#Peter was said to have been bullied a lot before he became friends with James and Sirius so I think he helped with secret passages

[petals2fish]

I saw a post about Peter drawing the marauders map and I just have to emphasize that James is canonically the artist…

“Then back at James, who was now doodling on a bit of scrap parchment. He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters 'L.E.'.” Order of The Phoenix, Snape’s Worst Memory

It’s hard for me as a reader and author to imagine that we would have been given that tidbit about the drawing of a snitch and the sketching out a name, if it wasn’t to imply he was the artist of the group that drew the marauders map.

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Remus knew that if he didn't meet Sirius when they were kids, he would have never been part of a group like The Marauders. They were so cool. They were so fun. They were the group of friends anyone wished they had.

Remus knew he was an intruder. Sometimes he felt out of place. The three boys were rich, they had everything. They never experienced what Remus did. They never lacked of anything.

James, Sirius and Peter had been friends for years. They had inside jokes Remus didn't understand. They had shared adventures Remus hadn't.

James and Peter only liked Remus because Sirius said so. And Sirius only liked Remus because of what they went through as kids. A nostalgic feeling more like.

Remus would have never been a considered in other circumstances. He wasn't actually their friend. He wasn't actually a Marauder. He was so different and uncool.

What Remus didn't know was that he balanced the group like no one else had. He was a complement for the Marauders. He made the boys better, the group better.

Remus became a confident for James. He listened to whatever rant he had. James loved to talk a lot and Remus was a good listener. He casually became friends with Lily, the girl of his dreams. And Remus was their matchmaker. He helped him get to know her better and he taught him how to behave around her. Remus listened with a smile how he talked and talked about her nonstop.

James also understood through Remus, the consequences of his actions. Remus had been a victim of bullying and mockery before. And James realized he didn't want to be that asshole anymore. Instead he swore to protect Remus from everyone who treated him differently. James considered Remus a good friend.

Remus became like a brother for Peter. Before Remus, The Marauders' dynamic was pretty much centered around James and Sirius. Sometimes they didn't take Peter seriously. Of course they loved him and worried about him, but their personalities were so chaotic that sometimes they didn't realize Peter needed someone to listen to him and pay him attention. James and Sirius joked around Peter. And he felt included when they did that. But not everything was a joke. Remus paid Peter more attention. Because while James and Sirius were more wild and open, Remus and Peter were more quiet and calm. Remus noticed when Peter was down and needed someone to talk to. Remus truly listened and tried to help Peter with his issues. He tried to make sure Peter didn't put himself down. And he was constantly telling him he was good enough.

Remus made James and Sirius notice when they were wrong with Peter. When their jokes stepped over the line. So James and Sirius felt bad about making Peter feel bad and genuinely apologized.

Remus became Sirius' first love, the one to make him feel in the clouds, but also the one to put him in the ground. Remus made Sirius knew other types of realities and problems. That he wasn't the center of attention. He showed him that he didn't have to pretend to be perfect all the time and he was allowed to be vulnerable. But also with Remus, and what Sirius felt for him, he had more courage to be himself, to be more queer and more open about his feelings.

When Sirius acted like a proper dick (and he did most of the time, based on how he was raised), Remus put him in his place. He was the only one to make him calm down when he was having one of his tantrums. Because James just pleased him too much and Peter just left him alone (not to be involved in that). But Remus made him realize he was acting like a whinny baby. So Sirius stopped. Sirius matured thanks to Remus.

Remus didn't know how The Marauders appreciated his arrival. Remus made the boys better and the group better. He was the missing piece of The Marauders. They weren't meant to be three. Always four. And Remus was meant to be their friend.

[hxlyhead-harpies]

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You (R.L.)

Requested: Yes

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary: The reader can’t stop staring at Remus and he doesn’t understand why

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Mentions of injury and bullying, cursing

Title from: Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Franki Valli

The library was full and bustling with students. You sat near the back, your assignments sprawled out in front of you. And while your quill floated above your parchment, dark ink sliding off of the tip, your eyes were trained on someone across the room, your essay forgotten.

Remus Lupin sat on the other side of the library, surrounded by books and his friends. You watched as his eyebrows drew down in concentration and how he flexed his hand as he thought. The habit was familiar to you as you watched Remus quite often. It wasn’t in a creepy way but in a sad lovesick way. You were a Slytherin and the boy who had garnered your affection was a Gryffindor so it seemed as if the only way to know him was to watch him. The old house rivalry stopped most Gryffindors and Slytherins from ever interacting, so you soaked up Remus in any way that you could. So you found yourself watching him at meals and during class. You almost felt bad for how often your eyes were on him, you were almost surprised that you hadn’t burned holes into him from your stare. But to be fair, with Remus, there was a lot to look at.

Remus was tall and lanky with surprisingly broad shoulders. He was often slouched and when he was tired he’d roll his shoulders back and stretch. His hair was a golden brown with slight curls spilling from his head. It often flopped in his face when it got long and he was constantly running his fingers through it. His fingers were long and nimble with the nails bitten down and callouses against his fingertips. You often found yourself imagining what it would feel like if he slipped his hand into yours and if they were as rough as they looked or if the skin was soft. 

At this moment, you found yourself staring at his scars. The way they zigzagged across his exposed skin; one down his neck, one down his cheek, carving out his high cheekbone, and one running through his left eyebrow. You thought his scars were beautiful, adding a hint of ruggedness that juxtaposed his soft nature. You wondered how he felt about them and you wished from deep in your soul that he didn’t hate them. 

You knew how easy it was to hate scars. You had a nasty one that ran from the back of your knee down to your ankle, gently curving around your calf. You had gotten it when an older student had pushed you down in the courtyard in your third year. You had fallen back into a bush and your skin had gotten caught on a branch. While the pain of the injury faded, the pain of the memory had not. You wished, however naively, that the memories of his scars didn’t cause him too much pain.

He looked up from his book and caught your eye. The second he noticed your staring he glowered back at you. You flushed deeply and looked away. You had been caught staring a few times now and you had a feeling that he had found out about your feelings towards him. You nervously tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and continued with your essay. 

The next time you saw Remus was in potions class. His friends had dragged him over to the table next to yours and you could only assume it was because Lily was your partner. You heard them bickering quietly as they came over.

“Do we really have to sit by them?” Remus hissed under his breath. James huffed.

“Yes, we do, Lily is over there. Now’s my chance,” he muttered back. Remus made eye contact with you and you pretended not to notice when he rolled his eyes despite the pang in your chest. James gave Lily an exaggerated wave and she just scoffed before turning back to you. 

You had met Lily through Severus since he was in your house. He wasn’t your favorite person, you found him a bit creepy and his crush on Lily seemed to be a tad obsessive, but you were grateful that he had introduced you to the redhead. The two of you became fast friends, you loving her sharp wit and her loving your ambition and drive. 

Lily started talking to you about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip when James called out her name.

“Oi, Lily,” he said with a smirk, “are you really consorting with the enemy?” he asked, gesturing towards you. You felt your cheeks burn and you ducked your head. 

“Oh sod of James,” she replied, “Why must you always be so immature?” You smiled slightly at her words. You turned to look back up at the boys. James’s face was flushed with embarrassment at Lily’s words and Peter and Sirius were laughing at him. You stole a glance at Remus to see him glaring at you. You frowned and looked away. 

You sat in the Gryffindor common room with Lily while you worked on your potions project. It was getting late but the two of you wanted to finish the project early. Lily had offered that you spend the night in her room and you had agreed. You weren’t a fan of your dormmates anyway and would jump at any chance to spend a night away from them. They were loud and brash and had no issue with loudly proclaiming their thoughts on blood supremacy. It made your skin crawl.

“Ugh I have to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” Lily said, setting aside her book. You sent her a quick smile as she got up. When she was gone you continued working on your assignment. The portrait hole swung open and Remus walked in, seemingly coming back from his rounds. His eyes narrowed at the sight of you. 

“How did you get in here?” he asked harshly. You shrunk under his gaze. 

“Lily invited me. We’re doing school work,” you explained, gesturing down at your work. He crossed his arms.

“Where is she then?” he questioned. You shrugged.

“She’s in the bathroom,” you replied. 

“I think you should leave,” he responded. Your eyes widened.

“What?” you exclaimed.

“You should leave. You shouldn’t even be in here in the first place,” he pushed. 

“Now just wait a minute, Lily and I-”

“I really don’t care. Just get out of the common room and go back to the dungeons,” he said, practically sneering. Your mouth hung open in shock.

You had liked Remus because of how soft and kind he appeared to be. Everyone loved him and it was because he always wore a compassionate smile and had understanding eyes. But it appeared that you clearly would never be on the receiving end of his kindness.

“What is your problem?” you asked, feeling anger building in your chest. He rolled his eyes.

“You’re breaking the rules, you need to leave,” he retorted. 

“I’m not talking about just this, what is your problem with me? You always treat me so poorly and I can’t seem to figure out why,” you answered. Remus scoffed. 

“I don’t have a problem with you,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. 

“So you just have a problem with Slytherin’s then?” you spat, venom filling your voice. Remus’s jaw clenched. 

“I don’t particularly like blood supremacists and Voldemort sympathizers so I guess I do have a problem with Slytherins,” he said. You laughed. 

“You can’t honestly think that we’re all-”

“Do you know how many dark wizards have come out of Slytherin?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at you. “Because it’s quite a large number. And the way you seem to always be snooping around and staring makes me think you might be one yourself.” You gaped at him.

“You can’t actually be serious?” you sputtered. Remus shook his head.

“Just leave before I deduct any points,” he said quietly before turning towards the stairs. You stood up from your seat on the couch.

“Now wait just a minute, Lupin,” you practically yelled. He turned around with a clenched jaw. 

“What?” he spit out.

“There is nothing about Slytherin that is inherently evil! There is nothing evil about ambition or determination. Just because you have some twisted idea of what my house represents doesn’t mean that you’re right. I reckon that every house has the same chance of fostering evil. Blind bravery can be evil can’t it? And loyalty to the wrong person? And intelligence can be incredibly dangerous,” you shouted at him. Remus stared at his shoes. “And let’s not forget all the good wizards that have come from Slytherin! Professor Slughorn may be a bit odd but you can’t tell me that he’s not a good man. And for Godric’s sake! Merlin was a fucking Slytherin,” you yelled. Remus looked up at you.

“What about you then?” he asked with his arms crossed, “Where do you fall?” You swept a hand through your hair exasperatedly. 

“I’m not a dark wizard you dimwit! I don’t stare at you because I’m a spy or whatever dumb idea you came up with! I stare at you because I think that you’re bloody handsome,” you yelled. Remus’s eyes widened. 

“You- you what?” he sputtered. You groaned and began to gather your stuff. 

“Nothing, never mind,” you answered, shoving your parchment into your bag. Remus came up beside you and grabbed your arm.

“Wait,” he said, trying to get you to stop. You pulled your arm away. You turned to storm out of the portrait hole when Lily’s voice rang out into the room.

“Where are you going?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. You turned to Remus angrily. 

“Ask him,” you responded before storming off towards the dungeons. 

A few days later you were sitting by the black lake with a book in your hands when you felt a presence beside you. You looked up to see Remus with his hands in his pockets. You rolled your eyes. 

“What do you want Lupin?” you asked with venom lacing your voice.

“I wanted to apologize,” he said softly, digging his shoe into the grass. You sighed.

“And what do you want to apologize for, exactly?” you questioned with a raised brow. 

“I’m sorry for being so rude to you and for insinuating that you might work for Voldemort,” He answered sheepishly. You nodded. 

“Thank you,” you responded before turning back to your book, assuming that he’d walk away. Instead, he sat down beside you.

“I just- I saw you staring at me all of the time and I was confused as to why you’d even do that,” he began, “And you’re a Slytherin and I just assumed that you had some motive or something. It didn’t even cross my mind that you thought I was handsome,” he said with a slight smile. You blushed and looked away. 

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable,” you murmured, “I didn’t realize I was being so obvious.” You stared anywhere but him. 

“If I had known why you were looking at me, I wouldn’t have minded,” he said softly. You furrowed your eyebrows and looked up.

“Huh?” you said. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“If I had known that you fancied me I would’ve just talked to you instead of coming up with an idiotic conspiracy theory,” he admitted. You looked at your lap. 

“Oh.”

“And I feel so stupid for thinking that you could be so terrible. I had no grounds for it other than a dumb stereotype. I’m really sorry,” he said. You turned to him.

“It’s alright I suppose. I just don’t understand how you jumped to the conclusion that I was some sort of spy because I was looking at you,” you said with a slight chuckle. Remus ducked his head.

“I don’t know, it never crossed my mind that you might like me. I’m not exactly much of a looker,” he replied. You furrowed your eyebrows.

“What are you talking about? I think you’re quite good-looking,” you admitted with a blush. A small smile played at Remus’s lips.

“Didn’t think that anyone would ever think that of me,” he said softly, his hand absentmindedly rubbing the scar on his cheek. You frowned and reached up to remove his hand from his face. You lifted your finger and traced along the scar, causing Remus to gulp and avert his eyes. 

“Well I think that you’re beautiful, every part of you,” you said as you finished tracing the pink line. His amber eyes were back on yours, a deep vulnerability shining in them. His eyes flickered down to your lips for a moment and you held your breath. Slowly, he began to lean in. 

He kissed you just as softly as you always imagined he would, though it felt better than you ever could have thought. His rough hand cupped your face while you tangled your hands in his silky hair. When the kiss broke you were breathless. You watched as he ran a hand through his hair and sent you a shy smile, his freckled cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink. Even now, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 19

Pairings: Sirius B, Remus L, [F]Reader    Content: Language, possible errors, 

【 Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 】

Chapter 19: Mrs. Lupin

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The rest of Valentine’s Day was spent with Y/N compiling a list in her head:

1. Avoid drinking anything the Marauders — actually, avoiding drinking anything around James to dodge their concoction of face and body-altering potions. When students at lunch and dinner drank from the pumpkin juice supply, more than several people who were already in relationships morphed into those they weren’t dating. Let’s just say that this prank wasn’t as uplifting and fun as the Marauders originally had in mind. Even the Bloody Baron told Peeves to spare them.

2. Make sure Lily didn’t drink anything around the Marauders — or anything around Marlene and Mary (who caught word from Peter of her supposed feelings). They were dying to know who caught her attention and bets were being placed.

3. James just wouldn’t shut the fuck up about Emmeline. She could even hear his voice: Whiskers! Did you see how pretty she looks? Woah, I can’t believe she agreed to be my girlfriend? I’m so lucky! She’s beautiful! Ugh — did you see her smile? Emmeline this, Emmeline that — it was even worse than his obsession with Quidditch. But, it was too endearing in a sickening, annoyingly charming way and she was happy that he seemed happy, so Y/N kept her lips sealed.

Remus suggested drowning him in the bottles of love potions littering the castle but Y/N thought differently. James already acted like what a love potion was rumoured to be like; he’d become unstoppable if he even caught a whiff.

4. Shockingly by the end of the day, Y/N’s bag was stuffed with cards and gifts — all filled with confessions. She rarely socialized with anyone but the girls and Marauders, so it came as a surprise.

5. And now found herself stuck in a very uncomfortable situation.

Relaxing in the lounge area by the library, James and Mary were casting spells, Lily and Y/N chatted while Remus aided Marlene, going over course material, however, her face scrunched up as she flicked through his notes.

“What does this mean,” Marlene asked after desperately trying to decipher his writing. She slid it over to him, pointing to a highlighted section. But before Remus could translate, Y/N peeked over.

“Um — Owl to Opera Glasses. This spell emits fleeting wispy white vapour from wand — point at owl — no sound will be produced.”

She sat back in her seat, snapping off a piece of chocolate before handing the rest over to Remus beside her. Everyone looked shocked.

“Erm — what?”

Mary sputtered, “How did you read that? It’s fucking scribble!”

“He’s got doctor writing.”

They waited for her to elaborate.

“My mom’s —” “MUM!” “— writing is horrid. I swear all doctor’s have awful handwriting. I spent so much time reading her medical jornals, scans, charts — to keep me busy. So comparing Remus’ writing to hers, it’s legible.”

None of them seemed to understand besides Lily and Mary. Y/N just dismissed the matter entirely, sliding back the parchment to Marlene as they went back to their quiet conversations.

“So,” Remus leant in, his head craned down to talk to her. “Doctor handwriting — I should flaunt that?”

She chuckled, “Might make you sound smarter, but you don’t need that.”

“You flatter me too much.”

“Humble, aren’t you?”

“I have to bully myself daily. Can’t let it get to my head, not like egomania over there.”

Ah yes, the thrilling saga of bullying James Potter.

But before she could add on, a shadow caught Remus’s eye before he nudged her. His head tilted over to the direction of a wall, littered with portraits and awards with Quidditch trophies. “Looks like you’ve got an admirer.”

A blond boy, young — was staring at her, blushing madly as his chest puffed out, determination trickled through every step as he neared.

Remus’ smile became impossibly large, dripping in amusement before snapping, gaining the table’s attention.

“Hi,” there was a nervous waver in his voice, but confidence in his stance. He was pale, amplifying the scarlet blush on his cheeks.

Damn, she knew what was about to happen and so did shit-eating grin Lupin.

“Hello… What’s your name.” Right, that was a good place to start. Her eyes wandered to his tie: a Ravenclaw.

“Gilderoy Lockhart,” he announced, going up to flick a strand of hair from his face, flashing her a pearly white smile. “I’m in first year.” In his small hands, he outstretched his arms holding a box of chocolates — identical to the one Remus received a few days ago along with a meticulously crafted letter.

“You’reveryprettysowillyoubemyValentine?”

James, Mary and Marlene let out an involuntary snort which had all of them leaning into one another to support themselves from toppling over. Lily had to cast Silencio over them. They turned their heads away from Gilderoy before barking out silent merriment. Remus was the complete opposite, thankfully, as he remained poised, face void but his lips quivered upwards.

“Um… right... well,” she stalled. Maybe she should get up, take the boy elsewhere to softly let him down. “Thank you, I appreciate it a lot. But er… I can’t accept your feelings. Thank you for telling me, though. I appreciate it.”

“What?! Why!” He demanded. His face turned a deeper shade of pink, now causing a scene.

She made eye contact with Lily, however, James’ hand hammered down on the table, startling them all. His two hands formed pointed tips, mimicking two people kissing as he repeated the motion, pointing to her and Remus. Mary took the opportunity to grab Lily’s wrist, flicking a reversal charm on all of them.

“She’s dating Lupin!” She shouted which caught the attention of a few onlookers. James tossed his head back, knuckles in his mouth and Lily’s brow rose high in a startled grimace.

“For a month now!” Marlene continued, her hand slapping down on her thigh.

Y/N was going to murder them.

She went to open her mouth to say — well, okay, she didn’t know what to say but Remus budded in, lifting his arm, wrapping it around her shoulder and pulled her in awkwardly. She instantly got the hint, bringing a hand and patted his chest stiffly while the group tried not to bellow. Even Lily’s facade was beginning to break, her hand shooting up to cover a growing smile.

There was never a boring day at Hogwarts.

But she was taking too long to answer. This would've been quick, easy, had not everyone else been around and especially if they hadn’t lied about her dating.

“I’m sorry but yes, we’ve been together for a little while now, haven’t we, darling?” said Remus, saving her from the hesitation. Y/N nodded, at least she didn’t need to give a reason now.

Remus’ lying was exceptional. There wasn’t even a flicker in his expressions aside from the involuntary dark blush that ran down his cheeks to his neck. Y/N couldn’t blame him, her face felt like it was on fire.

Gilderoy tried to play it off coolly but his shoulders slumped, looking absolutely dispirited. He meekly nodded, placing the box and letter on the table and sped off.

“Cougar L/N!” Marlene roared once he was out of earshot.

“You lot are ruthless!” She barked at them.

“I did nothing!”

“Lied to a poor boy!” Lily lectured sharply.

“And she went along with it!” “Because you —”

While everyone was now bickering or on the verge of tears, Remus peeled himself off of her and Y/N patted him once more.

“You’re welcome.”

She looked up at him, “Darling? Really?”

His eyes rolled, “Did you want me to call you a troll?”

“Got me there, thank you.”

His face softened at this, shoving her in a teasing way before seizing the small box of chocolates, cracking it open and handed her a piece.

“What?” he smirked, moving to open a book, flipping to his worn-out bookmark. He side-eyed her uncomfortable expression as she looked at the box. He recited her words, “Expensive chocolate is still expensive chocolate.”

“You’re a dick.”

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

February 17th, 1976

Y/N quickly learned that it was a mistake using the excuse that she and Lupin were dating because now the entire school believed it.

It spread like wildfire. Girls rejected by Remus shot her a hardened gaze, eyes scorned through her robes while other’s who confessed to Y/N avoided her completely. They would all gossip the moment they passed the hallways and she could feel their gaze.

“Lupin beat me to it!”

“— how long have they’ve been —”

“I’ve fancied him for two years! Two years and she suddenly just swoops in?!”

“Honestly, I thought she was with Potter.”

“She’s hot.” “He's fit!”

“— jealous of her —”

“Crikey — don’t they have anything else to talk about?” Remus said, turning away from the hall.

Remus disappeared for the past couple of days, only now hearing the commotion for the first time. He looked fairly pale, eyes red and tired — but not unusual. Y/N shrugged off the rumours and speculations before entering the hall, shouting to him to wait.

