#I think Snape was indeed jealous

[saintsenara]

Love your ship opinions! They’re so much fun. If you’re still answering them… how do you feel about Severus/Regulus as a ship?

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

here is a little, tiny spoiler for my fic scylla and charybdis… severus and regulus are going to hook up.

it’s not, however, going to be great [and it is… not the main ship of that piece…].

i’ve written before about how much i hate the standard fanon characterisation which has coalesced around regulus - above all the fact that it always seems to make him incredibly sweet, when he is, canonically, someone who was keeping a pro-terrorist moodboard above his bed.

which means that the snegulus i’m writing has, as part of it, a regulus who is not a particularly nice person and whose traits therefore impact the relationship in a way which makes it quite toxic.

above all, as we know from sirius, regulus was not only someone who was a sincere blood-supremacist in his youth, but also someone who believed utterly in the restrictive class structures which govern the wizarding world. he’s obsessed with family and lineage and duty [including the duty to produce more purebloods, which means he’s… conflicted, to say the least, about his attraction to another man], and this is going to be in constant tension with the fact that snape clearly hates the classism baked into wizarding society, which sees doors close in his face for the crime of being poor, having a muggle surname, and having a regional accent.

and, indeed, this tension causes conflict within their shared interest in voldemort. it’s clear in canon that snape’s attraction to the death eaters is because voldemort - himself shut out of the social class he considers his birthright because his name is tom riddle rather than tom gaunt - offers him a way to transcend class barriers and become important simply because of his magical talent. regulus, in contrast, obviously believes that voldemort’s aim is oligarchy - and that his assault on the ministry will end with a pureblood minister of magic being appointed and the old families given the respect he thinks they deserve. he’s not going to understand why voldemort is highly likely to prefer snape - whose personality is strikingly close to his own, and whose background is obviously something voldemort is sympathetic to - and i am wedded to the idea that regulus becomes quite unpleasant once he realises that he is not the dark lord’s favourite death eater just because he’s a black. snape, himself prone to jealous rages, isn't going to lie down and take that...

still… it’s probably a more fulfilling relationship than jegulus.

[suffer-my-displeasure]

Could you help me answer this idiotic (imo) Quora's answer (I can quite find the right words)? Here it is: " 'Snape was talking to Lily about wanting to be in Slytherin' I’ve often wondered whether the key point was that Snape was trying to force/bully Lily into wanting to be in Slytherin. Which if James had even an inkling that she was muggle-raised/born might motivate him to try and disuade her. 'and James (who was talking to Sirius at the time) overheard Snape’s comment about slytherin...

… and made an indirect insult about Slytherin house to Sirius.' That Snape is arrogant and egotistical enough to take insult from a stranger having a different opinion (James clearly states that he wouldn’t what to be in Slytherin, citing that Slytherin’s “aren’t very nice”*) 'Snape then fires back with a direct insult to James about Gryffindor and by extension his and his dad.' Indeed. 'Then they grow to dislike each other more because of: House differences, Snape diving deeper into… … into the dark arts and blood purity (confirming James’s slytherin comment to be right in his mind since Snape is doing everything that he sees is wrong it’s Slytherin), Snape being jealous of James, fighting for Lily’s affection, BOTH of them hexing and cursing the other, Snape stalking Remus.' Both of them (and Sirius) were guilty in their own way, but the key thing for me is that James expressed an opinion and then neutrally asked Snape for his reasons for disagreeing, which was what… … prompted Snape’s deliberate insult… … That says to me that the bulk of the blame for the animosity is on Snape as he is entirely hostile, whereas James is variable. *Which was likely his father’s experience as he (a Gryffindor) was bullied at Hogwarts, and James may have negative experiences himself."

Hello anon, I'd first like to apologize for the late reply! I think seeing the actual Quora answer would help me understand a bit better but let's break it down

Snape was trying to force/bully Lily into Slytherin “You’d better be in Slytherin,” said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little.

Reading this while already having a negative opinion about Snape then sure, it comes off as a little forceful. But in the context of them being best friends and him being a child, I can definitely relate to wanting my friend to be in the same house as me for the next 7 years at a boarding school.

Did Snape bully Lily into wanting to be in Slytherin? Hardly no, he had already decided he wanted to be in Slytherin and understandably wanted his best friend to join. Lily wasn’t easily persuaded anyway and then ended up in different houses. 

Snape was arrogant and egotistical for taking offense when a stranger [James] insulted his choice of house, the animosity between them is all Snape's fault “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”

Describing Snape as arrogant and egotistical in this situation may be a bit over the top. Snape actually says nothing after this, he just snorts when James states that he wants to be in Gryffindor like his dad and then James continues insulting Snape. You have to be a saint to not take the bait, and again, we can't forget Snape is an 11 year old kid.

Snape was minding his own business talking with his friend when James interrupts their conversation and insults Slytherin house.

Snape dives deeper into the dark arts and blood purity, confirming James's opinion on Slytherin being bad Yes Slytherin house wasn't exactly full of savory people in the 70s, ideas about blood purity were allowed to fester without much intervention or control from their head of house. It's hard to say how much Snape was into all that beyond calling Lily a mudblood during a humiliating moment and having rumors about him being knee deep into the dark arts.

Snape probably became somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy, sure

Snape is jealous of James and stalks Remus Snape is jealous that his bully has everything going nicely and smoothly in his life? Hell I would too – and stalking Remus, we're not exactly shown how it escalated into him finding out from Sirius how to access the tree and thus discovering Remus’s secret, but sure, if you get an opportunity to get rid of your bullies then why not grab it. Wrong? maybe, understandable? hell yea

James's father was bullied at Hogwarts so James can relate Wait what?

Already disliking Snape as a character can easily colour your interpretation of the text, he didn’t always behave like an innocent and blameless victim but wasn’t the devil incarnate either. And something something that’s why I love that weirdo, he’s as gray as his unwashed pants.

[cimerran-714]

You know, I'm beginning to think I should keep a list of things Ron-bashers say. I found this in a Reddit comment today (not gonna link it if no one asks me, though. I suppose that would be rude).

When I read HP, i can see the beginnings of an abusive character. Coming from a broken home and witnessing the same behaviour in both my parents, it was glaringly obvious to me that Ron would continue to grow into an abusive, jealous, and petty person.

I saw nothing in the later books that suggested to me that this had changed in anyway. Not only was he rude too and dismissive of Hermione, he not once apologised for the troll incident, for belittling her, or for being rude.

Fast forward to 3rd year and the broom... His behaviour was disgusting, Harry wasn't much better.

6th year he was spiteful, and deliberately threw his relationship with Lavender in Hermiones face, knowing full well that she was not only shifting her affections from Harry due to the ministery but on to him.

Then he steals the chocolates from Harry, and almost dies. Still no apology.

The pattern of behaviour does not improve, it only gets worse and becomes intensified because of the necklace.All the evidence is in the books, that Ron Weasley is an abuser.

Alright.

Let's break it down:

When I read HP, i can see the beginnings of an abusive character.

An abusive character who's Harry Potter's first real friend?

Or do you mean someone who sacrifices himself during a chess match?

Or does Ron inviting Harry to spend summers with him count as abusive?

I don't know, the possibilities are endless. They haven't specified anything here.

Coming from a broken home and witnessing the same behaviour in both my parents, it was glaringly obvious to me that Ron would continue to grow into an abusive, jealous, and petty person.

Well, I'm glad it didn't turn out that Ron's abusive.

I saw nothing in the later books that suggested to me that this had changed in anyway.

It's called selective reading. There's a lot of evidence that Ron's a good person.

Not only was he rude too and dismissive of Hermione, he not once apologised for the troll incident, for belittling her, or for being rude.

Corrected sentence: Although Ron called Hermione a nightmare once (out of earshot, there's nothing that shows he wanted her to overhear it), he helped her with Buckbeak's case, stood up for her against Snape, and wanted Bellatrix to torture him in her place (among others I might be forgetting).

"Dismissive" indeed.

Fast forward to 3rd year and the broom... His behaviour was disgusting..

How, exactly? He agreed with Harry and tried to make up with Hermione after the Firebolt was returned.

Was it nice? No. But it certainly doesn't count as abusive. Anyone would've been pissed. Hermione should've conferred with them first before reporting the broom, IMHO.

But if they're talking about Ron asking her to not let Crookshanks harm Scabbers.... if the OP thinks that makes Ron petty, I'm worried.

Harry wasn't much better.

Why has Harry been dragged into this?

6th year he was spiteful, and deliberately threw his relationship with Lavender in Hermiones face...

Yeah, no one's perfect. Do they expect Ron to be a flawless character? A Gary Stu?

... knowing full well that she was not only shifting her affections from Harry due to the ministery but on to him

Okay, I ship Harmony, so I'd obviously like to think that's true. But we don't have it from Hermione's POV, ergo it's just a theory. Regardless, Ron didn't know any such thing.

Then he steals the chocolates from Harry, and almost dies. Still no apology.

LMAO

They were friends for nearly six years, and Ron took a piece of chocolate. They're bashing him for something so silly as that????

And is it just me, or does it sound as if they wanted him dead?

The pattern of behaviour does not improve, it only gets worse and becomes intensified because of the necklace.

So they admit the necklace played a role in it? I thought Ron-haters believe he'd left of his own volition?

I'm so confused.

All the evidence is in the books, that Ron Weasley is an abuser.

. . .

[limetimo]

jegulus + The Book of Love

for this post

It's taken months and a fake start (6000 words before I realised the idea won't work in that setting smh) but I did it! For you, bae <3

The Book of Love

(Jegulus, modern muggle AU)

James hadn’t been expecting any visitors that afternoon, and the chime of the doorbell caught him lounging around the house in nothing but his underwear. He contemplated getting dressed, but the bathing robe was still in the laundry, and he didn’t feel like putting on real pants. Moreover - he was quite proud of his body. Unless it was the Girl Guides behind his door he didn’t mind giving someone a free show.

It turned out to only be Regulus, anyway.

“Regs! Hey,” James greeted, mildly surprised to see the younger man. They’d gotten closer over the last few years, but they usually only hung out with the rest of the crew; Regulus also never turned up unannounced. He claimed to have manners (the ‘unlike Sirius’ was heavily implied).

“Hello James,” Regulus said, a small, almost nervous smile on his face. “I’m sorry to bother you, just stopped by to give you this,” he held out a small package wrapped in decorative paper.

James took it, wracking his brain for which birthday, anniversary or other significant date he’d missed. “No bother at all, do you want to come in?”

Regulus hesitated.

“I’ve got muffins and Say Yes To The Dress,” James sweetened the deal.

“Okay,” Regulus said, because he could never resist pretty dresses. He didn’t wear them often, his mother’s voice still loud in the back of his head, but he really liked to look.

James let him in with a wide grin on his face. He dropped the gift on the coffee table on his way to the kitchen. “Tea or soda?” he called out.

“Tea please!” Regulus called back from the couch.

“Got it,” James hummed and put the kettle on. “So… the gift? Did I miss my name day or something?”

“No, nothing like that. Just,” a deep breath, “something I wanted you to have.”

Sounds important, James thought, but aloud he only said, “Okay, cool.” He plated four muffins and brought them, along with the tea, over to the living room. “Can I open it now?”

“Yeah, sure.” Regulus didn’t sound too sure about it, all but hiding behind his mug.

Deciding to simply rip off the band-aid, James picked up the neatly wrapped parcel. It was slim and book sized, and indeed, it was a journal.

It was old, perhaps one of the first of Regulus' waste collection of journals he started accumulating all the way back at Hogwarts. Its cover was positively girly, with pink details and horses surrounded by giant butterflies and decorated with animal stickers on top. The cheap padlock that came with the diary had been replaced by a much sturdier one, the key tied to it by a slim hair tie.

James looked up at Regulus, who was flustered and looking away in addition to hiding behind his mug.

“Go ahead,” the man grunted.

With a shrug and growing curiosity James unfastened the lock and opened the diary on the first page.

“Aaawww,” he cooed involuntarily. He forgot how posh Regulus’ handwriting was even at such a young age. Each letter was carefully drawn. James could easily imagine baby-faced Regulus sticking his tongue out in concentration.

James Fleamont Potter

Birthday: March 27

Age: 12

Height:

Likes: Sirius, Bertie’s Beans, Pokemon, football

Dislikes: S. Snape, licorice

Smiling and not sure what to think, he turned the pages, reading more facts and observations about his teenage self, Regulus’ tips to himself how to establish dominance during their interactions. James knew Regulus used to be jealous of his relationship with Sirius - James had been envious of Sirius’ relationship with his brother too, but he never realised the extent of it.

Especially endearing were dated inputs in different pens from older Regulus. Little comments such as ‘That was awful,’ or ‘I can’t believe he did that!’ were peppered around the blocks of text.

Each new school year was marked by a picture of James - sometimes drawn by hand, sometimes a cut out photograph, and his ‘stats’. James burst out laughing at the one where he was fifteen, and Regulus had added a comment of ‘He’s handsome??? Since when? Illegal’ under the photo.

From then on the nature of the notes changed dramatically. The focus on winning Sirius’ attention was gone, replaced by angry fretting at James’ stupid handsome eyes and stupider handsome smile and big hands and stupid impossible hair and stupid unfunny jokes.

“You had a crush on me?” James asked incredulously. He never would have guessed. He’d thought his best mate’s gremlin little brother hated him with all the passion of a teenage emo jock!

“Keep reading,” Regulus hummed, cheeks and ears on fire. He pulled his socked feet up on the couch and was now curled up against the arm rest. It was cute.

James kept reading.

There was a page systematically filled with variations of their names, scribbled in shame and annotated with ‘Lol this is pathetic’ and ‘Potter-Black is the superior combination’. James had to agree with the latter statement. Potter-Black did sound pretty good.

There were fantasies, starting out rather generic and becoming more detailed as Regulus got to know himself better over the years.

‘Holding hands’ transformed into ‘hooked by pinkies’ because ‘sweaty palms are disgusting’.

‘I want him to throw me on the bed’ was annotated with a ‘YES PLEASE’ and a couple more years later another comment was added that said, ‘Bet he could pick me up by the waist like a Disney princess and toss me into a ball pit.’ Which was certainly an interesting fantasy.

He felt his face grow red at the nineteen year old Regulus’ conclusion he liked giving blowjobs, but felt very icky about receiving handjobs, and drew a hard line on penetrative sex. On the other hand, necking and biting was an enthusiastic yes. Kissing was only okay if there was zero saliva transfer.

The inputs got less frequent and less infatuated as Regulus got older. Pictures stopped altogether after James’ second football match in college. There was still at  least one input per year though, tidbits of his personal and professional life accompanied by variations of ‘He got even prettier, HOW?!’

Tucked between the pages at the very end was a printed screenshot of a conversation. Only one text bubble that said, ASK HIM OUT YOU COWARD!!!! It was dated only a few months back.

“You… still have a crush on me?” James asked, just to be hundred percent sure.

Regulus hummed an affirmation. “Look, you don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that… I’m an option,” he shrugged. “I know you don’t see me that way-”

“Yeah, yeah I-” James cut in, running his hand through his hair. “I’ll admit it never occured to me to think about you that way. You’re Sirius’ little brother; I guess it just… didn’t feel right even after I realised I liked blokes too?” he laughed a little nervously. Regulus nodded. He was still flushed, but looked resigned snd accepting. He’d clearly been expecting a similar answer.

“But I,” James said, looking at the younger man and thinking hard of the times they had spent together, “I think I could. Think of you romantically, that is.”

