#Arthur Dong

[thequeereview]

The Queer Review 2023 – LGBTQ+ highlights of the year

As 2023 draws to a close, we invite some friends of The Queer Review, including prominent creators, performers, artists, and activists to share the LGBTQ+ culture that has sustained, stimulated, moved, inspired, or brought them joy this year. We hope that you enjoy reading this eclectic selection and discover something new to revel in. We would love to hear your own LGBTQ+ highlights of 2023, so…

[thelatelatelatelatedoublefeature]

[pacingmusings]

Seen in 2023:

Hollywood Chinese (Arthur Dong), 2007

[bens-things]

Hollywood Chinese (2007) dir. Arthur Dong

[shittyh2g2headcanons]

Arthur Dent is celebrating! Trillian Astra is celebrating! Ford Prefect is celebrating! Zaphod Beeblebrox is celebrating! Marvin even begrudgingly has a party hat on!

[onyxbird]

We saw it in all its grandeur, perched a thousand feet on the summit of a sheer precipice, and with seemingly a great gap between it and the steep of the adjacent mountain on any side.

I'm somewhat surprised that Mina doesn't have any comment about Jonathan having had to climb down the walls now that she sees the castle for herself--that was my immediate thought when I saw the description of the castle way up there on a "sheer precipice." (Although I realize Mina and Van Helsing have got a lot of other stuff to focus on here.)

"See!" he said, "here you will be in shelter; and if the wolves do come I can meet them one by one." He brought in our furs, and made a snug nest for me, and got out some provisions and forced them upon me.

OK, I have a lot of frustrations with this old man, but he is fucking determined to protect Mina if it's the last thing he does, and I love it. Of the two of them, it's plausible that Mina could actually have some level of vampiric influence on the wolves, but the priority is still to tuck Mina safely into a cozy little shelter while he duels the oncoming wolves one-by-one. 😍

At the same time I knew that Jonathan was not far off

I find this intriguing. If this is meant literally, and nothing about the way it's handled in this entry implies it's not, since Mina says she knows he's nearby and then immediately spots him and Arthur approaching, it implies that Mina is developing some kind of psychic awareness of Jonathan, in addition to her psychic connection to the Count and perhaps the vampire ladies (and the Jonathan connection is not limited to sunrise/sunset).

Can Mina sense Jonathan's whereabouts because he is somehow tied into the same vampire psychic network (possibly because he was fed on by Dracula during his time at the castle) or is vampire-to-be Mina attuned to this specific human because Jonathan is the person most important to her? If the latter, I wonder whether Lucy was experiencing the same thing towards Arthur and that's why she prioritized pursuing him--does vampirism have a built-in mechanism for making new vampires specifically pursue their closest loved ones in life to keep with them?

But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathan's great knife. I shrieked as I saw it shear through the throat; whilst at the same moment Mr. Morris's bowie knife plunged into the heart. It was like a miracle; but before our very eyes, and almost in the drawing of a breath, the whole body crumble into dust and passed from our sight.

O.o WAIT, WHAT? All that business with hammering in a ginormous wooden stake wasn't actually necessary after all?! Nor the garlic in the mouth? This is THE Big Boss vampire and he disintegrated after being beheaded and stabbed with Quincey Morris's bowie knife?! They could have just knifed these vampires the whole time?!?

And, to our bitter grief, with a smile and in silence, he died, a gallant gentleman.

😭😭😭😭😭 Not Quincey!

[rickchung]

Thomas Flight x “In Priase of Subtle Performance”.

Big, intense performances are the ones that get a lot of the recognition and praise (often for good reason!). But a lot of my favorite moments of acting are tiny, subtle expressions. In this video I highlight the power of some of these subtler moments of performance, and acknowledge that talent is about much more than intensity.

