#Whereas I hadn't started anything new in the two years ever since I got into bsd. Which makes it NOT a good sign

[kyouka-supremacy]

I think we should just bring back Wungo Wednesday and start a fandom collective anime rewatch

[eryiss]

Summary: Freed and Gajeel were total opposites in every way, only connected by the guild. When they were forced to train together under Makarov's orders, they expected antagonism and mistrust. Instead, they were given a lesson in how quickly opposition can turn to attraction. The issue: let the budding relationship simmer away, or let it explode. [Freed x Gajeel Multi-chapter]

Notes: Hello everyone. I’ve been wanting to write something longer for this couple for a while, and this idea seemed quite fun. I hope you all enjoy it and maybe I can convert some of you to living Freed x Gajeel. Happy reading.

Links: FFN, Ao3, Chapter List

Chapter One - Makarov's Idea

As he walked towards the guildhall, Freed kept looking up at the moon.

The nights sky was cloudless and gave him an unhindered view of stars and the moon. It was a beautiful sight, but made him frown a little. The moon was large and nearly in its fullest state, a concern for the time of year. It had been some time since the full moon had coincided with the longest day of the year, and it seemed like it was going to happen again this year. The brimstone in his blood seemed to fizz at the idea, and he quickly looked away.

At his side, Laxus bumped his shoulder to get his attention. His frown told Freed that the dragon-Slayer had seen his concern, and he smiled to comfort the man.

"Nothing to concern yourself about," Freed assured him. "I've got it under control."

"Make sure you do," Laxus instructed. "No missions until it's over, right?"

"Of course," Freed nodded.

Laxus seemed to think the matter settled at that, but Freed wasn't so sure. The entirety of the guild - or at least those not already on missions - had been called to the guildhall that night. Makarov hadn't explained why he wanted everyone present, but it was entirely possible that they would all be dragged away on a mission and that Freed would be forced to act as if everything was normal. So promising that he wouldn't go on any missions was more wishful thinking than anything else.

Still, if he did have to go on a mission, he could handle it. Six years ago, it had taken him by surprise. Not this time.

"Let's take bets," Bickslow, unaware of the hushed conversation, stated mischievously. "Fifty-fifty odds of it being either a world ending disaster we have to deal with, or some weird competition so he can perv on the gals again."

Laxus winced at the second option, but didn't deny it.

"It better not be the second one," Evergreen huffed. "But knowing him, it probably will be. So I'll put five hundred jewels on that."

"Nah, it's been too long since we all nearly died," Bickslow shrugged. "Five hundred on the world ending. You two sticks in the mud gonna get involved?"

Freed had stopped listening to their conversation moments before, and found his worries back on the sky. The full moon had been scheduled in exactly one week, and it meant trouble for him. He should be making preparations in case he lost control of himself; this was all a distraction. He should leave town, just in case.

His team looked at him in concern, but remained quiet.

As they approached the doors, Freed's mind remained preoccupied. A hand clasped onto his shoulder and jerked him back, and he realised it was Laxus. He frowned, only then realising he had nearly walked into Gajeel Redfox. The dragon-slayer glared at him, arms crossed to highlight his biceps. He didn't have much else than his physical strength, Freed supposed, so he had to show it off.

"Idiot," Gajeel spat at Freed, and Freed nearly scoffed at the hypocrisy of the word. If either of them was an idiot, it was not Freed.

Gajeel was walking into the hall before Freed could retort.

"God, who put a stick up his ass?" Laxus muttered as he shook his head. He looked down to Freed again, looking worried. Perhaps he hadn't believed Freed's assurances as Freed had hoped. "You need to go back? He ain't taking over yet, right?"

"No, I was distracted, that's all," Freed assured him, but none of his team looked happy. "I'm in control of myself. But I've got plans on how to approach the demon should I need them."

"Can we help?" Evergreen asked.

"I'll ask if I need it, but I don't suspect it'll happen," Freed placated them. They were still unconvinced. "You needn't coddle me, I'm fine. Particularly when there's apparently a fifty-fifty chance that the word is ending. Though, I'm putting five hundred jewels on the competition."

Apparently, the mention of gambling, broke the ice.

When they got inside the guildhall, it was more crowded than normal. All the tables on the lower level had been taken, and as such they were forced to climb to the S-Class balcony and sit there. None of them particularly minded that, and they waited for a short while for the rest of their guild mates to file in and settle, drinking and talking as they did so.

Eventually, Makarov walked onto the stage and stood before the crowd of wizards. After a few shouts for them to be quiet, the room fell into silence.

