#ch: lee jordan

[birlwrites]

Okay!! Question number 3!!! What do the other marauders think of regulus in ttdl? Remus and Peter. And what does regulus think of them? Do they also dislike him because of what they heard from sirius?

OK HERE WE GOOOOO

so: anyone who's ever heard sirius rant about regulus more than once knows that sirius is simultaneously super invested in regulus's life and also absolutely determined to make clear that it's out of anger, like in a 'he did the most ANNOYING thing today' way instead of a 'i miss him so i talk about him to other people since i can't talk to him' way

remus is... let's call it aware that sirius is a biased narrator. he thinks that sirius absolutely still cares about regulus and it's fairly likely that regulus cares about sirius. he also thinks that maybe things would be better if the two of them sat down and had one honest heart-to-heart. and he thinks that the likelihood of this happening is nil.

peter is 100% on sirius's side here but less militant about it than james is. he's offended on sirius's behalf that regulus didn't reach out after the disownment, even once they were at hogwarts under one roof again. but remus has managed to persuade peter that sirius is probably presenting regulus in the worst light possible and also? hasn't been a close confidante of reg's in a long time? so peter's on the side of 'well maybe regulus had his reasons but he's still been shitty to sirius'

as for what regulus thinks of them, i don't think he spares much thought for peter afhslghfjksjgkf - like yeah that's one of sirius's friends but he's not one of sirius's best friends. in regulus's head, james is sirius's best friend, and remus is sirius's other best friend - as in, not james, but still very much a best-friend-type relationship

like regulus very much ranks sirius's friends according to how close sirius is with them, and then that's how much regulus cares about them (in a bad way afhlsgjshfj). i don't think he finds remus *annoying* in the same way that he finds james annoying, but he's close with sirius (this New sirius) so he obviously can't be that great

the other thing is that remus is the quidditch commentator! that'll come up in the ttdl chapter i'll post tomorrow, as a matter of fact, which renders this excellent timing

remus's commentary style is biased, but not to the same degree as lee jordan's - remus likes poking fun at his friends just as much as he likes doing it to the other teams, so although he is very much on gryffindor's side, i'll go ahead and call his commentary style. humorous. there are ad hominem attacks, naturally, and he makes some truly shitty puns on players' names, but he's overall a little less 'THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH' than lee jordan is, u know? so he's more chill

regulus is just kind of resigned to being the target of a bunch of these ad hominem attacks - it would be a stretch to say he's offended, because he doesn't really. care enough to have actual feelings about it? like, here's an excerpt from ch 29:

*

"Buckner makes an early shot on goal, blocked by Nott," Lupin's voice says. "Professor, I just thought of a pun."

"If you absolutely must," McGonagall's voice says in the background.

"Her name is Nott because she does not let the other team score. And... I seem to be receiving a thumbs-up from Fleming, I guess she appreciated that one. Vanity in possession, the Slytherin Chasers are wasting no time moving the Quaffle back to the other side of the pitch—you know who does seem to be wasting time? The Seekers. They are twiddling their thumbs up there. Not sure if that's a long-term strategy or if they're waiting for opportunities—anyone who's seen Slytherin play anytime in the last few years is fully aware that Regulus Black does not like sitting still on the pitch, much to the detriment of the opposing team when he decides that he'd rather be a Bludger than a Seeker. We all know he lies about saying he saw the Snitch."

This seems to Regulus to be unfairly targeted. It's not as if McKinnon doesn't do the exact same thing.

"Mr. Lupin, I've asked you in the past to refrain from the ad hominem commentary," McGonagall's voice says. "If you can't restrain yourself—"

"You'll get a first-year who knows nothing about quidditch to commentate, I know," Lupin says.

*

like sure, regulus is like 'well that's unfair mckinnon does it too' but he's definitely not surprised that remus is bringing up the (100% true) fact that regulus interferes with the opposing team under the guise of claiming to have seen the snitch, and he's also not particularly hurt by it. naturally any pro-gryffindor commentator is going to be biased against the slytherins

i guess to sum it up, i'd say:

remus about regulus: probably the most sympathetic to regulus out of all of the marauders, although he's far from impressed with regulus's communication skills and doesn't like knowing that sirius is struggling as a result (although sirius doesn't show *that* much interest in communicating with regulus either, it's at least more - remus has heard about sirius trying to initiate conversation and being rebuffed. you know, like in chapter four, 8 million years ago)

peter about regulus: not all that sympathetic - aware that they're very much only getting sirius's side of the story, but sirius's side of the story is very compelling and, like remus, peter has heard the tales of Regulus Being Impossible To Talk To For Five Fucking Seconds

regulus about remus: sirius's other best friend, who doesn't seem to be a complete and total asshole but nonetheless is very much Sirius's Best Friend and therefore he sucks even if regulus doesn't have an exact, fully fleshed-out diagram of how - but regulus doesn't have the same urge to spite remus that he does to spite james, and remus is overall a less emotionally charged person to him

regulus about peter: oh yeah, the other one. close friends with sirius, but not a Best Friend, and therefore, whatever - unless they interact, in which case regulus does not like him, but in general regulus doesn't devote any time or energy to thinking about peter

[manyfacedwall]

Avatars 200x320 (for rpg)

Lakeith Stanfeild

[nofable]

wheezes was a place of warmth...   a hearth turned into a shop,   first years swarming the counter as lee lounged on one of the tables   [he’s helping out,   or meant to be helping out,   which is code for getting underfoot during one of the busiest days of the year].   he holds up a spinning object towards george,   eyebrows drawn together as he stares down at it,   placed between them.       ‘   and what the bloody hell is this supposed to do?   ’       @narrativ

[fuckingbeautiful]

I just saw a post headcanon-ing the reason behind lee jordan remaining quidditch commentator despite his,,,unprofessionalism, and i decided to post my own, so here goes

we all know that quidditch is a little intense, and people have canonically gotten in fights over it (ron tried to hex malfoy second book, harry, fred, and george get banned from flying fifth book etc.) and commentator is a very prominent position. what im saying is, what if the commentator prior to lee jordan had met some sort of sticky fate? something significant enough to scare off other applicants for the next several years? lee jordan obviously doesn���t care because he’s a gryffindor, but also because he’s a known friend of fred and george so the rest of the school knows not to mess with him. idk it was just a thought

[toomuchquidditch]

On The Pitch

Chapter 2: Year 1. 1989. Hogwarts

Chapter one

Wattpad

Ao3

"First years follow me!" A large, grizzly man rang a bell as the students exited the train, "first years! First years!"

Lee and Annie held hands, not wanting to lose the other, as they approached the ginormous man.

"Woah" Lee looked up at him in awe, "Sir, you're huge!"

"That's right I am" the man stopped his bell waving and chuckled.

Someone tugged sharply on one of Annie's braids and she spun around, fist raised, only to see the Weasley twins, grinning at her.

"Missed us?" Fred went to pinch her cheek.

"Not one bit" Annie batted his hand away, "it was much quieter."

"You wound us-"

"Right to the heart-"

"We do so much to show you our kindness-"

"Our friendship-"

"And you give us this in return?-"

"Shush!"

"That everyone? Alright! Follow me, follow me!" The big man called, waving for the first years to follow him.

Annie pulled Lee along with her, trying to keep up with the big man as he lumbered down the path.

"Excuse me! Sir! What is your name?" Lee asked.

"Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid."

"Wicked!"

"And yer names?"

"I'm Lee Jordan!"

"My name's Annabelle, Annabelle Finnigan!"

"Nice to meet you two" Hagrid smiled down at them, eyes crinkling at the corners.

The two eventually fell behind him, their short legs unable to keep up with his large footfalls.

"Already trying to make teachers pet, Annie Bannie?" A jesting voice came from behind. Annie rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Have you seen the size of him?! Hagrid is huge!" Lee explained, twisting to talk to you he twins.

"Hagrid?"

"We just went to ask him his name. Did you know his first name was Rubeus?!"

"Oh, I think Charlie or Bill have mentioned him a few times-"

"He's the groundskeeper"

Hagrid led them down a path that seemed to go on for miles, his long legs carrying him far in front of everyone, save those who jogged to catch up with him. When they reached their destination, the kids looked out in awe.

The lake was large and never ending, its dark waters illuminated by the lights of the magnificent castle on the other side. All the windows were lit by torches, a warm welcome to all the new students.

Sitting on the edge of the lake in front of them, was an array of little boats, all fronted by a floating lantern.

"Alright! Four to a boat! Get in! Get in!" Hagrid motioned them to the boats, chuckling as everyone scrambled to find one.

"Lee! Annie!" George and Fred motioned the two over to their boat. Annie eyed them wearily, but Lee pulled her to it.

"We won't bite-"

"I hardly believe that" Annie grumbled, making sure Lee was between her and the twins.

As the four settled in, the boats seemed to move on their own, gently rocking over the soft waves of the lake.

At one point, the boat shook aggressively, gaining a yelp from Annie, who gripped the sides of the boat so hard her knuckles turned white.

Laughter burst from behind her, and she spared a look at the rest of the boat. Fred and George were bent over, snickering.

"It's alright Annie" Lee placed a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe they made the boats untippable."

Annie nodded, still not reassured, before yelping again as the boat made another jolt.

"Oi! You lot!" Hagrid called, "don't make me have to fish ye out of the lake, I still haven't fed the giant squid!"

"G-giant squid?" All the color drained from Annie's face. The only thing she'd heard of giant squids had been from her mother's (terrifying) bedtime stories, and documentaries her father would fall asleep in the middle of.

Worried chatter broke out among the students, some of them trying get as far away from the edge of their boats as possible.

"Settle down now! Settle down!" Hagrid hushed the students, some still cowering in their boats, "almost there!"

Annie looked up, and her jaw nearly dropped.

The boats had nearly reached the castle's shore.

"I've never seen a real castle before" she muttered.

"So you've seen a fake castle?" Fred quipped, but she ignored him.

Closer up, the castle seemed to reach into the heavens, it's tall towers obscured by low-lying clouds.

Annie scrambled out of her boat as it touched land, her socks and shoes getting wet in the process, but she didn't care. She looked up at the castle in awe, taking in its beauty.

A hand took her arm, and she broke out of her reverie to see Lee Jordan smiling at her.

"It's big? Innit?"

"You could say that" the two laughed and trudged up the shore as Hagrid called the first years to follow him.

They approached two large double doors, taller than Hagrid, if that was even possible. Hagrid raised his large fist and knocked loudly.

Not a moment later, the door opened to reveal an older woman with a sour expression on her face.

"You're late."

"Sorry mum, bit of a setback" Hagrid answered sheepishly. Her expression softened.

"You didn't keep us waiting too long," she looked to the kids behind him, "Follow me!" And with that, she'd turned around and marched forward. Hagrid stepped aside as the first years scrambled after her.

The girl Annie had met on the train, Maisie, tripped multiple times, her shoelaces clattering against the stone floors. She'd drop behind every once in a while due to a lost shoe. The curly haired girl held onto her, retrieving the lost shoe as the other girl hopped along happily.

"Why doesn't she tie her shoes?" Lee whispered.

"I couldn't tell you"

They passed an even larger set of doors after many winding hallways, many of the kids stopping to gawk at it.

"Children!" The woman called, and they ran to catch up to her.

The group was led to a small, dark room, and the woman turned around.

"Settle down!" She called, and the crowd's giggles and babble died down.

"Welcome first years. I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments, you will join your fellow classmates in the great hall for the start of term feast. Before you do that, you must be sorted into a house. These houses will be your family while you are here at Hogwarts. You will share your meals, classes, common room, and dormitories with them." She paused, giving a stern look to two girls giggling to each other.

"The four houses are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house with a respectable history and brilliant founder. In these houses, there are house points. Do a good deed, and your house gains points. Get into mischief" she have a pointed look to the Weasley twins, "and lose points. The house with the most points at the end of the year, wins the house cup." She checked her pocket watch, "the sorting ceremony will start in a few minutes. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly when I am gone"

As soon as the door shut behind her, excited chatter broke out amongst the students.

"We get sorted?"

"Into houses?"

"Does Hogwarts have actual houses? How can they fit everyone in there?"

"You dolt! A house is the group of people, not an actual house."

Annie looked around and frowned as she spotted the redhead twins approaching. Fred stopped to tug on Maisie's hair and got her loose shoe lobbed at his head.

"Ow!"

"Don't pull on my hair!"

Fred rubbed the side of his head as he neared Annie and Lee, George not far behind him.

"Hello again!"

"Fred."

"He's not Fred, I am!" George poked his head around his brother's shoulder.

"You're George"

"How can you tell?" Fred asked.

"You're a right git. He isn't" Annie crossed her arms.

"He could be if he wanted to"

"And what? It's your default setting?"

Fred narrowed his eyes at her, before George spoke.

"What house do you think you'll get into?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't explain what they really were."

"Our whole family has been in Gryffindor." He smiled, "not a single one out of place-"

"Although we did overhear mum saying we'd probably be the first slytherins-"

"Which we take high offense to. Does she think us mongruels?"

"I believe so, Georgie. I believe so."

"Gryffindor is a cool name" Lee grinned, "I think I'd like that."

"As long as I'm not in a house with you, I'll be ok" Annie scowled at Fred again.

"Students!" Professor McGonagall had appeared in front of them, sporting an unamused expression.

"How did she get back in?!" Lee whispered.

"The sorting ceremony is about to begin. Follow me"

The children were led again to the large, double doors before McGonagall turned to them again, her expression more welcoming.

"Welcome, to the great hall"

The doors opened, and a chorus of cheers erupted from the many students sitting at the neverending tables.

Candles floated above their heads, standing out against a moving, starry sky depicted on the ceiling.

"Woah" Annie and Lee didn't take their eyes off of it until the group walked to the front.

Over each table stood a banner, with the name of each house. Gryffindor was red, Hufflepuff yellow, Ravenclaw was blue, and Slytherin was Green.

"Look! There's Charlie and Percy!" George pointed out at the farthest table to their left.

"Oi! Charlie!" Fred waved wildly at his brothers. The one with the long, red hair, presumably Charlie, waved back gleefully, while the other boy, Percy, scowled at them. Next to Percy sat the cute, brunet boy Annie had run into on the train. Happiness bubbled up in her, a wide grin stretching across her face

"Reckon he's still mad about the train" Fred started, sticking his tongue out at the scowling red haired boy.

"I assume so-"

"Mr. Weasley, if you don't mind, we are about to begin" McGonagall raised a brow at him before turning to pick up a large, patched up hat that seemed to spring to life as she held it up.

It sang its song, and once it was done, she set it down on the stool before pulling out a piece of parchment paper.

"Barker, Maisie" she called.

The frizzy-haired girl stumbled up excitedly and plopped onto the seat.

It was only a few moments before the hat yelled out 'Gryffindor!'

The Gryffindor table burst into cheers as she raced to them, getting a congratulations from an older student as she sat down.

"Finnigan, Annabelle"

Annie pushed through the crowd to the chair. As the hat was placed on her head, a small, inquisitive voice sounded in her ears.

'Brave, passionate, loyal. I don't see where else to put you..'

Annie looked over to the Gryffindor table, all the students sitting in anticipation.

"Gryffindor!"

Her heart soared as the table once again burst into cheers, Maisie hollering at her from her seat.

She slid in next to Maisie and was greeted with the most friendly hug she'd ever received.

"We're in the same house!"

"Yes!"

"Maybe Bennett will be with us!"

"I hope so!"

Maisie clasped their hands together and turned back to the sorting hat.

A few more kids went through it, their times under the hat varying. Lee had made it in, same with the pretty girl who had been in a boat with Maisie and Bennett, Angelina Johnson.

More students came and went, both Annie and Maisie waiting for Bennett.

