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littlemissnoname13 · 3 years

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Wisps of Smoke (Draco Malfoy x Slytherin!Reader) - Part four

Summary: Y/n and Draco find themselves drawn to an abandoned classroom every night

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Slytherin!Reader ft. Pansy Parkinson, Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini

Warnings: Excessive smoking, Drinking, mature language and themes, sex, masturbation, 18+ content, reader discretion is highly advised

A/n: as always, thank you for reading WOS. This story has gotten so close to my heart over the last few weeks of writing it and I am grateful for every one that read part 1,2,3. And to everyone who guessed the Astoria plot line, Damn ya’ll are too good!

I’d like to stress that smoking is injurious to health.

Word count: almost 4000

Part One, two & three if you haven’t caught up already

Thursday (Continued)

With his palms resting flat on the shower wall and his grey eyes fixed on the floor below, Draco allowed the lukewarm water to trail down his body and calm his nerves.

Between the restlessness he’d felt after his father’s visit and the stinging feeling of remembering just what was expected of him, he’d barely managed to sleep a wink for three consecutive nights.

And how could he have gone to sleep when he knew you were in that classroom—waiting for him in your silky little dress.

Oh..wait a minute.

He smirked to himself when he remembered that he had destroyed the top half of your dress in an attempt to tug it off your shoulders.

You looked absolutely stunning with the bottom half of your dress pushed back as you spread your legs wide open on top of a classroom desk—he had fucked you so fucking hard that day.

Draco wrapped his hand around his length and began to pump slowly as he recalled the way you wrapped your legs around his torso as he moved in and out of you.

Your moans.

He wondered if you were even aware of the effect your moans had on him.

The way his name slipped out of your cherry lips and the way your tits bounced with every thrust only made him want to drive deeper into you.

He let out a sharp grunt as he started to pump harder, fantasising about all the places he’d fuck you in.

He’d press you up against the shower wall and push himself deep into your cunt from behind, he’d lay you down on his desk and eat you out till you were a quivering mess before driving in and out of you, he would bend you over one of the common room sofas and fuck you so hard and fast if he ever got the chance to.

He’d make you cum time and again till you were sore and dripping with his release—fuck.

Draco let his high take all over him for a brief moment before opening his eyes when he heard his dresser drawer creak.

He dismissed the strange sound and washed the remaining soap from his body before stepping out and towel drying his hair.

“Draco! Y/n is here to see you.”

Astoria? What on earth is she doing here? This can’t be good.

He frantically wrapped the towel around his torso and stepped outside the bathroom.

“Y/n what are you doing here?” He asked, observing the eye bags under your eyes. You were wearing a loose fitted white shirt with the sleeves pushed back and the top two buttons undone.

If Astoria wasn’t gaping at the exchange between the two of you, he would have had you pinned against the wall already.

“I—I Just—” you began but before you could reach the end of your sentence, Theo jogged up to his door and stood right next to you, panting.

“Oh, you’re all here.Good.” He said with excitement saturated into his voice. “Apparently, there’s a party this Saturday night in the room of requirement and we are going—I am not taking no for an answer.”

“That sounds like so much fun.” Astoria grinned and looked at Draco expectantly,making your stomach twist.

“It’s not like we have a choice.” Draco muttered still looking at you while Astoria beamed at him.

“So, Y/n you were saying something?” Astoria politely turning the conversation back to you.

“I actually just came in here to talk about the party too.” You lied looking Draco directly in the eye.

Friday

Even though you were walking to class while bumping into a sea of students, your head was somewhere else.

But of course Malfoy was sleeping around with other girls!

How could you have forgotten?! Maybe he was shagging Astoria outside that classroom the other nig—

“Going somewhere?” Draco asked as soon as he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you into a gap in the corridor.

“Yes, Away from you!” You spat angrily. “And I don’t appreciate you lurking around, pushing me into a wall every chance you get.”

“I just needed to talk to you y/l/n.”

“About what? Your girlfriend?” You blurted, instantly regretting your decision.

“She is not my girlfriend.”

“Oh yeah? Then what is she?!”

What you heard next made the ground crumble from beneath you and you couldn’t help but wish you had paid more attention to your mother’s letters—especially the one about the announcement at the New year’s ball.

~~~~~~~⚜️~~~~~~

Dear Y/n,

Your father and I are looking forward to having you back home for Christmas.

It will give us some quiet family time before the New Year’s Ball hosted by the Malfoys. I’ve heard it through the grapevine that young Malfoy is getting betrothed to one of the Greengrass sisters and they will officially be announcing the betrothal that night.

Isn’t that absolutely fantastic?

Let me know what sort of dress robe you’d like to wear to the Ball this year. I will make necessary arrangements.

Send my regards to Adrian.

Love,

Mum

~~~~~~~⚜️~~~~~~~

Saturday

Vodka always tasted unpleasant to say the least. In fact, it burned.

But it burned a lot less than the burn you felt watching Astoria reclining against Draco across the room.

Vodka always gave the worst type of hangover and with every gulp, you knew you were on a steady path to a regretful morning after.

But the morning after drowning yourself in unadulterated vodka shots was better than watching the soon to be Fiancé of the boy you were slowly harbouring feelings for wear his blazer on top of her silver sequinned dress.

What kind of a deranged person gets jealous over someone that was never theirs to begin with?

You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from the ridiculously attractive blonde boy dressed in all back, knocked back a few shots and happily accepted Pansy’s hand as she pulled you to the dance floor.

One minute you were jumping around with Pansy, Blaise and Theo and the next minute, you were seeing nothing but pitch black darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Firm arms gripped your waist as you staggered back to your room after blacking out at the party. In all honesty, the person walking you wasn’t much help either with his bloodshot eyes and unsteady footsteps.

“You— you shouldn’t have walked me to my room.”

“I know.” Draco said simply as he watched you walk shakily up to your door.

“Go back to the party Draco.” You said with your voice wavering as he slowly inched closer and closer to you till you were firmly pressed against the door. “You know you shouldn’t be here right now.”

“I know.” He said once again before pressing his own Firewhisky laced lips with yours. “I know.”

Maybe it was the intoxication, maybe it was the way he held firmly onto your waist as his tongue collided with your own but you used your wand to unlock your door with your mouth still attached to his.

Both of you entered the room bumping into furniture, leaving a trail of clothes all the way to your bed.

Sunday

“What is happening to this world again? Can someone please walk me through?— I am simply too hungover right now.” Pansy groaned, scratching her head as he opened the door to your shared dorm with Theo and Blaise right behind her.

Having partied all night long, all three of them were too tired to make sense of the scene in front of them.

“Yeah, I thought Malfoy was with Astoria now.” Theo scratched his chin at the sight of your head on Draco’s chest as you both slept.

Pansy’s eyes widened when she heard Astoria’s name as she quickly ran inside the room.

“Wake the fuck up you idiots.” She yelled using her wand to draw away the curtains making Draco groan as the morning light hit his eyes.

“What’s all this ruckus about.” You mumbled snuggling closer to Draco as your eyes slowly opened to see a glaring pansy accompanied by Theo and Blaise.

“I have invited Astoria up here to hang out with us, so both of you have a lot of explaining to do before she gets here.”

Monday

“So let me get this straight.” Theo began, as he took a long drag from one of Draco’s cigarettes. “Both of you have been fucking around—traumatising poor Blaise for the last two weeks, correct?”

Draco rolled his eyes, scoffing as he lit up another cigarette while you shrugged.

The four of you were at the astronomy tower, reclining against the railings as the day faded away into a chilly winter evening.

“And you two claim that you are not together, correct?”

At this, both you and Draco turned to look at each other—as if questioning each other about the status of your relationship.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” You finally said, slowly breaking eye contact with Draco. “He is getting betrothed to Astoria anyway.”

“And you’re okay with this?” Pansy asked, her face barely visible from all the smoke she was exhaling.

“Never been better.” You lied, reaching for a cigarette for yourself. You placed the filter end in between your lips and lit it up, inhaling quickly.

The second you did, tears automatically started to stream from your eyes as you started to cough.

Draco shook his head and turned to you.

“Here.” He muttered taking a step towards you, before taking a deep drag from the cancer stick in between his fingers.

With his free hand raked inside your hair, he pulled your face closer to his until his lips were barely touching yours.

“Inhale y/n.” He murmured, as wisps of smoke left his lips and entered yours.

You were too preoccupied by his proximity to notice the gagging sounds your friends were making beside you.

Tuesday

On your way to the library after class, you heard the voice of Lucius Malfoy right outside the dungeons.

He was going on and on about a ring and how irresponsible Draco was for not getting one made already. Christmas holidays were nearing and Lucius was sure Draco would tarnish the Malfoy family name by not having a ring made on time.

You simply didn’t understand why the Malfoy’s couldn't just use an old family heirloom but you decided to not question it as you walked past them—watching the tired and defeated expression on Draco’s face.

Wednesday

Draco lay on his bed, fiddling with an oval cut emerald ring with the letter “M” engraved on the back of it. The ring had been with the Malfoy women for generations and he simply could not picture the ring on Astoria’s fingers.

And even though he had no say on his betrothal, he wanted to have a say on the ring and so he had insisted on getting something else made for Astoria.

But the last two weeks had gone by in a matter of seconds so he did not find the time to, and could not even be bothered to go and have another ring made.

He had known about his impending engagement since the beginning of the year. He’d taken Astoria out several times but he knew there was nothing to that relationship besides sex and chaste kisses on the cheeks exchanged during family dinners.

He didn’t really mind at first, everything felt fine and he simply craved the validation of his father.

Draco was doing just fine before you came along.

Sure, life was a little lacklustre. The sky wasn’t as azure, his morning coffee wasn’t as aromatic, and cigarettes were simply means of deteriorating his lungs.

But now, things had shifted a little.

He felt happier than he had felt in a really long time.

Just as he was opening up his drawer to put away the family heirloom, you knocked on his door—looking breathless.

“I’m sorry but I overheard your conversation with your father and I think I might be able to help.”

“Huh?” Draco asked, tilting his head,watching you as you grabbed his left hand and dropped a shiny Amethyst ring in the palm of his hands.

“I had it made for my birthday last month.” You shrugged, it’ll help you keep your father off your back till you get another made.”

If he hadn't fallen in love with you already, he surely did in that particular moment, as he pulled you into his arms, desperately crashing his lips on top of yours.

Fuck validation.

Fuck everything.

Fuck everyone.

Thursday

Your back firmly pressed against his bare chest—his heart beat calm and steady.

Draco had his arms wrapped tightly around your waist as he possessively pulled you closer to him the way he always did.

That is how you had woken up.

Cuddled up with him in his incredibly snug and comfortable bed within four walls enclosed with the smell of bourbon, mixed with the smell of soap, sex and his absurdly expensive cigarettes.

Even with your eyes still shut, your lips couldn’t help but curve upwards when you felt his breathing gently tickle the back of your neck.

That is how you had woken up that morning and you honestly wouldn’t mind waking up like that for the mornings to come.

“Morning Y/l/n.”

His raspy and deep morning voice sent shivers down your spine as his soft lips came in contact with the spot right below your ears.

“Morning.”

He continued to sensually suckle and nibble that particular spot and you suddenly found yourself wanting to be suckled and nibbled on other places.

“Draco.” You hummed pushing yourself further into his embrace. There was something so fulfilling and satisfying about the way you fit into each other's embraces. Entangled arms, limbs and all.

The hands that were wrapped securely around your waist now trailed upwards until they found your breasts.

The feel of his hands taking their own sweet time—softly kneading your sensitive flesh was enough to have you writhing against him

He made sure to take his time and give equal attention to both your breasts, using his slender fingers to pinch and tug at your hardened buds till you were pushing your hips further back towards him—craving friction, any type of friction really.

“Easy now.” He lazily whispered into your ear as you started to grind your hips urgently against his erection aching to feel him inside of you again.

You were empty and missed the feeling of being full but he was nowhere near done with worshiping your breasts—making you restless and impatient with each squeeze.

“Draco.” You tilted your head backwards and sighed into his neck.“I—I need you to fuck me. Please—I just want to feel you inside me.”

Draco let out a small chuckle at the directness of your words.

If someone had told him that the same girl that tried to hex him so many times in the past would be saying that to him, he would have told them to get themselves checked at st. Mungos.

“Relax Darling. I’ll take take of you.” He murmured before trailing his lips down your neck and towards your shoulder placing mellow and relaxed kisses all the way.

“Draco please.” You whined, grinding your hips harder—desperate tears threatening to leak out of your eyes when you felt his hand on your hip, slowing you down.

“That’s it. Such a good girl.” He whispered encouragingly into your ear as you let his hands guide you—moving your hips in excruciatingly slow circles against him while he resumed kissing your neck and bare shoulders.

“Atta girl. Yes that’s it. Keep doing that.”

His kisses were a stark contrast to his lustful, ravenous and angry kisses from the previous night and the kisses only left you craving even more.

“Please Draco—Fuck me. Please just fuck me.”

“Look at you, begging for it.” He said in a hoarse whisper as the tip of his cock made contact with your already soaking wet folds and all you could do was let out a muffled moan into your pillow.

The tip of his cock only slipped halfway inside of you before he pulled out again, teasing.

“You’re dripping wet.”

“Draco..” you whined.

“Tell me darling, who made your pussy this wet?”

“You did. Draco Lucius Malfoy—Only you.”

He loved hearing you beg, he loved it only second to the way you said moaned his name and so he finally entered you allowing his cock to completely stretch you out and fill you up.

With his perfect teeth bared, Draco peppered kisses onto your shoulders, nibbling gently as he rocked his hips at a slow but steady pace—all the while mumbling sweet nothings into your skin about how well you took him, and how good he felt being inside of you.

The way his skilled hands tugged, twisted and pinched your nipples made you feel an other worldly sort of pleasure��causing you to whimper and moan his name,moving your own hips, trying to feel him deeper inside your walls.

“Shhhh—easy there.” He whispered against your neck. “Just let go.. Focus on feeling every inch of me buried deep inside your pretty little cunt. Can you do that for me?”

You nodded and stopped moving your hips and used one of your arms to hold onto his neck as you relaxed into him.

“That’s it y/n, Just like that.” He coaxed, running his hand up and down your body before firmly resting on your hip as he fucked you nice and slow.

There was something different and unexpected about his thrusts, something strange and foreign about the way he used his thumb to rub slow and sensual circles on your clit.

“You feel so good y/n. Your pussy feels so amazing.”

Your moans muddled into one and his movements rocked the bed as he made love to you, pushing you closer and closer towards your orgasm.

“Fuck—Im so close.” You moaned, burying your head deep into the pillow as Draco picked up his pace pushing his cock in harder and deeper with each thrust.

“Oh fuck. yes Draco..yes.” You moaned as he dug his nails onto your hips forming crescent shaped indentations as he pushed himself deeper, hitting just the right spot over and over again, making your walls clench up.

“Draco…”

“Cum for me, Angel. Cum with me.” He groaned,making both of you ride out our highs till his warm seed spurted deep inside of you.

When he pulled out of you, some of the warm liquid had already managed to seep out of you and trickle down your inner thigh.

After taking a brief second to catch his breath, Draco shifted lower into the bed till he was in just in between your legs.

“I could get used to waking up like this.” He smirked looking up at you. His platinum blonde hair was slightly wavy and kind of fluffy, falling on his forehead but not yet covering his stormy greys.

“Like what?” You teased.

“Don't play with me y/l.n.” He warned with a wicked gleam making the grey hues in his eyes brighten into a brilliant. It felt like his eyes changed colors from blue to grey according to his moods.

“I could get used to waking up like this too.” You said softly as he tried to push back everything that had managed to trickle out.

Right before Draco could even reply, his door creaked open.

“Malfoy, Astoria is waiting for you in the common roo—fuck not this again.” Blaise groaned as you pulled the sheets over your body.

Friday

On your last evening at school before Christmas break, you found yourself perched on the windosill, nestled in between Draco’s arms and limbs in the classroom that started it all.

The pad of his right thumb traced slow, almost lazy circles on your hand while he held his cigarette in his left hand.

The lit tip of his cigarette was the same shade as the sunset in the tangerine sky and you took deep breaths to try and soak him and the smoke rings that escaped his lips up because you weren't sure if you’d get to be with him again.

“What are you doing y/l/n?” He asked when he noticed you breathing in and out.

“Nothing.”

“Please.” Draco chuckled, taking a long drag from his cigarette. “You have that look on your face.”

“What look?” you asked, turning your head to look at him—the way the last rays of the setting sun caught up on his eyelashes only making you fall harder than you already had.

“This look y/n.” He kinked his eyebrows and tried to mimic your expression. “This is the look you have on your face wherever you are up to something—like when you try and fix your failed potion in Potions class. Actually, you even make this face when you mix sugar into your tea.”

“Im just—” You clicked your tongue in frustration. “I’m just going to miss this, I guess.”

Your words made his expressions soften because he understood.

How could he have not?

He had spent the whole of last night watching you sleep—the way your chest was rising and falling, the way your heart was beating against his.

He had spent the last hour trying to store the scent of your fruity shampoo deep inside his memory banks because he wasn’t sure if there would be a next time.

“Let’s stay back at Hogwarts” He mumbled, pulling you closer to him. “It’ll just be us, it will be good.”

“If only.” You sighed as you rested the back of your head at the crook of his neck. “But I have to go back home and explain the whole situation with Adrian and you…”

Both of you went silent for a bit.

“Give me your hand y/n.” He finally broke the silence as you turned around and looked at him quizzically. “I want to give you something.”

You turned your body around so you could face him better. The strong winter breeze blew his hair towards his eyes, making you want to reach up and push those stray hairs away. Instead, you simply placed your hand on his.

“Close your eyes.”

You rolled my eyes at him before squeezing your eyes shut.

“Are they closed?”

You nodded and you felt him slip something onto your finger and you quickly opened one eye to take a peek and It didn't even take you a second to realize he had slipped an emerald ring from onto your finger.

“Draco. I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“I thought I told you to keep your eyes shut.” He snapped.

“But I can’t take this.”

“I owed you a ring y/n.” He said holding your hand in his to look at the ring on your finger making a type of warmth spread over your entire body. “Keep it till I get the other ring made.”

You simply stared at the ring unable to form words with your mouth until you felt him shift beside you as he got back up to his feet.

“Don’t overthink it y/n—I’ll see you at the ball.”

You hummed as you quietly watched him walk away from you, ignoring the stab your felt in your heart with every step he took. But before you could process your emotions fully, Draco turned on his heel and walked towards you— instantly cupping your face in his hands.

“Draco what are-”

His lips ardently crushed yours before you could even finish your sentence

There was an abrupt kind of finality in the way he moved his lips against yours. It was like he was kissing you for the last time .

“I’ll be thinking of you y/l/n.”

To be continued..

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

Part 5 teaser:

Draco’s features softened as he slowly shifted and got up from the reading nook in his bedroom to fully open his window.

You shielded yourself as cold drops of rain started to hit your face. “What in the actual fuck?”

“Shut up and follow me.” He said as he climbed out of the window and onto the ledge.

“Are you mental?”

“Just do as I say.” He said helping you onto the ledge.

Both of you laughed hysterically as the rain seeped through our clothes as you sat on the ledge with you bare feet dangling in the air.

One wrong move and both of you could fall to your respective deaths. But there came an adrenaline rush with the risk of it all.

___________________________

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#harry potter #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #slytherin #draco fanfiction #draco malfoy #draco smut #draco x reader smut #draco x y/n #draco x slytherin!reader #draco malfoy smut

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straightouttaneptune · 4 years

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Opposites attract

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Slytherin!Reader, Platonic!Blaise Zabini x reader, Draco Malfoy x Pansy Parkinson, Platonic!Draco Malfoy x reader (The reader is race-neutral!)

Warning: I think there’s a couple swear words, uhh if you’re in love with Draco you probably shouldn’t read this, there is not a single sentence in this fic where Draco and Y/N are any more than friends. Actually, Y/N will commit an act of violence against him. (Don’t do this to your friends)

Summary: Blaise notices that his best friend, Y/N is different the second he sees her again after Summer break. You are a full-fledged pure-blood Slytherin, but during Summer, you got your heart stolen by a certain muggle-born Gryffindor.

A/N: I am OBSESSED with Gryffindor x Slytherin trope, I’m so sorry I will write a reader who’s in Hufflepuff soon! Also, I love Blaise Zabini? He deserves love :/ He a true King in this fic. Oh and Y/N & Hermione are a power couple who eat men ok cool happy reading!!

—————————————————————

It was a quiet evening in the Slytherin common room. The white noise of the light rain present, but none of you could see, for the Slytherins belonged in the dungeons.