"Thank you all for coming," He began after clearing his throat. "I'm sure you're all wondering why we're here."

"For you to creep on us," Ever mumbled, and Bickslow snickered.

"Fairy Tail is a guild with its bedrock founded on the principles of friendship. We work so well because we work together. Whereas other guilds maybe have one or two teams, we have many," Makarov explained, gesticulating as he spoke. "It makes me so proud that you've forged these relationships and implemented them into your working lives. Your friendship and love allows you to work together to fight harder and become stronger, side by side as friends. I'm immensely proud of you all, but as of late I've noticed a problem with your work."

He paused, and Freed rolled his eyes. Everything was so dramatic with him.

"While you're very good at working with your own teams, you sometimes struggle working with the guild members you're unfamiliar with," Makarov continued, as if this statement were a tragedy. "And sometimes your teams won't be available, and I don't want you not taking group jobs because your regular team isn't around."

"Starting to think I bet on the wrong side," Bickslow grumbled, taking a drink.

Freed found himself only half listening. Whenever Makarov made an announcement there would be a lot of preamble that Freed didn't particularly care to listen to; not when he had bigger problems to deal with.

Perhaps, if his demon did become more powerful under the moon, he could rune himself into a cage of sorts. That might work, though perhaps physical manacles and shackles might be more practice. His team would be able to help with that, most likely. They wouldn't be happy about it, but Laxus had seen first hand what could happen when the demon was allowed to take over without restraint. He would understand.

No. He was worrying for nothing. The demon was under control now. Besides, he should be listening to his guildmaster.

"So, to broaden your opportunities, I've come up with an idea," Makarov grinned. "For the next week, you'll be split into pairs that you don't normally work with, and you'll spend all of that time training together. These partnerships will be random, and by the end of the week you'll be fighting side by side in a tournament to prove how well you can work together."

Hm, maybe a distraction would work better than restraints. Makarov's idea was flawed to the point of pointlessness, but a week of training might wear his body out to the point his demon wouldn't have the energy to take over.

"And, I'm sure you're all thinking why you should care about this, so there's a prize set up for the team who wins," Makarov was grinning wider now. "Fifty thousand jewels!"

That sent a rush of excitement and talking through the guild. Freed found himself wondering where the money actually came from.

"That's not all. The fights will be ranked on teamwork, cohesion and communication, and at the end of each fight you'll get points based on how well you did," Makarov was running his hands together. "And the team with the least points will have to do a punishment, and the winners decide what it is!"

"Goddamnit," Bickslow mumbled, handing money to Evergreen. "Always about punishments with him."

"If you knew that, then you should have bet smarter," Evergreen laughed.

Freed ignored his friends, leaning back and watching as Mirajane brought out a large, ridiculous top-hat. It wasn't difficult to guess that this was how Makarov intended to randomly choose the teams; pick them out of a hat. Maybe Laxus was right and his grandfather was turning mad, but he seemed to be enjoying himself so Freed had no place to complain.

He would simply drink his beer, watch the chaos unfold, and use the oncoming disaster as a distraction.

——

Gajeel swallowed down his beer with a scowl on his face. When Makarov had called this meeting, he had known that whatever the old crow had to say, it would piss him off. When Makarov had made his announcement, Gajeel had been proven right.

A whole week with some random wizard seemed pointless. Gajeel worked alone, and only teamed up with people when needed. This wasn't going to work.

Fuck, it was such a waste of time! He could be doing jobs and earning his rent instead of fucking around with a stranger, trying to embrace Makarov's ridiculous mantra about the importance of friendship. Or if he wasn't making money, then he would have at least liked to relax and take some time to rest. He didn't want to make a new friend, he wanted to eat, sleep and maybe find a guy to take to bed. None of that would happen with some Fairy Tail mage hanging around his neck.

"Our first team is," Makarov began as he rummaged through the stupid hat he'd had made. "Juvia and Natsu!"

Dammit! Juvia was one of the few people he could have tolerated. The other was the bookworm, and Makarov would probably say them working together wasn't in the spirit of things.

Still. At least the salamander had to work with someone who extinguished his fire. That was funny.

"Kickass!" Natsu yelled into the crowd, standing up and pumping his fist in the air because he lacked self control. "We're gonna dominate!"

They wouldn't.

"If you'd like to meet up and discuss your plans then now's the time," Makarov stated, and Natsu was making his way to Juvia immediately. "And now it's time for the next team up," He reached into the hat again. "It's Evergreen and Lucy."

No loss there. Maybe he and blondie could have been okay, but Gajeel wasn't pissed the chance was gone.