Many students stopped their gossiping for a moment to watch her pass before resuming. She marched up to her customary seat, her friends whistling at her.

“Where’s Remus L/N?”

“Mrs. Lupin!”

“Fuck off.”

She shoved snacks into her bag, hoarding enough food for the both of them and managed to grab a giant mug filled with coffee, making her way out of the hall with a few people loitering after her. James forcibly brought Sirius to his feet, Peter leaped over and Lily sprang up from Marlene, cutting her off while looping her arm with Y/N’s.

Mary elected to stay back, engrossed in a chat with Dorcas and Alice before quickly roping Marlene in. Nevertheless, she shouted once she saw the coffee mug, “That’s for Lupin, isn’t it?!”

“Don’t start… it’s just coffee.”

“Black coffee my arse!”

James ran up to her, tugging on her robes lightly, “Does this mean I should swap my Galleons to Lupin?”

Y/N shrugged him off, stomping over to Remus waiting by the door. She handed him the mug, glancing back in hopes of Celeste: no letter from her mother, again. She sighed before hauling the rest of the group to Kettleburn's classroom. This time, empty but always open for students to come and go. Even a sign was plastered on the entrance: Hold a Niffler if feeling down! (BEWARE of theft).

“Sneaking off like this is going to fuel more rumours,” said Lily, settling her things down on the desks beside her.

“Sorry Whiskers — Moony!”

Remus cracked his fingers, a long breathy sigh trickled from him slowly. “We should mitch lessons today — let it cool down for a bit.”

“Mitch?”

“Skip classes —”

“Moony is possibly the worst prefect in Hogwarts History — he deserves a gold star for it,” chuckled Peter.

Sirius grinned and the two made brief eye contact but neither looked away until James’ voice rang out again. It made Y/N's skin go warm.

“Mate’s going for a record.”

Sirius went to scratch the back of his neck, his head turning down to fiddle with his rings out of habit. “Maybe they’ll put him in the next printed copies of

Hogwarts: A History.” 

Remus rolled his eyes, fixing his posture to sit straighter. “Ungrateful gits. All I hear are three wannabe detention attendees. You ought to be thanking me. With what you pull, I could easily give you two years worth of ‘em.”

A collective sigh went around from the boys who seemed to bow their heads in mutual respect. They grouped and drawled, “Thank you, Moonyyy!”

Lily turned to her, “I’m sorry, but you’re not skipping.”

Her voice automatically switched at the mention of class; it went strict and firm and eerily sounded like Professor McGonagall which had Y/N double down.

Once the bell rang, Sirius quickly walked up to her, taking the place of Lily.

“Fine, we’ll keep the Puffskein in my dorm.”

She considered him for a moment. “I’ll visit daily.”

“Jolly.”

He sped up, hooking an arm around James’ shoulders as they headed to Potions. Y/N's eyes followed him, unable to look away and her heart dropped.

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“The Draught of Peace is a potion that often comes up on the Ordinary Wizarding Level. As you know from review, it calms anxiety and high levels of agitation. It’s been used to calm students who are too stressed with NEWT exams.

“And today,” Slughorn says, trying to look cheerful but failing — looking far too stiff and forced, “ We'll attempt to brew it.”

Lily sat up bolt-straight, eager to soak in new information. Instead of sitting with Lily today, she took a seat in between Remus and James, Lily with Snape.

“The instructions are up on the board, if you have any questions, ask away. Be warned though; be too heavy-handed — mix too fast and you’ll end up with a potion that would make the consumer fall into an irreversible sleep.

“You will be graded on your progress once finished.” He flicked his wand, opening all of the student’s textbooks to an ingredients page, unlocked the cupboard and turned back, “You have until the end of the class, begin my pupils!”

“Sluggys lookin’ pretty sluggishly today,” whispered Lily as they met briefly while collecting their ingredients.

Slughorn did look a little down. His face and voice were desolate, missing its happy chiper.

“Whiskers, I have everything already, don’t worry about it!” James beckoned.

The potion, in her opinion, wasn’t as hard as she predicted it to be. She was doing quite well, better than Lily and Remus which gave her a small sense of pride.

“So, Prongs, when are we going to get to meet Emmeline?”

James didn’t look up from his fiddly potion, too engaged but there was a small grin on his face. “We’re trying to take it slow —” “Pfft,” interjected Remus, “James Potter and slow — in a relationship? Doubt it. Did your Veela powers run out?”

“Hey! I like her and I don’t want her to run off or feel pressured.”

“Ah, what a gentleman, isn’t he Lupin?”

“Quite.”

James shook his head, “You shouldn’t be talking. Shouldn’t you lovebirds be on a date yoursel — Merlin! Moony don’t do that!”

Remus flicked his wand before a handful of leftover powdered moonstone fell on top of James’ head, giving him an iridescent appearance.

Y/N ignored them, stirring clockwise, then counterclockwise, simmering the heat down to the perfect level for seven minutes, then added in two drops of syrup of hellebore. A shimmery silver mist stemmed from her cauldron. A satisfied smirk settled it’s way on her face before scanning the class. Nobody else, besides Remus and Snape who’d been adding their finishing touches, was done.

Just as James was about to finish his perfectly brewed potion, a small beam was directed at his cauldron, ruining the entire potion as it sputtered multicoloured sparks. He tried to prod at the flames at the base of the cauldron, trying to cool it down but it was already too late. It soon became a thick, muddy concrete mixture.

“What the fuck? You guys saw that, right?!”

They had indeed seen a spell hit his cauldron. Their heads whipped around in search. With only ten minutes left and James’ grades about to drop, they all panicked slightly. If his marks were to drop below a certain level, James would be in jeopardy of losing his Quidditch title as captain and be forced to step down, focusing more on the OWLs.

Remus spotted them first: “It’s Snape.”

“How do you know?”

He didn’t respond, leaving them to follow his line of vision to look. Snape wore a horrible smirk, going as far as to wink at James. His perfectly brewed potion shimmered in the light before whirling around to talk to Lily.

“Fucking Snivellus,” James muttered tensley.

“Alright, in five minutes, I’ll be coming around to look at your potions! Be ready to present them.” Slughorn announced.

Remus sighed. “Prongs, just take mine — I’ll take yours. My grades are high enough but if yours drop —”

“No Moony,” he stated firmly. “I’m not going to let you go down with me.”

Distracted, Snape blushing like a fool to Lily and the boys fighting over Remus’ endeavour at being noble, Y/N swished her wand, levitating Jame’s cauldron and directed it over to Snape. She bewitched a temporary invisibility charm, switching them, before levitating Snape's back to James. Now, in front of James was a flawlessly brewed Draught of Peace.

“James, take my help —” “I said no you wanker!”

Slughorn was making rounds around the classroom, but Snape beckoned him over to his shared table with Lily, confident as he sent a nasty look to them.

“Evans, looking good! Perfectly brewed — I’ll add an extra point on your mark.” The praise did not go unnoticed as her chest puffed with pride, her head turning and locked eyes with Y/N, a large smile on her face.

Nice! Y/N mouthed, a thumb sticking upwards.

“Now lets — Severus!” exclaimed Slughorn, flashes of surprise shot through him, “What happened? This is so unlike you.”

The Slytherins in the class all looked up — scratch that — everyone in the class snapped their heads towards him; Snape had never once messed up a potion. They watched as Snape’s face fell from his smug smirk as a black stemming, multicoloured, cloud of smoke puffed in the air, making the surrounding students cough.

“Sir — I swear it was fine moments ago, I don’t know what happened! It must’ve —”

Their professor sighed, a very disappointed look crossed his face before shaking his head.

“It’s quite alright, Mr. Snape. Accidents happen. Evanesco.”

The contents, including the puff of smoke, vanished, leaving Snape to gape around. Lily touched his shoulder, rubbing her hand up and down and began murmuring into his ear.

But before Slughorn could go to another group, Y/N raised her hand, flagging him down while the rest of the class was still paying attention. “Professor! We would like for you to clear us, please!”

“Whiskers, what are you doing?”

“Trust me.”

“Look at what she did with your cauldron,” Remus mumbled, his eyes darting to her.

Complete surprise and utter awe replaced his face as Slughorn let out an excited squeal. His hands clapped together. “Everyone should take a page from Potter, L/N and Lupin. I’ve never seen such great work for this potion! Amazing you three! Ten points for Gryffindor.”

Their heads whipped towards her, Remus just smiled while James stared wide-eyed.

“You love to underestimate me.”

[enchantedblackrose]

All the Pieces Pt 3

Gif not mine. Full credit to the owner. Taken from Google Images

All the Pieces

Sirius Black/Fem Reader

Warnings: unedited, mild language, alcohol consumption, brief mentions of underage drinking, small mention of bullying. Lengthy author's notes at the end. Also this was a huge PIA to write so hopefully it doesn't read too disconnected

Part 1|| Part 2|| Part 4|| Part 5

Part 3 of ?

When you touch me gently I remember how you know And the sun shines rings around your smile And I'm here laughing like a child -Pieces, Dan Powell

If it was any other person on your doorstep, you'd probably berate them for inducing that almost heart attack you just experienced. Instead you grab the familiar face by the sleeve of his worn jacket, pulling him into your living room.

"I could deck you, Remus John Lupin. I thought someone came for him. Ugh. Come here." Your arms wrap  around him for a tight hug, which he returns. "He's here, Remus. He's safe." You feel Remus let out a deep sigh of relief. Pulling away, you look at him with gentle scrutiny, knowing what a toll last night took on him. "You look awful. Did you walk far? You should've told me you were coming. I could have met you."

Remus shakes his head. "I caught a train and apparated most of the way."

"Stop fussing over him, y/n. Let the poor man get past the door."  Sirius's teasing voice calls out from behind you; no doubt his canine ears allowed him to hear the familiar voice even through the closed bedroom door and knew it was safe to come down.

The two men embrace; this encounter being much more relaxed than their last. No Peter, no warranted need for revenge, no threat of execution.

As you all stand in your living room, a haunting thought hits you: you three are it, the last of your true friends. Peter is the traitor. You suppress a shudder, swearing to make the most of this moment.

"You know," you say with a grin, "I happen to have a large bottle of firewhisky. Fancy a drink, boys?" Sirius's grin mirrors your own. Remus has a small tentative smile, but it's all the encouragement you need to send you to the kitchen to fetch the bottle.

The small, quaint kitchen appears even smaller with the disregarded dishes from breakfast still sitting out on your table. The sight causes a small frown to appear on your face. All the rest of the morning and most of your afternoon had been lost to the unplanned nap with Sirius. You fill your sink with soap and hot water. A few flicks of your wand and your dirty dishes are submerged in the water, scrubbed, and rinsed. The process begins again as now clean plates make their way to the drying rack, which is concerning because you dont believe you cast a spell for that. Confused, you turn to see Remus in the kitchen. He winks and wordlessly reaches your top cabinet without so much of a stretch to retrieve the bottle of firewhisky. You follow him back to the livingroom, toting three glasses.

"Cheers to freedom," you say once everyone has a full glass, "and to being reunited with old friends."

"You hear that, Remus? She thinks we're old." You roll your eyes good naturedly. Remus rests a hand on Sirius's shoulder, giving it a brotherly pat. "We are old," he says simply, before all three of you raise your glasses to your lips, sipping at the burning liquid. You each settle comfortably in your living room. Remus sits in the armchair, leaving the overstuffed couch for Sirius and you. You sit at an end, while he opts for the middle seat, but in a respectable distance of your space. The bottle of alcohol sits in arms reached on the coffee table.

"I thought you swore off this stuff y/n." Remus says with a twinkle in his eye as he takes another drink from his glass. "You know, considering your history with it.." You groan and Sirius throws his head back in laughter.

"I almost forgot," Sirius says breathlessly from laughing. "Was that seventh year?"

"Sixth. Just before we got together. I suppose I was trying to impress you," you tell him.

"You matched me drink for drink that night."

"Which was mad seeing how I never had a drink before. I spent all next morning and afternoon in bed, throwing up. It was awful."

"You're forgetting the best part," Remus interjects.

"Dancing on top of that old table in the Shrieking Shack, singing the chorus of "Rock and Roll all Nite" at the top of my lungs was far from the best part. I only wish I could forget it."

"That wasn't singing, love. More like cats dying," Sirius quips while he and Remus laugh. You say nothing, well aware how accurate the description fits. You take a long drink from your glass.

"Yes, well as, uh, entertaining as that moment was, I wasn't referring to it," says Remus. You look at him questioningly. "Have you forgotten sneaking into the Slytherin boys' dorm, stealing all their robes, turning them hot pink, changing the crest to a mountain troll, and then returning them to the dorm?"

"Oh,  Merlin. That was the same night wasn't it? James had never been so keen on lending me his invisibility cloak until I concocted that plan!" The two men laugh and you join in.

"You know most of my other friends thought I was strange for being into muggle music." You say as the laughter dies down.

"Lily shouldn't have?" Sirius asks after he swallows his drink.

"No. You're forgetting Lily and I weren't friends first. We didn't really talk or hang out until she and James started dating."

"That's right. I forgot. I remember the two of you constantly together."

"Because we bonded over you two idiots. Prior to that, she never came out and said it, but I think she thought I was daft hanging around you lot most of the time. The other girls were more forgiving, but they had crushes on you all." You give a careless shrug. It was no secret how sought after the boys had been in their schooldays.

"I never quite understood how you became friends with us," Remus says.

"It was easy with you. You were so nice, calm, dependable, and not obnoxious. Peter…" you pause, choosing words carefully, not wanting present feelings to influence memories. "He was quiet and lonely. Pretty much agreeable. Again, easy. James and Sirius? I was determined to never speak to either after that boat ride our first night."

"We saved your life that night!" Sirius interjects.

"You two were the reason it needed saving! Standing up in a fucking boat because you two saw whatever in the lake. James knocking me overboard in the process."

"It was a giant squid and we rescued you."

You roll your eyes. "I was drenched, freezing and completely mortified. And as apologetic as James was, he kept calling me the wrong name." You all laugh. 

"It wasn't until second year that I thought they might be okay. We had already become friends," you say looking at Remus. "I missed about a week of classes due to acute bronchitis. You spent time with me afterwards, helping me catch up. When you missed later that month, I was ready to return the favor."

Remus nods, remembering the time fondly. "You were an excellent note taker. Much better than the other three."

"Did you even take notes?" You ask with a playful glance to Sirius.

"In second year? Probably not." He grins ever so cheekily. You shake your head, but are smiling.

"So we became friends and you befriended James and Sirius by default?" Remus muses.

Sirius feigns hurt. "Are you implying we were some sort of consolation prize?"

"Actually," you interject, "They saved me once again. A group of four older boys were harassing me, just dumb taunts and knocking my books out from my hands. They came right over, not caring about being outnumbered. Got the gits to leave me alone. James finally learned my name and I realized Potter and Black weren't so awful after all."

"Those guys were jerks. It didn't sit well with us to see anyone bullied like that."

"Unless of course it was Snape," you counter.

"That was different," Sirius's free hand clenches into a fist as he takes a hard drink.

Remus is quick to change the subject. "Do you still have that remembrall?"

"The one we enchanted to go red only for James? Mhm! It's at my flat in the city."

"Do you mean our flat?" Sirius asks.

Your smile falters. "No. Sirius. I got a different place. After…everything. It was too hard."

A deafening silence falls. Each of you taking long sips from your glasses.

"Oh!" You jump up suddenly, which given your somewhat inebriated state is not the brightest idea. You stumble slightly, but Sirius steadies you, grabbing you by your hips. His fingers linger and your eyes meet. You lose yourself; for a moment you're sixteen again and his touch is more intoxicating than the alcohol. His gaze tells you he feels the same.

Remus clears his throat loudly before taking a drink from his glass.

"Thanks," you mumble, setting your glass on the table.

Sirius releases you from his grasp, though you still feel the ghost of his touch. "'Tis no trouble, darling." You sense his eyes on you as you disappear from the room, heading upstairs. Your head is buzzing, but you blame that on the alcohol…

You return downstairs to the living room, the fetched item tucked securely out of sight under your arm, and find the boys, men talking with easy smiles. It makes you so happy to witness and spend this time together. Your presence has their full attention.

"Follow me, please." You fill your glass with more firewhisky. Sirius mimics the gesture and offers Remus a refill, but he just shakes his head no and silently indicates to the liquid still in his glass. You grab your wand and lead your little group outside to the backyard. The sun sits low in the west, the sky becoming more plum and black than pink and gold. Buckbeak sits on the ground near your shed, one wing tucked over its head.

You hand Sirius your wand and then produce his prisoner robes. He laughs and even Remus looks as if he approves. Sirius waves your wand and the dingy, tattered garment is set ablaze. 

After a while, you all make your way back inside. You prepare a light dinner and the eating and drinking continue with more laughs and shared memories. Hours pass. The contents of the bottle nearly drained signal the night coming to an end.

"I'm one drink away from dancing on tabletops and singing, or, screeching some A-ha, or something equally as embarrassing." you laugh. "I'm going to bed. Remus, I offered Sirius your room, but you're welcome to the couch. There are blankets and pillows in the hall closet." 

"Thank you, y/n. But I should be going."

"What? No. Stay. I insist. I need to see your bemused face sipping tea when I come downstairs with a bloody hangover and you're just fine."

Remus grins. "I hate depriving you both of such a moment, but I have an appointment tomorrow morning. I've already rented a room." You frown but don't press the issue any more. "Though if you don't mind, I thought I'd travel by floo."

"Of course. Help yourself. Powder is on the mantle." You hug him close and kiss his cheek. You excuse yourself, giving the other two time to say goodbye.

As you head for the bathroom, you pause hearing their low voices.

"I'm so sorry, old friend, for believing you... betrayed them. I should have known better. I-"

"There's nothing to forgive. I doubted you, too. The war made us all fear the worst.."

Mentally, you chastise yourself for eavesdropping and begin washing your face.

Sirius has made his way upstairs. In passing his room, you say goodnight. You're about to close the door to your bedroom when he calls your name and you turn to see him stepping towards you. Without warning his lips crash down on yours. Your fingers intertwine in his dark curls at the nape of his neck as you let the kiss deepen. His hands grip your waist and he hoists you up off your feet with little effort just as he did many times all those years ago. Your legs wrap themselves around his waist as he carries you to your bed. He drops you gently and only breaks the kiss to look at you. Still hovering over you, his gray eyes search your face for the answer to an unasked question. You nod in response, but he continues to gaze at you longing to hear you say it.

"I want you."

A slow breath of relief leaves him and his mouth finds its way back to yours. 

The night ends with two former lovers once again completely losing themselves in a perfect moment.

//

There's an unspoken understanding that the night you and Sirius shared together was more than a drunken hookup after a long night of reminiscing. But you don't repeat the night, though you share your bed with him. Nights are hard for him. Sleep doesn't always come easy and he often wakes in the middle of the night screaming, or panicked with sweat pouring off his body. But your presence brings him a comfort he can't otherwise achieve. And so, you spend your night together in your bed. Sleeping.

As days turn into weeks, a comfortable routine has set. Remus visits about once a week. Surprisingly, Sirius has taken to caring for your garden. You go into town as needed and you and Sirius cook dinner together most nights. Buckbeak, now known as Witherwings per a letter from Hagrid that reached Sirius, roams your yard freely, occasionally taking flight in the safety of the countryside night skies, always returning by daybreak. As precautions for the hippogriff and Sirius you casted Protego totalum over the cottage and yards. 

During this time together, Sirius learns how you took over your parents' shop*, how you've taken on a promising young woman who mostly looks after it, leaving you to spend more time here at the cottage, which also belonged to your parents. With tears in your eyes, you told him how they died months apart just over two years ago. He comforted you, remembering them both fondly and told you they'd be proud of you.

The day is still young when you tell him you have to go to the shop to take inventory. Before you leave you call out to him.

"Since it looks like rain, can you please go through some of your things in the attic?"

"Yes, dear," he uses the term mockingly and you playfully glare back at him.

"Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone." With that, you close the door behind you.

It's late afternoon when you return home. Sirius is waiting for you. A midnight blue box in his hand.

"Will you marry me, y/n?"

*a/n: I kept this vague so you can imagine a shop that fits your personality/likes/whatever. I'll only specify this later if needed for storylines. I wanted something where you could be allotted time off easily. Personally I imagine maybe an apothecary? Or maybe an antique shop. What about you?

2: I'm thinking of writing a prequel? More like blurbs, highlighting moments between you and Sirius. But I need to know what you want to read. First engagement? First kiss? When Sirius realizes he's in love? Time at Hogwarts? Post Hogwarts but pre Azkaban?

