#Voldemort: I'm sure I didn't miss anything important.

[iamnmbr3]

Harry: The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy.

Voldemort: Oh no not this again. I had enough of your Malfoy obsession during sixth year.

[his-argentite]

Pairing: Tom Riddle x Fem!Reader

Summary: (Y/N) is pregnant with twins. Dumbledore tries to warn her about Tom and tells her to Leave him.

Warning: angst, reader is naive and in denial(and kind of dumb), weird dialogues, povs change a lot, my bad grammar :P

Word count: 1,831

Reader's race/ethnicity isn't really specified other than that she lives in England and went to Hogwarts.

Reader's blood status: half blood

Reader's house: not specified

3rd Pov

It was a rainy day. (Y/N) was sitting in an armchair and watching the rain drops run down the window. (Y/N) knew where Tom was. He was in Albania making another horcrux. She didn't want to admit to it herself, but it was becoming so difficult to live a life like this. Especially now that she was three months pregnant with his kid. (Y/N) hasn't told Tom yet. She really wanted to keep the child but knew that Tom would get mad at her and tell her to get rid of it. (Y/N) wasn't even sure if he loved her anymore and was just using her at this point. He didn't even let her call him by his name. She can only call him Lord Voldemort.

(Y/N) thought that it was ridiculous, but she didn't say a word and just obeyed him.

Suddenly an owl flew to her window with a letter. She stood up, went to the window and opened it so she could get the letter. She took it and the owl flew away. (Y/N) looks at the letter and notices that it's from Dumbledore. Why was he suddenly sending her a letter? Is it something to do with Tom? Does he know something that others don't? Well obviously he does. He is the most powerful wizard ever and it's really difficult to fool him. And Dumbledore always knew that Tom wasn't up to anything good.

Dear (Y/N)

I would like to meet with you and discuss something important. I know that it's difficult for you and you probably don't want to talk about it, but I need information about Tom. I want to speak with you face to face, so I wish you could meet me at hogwarts. 

-Albus Dumbledore

2nd Pov

This was what you feared. You didn't want to go to talk to Dumbledore. You knew how furious Tom would be if found out that you told Dumbledore about all of his plans and where he was. You loved Tom and you didn't want to betray him, but you knew that it would also be your fault if Tom became unstoppable and killed all muggleborns. You didn't hate them and you didn't have anything against them. But your love for Tom had made you too stubborn. All he wanted was power and to live forever. It was impossible, but you knew better than to doubt him. 

Dumbledore always knew he wasn't to be trusted. He was the only professor in Hogwarts that knew he was the one who opened the chamber of secrets. He was the one who let the Basilisk attack muggleborns. But of course 16 year old you was too blinded by love. Tom is good at manipulating to get what he wants. Tom was everything to you and of course when Dumbledore warned you about Tom and what he was up to, you didn't believe him at all. 

*Flashback*

1st Pov

I knew Hogwarts wasn't a safe place anymore. There was a monster going around, attacking muggleborns. I'm an orphan like Tom. We don't have anywhere to go if the school gets shut down. I was walking towards my dorms when I saw Dumbledore walking towards me. "Miss (L/N), I have something very important to tell you." Said Dumbledore. I knew immediately what he was going to say. "If this is about Tom and your vile accusations of him opening the chamber of secrets, I'm not listening." I said with venom. Dumbledore sighed abd looked at me with a serious face and said "Well it's up to you if you want to believe it or not, but I need you to be careful. Especially with Tom. Hogwarts isn't a safe place anymore and probably will be shut down soon." I was getting annoyed and Dumbledore noticed it. "You should get back to your dorms, it's getting really late. Remember to be careful." 

*Flashback ends*

2nd Pov 

You couldn't escape anymore. You have given so many chances to Tom, but it is no use. Tom was already gone. You needed to at least confront Dumbledore and try to resolve things somehow. You were afraid of what Tom could do to you and the baby if he ever found out. 

1st Pov

I don't understand why I let my life be like this. Right now I could be with someone else. Live a happy life and grow a family. But Tom has managed to manipulate me to believe that I'm special to him, someone that he needs in his life. 

*Timeskip*

I arrived at Hogwarts. It was really nostalgic to be here again. All the trees and the beautiful Black lake where Tom used to take me every evening. The astronomy tower was also something I would never forget. Sneaking there with him every night, watching the stars with him. It really made me calm down and forget all about my problems. 

*Flashback*

(4th year)

Tom and I were sneaking to the astronomy tower again. It was midnight and we almost got caught by a prefect. "Tom, I really love you, ya know." I told him "Of course, I love you too." He said. It was quiet for a moment, but then he began,"I don't know if I ever told you, but I am the heir of Slytherin."I snapped my head towards him.ä I wasn't sure if I believed him or not. "Really?" I asked. "Yeah. I have been planning to tell you for some time actually." Tom said. "Oh.." I was a bit surprised by this information. He looked at me with his dark, serious eyes and asked, "Do you promise to stay by my side, when I become the most powerful wizard of all time? Even more powerful than Dumbledore?" I wasn't really expecting him to ask this, but my answer was obvious. "Of course."

(5th year)

I didn't know who to believe anymore. I was really terrified of mine and Tom's future. If the school really gets shut down, we don't have anywhere to go. Of course Dumbledore knows about Tom and I. He has tried to convince me to leave Tom and be careful. I really didn't want to believe him. He told me to leave him before it was too late and he did something horrible to me. I was so furious. How could he say something like that? Tom would never do anything to me. He wouldn't, right? I was walking back to my dorm, crying when I was suddenly pulled into someone's arms. It was Tom and I instantly felt safe and relieved. "Why are you crying?" Tom asked with a concerned voice. "Dumbledore has told me some terrible things." "What things?" "He tried to make me believe that you were the one who opened the chamber of secrets. That you let the monster attack muggleborns." Tom was quiet for a moment. "Please tell me you would never do something like that, Tom." Tom looked at me with a serious face and said, "You shouldn't believe anything the old man says, you know. I will solve this and prove it to him and you. I will become the most powerful wizard and protect you with my new powers. Also I know that you're worrying about the school getting shut down and we having nowhere to go. But I need you to believe me when I say that I will solve this and we can live happily, alright?" I looked at him and said, "I believe you, Tommy" 

*Flashback ends*

It was really stupid of me to believe him. I should have taken Dumbledore more seriously. I step into the castle and start to look for dumbledore. It took me a while but then I saw him standing right before the transfiguration classroom. It seems like he was still teaching transfiguration. 

"I'm glad you decided to come here, miss (L/N). It's been a really long time since I last saw you. I wanted to talk to you directly because sending letters would have been too risky." Dumbledore said. "So… you wanted to talk about Tom, didn't you?" "Yes, no one knows where he is right now, except you." Dumbledore stated. I froze. I didn't know what to say. I know I should tell him, but at the same time I don't want to betray Tom. "I don't know where he is, sorry." I lied. Of course I knew where he was. "(Y/N), I know you're just trying to protect Tom, however I need to know his whereabouts. He isn't up to anything good, and you know it."

I stayed silent for a moment. I'm going to end up suffering anyway. "He is in Albania." I admitted. "And do you know why?" Dumbledore asked. "He's looking for Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. He is planning on making a horcrux." I told him. "A horcrux you say." He commented. "How many has he made already?" "I don't know, he hasn't told me." He went silent. "Tell me (Y/N), why do you love him?" Dumbledore asked. He had concerned and pitiful look on his face. And honestly, I was thinking the same thing. Why did I care about him so much? "Because he loves me." I tried to convince him and myself. "He manipulated you, I'm sure that you know it yourself." I didn't even realize how much I was in denial at this point. 

"How can you say that? Are you doubting his love towards me?" I exclaimed. "No, I'm not, but his lust for power is much stronger than his love for you. (Y/N), he is going to hurt you." Dumbledore explained. "No, you don't understand. He would never hurt me or the chi…" I went silent. I realized I haven't told anyone else about my pregnancy. He would be the first one to know. "-ld.."  Dumbledore looked at me with a sympathetic face. "And Tom is the father?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

I was quiet. I felt betrayed and ashamed. 'Well who else would it be' I tought. Tears were threatening to fall from my (E/C) eyes. I kept my head down in shame. I have been so stupid. 

"I'm so sorry." Dumbledore said with a pitiful look. "Well I don't have anything to ask anymore." He started to walk towards the transfiguration classroom. "And remember, if you need help, Hogwarts will always be there for you."

*Three month Timeskip*

I was packing all of my most important stuff. I'm leaving Tom and escaping this hellhole. Tom has been away for so many months now, probably will be away for a long time so it's useless to wait anyway. And what comes our kid, r more like kids. I found out that I'm pregnant with twins. I'm not going to name them after Tom, that's for sure. I don't want people to know that they are related to Lord Voldemort.

Okay so this is my first fanfiction I have ever done so It's kind of tacky and not that well written. But let me know what you think and how I could improve :)

[parchmentedpetrichor]

➳the girl in the lilac dress ♠ ♡

in which y/n meets fred's ex-girlfriend, days after fred confessed his love for her. there's still some confusion on the status of their relationship. angst -> fluff. narrated by you, y/n l/n.

fred weasley x fem!reader

word count: ±5.4k

tw: angst (not too bad though), mean words, blood, mentions of auror missions, kidnapping, needles, st mungo's

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. hermione, lee and alicia

I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you

I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you

the girl in the lilac dress

i was in a good mood. on the way to work to receive my mission, i was humming a song that had just come out. it was catchy and worth the wait.

out of the corner of my eye, a lilac colour appeared suddenly. strange, i thought. it approached me, in the form of a beautiful woman. she had the lightest grey eyes and the smoothest milky-white skin, and the shiniest locks of dark brown hair. she walked in a flowy lilac gown, her slim model-like body walking in a model-like fashion.

i was pretty sure she wasn't headed towards me, but when her luxurious voice said "good morning" in the calmest tone possible to me, i looked at her confusedly.

"hi!" i replied brightly, smiling.

she smiled sinisterly, "my name is pretoria aphrodite, i'm fred's ex-girlfriend."

he hadn't ever mentioned an ex, but i knew he had dated quite a few people. she made me seem like a glass of water next to a glass of red wine, naive and ugly. i was those two things anyway.

"oh! i'm y/n l/n! nice to meet you, you do seem like a daughter of aphrodite," i said politely.

"darling, all women are daughters of aphrodite. i understand fred's interested in you?"

she observed me and i laughed.

"i don't think that's quite the word. he's my best friend."

"friends with benefits?"

"oh gosh no! i don't really know where we stand, honestly."

"bitter about it?"

i thought for a second, "nah, i couldn't be. love's a hard thing."

"it is, indeed, and you work for the ministry?"

i nodded, "head of the auror office. what about you?"

"i model for witch weekly."

i gasped, "you're the p. aphrodite? i should've known!"

"big fan?" she looked amusedly at me.