You had your head rested on the lap of Blaise Zabini, your best friend, and your legs over the lap of Draco Malfoy. You wouldn’t say he was your best friend, per se- you didn’t always like how he acted. You thought of him more like a brother, in a way. An annoying brother, no less.

But while your friends engaged in some deep conversation about whatever they talked about, your mind was elsewhere. Since last week, you’ve been lost in the curious world of a strange muggle book titled “pride and prejudice”. You picked the damned book up every time you had some spare time.

“What’s this then? Never seen it before.” You recall 2 weeks ago, laying by the old oak tree of the city park, the bushy leaves shielding you from the blinding sunlight.

“You’ve never seen a book before?” She teases, playful laughter filling the crisp summer air.

“You know what I mean! C’mon, read to me.” You look up at her, sitting down with her back pressed against the tree. Her face was covered with the red cover of the book, but you could swear that what you were seeing deserved to be drawn on canvas and presented in museums. Her golden curls looked as if they were lighting up under the sun, her soft yet strong hands curling around the spine of the book.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife-”

Blaise also had a book opened in his hand, but he was not reading- he was listening in on Draco and Pansy’s conversation. Also glancing down and seeing you smile to yourself, for whatever reason. It could have been the book, but he doubted it.

And even though this was the first day back to Hogwarts, he knew that you were very different from who you were when he waved goodbye to you before summer break.

First of all, you never read muggle books. You were the eldest child of one of the most pure bloodlines to exist. Your family were very close with the Malfoys, the Blacks, and obviously the Dark Lord. Anyone would expect you to grow up hating muggles, and... in all honesty, Blaise thought you did.

But then why didn’t you say anything few hours earlier when Granger bumped into you on the train? A witty quip about her blood, perhaps? But nothing. And why in the world did you have a Jane Austen story in your hand?

Despite the multiple questions looming over his head, Blaise had a theory. So now, he wanted to see. Test you, on how you’d react to another one of Draco’s degrading talks about “muggles” you recently seemed to take an interest to.

“God, those mud-bloods infuriate me. And what’s Dumbledore thinking, opening a class of ‘Muggle Studies?’ What a pathetic excuse for a school.” Draco said quite loudly for the whole common room to hear, looking behind him and at first-year Slytherins as if to get them to agree with him. They nod out of fear, but Blaise can see it’s poisoning their unbiased minds already.

Great. More racism. He’s never been a big fan of it.

Just when Blaise turned back around to pretend to stare at his book once more, you quickly stood up from your place in his lap, and smacked your hard-covered book over Draco’s head. The first years jump and gasp from utter and complete shock.

...Ouch. Blaise doesn’t know if he should be happy he was right about something being up with you, or stop you from killing Malfoy.

“What in the- What is your problem, Y/L/N??!” Draco stands up too and glares at you in an accusatory manner, hand flying up to the back of his head. His tall figure looms over your head, his eyes burning with confusion and rage. But you’re not afraid. Quite the opposite.

“Don’t you dare talk about muggles like that ever again, Draco. You know I’ve never liked it when you used that word.” You point your halfway closed book into his chest, the corner digging into his neatly ironed shirt.

“What? You’ve never hit me over something as little as this? What’s wrong with you, Y/L/N?” Draco questions loudly, the irritation in his voice evident. Pansy stands up as well, linking her arms with the Blond, and glaring at you up and down.

“You’ve been acting strange all day, Y/N. Blaise, say something!” All three of you looks over to Blaise, who was nonchalantly pretend reading his book, unmoving from his place on the couch.

“What? So Y/N can’t hit Malfoy with a book now? She’s done it before.” He looks up and locks eyes with Pansy, “I don’t give a fuck” written all over his face.

“That’s not the point! Why is she so angry over filthy Mudbloods?” Pansy retorts, but as soon as the last word left her lips, you raised your brows at her warningly.

“Don’t. Use. That. Word. Why does bloodline matter? We all bleed red, for Merlin’s sake!” You huff, whirling around to get yourself out of this godforesaken dungeon. Blaise gives a playful salute and trails closely behind, leaving behind the pure-blooded idiots and follows you towards the Gryffindor common room.

“Will you tell me, though? Y/N, what happened during summer?” Blaise stops you just in front of the portrait of the fat lady, and you’re forced to look at your best friend’s curious expression.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” You sighed, knowing you would have to tell your best friend if he wanted to come with you. He nods sincerely, although there is a twinkle in his eyes that lets you know he’s enjoying this.

“I fell in love with someone. A muggle-born.”You confess, your cheeks burning like a 1,000 degree flame just by admitting that.

“A muggle-born??” Blaise’s brows shot up to his hairline, his brilliantly talented imagination already making up a scene of you getting disowned by your parents.

“Wait...” his gaze glides past you and at something behind you. “Does it happen to be Granger?”

Your eyes grow wide as a plate, and you almost break your neck from how quickly you turned around. Hermione, Harry and Ron stood there, the door to the Gryffindor common room wide open.

“There was a Slytherin alert. Uhm, Fred and George. Not us.” Harry tries to explain, looking over at Ron for some assistance, but he just stays in place. Wether it’s from shock or fear, you couldn’t tell.

“You... fell in love?” Hermione looks directly into your eyes, as if everything that wasn’t you didn’t exist to her. She climbs out of the entryway, taking a few steps over towards you.

“Uh- I did. Over the summer.” Guessing you didn’t have much other choice than to admit it, you stood your ground and focused on her sharp brown eyes you’d come to adore.

“You did.” Hermione repeated, stunned from the looks of it.

“I did.”

“So did I.”

“You did?”

“I did.”

“Oh bloody hell, just admit you love each other and move on.” Ron teased from a few feet behind, comfortable now that he saw who he originally thought was a Slytherin nightmare act so awkward and giddy.

Hermione glared at him threateningly, and so Harry wordlessly pulled him and Blaise into the Gryffindor common room. Before entering, Harry almost forcefully rips off the cloak from Blaise, still skeptical of the Slytherin always hanging around Draco Malfoy.

“Right. Anyways-“

Before you could say anything, Hermione hurriedly pressed her lips against yours, her cheeks tinting rose from a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. She’d never done something like this before. She feels like she can hear her heart beating rapidly in her ears, which can’t be normal, but she thinks it feels right.

You feel like getting wrapped into a cloud of euphoria as she deepens the kiss, your hands finding their place on her cheeks. The book clatters on the crème stone floor, but neither of you pay it any mind. Luckily, not one soul is walking around the halls at this hour, everyone getting settled into each their dorms. But you don’t even think about that, for your mind is filled with her, and only her.

After pulling away, Hermione chuckles at your surprised look, mumbling a little “You’re blushing, Y/N.” Before pulling you into her chest for a hug.

You return the gesture without hesitation, grinning from ear to ear and whispering back, “So are you.”

“Come on, we’ll have butterbeer inside. Take your cloak off and hide the tie. I’ll bring my jacket.” Hermione laughs nervously, and looks back at who she swears is the most beautiful girl in the world. Never had she thought she’d get her heart stolen by a Y/L/N, even in an alternate universe, or in a dream.

But she takes your hand, and pulls you into the common room, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

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evarcana · 4 years

Note

Courtiers + Christmas

Sorry, dear anon, it took me ages 😓 well at least I did it before xmas, right?

To avoid the whole discourse about why the bunch of demons and one morally corrupted human are celebrating Christmas, I should say that this is based on the MC inviting the courtiers to celebrate together.

Valdemar🎄😈

Not like they usually pay attention to silly human holidays. But if it is you inviting... “how delightful” - of course Valdemar is coming. The problem is that in their millennia of existence being busy with their research they sort of missed out on what Christmas was about. “MC, don’t give me that look, this is all fairly new”, you don’t even want to what is old for them. But it’s Valdemar so they lock themselves in dungeons and put all their inhuman determination into researching Christmas.

Valdemar’s research is ...advanced. After they excitingly start telling you whether you knew that red in decorations symbolises blood, you decide it’s time to intervene, hand Valdemar list of gifts to buy and encourage them to return to their usual work (who would believe you would ever say it).

They turn to the party/dinner dressed as Santa (or whatever equivalent). Are you shocked? Erm yes... But why are other guests loving it ?! Well they did become sort of xmas expert in less than a week so you guess it’s okay. Expects lots of stories on how Christmas celebrations developed over the last centuries.

Charms your grandma or elderly auntie by being the only person capable of listening about their chronical conditions and actually engaging on the topic. Your little niece/neighbour’s kid loves them too - they expertly removed all those bits of turkey leg they don’t like to eat in less than 5 seconds. Everybody loves them. But Valdemar still spends most of the time telling what a fascinating specimen you are.

When it comes to gift exchange part, you are glad that they only added a few medical books, plague masks and antiseptics to the list, could be worse.., but where is yours present? “You, my little silly duckling, are on the naughty list this year” with this Valdemar gently throws you in their sack grabs you and excuses you both from the party. You try to protest but they only say that they played along for long enough and now it’s their turn to play little game with you. Oh well you can leave early one year, it promises to be worth it.

Valerius 🎁🍷

Every year Valerius receives plenty of invitations to winter holidays parties arranged by the nobles but this is the first time he got invitation to something that personal. Tells you that he needs to check his diary and finally reluctantly agrees only because “there was a rather unfortunate cancellation”. But really in his head he is like “Omg does it mean that I am part of the family now? Cancel all plans NOW.”

Then he learns that you plan to have Christmas dinner/party at your place. The consul of Vesuvia to go to that ...shack?? That’s unthinkable: The party will be in his estate, yes he knows that it’s incredibly generous of him to offer and no you cannot refuse.

And this is when things are getting extra. You know that crazy neighbours competitions whose Christmas lights are brighter and decorations are better? That’s Valerius, although he has nobody to compete with really. The massive xmas tree got delivered from who-knows-where and who-knows-how in 2 days, and there is no red, golden or green decoration item left in stock in entire Vesuvia, oh and some the palace’s best cooks suddenly took a sick leave for a week (no it was Valerius promising them triple wages).

You ask Valerius not to get any expensive presents, otherwise you will feel bad, he did indeed agree that it was reasonable suugestion. Everybody gets presents more expensive than life. The guests surpringly find Valerius a very good host, this might have something to do with those gifts which were definitely extra or with the fact that everybody got merry in like 20 min thanks to all the fancy wine. Valerius is gossip central, argues about politics with your annoying uncle and plays board games with children.

Insists that it would be better if you stay overnight and not travel home late. Falls asleep in chair with drink in hand like an old man. Later that chair somehow migrates to the hallway by the guest bedroom, under the strategically placed mistletoe. Wait, where did red silky robes come from? All planned. Let’s hope that the unfortunate relative of yours is not staying in the same guestwing.

Vlastomil 🎅🏻 🪱

It’s lovely of you to invite him but he is a busy worm man and cannot really leave his children alone. Maybe he can just stop by? “No, MC! Don’t get offended!!”

Then he learns that Christmas is usually about family, does it mean that his children can come as well?? Ugh while you are mumbling something about that worms may not be very comfortable at your place, Vlastomil decides that the Christmas party will be held in his garden so the worms everybody can enjoy it.

Prepare to have a ...thematic Christmas. There is white xmas tree decorated with the shimmery worms and candy canes which have worms wrapped around them. Okay, even you are not the biggest fan of worms you have to admit that the ice sculptures of worms are quite impressive. He even has little nativity scene but with the worms.

Everybody receives crystal tree decoration baubles with live worms inside. Everybody is shocked. Vlastomil explains that it’s only stocking fillers and there are more gifts. (Also crystal baublesare only for transportation, the worms need to be free range, how dare you). The actual gifts are... amazing. Somebody got a scarf that they liked but didn’t have enough money to buy on that day, another person got a album of pin up pictures of snake women even if it was supposed to be a secret interest of theirs and you got that sparkly princess teara you cried for your parents to buy at age 5 but they never did (cmon, x years later, you still like it).

Some little child says that Vlastomil is like Santa with how you he magically read people’s wishes (there there, little one, it’s just the power of gossip), but Vlastomil is vibing: wiggler gets elf outfit from somewhere and you get lots of invitations to “come to sit on Santa’s lap”. Yes you can stay there after all the guests leave (and yes you can keep your sparkly teara on).

Volta 🍪🥛

Was secretly dreaming to be invited since at least October. But is still genuinely surprised when you ask her to come. She asks tonnes of questions: who else is coming, are you sure they would like Volta, what are you going to do, will there be food?

Volta wants to help you with all the preparations. Not like she is super useful but she did dig out from the piles of stuff in her estate and bring you lots of old tree decorations and some nice tableware. She basically spends all your time with you in the build up to Christmas: you decorate the house together, make gingerbread houses (well more like you made one house from the 1000s attempt, they all got eaten before they were actually completed) and pack gifts for everybody.

You warned all the guests that there going to be lots of food this year, and no you finally don’t need to worry about what to do with the leftovers and crying “end me, I am sick of having xmas food for 10 days in a row” because they are not going to be any leftovers. But you didn’t expect Volta to turn up with even more food. “Volta does not want anybody to starve on Christmas!”. She surely eats lots but she is also looking after other people lots, passing them plates with food (just imagine her holding it with both of her tiny hands) and topping up their drinks, she wants everybody to enjoy the dinner.

Everybody at the table is talking of how adorable Volta is, and nobody can even hide tears when Volta presents little hand made gifts that she prepared herself. But Volta humming Christmas carols? How does she even know Christmas carols? This is illegal level of cuteness.

Volta wants to stay to help you to clean up when the dinner is over. It’s quite and it’s only two of you. Oh you might still have some sweet things in the cupboard.

Vulgora🔥🌟

At first super excited to be invited but the next second they ask what is Christmas about and what does it involve. You decorate, eat, chat to people and exchange gifts? That sounds awfully boring to Vulgora. Can they at least smash the tree in the end? What do you mean - NO?!?!

Eager to help too. They need to use their energy somewhere. You are not sure whether it’s the type of help you wanted. You asked them to carry the xmas tree from the market? There are 5 trees in front of the house, one of which is like is almost 10’ tall. You asked them to chop some wood for the fire? Well, there is enough to have a bonfire in the towncentre. But on the positive side, your house is lavishly decorated this year, Vulgora likes the red and golden theme.

Lots of battle stories at the dinner, some of which ...lack xmas spirit a bit. All the gifts are...war themed. Then Vulgora gets bored and wants to fight for the right to cut the turkey/ vegan nut roast, whatever you are having. Oh no. But they can smash nuts with their gauntlets - the guests are impressed and suddenly want more battle stories. On the positive side, it’s definitely not boring this year, Vulgora is load and energetic.

But then suddenly Vulgora suggests you all go outside, when you question them, they say it’s a surprise. It’s hard to believe what you see: they prepared fireworks and sparkle fountains !!! You cannot help but smile watching vulgora excitingly running around setting them all off (but hopefully not setting your house on fire).

You watch firework lighting up the sky with Vulgora hugging you from behind and then..they rugby tackle you to the ground?! Well whether there is snow or not, they want to have a fight. Luckily the fireworks are over and the guests can just...leave you two to it.

#not sure whether it was cuter in my head #the arcana courtiers #the arcana courtiers headcanons #the arcana headcanons #valdemar the arcana #Valdemar #consul valerius #Valerius #vlastomil the arcana #praetor vlastomil #volta the arcana #procurator volta #pontifex vulgora #vulgora the arcana #questor valdemar

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ccelinewritess · 4 years

Text

say love—draco malfoy

pairing - (hufflepuff! reader) draco malfoy x reader, cedric diggory x reader

word count- 4.3k

warnings- cheating? toxic relationships? curse words? my lack of diverse grammar? spelling? not heavily revised? yes this has it allll.

quick note: cho, the reader, and draco are all in the fifth year, cedric is two years older (cause idfc what villain i make this boy out to be he is not dead) anyways ilu and hope you are well. here we go.

y/n was sweet, kind, compassionate, gorgeous and smart, so when she caught the eye of cedric diggory a year earlier he made it his personal mission to get her to go out with him, even on one date.

when she finally caved in they went on one date. then a second, a second turned into a third. he asked her out officially, she met his parents, you know how the story goes. well perhaps not, and there was no happily ever after with cedric. certainly not as hot tears ran down her cheeks as she watched her boyfriend of a year, hand caressing her face, kissing cho chang like a moth to a flame, hungry for more. prefects duties my ass- she thought as her pure devastation dragged her away from the scene, her original presence going unnoticed. anger was boiling through her blood and she lost track of where she was going, until she ended up in the library somehow. y/n loved reading and spent countless hours in the room, and she certainly didn’t want to be in the common room when her not-so-loyal boyfriend would be returning shortly enough. so instead she shrunk down, back against a bookcase, knees tucked into arms, and let the sadness and confusion take over. she didn’t even hear the library doors open once again over her sobs.

the last thing draco malfoy expected to see that night in the library while grabbing a book was the friendly hufflepuff girl y/n. and especially not with tear stained cheeks and glossy eyes. draco would never tell her, but he was always captivated by her, she was to kind and trusting for her own good.

“er- im sorry for uh- interrupting” his voice startled her at first.

“no im sorry” she said wiping her tears. “i should be in my common room, not crying like a child in the library.”

when he sat down next to her it was nice, he wasn’t too close but the company was enjoyable, even if it was temporary. “well I know we aren’t friends, like at all, but if you’d like to talk about whatever is making you cry in the library at one in the morning, im not a bad listener”

she wasn’t even considering talking to draco. not in the slightest, but she didn’t have anyone else to talk to. she couldn’t talk to her parents, they would fly out to hogwarts and personally hex the boy. and she had spent so much time hanging out with cedric that she didn’t have any other close friends she could talk to. maybe talking to a stranger would be best. draco found it quite cute that she hadn’t noticed she had zoned out, but before he got to admire her more she looked back up at him “fine”

“you need to understand that i am still confused, completely.” that’s how it started. she told him about how cedric lied about where he was, and how she went to surprise him, and how when she turned the corner she saw him and cho, practically swallowing eachothers faces. at some point in her story draco opened his arms and she fell into them, tears still sliding down from her eyes. she did find this odd at first, of all the reputations draco held, hugger was not one.

by the times she cried all the tears she could, draco walked her back to the common room. as he pulled her back into another hug he whispered in her ear “meet me in the courtyard before breakfast?” she could only muffle a response into his sweater. as they released themselves from eachother a minute later, she watched him walk away down further into the dungeon. it took her mere seconds to fall asleep that night.

when she saw the blonde boy the next morning alone in the almost empty courtyard, she made her way over to him, as fast as her legs could carry her without running. he looked happy to see her, but she didn’t wait to get to the point.

“about last night, you haven’t told anyone yet have you? it’s just that id like to hear what happened from cedric before people find out.”

“ofcourse not love. im a slytherin, not an asshole. speaking of cedric you need to break up with him.” he was hesitant with both the nickname and the proposition, considering that before last night they had practically never spoken.

it was now her turn to be hesitant. “but what if she kissed him though, you know, maybe it’s all a big misunderstanding” y/n was always looking for the best in people, but maybe cheating was cedrics best, she hated to think it.

“y/n! you saw him kiss her back didn’t you? there was no denial from cedrics side right? i know you look for the positives but sometimes it’s not a shame to realize not everyone’s perfect. and you deserve someone who values you” it was harsh in a way, but true. he continued to encourage her until she realized if she didn’t now, cedric would continue to go on these midnight strolls, faking prefect duties and kissing other girls.

when she entered the great hall she immediately stormed over to cedric, who was in deep conversation with his friends. when she butted in to ask if she could speak to him the emotions of the night before threatened to arise within her again. dracos words floated in her head. maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, even the hogwarts “it” boy had flaws. he was insecure which led to jealousy, he could sometimes be insensitive, and the newest to the collection, he was a cheater. and he sure as hell wasnt going to admit to it if she asked.

once he finally acknowledged her presence with a smile she began.

“cedric, may i speak to you, alone” she glanced at his friends at the last word.

“just say it aloud, im sure the boys don’t mind” he really didn’t know what was coming.

“im not sure you want me to talk about this with your friend around”

“come on darling”

well here goes nothing.