Taglist <3:  @oingo233 @marimorena06 @medalloway-blog

[flourishandblctts]

𝕬𝖉𝖎𝖊𝖚 || 𝓙ames 𝓟otter

-You received your acceptance letter to Hogwarts and your parents were so proud and happy for you -You headed to Diagon Alley to shop for your needs -It was fun and colorful unlike anything you have never seen before -You watched as you leave your teary eyed parents and headed to look for a vacant compartment -You saw a boy whose hair was wavy and wore a maroon coat -”Can I sit here? All other compartments were vacant if you don’t mind.” -The boy seem to be in a cheery mood as he extended his arm out in front of you as you sat opposite to him “I’m James Potter.”  -”I’m Y/n L/n” you two talked for hours until you both arrived at Hogwarts -James didn’t left your side as all of you first years were walking to a staircase -”Good Evening Children, I am Professor McGonagall.” You looked at her hat down to her dark green robes -As she continued on she opened two heavy doors only to be welcomed inside the Great Hall  -”Now I will be calling one student and you must sit here on this stool as I place the sorting hat to sort you into your houses.” “There are four houses,there are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.” -She had the hat on her other hand and the other was a scroll  -”Sirius Black” You looked at a boy who had dark hair and pale complexion who seems to be rather intimidating. -You watched how it was going to be until the hat spoke “Gryffindor!” The table where the Gryffindor’s all sat roared out and welcomed at boy.  -”James Potter” you felt James’s hand squeezed your hand, his hand felt rather cold.  -”Don’t be nervous.” You whispered to him, he just smiled and released a heavy breath. -”I just wish we are sorted in the same house Y/n.” You felt your heart leap with what he just said and you smiled at him.  -He step up and sat on the stool, he kept his eyes on you and you just smiled at him in hopes this would help him ease up. Until the hat spoke again “Gryffindor!” -He smiled brightly and instantly bolted down and run towards the Gryffindor’s table. -”Y/n L/n” Your eyes went wide as saucers, but you remain calm and walk up sitting on the stool you couldn’t look up to meet anyone’s eyes you just stared down at your feet.  -”Hmm, I have never seen such as this as before. Very interesting.” The hat made you nervous and your palms started to sweat. -”SLYTHERIN!” You looked up to the table were Slytherin sat they all stood up and cheered for you, the prefect welcomed you and you smiled at them, you sat next to a black haired girl. You look in front of you to see James who was already looking at you and smiled at you. -”I guess were not the same houses.” you mumbled under your breathe. -Days passed on you and James would still be seen together, playing around, him always asking others if they have seen you, and times wherein he pulls you to sit next to him in the Gryffindor’s table. -years went on and you became close with Remus and Sirius and Peter, although you learned why Sirius was somewhat avoiding you first but he warmed up to you eventually learning the truth about his life and his family and he trusted you.  -But as years went on you realize you grew feelings for James and that he was in oblivion about it, you too would always be together despite that they bully Snape and other Slytherin you were the exception because to them you weren’t anyone like them Sirius even joked that the hat made a wrong choice to place you in Slytherin. -In your 7th year you just became miserable, you lost your father and your mother was too busy that in the holiday break you don’t get to see her  -You stay with the Potter’s even thought you insisted not to but James literally begged for you to join him and Pads -He still made you happy despite the lost you just had -In the Gryffindor dorm party only the Marauders and the other friends they had were invited and of course James tagged you along. -Surprisingly James didn’t sat next to you like he usually does but you just shrugged it off but it was hard when he seems to be having fun with this red hair girl, that every second he was whispering something to her ear and you felt jealous. -It was Remus who saw you watching them from the other side of the room. -”Ah James, fancy with all the ladies you know him but he doesn’t stick to long with them.” Remus just cracked up jokes to make you laugh to also divert your attention away from the two. -The very next morning came and you sat at the Gryffindor table because Peter, Sirius and Remus said so because James told them that he has an important news to tell. -”Good morning lads.” James said seemingly in a good mood in the morning you looked at him and he looked at you but he was smiling over something -”What’s with the smile Prongs?” Peter asked him while he took bites on his toast. -James cocked his head to the side as he just continue to smile to himself -”Your scaring us what’s with you and how are you even this happy we have double period in Potions that’s not fun.” Sirius said  -”I’m dating Lily.” He said out of blue which made you choke on your pumpkin juice -Peter passed you napkins and you thanked him, you look at him in disbelief but deep down you were hurt. -”Congrats Prongs!” Sirius said out loud causing the others to look at our table -”What? My best friend finally got the girl!” Sirius said to everyone as they all cheered just the right time Lily entered the Great Hall and I look down at my own food that doesn’t seem so appetizing anymore. -”I’m happy for you James, please excuse me.” You walked out of the great hall and passed by Lily. -You sat in the Black Lake, the tears kept falling down your cheeks and you were fully sobbing your heart out. -You clutched your chest and felt the pain in your heart. -Trying to silent the sobs escaping your lips you bit your lip as hard as you could. -Burying your face on your knees, you cried and cried until you stopped you know you missed a lot of your class period but you couldn’t careless when you feel like this. -”I guess if only I was in Gryffindor maybe things would’ve been different.” You mumbled to yourself.  -But now in present time, you look down at James and Lily’s tomb you released a sigh  -You still remember the days when you were all still so young, the fun, and laughter the love and memories you all had. Placing a hand on your lips and placing it on the tomb no matter how hurt you were you just knew it was never going to be. -”Farewell.” You stood up and walked away, unaware that Harry and Hermione would be in the same spot you were standing a few seconds after you just left.

the gif isn’t mine, credits to the owner

[bucky-iss-bae]

The Friend-zone (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

A/N: This is probably the worst thing I’ve written, I’ve lost my flow, I just ugh, I tried and I overwrote this all but I hope you don’t hate it. Sorry for how bad it is, I’ll be like me again, one day xoxo 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Fandom: MCU/Marvel

Prompts: “Are you drunk?” - “Not nearly enough.”“I think I may be slightly more drunk than I thought.” “You know I hear you talking, but I still don’t have my coffee.” “I know I kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right. Can I try again?”

Warnings: Gals being drunk - Swearing - Full of grammar and spelling mistakes bc its 3am 

Word count: 3000 ish (Sorry, it probs would’ve been better short) 

Masterlist Fandom list

Working so closely with the Avengers meant being friends with the Avengers. It was a good job, you earned good money, even had your own space at the compound, and had the best mentors. It was great because you loved the company and became a part of their family. You worked hard, a direct contact for the avengers but behind a screen, you never went out in the field, only when you were stuck in a van with everything you needed for your job. It was weird considering how many people would’ve been better for the job, but having Tony as a close mentor, you knew his systems better than anyone did.

It was an intense job to have, especially when working with some very dangerous people, as well as very important people.

And although you were young compared to some, you were mature enough to take on everything that you did. But being young also meant being able to have fun at any formal events and parties that Tony threw, it meant being able to get drunk, let your hair down, and have fun. Which you took pride in doing so.

Two people you classed as some of your closest friends were Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson. You don’t know how you became closest to them both, Bucky, you had gotten to know over the last few years because you were someone outside of the violence. You bought him into the 21st century through friendship. But this man along with Sam Wilson were the two you got along with the most. Peter also held a special place in your heart, you and Peter almost had a sibling relationship, but other two constantly fight him with him like older, annoying brothers as well.

The one thing, out of everything that you’ve done to help the Avengers is how gradually, overtime, you caught feelings for none other than James Buchanan Barnes. You don’t know when, or how. You just remember joking around with him and Wilson, and the way Barnes was with you, it made your heart beat that little faster, and his jokes that little bit funnier. You were constantly surrounded by him. The only thing you were greatful for was the fact you have your own apartment in the city, one that you definitely use as an escape.

You had drink after drink at the current gala that Tony had thrown. You donated money, you done a lot of pleasantries, but no one really knows who you are, so you were almost free reigned to do whatever you liked without embarrassing yourself. But of course, that didn’t stop you.

“Are you drunk?” Sam asked standing beside you. He looked very sharp, wearing a suit that you helped him buy, a fresh trim, and a glass of champagne in hand.

“Not nearly enough” you groaned in response, you wanted to be drunk, you wanted to forget about the feelings you had for certain people, but that someone had to look amazing right now. They had to look like a freaking model that belonged on the cover of every fashion magazine out there, they looked like they should be the face of every cologne out there. Instead they were here, quietly socialising by Steves side, looking as good as ever. Your feelings for Bucky Barnes were just getting worse and worse. Sam knew this, Peter knew this and both Wanda and Natasha knew. No one else, and if anyone else did know, they definitely kept it to themselves.

“You know, as much as I find it amusing watching you stand her and yearn for a man who finds it difficult to keep his hair in place, I really think you should talk to him one day”

You gawked at Sam, “I’m sorry what? Talk to him? Yeah I talk to him everyday Wilson.”

“You know what I mean Y/N,” He said nudging your shoulder. “you need to talk about you know, your feelings for once. You’re all about communication, can’t you see the way he is”

You shook your head, “He’s not any certain way. He’s just Bucky, the way he always is, the way he is with us, with Steve, he’s different with each set of people depending on his comfort levels, that’s how everyone is. We don’t need to talk about feelings though, he doesnt know communication with feelings”

“No? I definitely think you should. And I also think you need another drink” A waitress was passing by you both, you swapped your glasses despite the dire need of something stronger.

“You know, I think I do want to get a little more drunk than I am. Because right now, I don’t even feel buzzed”

“You sure as hell look it, lean on my arm kid, we can get you wasted”

You grinned up at Sam, “Dance with me Wilson” You said dragging his hand across the floor, you felt eyes on you both as you danced together and Sam grabbing you more drinks.

After some time you had to go to the toilet, you stumbled your way there, Nat helping you half way until she got dragged into conversation which left you stumbling to the toilet yourself.

You looked at yourself, your hair still in place, lipstick had slightly come off, but it didn’t look smudged, so you reapplied this. You deemed yourself presentable before leaving the bathroom.

You left only to bump into Bucky who was stood there leaning aginst the wall, when your eyes met a small smile fell on his lips, all you could think is how beautiful he looked. Honestly, beautiful.

His hair was a bit loose, a few strands at the front of his face, his piercing blue eyes matched the blue on his bowtie, which had also come undone. His beard was neatly trimmed down, months ago you badgered him, on and on, talking about how much he suited a beard and how he shouldn’t shave. After a few weeks, a beard was nicely growing on his face, and since he’s kept it thick, but trimmed to perfection.

“Hey sweetheart” He murmured once he saw you,

“Bucky” You grinned loudly, trying to hug him, instead tripping over yourself and landing in his arms,

“Looks like I’m fallin’ for ya buck” You had a cheeky look on your face, but only saw an unreadable expression on his, it frustrated you that sometimes you thought you could read Bucky, but you knew deep down you couldn’t. You just wish he saw how you feel about him.

“Y/N” He smiled, “Looks like Sam gave you one too many drinks”

You grinned at that, “Uh huh, you should’ve joined us, instead you were being the mature adult you are”

“Yeah, Y/N?” He smiled down at you, “I mean you seem a little drunk there, sure if I were with you both, you’d only be a little tipsy”

You rolled your eyes and huffed, “Uh huh, an influence like you. Buck you ought to know that you, Mr. James Barnes, are a terrible, terrible, influence. But I’m only a little-ickle bit drunk”

“Uh huh, is that why you’re trippin’ over your own feet?” He had a small amused smirk plastered on that handsome face of his that you just love.

“Buck” He you said grabbing his face in your hands, “I already said, I was just fallin’ for ya, and you caught me like the handsome gent you are”

His breath caught in his throat slightly, as he looked at your face, you hadn’t realised the close proximity between the two of you, his eyes went down to your lips, and yours to his, you don’t know what overcome you, if he leaned forward, or if youre the one who initated it, but the two of you kissed.

It was soft and gentle, almost testing one another, and then again, until the two of you were properly kissing a drunken kiss. Your hands still holding his face in place, you could feel his hands wrapped around your waist, it took a moment for your brain to catch up, you were stood here, kissing Bucky Barnes. The man you were basically in love with. The man you classed as one of your best friends.

You pulled away abruptly, gasping as you did, “I’m so sorry Buck” You whispered before trying to find your way back inside.

You don’t know what happened, you kissed him, he kissed you, why did you do it? What if now he thinks you only kissed him because you’re drunk. What if he kissed you because he’s slightly drunk?

“Sammy” you called, “Sam” You grabbed his arm, “I need to go, help me get a taxi please”

“Y/N, I thought you were with Bucky” He said a worried look on your face, when he mentioned Bucky all you could think is the broken look on his face as you pulled away from him and out of his arms.

“Sam, please. And I just, I fucked it all up” You grumbled, a sad look on your face not knowing what you’ve potentially thrown away.

“What?” he asked pulling me aside and towards the enterence, “I fucked it up, we kissed, and I ran” you cried to him,

You didn’t have a chance to see the shock on Sams face, instead you heard Steve approaching you both,

“Hey, you two good?” He asked,

“Yeah, man, we’re good. Well, she’s a bit wasted. I’ll get her back to her apartment; can you go check on Bucky?”

“Yeah of course, make sure you get home safely Y/N” He said kissing your forehead before going to find his best friend that you kissed and ran from.

**

Waking up the following morning was a mission, the hangover nearly killing you off, you heard the TV on loud and couldn’t remember how you got home, who you were with. All that kept on replaying in your head was the kiss. The kiss that meant everything to you.

You grabbed your robe before brushing your teeth and them going out to see who was invading your space,

“Ahhh, the heartbreaker awakens” Sam announced loudly,

“Wilson. Don’t even start. I can’t talk to anyone hungover without coffee in my system, let alone someone bullying me” You grumbled,

“Awh, c’mon Y/N, you finally had your chance, and you ran. What is with that?”

“You know I hear you talking, but I still don’t have my coffee.”

He shook his head and went to pour you some, “So go on, what happened? You’ve been waiting for that chance for how long, and then you ran? Steve said Buck was really torn at the end of last night, couldn’t figure out what happened. Took me all of a second to know”

You just snatched the mug out of his hand, wondering why he’s in your apartment this early, and why he’s tormenting you with the events of last night.

“What happened is, I bitched out and ran. I had my opportunity, but was too drunk to appreciate it” You grumbled,

“That’s a shame, Good job I called him over here, I said you wanted to talk”

It took you a few sips of scalding hot coffee to understand what just left Sam Wilsons mouth. First, he invites himself to your apartment, your food, and your coffee. Then he invites the man you love, kissed and then ran from whilst drunk over. All while you look like garbage.

“You did what” You screeched, “Sam when is he getting here?”

“No idea... soon?” He shrugged not a care in the world,

“Wilson, this is important information, spit it out. Just because I’m not trained the way you are, does not mean I can’t cause damage”

“Woah chill Y/N, he’ll be here in about half an hour. I told him you’ll order lunch, and I’ll even leave before he gets here. Just be greatful that I’m such a good friend, I bought you home, slept in your guest bedroom, and made sure you didn’t die from alcohol poisoning”

“I wasn’t that bad” You whined, “But thank you, although I still don’t appreciate the bullying”

He grinned at you, “What else would I be good for huh? You’re like my kid sister, of course I’m going to bully you, now if I were you, I’d go look somewhat presentable, Bucky will be here soon”

You groaned at that, shocked that Sam done something like this to you, but then again, you put yourself in this position, and Sam is basically giving you a kick up the ass for it.

When Sam left, you finished your coffee before having a quick shower, you were disgustingly hungover and all you wanted to do was climb into your comfiest pyjamas and sit in front of the TV ignoring the world. On days where the other girls were free, no secret ops, no training, you had a little pamper day, you would even prefer that over the conversation that’s to come. You had no clue what he would say, what you would say, and weather you would be shoved right into the friendzone.

**

Between the time that Sam had left, and Bucky arrived, you managed to dry your hair, get changed into something somewhat presentable. You tidied your apartment as much as you could in the few minutes you had before he knocked on your door.

Your heart dropped to your stomach, too scared to face the man on the other side of the door.

You walked over to look through the peephole. From what you could see, he had on some jeans, a hoodie, layered with a leather jacket. He had a glove on his metal hand, and a cap covering his hair.  

You took a deep breath before opened the door; his body froze up before he turned to see you stood there. Whenever he saw you it took his breath away. Last night when he saw you, all he could think is how he wished you were on his arm. How the two of you should’ve gone together and left together.

Whenever he saw you in the compound, seeing you first thing in the morning made his day that bit better, he wished you were the first thing he saw every morning of everyday.

Staring at your beautiful face now, it made his heart swell, despite his mind constantly going back to last night, he finally had you in his arms, he finally had you, for you to run. It scared him, he might’ve messed it all up forever. Standing here right now gave him hope, all he wanted to do was take you into his arms, apologise for yesterday, and start from scratch. But he didn’t know how or where to start.

“Bucky” You whispered,

He gave you half a smile while takng his hat off, “Hey”

“Hey, um come in. Sorry everything is a mess”

He shook his head and observed the tidy apartment, he had only been here a few times, never just the two of them. And nothing was a mess, it was perfect. He took off his leather jacket and glove, hanging the jacket up and leaving his glove on the side.

He didn’t know what to do with himself but opted to sit on the couch across from the television. Football highlights were on, but he knew for a fact you weren’t watching this.

“Did you want anything, tea or coffee?” You asked nervously,

“I’m good thank you Y/N” He murmured, “You wanted to talk? Although, I’m positive that Sam set this up”

You had a sheepish look on your face and nodded sitting beside him, “Buck, I need to apologise for last night. I had no right to invade your personal space the way I did, I had no right… no right to kiss you. I’m sorry for crossing boundaries, I feel awful for everything, I didn’t mean to run from you the way I did”

He stared at you, unable to read any expression on your face, he was deep in thought because for James Buchanan Barnes, he knew his feelings for you were strong, and right now he’s wondering if you regretted the kiss because of him or not.

“Why did you run?” He asked, he needed to know why you ran.

You scrunched your face up a few times, trying to think of the best way to answer him,

“Because… what if now, a stupid mistake I made, I kissed you, and our friendship is just… it’s not us? I ran because I was scared, I messed up, could’ve messed it all up because of one... stupid mistake”

“What if, I’m glad you made that stupid mistake?” He asked his blue eyes staring into your own, “What if it’s not ruined our friendship? Made it better even?”

You stared at him in shock, how is it that Sam Wilson, the man that bullies you, pushes you into this conversation,

“Made it better?” You asked him, is he being real right now?

“I’ve wanted something like last night for so long, but… I don’t feel like I know what love is. I don’t know how to be that man I once was when it comes to relationships. I panicked, but shit, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that to happen”

“What?” You whispered, “You wanted to kiss me?”

“I’ll be real, I wanna do a whole lot more than just kiss you”

Your jaw hung slightly, and he just chuckled a little, a small nervous laugh.

His eyes were sqinted slightly, a slight look on relif on his face, “I know I kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right. Can I try again?”

He didn’t even let you answer, instead this time he leaned forward and kissed you.

This kiss was so much different than your last, it wasn’t sloppy and drunk, it held the emotion and passion you didn’t realise you had between the two of you. It meant that you weren’t in the friendzone, instead getting drunk because of feelings was a good way to regret expressing your feelings for it to come back around and have the man you love sitting there kissing you.

You didnt think half an hour ago when you woke up that it would take all of five minutes to talk to Bucky to be sat here in his arms,

“Promise not to run this time” He murmered against your lips,

“I promise” You whispered back, a smile stretched across your face.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 12: Quidditch

The office was so bare, that at first they thought they'd landed in an abandoned one. Yet the desk was filled with papers for markings, the curtains were well worn as if someone regularly pulled them back to view the Quidditch stadium beyond, and the chair was not the one from their time, but slightly modified into a more comfortable recliner. Still, there were no personal touches, and even those teachers who had no plans to stay longer than a year carried photos, or remnants of every human practice to somehow mark their space. No splash of color dominated, even the bedroom adjacent to the office held only standard bed sheets.

"We must be in Quirrell's office," Sirius decided. The feeling would never grow comfortable, but he was at least used to by now of shaking off the dizzying feeling of being somewhere he wasn't a second before so that he could step up to the desk and start rifling through drawers which were as bare as the walls, only filled with extra quills and ink.

"Bloke needs a personal decorator," Peter muttered, he'd never seen anything so bare bones, and he'd been to a DA teacher's office every year to know this wasn't common.

"What do you think happened here?" Frank asked as he stepped up to a corner of the room. There was an empty shelf that could have held any number of things from books to nicknacks, but it was as dusty as everything else. However, there was a small burn mark in the wall, with just the tips of a few feathers showing on the edge indicating it might once have been a bird implanted there, but now it was just a smoky, twisted shape like he'd tried to blast it off the wall instead.

Lupin stepped up beside him with a perplexed look as well, scratching his nail against this curiously. "I think it used to be an eagle," tracing his finger now across the lone visible feather, "maybe he used to be in Ravenclaw house?"

"Then why would he blast it off?" Franks brows only rose higher with such an odd form of an answer.

There was no explanation for this peculiar place, but that was the pattern of this whole journey so far. So Remus stepped up next to Sirius and plopped down in the seat, scooping up the book where it had landed first and reclining leisurely as he began the next part. He cheered with joy the moment he read the chapter title, and Sirius sat on the arm of the chair at once to lean in and see why. Remus automatically pushed his face away, but by the time he read it out to the others Sirius was already whooping with his own joy they were going to be reading about Harry's first Quidditch game, finally!

James was beside himself with joy at once, clutching Peter to him in ecstatic excitement before they even got to details, they were all aware of who the match was going to be against. Peter was being just as bad, squealing and wriggling around just as much, watching James carefully to make sure he'd stay upright even when he was released to start all but bouncing off the walls.

Alice watched them and couldn't help but laugh at the show, remembering the two times she'd actually sat near them in the stands during their younger years and knowing they could possibly get worse, so choosing to follow as Frank went into the adjacent room to find some lower level of noise.