"my friends are, so naturally i am."

"you don't seem the type fred usually goes for."

"i wouldn't say he's even going for me," i said cautiously.

"you are much too cutesie for his type."

i glanced up at her. she was smiling kindly.

"pfft, but better cutesie than nothing, amirite?" i asked friendlily, "well it's been nice to talk with you, but i gotta hurry!"

"no worries, i'll come with you, i have some business at the ministry too. have you seen his past exes?"

"uhh, not really?"

"well they're all models for one magazine or another."

"oh, okay. and that's important because...?" i asked her carefully.

"i just thought you should know."

i laughed, "i'm not model material, am i? i don't mind at all."

she looks taken aback. "i would say, with longer hair," she plucked a hair out of my poor mess of locks, "and a shorter upper body, with perhaps lip fillers, you'd look model-like."

her tone was analysing and not at all attacking.

"only three things??" i asked, shocked.

"you are rather... pretty already," she mused, "not model-like, but cute."

we had reached the ministry.

"thanks, see you later!" she waved and disappeared.

all that was left was a buzzing fly which soon flew away.

i immediately dialled in my auror code in the red telephone box and was sent into hermione granger's office.

"'mione! how good to see you!" i hugged her.

"hello y/n!"

in the ministry and the auror department, the head of the auror office was probably more important than the minister for magic. i didn't know why. she had brought me a cup of hot chocolate.

"thanks, 'mione, you didn't need to. what's the mission today?"

"two babies are being held hostage in a coded location by a person who calls themselves the light lord. dark lord, light lord, y'know?" she handed me a coded piece of parchment.

i thoughtfully pondered, "the light lord. who do you need?"

"i was hoping you go on this mission, then you could give me some news on this light lord person."

"that's doable. we'll need to bring in hepole and a ministry official to negotiate passports and such. and a strong auror team."

"right on it. i'll get wally becker and charlotte-ann becker. they're a force to be reckoned with on the borders."

"how much experience?"

"they're twins, been doing this for about fifty years now."

"perfect. and hepole?"

"on the way."

"thanks, minister," i winked at her, getting out my telephone and dialling the disguise unit.

"hello, poplinn speaking."

"pop, we need a few disguises. light lord."

"miss l/n! o-of course!"

"and pop?"

"y-yeah?"

"call me y/n."

i hung up, dialling harry's office.

"harry, call draco and be in my office in ten minutes. i don't care what business he's doing with scorpius, we've got babysitters here. light lord, perhaps a second of voldemort."

"of course."

i picked up the ringing phone that was in the corner of hermione's office.

"y/n, me and scorpy are having a zoo day, we're at the muggle zoo you suggested."

"sorry dray, but it's important."

"there's no one else?"

"there are others, but we need your expertise."

there was a pause, "i won't need to show my dark mark?"

"it's fading anyway. no."

"i'll be paid?"

"in hundreds."

"how old are the children?"

"2 and 4," hermione said.

the silence told me he was sold.

"i'll be there."

i picked up the big microphone and said, "auror unit 156 to the brief room. no need to bring anything. see you there!"

"good luck," hermione grimly said, "be safe, head."

"mhm and cup o' coffee tomorrow? if i survive, that is," i grinned.

"'course."

i smiled, "c'ya!"

she was shaking her head.

"oi, no disappointment, 'mione! i was the one who got the ministry out of paperwork!"

"burning paper doesn't count, y/n."

"it wasn't burning paper, hermione granger, it was arson."

"no, it was the saddest form of arson i've ever seen."

"hey! that's rude."

"just go on your mission already."

i laughed, "on it, minister. kalle?"

kalle looked at me, "yes?"

"tell miss minister to take a break and play a game or something, will you?"

she smiled, "okay."

"give my thanks to your mother too, loved the cookies!"

"alright, good luck, head!"

"thanks, bye!"

i apparated to the brief room, where everyone was strapped into special camouflage clothes.

i handed hepole the parchment and immediately began briefing the unit, harry and draco, on the mission.

"please be safe out there. if you're injured, apparate or travel back here, okay?"

i looked at hepole.

he cleared his throat, "they're in albania. the forest there."

"okay. harry and draco will provide attacking forces," the two nodded.

"i want lopex, quentin blake, quentin grill and hilly to break into any establishment," i say to the team, "and eron, hawks, melv, argonas to hold the offender hostage. johnathan, team healer as always. i'll take the children. hepole, you come and accompany us till the forest, then you have my permission to stay back, and beckers, stay invisible with the cloak, write a report for the minister when you come back, understand? have faith, team! i believe in you. we travel by apparition with the machine in three minutes. call your family, chat, have a snack, drink some water, and relax."

i picked up my telephone and dialled my parents.

"hi mum, dad, i'm going on a mission!"

"alright, be safe sweetie," my mum called.

"yeah, don't die kiddo," my dad added.

"right right, i love you, bye!"

the mission was successful. we rescued the children and sent the kidnapper to trial for azkaban. i escaped with a gash on my forearm, but quickly fixed it up with a spell. it ended late in the evening, so the team healer had gone home. the wound kept opening again, but i wasn't sure if it needed stitches.

putting everything away and making sure the aurors were okay, i headed back to the apartment i shared with fred.

i felt emotionally and physically drained, ready to enjoy a good shower and a good late dinner.

when i fiddled with the key to the door and opened it, my heart absolutely stopped.

pretoria aphrodite was kissing fred passionately. i felt my heart fall ten thousand flights of stairs in disappointment. of course. i was all a rebound who was pathetically in love with him.

when they stopped and saw me, pretoria smirked and fred stood up, astounded.

"uhh, continue? sorry," i apologised awkwardly.

"wait, y/n, it's not what it looks like-" he said.

"i don't mind, be safe," i smiled, too tired and too weak to do anything, closing the door and feeling tears well up in my eyes as i took my bag and myself somewhere. anywhere away from this all. my wound burned. i cursed under my breath as i made my way to st mungo's.

"y/n, you should have come here earlier!" yvonne, my friend, says, as she slowly injects a needle into me, "it's infected! and it needs stitches."

i laughed, "everything needs stitches. this is why i didn't become a healer, yvonne."

she shook her head in dismay.

"lol."

i watched the needle go in.

then she stitched the bloody mess of a wound up, cleaning it gently.

"now i can't stay, y/n," i pouted, "no, don't give me that face, i have other patients."

i nodded, "thanks yvonne."

"no problems. take care. you're too reckless."

"am not!"

she laughed. "that's funny."

after the trip to st mungo's which was pretty short, i wondered what to do. my mind kept floating to the scene i had just witnessed.

i was just the stupid, stupid, girl he used as a rebound. he didn't even use me as a real rebound, just someone who was simply infatuated with him to help him forget his unforgettable ex.

looking at a shop window, i caught a glimpse of myself. i hated being insecure but it happened.

i looked ugly. eyes too small, nose too big, lips not full enough. my thighs touched and i didn't have abs. i had a long gash running down my forearm, surrounded by other cuts. my hair was messy and disgusting. compared to the angel on earth pretoria was, i was nothing. small and plain was nothing when luxurious and beautiful was present.

and it hurt. my heart hurt. my head hurt.

i shook my head gently of my thoughts, chuckling bitterly.

fred weasley was completely and utterly out of my league.

whatevs, i thought. hurting was fine.

deciding to get over him once and for all, i bought some groceries and apparated to the doorstep of lee and alicia's glamorous cottage.

i knocked twice on the door. "hellooo!" i called out.

"baby, can you get that?" lee asked alicia.

alicia opened the door, smiling as she saw me.

"hey ali!"

"hi! come in!"

at first glance i could tell she knew something wrong.

"can i sleep here tonight? and take a shower? and eat some of your food please guys? and maybe steal a shirt i left here for safekeep? and maybe use your telephone? i'm really sorry for troubling you, so i got you guys snacks."

i was the second cousin by marriage of lee. it was good overall, but he was super naughty.

"snacks?"

"your favourites."

"then i guess you can," he said cheekily and i laughed.

"alicia, i don't know how or why you ended up with this child, but i'm glad you did," i told her and she laughed heartily.

"he's cute, isn't he?"

"no," i quickly stepped into the guest bedroom and took a long shower, letting a few tears slip but not enough so that it looked like it. i was subtle.

i bundled up in heavy clothing and wrapped my hair in a towel.

gingerly, i bandaged the wound.

by the snores in the other room, lee was asleep. i crept out quietly, going to cook something.

alicia was sitting down, with my favourite comfort meal prepared. i felt tears of appreciation well up in my eyes.

"thank you, ali, i love you."

"you damn well do."

we both giggled.

"what happened?" she asked me.

"nothing. i just wanted a change."

"from fred? liar. i'll ask again. what happened, y/n?"

"just a long mission, that's all."

"after long missions you usually watch movies with fred."

"couldn't i visit my best friend and my cuz?"

"you visit us on weekends. it's a friday."

"well i wanted to visit you!"

"bullshit."

"is it that hard to believe?"

"what the fuck did fred do to you?"

"nothin'?"

"c'mon y/n, you have to tell me. there's a reason why you didn't go to angie and george's tonight."

"i went here because they're super kissy. you guys have space and act normally. i appreciate that."

"you're awesome at lying."

"i'm not lying!"

"does this happen to involve pretoria aphrodite?"

i nodded, sighing, "she's so nice and pretty." i played with my food.

"i bumped into her. she's pretty, but not nice."

"oh?"

"she called me fiercely ugly. she forgot i model for witch weekly too."

"what did you say back?"

"i told her to fuck off."

i laughed, "she was very nice to me. but next time i see her imma kill her."

"of course she was nice to you, you're a lil angel! anyway, she's an animagus, didya know?"

"whoa how did you know?"

"caught her in a jar. she's a fly. who do you think told hermione to catch rita skeeter in the jar?"

i laughed, "rita skeeter is a beetle! gosh, she's annoying."

"what did fred and pretoria do?"

"nothing."

"please tell me?"

"they-" i swallowed, "they were kissing, and so i came here because i didn't wanna watch anymore."

"hang on, he told you he loved you a few days ago?"

i nodded.

"that doesn't seem right."

i shrugged, "pretoria's better than me. i don't blame him."

"his mother would kill him!"

i shrugged again, "i don't think he was legit when he said that."

"molly weasley, y/n!"

"look, he can explain it to you, i don't even wanna hear it. the first stage of mourning is denial, they say."

"doesn't mean it's good."

"denial is awesome. it's ignorance, but you choose to be stupid. i'm already so stupid!" i groaned, covering my face with my hands, "so so so so so so so stupid, foolish, dumb, and i don't want you to tell me i'm not because i know i am. pathetic."

i gobbled down the rest of the meal, "ths 's delicous," i said, swallowing, "g'night!"

"don't be afraid to let it all out."