And then it was the Weasley twins turn.

"Weasley, Fred"

"He better not be-" Annie couldn't even finish her sentence before the hat yelled out

"Gryffindor!"

She and Maisie let out matching groans of disappointment.

George was also sorted into Gryffindor.

The twins were greeted fondly by their brother Charlie, even Percy spared them a smile.

But they could worry about it later, it was Bennett's turn.

Annie felt Maisie's hands squeeze hers tighter as Bennett had the hat placed on her head.

"You think she'll be a Gryffindor?" George asked.

"Dunno"

"I hope she is"

"Ravenclaw!"

Maisie frowned a little, before Bennett took a seat across the aisle and turned around.

"Hi"

"Hey!" Annie and Maisie waved at her.

That was the end of the sorting, and the feast had started

Annie had never seen such delicious food before.

Plates upon plates were piled atop one another, packed tightly.

"How does this much food get made?" Annie asked, in awe.

"Dunno, but it's brilliant" Lee started piling various foods on his plate.

The hall was filled with chatter and munching, kids old and young stuffing their faces full.

Fred and George got admonished more than once by Percy for eating like animals, each sporting a food mustache.

"I think it makes us look refined"

"You look like you need bibs"

Annie let her eyes wander, nearly choking on her food as she spotted the cute brunet boy again.

"Woah, you ok?" Maisie clapped her on the back, and Annie coughed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Annie glanced again in the boy's direction. Maisie followed her gaze and a grin spread over her face.

"Is it that cute boy?"

"No-"

"You're blushing! It is!"

Annie started to shovel food into her mouth .

"You should talk to him!"

"Now?"

"Well obviously not now-"

"Who are you talking about?" Fred butted in.

"That brunet" Maisie giggled, nodding her head in the boy's direction.

"Oliver?" George asked.

"Quidditch obsessed Oliver?"

"You know him?" Annie leaned forward

"Yeah, hes on the team with Charlie. He's also friends with Percy" Fred scrunched up his nose.

"Well, he looks lovely" Annie sighed dreamily, setting her fork down.

⋆⋆⋆

"First years! Follow me!" A gangly Gryffindor perfect with a tinnying voice called out. Lee and Maisie each grabbed one of Annie's hands as they left the hall, Maisie turning once to wave goodbye to Bennett.

"What do you think the houses will be like?" Annie asked.

"Dunno, maybe-" Maisie tripped over her laces, sending all three of them sprawling on the floor.

"Can you please tie your shoes?" Lee got up, brushing himself off. Annie and Maisie stayed on the floor, giggling.

"I like to live on the edge" Maisie smirked, and got up, pulling Annie along with her.

They eventually stopped in front of a large portrait with a rather large women painted.

Half the kids jumped when she moved.

"Password?" She asked, her stuffy, posh accent drawling put each syllable.

"Planktus Wibbleyton" the prefect stared, before the portrait started to move.

"What?!"

"Woah!"

"Wicked!"

Excited whispers broke out among the students as the portrait hole revealed a lavish room, filled with reds and holds, tables and couches crammed in together, giving off a very cozy vibe.

"First years, file in!" The prefect called, and the first years impatiently squeezed through the entrance in a gaggle of limbs.

"One at a time-one at a time!" The prefect called, attempting to thin out the excited kids.

Once everyone filed into the room, the prefect faced them.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Common room. Here you will be housed your next seven years here. To your right, is the girl's dorms, and to the left are the boys. Neither is allowed in the other's, Alright? The stairs will know."

Everyone gave them a confused stare.

"Your rooms will be just to the left at the top of the stairs. Your luggage is already set up on your beds. Once again, congratulations and welcome to Gryffindor."

Annie gave Lee a hug, wishing him goodnight, before pulling Maisie up to their room.

⋆⋆⋆

Maisie ran to her bed, kicking her shoes off before landing face first, arms outstretched.

"This is marvelous!" She yelled, voice muffled by the sheets.

Annie took the one next to her, sinking into the soft mattress.

"This is heaven"

"I haven't ever felt a bed so comfortable"

At that moment, Angelina, and the other girl in their year, Alicia Spinnet entered.

"Hello!"

"Try the beds!" Maisie greeted, turning over to face them.

Alicia and Angelina made contented noises as they each tested their bed's softness.

"This is so nice after such a long train ride and wooden benches" Alicia sighed, curling up against her pillows.

"Agreed." Angelina agreed, shucking off her shoes.

As the four girls settled in, Maisie turned to Annie.

"You think Bennett's ok?"

Annie shrugged, "I'm sure she's handling herself well. She seems capable"

"Yeah, you're right."

"Maybe we can have her sit with us at breakfast tomorrow"

Maisie brightened, "You think so?"

"Can't hurt to try, right?"

"You're right. You're absolutely right." Maisie pulled her blankets around her.

"Night Annie"

"Night Maisie"

[pottermetaarchive]

“ ‘River,’ that’s Lee,” Ron explained. “They’ve all got code names, but you can usually tell —”

 - Deathly Hallows, Ch. 22

Lee Jordan’s codename is River, as in the River Jordan. Kingsley’s is Royal, as in Kingsley; Lupin’s is Romulus, as in Remus and Romulus, mythological twin brothers who were raised by wolves. Fred’s is Rodent, most likely referring to his last name, while the name he wanted, Rapier, could be a reference to his brother’s severed ear. 

[akorah]

Notes on Philosopher’s Stone

Full disclosure: this is my favorite book in the series. There is something whimsical about Philosopher's Stone that JKR never captured again with the rest of the books.

Here are some haphazardly organised notes I took during my last re-read. I was specifically looking for plot holes and things that are canon v. fanon (i.e. Hermione being a bad flyer)(she's not).

The Beginning

Harry got dropped off at the Dursleys' on the morning of November 2nd, not November 1st (ch 1)

McGonagall spends all of Nov 1st scouting the Dursleys, BUT Hagrid makes it sound like he brought Harry straight from Godric's Hollow to Privet Drive. Did Hagrid have Harry for an entire day?????? (I guess a 15-month-old and a dragon egg would have roughly the same level of vulnerability.)

The Dursleys

The Dursleys owned a family computer prior to 1991, and allowed their 10-year-old to play on it (ch 2).

Now I'm imagining Dudley Dursley typing MS-DOS commands--he would have had to know terminal commands regardless if they had a PC or Macintosh--and that's messing with my head.

The Dursleys have a greenhouse: Dudley was in shock. He’d screamed, whacked his father with his Smeltings stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn’t have his room back. (ch. 3)

I'm genuinely shocked the Dursleys actually showed up to take Harry home from King's Cross.

Hermione realises IMMEDIATELY that the Dursleys are the literal worst: 'Hope you have -- er -- a good holiday,' said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant. (ch. 17)

Textbooks

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk - For what class? Charms? Charms & Transfiguration?

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot - History of Magic

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling - ??? Charms? Transfiguration?

A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch - Transfiguration

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore - Herbology

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger - Potions

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander - ??? Defence?

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble - Defence 

Quidditch

'What is Quidditch?' 'It's our sport.' Confirmation that the only game that exists in Britain is Quidditch. (ch 5)

Lee Jordan mentions Alicia Spinnet is a former reserve Chaser, which I think is the only time in the entire series that it's mentioned there are reserve players (ch 11). There certainly aren't any in OotP when Angelina has to replace Harry, Fred, and George, and Harry doesn't select any in HBP.

How the utter fuck did Katie take a Bludger to the back of the head and keep playing?

The Ravenclaw-Gryffindor game happened between the end of exams and when the exam results were posted. So, mid-to-end of June

Hogwarts

Hogwarts runs on a 3 term / trimester school year, not 2 semesters. This is a British thing, and is only casually alluded to throughout the series. 

Term 1: September - Christmas.

Term 2: January - Easter.

Term 3: March/April - June.

Two Quidditch matches occur per term:

Term 1: Gryffindor-Slytherin, Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw

Term 2: Gryffindor-Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw-Slytherin

Term 3: Gryffindor-Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff-Slytherin

This schedule is consistent through the series, and it's explicitly mentioned when there's a change to the schedule, like in PoA when Gryffindor goes up against Hufflepuff because Draco's being a brat about the weather during first term.

We have a pretty decent description/characterisation of the castle: There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn’t open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren’t really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other and Harry was sure the coats of armour could walk. (ch. 8)

Gryffindors & Slytherins have flying lessons together, which means Harry had no idea of Theo's name through Potions, flying lessons, and Care of Magical Creatures. (ch. 9) Honestly, HOW?

Potions - once a week on Fridays. Flying lessons - once a week (maximum) on Thursdays. (ch. 8/9)

Hermione got 112% on her Charms final exam, which indicates they use a standard grading scale for non-O.W.L./N.E.W.T. years, which would make sense, since the teachers explicitly state they're switching to the OWL scale in OotP

Hermione

3rd person omniscient for Hermione lighting Snape's robes on fire - fire that she managed to scoop into a jar, which meant it wasn't burning anything, just giving off heat. (ch. 11)

Hermione uses her bluebell flames to defeat the Devil's Snare, not Lumos (ch. 16)

Hermione flies, and she flies WELL, when they go to chase the key. (ch. 16)

Hermione is very physically affectionate. She loves hugs.

Hermione is explicitly stated to have come out #1 in the class: Hermione, of course, came top of the year. (ch. 17)

Ron is not an idiot, and not just because he's good at chess

Apparently Ron knows obscure laws about dragons: 'Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that.' (ch. 14)

Ron identifies what the flying key likely looks like: 'We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one, probably silver like the handle.' (ch. 16)

Ron has a bit of a hero-worship thing for Dumbledore (he’s also 12 and doesn’t know any better) (ch. 17)

The Wizarding world knows Voldemort isn’t dead

“My dad says it must’ve been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don’t think they took anything, that’s what’s odd. ‘Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who’s behind it.” (Ron, ch. 6)

Pure-bloods aren’t ignorant of Muggle transportation

Draco knows what a helicopter is: He complained loudly about first-years never getting in the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. (ch. 9)

And the Ministry owns cars, per PoA, so this whole 'pure-bloods are totally ignorant of Muggle transportation' is utter bullshit.

Harry

So everyone knows Harry went off to live with Muggles, and Molly wasn't surprised to see him at King's Cross ALONE, which seems like a bit of a red flag.

Harry imitates the Bloody Baron to scare off Peeves

Harry KNOWING and justifying how Dumbledore set him up to go after Quirrellmort and the stone is absolutely horrifying (yes, I know he’s 11 and Dumbledore is an authority figure): 

“D’you think he meant you to do it?” said Ron. “Sending you your father’s Cloak and everything?”

“Well,” Hermione exploded, “if he did -- I mean to say -- that’s terrible -- you could have been killed.”

“No, it isn’t,” said Harry thoughtfully. “He’s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help....” (ch. 17)

Speaking of Quirrellmort

Quirrell calls Voldemort by his name (ch. 16)

Dumbledore says the whole school knows what happened between Harry and Quirrell, which seems highly unlikely. (ch. 17) So what exactly would the students been told?

Er -- 'My brother got past McGonagall's giant chess set!' (Percy, ch. 17) — So they know an awful lot.

Dumbledore was a contradictory old bastard from the start

Dumbledore: 'I'm not going to lie to you.'

Also Dumbledore: 'Ah, yes, Snape saved you because James saved him, so Snape repaid his debt so he could to go back to hating James in peace.' (ch. 17)

Other random thoughts that came up

Neville is a clumsy little cinnamon roll:

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. (ch. 7)

...The portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it -- Neville needed a leg up -- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room.... (ch. 7)

Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob.... (ch. 8)

Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground. (ch. 9)

...and the list goes on.

Fred calls Molly "woman," and I feel like the Molly of later books would have yelled at him. (ch. 6)

The Longbottoms are fucking terrible: ‘Well, my gran brought me up and she’s a witch,’ said Neville, ‘but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad.’ (ch. 7)

Filch is ALSO terrible, but we knew that: 'Shame they let the old punishments die out ... I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed.' (ch. 15)

I love that Snape used logic as part of his protection. (ch. 16) Our very first hint that he was a half-blood who was raised in the Muggle world. 

Finally, Unnecessary Broomstick Discourse

I went down a rabbit hole with Quidditch Through the Ages on this one.

1926 - Cleansweep One released

1929 - Comet 140 released (first Comet broom)

1934 - Cleansweep Two released

1937 - Cleansweep Three released

1938 - Comet 180 released

1967 - Nimbus 1000 released (first Nimbus broom)

1991 - top brooms are Nimbus 2000 and Cleansweep Seven (per Oliver)

1995 - Ron gets a Cleansweep Eleven 

Sooooooo, if one were to do some sketchy math, the Cleansweep Four, Five, & Six were released over a maximum period of 52 years. Sounds like Cleansweep had a heck of a dry spell. How did they stay in business???? Let's go with the average, so one released every 13 years (lord almighty) would put it at

1950 - Cleansweep Four

1963 - Cleansweep Five

1976 - Cleansweep Six

1989 - Cleansweep Seven

Presumably, Nimbus would have been incrementally releasing new brooms. Quidditch Through the Ages states they released the 1001, 1500, and 1700, which is [1] incredibly strange versioning, and [2] odd that they could get away with releasing a total of 5 brooms in 24 years, unless broom innovation is really that slow.

If you did averages, that would put Nimbus at:

1967 - Nimbus 1000

1973 - Nimbus 1001

1979 - Nimbus 1500

1985 - Nimbus 1700

1991 - Nimbus 2000

And of course, we know the Nimbus 2001 came out in 1992, throwing all of these averages away. 

And then the Firebolt in 1993. So either broom manufacturing saw an exponential increase in the early 90s, or all of this is bullshit.

[fuckallthegood0nesweretaken]

Runs in the Family CH. One

Book: Chamber

Title: I’m a What?

Words: 2310

Warnings: None

A/N: This is the first chapter of my newest series. It is an eventual pairing of George x Reader with some unknown feelings and pining from both of them. Reader is Dudley’s little sister and a witch. Some things will stay the same while others will be changed. Enjoy!