Regulus just stood awkwardly at opposite ends of the room from Evans, admittedly more ecstatic for this but honestly still unsure of how much he should bother trying to interact with Sirius. His parents had been making it increasingly clear during his holiday visits Sirius may not even be around much longer if he didn't change up his act this summer, and no matter what crazy world they were flying through now, he should still honor his parents wishes and keep himself separate from the stain of his older brother. Just because his friends still managed to amuse him, and honestly he still couldn't help but look to what Sirius did and react the same way, didn't mean he was actually expected to hang around him.

Lily declined following Frank and Alice for once, but that just left her more uncomfortable than ever in this room full of boys who she couldn't claim to see eye to eye with about anything. They held no interest as Lupin went through the whole chapter leading up to the game, wasn't going to bother with any defense for what Sev did even if that was a rule he made up on the spot. The way they were reacting was even how she would have predicted, still making crude jokes at each other and reminiscing about all they'd done to Snape and wishing they could do more now while he continued to bully Harry.

Not that she even knew for a fact that's what this was. She more than anyone could understand why Sev was singling Harry out, not that she in any way approved of why he was for such petty revenge, but she wouldn't deny she could see in his eyes lashing out at someone who so reminded him of Potter just as much as her. She wished he'd be more of an adult about it, but there was just no point saying any of this to anyone present, it's not as if they'd understand.

Her fury at the situation only grew when Harry went on to accuse Severus of being after whatever that deranged dog was guarding. Honestly, one incident of an injury, an overheard conversation, and the kid just automatically blamed it on the person he didn't like. It was a miracle he wasn't adding Malfoy into the mix as an accomplice already, as if life didn't happen outside of teachers who yelled at him.

The build up to the game held no interest to her, it only set her teeth grinding back on edge and all she could do now was be grateful he didn't use any build up to blow off steam like the Potter in this room would. In fact she honesty couldn't admit to even listening to what happened up until the moment Harry mentioned his broom lurching beneath him. Something inside of her lurched as well.

She certainly didn't like Potter, but she'd never actually wished him irreparable harm, let alone death! That's what was going to happen when Harry fell though, so she looked on at Lupin stuttering through words in a panic, actually understood the look of fear on all of his friends, and met Potter's eyes with a dry mouth that honestly could have released a scream of fear any second.

"Evans!" James startled them all out of the vivid mental nightmare as he went to her side. She fell against the wall the moment that little Hermione girl claimed to have seen what was really going on, but remained just out of arm's reach of Potter when her focus snapped back to him still on a glare.

"It wasn't him," her voice crackled with force that would surely have stopped that bucking broom in place, it wasn't a wonder why James froze. "Severus isn't the one doing this."

Far from looking as if to check on her, the muscle going in his jaw made it clear he was holding himself back from doing something more than shouting now when his hand twitched for his wand. "Are you really so daft women? You can't look past, for one bleeding second of protecting and defending him against everything! What possible explanation do you have for this one?!"

"Why don't you try opening your mind for once Potter!" She snarled right back, off the wall in the same breath and glaring daggers at him, her hand in the same position. "Pull your fat head out of your arse and think! Or is that too difficult, with all the empty space up there?"

"Glory those two are the most self centered birks I've ever met," Frank muttered, staying happily on the other side of the door to mutter this to Alice. "Can't they have this row for the millionth time after they find out if the kid survived. I swear this went down last week about who it was causing the toilets to snap shut on people."

"Wasn't it Avery caught doing that yesterday?" Alice asked in surprise.

"Exactly," Frank finished with a snort.

"How long do you think they can keep going when neither really has the ability to walk away?" Alice asked in honest concern when the two just kept exchanging insults.

"You mean when Evans can't storm off," Frank corrected. "Ever seen Potter? I think he lives for this."

Alice huffed in disgust if this was really how he thought was the best way to keep her attention, and honestly just grew sick of it herself finally. She went back through the door, Frank following reluctantly, and right over to Lupin. Black was sitting on the arm of the chair and watching along with Pettigrew like a show, but the last Marauder was pretending nothing was even happening as he kept his eyes down on the passage, though clearly reading nothing as no words had been uttered since they'd started.

"You lot just planning on staying in here forever?" She demanded.

"That's an interesting question," Black looked to her and said conversationally. "Wonder if time's frozen forever, we'll never get old, never get hungry again, actually wait, that could get really boring."

"Whatever point you take from this," she said in exasperation.

He nodded and nudged Moony, muttering, "best go on then, you've studied in the common room with louder things going on."

Remus hesitated an extra moment before indeed choosing to ignore the pair and continuing. It certainly made the Marauders who were paying attention a new level of interest none had ever seen, setting a teacher on fire and all. That was something they'd never dare to do, and Hermione just became their new idol for that act alone, the reason that she was doing it just made her as solid a friend as Ron only made it all the better.

It was honestly sad to the three of them James took no glory in this, didn't even seem to mention it as he was still busy over there where apparently only he and Evans existed. He even missed Harry spitting up the Snitch in victory, and in fact only came back to realizing what was going on when Evans snapped her head in their direction upon Hagrid defending Snape.

"Finally, a sensible human being," she seethed, snapping away from him and storming into the room for any way to escape while still listening attentively now. Hagrid just became her new favorite person in this castle for finally seeing past singling out a person for this happening, something that childish idiot could never understand.

"Wait, what happened to Harry? Who won the game?" James asked with a ruffled brow, his eyes still on the door and for all the world still unaware when Peter answered he'd fill him in on the details.

"Fluffy?" Frank said into the awkward silence. "I can not for the life of me picture a three headed dog, fluffy."

"Thought you had more imagination than that love," Alice honestly giggled at her boyfriend's perplexed look.

"I'll take that scrap of information if the dog has pink fur on top of it all," Lupin said with honest interest, his eyes now alight as he kept going at finally getting more information no matter how unintentional Hagrid gave it.

"Why do I know that name, Flamel," Regulus muttered to himself, though he alone felt invested in this mystery. Everyone else still seemed far more involved with Harry, even Evans no matter how much she denied it. She certainly hadn't, in all her shouting, come up with any alternatives to who could be trying to kill the young Potter, unlike him, who was still chewing over all the information given as Lupin finished.

[skaylanphear]

Wild Ones

Summary: Heading to Hogwarts for the first time, Remus tries not to let his worries get him down. He has a lot on his plate--secrets he can’t tell anyone about--and none of it is helped by the bullies constantly casting jinxes and calling him nasty names. Despite it all, though, he has his three best friends. Together, they stubbornly face every challenge, determined to stick together no matter the forces trying to pry them apart.

A story about the Marauders as they navigate their school years and set off into adulthood. Starts in Year One of Hogwarts.

Sunday Night Updates (all 25 chapters of Year One are completed and will be posted regularly) 

Chapter 7

It was all well and good to have a plan, but doing the work in order to make that plan possible was another issue entirely. Especially when they also had their normal studies to contend with.

And for Remus, well, he had his other problem to consider on top of everything else. The October fourth full moon fell on a Monday, just four days after they'd hatched their plan in the bowels of the castle. And he was, unfortunately, more nervous this time than he had been before.

Not because of the shack or even the damage the wolf was liable to do to him, but because he had to come up with some kind of excuse to give his friends for heading off alone. In the month since they'd come to Hogwarts, the boys had become mostly inseparable. They had all their classes together, all the same homework, the same dorm, the same "plans." They spent every moment together. But, worse yet, they had no reason to spend any time apart. Especially since James had created a schedule for them all—he was, apparently, a very organized young man despite his seemingly lackadaisical attitude.

They couldn't let their studies fall behind (hopefully) and so James had allotted specific times for studying during the week, for doing their research, for practicing their spells. And even if Remus did want to go to the library on his own during some of the time they had for "leisure" (James' word), he was certain the others would want to tag along.

Especially Sirius, who'd been more stuck on him than usual for some reason.

But it was a full moon and he had exactly five minutes before he had to leave for the hospital wing. They were all in the dormitory doing a bit of homework before dinner. He could lie and say he'd left something in their last class and was just running out to get it, but they'd definitely be worried when he didn't come back. Besides, Sirius would probably tag along. Remus could barely use the loo on his own these last few days.

No, he'd have to come up with something that would excuse him the whole night and probably the following day. Which was… impossible. Aside from the same excuse as last time—that he was ill. Which he hadn't really wanted to use more than once. At least, not consecutively. Because that would definitely be weird.

But maybe he'd just have to settle for being "sickly" and in hospital once a month. When it inevitably became a regular thing, his friends would get used to it. It was just getting over that initial hump of suspicion, really.

"Remus?"

Startled, Remus looked down from where he was sitting cross-legged on his bed. It was Sirius who'd said his name, the other boy sitting on the floor doing his homework. He liked to spread his papers out all around him and take up much more space than was really necessary, which was why he preferred the floor.

"What?" Remus squeaked out.

"You okay?" Sirius asked. "You look kinda… peaky."

Peter looked up from his own bed. "Yeah, you've seemed kinda pale all day."

"I'm fine," Remus snapped harshly. Too harshly, his friends shying back a bit. He'd been pretty short-tempered in general these last few days—as always when he was this "close." "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just… not feeling great, is all." Pushing himself off his bed, he looked anywhere but at their expectant faces as he straightened his robes. "I'm gonna go see Madam Pomfrey."

Sirius was on his feet in a flash. "I'll go with you!"

"No!" Remus hadn't meant to shout. Standing steady, he forced himself to take a deep breath. "Just… stay here, okay? I want to go alone."

Read More 

[siriusmuch]

eyes | james potter

pairing: james potter x reader

warnings: hurt/comfort, mostly comfort

word count: just under 900! pretty short.

summary: requested by anon — prompt #15 (there is something in his eyes that was not there before.) from this list. your mother always told you that eyes were the window to the soul.

a/n: thank you for the request!! i hope you enjoy :) sorry this is so short!

masterlist here

-

When you were younger, your mother told you that the window to the soul is someone’s eyes. You could tell a lot about a person just through their eyes. You haven’t always been accurate with it, but along the lines, you’ve became amazing at reading people.

You’ve heard stories about James Potter and his friends ever since you’ve gotten into Hogwarts, but you didn’t become friends with him until fifth year. It was midnight and you were hungry, and you walked smack-bang into him.

“What are you made of, steel?” Was the first thing you said, and you quickly covered your mouth, shocked at what had slipped out.

James chuckled, but you could see that there was something in his eyes that was not there before. You knew that things between his friends have been tense recently as rumors that Sirius had played an awful prank spun through the rumor mill. You’ve seen James Potter from afar before. He was bright and joyful. Even if you agreed with Lily that he was a bit of a bully and egotistical, you could view in his eyes that he was a good person.

“Steel hard abs, maybe,” he quipped back, and you rolled your eyes at him. “Be careful, Filch was just leaving the kitchens before this. He wasn’t walking this way, but you can’t ever be too careful.”

“Filch was there and you didn’t get caught?” You raised an eyebrow, but you weren’t really surprised. The Marauders got away with a lot of stuff, and it was a mystery to most the school how they did it. “I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I’m going to the kitchens to make hot chocolate and get some cookies, I’ll make some hot chocolate for you if you come along.”

“Bribing me with hot chocolate to be in my presence already?” James joked, and you nudged him. Nonetheless, he followed you the way he came from.

“Anyway,” you started, “Are you feeling okay? I think I’m overstepping by saying this, but you’ve looked bloody miserable for a while. I don’t know what happened with Black, but…” You trailed off.

James looked hesitant to share anything, but there was something about your presence that seemed comforting. Maybe it was the way that you genuinely seemed to care by offering hot chocolate and asking without seeming like you had another motive, or maybe it was because you were there right now and you seemed like the type of person he’d be friends with, but something about you just made him want to spill.

“Not really. The rumor mill is somewhat right. Sirius did a terrible thing that spilled someone’s really important secret, and he did it in the worst way possible without thinking about the consequences. That’s all I can say without revealing anything that I’m not supposed to reveal,” James confessed, and you nodded.

Tickling the pear, you greeted the house elves and started prepping the stuff needed to make hot chocolate. “Well, I don’t know the situation so I can’t necessarily offer my advice, but… you all look downright miserable without each other. It’s weird not seeing you guys accompanying each other in a group. Whatever happened did happen, but from what I know about Black, I think he’s beating himself up enough over it. I think he’s rather lonely without you guys, and I know you two have a brotherly bond. Even if he did a terrible thing, if he genuinely feels bad about it and sees where he went wrong and is willing to fix that, then maybe it’s time for some baby steps.”

“I think I want to start fixing this, but I don’t really know how to. For one thing, he broke our trust, and we’d let a lot of things slide, you know? But this… this is beyond that,” James sighed, taking hold of the cup of hot chocolate you slid over to him, “We really need to talk about it as a group, but Sirius and the other person keep avoiding each other.”

You already knew the other person was Remus, especially since Peter looked lost even as he followed James loyally. From this, you knew that it wasn’t James’ secret either.

“I’m sorry, Potter. I wish I could offer you more advice, but there’s nothing I can really say. But thank you for confiding in me, I swear I won’t share anything you’ve told me.” You pat his arm before picking up the food you wanted up.

“Thank you, (Y/L/N). You were fine, you said exactly what I needed to hear. It’s nice to have an outsider’s point of view.”

You wish you were surprised at how sensible and loyal James was, but you weren’t. Your mother was right — eyes are the window to the soul. A bit of light returned to their eyes, and you were happy that you were able to do that for him.

“Come sit with me at breakfast tomorrow, yeah? I have some Honeydukes left over that you can have.”

[starkerisendgame]

Would you do a starker fic where Tony finds out Peter is being abused or bullied and protects him, with lots of h/c?

Hiiii,

I’m so sorry this took a hot minute. I have like 20 WIPs across here and AO3 :’) I hope I did your prompt justice and if not, please feel free to ask for a re-do! It took me a while to think up something.

I’m thinking that in this, Tony basically adopted Peter after the Parkers died and that Peter grew up with Tony.

TW: Mentions of bullying/mild abuse | Threatening | Blackmail | Implication of physical violence.

Peter Parker had never wanted to be someone who lied. Who kept secrets. Had never wanted to be the type of person that snuck around and got into trouble and kept things from his loved ones. When he was four he stole cookies from the jar after his Mom had told him no more for the night, and had been so morose over his betrayal he’d confessed and willingly offered up a toy to be held captive until his punishment was over.

Peter supposed that was a long time ago.

Now all he had was his secrets. His life was spun on a web of intricate lies that came so easily now it was second nature. Hiding things became a skill. First from his friends and his Aunt, then from Tony. Though Tony knew the most, of all of them. And yet…He still didn’t know it all.

“Hey, Mr. Stark? I slipped practising some flips. Got pretty bruised up, so I’m gonna grab an ice pack” Peter called as he brushed past the common room, heading for the kitchen. There was now a mini-fridge dedicated to cold-based medical items in there.

The best way to hide something was to offer it up freely. It was easier to convince Tony the bruise was of his own accord than it was to try and hide it, and to stumble over the excuse when Tony was suspicious. Tony would jest him for being a clumsy colt and wold forget about it within the hour. If he was concerned and suspicious, he would stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

Tony didn’t need to know the truth.

Flash probably hadn’t meant to bust his rib. For all the punches he threw, he generally avoided any ‘high’ scale damage. He probably didn’t know that throwing Peter against the benches at such force would be enough to crack the bones. To bruise the skin an angry, dark purple.

It was fine. It would heal. A few days at most.

Peter sank onto his bed with a groan, kneading at the blankets and pillows to a supportive bundle around his body. He let his eyes fall closed, holding the ice pack to his side.

“Mr. Parker…It is my observation that you are suffering from mild fissures to the 5th and 6th right-side ribs. I would recommend pain relief and altering Sir to the full extent of your injuries” JARVIS intoned softly, and Peter’s eyes snapped open with a soft gasp.

“No! No. Its fine, J. Really. I misjudged the distance is all. Don’t worry about telling Mr. Stark - I don’t want him to get all panicky like last time” he wheezed, shifting to try and find a more comfortable spot. There was a long stretch of silence.

“Very well, Mr. Parker. But I still suggest pain medication” JARVIS replied eventually, and Peter breathed a sigh of relief. If he could nap off most of the initial pain and healing, he would be able to get through the next few days with minimal cause for concern.

He was just beginning to doze, mindful of his side when Tony appeared in his doorway, streaked with oil and squinting at him suspiciously. It had been at least an hour. “Did you say you had a bruise?” Tony asked, arms folding as he leaned against the door, and Peter forced himself to push up into a sitting position, grinning brightly at Tony.

“Just a bump. I thought I could flip over the fence, and. Yeah” he lied sheepishly, ducking his head in a mock show of humiliation. Peter was clumsy enough on a daily basis that the lie was believable, and it was seconds later that Tony snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Well. You never inherited my grace, that’s for sure, kid. Have a hot soak then ice it. It’ll help the bruise to fade” Tony remarked softly, before turning away. “I’m gonna make sandwiches, try not to injure yourself getting to the kitchen”.

Peter gave a weak chuckle and sank back down into his bedding, letting his eyes close on the tears that threatened to spill over his lashes.

Monday was no better. Peter arrived at his locker to find a large sheet of paper taped to it, which included a bad but crude drawing of him bending over for Tony. They even had name arrows, and the title proclaimed it ‘How Penis Got His Fake Job’. Peter’s cheeks burned as he tore it down.

He wanted to make a snide comment about how invested Flash seemed to be in Peter getting fucked, especially by Tony, but he knew that would only result in something worse, so he kept his head down as he rifled for his books. Ned was off sick today, and that meant Peter was alone. His ribs had mostly healed, but he had no doubt by the end of the day Flash would find a way to damage something else.

He was right, of course. He received no less than six basketballs to the head in gym, and Flash managed to shove him face-first into the wall as they all begun to file out at the end of the day. The only bonus is that none of it bruised. Peter could get away with the odd lie about being clumsy or getting hit in gym, but if it was constant, Tony would begin to catch on, and so would JARVIS.

Tuesday was less kind. Flash left him alone during school, which should have been Peter’s first clue. Peter preferred to walk home when he could, because Ned lived along the way to the Tower and they could chat on the way home, or stop by the sandwich shop. Ned still wasn’t in today, but a girl named MJ that Peter had met once in detention had come stalking over to his empty table, sat on the edge, and had read a book.

The walk home was lonely, until Peter turned the corner not far from home to find Flash waiting for him, with another boy he vaguely recognised. James? Jamie? It begun with a J. Peter sighed and adjusted his bag, blinking across at them. “Flash…Can we just do this tomorrow or something? Put a pin in it for today?” He asked. Flash laughed like it was the funniest thing ever and turned to his friend, gesturing to Peter.

“Can we just do this tomorrow?” He mocked, in an overly-high pitched and pleading voice. Peter heaved another sigh and let his bag drop to the floor. Guess not, then. James/Jamie was easy enough to take care of, though Peter felt awful for it. The other boy was twitchy, like he didn’t want to be there, and a swift kick to the ankle sent him yowling to the floor.

Flash, not so much. Peter limped home about twenty minutes later, his cheek red and his knee sore. He planned to beeline for his room, to raid his secret stash of painkillers and cold packs he kept in his mini-cooler. He didn’t get that far. That seemed to be the running theme of today. The elevator opened to the penthouse, and to Tony’s back. He was humming along to Led Zeppelin and cooking, and turned immediately when he heard the elevator doors.

“Ah, kiddo! Just in time for - What happened to your face?” Tony was immediately dropping the spatula and crossing the room, meeting Peter in the middle where he gently captured his jaw, lifting his head to inspect the blooming red mark. Peter heaved a sigh and offered a meek smile.

“Gym class today” he lamented, shrugging. “Coach has a new thing for dodgeball”. He tried his best to appear honest, but Tony still looked at him with a glimmer in his eyes, brows furrowed as he ever so gently ran his thumb over the sore bruise.

“Dodgeball” Tony repeated, and Peter nodded. “Mm. Well, c’mon. Lets get some ice on that. And maybe I outta have a word with the school. You’re coming back like patchwork lately”. Tony’s tone was light, but his expression didn’t change as he took Peter by the arm, leading him to the kitchen island. Tony pushed at his shoulder to get him to sit, and begun to rummage around in the medical fridge.

“So. School didn’t give you anything for that?” Tony asked, as Peter slipped off the stool and went to stir the sizzling meat that Tony had forgotten about.

“Mm, well. They gave me a crappy ice pack for it, but it was hardly cold, so I just threw it away. We got better ones here, and I only had to wait out last period” Peter lied, tongue hurting with every word as he stared at the glistening strips. Tony was back at his side a moment later, tenderly pressing a cold liquid pack against his jaw, before nudging him out of the way.

“Maybe I should throw more money at that place” Tony announced thoughtfully as he took the meat off the heat and set it aside, motioning. “You can chop that salad stuff. We can eat on the balcony” Tony added, and Peter snorted but obliged.

“Well. I suppose a handful of change wouldn’t make a difference to you, Moneybags. Be my guest - Maybe we can get computers from this decade then” Peter tossed back, though he partially regretted it when Tony glanced at him, looking delighted. He groaned. Of course, now the school would be weighed down with StarkTech by the end of the week.