“if you say so. we’re over. don’t try to defend yourself and act all innocent cause I know a lot more than you think. just a tip in the future if you want to have a successful relationship do not go make out with other girls in the middle of the night in random corridors, or at least breakup with your girlfriend first. asshole” y/n was sweating and cedric was pale and speechless.

y/n’s rant had gathered many eyes from across the room. as she walked back towards draco who was waiting at the end of the aisle he couldn’t help but smile and whisper “you are a baddass, come eat at slytherin, then?” when they got across the room, people were confused but no one would ever say no to draco or his friends. blaise zabani seem unbothered at her presence but kind nonetheless, pansy on the other hand, jealous that dracos eyes were for once not on her.

over the next few weeks a friendship began to grow between y/n l/n and draco malfoy. they were sitting together in classes, studying together, eating meals at eachothers tables and all around enjoying eachothers company. little did y/n know that as the seasons changed, so did dracos feelings for her. she was so undeniably amazing in every way imaginable, something draco had never came across in his life.

on this particular evening they were walking around the black lake on the cool evening with the pink and orange sky on the horizon. deep conversations were common between the pair and tonight was no exception. “do you still love him?” the question shocked her at first, and she thought deeply about her answer before responding. “i don’t know honestly, a part of me probably still does. and it’s not like I’ve never had things not work before, but how people leave always stays. i hate to say it, but a part of me wants revenge. i just want him to feel some sort of pain, even just jealousy as dark and twisted as that is.” a comfortable silence fell once again before he broke it after a few minutes. “it’s not as dark as you might think, actually. and if you want him to feel jealous i have an idea that could benefit us both you just need to be open minded.”

draco malfoy wanted her to do what?

“what does fake dating even mean? how do you even do that” she questioned

“i mean just convince people we are dating, cedric will be jealous and it will get pansy of my back for two minutes. all you’d have to do is hold my hand, wear my scarf, come to my quidditch games and parties with me, anything else” he asked

“we could probably go to hogsmeade togther, cedric will be fuming, thank you draco” she said before kissing his cheek making his face go a brilliant red.

yet again draco had her doing things she wouldn’t do in a thousand years, but maybe she needed a change. plus he seemed to have this quite planned out and there was no harm in trying. “if you really think this could work, then fine, I’ll do it.”

draco would never admit it, but he was embarrassingly excited that she agreed.

the next morning their hopefully “master” plan would begin, but that night for the first time in a long time, draco couldn’t sleep whatsoever. he tried counting sheep, drinking tea, every sleeping position and yet he couldn’t get y/n out of his mind. she was so pretty, and smart, and kind. he had trouble even imagining what kind of delusional cedric was to let her go. if she was his- and not fake his, he would do everything to keep her happy and never see her like he did in the library only three weeks ago. in the end, she was just a rose in the hands who had no intention of keeping her. after even more attempts, he finally drifted off into a deep, and dreamless sleep.

once y/n finally got enough motivation to roll her self out of bed for the last day of classes before the weekend the conversation from the night before entered her brain. was this going to work? everything that could possibly go wrong played over and over again. what if cedric never got jealous? would they be forty and still fake dating? she thankfully got out of her head when she saw draco waiting for her outside the hufflepuff common room. “well good morning love” he said before placing a ginger kiss to her forehead, no one was around to watch, and she didn’t recall that being in the verbal agreement, but to be completely honest, it was nice.

they were both nervous and for different reasons. draco knew better than anyone that if word of this so called relationship to his parents, they would flip. everyone knew the malfoy’s had very strong morals and were extremely racist, and no matter how much he liked her, they would never approve of the halfblood hufflepuff. y/n knew pansy would be up her ass, and there was no guarantee that this would work, she also wasn’t huge on attention, and this was not exactly going to make her any less of a subject around the hogwarts grounds.

speaking of hogwarts, was the walk from hufflepuff to the great hall that long? was her hand sweating or was she imagining it? dracos long fingers were intertwined with hers and they talked about everything and nothing as they made there way to breakfast.

once they arrived, few heads turned, as many were still engaged in conversation, much to the satisfaction of y/n. dracos green eyes immediately made harsh contact with cedrics grey eyes and they made their way to the slytherin table, where pansy’ dirty glares would go unnoticed y/n.

the day trudged along slowly. in the classes with draco they sat together, he picked her up from the rest, walking her to her next. eating lunch and dinner at his table, showing pda at any given time, even when cedric wasn’t anywhere around.

when y/n were dismissed from herbology at the end of the day she wasted no time getting back the hufflepuff common room starting on her potions essay. in a wave of exhilaration the puffs already in the common room rushed out, she was confused but followed them out anyways, unopened books in arms.

y/n wasn’t tall, so she struggled to see passed the crowd. finally reaching the inner layer of the circle she saw what was likely destined to happen. cedric was buffing out his chest, trying to close in on draco, despite them not being far in height whatsoever. the boys muttering to eachother went unheard after the shrill voice of professor sprout broke out. “what do you boys think your doing, everyone return to your common rooms” she said before going into a small lecture with the boys more quietly. people filed out of the corridor behind her in every direction. and once the raft of sprout had finished, and cedric had stormed off to god knows where, draco engulfed the girl in a warm hug, almost knocking them over.

that night she did her homework in the slyerthin common room, on the lap of her boyfriend, fake boyfriend- she reminded herself, it was only the first day but it was so easy to be with him.

“he’s lucky sprout showed up, he kept acting as though he was superior to me, the dumbass couldn’t beat me in a duel in a million years, I’ll show him in the quidditch match tomorrow”

“is that tomorrow already?” she sighed before continuing “well I’ll be cheering for you, draco”

“id hope, love, also how do you feel about wearing green?”

the green scarf actually complimented her features nicely, much to her surprise. the match started in seven minutes, and if y/n wanted to make it on time she had to leave now.

the last few weeks were cold, yes, but this was the first snowfall of the year, fluffy snow was settling on the ground and castle, like a beautiful painting. the con? the snow was also making it difficult to see, almost guaranteeing a long match. right as she sat down next to some fellow fifth years the whistle blew. dracos green scarve made her stand out in the land of bagders, recieving some questioning.

“your dating him? but he’s a slytherin?”

“and an smart, handsome, kind one at that, so I’m going to get back to the game, if that’s okay with you.”

the game was the most eventful of the year due to the multiple dirty fakeouts between the seekers. this was less a slytherin vs hufflepuff thing to y/n and more of a draco vs cedric. ofcourse she loved her house, but there was no way she wanted cedric to win now, after the cheating and lying. that thought was mutual but unshared between her and draco. and the cold wasn’t making anyone want to stay out there for much longer, despite the excitement. while cedric was trying to trick draco once more draco saw the real snitch, where cedric was only moments before. rushing towards it, arm reached out, he could almost grab it. almost. almost. almost. yes. the small snitch was clutched tightly in his palm, cedric still clueless, zooming around, not noticing his attempts had failed him miserably.

ravenclaws and slyertherins alike were running onto the field, y/n somewhere amongst them. in no time draco was being held in the air, with those around him chanting. normally she would have been pissed that hufflepuff had lost, but the smile plastered on dracos face made it all worth it. after nemurous minutes he was put down, made his way to y/n and kissed her. he actually kissed her. in front of all those people. the chants were replaced with whistles and if anyone didn’t get the message of their “relationship” it was surely out now. his kiss was sweet and soft, and ended much before she was ready to. “honey you look dashing in green”

the party in slyerthin that night was like nothing she had ever been to before. music was blasting, house elves had made food and drinks of all sorts and y/n was cuddled into the arms of draco on the sofa, in his jumper and joggers. occasionally people would come congratulate him, and even pansy had the audacity to come try to flirt with him, that was until he shooed her off.

as the festivities continued into the night, y/n fell asleep right there, in her fake boyfriends arms- who, she would never admit, she was catching feelings for. she didn’t know much, but she did know that she was not ready to get hurt again anytime soon. they had spent the last hours together talking about random deep topics, their biggest fears and insecurities as those around them danced to the rhythm of the music. draco struggled to even think someone as perfect as y/n would have insecurities, but she did. eventually he picked her up bridal style and carried to his dormitory. he couldn’t exactly settle easy, the girl he liked was sleeping in his bed, so once he confirmed that she was infact asleep he let it off his chest.

“in case you didn’t know- im crazy about you, since i found you in the library that night.” he was whispering as soft as he could

“i haven’t told you any of this because i know your still healing but god im in love with you”

he too fell asleep that night, limbs tangled with hers.

the sun hit her face from his window that morning, bright as ever, highlighting her beautiful features and draco couldn’t help but admire her beauty. for numerous minutes he laid there, staring until she woke from her own dreams.

cedrics next attemp at payback for draco was just as low as the first. he followed draco towards the dungeons one afternoon when y/n wasn’t in his presenceand tried to fight him right there, outside the slyerthin common room.

“draco what do you even want with her?” he was practically grumbling

“you really don’t know what you had? did you? also she’s my girlfriend now, so what do you want with her?” draco spat back, emphasizing the you.

unlucky for cedric, right after he threw the first punch, which draco dodged successfully, snape came out and gave cedric two weeks detention.

“whatever, ill get her back” cedric said fast before heading towards the hufflepuff common room. draco wasn’t too sure of that, he had fallen desperately for the girl and would do whatever he could to keep her, and keep her away from cedric.

they were on there daily evening stroll around the grounds, much like the one that the original idea was pitched during only a handful of weeks ago, fingers intertwined. partially because it is cold, partially because they wanted to. draco could tell that y/n was deep in thought and originally wasn’t going to ask her, but he couldn’t help himself.

“what are you thinking about?” he said quietly but loud enough for her to hear

“im feeling kind of stupid honestly. i mean it was all there, the prefect patrols on days i could have sworn weren’t his. the glances across the hall to her, god even the tutoring in the classes he was doing amazing and needed no help in.”

he could tell this was making her upset and so he racked his brain for the right thing to say, but before he could find anything she started again.

“I’m also quite mad at myself, i mean i know all relationships are flawed but looking back ours was pretty fucked up. i started dating him in our third year, and i was still very insecure and didn’t exactly love myself. i spent a lot of time worrying about things I had no control over, and he wasn’t a help in the slightest. he’d flirt with other girls all the time but one boy would look at me for a second longer than he’d liked and he’d be confronting them. I don’t know if I really loved him, or if i was just in pain but whatever it was it was horrible.” tears were threatening her eyes but not yet approaching them.

“im sorry y/n. you are amazing and beautiful, smart and kind and your sure as hell don’t deserve that, if you want to talk about it ever please ask me” he would add on to that, if they were dating- and for real he wouldn’t treat her any less than the princess he considered her to be. he pulled her into a big hug before they walked back up into the beautiful castle.

they hadn’t heard from cedric in weeks, mission accomplished right? well no.

being completely honest, y/n didn’t know how much longer she would be able to participate without feelings boiling over. y/n didn’t even know where it came from, and there was no denying it, she was head over heels for the slytherin prince. she didn’t know when, maybe at the quidditch game? when he gave hugged her after sprout gave cedric punishment after draco stood up for her? she too wasn’t sure.

the morning of the hogsmeade trip, snow was falling once again, replacing the already existing layer on the ground. leaving hufflepuff, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw the blonde haired boy by the barrels waiting for her.

walking arm-in-arm to the small village, y/ns teeth almost chattering when draco lended his green scarf to the girl yet again.

“when i said you looked good in green at the match, i wasn’t joking, you should wear it more often”

draco loved the way she looked with her pink tinted nose and cheeks. and before he knew it they were in the three broomsticks drinking butterbeer, talking about god knows what.

that was until draco decided to come clean about his feelings.

“y/n youre probably not ready to hear this, and i will wait as long as you need me to. but i just can’t take it anymore. ive been crazy about you since we started being friends and- whatever this is, three and a half months ago. and if you’d like id love to go out with you- and not as a jealousy scheme”

the cold was no longer able to mask the blush on her cheeks and she told him everything she’d been hiding. thankfully. if she hadn’t he would have lost the best thing in his life. she knew his family wasn’t exactly the lovey dovey type, and his friends could be cold, they had eachother and they didn’t need much more than that.

once they had finished and left the warmth of the building, into the snow in the middle of the street he dragged her towards him ever so lightly using his scarf. cupping her cheeks in his hands, he kissed her as soft as ever. lasting much longer this time, there mouthes seemed to move in sync. he tasted sweet, just like the first time, and undescribable. they would kissed there in the middle of hogsmeade village for hours if their lungs didn’t need so much air. so instead they stood there forheads pressed together. eventually there hands found the others and they made their way back to the school, hearts and smiles as big as ever.

draco saw her room for the first time that day, he had been in the hufflepuff common room twice, but never to her room. it was much brighter and got more sunlight. y/n had shelves full of books and many plants around the room. the wall around the window was lined with poloroids of her and her friends. he sat on her bed and wasted no time pulling her onto it with him. they fell asleep that night wrapped in eachothers arms, kissing the others face once in a while, complete with the fact that they had eachother, and for real.

the next morning they woke up at 10, thankfully they didn’t have classes, but they had still missed breakfast. fortunately y/n was not only friends with the house elves, but extraordinarily good cook. she was currently making pancakes, in dracos green jumper, his chin on her shoulder and hands on her hips.

“I cannot believe almost four months ago i started fake dating you and now your cooking breakfast in my sweater” he said practically mumbling into her cheek before kissing it, and dragging her away from the stove, to dance. right there in the middle of the kitchen, and he was suprisingly amazing at it.

the engines of the hogwarts express were rumbling and y/n had settled into the compartment with draco. she had owled her parents informing her she would be going to the malfoy manor for the first weeks of summer, and the nerves were filling her mind.

“what’s wrong darling” he said kindly as she leaned into his shoulder.

“im just nervous, what if they don’t like me?”

“they will, there is nothing about you that isn’t likeable. and even if they don’t like you immediately, it’s not like i could stop loving you, ever”

what? theyd never actually said the “L” word to the other- at least while they were awake. yes they had been dating for six months already but had draco ever said he loved them to anyone? it didn’t matter, she knew how she felt.

“y-you love me?”

he waited another second. “i mean, uh- er, i-i-“

“draco?” he hummed in response, still clearly embarrassed “i love you too”

————

a/n: ive never written anything, so i hope it’s okay. thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed it! stay tuned for future writing.

#draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x hufflepuff!reader #draco malfoy fluff

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flowercrown-bard · 3 years

Text

A new us will begin (8/ 12)

word count: 5k

AO3

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 9

content warning: blood, injuries, referenced character death, animal death (a monster and kind of implied a horse)

All too soon, the day that had been looming over them like a storm cloud that seemed far away at first until you realised you were already caught in the storm, was there. The day of the troupe’s last performance before they would move on.

This time, Geralt felt more than ever as if Dandy was speaking to him when he was speaking his lines in the dungeon scene. Maybe that was just wishful thinking, but while Dandy was reciting his big monologue, for a moment there, Geralt was so sure that it wasn’t the pirate asking the knight to come with him, but Dandy asking Geralt.

Clearing the stage after the performance felt strange that day. Geralt wasn’t the only one who worked noticeably slower than usually to delay the inevitable departure of the troupe and more than once he heard one of the actors sniffle.

“It’s always like that after the last performance,” Dandy explained quietly from his place perched on the box. “It always feels a bit like saying goodbye.”

“You’re going to perform that play again,” Geralt said, not sure whether that was at all a comforting thing to say. “In another city. Maybe with an even bigger audience.”

Dandy’s lips twisted into a crooked smile, but it felt more like a mask than an expression of joy.

“Maybe. But I really liked the audience here.” His voice was void of the mirth that so often tinged his words.

Geralt had no reply to that. He settled on an unsatisfying hum that could have meant anything and turned back to his task of dismantling the stage.

Dandy was unusually quiet, only drumming a slow rhythm on the box, while Geralt worked until at long last, Geralt was done with his work.

“Are we going to the tavern again?” Geralt asked hesitatingly, not sure if he would still be welcome on this day that made all the actors more emotional. Welcoming as they might be otherwise, Geralt wouldn’t be able to fault them, if they didn’t want him in their midst today.

That didn’t soften the ache in his chest, when Dandy said, “No. We are not.” He fiddled with his cane and shuffled on his feet.

Geralt nodded, more for his own benefit, as if the simple motion could dull the pang of disappointment.

“Right. Of course.”

“That is,” Dandy said, something tentative and endlessly hopeful making his pitch a little higher. “I was thinking the two of us could take a walk? Maybe you could show me your favourite places in town? Unless you’d rather go to the tavern with the others.”

Geralt didn’t answer. The last time, that he knew of, that Dandy had gone for a walk with just one other person, hadn’t ended too well for him. Geralt couldn’t put into words how much it meant to him that Dandy trusted him enough to go somewhere alone.

Gently, he took Dandy’s hand, giving it a little squeeze. Dandy didn’t flinch at the unexpected contact, but his brows shot up in surprise and his whole face lit up.

“Alright, then,” Dandy said, his voice trembling with barely concealed excitement. “Lead the way.”

The other actors barely paid them any mind as they walked past. Geralt only stopped to tell Nadine where they were going and promised her that he would take Dandy back safely.

“You better,” she said and narrowed her eyes at him, but her tone wasn’t even hinting at being intimidating. With a twinkle in her eye, that Geralt chose to ignore, she added, “But don’t rush. We won’t leave until morning, so you have plenty of time to make the best of the night.”

Neither Geralt nor Dandy commented on that last part and when Geralt looked at Dandy out of the corner of his eyes, there was a pretty blush colouring the actor’s cheeks.

Walking with Dandy’s hand in his was a strange experience. After having seen how he moved when he was on stage or surrounded by his friends, it was hard not to notice how differently he acted when it was just the two of them. He was still loud, talking nearly as much as Jaskier had, about the first play he had ever starred in, about the one time he had succeeded in making every other player break character while on stage and how Nadine was already debating which play they were going to rehearse next. Yet, despite the gush of words tumbling from Dandy’s lips, it was clear that part of his attention was constantly focussed on his cane.

It took Geralt more will power than he would have liked to admit not to warn Dandy of every little bump in the road or pull him closer when they turned into another street. Dandy had his own way of knowing where he was going and Geralt still remembered vividly how pissed Dandy had been one time when someone at a tavern had tried to flirt with him by insisting to do every single thing for him as if Dandy wasn’t fully capable of doing things for himself and having his own autonomy.

“So, where exactly are we going?” Dandy asked, before the comfortable conversation could fade into silence. “You never told me what your favourite spot here is.”

Geralt gave an amused hum. “Would you believe me if I said it was the market place?”

Dandy let out a bark of laughter. “Absolutely not. I know I am a delight to be around, but don’t think I didn’t notice how uncomfortable you are with the crowds.”

“Your friends are nice, though.”

Dandy’s grip on his hand tightened a little. “I’d say they are your friends too.”

Geralt’s jaw worked and his free hand twitched. “I’ve never been good at making friends. Or keeping them.”

Dandy let out a snort. “Oh please. You can’t honestly expect me to believe that.” When Geralt gave no reply, Dandy came to a stop. “Wait, really? You’re not joking? I-Geralt. I’ve known since the moment that you came backstage for the first time that I wanted to be your friend. You are…I don’t think you realise how good you are. There aren’t many people who would have helped me like you did without expecting anything in return.”

“Nadine let me watch your plays for free and she gave me a job.”

“None of which you asked for,” Dandy said gently. “I know Kara likes to exaggerate, but she said you were very adamant about paying to see the play on that first day.” Something in his posture shifted and he stepped a little closer to Geralt. “I might not have known you for that long, but you are the most amazing friend I could ask for.” His thumb caressed Geralt’s knuckles. “And if the friend you mentioned were here with us, I’m sure he would say the same thing.”

He would. Jaskier would say exactly the same thing. For once, the though didn’t pierce Geralt’s chest, but soothed the ache in it.

Geralt returned the soft caress and cleared his throat. “There is one friend I’ve had for a long time. I…would like for you to meet her, if you wanted to.”

Dandy’s expression softened. “I would love to.”

“I don’t know what I expected, but somehow I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised that your best friend is a horse.”

Dandy’s hand, which Geralt held gently towards Roach, didn’t tremble, but Dandy did suck in a sharp breath that ended in startled laughter when Roach bumped her muzzle against it eagerly.

Slowly, Geralt let go, while he watched Dandy get more comfortable stroking Roach. Almost immediately, Dandy found Roach’s favourite spot to get scratched between her ears. His voice went up in pitch as he started showering Roach in compliments and rhymes of praise – some of which were words Jaskier had spoken to Roach a hundred times before - which Roach rewarded by bumping her head against Dandy’s chest affectionately and nibbling at his clothes, making Dandy giggle.

It was such a soft moment, that Geralt’s heart swelled with unbearable fondness. This was how it was supposed to be. He could almost imagine how the future could be: Dandy leaning against him while they sat next to a campfire, just the two of them. Dandy bickering with Roach, once he realised that the mare liked to nibble on doublets. Dandy practicing his monologues while walking beside Geralt.

That dream was as beautiful as it was impossible.