Lucy looked up toward the balcony and waved at Evergreen a little intimidated. Evergreen looked resigned, but after some nudging from Bickslow, made her way down the stairs and started to talk to the woman. Gajeel absentmindedly wondered if the two had ever had a conversation, because they looked awkward around each other; painfully so.

Fuck, that was going to be him, wasnt it?

Maybe he could convince whoever he was paired up with to lie and say they trained when they just spend the week alone. But then there was the tournament, and the threat of some random punishment, and Gajeel had already been humiliated after losing the guild-wide race and having to dress like an idiot; it wasn't happening again if he could help it.

"Next up," Makarov reached into the hat again. "Bickslow and Gray."

"Fuck yeah, some eye candy at last!" Bickslow yelled, and people laughed. Gajeel rolled his eyes, watching as Bickslow leant over the banister and looked towards his teammate. "Wanna make a deal, every time you strip, I strip."

Gajeel could see Gray avert his gaze as if bored, but he was red in the cheeks. They were even redder when Bickslow tossed his shirt towards him, both men now partially stripped.

Well, at least he wasn't with that idiot. The two of them would be a mess.

Many other teams were announced, and Gajeel found himself more and more annoyed each time. The partnerships made no sense, most of the time their magics wouldn't compliment each other, and Gajeel knew that it would end in disaster. At best, half of the partnerships might end up having a fight with each other, and at worst people would get hurt because they just didn't work. How the hell did Makarov think this was going to work out?

Maybe Gajeel should have slunk out and not attended the meeting. He was running out of money for rent, and his landlord was a bastard just waiting to kick him out, so it made sense for him to get a job. Maybe if he left now he could avoid it altogether.

"And next we've got Gajeel," Makarov shouted, and Gajeel cursed. "And Freed."

Oh fuck no. Absolutely fucking not!

Gajeel was not working with that stuck up prick. A guy like that had clearly never worked a day in his life, probably grew up in a fancy ass house and only got into guild work because it was a trend to slum it with the other wizards. Everything about Freed - holier than thou - Justine screamed pampered brat. He would probably throw a fit if he got dirt under his fingernails. He was the damn opposite of a man like Gajeel, and he knew he'd struggle not to murder the spoiled shit before the week was over.

Could he even defend himself? He had magic, but as far as Gajeel knew, that only worked when he had time to prepare. Hardly practical in the heat of battle, and what would he do without it? He wouldn't have the balls to use his sword as a weapon, Gajeel was pretty sure of that, and he looked like a gust of wind could take him out.

Fucking dammit. The salamander was better than this!

He damn near walked out of the guildhall then and there, because he couldn't deal with an egomaniac freak for a week. But, as he went to move, he saw the egomaniac freak walking towards him, and he was not going to allow Freed to think he was running away. He turned in his chair to meet the man's gaze but didn't make a move towards him. Freed could come to him, not the other way around.

Soon, Freed was in his space, standing above him. His expression was as unimpressed with the situation as Gajeel felt. At least they could agree on one thing.

He looked up to meet the mans gaze. Freed was… taller than he thought.

"I think it's fair to assume neither of us want to do this," Freed said rather than greeting him. Gajeel was right, he was a dick. "And I expect that the way I train myself won't be the same way you do, so likely there's a chance we'll come to blows, so I have a proposition."

Huh, maybe Freed was gonna suggest they lie and only pretend to train together. Gajeel would agree, but make Freed squirm first. "Yeah?"

"If we went somewhere and tried to train how we both normally do, it would be an act of futility," Freed explained. "We have six days to work together. I propose that for the first three days we train however I wish, and you follow my instructions. For the latter three days, we train however you wish and I will follow your instructions. That way, we both get three days of training ourselves in a way we know works, and the week won't be a waste of time entirely."

Huh.

That wasn't what Gajeel had thought, but he could deal with it. He had to admit, trying to find a way that would work for them both would not work, so this meant he'd at least have three days to improve himself.

"Fine," He grunted. "But I wanna go first. You're gonna drag me to some library or something like that, and that's a waste of time. Might as well make it a rest day after some actual working out."

Freed sighed, as if dealing with a child, and Gajeel nearly kicked him in the balls. "If you insist,"

"I do."

"Well then, I'll see you on Monday."

"Guess ya will."

That was it, and Freed turned to go back to his table. Gajeel emptied his drink, then grinned. Three days where the asshole had to do as he said; that was interesting. Freed probably spent his life being pampered and spoiled, but not with Gajeel. Nah, he was gonna work. Gajeel was gonna put Freed through hell and love every damn second of it.