And of course, it would be another excuse for Flash to come at him. Peter sighed and did as told, using his shoulder to keep the cold pack against his jaw as he sliced up a variety of greens, tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot and croutons. Tony had a fold-down table set up on the balcony, complete with a little white dinner cloth and a candle. Tony liked food, and Peter liked food. Dinner was always one of Peter’s favourite parts of the day.

“Mm, so. Besides violent ball games, how was school today?” Tony asked around a mouthful of food. Peter gave a hum and a shrug, spearing a strip of meat on his fork.

“Same old, really. Ned is still sick. His Mom said he’s still running a fever, so he might not be in this week. We had a mock test that I aced. There’s this girl called MJ who’s started sitting at my table. She won’t talk to me yet, but I think maybe she wants to be friends?”

Tony tucked him up that night, as though he was five, not fifteen, and sat on the edge of his bed, running his thumb along the curve of his jaw. He stayed until Peter was asleep, snuffling softly now and then.

Tony wasn’t stupid.

He was mildly wounded that Peter treated him as such, but he supposed he couldn’t be angry, nor could he blame the boy. Whatever was going on; Peter was scared.

And Tony had enough personal experience to recognise a handprint when he saw it.

But he had no facts, no suspects, no evidence. So he did the first and best thing he could think of. He begun to formulate a plan. He couldn’t exactly waltz into the place and begin throwing demands and threats and children. No. But he could offer to do an inspirational talk - the school had been practically begging him for months.  

It would give him an in. And from there, it would be easy enough. A bug or two over there, a camera or six around the corner. Hell, maybe he could even coerce a tutor or two into keeping an eye out. He sipped slowly at the glass of whiskey he held in his gauntlet-ed hand, tapping metal fingertips to hear it clink. Compressed and calm though he was externally, a war raged within him. A clouded darkness that threatened to consume all rational thought.

Someone was hurting his baby.

Sending Peter off to school the next day made him twitch and seethe, but he managed it with his usual morning chatter, stuffing an apple and some cereal into the kid before sending him outside. Peter often insisted on walking home, but had conceded to having a car drive him in at the mornings. The moment JARVIS announced he was out of earshot, Tony pulled out his phone.

The receptionist practically swallowed her tongue when he informed her of who he was, and after several minutes of rambling, passed him onto the Principle, who did a particularly good impression of someone with a stutter. One long hour later, and there was some semblance of a plan. Tony faked a sympathetic story about Peter lamenting his classmates’ lack of motivation for their futures, and wanting to make not only a donation, but a reach out to these poor students, and it was eaten alive.

He had a tour, a brief seminar, and a successful way to hunt down whatever pathetic dredge of life was laying a hand on Peter. It didn’t even occur to him that he’d forgotten to ask that Peter be kept in the dark until the boy came stomping up to him after school, driving a finger into his chest.

“The thing about the computers gave me an idea!” He defended, when Peter was pink-cheeked and out of breath, and still only mid-way through his rant. “What could it hurt? I give a few kids ideas about their future? I improve the quality of education for future students?” He asked, lifting a brow. The guilt-trip worked, but Peter still deigned to sulk right the way up until Tony produced a gallon tub of ice cream for dessert.

“Just don’t embarrass me” Peter muttered around a spoonful of Belgian chocolate, and Tony winked at him. The pro of raising the kid was that Tony knew exactly how to get to him. Peter had come back without any visible bruises today, but Tony still kept a close eye on him, still muttered to JARVIS when Peter went off to brush his teeth that night.

I want you to scan him, every morning, and everytime he comes home from school. I wanna know if he so much as gets a mosquito bite.

The day of his visit dawned, and he dressed for the occasion. He’d decided to dress as one might expect an obnoxious, in-your-face billionaire to dress. One of his most expensive, in season suits, a glossy pair of Louboutins, subtle until you saw the bright sole. A pair of deep, red shades that matched his silky tie. He styled his hair and shaved and popped a mint after his morning coffee, and raised a brow when he turned to find Peter standing in the doorway, staring at him.

“No” the boy greeted flatly, gesturing to his outfit. The boy himself was wearing his usual ensemble of a shirt with an awful science pun, jeans so tight Tony pitied his balls, and sneakers that Tony knew he’d bought from a local mall. Despite a wardrobe full of Gucci and Versace and Chanel, the boy still roamed around like…Well. A normal teenager.

“I think I look rather dashing” Tony smirked, spreading his arms and engaging in a slow spin. Peter groaned, pushing past him to grab a banana, before heading for the elevator. Tony rolled his eyes but followed, hands tucking into his pockets. They were arriving together, today. Tony had bullied the kid into it last night, with heavy bribery involved. Peter had relented only after Tony promised they would visit Sicily again this year.

They journeyed down together, Peter furiously typing on his phone and no doubt begging his friends not to make a big deal of today. The notion made Tony smirk a little, and it only grew at Peter’s reaction to the car waiting for them outside “The Aventador, really? Your literal most ‘flashy’ car?! Peter exclaimed, gesturing to the vehicle like it was a turd on the carpet and Tony was the dog.

It was true, he really couldn’t. The vehicle was painted in the same theme as the suit, deep, glossy red and luminous, sleek gold. He had a second in black and gold, and a third in silver and white. Tony merely gave a shrug and continued onwards, past his sulking child. He had a point to make, and he was gonna damn well make it. Whatever gutter rat was hurting his boy was going to get a real-life taste of the type of man Tony was, and could be.

The closer they got to the school, the further Peter sunk into his seat, which was frankly ridiculous, because they were parking at the school. Everyone would see him get out, even if they didn’t see him arrive. “Shrinking is going to do nothing” Tony announced cheerfully as he pulled up at a parking spot.

Ridiculously, the school had enlisted two janitors to stand guard over his car for the visit. Tony tried to assure them it was unnecessary, whilst Peter grumbled and wished for death at his side, head ducked like nobody would recognise him on that basis alone. Just to add to it, Tony slung his arm over Peter’s shoulders, protective and possessive as he scanned the crowd.

People were staring, but it was hard for even a genius to work out the suspect just based on that. Multiple people had negative looks that ranged from jealousy to disgust. Though several faces were obscured by phones. Tony did his best to scout out suspects, using his glasses to catalogue those he felt were primary persons of interest.

As it turns out, it was a pointless exercise. Flash Thompson solidified himself as Suspect Number one promptly after strutting up to them, thrusting his hand out and loudly introducing himself as ‘I’ve won Z, Y and ranked top of my class for Z and T’. Tony wasn’t paying attention.

Not to Flash, no. He was paying attention to the way Peter shrank under his arm, pressing against Tony’s side with a steely gaze.

Ah.

Tony straightened his spine to stand tall over the kid, sliding his glasses down an inch to observe him with a decidedly icy gaze, before taking the outstretched hand, squeezing more than strictly necessary just to see the poorly concealed wince on Thompson’s face, the grin that became brittle with pain.

“Nice to meet you, Fleck” Tony responded smoothly, releasing the boy to clap him on the shoulder. “With all those accomplishments, its a wonder you’re not working for a famous company yet”. And with a firm clasp on Peter’s wrist, Tony left the boy gaping after him like a guppy. A quick glance of his watch showed the device he’d attached to the boy’s jacket had held, and was active.

“I hate you” Peter muttered pointedly as Tony steered them towards the doors, a thunderous scowl replacing the determined look of blankness. The tension had bled from his shoulders though and he no longer cowered against Tony, like a wolf pup hiding behind its father.

“Mm. I’m willing to bet you’re going to say that a lot today” Tony responded delightedly, flashing Peter a dazzling grin before leaving his boy to attend the Principle. The majority of the morning passed by in visits to classrooms, bashful showcasing of the schools trophies and tech and facilities.

Tony was bored mindless, in all honesty. The school was unimpressive and devastatingly normal. The students were more interested in having his face on their Instagram than they were about anything inspirational he had to say, showering him with questions and shameless self-promotions. Peter’s name cropped up frequently, and Tony made sure to bare his teeth when he smiled, to answer a little more forcefully than he had their other hounding questions.

Hm. Perhaps he’d have to step up his protective game. He knew jealousy was rife amongst the students, knew Peter would have to grow up facing shit for his status as a Stark, but…Well. With a steely resolve he vowed to do better; to make them stop. They could whine in the comforts of their own homes.

Lunch brought the answer to his questions, the prey to his predator. The device that he’d attached to the boy gave a soft alert behind his glasses, nothing more than the gentle intrusion of a video, keyed to Peter’s face and voice. Tony gave a subtle incline of his head to expand it, watching through the feed as Thompson approached Peter where he stood at a water fountain, re-filling his bottle.

“Hey, Penis Parker. You blow him to get him to show up today, huh? Begged him to come waltz around so you could make some friends?”. Tony could feel his hackles raise, sat upright in the rickety office chair, coffee abandoned on the desk. In the footage Peter heaved a sigh, staring deep into the stream of water.

“C’mon, Flash. Not today. I didn’t ask him to come here; its like his thing. He wanted to see the school” Peter murmured in response, and Tony’s nails scraped the desk as he stared, hard, listened to the laughter echo.

Flash Thompson.

“Probably wants to see what teachers you’re fucking to get your grades. Wouldn’t have to worry about that if I got the luck-shot you did. My grades a bonafide. Yours are boner-fide”. The horrific pun was punctuated by Thompson smacking Peter’s bottle from his hand and shoving the boy.

Tony snarled, eyes narrowing. Fight back, Peter. Put a stop to this. Peter fought bullies damned near religiously when it was other people; when he was Spiderman. Why was he letting some trust-fund shmuck boss him around? Peter went staggering, but didn’t fall, and the footage cut off when Thompson turned away from his dismayed expression.

Tony slid the glasses from his face calmly, gaze fixing on a distant point. Flash Thompson. It still didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was the snivelling quim behind his boy’s bruises. The scum that dared to touch his boy, to speak to him like that.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and Tony regretfully didn’t get to linger around Peter as much as he had hoped to, only able to parade around his classroom for half an hour before he was being ushered away to prepare for his speech.

It was the usual dramatic affair, a display of technology that was basic and mundane to him, but blew their little minds, a passionate promotion of Stark Industries and the million avenues it could open for them. Peter looked suitably bored throughout the entire thing, wedged between Ned and a pretty brown girl who stared at him like he was picking him apart atom by atom. The boy spent most of it clearly mimicking Tony, eyes rolling and the other half buried in his phone.

Flash Thompson took actual notes. Religiously. Nodding along to anything Tony said, puffing his chest at every name drop and every statistic. He would be insufferable as an adult, if Tony ever let him get that far. One of those egotistical types that would both try to intimidate and brown-nose their way into Tony’s wallet, company and pants, if he were so inclined.

Tony shook a few hands and accepted several compliments and waded his way through the crowd afterwards, snagging Peter at the edge of the hall, cradling him close. “You ought to pay more attention to me” Tony pouted, and Peter rolled his eyes heavily, gesturing to the lingering crowd.

“I think you’ve got your fill of attention” the boy muttered sourly, though he was smiling. “You really outdid it. Broke out the D.A.R.T tech and all. I think I saw a few swoons” Peter huffed. Tony shrugged and offering a sweet smile, like he was innocent of all crimes.

“Oh, uh. I’m also gonna walk home, if its cool. Ned is back today and I wanna catch up. Plus, if I have to get back in that car again today, I’ll actually die”. Dramatic, but. A metaphorical light-bulb pinged above Tony’s head, and instead of protesting, he squeezed Peter gently and let him go with a dazzling smile.

“Y’know? That suits me just fine. I’m heading off now, anyway. I feel grubby just being here. Too many…Little people” he sniffed, checking his watch and adjusting his tie. Peter looked a little baffled, but accepted the kiss to his temple with grace, nuzzling into Tony’s collar before they parted.

Tony didn’t go home. He parked the Aventador in the alley of a coffee house and reclined in his seat, taking out his cufflinks as he gazed at the road ahead. “JARVIS. Do me a solid. Run a facial scan on that little turd, and track his route home through the street cams. And…” Tony flexed a fist, teeth grinding.

“And…Show me. With Peter. I wanna see. I want to know; for sure”. He didn’t want to see. He felt sick. He felt hot, like the rage was burning through his veins. Consuming him.

He breathed.

JARVIS complied, as always. Brought up a tracked route and a series of various footage snippets. Thompson jumping Peter on the way home. Thompson shoving Peter into walls and garbage cans and puddles. Thompson slapping or hitting him. By the final clip, and there were many, Tony was a seething mess.

“Activate the Iron Soldier” he barked, voice strained.

“Sir, may I-”

“No. I’m not - I’m not gonna hurt him. Make him shit himself, maybe. But not hurt him”. Tony couldn’t do that. Not to a kid. Give Thompson a few more years and he’d put him through a wall. But for now…

“Very well, Sir. I trust you”.

It was an agitated wait. Tony felt on fire, ice cold, shaky but dealthy still. It was almost an hour later than JARVIS quietly informed Tony that Thompson had left, right on schedule, and was heading homeward. The tracking device showed Peter not far behind, and Tony knew he would need to act quickly.

It took him less than 60 seconds to find Thompson, swaggering down the street with another snot-nosed little trust-fund brat. The Iron Soldier was a warsuit, a weapon. Nothing like the classy yet intimidating style of the Iron Man legion. This was a formidable thing, black and red with red eyes, all sharp edges and stealth.

He slammed down into the concrete before them with enough force that it crumbled, sinking him inches down into the rubble. The two boys squealed like pigs, leaping backwards from the suit, from Tony, as he rose to stand. He pointed a dark finger at the second idiot. “You can leave” he commanded through the warped voice of the suit, its dark and jagged rasp.

The boy did, spinning on his heel quicker than any antelope and practically pelting it down the street, not sparing a single glance backwards. Thompson had lost his cool exterior completely, still gaping like a guppy and shaking like a leave in a tropical storm as Tony stepped forwards, close, until his metal, cold chest was square with his.

The boy quaked when Tony lifted a palm, grasping his face none too gently. The gun muzzle whined softly, with a dealthy red glow as it fired into life. Tony gripped and pulled, drawing the boy to his toes, close.

“If you so much as look in Peter’s direction again, I can assure you, you will beg me to die. I will cut off any piece of you that you touch him with - And that goes for your little friends, too. If you, or any of them, so much as dare to breathe in his space I swear to every oath that exists I will make you regret the day you were a thought in your Dad’s ballsack.”

He let Thompson go, and the snotty little shit dropped straight to the floor with a wail. Tony didn’t stick around, taking off with an exaggerated blast of flames. He spent a short while back in the Aventador, picking through files and sending off various threats, various blackmail snippets. Digging and digging until he was in a web of entrapment.

Those kids wouldn’t so much as think of hurting Peter now. Not with what Tony had against them; the power that he held over them. Was it a moral grey area? Sure. That grey area was so thick it was almost black. But.

But it was Peter. His boy. His soft, precious little thing that lit up his world. The reason he strived to be better, each morning. Tony was drained by the time he aimed the car for home; later than he planned and desperate to just…Sleep. To rest.

He’d been foolish. Reckless. “Please don’t tell Pep about this. God, or Peter. Especially not Peter” Tony pleaded as he entered the Tower. He stripped his tie and his suit jacket, heading straight for his bedroom to change. He stopped hard in the doorway however, immediately softening.

Curled up and writhed in his sheets was Peter, dressed in nothing but a loose shirt and snowflake socks. He’d tangled himself in the sheets, nuzzled deep into the pillow he had his arms curled around. It wasn’t uncommon for his boy to enjoy a nap after classes

Tony lingered in the doorway, arms folding as he watched Peter. The gentle rise and fall of his chest. The faintest hint of purple around his side where the shirt had ridden up. It made his heart ache, hollow and bloody. He hadn’t been there for his baby. He hadn’t protected him.

He would now. Always. No matter what it took.

“Always” he spoke softly, firmly. A promise his boy wouldn’t hear, but Tony would keep like an oath nonetheless.

[slutsofren]

Magical Mysteries

Summary:  Hogwarts, 1978: Ben Solo and you are the best of friends, his mother is the Minister for Magic which puts a large target on his back being the wizarding community's supposed Golden Child and the leading example for fellow witches and wizards. Being his only friend has also led you to be ostracised with him. His life has been threatened repeatedly and you stayed beside him. But, this story isn't just about him being targeted by others, it's also the tale of either your illustrious fall with him to the darker side of magic, or your own saving grace to leave him to his virtues.

Read it on AO3 here: Prologue: Trust

im so sorry for everybody who was waiting on me, things got a little crazy the past week or so at home and it put me off of writing and editing- im doing this by myself and just kind of needed a Break. i think i should be back on to weekly posting now <3

Six years had passed since you first walked into the Great Hall. Six years since you met Ben Organa-Solo. In all that time both you and Ben had changed so much physically. Where he grew much taller and broader over the years, developing into the strong young man you knew he was, you changed in ways that only accentuated your humbled attractiveness. 

You let your hair grow longer and longer each year, as did Ben when he could afford to, it was the 1970s afterall, by now your hair was long enough to reach your waist. A true accomplishment since you constantly fussed with it. Eventually it settled down a lot when Ben began braiding your hair from time to time. It was a comforting task for the two of you.

The best thing that changed for you both was your developments as magical people. Your strengths in herbology and potions were only rivaled by Ben. He was also well accomplished in potions as well due to a certain tutor you both shared, but he soared in charms and astronomy. Although your studies were close to perfection, everything else was not.

Your first year was as difficult you could have possibly imagined but you were forever grateful for having Ben with you. When you arrived with little to nothing but your full-blood Kneazle, something you’d deny your cat ever was, you felt overwhelmingly unprepared in comparison to the other students.

Ben had been gracious enough to help conceal your cat’s heritage and in doing so, coined his name, Anubis. You, in turn, named his great horned owl Athena. Both your companions took not only a liking to their new names but also to each other and would often be seen cozying about somewhere in the Slytherin common room. Ben never let you go without whenever he could, always bringing you whatever supplies you might have needed “just because”.

Since the two of you had begun your magical education, you minded to yourselves as best you could. It did prove to be rather difficult. Some of the elder Gryffindor students were almost always on your case because you had taken to defending another Slytherin boy. You and Ben caught a group of boys dangling him from his ankle, high in the sky using magic.

You disarmed the apparent leader, one James Potter. This led to a mild brawl between the group of bullies and you and Ben. Peter, the rat-faced boy ran away, the one named Sirius fought Ben and you fought James. Remus opted out of this small brawl and saw it as “unmanly” to hit you. You were sure to add a few well placed punches on James for that to prove a point.

When all was said and done, you ended up with a black eye and a few bruises. Ben, on the other hand, had fractured ribs, a broken nose, and a couple bite marks- he wasn’t happy about that. The boy in question was older by two years and his name was Severus Snape. He wasn’t fond of either of you at first but you bugged him enough to at least be tolerated by him. 

As a result of the fight, Dumbledore was advised to expel you both, the bullies included, but the Ministry sent an advisor to meet with the Headmaster and you two were able to walk away without consequences on behalf of the school outside a bloody red howler.

It was sent by Ben’s mother who was not impressed with your chivalry as well as Ben’s “ineptitude to be a leader and not a follower”. This soured his mood for quite some time seeing as the entire school knew about it by the end of the day. Although you both left this debacle with little to no consequences, the group of Gryffindor boys were sent on a week long detention in the Forbidden Forest and lost 50 house points- each.

Ever since then, the Gryffindor house all made it a point to target you two. It didn’t bother you for the first year or so, you felt a sense of pride knowing that you did the right thing. It only became more inconvenient when they began to mess with your studies. That only fueled your drive to do better, to be better.

Ben, on the other hand, wanted less to do with this type of attention, he felt it to be too bothersome and invasive, which it was. They’d begin rumors about him, his family. All this did was further alienate him from others as they began to whisper about his background. As for you they’d only temper with your schooling since nobody knew of your father’s “infamy” in Europe.

Your fellow Slytherins either ignored both of your existences or quite simply cared to not get involved with the rivalry. Surprisingly enough, the general house feeling was to attempt winning the house cup as many years in a row as possible, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had been dominating that title for the past four years at the very least.

The boy you defended, Severus Snape, acknowledged you two well enough eventually, offering to help your studies in potions since you had kind of guilted him into the position of tutor. You managed to begin scoring high marks since Severus made it relatively easy as he lent you his copy of Advanced Potions Making every once in a while. This alongside your affinity for botanical witchcraft seemed perfect. Aside from being your tutors, he kept to himself, much like the team you developed with the Minister's son. Alas, he wouldn’t be caught dead being seen with either of you but you would meet, albeit secretly, in one of the abandoned girls' bathrooms for his lessons once a week.

Due to Severus’ teachings you began to take to making whatever precautions you felt would be needed eventually. Ben often found himself either hurt or in need of aid and you always seemed to have his needs prepared before he even opened his mouth. This sparked his new nickname for you, Starlight. The one who always knew how to light the way.

Eventually the rumors and overall whispers began to grow more and more irritable. By the time your fifth year had rolled around, you needed to help Ben find an escape. You couldn’t sit by and watch your best friend cave into himself, becoming more reserved around you as if you were the exact same people he did not trust.

It felt like forever and a half until you found the perfect thing. You called it “The Attic”. It was not but what seemed to be but a small abandoned classroom on one of the most southern towers at the school. There was a large window facing the front of the school, where you could see the bridge that welcomed students each year if they came from the carriages. The other window facing the west allowed you to see the sunset from the room perfectly every evening.