[intellectures]

Im Reich des Un(ter)bewussten

Sechs Jahre nach seinem letzten Roman legt Haruki Murakami ein dunkel leuchtendes Alterswerk vor. Pünktlich zu seinem 75. Geburtstag erscheint heute sein neuer verblüffender Roman »Die Stadt und ihre ungewisse Mauer«. Continue reading Untitled

[dani-r]

When Arthur got to Daniel's door, we had to decide between a ring or a knock. It was challenging. I thought possible alternatives to this conundrum:

On one hand, that ring could have had this outcome, which in my country is called Rin-Raje, and I was told after that in lots of places is known as "Ding Dong Ditching" which has exactly the same meaning. I kept the ¡¿Rin-raje?! ¿En serío? (Ding dong ditching?! are you serious?) bc is fun to be argentinian on main.

But, in another universe, in Silly Comics Universe, this was other option:

hehe...

[knock knock knocking on daniel's door...]

[mermaidenmystic]

"Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Ding-dong. Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell."

from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" illustrated by Arthur Rackham (English artist, 1867-1939)

[thequeereview]

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong curates 'Hollywood Chinese: The First 100 Years' at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong curates ‘Hollywood Chinese: The First 100 Years’ at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

This week sees the start of Hollywood Chinese: The First 100 Years at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. The film series, curated by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong who directed the 2007 feature documentary Hollywood Chinese, runs from November 4th – 27th at the museum’s Ted Mann Theater. The lineup includes screenings and double features, with this month’s regular Oscar…

[sxnbleachedfiles]

HELLOOO its been a while finished s4 of merlin!!!

some thoughts (made while i was watching the series there is so many missing ones bc i forgot)

oooh lord farquaad joins the battle

oh his name is agravaine not lord farquaad

FUCK LORD FARQUAAD I HOPE HE DIES IN A BALL OF FIRE

morgana >:(

ooh dragon

FUCK YOU AGRAVAINE

merlin is the worst assassin ever 💀

EMRYS!!!

hehehe old man emrys

NOOOO DONT BURN GAIUS

help no one likes morgana 💀

LAMIA?? this cant be good i read percy jackson

welp i was right

LANCELOT???? LANCELOT???

oh shit this is the gracelet all over again

the lancelet if i will

oop- goodbye gwen :(((

elyan gets possessed??

ARTHUR DONT MARRY THE PRINCESS!!!! marry merlin

arthur needs an emotional shit with all the emotional constipation

morgana becomes a tyrant: the sequel

GO MERLIN COMMIT MASS MURDER

YES AGRAVAINE THE BITCH IS DEAD

DING DONG THE BITCH IS DEAD (yeah i was losing my braincells a bit)

PLEASE merlin creates a myth to regain arthurs ego

oh no,,, the last happy ending :///

will add more when i remember them :)

HELLL OP HOW ARE U ANYWAY

lord farquaad 😭😭why does it actually fit

rip s1-2 morgana u are beyond salvation now

merlin going on a killing spree is honestly my favorite thing . is it toxic? probably! still the flavor is unmatched

the way they brought lancelot back just to ruin him😭😭im so sorry they will never make me hate u babygirl (also . i knew the betrayal between arthur and gwen was coming okay . it still hurt)

MITHIAN THE ONLY GIRL EVER !! DONT MARRY HER ARTHUR!! (bc she should marry me )

agravaine dying is my favorite part never hated a bitch this much . also merlins “i was born w it”… cold af

merlin creating the myth of the sword in the stone for arthur………. gay

[thenwhatthefukcisthis]

Arthur didn’t miss the militarisation; he chose to omit that information : a word salad

I don’t think there’s a single mistake in movie history that has riled up this many people as arthur darling missing militarisation of Fischer. It’s (beautifully, always) taken as the moment eames shows arthur “it’s okay bb I love you” in all the fics ever (keep doing that please it’s my jam) and over the past 13 years people have been toying different ideas trying to figure out the reason for the best point man in the industry to miss such important detail of the job.

nobody asked, but here’s my two cents on it.

But first, lemme briefly mention the theories I have seen so far in the fandom regarding this

1. Arthur missed it. Just as it’s portrayed in the movie. He’s just human and humans are bound to make mistakes. There’s no mystery/backstory/explanation; he just missed it. cause even tho he strives to be, he isn’t 100% perfect.