[thisstableground]

do you have any hcs for if usnavi's parents hadn't died? it would change him and his story a lot and I feel like it could be really interesting, how he's still him but with such different experiences. and you write him and get his character so well so you're definitely the person to ask about this kind of thing if you're up for it :) (also as a fellow brit the uk au is really really weird to me, I can't quite work out why)

(lmao ikr? i wouldn’t actually call it a uk au because i firmly do not believe it could work as a fully-fledged idea without changing way too much about a very culturally specific story in a way that has very uncomfortable implications, tho it is hilarious to briefly entertain the idea of ITH except it’s all set in fuckin milton keynes or something because Simply No Thank You)

THIS WILL BE LONG, BUCKLE UP

i think that a lot of canon usnavis traits are perhaps things he already had but that got magnified by a huge amount after losing his parents, because they could also be seen as ADHD traits; particularly the anxiety and the difficulty with making changes or starting new things. he’s still worried about messing up, about making a fool of himeslf, or just doesnt have the executive functioning to do things. but the difference is prior to losing his parents he had a lot more optimism and self-confidence to push himself past those anxieties or to find it easier to listen to his friends and family when they encourage him, because he has this certainty when he’s younger that things will turn out okay. an usnavi who never loses his parents carries that certainty into adulthood (i think even after abuela passes, because while it’s difficult and tragic for him, it isn’t deeply traumatising in the same way). so this version of usnavi still worries about failure, but the stakes are so much lower; he might embarrass himself but he has the safety net of his parents support, whereas the fear that fuels canon usnavi’s difficulty with changing things or moving forward is “what if i fuck up and lose someone else important to me again?”, where things which aren’t actually literal life-or-death tend to feel that way to him, and he’s a lot more cynical about whether things will have a positive outcome.

with his parents still alive doesn’t find it so terrifying to look into the future – “today’s all we got”, he says in the opening song, and i think he would still say that but in a way that means “live for today, live in the moment, enjoy life”. that might be the attitude he’s trying to get across in canon, but he also uses it as a way to hold himself back and keep himself stuck in place, to not let himself hope for anything in the future: in canon, he knows in a very painful way that he isn’t promised a future, and nobody he loves is promised a future, so why make plans or hypotheticals or even seriously believe that he’ll ever go back to DR? (i genuinely think there’s a subconscious part of him that’s firmly convinced he’s going to die young, but that’s a whole other tangent). he’s living in the moment because he’s scared of what he’ll see when he looks past it; usnavi with his parents still around lives in the moment because he likes the moment he’s in.

i wonder if him and vanessa would have ended up dating, or at least if they’d have been so successful and long-lasting as a couple. they’e always known each other and got on well, but i see their deeper feelings as growing out of  this shared understanding between them based on the difficulties they’ve been through – would they have still had the champagne bet, if usnavi didn’t have that grief and loss and extra responsibility that drives his vague non-plans to go live in DR? would he even want to leave new york, in this version, or would he still be content with the place he grew up because it doesn’t have those painful memories? 

the character arc of reconciling moving forward from a place that symbolises a painful past without having to completely sever from the good things about it is something that both of them share in canon. without those moments of both being given too many responsibilities and too much independence way too young because they don’t have parents who can ease the transition into adulthood, or this unspoken recognition that even with all their barrio family around both of them are very much on their own in some ways, would they make the deeper emotional connection that makes them work so well together in a more long-term way? or would they just have gone on a few casual dates that didn’t stand out from any other casual dates they might have with others?

and hell, maybe usnavi would’ve already been in a relationship with someone completely different – he’d be working at the store with two other people who were experienced in running it. he’d have so much more time to go out, have a social life, go to clubs and hang out with more people his own age. usnavi after losing his parents became quite disconnected from the larger group of people him and benny would hang out with at school; he doesn’t have the time, he doesn’t have the energy, and for a long time while he’s still so deep in grief i think they find it hard to know how to be friends with this quiet, broken, listless usnavi. they’re all still friendly but internally i think he loses his sense of place with his peers because he’s been rapidly catapulted into a stage of life that none of them are in. an usnavi who doesn’t lose his parents also doesn’t lose his sense of being around the same level and life stage as his peers, so who knows who he meets or develops feelings for?

his relationship with sonny is definitely different. his love and care for him isn’t so full of fear, because he doesn’t feel this need to protect him from every little thing or like it’s his personal responsibility to keep him alive, because it doesn’t really occur to him that he could lose him. canon usnavi i think has a lot more of a somewhat parental vibe, and often an overprotective parent at that. i think this usnavi, because he doesn’t have to grow up so quickly and he isn’t sonny’s boss, has much more of a fun big brother role. and i think sonny in return doesn’t feel so much responsibility for usnavi as he grows up - he doesnt feel like he has to force him to have fun or get some rest or put himself first every so often because usnavi doesnt push himself nearly so relentlessly and because his parents can look out for him when he does. 