Regulus blinked a couple times. “So… if I asked you out on a date, you’d say yes?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah.” James thought about it for a little while longer. Regulus was a nice looking bloke, he was fit, he could be quite funny when he let himself relax. James pictured them talking over milkshakes and sharing chips, like Regulus imagined they would in his diary. He imagined kissing the high cheekbones and long fingers. He imagined them getting groceries together, and he imagined Regulus hogging the blankets and the bathroom. He imagined yeeting his boyfriend into a ball pit.

“Yeah,” he repeated more decidedly. “I’d say yes.”

“Okay,” Regulus said, a small, shy smile spreading over his face slowly. “Does next Saturday work for you?”

[tatwaffel]

“Remus didn't love Tonks. Tonks forced him into a relationship. He was too old for her!”

Bullshit.

First things first, why do some people think Remus didn't love Tonks? Well, Remus is more of a background character. He doesn't talk about his feelings a lot and lives very withdrawn because of his lycanthropy. But then there's this huge problem of Remus Lupin having no self confidence.

Why's that a problem? Well...

We had this wonderful conversation between the trio and Remus where he finally opened up a bit. He said marrying Tonks was a mistake.

But here we have to pay attention. Mind you, Remus has no self confidence. He thinks himself to be a monster. 'He had never fallen in love before'. He's scared and overwhelmed.

By saying he shouldn't have married Tonks he does not say in the slightest that he doesn't love her. He thinks he's ruined her life, spoiled his unborn son's life, made them outcasts.

I ask you, if you don't care about your wife and your unborn child, if you don't love them, would you care like that?

Remus clearly is full of regret but only for 'ruining' Tonks's life. Remus hates himself for that. And, being an outcast himself for years, he runs away. He panics. He's babbling here, clearly distraught. It seems like he left Tonks and apparated straight here.

So this is the scene that makes Remadora haters doubt. But, with all due of respect, if you really think that in this scene Remus finally admitted that he doesn't love Tonks, then you don't understand Remus's character at all.

Now we have that negative thing sorted, here some more positive evidence why Remus loved Tonks.

I'd like to refer to the article on Pottermore here, saying Remus was 'first amused, then impressed, then seriously smitten' by Tonks. 'He had never fallen in love before'.

And this fits so well!

You have this clumsy, bubbly, jolly auror lass with the pink hair and large boots. She's constantly tripping, always up for mischief, bubbling with life. For Remus, Tonks is the definition of happiness. Happiness - a thing he's missed for many many years. He learns to smile again, watching her trip over the troll leg but still laughing, watching her morph her hair in a all colours of the rainbow or walking in with a beak. Despite there being a war, he can finally smile again. He found happiness in her.

But then, as they naturally go on missions (like it's said on Pottermore), he realizes that Tonks is capable. She's an auror trained by Alastor Moody after all. She could battle three death eaters at once and probably still win without being scarred. But he's not only impressed by that. He's impressed that she doesn't mind him being a werewolf. He's impressed that she still wants to spend time with him. She's so different from most of the wizard community. She's kind of a freak, really, just like him.

But then, feelings come. He finds himself not only smitten, but seriously smitten. Tonks is all he secretly yearns for. Someone who takes him the way he is, someone who makes him smile even in this dark times. He has fallen for the clumsy auror with the vivid hair.

When she told him she loved him 'after a year of warm friendship', his first reaction was a kind of happiness he's never felt before! He did not immediately start rejecting her, as said on Pottermore, that came later. His first reaction was happiness that the woman he loved loved him back.

Then there's the fact that he clearly enjoyed her company. Pottermore states that, despite his belief that he had to reject her, he still was happy every time he got paired on an overnight mission with her. Furthermore, they are together all the time! Usually, whenever Remus is mentioned in OOTP, Tonks is around. Whether as an old lady escorting the kids back to Hogwarts, or as herself at the breakfast table at headquarters. Coincidence? Well, you never saw Hestia or Emmeline that much in Remus's company, did you?

Oh, and there's this cute little fact of Remus being jealous. Before telling him she's fallen for him sometime in summer 1996, Tonks mentions that 'Sirius is still handsome, isn't he? Even after Azkaban.' And Remus's reaction is jealousy. He tells her that he supposes she's fallen for Sirius, then. Would he react like that if he wasn't in love with Tonks? Certainly not.

A chapter Remadora haters must've overlooked when reading the books was the one in DH when Remus came to Shell Cottage and proudly told everyone about their son. He's beaming and bubbling, which is nothing like the withdrawn and melancholic Remus we know. He's incredibly happy. He also speaks of 'Dora' pretty much, in a very affectionate way.

But second thing, Tonks pushed Remus into a relationship. What?

This is something most Remadora haters say. But, if they really knew Remus's character, they'd realize it's utter bullshit.

Yes, Remus is a lonely and sad man a lot of the time. He yearns to have someone who loves him, be near this someone. He doesn't like to be lonely.

However, he went away with the werewolf pack for about a year. Again, Remus Lupin went to life with the werewolf pack of Fenrir Greyback, the one who ruined his life, for an entire bloody year. An attempt to run away from his feelings, make Tonks realize she wouldn't miss him and just fall for another man - but most importantly here: Remus did manage to keep his distance tho the woman who he loved was waiting at a safer place than somewhere in a cave or forest filled with wolves.

Remus does posses a great will power. If he really didn't want to engulf himself in a relationship, a marriage with Tonks, he simply wouldn't!

Remus wouldn't marry a woman he didn't love just because she loved him and he wanted to do her a favor.

Just recently, I read someone saying that Tonks isn't a strong woman. She's clingy for chasing after Remus.

Tonks didn't chase after Remus. If she had, she would've abandoned her auror duties and left for any forest to get Remus back from the pack. But she stayed at Hogwarts doing her duty of protecting the castle.

We all know she suffered from depression after Remus started rejecting her. Her hair is mousy brown, she looks ill and sad. No wonder. In her eyes, the love of her life preferred death over being with her. How is that not heartbreaking? Besides, her cousin second degree and good friend, Sirius, passed away recently. She's pretty much alone now. And there's a war! She's lost Sirius to the veil, has lost or might lose Remus to the wolves, might lose her parents to the death eaters. This is all much to cope with.

But I ask you: doesn't it make Tonks strong that she kept going? She wasn't selfish and chased after Remus, she guarded Hogwarts because that's where the Order needed her. Plus, she showed her emotions. She didn't try to act like all was well. And that is true strength.

Tonks didn't cling to Remus, pushing him to be with her because she wanted to. Tonks could've had any man, actually. But she wanted Remus.

An important detail we have to see here is that Tonks's attitude described as 'clingy' isn't rooted in selfishness.

This is fiction, but Remus was a broken man. And Tonks tried to fix him. Though Remus said and thought the contrary, Tonks knew that he was indeed worthy of love. Tonks is not stupid - she realized that Remus liked her back. So why should she not try to make him realize he could and should be happy?

There's another thing Remadora haters bring up, which is saying that Tonks's patronus didn't change of pure love, but obsession. Tonks's patronus is a wolf like Remus's because she's obsessed with him. This is compared to Snape's relation to Lily, which is also (labeled as) obsession. Doe and doe, wolf and wolf.

Now what if I tell you that doe and doe doesn't work in nature? Wolf and wolf does. Remus being a male ought to have a male wolf patronus, Tonks a female one. Like it was for James and Lily aka stag and doe.

Tonks's patronus changed because she truly loved Remus. As already stated before, she wasn't obsessed with him.

Tonks didn't go into the battle because she was obsessed with Remus either. She joined the Battle of Hogwarts to fight alongside her husband. Tonks did something Tonks always does when it comes to Remus: make sure he's not alone, make sure he's loved, make sure he's protected.

Last thing, the 13 years age gap.

Well? Why exactly does that matter?

In OOTP Tonks was 22, Remus was 35. In the wizarding world, Tonks was a woman of full age. Five years over the magical line of 17 years, actually. Both were adults. Why is that problematic? When Tonks was born, Remus was 13. That even makes him too old to be her father! I see no problem in that age gap, to be honest. I only see a problem in the narrow minded people who keep using it as a reason why Remus and Tonks shouldn't be together.

I do not expect you all to ship Remadora after this and abandon all your other Remus x any character ships you liked before, simply to stop hating on Remadora - stop hating on any other ship. This is fiction, after all.

All of us are drawn to that one ship, canon or not, that fills our heart with indescribable joy and makes us believe in true love.

For me, that is Remus x Tonks.

[insomniacaesthetic]

Hello! This is indeed a very weird question to ask so please don’t answer this if you don’t feel comfortable. Have you ever felt jealous when you see another person who are prettier than you like snape? You’re beautiful, but this just means like they fit in the beauty standards more than you do! I hope that makes sense :’)

I get what you mean anon. I definitely feel that way, but then I remember that Severus would probably find beauty in the little things. I wholeheartedly believe he cares more about personality than looks.

I think that’s why I’ve never enjoyed shallow characters (ie: James potter) who seem to care about how someone looks before how they are.

Severus would love you as long as you clicked when it came to interests and personality.

[thewidowsghost]

The Unknown Muggleborn - Chapter 7

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

3rd Person POV

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts wakes up to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake freezes solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban, (Y/n) watching with a smirk on her face. The few owls that had managed to battle their way though the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

"I do feel so sorry," says Draco Malfoy during a Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home, or those who have to stay at someone else's house because they have no parents," he adds, (Y/n) staring at her perfected potion, her eyes flashing a silver before flickering back to green; Hermione shoots him a hateful glare.

The blond had been staring at Harry and (Y/n) as he had spoke, Crabbe and Goyle chuckling. Harry, who had been measuring powdered spine of lion-fish, ignores him. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing (Y/n) as Seeker next; then he'd realized that nobody had found this funny, because everyone had been so impressed on how well (Y/n) had managed to stay on her broom. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry and (Y/n) about having, either, no proper family, or no family at all.

(Y/n) had just turned in a vile of her potion, Snape looking at it, then nods, scribbling a 100 into his grade-book, nodding to the girl. "Ten points to Gryffindor," he announces to the class, everyone looking up, "for Miss (L/n)'s perfect potion." (Y/n) shoots a smirk at Malfoy, who had been trying to outdo her in Potions from the first class. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and the Spences hiding smiles as steam practically gushes from Malfoy's ears.

When they leave the dungeons at the end of Potions, they find a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound tells them that Hagrid is behind it.

"Hey Hagrid, need any help?" Ron asks, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm alright, thanks, Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Malfoy's cold drawling voice comes from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose — that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron dives at Malfoy just as Snape comes up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!"

Ron lets go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

"Professor, Malfoy was insulting his family," (Y/n) says, taking a step forward towards the Potions Master.

"Five points from Slytherin," Snape tells Malfoy, and Malfoy sends a hateful glare at (Y/n).

The Potions Master walks away and Malfoy turns to (Y/n).

"What's wrong Draco?" (Y/n) asks in false sympathy. "Feel bad being worse than a orphaned Mudblood?" she asks, stepping towards the blond.

"Shut up!" He says. "My father will hear about this (L/n), and then you'll be sorry," he says.

(Y/n) glances around, "Look's like he's not here. See you around, Blondie," (Y/n) says, turning around and walking back towards Hagrid and her friends, all of them were staring at her with wide eyes.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron says, and (Y/n) laughs. "I'll get him," Ron says suddenly, grinding his teeth. "One of these days, I'll get Malfoy -"

"I hate them both, Snape and Malfoy," says Harry.

"Come on, cheer up. It's nearly Christmas," says Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So the six of them follow Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick are busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?"

The hall looks spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hang all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stand around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asks.

"Just one," says Hermione. "And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, (Y/n) we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," says Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who has golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and is trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" says Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," Harry tells him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."

"You what?" Hagrid looks shocked. "Listen here — I've told yeh — drop it.It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"Actually," (Y/n) interjects. "That's what their doing. Snape gave me extra homework over the break." (Y/n) rolls here eyes.

"Looks like being a Potions prodigy might not be such a good thing," Ron says, and (Y/n) rolls her eyes.

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," says Hermione.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry adds. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere — just give us a hint — I know I've read his name somewhere."

"I'm sayin' nothin'," said Hagrid flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," say Ron, and they leave Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurries off to the library.

They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. (Y/n) has the strangest feeling that she had heard or seen that name somewhere in her extra Potions homework. Flamel wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time;he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Hermione takes out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. (Y/n) had taken out her Potions homework.

Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What are you looking for, boy?"

"Nothing," answers Harry.

Madam Pince the librarian brandishes a feather duster at him.

"You'd better get out, then. Go on — out!"

Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, Hermione, and the twins had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them,but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.

Harry waits outside in the corridor to see if the other four had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really need was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.

Five minutes later, Ron, Hermione, and (Y/n) join him, Ron and Hermione shaking their head; they go off to lunch.

"You will keep looking while we're away, won't you?" asks Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," says Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."

(Y/n) lets out a laugh as Hermione continues.

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," says Hermione.

That evening has Hermione and (Y/n) and (Y/n) packing, getting ready to leave the following morning.

(Y/n) flops down on her bed and Marvel jumps up, her paws placed on (Y/n)'s cheeks.

(Y/n) smiles at Hermione as throws a blanket over (Y/n) and her cat.

The next morning, Hermione wakes up (Y/n) and (Y/n) places Marvel in her basket.

(Y/n) places the straps on her guitar and slings it over her back.

The two take their packed trunks downstairs, making sure to say goodbye to Harry and Ron before they leave.

The sisters take the carriages down to the Hogwarts' Express and they board the train.

(Y/n) pulls out her Potions homework and works through it, but gets stuck on the last question. She runs her hands through her sleek (H/c) hair.

Thinking for a while, she finally finally finishes the question, pulls her trunk off the shelf, and puts her homework inside.

"I feel so accomplished," (Y/n) grumbles,  sitting back down and leaning her head against the window.

Marvel jumps out of her travel basket and hops into Hermione's lap.

(Y/n) glances at her guitar resting next to her in her seat before she picks it up and begins to strum.

Hermione smiles as (Y/n) finishes playing and then (Y/n) places the guitar on her back.

"Come on 'Mione," (Y/n) says pulling down her and her sister's trunks and Marvel's carrying basket.

Hermione's smile widens as she grabs her trunk and Marvel jumps onto her shoulder.

Hermione jumps down after (Y/n) and (Y/n)'s arm shoots out to steady Hermione as she stumbles.

Hermione beams at her sister and (Y/n) shakes her head, an amused light in her eyes.

The two walk through the barrier and it seems to be more dreary in the Muggle world then on Platform 9 and 3 Quarters.

"What happened?" (Y/n) murmurs to Hermione as they walk towards their parents.

"Hi Mum! Hi Dad!" Hermione says cheerfully and (Y/n) gives a little wave.

Mr. Granger gives (Y/n) a hug, and (Y/n) returns it warmly.

Mrs. Granger greets her adopted daughter with a kiss to the forehead and a hug.

"Hi Mum, Dad!" (Y/n) greets with a warm smile.

"Hi, girls," Mrs. Grangers says. "Let's get home."

"Best thing I've heard all day," (Y/n) says with a grin.

Mr. Granger laughs and the four - plus Marvel - walk out to the car.

"I dunno," Hermione says. "Your guitar playing skills are pretty great."

"Oh stop," (Y/n) says with a smile.

"I guess we'll have to hear it at home," Mrs. Granger says as Hermione and (Y/n) load their trunks into the boot of the car.

(Y/n) gently sets her guitar on the top of her trunk before Mr. Granger closes the boot.

(Y/n) climbs into the car next to her sister and Marvel jumps down to sit in between the two.

Listening to the radio on the way home, (Y/n) listens closely to the news:

"Legendary weapons developer Howard Stark, as well as his wife, was found dead a few days ago. The death of his parents seemingly haunted Tony Stark after the disappearance and presumed death of his daughter and girlfriend about ten years ago when he was around the age of nineteen."