Next Chapter

RitF Masterlist

Harry Potter Masterlist 

Masterlist

~~~~~~~

You were not excited for the night. Your dad was having guests over so you had to spend the evening in a stuffy, itchy dress, be on your best behavior, and you couldn’t even talk to Harry. Sighing, you smoothed the skirt and walked downstairs.

 “Mummy, do I have to wear this? It’s so itchy,” you said.

 “Yes, darling. Only the best for our guests. Now come and help me with our dessert.”

 “Alright.”

 You helped her finish up with the cake while your dad helped Dudley put on his tie. Upstairs, Hedwig was making noise and your dad called out to Harry angrily.

 “If you can’t control that bloody bird, it’ll have to go,” Vernon said.

 “She’s just bored, daddy,” you said from the kitchen.

 “[Y/n]’s right. If I could let her out for an hour or two, she’ll be fine.”

 “Not a chance. I don’t need you sending any messages to your freaky friends.”

 “I haven’t had any messages,” Harry said sadly. You frowned and was about to say something when your brother pushed past Harry.

 “Who would want to be friends with you?” Dudley said.

 “That’s not nice, Dudley.” You were a little angry at your brother for treating Harry this way. Dudley just ignored you and you rolled your eyes at the way he tried to eat the cake before the guests came.

 “Now, when the Masons arrive, where will you be, Petunia?” Vernon said.

 “In the lounge, waiting to welcome them into our home.”

 “[Y/n], where will you be?”

 “I’ll be with mummy in the lounge,” you said.

 “Good. Dudley?”

 “I’ll be waiting to open the door,” Dudley said with a flourish of his arm. That’s when the three of them turned to Harry.

 “And you?” Vernon said, voice full of hate.

 “I’ll be in my bedroom, making no noise, and pretending that I don’t exist,” Harry said.

 “That’s right. This could be the day I make the biggest deal of my career and you will not mess it up.”

 Right then, the doorbell rang and Dudley rushed to the door.

 “I mean it, boy. Quiet!” Vernon then walked to join Dudley and you mouthed ‘sorry’ to Harry as he walked upstairs.

 The night went by slowly. Your dad kept making awful jokes and the Masons were eating it up. Sipping on your sparkling juice, you looked worriedly up at the ceiling when strange noises were coming out of Harry’s room. Vernon went up there once to shut him up but when you saw him chasing after the cake, your eyes widened.

 It took every bit of you not to laugh when the cake landed on Mrs. Mason. Everyone’s attention was on her but you saw Harry looking at something. You glanced down and saw a creature disappear before your eyes. The Masons left shortly after and your parents were furious at Harry for dropping the cake on Mrs. Masons head.

 ---

 The next day, Vernon installed a bunch of locks on the outside of Harry’s door and bars on the windows. You tried to stop him, even though you knew that nothing would. Watching, you shook your head before walking inside.

 That very night, you were woken up by a crash. You leapt out of bed and opened your door right as Vernon got to Harry’s door. It took him a minute to open all the locks and when he burst into Harry’s room, he grabbed Harry by the ankle.

 “Daddy, let go of him!” You said. You went to run into the room but Petunia stopped you.

 One of the boys taking Harry away yelled at the other to drive and that caused Vernon to fall out of the house. You and Dudley both yelled as he fell, worried that he was hurt. When you saw he wasn’t, you looked at Harry.

 You waved discreetly as they flew away. After they disappeared and it was confirmed that Vernon was alright, everyone went back to bed.

 ---

 A few days later, as you were eating breakfast, you heard three sharp knocks on the front door. Confused as to who was visiting, Vernon went to open the door.

 “Is this the residence of [y/n] Dursley?” A voice said.

 “Who’s asking?” Vernon said.

 “My name is Minerva McGonagall. I’m one of the professors at Hogwarts and I’m here to speak to Miss Dursley.”

 “What for?” Petunia asked. You could hear the shakiness in her voice and it worried you.

 “Mummy? Daddy? What’s going on?” You got up from the table and walked over to the door.

 “[Y/n], darling, go back to your food,” Petunia said.

 “Miss Dursley. I’m here to announce that you are a witch.” You looked at the woman with wide eyes and an open mouth.

 “No way. You’re kidding.”

 “I’m not. Your books and supplies are already bought and packed and in your trunk in your room. If you could come with me, I’ll take you to Ollivanders where we’ll get you your wand.”

 “No. Not a chance. You’re not taking my daughter anywhere!” Vernon said.

 “She has to go to Ollivanders and to Hogwarts. It’s imperative that she does,” McGonagall said.

 “Why?”

 “If Miss Dursley doesn’t get proper training on how to use her magic, bad things can happen. They won’t happen if she gets proper training.”

 You saw your dad start to argue, but you cut him off.

 “Daddy, I want to go. It’s my choice and you can’t stop me,” you said.

 “Alright,” Petunia said after a moment. Vernon opened his mouth but after a look from Petunia, he closed it. ���I don’t like it either, but there’s nothing we can do. Take her.”

  “I’ll be outside,” McGonagall said. She tilted her head to your parents before walking away.

 You went to say something to your mom, but she avoided your gaze and said nothing. Your dad was fuming about the whole ordeal and Dudley just went back to shoveling food into his mouth. With a frown, you walked outside.

 ---

 After you had gotten your wand, you went back to your house. You were wanting to try out some spells from your textbooks, but you knew that if you did anything inside the house, your parents would have a cow. So you refrained from casting spells, but you did read through the entirety of most of your books.

 A few weeks later, Professor McGonagall came back.

 “It’s time for me to bring you to the school,” she said.

 “We arrive by train, right?” You asked her.

 “Yes. Are you all packed?” You nodded and ran upstairs to grab your trunk

 “I’ll visit when I can, okay? I love you,” you said, turning to your family. When Vernon said nothing, you felt tears start to form.

 “I love you, dear,” Petunia said as she gave you a hug. “We’ll see you for Christmas?”

 “Of course, mummy. Bye.” You waved to your family and took McGonagall’s outstretched hand and everything went black.

 ---

 When you came to, your head was pounding and you found yourself in the middle of King’s Cross.

 “Run between those two platforms and you’ll go to platform 9 ¾. The train leaves at precisely eleven. I’ll see you at the Sorting, Miss Dursley.”

 She disappeared with a sharp crack and you took a shaky breath before running through the wall. When you realized you had done it, you let out a laugh and walked to the train.

 Lugging your trunk onto the train, you found an empty compartment and sat down. You figured you had some time to kill seeing as it was only half past ten so you took out your textbooks and started to read. It was only when the train was about to pull away did someone else come into the compartment with you.

 “Mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full,” someone said.

 “Of course.” You looked up and were face to face with two of the boys that helped Harry escape.

 “It’s you!” You said. “You were in the flying car that took Harry a couple nights ago.”

 “You’re his cousin, aren’t you?” One of them said.

 “I am. My name’s [y/n] Dursley.”

 “Fred Weasley.”

 “George Weasley.”

 “It’s nice to meet you,” you said, a smile on your face.

 ---

 “Harry didn’t tell us that you were a witch,” Fred said.

 “I didn’t even know until a couple weeks ago, actually. It came as a surprise and my parents didn’t like it.”

 “What all do you know about Hogwarts?” Fred asked.

 “I know that you’re separated into Houses. Harry is in Gryffindor, I believe. You also have a lot of classes and a game called Quidditch.”

 “You know about Quidditch?” Both the twins said.

 “I do. It seems fascinating and I’d love to play it. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly.”

 “What House do you think you’ll be? Freddie and I are in Gryffindor.”

 “I couldn’t tell you. To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought. There are five, right?”

 “Four. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff.”

 “Ravenclaw and Slytherin.”

 “You don’t want to be in Slytherin,” Fred said.

 “Why not?”

 “That’s the House that has made the most dark wizards,” George said.

 “You-Know-Who himself was a Slytherin along with all of his followers.”

 “Loads of bad people.”

 You stared at them for a minute before shivering.

 “Let’s hope I don’t get into Slytherin,” you said with a laugh.

 The rest of the ride was spent laughing and eating sweets. Lee Jordan, one of the twins’ friends, came into the compartment halfway through the ride. Once he found out that you hadn’t had any magical sweets before, he bought nearly the entire trolley for you to try. You didn’t want the train to stop but it did an hour later.

 Looking at the castle, awe in your eyes, you turned to the twins.

 “You’ll be fine,” George said.

 “Ginny, our sister, is starting Hogwarts this year too.”

 George called Ginny over and introduced you to her before he left with Fred and Lee.

 “Hello. It’s nice to meet you,” you said.

 “Likewise.”

 The two of you made small talk the entire way across the lake and up into the castle until you saw Professor McGonagall. She was standing at the top of the stairs, holding a giant scroll of paper.

 “In just a few minutes, we will walk into the Great Hall. When I call your name, you will walk forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will tell you what House you belong in and you will go sit with that House.” The doors opened behind McGonagall. “Come on. Follow me.”

 You followed her, gripping your robes tightly. McGonagall was a few names in when she called yours. Swallowing harshly, you walked up as sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on your head and you took a shaky breath.

 “Where to put you,” the hat said. “You have a lot of ambition, but even more kindness. Patience too. I think I’ll put you in Hufflepuff!”

 The last word was shouted and you let out a laugh before getting off of the stool and walking over to the Hufflepuff table. The sorting was over soon and then the feast began. Your eyes widened as the food appeared right in front of you and on your plate.

 “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

 “It is.” You looked to your left and saw a hand being held out to you.

 “I’m Cedric Diggory,” he said.

 “[Y/n] Dursley. Nice to meet you.” You shook his hand and he gave you a smile.

 “Nice to meet you too.”

 ---

 The next morning, you were led down to the Great Hall by your new friend Cedric. You saw Harry and after asking Cedric if it was allowed to sit at another Houses table, you ran over to him.

 “Harry!”

 “[Y/n]? What are you doing here?” Harry asked as he gave you a hug.

 “Well, a couple days after you left, Professor McGonagall came by the house and said that I was a witch. Mummy convinced dad to let me go and here I am! You weren’t on the train or at dinner. Where were you?”

 “I couldn’t get onto the platform. Ron couldn’t either. And before that, it wasn’t me who threw the cake onto Mrs. Masons head. It was a house-elf.”

 “A house-elf? I knew I saw something!”

 “Yeah. So Ron had the idea to take the car and fly to Hogwarts. We flew into a tree, it fought back, and now the car is somewhere in the forest. We were almost expelled but we just got detention and a letter back home,” Harry said.

 “Well I’m glad that you’re not expelled.” You were going to say more when the twins walked up to you and put their arms around your shoulders.

 “[Y/n].”

 “You made it in Hufflepuff, I see,” Fred said.

 “Shame it wasn’t Gryffindor,” George teased.

 “I’m just glad it wasn’t Slytherin,” you said with a laugh.

 “You know the twins already?” Harry asked.

 “I do. They sat with me on the train.”

 “Come on, let’s eat.”

 The twins led you to the table and you sat between them. Ron and Hermione came up a minute later. You began to eat while Ron was taping his wand together. That’s when Ron got an owl.

 “Look, everyone. Weasley’s got himself a Howler.”

 “Howler?” You asked.

 “Just wait,” George said.

 “It’s gonna get loud.”

 And loud it was. The letter started screaming at Ron, saying that he was in so much trouble. After it was done, it blew a raspberry at him and tore itself up.

 “Well, you weren’t lying about it being loud,” you said after a few seconds.

 “At least we won’t have to worry about getting one of those from home,” Harry said. You laughed and shook your head.

[sirius-archive]

Chaos Theory Ch. 17

Pairing: Cedric Diggory x Reader, Harry Potter x Reader, Draco Malfoy x Reader, George Weasley x Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: ......bruh. you guys are so patient :') thank you so much for sticking with me even though its taken me AGES to update. Thank you for sending me beautiful messages and commenting and pretty much helping me through my writers block :'( I don't deserve it tbh.

Summary: Harry has just admitted his feelings for you, Snape is teaching you Legilimency, Cedric invited you to spend Easter at his place w his parents!

***

The days that follow an argument are always painfully awkward, to say the least.

You feel like you’re dancing around the mouth of a gaping chasm, watching Harry from the other side. It’s like the summer holidays all over again; the furtive glances, the awkward, mumbled excuses, the sinking feeling that you were being talked about in secret. It’s worse now, though, because you can’t backtrack. You can’t ignore Harry’s feelings and you can’t forget about what he had confessed, what he had practically screamed from the top of the Owlery.

“IM IN LOVE WITH YOU!”

How would you recover from this?

The morning before you leave for the Easter Holidays, you get yourself ready for the day and trudge down to stairs to the Gryffindor common room. Fortunately, Harry isn’t there, but Ron and Hermione are and they look up at you with sad smiles as you draw closer.

“Morning guys,” you mumble, fidgeting with the hem of your skirt.

Ron and Hermione echo you before Hermione asks how you’re feeling.

“Horrible,” you admit, dropping into the seat beside Ron, “I feel so guilty and really really stupid. It was obvious Harry liked me but I just ignored it...I ran away from it...and Harry had been through so much and I was such a horrible friend and a horrible person!“

“(Y/N)!” Ron cuts off your spiraling thoughts by patting the top of your head. You sigh, burying your face in your hands as Ron continues, “Look, you’re not a horrible person. Sure this whole thing could have been handled better but that doesn’t make you a bad person, Just conflict averse.”

“You’re not making it any better, Ron,” Hermione chides, waspishly.

“I’m not, am I?”

“Look, (Y/N)—“

But before Hermione can continue, Harry approaches and you jump up from your seat.

“Harry!” You Yelp and then swallow, calming your pacing heart, “How-um-how did you sleep?”

Harry shrugs, “Ok.”

“Good!”

Silence pulses between the four of you, no one daring to speak. The only noise comes from other Gryffindors standing in groups, scattered through the common room. You fingers dig nervously into the skin of your wrist.

“Hey guys,” Neville greets cheerily, waving happily, “Want to come down to breakfast with me?”

“Sure!” You spurt without thinking and rush to his side. Your enthusiasm makes Neville blush and stammer out a timid ‘cool’ before you lead him out toward of the common room.

You keep yourself preoccupied with Neville the whole time you and your friends make the short trip to the Great Hall. Though you don’t actually participate in the conversation, you fill it with enough ‘okay’ and ‘oh’s and ‘right’ to trick Neville into thinking you’re listening. It’s hard to keep track of the conversation when it’s entirely one sided, but you can’t help your drifting thoughts.

Was it always going to be like this between you and Harry? Had you just sacrificed your friendship with him because of your tendency to flee from your problems? Ron had called it ‘conflict aversion’ and he was right; by ignoring all the signs, you were avoiding Harry’s feelings and distancing yourself from your friends. This whole time, you thought they were the ones drifting away when really it was you.

And now, you were going to do it again.

Instead of sitting with your friends, you elected to sit with Fred, George and Lee Jordan, doing your best to distract yourself from your feelings. After breakfast, you walked to Potions with Dean and Seamus and didn’t stop when Ron tried to get your attention.

“Hey Pavarti,” you tack on a fake smile and she smiles back at you, “Can I sit with you and Lavender today?”

Pavarti pulls out the stool next to her and Lavender leans across Pavarti, arching an eyebrow curiously.

“Not sitting with Ron, Hermione or Harry?”

“The last time I sat with them I got put next to Malfoy.”

The girls cringe in unison. You hide your smirk as you take your seat, dropping your book bag beside you. Lavender has always been nosy but you’ve learned how to deal with her.

“Get your textbooks out,” Snape snaps as he storms into the dungeons, “You’ll be taking notes today.”

“Great, two hours of writing down words I don’t understand,” Pavarti grumbles. Snape narrows his eyes on her and Pavarti drops her gaze.

“Do you have a problem, Miss Patil?”

“No, Professor.”

Snape huffs and whirls around, taking his seat at his desk. His dark, beady eyes meet yours and you look away, unable to take the intensity of his steely gaze. The last time you had seen him, you had accidentally pried into a corner of his mind that he had wanted to keep hidden.

Sighing, you pull out your text book, parchment and quill and get to work. It’s not exactly riveting, but you welcome the distraction, taking detailed notes and forcing yourself to memorise the importance of different potions.

You don’t know how long you’ve been writing for before Pavarti suddenly nudges you, hissing your name.

“Here,” she says, handing you a folded piece of parchment, “From Hermione.”

Curious, you thank Pavarti and take the parchment, unfolding the small, torn piece. The scribble, however, is bigger than Hermione’s tiny writing and a little neater than Ron’s chicken scratch which means...

It’s from Harry.