(it’s very possible, but where’s the fun in this explanation cmon)

2. Arthur missed it cause he was too burned out by the long two years of babysitting cobb and he was too busy in inception job itself playing mentor to Ariadne while doing his point man duties

(I agree. totally. He needed to be wrapped in a blanket and fed cookies 30 seconds in to the damn movie)

3. Arthur didn’t miss it. He hid the fact intentionally to con the team. He was double crossing cobb/Eames and was actually helping cobol/CIA so he made the job difficult by keeping it a secret

(I’m not overly fond of this explanation, and it’s doesn’t ring true with the canon, but I see the appeal. The whole eames/arthur enemies to lovers extravaganza *chefs kiss*)

4. Arthur didn’t miss anything. Fischer wasn’t militarised. The projections were cobbs, including that giant ass train.

(Im not smart enough to completely understand this explanation but it’s a big brain idea *applause*)

so.. now onto the silly little idea I had.

(this could very well be an already discussed idea, I’m waaaaay late to the party, but I just haven’t come across it so far. Please bear with me if you’ve mentioned/seen someone mention it anywhere)

What if..what if it was arthur himself who militarised Fischer. What if it’s a job he did while running around the world with cobb and he did it from everyone?

in actual, real world, country hopping, funding lawyers, paying for law suits and funding for two kids actually need a truckload of money. While the Miles couple must’ve helped with some of those expenses, there must’ve been a huge amount of balance for cobb to cover, and despite being a runaway dad, cobb must’ve tried his best to make things at home were going smooth at home, taking as much jobs he could get, even the riskier and shadier ones.

however, with his mind falling apart and mal being not so lovely, there must’ve been a moment the efforts just weren’t enough. Cobb wouldn’t have mentioned it or more likely, wouldn’t have even noticed it, cause if the movie is any indication, the tabs must’ve been kept by a certain very meticulous point man.

arthur ,more than anyone else, knew how much cobb wanted to see his children and how hard he was trying to get his name cleared and get back to them. so, letting cobb know that he wasn’t dong enough as a father and a protector was definitely out in arthurs book.

so what if, while pretending for both his and cobbs sake that everything was just fine, arthur started taking up extra work to fill out those gaps? certainly not heavy inception-level work, but the ones which would only require a point man or just an architect. jobs without too much trouble, almost legal and which could be done in between jobs.

and arthur wouldn’t have minded missing a few nights sleep here and there, if it meant the lawyers keeping the feds off cobbs back were paid and happy. he knew his best friend was already beating himself up for mal, both the real life person and the projection and leaving such young kids alone, so even when cobb grumbled about research being completed late, arthur never let cobb know it’s cause he’s also handling another jobs research and add to the staggering weight of guilt his friend carried.

so what if, militarisation of Fisher was one such run-in-the-mill job that was done in super secrecy? Arthur was consulted when fishcer senior fell ill, arthur flew in (stateside), met Robert barely once, did the job and flew back.

when inception came along, arthur was obviously in a nice little pickle and he knew he had to talk cobb out of it (in the movie, we could see arthur being wary of inception from the get go, and while the extreme chance of utter failure could’ve been the reason, this could also be the reason why he didn’t wanna go through with it *cue stabby salad scene*) there was no way arthur could tell this to cobb without hurting him as then he would’ve had to explain all the rest to him as well.

being the point does mean he has to know it all, but it never says the others also have to know as much he does. so arthur keeps it hidden, but takes all the precautions; he makes sure everything is planned well and that everyone is trained in gun combat ( even the first class flight attendant specially the first class flight attendant ), knowing that worse that could happen would be dying in a dream, which for arthur, only meant waking up at that point. arthur was sure they could go thru with it cause as he says in the movie “it’s nothing they haven’t dealt with before”.