Poor guy, (Y/n) thinks. Imagine loosing the love of your life, your daughter, and your parents. I guess I kind of know what that's like, though I wasn't old enough to comprehend it at the time.

Hermione glances over at her sister who was staring off into the distance.

As if sensing Hermione's gaze on her, (Y/n) looks back over at her with a warm smile.

Hermione shoots (Y/n) a quizzical look but (Y/n) shakes her head.

Marvel tilts her head and pads forward, thrusting her head under (Y/n)'s chin. (Y/n) smiles and scratches behind the kitten's ears.

(Y/n) strokes the kitten's black-and-white fur, remaining silent as the car ride goes on.

Once the four - plus Marvel - arrive back home, (Y/n) helps Mr. Granger unload the trunks from the back of the car, but not before slinging her guitar over her back.

Word Count: 2194 words

Love,           Kaitlynn ❤😘

[ottogatto]

Here’s my answer

@whataplottwistyouwere

Okay first off, please, please use paragraphs! Especially if you say things in non-specific order!

Snape was a victim in his younger years. That’s canon. When you are bullied for 7 years, sent to a werewolf for possible infection/murder and are sexually assaulted in front of a school, you are a victim. When you are bullied, you are a victim, since bullying is always one-sided.

Now let’s see your first argument: “Snape wouldn’t miss an opportunity to hex James whenever he got the chance.” This is a quote used by Sirius Black, who is one of the bullies. Which puts his argument in doubt, because it may be biased. And guess what? He’s already proven to be biased. He uses typical bully arguments: “that was just a prank” for instance. Most importantly, he uses victim-blaming: “he deserved it”, “he was jealous”, which proves he never put his actions into question. He says “Nah Lily didn’t hate James” when she clearly hated him, as Harry concluded: “She had clearly loathed James”. When she refuses the date James, for Sirius, it’s “bad luck”. When she tells James why he makes her “SICK”, Sirius says “She thinks you might be a little conceited”, which is typical misogynistic behavior: always dismiss the point of what a girl says, she’s not in her right mind, she’s being hysterical. Not only there is extreme insolence but he also re-phrases her arguments so as for James to think that, no, the problem isn’t that he hexes everybody in the corridors just because he can, that he catcalls her by ruffling his hair arrogantly or shows off with a Snitch -- no, the problem is that, “reading between the lines”, he might be a little conceited.

If we had to get back to your initial argument, in how Snape “never missed an opportunity to hex James”, what do you think of this:

Snape was on his feet again, and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he emerged from the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face. “All right, Snivellus?” said James loudly. Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: Dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes, and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Snape’s wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

Is that what you call Snape “never missing an opportunity to hex James”?

“Yeah,” said Harry, “but he just attacked Snape for no good reason, just because — well, just because you said you were bored.” [Harry]

What about another point of view?

“Your father would never attack me unless it was four on one, what would you call him, I wonder?” [Snape]

Not only do we have the damn untampered objective Pensieve to prove Sirius is wrong, but we have the judgement of someone who knows what’s it like to be a victim and the opinion of the target. The point? That argument about how Snape always started an attack is utterly wrong. Honestly I don’t know how he could even do that when dear Marauders were always 4-on-1.

Now another argument would be that Snape retaliated. That’s not rivalry. That’s a victim defending themselves. If a victim, who can’t be more outnumbered and rendered powerless, tried to retaliate, that’s called self-defense. I dare you to tell me otherwise. If you do, I sincerely hope you don’t ever try to judge women who tried to fight off gang rapists in the street. Just because they are many doesn’t make them any righter -- especially when you have the objective evidence of what happened, not denied by the assaulters.

But indeed, Snape uses the words “for enemies”. That is a state of mind adopted by victims who are more or less assaulted. There are “enemies” out there, from whom we have to defend ourselves. That is a testament to the incredibly toxic, destructive atmosphere of Hogwarts generated by the Marauders.

Second: insulting others doesn’t make you less of a victim. That’s common sense. The existence of bully-victim proves that. The fact he called Lily a Mudblood once (yet tried to apologize for it) can’t negate, by the snap of a finger, the evidence of his trauma and childhood abuse. That’s the excuse bullies use the justify their inexcusable behavior against their target. Sorry if you’re not familiar with the mechanisms of bullying.

Now I’m going to ask you a question: if Snape was calling everybody a Mudblood, then why was Lily staying friends with him? Why was prefect Lily staying friends with a purist -- who showed canonically that he tried not to use anti-Muggle slurs, like with Petunia on the train, even though it’s common to despise Muggles publicly? If Lily stayed friends with a purist who insulted Muggle-Borns but cut her friendship the moment she was personally attacked then that’s a self-entitled hypocritical move. Seeing how characters can be biased -- like when Sirius says that Snape was constantly hanging out with Death Eaters when that seems not really possible because of his friendship with Lily and which is contradicted by the fact that he was alone in Snape’s Worst Memory, hiding behind a bush, not defended by any Slytherin -- I’d say that Lily was influenced by her Gryffindor friends, who are already trying to convince Lily to leave Snape behind (which is why she’s trying to defend him).

Your argument that James grew up and matured is also canonically false:

“And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,” said Lupin. “Even Snape?” said Harry. “Well,” said Lupin slowly, “Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James, so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?” “And my mum was okay with that?” “She didn’t know too much about it, to tell you the truth,” said Sirius. “I mean, James didn’t take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?”

What’s to be deduced? That the self-righteous, “I have matured” Marauders kept bullying Snape “because he was a special case” -- or mostly, as Sirius said, because it was fun to bully people. That dear “I have grown up” James manipulated Lily into thinking he stopped violent harassment (even those who insulted her, as she asked), that he kept bullying Snape until the end of Hogwarts while knowing that Lily wouldn’t approve of it.

Sure, Snape shouldn’t have joined the Death Eaters, right? But I wonder if he had much choice? Do you get your throat sliced up when Voldemort and your Slytherin dormmates ask you to join them and you have nobody to defend you if you refuse aka defy Voldemort? When you see that the Light side is composed of pureblood people with political influence who gets away with threatening your life and making school a living hell, students either too coward to defend you or enjoying your torment, professors close their eyes on it, and that Dumbledore himself silenced you after a werewolf attempted murder and protected your very own bullies? That you have been groomed to think that in the end, power is the end of the word, that being pureblood does give you privileges; that Voldemort will give you respect, protection, a job, makes exceptions to admit you as a half-blood and Lily as a Muggle-Born (he asked her to join him), and seems to be winning the war anyway? You know how vulnerable people are targeted by extremists (like our dear terf Rowling)?

But you’re right. Snape is a grey character after all, he has to have done bad things in the first place to justify to concept of deserving redemption. Since Lily left him alone, he seems to have abandoned her side and joined the Death Eaters. You just forget one thing: after 2 years of spying, he changed sides and conviction. He could have just given to Dumbledore the information that he had to protect Lily, her family and the Longbottoms who were also targeted -- but no, despite everything, he stayed loyal until his very death, forbidding people to insult Muggle-Borns when he could.

I don’t see how James also matured for himself.

Voldmort was already trying to kill the Potters since they’ve defied him at least three times. He targeted them specifically, as the Prophecy said. Snape reported the prophecy -- and you seem to be forgetting that he changed sides to protect them and served the Light side, which means he fought against Voldemort from this point onward. Is that convenient for you to forget, huh?

Now about the “killing a baby” thing. If you were on the Light side, and you heard about how the son of a Death Eater would be able to kill Dumbledore/Harry and lead the Death Eaters to victory, would you wash your hands just because you don’t want to kill? Second: the Prophecy didn’t say that “the one born as the 7th month dies” would be a baby. For all we know it could have been an adult born from elderly persons who defied Voldemort thrice, an adult who was born on the end of July that could have come back to defeat him. As Dumbledore said, Snape couldn’t have known it would be Harry or Neville. And again you forget how he protected families, including their children -- including a whole school of children for years. But indeed, in the eventuality that he was ready to let a child die, that makes his changement all the more strong. The key word is that Snape “was” okay to let a child die. Later, when he learns that Dumbledore was okay as well to let Harry die for the greater good (you see, both sides use the same weapons), he is “horrified” and protests how the Headmaster “raised him like a pig for slaughter”. When he learns that a child has been captured by the Basilisk, he grips the chair in distress, who reveals to be first-year Ginny, and gets all the more angry when he sees Lockhart acting like an incompetent clown. Later he says that he tried to save as much people as he can. But isn’t that soothing for our entitled hate against Snape to bring forth the past Snape only?

Of course he didn’t give a fuck to the reason he was fucked up! Of course I wouldn’t give a shit if my bully died! About Voldemort killing a child, I don’t know -- do you have evidence he was okay with that? Because what we know is that he can’t ask Voldemort to spare Harry, that would be suicide. He can’t ask Voldemort to spare James, that would be suicide as well as people know that Snape loathes his guts and joined Voldemort partly because he hated him. That would put his loyalty into question. Why do you think Dumbledore doesn’t seem to have asked Snape to ask Voldemort to spare James as well? It’s already extremely risky and brave to ask Voldemort to spare a Muggle-Born woman who’s defied him thrice and who’s the mother of the Prophecy-Voldemort-slayer.

You know what he did three lines later? Just after he’s being called for it? He asked Dumbledore to save the whole family, and gives himself entirely for the cause: “Anything,” he says. He could have given up. He didn’t.

If people tell you not to forget that Snape had a terrible childhood that’s because there’s a reason? You literally claimed that Snape wasn’t a victim. There’s no higher bullshit.

Snape wasn’t obsessed with Lily -- okay you want proof? Do you have a scene where Snape blackmails, catcalls, stalks Lily like James did to her, because he felt self-entitled to Lily? No. Do you have a scene where Snape asks her to become his lover? No -- for all we know he only wanted to stay her friend, his love could have been platonic -- like Sirius’s love for James, or Albus’ love for Ariana. Do you have one little sentence from the remaining Marauders protesting how Snape tried to stalk Lily? Not even that! So again -- you made it up for your convenience!

Not every single freaking teacher would become Dumbledore’s double agent against Voldemort himself. Not every teacher would be able to endure the pressure and the loneliness it implies. You have Slughorn who canonically was unable to save Ron and almost let him to die because he was incompetent. And even if they did? Those are reasons to respect him. You know how many would have died or suffered dementia from the Carrows’ torture? Harry, Draco, Katie Bell, Hermione, Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore -- Neville, Ginny, Luna -- the whole school in 7th year. Yeah that’s right -- praise the Marauders for fighting for those they love but when Snape saves everybody down to those he despises you take it for granted. Bad faith. What he did for the war deserves a medal.

He bullied Harry and Neville, but does he abuse his power against everybody who’s not in Slytherin? I don’t know -- Gryffindors don’t like him but you don’t know for Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, who -- by the way -- seem to despise Slytherins for being Slytherins, thus rendering them biased as well. What he does is mostly in his right -- he does what McGonagall would do for instance, though he doesn’t punish students with actual death threats. He manages Potions which is a class reputed for being dangerous -- Neville could have melted his face off several times, like in his first class, but Snape tries (and fails) to teach him to be serious in class.

Neville is never said to have witnessed his parents getting tortured, and even if he did? Ah yes, Snape was his Boggarts, well, let’s make that clear:

Snape was Neville‟s Boggart when he should fear Bellatrix. There‟s a simple explanation: he never met Bellatrix, he never met a murderer before. He‟s a 13 year-old boy and we don‟t know how much he‟s heard about Bellatrix. If Boggarts show the deepest, truest fear, why isn‟t everybody‟s Boggart a Death Eater? How do you explain Lupin‟s Boggart wasn‟t Greyback? This is like saying “Harry is scared of Dementors even though his parents were brutally murdered and he was almost killed himself.” Lupin actually feared Harry‟s Boggart would be Voldemort. Also, did you forget that another of Neville‟s fear – and a legitimate one at that, is his own grandmother that lives miles away for months! Actually, his grandmother and his great uncle nearly killed him to force his magic out and see if he wasn‟t a squib. She basically put pressure on him by stating that he must be a great wizard or else his parents would have sacrificed their lives for nothing and he would be a shame to his family. Snape pointing out Neville‟s failures redirects to that fear that his own relatives implemented in him. If you should accuse someone of Neville‟s shy and insecure personality, it should be his relatives most of all! So that means a Boggart doesn‟t always display your ultimate fear but what you fear the most at the instant. It shows a fear that is immediate, known and met quite regularly, or the meaning behind it: like Lupin not fearing the moon in itself but the transformation into a werewolf. What Neville feared at the moment was Snape standing there barely two minutes ago, right after a Potions lesson. Plus notice how Harry and Molly Weasley can‟t banish their Boggarts… It‟s because their fear was deep, it was a true fear. Neville literally ridiculed Snape on the first try of his life! Not only that, he defeated it a second time without breaking a sweat, actually killing off the Boggart. Harry couldn‟t do that for a long time. Another element: the point of the scene here is to put contrast between the Boggarts of the class (including Neville‟s) and Harry‟s Boggart. Sure, Boggarts seem to show people‟s phobias and some gross things, but Harry fears fear himself, according to Lupin, and that is allowed because he‟s been through much more so far: nearly killed by Quirell and a Basilisk, had his parents murdered, mistreated by the Dursleys… It‟s a contrast between childish fears and adult fears. In the writing of the chapter, Snape is put among childish fears. To put it simply: I‟d fear more a mosquito flying inside my ear than cars that could kill me or make me a cripple. I fear more the dark corridor at home when I go to the bathroom than a potential rapist following me in the dark outside. In the end: the fact Neville„s parents were tortured by Bellatrix doesn‟t mean his Boggart is going to be her, because he never met her and she wasn‟t the immediate threat. On the other hand: Snape being Neville‟s Boggart doesn‟t mean he‟s traumatized the boy, because he would have been unable to defeat the Boggart otherwise. So I get it if it‟s wrong that Neville feared his teacher, but you can‟t say he was irredeemably traumatized by a character we know is extra strict. If you studied Neville enough, you‟d see his roommates aren‟t the sweetest toward him too, and that Snape bullying Neville is usually followed by the Slytherins in general.

Does Neville have a panic attack seeing his Boggarts? No, he seems sheepish. Is Neville frozen in fear later? No -- he’s so brave he accompanies Harry in the Ministry in OotP and actively revolts against Snape in 7th year. The fact Neville fears Snape, whom he just met twice before the class, is bad because you shouldn’t fear your teacher, but as we see, he’s not actually pissing himself for it. Quit dramatizing.

About Hermione’s teeth: yes that was mean. Wasn’t like she wasn’t already ashamed of them before that though. Wasn’t like she was scarred for life for his comment. Wasn’t like he could show much empathy when he had the children of Death Eaters behind him to judge his actions and report them to their parents. And really, if you’re going to say that Snape isn’t a (spy) hero for shaming her teeth, then nobody’s a hero in HP, not even Hermione who mutilated Marietta’s face for life gratuitously and without remorse.

And really, about Remus? Okay, here we go.