We should talk.

You glance at Snape. He hasn’t noticed you yet. You glance at the note again.

We should talk.

You know he’s right...and you do want to talk. You want to apologise for the way you treated him, of course you do, but you’re not going to apologise for loving Cedric. Besides, you can’t write down everything you want say in a tiny note, especially when Snape is a few metres away.

Tearing off a tiny piece of your parchment, you hastily write your reply.

Not like this. Let’s talk at lunch.

Dragging your hand under the table, you nudge Pavarti and hand her the note. You feel her shift beside you as she dutifully delivers it to Hermione. Twisting around slightly in your seat, you watch Hermione stealthy hand the note to Harry who scrambles to unfold it. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and reads.

Not wanting to stare for too long, you turn around and face your book, pretending to read. Your peripherals pick up a familiar, blond-haired shape and you glance at Draco who is - much to your chagrin - staring at you. Again.

What is his problem?

Before you can mouth a curse word at him, Pavarti hands you Harry’s response. You tear your eyes away from Malfoy and read Harry’s note.

You’re right. Let’s talk tonight.

You bite your bottom lip. You’ve got a secret Legilimency lesson with Snape after dinner and then a Howler meeting after that. You scribble this onto the parchment, suggesting to talk at lunch instead, and send it through the human chain to Harry.

Harry’s response is quicker than you anticipated, and you find out why after you unfold his note.

Can’t. Got to meet with Bagman. What about tomorrow?

You swallow, tapping your quill against the note, sending tiny flecks of ink spraying across the parchment. Tomorrow, you leave for the Diggorys and you have a feeling that telling Harry that will make it worse. But you can’t lie to him either, what would be the point of that?

You tell him your plan for the Easter holidays, admitting to staying with the Diggorys, before handing the note to Pavarti.

“I should get paid for this,” Pavarti quips, her smile playful. You smile back apologetically.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s fun. Funner than doing Potions work anyway.”

You wait anxiously for Harry’s reply. Was telling Harry about your trip to the Diggorys place a good idea? Would that make things more awkward? You glance over your shoulder, sneaking a peak at Harry. His face is inscrutable as he stares at your note. How did he get so good at hiding his feelings?

He was always good. You just knew him better back then.

Pavarti whispers your name and you blink, returning to yourself. She drops Harry’s response into your lap and you pick it up, carefully unfolding it. Before you can read it, though, thin fingers swoop in and collect it.

“Passing notes are we, Arden?”

Oh shit.

“Um...”

“It was me.”

Harry’s voice is loud and clear from over your shoulder and you hear the scrape of wooden legs against the concrete floor as he stands. Snape glares at him, upper lip curled into a horrible, twisted sneer.

“Of course it was you, Potter,” he spits, venomously, “It’s always you. Ten points from Gryffindor, and you’ll both get one weeks detention after the holidays.”

Detention?! For passing notes?

Malfoy and the Slytherins snicker gleefully

as Snape throws Harry’s note into the bin.

“What?!” Harry snaps, “That’s ridiculous!”

You whip around, shooting Harry a panicked look. Harry ignores you, glaring fiercely at Snape.

“Be grateful it’s not during the holidays,” Snape snarls, “And another five points from Gryffindor.”

Hermione grips Harry’s arm and ushers him back into his seat. You watch as Harry seethes, his eyes murderous, the energy surrounding him practically bursting with rage. Why is Harry so upset about getting detention? Really, it would be more of a surprise if Snape went an hour without dishing out detentions.

After class, you race to catch up to Harry, meeting him outside the dungeons.

“Sorry for getting you in trouble,” he mutters bitterly.

That’s why.

“No it’s fine Harry, seriously,” you smile, hoping that it makes Harry feel a little more better. It works. Harry’s shoulders relax and the corner of his mouth ticks a little.

“So...Um...” he scratches the back of his neck, “We do need to talk.”

“How about after my Howler meeting?” You ask hopefully.

Harry nods, “Okay. When do you finish?”

“Around ten.”

“Alright, I’ll wait in the common room for you.”

You smile again, “Sounds like a plan.”

****

“You’ve been practicing.”

You’re not sure whether Snape is impressed or if he’s making a simple statement, but it’s the longest sentence he’s said since your lesson started almost an hour ago.

And he’s right. You have been practicing on random students, dipping into their mind briefly and making sure not to dive too deep. You’re so brief that their thoughts project back as just random jumbles, nothing you can string together, but it’s enough for you to gain an understanding of Legilimency and how powerful of a tool it can be.

“Um...yes.”

Snape steps toward you, “Practicing on fellow students without their consent is against the school policy.”

You nod, “I know but I’ve been careful. I try not to stay inside their minds enough to understand their thoughts or see their memories.”

Snape cocks an eyebrow as he stares at you for a moment. It’s as though he can’t decide whether to scold you or praise you.

“I won’t punish you this time,” he finally says in his low, menacing snarl, “But if you continue to practice on students there will be consequences.”

You frown, “So how am I supposed to practice?”

“With me,” he snips, “Or with your friends. Surely you would have told them by now.”

You haven’t told Ron or Harry...but Hermione knows. You nod and mumble an okay.

“You’re dismissed,” he says, flicking his wrist toward the door.

“Yes Professor.”

“And (Y/N)?” You stop and turn to Snape who stares at you with glinting dark eyes, “Don’t let me catch you passing notes in my class again.”

You nod again, wordlessly, before making your way out of Professor Snape’s office and toward the Howler newsroom.

It’s a short trek, and you don’t pass anyone aside from Peeves, who tries to startle you by bursting out of the wall and launching a ping-pong ball at your head. You manage to dodge just in time, rolling your eyes at his antics as his cackle rings through the hallway.

“Asshole,” you mutter.

Finally, you arrive at the Newsroom and Juniper Bishop greets you with a radiant smile.

“Hey (Y/N)!” She says, cheerily, “Long time no see, right?”

She squeezes you into a bone crushing hug and you nearly get a mouthful of her raspberry-scented hair.

“Yeah actually,” you smile politely at her when she finally releases you, “Have you been well?”

Juniper winces, “Sort of…I guess you heard about me and Rachel…”

“I did,” you say, injecting as much warmth and compassion into your voice as you can, “Are you okay?”

Juniper shrugs, “It was a mutual thing, though it’s kind of awkward now.”

You’re about to comment when Harper Shacklebolt strides to the front of the room, sticks her fingers in her mouth, and issues an ear-shattering, hair-raising, demon-summoning whistle.

Your hands fly to your ears as the high-pitched screech explodes across the room, forcing everyone else to scamper to their seats.

You find a spot beside Troy, who gives you a sunshine-warm smile and pats your back.

“Alright, shut up,” she shouts, and the last whispers of gossip stop abruptly, “We are now two months away from the third and final task. I want the Howler to reflect the anticipation that everyone will most likely be feeling as we draw closer and closer to June 24th. Which is why I want an exclusive interview with our four Triwizard champions! Start drafting and planning because our first issue will be released next Thursday.”

With a flick of her wand, a large curtain falls away from the chalkboard, revealing four photos of the champions.

Padma giggles and points at Cedric, “Did Harper find that photo in your diary, (Y/N)?”

Harper folds her arms across her chest and pierces Padma with a glare that could wither roses.

“Padma, If you spent half as much time actually working as you do gossiping about (Y/N), you might actually write something that isn’t utter garbage.”

Padmas face falls and she shrinks in her chair. You reach across and squeeze her hand under the table as Harper continues.

“This week, we’ll be focusing on Viktor Krum. Everyone needs to be on board with this - I need this to be the best series the Howler has published since its debut back in 74.”

With that, Harper turns her back and everyone gets to work.

Immediately, you lean across your desk and catch Padma’s gaze. Tears pool at the corner of her eyes and a pang of sympathy throbs in your chest.

“Don’t worry about what Harper says, Padma,” you coo, patting her hand gently, “At the end of the day, it’s just a school newsletter.”

Troy slides onto your desk and rests a hand on her shoulder, “Beaides, Harpers first article was about Filch! Not to mention she misspelled his name through the entire thing so everyone started calling him ‘Thilch’ for the rest of the school year.”

A smile slowly blooms on Padma’s lips, dimpling her rosy cheeks. She gazes at Troy with twinkling, obsidian eyes.

“Thanks guys,” Padma mumbles bashfully, “Though we should probably get started on this article before Harper snaps at me again.”

Padma reaches into her book bag to fish out her parchment and quills, glancing away from Troy shyly. Troy playfully bumps his shoulder against yours, shooting you a winning grin.

“Heard you were going to Diggory’s tomorrow...” he mutters with a wink, “Meeting the parents already?”

You roll your eyes, “I’ve already met his dad.”

“Yes but it’s the mum you want to impress,” Troy says, “You may not know this but Cedric is a huge mummy’s boy.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah, Big time. And she goes full Mama bear mode, too. She’s scary as fuck. Used to be a psychiatrist at Azkaban if you can believe it.”

You shudder at the thought. It had been terrible enough when Demontors plagued the school last year, hovering over everyone’s shoulder like a curse. You couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to work with them for longer than a year.

“Yikes. That’s...wow.”

“Yeah,” Troy crosses his arms, “She’s pretty gutsy and she’s the type of person you don’t want to cross.”

“Well that’s not nerve wracking or anything. Thanks dickhead.”

Before Troy can respond, Harper spears you with her infamous death glare. You exchange a look with Troy, who laughs, unfazed, before you both decide to get on with your work.

Grabbing your quill and parchment, you head toward Harpers desk where she scribbles frantically against the chalkboard. She hardly spares you a glance and you have to clear your throat to lure her attention away from her work.

“I suppose you want me to interview Krum, then?” You ask. Harper simply nods, continuing to ignore you. You roll your eyes at her and plant your hands on your hips, “What you said to Padma was uncalled for.”

Finally, Harper gives some indication that she can hear you, grunting dismissively.

“It was true.”

“No it wasn’t,” you argue, “Padma is a really good writer.”

Harper sighs and picks up a finger of chalk, scrawling a note in barely-legible chicken scratch, “You should know by now that I don’t settle for ‘really good.’ I settle for excellent.”

“Congratulations, you sound exactly like my father.”

Harper pauses, finally turning to stare at you, “Your father is a literary genius. To be included in the same sentence as him is the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

“Oh boy, you must not get many compliments.”

Harper flashes a smirk, but her eyes betray her amusement.

“I don’t have time for people who are too sensitive to receive criticism,” Harper shrugs, turning back to the chalkboard, “Besides, I was right. If she didn’t gossip so much and focused on her articles, they wouldn’t be so shoddy.”

You frown at the back of her head. Just as you’re about to snap at her, Colin Creevey darts in front of you, beaming up at you with rosy cheeks and a shy smile. Daisy ambles behind him, a scowl souring her face.

“Hey (Y/N),” Colin says, cheerily, “Daisy and I were wondering if you’d seen Noah anywhere.”

“The little creep has missed two meetings already,” Daisy grumbles, rolling her eyes, “And there’s no way I’m doing this assignment alone with crack kid here.”

Your brows furrow in thought as you try to think back to when you last saw Noah, “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him for a while...”

Daisy sighs and drops her camera on Harper’s desk, “The Creevey kid’s on his own. Harper can yell at me all she wants; I’m not a babysitter.”

With that, she turns on the thick heel of her combat boots and storms off, completely ignoring Colin as he races after her.

The meeting drags on for another hour, in which you and Padma draft up some questions and submit them to Harper for her approval. She manages not to scrunch up the paper and hurl it at you - which is usually a good sign - but you can tell Padma is still on edge and Harper is still stubbornly unapologetic.

Eventually, you manage to peel yourself away from the newsroom and amble back toward the common room with Dean, laughing and joking on your way back.

“I swear one day Padma is going to punch Harper in the mouth,” Dean smirks, shaking his head, “And I don’t want to be there when it happens.”

“Knowing Harper, she’d probably punch Padma back,” you muse and Dean snorts in agreement.

“Who do you think would win?” He asks, “You know, if they got in a fight?”

“Definitely Harper.”

“I think Padma would get a few good throws in.”

“Maybe but have you seen the guns on Harpers arms? She would have Padma pinned in three seconds tops.”

Dean concedes with a shrug, “Okay you’re right. Harper wins. Now...Harper vs McGonagall. No wands. Just good old fashioned fight.”

“Oooh tough,” you think for a moment, “But I think McGonagall. Definitely McGonagall.”

“Agreed. McGonagall would murder Harper in two seconds flat. But how would she go against Dumbledore?”

You paused on a large stone step, thinking for a moment, “No wands?”

Dean shakes his head, “No wands.”

“Then McGonagall.”

Dean huffs a laugh, “You seem to have a lot of faith in McGongall.”

“Who doesn’t?” You counter, proceeding up the staircase, “She’s a total badass.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Dean says before he spins around to face you, walking backwards, “Okay real talk though. Who would win: me or Seamus?”

“Seamus, definitely. Is that even a question?”

Dean clutches his chest in mock hurt, “You’ve officially been disfriended.”

“That’s not a word.”

“It is now!” He claims, before turning to the Fat Lady, “Flabberghasted.”

You follow Dean through the portrait hole and find Harry sitting in an armchair by the fire. He hasn’t noticed your return, his eyes distracted by the flames as they dance and flicked in the fireplace.

“Night, Arden,” Dean says, peeling your attention away from Harry, “And don’t forget the new word of the day is disfriended.”

Playfully rolling your eyes, you bid Dean a good night and you make your way over to Harry, clearing your throat to announce your arrival. Harry practically leaps from his seat when he sees you.

“Hi,” He murmurs

“Hey,” you smile softly, hoping it’ll hide your nerves, and nod at the fire, “You looked deep in thought.”

Harry shrugs, “I was just thinking about Sirius. I’m worried for him.”

“Me too. I wish he could live his life without having to hide. It’s the least he deserves.”

Harry nods wordlessly. Silence lapses between the two of you, spilling between the cracks dividing you.

You sigh, dropping into a couch and scrubbing your forehead in irritation, “I’m sorry about...everything. About leading you on.”

Harry chews his lip. It’s a little distracting.

“I know you are,” Harry says, as he takes the spot beside you, “And I know you didn’t do it deliberately. It just...hurts a little when the person you like doesn’t like you back. But I’ll get over it...it’s fine.”

“I shouldn’t have ignored your feelings, though. They’re valid. And, even though I’m not sorry for loving Cedric, I’m sorry for not being brave enough to talk to you properly.”

Harry tears his eyes away from the floor and for a moment your hit with a kaleidoscope of soft greens, a light show all for you. He reaches out, hesitating, hand hovering over your knee before he concedes. His hand is warm against your skin, a familiar, welcoming warmth.

“You’re the bravest person I know,” he stares and his conviction makes your heart soar, “Apart from Dumbledore.”

“Of course.”

You both laugh, like sharing a secret among friends, and it almost feels normal again, like when you were first years joking around the fire, before boyfriends and feelings and hormones.

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” Harry admits, his expression serious again, “You are one of the bestest friends I’ve ever had.”

“You too,” you rest your hand on his and squeeze, “So let’s move on. Let’s get past this.”

Harry nods in agreement. Maybe it won’t be exactly the same but at least it’ll be close.

It’s better than not having anything at all.

***

A/N prt 2

so i've been getting messages about whether I will write Reader losing her virginity to Cedric and, while I don't mind writing it, i know that there are some people who feel a bit eeky about reader being so young. (Honestly it is weird but you’d be surprised how many people want this)

So, I'm considering posting an extra chapter where Reader and Cedric do have sex on AO3 and everyone who is okay with reading it can head on over and read it. The chapter won't impact the story. However if the majority of people are okay with it then I'll post it on tumblr and AO3 and it will be mentioned in latr chapters. LMK what you think, please.

@marauderskeeper @weaselby418 @acciorinn @hervench @steph-fowlie @lilulo-12 @seunlight@thebesteleganttrashyouseen @elsie2018@polkadotfairyposts @hylianhighlander @dracosdoves@siriuswitches @bernadineisreborn @lousimusician @smolldork @danidomm@xrosegoldwolfx @ashkuuuu @sly-vixen-up2nogood@tchalland @lucifersnipnips @notorious-fiction@peppermintspecks @sleep-i-ness @reducto-bitch @who-said @mhftrs @whimsicalangels1234 @kneekoteen @steve-thotgers @qrangr @valiantlynervouschaos @bennie-badeend @gryffinclxw @fallern618 @alyenaaa @dammit-scamander @kararanae23@myhopeisinfinite @blaised-zabini @poppykoke@swansong321