"yeah."

i shut the door softly, before brushing my teeth and collapsing exhaustedly on the bed, nodding off quickly.

the next day, i woke at 4am, and put on new clothes, apparating to the phone box and filling out paperwork for the missions yesterday.

i joined hermione quickly, handing her a cappucino and sipping my mocha.

"court sitting this early?" she asked me.

i nodded, "mistake of sirius black, now they do all court sittings within 24 hours of arrest."

"that's smart."

"yeah. it's good. he's obviously guilty right? just a dust of veritaserum to bring it all out?"

"i reckon he'll just confess."

"criminals don't go down easily."

"you guys did a spotting job. the children were unharmed."

"are they here today?"

"they're in st mungo's. being monitored."

"parents?"

"dead."

"oh gosh, those poor children. what's going to happen to them?"

"someone's adopting them, wally becker and his wife."

"that's awesome."

the court hushed as we entered the room. hermione and i shared amused glances and began the sitting.

he was found to be guilty and was chucked in azkaban.

"what an idiot, sending a message like that."

"yup," i chuckled, "what with hepole in our ministry, they never escape."

we laughed.

"how's everything with ron?" i asked her.

"i don't know if he's still into me?"

i almost laugh at her statement, "bro. of course he is."

"i never see him."

"then see him more!"

"how? i'm so busy!"

"busy enough for ron?" we both took sandwiches from the canteen lady with courteous smiles and words.

we sat down at the cafeteria.

"i guess not, but he's busy!"

"busy enough for you?"

"i guess not."

"'xactly."

"but he might not wanna go on a date."

"why? the boy's obsessed with you, 'mione!"

the aurors and ministry workers looked at us in fear as i rose up. i chuckled.

i immediately skipped over to the telephone, putting in the WWW's number.

"y/n! what on earth are you doing?" hermione said in a panicked tone.

"nothing to be worried 'bout."

"hello?" it was george. i thanked the heavens for that.

"yolo george, give the phone to your lil bro please."

"'kay."

hermione was gaping at me. i smirked at her.

"y/n?"

"hey ron, i want you to meet me in rosemary park at 5pm today."

"o-okay."

"could you also bring hermione's favourite snacks and wear an extra jumper?"

"what? why?"

"i'm curious, that's all," i said, "see you there!"

"is that y/n?" i heard fred's voice.

"nup, it isn't," i replied.

and with that, i hung up.

"hey 'mione?"

she was glaring at me, "what."

"meet me at rosemary park at 5pm?" i batted my eyelashes at her, before bursting out in laughter.

she laughed, "i love you."

"pfft, love ya too. you really are too careful. like he would reject you."

"what do you think i should wear?"

"let's go off work early today, at 3," i suggested, "we're both on top of our work anyway."

"okay! you wanna go now?"

"it's 11?"

"yeah!"

"alrighty! kalle!"

kalle turned to us, "yes?"

"hi! me and minister are going out to talk about the mission."

"alright, bye."

we apparate to hogsmeade.

"what theme do you wanna go for?"

"hmm," she thought for a second, "floral!"

"alrighty!" i fumbled for my cell phone and dialled the WWW's again.

"hello?" it was fred this time.

"heyo freddie," i said to him like nothing had ever happened, "tell ron to dress up at 5 pm in something cute but not too out there, preferably in florals or somethin', and he better bring me hermione's favourite flowers."

"wha? if he's going with you then- ohhhh."

"thanks, bye."

"wait!"

"mhm?"

"can we talk?"

"erm- about what exactly?"

"everything."

i sighed, "later, okay? i'm out with hermione and you've got work."

"okay. have a good time, lovely."

"you too."

i was utterly confused. here he was one day kissing pretoria, and now he was calling me lovely?

what the hell was going on?

"let's go, mione!"

we went and bought her a pretty pink dress with white lilies adorning it. it was cute and definitely casual, sort of like a sundress.

"what if he doesn't come?" hermione chewed on her lip.

"hermione jean granger, we both know that ron is absolutely definitely a thousand times head over heels in love with you. he wouldn't ditch you for the world! and look at you! anyone can see he's lucky to have you! you both are star-crossed. when has he ever ever ditched you?"

"with lav brown."

"lavender, she's, she's dead, hermione," i said carefully, "fenrir greyback bit her to death. it was a tragic, heroic, death. she was listed in the extended casualties sent to my office a few months after the battle. i think she's watching down on us from wherever she is up there."

"she's dead?"

"yeah," i replied sadly, "life is so short."

"yeah."

"what i'm tryna say, is that that might've happened, but it won't happen again now that he knows you love him and he loves you. understand?"

"yeah."

"and love him well, for the sake of lavender brown."

"for the sake of lavender brown," she said, smiling.

"yup, now, light lord. his name is actually pont knight."

"pont knight?"

"former assistant of me."

"pont knight?"

"yeah, i know right."

"how did he go again?"

"oh, i fired him," i laughed.

"why?"

"smart guy but terribly lazy and he kept asking for promotions! like please do something if you want money."

"interesting."

"he moved to eastern europe to chase after the trendiness of the islands. i think it was just an excuse. he's changed. he used to be clean-shaven and have the blondest hair."

"do you think he did anything else?"

"we did put him on veritaserum, right?"

"yeah, but it's illegal to put someone on it for more than 10 minutes now in court sittings."

"we could go visit him in azkaban later? i'll take gregir."

"yeah, maybe tomorrow or the day after?"

i nodded, "'course. today is a rest day for the aurors right?"

she nodded, "yeah, half of the agency is at home or working out in the gym."

"good. sometimes this work is so tolling, 'mione."

"yeah, i heard from st mungo's you got hurt?" her eyes were concerned.

i rolled up my sleeve, "that's it."

"that's it? what do you mean, that's terrible! you need to take better care of yourself."

"well sometimes it's hard to. it was worth it."

we continued chatting until it was 4:30.

"oop!" she checked her watch, "i have to go!"

"good luck! tell me how it goes, minister! i'll head back to check if anyone's called for you or me and dust it all up."

"thanks. i owe you."

"nah. i owe my job to you. if minister for magic didn't exist, i wouldn't either. i love you 'mione, be safe!"

"love you too!"

i apparated to the phone box and typed my letters in.

with a whoosh, i immediately spotted two letters and a beeping phone. i answered the phone, solving the problem of the woman on the other end of the line and scribbled a reply to both of the letters.

i finished the paperwork and sent it off, then visited my office. it was piling with letters. i answered all of them, redirecting some of them to different departments, before calling everyone back.

i spotted some of the aurors from yesterday's mission sitting in the cafeteria and talking.

i sat down next to them, "how are you guys doing? any injuries?"

they shook their heads, "we've been spending time in the healer's office and just exercising lightly by the orders of johnny," argonas explained and i nodded.

"take it lightly, and go home if you want to. seeing family always helps the process, hopefully not too many nightmares?"

they laughed, "nightmares all the time, miss," hawk said lightly, "get used to it in this job."

i frowned, "have you tried speaking to doctor yvonne? she might have ways to solve nightmares."

"ahh, miss, sleeping draughts can only do so much," hawk replied cordially.

i laughed, "alright, hawkeye, but just make sure you're not getting traumatised okay? what about you, lopex, quentins?"

they shrugged.

"it's okay? the door was very hard to bust into," lopex said quietly, "we had to try several bombarding charms."

"now, lop, it was easy work!" draco said, sitting down, "hello, head auror, hello unit."

it brought on a cacophony of greetings.

"how are you doing, dray?" harry sat down next to him, "hi everyone!"

we all replied with more greetings and a steady conversation started and flowed for a couple of hours.

i felt my cell phone go off and i excused myself, noting it was 9pm already.

i apparated to the apartment doorstep, knocking on the door just in case anything was happening. i checked the caller id, it was hermione.

fred opened the door, hair messy, still good looking. i smiled at him, patting his shoulder as i ran to the ringing telephone and picked it up.

"y/n!" i could just hear the beam in hermione's voice.

"'mione! how did it go?"

"absolutely wonderful, head auror, ahhh, he's so cute!"

"what happened?" i asked, smiling already.

"well it was really cold when i saw the picnic blanket, which was matching my dress for some weird reason, and ron was there in the cutest button up and he looked so handsoME and he gave me a flower, he's always handsome but i just can't! ahhhh!" she squealed and i clapped my hands in excitement.

"and then i was shivering and he gave me hiS JUMPER and it smelled like him and oh my gosh i think i might just be in love, y/n!"

i giggled, "my cooling charm did work!"

"whaT y/n????"

cackling, i said, "continue, i wanna hear more this is so adorable!!!"

i ignored the dirty glance fred gave me, quietening my voice.

"and then we had food and he said he had cooked it himself and was being such a dear and i told him that i loved him over and over again!!!"

i squealed silently again.

"and, and, gosh my english has gone out of the window!"

"english is nothing compared to the language of love!!" i giggled.

"we watched the sunset whilst cuddling, and i fell asleep and then when i woke up i was in his bed and he was looking at me intently and i just, i'm the luckiest girl alive!"

"you are but you deserve it! that's so sweet! i'm happy for you goshhh, you are the cutest couple. you're both such darlings!"

"and then we watched a muggle movie and he got scared of the spiders and it was so adorable ahhhhHHHH!!!"

"that's the cutesttttt," i gushed.

another dirty look from fred. i gave him a frown back.

"and then he walked me home and it started raining and we kissed in the rain and another check off of my bucketlist and oh my gosh he's so perfect."

"oh gosh that's beautiful," i was smiling uncontrollably.

"anyway," her tone changed into one of mischief, "wanna meet up tomorrow to talk about it?"

"sure thing! when and where? i'll be there!"

"erm, lemme chec- think," i heard the suspicious rustling of papers.

"you're sus. let's just talk about it over the phone. i don't want anything weird."

"how about 10 am in the morning at the field of fireflies?"

"that's a highly romantic place, miss minister. isn't it for couples or something?"

"no? you must be talking about fiona farm."

oh. "yeah, probs, well okay, it better have good coffee. i'm dying of boredom too, does it have a playground??" i asked, hopefully crossing my fingers.

"nope."

"awww, shucks, i don't think i'll go then. you wanna come over though?"

"no please come! there's a surprise!"

i was sold, "lovely. i'll be there at 9:30!"

"no, no, don't do that."

"what the hell, hermione, you're being so suspicious!"

"i'm not, okay? just come on time, you won't regret it."

"if there's any funny business i'm not committing arson ever again."

"oh crap."

i sighed.

"just come anyway!!! good night cheerio!!!"

"what the-"

the line ended.

i frowned, noticing the glare fred gave me yet again.

"is everything okay??" i asked him.

"no," he said rudely.

"well, do you need any help?"

"no."

"how was your day?"

"fine."

i sighed, "okay."

"you called ron cute."

i laughed lightly, "that's it?? and so what's kissing a girl huh, nothing? i called him cute because he treats 'mione like a goddess, because she is a goddess, for goodness sake. and he is cute, in a completely objective way," i added absentmindedly, "all you weasleys are."

he frowned.

