Severus that Cokeworth was where he’d grown up, on the other side of town from Lily Evans, because she herself had grown up only an hour’s drive away. She’d never been, but she knew of the town by reputation, and it wasn’t a good one. A former industrial town, once flocked to by the working class, it was now deprived and forgotten, houses either torn down or abandoned. What on earth Severus was doing living here when he could easily move into a wing of Malfoy Manor was incomprehensible.

Past the boundary of the old factory, the scenery began to change. The river narrowed, veering off to the west, and Persephone followed Severus up a set of stairs to emerge onto a cobbled high street. The spire of the church they were headed to was visible in the distance, and Persephone followed in Severus’ footsteps as he led her through the streets he clearly knew very well.

“Do you know this area well?” Persephone asked.

Severus grunted in reply. Persephone sensed that he didn’t want to talk, so they remained silent as he led her through the cobbled back streets until they emerged across the road from a church.

It wasn’t dissimilar to the church Persephone had grown up diligently attending every Sunday - not out of any faith, but out of obligation. As the Reverend’s daughter, she had no choice but to attend her father’s sermons and sit in still silence as he droned on about God and the Bible. It was there that she had learnt to blend into the background, being present but unnoticed while adults gossiped around her, not realising she was listening and taking mental notes of the latest dramas in the village.

Severus hesitated when they emerged onto the street, eyeing the milling crowds warily.

“Not a setup, then,” Persephone commented.

“No,” Severus replied. His eyes darted around the crowd as if looking for someone in particular. “I don’t see Potter’s friends at all.”

“They’re probably inside with him. I expect they’ll be groomsmen.”

“I suppose.” Severus tilted his head slightly to peer at a couple climbing out of the back of a taxi. The woman was tall and thin with a long neck and an expression that suggested she’d just swallowed a lemon. The man, meanwhile, was short and fat with the ghost of a moustache growing on his lip. He offered a hand to the woman to assist her out of the taxi, and as it drove off, they both straightened themselves, looking around haughtily at the gathering crowd. The woman muttered something to the man, who seemed distinctly unimpressed with what she’d said.

Severus knew them, that much was clear. He took a small step back, as if their presence caused him to want to retreat.

“Who are stringy and dumpy?” Persephone asked.

Severus frowned, then the corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to suppress a smile.

“Petunia Evans,” he replied in a low voice. “Lily’s sister.”

“Not a fan?”

“You could say that. She’s a muggle; she always envied Lily her magic. She was jealous that we were both magic, and she wasn’t. And when Lily and I became closer…” He trailed off, thinking.

“That’s her husband, I assume?”

“He must be. Though who would want to marry a nasty girl like her, I don’t know.”

“Maybe he’s nasty too. They certainly both seem to think they’re better than everyone else.”

Petunia and her dumpy husband were now conversing with another couple, and they both wore expressions that suggested they were talking to a piece of shit on their shoes.

An idea came into Persephone’s mind and she suddenly looped her arm through Severus’. He twitched as if to pull his arm away, but he stopped himself. Instead he looked at her questioningly.

“Let’s pretend we’re dating,” she said conspiratorially.

“I - what?!” Severus spluttered.

“Yeah! Come on, it’ll be fun. I’ve always wanted to try the fake dating bit. It’ll be good practise for you too.”

“Is this a suggestion from a friend or an order from a superior?”

Persephone blinked in surprise.

“We’re friends?”

“Oh - sorry, I -“ Severus glanced away, embarrassed. Of course they weren’t friends - never mind that at some point in the past few weeks, they’d started using each other’s first names. Never mind that her cold shoulder had warmed slightly or that she allowed herself more smiles around him. He was still just a colleague, a trainee, someone she was saddled with…

“Don’t be,” she said. “I just… I wasn’t sure if we were friends or just colleagues.”

“Well, I - I’d hope we were friends by now.”

Persephone smiled. “I’ve never had a friend before.”