I love the level of calmness arthur was exuding when cobb tears him a new one and while it could be simply because arthurs life long experience of dealing with cranky cobb, there was also this hint of resigned “I’ve been expecting this” nature to his demeanour that was too calm, even for arthur. He tries to calm cobb down in the most placating manner cause Arthur must’ve decided that he deserves whatever that’s coming along his way and has been ready to take the blame since day one and tries his damndest to make sure everyone makes it out alive cause he was prepared and was sure. arthur didn’t mind playing the betrayer so that cobb could walk away guilt free out of inception.

however, what arthur never, ever expected was the person he has considered as his closest friend, to betray him and everyone else in the worst possible manner.

[cbssurfer]

WEEKEND GOLD: Surfer/shaper and Waikiki local Arthur “Toots” Anchinges road-testing a 10’4” asymmetrical.

Pic: Kim Dong Hyeon

From Pacific Longboarder Magazine

[whinlatter]

Some Hinny fans think that Ginny was treated poorly by the Weasleys (maybe that she was even the worst treated Weasley by the family), mainly because her brothers didn't want to play Quidditch with her. What's your opinion on this?

Ah man, I really don't agree with that take.

Ginny clearly grows up in a very loving, supportive family, to parents who do their best to do right by all of their children, and with brothers who adore her. The boys not letting her play Quidditch with them sounds like exactly the dumb shit brothers the world over do to their little sisters (children! Behaving unreasonably and in ways that they may later regret! Imagine!) If I had a quid for every time my brother and male cousins wouldn't let me play football or Call of Duty or whatever with them growing up... There's certainly no evidence Molly and Arthur prevented Ginny from playing Quidditch, and, in OotP, when George acknowledges that they used to not let Ginny play with them, he doesn't defend their past actions, and is actively impressed by her breaking into the broomshed and nicking their brooms behind their backs when Hermione reveals it. By the time Ginny makes the Quidditch team, they're all extremely supportive. And anyone who thinks that proud bunch missed one of Ginny's games for the Harpies in the entirety of her professional career is ding dong wrong.

The worst you can say about the Weasleys' collective treatment of Ginny throughout her childhood is that they're extremely over-protective and a bit patronising towards her. That's hardly a crime: it's probably quite understandable given she's the youngest child in a family fighting in a dangerous resistance movement during a war.

(Also if we're damning people for being excessively over-protective towards Ginny...)

[nebulablakemurphy]

Through Love And By Love (Pt. 6)

Summary: Twenty-Two years ago, Draco Malfoy used the imperius curse to slow Voldemort’s rise to power. No good deed goes unpunished. Warning: this series contains mature subject matter surrounding use of the imperius curse, reader discretion advised.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Rosanna and Draco hadn't give much thought to co sleeping, before Leo was born. They thought, Draco in particular, that babies sleep in a crib; and nowhere else. But somehow, night after night, the baby finds her way into their bed. They use the proper spells, to make sure the little girl is safe while they sleep. She likes to be held and rocked against his chest. More over, she likes to use Rosanna as a human pacifier.

Draco wakes with a grin, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The morning sun peeks in, casting rays across the sheets and the infant beside him.

Draco stretches the arm that was under his pillow, over to card Ro's strawberry blonde locks. She looks peaceful, rested; still glowing in her own right.

She cracks open one eye to peek at him. "Creep."

"Can't a man admire his wife?" Draco scoffs.

"I’m not your wife." Rosanna says, smartly.

"Yet," He raises his brows, "you're not my wife, yet."

"We need to start planning, if you want to be married anytime soon." Ro nuzzles against her pillow.

"We could do a small ceremony," Draco traces the slope of her nose with his finger, "just us and a few witnesses."

"Draco Malfoy wants a small wedding?" She shakes her head, in disbelief.

"I want you," his eyes flicker to her plush lips, "the rest is unimportant to me."

"If we wait a year or two she can be our flower girl." Rosanna moves her gaze to Leo, stroking her white blonde hair.

"That's a thought." He chuckles, "although, I'm not sure I can wait."

"Impatient as ever, Mr. Malfoy." She feels Leo stir between them.