"she kissed me!"

"oh i don't mind, i couldn't. my two braincells can't handle it. you kiss whoever you wanna, okay? live, laugh, love, and all that." i smiled.

he was silent.

"and we can talk after i meet up with hermione, okay?"

"okay."

"we don't needa if you don't wanna, of course. g'night."

"have a nice sleep."

the next morning, i got up and went to the field of fireflies or whatever.

it was a beautiful place. it was a full on field. meadows stretched across the near english countryside. the sky was clear and light, and the world around me was stunning.

winds blew from all directions, and i soon found myself accio!ing a jumper.

"hermioneeee???" i called, "you're leaving me hanging."

had hermione stood me up? i chuckled at the very thought, soon rolling in the field of flowers as i laughed.

"hermione you devil you stood me up! you left your poor little work wife hanging!" i shouted dramatically.

i suddenly spotted a little house? by the side of the meadow.

i ran towards it.

"whoa."

it was absolutely magnificent. beige little bricks were stacked on top of each other, grey bricks dotted in. the shillings were dark green, and plants hung out everywhere in the cracks of the house.

large windows which reflected the blue light in the sky spanned across the whole house, and a single wooden door stood ajar.

i just wish i had brought a camera. i sat on the grass, playing with the hem of my jumper sadly. even hermione didn't have time for me. i wondered what a sad person i must seem like.

"contemplating life there?" i heard a far off voice. i swung my head around, seeing fred standing and grinning.

yeah well duh i was, no thanks to you, i thought.

i immediately got up.

"we can talk here, right?" fred asked, as he brought me into the house.

"wow," inside, it was cluttered and messy, with plants sprouting everywhere and bookcases and things everywhere. i loved it.

"you like it?" he asked.

"love it."

"good, because i bought it," he laughed at my flabbergasted expression, "i'm rich, darlin'. let's sit, i cooked lunch."

"was this your plan? to have hermione stand me up?" i asked.

"love, i wouldn't call this a plan. simply just a boy trying to explain himself."

"look i don't need an explanation. i told you, you can love whoever you wanna, i don't mind, i don't care, i support."

"but i'm gonna have to explain because i wanna kiss you."

"then go ahead," i sighed, "if you're lying i will stab you."

"jeesh okay."

i looked at him.

"oh yeah, i forgot the food, here," he said casually, handing me a plate filled with yummy looking delicacies. i was willing to put up with his rubbish story telling for the food, i guess.

"alright, i'm all ears."

"okay. so she talked with you right?"

i nodded.

"did she take a piece of hair from you?”

i nodded again.

"so you came home just right about when the night lights flicker on in london. or so i thought it was you. it was actually, aphrodite, yeah? in polyjuice potion. and she knocked on the door, which i thought was strange. i opened it and she immediately kissed me, as you. and it was weird but it was you and i would give the world to kiss you like that," he said bluntly and i could feel my face heating up, "and then it went like that for a few seconds and she turned into pretoria, and by then the woman had her claws on me. then the door opened and i knew i had made a mistake and then you left and apologised so sweetly. i'm so so sorry, my love, please, i never meant to hurt you, i never meant to do anything. i broke up with her last year. i haven't wanted to be with her since. i want to be with you."

i looked at him. i knew he was genuine.

"okay. i'm sorry too, for not trusting you. i guess i was just really unsure of our relationship. it's still kinda blurry."

"what do you wanna be?"

"could we be official, please?"

he grinned, "of course."

then smiling sheepishly, he added, "can i kiss you now?"

"only if i'm the only girl you kiss from now on," i teased, smiling.

he blushed, placing my hands over his heart. it was beating very very fast.

"feel that, beautiful?"

i nodded.

"only you."

he gave me a cheesy grin and laughed at my blushing face, before tilting my head upwards and going in for a kiss but kissing my cheek.

"that's not fair!"

and that's how his head ended up falling into my lap, as i ran my fingers through his ginger strands.

he had fallen asleep just as the sunset began.

it was breathtaking. hues of orange and red danced across the sky.

"i can think of something a lot more beautiful than that," fred said, smiling.

"oh?"

"yeah. yeah."

"i don't believe you."

"that's because you can't see yourself right now."

[redhowler]

hii — i finished reading thr last part of No Heroes a few days ago & my curiosity is slowly killing me; do you pleasee have any snippets or clues about the new chapter to share?

hello!

ugh I know it's been a long time since I updated - i've just been so overloaded with school that i haven't had anytime to write since... a month ago-ish? not sure. I know this chapter is probably going to be a long one though.

but here's a snippet to make up for the wait :)

"Is that all?"

Voldemort peered at him over his shoulder. His wand was in his hand. The constant itch that came with dark magic was already making Harry feel on edge.

"Hogwarts will be starting next month," Voldemort said.

Oh.

Harry blinked, trying not to show how hearing that little fact affected him. It felt like a slap to the face.

He swallowed again, hard, feeling as though there were rocks in his throat.

Oh.

Hogwarts. His home. The one constant that he'd had over his summer: looking forward to going back there.

And now even that would be taken away from him.

Harry studied his shoes, frowning painfully as he tried to keep his emotions in check, his eyes dry.

If Ron and Hermione didn't know that he was missing by then, they certainly would by the time they boarded the Hogwarts Express. It wouldn't be just them, too - the entire world would know he was missing.

"We'll talk about it more tomorrow," Voldemort said, watching Harry carefully. He looked more like how he had been at the start of Harry's capture at that moment, cold and suspicious. As if Harry really was a puzzle that he was trying to solve. Just so he could take it apart. Piece by piece.

It was so strange how this calm, collected version of Voldemort made Harry more uneasy than when he was flying into a rage. At least the Dark Lord was predictable when he was angry. Now, Harry had no idea what he was going to do.

And he'd have to sleep under the same roof as this man while wondering all of this.

"What about our lessons?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow as well. You've had a long day, and when I teach you I want you to be at your best."

Harry just nodded in response, unsure of what to say. Any vocal agreement felt too subservient to him, as if he was just another one of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Disposable and non-important.

"Disposable?" Voldemort asked, the first traces of a smile since Paris gracing his face. "That's rather harsh, Harry. And," he interrupted when Harry looked at him in anger, "before you demand that I don't have the right to look through your thoughts, keep in mind that you're not exactly in a position to demand anything. The moment you stepped into this place, you sealed our deal. You are under my power for the next three months. The only way you get me to change something is by making me. Is that understood?"

Like Harry could ever make Voldemort do anything. Regardless, he knew how to pick and choose his battles now. So he nodded again, this one a sharp dip of the head without the false politeness.

"If you weren't as fascinating as you are," Voldemort told him, "you would be punished for your disrespect."

"If you were anyone else, I wouldn't show you that amount of disrespect."

Voldemort looked at him, eyes sharpening with irritation. "As much as I enjoy your cheek, Potter, I'm tired of you for tonight. I have matters to attend to tomorrow that are far more important than this... bantering with you. Have a good night."

The dismissal was obvious. Harry had the sudden urge to keep talking to Voldemort, but he knew that was stupid. And since when did Harry want to talk to Voldemort? Since Voldemort turned out to be his only entertaining form of company?

Entertaining.

That sounded like something Voldemort would call Harry.

The slightest shift of Voldemort's feet told Harry that he'd heard that thought. Flushing with embarrassment, Harry quickly sped up the staircase. He dug his hand into the pocket of his clothing, clenching his wand with relief. He wasn't as helpless as before. What were three more months after all the time he'd already spent with Voldemort?

Yet something told him that these three months would be entirely different from what he expected them to be.

[callingitaday]

Sweetness

Pairing : Fred Weasley x reader (fem)

wc: 2K+ Warnings : none.. I think

Gif owner: fgweasley

6 months. 6 months since the battle. 6 months since Lord Voldemort killed your family. 6 months of nightmares and sleepless nights. 6 months of wanting it all to end. 

*flashback *

“No! No! What  are you doing here? I told you to stay away” you yelled as your parents stepped onto the battlefield. 

“ We’re here to help honey” your mom spoke

“We need everyone to fight. He can’t win. Everything will be alright, we love you” your dad finished.

“Y/N help!” Neville yelled. Running over to help fight off a death eater when you hear your mom's screams echoing through the chaos causing you to turn around and let out a blood curdling scream. You see Voldemort killing your parents, making you drop to your knees.

“MOM” you cried out

Voldemort turns his attention to you. Immediately you stand to fight, tears clouding your sight before arms are wrapped around your waist lifting you off the ground. 

“We need to go”   Fred yelled as you fought against him.

*end of flash back*

Since your family was now gone, the Weasley's have taken you in as their own. Miss Weasley or Molly as she keeps reminding you ensures that everything will be okay and you always have and forever will be a part of this family. You appreciate hearing this as it helps you while transitioning into this new beginning. 

Fred checks on you multiple times throughout the day, which gets annoying sometimes but you love him so it’s okay. You know he knows something is wrong but didn’t know what or why I wouldn’t tell him why. Fred was your best friend, he was a year older but I didn’t really seem to matter. You told each other everything but you couldn’t seem to tell him about the nightmares or the fact that you were completely and utterly in love with him. Which is the way you’d like to keep it.

As another nightmare penetrated your mind, you were awoken in a cold sweat and tears daring to fall. 3 AM you sigh, quietly making your way downstairs to make some tea. Leaving a smell light on as you made your way to the front porch the cool air felt very welcoming against your burning skin. As you said that you let your mind wander free. Thinking about simple things like how summer days were hot and the evenings were cool, how lively the house always was, how the house always smells like a bakery because Mrs. Weasley makes something new to try every day. But also thinking about the battle of Hogwarts. To your parents, to everyone and everything you lost.

Due to being zoned out you weren’t exactly aware of the things around you. The stairs begin to squeak under the weight of someone making their way down.

“Y/N? What are you doing? It's almost 4 in the morning” Fred's sleepy voice came from behind you. 

“Couldn’t sleep” Fred came up next to you before sitting down. 

“ is everything okay?” 

You sat there in silence as you thought how to answer, you didn’t really know and didn’t really wanna cry anymore. 

“Y/N?” Fred spoke quietly

“sorry,  I’m fine”  now resting your head on his shoulder

“ you’re lying come on tell me what’s going on”

“Fred…’ A silent tear falling ‘I’m sorry I can’t do that right now. Just sit with me” 

“Okay but when you’re ready I’m ready” Fred pulls you into a hug kissing your forehead. He held you for a while and once he was satisfied that you would be heading back to bed too he himself headed upstairs. Soon enough you too made your way up to bed. Letting your head hit the pillow, your eyes close. As you let the tiredness take over, hoping tomorrow will be better.

It was still early when you woke back up. The girls were still sleeping and you could hear the quick chirping of the birds outside. Quietly changing into some shorts and a t-shirt before making your way downstairs. Peeking into Ron's room as you passed, both Ron and Harry were still dead asleep and Ron was snoring quite loudly causing you to giggle a bit.