Snape has kept his promise of not revealing Lupin‟s condition for years, since the Werewolf Prank. After his meltdown in front of the Minister of Magic, Dumbledore tells him: “Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I‟m afraid I don‟t see any point in troubling them further.” Snape, as a teacher, has likely been informed of Hermione‟s possession of a Time-Turner to attend to more classes. Snape is a clever man, so when Dumbledore tells him, despite being out of his mind, isn‟t it likely that he understood what Dumbledore implied? That he understood it was Dumbledore‟s plan to save Black? So of course Snape would be seething even more, but his loyalty to Dumbledore has withstood the test of time – he‟s one of the Headmaster‟s most loyal man. Snape is known for doing things even if he loathes himself (and Dumbledore) for it. After this, Snape leaved fuming toward his dungeons, and Dumbledore departs shortly after; it is also likely they had a discussion. The main idea is: what if Dumbledore had given permission to Snape to reveal Lupin was a Werewolf? Playing on Snape‟s bad reputation, showing that he isn‟t as loyal as we might think to Dumbledore, and that he knows to use stigmatisation weaknesses to punish the DADA professors, antagonizing Harry even further – all of this allows to picture Lupin as a more innocent man that if he had to be fired by Dumbledore for endangering his students multiple times based on personal beliefs that Black couldn‟t be a murderer, disobeying and failing Dumbledore‟s trust since he was a teenager, and forgetting the complicated Wolfsbane Potion that Snape brewed specifically for him every month to allow Lupin a job no one else would offer. Instead of blaming Snape, we see Dumbledore rather disappointed with an ashamed Lupin avoiding the Headmaster‟s eyes, leaving as quick as possible – soon after confessing to Harry. He never told Dumbledore that his friends had been freeing a Werewolf out of the Shack to walk to Hogsmeade – and as they‟ll admit, sometimes, they had been close to being discovered, because guess what, a Werewolf isn‟t completely controllable and can hunt for a human. Putting several lives in danger, great.

Here’s the extract:

“What sort of animal —?” Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. “That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you’d given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?” “A thought that still haunts me,” said Lupin heavily. “And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness. “I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore’s trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others’ safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month’s adventure. And I haven’t changed…” Lupin’s face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. “All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn’t do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I’d betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I’d led others along with me… and Dumbledore’s trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape’s been right about me all along.”

Besides, people will always accuse Snape – but who‟s the guy letting Lupin go out without salary or protection or shelf or anything? Dumbledore.

There. Satisfied? People love Snape as a morally-grey character -- don’t you ever assume we forget what he’s done when you do just that.

[itsyourchoice-hp]

Year 1: The Wrath of Professor Snape

Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Reviews are much appreciated, as I would love to know what you all think. ____________________________________________________________________________________   The student behind Cath had to give her a little prod before she stumbled forward onto the stage. The staff table was behind her, but she had little time to observe before she sat down on the stool and turned to face the entire student body. Professor McGonagall placed a massive pointed Wizard’s Hat on her head. It was so big that it covered her eyes. To Cathryn’s surprise, the hat began to talk to her. It sounded almost as if it were a voice in her head. “Ah, a Malfoy… Well, Slytherin could be an easy choice. You have the ambition, no doubt. But there is a brave Gryffindor heart in there, yes indeed… It seems you could belong in both houses,” it said.  Cathryn wondered if everybody else could her what he was saying to her. She was worried that it was taking a long time. What if the hat couldn’t decided which house to place her in? Cathryn couldn’t imagine the look of disappointment on her Father’s face when she arrived on their doorstep and told her parents that she didn’t belong in any house and therefore couldn’t attend school. “There is much you don’t know about yourself… so it had better be Gryffindor!” the hat exclaimed. Cathryn was stunned as the table to the far right erupted in cheers. The hat was taken off her head, and as she made her way off the stage, she caught a glance of Draco at the Slytherin table, who looked equally as surprised. In fact, most of the Slytherins were staring at her with scowls or mouths open in shock. She fought back tears as she hurried into a seat at the Gryffindor table. What were her parents going to say? Why was she the only person in her family tree who hadn’t been in Slytherin? “Cheer up, now, we aren’t all that bad!” a voice broke Cathryn’s anxious thoughts. She looked up. Sitting across from her were two identical twins, both tall and lanky with red hair and freckles - undoubtedly Weasleys. “Welcome to Gryffindor. I’m Fred,” one said, shaking her hand. “And I’m George,” the other said, taking her other hand at the same time and shaking it. “Hello,” she managed to say. Yet another redhead boy, who looked a couple years older than the twins and displayed a shiny Prefect’s badge on his robes, leaned over and glared at the twins. “Ssh!” he hissed. “That’s our brother Percy,” Fred explained. “He really puts a damper on things, that one…” George added. When Percy gave them another glare, both twins stuck their tongues out at him. As the Sorting continued, Cathryn looked around the table at everyone. She caught eyes with Harry, Ron and Hermione who all smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. She managed to smile back, but felt a bit jealous as the Slytherin table cheered and hissed as two students in a row were sorted into their house. Ginny Weasley joined the Gryffindor table soon after (all the Weasley boys cheered the loudest) and as the last few students took their turns on the stool, Cathryn looked to the staff table. Hagrid sat at one end, beaming around at everyone and drinking from a massive goblet. In the very centre was an old man with a very long white beard and a blue pointed hat. He wore robes of light blue and gold and peered over half-moon glasses. Next to him was an empty seat where Cathryn presumed belonged to Professor McGonagall.  The professor next to the empty seat took her by surprise, for he was staring straight at her, his eyebrows knit together in a look that looked oddly like anger. He had sallow skin, a rather hooked nose and long, black hair that reached to his high-collared black robes. His staring made Cathryn feel quite uncomfortable, but as soon as their eyes met, he looked away and started at his plate for the rest of the Sorting Ceremony. Cathryn leaned over to the twins and whispered, “Who is the professor next to the empty chair?” The twins both grimaced. “Snape,” they replied. She nodded, remembering the conversation that she’d had on the train earlier. It seemed that nobody quite liked Professor Snape. And by the looks of it, he didn’t like anybody either - particularly Cath. Perhaps he was expecting her to be sorted into Slytherin too because Draco was? But why would he be so angry about it? *** Much to Cathryn’s surprise, a great horned owl dropped off a letter from home at the breakfast table the morning after the Sorting Ceremony had taken place. She opened the letter and unfolded the parchment to find a couple of lines in her mother’s handwriting: Cathryn, Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor. I am very proud of you, and I’m sure it will grow to feel like a home to you. We hope you are settling in well at Hogwarts. If you’ve forgetting anything, don’t hesitate to send us an Owl back. Much love, Mum   Cath frowned, picturing her Father with a very disappointed look on her face when the news came that she hadn’t been sorted into Slytherin. He had probably refused to let her mother write “we are very proud of you”. Cath usually wasn’t one to overanalyze, but such a short reply seemed like a good enough cause for worry. Perhaps her parents were going to shun her now. She was probably the disgrace of the family. It would cause her parents so much distress that her Father would lose his job at the Ministry and they would be forced to sell the Malfoy Manor that had been in the family for centuries… they would have to live in a small, dingy flat. They would be the shame of the Malfoy family - even Nana and Grandad would stop visiting. Or maybe, they would just throw her out of the house to begin with and she would have to start panhandling. Would Professor Dumbledore let her work in the school kitchens to earn her keep? The sound of a bell ringing shook Cath from her melodramatic thoughts. She quickly slung her school bag over her shoulder and followed the other Gryffindor First Year students out of the Great hall, deciding that she was probably overreacting to her mother’s letter. Pushing it to the back of her thoughts, she entered the doors of a cold and dark dungeon for her first class - Potions. The students were seated at round tables in groups of four. Cath joined Ginny Weasley, Esmerelda Goldsworth, Jeffrey O’Connor and, and Colin Creevy (a boy who was constantly asking to take Harry’s picture) at a table. Waiting for them at the front was a glowering Professor Snape. The dim lighting of the dungeon gave him a creepy and rather green look. “I expect my students to arrive at class on time. Not one moment early, nor one moment late. I will not tolerate my time being wasted, especially on First Year students who need all the education they can get,” he said sourly in a deep, sneering voice. Cathryn exchanged uncomfortable glances with the students around her table. “In my classroom, I expect students to behave with the utmost respect for the art of Potions. I have no patience for those who arrive late, talk out of turn, fail to complete homework, or do not follow my instruction. Failure to comply will result in punishment and deduction of house points. Am I understood?” he looked around, as if daring someone to speak up. The dungeon was silent. “We will move on to attendance. When I call your name, you will simply raise your hand,” he said, unfolding a roll of parchment that sat on his desk. Cathryn was certainly beginning to see what Harry, Ron and Hermione were saying when they had told her about Professor Snape. She was already beginning to dislike him. Whatever side of him Draco saw, he clearly wasn’t showing it today. “Adams, Christine,” he began. A girl with black, chin length hair raised her hand timidly. “Birch, Lauren… Blackstone, Michael… Creevy, Colin…” Snape continued down the list. His lip practically curled as he said, “Malfoy, Cathryn,” through clenched teeth. Cath raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit angry at his reaction to her name. Professor Snape scanned the classroom until his eyes rested on her, glaring. “Did I not instruct you to raise you hand when I call your name, Miss Malfoy?” he asked. She sighed through her nose and rose her hand in obedience. “Clearly you are already showing a lack of respect for the rules I’ve given you. Five points from Gryffindor,” he said. When he noticed the scowl on her face he added, “You will soon find out that not everything in this life will be simply handed to you, Malfoy.” He continued to take attendance as Cathryn’s face became hot with embarrassment. “He hates me,” she muttered.   “That makes two of us,” said Harry to Cathryn at a table in the Great Hall the following Saturday. The two of them, along with Ron, Hermione and Draco were gathered there, doing homework (or in Harry and Ron’s case, playing Wizard’s Chess). “Maybe he’s getting bored of picking on Harry, so he needs someone new,” Ron suggested, as his Knight took out one of Harry’s pawns. “Or maybe he just can’t favour two Malfoys,” suggested Draco with a sneer. “So he has to pick a favourite. “Draco,” Hermione chided him from behind a stack of books. “Well whatever it is, I’m not about to let him make a fool of me in front of the whole class whenever he pleases,” said Cathryn determinedly, now doodling on her Transfiguration homework. “It’s best not to fight fire with fire when it comes to Snape, like Harry does,” Hermione advised her. “I do not-“ Harry broke off before he could disagree with her. “Well… I suppose I do.” “Have you replied to Mother and Father’s letter yet, Cath?” Draco asked Cathryn, changing the subject. She just shook her head. “Were they pleased that you were sorted into Gryffindor?” Hermione asked. “It’s none of your business, Hermione,” Ron said, looking as if she had just said something offensive. Cathryn laughed as Hermione scowled at him. “They weren’t over the moon about it, that’s for sure. From what I could gather from the four sentences my Mother wrote, they were probably a bit surprised. My Father didn’t write anything at all. Maybe he died of shock.” “I’m sure they’ll get over it,” Draco said, though he didn’t look to sure of it himself. “You can always come stay with my family over the holidays if they disown you,” Ron offered. “They won’t disown you,” Hermione assured her. It was all very kind of them, but Cath couldn’t help but think that they didn’t know the proud, Pureblood Slytherin wizard that was her Father. If he was encouraging Draco not to hang out with his Gryffindor friends, the chances that he would be happy his own daughter was one probably wouldn’t please him. “Cath, you should come to the Quidditch game today,” Harry suggested. “Gryffindor versus Slytherin. You can watch me put your brother to shame.” “Eat dung, Potter,” Draco snapped. “We’ll see who’s going to be put to shame. My father got me a Nimbus 2001 as a present before the start of school.” Quidditch was the most popular Wizarding sport - one that was played in the air on flying broomsticks. Draco was a seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team, and practiced tirelessly every summer in their backyard. From what he had told her, Harry was also a Seeker - in fact, the youngest one in history. Normally First Years weren’t allowed to join the Quidditch team, but Harry’s skill had been discovered and he’d been given special permission from Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore. Her father had mentioned something about special treatment when Draco had explained this, but even being the prideful brat he was, Draco admitted that Harry really was quite good. “You know what I got as a present before the start of school? My brothers old gloves. Gloves! What on earth am I going to need those for?” Ron grumbled bitterly. Draco snickered. “Well, it is quite cold outside, I’m sure they’ll come in handy if they haven’t got too many holes in them.” “Draco,” Hermione and Cathryn scolded in unison. *** As weeks passed, Cathryn began to feel more and more at home at Gryffindor. She got on well with the other girls in her dorm, most evenings were spent with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and their other Gryffindor friends in the Common Room, and (save Potions) her classes were most enjoyable. The brisk autumn air slowly gave way to wind and snow, and the day before it was time for Cathryn and Draco to go home for Christmas break, Hogwarts was covered in thick blankets of sparkling white snow. However, something very strange happened that day. The last class of the day had finished, and Cathryn and Ginny were walking along with their other classmates back to Gryffindor Tower so that they could get ready for dinner A strange sight in the corridor caused them to stop in their tracks and let out a gasp. They were standing in ankle deep water, and a cat belonging to the school caretaker was suspended in midair, appearing to be paralyzed. Ginny gave a sudden sob beside Cathryn and fled back the way they had came from. “Ginny!” Cathryn said. Before she could attempt to follow her, Professor McGonagall arrived. The sight made her eyes widen in shock. She lifted up the hem of her robes. “Your attention please,” she said immediately, loud enough for the group to hear. Other students attempting to go down the corridor were now gathered around, whispering to each other. “Everyone is to return to their Common Rooms immediately. This corridor is officially off limits until further notice, so please do not attempt to reach your Common Rooms this way.” The students began talking amongst themselves again, all conspiring as to what had happened. As Cathryn looked over her shoulder, Professor McGonagall began to perform spells that closed off the corridor. If Ginny had already gone back to the Common Room, Cathryn could not find her. Her reaction to the scene they had just witnessed both confused and concerned Cath, and when the bell rang for dinner, Cathryn quickly went to the Great Hall to find Harry, Ron and Hermione and tell them what had happened. The three of them were already talking about it as she took a seat beside them. “Did you hear?” Ron asked. “It’s so strange…” Hermione said anxiously.  “I was there,” Cath replied. “We were walking out of our last class, and the hallway was filled with water. Then, we saw Mr. Filch’s cat just hanging in midair. She was stiff as a board - she looked like she was paralyzed or something.” “Weird…” Harry said, shaking his head. “By the way… have either of you seen Ginny? She was rather upset when it happened. She ran off before Professor McGonagall could get there, and I didn’t see her in the Common Room when we got back,” Cath said. Ron shrugged. “She’s just sensitive, that’s all. I’m sure she’ll get over it.” However, Ginny never showed up to dinner and when Cathryn returned to her dorm that night, the curtains of her four-poster bed were already pulled shut. Cath lay in bed for a while, mulling the situation over in her head before sleep fell over her.

[just-a-writer23]

Carried away. Fred Weasley imagine.

Journey Elizabeth Avery,  was part of one of the Sacred twenty eight families that had the awful traditional thinking about blood purity. Most of her family members were Slytherins and some even became Death Eaters; following you know who. However,  Journey never believed in the blood purity or hated muggles, muggleborn and halfblood. In fact, she believed in moving on from the past and make amends with them to make a brighter future. Therefore, her family members disliked, dishonored and kicked her out of their house when she was twelve years old. 

At Hogwarts she got sorted into Ravenclaw and made friends with the same ideals that she had. Although she was a Ravenclaw, Journey befriended people from the other houses; including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from Gryffindor. During the first two years of studies at Hogwarts she constantly got pranked and annoyed by the Weasley twins.However, at the end of her second year, he asked her out  and they began dating. They clicked when she learned that his family was pureblood but that didn’t controlled or blinded their hearts and actions. 

Throughout their relationship, she would help the twins come up with clever ideas for pranks and even artifacts that they could create in order to execute them. Fred and Journey would have dates every Saturday and sometimes they would use the secret passages to go on dates during days in which they were not allowed to go out. Surprisingly, they never got caught and Journey like the feeling of being rushed and do things out of impulse; living in the moment. Sometimes Journey would analyze what could happen if they were caught and Fred would somehow convince her to do it anyway.