Ben became more and more curious the more you slipped out from the common room without saying anything to him. These antics had gone on for about two weeks before he confronted you.

“Where do you think you’re going,” he warily said your name. His hand gripped your upper arm when you tried to scoot around behind him without him noticing one evening. 

You felt anxious, staring at him like this, with your secret to hide, a surprise you couldn’t wait to show. “I can’t tell you yet but please,” you begged in a hushed whisper, “trust me.” Ben let go of your arm and nodded, watching you give a half smile and turn around, disappearing behind the common room doorway. He had half a mind to follow you but he stayed where he sat at the desk.

Not once in your entire friendship did he ever think about trust when it came to you. It felt like a foreign concept entirely. Being around you felt intoxicating, as if being next to you solved every problem he ever had.

Trust.

Yeah, he believes he trusts you.

He stayed put in that chair all night, even ignoring the Slytherin Head Boy calling everyone to bed for lights out. He stayed rooted in the chair, waiting for your return, clutching a letter in his hand that Athena, his wonderful owl, delivered earlier in the day. In the far corner of the room, he could hear the clock chiming, alerting him that it was now midnight.

Ben let out a heavy sigh and burned the letter, the contents lost in the flames. A problem for another day.

Deep in thought, the entry to the common room opened slowly, slipping past Ben’s attention. You walked closer behind him, watching him as he concentrated on the burning parchment.

You whispered his name and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Why are you still awake?”

He turned to look at you. His eyes filled with weariness and a hush of anger. “Where did you go?” He avoided your question.

You lowered your hood and flashed a big grin, excitement growing within the confines of your belly. “Let me show you tomorrow? I promise, you’ll really enjoy it.”

Ben searched your eyes and saw you were not going to hide your secret from him no longer and he conceded with a shallow nod. 

The very next day, you both left dinner in the Great Hall early and you led him by his hand, taking the right hallway then a left to a spiral staircase, then up the changing stairways, up up up and up, almost not stopping.

He was beginning to get annoyed, thinking you’d led him on some wild goose chase until you stopped dead in your tracks in front of a door, you spun around, excitement making your whole body feel like it was vibrating.

“Here, this is what I’ve been working on, it’s for you- for us to come to whenever we want,” you word vomited.

Ben looked at you with furrowed brows as you gestured to the handle, encouraging him to open the door. As he did, you clapped your hands together, hoping- praying he likes this place.

Inside was the abandoned classroom you had found when you went looking for the Slytherin Prefect one day, it was dusty and filled with magical creatures that began to make their home there but now, now it was filled with a brown couch, a small bed, a brown desk, some books, a record player and vinyl, a calligraphy set, and a plethora of other, much smaller details.

When you first began to rearrange this space for the two of you, you made a deal with some of the magical beings: you would never take away their home and made a deal to share the space, even making them all small nests throughout the room, one special one filled with a small family of bowtruckles. You earned their trust by offering them some woodlice and a never ending pile of it for them.

When Ben walked into the space, his eyes darted so fast around, trying to absorb each and every detail, every piece of you that you offered to share from the muggle world with him, and the bits of him that were around, decorations you had sought to placate some of his interests like the calligraphy set- something he mentioned was a minor hobby of his since childhood.

His heart swelled with emotions- so much you have given him and he felt he has done nothing in comparison, that you are the very sunshine that peaks through the leaves on a sunny day. Tears began to well in his eyes over this grand gesture of yours.

And so, you two spent every available free time in that room, The Attic. This place truly felt like a home away from home for you both.

Ben, one of the best spell masters you knew, casted an undetectable expansion charm on a pair of satchels so you could bring stuff from home to this space, but being careful not to bring anything much too large.

You wouldn’t tell him how you managed to sneak a whole couch and bed in there, there could be a few innocent secrets between you both.

He took another turn to look around the new room for you both, letting his large hand leave featherlight touches on the items you had decorated the room in, the muggle records being his favorite- so much he didn’t know about that world. Your world. The one outside everything magical, everything he was constantly surrounded by.

“Th- thank you, Starlight.”

“Anything for you,” you smiled. 

[cornholio4]

Left Behind

Note: Based on a prompt left on the Tumblr of Miraculous-Of-Salt but not Daminette. Sorry but personal opinion and you are free to like the ship if you do but I don't left Marinette X Damien. My fave crossover ship of Marinette is with the Peter Parker Spider-Man. It's mostly due to not liking Damian from the comics and media I have seen with him as a murderous brat. I don't see Marinette actually tolerating him. That's just my view and I have liked Daminette fics I have read (though for the salt) and they are fine.

Ms Caline Bustier had gotten her class back from the long flight home; she had the class on a weeklong field trip to check out Gotham Academy, all the way in Gotham City in the US! It was also funded by none other than Wayne Enterprises as well.

It had taken a lot of work to do and set up along with the permission slips and not everyone was allowed to go, especially not Adrien Agreste due to his strict overprotective father. She never thought she was allowed to directly criticise parenting but Gabriel Agreste was too strict a parent to Adrien, it had only been recently that he even allowed him to go to school like a normal child.

Most of the School Board needed to be convinced and she along with Principal Damocles was sternly warned that anything that goes wrong will be on their heads.

It was mostly due to the infamous status that Gotham had; corrupt politicians and police officers that were replaced by dangerous Villains and insane criminals. She swore she had everything under control.

She was happy to report that everything went off without a hitch; nothing happened. The only disappointment was that Marinette seemed to be distant from her classmates and especially when Lila was nearby. She seemed to go out of her way to talk to the Gotham Academy students instead of joining any conversations that Lila was involved in.

She frowned at this and decided when they got back she needed to have a small little talk with Marinette; she noticed she was becoming more distant from her classmates and it couldn’t be good for her. She had been hoping she could reconnect with her friends which was why she insisted to her parents that she go.

It didn’t work so she would have to do more.

She made sure to check all the names on the list before leaving but there was one that was crossed out weirdly with a pen but she guessed it was a name that cancelled at the last minute.

She made sure everyone was sent home that Friday afternoon when they got back. However on Monday morning she got an urgent email from Principal Damocles that she was to report to his office immediately after arriving. She was stunned but rationalised that he must just want a report on what happened.

However she was met with a unhappy Principal Damocles; several people she did not recognise, Marinette’s parents who looked uncharacteristically furious and several representatives of the School Board. The representative’s fury was only overridden by the Dupain-Cheng couple’.

She could not even begin to ask what wrong before Sabine Cheng went on a tirade about how she left her daughter alone in one of the most dangerous cities on the planet when she assured them she would be totally safe.

She was in the middle of asking what they meant before her brain frozen when she realised something: she did not remember seeing Marinette on the line to come back at the airport or on the plane.

Marinette had phoned them home saying no one had told her when they were leaving so she was waiting at the meeting place at the hotel having been unable to find any of them. She had been found by Bruce Wayne who had to contact her parents arrange for her to be flown back in a private plane.

Ms Bustier was relieved that Marinette had gotten back safely then but one of the representatives passed her a tablet and saw it was the Gotham Gazette website. Ms Bustier was asking why she was being shown it and was about to get back on the topic of Marinette but she was harshly told to read it.

She saw it was about something that happened on the Friday Night after their flight left, the hotel they were staying at was attacked by criminals after a VIP guest who was in a luxury suite. The photo showed several criminals being handcuffed by GCPD police officers, she could make out the dark vigilante of Gotham ‘the Batman’ (a pretty bleak figure if you asked her) and next to her were the superheroine Starfire and the Bludhaven vigilante Nightwing. The two were comforting a teenage girl.

A teenage girl who looked a lot like Marinette....

Oh no..........

The backlash had been enormous and school was cancelled indefinitely for the students; the School Board and Marinette’s parents were furious that not only was Marinette left behind in a different country but it was in one of the most dangerous cities ever with her life at risk by an attack by criminals.

It was a miracle it was not someone like the Joker, the Batman Who Laughs, Killer Croc, the Scarecrow, King Tut or even the Bookworm who was involved. The criminals were being personally led by someone called the Ventriloquist and what had happened was that they were not willing to harm a teenage girl so they let her get to saftey just before the Superheroes had come.

Of course that was the official story; the one Batman had told the GCPD who related it to the Gotham reporters. The criminals were not contradicting the story due to their embarrassment of what had actually happened:

Batman, Nightwing and Starfire had arrived to see the criminals all tied up to a pole with a Yoyo, there was Ladybug there. Tied up was Arnold Wesker a middle aged grey haired balding man with glasses and was tie up along with Scarface his mobster ventriloquist dummy who he still had his hand in.

Ladybug was actually tickling his cheek asking who was a cute mob boss and Scarface was shouting to his men that anyone who lets this go out will be a dead man walking.

The story became everywhere in Paris; Nadja Chamack made sure to get it out through the news media. She was angry that the daughter of her friends had her life endanger by being left behind in a different country.

Marinette was interviewed about it in the investigation and was asked about the record of her having been bullied by the mayor’s daughter for years at the school. She related what had happened and asked about what Ms Bustier had done about it. She had to say that she didn’t do a whole lot and had taken her aside to encourage just be a good example for Chloe after she had ruined a birthday present she had made for the teacher.

That did not look good at all.          

It turned out that when the classmates were asked they said that Lila Rossi promised she would tell Marinette when they were going and didn’t. There were apparently some beef between them and looking into their file they found claims of disabilities, diseases and absences that didn’t have notes.

Her mother was called in for a talk.......

Ms Bustier was on indefinitely suspension but knew she could not count on keeping a teaching profession and didn’t know if Principal Damocles would survive the ordeal. Ms Bustier came to the bakery and gave a well deserved apology Marinette and their parents even knowing it would not do much. Marinette looked apologetic but her parents just said they didn’t have anything to say to her.

She felt that even the look Marinette had given her was more than she deserved.

Marinette had gotten home and despite what happened did enjoy her time in Gotham. She had a few souvenirs including a communication device with a T on it, it seemed like Ladybug was now an honorary Titan.

Her classmates had come to the bakery and given her apologies for what happened along with her parents. She accepted them but was upset about what happened.

She was more than happy with the other classmates (the ones who didn’t go) who wanted to make sure she was okay along with other students. Juleka and Rose had come to make sure she was alright along with Luka.

When she next saw Alya she was enveloped her into a hug that seemed to last forever and tearfully told her that she was glad she was okay. She hugged back. Alya was vehemently refused permission to go by her parents; they knew what she was like in wanting to get Superhero footage in the Ladyblog and the lengths she went.

They did not trust her to do the same in a city like Gotham.

On social media and TV interviews Bruce Wayne talked about making sure the visiting Marinette had gotten home safely and criticised the French school officials who allowed it to happen. Former GCPD commissioner and current Gotham City Mayor James Gordon shared the sentiment.

There were tweets and interviews from Bruce Wayne’s foster son Dick Grayson and his fiancé Kory Anders (a beautiful young woman who most people swore that she did not come from this world) who talked of making sure the poor girl was consoled until they were able to send her home.

Marinette was asked what it was like meeting Bruce Wayne by her friends but she was being humble about it and didn’t like saying anything. It was not like her classmate Lila.

Said girl was angry about the attention her hated rival was getting and the enormous trouble she was in. If she came back to school she knew she would have to face tougher and sharper personnel.

Why did she decide to make sure Marinette was left behind again?

[floralguccistyles]

three: a new hope

My first and only relationship had been during my second year of university. His name was James Trinity, and while at first I had been excited because he had the same name as Captain James Kirk from Star Trek, the novelty wore off very, very quickly.

It wasn’t that James had been a bad boyfriend. On paper, he had checked off all the necessary boxes. He remembered dates, sent me sweet good morning texts, and wasn’t an embarrassing eater that I couldn’t take out to restaurants. The problem with James was that he was so...boring. He always suggested we went out to a movie and then dinner for our dates. And while that was perfectly acceptable while we were starting our relationship out and getting to know each other, it got boring after awhile when that was all he wanted to do.

There was also the flower problem.

When my dad picked up my mom for their very first date, he bought her flowers. When he picked her up for their second date, he bought her flowers. When they got married, he didn’t bring her flowers because she already had her own bouquet, but he had drawn a rose on a note and had one of his groomsmen deliver it to her before the wedding. It was a stupid tradition that in reality I actually should have hated, but my heart stopped every time I thought about a guy bringing me flowers. I wanted someone to pass by a bunch of daisies and think, I’ll get some of these for Petra to brighten her day. 

James hadn’t bought my flowers.

I knew it was stupid and if James had been my dream man, my deal breaker wouldn’t have been an absence of flowers. But paired with the fact that all he wanted to do was watch movies and eat, and he had been on his phone when my parents had come to London to meet us for dinner, the lack of flowers were a big deal.

After James, there really hadn’t been anyone that had caught my eye. I was more focused on Alien Crossing, anyway. I didn’t have time for a relationship. The only relationships I needed were with Jeremiah, Veronica, and Melody. Anyone else took a backseat.

Except, of course, my parents.

“We were listening to your podcast, love,” my mother said from the other side of the Skype call, smiling in confusion because technology still freaked her out. My dad was the one that dealt with all the computer and phone problems they had, but given that he was in Bristol to help with construction of a school there, my mum was alone this time to deal with the Skype call. She had already accidentally hung up on me twice while trying to turn the volume up. “The lad you had last time, that Harry fellow. Didn’t you go to school with him?”

My experience with Harry on AC the previous week was odd, to say the least. Realistically, he had done fantastically for his first time on a podcast. He had answered my questions seamlessly and the conversation flowed a lot easier than I thought it would have. I supposed it was because he knew so much about music. And though the scores of big movies were different to the music he created, it will still interesting to hear what he thought of them. I had, regrettably, been sitting on the edge of my seat every time he had answered one of the questions I asked. It was easy to discern why people loved him all around the world. He was charming, charismatic, and knew what he was talking about.

I hated him for it.

“Yeah, I went to school with him. He was the one that bullied me all the time and then became a famous singer.”

“Right, right. His mother sent me an edible arrangement once. I offered it to our neighbor a day later because he husband passed away.”

I felt a little stab of selfish satisfaction when she told me she hadn’t eaten the edible arrangement. I’m sure Harry’s mum was a wonderful enough lady, but she had spawned Satan himself. 

I hadn’t spoken to Harry since I had watched him drive away from Outset’s lot at around three in the morning. After recording, he had stuck around to listen to the editing that Jeremiah and I did, which was unnverving but we got through it. Then, he had done that weird handshake-bro-hug thing with Jeremiah and had offered me a polite smile. He probably knew that if he tried to hug me I would have thrown him off Outset’s roof. That smile was the last thing I had seen before he got in his nondescript black sedan and drove away.

“So are you two friends now?” my mother asked. She hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with Harry being on the show. She had called me the day after we recorded and when I had complained, she had reminded me that it probably took a lot of guts and courage for him to apologize. She was a little annoyed I hadn’t accepted and forgiven, but I reminded her that I was a grown woman and could make my own decisions. 

“No, Mum. Believe me, Harry Styles and I will never be friends.”

I heard her click her tongue disapprovingly. “Sweetheart, he was very kind to apologize,” she reminded me, “and you shouldn’t hold grudges. It isn’t good for you.”

It was the same argument every time. Harry wasn’t brought up much with my parents, but when he was, it was always the same. Forgive him, Petra, he didn’t mean it. Oh, he was just a kid, Petra. I could probably guess what she was going to say verbatim. It did nothing but piss me off. Did they not care that this was the kid who had me sobbing in my room at two in the morning because I felt like shit about myself and it was his fault?

“He made my life hell, Mum,” I said through clenched teeth.

“He was sixteen years old, sweetie. He didn’t mean what he said. And look at how successful you are now! Obviously he didn’t do any lasting damage.”

I wanted to scream. I had weekly appointments with Doctor Thorne. I was hit with waves of insecurity that debilitated me. I sometimes didn’t even want to go out of my house and deal with people because I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to call me names and make fun of me. Of course, she wouldn’t see the lasting damage he and his friends had done. I hadn’t let her known. But dear god, shouldn’t she have seen that something was still wrong? Did she really not know me?

“I’ve got to go, Mum. I’m meeting with the publisher today for my book.”

“Oh, I’m so excited for it! You’ll tell your father and I when it’s available for pre-order, right? We want to get a hard copy and he’s going to load one onto my Kindle.”

When she said things like that, so vocal in her support for me, it made me think being mad at her was foolish. “Yeah, Mum, I’ll let you know. Talk to you later.”

“Bye, sweetie. Give your father a call when you’re free. He misses you!”

I hung up feeling the way I always did. Confused and tired. Talking to my parents shouldn’t have left me feeling so exhausted, but it always did. It was like I was divided into two different versions of myself: the version I was and the version they wanted me to be. I knew they wanted me to forgive Harry, forgive all my schoolmates that had made me go literally mad. But that wasn’t who I was. I wasn’t quick to forgive. And I hated feeling like I had disappointed them because of it.

While I loved what I did, sometimes I wish I had a normal nine to five. If I had a normal job, I would have to bury thoughts my mother had put in my head and be blissfully distracted until my day was over. And by the time five rolled around, I would probably be over it anyway. Instead, I would sit and stew and work myself up. I picked at my fingernails and decided that I wouldn’t allow myself to focus on it today. Today, I would be blissfully distracted.

I grabbed my purse and changed into some leggings, shoving my feet into my slippers while I locked my door shut behind me. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I needed to get out of the house. Melody was unfortunately at work so I knew contacting her wasn’t an option. I could try Jeremiah or Veronica, but I didn’t want to bother them if they were doing something important. Obviously, my parents were out of the question.

So I found myself at a coffee shop.

I had a habit of carrying around a book with me everywhere I went. I kept one in my purse at all times. The book this time around was The Princess Diarist, or the book Carrie Fisher had written before she died. I had already poured over the pages four times, but the book never got old. Ordering a peppermint coffee, which were still luckily around because it was still early January and the festivities of Christmastime hadn’t completely worn off yet, I sat at one of their tables in the back and flipped through the pages of the book, drinking in the words like a giraffe leaning over to drink from a pond. When I read, I devoured. I was sure I looked a little crazy, sitting there wide-eyed and so invested, but I didn’t care.

“Any good?”

I didn’t hear the question at first. It was only when someone cleared their throat that I jumped a little, looking up from the text to see a man around my age standing next to my table. He had a drink in his hand and was offering it out to me. I eyed him weirdly. “What?”

“The book. Is it any good? Also, this is your coffee. My name’s Peter so they messed up.”

I could only stare at him for a few moments, still enveloped in the world of Carrie Fisher before I processed what was happening. “Oh. Thanks.” I took the coffee from him, our fingers brushing just slightly. Peter was an attractive man. He had dark colored hair that was cut pretty close to his head and a strong, angular jaw. His eyes were the same color as the wood grain on the table I sat at. “You like Star Wars?”

“Is that a trick question?” 

I narrowed my eyes. “Top three characters, go.”

If my insistence phased him, he didn’t show it. “C-3PO, Obi-Wan, and Vader. But only Vader from the original three. Anakin’s annoying. You?”

I was impressed by his answer. Really, there was no wrong answer to this question, but it was nice to see he had taken my question seriously. “R2, Leia, and Obi-Wan.” I took a sip of my coffee, savoring the peppermint taste before I sent him a smile. “And yes, the book is good. Might change your perception of Harrison Ford a bit, but it’s nice to read Carrie’s version of events.”

“I’ve been meaning to pick it up, but haven’t gotten the time. I was thinking about just ordering the e-book.”

“You should get the print, if you can. There’s something nostalgic about reading her last memoir in an actual book.” I, ironically, had The Princess Diarist in my Books app on my phone, but I much preferred reading it from the original source.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Before he could say anything else, the barista called his name. “Ah, this must actually be mine.” He went to go collect his coffee and I thought that was the end of it. This stranger had just somewhat made my day better and that was all he was going to do. So, I lowered my eyes to my book again. It wasn’t until I heard the chair across from me scraping against the floor that I realized Peter had come back.

“Mind if I sit?” Peter asked, gesturing to the chair.

“Your admission price is a question. Favorite Star Wars film?”

“Well now, that’s a hard one. Empire Strikes Back, probably.” 

I crinkled my nose. “I guess you can sit down.”

“Ouch,” he mentioned, though he was grinning. He lowered himself into the seat and scooted the chair back in. “What’s yours?”

“The original three are the best because of their iconic status, no doubt,” I countered, slipping a bookmark into the page I was on before shutting it. “But the new trilogy is developed so much more. And the plot line is better. So I’d probably go with The Force Awakens.”

“The horror,” he said, clutching his chest and laughing a little. It was a nice laugh, deep and strong. It filled my stomach with butterflies. “But I’ll concede. The Force Awakens is brilliant.” He took a sip of his coffee. “So, what do you do, Petra?”

I was going to ask how he knew what my name was, but as if anticipating his question, he pointed to my name scribbled on the cup. I wanted to laugh. “I run a podcast. And I’m publishing a book soon, once my editor and publisher get their act together.” He laughed again and I swore in that moment I would try to make him laugh at least three more times during our conversation. His laugh was too addictive and sexy to not hear it. “What about you, Peter?”

“I’m afraid I live a much more boring life. I’m an accountant.”

“The horror,” I parroted. 

“Believe it or not, I enjoy it a lot. I’m good with numbers.” He took another sip of his coffee. I noticed that his hands could wrap around the entire cup and he still had room to lace his fingers together. I almost swooned. Something about a man’s hands was extremely hot. “Tell me more about this podcast. What do you talk about?”