Molly was starting to make breakfast “Oh! Good morning dear” 

“Good morning” you spoke gently as you entered the kitchen. “Fresh tea is on the table” Molly added, you responded with a smile before taking a seat at the table. 

“Morning boys”

“Morning” they said in unison. George never took his eyes off the paper they were working on but Fred looked up. He tilted his head a little, giving you a smile. You look down at your cup, taking in a deep unsteady breath before looking back up at him. Forcing a small smile while taking a sip of your tea. Molly slowly started putting breakfast on the table and yelled up the stairs that breakfast was ready. You weren't that hungry but still grabbed a biscuit.

Fred kept looking at you, a sweet but concerned look covered his features as he observed you picking at your food and tinkering with the cup of tea. Wanting to be out from under Fred's gaze you got up and dumped out the old tea to make a new cup. “Not hungry dear? Is everything okay?” Molly asked. “ eh, not really but I'm okay. Just a bit tired” you gave a reassuring smile.

“Alright, im here is you need anything” 

Heading out to the front porch for some fresh air, taking a seat in one of the old rocking chairs. Not long after the screen door snapped shut and the porch squeaked just a little under the wait of  the person approaching. You stayed in your own little world, never looking up from your cup. In all honestly you didn't have too, you knew who it was the second he walked through the doorway. You could smell him, he always smelt like fire embers and sweets, and to be frank it was a bit intoxicating for you. He didn’t say anything as he sat next to you. You knew what he wanted, what he was thinking. You knew he wanted to know about the nightmares but at the same time he didn't want to pry.

“ i’m sorry. I know that if I asked you, you would have listened and tried to help. I didn't want to bother anyone with my problems. Everyone that day lost someone they cared about, I'm not special because I lost my parents. This is my burden and my burden alone. But these nightmares that invade my head are slowly killing me” you paused, finally looking over at Fred. He sat with tears in his eyes, a few of your own fell down your cheek at the sight. 

“Every night I watch him kill them. I watch as the light dies in their eyes. Every night I'm back at the battle. Every Night i hear the deafening screams of everyone there”  shaking your head as you quickly wiped your face, taking a deep breath.

Fred grabbed your hands in his own “I’m sorry you felt like you had to go through this alone but you're being too hard on yourself. It is okay to grieve your parents and our friends. It's okay to be sad. It's all okay but what's not okay is letting these feelings destroy you. I'm here for you, everyone in this house is here for you, but I'm here whether it be at 2 in the afternoon or 2 in the morning.” 

You pulled Fred into a hug and whispered a thank you as he gripped you tighter. 

The summer day continued as normal. The boys decided to play little mini quidditch games while you, Ginny, Hermione and George’s (she is not my girlfriend!) girlfriend Angelina sat out sunbathing watching them play. A letter from Charlie had arrived in the afternoon insisting that he needed Molly and Aurther to come out for something very important though he didn't say what it was. This led to Molly giving us all a very stern talking about how we needed to be on our best behavior, absolutely no funny business, to not burn down the house and they would be back in a day or two. 

As the evening approached Ron helped Harry set up something called a projector so that we could watch some movies outside around a fire. George had brought out some whiskey to sip on and this is where things started to get a little awkward for you. Only 4 blankets were set up. One for each couple and apparently one for you and Fred to share. 

After this morning, Fred was keeping an even closer eye on you than before. Being around him on a day to day basis was hard enough but now you're just in a constant state of butterflies and embarrassment. He's caught you staring like a dozen times today and now you had to sit next to him and act like everything was fine while the couples paid more attention to each other than the movie. 

You tried to make yourself comfortable but nothing was working. Even tried to lay down but your arm kept falling asleep. Eventually you gave up and just pulled your knees up to wrap your arms around them and lay your head on your knees.

“You can lay your head on me….. If- if you want too” Fred whispered, close enough that you could smell the whiskey on his breath. Hesitant at first but giving in and not moments after you laid your head in his lap that you fell asleep. 

“y/n… y/n'' you jolted awake as Fred said your name. “ Hey you're okay, yeah” He talked low and slow as he tucked some hair behind your ear. Finally sitting up and looking around, the movie was still playing and only George and Angelina were gone. 

“What happened?” 

“You were starting to whimper and saying no over and over again and you had a pretty good grip on my - umm- my thigh” 

“Oh.. Im sorry” that was all you could say, you knew it was because of the nightmare. “Its okay”

“I think I should go to bed” you blurted out

“Yeah, yeah sure I'll walk you up” Fred said as he stood and reached his hands out to help you up.

You just stood there for a moment while you stared down at your now intertwined hand before looking up at him. His lips were already formed in an admiring smile which you copied before setting your other hand just above his wrist and setting your head on his upper arm. Fred leaned down and kissed the top of your head “come on”

Fred only let go of your hand when you got to the stairs to allow you to go up first. Your courage began to build with each step up you took, finally at the top you stopped and turned on your heel to face Fred. Almost face to face with him but even with you on higher ground he was still taller. Your eyes flickering between his and his lips. Steadily bringing your hands up to his face before planting your lips on his. He was definitely taking back but quickly recovered and his hands gripped your hips and pulled you closer to him.

Both only stopping because oxygen was much needed. Slowly you open your eyes only to see Fred's got this shit eating grin plastered across his face. You laughed “what?”

“Oh nothing, you know you should just feel so lucky to have been able to kiss me”

“FRED!” you smacked his chest as he erupted in laughter before putting his hands in the arm in defense  “Im kidding! Only kidding”

“Can I stay with you tonight?” you say in a hushed tone

“Of course you can sweets”

“Mhm sweets? I kinda like it” 

“ oh yeah? Well I would call you that all the time if you were mine” Fred stated matter-of-factly. You set your hands on each side of his neck “Promise?” 

“Promise” he repeated back to you as he lifted you up causing you to let out a yelp and wrap your legs around him. He slowly made his way to his door before opening it and stepping inside. Shutting and locking it before leaning over the bed, laying you on your back. 

He gave you a few more small kisses before taking off his shirt and laying next to you and pulling you close to him. 

 You couldn’t believe this was happening but you were more than ecstatic. Maybe now those nightmares would stop, maybe now you wouldn't dread going to bed. Maybe now everything would be okay. Still with your head on his exposed chest you thanked him for everything and that if this was actually happening that he would always be enough for you just the way he was because he was now your sweet boy. 

“Always my sweets” was the last thing spoken before sleep took both of you.

[yletylyf]

Loaded Shadows, Chapter 23

Sirius Black/Severus Snape AU. In Harry’s fifth year, Voldemort kills Dumbledore at the Ministry. Harry is missing. The Order is scattered and aimless. The Ministry is rapidly losing the war, with important officials dying left and right. And Sirius Black does not trust Severus Snape.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

My contribution to Whumptober 2021. Day 23: You break it, you buy it (pursuit)

[Chapter 1] | [Previous chapter]

Severus closed the lid to the trunk, hiding Harry from sight. He walked back to the door, Sirius following on his heels. Severus opened the door and stepped through. Neither of them fell unconscious or passed out, the way Sirius did when he first entered this room.

[Next chapter]

"Quietly," Severus reminded Sirius as he closed the door behind them. The reminder was rather unnecessary. Sirius had no desire to draw attention to themselves any more than Severus did.

Severus crossed a couple more rooms until he found the spiral staircase. Severus climbed up the stairs one floor. He started to walk down the long, dark corridor lined with flickering torches.

"I thought the lab was on the third floor," Sirius protested in a low voice. "I'm quite sure we're on the second floor right now."

"You're correct," Severus answered, sounding surprised that Sirius knew this. As though Sirius lacked the capacity to pay attention, or something. "There's a storeroom on this floor with a few ingredients I need."

"Why don't you have a storeroom on the same floor as the lab?"

"I do," Severus answered. "The one on this floor is larger. I know I'll need some ingredients from it."

Severus opened a door at the end of the corridor on the left. It opened into a large room that looked like a kitchen, hugging the curve of the wall and arcing out of Sirius's sight.

Sirius made an indistinct noise. "All this time, this place has had a kitchen?"

"Of course," Severus said, giving Sirius an odd look. "It's a habitable castle."

"Unbelievable," Sirius said, looking around. "I'm absolutely dying of hunger. Is there anything that's, well, not poisoned?"

"You want to stop what we're doing and eat?" Severus asked, sounding judgmental.

"Yes, Snape," Sirius snapped. "We haven't had anything to eat the entire time we've been here, and the last nutrition we had was Mrs. Avery's potions. I don't know what day it is, but I'm about to collapse of hunger."

"It's Monday, probably mid-morning," Severus answered, then shrugged. "Fine."

Severus walked over to the fridge and pulled out a long, glass container. He set a heating charm on it, then removed a set of plates and cups from another cupboard. He filled the cups with water, placed everything on the table, and sat down heavily in a chair.

Sirius selected the chair next to him. The container looked like it contained a casserole. Sirius dished some onto his plate and sniffed at it.

"Smells really good," he said approvingly. He took a huge bite. It was some kind of egg and potato dish, and it was incredible.

Severus didn't say anything. He picked at his food, eating much more slowly than Sirius.

"Hey, Severus," Sirius said, after he had had two helpings and was working on a third.

Severus looked up at Sirius and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Sirius's mouth was suddenly dry. "Do you think it's true that I've got Order secrets hidden under a memory charm in my brain?"

Severus did not answer right away. He just looked at Sirius, blinking. The silence stretched on until Sirius thought he might not answer at all.

"Yes," Severus finally said. "The location of headquarters, all the safe houses, the membership list, the identities of our cooperators, Ministry contacts—yes."

"Why would I have known all that stuff and then had my memory wiped?" Sirius asked. It wasn't that he disbelieved Severus—by now, he was willing to believe Severus had the Order's best interests in mind—but it did not make any sense.

He was quite confident he knew none of this information, but then—that was the sign of a well-performed memory charm, wasn't it?

"Operational security," Severus said quietly. "I am strong enough in Occlumency to fool the Dark Lord. You are not."

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair, knowing that he was straddling the chasm of fully trusting Severus and saying something he would not have the opportunity to take back.

He teetered on the edge of the decision for a few seconds, then fell.

"If he breaks the memory charm, I need you to kill me."

***

Severus drew a deep breath. He let it out, then repeated the process. He took a third deep breath, then nodded. He leaned forward and placed a hand on Sirius's cheek. "You break it, you buy it, eh?"

Sirius frowned. That had probably made no sense to him. Sirius did not know that it had been Severus's decision to place the memory charm on him, after all. Severus still wasn't sure whether that had been the most foolish, or the most brilliant thing he'd done this week.

"I will do what I can," Severus promised softly. He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which he had the means to kill Sirius and Sirius did not have the means to finish himself off, but he understood why Sirius was asking.