@dammit-scamander @expellimarvelous @writing-for-a-chance @dynamicxdamsel @oliviaharddyy @padfootersblog @geeky-sydney3 @randomoutsiders @heqrics @marshmallowwisp @sugajam-z @lowkeyweasley

@seriouslynogood @fullmoonremus @blackisforpink @laazullii @itssosopia @random-things-thing @deeveenee @lahoete @urlindah @miraclesoflove @odinsvn @imaginexmeintheuniverse @pancakefancake @xinyourdreamsx @fiantomartell @221bee-slytherin @ranhanabi777 @tomshollandz @alohamadison @rogerscreaming @amarauder @unknowingfuck @21bruhs @brahmi99 @heirofnightandday @yourssuccubus @sarahjeanscott @sofdgray @harrypotterfan1239 @youreverydayzebra @hood-and-horan @xomkailaxo @mrsbluesmize226 @trishizzlmynizzl @thestorybook-adventure @faithsamantha @expectoevans @emilianamason

[joaquinwhorres]

The Fool (Ch. 6) {Fred Weasley x F!OC}

SUMMARY ››››› After getting tangled up with the Weasley Twins during the events of the Quidditch World Cup, Wren Collings’ life takes a turn for the chaotic. It threatens everything she has going for her, but she’s not convinced that’s entirely a bad thing.

PAIRING ››››› Fred Weasley x Female OC

WORD COUNT ››››› 4,589

WARNINGS ››››› There is no depression or mental health issues in this story, but there are mentions of death, violence, abuse, some PTSD, etc. As most of the specific warnings revolve around major plot points or are found throughout most chapters, I’m just going to rate certain chapters on the movie scale. This is chapter PG-13.

A/N ››››› General plea for validation through reblogs and comments.

Series Masterlist | Read on ff.net | Read on AO3

Wren felt sick all morning.

Ever since Fred and George had been escorted off to the Hospital Wing by Lee Jordan, she felt as if her stomach was twisting in on itself. She supposed this was a natural reaction to sending your friends to the Hospital Wing--a theory that was further solidified throughout the day as it seemed like everybody was talking about the failed attempts to enter the Tournament. Fred and George were not the only ones thwarted by the ageline, but their story was by far the most popular throughout the castle. Wren had even heard a group of ghosts gossiping about it, and several portraits had stopped her on her way to the common room to interrogate her about the incident and settle a debate as to whether their beards had gone down to their waist or their ankles.

The Common Room was not much safer in terms of avoiding talk of the Failure. Lee Jordan appeared to be holding court in the corner, recounting the story from his perspective to an enraptured audience, and even up in her room, Wren couldn't seem to get away from the terrible feeling that had made itself right at home in her core. Even her Potions' homework wasn't enough to distract her from the fact that Fred and George still hadn't made their way up to the common room yet, and it was nearing lunch.

Which was why right before noon, Wren found herself hovering outside the Hospital Wing.

It seemed to be busier than normal, which wasn't that much of a surprise, given how many names of unsuccessful entrants Wren'd heard other students throw around. She had to admit though, that she was a bit surprised at how raucous the noise was. Wren edged a bit closer to the open door, one voice rising above the others in an uncanny imitation of an old Scottish woman. "Albus, last year a known murderer and pack of Dementors roamed the school, and the year before that the heir of Slytherin opened the Chamber of Secrets. Perhaps, we could open it up to all students turning 17 this year?"

A slow measured voice responded, "Now, now, Minerva. Dementors and Basilisks are one thing, but a student died over 200 years ago from this Tournament. And even though it's now Ministry sanctioned, and we could potentially make it a tad bit safer, we must remain true to the spirit of the games, and only students who are of age can enter."

"But Albus, a student died--"

Footsteps rounded the corner, and Wren jumped back whirling on the couple who just came down the hallway.

Not a couple.

The bronze haired boy who was smirking as he said something to the girl walking beside him was Simon. He looked up from the blonde, his eyes landing on Wren who was just a step away from entering the Hospital Wing, and surprise quickly overtook his features. Still, he didn't look quite as surprised as Wendy Fairchild did, her cheeks turning a delicate pink.

"Wren?" Simon said, as if he couldn't believe that she was actually there. Then again, she could count the number of times she'd been to the Hospital Wing over the past six years on her fingers, so maybe it wasn't entirely unreasonable for him to be so shocked. Her eyes were drawn once again to Wendy, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable and very trapped. Simon stepped away from the blonde and towards Wren. "Did something happen? Are you alright?"

Her eyes shifted to the Hospital Wing's door, the noise suddenly quelled by the sound of a sharp admonishment. "I had a stomach ache, is all," Wren said, stepping further away from the door.  "Hi Wendy."

"Hi Wren," Wendy greeted, her eyes darting between the couple as the tension between the three thickened. The blonde Ravenclaw licked her lips, her eyes darting for Simon as if he'd provide a way out of the awkward situation but he was focused on Wren, the worry gone from his face, and a cool stoniness taking over in its place. A small sigh escaped Wendy. "Well, I best be going. Thank you again for the help, Simon," she offered a brief strained smile at the couple before hurrying off down the hallway.

Wren looked down at the stones between her and her boyfriend, eyes studying the grooves and dimples.

"I heard about what happened to Fred and George," Simon remarked, and Wren's stomach rolled. Words bubbled up, excuses and explanations and apologies all at the tip of her tongue as she looked up at him, but he continued. "I'm sure you see now why I didn't want you to do it."

Wren flushed and nodded her head, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Simon I--"

"It's ok, Wren," Simon cut her off, stepping forward and folding her into his arms. "I forgive you." He pulled back slightly, cupping her face in his hand. "At least you realized how foolish it'd be and pulled out."

Wren offered up a shaky smile which dissolved as Simon bent forward and kissed her, before releasing her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe next time, you'll just listen to me."

The sick feeling in her gut was worse, her insides churning in protest even as she kept her lips sealed shut, keeping her confession trapped inside. Simon looked down at her, seeming to note her silence.

He sighed, withdrawing his arm from around her. "You might as well just ask, I know what you're wondering."

Wren's brow furrowed in confusion as she cast him a look. "What I'm wondering?"

"Wren, I'm not stupid. I saw the look you gave me with Wendy, and I see the look you're giving me now. You're easy to read."

Realization dawned on Wren at what he was implying, and she quickly stumbled over her words. "Simon, I--"

"She needed help with her Alchemy work, and that's it. Nothing happened."

"I know--" Wren started again, but Simon cut her off.

"I made one mistake," Simon said. "One. And you and I both know that you're just as responsible for it happening as I am."

Wren looked to the ground, nodding her head. "I know. I…" she trailed off. "You're right. I shouldn't have even wondered. I'm sorry."

Simon sighed, his arm going around her shoulders once more. "I forgive you, I just wish you'd believe me that I love you."

"I do," Wren said, looking up into his face. "I know you love me."

He nodded solemnly. "More than anyone else ever could," he said before pressing his lips to hers and whisking her away to lunch.

Wren spent most of her lunch picking at her food and absentmindedly listening to Alicia's ranting about her parents and their post-Hogwarts desires for her and to Katie's wondering about whether everything Professor Moody did was strictly legal.

If the other girls noticed that Wren hadn't really touched her food or seemed to be preoccupied, they didn't say anything. It's possible a look was shared, but she didn't catch it.

Instead, she sat there distracted until she noticed her dorm mates getting up from the table, and she did the same, leaving behind a half full plate to follow them up to the common room.

There, she lost four games of Exploding Snap in a row, and was in the middle of losing a fifth when Fred and George burst through the portrait hole, announcing their arrival with a chorus of "Heyyyyy".

Wren's head snapped to them, watching as the twins modeled their newly clean-shaven faces, stroking the smooth skin of their chins to a smattering of applause and laughter.

Fred scanned the common room, his eyes locking on hers once he found her. He navigated his way around the couches and chairs to her. "There she is…" Fred said as he approached, and she flinched. Alicia tapped the stack of cards and looked entirely unapologetic as Wren glared at her.

"Cheater."

"Hardly," the other girl returned, twirling her wand between her fingers.

Fred plopped himself next to Wren as George sat next to Alicia, throwing himself into her lap. She shoved him off, and with a dramatic sigh, he switched to laying in Angelina's.

"About time you're back," Angelina said, tugging at George's ear. He winced, swatting her hand away. "How long does it take to fix a couple of beards anyway?"

"Longer when Dumbledore interrogates us for the secrets of our near success," Fred said, catching Wren's startled glance. "Don't worry--we told him we couldn't divulge any information."

"He seemed to understand but mentioned he'd be much obliged if the recipe  should ever end up under his office door," George said with a grin at Wren.

She flushed, shaking her head. "It didn't even work. I mean you two could have ended up--"

"Maybe it didn't work, Fred cut her off. But no one else even made it through the age line. We're the only ones to have crossed it."

"It was a good bit of magic, Wren," George agreed.

"But it just as easily could have landed you in the Hospital Wing for more than a few hours," Wren argued, and the group exchanged looks.

"I thought we'd been over this," George said, sitting himself up. "It was a minor risk, yeah, but we've taken bigger risks with our own testing."

"Besides, I doubt Dumbledore would have put any enchantment on the Goblet that could harm students if the whole point was to keep underage witches and wizards from entering," Angelina reasoned.

Wren wet her lips, turning this over in her mind. She still couldn't help but feel guilty for her failure, but what made her feel even worse was not the fact that she could have hurt Fred and George, but that she was disappointed her potion hadn't succeeded.

"Come on," Fred said, nudging her shoulder with his own. "You've got to admit, it was at least a bit thrilling to give it a go."

The corner of her lips traitorously twitched up. Around her, her friends made sounds of approval, George even reaching forward to shake her leg excitedly.

"He really came to ask you about the potion?" Wren asked, and Fred nodded solemnly.

"Seemed genuinely interested too," George added.

Wren offered a real smile then, and the group seemed to (accurately) take that as an end to the  conversation.

The rest of the afternoon passed happily. George finally ended Alicia's streak in Exploding Snap and Lee came into the Common Room about an hour later and recounted recent would-be entrants' failures for them. Now that Wren wasn't wracked with worry and guilt with Fred and George, she was able to laugh along with the rest of the group, especially over Lee's dramatic impersonation of Milicent Bulstrode breaking down into hysterics over her newfound beard.

By the time it was dinner, the events of the morning felt like they had passed weeks ago, and Wren traipsed down to the Great Hall with the group more than ready for the Halloween feast.

She wasn't, however, ready for the selection of Champions. Her heart stilled for a moment as Cedric's name was pulled from the cup, her eyes skipping over the group of Hufflepuffs shaking his shoulders and cheering, and instead focusing on Nora.

If Wren were in Nora's shoes, she'd be pale. But instead her cousin was alternating between clapping loudly and cupping her hands around her mouth to cheer.

She was only silenced when a fourth name came out of the cup.

In fact, the whole Great Hall went quiet for a beat. And then another one. And then the whispers started, moving through the room like wind rustling through the trees.

"Harry got his name in?" Angelina hissed next to Wren.

"How?" Katie whispered back, her eyes moving to Wren, but Wren was already focused on Harry, whipping his head around with surprise and saying something hushed and quick to his friends. Dumbledore called him up to the front table and her eyes followed his path, a clawing tightness in her chest as she watched him pass behind Fred.

How had he, a fourth year who by all accounts was not the smartest in his year, managed to get across the age line when the combined minds of her, Fred, George, and Lee hadn't managed it?

Her jaw clenched as a hand closed over hers. "Hey," George said, leaning across Angelina to get her attention. "If You-Know-Who wasn't able to kill him as a baby, you won't be able to now, even with that look."

The joke, coupled with Harry's disappearance into the chamber behind the professors' table, drew the small group's attention to Wren.

"I'm not trying to kill him," Wren protested as Dumbledore and other adults disappeared into the back room as well. With the disappearance of those in charge, the hall grew noisy once more, the chatter electric. "I just don't understand how he got in is all."

The look of mild annoyance on Fred's face melted as he took her in. "She's jealous!"

"Am not," Wren huffed.

"Come on, Wren, a win for Harry is a win for Gryffindor," Angelina said, but her smile was a bit tight, and Wren felt a bit embarrassed at being jealous when Angelina, who had legitimately entered, hadn't been chosen.

"And more than that," Fred said, bending his head forward conspiratorially. "It's a reason to party."

By the time Harry Potter, the guest of honor and very reason for the party, arrived at the Gryffindor common room, the party was in full swing. Students had come together to lay out a solid stash of snacks on a few tables, and Fred and George had procured a few cases of Butterbeer in a suspicious amount of time. This of course meant that everyone was almost vibrating with excitement to greet Harry. Indeed, all of Wren's friends left her the moment he came through the portrait hole to bombard him with well wishes and questions.

Wren, for her part, hung back with Alicia, making her way through a bag of crisps while staring warily at Harry. "Reckon he'll tell anyone how he did it?" Wren asked as Alicia took a long sip from her butterbeer.

"Harry?" Alicia asked, her voice a bit raw from the carbonation. "Probably not. He's rather tight-lipped. It'd be easier to get it out of Ron."

Wren nodded, scanning the room for the twins' younger brother. As her gaze skipped from redhead to redhead, none of them belonged to Harry's best friend. "Where is Ron?"

"This is really bothering you, huh," Alicia asked, her expression sympathetic. "I know you wanted it to work, but honestly Wren, it was always a long shot. The twins knew that."

Wren had no intention of trying to get Ron Weasley to tell her how Harry entered, but she would have been lying if she dismissed Alicia's claim outright.

She had known it'd been a long shot too. She always had a healthy dose of skepticism throughout the endeavor.

But she couldn't get rid of the small, irritating feeling of disappointment that scratched at the back of her mind.

She doubted Dumbledore would want her potion recipe now that someone had had an actually successful workaround.

"Why the long face?" Fred asked, walking back up with George. Over their shoulders, Wren could see Lee tying the Gryffindor banner around Harry's shoulders.

The two followed her gaze and Fred snorted. "Still on about that, then?"

"No," Wren said petulantly. The twins exchanged a knowing look, and she scowled, swatting at them. "I'm not!"

Fred's eyes darted over her shoulder, and she whipped around to catch Alicia mid-nod before pretending she was sipping from her drink.

"I'm not!"

Fred and George exchanged another look, although this one seemed to be more of a conversation between two pairs of eyebrows than just a look.

"Alicia, we're stealing Wren," Fred announced, wrapping an arm around Wren's shoulders and guiding her forward before Alicia could even respond to the statement. George trailed after the two of them, the group stopping in a relatively quiet nook of the common room, away from the thick of the party.

"It has recently come to our attention that you, Wren Collings, are a natural born inventor."

Wren quirked an eyebrow, staring dubiously back at Fred. "What?"

"You're upset that you didn't find the solution to the age line and Harry did," George filled in.

"Plus, you greatly enjoyed the plotting involved in making our potion," Fred nodded.

"So we were talking…" George started

"And we think you'd be an excellent addition to the Weasley Wizard Wheezes product development team," Fred finished with a smile.

"The what?"

"Fred and I have always dreamed of opening a joke shop. We've been working on a few products over the summer," George explained.

"Fake wands."

"Tom-tongue toffees."

"Trick quills."

"And we think that your mind and potions and Herbology expertise would help us with our next  venture," Fred said.

"Your next venture?" Wren repeated.

"Puking pastilles," the twins chorused with a nod.

"Puking pastilles." What they were proposing was so ridiculous, Wren wasn't able to come up with a coherent original thought. Instead she was turning the idea over in her mind--product development with the Weasley twins. It was true she'd enjoyed developing the aging potion with them, but that had been a one time thing. A deal. And even then it hadn't worked. Now they wanted her to come up with entirely original recipes for members of the public to eventually consume? She could poison all of London. Or worse, she could--