“Mostly stuff like this,” I answered, gesturing to the book I had set on the corner of the table. “Amongst other nerd things.”

“Would these nerd things include Harry Potter?”

“Naturally.”

“Let me guess,” he said, trailing off for a moment as he gave me a once over. “Hufflepuff?”

“I self-identify as a Hufflepuff, but Pottermore has spoken. I’m a Ravenclaw.”

“Damn. Do I get half a point?”

“I’ll give you the full one, just because you’re speaking the language of my soul. Which is, of course, Harry Potter. You’re definitely a Ravenclaw.”

“Hole in one. Though I self-identify as a Slytherin.”

I smiled. I wanted to ask him more about him self-identifying as a Slytherin, but his phone beeped from his pocket. He wrestled it out of his jacket and stared at it for a moment. “Unfortunately, I have to go. I only get a thirty minute lunch break.”

I felt myself deflate like a balloon. “Oh. Right. Have fun with the rest of your work day.”

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he stood. “I really enjoyed talking to you, Petra. Would you…” he trailed off, chuckling nervously. “I don’t know. Would you want to hang out some other time?”

I was already sliding my phone across the table. “Put in your number. I’ll text you.”

He grinned and typed in his phone number, thumbs almost too big for the buttons. When he handed it back to me, his contact glared at me like a giant neon sign. “I’ll hopefully hear from you soon, Petra.”

“You will,” I assured, giving him a smile. 

“Great,” he said simply, grabbing his coffee. “Bye.” The farewell was spoken sweetly and had the butterflies swarming again. I repeated the sentiment and watched him walk out of the coffee shop door, smile permanently on my face.

I was too excited to even pick up my book.

~

“Are you wearing your good bra?”

Melody’s question came from the small speaker of my phone. She was propped on my vanity dresser in my room, on the tiny FaceTime screen. She had spreadsheets scattered around her on her kitchen table, and I could hear her roommates playing the telly too loudly. Every five minutes or so, she gritted her teeth and refrained from telling them to go fuck themselves. 

I’d only met her two roommates once. There was Cassandra, who was a petite girl who Melody had met in uni. She had been there on a volleyball scholarship, which I didn’t think existed until I met her. She had blonde hair that was pinstraight and was always pulled back into a ponytail. The other was Vera, who had been born in Canada and moved to London with her boyfriend from uni. They were still together as far as I knew. I didn’t like being around Derek, her boyfriend, because he never stopped staring at Melody’s tits. Or my tits. Or any tits that were in his vicinity, besides Vera’s.

Therefore, I could understand her ire.

“I didn’t want to come off as presumptuous,” I answered her question, twisting and turning in my dress to try and see how the material moved. I had already tried three dresses and none of them seemed to be working for me. This one was a short green dress, but you could see my underwear line and all my seamless ones were in the wash. 

“It’s not presumptuous to wear a good bra,” Melody argued. I heard the volume of her telly turn up and saw Melody roll her eyes.

“It’s kinda presumptuous. Like I assume I’m going to have sex.”

“I hate to tell you this, Pet, but you probably are going to have sex.”

“Still, I don’t want to look like I was expecting it.”

I stripped off the green dress and stood in my room, clad in only my underwear and bra. I heard Melody tisk in the background, so I assumed my bra was not to her liking. I didn’t care. This bra was comfortable and I liked it. Although it was comfy and had completely molded to fit my boobs (as most good bras did over time), it was still white and lacey, so she couldn’t complain much. My underwear didn’t match, but didn’t white go with everything?

“Try the burgundy one. That one makes your legs look long.” This was a feat, because I had short legs. I reached for the burgundy dress she was talking about and held it up to my body, inspecting it in my vanity mirror. It was decent, I decided. Not too fussy but not too plain. “And for God’s sake, put on a new bra.”

“I’m not putting on a new bra,” I admonished, rolling my eyes as I slipped the burgundy dress over my shoulders. It had short sleeves and ended just past mid-thigh. Once it was on, I decided it was perfect. “Coat or no coat?”

Melody snorted. “I don’t care how hot this guy is, he’s not worth freezing your arse off. It’s January in London. Don’t be a twit.”

She was right, of course. I grabbed a black coat my mum had gotten for me a couple Christmases ago. I slipped on some short black boots and did a little twirl. “What do we think?”

“Better if you changed the bra, but this will do.” At my glare, she chuckled. “You look great. You’re going to know Peter on his ass. I can’t believe you met someone as nerdy and weird as you. It’s just your luck.”

“I don’t always have this luck.” I checked the digital clock I had on the stand next to my bed and decided it was probably time to leave if I wanted to make it there on time. We were meeting at a little Mexican restaurant at six, and it was nearing 5:45. “I’ve got to go, Melody.”

“Good luck babe. You’ve got this.”

“Melody, can you shut up? Vera and I are trying to watch Hollyoaks!”

I saw Melody shut her eyes. I could only guess that she was debating homicide. “If I haven’t killed myself by the time you’re back, call me. I want to hear all about it. I might also stay at your place tonight.”

“You’ve got a key. Come over whenever you want.” I was used to Melody letting herself into my flat, especially when Cassandra and Vera were being annoying. 

“Might take you up on that. Have fun tonight. Do everything I wouldn’t do.”

I ended the chat and ordered myself an Uber. I really needed to get a car. Maybe I could bribe Zach to drive me around like he did with Jeremiah. Melody had complained that Peter hadn’t offered to come pick me up for our date, but I didn’t tell her that I preferred it that way. In case there was need for an escape, I wouldn’t have to feel pressured into him driving me back to my flat. 

I had been looking forward to this date all week. We had been texting  back and forth about various subjects of nerd-ism and then after about three days of texting he had asked me out. I would not admit to jumping around my flat like a loon when he finally did ask me out, but I wouldn’t deny it either. It had been so long since I had been interested in someone that I nearly forgot the protocol for how I was supposed to act on the days leading up to the date, but the conversation had still flown well.

Once my Uber had dropped me off at the restaurant, I texted Peter to let him know I was here. Assuming he was already inside, I pushed open the door to the restaurant and walked to the front.

“Hi. Reservations for Gerber.” The hostess clicked a couple of buttons on the computer and gave me a smile.

“Great. Follow me,” she said. I noticed her name tag said Stephanie. I don’t know why I noticed her name tag first, but I liked to know people’s names. My dad had always instilled in me that I needed to be polite and get the names of everyone I came across, whether it was an employee or boss. It showed respect, he mentioned. And it was true. My dad knew the names of all of his builders and still kept in touch with some of the people he had contracted for. 

I followed Stephanie to where Peter was sitting at a booth. He was dressed in a nice navy blue jumper and dark black pants, shiny loafers on his feet. I wondered briefly how much accountants made, but didn’t dare ask. I would simply have to look it up when I got home later. 

“Wow,” he said, standing to give me a quick peck on the cheek. He smelled heavenly. “You look amazing.”

“You too,” I responded, giving him a smile as I sat across from him. 

“You want some wine?” he asked.

“I’m not a connoisseur by any means, so I’ll trust whatever you get.”

He ordered some fancy bottle of red wine I couldn’t pronounce the name of and Stephanie set off to go retrieve it. “How was your work week?” I asked, grabbing my napkin and setting it in my lap. I’d be damned if I let any food get on my dress. “I’ll have you know I’m very intrigued in accounting now. I know almost nothing about it.”

“Lots of numbers, lots of financial documents, lots of typing. The rest of the week was good. I was looking forward to this.” My heart fluttered a little bit at his confession. “But accounting is boring when you’re comparing it to podcasts. How was your work week? Any cool guests?”

“Work week was great. I don’t record this week’s podcast until tomorrow, so I’ve got tonight free. The guest is Ray Holman, who did the costuming for several series of Doctor Who.”

“That’s exciting.” Stephanie brought back our wine and poured us each a glass. When she asked if we were ready to order, I shook my head. “Couple more minutes, please,” Peter suggested. Stephanie left with a smile. 

“Have you been here before? I wonder what’s good.” I opened up my menu and started scanning the entrees they had listed.

“I was going to ask you.”

“This is my first time here.” I looked around the restaurant. It was decorated with varying shades of neon colors. It looked like a festival of some kind. There was a mariachi song playing over the speakers that had a lot of trumpet sounds. It made me want to get up and dance. 

“Yeah, but you’d probably still know what’s good,” Peter said. I looked at him in confusion and raised a brow. He furrowed his brows, like he didn’t understand what I wasn’t getting about his statement. “You know… because you’re Mexican.”

Because you’re Mexican.

I was lucky. In England, I hadn’t been made fun of for my race until high school, when Nathan Penrose had gotten tired of me not responding to his other taunts and teases. He told me to go back to Cuba, where people like me belonged. I didn’t let it bother me because I knew Nathan Penrose was a jackass. Plus, he had been in high school at the time. Though it was no excuse, teenage boys were incredibly stupid. Peter, however, was no teenage boy. This was a grown man. Who had just said I would know what to order at a Mexican restaurant because… because I was Mexican.

“I’m Cuban, actually,” I said in a whisper, unable to come up with any other response.

“Aren’t they sort of the same thing?”

I wanted to throw up. I wanted to burst into tears. I wanted to curl up in a ball and bury myself underneath blankets. “No,” I responded, my voice still pathetically quiet. “Cubans are from Cuba.”

“But you grew up in Cuba, right? So you probably know what kind of food is authentic or not.”

“I was born in Cheshire,” I tried to argue, but my mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. I didn’t have time to say anything else when Stephanie was back, notepad in hand and a cheery smile on her face.

“We know what we want?”

“I’ll take whatever he gets. I have to go to the loo.” I couldn’t stand up fast enough. I felt the embarrassment fill my veins, like ice water. My throat was tightening, a sure sign that I was going to start crying. I didn’t want Peter to see me cry. The jackass didn’t deserve it. I wobbled in my heels, teetering as I marched to the bathroom, but I didn’t care if I fell flat on my face. It would still be less embarrassing than what Peter had just asked me. 

My tunnel vision for the loo was so severe I almost didn’t hear someone call my name. I didn’t realize anything until a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. I jerked away, thinking it was Peter and preparing myself to scream at him and admit defeat in front of all the patrons of the restaurant, but the face I saw when I turned was familiar and comforting.

“Petra?” Bailey asked. Her short red hair was pulled into a tiny bun at the base of her skull and her blue eyes were watching me with worry. “Are you okay?”

Numbly, I nodded. And then I sniffled. Bailey’s eyes widened. “Come on,” she said softly, standing from her seat. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I could only imagine this meant a tear had escaped and my mascara was running. “I’ll be right back, lads.”

It was then that I noticed who she was sitting with. There were two men sitting at the table with her, one of them nodding his head and thinking nothing of Bailey’s weird departure. The other, however, I knew.

“Petra?” Harry asked, eyes widening when he saw the tears on my face. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response. I just turned and made a beeline for the loo, feeling Bailey following behind me. I burst into tears fully when the door of the bathroom shut behind me, and Bailey was immediately at my side, brushing my hair away from my face like a mother would to a child. 

“Oh, Petra,” she signed out, her gaze pitying. “What happened, love?”

So I told her. I told her about how excited I was to go on a date with Peter, how swimmingly things had gone when we were texting, and then the cold reality that hit me like ice. Her eyes narrowed and hardened as I blubbered through an explanation, my words barely sounding like actual words and more like garbled sounds strung together. Her hands on my shoulders rubbed reassuringly as I buried my face in my hands.

“He’s a prick, Petra. A racist, selfish prick. He doesn’t deserve a second of your time or your tears.” Bailey grabbed some toilet paper from the stall and handed it to me so I could dab my tears away. My makeup was beyond saving, but she grabbed her purse and held out a concealer. “It’ll be too light for you, but it’s there if you want it.”

I didn’t care that Bailey was at least ten shades lighter than me. I sniffled, picked up the concealer, and smeared some underneath my eyes so the mascara tracks disappeared. I looked like a ghost, but I didn’t look like some racist arsehole had just stomped on my heart. I preferred the ghost. “I don’t even want to go back out there.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll take you home. Jeff and Harry won’t mind.”

That brought on the second topic of discussion. “How the hell do you know Harry Styles?”

“I don’t, actually. Jeff and I are family friends though, and he worked with Harry on his record. Jeff just said a friend was in town and asked if he could come to dinner with us.” Bailey raised her finger to blend in a spot of concealer I missed. “But Jeff’s really understanding. He’ll get it if I need to drive you home.”

“I don’t want to ruin your dinner,” I said quietly. “I’m just being stupid.”

“No you aren’t,” Bailey responded vehemently. “He’s being an arse. C’mon love, it’s better than taking an Uber home. Between you and Veronica, I’m sure you’re funding the entire Uber company on your own.”

I managed a small chuckle and tossed the toilet paper in the bin. “How much do I look like Casper the friendly ghost?”

“On a scale of one to ten, an eleven.” But she smiled. “You look fine, love. Let’s head out, yeah? Maybe you, Veronica, and I can have a good old-fashioned slumber party?”

“I’m afraid my front room won’t fit us all.”

Bailey laughed and linked her arm with mine. When we opened the door to the loo, I almost hit someone with it. Standing outside, leaning against the wall, was Harry Styles himself. 

“Christ, wear a bell,” I muttered.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He reached out, as if to check me over himself to see if I was alright, but decided better of it. His hands dropped back down to his sides. He probably knew that if he tried to touch me, I’d bite his fingers off like a rabid chihuahua. “What happened?”

“None of your business,” I grumbled angrily.

“But everything’s okay now, yeah?”

I knew he didn’t mean his concern. It wasn’t genuine. He couldn’t give a fuck about my feelings when Nathan Penrose was screaming at me to go back to “where I came from” and he couldn’t give a fuck about me now. “Leave me alone, Harry.”

Bailey and I said goodbye to Jeff, leaving Harry standing outside of the bathroom. I didn’t even look in Peter’s direction as I left the restaurant with Bailey at my side, making sure to slip Stephanie a five before I left. Bailey kept her arm linked through mine, as if she was afraid I was going to fall over if she let go. Oddly enough, I appreciated the support.

Minutes later, I was tucked into Bailey’s small little Volvo and we were on the way back to my flat. 

“Do I want to know what’s going on with you and Harry?”

“Too much to explain. I’m surprised Veronica hasn’t mentioned it.”

“She mentioned that you guys grew up together in Holmes Chapel, but didn’t mention much else. There some bad blood there?”

I let out a wry laugh. “You could say that.” We pulled up to my flat and I saw the light on. Must have meant Melody had actually taken my offer. “Looks like Melody’s there.”

“That’s good. Didn’t want you to be alone.” She parked the car and turned to face me. “You’ll be okay, right? I don’t need to stage an intervention?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Thanks Bailey. Veronica’s lucky to have you.”

“Damn right she is,” Bailey laughed. She leaned over to give me a quick hug. “Try not to dwell on what that arsehole said. He’s just insensitive and rude. And the first thing I want you to do when you get inside is delete that prick’s number.”

“Will do. See you later.” I hopped out of her car, wobbling slightly on my heels but gaining my balance pretty quickly. I walked to my front door, digging through my clutch to get my keys and holding them up triumphantly to Bailey. I unlocked my door as her headlights faded away.

Melody was sitting on my couch, her spreadsheets spread around her again. She had her glasses on (which she hardly wore) and her hair was up in a wet ponytail. She must have taken a shower. She looked up when I shut the door behind me and waved. “Thanks for letting me come over. I couldn’t get any of my shit done with Vera and Cassandra blabbering about Hollyoaks in the background. How was…” she trailed off when she saw the expression on my face. “Oh no, Pet. That bad?”

“He said I should know what to order because I’m Mexican and I would know what was authentic.”

“He didn’t.”

I nodded as I flopped down on my loveseat, not wanting to disturb the organization strategy she obviously had going for her spreadsheets. “He did.”

“What a prick! I’m glad you wore the bra you did. He didn’t deserve the good bra.”

“No he did not.” I toed off my boots. “I should have known the second I walked into the restaurant. He didn’t bring flowers.”

To anyone else, this statement might seem weird, but Melody knew what I was talking about. “Someday someone will get you flowers, Pet. You’ll be sick of getting flowers. He’ll buy you a whole florist shop.”

I didn’t believe that for a second, but it was a nice idea. “Whatever. Bailey was there with one of her friends and she drove me back. Speaking of which, Harry Styles was there.”

“And the night gets better and better.”

“Exactly.” I shrugged off my jacket. “I need a shower. I want to wash this night off of me. Will you order some take out? I didn’t actually get a chance to eat.”

“Sure. I’ll surprise you.”

I sent her a half-hearted thanks as I made my way to my bathroom. Tossing my dress on the floor as if casting off the events of the night, I turned the water to boiling. My underwear and bra joined my dress on the floor as I stepped into my shower.

If I stupidly cried a little bit more, I made sure my sobs were quiet. I didn’t need Melody knowing how pathetic I was feeling about this whole experience. 

Once I was clean and in some warm pajamas, I walked back out to the living room. In addition to the spreadsheets, Melody now had a box of pizza and paper plates spread out on my coffee table. I reclaimed my spot on my loveseat and thanked her for the plate she offered me. “What’re you working on?” I mumbled through a bite of pizza.

“Shit Trennan was supposed to get done. I’m almost done with it, but I’ll be mad about it for the rest of the week.” She looked up and gave me a small smile. “You want to watch Avatar the Last Airbender?”

“I thought you were working.”

“Eh, I can deal with you watching the telly. You don’t scream at it like Vera and Cassandra. Plus, I know seeing Zuko’s character development always makes you feel better.”

She was right. 

“Okay.” I grabbed my Apple TV remote and pulled up my Amazon account, where I had already purchased all three seasons. “Thanks, Melody.”

She didn’t look up from her spreadsheets, but she smiled as I clicked on the first episode.

~

“Who the fuck is at your door at nine in the morning?” Was what I was woken up to. Melody was standing at my bedroom door, clad in the pajamas she had packed when she left her flat last night. I was bundled in my blankets, head barely poking out above the fleece as I groggily stared at her.

“What?” 

“Someone’s knocking on your front door. Woke me up, the prat.”

“It might be Bailey checking on me. She and Veronica wake up weirdly early.” I pushed back my blankets and shivered when the cool London air hit me. Shoving my fuzzy socks on my feet before I dared to put them on the cold wood floor, I stood from my bed and blinked slowly, trying to wake myself up. I had watched the entire first season of Avatar the Last Airbender before both Melody and I decided to call it a night. I had gotten about four texts from Peter before I finally decided to just block his number. I didn’t feel like dealing with him again. 

“Tell Bailey that the rest of the human civilization doesn’t wake up at nine on Saturday morning.”

“I’ll be sure to pass the note along.” I padded out to the living room. The knocking seemed to have stopped, but I still looked through the small peephole to make sure whoever it was had left. “There’s no one there anymore.” I didn’t remember ordering anything online, but I could have purchased something for AC while half-asleep one night. It had happened before.

However, when I opened the door, it wasn’t a cardboard box at my doorstep.

It was a pretty bouquet of flowers. There were baby’s breath sprinkled in with pretty dusty rose colored tulips. There was some greenery mixed up with them, but the tulips were the center of attention. 

“If those are from Peter, toss them in the fucking garbage.”

I lifted them from my doorstep and kicked the door shut with my foot. I brought them over to my kitchen counter, staring at the beautiful arrangement. There was a small little card attached to a silver bow, wrapped around the vase. My fingers shook as I reached for it.

Petra,

I hope you’re feeling better. These are a thanks and a sorry. Thanks for letting me be on AC and getting to know the world of podcasts. Sorry for everything else.

- Harry

P.S. That Peter guy is a arse. Don’t let him get to you.

“Well, shit,” Melody muttered as she read the note over my shoulder.

Well shit indeed.

[imaginesandsmut]

A Fireplace and A Confession

Word Count: 2981

Pairing: Sirius Black x reader

Warnings: Fluff and a lil bit of smut (don't know how to phrase it)

You and Sirius have had a frenemy sort of relationship. One moment you're joking around and playfully throwing food at each other, then next, you're sending each other death glares as you’re both covered in squid ink due to your prank war. What happens when you're both alone in the Gryffindor common room? Will you admit your feelings or will you continue to keep them inside?

Sirius Orion Black. 

When you first saw him at the train station, he was in a fancy wizard suit and you were in a jumper you got from your dad and pants that came from your cousin. You were saying goodbye to your parents before your first year at Hogwarts, you saw his soft face and held his gaze. He stared back at you with the same curiosity and wonder but was snapped out of it when his mother laid a harsh hand on his shoulder and muttered something to him before pushing him away from you.

You knew about the prejudice against muggleborns in the wizarding world and being from a muggle family, you knew your fitting-in-process would be difficult. Many purebloods stuck their nose up at you when you first asked if you could sit with them on the train, the only person who invited you to stay was a red headed girl with bright green eyes. Lily helped you get informed on everything about the wizarding world since she had already read all the history books, your friendship blossomed on that train ride through the snow.

Sirius Black was in your first class. Transfiguration. He commented a stupid remark about muggleborns and their likeness to trolls, as soon as you saw Lily’s face drain colour, you grabbed hold of your ruler and launched it at the back of his head. Sirius whipped his head around and was about to say something before being shushed by Professor McGonagall.