maybe sonny doesn’t start working in the bodega until much later, either – a lot of why he spends so much time there is because usnavi watches him while his mom’s at work but can’t just close the store. if his parents are there to keep working then usnavi watches sonny at one of their homes, or they go out and do more stuff. the bodega is still important to both of them but it isn’t nearly as much a main setting for sonny’s adolescence as it is in canon.

on that note, since in my version the first thing that makes usnavi hold an instant vendetta against pete is catching pete tagging the store only a few weeks after losing his parents, where his feelings are still so intense and raw. the store hasn’t reopened and so the graffiti feels like someone else making a claim on the only thing he has left of his parents. in this version he’d be annoyed to catch someone tagging the store at most but much quicker to forgive and forget. so in a world where usnavi doesn’t lose his parents, usnavi also doesn’t hate graffiti pete.

 if we’re assuming that things did go roughly similar to the point of usnavi being in the club with vanessa on the night of the blackout, here’s the things that would change:

- sonny isn’t the one at the bodega, his parents are, and they’re together so usnavi doesn’t feel the same urgency to get back and check on things there when the power goes out. instead he finds vanessa and walks her home and by the time he’s back at the store, i think his mom would already be with abuela making sure she’s okay, and usnavi would focus on helping his dad make sure everything was safe and secure at the bodega

- he’s also probably still pretty drunk at this point, so there’s a chance that when everything at the store is secured he just goes straight to bed; it’s been a long night, and he’s tired, and he doesn’t have the trauma of past loss making him feel like he personally has to check every little thing himself. he trusts his parents to take care of abuela, it isn’t all on his shoulders. so they don’t have their moment together on the roof.

- whether the store gets looted in this version or not, i don’t think usnavi’s waking up at sunrise to deal with it, but even if he is then he gets up, helps his parents, is upset and annoyed but not in the same visceral, overwhelming way that he is in canon because he doesn’t have all those other long-term anxieties building up in him, he doesn’t have that pressure of his parents legacy tied up in the store when they’re still right there, he doesn’t have that conversation with vanessa where she’s hurt and betrayed that he left her in the blackout and didn’t check up on her.  (sidenote this may even mean that vanessa doesn’t move downtown, because if he isnt looking for a way to make things up to her before he leaves then he might not think to speak to dani about co-signing her apartment)

-  this means he probably doesn’t get overwhelmed and abandon cleanup to go visit abuela in the morning like he does in canon when we get Hundreds of Stories. he might not even be around, since he tells sonny in canon to get a generator and candles to the church and that’s probably an errand he’d do himself while his parents manned the store. this means he probably does not see abuela that one final time or have that one final meaningful conversation with her before she passes.

final sad note: in a version of events where usnavi never loses his parents, christmas is still his favourite time of year.

[weasleydream]

The life and grief of Percy and Y/N Weasley - Part 3

Hey guys! Here we are for the third part of the serie!

Be careful, mention of panick attack.

Also, feel free to give me your opinion, I would like to know... Anyway, hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Masterlist 

(gif not mine) 

Part 1 - Part 2 

Their first exams

My relation with Percy had been different since this fight. It was strange at first, but I quickly realized it was for the best. We were closer than ever, yet we spent less time together. We just didn’t feel obligated to stay with each other anymore, and, surprisingly enough, we discovered more and more differences between us. Percy was becoming quite pompous, he always talked with a barely irritating superior air and always had his head higher than most of normal people. I, on the other hand, was less and less interested in the great careers at the Ministry of Magic. When we were younger, Perce and I would dream of being Minister or Ministress, however, it wasn’t my goal anymore. In fact, I had found a new passion: the magical creatures. Professor Kettleburn was my new favourite professor and he had confessed me I had a true talent with magical creatures, and he had inspired me to work with them.

This new goal didn’t prevent me from feeling a sting of jealousy when Percy received a shining Prefect badge. Errol, our owl, had brought our Hogwarts letters after the breakfast. I was already in our room, looking for a book about the hipogriffs, when Perce barged in with bright eyes and red cheeks. 

“Look Y/N! Look! They choose me!”

He put his badge under my nose while repeating how much he was happy and how much Mum was proud. I slowly pushed his hand away before taking him in my arms. 

“Congratulations, Perce!”