"Did Mummy wake you?" Draco asks, softly rolling the babe onto her back.

Leo grasps onto his nose as he leans closer. Her brown eyes barely open as she yawns.

"Don't let Daddy fool you,” Rosanna whispers to her daughter, “it's his fault."

————————————————————————

The little family is sitting in the living room, as rain pours over the windows. Curled up together watching television. A strange muggle contraption, gifted to them by Rosanna's grandmother.

Narcissa and Lucius are off on holiday, giving the young couple space, after their granddaughter's first weeks of life. Archer and Dixie stayed the first fourteen days as well. Everyone got along, both sets of grandparents rallying around their children to make sure they're settled, before finally stepping back.

Draco jumps at the sound of the doorbell, jostling Rosanna.

She giggles, "you're cute."

"I'll give you cute, you cheeky little-"

Ding Dong, the bell sounds again.

"Who the devil is carrying on like that?" He untangled himself from their shared blanket, making for the door on the first floor.

Rosanna stands, waiting for an update on the identity of their visitor.

"It's for you." Draco calls up to the sitting room.

"For me?" Rosanna moves toward the stairs. Leo now awake in the cradle of her arms.

Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, along with Harry and Hermione, stand at the opposite end of the staircase.

"My savior," Fred trots up first, patting her head.

"Mum made tacos," George adds, following his brother.

"Yes, and gifts for baby." Molly smiles, drawing Rosanna in for a hug.

"You didn't have to-"

"Oh pish posh." Molly pulls away.

One by one the Weasleys fill the room.

"How are you, dear?" Arthur asks, clapping Rosanna on the back.

"Good, thanks." Ro is still surprised to see them, and here no less. "What are you all doing here?"

"Your mum sent an owl." Harry explains, they hold each other for a long moment, mindful of the baby in her arms.

"It's so good to see you." Rosanna kisses his cheek as they break apart.

"Not every day one of your best mates has a baby, you should have figured we'd turn up." Ron shrugs, moving to take Harry's place.

Hermione is last, both of them in tears when they finally meet in the middle.

"I know it's hard for you to be here, after the last time..." After Bellatrix.

"Don't worry," Hermione rubs circles against Rosanna's back, "I'm ok. We all are, somehow."

"Where can we set up? We've brought the works." Ginny asks, both hands full.

"Let me show you the dining room." Rosanna dries her eyes, waving them to follow.

"Massive house, not very homey." Ron says, no filter, ever.

"Don't be rude, Ronald." Hermione jerks the hand she's holding.

"Are they-" Rosanna turns to Harry with an arched brow.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" He confirms, following her down the hallway. "Where'd Malfoy run off to?"

"Don't tell me the bloke's too posh for tacos." Ron scoffs.

"You really think I'd procreate with someone who doesn't like tacos?" Rosanna shifts Leo in her arms. "I'll go grab him."

"Oi, the little darling can stay with us." Arthur suggests.

"Yeah don't hog her, no one's had a proper go yet." Ginny agrees, helping set up the massive table. The places are always done to perfection, although Rosanna has never eaten a meal there, until now.

"Who wants to-"

"Right here," Molly smiles, reaching for Leo gently, holding the babe close to her chest. "Look at those cheeks, my goodness."

"And all that hair," Hermione leans over, for a better look.

"Malfoy must be pleased." Harry remarks, with a slight smile.

Ginny elbows him, "she's lovely."

"I'll be right back," Rosanna hesitates near the doorway.

"Go on," Fred whispers, the only one to notice her nervousness, "she's with family."

————————————————————————

Rosanna eventually finds Draco in the library, sat in the high back leather chair, near the window.

"Hey, what happened?" She asks, leaning heavily against the door frame.

Draco doesn't look up from his book. "You wouldn't understand. You’d find common interest with any creature that crosses your path. Me? I'm Draco Malfoy, death eater."

"We all have things we're not proud of." The blonde sighs, pushing wayward hair behind her ears.