Had the Path been dangerous for Jaskier, a bard who had a talent and experience in running away from danger, it would be a death sentence for Dandy. As much as he could orient himself in a city where the streets were at least somewhat even, his cane wouldn’t be much use when tracking through underbrush or climbing over rocks in the wilderness. Not to mention the monsters and bandits that would see Dandy as an easy target.

Even if Geralt would be able to somehow keep Dandy safe and only take roads that Dandy would be able to orient himself on, he knew that he could never convince Dandy to abandon his troupe, just to come with him. He didn’t want to convince him. If there was one thing Geralt had learned these past weeks, it was that the troupe was a family. He could never expect Dandy to leave them for him.

So he stayed quiet, doing his best to hold Roach in place while Dandy petted her neck.

He nearly startled, when Dandy broke the silence again.

“It’s going to be just the two of you then, when you leave?”

A pang shot through Geralt’s chest, but he forced the bitterness out of his voice when he replied, “It’s been like that most of the time. Roach is a good companion. Doesn’t let herself get hurt by monsters or bandits.”

Dandy gave a thoughtful hum. “She’s not easy to spook then? Is she good with other horses?” Almost like an afterthought, he added, “And loud people?”

Geralt scratched the space between Roach’s ears, keeping his eyes trained on her, even though he knew Dandy wouldn’t be able to tell if he was staring at him either way. He just couldn’t look at him when he spoke his next words.

“There was an incident during Belleteyn a couple of decades ago.” A hollow smile thinned his lips. “Got me into a lot of trouble. Not only me. But…she did get used to my bard. And he was as loud as one could get.”

Dandy started fidgeting with his cane, twirling it and then gripping it tightly again. “So…say, if she were to travel with a group of actors, she wouldn’t be bothered by the noise?”

Geralt’s heart jumped to his throat. “What are you saying?”

He couldn’t mean what Geralt so desperately wished he meant.

“I’m asking you to come with me. Us. The troupe.” Dandy’s hand stilled on Roach’s neck and he lifted his head. His sightless eyes were boring into Geralt, the seriousness of the moment making it hard to breathe.

“Dandy,” his voice was tight and the name burned on his tongue. “You don’t know what you’re asking. Witchers are…most people don’t like us.” Not anymore. Not since Jaskier was gone and his songs got lost to time. “If I came with you, I would only bring you trouble.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Dandy said hotly. “If there’s a place that’s bigoted enough to chase away witchers then I can guarantee they wouldn’t welcome travelling actors either. Not that we’d want to perform for such people anyway.”

“This isn’t just something you can ask in the spur of the moment-“

“You’re absolutely right, it’s not. Which is why I spent a lot of time thinking this through. Do you want a list for why we would be happy to have you come with us? Because I have a list. Mika helped me with it.”

Geralt let out a long sigh, but before he could protest further, Dandy had already straightened his spine and taken on the posture he had used when he had played the pirate in his most self-assured moments.

“You don’t have to stay with us forever, of course. Just for the winter. To see if you like it. It’s always dangerous for us to travel in the snow. You could keep us safe from bandits or monsters while we travelled and help out with setting up the stage when we get to towns?” This was his acting voice. By now, Geralt could recognised the intonation of it in his sleep. Dandy hadn’t exaggerated when he had said he’d thought about this. Clearly, he had taken the time to learn the list by heart. “Or take contracts there. Or you could sell tickets with Kara and make sure no one’s causing trouble over the price. Or you-“

“Dandy,” Geralt interjected softly, but Dandy pointedly ignored him.

“-could help us backstage during performances. That fire thingy and that blast magic of yours could be brilliant light or wind effects.”

Geralt let out a snort. “I don’t think having an open flame on stage is a good idea. And Aard isn’t that easy to control. My brother could maybe do it, but I’d probably blast you right off the stage if I tried.”

Dandy’s brows pinched together, then he shrugged. “That one was Mika’s idea. I told them it was ridiculous.”

“As opposed to the idea that anyone would want a witcher to travel with them in the first place.”

“Exactly.” A grin spread across Dandy’s face. “That is completely rational and there’s not a single argument that could convince me that it’s a bad idea.”

Geralt couldn’t stop himself from returning the smile. Good thing Dandy couldn’t see it, or he’d know that he had already won.

Though years of experience of being chased away and spat at, told Geralt that this wouldn’t end well for anyone, he also knew that winters were a rough time for a witcher out on the Path. Contracts were sparse and the few monsters one would come across, were more vicious than ever, made thirsty for blood from the lack of prey.

There were good arguments for why Geralt should come with the troupe. Deep in his heart, he already knew that he didn’t need those arguments. A part of him had been ready to follow Dandy to the end of the world from the moment that he had first seen him.

Still… “What about Nadine? She’s the one who’d have the last say.”

Dandy snorted, lacking any sort of grace. “Do you have a point? Because I don’t see it.”

Geralt spluttered, “Did- did you just-“

“Maybe,” Dandy said with a cheeky grin. “But you see, I already talked to Nadine about this. And she said, and I quote: ‘If he thinks he’d not be welcome here, tell him I think he’s an idiot and that I will personally kick his arse.’” Dandy left a dramatic pause, before he concluded, “And I would help her with that.”

“Dandy,” Geralt began, but Dandy interrupted him.

“Oh no. I will not hear another word of self-doubt from you. If you don’t want to come with us, that’s fine. But don’t you think for even a second that I would let it stand that you think we wouldn’t want you with us.”

“Dandy,” Geralt repeated softly but with more emphasis. He reached for Dandy’s hand, that was still resting on Roach’s neck and tangled their fingers together. “I will stay with you. For the winter.”

For as long as you’ll have me.

Travelling with the troupe was different than anything Geralt had ever experienced. For one, he didn’t have to sleep outside or pray to find an inn that would let him stay. Granted, sleeping in one of the spare wagons, a horrid green thing, in-between props, costumes and parts of the set design wasn’t the most comfortable Geralt had ever been, but it was so much better than sleeping on the freezing ground or having to worry about running out of coin.

But the most notable difference was the feeling of being part of a group. Geralt had his family back at Kaer Morhen, but it was different with them. They all had shared experiences and grief that had brought them closer together. Sure, there were memories of laughing together and just being happy were they were, but the reason the wolves were a pack was because of all the bad things that had been done to them and the need to fight against the bad memories.

For the players, it was the exact opposite. They had become a family out of their shared love for the theatre and it showed. Every once in a while, one of them would just start speaking strangely and it never took long for others to join in. Dandy had to explain to Geralt that they were making a game of only speaking in quotes of past plays and see who would remember the most lines. When Geralt asked why Dandy never joined in these games, Dandy laughed.

“Because I would win and leave them all looking stupid, obviously. You don’t want to watch them sulk over that, believe me.”

Geralt didn’t voice his doubts, but he was almost certain that the real reason for Dandy’s silence was that he didn’t want Geralt to feel left out.

The thing was, Geralt had watched the play about the pirate so many times that by now he felt he should know the entirety of it by heart.

The first time Geralt joined in the game by speaking the beginning of Dandy’s big monologue, he earned himself round-eyed looks and proud claps on the shoulder. Most importantly, he got to hear Dandy’s delighted laughter, that warmed Geralt from the inside, chasing away even the coldest winter wind.

Word travelled fast, especially when spread by actors, who made a point of mentioning that they were travelling with the elusive White Wolf to lure in bigger crowds whenever they settled down for a couple of weeks.

Soon, there was barely anyone left in the area, that didn’t know that Geralt was with them. Contrary to what he had feared, no one took that as an invitation to attack the actors. In fact, not a single bandit or thief dared to even look at them in a wrong way.

The protection that came with Geralt made the troupe much more relaxed than they had been in the first days of travel and even Geralt found himself less tense and alert than he would have been, had he been travelling on his own, not even wearing his armour most days during travel and keeping his weapons attached to Roach’s saddle.

He should have known better than to be so negligent.

Because while bandits might see Geralt and realise that attacking wouldn’t be a good idea, monsters only saw the colourful wagons, the tired horses and travellers and found themselves with a feasts on a silver platter.

Geralt should have been the first to notice that something was wrong. He should have heard the slow footsteps of a beast stalking its prey. He should have paid attention to the low humming of his medallion. He should have looked out for things that could take Dandy away from him instead of getting lost looking at him.

As it was, the horses were the first to notice. They started stomping their hooves and throwing their heads back nervously.

Then came the howl. It was dangerously close.

“What was that?” Nadine’s voice was tight with worry and she left her place at the front of their little caravan to make sure no one had separated from the group.

“A wolf?” Dandy suggested tentatively from where he was perched on one of the wagons.

Geralt’s face twisted into a scowl and his hand shot up to grip his medallion. Its low vibration made Geralt’s head snap around, searching for the threat.

“That’s no wolf.” His eyes darted over the treeline not far from them and the obvious tracks their wagons had left in the snow, making them far too easy to follow. “That’s something much worse.”

Dandy sucked in a sharp breath and Geralt wished, he’d be able to say something more comforting, but this was no time for lies.

“You have to go.” Geralt grabbed Nadine by the arm and gave her an imploring look. “Take the horses and run.”

Something fierce flickered through her eyes. “I will not leave a single member of this group behind. That includes you, witcher.”

Another howl, this one even closer than before. Geralt opened his mouth to snarl at Nadine that he was here to protect them, when the first horse fell into a panic.

It reared up, tried to dash away. The wagon it was pulling toppled and fell, taking the horse down with it with a panicked neigh.

Geralt whirled back to Nadine, whose eyes were now wide and full of fear.

“Go,” he pressed on. “Make sure the others are safe.”

For a long second, Geralt though she was going to protest, but then she raised her voice.

“You heard what he said. Get the horses free of the wagons and run!”

Immediately, the actors followed her command. Their movements were hectic and clumsy with panic. Geralt ran over to Roach, grabbing his silver sword and facing the treeline from where the howl had come. His muscles were tense as a bow string while he listened to the actors do their best to get on the horses before they fled. They weren’t fast enough.

With measures steps and a growl that Geralt felt in his bones, the beast left the shadows of the trees. From the distance, it almost looked like a wolf, but it was as big as a bear and instead of a pelt, it showed wiry muscles and claws sharper than any normal animal could have. Its neck was protected by a mattered mane that almost resembled a lion’s. It was a skullwarg, a beast evolved from a monster that should have died out ages ago.

Geralt gripped his sword tighter and ran to stand between the beast and the wagons.

“Geralt!”

Geralt jerked back violently at Dandy’s call. His blood ran cold. Dandy couldn’t run. He couldn’t ride. Not on his own.

“Geralt, you have to come with us!”

Geralt didn’t reply. He tried as best he could to shut Dandy’s cries out, but he continued to call for him, to beg him to flee with them, while the skullwarg stalked closer, baring its teeth.

It took all of Geralt’s strength not to turn around, as Dandy’s shouts became louder and more urgent. From the sounds of it, someone tried to pull him off the wagon and Dandy fought them tooth and nail.

Unbidden, images of Jaskier flooded Geralt’s mind. Jaskier lying on the ground, bleeding because Geralt hadn’t been able to get to him before a griffin did. Jaskier looking up at Geralt while blood dripped out of his mouth and his throat swelled from a djinn attack. Jaskier, lying in his arms, cold and unmoving.

Then the images shifted to Geralt clutching Dandy in his arms, trying to stop him from bleeding out, unable to do anything to stop the inevitable.

He blinked against those images, forced them away. He couldn’t let them become reality. Not yet. Not as long as he could stand between Dandy and death.

“Mika!” Geralt shouted without turning away, trusting that the actor was still close enough to hear and listen to him. “Get Dandy on Roach. Ride with him as far away as you can!”

“Geralt, no!” Geralt had to squeeze his eyes shut to drown out Dandy’s pleas. “No, Mika, don’t- We can’t just leave him. Geralt!”

Geralt opened his eyes just in time to see the skullwarg break into a sprint. Geralt widened his stance and faced the beast head-on.

The skullwarg jumped. Its claws grazed Geralt’s shoulder, just as he swung his sword, missing the opportunity to roll beneath it as he had learned. Staying in one place put Geralt at a clear disadvantage, but he couldn’t risk letting the beast get closer to the others.

He swung his sword mercilessly, evaded bites and claws, silently begging the others to hurry.

Fire erupted in his shoulder. Teeth like daggers buried into his flesh, dragging him down. The unexpected force flung his sword out of his grip. One of the beast’s paws pinned his arm to the ground.

The shouts behind him grew louder, more worried.

The beast’s breath above him smelled like decay and death. He needed to use igni, if he wanted to make it out alive.

But the horses were still near enough to become more agitated by the flames. Dandy was on one of those horses. If he fell because of Geralt and got left behind, there was little chance of him surviving.

Blazing agony shot through Geralt’s shoulder, as the skullwarg tore its teeth out of it again. Geralt panted and ground his teeth against the pain. He had to focus. He had to stay alive so he could protect the others!

He brazed himself for another attack. The beast’s maul snapped at him again. In the last second, Geralt threw his free hand up just enough to form Aard. The movement burned in his shoulder and left him gasping for air, but the shock of the blast that flung the beast to the side, bought Geralt a few precious moments. He pushed himself back up and darted to his sword.

Behind him, he could hear the clapping of hooves, as the horses sped away. Hopefully, the actors knew better than to return anytime soon.

If Geralt didn’t make it, he hoped that at least he would be able to buy them enough time to get themselves to safety.

Geralt watched with a tight jaw, how the beast shook its head and stood back up with a low growl. Without warning, the skullwarg charged again.

Geralt ducked behind one of the wagons, but the beast didn’t crush against it, as he had hoped, but rounded it in two quick jumps.

It was too fast.

Geralt wouldn’t be able to fight it with just his silver. Still, he slashed at it again in blind desperation. The blade came away bloody, but Geralt’s shoulder screamed with every swing, the edged of his vision going black with every time the pain flared up. He wouldn’t be able to last long like this.

Another hit. Another. Claws grazing his forehead as he tried to duck under the attack.

Blood dripped into Geralt’s eyes, dying the world red. Red. Red.

Like Jaskier’s blood. Like Dandy’s.

Geralt staggered forwards, sword lifted high above his head. His foot caught on something lying on the ground. It was Dandy’s cane.

His heart splintered like wood beneath an axe. He had lost his cane. He needed it. Geralt had to bring it back to him…

He shook his head, trying to get his mind to stay with him. He couldn’t risk getting distracted.

The skullwarg leaped towards him and rammed its head against Geralt’s chest. All air was pressed out of Geralt’s lungs, leaving him gasping.

He threw his arm up and a burst of flames burst out of his palm. The beast whined as his mane became bright red with flames. The fire flickered in its black eyes. Geralt panted and fell to his knees as he watched the best howl in pain and fury, running in circles to get the flames to stop devouring him. With a crash, the skullwarg collided with the wagon that had toppled before.

A roar, as the wood caught fire. Dandy’s living going up in flames.

“No.” Geralt’s eyes widened. The beast didn’t stop. Mindless in its fear, it bit at its own body, twisting and jumping, uncaring of where it went.

Geralt couldn’t let it set fire to any more of the wagons.

He ran, before he could think about what he was doing and jumped, barrelling into the beast and bringing it down with him, crashing against the wheels of another wagon. A crack went through the wood. Somewhere at the back of his mind, Geralt recognised the green paint as the wagon he used to sleep in.

Sharp agony tore him out of his thoughts. Claws dug into Geralt’s flesh and teeth tore into him, but Geralt couldn’t think, couldn’t stop to fight off the pain or the relentless attacks. He pressed the skullwarg to the ground with his own body, clenching his teeth against the pain of the flames licking at him. He dropped his sword, using his hands to shovel snow onto the flames. He had to quench them. Dandy couldn’t return to find his life burned down to ash.

He couldn’t waste a single moment.

Fire. The other wagon was still burning. The flames could easily devour the other wagons if Geralt didn’t do something. The smoke stung in his eyes, making it impossible to see.

Without thinking, Geralt threw another blast of Aard at the burning wagon, bringing a wave of snow with it and pushing the wagon away from the others.

The force of the blast pushed Geralt unexpectedly against the wagon he had crashed into before.

Another crack came from right behind him.

The skullwarg whined beneath him, thrust its ugly head to the side, desperate to get free. A shadow descended over them.

Geralt turned just in time to see another wheel of the wagon break from the force of the Aard.

He had no time to think, no time to get himself to safety. Still, Geralt threw himself forwards, trying to get away before the wagon came crashing down on him.

The wagon met the ground with an ear-splitting crash. The whining of the beast cut off abruptly.

Geralt was pressed to the ground, all air escaping him. He felt splinters tear his skin open, felt his own blood dripping to the snow below. The pain hit Geralt a second later.

It felt as if his whole body was crushed. He couldn’t breathe.

He tried to move, tried to push the wagon off him, tried to crawl out from beneath it.

He didn’t make it more than a few feet, just enough that his fingers met the cane that lay abandoned in the snow.

His fingers closed around the cool wood, holding it like a lifeline.

Geralt’s breathing was shallow, every intake of breath felt like swallowing shards of glass. He could do nothing but welcome the numb darkness that welcomed him in its arms.

#reincarnation au #geraskier #geralt #jaskier #fic #witcher #witcher fic #fanfic #my writing

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btsmosphere · 4 years

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When You Know | KSJ x MYG

~summary: Seokjin and Yoongi aren’t just neighbours. They are enemies. Well, either that or they were destined to be in each other’s arms, but Yoongi can’t see that happening (nor can his cat). Let their friends try all they want, but they’d have to weather storms together and stand back to back in battle before Yoongi would look twice at Jin... Jin x Yoongi ~word count: 3.3k ~enemies to lovers, soulmate au (you have the name of your enemy AND your soulmate tattooed, without knowing which is which), neighbour au, crack, humour, fluff, angst if you squint? Rating: pg13 Warnings: swearing, that’s it :) ~a/n: welcome to my first mxm fic! This is for a special occasion as it is the wonderful @eternalseokjin‘s birthday!! To celebrate Dean’s birthday over at @thebtswritersclub we were sent a bingo card and a challenge to include everything on it in one fic. Our regular mxr content will resume soon, but this has been super fun to write, even if the outcome is -ahem- quite chaotic. So, enjoy, but don’t ask me what’s going on here. I don’t know, and the characters certainly don’t either...

At the end of the fic, I will include what was on my bingo square, in case anyone wants to know, and some basics about d&d for those who (like me a few weeks ago) know nothing about it, but I promise you don’t need to know this to read the fic!

“You’re not serious.”

“I am totally serious.”

Namjoon’s straight-faced response matched Yoongi’s exactly, leaving the two in a sort of staring contest. Seeing no change in the other, Namjoon cracked first, slumping back into the sofa with a sigh.

“Yoongi, come on. It’s not that big of a deal-“

“Why would I want to do it?” Yoongi grumbled.

“it’s just a bit of fun-“

“Then go and do it with Seokjin. I’m sure you’ll have a great time playing wizards, or whatever the fuck-“

“That’s the entire point!” Namjoon threw his hands up in frustration, “we will all be playing, you and Jin included, and we will have a great time.”

Yoongi wasn’t sure if he had ever been threatened with having fun before. Staring back at his friend, his expression remained guarded. Eventually, he sucked at his teeth, turning his eyes away from the younger man.

“Fine,” he bit out.

“Thank you,” Namjoon huffed, pushing on his knees to stand up, “we’ll start at 5 on Sunday, but I’ll get here earlier. Jin will bring food to make up for the trouble.”

Following Joon out to see him off, Yoongi’s brows furrowed.

“Wait- what trouble? And what do you mean you’ll get here-“

“You’ll be hosting. Okay, bye!”

The door was shut in his face before he could protest any further. Cursing Namjoon for knowing him so damn well, Yoongi stomped to the kitchen and soon began scrubbing the teacups to within an inch of their life.

He’d heard of dungeons and dragons before. Well, vaguely. It hadn’t occurred to him before to pay attention to Namjoon whenever he spoke about it, because surprisingly enough, he hadn’t expected his friend to suddenly whip it out as a method of forcing him and Seokjin – his mortal enemy – to bond.

The whole mortal enemy thing wasn’t even an exaggeration.

What else were you supposed to think when the new neighbour, whose name happens to be printed on your wrist, tries to turn your cat over to the authorities on their first day after it launched a ‘targeted attack’ on their pet sugar gliders.

Yoongi was yet to meet the mysterious V that graced his other wrist, but he knew for sure that Kim Seokjin was his enemy. He could not be soulmates with someone who thinks it’s okay to leave a pair of sugar gliders by an open window and not expect a cat to see them as a tasty meal.

When they had learned each other’s names, and of course connected them with their tattoos, an icy silence fell between the neighbours.

Every now and then, Yoongi would get a reminder of the fact his mortal enemy lived next door. Like this morning, when Seokjin’s wheely bin had blown over and spilled rubbish onto his lawn.