There was a moment in which they broke up do to the fact that Journey risked her life in her third year without Fred knowing. That took place during the time that Buckbeak was going to be murdered because of the coward Draco Malfoy and his father. Journey had decided to be with the trio during that night; after the murder took place, Ron was taken by a giant dog. All in all, it was discovered that it was Sirius Black and that he was innocent; they one that betrayed his parents was Peter Pettigrew. Lets just say that there was some craziness going that night that really put the golden trio, Journey and Sirius’ lives in danger.

Actually, Journey got hurt badly at some point and then woke up in the hospital wing realizing that Fred was next to her. She told him what had happened and they started arguing about the fact that she didn’t tell him; saying that it was reckless of her to do. During that argument they said hurtful things to one another and eventually both took the decision to break up. That was really hard on both of them since they practically lived under the same roof in both Hogwarts and the burrow. Yes, Molly Weasley heard about what happened to the young girl and took her in deciding to be the family that Journey deserved.

When it came for the reconciliation, well, it took quite a long time for they were both very stubborn. Fred had started “dating” Angelina Johnson, a Gryffindor girl that was in the quidditch team. He would give a show with Angelina when Journey was around which made her hurt but was good at hiding it. This carried on until the yule ball came around, Fred had asked his current girlfriend to it and Journey was asked by one of the Durmstrang student. Oh, things took a turn when she played the same game that he had been playing for months. 

At some point, the Durmstrang student that was dancing with Journey started making certain approaches that she wasn’t comfortable with. During a slow dance he began touching her in areas of her body that she would only allow Fred to touch. Although she kept taking his hands off of those areas, he would not stop making the advances. Journey began getting angry at him but before she could slap him, someone pulled her away and punched the man that was dancing with her. Subsequently, Fred started making out with Journey in front of all the people that were in there; kissing and biting her neck to leave a mark that said “She’s mine”.

Afterwards, they had to run off from Professor Snape who was set on catching them and probably take points from their houses. Thankfully, Fred knew many secret passages which helped in this particular situation. Later that night, well...Journey’s favorite Weasley twin made sure to show her that she only belongs to him. That is how she found out that the whole thing with Angelina was an act that they decided to do in order to get her jealous. Journey teased him saying “That didn’t turn out well for you, did it?” and he rolled his eyes knowing that ignoring him was an act of hers.

Things had gotten better with the couple as they were communicating better as time passed. When it came to studying and living at Hogwarts, well, it became a bloody hell with Umbridge around. Everything changed so drastically and everyone was bloody unhappy with all the rules she had given. Journey had become quite angry at the fact that they didn’t have a proper defense against the dark arts when Voldemort was back. Thankfully, Harry created Dumbledore’s army in order to practice and learn defensive spells that were going to be needed in the near future. 

In order to celebrate the beginning of Dumbledore’s army, the group went to the three broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Hermione decided that it would be a fun idea to play certain muggle games and that was when it was decided to play seven minutes in heaven. Its this muggle game in which two people go to a closet or private area to do whatever they wanted in seven minutes. Fred started whispering in Journey’s ear things that he wanted to do to her during those seven minutes while he was touching some sensitive areas of her body; knowing it would turn her on. On the other hand, while Journey was trying to act normal so nobody would suspect anything, she was also teasing Fred by touching him as well. 

Once it was their turn Fred picked Journey up and took her to a secret room that not many knew of. Needless is to say that they made love and seven minutes were not enough for the young couple. Both of them got carried away as they were just focused on one another as they showed how much they love every single aspect of each other; forgetting to use protection as Molly always told them to do (always use protection). When both of them fell of the cliff at the same time making them scream each other’s names, Fred’s body fell on top of hers. He said as he chuckled “I think that seven minutes will never be enough for us love” after saying that he looked at her with love as she laughed at his comment. 

_____________________________________________________________

Everything was going well for Dumbledore’s army and everybody was thankful to Harry as they were learning so many things from him. Three weeks after they had that celebration for the beginning of the group, they were all learning about the spell to fight dementors “Expecto Patronum”. When Journey was finally able to cast it, it turned out that her Patronus was an Abraxan Winged Horse; a rare patronus which she was amazed by. Ginny’s patronus was a horse and she joked saying “Seems like you and I have more in common than you and Freddie”  and then she asked what memory she used to conjure it. 

Journey laughed at her comment and then said that the memory she chose was when Molly and Arthur took her in by giving her a family and a house that loved her. After the practice had finished they all went to eat in the Great Hall, the twins were talking about their patronus and the memories they used. Fred’s had being the moment in which he reconciled with Journey and he made sure she knew about it. She smiled at him and then he gave her a plate with her favorite foods. As she looked at it, she began to get nauseous by their smells little by little the nausea got worse then she stormed off and ran to the nearest bathroom; Fred was ran after her and helped her with her hair. 

When Journey had finished “puking”, Fred asked her if she was okay and she she nodded saying that the smell was too intense for her to handle. Subsequently, Luna got out of one of the stalls and washed her hands then look at her housemate and friend with concern. “Are you sick again Jo?” she asked to which Journey just nodded and Luna said “Make sure you drink the tea I gave you. It will make you feel better but you should go to madam Pomfrey because you have been sick throughout the whole week”. After saying that she looked at Fred and said “You better get out of the girls bathroom before you get caught” and with that she left. 

Fred and Journey left the bathroom and went to a private area to talk about Jo’s sickness. As they were having this conversation Journey revealed that she had indeed being sick for a whole week. Then proceeded to tell him that she had not gotten her period and that it was late for two weeks. At that point, Fred’s face became pale as a ghost and she said “I think I am pregnant Freddie”. He looked at her while being frozen as he didn’t know what to do or say, however, when her eyes got watery he hugged her saying that everything was going to be okay. 

During the next day, both of them went to the hospital week and explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey who gave them a judgemental look. Then she proceeding in verifying whether or not the fifteen year old was pregnant or not. As they were waiting for the results she said “Both of you should have been more careful. Do you know how hard it is to raise a child as an adult? imagine as teenagers. Also, now that Umbridge is around things will be hard for the two of you but...I will help you the best I can if you are indeed pregnant”.

The results were ready... 

Journey Elizabeth Avery was indeed...pregnant. 

Oh the journey they were about to encounter (Pun intended). 

____________________________________________________________

Tag: @bl597​

[toujourspur13]

What’s so interesting about Sirius Black... apart from the obvious?

Well…I feel obliged to jump into this discussion about Sirius and his family.

I actually think that canon Sirius Black is a good example of multidimensional character with a complex personality (rare thing in hp series)…at least the way JKR wrote him implies some psychological depth (hp is mainly teen literature about friendship - the marauders friendship, the golden trio are all great examples of it - but let’s face it - this literature has a tendency to a very specific narrative - maybe that’s the reason for popular Sirius fanon - I mean…Sirius being part of the Harry’s story is seen through the lens of Harry’s problems). The thing is that usually Sirius is greatly simplified when, in fact, he’s one of the most interesting and complex character in the whole series.

OOTP is the longest hp book - it contains huge amount of text about Sirius’s family incl. RAB who’s indeed very important to the story; and it also contains excessive amount of Walburga Black content. Why excessive? Well because she is not even important to the plot…I mean, at all. Harry (and the whole 7-books journey is Harry’s POV) doesn’t even care about her. But she is important. To Sirius. To the extent that he can barely shut up about her.

And as Sirius’s important to Harry we got all those extra pages about The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

When he’s showing Harry the family tree, he keeps going back to her - she did this and she did that, she removed him, she removed Andromeda, Uncle Alphard…

I saw how he managed to squeeze her in one passage in two different contexts. She’s clearly weighing heavily on his mind. Grunted, he is very angry about everything she did - but can you really disagree that he is super fixated on her.  Frankly speaking, you could’ve expected that he’d be talking so much about James (in Flitwick’s words ‘You’d have thought Black and Potter were brothers’) - but in fact he doesn’t talk a lot about James - it’s his family he seems unable to shut up about. Cross out all his rant and the book becomes significantly shorter. Sirius shows Harry all of his relatives because he wants to.

Remember Araminta Meliflua…his mother’s second cousin?! Is it of any interest to Harry - I doubt it. Harry’s more interested in the Malfoys at the tapestry - but then again Sirius pays little attention to them - and only answers the direct questions. The only one about who he truly doesn’t want to talk in that scene is Bellatrix.

Btw if I remember correctly, he’s even distantly related to the Potters…but for some reason he chose to ignore this. So let’s just say that his thoughts in that scene are clearly one-sided and family-centered.

Even in POA Sirius is mirrored to his mother (we can only understand this after reading the 5th book though) - Sirius slashes the Fat Lady portrait when she refuses him the entry to the Gryffindor Tower - Walburga burns holes in the family tree. Angry management is what they both clearly need. They are so extremely alike that I am almost sure it’s all deliberate and JKR used her as a way to show deeper levels of Sirius’s personality (and not the abusive nature of his childhood).  Loud, high-strung, passionate and very emotional.

Sirius says that he ‘hated the whole lot of them’ and that’s why he ran away and instead of saying something like ‘I got so fed up with my parents lecturing me how I should avoid mudbloods at all the cost/ hate them/ whatever fits the profile of pure-blood maniac’ he says in the next sentence that he was constantly reminded that Regulus was a better son. This is a very jealous remark. It’s pretty obvious that what he wanted is unconditional love - ‘either you take me with all my extreme political views or I’m gone’. The things Sirius says are often contradictory and half-truths and sometimes he just chooses to withdraw certain information at all.

I sometimes come across the strange ideas that JKR tried to parallel Harry’s life with the Dursleys to Sirius’s childhood - I mean, do we really need to go there? You’d be better off trying to parallel him to Big D rather than to Harry. It’s fairly obvious that the odd ideas about Sirius’s abusive childhood are used for the sole purpose of helping him to bond with Remus (in terms of being subjected to physical pain) where he wouldn’t be able to relate to James (you know what popular phenomenon I mean).

Another popular idea - that the 1st year fiasco with Sirius’s Sorting was a big deal. I admit we have very little info about this BUT the fact that he put Gryffindor banners and pictures of  bikini-clad Muggle girls into his room makes me think that the parents were clearly disturbed and disappointed but not to the extent that it became something crucial in their relationship. Clearly Sirius used that as a means to annoy them. To tell you the truth, I find this attempt to go against fanatical blood purists quite feeble and certainly below Sirius Black’s level - it feels more like «hey, mum, look I stick posters of barely-clothed girls on the wall in my room - let’s see what you can do about this».

Btw the interesting thing is that it somehow feels that Sirius’s relationship with his mother (unlike the ones with his father or brother) was the relationship of equals which is odd because she was older and his mother. The explanation for this can be that they were very much alike and she in fact allowed it…maybe (well here I agree that it’s vague and can be just because it’s only the portrait and not the real person but still there is something about this).  And they have this you-hurt-me-now-I’ll-hurt-you-back attitude that implies equality and a certain degree of exclusivity. They both very clearly are not careful with words and actions.

And thus we’ve come to the very touchy subject - her psychotic portrait - her little ‘welcome home’ present. I grant her that - very impressive and colorful vocabulary.

She definitely wanted to be sure that in case Sirius had come home he would never have a moment free from her. Very dramatic.

“Yoooou!” she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man.

“Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!”

“I said — shut — UP!” roared the man, and with a stupendous effort he and Lupin managed to force the curtains closed again.

They match each other really well. (All the drama aside, if we consider this matter seriously - it’s just a portrait of hers and she was insane and alone for years after she lost everyone. But yeah - pretty nasty thing to do - I agree).

Frankly speaking, her personality isn’t really that significant in this case - it’s more important how Sirius feels about her, the way he can’t let her go. He’s relatively okay in the 4th book while on the run in the cave eating rats and arguing about Crouch, Bertha Jorkins, Karkaroff, Snape etc. But his severe depression in the OOTP clearly has everything to do that he’s locked up in ‘the house of a dying person’ (the very last one from their family) - like in the case of his mother’s true personality we’ll never know for sure what’s that about - Sirius’s real feelings are impossible to decipher - he says one thing - does another - feels maybe something completely different - for all I know, it could be about plenty of things one of which is that seeing her awful portrait, sitting in the rooms where they used to be together is a constant reminder that his family is gone and no matter what he feels and wants, he can’t fix anything about that - it’s all lost for good.

Of course, Sirius wouldn’t like to be there - a man of action trapped in his own past without any hope to ever overcome his unresolved issues with his family. The way he’s fixated on his mother is so intense that it’s almost unhealthy but I guess it’s just the visible (most explicit) tip of the iceberg.

Sirius with his hidden and repressed feelings is a great and very interesting character - he’s so much bigger than just James Potter’s best mate with a cool leather jacket. His relationships with his family is what makes him such a deep character (and not those ideas about how fluffy little angle was magically born in the family of twisted and deranged warlocks - well, it’s a little bit naive). After all it’s an internal conflict that sells the character.

Upd 2020

I think it is worth mentioning that since we’re discussing fictional world and fictional characters it only makes sence what the author implied and what the author did not. Yes, there is no absolute truth because it is all not real but the way character is written usually allows us to make certain assumtions about his or her inner world and motivation. So called ‘canonical evidence’ only matter in terms of what the author wanted to show us. I’ve never had any problems with fanon and headcanon - the only thing that bothers me is saying some things were in the main text when it is explicitly implied that there was nothing of that sort.

[limetimo]

@ncoincidences tumblr ate your ask instead of posting it sooo... Months too late, but here is Jegulus/The Book Of Love prompt you gave me for a "Give me a pairing and a title" ask game (I can't find the post, sorry.)

As for warnings, brief mention of sexual fantasies I guess?

The Book Of Love

James hadn’t been expecting any visitors that afternoon, and the chime of the doorbell caught him lounging around the house in nothing but his underwear. He contemplated getting dressed, but the bathing robe was still in the laundry, and he didn’t feel like putting on real pants. Moreover - he was quite proud of his body. Unless it was girl guides behind his door he didn’t mind giving someone a free show.

It turned out to only be Regulus, anyway.

“Regs! Hey,” James greeted, mildly surprised to see the younger man. They’d gotten closer over the last few years, but they usually hung out with the crew; Regulus also never turned up unannounced. He claimed to have manners (the ‘unlike Sirius’ was heavily implied).

“Hello James,” Regulus said, a small, almost nervous smile on his face. “I’m sorry to bother you, just stopped by to give you this,” he held out a small package wrapped in red decorative paper.

James took it, wracking his brain for which birthday, anniversary or other significant date he’d missed. “No bother at all, do you want to come in?”

Regulus hesitated.

“I’ve got muffins and Say Yes To The Dress,” James sweetened the deal.

“Okay,” Regulus said, because he could never resist pretty dresses. He didn’t wear them often, his mother’s voice still loud in the back of his head, but he really liked to look.

James let him in with a wide grin on his face. He dropped the gift on the coffee table on his way to the kitchen. “Tea or soda?” he called out.

“Tea please!” Regulus called back from the couch.

“Got it,” James hummed and put the kettle on. “So… the gift? Did I miss my name day or something?”

“No, nothing like that. Just,” a deep breath, “something I wanted you to have.”

Sounds important, James thought, but aloud he only said, “Okay, cool.” He plated four muffins and brought them, along with the tea, over to the living room. “Can I open it now?”

“Yeah, sure.” Regulus didn’t sound too sure about it, all but hiding behind his mug.

Deciding to simply rip off the band-aid, James picked up the neatly wrapped parcel. It was slim and book sized, and indeed, it was a journal.

It was old, perhaps one of the first of Regulus' waste collection of journals he started accumulating all the way back at Hogwarts. The cover was positively girly, with pink details and horses surrounded by giant butterflies and covered in animal stickers. The cheap padlock that came with the diary had been replaced by a much sturdier one, the key tied to it by a slim hair tie.