"I'm used to having things, objects, possessions, that are mine. You don't belong to me, I don't own you. It's very difficult for me, infuriating even." He turns a page, although he's not paying attention in the least.

"Will you stop pretending to read and talk to me?" Rosanna takes a step forward.

"I'm not pretending." He scoffs, indignantly.

"Ok," she rolls her eyes, crouching down and setting the book aside. "Wanna tell me what's really bothering you?" Rosanna squeezes his knees.

Draco’s icy gaze flickers up to the hair tie, holding the top portion her locks up. He scowls, adjusting the band. "I’d forgotten how unnerving it is to share you."

Rosanna chuckles, "I know that back at school, every time they’d walk into a room you'd walk out. But now, you can set the tone for how things are gonna be moving forward." She leans her elbows against his thighs. "So you can stay up here, if you want; or you can come back down stairs with me and have dinner, talk, maybe you'll even have a good time. Either way, I still love you. Either way when they leave, I'm still here with you.”

Where you go, I go. “Can’t very well say no to tacos."

————————————————————————

When they return downstairs, there are new faces around the table. Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise, all sit looking mildly uncomfortable amongst Rosanna's friends.

"I hope you don't mind," Ginny says, "we heard them at the bell."

Rosanna forces a grin. "The more the merrier."

"What are you doing here?" Draco narrows his eyes at the four.

"Your parents sent an owl." Blaise shrugs.

"My parents?" Draco's brows furrow, why invite them all at the same time, knowing full well they don't get on?

"Yeah." Crabbe nods, eyeing the food that has yet to be served.

"Alright then." Draco takes his seat at the table.

"It'll be fine." Rosanna leans over to whisper, running a hand over his tense back as she sits aside him.

Draco is dressed down, sporting a black v-neck tee, and dark wash jeans. However his hair is still set to perfection, force of habit really.

Rosanna is a bit more comfortable, in an oversized quidditch jersey and leggings.

"She's got your hair." Pansy tells Draco. A tone of annoyance about her, as they are not the first, or only, guests.

"Never fancied babies, myself," Goyle notes, "they cry too much."

"Yeah, why's it being so quiet?" Crabbe tentatively looks toward the infant.

"She doesn’t cry much." Draco sniffs, missing the tiny baby in his arms.

"Is this right?" Harry asks Ginny, cradling Leo in his arms, nervously.

"I don't think you can do it wrong, mate." George chuckles.

"Unless you drop her." Fred chimes in.

"Hurt my daughter, and you're done for, Potter." Draco grimaces.

Rosanna swats the back of his head, some things never change.

"Shut it, Malfoy." Ron barks, "he's doing fine."

"Pansy and I brought this," Blaise extends the parcel to Draco.

"Thanks." Draco turns his nose up at the pair.

Blaise nods. "Now Potter, let's see the little bird." He rises to his feet.

"Have you ever held a baby?" Pansy puts a hand on his arm.

"If Potter can do it, so can I." Blaise reasons, making his way around the table.

They each have their fill of holding Leo, before the infant begins to fuss. Rosanna nursing her, beneath the knitted pink blanket, the Weasleys gifted.

"These tacos-" Crabbe breaks off, mouth stuffed, pointing both hands at his plate, "are fantastic."

"My Molly makes them from scratch." Arthur replies, fondly.

Crabbe gives a thumbs up, "well done."

"You sure it can breathe under there?" Goyle flicks his fork to indicate the blanket.

"She, not it, you imbecile." Draco replies, sneaking a quick glance beneath the fabric. Leo has never been fed beneath a cover, so he has to be sure. "She's breathing just fine."

"So tell me Draco, how's fatherhood treating you?" Arthur asks, taking a swig of his drink.

"I'd like to think I'm doing a decent job. But generally speaking, I'm useless; because I haven't got any-" Draco let's his hands drop to his lap, realizing he's been making the crudest gesture to represent breasts.

"Bazingas." The twins offer in unison.

"Exactly." Draco huffs a laugh.