Yes, that man’s evil knew no limits.

And if Yoongi would have to endure his friends’ attempts at reconciling the two of them, in his own house, then he was sure of one thing. He was not going to eat Seokjin’s cooking. It was probably awful, anyway.

That Sunday, at precisely five minutes to five, Namjoon arrived. Yoongi’s eyes widened in alarm at the bulging folder held under his arm. He really had come prepared. Yoongi had barely spent twenty minutes scribbling down some things about his character. Well, except when he had to read all about the different class choices… and then when he needed to select the perfect traits… and picking his spells was quite tough too…

“Are you excited?” Namjoon grinned as he set his stuff down, but then he faltered, “…I did tell you Jin would bring food, didn’t I?”

“Can’t remember,” Yoongi muttered.

He slouched over to the sofa while Namjoon shrugged, grabbing a bite from the nearest bowl of snacks. The table was littered with them, and Yoongi would never admit just how early he had got up that morning to start cooking.

Jungkook turned up next, and of course the brat would instantly wolf down the tub of popcorn rather than the bites Yoongi had been slaving over.

Seokjin’s was the last knock on the door, and a timid one at that. Although it may have had something to do with the food his arms were laden with.

As Yoongi opened the door (Namjoon had shoved him towards it before anyone else had the chance to respond), he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit guilty. It seemed his neighbour had worked just as hard as him on preparing it all.

But still, more of a grimace than a smile showed on his face.

“This way,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

His guilt was short-lived, irritation setting back in as Seokjin invited himself into the kitchen to put down his things. Jungkook bounded after him almost instantly, the pair’s loud greeting audible from the next room.

Turning away bitterly, Yoongi sat in the empty seat between Namjoon and Taehyung, determined to keep his distance from Seokjin.

In time, however, he came to regret this decision, if only because it put Seokjin in full view of the eyes Yoongi so desperately wanted to roll when he announced he wanted to attempt to charm his way to free dinner at the first inn they got to. His reason? His stupid elf claimed to be ‘worldwide handsome’.

The infuriating smirk on his face as he declared this (and then proceeded to pass his roll, because of course) left Yoongi with little doubt this arrogance was nothing but a projection.

After introducing themselves, Yoongi slumping back in his chair the whole time, he let the others take the lead as they set off to find monsters, or something. A pointed look from Namjoon prompted him to pay more attention.

In fairness, he had been a bit creeped out when Taehyung announced he had named his character ‘V’, but he tried his best to listen to the adventure as Namjoon described it. And so they went along, the supply of snacks steadily dwindling as they made their way through some ruins.

The scene was quite vivid, until-

“That’s cat food, Jungkook!”

“Urgh, gross,” Jimin groaned as Jin pried the bowl away from the sheepish-faced younger.

If it had been anyone else, Yoongi would have returned the fond-but-exasperated look they were all well practised in, given the nature of their younger friends. As it was, he ducked his head, scribbling nonsense on his notepad.

It would be a lie if Yoongi said he wasn’t quite proud of himself for solving a riddle to get them into the final room, and getting the final hit on the hellhound inside. And maybe, just maybe, he was a little excited for their next game.

Shutting the door at long last, Yoongi paused for a moment.

Screw Namjoon and his good ideas.

Clearing away the dishes, Yoongi couldn’t help a glance out the window to watch as Seokjin let himself in to his own place, his own stack of plates in his arms. Not that he would ever admit it, Yoongi hadn’t been able to resist just one bite…

Well, it turned into a lot more than that. Maybe Seokjin was a good cook after all.

But that was just one redeeming quality. Best not get ahead of himself.

Yoongi was in trouble.

It had only been a couple more weeks, but he knew that much. As they sat around his table, he caught himself laughing along to Jin’s jokes. And look, he was already calling him Jin! No, he had to stick to Seokjin, the evil neighbour, his enemy.

If he got fond, he would only be sorry later when Jin – Seokjin – did something to remind Yoongi of what a terrible person he was.

Shame all of this seemed to slip his mind the moment Jin came around again.

“The slope is steep, with rocks falling where you move your feet. You can still hear the song, though, and you are certain it’s coming from inside the dark opening you can see at the bottom of the path.”

“No. Absolutely not,” Yoongi was the first to speak.

“Are you kidding? We just spent like an hour trekking over here specifically because of that music,” Taehyung was next to chip in, jabbing his finger into the table.

“It wasn’t an hour,” Yoongi rolled his eyes, “Joon told us it was hour, it was what? One minute?”

A high pitched giggle from Jin was overtaken next by Jimin.

“No, I can feel the weariness in my bones! It won’t be complete until we hear the song!”

“We’ve been hearing it all this time! Aren’t you guys sick of it by now?” Jin retorted.

“No! Joon specifically said it’s the most beautiful music we’ve ever heard,” Tae insisted.

“I don’t give a shit if there’s a chorus of angels in there, my dexterity is not gonna let me get down that cliff,” Yoongi folded his arms to punctuate his argument.

“Ugh, fine, well I want to go down with V,” Jimin said.

The two factions that had emerged looked expectantly towards Namjoon.

“Okay, so V and Christian want to go down and Genie and Suga want to stay here. Anyone else?”

“Yeah, I’ll go down,” Kook shrugged.

All heads turned now to Hobi. Unease written all over his features, he glanced between the two groups.

“Come one, don’t be boring, hyung!” Jimin elbowed him.

“Yeah, come with us!” Kook bounced in his seat as Taehyung switched on the puppy eyes with a string of ‘pleeeease’s.

Cracking under the force of the youngers’ begging, Hoseok laughed and agreed.

Folding his arms, Yoongi leant back in his chair, more than ready to be a bystander to whatever the hell the others were about to get themselves into.

The others of course had an irritating success rate, somehow making it down the cliff without plummeting to their deaths. Not that Yoongi would ever wish death upon his own party members. Of course not.

It would have been funny, though.

Anyway, despite his aversion to following them, Yoongi admittedly was a little curious about the mysterious music they had followed here.

“Stepping inside the cave, the party hears the music louder than ever, ringing in their ears as it bounces off the rocks, making its source unclear. However, it doesn’t offend your ears. The cave extends further into the cliff, and you follow the sound further in. But as you take a step, a great groaning drowns out the music. Behind you, the mouth of the cave shifts, everything around you going black.

“Those of you at the top of the cliff stumble back from the edge as they see the path crumble away into the sea from the shaking of the earth.”

Namjoon sniggered softly at the silence that followed.

Staring at him with comically large eyes, Hobi and Tae looked terrified. As Yoongi watched, Tae slowly turned his head, a smirk turning the edges of his mouth underneath puppy eyes.

“Come rescue us?” he asked sheepishly.

Before Yoongi could respond, Jin was cutting him off.

“Well, that was a fun detour! Where was it we were heading again, Yoongi?”

Yoongi had been preparing to be mad at Seokjin, but his glare dissolved quickly into a snort.

“Yeah, that demon up the road needs seeing to,” he agreed, creating instant uproar from the others.

“You can’t leave us!”

“Justin’s scared of the dark!”

“Traitors!”

However, Jin’s squeaky laugh as he revelled in the others’ pain was all Yoongi could hear. Then Jin leaned closer.

It was all Yoongi could do not jump from his seat when Seokjin’s voice spoke in his ear.

“Shall we leave them?” he was barely containing his mirth.

Feeling rather like he was plotting a prank in the back of the classroom, Yoongi grinned and agreed with a nod. He didn’t quite trust his voice to function as Jin’s breath tickled his cheek.

“We’re leaving!” Jin declared, sitting back in his chair, satisfied.

Before any more chaos could erupt, Namjoon continued with a smirk.

“Okay, so Suga and Genie carry on their previous path, away from their friends and the cliff…”

This was officially getting out of hand.

First of all, Yoongi couldn’t believe how eagerly he was anticipating the weekend, when Seokjin and the others would come around.

Particularly worrying, however, was the way Yoongi had to restrain himself from going to see Jin before Sunday rolled around. It was as if that writing on his wrist was staring at him. The more he tried to look away, the later he would find himself sat up at night, glancing between his wrists and what was written there.

Surely, if Kim Seokjin was his enemy, he wouldn’t be dying to ask how he makes his ramen taste so good. Or how his day was, or any trivial thing, just to be able to have Jin’s eyes on him and his voice in his ears.

Second of all, he had no idea how their campaign had devolved into such utter chaos.

Since the party split, the others made friends with the sirens they found in the cave, and ended up at a drinking party with some demons while Yoongi and Jin were nearly killed by one some miles away on the surface. The demons had apparently taken a particular shining to V, as a tiefling, which resulted in the group they abandoned somehow siding with the very demons they were trying to kill at the start.

Last Sunday had seen Yoongi and Jin going out of their way to find random things to beat to death in the forest, trying to get as many points as possible to face off against four members and goodness knows how many demons.

Yes, this had got rather out of hand.

Two old foes stand face to face on a precipice. Around them, fire blazes. This battle has ravaged the very land they stand upon, whipped the air into a frenzy.

Admittedly, they can barely remember what started this feud. Rumour has it these two great powers were friends, once. If that was so, it was a long time ago.

V stands, battle-worn, waiting for his adversary to make a move.

Suga looks at the body of his fallen companion.

“I’ve only got one spell slot left.”

“Use it,” a whisper returned.

“Aren’t you dead?! Stop talking to each other!” Jimin exclaimed, finger pointing accusingly towards Jin.

“Okay,” Yoongi cut in before they could start arguing, “if this hits, I can take him down. But there’s a fat chance of that, with his AC…“

Trepidation filled him as he looked across the table to Taehyung, a small but unmistakeably victorious smile already on his lips.

A dry chuckle came from one side.

“It’s been a good run,” Jin clapped him on the shoulder.

“Are you accepting defeat?” Joon prompted.

“No…” a hand ran down Yoongi’s face, “I’ll give it a go…”

“There’s no way! If you succeed…” Jin laughed, “if you succeed, I’ll kiss you.”

A quiet round of laughter went around the others, too focussed on the dice in Yoongi’s hand to pay it any mind. But Yoongi could no longer concentrate on that. What did Jin just say?

He couldn’t mean that.

There was no way he would kiss Yoongi. Was there?

All he could hear was the slow drumming of his heart rushing in his ears. The breath caught in his throat as he reminded himself to raise his hand, dice cupped inside.

It wasn’t just the defeat of V he hoped for as it rolled off his fingers, dropping onto the tabletop.

The faces flipped over, every eye trained on it. Around the table, there was no sound. Even Jungkook had stopped munching his popcorn, mouth hanging open.

Round, round, round…

Yoongi caught a glimpse of 20, the magic number, right within reach.

A small thud, the dice settling. A number glared up at him.

All the air left his lungs, deflating as he stared at the number. For a second, the table remained silent as everyone came to terms with the roll, the only sound the tapping of his cat’s paws-

Wait.

When Yoongi turned to find his cat leaping onto the table, it was already to late to grab her as she dashed across the surface. As she went, her paws caught a bowl of snacks, Joon’s notepaper, the dice. Hobi exclaimed with shock, several yells going up as everyone snatched their own stuff out of her way. Jungkook had dived after the snacks.

“Hey!” Yoongi shooed her as he stood up, watching her dart out into the hall.

“Oh my god…”

The small mutter from Jimin caught his attention. Looking around, Yoongi found him staring at the table and followed his gaze to the crime scene. In the centre of which, the dice still lay.

But now, a different number was displayed.

Yoongi’s jaw dropped. It was 20.

“That’s not fair!” Taehyung cried.

“Shush Tae, Jin has to do what he promised,” Hoseok teased, nudging a very red-eared Jin.

“Yah! Hey, I-I, that’s-” Jin spluttered, mouth seemingly fixed open as his cheeks warmed, growing defensive.

As Yoongi watched, Jin only stuttered more under the teasing cries erupting from the other boys as they egged him on with an array of ‘go on’s and ‘you said you would!’

“I-I-“ his eyes flickered over to Yoongi’s.

And despite the jeering and laughter in the background, neither of them looked away. Jin’s lips remained parted, ears pink with embarrassment, protests lodged in his throat.

Yoongi stepped forwards and kissed him.

The distance between them closed in the blink of an eye, Yoongi’s hand flying to Jin’s jaw as he pulled him in, turning his back to the gasps and cheers of their friends.

But they didn’t hear it. Not when their lips were pressed together like this, lighting fireworks in Yoongi’s stomach until he felt like sparks might fly out of his fingertips, the ones he was trailing down Jin’s neck, the ones pulling at the small of his back to bring him closer.

The others had gone quiet.

By the time he groggily pulled away, Yoongi seemed to have forgotten what the world looked like. Were his feet even on the ground?

In what was probably a mirror image of his own face, Jin stared back at him, eyes wide and those perfect lips round with shock. Jin’s fingers trembled as he brought them to his mouth.

“Holy fuck.”

“U-uh, guys,” a small voice from behind them did little to snap them from their trance.

“That was-“ Yoongi breathed, words escaping him.

“It’s you, you idiot!” a grin broke onto Jin’s face.

A laugh left Yoongi’s throat, taking him by surprise.

“It- really?”

“Did you not feel that too?”

Eyes still not leaving the beautiful man in front of him, Yoongi realised. Jin was completely right. Everyone had always told him how it would feel, when he kissed his soulmate. Like butterflies, or a flame, or like the world turned golden.

But through all the different feelings people described, there was one common thread. When you know, you know.

“You’re my soulmate.”

It wasn’t something he had to question, the words leaving him as easily as air.

“You’re my soulmate!”

And then he was wrapped up in Jin’s arms, his lips captured once again, euphoric feeling surging through his body once more.

“Come on, guys…” Namjoon’s groans were completely ignored.

Taehyung was still a bit put out that V had been slain at the last hurdle, but it hardly seemed fitting to be angry about it anymore, what with his two friends falling in love in front of him.

Everyone left together after the revelation, and pretty swiftly at that, deciding to leave them to it. And for once, Jin wouldn’t be leaving with them, even if he would only be one house away.

Smile never once leaving his face, Jin turned to Yoongi after shutting the door.

“So, what are we going to do about my sugar gliders?”

Thanks everyone for reading!! Reblog if you liked it xx

Taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @kb-bangtanenthusiast

Okay, for anyone interested, my bingo card contained: dungeons & dragons, neighbours, enemies to lovers, namjoon, yoonjin, cats, fluff, music, soulmates And here are some dnd basics for those who want them: you have a dungeon master or dm (Namjoon here) who tells a story. The others play as a character and choose what they want to do in the given situation. There are scores that dictate how good your character is at certain traits, and you roll the dice to see whether you succeed in your choices. That’s really all you need to know for the purposes of this fic, but you can ask me any questions too!

Lastly, I have to give another HUGE happy birthday to the amazing writer and friend and person @eternalseokjin!! I hope you have the best day, you really deserve it! I’m so glad to have met you and of course played dnd together in the net! Lots of love xx

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lifeofkaze · 4 years

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An Art of Balance #12

Word Count: ~ 2.400

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Chapter 12: Secret Santa

December had come around, bringing with it the heaps of snow Hogwarts had been spared from so far. Within days it buried everything in sight under a thick white blanket, transforming the landscape outside into a powdery winter wonderland.

Peeves had took it as his personal assignment to dump a heap of snow on every unsuspecting passer-by from questionable heights until Professor McGonagall publicly threatened to turn him into a Christmas cracker if she saw him with so much as a single snowflake in his unsubstantial hands again.

And as the castle was slowly but surely covered in ornaments and twinkling lights, the festive spirit spread into even the most remote corners of the dungeons.

It had become tradition for the Hufflepuff team to celebrate the holidays in their own way. Even back when Orion hadn’t been captain, the team used to gather after the last practise of the year for a small get-together in the Common Room, including a game of Secret Santa.

Whereas the idea of material gifts had never posed much of an interest to him, Orion couldn’t deny the astounding effect the game had on the rest of the team. The excitement of receiving a present from someone unknown positively electrified his friends. Consulting the ones closest to your assigned person for a suitable gift never failed to knit their team closer together.

So he had just continued entertaining this ritual after he had stepped up into his position. Especially this year, they could do with a little bit of festive unison.

The snowfall had increased again just as they were wrapping up their last manoeuvres. Everyone practically jumped off their broomsticks to retreat into the comforting warmth and light of the Common Room.

McNully was already waiting for them as they entered through the narrow passageway, a trail of melted snow dragging on behind them. A small jute pouch adorned with an embroidered Christmas Tree rested on his lap. Fully immersed in the festive spirit, he was sporting a particularly nasty sweater picturing a badger dancing with a raven instead of his usual white shirt and tie. His golden snitch was still pinned to his chest, however.

He wiggled his eyebrows in anticipation as they all got changed into their yellow and black team sweaters and settled down around him. A pot of hot chocolate was passed around, the warm smell spreading in the Common Room as each player poured themselves a cup, glad for something to put their freezing hands around.

McNully reached into the pouch and started mixing up the slips of parchment he had prepared in advance while reminding them of the rules.

“It is time for our annual Christmas draw, ladies and gentlemen! As we have some new faces to join in on the fun this year,” he inclined his head towards Everett, “I will present to you the rules once again.”

Orion shook his head with a chuckle. Murphy McNully, forever the presenter.

“Everyone is to draw a name of another member of the team. You have time until Christmas Day to buy, craft or create a suitable present for your assigned person. You may not reveal your identity to them unless they guess correctly. You are not to reveal your draw to another person unless your un-festive mind can’t think of anything to gift and needs creative assistance. If you fail to deliver on your task, I will brand you a Christmas troll and announce it publicly on your next friendly.”

Orion bit back a laugh at Murphy’s newest addition to the rules. His friend took the holidays very seriously.

They all took their turn lining up and dove their hands into the pouch, pulling out a neatly folded piece of parchment. The reactions to the names written on them ranged from relief over confusion to horror when it was a particularly difficult person to find a gift for. Orion found it fascinating to observe.

Laughter erupting from one of the armchairs drew his attention. Skye slumped in it while Lizzie was sitting on the floor with her back against the yellow armrest. Lucy had just showed her parchment to them, looking more chagrined than anything. Upon reading what was written on it, Skye had whispered something to them, prompting the girls to burst into laughter.

“You are not supposed to show who you got just yet!” Murphy scolded the girls. Spreading Christmas joy was a very serious business to him.

“Sorry!” Lizzie tried to appease him while still shaking from suppressed laughter. “Just go on!” Skye muttered something into her ear, drawing another set of giggles from her.

With an indignant huff Murphy returned to monitor the drawing while Orion quietly observed the scene. There were still some stray snowflakes hanging in her hair which was curling around her face as it dried in the warm air of the room. Her cheeks had turned red from laughing at Skye’s joke, a smile lingering on her lips, reaching up into her eyes.

He hadn’t seen Lizzie as carefree since what had happened back at the concert a few weeks prior. Everyone but McNully had left Hogsmeade soon after she had suddenly disappeared. They had found her in the Common Room, curled up in front of the fireplace, nose buried in a book and Mouse snuggled up on her lap. She had retreated to her dorm almost immediately after their arrival.

Neither of them had mentioned what had happened with so much as even a word. It wasn’t like Orion had a problem with that. He wasn’t entirely sure himself in what direction they had set their steps that day, or why he couldn’t get a hold of the reason everything had gone out of hand. It was like smoke, evading his grasp as soon as he tried to set his mind on unravelling what had taken place between them.

But he had noticed how Lizzie had started avoiding his company. Where she had been perfectly comfortable around him before, she now made sure someone was with her at all times, positively clinging to Skye when they had practise or her friend Rowan during their tutoring lessons.

It was this change of atmosphere Orion felt truly sorry about. He considered his friends his family and Lizzie actively seeking her distance from him unsettled him more than he cared to admit. It had never been his intention to cross a line. Like a fool, he had let himself get carried away in the spur of the moment. He should have known better by now.

He missed chatting with her in the greenhouse the most. Lizzie was one of the few people seeing beyond him being the captain of the Hufflepuff team. She was actually listening to what he had to say. Instead of tuning out when she didn’t understand his point, she gave his words a thought until she had figured it out.

As much as he longed to equilibrate their friendship again, he would have never forced her to talk to him if she clearly did not wish to do so.

Perhaps it was a good thing the Christmas break was so close. For the first time in years Orion was glad almost everyone was returning home for the holidays. Having the Common Room mostly to himself was the perfect occasion to take a step back and regain the balance he had been struggling to maintain as of late.

He wasn’t the only one watching the chuckling group of girls, however.