“Never?” Severus repeated with a frown. That couldn’t be right. Even he’d had friends.

“Classmates, sure. Kids I was forced to hang out with. But no one I’d consider a friend. I don’t really like people.”

“Nor do I.”

“I like you, though.”

“I… like you, too. Very much.”

Persephone smiled and stood up straighter, not even realising she’d shrunk into herself slightly in her uncertainty. “Good. So we’re friends. And for the next few hours, we’re dating.”

“Right. How long have we been dating?”

“Let’s say a month. That’s about as long as we’ve been working together, and the best lies are based in the truth.” She nodded her head towards the crowd, who were beginning to make their way into the church. “Shall we?”

Severus nodded, and together they made their way towards the church. By silent agreement, they stayed near the back of the crowd, being careful not to draw attention to themselves. They slid into a pew at the very rear corner of the church, giving themselves a good view of the crowd without giving the crowd a good view of them.

“Tell me what you see,” Persephone murmured.

As the guests shuffled around and the church workers got themselves into position, Severus whispered his observations to Persephone. He had a natural talent for it; it was easy to see why he’d been hired after her. He also, she suspected, employed a bit of legilimency; either that, or he was very good at guessing what people were thinking.

He stopped talking suddenly when James entered and made his way to the front of the congregation, ready to take his position for the ceremony. As predicted, his gang were there with him. Sirius Black appeared to be the best man, with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew backing him up as groomsmen.

They were all dressed smartly, although Black stood out like a sore thumb - perhaps because he was tall enough to be head and shoulders above the rest of them, being a good foot taller than Potter, or perhaps because he appeared not to have even brushed his wild hair, giving him the impression of a lion’s mane around his head. Even Potter had tamed his famously messy hair, but Black had decided he was above such petty things as hairbrushes. If he had turned up to church like that in Persephone’s village, he wouldn’t have been kicked out - that would have caused far too much of a ruckus - but he would have experienced a lot of tuts, disappointed head shakes and mutters about “the youth of today.” Although, from what she knew of him, Persephone supposed he was counting on exactly that today.

Pettigrew, meanwhile, seemed to have had trouble finding a suit that fit him, and so he looked rather odd so short and round next to much taller and skinnier men.

Lupin certainly looked the best of them. He almost looked like an ordinary man, with the exception of the scar across his face. Persephone wondered what story he told muggles about the origin of the scar.

A hush came over the crowd as the organ began to play, and those who were still milling about quickly sat down. The air was buzzing with anticipation for Lily’s entrance, and Persephone could feel Severus stiffening beside her. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. For a moment, he didn’t respond, and then his hand relaxed into hers. His shoulders dropped slightly, and his tightened jaw relaxed.

He glanced at her, looking at her curiously, as if wondering what she’d just done to him. She gave him a small smile, hoping to comfort him, but he just looked sad. Then, the doors at the rear of the church opened, the entire congregation turned their heads back, and Lily Evans stepped through the archway.

When the ceremony was finally over, the crowd gathered outside to throw confetti on the couple as they emerged from the church. Severus and Persephone kept out of the way, both having agreed to stay out of sight until after the ceremony. Neither of them were fans of the union, but they weren’t so bitter as to interfere.

The reception was only a few doors down at the village hall, so while the couple and their attendants and family posed for photos, the rest of the crowd began meandering down the road to the hall.

“Are you alright?” Persephone asked gently. She had taken his hand again, conscious that even out of sight of those they intended to fool, they still had to maintain their facade.

Severus nodded his head, looking pointedly ahead as they made their way down the street. Persephone had intended to ask him to observe some more as they walked, but she decided he deserved a break after watching his first ever friend marry his bully.

“She deserves better,” he said at last once they were sat at a table. The assigned seating had them with some Potters neither of them knew and who hadn’t arrived yet, no doubt still at the church participating in the photo shoot.

“The heart wants what it wants,” Persephone replied. She knew it was useless advice, but it was all she had. She didn’t want to admit that she didn’t really like Lily either, so to her they were perfect for each other. 