"No matter, surely you've been changing your fair share of nappies." Mrs. Weasley says. "It's all about team work."

"And what about you sweetheart?" Mr. Weasley inquires. "Good labor?"

"Once I got the potion, it was pretty easy." Ro nods, stealing a second dollop of sour cream.

"Terrifying, really." Ron swallows.

"Hopefully everything rights itself," Harry scratches the back of his neck.

"Shall we have dessert then?" Molly asks, trying to save Ro anymore embarrassment.

"Yes please," Pansy nearly shoots out of her chair at the opportunity to switch gears.

"Cherry pie should do the trick." Mrs. Weasley moves quickly to her feet.

"On second thought-" Pansy averts her eyes.

"Oh bloody hell." Ron looks like he might be sick.

"Literally." The twins again in unison.

————————————————————————

A month later, things have begun to settle. Just in time for Draco to be served with papers to stand trial. He's not alone, Lucius and Narcissa are facing their own legal troubles.

"You'll likely be summoned by the ministry, to testify against me-"

"Against you?" Surely Rosanna's heard him wrong. Attempting to read the parchment over his shoulder.

He can't look at her as he hands the document over.

She skims it, 'use of memory altering charms, providing unauthorized access to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, attempted murder of Albus Dumbledore, abduction by means of the imperius curse and false imprisonment by means of the imperius curse.’

Rosanna clears her throat, taking a seat aside of him on the loveseat. "We have a month before the court proceedings. If we start building your case now-"

"I've done all the things I'm accused of." Draco cuts her off.

"Yes, but I think the reason why is equally important. We were trying to stop Voldemort." She reminds him.

"There's no we Rosanna, I did this!" Draco roars, in frustration. "I took your memories, I made you leave Hogwarts. I held you here. You conceived, and carried our daughter for five months, without choice. I deserve to rot in Azkaban for what I did to you alone.”

"It was my idea.” Her heart shatters. “Everything you did, was for me."

The corner of his mouth twitches, "does it then follow, that my actions are any less deplorable? What I've done to you is unforgivable."

"No, it's not." She takes his hands with conviction. "We were trying to do the right thing. I never meant for you get hurt."

————————————————————————

For simple trials, the officers of the court vote on scene, by a show of hands. This particular case requires more deliberation. Rosanna is asked to leave the room, Draco joins her in the waiting area just outside. He's hunched forward slightly, staring down at his shoes in his perfectly tailored suit.

Rosanna in a similarly colored knee length dress. Without a word she takes a seat on the bench, pulling Draco into her arms. Stroking his hair until she feels him relax into her.

"No matter what happens, I'm with you." She assures him. "I love you, we'll make this right. I'll never stop fighting for you."

"No," he pulls back, holding her face in his hands. "If I get sentenced to Azkaban, you have to let me go. Swear to me." Draco insists, his blue eyes shining with tears.

"I can't."

"You deserve a life. You deserve happiness and someone who can be there for you. You saw what the dementors did to my father, he was never himself, even after he left that place. I don't want you to see me like that. I don't want Leo to see me." He breaks off to collect himself. "You tell her that I love her, everyday. Tell her that I wanted to be there. Tell her that I'm sorry."

"You can tell her yourself." Rosanna replies, fiercely. Before kissing him, attempting, for the first time to push her stream of consciousness into his mind.

It must work, when they break apart, he looks astonished at her feelings for him. He is at peace, in this moment with her.

"If you ever start to lose yourself, remember this, remember me. Remember that I love you, and that I'll never stop." Ro wishes she could offer him more than that.

In the end, the case is dismissed. For reasons of: Draco Malfoy's age at the time of his actions, extenuating circumstance, and the unwillingness of the only surviving victim to press charges.

Draco is still in shock, frozen in the center of the courtroom. He can hear Rosanna's voice at his ear, as she wraps her arms around his neck, with such force he stumbles backwards. His shaky hands find their way to her, fisting in the material at the back of her black dress. Pressing her closer to him, knowing he'll never let go.

Part 7