James looked up at Regulus, who was flustered and looking away in addition to hiding behind his mug.

“Go ahead,” the man grunted.

With a shrug and growing curiosity James unfastened the lock and opened the diary on the first page.

“Aaawww,” he cooed involuntarily. He had forgotten how posh Regulus’ handwriting had been even at such a young age. Each letter was carefully drawn. James could easily imagine baby-faced Regulus sticking his tongue out in concentration.

James Fleamont Potter Birthday: March 27 Age: 12 Height: Likes: Sirius, Bertie’s Beans, Pokemon, football Dislikes: S. Snape, licorice

Above the fancy childish writing was drawn a fairly decent picture of himself. Smiling and not sure what to think, he turned the pages, reading more facts and observations about his teenage self, as well as Regulus’ tips to himself on how to establish dominance during their interactions. James knew Regulus used to be jealous of his relationship with Sirius - James had been envious of Sirius’ relationship with his brother too, but he had never realised the extent of it.

Especially endearing were dated inputs in different pens from older Regulus. Little comments such as ‘That was awful,’ or ‘I can’t believe he did that!’ were peppered around the blocks of text.

Each new school year was marked by a picture of James - sometimes drawn by hand, sometimes a cut out photograph, and his ‘stats’. James burst out laughing at the one where he was fifteen, and Regulus had added a comment of ‘He’s handsome??? Since when? Illegal’ under the photo.

From then on the nature of the notes changed dramatically. The focus on winning Sirius’ attention was gone, replaced by angry fretting at James’ stupid handsome eyes and even stupider handsome smile and stupid big hands and stupid impossible hair and stupid unfunny jokes.

“You had a crush on me?” James asked incredulously. He never would have guessed. He’d thought his best mate’s gremlin little brother hated him with all the passion of a fourteen years old emo jock!

“Keep reading,” Regulus mumbled, cheeks and ears on fire. He had pulled his socked feet up on the couch and was now curled up against the arm rest. It was cute.

There was a page systematically filled with variations of their names, scribbled with shame and annotated with ‘Lol this is pathetic’ and ‘Potter-Black is the superior combination’. James had to agree with the latter statement. Potter-Black did sound pretty good.

There were fantasies, starting out rather generic and becoming more detailed as Regulus got to know himself better over the years.

‘Holding hands’ transformed into ‘hooked by pinkies’ because ‘sweaty palms are disgusting’.

‘I want him to throw me on the bed’ was annotated with a ‘YES PLEASE’ and a couple more years later another comment was added that said, ‘Bet he could pick me up by the waist like a Disney princess and toss me into a ball pit.’ Which was an interesting image to picture.

He felt his face grow red at the nineteen year old Regulus’ conclusion that he liked giving blowjobs, but felt very icky about receiving handjobs, and drew a hard line on penetrative sex. On the other hand, necking and biting was an enthusiastic yes. Kissing was only okay if there was zero saliva transfer.

The inputs got less frequent and less infatuated as Regulus got older. Pictures stopped altogether after James’ second football match in college. There was still at least one input per year though, tidbits about his personal and professional life accompanied by variations of ‘He got even prettier, HOW?!’

Tucked between the pages at the very end was a printed screenshot of a conversation. Only one text bubble that said, ASK HIM OUT YOU COWARD!!!! It was dated only a few months back.

“You… still have a crush on me?” James asked, just to be hundred percent sure.

Regulus hummed an affirmation. “Look, you don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that… I’m an option,” he shrugged. “I know you don’t see me that way-”

“Yeah, yeah I-” James cut in, running his hand through his hair. “I’ll admit it never occurred to me to think about you that way. You’re Sirius’ little brother; I guess it just… didn’t feel right even after I realised I liked blokes too?” he laughed a little nervously. Regulus nodded. He was still flushed, but looked resigned and accepting. He’d clearly been expecting a similar answer.

“But I,” James said, looking at the younger man and thinking hard of the times they had spent together, “I think I could. Think of you romantically, that is.”

Regulus blinked a couple times. “So… if I asked you out on a date, you’d say yes?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah.” James thought about it for a little while longer.

Regulus was a nice looking bloke, he was fit, he was pretty funny when he let himself relax. James pictured them talking over milkshakes and sharing chips, like Regulus imagined they would in his diary. He imagined kissing the high cheekbones and long fingers. He imagined them getting groceries together, and he imagined Regulus hogging the blankets and the bathroom. He imagined yeeting him into a ball pit.

“Yeah,” he repeated more decidedly. “I’d say yes.”

“Okay,” Regulus said, s small, shy smile spreading over his face slowly. “Does next Saturday work for you?”

[bunny-wk-fanfic]

Secret Santa

Here you are @punballchan​, your Secret Santa Gift! Sorry for it being late, there was a slight mix up and then I ended up getting sick. Though I hope you enjoy it!

He watched diligently, waiting for that one individual to enter the Hall. It wasn’t difficult to ignore the snickers of those closest to him, he was a man on a mission. The fact that his present was accepted on Christmas only confirmed it. She was into him.

“You look like a fool.” a cool voice to his right was easily brushed off, the next comment, however, was not. “Like the little Weasley panting after Potter’s heals.”

“I take offense to that!” dark eyes narrowed on his smirking friend, ignoring the pale brow that rose in response to his of furrowed ones.

The third individual of their little group dropped across from them. “What has your knickers in a twist this morning?” a pale hand rose to flick black hair out of her way as she reached for her morning tea.

“Blaise is waiting for his lady love.” Draco offered with a smirk, returning to his own breakfast. “And looking like a fool for it.”

Pansy paused in sipping her tea, eyes blinking wide for a few moments before her lips curled up in a smirk. “I told you to sign the gift. Your own fault.” she hummed as she finally took a sip of her tea.

About to comment, his entire body stiffened when a particular voice echoed from the Hall’s entrance. His gaze immediately snapped up. There she was, in all her glory. She was walking with a few others from her house, smiling and laughing at something he couldn’t make out from the distance, but it didn’t stop his appreciation of what he saw. His eyes traced the length of her neck, which was exposed due to her hair being pulled up in a messy bun that just, did it for him. Then again, everything about her did it for him. Save for the night he saw her on the arm of some Lion at the Yule Ball.

“Oh, isn’t that the boy that took her to the Yule Ball?” Pansy’s question drew his attention away from his lady, to the direction Pansy was pointing. Said boy that was approaching the group was indeed the one that had taken her to the said Ball. “Confident, that one. Direct too.”

Gritting his teeth, Blaise turned away from the scene to focus on finishing his own breakfast, mind whirring with plans on how to set things right. Sadly, it wasn’t until lunch he could execute said plans, the object of his affections being whisked away from her friends at every chance between classes.

“Looking lovely today, Higurashi.” his lips curled up in a grin with the slow drawl, his arm easily slipping around her waist and securing the petite beauty to his side.

Blue eyes gave a roll, but lips did quirk up into a smile. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Zabini.” and yet, she didn’t push him away or shrug off his arm.

With his arm around her waist, he held her back from entering the Hall, her friends giggling as she waved them off. “Is it flattery if it’s true?” he leaned down a bit, hesitating for a moment at the lack of reaction from her, and pushed the boundaries by kissing just behind her ear.

“Zabini, what are you playing at?” eyes narrowed and brows furrowed just the slightest amount, her eyes were sharp as she watched him. The expression would have been more effective, were she not lightly blushing.

Enjoying the closeness, and delighting in her blush, Blaise smiled down at her. “Accompany me to Hogsmeade.” his gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips when they parted on a surprised inhale.

“That… don’t you know better? You’re supposed to ask the girl, not demand her.” her huff and subtle shifting had him directing her slowly away from the Hall entrance to duck behind into a hidden corner. “Zabini…” her tone was low in warning him to tread carefully.

“Yes, love?” his hands ducked beneath her robe, resting easily atop her hips. He once again pressed a kiss behind her ear, smirking at the slight shiver he got in return.

“Seriously, what are you playing at? Weren’t you with one of those Drumstrang students just the other week?” a small hand finally lifted, gripping at his jumper curiously, rather than pushing him away.

“Networking, simply networking.” he nipped at her skin, hands quick to hold her at the surprised flinch from the sudden action. “Jealous, love?”

She was lightly panting, her warm breath breathing against his own ear in the most delightful way. “What’s there to be jealous of?”

He pulled away, delighting in the mark he managed to leave behind. “I’m hurt.”

It took her a few moments to collect herself, but when she did, she looked utterly devious. “Oh? We’re not in a relationship.” she leaned forward on the tips of her toes, lips daringly close and brushing against his own. The effect would have been pulled off, if her cheeks weren’t flushed a rosy pink. “If someone would quit playing games, who knows what we could be.”

Blaise shuddered when her lips pressed against the corner of his mouth, a daring tongue quick to tease. And just as suddenly as she leaned into him, she was gone, her warmth and inviting scent missing. Eyes fluttering and following after her as she left to return to the Hall. “You play a dangerous game, Kagome.”

Blue eyes flashed from over her shoulder. “Makes the prize worth it.” her gaze trailed along his form, it almost felt physical, before their gazes locked once again. With a wink a kiss blown his way, she sauntered into the Hall and out of his sight.

“Did she turn the tables on you, Blaise Zabini?” Draco’s voice echoed ahead of him, pale eyes shining with mirth as Pansy giggled at his side.

Swallowing, Blaise smirked as he readjusted his uniform, tossing a wink at his two housemates. “I’m marrying that woman.” with his declaration stated, he quickly followed after her, enjoying the idea of the chase she initiated.

“Oh, this is going to be entertaining!” Pansy’s voice followed after him.

It didn’t take him long to find her, sitting with her friends at the Ravenclaw table. Without care, he quickly made his way towards her, grinning when one of her friends eagerly made room for him. “Devious woman,” he sat beside her, slinging an arm once again around her waist and pulled her into his side. “Declaring a challenge but no rules or consequences.”

She attempted to play it cool, keeping her attention on the slice of toast she was buttering. “I thought they would have been obvious. You are a clever one, no?” she huffed when her reach for jam was hindered slightly by his tight hold on her. It didn’t stop her though.

“Thank you for noticing.” he smirked at the mock glare tossed his way, it turned into an honest smile as she returned to her current task. “Any special stipulations I should be aware of?”

“Honestly?” she took a bite of her toast, not noticing how some jam smeared on her cheek.

Blaise, however, did notice. “Yes.”

“Keep from jinxing those that approach me, please. I’m beginning to hear rumors how others think I’m cursed.” she squeaked when he gripped her wrist and ducked down into her space. “Zabini?”

“Their own fault if they aren’t able to figure it out. And besides, all’s fair in love and war.” his tongue was quick to clean up the mess on her cheek, however, it was not as quick to leave her, dragging until it swiped across her lower lip in its entirety. “But, if that’s what you want, I concede.”

“Mr. Zabini.” the low drawl of Snape behind them had Kagome stiffening with a muffled squeak.

“Yes, Professor?” smirking, Blaise turned as he pulled away to look at the tall man.

There was a sigh, and if he had been anyone else, what one could call an eyeroll. “Best return to your own table.” the look he bore down on him before he swept away spoke that the action best done sooner rather than later.

“Guess this is where we part ways, for now.” he was quick to steal a kiss, smirking at the fierce blush that finally stole across her cheeks. “See you in class, love.”

Mission accomplished, Blaise returned to his own table, tossing a wink at Draco and Pansy. “Bold and direct enough for you, Pansy?”

“Bordering on Gryffindor, but yes.” her eyes were practically twinkling with delight. “I was very entertained.”

Rolling his eyes, he took a seat. “Glad you found amusement in that display.”

A hand waved his slight downturn in mood. “You were just as entertained as we were.” her gaze shifted behind him, smirk growing. “From the looks of it, you’ll be having difficulties from here on out.”

Turning around, he smirked as well at the slight glare Kagome was tossing his way, ignoring how her friends were eagerly rushing her sides and most likely demanding questions. Winking at her, a laugh escaped him when she turned away with a huff. “Like I said, I am going to marry that woman.”

“One must think you have a kink for punishment.” Draco finally spoke up, a brow raised in question. Pansy choked on her lunch, turning away to clear her throat.

“We’re Slytherin. It would be odd if we didn’t have at least some kink for punishment.” Blaise sniffed, pulling the plate before him to load it with from the selection of that day’s lunch.

Pansy raised a brow. “Do you mean, in giving or receiving?”

Blaise smirked as he bit down on his toast, brows waggling. Pansy could only snort with a wrinkled nose, shaking her head and deciding it would be best to return to her own lunch instead of engaging any further with Blaise.

-----

Kagome rolled her eyes, amused as Blaise walked next to her. He had kept true to his word, using every attempt to literally woo her. For almost two months now. “Seriously, at this point, I would have thought you’d run out of those smooth lines.”

“You wound me, love.” Blaise ducked down to press a kiss to her cheek, lips curling up when he felt her cheek warm in response. His gaze however caught a flash of silver, cradling a simple jewel that shimmered between blues and greens.

“Are you now resorting to letting your eyes wander where it’s inappropriate?” a quick flick to his brow from her had him pausing, pulling her with him to a little nook. “This again?”

“Just need some confirmation.” caging her with his taller form, he raised a hand and gently raised the simple pendent. “Lovely piece.”

Another roll of her eyes, Kagome gently removed it from his hand. “Jealous? And before you ask, I don’t know who gave it to me. So for all I know, it could have been from my family or even another girl.”

“Why wear it if you don’t know?” his hand rose to toy with the curling ends of her hair, enjoying the silky feel of the raven strands.

She gave a shrug. “Part of me was hoping if the person who gave it to me, saw me wearing it, they would admit it was from them. So far, nothing. And besides, it’s beautiful.”

Leaning in closer, his voice dropped an octave. “And what happens when they come forward?”

“Depends.” Kagome’s gaze dropped to his lips, fascinated by their shape and fullness. She easily recalled all the stories fellows girls shared about his kisses, and she was currently wondering what an actual kiss from him would be like.

“On what?” said lips were now brushing against her own, warm and tingling that left her wanting something more solid.

She whimpered when he pulled away, avoiding her lips when she leaned forward. “On the individual.” she was honestly getting tired of this game of cat and mouse between them, but she wouldn’t give an inch until he finally stopped beating around the bush.

“Then, I do believe I deserve a thanks. Knew it would look lovely on you.” his lips quirking up in a grin, had her eyes flying up to lock with his own.

“It’s from you?” shock filled her, freezing her in place. In all that she knew of Blaise Zabini, not once had he ever given gifts to anyone.

His grin grew, obviously amused at her shock. “Surprised?”

“To put it lightly.” she gave his arm a light slap. “Why wait so long to tell me?”

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her slight pout and still deny her one of his legendary kisses. “I honestly thought it would have been obvious, but then that Gryffindor prat managed to take you to the Yule Ball.”

Rolling her eyes, Kagome was beginning to think this would be a regular response to Blaise, she gripped the lapels of his robe and pulled him down to her. If he was going to continue to beat around the bush by being his normal suave and smooth self, she would never get that kiss. Or a clear answer from him. Whatever words he had about due her sudden move, quickly died into a low moan, his hands dropping from the wall to her; one burying into her hair and the other at the small of her back.

The kiss was what she imagined it would be like, and much more. Blaise was not hurried or rushed, but he was passionate. Warmth seemed to spread from where their lips met and spread down to her toes, which quickly curled when his tongue snaked out to suckle her lower lip between his teeth. Her hands shook when he pulled her closer, but his hands stayed from straying.