Sirius didn't say anything. Severus dropped his hand.

Severus's heart was hammering. He did not want to think about what Sirius had asked of him.

They finished the meal in silence. Severus cleared the table, washed the dishes with a charm, and put everything back where it belonged. He hoped Voldemort wouldn’t notice his casserole was gone, but—well, that was the least of his worries today.

***

Sirius was grateful Severus did not seem to want to talk about Sirius's request. He trailed after Severus as he went to open a small door that led to

[lemonlushff-iy]

Read parts 1-4 here

One Last Ride - Part Five

Kagome drove down the long, winding dirt path to her mother's house, the events of the day playing over and over again in her head. She had so many questions for her mother, starting with "what the hell was going on?", followed by "why is Inuyasha helping out around the ranch?".

As her childhood home came into view, she felt the familiar bitter sweetness of nostalgia wash over her. This was the home she had grown up in. This house was the background for most of her childhood memories…both good and bad.

The wooden rocking chairs were still out on the porch. She had spent hours there as a child with her grandfather, listening to his stories about her father as a child. It's where she had plucked her fingers raw as his leathery hands covered hers, teaching her to play his guitar.

The front yard was cleaner now. It still had a soccer ball near the side, but the bikes were gone. Stored in the shed around back, like they were supposed to be. She supposed her brother drove to school now instead of biking the long distance.

She used to hate biking to school too. Only she didn't…Because Inuyasha would stop by first and go with her. He would race with her...letting her win almost every single time, because they both knew that he could pedal a lot faster.

Their fathers had taught them how to ride the bike at the same time...on this very long, winding road. Inuyasha would put on a brave face whenever he fell and skinned himself, but her father would swoop in, look at his wounds, and give him a hug. Her father would call him a champ when he stood back up, ready to keep going.

That's the kind of man her father was.

The kind of man who would wake up at four in the morning to take her fishing and just listen to her talk about all of her problems, no matter how big or small they were. He'd listen to her complain and vent over school work, excitedly talk about the latest article she was working on for the school paper, and confess her ideas for that newest short story.

It was their special time together. Where they could just be and bond...Where he had told her that he believed in her dreams. Where he told her that she was a talented writer and should keep pursuing it. Where he had told her that he was happy she was happy with Inuyasha...but if he hurt her, he wouldn't hesitate to break out his shotgun.

She had groaned at that...but having his blessing? For all if it?

It had meant the world to her.

Now...the rocking chairs stood empty, and the fishing rods lay coated in dust.

A light had been extinguished in her heart with each of their passing...and it had taken a long time to find a small flashlight for the void within.

She put her car into park, coming around to the trunk to pop it and remove her suitcase as the door to the house opened.

"Kagome!" her younger brother, Souta, called as he ran over to her, leaping into her arms so suddenly she had to drop the suitcase to catch him. "Trust fall!" he yelled as she staggered backwards from the force, the car catching her in her back. If it hadn't been there, she would have landed on her ass, but she didn't care.

"Souta," she laughed, her heart feeling a bit lighter. This was why she had come home. For him. For his graduation.

"Hey sis," he grinned, his eyes happily dancing before he bent over and tucked his head under her chin, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"S-Sout-ta...C-can't...breathe…"

"That's ok."

"S-Souta!"

"Alright," he grumbled, pulling away from her and she gasped for air, bending over to rest her hands on her knees. "I'm so glad you made it! We were a bit worried that you wouldn't when your flight got delayed...and then we heard your car broke down…"

"I wasn't going to let that stop me! It's your big day buddy...I couldn't miss that," she grinned, righting herself and grabbing him around the shoulders to muss up his hair. "God...I think you grew another inch since Christmas...would you stop growing already? You're already taller than me."

"Just trying to catch up to Inuy-ah...LeBron James. You know. So I can have a better shot at the NBA," he smiled weakly.

"You can say his name, Souta," she replied, pulling away to push her hair behind her ears as he picked up her suitcase. "He's a good man. Not Voldemort...we don't have to pretend he doesn't exist, ok?"

"Are we pretending that Zach doesn't exist?" he asked, leading her into the house.

"Yes. Yes we are," she laughed, closing the door. It smelled like home...or at least of her mother's fried chicken. And if that wasn't home, she wasn't sure what was.

"Oh! My Sweet Baby Girl!" She heard her mother's sweet, melodic timbre instantly washed away any lingering pain from her hellish day. It was all worth it. The delayed flight. The broken down car. The horrible dinner. All of it was worth it so that she could be here. With her family.

She'd brave it all again just for this.

Her mother swept her up into her arms, rocking her from side to side, and she inhaled deeply. Underneath the scent of fried chicken she smelled of her, and of the fancy rose scented perfume she only wore on special occasions.

"Hi Mama," she sighed, pulling away to look closely at her mother. She was the same, but not. She was a bit thinner than she remembered her being...her cheeks only slightly more sunken in than she recalled as being "normal" for her mother. She wore concealer, under her eyes...something she normally avoided doing. Perhaps it was to hide the dark circles she was certain was under it? Her hair, while still short and wavy, was a bit frizzier than she remembered it being as well. Sure it was summer and all, but her mother had always taken pride in her hair.

If Inuyasha hadn't already tipped her off that something might be wrong here, she would have known the second she saw her mother.

"Let me get a look at you! Oh it's been too long, Kagome!" Her mother sighed, holding her out at an arm's length as she examined her. "Good! You're eating well."

"Mother! Did you just call me fat?"

"I said nothing of the sort - I'm just glad living in California hasn't gotten to you yet and I don't have a twig daughter."

God! Everyone and their hatred of California!

"I'm fine Mama," she growsed. "Maybe a little tired and emotionally worn down from dinner...but I'm fine."

"Yeah how'd that go?" Souta called, running down the stairs from her room. He sounded like a bull in a china cabinet, with the way his feet pounded on each step. "I was shocked when Mama told me. Of all the places for your car to break down…"

"Trust me - I know," she replied rolling her eyes as she followed her mother and brother into the kitchen. "It was...well, I would have liked it if it had gone better, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Inuyasha helped me fix the car up as soon as dinner was over."

"Did you two talk about anything?" her mother pried lightly, placing an open tupperware of chocolate chip cookies in the center of the table.

She snorted and plucked a cookie out from the pile within, taking a bite and asking, "about what specifically?"

"I don't know, anything noteworthy," she shrugged, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out the milk, pouring it into two glasses.

"She's asking if you and Inuyasha talked about...things," her brother helpfully supplied.

"We talked about a bunch of things."

"Such as?" her mother tried again, placing the milk in front of them and crossing her arms on the table.

"Such as my favorite color," she replied dryly, taking a sip from her milk.

"No...really..." her mother said, cocking her head to the side.

"Really," Kagome confirmed, taking another bite from her cookie. "He asked me what it was. He wasn't sure if it was still green. Shouldn't we be talking about something more exciting than my run in with Inuyasha? Like Souta's graduation?"

"I dunno sis," he teased. "You've been avoiding him for seven years. This feels pretty exciting to me…"

She threw her cookie at him.

"The two of you! We're fine. Everything's fine. Can we just...move on from him?" she groaned, and they reluctantly changed the conversation to Souta's graduation plans.

The ceremony was the day after next, and Souta had requested that they go to Ottwell's, one of only two diners in town, afterwards followed by bowling. Apparently he had plans with some friends that night, so he was graciously gracing them with his presence in the afternoon.

After that, they spent the next two hours talking about everything and nothing. Kagome filled them in on how work at the magazine and was going, and confirmed that no...she hadn't seriously started dating anyone new yet. She had set up Tinder on her phone again though.

Buyo her cat was fine. A little older and more crotchety, but her roommate Ayame was looking after him while she was gone. She had met Ayame in college and the two had become fast friends, supporting each other on all of life's ups and downs on the west coast.

Souta, she was surprised to hear, had decided to delay attending a college for a year. When she had pressed him on why, he had simply shrugged and told her that he wasn't sure what he wanted to do beyond this...and if there even was something he wanted to do beyond this. Besides. It's not like it ever hurt anyone to take a year off. He would use the time to help around the ranch and do some soul searching.

She would have liked to argue with him, but she couldn't. It was important that he forge his own path, and if this was what he needed to do…well...she might not like it, but she could support it. Just as they had when she left home for UCLA.

When he began to fake yawn to excuse himself to go to sleep, but really play video games in his room, Kagome stood up and snapped the lid back onto the tupperware of cookies.

"You know, I had been hoping that perhaps you had patched things up with Inuyasha," her mother began casually, watching her daughter wash her hands in the kitchen sink.

Kagome could sense her mother had been waiting until he was out of earshot before starting this conversation, and she sighed.

"Mama…"

"He didn't want to upset you, but Souta would really like it if Inuyasha would join us. The bond he shares with him...you know he's always been like an older brother to him."

"And you're both asking me for permission to invite him along?" she smiled wryly, coming to slump down in a chair at the kitchen table again.

"He's not. He didn't want to hurt you...but he's mentioned it in passing, quite a bit. I am, though. It would mean the world to him, Sweetheart."

Kagome worried her fingers and bit the inside of her lip, her chest slightly pained that they were afraid to invite him along because it would upset her. She knew that the two had always shared a special bond. Inuyasha was the older brother Souta had never had...and he was the brother Inuyasha had always wished he had.

It hurt that her family didn't believe in her ability to keep it together with him for one day for her brother's sake...yet what reason did they have to believe that they could?

Every single time she had ever come in, they had carefully asked just once if she planned to see him. And every time her answer had been no.

She avoided him like the plague.

But...if today was any indication, fate really was forcing him back into her life.

Besides. Souta deserved to have his male role model there. Their grandfather and father died when he was so young...Inuyasha was all he had to look up to. She couldn't take that from him.

"He should be there. We can be civil for an afternoon, if today was any indication," she finally whispered, and her mother reached out to take her hangs, giving them a light squeeze.

"Thank you Sweetie," she grinned warmly. "Why don't you tell him in the morning? It will make his day and I don't think he'd be able to go to sleep now if we told him."

"Sounds good," she nodded. "I...Mama...I want to ask you something. About something Inuyasha said earlier."

Her mother instantly froze and her back straightened. She was apprehensive.

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He implied that things aren't going so well here. That he's been helping out around here a lot? At least enough to know I was dating Zach, and that's not exactly a casual conversation topic…"

Her mother's eyes flashed with slight agitation before she schooled her expression again into casual nonchalance.

"Nothing is wrong, Sweetie. He's offered to help out, and I appreciate his assistance."

"But why did he offer? Mama...come on. You can tell me. I know something is going on. The Takahashi's have a large enough ranch that Inuyasha wouldn't offer help unless there was a good reason...And you look stressed, Mama. You aren't eating right...getting enough sleep...your hair is a mess…"

"Kagome Higurashi, you bite your tongue! I raised you better than to insult your mother!"