“Hmph.” Severus folded his arms and stared off into the distance.

“Sorry, that wasn’t helpful, was it?”

Severus looked at her, eyebrow raised. “Do you think so?” he snapped. Then, his face relaxed into a sad look, and he shook his head. “Sorry. You’ve been good enough to accompany me. It’s not your fault I’m miserable. I knew this would be difficult. I shouldn’t have come - shouldn’t have dragged you here -“

“Hey.” Persephone placed her hand on his arm, and he again twitched at the sudden contact, although he still didn’t pull away. “I encouraged you to come and I asked to come with you. In fact, I didn’t ask, I pretty much told you I was coming. But this really is good practice for you, you know. There’ll come a day you’ll be emotionally compromised on a mission, and you need to be able to look past your emotions and focus on your task. If you can do that now, you can do it when the real thing comes.”

“And what is my task, Agent Payne?”

Persephone gestured at the empty seats around their table. “We’ve got three Potters due to join us. Find out who they are, what they do, and get something useful. Information, perhaps, or just a connection you can use at a later date. Charm them - with your wit, not your wand.”

“I’m not charming.”

“When you’re an Unspeakable, you’re whatever you need to be. If you need to be charming, you be charming. If you need to be a dickhead, you be a dickhead. If you need to suck up to Potters, you suck up to Potters. Who you are - who you have been - he disappears at the door. You’re malleable. You’re an actor. You’re smiles and laughs at one table, then you move onto the next and you adapt. You are no one. You are everyone. There is no self; only the mission.”

Severus looked at her for a long moment, considering. “How do you stop yourself from forgetting who you really are? Does there not come a time when you lose track of which face is real and which is a mask?”

Persephone shrugged. “If you figure that one out, let me know. Do you want a drink?” She nodded to the bar, where glasses of Buck’s Fizz were being prepared.

“Please. Is it too early for whisky?”

“No, but we’ll have to stay sober. I’ll teach you to keep your wits about you while drunk another time. Orange?”

“Very well.”

Persephone made her way to the bar and asked the server to pour two oranges without the champagne.

“You break my heart, Payne!” said a voice Persephone had the misfortune to recognise as Sirius Black. “It’s a wedding, after all, and the parents are paying. Let loose a little, huh? You look like you’re wound tighter than a watch.”

Black leant casually against the bar and flicked his untidy hair back, not noticing Persephone roll her eyes at his terrible attempt at metaphor.

“Saw you at the ceremony, sat with Snape,” Black continued. “Suppose sitting next to Sniv for long enough would make anyone tense. Don’t worry about the seating plan - soon as all the toasts are over, you can leave Sniv behind and dance with me.” He shot her his best charming grin, the same one she’d seen him flash at pretty much every girl in Hogwarts.

“I literally cannot imagine anything worse than dancing with you, Black,” Persephone replied shortly. “I’d sooner dance with a werewolf. How is Lupin these days?”

Black’s eyes widened momentarily, then he quickly rearranged his face into his attempt at a charming smile.

“No werewolves here, love. And I don’t think Remus’d be able to keep up with you, do you?” He looked her up and down. “Nah, I love the guy, but he’s all brain and no brawn. You need a man who can carry you over his shoulder and whisk you away. Bet you’d like that, eh?”

“I can whisk myself away, thank you very much. Want to see me do it?”

She turned on her heel and carried her two glasses back to the table as if nothing had happened.

Severus just grunted when Persephone handed him the drink. He really wished he could have a drop of alcohol in there.

“Get over it, Severus,” Persephone hissed at him as she sat down.

“Excuse me?!”

“I told you to be charming. Sit up and stop slouching. You look like a grumpy teenager who’s been dragged here against his will.”

“I am a grumpy teenager!” Severus replied, although he did as she said. “And I’m certainly here against my will. Do you think I wanted to sit in that church and watch my best friend marry my worst enemy? Do you think I want to sit here and watch you flirt with Black?!”