Everett seemed to be oddly interested in their conversation as well, his intense gaze trailing Lizzie’s every movement. Sensing Orion’s attention shifting to him, he suddenly perked his head up. His grey eyes narrowed as they made contact with Orion, an unspoken challenge hanging in the air between them.

Orion had no interest in a fight with him, so he merely held his gaze with level eyes. It took Everett a moment, but eventually, he broke the contact and turned away.

“Why is he looking at you like that?” McNully had finished monitoring the draw and came over to him. Everyone else was chatting excitedly about gift ideas and the upcoming break by now.

Orion’s eyes followed Everett as he got up and strutted over to the boys sharing their dorm. Maybe choosing him for the team had not been the wisest decision after all.

“People with strong characters like him often feel the inherent need to establish a hierarchy between them and others they deem a threat to their dominance,” Orion responded, half lost in thought.

“A threat, you?” McNully chortled.

He had to smile at his poor choice of words. “While I may not portray a dominant character, as captain I do fill the most prominent position in this team,” he explained his meaning. “I consider every one of us a vital piece of the greater picture and I find rivalries within our team to be unfortunate; we should always strive for unison. Because without unison, how can we reach a common goal?”

McNully stared after their roommate, silently calculating. “Whatever this is about, if he happened to have drawn your name, I’d like to inform you that there is the small possibility of 9.2 % that a present from him might be really unpleasant.”

His face suddenly lit up again and he shoved the almost empty pouch in Orion’s face. “Speaking of which, there’s only you and I left now.”

Not being half as enthusiastic as his friend, Orion waved him on. “Go ahead, I’ll take the last one.”

McNully pulled one of the two remaining slips of parchment out of the bag. A grin spread on his face when he read the name written on it. “Oh, that’s a tough one,” he mused, grey eyes sparkling. “Brilliant! I like a good challenge.”

He upended the pouch into his hand and handed the last parchment to Orion; he always took the one that was left.

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile as he read the name written on it. Apparently, the universe had his own twisted sense of humour.

“Who’d you get to make you grin like that?”

Skye had suddenly appeared by his side, craning her head to catch a glimpse of the piece of paper between Orion’s fingers. He shifted his arm slightly to block her view and folded it up again.

“Skye, are you coming? We need to finish that Charms essay before the library closes,” Lizzie called over to her friend. She had gotten to her feet, her hand resting only lightly on the back of the armchair. She seemed very eager to leave the scene.

“Go ahead if you don’t want to wait, I’ll catch up to you.”

Lizzie hesitated for a moment before stepping back towards the group. She rubbed her hands against her arm and joined them, albeit subtly standing as far away from Orion as possible without it looking suspicious. He noticed it anyway.

Their eyes met for the briefest moment as she caught him looking at her and she immediately dropped her gaze, suddenly very invested in pulling on a loose thread at the hem of her sweater.

Skye tried to use his distraction to her advantage. With a quick movement she attempted to snatch the piece of parchment he was still holding between his index and his middle finger out of his hand.

“You are not supposed to know!” McNully shooed her away as Orion tucked the paper into the pocket of his pants.

“Don’t violate the rules, Skye Parkin, I’m warning you!” McNully scowled at her. “Lucy shouldn’t have shown you her parchment either. What was so funny about it anyway?”

Skye stuck her tongue out at him. “Of course, now you want to know.” She snickered again. “Lucy got Everett and has no idea what to get him. I told her maybe a braincell or two wouldn’t hurt.”

Orion tried to suppress his grin in vain, while even Lizzie started giggling again. Everett really didn’t seem to be the most popular member of their team.

“This is not what this game is about!” Murphy scolded, but he was grinning at Skye’s suggestion all the same. “Don’t ruin the Christmas spirit with your bad jokes.”

They were the only ones left in front of the fireplace. The other members of their team had one after the other filed away, now minding their own business. Skye sat down on the armrest of the sofa, resting her feet on the cushions.

“Speaking of Christmas, what are your plans this year?”

“I’m with my mum and grandma of course ,” Murphy told them while pointedly pushing Skye’s feet off the seat again. “Orion is going stay at the castle, I presume?”

Orion inclined his head. He always stayed at Hogwarts if he could.

“I’ll be with my family as well,” Lizzie added to the conversation. “We haven’t had a family Christmas for two years in a row now. My parents have been visiting my brother Jacob in the States.”

“I remember; you were at Weasley’s place for the past two years, weren’t you?” Skye mused. “That was when you and him- “

“Exactly; I’m really looking forward to being home for a bit,” Lizzie shut her friend up hurriedly.

Orion could see her cheeks blush slightly. He wondered why she was so intent on silencing Skye.

“It’ll be great to spend a bit of time with my family,” she quickly continued, brushing over Skye’s protest. “I’ll probably meet Penny some time as well; her family doesn’t live far from us.”

Skye had stopped protesting at her words; a sad expression shone in her eyes. The relationship between her and Penny was still strained, as far as Orion was aware.

He watched the girls chatter on about Christmas in silence. He saw Skye lean in to Lizzie. Although he didn’t mean to overhear their conversation, Skye was talking too loudly for him not to hear her words.

“You’re meeting Penny?” she asked silently. “Do you think you could talk to her on my behalf? Things are still so weird and I just want this to be over with,” she pleaded.

Lizzie shrugged. “Sure, I can try.”

“Smashing!”

Orion was still thinking about Skye’s request after the girls had left for the library and he and McNully had started a round of Wizards Chess. The Christmas break came at exactly the right time. It was an opportunity to look at things from a healthy distance and to get things back to order.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was desperately in need of it.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #orion amari x mc #quidditch #murphy mcnully #skye parkin #art of balance #lizzie jameson #quidditch squad #the quidditch squad

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sheerbeautyreigns · 4 years

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SECRET

Part 37

"I'd just like to keep you like this."

Jade kept herself busy over the next few days. She mostly caught up with work admin as well as sorting things for Christmas, which was only a week away. She wanted to do something special for Joe so she ordered some sexy new lingerie. She knew what he liked so when she went to his after Smackdown that Friday, she was excited to see him. He’d given her a key to let herself in since he was running a little behind discussing TLC that weekend with Kevin and Michael.

There were a few items of clothing that she needed to wash after Smackdown so she went into the utility room. After she had loaded the machine and turned it on she noticed that the door leading into the basement was ajar. The light had been left on. She opened the door fully and could faintly smell leather. The steps had been professionally painted and it looked like there was some sort of mood lighting. Intrigued, she descended the stairs.

She swallowed as her eyes fixed on the scene before her. She had stumbled into his dungeon. As she got to the foot of the stairs, she heard his car parking in the garage. Quickly she went back upstairs and closed the door behind her. She could feel her heart beating fast as she walked into the kitchen. At that moment, Joe came in the front door. “Baby?” He called out. “I’m in here!” She responded. Joe pulled her into a passionate kiss while squeezing her buttocks. “Missed you.” He groaned, not letting her go. “Misses you too.” She smiled looking up into his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind, I had a few things I needed to wash so I just put them in your machine.”

“That’s fine baby. I’ve been waiting to get you to myself all day.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “Let’s go upstairs. I have something special for you.” She took his hand and followed him to his room. A nervous pang filled her stomach as he removed her cropped leather jacket and set it aside. “Strip off for me.” He cooed in her ear. She did as told as he too undressed down to his boxers. He picked a black box off the dresser and set it on the bed. “Open it.” She looked at him and smiled as she took the lid off. She gasped inaudibly and looked at him. “I had them made for you.” She took the black and gold leather restraints out carefully. The smell of leather filled the room. “May I?”

She nodded and handed them to Joe. Carefully, he went about fastening them around her wrists and ankles. “They fit perfectly.” He was clearly happy with his choice. She didn’t notice but there was something else in the box. He took out a matching, delicate collar with a gold chain attached. “I hope you don’t think this is too soon. After our talks, I know you’re aware of what you’re getting into with me...” He sounded a little nervous. Without a word, she held her hair up, as if asking him to put it on. It snapped into place. She hadn’t experienced this feeling on a long time. There was no other feeling like wearing a collar. The feeling of being owned. Controlled. “It suits you.” Joe observed before kissing her tenderly, lowering her to the bed. He positioned her so she was lying in the middle. She watched as he went about restraining her wrists to the corners of the bed, thanks to a couple of straps that he had fixed on. She could feel her heartbeat start to quicken, the more helpless she became. This was her first time with Joe. He was so gentle in the way he handled her that she felt safe. A small smile crossed his face once he had finished restraining her ankles. He stripped off his boxers and kneeled between her legs. She moaned aloud once his fingers trailed along her wet pussy. “You like this.” He said assumptively, looking into her eyes. “Yes. Yes Sir.” He smiled again lowering his mouth to her left breast. His tongue teased around her nipple as her deep breaths came into play. He gripped it with his teeth, tugging gently while smiling devilishly up at her. She smiled nervously at him as her body writhed below his. He trailed sweet, soft kisses down her body, edging towards her pussy. Her pink flesh glistened with wetness. He lowered his head between her thighs and began to kiss her at first and then follow on with licking her out. “Yess, awwww. Yesssssss...” She encouraged from above, spreading her legs further for him. She loved when he did this. His tongue could work wonders in driving her wild. He teased her there, enjoying every moment while she writhed helplessly on the bed.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He was too turned on at the fact that she was at his mercy. He rose up, pulling her hips towards his hard cock. He’d never seen her so wet. Gently he penetrated her. She moaned aloud, straining against her bonds as he watched with a smirk. “You’re so fucking hot, tied up like that baby.” He grunted as he started to fuck her. He held her steady by her hips, eyeing her body as it lay spread out before him. She watched him attentively, groaning along with each thrust. He reached forward and yanked the gold chain attached to the collar, pulling her up closer to his. She gasped as his cock penetrated her even further. “Good girl.” He said breathlessly, watching her struggle to keep her composure. Without warning, he let her go, allowing her the fall back on the bed. Her eyes widened as he came “Fuck!” He let out as he slammed into her, balls deep, bowing his head, shuddering. After a few moments, he pulled out and sank down to her side. “I love you.” He told her as he cupped her jaw and kissed her tenderly after propping himself up. His hand trailed down to her breasts where he fondled them. He loved to hear her quickened breaths and watch as her skin pricked up. “I’d just like to keep you like this.” He muttered as his hand trailed down to her pussy once again. A hopeless look crossed her face as he started to play with her clit. “Oh please!” She let out, straining her legs. “Please what?” He smiled darkly continuing to play with her. “Please Sir. I...I’m gonna cum!”

With that, she caved inside, her core shaking violently as she shut her eyes straining her body. He was so turned on, seeing how vulnerable she was. “Good girl.”

#roman reigns #wwe #tribal chief #fic #smut #roman reigns fic #fanfiction #d/s writing #D/S

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basementsushi · 4 years

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Aurora - movie review

Movie: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Would I recommend: No - the movie has some good moments, but overall it didn’t keep my interest. If I can’t relate to or don’t care about the main protagonist/antagonist in your movie you’ve got a problem.

Had seen before: Yes (but couldn’t remember it)

Main movie, prequel, sequel, or midquel: Main movie

Theater or straight to video: Theater

Keep reading below for fun facts, my thoughts, and origin details (contains spoilers)!

Thoughts:

They’re so rude to the blue fairy!

I feel like the fairies should be running an orphanage, they’re so sad they’re going to have to give Aurora back, and it seems like they loved raising her so much

Yikes, not a good sign that by the time we see the prince and his horse the horse is the most interesting character so far

Okay, the prince is more than a little creepy - he overhears Aurora singing and uses details from her song to get her to trust him and like him (a complete stranger). Also, this is Phillip, he was at least 8 (possibly older) when he met her as a baby, and she’s almost 16, he must be 24 (or older)!

Aurora is a bit of an idiot… she thinks she’s in love with someone she met once (she didn’t even give her name or get his!)

King Hubert is a butt! King Stefan is just excited to finally see his daughter after all these years, and Hubert is already pushing Aurora and Phillip to move away together

The music when Maleficent is luring Aurora away is so jarring, it fits the mood of the scene very well

The prince being ambushed at the cottage is the most interesting thing to happen in the movie (it’s the only bit that surprised me at all)

The fairies tell Phillip he will have to face the rest of the dangers himself (once they free him from the dungeon), then save him from the next four or five dangers with their magic - c’mon ladies, consistency!

Maleficent needs to get a hobby, she devoted almost two decades to revenge over an insult, and takes most of it out on people not even responsible for the original insult! (I prefer in the original tales where the “evil” fairy gives her curse and moves on with her life)

CHILDREN EXPLAIN TO YOUR PARENTS - Phillip’s dad is so confused and Phillip just ignores him, explaining nothing when he shows up with Aurora after having run off earlier

Why is no one questioning the dress repeatedly changing color?

Fun facts:

Aurora is the only one of the official 12 that is a true blonde - Cinderella is a strawberry blonde, and Rapunzel is a natural brunette

Aurora is the only of the official 12 to have an abnormal eye color (her eyes are violet)

Once again a tale that has a Grimm and Perrault version! Disney draws from Perrault’s tale, but in my research I found not only Perrault’s tale of a sleeping beauty (“The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood”), but two others as well, an earlier tale (“Sun, Moon, and Talia” by Giambattista Basile), and a later tale (“Little Briar-Rose”, by the Grimm brothers). Imagine my surprise when reading them and realizing the Grimm version is the least dark of the three!

Origin: (Charles Perrault tale) In this tale a king and queen who desperately wanted children were overjoyed to finally have a baby girl. To celebrate a grand christening was held, and every fairy that could be found (seven in all) were invited to be godmothers. Beautiful settings were prepared for them, each was to be given a gold casket holding a spoon, fork, and knife, each made with gold and set with diamonds and rubies. Right as everyone was sitting down an old fairy arrived, one that had not been seen in so long most presumed her dead or bewitched.

The king immediately ordered another setting for her, but only seven golden caskets had been made, so she could not be given one. The old fairy, thinking she had been intentionally ignored, began to mutter threats to herself. One of the young fairies sitting near her heard her, and went to hide, so she could speak last and try to counteract anything the old fairy may do.

The fairies all gave beautiful gifts of talent and beauty to the princess, until the old fairy's turn. She declared that the young princess would prick her hand on a spindle and die. The last fairy, the one who had hidden, now came out to give her gift. She did not have the power to remove the curse, but was able to amend it, saying the princess would not die, but fall into a deep sleep, which would last 100 years, and at the end she would be awoken by a prince.

The king, hoping to avoid the horrible event, declared it was now forbidden, under threat of death, to use or keep a spinning wheel or spindle. Despite these efforts, when the princess was fifteen or sixteen and her parents were away she came upon an old woman in the castle spinning. Having never seen a spinning wheel she had no reason to fear it, and as soon as she went to touch it she pricked her finger and fell. Every effort was made to wake her, but it was no use. She was laid to rest in the finest room, upon a bed embroidered with gold and silver.

The fairy who had changed her curse soon arrived, and touched her wand to all in the castle except the king and queen, so that they were all frozen in time, only to awaken when their princess did, and all would be ready for her when she awoke. Shortly after the king and queen left the castle the fairy grew a forest thick with trees, brambles, and thorns around the castle, so that the princess would be safe and away from prying eyes.

A hundred years later the throne had been passed to a different family. One day while out hunting the king's son found the castle, and asked his attendants about it. Most told stories of evil magic, hauntings, or monsters, but one elderly attendant said her father told her that inside the castle lay a princess, who was waiting for a prince. This story emboldened the prince, and he decided to enter.

As soon as the prince approached the castle the thorns and brambles fell away. He made his way through the castle until he found the beautiful princess. Trembling he moved near her, and, the prince having come for her and the hundred years over, she awoke. Supper was soon prepared, and shortly after the meal was finished the prince and princess were married.

The next morning the prince returned to the city, and told his parents he had simply become lost in the forest for a time. His father believed him, but his mother was not fooled. She had noticed he was more often going hunting, and often spent nights away from home.

In the two years since their marriage the prince and princess had two children - the first a daughter, named "Dawn", the second a son, named "Day". All this time the queen was urging the prince to settle down or confide in her, but he was hesitant, as she came from a race of ogres (the king married her for her wealth), and was said to have a hard time resisting pouncing upon children.

By the end of two years the king had died, and the prince found himself on the throne, at which time he publicly announced his marriage, and had his wife and children brought from the forest. Not long after the king declared war on his neighbor, and appointed his mother to rule and care for his family in his absence.

Not even a week had passed when the queen regent summoned her chief steward, telling him for supper the next day she would eat Dawn, with a piquant sauce. When the steward went to slaughter her (she was four by now) she ran to him, and he could not do it, and instead had her hidden. He served the queen regent a lamb instead, and she declared she had never eaten anything so good.

Eight days later the queen regent summoned the steward again, this time declaring she would eat Day (who was three by now). Day was hidden away, and the queen regent was served a young goat. She again said it was delicious, but her desires arose again soon, and she told the steward she wished to eat the princess, with the same sauce as her children.

The steward, not knowing what animal could substitute for her, made up his mind that to save his own life he must take hers. He faltered when he arrived in her chamber, and told her of the command he had been given. The princess (not knowing her children had been hidden) told him to do it, so that she may be reunited with her children. The poor steward, feeling compassion for her, told her she would be reunited with them, that they had simply been hidden away. He instead served the queen regent deer.

The queen regent, planning to tell the king wolves had eaten his family, felt quite satisfied. However, as she wandered the castle one evening she heard the cries of Day, and knew she had been lied to. She ordered a huge vat be brought to the courtyard and filled with snakes and serpents of all kinds so the princess, her children, and those who had lied to her could be thrown into it the next day.

As her servants were preparing to throw them in however the king returned (much sooner than expected). Surprised, he demanded to be told what was going on. No one dared tell him, and the queen regent, instead of confronting him, threw herself into the vat and was devoured instantly. The king was saddened, but soon found comfort and consolation in his beautiful wife and children.

#aurora #briar rose #sleeping beauty #charles perrault #movie #movie review #maleficent

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jq37 · 4 years

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The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 16 For Candia (Part 1)

The Second Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The Rocks family sails up to Cola River, concealed in Primsy’s ships with a small contingent of soldiers. As they go, they pick up another set of allies--the remaining knights from Theo’s order.

Ruby gets called to speak with her mom and dad and Cara asks her to close the door behind her. When she speaks, it’s with more candor than she’s ever used with Ruby that we’ve seen. She says that all she’s ever wanted for Ruby was her safety and she tried to secure that by protecting her from secrets but now she is truly a woman grown and the best way to protect her is by sharing secrets, an approach Ruby seems to appreciate.

Cara fills her in on what she and Amethar learned last episode--Ghee died before she married Amethar. That means she’s still queen, he’s still king, and though Rina is still Amethar’s first born heir, Ruby is also trueborn.

Ruby asks if they’re going to tell people and Amethar says he wants to wait. Things are heightened right now and it would make things weird in battle. Ruby says that if that’s what he wants, she won’t tell anyone. Ruby also says she doesn’t trust Rina’s people, something Amethar cites as another reason he doesn’t want to tell people yet.

Cara asks Ruby’s opinion on Rina and she says that she thinks she’s dangerous. Cara agrees and Amethar thinks she’s being a little harsh in her assessment but Ruby goes on. She thinks that Rina has tunnel vision in her hatred of the church and there are good people who follow the Bulb (again, Cara is a devout Bulbian). Cara chimes in that Port Syrup is in ruins because of her people. Amethar wants to delay all this talk but Cara drops an absolute banger of a line, “Amethar. The delay of conversation has been perhaps your most cardinal sin.”

Ruby thinks that maybe Rina can be good but her people are full stop, bad. She didn’t order Port Syrup sacked (good) but it was by her people in her name (bad) and she doesn’t seem super bothered by the collateral damage (also bad). However, she does think that maybe if she wasn’t surrounded by these people, she'd make different choices.

Cara says that with Rina on the throne, Candia’s future is written in flame. She says that Theo was pretty quick to join up with Rina and asks Amethar what he thinks he’ll do with the new info about his kingship. Amethar thinks he’ll be loyal so she thinks maybe they can tell him but Ruby points out that he’s not good with secrets. Cara says that’s a wise observation. She also says, in not so many words, that this is going to be a dangerous battle and during dangerous battles, sometimes people--like your husband’s pesky half daughter who is bumping your own daughter in the line of succession and has a merry band of war criminals--die.

“Hey, you’re talking about my daughter,” says Amethar.

“I am talking about the future of Candia,” says Cara.

She tells Ruby that if she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to talk to Theo, that’s fine, but she should listen to her heart. She has the sight for the future to come and “If fortune cannot be on our side, we will have to do what fortune cannot.”

The Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The ship continues to sail upriver. Brennan makes a little roll that he doesn’t announce but seems entirely too pleased about.