"I'm not insulting you, I'm trying to figure out what is going on! Please Mama...I'm not a child. You can confide in me. What's going on here?"

Her mother gave her a long, hard look before sighing and rising to her feet, retrieving two of her father's whisky glasses and a bottle of Jim Beam. She deftly poured two fingers worth into each glass, adding a few ice cubes before setting the drinks down on the old, wooden table.

She sat down, picking up one of the glasses and giving the amber liquid a swirl, trying to chill it a bit faster before taking a sip.

"Kagome...the ranch isn't doing so well. We haven't been for the last year."

"What?" she gasped, pulling her glass closer to her and gripping it tightly between white-knuckled fingers. "What happened?"

"It was just...one thing after another. First we had a rodent infestation in the feed...then Bullseye died of old age, and Bill got sick...we only had Benny left," her mother began, shaking her head as she began to list their tragedies. Bullseye, Bill, and Benny were all of their bulls. And if they were only down to one breeding male, that would make breeding seasons difficult and affect profits. The rodent infestation would have killed off most of their feed...and both replacing the feed and their bulls was expensive.

"Then we had a bout of coyote attacks picking off the calves," her mother continued. "Money got so tight that I had to make some hard decisions. I had to let go of Matthew, Jim, and Kenny. They've found work elsewhere, but it's been hard maintaining this place without their help and with the loan shark breathing down our neck—"

"—Loan shark?!" She squealed. "You went to a loan shark?"

"Kagome, Honey, I was desperate. It's expensive replacing all of that feed...and I was only able to replace one of the bulls to try and keep us going, but it hasn't been digging us out of the hole yet," her mother sighed, taking another long swig from her glass. "The mortgage was due and I didn't have the money, so I did the only thing I could."

Kagome took a few, deep gulps of her drink and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Oh my God," she whispered, leaning forward onto the table. How could her mother have kept this from her? She could have helped! Would have helped! She would have sent back some of her paycheck, would have looked for alternative solutions that didn't involve turning to a loan shark...She would have...she would have done something!

"We will be fine, Sweetheart," her mother soothed, taking another sip from her glass. "Things will be tight, but we've made due before. We will again. I'm...I'm thankful to Inuyasha, though. If it weren't for him...I don't know how we'd be doing if it weren't for him."

"I'm confused. You let go of Matthew, Jim, and Kenny, and hired Inuyasha?"

Her mother shot her a sad smile, tilting her head to the side.

"We didn't hire him, Kagome. He's just been doing. Showed up one day before dawn and had already fed the livestock and collected all the eggs before I even had breakfast made. I insisted on giving him something for his time, but he didn't want anything other than…" She trailed off and closed her eyes sighing.

"Other than what?" Kagome swallowed.

"Other than the occasional update on how you're doing. I think...I think a part of him still loves you, Sweetie."

She couldn't have stopped the bitter laugh from bubbling out of her throat even if she had tried to.

Him? Still in love with her?

Hardly.

Though he had kissed her…She could still feel his lips pressed against hers...

But that was a goodbye.

Wasn't it?

Yes. It was. And she wasn't going to start thinking differently. It would be a mistake if she did.

Sure they had a few moments of...comradery? Civility? Nostalgia? But it wasn't anything more than that. There was enough hostility and thinly veiled barbs to be construed as something more than two people trying to get along for the evening.

"I think you're sorely mistaken, Mama."

Her mother gave her a knowing look, but didn't say more on the subject. "Regardless," she continued, "he's been coming by every morning, helping for as long as he can until he has to go back home and work for his father. I've been making him breakfast, so there's a chance you'll run into him again before Souta's graduation."

Perfect.

There really wasn't any hiding this trip, huh?

"Well...thanks for letting me know," she sighed. "At least I have a head's up this time, right?"

____________________

Had a rough morning (my dog tripped my coming down the stairs and I have a sprained ankle now) so I said FUCK IT and am posting early. I’ll still have stuff for white day.

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[shall-we-imagine]

You've changed. (Azusa KuzexReader)

Requested: 2. "Define normal." From the prompt list.

Genre: mostly comedy and just randomness but also some fluff

(Second Person Point of View)

"Well, clearly, you've never been to the fairies' world!" You argue, taking a few glances at the signs to ensure you don't miss the library.

"Listen; there's no way a little fairy is gonna win against a mermaid! That just makes no sense! A mermaid can literally lure you into your death!" He claims, using some light hand gestures to emphasize his point.

"Yes, but-" your statement was interrupted by Serge's cheerful voice.

"Guys! Come take a look at this!" He peeks his head outside of a classroom- an empty one, you assumed. He immediately drags you both inside and towards the professors' desk, which carried nothing but an ominous orb of pink and purple. It looked like something a fortune teller would own, and since this was Serge you're talking about, it didn't seem very surprising.

You were previously planning to head to the library with your boyfriend, Azusa, to prove to him the strength of fairies, even though it wasn't exactly necessary, but you felt the need to do it anyway. However, your trip was delayed by your pink haired friend. You could use that as one more proof, though, right? Serge certainly knew enough about fairies!

"Hey, Serge, quick question: In a hypothetical battle between a fairy and a mermaid, who would win?" You pop the question before he begins explaining the psychics' item he was presenting.

Serge being Serge, it took nothing to get him to discuss such a useless topic. "The fairy, of course!" He states.

"See?" You turn to face your boyfriend with a smug expression.

Azusa rolls his eyes. "Come on; this doesn't prove anyth-"

"It's only cuz you've never met a fairy!"

"Well, you've also never met a mermaid!"

"Hey..uh..guys, maybe you can finish that argument later? I have an invention to show you." He gestures to the bright globe.

Azusa sighs; you nudge him, giving Serge an enthusiastic sure! and waiting for the explanation. In all honesty, you were kinda curious about the invention, since all Serge's inventions are amazing; you just wanted to prove Azusa wrong first.

A proud -and slightly insane if you pay too much attention- grin spreads across the inventor's face, "Well! This little sphere can basically combine multiple people's strength and thoughts then portray it onto whoever is carrying it!"

Unsure what that's supposed to mean, you and Azusa merely stare with slightly tilted heads. Serge stares back in anticipation until he realizes you both understood nothing of what he explained.

"Okay, how about we try it? That'll explain it a bit better. (Y/N), do you wanna try it?" He offers.

You hesitate, but seeing the gleam in his eyes, you couldn't object. "Uh, yeah, why not?"

He twists the ball before handing it over to you, which resulted in it splitting right through the middle to show a plain, black strip underneath. "Okay, so first of all, you have to think of a range. So, like maybe think everyone in this room, okay?" Serge explains, as he hands you the invention, that was a lot lighter than you expected.

"Then Azusa and I have to think of a creature or something, while you press the ball together, then it combines our magic and thoughts to turn you into whatever we thought of, get it?"

You nod eagerly, and push the two parts of the sphere together the way Serge instructed.

It was a mistake.

Why? Well, first of all, you didn't even warn them beforehand, so they were both caught of guard. Second of all, someone walked in right as you were trying out the invention, which resulted in their inclusion in the range you thought of- everyone in this room.

You fell to the ground with a loud thump, accidentally letting go of the ball of troubles that went rolling towards the newcomer's foot. At first, you didn't understand why this transformation included you dropping to the ground, but it didn't take you too long to figure out. "What the fuck?!"

Azusa tries not to burst into laughter (he didn't try hard enough). Meanwhile, Serge stares at you, his index finger and thumb around his chin, "Maybe we should've agreed to think about one thing.."

"You should've considered that before trying it out on me!!" You complain.

Serge jumps to the defence of his precious invention, "I mean part of the invention is that it reaches common ground! Which it did! I thought of a fairy, and I guess Azusa thought of a mermaid...but why the bunny ears?"

The intruder walks closer, globe in hand. "I suppose that could be my fault?" Klaus hands Serge the sphere but keeps his confused and slightly horrified gaze on you. "It would've fit you well if it weren't for the other..modifications. Now, you're an actual bunnyhead." He adds, as if that helps in any way.

"Well, can't we just turn her back using the invention again?" Azusa, who seemed to be in a weirdly good mood, asked.

Just when you feel like there's a solution to your strange form, Serge frowns. "You can only use it once every forty minutes.."

You groan. "How bad does it look?" You could see the blue tail you'd grown where your legs used to be, and you could feel some scales all over your body, but you weren't sure what happened to your face. You hoped for nothing too weird, as you pull out a mirror from your backpack.

"I mean..It could pass off as normal if we exclude the tail?" Serge gives a nervous smile.

Blue hair. Pointed ears like an elf's. On top of your head were also another pair of ears- a bunny's. There were only a few scales on your face, but your skin had turned to a very light sky blue colour too, so there's that.

You bring the mirror down to squint at Serge, "Define normal."

"I mean people are usually not that attentive or sharp, to be fair." Klaus shrugs.

"I have blue skin! And two pairs of ears! And scales! You'd have to be blind not to notice that!" You snap.

"Why are you snapping at me?! Don't force me to give you extra assignments!" He warns.

You pretend to clear your throat, "uh, sorry. Forget that happened."

"It's important to mention that class begins in like.." Klaus glances at his watch, "ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?! What are we gonna do?!" You begin to panic. "Also, being dry makes me uncomfortable." Man, why are you acting like a real mermaid?

"Do you want me to take you to the lake?" Azusa teases, earning a glare from you.

"You guys need to hide somewhere until I figure out a way to reverse it...or the forty minutes are over.." Serge scratches the back of his head nervously.

"How are we even going to leave the classroom without attracting attention?"

Wrapped in both your own cloak and Azusa's cloak, you felt like you were imitating voldemort's look during the beginning of the goblet of fire. It wasn't the best feeling. The fact that Azusa had to carry you wasn't helping either.

"(Y/N)? Azusa? What's wrong? Why are you carrying her?" Elias stops you both, and you use all your power to pray he doesn't notice anything weird with your figure. Elias would be understanding, but let's just say; the less people that got to see your odd transformation, the better.

"Um..she hurt her leg." Azusa blurts out.

"What?! How?" Elias's voice was filled with concern, forcing you to feel guilty for the lie.

"D-don't worry about it; it's not bad! Azusa is just exaggerating!" You laugh nervously.

"Okay.." The blond male nods slowly, as if slightly suspicious, "why are you wrapped up like that?"

"I'm..I'm cold." You wanted to slap yourself for how bad your lies were turning out.

"Are those..bunny ears?" Elias points out the long, furry ears you'd pressed down underneath the hood of the cloak, in attempts to conceal it.

"It's..it's a costume!" You glance between Azusa and Elias in panic, silently asking your boyfriend for help.

"A costume? What for?" You love Elias; you really do, but at the moment, you just wish he'd stop asking so much questions.

"You don't wanna know." Azusa smirks, earning a bashful oh from the smaller boy, before proudly leaving with you in his arms.