I wouldn’t ruin his happiness. Plus, I didn’t really want this badge, the only thing bothering me was that it meant Percy was better than me. In everything. And it was kinda vexing. But of course he didn’t need me to say it, this stupid twin thing we had did it for me. Suddenly, his eyes darkened a bit and this time he hugged me.

“I’m sorry, you should have had one too.”

“Don’t worry. More responsibilities? Whereas I have to keep an eye on Fred and George? No, thanks.”

We both giggled. Indeed, our younger brothers had fully developed their potential when it came to pranks when they arrived in Hogwarts. Two weeks after the beginning of the school year, they had already been to Filch’s office, a place they would visit almost weekly. They had even showed me something they had stolen from there: a magical map which showed everyone in the castle, along with secret passages. They trusted me enough not to talk about this to anyone, not even Percy, and I didn’t want to betray their trust. Their secret was well kept. Anyway, Mum had made an habit to ask Percy and I to keep an eye on them, not that it would change anything. 

Another big change for us was Ron’s arrival at Hogwarts. Ron was maybe the most shy of our brothers. He was excited, of course, but also nervous. His biggest fear was to be sorted in another house than Gryffindor. Indeed, all our family had been in the lion house. Fred had joked telling him he wouldn’t be a Weasley anymore; the poor boy was on the verge of crying when Mum had intervened. 

His nervousness reminded me of mine just before my first year. I also remembered how much it could be disabling and I made a point of helping him. Before the beginning of the year, I explained him everything he wanted to know, and I promised him I would help him whenever he would need it at Hogwarts. 

The first of september arrived after quite an uneventful summer. The morning was a typical Weasley-back-to-school-morning: Mum was literally running everywhere, screaming at Fred and George and urging a stressed Ron. Percy was making sure his badge was in his bag (for the sixth time in less than an hour) and I was looking for my jumper, which had been stolen by Ginny because she wanted to cover the cat. We finally left for King’s Cross and arrived ten minutes before the departure of the Hogwarts Express. I followed Percy across the barrier and we waited for Mum, who arrived with Ginny after Fred, George, Ron and a black haired boy. 

Fred and George were joking about toilet seat (“Making the toilets explode? We hadn't thought about this. Thanks Mum!”) in order to reassure Ginny. Our little sister would stay alone at home this year, for the first time ever. She didn’t seem pleased with the idea. Mum turned toward Percy and I and hugged Perce first. She kept repeating how proud she was, the third prefect in the family, a future Head-Boy for sure, and I saw George pretending to vomit. I giggled, and that seemed to remind Mum of my existence. She took me in her arms while lecturing us about how important it was to watch over Ron. She added in my ear that Fred and George could use a bit of supervision too. Then she practically choked Ron to death while hugging him, warned us not to bother the black haired boy who was in fact Harry Potter, and let us go with watery eyes. 

 Fred and George were gone with their friends and Percy had to fulfill his prefect duties. I put my hand on Ron’s shoulder. 

“Do you want to sit with me? We can find an empty compartment if you want.”

“Ye… No, let me alone Y/N. I don’t need you.”

He had been on the verge of accepting, but I saw the arrogant look a boy threw him. Blond hair, pale skin, pointy chin, the boy corresponded perfectly to the description of a Malefoy according to Dad. I sighed, and sat alone in the last empty compartment. I took a book about unicorns and began to read. I stayed alone for more than two hours before Percy eventually joined me. He was complaining about some third years who played with Dungbombs. 

“I’m pretty sure Fred and George have used some too.” He groaned.

“Have you seen them?” I didn’t look up from my book; I was reading some super interesting informations about the baby unicorns.

“No, but they were smirking like crazy when I looked at them.”

“Your year will be way more complicated with them.” I concluded while laughing. 

I told Percy about Ron’s behaviour in front of the blond guy. Percy thought the same: the boy had to be a Malfoy. 

“I bet we will have problems with him.” He stated. 

I nodded. We chatted for a while but soon, Percy returned to his duty. He took it to heart and my jealousy had completely vanished. I was really proud of my twin, and glad he had the occasion to distinguish himself. I just hoped he would stop being so pompous with everyone, because it was kinda annoying and Fred and George constantly made fun of him for it. I feared the day when he would have enough. What if it led to a fight like the one we had two years ago? I didn’t think I would be able to bear it.

The Sorting ceremony started after the first years had arrived with Hagrid. Ron entered the Great Hall next to Harry Potter with wide open eyes. Percy and I applauded, along with Fred and George who were sitting in front of us. The Sorting Hat sang its traditional song and Professor McGonagall called for the first student. 