There’s a lot of debate about arriving and attacking and they decide to get to Dulcington late so they have cover but can attack when it starts to get light and have some visability for archers and such.

It’s the middle of the night as they approach their destination and Rina hears a knock at her door. It’s Swifty and, wouldn’t you know it, he just eavesdropped on a *reaaaaaal* interesting conversation by the royal family (we get a quick cut to Brennan’s mystery-roll). But before he can spill the tea, she stops to tell him (and Gooey who is also there doing the bodyguard thing) that she was *not* about the carnage of Port Syrup. They NEED to be better than that. These people may never accept her but she doesn’t want them to *hate* her. Swifty is like, “lol, about that.” She tells her what he heard--or at least *some* of what he heard. He tell her about the death/wedding timeline and about the fact that they’ve been sitting on the news for a day (leaving out the bits where Amethar defended her and Ruby thought she might be good) and implies that they’re waiting for her to die in battle (something Cara implied in fairness) or kill her themselves (a little more of a leap--but not by much). Rina, not quite seething but something akin to it, says that if they had just told her this information, she would have worked with them seeing as the crown was only ever a means to an end for her but they had to be dishonest with her. Swifty says he’s excited to waste all their enemies during the upcoming battle and, once it’s over, if she wants them to turn their slaughter efforts a little closer to home, she just has to say the word. In response, she says she wants to speak to Theo so she can seek his counsel. She also reiterates that the Port Syrup debacle was a full war crime and shouldn’t have happened regardless of her relationship with the Rocks family (Swifty and Gooey exchange a glance she doesn’t fully parse) and then Gooey gets Theo.

After some weird flirting with Gooey (he makes an appointment to get “slammed big style” [sic] by her), Theo shows up to talk to Rina. She says that she’s been helping the Rocks family a ton in battle but she’s only been rebuffed. Is it worth it? Should she keep helping them? Theo says that he’s known the family for a long time and they’re good people who wouldn’t hurt her. Rina says that Theo is an honorable man and she trusts that even if he doesn’t side with her, he’ll do the honorable thing. Then she tells her what she knows, info that he is, of course, hearing for the first time. On an 18 Insight check, he knows he’s not being lied to and he knows he has a choice to make. He remembers Lazuli, all those years on their first meeting, telling him to think for himself and he amends his earlier statement. He might have spoken too soon about Amethar. He’s reckless, he wishes he could have worked for any of his sisters rather than him, and he clearly doesn’t have love for all of his family based on the way he’s treating her. He’s officially Team Rina (like he kinda was before but even moreso). She makes it official by casting the Dedication version of Ceremony on him and he feels more connected to her than ever before (also +1d4 to all Saving Throws for 24 hours).

War is Hell (to Recap)

The group gets into position with a bunch of stealth checks to get ready for their dawn attack. Despite pledging himself to Rina, Theo doesn’t want to work against Amethar and he wants to tell Cumulus. Rina agrees since she doesn’t fully trust her people and she thinks it’s good to bring another trustworthy person in on this.

Right before fighting breaks out, Theo gives the CliffsNotes version to Cumulus (ie: there is some weirdness in the line of succession and the family is plotting without us) and also messages Liam that Rina is potentially in danger, getting back the message that he’ll for sure help protect her. Ruby rolls Insight to see if she can tell Theo’s being weird but with a Nat 20 deception check from him, she’s sure that Theo is loyal to them above all else and would never betray them.

OK guys, here’s the deal. Almost everything else in this episode is truly just chess. Moving units across the board. Taking out troops strategically. Placing minis. Stuff like that. Not at all interesting to recap or read. So all you really need to know is, “The Rocks family and their numerous allies (cheese sailors manning catapults, monks, Candian fighters) get into position and the fight begins at dawn, with them doing pretty well once it starts.” Pretty much everyone gets to do at least one clutch thing and you can check out the episode if you want more detail than that.

The only really important thing to know is that Kerradin is there, Grissini is there, and Plumbeline is there. In fact, not only is she there, she comes down from the castle walls so she can ride in on her meep chariot and knock Theo prone.

Unfortunately for her, she hasn’t gotten the news about Peppermint Batman. Three attacks+flanking+sneak attack+favored enemy damage+bursting arrow+hail of arrows=58 damage to Plumbeline immediately.

As she stands over Theo, two crossbow bolts explode through her eyes and she drops down dead.

And that’s it for this episode! Join us next week for the actual finale of a Crown of Candy!

1 Million Years Dungeon

SWIFTY!

Man, Swifty really is the personification of Brennan’s craving for some sweet, sweet PvP action huh?

You homicidal little chaos gremlin, it is BAFFLING that you have the queen’s ear and I hate it.

Things I’m Concerned About

Emily had Rina use the word “fools” and I know that she grew up on the same Disney movies that we did where fools is an antagonist exclusive word. Hate the implications of that!

Do you remember what I said about Cara in her literal first appearance? I generally like her but I’m getting some light Lady Macbeth vibes. Well here we are. It was so weird to see her and Ruby getting along but I really loved the scene. So tense and so careful with every word. (Also, I *knew* that info was going to get to Rina as the conversation was happening and I was bracing for it but it was still like, damn).

We still haven’t gotten to, “Family is exposed, family is vulnerable.”

That look Gooey and Swifty shared? Don’t love that.

So, as I’ve been concerned about for a while now, we’re gearing up for some PvP. It still doesn’t have to happen but things are getting dicey and lines are being drawn. Theo has made his allegiances known and Cumulus from way back when said he stands with the magic of Candia, not the Rocks family--plus he just pledged his whole order to her. Ruby and Amethar obviously are on the same side if this happens (though you know no one wants to avoid PvP more than him) and I think Liam would be more inclined to stay with the family if it comes to it, though he also doesn’t seem like he’d be down for this.

Continuing on from my last point, if there’s a big PvP fight potentially on the horizon and the other side has a DRAGON and also ALL THE HEALS...mmm, I wouldn’t love that. Oh also, I didn’t mention it in the recap but Rina said she wasn’t gonna waste her spells on Ruby/Amethar anymore which is a SCARY THING for your HEALER to say before the FINAL BATTLE.

Edit: I forgot to mention (s/o to @fjordgofurther for the sideways reminder)! Because of the way it’s been framed (“we will have to do what fortune cannot”) and because of the poetry of it and, practically speaking, because they’re the two main casters, if it gets to PvP I can see it ending up being Rina and Ruby, head to head and...do not care for that image one bit lemme tell you.

Five More Things

I am VERY happy that Rina told off her crew about their casual war crimes because it would have dropped by opinion of her HUGELY if she was just chill about it.

I don’t want to downplay the amount of work that went into the battle stuff in this ep. There were a lot of cool large scale battle mechanics and home rules for fighting with troops and letting them use your abilities and stuff. But it’s very hard for me to recount that without sounding like a history textbook chapter on the Civil War or something and I’m not Ken Burns.

Place your bets. Blessed Ally Nat 20 on the wish-egg-seed or on icing Kerradin?

Very wild that they destroyed the afterlife RIGHT before this fight. Like, before they knew that if they died, they could at least still talk to their loved ones to some degree. But now that’s gone. Perma-death is suddenly extra-perma. I wonder if that was a conscious choice on Brennan’s part.

Did I ever get to say, “newly *mint*-ed” with regard to Liam’s Peppermint Batman status? I don’t remember and it would be a shame if I hadn’t.

I have more thoughts but this episode ends so clearly midway through the action that I feel it’s best to leave them for the actual finale.

One More Thing!

As I’ve mentioned on here before, I’m working on an audiodrama podcast which should be dropping later this year! Absolutely No Adventures, a podcast about avoiding dangerous quests, making weird friends, and baking. It’s also a podcast about baking.

The Twitter handle is @noadventurespod and we just got our art!

I’m very excited to start releasing stuff for it and I hope some of y’all check it out!

#a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the royal report #i love my cover art so much!#the moment acoc is done that's my new pinned post #this recap was so short...I'm Concerned the next one will be a total monster

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hpdabbles · 4 years

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Prompt: Gordon Ramsay is the new Sub for potions

Harry, reluctantly dragged his feet to the dungeons for potions class, attempting to make the trip longer by taking smaller steps in an effort to not arrive so soon. At his side, Ron and Hermione were doing the same though the bushy-haired girl would never admit it.

Yes, last year they had been wrong in assuming Snape was trying to kill Harry but it didn’t change that he was still the meanest teacher in the school with a nasty streak against Gryffindors and an even nastier streak against Harry. The-Boy-Who might have enjoyed the subject if the teacher wasn’t out to get him and make him feel like dirt at every turn.

Harry didn’t even know why the older man hated him so. At least back home, he knew the teachers treated him poorly due to the lies his aunt and uncle spread.

It didn’t help that today was double potions, which meant it would be a two-hour-long class and like most things pleasant, Snape didn’t believe in breaks like the other teachers.

Harry sighed, today was going to be a very long day. Just as they were nearing the classroom, the three could hear shouting. Confuse Harry shared a look with his friends before they got cautiously got closer. Around other students have also stopped looking around in confusion, before, like someone gave some kind of signal everyone moved in the direction of the commotion.

Maybe a fight-er a duel had broken out? Harry hasn’t seen one yet but he thinks it’s something that would happen at one point. Teenagers weren’t well known for being calm after all, and this may be a magic school but it was still a school.

The shouting grows louder. “-you fucking idiot! What they didn’t teach you basic fucking manners in We Never Bath!?”

“You do not talk to me like that!”

The students gaped at a blond man in pure white robes, they have never seen before, getting into the dreaded Caretaker of Hogwarts’, Argus Filch’s face. “I speak to you any fucking way I want! I don’t own a fucking moron any sort of respect. In case you weren’t aware, you can not go around hassling children, the fuck do you think this is!?”

“It’s my job as caretaker to keep control of-

“You’re a great fucking talker” The man cut him off, mimicking a person speaking with his right hand. “But you’re a shit caretaker. Do me a favor and go fuck off somewhere!”

Filch’s face cloud with outrage. “I’ve been a member of this staff for nearly two decades you-”

“And if I find out you laid a single hand on these kids for those fucking punishments, I’ll personally make sure you spend just as much time in fucking Azkaban!” The man shouted until he was red in the face, forcing Filch to cower away. The blond opens his mouth one more time but his eyes caught sight of the children at the top of the hall and he visible had to get his emotions under control. “Now get the hell out of here. I have a class to teach.”

For a still second, it seemed Filch was going to stay to argue more but one look at the deadly serious expression of the blond, he scurried away instead. Walking briskly by the second years, that part for him as quickly as they can.

Harry is pretty sure he wasn’t the only one who wanted to get caught in Filch’s path when the man was in a mood. The blond stranger grumbles under his breath before he sighs. “Alright, so much for the first impression. Sorry about that, I have a terrible allergic reaction to idiots.”

A few startled chuckles can be heard and Harry couldn't help a small smile to crack on his face. The blond stranger smiles at them, oddly kind before he opens the potion door. “Alright, why don’t you all take your sits and we can do introductions properly?”

At first, no one moves, but it’s surprisingly Draco Malfoy that takes the first step in the classroom, flouncing by the man with a haughty expression. The blond man’s lips twitch as if though he is fighting a smile but also a grimace.

The rest of the class follow afterward. Harry makes a beeline for his usual place, Ron whispering at his side. “What in Merlin’s beard just happen? Who is this?”

“I don’t know” Harry whispers back, trying to set up his cauldron “But I think I rather like him”

“Where is Professor Snape?” Hermione asks looking around with a small frown. “I’m not too sure we should be preparing our lesson without him. What if someone get’s hurt?”

Harry didn’t have the heart to tell her someone was going to get hurt rather Snape be here or not, so them pulling out their ingredients alone wouldn’t matter one way or the other. Even if the main ingredients were said to explode if shaken too much, Harry just made sure to not sit too close to Neville.

A loud clap has everyone turning to the front of the room. “Hello everyone. My name is Gordon Ramsay, and I shall be your substitute for the remainder of the month seeing as Professor Snape had to take the next three weeks off for personal matters. I am a restaurant owner for a little place just outside of London, and a license potion master, with a specialty in healing potions. It’s a pleasure.”

Professor Ramsay had everyone introduce themselves, seeming to not mind any house in particular. Harry reserved his judgment, however, because every professor had a bias for a house or another. He wouldn’t belive this potion master didn’t favor one house even with his calm and fair treatment so far.

After introductions, the professor launches about the importance of the potion ingredients, how the measurements should be just so, and why they react the way they do. Harry for the first time in his school career can keep pass with the lecture. He writes down some notes, utterly captivated by the lesson and the simple but elegant way the professor prepared the potion insisting they watch him first before attempting themselves.

“See the way it boils at the sides?” Professor Ramsay said, having flouted a mirror above his stations so they could all see what he was seeing. “That lets you know the eyes of newts are stuck in the center. Always stir when they do that and remember always stir in the same direction. There we are, now it’s the color we want.”

Looking around he notices he’s not the only one who thinks this is fascinating. Professor Ramsay just seems to have a compelling charisma, enough so that he owns the room the moment he began cutting up the potion ingredients. “Now it will boil for thirty minutes and it should be ready. Why don’t you all start on your own potions while we wait? Please be careful with the exploding leaves, do not shake them up.”

Harry threw himself into his work, smiling at Ron who also seemed pleased he understood. Oddly enough, after watching the professor Harry almost felt like he could make potions himself. It was a new feeling since he has never been felt he should even try already convinced he would fail long his caldron even touch the flames.

It gave him a feeling of excitement deep in his chest as he cut his ingredients carefully, looking down at his notes every once in a while. Harry wrote down the clear instructions, pleased for once that they actually make sense. It really did show that the substitute was a chief, his instructions looked like a cooking recipe instead of a chemical reactions Professor’s Snape tended to be.

Soon the room filled with soft voices and the general noise of a potion in processes.

This was a potion not done in partners, but Professor Ramsay didn’t seem to mind them talking and asking a neighbor for help. Waking station to station to answer any question or generally check in on the student.

Harry was having a great time, grinding up at the blond man who’s voice remind soft and encouraging when he came over to correct Ron’s string and Harry’s amount of eye of Newt.

Even the Slytherins seem to be enjoying themselves which was a first, usually, by now they try to start a fight with someone. Just as things were going well, a loud explosion grabs everyone's attention.

Sitting by himself- as no one wanted to be within the blast zone- Neville whimper as his cauldron smoked. His station was covered with the green goo residual, cloaking all of his remaining ingredients as well as a bit of his uniform. The Slytherins snickered mockingly, and even a few Gryffindors couldn’t hide their eye rolls.

Harry felt sort of bad for the nervous Gryffindor, watching him hunch over as his eyes teared up. Professor Ramsay was over at his station in seconds. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t know” Neville nervous admitted, choking back a sob. Harry wince fully expecting the explosive temper that he spotted in the hall. That kind of anger wouldn’t be out of place in Uncle Vernon and just like his uncle the teenager was convince the professor was about to give burning tongue lashing.

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry” Professor Ramsay says instead, voice still soft. Harry does a double-take alongside half the class. “I’m here to help you. Don’t be upset. It’s okay. Let’s get this cleaned up and we can try again yeah?”

He rounds the work table bringing Neville into a hug, rubbing at his shoulder. The twelve-year-old is frozen for about three seconds before he melts into the blonds hold, wiping at his tears. Professor Ramsay waves a hand, vanishing the mess.

“Alright let’s this again. I’ll help you set the ingredients up yeah? You can do this” He tells Neville then looks at the class with a raised brow. Instantly they all turn their heads away from the scene, going back to their potion. Harry can’t help but glance at Neville’s station. The Gryffindor is still working nervously under the Professor watchful eye but he’s smiling.

Harry doesn’t think he’s ever seen Neville smile in this classroom. By the end of the two hours, everyone turns in a potion, including Neville who all but glows as Professor Ramsay offers him a high five.

“That was utterly brilliant!” Ron gushes. “I never thought Potions could be fun!”

“And his lesson was so clear and informative!” Hermione adds, all but skipping down the hall. “He answered all of my questions too. Without making fun of me or anything! I can’t wait for potions tomorrow.”

“Me too” Harry comments, smiling as the professor’s sincere well done, Mr. Potter, a fine potion, flouts through his mind. He’s never had a teacher praise his work before. It felt oddly nice.

It may be mean of him but Harry hopes Professor Snape doesn’t come back by the end of the three weeks.

#hpdabbles #Harry Potter #Prompt Night #Gordon Ramsay with adults vs kids #I had lots of fun with this one #Neville finally has a kind teacher #Also I feel like any class with him would be fun #Anonymous

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thekingdomofclover · 4 years

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Yo Again! How are you over there? Thanks for answering my previous ranking ask... and here’s another one: Would you mind if you talk about your personal thoughts and ranking of each and every Black Clover arc? Thanks and have a beautiful day/nigh! :)

I’m so sorry. I can’t believe how long I’ve left this unanswered. I tried answering it a little while ago but I accidentally left the page and lost everything I wrote OTL. But I’m doing it now! I’m going based mostly on the anime even though it’s almost caught up to the manga because I don’t want to have too many spoilers in here. Anyway….

Black Clover Arcs Ranked!

#1 Is easily the Royal Knights arc! I love a good tournament/exam arc in pretty much any series. I love getting introduced to cool new characters (*cough*Zora*cough*) and being able to see everyone get to show off their magic, especially up against people they wouldn’t ordinarily fight. This arc gave us that awesome fight between Rill and Yuno, that amazing moment where Noelle beat Solid, the Langris vs. Finral drama and that epic moment where the Black Bulls rush in to protect Finral ;_;. Also, seeing Charmy sit in Julius’s lap still warms my heart.

#2 Is probably the very first arc of the series where Asta and Yuno first join the magic knights. I think I mostly just loved getting introduced to the Black Bulls. I feel like they were all at their wildest in the very beginning (not that they’ve toned it down that much, but maybe because it was new, it was a lot to take in). Plus this arc establishes Asta and Yuno’s relationship and their motivations and when Asta saves Yuno from Revchi, I feel like it really sets up the tone of their rivalry and friendship for the rest of the series.

#3 The name of this arc was just arc 10 on the wiki, but that small period of time right after the Reincarnation arc, where Asta goes on trial. I thought it was really interesting how the “justice” system in the Clover Kingdom works even though it’s awful. I also like seeing the aftermath of all the fighting and stuff that had happened before it. I just wish it was a bit longer because there are a lot of characters that I had questions about and they still haven’t shown back up in the manga.

#4 Is the Hot Springs Training Camp arc! We get to see my wife Mereoleona for the first time (and what an introduction that was) and we get some nice back story and character development for Noelle! It was also neat to see the Star Festival at the beginning of this arc. I want to see more of the Clover Kingdom’s holidays and customs and things like that, I hope we get more!

#5 Is the Witches Forest arc! We get to learn about my other wife Vanessa who also gets a neat power up and a little character development. Also it was lovely to see how much the Black Bulls love Asta and how much they were willing to do to help him. But I have mixed feelings about this arc because I found the Witch Queen herself confusing? Like I get that supposed to be cold and mysterious, but I don’t exactly understand what she wants? I probably have to watch this arc again, but I can’t really recall why she imprisoned Vanessa or why she was so obsessed with perfection. I also want to know what the difference between witches and other female mages are, if there even is one.

#6 Is the Reincarnation Arc. This arc had a lot going on which is exciting, but if you’re watching it week to week it can be a bit hard to remember and follow what’s going on. But we get a rematch with Finral and (sort of) Langris and I loved the way that ended. Here we get the big reveal about William and Patri was well executed I think. And losing Julius hurt so bad, I was not okay for a while. I was actually praying they would do something crazy to bring him back in the series and I got my wish thankfully, though definitely not the way I was expecting. I would like to marathon this arc so I can absorb the events a little bit better.

#7 For me is the Seabed Temple arc! It was really exciting to see other parts of the kingdom and other kingdoms that exist in this world. Plus Kahono was so cute and I love that she and Noelle became friends. I felt like the fight with Vetto was a bit long though. I tend to zone out during long fight scenes and there were multiple episodes that were just this fight and this arc was pretty early on. Also Gifso’s game was a little odd; I didn’t dislike it, but it just seemed like a strange way for him to decide if someone could have the magic stone or not. This arc also had the best ending theme that still gets me teary-eyed.

#8 is the Royal Capital Arc! I was happy that Asta’s accomplishments had been recognized by the Wizard King, but I feel like Julius had to know that everyone else at the banquet or whatever it was going to be weird about it. Luckily Asta can brush that off easily. We get to learn more about Noelle here too, but it’s through Nozel, Solid, and Nebra being awful to her which I’m still mad about. We meet (part of) the Eye of the Midnight Sun in this arc too which was exciting, but we don’t get to learn a whole lot about them yet.