Pulling away to catch her breath, she moaned when Blaise nibbled on her lower lip instead, refusing to stop all contact between them. Letting go of his robe, her own hands rose to grip the back of his neck, teasing with the well groomed hair there. At his answering groan, her lips quirked up in a smirk that was quickly dominated by his lips before his tongue swept into her mouth to twine with her own.

There was no way of knowing how long they stood there, snogging of all things, when Blaise finally pulled away. The hand on the small of her back shifted to grip her hip when she whimpered at the end of their kiss. “Easy love, keep that up, and I may not be able to hold myself back.” a thumb soothed her lower lip.

Tongue darting out to her swollen lips, Kagome blinked up at Blaise, satisfaction filling her at his own flushed cheeks at the barely there bite on his own lower lip. “And to think, you could have had this sooner, if you stopped fooling around and just stated your interest.”

Her brows furrowed when he let out a groan, his head falling back as he muttered something under his breath before leaning forward to press his brow against her own. “You sound just like them.”

“Them?” she trailed a hand down his jaw, smirking when he caught her hand and trapped it to his chest, as well as to his slight scowl. She hadn’t thought he was capable of such an expression, as he was usually either calm and collected or was flirting.

“Draco and Pansy.” when she poked him a few times, a sign that she wanted to know more, he let out a sigh. “They’ve both mentioned, plenty enough, that I looked like a fool when it came to you.”

Giggling at his put out expression, she twisted her hand to weave their fingers together. “Should have listened to them. And here I thought you were clever.” she leaned up, pressing a kiss to his chin, halting any argument, so she could direct them back to the Hall. “As for your question, I would love to accompany you to Hogsmeade. Please, nothing to extravagant because it’s Valentine’s though.”

“I’m no lion, love, nothing to fear from me about outlandish declarations of love.” he used their connected hands to pull her back to him, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Sighing, she smiled up at him. “Good. But it wouldn’t hurt to hear it every now and then. And not in that ridiculous way that you do, all suave and smooth.”

“I’m a snake, it’s what we do.” he leaned down just as they approached the Hall’s entrance, whispering into her ear. “That, and ‘Slytherin’ between the sheets.”

Blue eyes blinked widely up at him, cheeks flushing before her nose scrunched up as she slapped his upper arm. “That was horrible!”

“You still loved it.” with a last kiss pressed to her cheek, he finally let go of her hand. “And I’ll meet you here for Hogsmeade around nine.”

“Sounds like a plan.” this time she gave him a parting kiss, his height having her aim at his jaw rather than his cheek, but she smirked when she noticed his shiver. Pulling away, she winked up at him only to turn and make her way to her table. Waving when he called after her that he would escort her to her next class. And she just as easily ignored her fellow housemates that rushed her and demanded answers when she sat down.

So yes, a kiss from Blaise had been what she imagined and more, and she also learned that she might have to take the reins if he attempted to be smooth and flirty. Not that she minded. But she was excited for the upcoming Hogsmeade Valentine’s weekend, for wondering what Blaise had in store for the two of them.

[fandomlit]

gif cred belongs to @peterandygarfield

a/n i’d just like to say that i wholeheartedly accept the fandom adopting andrew garfield as the young remus faceclaim just bc i love this man

imagine remus getting jealous when he sees you hanging out with snape

remus didn't necessarily like severus snape, but didn't hate him as much as james and sirius did. of course, there were multiple reasons as to why he would feel such disliking. but right now, watching snape converse with the girl of his dreams, he seemed to hate ever single aspect of him.

she was laughing delicately at the words he was saying, making snape smirk a bit. they both sat and talked casually in the shade of a tree, most likely discussing current events in the wizarding world.

remus had no right to be upset with her for conversing with her friend, but he couldn't stop his blood from boiling while watching them.

"oi, moony!" james's voice brought remus to his senses. "you ok? you've splattered ink all over your parchment. i don't think slughorn will accept that."

eemus looked down, seeing that his parchment was indeed ruined. he sighed, fixing it with a wave of his wand. "im fine."

james looked to where remus's gaze was previously held. "so you fancy l/n?"

remus sighed. it was no use trying to hide it from his best friends if he couldn't even hide it from himself. "yeah."

sirius scrunched up his nose like he had smelled something foul. "looks like snivellus does too."

remus sighed. "i already know i don't have a chance. she's too..." he struggled to find a word that summed up everything he loved about her.

james sighed. "mate, a friendship between a gryffindor and slytherin is almost unheard of. a romantic relationship between the two would probably rip apart the world by the seams."

remus considered this. your gentle laughter wafted once more into his ears. he sighed.

"that's... logical," he said.

"see!" james grinned. “i know what im talking about!"

remus rolled his eyes. "for the first time."

"hey!"

[isidar-mithrim]

Moving on

It’s the summer after the war, and Minerva invites Neville for tea. He goes there sure she just wants to know how he’s doing, unaware that she’s about to change his life.

{Third installment of the ‘Have a biscuit’ series, but it can be read independently}

[Read the first and second story - ‘Falling down’ and ‘Standing up’ - on tumblr] - [Read ‘Moving on’ on Ao3]

____________________________________

{Have a biscuit}

Moving On

Minerva heard a light knock and raised her eyes to find Neville Longbottom standing at her doorstep.

“Hello?”

“Oh, there you are,” she said with delight, gesturing at the comfy chair before her desk. “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

“You too, professor,” he smiled.

He entered and looked around the circular room, his gaze falling immediately on the sword beneath the glass cage. “You put it back,” he said, taking few steps towards and watching it intently.

“I’d rather say I put it back where it belongs,” she said with fierce. “I can’t express how proud I am that the Sorting Hat offered the Gryffindor’s sword to two of my students.”

He smiled sheepishly, his cheeks blushing, and if she hadn’t knew him so well she would have found hard to believe he was the same boy that had stood up against Voldemort himself.

“Do you know that for a time I was convinced the Sorting Hat did a mistake, sending me to Gryffindor? I think my gran didn’t even believe me, at the beginning.”

“I’m sure she did,” lied Minerva, recalling very well how outraged she’d felt on his behalf when Augusta had wrote her to ask for confirmation.

Longbottom let his gaze wander upon the portraits on the walls, and she took the chance to glance at Dumbledore’s, meeting his piercing blue eyes.

“You haven’t changed much around here, since Snape,” commented Longbottom, taking a sit on the comfy chair before her desk.

“No, I haven’t. I reckon I share his will to keep it as professor Dumbledore had.”

“Oh... I’ve never been here before Snape. I didn’t know he kept it the same.”

“Well, I suppose now I finally understand why. I've always wondered…” She sighed. “I ended up thinking it was his twisted way to remind everyone who had sat here the year before, and why he wasn’t there anymore... I should have seen the truth.”

“You couldn’t know, professor. Even Voldemort himself didn’t see past the ruse.”

She winced, hating how much power that name still held on her.

“I was supposed to know him better. I should have noticed the clues. Do you know that professor Snape sent the Carrows to my classroom, when they were looking for you?”

Longbottom nodded. “Seamus told me. It didn’t make much sense back then, did it? How could have he missed that I didn’t take Transfiguration anymore?”

“It was indeed quite odd,” agreed Minerva, her mind going back to the terrifying day she’d feared for Neville’s life.

“I think he could see the Room of Requirement too, you know? At the beginning I just needed to keep the Carrows and their supporters out, that’s why you could see the door and they couldn’t, but maybe Snape had seen it too, and had lied to protect me.”

Minerva had never thought about it, but now that Longbottom had pointed it out, it seemed indeed quite plausible. “You know, I reckon you might be right.” She took a deep breath. “It would have been a great relief to know he was on our side, during those dark times.”

“Well, better late than never. At least now we know, and we can tell people the truth.”

“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy to clear his name at the eyes of the students, despite Potter declarations. The governors didn’t even accept my request to have his portrait made, so far.”

“We heard, but don’t worry, Dean and Luna’s will look great, Harry will make sure of it.”

Minerva raised her eyebrows. “They’re making a portrait of professor Snape?”

All of a sudden, Longbottom’s eyes widened in horror. “Shit,” he mumbled, and Minerva blinked, so bewildered by his cursing that she didn’t even find the wit to scowl at him.

“Er... I... well, er… I forgot it was supposed to be a surprise… Like a gift for the new term, you know… from the D.A.”

Minerva couldn’t believe her ears. She was touched at the thought several pupils had gathered together to do something for Severus, the same teacher that had mistreated them for years even before last term, the same teacher that once had been Longbottom’s own Boggart.  

“Harry’s gonna kill me…” he mumbled.

The mere idea was so ridiculously amusing that Minerva instantly regained her spirit. “I’d be more worried about Miss Weasley’s Bat-Bogey Hex, if I were you,” she said with mirth, making Longbottom chuckle. “And anyway, I reckon this could remain our little secret. I promise I’ll look extremely surprised when the time will come. Now, shall we have the tea I invited you for?” she asked, waving her wand. In an instant, a plate of pastries appeared on her desk, alongside a steamy kettle, a selection of tea leaves, two cups, milk and sugar.

Minerva poured the water in the cups and made tea for both. It was nice to do something so mundane with a former student.

“I was surprised you made it in time,” she said when they were sipping their tea. “I heard you’ve quite a work load.”

“Yeah, we do. It’s not as crazy as the first weeks anymore, but I had to ask Ron to cover for me – for the record, he reckons Harry will be jealous he didn’t get an invitation as well,” said Longbottom with a grin. “I think Ron plans to tease him endlessly.”

Minerva bit back a smile. “I shall hope Potter is well aware he’s welcome to join me for tea whenever he likes, as all my students.”

“I’d be careful with this kind of offer, professor,” said Longbottom with amusement, picking another pastry. “Harry and Ron might make a habit of it if they’ll realise it’s the perfect excuse to meet their girlfriends anytime they want.”

This time she couldn’t hold back her smile. “I suppose I’ll have to make sure they won’t take too many liberties, then. Another responsibility on my shoulders, as if being Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor isn’t already enough.”

“Wait, does that mean you’ve found a new Transfiguration teacher?” asked Longbottom with curiosity.

“I have. She’s a bright woman, an old student of mine. She’ll need a bit of time to adjust, of course, but I’ll be there to guide her, especially with the N.E.W.T.s classes, maybe even the fifth year. I think she’ll be a good teacher, but, most importantly, I trust her to treat the students well,” she said, looking Longbottom in the eyes while taking a sip of tea.

He nodded. “Yeah, I agree, that’s the most important thing. Have you found a new Defense Against the Dark Art teacher too?”

“Not yet, I’m afraid. Auror Dawlish applied, but –”

“Dawlish?!” exclaimed Longbottom, his eyes wide in bewilderment.

“But, I declined his offer,” she said with a firm tone.

Longbottom relaxed on his chair, the backrest cushion sagging under his weight. “I didn’t know he was considering leaving the Aurors, but I guess he’s not very well-liked in the office at the moment…”

“One reason more not to have him at Hogwarts, then.”

Longbottom nodded again, and she felt oddly pleased by his approval.

The were quiet for a bit, drinking tea and eating pastries, when Longbottom frowned.

“Can’t the new Transfiguration teacher give you a hand with Head of House duty? I mean, I know it’s her first experience and all, but she can learn from you, can’t she?”

He shrugged, and Minerva felt secretly smug because he still didn’t suspect the true reason she’d called him.

“It’d be the perfect solution, if it weren’t for the fact she’s a Ravenclaw. I don’t have any other major teacher from Gryffindor, so far, and I would consider myself very lucky to find a good D.A.D.A. teacher who also happens to be a Gryffindor. I’ve thought about Hagrid, even if his class is optional and doesn’t start before the third year, but to be completely frank I don’t see him becoming full time Head of Gryffindor anytime soon.”

Longbottom looked surprised by her bluntness. “Well... I reckon I can’t really imagine him giving career advice…” he agreed eventually.

“No, I’m afraid not. And speaking of career advice, I was meaning to tell you that these days I found myself thinking about yours more than once.”

“You did?” asked Longbottom, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

She gave him a curt nod. “I realised that unlike Weasley and Potter, you’d never expressed the wish to become an Auror, back then.”

“Oh... I... no, I guess I didn’t…”

“I remembered being surprised by it, because I’d expected you would have want to follow your parents steps – if not on your own will, at least under your grandmother’s pressure.”

She also remembered carefully avoiding the topic, because at the time she had been positive Longbottom would have never been able to get enough O.W.L.s.

Because deep down, she’d believed he’d never made a good Auror.

She’d rarely been so utterly wrong.

“I… It’s not that I didn’t want to…” said Neville, fidgeting with his cup. “It’s just... There was no point to tell you, since I thought I had no chance to become one…”

Minerva didn’t comment on it, but she was ready to bet Augusta had probably belittled him because of his low marks.

She looked at him for a long moment, then she opened her drawer and took out her tartan tin.

“Have a biscuit.”

“A biscuit?” he asked astonished, his gaze falling on the half-empty plate of pastries.

“Just indulge me, Longbottom,” she said sternly, pushing the box closer to him. He smiled sheepishly, taking a Ginger Newt.

“I should have asked you if you’d dreamed of being an Auror. I should have offered you my support, if that was the case, and fought for you as I did for Potter. Maybe you would have never got enough O.W.L.s anyway, but at least you’d have tried.”

Neville was looking at her with wide eyes, a Ginger Newt in his right hand, forgotten.

“And yet... now that you are an Auror I found myself wondering... is it what you really want?”

Longbottom swallowed, then he remembered his half-eaten Ginger Newt and shoved it into his mouth, chewing slowly. “It’s good to feel useful,” he said eventually.

“It is,” she agreed. “But I can’t help asking... are you doing it because it’s what you love, or because you feel you have to?”

She could tell he was taken aback her words even before he spoke.

“I… they… they asked me to help…”

“Of course they did. You’re a talented, trustworthy young man that proved his worth more time than I can count,” she said, gesturing towards the sword. “But I think it’s time for you to choose your own path, no matter what you think you have to do – no matter what you believe would make your grandmother proudest. It’s your life, Neville. You fought bravely for it, and if being an Auror it’s your dream, then go for it. But if you’re doing it for some kind of obligation, well... then I want you to know you have another choice.”

“Another choice?” he asked, frowning.

“I heard professor Sprout was very pleased with your Herbology N.E.W.T, the other day.”

Neville stilled with his cup lifted in midair, and she wondered if he’d guessed her point.

“It must have been hard getting ready for it while working as an Auror.”

“Oh... well, a bit, yeah,” he said with modesty. “But it wasn’t like... like doing proper homework. I love Herbology. I... it helps me not to think about work, when I get home.”

A moment later he seemed to realise the deeper meaning of his own words, and he hastily took another Ginger Newt, his gaze lowered on the wooden desk.

“I reckon Herbology could be your job, if you wanted it,” said Minerva after he’d swallowed.

Longbottom jerked his head up, looking at her with wide eyes.

“I assume you’re aware that professor Sprout hasn’t been in her best shape since the Battle, correct?”

Longbottom nodded, wary.

“Well, you’d be glad to hear that despite that, she expressed her desire to stay at Hogwarts to help. It’s very generous of her, and I can’t say how relieved I am that she doesn’t want to retire all together, especially since the staff will be so heavily renewed, and especially after the year we’ve been through, but I’m afraid she won’t be able to cover all her previous duties. I suggested she might teach the current last three years classes and keep her role as Head of Hufflepuff, while delegating to an assistant the first four years and the majority of the work in the greenhouse. I’m happy to say Pomona was thrilled by the idea, and that she made your name for the job.”

Longbottom was looking at her with even wider eyes, positively stunned. “My name?”

“As I told you, we’re looking for people with expertise, but also trustworthy and able to connect with the students. I reckon you splendidly fit all the criteria.”