“Flirt with Black?!” Persephone repeated, flabbergasted. “You clearly didn’t hear a word of what I said to him.”

“No, but I saw enough, saw the way he looked at you -“

“He was flirting with me! It’s not my fault he’s never been able to take a hint. I could snog you in front of him and he’d still find a way to make it about him. Anyway, even if I had been flirting with him, what’s it matter to you? We’re here to make connections, aren’t we? If I have to flirt, I flirt, and you’ll know it when I do. But our story tonight is we’re dating, so I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I started flirting with the best man, would I?”

Severus’ jaw twitched, but he said nothing more. They sat there in silence until the room began to fill up with the Potter and Evans families, having now finished their photos.

“Follow my lead,” Persephone whispered to Severus as their dinner companions for the evening approached.

She was like an entirely different person. Severus dutifully played the role of shy boyfriend as Persephone transformed in front of him from the “ice queen” Lucius had warned him about to a warm, open, and engaging extravert. She laughed at the right times, responded with witty and thoughtful comments, and threw probing questions into her conversations with such charm that it was difficult to discern them from casual conversation.

The Potters they’d been sat with, it turned out, were extraordinarily boring. But that didn’t stop Persephone from throwing herself into the role, if only to show Severus how it was done. Severus almost believed it himself when she feigned interest in the oscillating conversion values of muggle and wizarding currency.

After the dinner came the speeches, and it took all the will Severus could muster to sit there and listen, trying not to let his anger show lest it upset Persephone’s plans, as Black gave his best man speech - somehow making it more about himself than about the groom - and Lily’s father, Timothy Evans, gave his speech. The way they talked about Potter, it was as if he had never done wrong. Black alluded to their joint “mischief” as if it were just that, simply a bit of fun, boys being boys. In retelling some of their exploits, he conveniently missed out the part where the two of them had almost killed him.

Finally, the long-winded speeches ended, and the tables were moved aside (seemingly by hand, although Severus suspected magic made the tables lighter) and the floor was cleared for dancing. Lily and James took to the centre of the room, the lights were dimmed, and romantic music began to play.

Severus didn’t even realise his hands were curled into fists until he saw Persephone reappear at his side, having disappeared when the tables were moved, and handed him a drink. In the dim light, it was hard to tell, but it looked suspiciously like whisky.

He looked at her questioningly.

“You’ve earned it,” she whispered.

He smiled his thanks and took a swig of the much-needed drink. It was a muggle whisky, so it didn’t quite have the kick that firewhisky had, but it would do.

Undeniably, Lily looked beautiful. She had changed out of her white wedding dress before dinner and was now wearing an evening gown more appropriately designed for movement, and she glided with a natural elegance across the dance floor, her eyes never leaving Potter’s, wearing a grin that lit up her entire face and radiated a joy throughout the room.

It may be cliche to call a redhead fiery , but with Lily it was true. When she was angry, she burned fiercely, like a raging wildfire. In a good mood, she was like a crackling campfire, promising mischief and joy in the darkness of the night. And now… now she wasn’t burning but glowing, like a hearth on Christmas Morning. She was radiant and beautiful and her energy spread throughout the room, engulfing all around her in her comfort and joy. And that, more than anything, was the energy she radiated. She was happy . Somehow, James Potter made her happy. And Severus knew he would endure an eternity of torment at Potter’s hands if that meant the other man could give Lily even a moment of happiness.

The song ended and Severus joined the round of polite applause. With a wave of his hand, James hushed the crowd, then said, “For the next song, we’d like to invite all the unmarried couples to dance. Have yourselves a taste of what tonight is for us!”

There was some polite chortling throughout the room, then a handful of couples made their way to the dance floor - some confidently, others shyly. Severus didn’t even think of moving until he felt Persephone take his now-empty glass from his hand and place it on the table behind them.

“What are you -“

“Unmarried couples. That’s us,” she reminded him.