“Abbot, Hannah!”

I could hear Fred betting on which house Hannah would be sent to. I didn’t really pay attention to the ceremony, only waiting for Ron’s turn, but he would be called in the lasts. However, some students seemed apart from the crowd: a girl, Hermione Granger, showed an unusual impatience and almost yanked the Hat out of Professor McGonagall's hands. A young boy with a clumsy aspect forgot to give it back. Both were sent to Gryffindor, along with Harry Potter. Eventually, and to Ron’s immense relief, the ceremony ended with our little brother being sorted into Gryffindor too. At the end of the feast, Percy got up at the speed of light and took a powerful voice.

“The first years, follow me please!”

I smiled and followed Fred and George who were mimicking our prefect. We climbed the stairs and arrived to the common room. Percy was explaining some things to the bunch of first years in front of him. Then the younger ones went into the dormitories while the older ones installed themselves in the couches near the fire or at the table in order to catch up with the friends. I sat next to my twin and listened to him while he was repeating how much he was afraid he wouldn’t be as good prefect as Bill and Charlie. 

“Relax Perce, you’ll do great. I’m pretty sure you’re even already Head Boy.”

He smiled, obviously flattered by the compliment, but his grin vanished as soon as two girls in our year passed next to us while talking about the OWLs. 

“I wonder how difficult this is gonna be.” I murmured. “Mum counts on us, we have to obtain as much OWLs as possible.”

“I’m sure we won’t have any problem.” He smiled to reassure me but his eyes told me otherwise. 

“I hope so…” 

I yawned and my eyes almost closed by themselves. I tried to stay awake, wanting to spend some time with Percy as it was something we had less done lately. However, he took my hand and slightly caressed it with his thumb.

“You should go to bed Y/N. You’re exhausted. Good night.”

I gave up, muttered something I hoped would sound like a good night and joined my dormitory. 

Obviously, all the professors had synchronized their watches because as soon as we entered a classroom, we were sure we would be bothered with the OWLs, because it was gonna determine our future, it was very important, we better had not to take it as a joke...These lectures lasted all our first week. To be honest, even Professor Kettleburn irritated me with this. However, all the teaching team was determined to make us understand the difficulty of this exam and we spend our first weekend writing essays. All sorts of swearings could be heard in the common room, and that seemed to freak out all the younger students, except one girl. It was sunday afternoon and I was on the verge of yanking my hair out when Hermione Granger sat next to me.

“Can I look?” She asked while pointing at my transfiguration essay.

“Of course.” I mumbled. 

She read it and asked me some definitions. I gladly gave it to her, using this opportunity to take a break. This girl was incredibly smart and it was a pleasure to discuss with her. She reminded me a bit of Percy - intelligent, proud, determined - but also of me, alone and sometimes mocked.

I got along pretty well with Hermione. She was like a little sister I had taken under my wing, and she talked to me whenever she needed it. Sometimes, when she was alone at diner, I would sit next to her and we would chat about the muggle world. I asked her a lot of details, mentally promising myself I would tell Dad everything at Christmas. 

Percy understood why I liked Hermione and why I saw myself in her, Fred and George didn’t really care, but Ron wasn’t pleased at all. It looked like he didn’t like her. When I heard what happened the day of Halloween, how Ron had been mean and had made Hermione cry, I went to see my little brother. He was sitting in the common room with Harry - the two boys were good friends - and blushed when he saw me. Perfect, he knew why I was here.

“Can I talk to you, Ron?”

Harry awkwardly looked at the both of us before mumbling he had to do something and running in his dorm. 

“I heard what you said about Hermione. You know she’s hurt, right?”

“But this girl is so annoying! All she does is belittling us by always reciting the books she had read!”

“Can’t you try to understand her Ron?” He snorted. “She’s muggleborn. She just thinks being the best will persuade the others like you that she’s a real witch! I want you to apologize to her.”

“No way.” Ron said. “You’re not a prefect, you won’t force me.” He added while glaring at me. 

I sighed and left the common room, slightly hurt. 

During the following months, Ron talked less and less to me. He had become friend with Hermione but it seemed like he had decided to forget I was his sister. Percy thought he was jealous, George said he was an idiot, Mum, in a letter, had said he was young and big sisters were embarrassing for young boys, but none of this made me feel better. 

As if it wasn’t enough, our exams were arriving. We were all more stressed than ever, sleepless nights multiplying for everyone, either because of our revisions or insomnias. The latters were frequent for me, and I often happened to spend my nights in the common room, plenty of parchments and books in front of me. Sometimes, I would fall asleep like this and I would always wake up with a blanket around me. 