"You're spiraling," Fred said matter of factly. "I can see it right here," he said, poking at the crease between her eyebrows, and Wren slapped his hand away. He grinned at her. "Come on Wren, this is an exciting new venture. Nothing to get too in your head about at this stage."

"I just don't think I--"

"If this is going to be another self-deprecating statement, I should warn you. You're wasting your breath," George interrupted, holding up a hand.

"We happen to think you are nothing short of a genius, and there isn't anything you can say to convince us otherwise," Fred added.

Wren blinked at them. "I--" they cast her reproachful looks and she switched directions. "Thank you."

Fred smiled. "I'm going to take that as confirmation that you're in."

Wren shook her head, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. It would be easy to tell them no. To stick to the plan of just studying for her classes and spending free moments trying to track down Simon. But she didn't want to.

"Yeah," Wren said with a tentative smile. "I'm in."

While working with Fred and George on the creation of puking pastilles was fun and often led to Wren laughing so hard her sides hurt, it was still, at its core, work . She was fairly certain she had never used her brain so much. Not even for NEWT-level Potions or Transfiguration.

Still, there were far worse uses of her time than being tucked away in the common room or a corner of the library, drawing up plans and theories with Fred and George and sometimes Lee.

"I need a break," Wren announced, placing her book on top of the stack they had pulled.

"Breaks are for the faint of heart," George said automatically, not even bothering to look up from his reading. It had been the line the three used to keep each other on track.

"I fear I'm going into heart failure," Wren answered, dramatically, dropping in her chair. "If I have to read another line about common Italian plants' side effects, I think my heart will finally give out."

"Alright Georgie, I think a break's in order. We don't want poor Wren's heart to explode," Fred said, snapping his book shut.

"So when Wren's going through heart failure, we get a break, but when I'm dying of boredom, you just eulogize me."

"That's about the size of things," Fred nodded, and George grinned, shutting his book and looking over at the two. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance, a look of curious confusion crossed his face.

"Hullo," he greeted, and Wren turned to see Simon walking towards the group.

"Hi, love," Wren smiled up at Simon. His bronze hair curled above his eyes, and she reached out a hand for him. He shot a quick look at her and then at the Weasley twins, keeping his hands firmly in his pockets. Wren curled her hand back in, resting it on her shoulder as if that was what she intended to do. "What are you doing here?"

"Searching for my girlfriend," Simon offered a small smile. "Have you seen her?

"Simon," Wren laughed lightly as Fred and George exchanged mortified looks at the excuse of a joke.

"Oh! I hardly recognized you. Haven't seen you in ages."

"Ha ha, very funny," Wren smiled and let out an exhale as if he was joking, but he had that look in his eyes that she knew too well. He turned to Fred and George.

"So you're the reason my girlfriend's gone missing."

"What can I say, our presence is a delight." It wasn't the tone of Fred's voice as much as the look of George's face that made her stomach drop.

"Thank you for sharing Wren with us," George stepped in. "Must be hard to let this one go."

"Indeed," he swiveled to Wren. "Speaking of which, have a second?" Simon asked, flashing a seemingly charming smile. Wren looked up at him, and a flash of fear, which she hoped was unnoticeable, crossed her face. She slowly nodded.

"For you? Always," she said, standing up to follow him. Had he heard about George? What did he want? She had heard that tone of voice before, and it never ended well. She followed him a couple of rows over so that it was deserted and nobody would hear them.

"I didn't realize you three were so close," he commented, his voice still friendly, but in the dangerous phase. If Wren thought that her research was going to give her heart failure, she was certain that this conversation might give her a heart attack. It pounded away in her chest, as she racked her brain for an explanation. She had a feeling after Simon's reaction to the aging potion that he wouldn't particularly care for the truth.

"We're not that close," Wren dismissed. "We've just been studying together this year, is all. They're a whiz at Charms, and honestly this NEWT schedule is keeping me so busy--"

"Wren," Simon stopped her. "Don't insult my intelligence."

"What?"

"You're lying. I can see it all over you. What are you really up to with them?"

"What am I really up to?" Wren repeated, her heart beating faster. "Studying. Simon, where is this coming from? Why are you upset?"

"Why am I upset?" Simon asked. "After how you acted when you saw me walking down the hall with Wendy? I should have seen that you were projecting--accusing me of cheating while you're off spending your  afternoon in a dark corner of the library with the Weasley twins!"

"Simon, it's not like that. You've just been busy and I—" Wren started to argue, jerking away and shutting her mouth quickly as Simon shoved a finger in her face.

"Do not turn this into my fault."

"It's nobody's fault. There's nothing wrong here!" Wren began to grow hysterical. "You're reading into things that aren't there."

"So I'm crazy?" He dropped his hand, but moved closer to her, and she took a half step back.

"No, of course not," Wren held her temples "I just--there's no reason to be upset. I would never choose them over you. I-I'll go tell them I have to go. We can go to the courtyard, or wherever you want. "

"Don't even bother. I don't want to be your pity pick. Just go back to them," Simon scoffed, shaking his head. "At this point, I'm used to being left behind. Makes sense you'd do it too."

"Simon, I'll come with you. Just let me get my stuff. Please--" Wren reached forward grabbing his arm, and he snatched it away from her, sending her toppling into a bookshelf. A few books came loose, tumbling to the floor in a messy pile.

"You always do this," Simon's lip curled. "Make a mess of everything. I wonder if your precious twins will put up with half the things I do." Wren watched him leave, trying to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. He was right. She did always make a mess of things. She knew what she should have done--what she should have said. She should have packed up as soon as he came over. She should have told the twins she'd see them in class and told him she had more than a second--she had hours for him. She shouldn't have argued.

Wren wiped away a few tears as she bent down to begin picking up the books and finding their proper places. Footsteps approached the end of the aisle, and her head snapped, hoping Simon had come back.

"Everything ok?" Fred asked, standing at the end of the aisle where Simon had been moments before. Wren quickly glanced back at the book she was shoving into the shelf, as if that would hide her splotchy red face.

"Fine," her voice came out high and not quite as lighthearted as she'd hoped.

"And that's why you've decided to take up a part time job as a librarian?"

She let out a sigh that could maybe possibly be construed as a laugh. "No, I just--um--we stumbled into the books." She hoped that would explain the red face if not for Simon's conspicuous absence.

"Ah," Fred nodded, and she could hear the disbelief in his voice. "And where is the other half then?"

“He…he had to run off. Prefect duties. I told him I'd handle it.”

Fred's eyes rested on her, as she picked up another book and shoved it between two other ones, not able to even concentrate on making sure they were in alphabetical order. She couldn't understand why Fred had taken it upon himself to interrogate her. He was silent even as she picked up another book, as if for once he were carefully choosing his words.

"Must've run off pretty quick. I came as soon as I heard the books."

It was Wren's turn to furrow her brow at him. "Why?"

“What happened here?” George appeared over Fred's shoulder, stopping him from continuing the sentence.

“Simon couldn’t keep his hands off Wren,” Fred said to George. Wren flushed from the choice of words.

George wiggled his eyebrows at Wren. “Kinky.”

She turned redder if possible and Fred’s jaw ticked.

“Need a hand?”

Despite the fact that George asked the question, Wren looked at Fred. “That would be lovely.”

George moved around Fred and picked up the last few books, sliding them onto the shelf.

“Thanks, George,” Wren smiled. He reached over and squeezed her hand. His brow furrowed slightly. Wren looked over his shoulder at Fred who caught her eye before turning and heading back towards their seats. She looked back at George and offered a tight smile, standing up. "Let's go back to take our break."

[crcwned]

under the cut, you’ll find some ships and plots i want to write. this is a non-exhaustive list and there are way more that i’ll probably remember as soon as i post this, but if you’re interested in any of these, leave a ♡ and i’ll come to you about plotting !

ships ; ** bold denotes the fc i would prefer to use ; no bold = no preference !

an/a de armas x b/en barnes

an/a de armas x marg/ot robbie

an/a de armas x mich/iel huisman

an/a de armas x oliv/er jackson-cohen

an/ne hathaway x ch/ris hemsworth

an/ne hathaway x ch/ris pine

an/ne hathaway x jes/sica chastain

bai/lee madison x cha/ndler kinney

bla/ke lively x hen/ry golding

bla/ke lively x cha/ce crawford

eliza/beth olsen x ch/ris evans

eliza/beth olsen x ch/ris wood

eliza/beth olsen x mich/iel huisman

eliza/beth olsen x seba/stian stan

eliza/beth olsen x to/m hiddleston

flo/rence pugh x to/m holland

jes/sica chastain x os/car issac

jo/die comer x jo/e keery

kris/tine froseth x al/ex fitzalan

kris/tine froseth x tho/mas doherty

kris/tine froseth x to/m holland

lau/ra harrier x mich/ael b. jordan

li/ly james x mich/iel huisman

marg/ot robbie x ch/ris evans

marg/ot robbie x ch/ris hemsworth

marg/ot robbie x mich/ael b. jordan

marg/ot robbie x sebas/tian stan

mil/a kunis x sebas/tian stan

prisc/illa quintana x tho/mas doherty

vict/oria pedretti x dy/lan arnold

vict/oria pedretti x dy/lan o’brien

vict/oria pedretti x pe/nn badgely

zend/aya x to/m holland

zo/ey deutch x dy/lan o’brien

plots

couple that’s fallen out of love but can’t actually split up because of some kind of external factor ( not enough $$$ to move out, pressure from family, kids, etc. )

couple that actually has broken up but still runs in the same circles and will probably just end up getting back together

pairing where they’re both in committed relationships but would rather be with each other ( + maybe they have some kind of history / unresolved feelings )

anything domestic ( moving in together, getting engaged / married, having kids, etc. )

anything involving fame / high-status / royalty 

mumus where everyone’s connected somehow ( especially if no one minds their own business !!! )

[fanficsandthings]

Through the Years, Ch. 3

A George Weasley Fanfiction

A George Weasley x Slytherin reader story. Each chapter shares events in one year of George and reader’s life together.

Word Count: 3k

Year 1, Year 2

Year 3: Redheads 

The snow fell heavily as you looked out the shop window, and it occurred to you that they would be rounding up all the students soon. They would want you to get back to the castle before the weather got too out of hand. Looking around Zonko’s one more time, you left the shop with the items you had bought and started to look for the twins.  Honestly, you were surprised that they hadn’t immediately beelined it to the joke shop, but maybe they were off thinking about their own little inventions. Fred had started to dabble in making potions he shouldn’t be messing with, and George was happy to learn right along with him, no matter how disastrous things could turn out. A couple weeks ago at breakfast you were sitting at the Slytherin table, having an idle conversation with Adrian Pucey about the latest quidditch match, when Lee Jordan walked in, the whole of Gryffindor turning their heads to look at him.

Adrian leaned across the table to whisper to you. “I heard the entire Gryffindor tower woke up in the middle of the night last night because there was an explosion in the third year boys’ dorm.” Your head went into your hands, and you let out a small grumble. “It was the Weasleys, wasn’t it?” “From what I heard, yes,” Adrien said to you, your forehead now resting on the table as you stared down at your lap. “They’ve been getting in a lot of trouble recently.” You slowly raised your head to look over to where Lee was now sitting at the Gryffindor table, the twins nowhere in sight. “They’ve been on a prank kick lately. Excuse me; I may need to make sure they aren't dead.” You got up from your seat and made your way over to Lee, who you noticed had lost a few inches of his hair overnight. “Hey, Jordan!” He turned to look at you. “Have a rough night?” He let out a laugh and said “No, I just woke up with my hair on fire is all. You can thank your boyfriends for that.” Ignoring his comment, you pressed him further. “What’d they do this time?” “I’m not sure exactly, but it involved standing over my bed in a very creepy fashion. And a loud explosion. And then fire. And then going to the infirmary,” Lee explained. “They’re still there?” you asked him. He nodded. “And I’m assuming it’s not too bad since no one seems to be in a huge panic.” “Just a couple burns that’ll take a day to heal fully,” he said. “Thanks, Lee,” you said, starting out of the great hall towards the infirmary. You entered the infirmary, your eyes finding Fred and George. They seemed to be the only ones in the room, sitting upright in parallel beds as they enjoyed a meal that must have been brought to them. They looked relatively normal besides the fact that Fred was missing half of his right eyebrow, a faint red burn mark making its way from just beside his right eye up into his hairline. George looked perfectly fine. and You thought maybe he had made it out of this incident unscathed, and he was just giving Fred company in the hospital wing. He must have caught a glimpse of you out of the corner of his eye, because he suddenly stopped his conversation with Fred and waved his hand at you, telling you to come join them. That’s when you saw the bandage on his left hand, wrapped around his palm and halfway up his arm. “I saw Lee Jordan a few minutes ago. What antics did you two get up to last night?” you asked the both of them, sitting on the edge of George’s bed. You reached over to his plate and attempted to sneak some food off it, but he smacked your hand away before you could. “Hey!” George gave you a glare, pulling his plate farther from you. “We’re the injured ones here. Get your own breakfast.” “You wouldn’t be injured if you didn’t try ridiculous stunts at two in the morning,” you informed them, looking between George’s hand and Fred’s face. “Now seriously, what were you trying to do to poor Lee?” “We were only testing out a potion,” Fred started to explain. “We thought we had it correct.” “Well, unless it’s a potion that causes explosions, I would say you’re very far from perfecting it,” you said, laughing at them. “It was meant to change the color of his hair,” George told you, now offering some of the food on his plate. You gladly accepted it. Fred continued on explaining. “We wanna make something that has a permanent effect, unless magically reversed.” “We know Zonko’s has a product that’ll change your hair color, but it’s only for a matter of minutes,” George told you. “We’d like to go for a more dramatic effect than that.” While the twins were talking, you absentmindedly studied the bandages around George’s palm and wrist. They were fresh, having been changed recently. You wondered what his injury looked like underneath. You feared it was worse than Fred’s, seeing as his warranted no bandages. You knew that by now, Madam Pomfrey had healed them as best she could, and they would be perfectly fine by this time tomorrow, but you still worried. “Try boxed hair dye next time.” you stated absentmindedly, your hand moving closer to George's on it's own accord. “What?” they both asked at the same time, looking at you in confusion. You snapped out of your thoughts, moving your hand back to your side. “You’ll have to be sneakier about it, and it’ll take longer and be 100% harder than using magical means, but it works,” you said, continuing your speech without really giving them an explanation. “You could put it in someone’s shampoo. Now, that’d be funny. Imagine Malfoy coming out of the shower with bright pink hair.” You let out a loud laugh, mostly to yourself, as Fred and George still had no clue what you were going on about. “Would you like to explain ‘boxed hair dye’ a little further?” Fred asked you. You looked between them, confused. A circuit in your brain connected after a few seconds. “Right, right, right. Muggle stuff. It’s literally just a dye that you put in your hair to change the color. Comes in a little box with instructions. Some of it stains your hair, and some of it washes out after a couple showers, so you’ll definitely want one that’s known to stain.” “Could you get us some?” they both asked. “I could ask my parents to mail me some, maybe.” You pondered this thought for a moment. “I think I have a better idea though. I’ll get back to you on that thought in a few weeks. I should get going, classes start soon.” You got up to leave, but turned around quickly. Glancing between their injuries real quick, you settled your eyes on George’s hand. “Please no more injuries. You worry me.” You turned back and hurried out the door, hoping not to be late to your morning class. “She was looking at you when she said that, George,” Fred teased his brother with a wink. George half heartedly threw a pillow at his brother. “She was talking to both of us.” “But she was looking at you,” Fred said, picking up the pillow and throwing it back. —————— Now, stepping outside Zonko’s, the wind was harsh, so you wrapped your scarf tighter around your face. You wanted to make a quick stop at Honeydukes before heading back to the castle. From down the street, you spotted Fred and George leaving the sweets shop. They started to walk in your direction, and you were about to scoot past them when they grabbed onto both of your arms and pulled you to the side.   “What’re you two doing?!” you scolded them as they dragged you into an alley. “I wanna go to Honeydukes real quick.” “No need for that,” Fred said as he let go of your arm. George pulled a small brown bag out of his coat pocket. He held it out towards you. “We bought you your favorites.” You took the bag apprehensively and looked inside. Everything seemed to be fine with the sweets inside. You looked between the two of them. “Why?” The twins spoke at the same time, but completely different sentences this time. “Because we’re such good friends,” is what George said. “Think of it as a sort of bribe,” is what Fred said. You narrowed your eyes at George, staring at him as you asked, “What sort of bribe?” You turned your head towards Fred for an answer. “It’s been weeks since you said you had an idea for our hair color predicament, and we haven’t heard a thing about it,” Fred explained to you. You rolled your eyes at them. “Be patient, boys.” You pulled the bag from Zonko’s out of your pocket and took a small vile out of it. Opening the vile, you drank it and watched the twins as your hair slowly turned to a bright ruby red color. “Now we’re all red heads, huh.” They both let out a small laugh, and Fred said, “We told you we already know about Zonkos, but we want something more permanent.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time,” You said, handing the rest of the bag over to George. “There’s five more bottles in there. Use them to deconstruct the formula. You don’t always have to start from scratch, you know. You’re both smart enough to find a way to make that permanent.” As soon as the last word was out of your mouth, Fred scooped you up into a tight hug, lifting your feet off the ground. “You’re smarter than the both of us combined. I can’t believe that we didn’t think about that. Why work harder when you can use other peoples’ successes to further your own?” “If that’s what you want to take from that, then sure.” You laughed as Fred sat you back on the ground. You looked around Fred’s shoulder at George, who was examining one of the viles. “Think you can figure it out, Georgie?” He looked up at you smiling, partly because he liked it when you called him that, and partly because this idea was absolutely brilliant. “Definitely.” “Good. Now we should get going before we get caught in a blizzard,” you said, looking up at the sky. The snow fell heavily, easy to see against the dark backdrop of the buildings you were standing between. You reached and grabbed Fred’s hand, ready to pull him with you through the crowd. You stepped close to George to grab his hand too, but you stopped short when you remembered that hand was the one that had been burned. It had been weeks ago, and you knew it was completely healed by now. There wasn’t even a scar; it was like it had never even happened. Still, you were worried that you might hurt him if you grabbed it too hard. It was an irrational fear, but you couldn’t help it. You quickly grabbed his other hand, hoping he hadn’t noticed your hesitation. You pulled them both behind you, and you were just about to step out of the alley when you stopped suddenly, the twins almost running into you. You could see little footprints in the snow. Pawprints, leading to a small crate at the edge of the alleyway. Following the small prints, you could see the tip of an orange tail sticking out of the crate. You let go of the twins hands, and slowly walked over to the crate, careful not to startle the creature. The twins looked between each other, confused, but they quietly walked up behind you anyway. Making little clicking sounds with your tongue, you urged the creature to look at you. It’s tail disappeared fully into the crate, and you were disappointed for a moment before you saw two orange ears pop up, and then you could see the creature's whole face. It seemed to be just a common house cat. You bent down to be eye-level with the cat, pulling the twins down with you, hoping not to scare it away. You slowly raised your hand up, leveling it a few inches from it’s face. “Come here, sweetie,” you urged it. “What’re you doing out in the cold all by yourself.” It stretched it’s neck out to sniff your hand carefully. After a moment, you felt comfortable enough to try to scratch behind it’s ear. It let you, and you slowly let out the breath you were holding. Fred and George hadn’t moved at all behind you, and you were thankful for their stillness. The cat hopped out of the crate and made it’s way to rub against your leg. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing,” you said down to it. The cat moved from you and rubbed it’s head on the top of George’s shoe. You smiled softly at the two of them. “I think it likes you, George.” He just smiled back at you as he scratched the stop of the cat’s head. “I think we should take it back to the castle,” you said suddenly. “What?” Fred asked you. “This could be somebody in town’s pet.” “Look at it,” you said, gesturing vaguely to the animal. “It’s very skinny, it doesn’t have a collar. I say it’s a stray. What do you think, George?” “Hmmm?” George looked up at you from the cat. “Why does my opinion matter?” “You’re the tiebreaker,” you told him. He thought about it for a minute. “Mum doesn’t really like cats.” You frowned at him. “Well, it wouldn’t be your cat. It’d be our cat. And I’d be more than willing to bring it home with me on holidays.” George was still bent down, and the cat now had both of it’s front legs on top of one of his knees. “Then I say go for it. It is pretty cute.” You let out a laugh of pure happiness. You bent down fast, careful not to scare the cat away. Hugging George from the side, you squeezed him as tight as you could, almost losing your balance. George felt you both falling and put one hand on the ground fast enough to catch you. “I could kiss you right now, George Weasley. I’m so happy.” You looked from him to the cat in front of the two of you. You watched it as it scratched it’s ear with it’s back leg. You didn’t even notice George freeze completely solid underneath your arms as you said those words. You did kiss him. Quickly on his cheek. He barely even noticed it, but afterwards his entire face lit up almost as bright as your current hair color. As you let go of the hug, George did fully lose his balance, falling completely into the snow. You unwrapped your green and grey scarf from around your neck and slowly approached the cat with it. You were careful when you picked it up, examining it quickly before you brought it close to your chest. You wrapped it loosely in your scarf, hoping to keep it warm. You knew that as soon as you left this alley, the wind would be much worse “It’s a girl,” you told Fred and George as you turned back to them. Fred was currently in the process of helping his brother off the ground. “I think we should name her Minnie.” “Minnie?” George asked as he wiped some snow off his legs. “After McGonagall,” you explained to them. They both laughed at that and agreed. Minnie it was. You quickly handed her to Fred and brought a disposable camera out of your coat pocket. “I wanna remember this moment exactly.” The twins huddled together as you stood in front of them, and Fred held Minnie to the side of you. You took a quick picture, hoping it would look good when you got it developed over the holiday. You slipped the camera back in your pocket and grabbed Minnie back from Fred. “She looks good in Slytherin colors, don’t you think?” you asked, admiring her wrapped in your scarf. You looked at the scarves the twins were wearing. “Much better than that ugly red.” You laughed and dodged out of the way as Fred tried to hit you on the arm. You stepped out of the alley and suddenly felt the wind harshly on your face. Your hair whipped around; you could see that the red had already faded from it. You shivered and pulled Minnie as close to you as you could, pushing your face down into your jacket. Suddenly, there was a flash of red in front of your eyes, and you turned to see George wrapping his scarf around your neck as you walked. You wanted to object, but you felt warm and fuzzy, and you didn’t want that feeling to leave you. “You look pretty cute in that ugly red,” George whispered as he pulled away from you. Knowing your cheeks were now burning the same color as the scarf, you buried your face into it, hoping to conceal the blush. You chose to ignore him, instead looking down at Minnie, who was basically asleep in your arms. You took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the Gryffindor scarf you now wore. This was honestly the happiest you had ever felt in your life. George fell behind you to walk in step with his brother. “I told you I could flirt back.” Fred grinned at his twin. “Well done, George. Well done.”

[snakeeeater]

young maiden [ch. 3]

cedric diggory x reader

[a/n: i’ve updated the ending of ch. 2 so if you’ve been reading the series before dec 6 2020, you should take a look :D totally optional of course! <3]

Dear Mr. Diggory,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for your sixth year. Please find the enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment and make the necessary purchases. The term will begin on the first of September, 1994 and we await your owl no later than 31 July, 1994.

Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

***

How did the years pass by so fast?

One minute, Cedric could have sworn he wasn’t able to reach the second-highest shelf of kitchen pantry without standing on a chair, and now his mother asked him to grab biscuit tins from the top.

He didn’t remember outgrowing his favorite oversized yellow jumper, or his first broom, and he certainly didn’t remember when the teenage girls at school started to turn red as a Muggle firetruck around him instead of ignoring him like a tiny pubescent pest.

It seemed that only constant in this ever-changing life was the young ghost he’d met four years ago.

***

The beginning of the school year was the best part of the year.

The doors to the hall opened, sending in a flurry of older kids. Some of them spotted you, yelling “Hey!” in greetings.

After everyone was more or less seated, Minerva McGonagall lead the terrified-looking first years into the hall. They looked everywhere, hungry eyes eating at all the wonderful things in the Great Hall. Some of them stared at the ghosts in shock, their jaws dropping open when they saw you.

You smiled warmly at a small cluster of them and gave them a little wave, to which they all exchanged awed looks.

“Yo,” Cullen, one of Cedric’s Gryffindor friends yelled at you as he slid onto the house table’s bench. He’d actually grown a bit over the summer despite the last few years, bringing him to about five feet and nine inches. “Anything new happen?” Whenever he came back he asked the same question.

“No,” You thought about it for a second. “Well, Peeves planted Dungbombs in Filch’s office for a solid week.”

Cullen’s face flashed with an brilliantly evil smirk. “What did he look like?”

You shrugged. “The same way he does when you, Fred and George Weasley, and Lee Jordan do something.”

Cullen sighed, a dreamy look crossing his face. “I wish I were there to see it,”

"Hey guys,” Nathaniel’s unmistakable American accent .

“Nat!” Cullen grinned.

Nathaniel blushed a little and then turned to you. “Cedric wants to see you. Astro tower before curfew. Couldn’t tell you himself because he’s got the tour with the new kids.”

“He misses me already?” Cullen asked, running a hand through his bright blue hair. Ever since he turned thirteen he’d been magically dying it crazy colors for the year. “I mean, who wouldn’t?”

“No, stupid,” Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Maid.”

You looked across the Great Hall towards the brown-haired Hufflepuff prefect. He caught your eye, waved hello and pointed at Nathaniel. You waved and nodded, also pointing at him.

“Is that a married couple thing?” Cullen wondered out loud.

“What?” You asked.

“Communicating without words,” He tapped the side of his temple with his index finger. You saw that over the summer he had accumulated even more rings. “Married couple telepathy. Secret hand signals.”

If you were living, you would’ve blushed-- hard.

“You can’t marry a ghost,” Nathaniel said, sounding extremely annoyed. He was a Pureblood, making it difficult to see the Muggleborn Cullen act oblivious towards everything magical.

“Then... how did Nick get a girlfriend?” Cullen gestured wildly to Gryffindor’s resident ghost who was showing off his nearly detached head to the new kids.

“Because,” Nathaniel said slowly, as if talking to a small child. “They’re both ghosts.”

Cullen nodded, seeming to find this a satisfactory answer. He then turned to strike up a conversation with a fifth year that had been eyeing him since he sat down next to her. Nathaniel frowned a little, walking over to where George Weasley sat.

“Well,” You said to nobody in particular. “Have a nice dinner!”

***

The Astronomy tower was empty. Not a surprise, it was normally empty.

Most students didn’t go anywhere besides the Common rooms anyways, wanting to catch up their friends on everything that went down over the summer break. 

“’Lo,” Cedric said, walking into the balcony.

“Hello,” You felt yourself relax. Around Cedric you just felt... safer. It was odd, considering the fact that ghosts weren’t ever really in danger, but he had this sort of gravity to him that made you feel protected. “How was your summer?”

“It was...” He laughed a little, loosening his tie slightly. Since Cedric was living, you couldn’t make out the yellow-and-black on his tie as clearly as yours. It was like a hazy shade of gray covered all of him, dulling the colors. “It was quite the experience.”

“How so?” You prompted. Like Cullen, he’d also gotten taller.

“Well, you know how I said my dad was taking me to the World Quidditch Cup Finals?”

“Yes,” Ever since he’d gotten the owl from his dad in July he’d been anticipating the moment, talking excitedly about the different teams.

“Ireland defeated Bulgaria!” He shook him head like he still couldn’t believe it. “Oh, I wish you could’ve come. I thought for sure Bulgaria would’ve had it in the bag because they had not only Viktor Krum-- who’s probably the biggest genius of our generation-- seeking, but Lev Zograf keeping!” 

You nodded. When Cedric went off about modern quidditch teams, it was best to let him speak. You two exchanged the best moves you’d seen over time and talked about how he could further improve his seeking.

Cedric leaned against the wall and slid down, sitting on the floor. “But man, Ireland’s chasers... ‘specially Aidan Lynch! He was injured but he managed to continue,” You sat down next to him. “Oh, but the Krum from Bulgaria caught the Snitch to end the game on his own terms so it was Ireland 170 and Bulgaria 160 but man, it was a brilliant game.”

“Do you have photos?” You asked.

Cedric nodded. “Just not with me right now, maybe tomorrow I’ll bring them to show you.”

“That sounded awesome,” You sighed.

“It was,” Cedric mimicked your tone and let the back of his head rest against the cold wall. “Until the Death Eaters attacked.”

You were so taken aback, you lost your focus and floated upwards to the domed ceiling of the Astronomy tower. Cedric looked up and laughed.

“Death Eaters?” You asked, trying to land on the floor properly but you keep phasing through the floor and walls. “Is everyone okay?”

Cedric stood up, holding out a hand for a split second. He then shoved his hand into his robe pocket, probably realizing you wouldn’t be able to grab it. “Everyone’s fine, it was quite a scare though,”

“What happened?” You asked once you were properly standing on the floor.

“Oh, that’s a long story,” Cedric rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean I know I’m a prefect so it’ll be okay if I return late but...” He chuckled. “I don’t know if you want to sit here and listen to me ramble.”

You gave him a reassuring look. “I have all the time in the world.”

***

[next part]

[a/n: the only sport i can write/play/analyze properly is baseball so if there’s some inconsistency about quidditch or quidditch teams just ✨ignore it✨]

[taglist: @joalinbenefits @truly-insatiable @adoregin and @just-that-bi-girl <3 if you’d like to be added to the taglist, reply to any of my posts or shoot me an ask!]

[jordiespace]

Blog Post #8 - Virtual Communities How has Animal Crossing: New Horizons differed from its original principles? Animal Crossing: New Horizons emphasizes the importance of doing tasks. Tom Nook has now given the user a smartphone, in which they are able to earn Nook Mile tickets. Instead of chatting with villagers, users tend to go through the never ending cycle of tasks to reach their accomplishments. Players are motivated to do these specific tasks in order to gain intrinsic pleasure, and knowing that it will be valued. How are personal testimonies from Black users and creators a powerful tool on social media? Users were sharing their experiences with police in different locations throughout the nation. This counter-acted the false narratives being shared by officials. I believe that hearing these testimonies, not only makes it more personable, but also shows that these issues are not in only one part of our country. This is a universal issue that needs to be addressed. These videos give those who are not Black first hand experience of what Black people can face on a daily basis. What is Hacktivism? Hacktivism is a social movement where a direct action is taken on the Internet on virtual politics. This is where users will use their computer skills to hack others. They justify their actions by stating that it is for a political cause, in order to legitimize their activity. What is the choreography of assembly? Choreography of assembly is the use of social media when directing people to specific protests or events. There are suggestions on how to act, and how to emotionally sustain in public space, when coming together. Choreography adds the idea of symbolic mediation of bodily action. Assembly is the importance of media technologies to create a community that is sustained. Until next time!