“Oh. Right.” Severus had almost forgotten about their scheme.

He reluctantly led Persephone into the open space. He wanted to dance with her, but not like this - not with all these people watching - not with Potter watching —

“Do you know how to dance?” Persephone asked as she took his hand in hers and placed the other on his shoulder.

“Yes.”

“Good. Then lead me.”

The music began, and Severus just placed his hand on her waist in time to begin the dance.

“I’m beginning to think tonight wasn’t one of my better ideas,” Persephone said as they moved.

“Why’s that?”

“I wanted to teach you about emotional compromise. I seem to have thrown you in at the deep end.”

“How else does one learn to swim?”

“Usually in the shallow end.”

“Well, that’s no fun.”

Persephone laughed, and for a few moments they were quiet, simply enjoying the dance together. Severus had forgotten already about Lily and James, about their jobs or their purpose for the night; he was too enthralled in the fact that he was dancing with a beautiful woman.

Because she was beautiful. She was the opposite to Lily in so many ways — like ice to fire, each powerful and deadly in their own right and yet both necessary for survival. Lily’s hair was a deep auburn red, while Persephone’s was a golden blonde. Lily had warm, inviting green eyes that radiated tranquillity and kindness; Persephone’s were in one moment a cold and distant grey, another a shining silver. 

Even their freckles were different. Lily’s were dark and prominent, starkly contrasted to her pale skin. On the other hand, one could be forgiven for believing Persephone had no freckles at all. They blended into her skin as if camouflaged, and Severus had noticed over the past few weeks that during the summer, they came out in full force; it was only in winter, or nights like tonight where she wore foundation, that their presence was hidden. It was a shame, because her freckles were beautiful, and Severus had on more than one occasion caught himself fantasising about kissing each and every one of them.

“I have one last challenge for you, then you’ve got the rest of the night off,” Persephone was saying, and Severus tried to pull his attention away from staring at her to actually listen to her. He nodded to show he was listening, then she continued, “I want you to keep dancing with me. Keep looking at me like you’re in love with me. Look into my eyes and nowhere else… and tell me what James Potter is thinking.”

Severus was happy to do the first part. He found it very easy to dance with her, to look at her and only her. But to look into Potter’s mind — that was a less appealing prospect.

It was just as easy, though, because Potter’s mind was an open book. Severus hardly had to push into his mind at all to see and hear everything that was going on.

“He’s watching us,” Severus said quietly. He resisted the urge to look up at Potter himself. “He’s feeling… annoyed that I came. He wishes Lily hadn’t invited me. He’s not sure who you are, but he thinks you’re hot and doesn’t understand why you’re here with me.”

“Good. Now do Black. And remember, eyes on me.”

It took Severus a few moments to find Black’s mind, especially as he was doing all this without eye contact, but there he was, the loudest mind in the room.

“He’s also wondering why you’re with me. Merlin, is it so inconceivable to them that I could be with you?” He said bitterly, although he agreed with them - Persephone was much too good for him.

Persephone smirked with satisfaction, her curiosity sated.

“Very good. One more thing, then you’re free for the night.”

“What is it?”

The music began to reach a crescendo.

“Dip me.”

His hand on her back to support her, Severus dropped Persephone into a sweeping dip just as the music ended. The couples around them may have ended their dances too; Severus wouldn’t know. All he could focus on was her, her head thrown back, a laugh on her lips, her hair dangling down behind her. Severus laughed too at the absurdity of it all, then he pulled her back up again.

As Persephone rose from the dip, she let the movement carry her forward until their faces were level, and their lips connected.

The world stopped spinning for a moment. Birds’ wings stopped flapping, and the tides froze in mid-splash. Her lips were on his, she was kissing him, and when his lips parted to free a gasp, she took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. Her hands were in his hair now, holding him tightly as her tongue began to inch its way past his lips…

He pulled away suddenly. For a moment, they stared at one another, then Severus turned on his heel and left.