If there had one positive side, it was the fact that Percy and I took care of each other more than ever. Don’t get me wrong, we always had, but being totally panicked with the OWLs approaching made us get closer. Percy used his prefect powers to threaten me when I didn’t want to do something (“Y/N, if you don’t go to sleep right now, Gryffindor will lose some points.”). However, he never listened to me when I told him he needed to sleep too. One night, when a nightmare had woken me up, I went into the common room to find him sitting on the couch, the table in front of him covered in books and his eyes almost closed.

“What are you doing here, Perce?” My voice was soft, yet it made him jump. 

He mumbled something about the dragon blood. I went next to him and took the parchment from his hand. 

“Perce, this is about werewolves. You should sleep, really.”

Suddenly, I felt something on my shoulder. Percy was asleep, his head resting on me, soft snores escaping his mouth as his face was relaxing. I smiled, glad he finally took some rest, and fell asleep almost immediately. 

The last week before the exams was the worse of my life, no kidding. I was constantly on edge, snapping at everyone who disturbed me in my revisions, even Hermione or Percy. My last full night of sleep was a distant memory, and the exhaustion was unbearable. My stress was flooding in me, and I felt like a feather could break the barrage that prevented me from going crazy. 

The feather happened to be a letter. A letter from Mum. Percy had brought it to me in the common room as I had quickly eaten the breakfast in order to revise and I had missed the mail. She had written she was proud of Percy and I, and she knew we would pass these exams hands down. I didn’t understand why it upset me that much, but I felt burning tears in my eyes and I began to shake uncontrollably. My brother kneeled in front of me, trying to calm me, but I barely heard him. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like I was drowning, and nothing could help me keeping my head out of the water. 

I was roughly aware of what surrounded me, but I felt all the curious students that wanted to see me. Their presence made me suffocate. All of sudden, they all vanished, and I heard the echo of another familiar voice. I didn’t know who it was. I didn’t know anything, except that I was probably dying, because the air couldn’t reach my lungs, something was blocking it, something as heavy as a rock, and my lungs were burning along with my eyes and soon all of my body, and I couldn’t stop the shaking, and my heart was beating furiously to keep me alive, and I was all alone in the pain and the fear. 

No. The voice was low, very low, and it was in my head. I’m not alone. My eyes were still burning, my cheeks still covered in tears, but my lungs were a bit less painful. I managed to breathe. Once, twice. It’s going to be okay. The sobs were less violent, they didn’t tear my throat apart anymore. The pain in my body decreased, it was just a strange sensation in my arms and my legs. Slowly, I began to realize someone was holding my hands, and someone else was stroking my back. I was barely shaking, now. My eyes were still closed. 

Finally, when I felt like my strength was back, I opened them. Percy was still in front of me, his eyes full of worry and tears on me. He let out a shaky breath when our eyes met, and he sat next to me to pull me in a bear hug. 

“It’s okay Y/N. It’s okay.”

When he let me go, I saw George sat on the other side of the couch. He was probably the one who was stroking my back earlier. Fred stood behind him, an hand on Ron’s shoulder, and Professor McGonagall was next to them. 

“How are you feeling, Miss Weasley?” Her voice was unusually sweet.

“I’m fine.” Mine was raspy and low, it was quite painful to talk.

“Good. I would like you to go to the hospital wing, just to be sure.” 

I nodded, unable to protest. I was totally exhausted, and Percy had to half-carry me. He helped me installing in a bed while Madam Pomfrey was looking for particular potions. 

“I hate this place.” He mumbled. Seeing my interrogative look, he added: “Bad memories.”

I looked down.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

He was obviously concerned, and I sent him the biggest smile I could - which wasn’t more than a very little grin, in fact. I changed the subject.

“How…” I started, wincing because of the pain in my throat.

“How did McGonagall know?” Percy finished. I nodded. “Ron was in the first ones to arrive in the common room. When he saw you, he kinda freaked out and left to warn her. He ran into Fred and George. Fred left with him and George came in the common room. He sent everyone away and came next to you.”

Madam Pomfrey arrived at this moment, handing me a blue potion and a purple one.

“The first is for the pain, the other for the sleep.”

She left, probably to help someone else. I drank the two potions and grabbed Percy’s hand.

“Can you stay with me?”

“Of course.”

He smiled and sat more comfortably on the chair. 

“You know Y/N, you don’t have to worry about the exams. It’s going to be okay.”

He couldn’t be more right: two months later, Percy and I opened the envelopes containing our results. Twelve OWLs each. Not too bad!

To be continued

Part 4