xoxo Jordan Sources Bogost, I. (2020, April 17). The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/04/animal-crossing-isnt-escapist-its-political/610012/. Eichler, C. (2018, February 20). Fuchs ch. 4: Social Media and Communication Power. Medium. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://medium.com/cu-boulder-cmci-social-media-storytelling/fuchs-ch-4-social-media-and-communication-power-2104bb622997. Lee, L. A. (2017, March 5). Black twitter: A response to bias in mainstream media. MDPI. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/6/1/26. Vegh, S. (2013, August 21). Classifying forms of online activism: The case of cyberprotests agains. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203954317-9/classifying-forms-online-activism-case-cyberprotests-world-bank-sandor-vegh.

[that-bi-bitch-writes]

The Rumor Around Hogwarts (Ch.4)

Chapter Four: The Train Ride There

1k+ Words a lot of it is taken from the book but as always I added a lot of [Name] in to make it.... chaotic and slightly angsty

Still uses he/him pronouns for now and later addition of they pronouns will be announced before the chapter. Hope you Enjoy!!!

Last  //  Next

“What the actual hell- Ow, heck i meant heck.” [Name] choked out while rubbing the back of his head

“Mhm sure you did”

“Anyway you mean to tell me I have to run at a wall.”

“Yup”

“In a muggle train station”

“Yes”

“In the middle of the day?”

“Look, do you want to go to Hogwarts or not?”

“I mean I do but-”

“If you don’t you’ll only disappoint Harry” [Mother’s name] interrupted

[Name] hesitated before responding “I’m sure he’ll be fine he like defeated an evil lord as a baby of course he can run at a wall and make other friends”

“[Name] if you miss the train I’m not taking you to school myself”

And just as [Name] seemed like he’d be okay with that aspect (anything to not embarrass himself in public really) all his hopes were completely crushed

“And I’m not taking you back home to ride on the house elf express”

“Okay but if I die or embarass myself I’m gonna have to find a way to jinx you or something. Maybe i’ll tell that weird muggle mailman you find him cute and force you to flee the country”

“You wouldn’t”

“That’s what you think”

[Name] seemed to gather the courage of all his ancestors (may they rest in peace) and ran straight at the obvious death trap. He had a chosen one to meet after all. He closed his eyes right before impact only to have his senses assaulted by the sounds and sights of something completely unexpected

‘Wow' he whispered under his breath

“I told you so”

“Alright alright I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. But I mean you’re not exactly the most trustworthy. If I needed someone to help me cover up a crime maybe, but a prank that could end in bodily harm..”

[Mo. Name] pretended not to hear a word as she fussed over [Name], the train departing soon. She’s a mother, she couldn’t help it. After running down a long list of things [Name] should have (And did) pack in his trunk she gave a forehead kiss and pushed him off to the trains. As he got on she did the unthinkable.

“Bye baby!! Momma loves you. Tell Peeves I said Hi’

Yeah [Name] definitely wasn't gonna be popular now. At least… not in a good way. There’d be rumors around hogwarts. And he’d be in the center of them.

          ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry sat alone in an empty compartment after all the hustle and bustle that came with parents seeing their children off for the first time. And could’ve sworn he had heard someone say something about being peeved. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red headed boy he had seen earlier came in.

“Anyone sitting there?” he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. “Everywhere else is full.”

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn’t looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.

“Hey, Ron”

The twins were back

“Listen we’re going down the middle of the train- Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula down there.”

“Right,” mumbled Ron.

“Harry,” said the other twin, “did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later then.”

“Bye” said Harry and Ron. the twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

“Are you really Harry potter?” Ron blurted out

Harry went to nod but the compartment door slammed open once again

“Harry there you are. Thank God I found you.” [Name] gasped out “My mother totally embarrassed me as I was getting on the train screaming about someone named Peeves and she called me BABY. Anyway I’ve been trying to find you without drawing to much attention to you or myself.”

Harry had wondered how [Name] had said so much in one breath. He didn’t know [Name] to be particularly talkative. He of course had his moments when he’d stand up for someone but Harry had always seen name as a little bit of a worrier or an outsider like himself.

“Sorry." [Name] said almost as if he read Harry’s mind “It’s the nerves. I’m super glad that you’re not alone but I’m also jealous I didn’t get to you first.” [Name] continued as he moved to sit next to Harry.

“What were we talking about? Oh yeah he was asking about your chosen one status which is kind of cool and lame at the same time. Is that offensive?”

“Have you really got - you know?” He pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. And surprisingly [Name] did too.

“Y’know as close as we are for two people who only met twice, I realized I haven’t gotten a good look at you Harry.” [Name] realized turning all of his attention on the resident Chosen One

Harry and [Name] stared at each other for a moment. [Name] was curious as to who the boy who lived really was and why he was drawn to him. It was like they were meant to meet up. At the Zoo, in Diagon Alley and now hopefully they would remain on the same path at Hogwarts too.

Harry on the other hand was staring at [Name] in appreciation. They were strangers, yet [Name] came to Harry’s rescue so naturally. Ron was to be a good friend to Harry, he’s sure of it, but it was different with [Name]. Their friendship wasn’t founded on titles, or reputations, or anything but mutual respect and destiny perhaps? If he were more naïve he might’ve attributed this feeling to a crush.

“So that’s where You-Know-Who-? Ron interrupted the staring contest

“Yes” said Harry “but I can’t remember it”

“Nothing?” Ron said eagerly.

“Well- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.

[Name] got incredibly bored of the topic, not really keen on discussing Voldemort’s attack on Harry so he began looking out the window like the main character. Only catching flashes of the conversation and adding his own commentary when appropriate. Apparently Ron had 5 brothers and a little bit of “a lot to live up to” but being friends with the chosen one was sure to give him some stories to tell..

[Name] didn’t interrupt with much about his family because he’d already talked about his embarrassing mother and there was nothing else to talk about but his incredibly large and empty house which would have made him a little uncomfortable and slightly awkward. Y’know since he was talking to an orphan and a poor kid with a huge family. How could either of them relate?

What he did however pay attention to was Harry’s bravery and generosity. Apparently he was only a little bit of an oblivious idiot. Sure he proudly said Voldemort’s name (a trend [Name] hoped to follow) but he was smart enough to realized in the wizarding world at least he was rich and could splurge a little bit on the less fortunate *ahem* Ron *ahem*

“Go on, have a pasty” said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry’s pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten.)

“What are these?” Harry asked Ron and [Name] holding up a pack of chocolate frogs. “They’re not really frogs, are they/” He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him

“No” said Ron “But see what the card is. I’m missing Agrippa”

“He has no idea what you’re talking about, look at his face” [Name] laughed out. Ron followed his line of sight and chuckled at Harry’s confused face as well.

“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t know - Chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know to collect - famous witches and wizards. I’ve got about five hundred, but I haven’t got Agrippa or Ptolemy.”

Both Harry and [Name] removed the cards from the chocolate frogs. Harry got Dumbledore which set his curiosity aflame once again. [Name] kept his a secret for dramatic effect of course. After answering his questions Ron asked for a chocolate frog as well only to get Morgana.

“Well Ron” [name] started “if you show me a trick, I’ll give you this” flipping over the card Ron’s eyes went wide at the sight of a Ptolemy card.

After a long conversation about the dangers of eating Bertie's ever flavored beans (which [name] would never even touch) Ron eventually worked up the courage to perform a spell when the toadless boy from earlier appeared, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

“Has anyone seen a toad? Neville’s lost one,” she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.

“We’ve already told him we haven’t seen it,” said Ron, but the girl wasn’t listening, she was looking at the wan in his hand.

‘Oh god.’ [name] said to himself as the girl’s thoughts assaulted him and drowned out the obvious awkward silence in the car ‘this girl may have redeeming qualities, or at least I’m hoping she does but she needs to get over herself’

“Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.”

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback

“Er- alright” he cleared his throat

“Sunshine daises, butter mellow, Turn this stupid fat rat yellow”

He waved his wand but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

“Are you sure that’s a real spell? Said the girl. “Well it’s not very good, is it? I’ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it’s all worked for me. Nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but…

[Name] having heard most of this speech in his head already tried to tune her out and gave a snort at the end of her rambling when Harry and Ron looked at each other incredulously. Only a little offended when he heard Harry's comparison of Hermione to the nervous [Name] earlier

They all introduced themselves but Harry’s introduction led her on another tangent about him not looking himself up as if this was a common thing to do?? Then she asked what houses they thought they’d be in before leaving, taking the toadless boy with her. Poor Neville.

“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not in it”

“I doubt we’ll be in the same house Ron” [Name] realized “you’ll probably be in whatever house your brothers are in”

“Gryffindor” Ron spoke up

“Right, and Harry will probably be with you where as I’ll end up in Slytherin probably”

The car went silent a bit before [name] spoke up again “I know what you’re thinking. Literally. I never had a Ptolemy card. I only said that because I wanted to show off my powers as a legilimens. I can see into your mind basically and I made you see what I wanted you to see. Don’t worry though I won’t like brainwash you or anything. Wouldn’t want to be a typical Slytherin and end up a dark wizard.

[Name] got ready to flee the cart after that whole speech and he could tell Ron felt kind of guilty but [Name] couldn’t risk Harry hating him. He was going to the house that produced Voldemort after all. He rushed out of the cart as some blond entered probably because Hermione had spread the rumor about seeing the chosen one.

Before [Name] knew it he was facing his newest worst enemy. The sorting hat.

[toomuchquidditch]

On the Pitch

Year 1. 1989. The Train

Annabelle Finnigan was rushed to the train by her mother and father, her small body shoved in as the last whistle blew. A crew member righted her, before walking down the corridor.

She held her bag to her chest, avoiding some of the upperclassmen who shoved past her.

She found an empty compartment in minutes, and settled in, curling up by the window, and rested her head against the cold glass as the train rumbled, it's wheels turning.

She was so excited. Hogwarts! She was going to Hogwarts! The school her mother raved about, the one she'd said she'd never get into!

She pulled out her wand, admiring it, and hugged it to her chest. It was warm to the touch and fit perfectly in her hand.

She placed it back into her bag, and pulled out two books. One on hexes she managed to sneak into her mam's bag, and a Quidditch book. Weighing them in both, she ultimately chose the book on hexes.

As she opened it, a loud bang came from outside, and the compartment door opened, two bright red heads of hair tumbling in, smoking.

Another boy with locs rushed in after them, slamming the door shut and pressing his back against it. Annie looked at them wide-eyed, before her brows furrowed. She cleared her throat, and the three boys froze, turning to look at her.

She covered her mouth to cough, the sound echoing in the silent compartment, before she closed her book and slid it back in her bag.

"What're you lads up to?"

The boys relaxed, steadying themselves before they made themselves at home in the compartment. The two identical redheads sat on the seat across from her, their long, gangly limbs folding at odd angles, while the other boy sat next to her, giving her an enthusiastic smile.

"Lee Jordan" he stuck out his hand, and she took it hesitantly, shaking it.

"Annabelle Finnigan"

"That's got a nice ring to it!"

"Why are you lot smoking?"

"Set off a dungbomb in our older brother's compartment" one of the twins snickered, "gave him a right fright" at that moment, the end of his hair lit.

"Oh bloody hell!" His twin cursed, smacking the boy's hair with his sleeve pulled over his hand, trying to dampen it.

"Here" Annie grabbed her wand and pointed it at his head, "Aguamenti" a jet of water expelled from her wand and drenched him, putting the fire out.

"Scourgio" He was dry again, and he looked at her with awe.

"Where'd you learn that????"

"Our books. That's the first time I've tried it."

"Wicked." He stuck his hand out.

"Fred Weasley. Annabelle, was it?"

"I go by Annie"

"Annie"

"George Weasley" as soon as the first twin's hand was out of hers, the second had replaced it.

"A pleasure"

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The four had warmed up to each other quickly, soon cracking jokes and laughing, creating boisterous noise.

By the fourth hour, Fred and Annie had already gotten into an argument, both too stubborn to back down until a soft knock was heard on the door.

The four first years turned their head as it slid open, revealing two girls. The shorter one with disheveled hair and untied shoes spoke first.

"Any room?" She asked, stepping further into the compartment.

"Does it look like there's room?" Fred quipped back.

"Don't be rude" Annie snapped at him, and he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Sorry, we're pretty full."

"Rats" she turned to her slightly taller friend, the one with a kind smile and a head full of curls, "Guess we've got to keep looking."

"We were booted out from our last one" the friend explained, readjusting her hold on her bag, "sorry to bother you."

"It's no problem!" Lee smiled at them cheerfully, "you first years too?"

"Yeah. I'm Maisie" the shorter girl responded, "and this is Bennett" the other girl waved.

"Oi! I remember you!" Fred grinned, "Cindy Ellie, right?"

Maisie scowled at him.

"Oh! The wand shop!" Annie grinned, "you nearly hit me!"

Maisie's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry-"

"It's alright! I've got fast reflexes!" Annie three a few uncoordinated punches in the air.

"Well I hope you find a place to sit soon" Lee waved.

"Try not to trip over your laces!" Fred snickered as the girls started to leave. Maisie smacked into the window across the hall as she tripped. Bennett helped her up and guided her down the corridor.

Lee shut the door behind them.

Annie turned to Fred "Did you have to be so rude?"

"Do you have to be so annoying?" He dodged the kick she aimed at his calf.

"Careful Freddie, Annie's got a hex book in her bag" George switched places with his twin.

"Exactly"

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

As time wore on, the light outside dimmed to a musky grey. The twins had seemed to be the only ones who had brought lunch, and gladly shared their mountains of sandwiches their mother had packed them with Lee and Annie.

As the sky turned from grey to black, a sharp knock sounded on the door before it slid open, revealing a weasel-looking boy with a pinched face and shocking ginger hair.

"Excuse-there you two are!" His face turned into a frown as he lunged into the compartment and grabbed Fred and George by their collars.

"Hello Perce!" Fred greeted jovially, struggling out of his brother's grip.

"Long time no chat!" George unhooked his brother's hand from his shirt, "What can we do for you this lovely evening?"

Their brother, Percy, was turning redder by the moment.

"You set off a DUNG BOMB and EMBARRASSED ME in front of my FRIENDS!"

"Tough luck on that-"

"We weren't expecting it to hit you in the face-"

"We were aiming more for your shoes-"

"Enough! You both are coming with me. I have your robes. We'll be arriving soon." He stormed towards the door, before turning around, "do not leave me waiting"

"Oi, why do we have to listen to you?"

"Because I will write mother"

"Ooo so scary! Isn't it George?"

"Like you would."

"She will send you a howler-"

"Do you think we care? Not like she hasn't yelled at us before."

"I'll tell her you both snuck on the things you weren't supposed to bring. Remember that lecture? Because I do"

The twins went silent, before grumbling and grabbing their things.

"Bye Annie"

"Bye Lee!"

"I suggest you two change as well, bathrooms are to your left"

The three boys exited the room, leaving Annie and Lee.

"Well, I'll get changed, I'll make sure to knock when I get back" Annie grabbed her bag and headed out.

Once she'd gotten changed into her robes, she looked into the mirror, her dirty blonde hair mussed and her bangs sticking up. She huffed and tried to flatten her hair down as best as she could before she exited the bathroom, bumping into someone.

"Sorry" a thick, Scottish accent answered. She looked up to see the most beautiful boy she'd ever laid her eyes on.

"H-hey" She stuttered, dazed.

"Ye alright lass?" He picked up the bag she'd dropped and handed it to her. She nodded dumbly, still not answering.

"Ok then" he nodded, before continuing on his way. She watched him until he disappeared into the next car.

"Wow" a big grin split across her face.

She was going to like it here.

Wattpad

A03