“But I... I’m no expert... I... I’ve never taught anybody, I don’t…”

“Professor Sprout will train you, and she believes you’re up to the task. In addition, as we’ve already discussed I really wouldn’t mind a hand with my Head of House duties,” said Minerva, enjoying Longbottom’s bewildered expression. “Not to mention that I can only be Head of Gryffindor temporarily, considering I’m the Headmistress as well. Yes, the governors granted me a derogation, under the circumstances, but I’d reckon you could assist me with the time being, taking over in a couple of years.”

Longbottom looked more incredulous at every word.

“You want me to become Head of Gryffindor?”

Minerva’s lips twitched. She was amazed by the fact that the young man in front of her still couldn’t see how worthy he was, even after all the things he’d been through – all the things he’d proved.

“I can hardly think of someone more fitting than the person who was gifted with Godric Gryffindor’s sword, a person able to lead, inspire and respect the other students.”

Longbottom swallowed, clearly overwhelmed. “I…”

She raised a hand, cutting him off. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now. Take your time to consider it. I can assure you that you would be as useful here as in the Aurors, even if in different ways, but I won’t hold any grudge if you decide to keep your actual job. Just know that it’d mean a lot to the pupils to have you. And in truth, it would be a great honor for me as well.”

***

On September the First, Neville found a present above the desk of his new office, a little parchment laid upon it.

Good luck, it said.

It wasn’t signed, but when Neville unwrapped it and found a tartan tin of Ginger Newt, he immediately knew who’d sent it.

[rosapeachhogwartsmystery]

Jealousy is a Disease (Hogwarts Mystery Imagine - Merula Snyde x Tulip Karasu)

Masterlist  (To view my Masterlist, visit my Tumblr page)

Words: 2.7k

Pairing: Merula Snyde x Tulip Karasu, fem!reader x ??????

Warning: Bad/sad ending, cheating is involved (Sorry, I love Merula x Tulip, but I just had this idea >___>’)

Summary: Tulip knows she has gone too far this time. She knows she won’t be able to fix this anymore. If she just hadn’t been so jealous, she wouldn’t have been in this mess. She knew it was her fault their relationship ended.

_______________________________________________________

It was in the evening. Most of the older students were still in Hogsmeade or on their way back to the castle. The castle was quiet and not many students besides some prefects were walking around the castle. Two students entered an empty corridor. They both seemed to be quiet, until one of the two pinned the other against the wall…

“What were you doing, Karasu?” She hissed at Tulip, looking into her eyes.

Tulip frowned and tried to avoid eye contact with her. Maybe she had actually gone too far this time… She should have been more careful when she planned this. She hadn’t thought about any alternative outcomes.

“Well? Are you going to explain yourself or are you just staying silent?” Merula asked seriously.

Tulip slowly looked into Merula’s eyes, noticing how hurt she looked. Yes, she was certain she had gone too far now. She had never seen Merula giving her that look before. She just wanted to make a point…

“I see… It’s pointless.” Merula muttered when she was about to walk away.

“Wait..!” Tulip said, quickly grabbing Merula’s hand and made sure to look her into her eyes again. Tulip only felt more guilty and then she took a deep breath. “I can explain it to you… Please, don’t walk away now.”

______________________________  

“Wow, the two of you are almost together for a year now.” You told Merula when you were working together with her during Potions class. “Are you going to do anything special for her?”

Merula smirked. “Well, obviously I am going to do something special for her.” She said honestly. “Although, I’m not sure what I could do to make it special.”

“Do you two have a special spot somewhere around the area? Like some place you often go to?” You asked.

“Hm… Well, we did go often to your brother’s study in the castle… Although I don’t think that would be a great spot for a date.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either… It’s pretty dusty in there and the place gives me the chills sometimes.”

“That’s not too weird considering the circumstances…”

“Anyways, is there another place you two enjoy spending time with each other?”

“Well, there is this place nearby the Black Lake…” She said when she was thinking about it.

“That could be romantic.” You smiled, but stopped when Professor Snape walked over to you both.

“Miss Snyde, miss Y/L/N, I would suggest less chatting and more stirring….” He said seriously.

“Sorry Professor.” You both said when you both began focusing on brewing the potion.

  ______________________________

 Tulip was staring at Merula and you when she saw you two entering the Great Hall together… Again. This wasn’t the first time she had seen you two together this week. It was like you two have been together for the entire week. Why were you spending so much time with HER girlfriend? Sure, she knew the two of you were friends, but you two seemed to be spending more and more time together. She even caught you two having some sort of inside joke. Was Merula starting to like you more than her? Would you actually steal her girlfriend away from her?

“What’s with the face, Tulip?” Tonks asked when she looked at Tulip slightly confused.

Tulip quickly looked at Tonks and then she gave her best friend a smile. “It’s nothing…”

“Yeah, right.” Tonks said, not believing a single word she said. “So, are you going to tell me what’s up?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird Y/N and Merula are spending a lot more time together lately?”

“Well, they are friends, aren’t they? I mean, friends sometimes spend a lot of time with each other. Or maybe they are just busy with some Curse-breaker thing together.” Tonks shrugged.

“Don’t you think it’s too much time…?”

“What?”

“Don’t you think they are spending too much time with each other?”

  “Oh… I get it now.” Tonks smirked. “You are jealous.”

Tulip’s face flushed slightly. “What? I’m not jealous. I’m just saying it’s a bit odd to see them spending so much time together.”

“Come on, Tulip. Do you honestly think Y/N would steal your girlfriend away from you? Or do you believe Merula would just do that to you?”

“Well, I don’t know Tonks, would they?” Tulip rolled her eyes a bit.

“Why would Y/N do such a thing. That’s definitely not her style.” Tonks said honestly.

“Didn’t Penny say Y/N had a crush on someone?”

“And you think Y/N would have a crush on Merula…? Come on, Tulip. Isn’t that a bit farfetched? I mean, she never showed any romantic interest in Merula before.”

“Well, she is bisexual.” Tulip said seriously. “That’s what she told us all.”

“Yeah, during a game of Truth or Dare and I was the one who asked her that question, remember?”

“I do remember, but it would technically be possible for Y/N to have a crush on my girlfriend.”

“I still think you are overthinking this. I don’t think Y/N has a crush on Merula.”

“Well, then I’m going to find out who she has a crush on.” Tulip said.

“Oh Merlin…” Tonks muttered to herself.

  ______________________________

 “Do you think this will be enough? Should I think about something else?” Merula asked you when you two were sitting at the Three Broomsticks, discussing the surprise for Tulip once again.

“Well, you bought a nice gift she would definitely like. You figured out what her favourite food is and we found the perfect spot for you two spend time together during your one year anniversary. I doubt things we forgot something.” You said honestly. “All you need to do is to find a way to get her there on the right time.”

“Yeah, the invitation.” She said and then she thought about it. “I suppose I can figure out how to lead her there on my own. Thanks for the help.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m glad I could help you two out. You two deserve to have a fantastic date together, especially for your one year anniversary.” You smiled.

“Well, let’s hope she will think the date will be fantastic as well.” Merula said honestly. “I’m pretty sure she will be happy with the effort I put into planning it, but the execution has to be perfect as well.”

“As long as you have everything, I don’t think a lot of things can go wrong.”

“Let’s hope you are right.”

“Just be confident and everything will be fine.”

“Maybe you could also use some of that confidence to ask your crush out.” Merula smirked.

You blushed and rolled your eyes. “I’m working on it.”

  ______________________________

 “Finally, a Hogsmeade weekend we all spend together!” Tonks said with a grin.

“Yeah it has been a long time since we have last done that.” You said with a smile.

“So, where do we all want to go? Honeydukes? The Three Broomsticks?” Penny asked.

“I was also thinking about Zonko’s Joke Shop.” Tulip said with a grin.

Merula rolled her eyes with a smirk. “I’m not surprised.”

“Well, I’m also looking for some new pranks, so I’m.” Tonks said with a wide grin on her face.

“I’m also not surprised about that.” Penny laughed softly.

“What about Gladrags Wizardwear? I definitely saw some interesting new clothing line in there.” Andre suggested. “Or Spintwitches Sporting Needs?”

“Well, I suppose having a look at the Quidditch supplies might be nice.” Charlie said with a shrug.

“I would like to have a look as well.” You suddenly said.

“Are you finally trying out for the Quidditch team, Y/N?” Andre asked?

“I’m considering it.” You said, giving a small smile.

  “Since we all want to go to different shops, I think it would be a good idea to meet up at the Three Broomsticks in an hour or so.” Penny said honestly. “I mean, we could go to all the shops, but that might take too much time and we definitely should have a Butterbeer together at the Three Broomsticks.”

“That’s a good idea, Penny.” Rowan said with a smile.

“I can’t wait for the Butterbeer. It’s definitely a good thing to do together.” Barnaby said with a smile.

“Yeah, and if we want a big table, we probably should be there somewhat early.” Ben said when he thought about it.

“So, we are going to shops we like and then meet each other at the Three Broomsticks in an hour.” Penny repeated for the group with a smile.

You all nodded and went in small groups to the shops you wanted to go.

   ______________________________

Tulip and Tonks had bought what they wanted from Zonko’s Joke Shop and were walking towards Honeydukes together.

“Well, we definitely can come up with some master plans with these new items.” Tonks said with a grin.

“Oh, yes, we will come up with brilliant pranks together.” Tulip said, smirking slightly when she looked at the items she had bought. She had been thinking about pranking someone in particular….

“So, who do you think we should prank?” Tonks asked. “It could be fun to prank these boys who told Filch about our prank before we could even finish it. What do you think?”

Tulip noticed Andre, Charlie, Merula and you were entering Honeydukes from afar. She could see you talking with Merula again and it definitely frustrated her.

“Tulip…?” Tonks called, wondering what Tulip was thinking about.

“Huh? What?” Tulip said when she looked at Tonks.

“Never mind, we can talk about it later.”

They both made their way to Honeydukes and entered the shop as well.

 “It seems like we are not the only ones of our group here.” Tonks said with a smile when she saw Andre, Charlie, Merula and you as well.

“Yeah, it seems like that indeed.” Tulip said and she quickly began looking at you and Merula.

You were blushing when Merula whispered something to you and you shook your head a bit. Merula just smirked and whispered something else into your ear again, looking even more amused. From the angle Tulip was looking at you two it seemed like Merula was giving you kiss.

Tulip didn’t like this one bit. Maybe you weren’t the one who was trying to Merula from her. Maybe it was Merula who was trying to charm you instead. Whatever was the case, she was going to get back at you both.

“Hey Tonks, can you come here for a moment.” Tulip asked seriously.

“Sure…?” Tonks said, looking a bit confused. “What’s up?”

“I need you to play along with me for a moment, okay?” Tulip said, giving a mischievous smile to Tonks. A mischievous smile Tonks didn’t like…

“Play along with what…? You are scaring me a bit, Tulip…”

“You worry too much, come on.”

  You looked around the shop for a moment and noticed Tulip and Tonks standing somewhere. You looked a bit confused when you noticed the uncomfortable look on Tonks face and this mischievous smile on Tulip’s face. “Uhm… What’s going on with Tonks and Tulip…?”

Merula blinked when you said that and then she looked into the same direction as you were. “Something is going on…”

  “Just play along, okay?” Tulip said when you both were looking at them. She cupped Tonks face and then she placed a kiss on Tonks’ lips.

Tonks immediately jumped back. “What the bloody hell, Tulip?!”

“Shh… Calm down Tonks… It’s just to make- “

  “What the hell are you doing Tulip?!” Merula stormed over to Tulip and you slowly followed, trying to keep Merula calm.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Snyde.” Tulip muttered.

“Do you think I am stupid?! You kissed Tonks!” Merula yelled and then she turned to Tonks. “And you, why did you do nothing to stop her?!”

Tonks held her hands up in defence. “How was I supposed to know she was going to kiss me? I didn’t know what she was going to do.”

“You could have done something to stop her! You knew something weird was up! I could see it on your face!” Merula yelled.

“Merula, calm down a little. I’m sure there must be a good explanation for this…” You said calmly.

“Oh, shut up, Y/N Y/L/N…!” Tulip yelled at you. “You are also a part of this.”

You looked surprised when Tulip said that. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t act all innocent. You and Snyde both know what is going on!”

  Charlie and Andre decided to walk over to the four of you and they both looked really confused.

“What’s going on here?” Charlie asked.

“Why are you fighting with each other..?” Andre asked.

“Tulip kissed Tonks!” Merula yelled when she looked at the two boys. “And she is blaming Y/N and I for it.”

“Maybe we should move this outside the shop…” Andre said when he noticed people were giving them weird looks.

Tulip and Merula agreed and then all of you walked out of Honeydukes.

You and Tonks looked even more confused, both being a part of their fight. Tonks had some idea why this happened, but you definitely had no clue about it.

  Once you were outside, the fight between Merula and Tulip continued. They were both yelling at each other. Merula occasionally yelled at Tonks and Tulip also occasionally yelled at you.

“Why don’t you explain what is going on? I mean, Tulip wouldn’t just kiss Tonks without reason. Maybe she was dared to do so.” Andre said, trying to find some explanation why Tulip kissed Tonks.

“Simple, because Snyde over there decided to kiss Y/N Y/L/N over there.”

“What?” You looked even more confused.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! I didn’t kiss Y/N! Why would I kiss Y/N when I am dating you?!” Merula yelled.

“I don’t know, you tell me!” Tulip glared at Merula.

“I didn’t see Merula kissing Y/N either.” Charlie said honestly.

“They weren’t that far behind us; we would have seemed it if she did.” Andre said, raising an eyebrow.

“Then why was Y/N Y/L/N blushing so much then? Did she confess her love to you?” Tulip was still glaring.

“Why the bloody hell would Y/N confess to me when she fancies Charlie!?” Merula shouted.

You turned red, looking pretty much embarrassed because Merula had revealed who your crush was.

  Charlie turned slightly red as well and then he turned to you. “You fancy me…?”

Merula paled a little when she realised she had revealed your secret in front of your crush. “Oh shit… Y/N…”

You ran away in embarrassment, not wanting to deal with this now.

“Y/N!” Charlie called after you.

“What are you waiting for? Follow her!” Andre said when he slightly pushed Charlie into the direction you went to.

Charlie nodded and then he ran after you, once again calling your name.

  Things between Tulip and Merula were quiet again. Tonks and Andre looked at each other and then they shook their heads.

“I think I have had enough for today…” Tonks muttered. “The next time, don’t use me as a way to get back at your girlfriend…”

“I suppose I should tell the others we won’t be able to drink Butterbeer with the whole group.” Andre said with a sigh.

Both Tonks and Andre walked off, leaving Tulip and Merula alone.

   ______________________________

 “Bloody hell, Tulip….” Merula muttered when she heard Tulip explain everything to her. “If you had a problem with it, why didn’t you say anything...?”

“I don’t know… I was afraid…” Tulip said honestly, looking at the floor again. “I was afraid to hear you would rather be with Y/N than with me…”

“No… Y/N was just helping me plan something for you…”

“You… you were planning something for me? But why? It’s not my birthday…” Tulip looked confused.

“No, but our one year anniversary is coming up…”

Tulip’s eyes widened and then she paled. “Our anniversary…”

“Yes, our anniversary. We almost are one year together… At least… I’m not sure if we-”

“I would want to stay together with you… But I understand if we have to take break after what I have just done…” Tulip said honestly, looking down a bit more.

Merula sighed and then she held Tulip’s hand. “It’s not that I don’t want to continue our relationship, but… I don’t know how to feel about what just happened… So perhaps a short break might be in order… Just to figure out what to do next.”

“I’m sorry… I wish I hadn’t been so jealous…” Tulip whispered and then she gently pulled her hand away from Merula.