"Really, Azusa?! Out of anything you could've said?!" You complain, fairly embarassed by his bold statement as well.

"I panicked." Shrugs a perfectly calm Azusa.

###

"How much longer do I have to wait?!" You groan, pulling at the hood of your cloak and pressing your second pair of ears further down.

"I don't know; it seems like we'll have to wait for the forty minutes to be over." He gives you a sympathetic smile, but that doesn't stop you from releasing a louder groan and dramatically lying back on the grass in defeat.

You hear a chuckle, directing your attention back to the male sitting opposite to you with crossed legs. "You know you actually look kind of cute like that; I'm considering keeping you from transforming back." He smirks.

"You wouldn't dare!" Your bunny ears push your hood back, taking a stiff, straight position towards the back of your head. It was supposed to show aggression, but it seemed to only look adorable to your boyfriend, who just burst into laughter.

"See? You're so cute." He speaks in utter awe, petting your head to further increase your displeasure.

"Hey! Don't make me get violent with you; I'll-" He connects his pink lips with your pale blue ones, interrupting your empty threat. You could feel your bunny ears relax and stay down near your face. You were glad his eyes were shut; otherwise, he would've once more burst into laughter at your inconveniences.

"Am I interrupting something?" The familiar voice of a person that indeed enjoyed interrupting happy moments for his sadistic pleasures- okay he wasn't so bad, but this was the best part of your day; come on!

"Uh..no?" You give an awkward smile, after you pull away from Azusa in a rush.

"Technically, the forty minutes are over. You're free, bunnyhead." Klaus chuckles, tossing you the troublesome sphere. You could clearly see how much more he's enjoying using that nickname. "Serge was so caught up in figuring out something to reverse it that he didn't notice the time was up anyway."

"Oh! Thank you!" You hold the globe with such relief. "Okay, Azusa think of my usual form!"

"Got it." He gives a thumbs up, signalling you to go on. You comply and once again press the ball together after twisting it the way Serge did earlier. This time your range was just one person- Azusa. This should go perfectly fine.

Your normal skin colour and hair colour were back! Also, no fish tail or scales! You get off the ground, cheering loudly. "Finally! I'm back!"

Klaus was giving you and Azusa confused looks. Azusa was yet again trying not to laugh. You paused, deciding your celebration should probably be delayed- something was definitely up.

"Are we supposed to tell her?" Klaus turns to Azusa.

"Nope."

"Tell her what?" You begin patting your face, trying to figure out what's off. Then you reached it. Those fucking bunny ears were still there. "Azusa!"

"Oops?" He smiles innocently. "You look extra adorable, though, and that's thanks to me." He defends.

"You're pure evil!"

"You know you love me." He states, a smirk decorating his lips.

You huff, trying to distract from your burning hot cheeks. "I do."

"I love you too." You somehow didn't notice until now, but his face was now a lot closer than before. His eyes were switching glances between your eyes and lips.

"You do know I'm still here, right?"

"Yeah, why are you still here?" Azusa rolls his eyes at the blond, reluctantly pulling away from you.

"Oh, yeah, my bad; let me just walk away with this." Klaus had apparently retrieved the orb and was now walking away with the only cure to your current state.

"Hey, Klaus! Klaus, wait!" You chase after the taller male that made it a point to walk faster and ignore your shouts.

Anyway, long story short: now the entire academy thinks you can make some very good, convincing costumes. How you wish that was the case..

[yletylyf]

Loaded Shadows, Chapter 22

Sirius Black/Severus Snape AU. In Harry’s fifth year, Voldemort kills Dumbledore at the Ministry. Harry is missing. The Order is scattered and aimless. The Ministry is rapidly losing the war, with important officials dying left and right. And Sirius Black does not trust Severus Snape.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

My contribution to Whumptober 2021. Day 22: They made me do it (cursed | demon)

[Chapter 1] | [Previous chapter]

[Next chapter]

Severus tucked Carrow's wand away in his robes, approached the trunk, and wrapped his arms around Harry. Severus carefully lifted the boy from the trunk, and backed away from it.

Harry showed signs of life almost right away—he started shaking in Severus's arms. Severus quickly became unbalanced from the force of the movements; he stumbled and nearly dropped Harry.

Sirius was there immediately, supporting Severus and guiding Harry to the floor. As gently as he could, Sirius swept Harry's hair away from his forehead, revealing his scar. Harry's skin was cold and clammy. He was still shaking hard.

"Harry," Sirius urged. "Harry, I know you're alive, I know you can hear me, please wake up."

The shaking intensified. Sirius tried to gather the boy up in his arms, but his limbs started flailing, and Harry almost hit Sirius in the face. Harry's eyes were still closed and he did not appear to have any idea Sirius was there holding him.

"This is not good," Severus remarked, the understatement of the year.

"Make yourself useful and do something," Sirius snapped. "You're the one with a wand."

Severus took the wand out of his pocket, but he looked to be at a loss. "I'm not sure what to do," he admitted. "What's wrong with him?"

Harry was starting to shake so violently, Sirius feared he was having a seizure. "Harry, stop!" Sirius cried loudly. "Harry, it's me, come back to us!"

Harry didn't respond. His breath was heavy, and drool with little bubbles in it was leaking out of his mouth. His limbs were still flailing, and Sirius backed off when Harry's arm hit him in the chest.

"He's fighting us," Sirius guessed. "Or fighting being removed from the trunk. He's not in control of himself."

"I suppose it's part of the curse," Severus said, sounding gloomy. "It's weaponized his own body as a defense against his removal."

Harry was now throwing himself around on the floor like a demon was possessing him. Severus raised his wand and cast a few things Sirius recognized as anti-possession spells, then started chanting in words Sirius did not recognize. Nothing worked. Harry continued to flail, and the foam at his mouth was getting worse.

The most disturbing part about it, Sirius decided, was that Harry was completely, utterly, eerily silent, despite his visible suffering.

"Put him back," Sirius caved. "Put him back and we'll figure something else out. Maybe steal the whole trunk if we have to."

Rather bravely, Sirius had to admit, Severus took up the flailing boy in his arms. He ducked away from Harry's wild swings, and deposited the child back inside the trunk.

Like magic, Harry went still again the minute he was laid down. Once again, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, or perhaps under the influence of the Draught of Living Death.

"Damn it," Sirius swore again. "We found him and yet we're helpless to do anything about it."

Severus turned around to face Sirius. He was tapping his lips, looking thoughtful. "I don't have much hope of undoing the Dark Lord's custom curse with a borrowed wand and... however much time we have here."

"I get it," Sirius said grudgingly. "You've made that clear."

"However," Severus said, as though he hadn't heard Sirius. "The thing about complex, inventive curses."

"Is?" Sirius prompted when Severus seemed lost in thought.

"Finding the counterspell is very difficult," Severus continued. "But using another branch of magic to attack them? Far easier."

"Such as?"

"Potions," Severus replied promptly, and Sirius laughed at himself for not seeing that one coming. "I have an idea for a general anti-possession draught that will probably undo whatever's been done to the boy."

"Great," Sirius said. "Now that sounds like a plan. But how are we going to get Harry to your potions lab?"

"No need," Severus said, and for some reason, he was smiling. "I have a fully equipped lab on the third floor. I'll brew the draught and administer it here."

Sirius blinked at Severus. "You have your own lab in You-Know-Who's creepy fortress of doom?"

"Of course I do," Severus said. "I'm his potions master."

"Well, that's convenient," Sirius admitted reluctantly. "But lingering here has its risks. What are you going to say to him if he finds us in there?"

"We'll deal with that when it comes," Severus deflected. "Let's go."

[yletylyf]

Loaded Shadows, Chapter 25

Sirius Black/Severus Snape AU. In Harry’s fifth year, Voldemort kills Dumbledore at the Ministry. Harry is missing. The Order is scattered and aimless. The Ministry is rapidly losing the war, with important officials dying left and right. And Sirius Black does not trust Severus Snape.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence

My contribution to Whumptober 2021. Day 25: Hide & seek (flight | hiding)

[Chapter 1] | [Previous chapter]

[Next chapter]

"Potions lab is upstairs," Severus reminded Sirius. "We have to head back to the main staircase."

Sirius rubbed his forehead. "You don't need my help in the lab, do you? Now that I have my wand back, I'd rather stand guard over Harry."

"Stand guard?" Severus asked skeptically. "No one is going to do anything to him. No one even knows he's there."

Severus didn't get it. He did not understand the compulsion to be there for Harry, to do anything in Sirius's power to fix this mess. To maybe, just maybe find a way to communicate with him again. Harry had come to Sirius once, after all.

"I'm going back down there, unless you need my help with something else," Sirius repeated stubbornly.

"Of course I don't need your help brewing a potion," Severus said with his familiar sneer.

"Wonderful," Sirius said, and turned his back on Severus. He stalked out of the room, determined not to let Severus's attitude get to him. They reached the spiral staircase and split up—Sirius headed down while Severus went up.

They did not say anything to each other.

Sirius was stepping out onto the first-floor landing when a jet of red light lit up the stairwell. Sirius swore loudly and threw himself out of the way.

"I know you're sneaking around somewhere up there!" a voice screamed at him from somewhere down the stairwell. It was a woman's voice, and Sirius guessed he'd found Alecto Carrow.

Sirius shot a Blasting Curse off down the stairwell, but it had no effect whatsoever on the stone, and it only provoked laughter from his opponent.

There was a loud roar, and a lion made of flames appeared in the stairwell, stalking Sirius. He shot a jet of water at it. It was highly ineffective. He sprinted out of the stairwell, through the two empty rooms, and tried a door other than the one that led to the room with the trunk. He didn't want to duel Alecto in the same room as Harry.

The door was not locked and opened when he yanked on it. He slid inside. It was a storage room, filled with boxes and crates. Sirius closed the door behind him just in time, shutting out the fire.

Sirius panted, hands on his knees, using the time to recover his breath, until he heard Alecto's voice on the other side of the door.

"Playing hide and seek with me, are you?" she cried. "I'm an expert at that game. You won't win."

The door flew open, but Sirius was ready. He went on the offensive, shooting off a series of curses at Alecto that failed to land, but had her going backwards. She fell into the door on the opposite side of the room, which opened for her. She landed heavily on her back with a cry of pain.

Sirius conjured a swarm of bees to harass her, but she managed to redirect them towards him.

Sirius fled. He went back to the staircase and sprinted up the stairs. He wasn't sure where he was going—he wanted to avoid dueling near Harry and near the potions lab. The lab was on the third floor, so Sirius kept going past it.

Somewhere in between the third and the fourth floors, Sirius had just concluded he successfully managed to outrun the bees and Alecto, when a wisp of silver entered his vision. He stopped short, his wand raised, ready to defend himself, but it was a—

It was a Patronus, in the shape of a doe. It spoke in Severus's voice. "The Dark Lord is here. I will deal with him and try to fix Potter later. Get out of this tower, Sirius."