From then you decided you hated Sirius Orion Black.

It was fine because Lily also hated his best friend, James Potter. You both liked their other friends though, Remus and Peter, they were nice and didn’t bully other kids for a quick laugh. The years went by in a blur, first year was a haze of hate and snide comments at each other. Constantly torn between wanting to bicker with them or wanting to ignore them.

Your second year was filled with trying to compete for best grades in the class, almost as if there was an actual prize at the end. Sirius would flaunt his high score on a Transfiguration test whilst you would casually say how you got the top grade in the Care For Magical Creatures assignment. The teachers didn't know whether to stop the arguing or let it continue since you were both rising to be the best in every class.

Third year was when Sirius Black decided to grow out his hair and girls took notice. Obviously, you made fun of him in the beginning when his hair was nothing but the shortest bob on the planet, but you couldn't make fun of him when it reached past his ears. Never kidding yourself, you still made fun of Sirius, but you couldn’t deny that his hair looked good. 

Fourth year was when you both had a prank war and turned Hogwarts into a battle ground. With every misplaced shoe and teeth staining water, you and Sirius Black started getting closer. Even though you both dyed each others hair bright pink before Quidditch trials, and you both shrunk every piece of clothing each other had until there was almost nothing for you two to wear, you and Sirius seemed to smile about it instead of sending scowls at each other. You both had detention after he filled the dinning hall with nifflers at the same time you enchanted every pudding to explode when someone touched it. When McGonagall stuck you both in a room together, forcing you two to talk it out, you and Sirius Black realised that you didn't hate each other. And maybe, you could become friends. 

Fourth year was when Sirius Black became your best friend. 

Fifth year was the one that confused you. Sirius was getting a lot of attention from girls and you hated it. Not because you want to be with Sirius, it was just because he seemed to move his attention from competing and joking around with you to competing his tongue with other girls’ tongues. Lily suggested here and there that maybe you liked him, but that was just as ridiculous as her liking James Potter. You could never see Sirius that way. 

It is now sixth year and Sirius has been ‘boring’ lately. Well, that's what the girls he normally hooks up with have been saying to every girl who would listen. He has seemed to stop meeting up with them in dark corners before class and now spends most of his time in the Gryffindor common room. Every once in a while, Marlene swears she sees him staring at you whilst you're reading or talking to the group. Of course, you didn’t think anything of it drew it up to probably having something on your face at the time. On Friday, after Herbology, you overheard James asking Sirius why he has been acting different lately and all the black haired boy replied with was, “I've got my eye on someone else.”

“He was probably talking about you,” Lily commented whilst applying another layer of lipgloss on, “Merlin knows he stares at the back of your head during Potions more that he actually looks at the board.”

You snorted a little before replying, “Lily, soon enough Sirius will go back to his gaggle of girls that follow him everywhere and you’ll be left with me saying ‘I told you so’.”

Sirius Black never did go back to his ‘gaggle of girls’; every chance of spare time he got he spent with you. It ranged from helping you with homework, walking you to class, asking for you to explain a simple concept to him, and basically any other excuse he could think of.

Now you’re in your final term of sixth year, in the common room with all your friends. You’re supposed to be doing your Care for Magical Creatures assignment but the library is closed and Marlene is ‘using’ your shared bedroom with a Hufflepuff girl.

“I don’t care, James.” You fought back, pointing your pencil at him from across the common room. “Riding a unicorn will not be cool and you will die.”

“But imagine having that on a resume,” James was leaning on the fireplace as he opened his arms wide and pretended to read out a title, “Young Man Rides Unicorn And Doesn’t Die On Contrary To His Friends Belief.”

Remus whacked him on his knee with his book and caused everyone to giggle. Sirius looked over at where you were on the large couch from his chair near the fireplace, smiling at you.

“I love you, Y/N, but I feel like you could have more belief in me.” James was like your older brother, annoying you at any chance and loving you like family at the same time.

“James, I am studying unicorns for my assignment, so I think I would know best if you would die or not.” You looked down at the discarded textbook in your lap, the illustrated Unicorn looking back at you. “Besides, you know they hate men.”

James ignores what you say about him dying and instead asks about your assignment, wondering how it’s coming along. “I don’t see you writing anything down.”

“That is because the only space I can study is here and you guys are a distraction.” You laugh in hopes of not hurting their feelings and making sure that they know you’re not actually upset with them.

“You know what?” Remus announced to the room as he got up from his chair and picked up his books. “I’m gonna head to bed.” 

He sent a look to the rest of the group and they all catch on, saying their goodbyes and goodnights to each other. You give Remus a thankful smile as he says goodnight to you. As you watch Lily leave and see her frame hide behind the staircase turn, you turn your own head back to the fireplace. You thought you were finally alone until you saw Sirius, still sitting in his chair.

“Aren't you going to bed?” You mostly asked this in an attempt to nudge him into leaving. Merlin knows you can't write this assignment with Sirius Black in the room, it’s too distracting.

“Thought I might help.” He got up and brushed off the imaginary dirt from his jeans before making his way over to the couch you’re sitting on and plopping himself down. “I don’t know much about Care For Magical Creatures but I could help you with the writing?”

“You don't even take this class?”

“Y/N, no one takes this class. You’re the only sixth year who kept it as their major subject.”

“Then why help?” You didn’t want to push Sirius away but an unrelenting nervousness was overtaking your body. This nervousness only started a year or so ago, but it’s growing stronger with ever day that passes and you can't figure out why.

“Cause.” He started, taking a quill from his pocket and grabbing a piece of parchment from your pile. “There's frown lines in between your eyebrows and you keep biting the inside of your cheek.”

Sirius points out the two quirks on your face and makes you realise that your were doing them right then. Slowly relaxing your features, you turn to see the paper he held in his hands.

“And what does that have to do with anything?”

“It means you’re stressed,” Sirius said this as if all of Hogwarts knows, “and I don't want you to stress out over a subject you love”.

You didn't know what to say, Sirius is giving up time he could be spending with his friends or sleeping to help you with an assignment. You looked over at him to see him spreading giving you the biggest, cheesiest grin he could muster, causing you to crack a smile on your own face.

“Here is my draft.” You handed him a piece of parchment with a draft of your assignment written badly all over it, the sentences looking like chicken scratch.  “Just copy what I wrote and if you don’t understand my handwriting, just ask me and I'll translate.”

Sirius nodded before beginning to write the final copy of the assignment, his hand steady and smooth. Sirius couldn't help but smile a little, and you couldn't understand why he would when you saw it from the corner of your eye.

Half an hour passed before you started feeling sleepy. You and Sirius have been writing up your final copy of your assignment, one page each. You were doing every odd numbered pages and he was doing the even. You were almost done with your last page when you felt your head starting to lower onto his shoulder. You felt Sirius tense for a moment before relaxing and continuing his writing.

You told yourself that you’ll only close your eyes for a few minutes before going back to work, but when you woke up, you noticed a pile of stacked and perfect parchment papers on the coffee table. Quickly lifting your head up from his resting spot on the back of the couch, you saw Sirius bringing over a hot chocolate from the coffee/hot chocolate machine he and James stole from the Ravenclaw common room.

“How long was I out?”

“Only an hour.” Sirius smiled as he placed your cup down on the coffee table.

“An hour?! What about the assignment?” You scrambled forward to reach for your draft before being pushed back down by Sirius.

“Y/N, calm down.” He chuckled, was it just you or did his chuckle seem to be more heavenly when you’re half asleep. “I finished it for you.”

“Why? You didn’t have to.” You felt bad for him doing the work for you but also thankful cause your hand hurts like hell from all the writing.

Sirius sat down next to you as you shuffled up to be closer to him, “you have been freaking out over this assignment for two weeks now, I wanted to help you but if I stepped over the line, I'm sorry.”

You didn't know what to do so you grabbed your hot chocolate, moved around in your place on the couch to be side by side with him and leant your head on his shoulder, “thank you, Sirius.”

This was the real Sirius. Not the boy who said stupid things about muggles that his mother told him, not the mean boy who made fun of other kids, and definitely not the boy who you hated. The real Sirius is the boy who helps his friends when they need him, the boy who tells his friends that they can do anything they set their mind to, the boy who helps you with your homework when you passed out cause he knows how badly you want a good grade.

You look up at him and catch him staring down at you, his relaxed features make him seem younger, his eyes seemed to be a brighter blue in the light of the fire and his skin looked more golden. You hated that you were noticing all of these things about him, but you hated more that you wanted to keep looking at these things. 

You noticed his hair falling in front of his eyes so you cautiously moved your hand up and tucked it behind his ear, trailing your fingertips back down, over his jawline and down his neck before he grabbed hold that same hand.

Your heart was beating a million miles per hour cause you thought you crossed a line, well, you defiantly crossed a line. You’re supposed to be friends, best friends. Best friends don’t do this, best friends don't make an intimate gesture in the light of a fire when they're alone.

Sirius was still holding your hand, frozen on the spot of his neck that you last touched. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, your breath got caught in your throat.

“What are you doing, Y/N?”

“I was just trying to get your hai-”

“No. What are you doing to me?”

You didn't understand. With his spare hand, Sirius grabbed your hot chocolate from your other hand and placed it back on the table. When he turned back to you he held both of your hands in his and held them by his chest, causing you to shuffle into a more comfortable position, closer to him.

“Sometimes I think we’re just friends cause you never show any interest in me other than when we’re in a group setting......and now we’re alone.....and I can’t keep my eyes off you,” Sirius’ eyes flick down to your lips then back to your eyes, “what do you want, Y/N?”

“I don't know.”

There was a pause as you both looked at each other, then down to each others lips and back up again.

“I want to kiss you.” Sirius whispered.

You waited. You didn't know if he wanted you to say anything or if he was just saying what he thought. Deciding to test the waters, you closed your eyes and whispered, “kiss me.”

With that, Sirius quickly pressed his lips against yours, letting go of your hands and moving you back so you’re lying across the couch and he's hovering over you. Sirius’ hand held your hip as the other was above your head, your hands gravitated towards his hair. You open your mouth for him and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in, earning a small moan from you. Sirius’ large hand caressed your hip which resulted in your tugging his hair for more. A groan came from the black headed boy as you pulled on his hair, causing him to grind his hips against yours. Sirius could've sworn that the moan that came from you was the most heavenly sound he has ever heard. Wanting to hear it more, Sirius grinded himself down on you as he broke away from your lips and kissed your neck, a few nips here and there.

You were in heaven, looking up at the roof and feeling Sirius grind against you, his hot breath and tongue on your neck and collarbone. You wanted to continue but you didn’t want to be just another girl he has sex with, you couldn't let him charm his way into making you something you're not.

“Sirius.”

Sirius mumbled as he grinded his clothed dick over your thin pyjama shorts, milking a moan from you and a growl from him.

“Sirius.” You tried again.

“Yes?” His voice was dreamy and a little husky, but you couldn't be distracted.

“We can't do this here. We can't do this.”

Sirius lifted his head from your neck and looked at you, stilling the movements of his hips, “what do you mean?”

“I can't be the next girl on your list of conquests, and I defiantly don’t wanna be the girl you hook up with casually as you’re going after someone else.” You pushed him up so he was away from your face so you could see him clearly, and so you're not tempted to kiss him again.

“Y/N, you don't understand, I wan-”

“Thank you so much for helping me write my assignment and for doing the rest of it but if that was just to get in my pants then I'm sorry but it didn't work.” You got up to collect your things and as you were about to leave, Sirius grabbed hold of your hand.

“Y/N, I love you.”

What. Pft, no. No he doesn't. He's Sirius Black. Sirius Black doesn't love anything besides himself, his hair, and stealing Remus’ chocolate.

“You don-”

“I didn’t kiss you because I needed to get my dick wet, I wanted to kiss you because your Y/N.  I’ve wanted to kiss you for years, because I’m in love with you.” Sirius looked stressed, as if every second of silence that passed, you were slipping further and further away from him. Sirius searched your face and when he noticed that you weren't going to say anything, he continued.

“I want to win this war, Y/N, not just for the wizarding world, but to be able to build a future with you. Merlin Y/N, I wanna marry you one day.” Sirius had gotten up now and was pacing the floor in front of you, only a coffee table standing between you. “When I first saw you, I instantly fell. But I was scared, my mother knew you were a muggleborn by the looks of your parents and told me to stay away from you. Threatened to abandon me if I even became your friend. I said that stupid comment in our first class together and you hated me, I didn't know what to do but if you hated me and that was the only was I could get you to notice me, then I would make myself be the person you hated the most.”

Sirius talked with his hands, using them to explain his point properly. Now his hands were flying all over the place, going between messing with his hair and swatting around imaginary bugs.

“God, Y/N, the whole reason why I started that prank war in fourth year was to have a reason to see you everyday.” Sirius laughed a little at the stupidness of his plan but smiled at the relief that it actually worked. “Juvenile, I know but I didn't know what else to do. I loved you and I was stupid”

You didn't know what to say. Sirius Black, your best friend, they guy who you thought hated you for a good part of your school life together, loves you.

“Y/N, please say something. I’m dying here. Please tell me you love me too. I can't go on pretending that you don’t tear me to pieces.”

You were looking at Sirius with wonder on your face, wonder at how lucky you had gotten in this lifetime to find someone. Your mother told you that love is a friendship with more trust, others told you that it was finding the most beautiful person and worshipping them with all your heart. 

But as you stood there in the fire lit common room, finding yourself to love not just your best friend but the most handsome of men is your crowning glory. Slowly, you stepped around the coffee table and moved to stand in front of Sirius. You could tell the boy was freaking out by the way his eyes were wide and how he watched every movement you made.

You raised your hands and held Sirius’ face, looking into his eyes before reaching up to place a quick kiss on his lips, you pulled away and looked up at his closed eyes. “I loved you from the moment I met you, I was just to stubborn to realise.”

Sirius’ eyes sprung open and the biggest grin crept its way onto his face, you smiled back at him as he pulled you into his arms for a hug with his head resting on top of your own head, swinging you around like a rag doll.

“I’m gonna be the best boyfriend you have ever had.”

“Oh really?” You chuckled at his statement. Sirius looked down at you with his award winning smile, he looked so boyish but also so beautiful.

“Really. Cause I know that I love you more than anything in this world. And if that doesn't say something, I don't know what will.”

[teenremus]

scars

remus lupin x reader

word count: 1480

warning: some bullying and assumptions

a/n: theres some angst if you squint,,, anyway i like the concept but this is a little messy to me 

[...]

Remus watched you from across the library, where he had originally come to study with his best mates. But even if he ended up giving them his attention, it was no secret it would turn out to be a lost cause. Their laughter battles against Madame Pince’s constant shushes directed towards their table, but it all seemed to drown out as he stared.

The title of the book you were reading was disclosed only to you, as you hid it with your arms from any peering eyes, only making him all the more curious. As old as the books in this library were, it was almost pristine from what he could see, minimal tears and stains which was much more than he could say from the other books lying around. You were sat by yourself, but it didn't take a genius to notice that that was always the case.

He really didn't know anything about you, not a lot did, even if the rest liked to believe so. They had made their own assumptions about you since your first year at Hogwarts, where you came covered head to toe in whatever clothing you could find. You had been called a prude more times than you could count. Even in the warmer months, your y/h scarf was pulled tightly around your neck and the sleeves of your sweater gripped your skin with no extra wiggle room.

"I heard she's a Death Eater," Peter nudged him. Remus then realized his stare didn't go unnoticed by his friends, they had stopped horsing around and looked at her as well. He removed his hand from underneath his chin and looked at him. "She hides the Dark Mark under her sleeves."

"She got those scars from a Centaur after picking a fight," James said. There was a prominent scar on your cheek that split into two like an old trail, then another that traveled from your hand and disappeared underneath your sleeve.

Sirius shook his head with a smile, propping his head up on his hand. "No, what it really is–" Remus turned to his friend with interest at his convincing tone. "–is that that scarf is the only thing keeping her head attached to the rest of her body. Without it, it would just roll right off."

He and James burst into a fit of laughter, falling back into their chairs. Peter laughed into his hands, not noticing how Remus rolled his eyes at the lot of them. He looked back where you sat, only to watch as your eyes flickered to him for just a moment before you got up to return your book to it's rightful place. Then he had lost you amongst the bookshelves.

Remus stared at the ceiling of his shared dormitory, the moonlight casting a shadow of his bedpost. It was only reminding him of how little time he had left to leave, every nerve in his body was itching for him to get up run out of the Gryffindor tower already. His fingers were ghosting over the backpack he kept tucked under his bed, like every full moon.

He rose from his bed, watching the sleeping bodies around him if they stirred. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder, he slipped out the door and shut it gently behind him.

As he tiptoed cautiously through the halls, he held his wand in one hand, casting Lumos, and had the Marauders Map in the other. His head whipped around from time to time anxiously, as if a figure would come up to him that wasn't seen on the map. But it had never been wrong before.

Remus was able to slip out of the school doors– it was never hard, they were always open, after all. Dumbledore believed they had enough protection even as the war was building up.

As he approached the edge of the Forbidden Forest a familiar feeling was building throughout his spine and reaching his head, his head rolled around on his shoulders as if a sudden chill had blown over him. He tucked the map and his wand in his backpack.

He hastily speed-walked through the forest, dropping his backpack and stripping himself of his hoodie and other layers to avoid ruining his clothes. Remus clamped his hand down on the nearest tree as his heavy breaths became more prominent and sweat formed a thick layer on his forehead.

The clouds uncovered the moon and it's light began to shine through the dark tree branches, and he began to lose himself.

Remus expected it to be dark when he woke up, he expected to once again wake up with only a slight clue where he was and follow the candles sitting on Hogwarts' walls to lead him back to his dormitory. Instead, even with his eyes closed he could see a flickering orange light being cast on his face, he slowly opened them to see a fire pit just a few feet away around the corner of a tree.

He looked around, and found himself against an old tree with his backpack and clothes tossed down next to him, but it wasn't where he remembered being last. He was closer to the edge before, now, he wasn't quite sure how deep he was in the woods. He could only go so far before it became dangerous.

Trying to be as quiet as he could, he pulled his clothes on again. There was someone out of his line of sight, the one who had built the fire.

Remus peered around the bark of the tree to look at the fire, eyeing your back that was to him as you silently placed more logs in the fire to keep it going. He found it impossible to tell who you were, he didn’t even know if you were aware of where he had been around the corner.

While adjusting his foot, he stepped on an almost entirely brown leaf that crunched under his weight. He wasn’t so sure if his heart had stopped entirely or it was beating so fast he couldn’t feel it anymore, but either way, you didn’t turn around, and you didn’t flinch.

"You're gonna freeze if you keep standing there," You said nonchalantly, sitting down on the forest floor. He stayed put as he watched you grab a stick and begin to take jabs at the fire.

Slowly, he lifted his backpack and passed you to the other side of the fire. “y/n? what are you doing here?” He sat down on a pile of leaves and set his backpack down beside him, eyes twinkling in wonder as he stared you down. 

You glanced up at him for a moment, looking down again. It seemed as if you didn't care, but that was almost always the case. "Didn't know you were a werewolf as well."

You weren’t dressed in your robes, just as he wasn’t, either. Instead wearing pajama pants that matched the navy color of the sky, and a black tank top. Remus' eyes raked over your body upon realizing he was able to see the scars that lined it. The faint lines he'd seen on your hands ran much farther up your body, wrapping around your arm like a snake. There was a large one on your chest that disappeared under the fabric of your tank top, surrounded by smaller ones.

The most obvious scars were the three that traveled from just below your jawline to across your neck, like an animal had made it in a fight. They were deep, it looked like you should have had your throat slit. He understood now– the scarf and conservative clothing.

"I didn't know you were one, either." Remus paused. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's cold."

"Not the–" He stopped himself, leaning up against the tree behind him.

"You were alone." You finally looked up at home for more than a few seconds, holding eye contact as you set your fire poker stick down. You'd never seen Remus by himself, he always had one of his friends by his side causing a ruckus. "Your mates don't know about it, do they? Or else they’d be here with you."

Remus shifted uncomfortably, shaking his head. He wondered what time it was, how long he had until the sun would start to come up and the owls would be going off to wake students up. He blinked and brought himself back to the situation when he noticed you rummaging through your own bag, but didn't say anything.

You leaned forward held out a glass bottle, the liquid inside was a deep blue. He grabbed the neck hesitantly. "It's a Wolfsbane Potion."

He examined the bottle with wonder, looking back at you, remembering Slughorn's short ramble about the concoction one day in Potions. It was complicated to brew, more dangerous than anything, especially for werewloves themselves to make. There was no real use of it at Hogwarts, Slughorn said. "This is–"

"Hard to make," You said with a small smile, Remus hadn't expected it. "It's no cure, but it helps. Especially with the scars."

Remus felt guilty, you had gone out of your way to help him that night and he really had nothing to offer. He'd been a werewolf for a while but it didn't mean he had the hang of everything, in fact, there were some things he was still learning since there was no one to teach him over the years.

His eyes lit up with realization and he stuck a hand deep into his back, before pulling out two candy bars in silver wrappers. He extended his arm with a soft smile, offering one, "It's no cure, but it helps."

To his surprise, a giggle bubbled in your throat as you took it gingerly. You had a contagious laugh, it seemed, as he began to try and suppress his own to no avail.