#9 is the Dungeon Exploration arc! So, a little story. I didn’t actually start Black Clover from the beginning and I didn’t really have much interest in it when I heard about it, but I was waiting for something else to come on Toonami one night and I happened to catch a bit of Luck’s backstory which was shown in this arc and I was hooked. I was so mad at Luck’s mother and I wanted to jump in and hug him even though I barely knew any of these characters at the time. But it was done so well that I went from not caring at all about this show to wanting to protect everyone in it in just a few short episodes. By the end of this arc, I loved Mimosa, Yuno, Asta, Noelle, Luck, Klaus like my own family.

#10 and the last one for now is the Eye of the Midnight Sun arc where Gauche goes to visit Marie at the orphanage and Neige and his brother lure the children away to steal their magic. While this arc is last on my list, I don’t really dislike it. I’m just still very uncomfortable with the way that Gauche is with Marie in this arc. It’s just too much. Also Noelle following Asta around and being really jealous of Rebecca was a lot too. I do love Sister Theresa though, I’m glad someone is there to yell at Gauche. That being said, I think Gauche’s mirror magic is really cool and was really interesting to see it in action. I also felt really bad for Neige and I’m glad he’s getting a chance to redeem himself. I hope we get to see more of him soon too!

#Thank you for sending this! and I'm sorry once again for taking so long;;;#blackbullshideout

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dusk-realm · 5 years

Text

Chrysanthemum [Chapter 11: The First Incident]

Tagging: @featurelengthfics @thedungeonsbat @severussnapesupporter @southsiderepresent @pan-lokistan @gbatesx @a-slytherin-sin @wangmangagavroche @theblackdeath87

Visit my masterlist here.

Before someone comes and calls me out: yes, we are inserting ourselves into the story. Yes, I’ve taken literal chunks of the original book and pasted them or paraphrased them in order to merge them with my own writing. No, I’m not intending to plagiarize anything or pretend that the enterity of the text is mine when it clearly isn’t. And yes, you will see more of this in the future as well.

A/N: the app keeps messing up the draft, so if you see many errors in terms of format, spacing, etc, I sincerely apologise, but I couldn’t fix it.

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October brought to Hogwarts chill breezes and an air of coziness with it. The disempowered sunlight gave place to the soft lighting of candles and torches, which produced the deepest, darkest shades in the intricate furrows and decorations of the castle, creating new contours and strange shapes in the statues and carvings that enticed the imagination.

(Y/N) spent more and more time in the library as Pansy Parkinson grew insufferable, and more often than not, the girl would stock up with diverse snacks for the day and rush back to her hideout like a little vermin, just to not bump into her fellow Slytherins.

On the other hand, Neville had been difficult to see as well lately. (Y/N) learned that Severus had punished him with not letting the Gryffindor out of the classroom until he could brew the Sleeping Draught perfectly, which resulted into a great deal of batches wasted.

Still, after having been released for successfully brewing a cauldronful of the potion, Neville’s guilt overpowered him and he refused to pair up with (Y/N) again, at least in Potions.

Halloween was around the corner, and the castle was being dressed up with exuberant decorations: live bats hanging on the ceiling and even the walls, giant carved pumpkins… and some even speculated that Dumbledore had hired a troupe of dancing skeletons.

‘Severus?’

‘Mm?’

It was October 30th, and she was spending time in the professor’s company while he programmed the upcoming classes. (Y/N) had chosen the Potions classroom as her new favourite spot to do her homework. It was a safe place, and she could help out Severus as soon as she finished. She enjoyed sitting in the same place she had for class, in the middle rows. Her desk was a bit messy with books, parchment and an unfinished essay.

‘I was wondering… is there any way for students to access the Restricted Section? Like, can Prefects go there?’

Severus smiled a bit to himself, lifting up his head. He had been hyperfocusing so much on his task that he hadn’t realized that he was completely slouching over the paper.

‘Is this about that book again?’ He inquired with a smirk.

(Y/N)’s cheeks lit up with a pinkish tint of embarrassment. Severus was sure sharp, but he didn’t use to be that straightforward.

‘Maybe…’ She admitted meekly.

Well, there was something that just appealed her about that book. Maybe it was just the fact that it was forbidden, but the books available for everyone just weren’t enough to satisfy her avid curiosity.

‘You don’t have to become a Prefect to borrow a book,’ Severus explained softly, ‘a signed note should suffice.’

‘Ah…’ (Y/N) lowered her head again and continued scribbling in her parchment. Severus, however, did not return to his task. Instead, he observed his student, wondering why she wouldn’t dare to ask for a note but, at the same time, she would be willing to become a Prefect, with everything that it entailed, just to read a book.

The professor reached out for a small piece of parchment and wrote:

I, Professor Snape, hereby allow the student (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to borrow a copy of Moste Potente Potions.

Then, he signed the note and stared at it for almost a minute before standing up and gently placing it in front of (Y/N), on top of her parchment.

‘What’s this?’ She squinted her eyes before reading it and lifting up her head, wide-eyed, to her professor, who watched her quietly with a strange look.

‘A-are you sure? Can I have it? For real?!’

Severus nodded with the faintest of the smiles tugging at the corner of his lips as he watched (Y/N)’s (E/C) eyes lit up and grow wider and wider.

‘Of course,’ said he in a soft voice, ‘you have read far more complicated books at home, you can surely handle that one too.’

(Y/N) bolted off the chair and latched on Severus’ waist in a tight squeeze.

‘Thank you!!’ She squirmed with her cheek pressed against his chest.

Her protector embraced her tightly, preventing her from seeing how glittery his eyes had suddenly gotten.

‘You may be able to check it out before curfew if you hurry up.’ Said he. (Y/N) enthusiastically picked up her belongings and storming out of the cold dungeons, but not without thanking him again and almost yelling him good night.

The joyful days soon turned dark after by the end of October, after the first incident happened.

Everybody found out at the same time: having the Halloween feast come to an end, the whole school left in mass the Great Hall with full bellies to go to their respective dormitories for the night. Even (Y/N) had been enjoying the dinner, as she took the chance to drop by the Gryffindor table to go see Neville after a good while.

But then, the multitude’s hustle died down as it arrived to the passage. Three people were already there; Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.

The crowd pushed forward to be able to catch a glimpse of the gruesome scene- there was a message written on the wall that read:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

And just underneath it, Mrs. Norris, Mr.Filch’s loathed cat, hanged from her tail, stiff as a board and with her eyes open.

Then, (Y/N) saw Draco Malfoy elbowing his way to the front of the scene while shouting:

‘Enemies of the Heir, beware! You’ll be next, Mudbloods!’

(Y/N) had never liked that kid. He was the heir of a rich pure-blood lineage (everyone in Slytherin knew about the Malfoys), and, being aware of his privileged status, the kid had grown into an insufferable stuck up brat that everyone wanted to please just to not upset him.

Soon arrived Mr. Filch, probably summoned by the fuss Malfoy caused,

‘What’s going on here? What’s going on?’

After that, he actually saw the scene, with his cat hanging off the torch.

‘My cat! My cat! What’s happened to Mrs. Norris?’ He shrieked. His voice made (Y/N)’s stomach twist with guilt, even though she had absolutely nothing to do with the matter. The caretaker wasn’t and individual you could just get along with; he wasn’t charismatic or nice in any sense, but the Slytherin couldn’t help feeling bad for him. Filch turned to look at Potter with bloodshot eyes:

‘You!’ He screeched. ‘You! You’ve murdered my cat! You’ve killed her! I’ll kill you! I’ll —’

‘Argus!’ Dumbledore arrived, followed by McGonagall, Lockhart and Severus, and in a matter of minutes, every student was sent to bed, except the three suspects. The uproar moved to the Slytherin Common Room, where the sons and daughters from the most ancient wizarding families seemed a bit too excited about the issue, and other less privileged argued that this had to be something Harry Potter had done.

(Y/N) sensibly retired to her dormitory without participating in the conversation, but she did not sleep that night.

The incident was still present in everyone’s mouths even days after. Filch had been seen scrubbing the wall and warding the crime scene in all his misery, while he attempted to blame and punish any student that showed too much happiness.

The young Slytherin chose to continue with her usual life and spend most of her time in the library, reading her new favourite potions book. She was completely absorbed in every single word, with her nose barely an inch away from the paper, an ugly posture she had unwillingly acquired from her mentor.

The library was quite crowded for being just a regular Wednesday, but (Y/N) was too busy taking notes of the random stuff that attracted her attention to actually have a look at her surroundings.

What she did notice, though, was that Ron Weasley was sitting at the same table as her, but at the opposite end, in the very end of the library.

God forbid your Gryffindor ass comes too close to a Slytherin, (Y/N) had resentfully thought.

The red-haired was measuring up his essay for History of Magic when Potter arrived.

‘I don’t believe it, I’m still eight inches short. . . And Hermione’s done four feet seven inches and her writing’s tiny.’ (Y/N) heard the former complain.

‘Where is she?’ Harry asked, and (Y/N) couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

Soon after, Granger reappeared from in between the shelves,

‘All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out,’ she said, sitting down next to Potter and Weasley, being the closest to (Y/N), yet without acknowledging her presence. ‘And there’s a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn’t left my copy at home, but I couldn’t fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books.’ She sounded so ridiculously irritated that (Y/N) had to physically restrain herself from cackling, although the corner of her lips still curled up in a telltale smile.

‘Why do you want it?’ Potter asked his friend.

‘The same reason everyone else wants it,’ said Hermione, ‘to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.’

(Y/N) even stopped pretending to read in order to catch every detail possible, but Hermione said she didn’t remember the story.

Pity, (Y/N) thought, but she didn’t have much time to turn it over as the bell rang, signalling the beginning of the next lesson.

‘Who can it be, though?’ Hermione said in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation they had just been having. ‘It has to be a Slytherin, that’s for sure… I’ve thought that maybe…’ But she didn’t dare to finish the sentence.

‘Maybe..?’ Echoed Harry, raising his eyebrows.

‘(Y../N)?’ She finished with a strange expression, as if the simple thought of it caused her some sort of physical pain. Ron let out a little chortle at the suggestion.

‘I mean, what do we know about her, really? Nothing! And she’s smart enough to act and not get caught…’ The girl explained.

‘Smart? She’s the age of Fred and George, Hermione, and she’s in our class!’ Ron argued.

‘But,’ Hermione continued, bending closer to the boys and lowering her voice, ‘she has improved a lot, haven’t you noticed? Plus…’ At this point, she was barely whispering. ‘Neville told me that she doesn’t have parents. Wouldn’t that make her the only Slytherin heir? What if… she failed on purpose because she was… well, waiting for something?’ She locked eyes with Harry with a guilty expression, as though she didn’t want to even suggest that the heir of Slytherin had been waiting for him to come to Hogwarts.

‘Well,’ said he, ‘you’ve got a point there. And she speaks like Snape...’

‘What does that have to do with anything?’ Ron frowned.

‘He’s the Head of Slytherin, Ron. What if they’re working together? He has to know something. C’mon, it’s Snape.’ Harry remarked.

‘I don’t think it’s (Y/N), she doesn’t look like the type. Who’d want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts? Let’s think,’ said Ron in mock puzzlement. ‘Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?’ He looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced.

‘If you’re talking about Malfoy —’

‘Of course I am!’ said Ron. ‘You heard him — ‘You’ll be next, Mudbloods!’ — come on, you’ve only got to look at his foul rat face to know it’s him —’

‘Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?’ said Hermione skeptically.

‘Look at his family,’ said Harry, closing his books, too. ‘The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he’s always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin’s descendants. His father’s definitely evil enough.’

‘They could’ve had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries!’ said Ron. ‘Handing it down, father to son. . . .’

‘Well,’ said Hermione cautiously, ‘I suppose it’s possible. . . .’

But how do we prove it?’ said Harry darkly.

‘There might be a way,’ said Hermione slowly, dropping her voice still further with a quick glance across the room at Percy. ‘Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect —’

‘If, in a month or so, you feel like explaining, you will let us know, won’t you?’ said Ron irritably.

‘All right,’ said Hermione coldly. ‘What we’d need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realizing it’s us.’

‘But that’s impossible,’ Harry said as Ron laughed.

‘No, it’s not,’ said Hermione. ‘All we’d need would be some Polyjuice Potion.’

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked toward the Library in formation. The recipe they needed was supposed to be in a book called Moste Potente Potions, according to Snape (and Hermione), and although it was bound to be in the restricted section, Hermione believed that she might be able to convince Madam Pince to let her consult it really quickly for their Potions Homework.

Their request, however, was quickly and firmly turned down by the librarian, who gave the trio such a nasty glare that could very easily scare off a hippogriff.

‘What are we going to do now?’ asked Ron as he plopped down at the same table as the other day. He was specially bummed out, and so did Harry, who sat down by his side.

‘There’s still a way...’ Hermione sighed, sitting down in front of the other two.

‘Which one?’ Inquired Harry.

‘We need a signed note from a professor.’

‘But who’s going to sing it?’ Asked Ron, ‘“Hard to see why we’d want that book, really, if we weren’t going to try and make one of the potions.’

‘I think,’ said Hermione, ‘that if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance. . . .’

‘Oh, come on, no teacher’s going to fall for that,’ said Ron. ‘They’d have to be really thick. . . .’

And so, the trio went to the thickest professor they knew, Professor Lockhart, who was so full of himself that he didn’t bother looking at which book he was signing a permission for.

However, their plan didn’t go quite as they planned.

‘Sorry, this book has already been checked out.’ Madam Pince had sternly said after barely taking a look at the note.

‘I can’t believe our luck.’ Protested Harry as soon as they had left the library.

‘And now what?’ Ron asked, giving a little kick to the floor.

‘This is incredible…’ Hermione breathed out. She leaned against the giant wooden doors, staring up to the ceiling. ‘Who could have taken it, though? Not someone from our year, that’s for sure. That book is way too advanced to-’

‘Excuse me,’ a soft feminine voice interrupted her rambling.

‘Oh, hi (Y/N), sorry.’ Hermione hurriedly moved away from the door and let the Slytherin girl enter the library. She was carrying a bunch of books and other stuff.

(Y/N) had to twist her body into a weird position in order to not drop anything she carried. Her body was fully turned toward the three Gryffindors, and she smiled awkwardly. When she turned around again, Ron peeked above her shoulder out of nosiness, and clutched Harry’s robes in shock.

Hermione had also caught a glimpse of the moldy book on top of the Slytherin’s pile and let out a gasp.

On the cover, the title read, quite clearly: Moste Potente Potions.

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izukiout · 5 years

Text

Set me Free

Ranpoe Week 2019

Day 7: AU, Free for All

READ ON AO3!!

“You’ll regret this.” Poe hissed. “This isn’t justice.”

“It might not seem like justice to you,” The man closed and locked the door of the cell. “But you are far away from home, aren’t you?”

He walked away, and Poe wrapped his fingers around the bars to stay on his feet. He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. He’d ever been this weak in his life.

“I’m innocent!” The room was spinning, and it was impossible for Poe to focus on the man’s body as he walked away.

“I believe you, honestly!” The man shouted back. “But what I believe doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“Stop mocking me! Do you know who my father is?”

That made the man stop. He looked over his shoulder and offered Poe a small smile; it looked ill, melancholic, almost haunted.

“All I know about your father is that he knows you’re here, and he didn’t even come to see you, let alone try and get you out. If he’s your best bet, then…”

Poe was too shocked, too caught up in thinking about what he’d just heard, that by the time the words sunk in, the man was already gone.

He sighed and backed away from the bars. He sat on the bed instead of standing there and hurting himself more. He winced, touching the wound on his leg. It wasn’t that deep, but God, it burned.

“You need to wash that.” Someone whose voice Poe didn’t recognize said.

Poe jumped a little on his seat and looked around. “Who- Who’s there?!”

“I think my name isn’t what you really want to hear right now. It would be better to ask me where I am instead.”

“Wh- what?”

“Oh come on. To your left.” The voice said, and Poe looked to his left.

“There isn’t-”

“Just kidding, I meant to your right.” The stranger said, and so Poe looked. He was once again met with a wall.

“Stop! Just- just show yourself already!” Poe was starting to think he was hearing voices in his head, and the thought scared him more than he’d ever admit; going mad was the last thing he needed.

“You know, you’re no fun!”

For a moment, there was silence. Poe held his breath, heart beating so furiously inside his chest he thought it might burst. He saw something tiny move from the corner of his eye.

The action was so brief that he wouldn’t have caught it if he wasn’t already looking at that direction, but Poe was sure; one of the stones on the right wall of his cell had moved, it had moved further back into the wall.

“Don’t scream, okay?”

Poe was about to ask what the stranger meant, when the stone was pulled back, leaving a hole in its place. Someone slipped into Poe’s cell through the hole, and fell on the ground with a huff.

Now. Poe didn’t exactly scream… but he did shriek louder than necessary.

“You- you- you- you just- did you- what- how- how did-”

“You’re taller than I thought!” The man completely ignored his broken, panicked questions and dusted himself off. “And try and breathe a little, will you? I don’t want you fainting on me.”

“How did you get here?”

“Are you blind?” The man - he had bright, green eyes, Poe noticed - picked a little hat that had fallen on the ground, dusted it off and placed it on his head. “Didn’t you see? I got in through the hole I made.”

“Through the- just who are you?” Poe sat further back on the bed, putting some more distance between him and the man.

“Introductions are so boring, let’s just get this over with already. I’m Ranpo, Edogawa Ranpo; but that doesn’t really matter, does it? Everyone call me by my number here, which is 1826!” He flashed Poe a grin. “And you are?”

“Edgar- erm, Edgar Allan Poe.”

“And?”

“What do you mean and?”

“Your new name, silly.” Ranpo placed his hands on his hips, narrowed his eyes and looked Poe up and down. “Your number.”

“Oh.” Poe looked at the number they had written on his left arm. “2410?”

“2400! There’s so many of us, how do they even feed us?” There was a pause, before Ranpo continued. “I didn’t come here to talk about the other prisoners though, I’m here to help you.”

“Help me?”

“You’re hurt.” He nodded towards the direction of his leg.

“It’s better than it looks.” Poe cleared his throat, covering the wound with his hands. “The cut isn’t that deep. It doesn’t hurt as much now.”

“As if that wasn’t obvious.” Ranpo got closer and when Poe squeaked, he paused and raised his hands in the air. “Okay, I won’t touch it. But you can’t leave it like that, it could get infected.”

“And why would you care if it did?” Poe furrowed his eyebrows.

“Because I need you! I need you for something very, very important!” Poe opened his mouth, but before he could ask what that oh-so-important thing was, Ranpo kept going. “And besides, if I help you now, you’ll owe me; and a good man always pays his depths, so you’ll have no option but to help me with that very important thing too!”

“And what if I don’t want to help you with that very important thing?”

“Oh, you’ll want to. There’s no doubting it.” Another wide smile touched Ranpo’s lips. He took a few steps backward, hands folded behind his back. “I could tell by your voice, but now that I’m looking at your face, I think you might be as eager to help me as I am with getting your help!”

“Where are you going?” Poe asked, just before Ranpo could get back into the hole.

“To my cell of course! I’m going to be back with some water, and bandages.” He paused for a moment, before he said. “Please don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“I wouldn’t-” Poe started, but Ranpo was already gone. He heaved a sigh.

It didn’t take too long for him to come back. He held a wooden bowl full of water, a towel and a few bandages, just as he had said he would.

“Now, let’s take care of you.” He dragged out the word as he dipped the towel in the water. He sat down beside Poe and pointed at his leg. “Uh, I’ll need that.”

“Try anything funny and I'll-” Poe let Ranpo place his leg on his lap.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Ranpo started cleaning the wound and sighed. “I heard you say you’re innocent.”

“Because I am.”

“Then how come you’re here?”

“Have you ever heard of the saying ‘I was at the wrong place at the wrong time’?” A small smile touched Poe’s lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Countless times.” Ranpo returned the smile. He dipped the towel into the water again. “That’s what happened to you? There was a murderer and you were just walking by the moment the knights came into the scene?”

“How did you-” Poe winced. “Careful with that. It hurts.”

“There were some rumors. Murder isn’t a petty crime, you know. If you’d just stolen something you wouldn’t be in this prison. Then again, if you’d murdered an adult it wouldn’t have been that huge of a deal, but a child.” Ranpo paused his movements and looked up at him. “Killing a child is different.”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Answer this question then.” Ranpo placed the towel down and picked up the bandages. “Why are you here?”

“Because somebody wanted me to be here.” He hadn’t thought that saying it instead of thinking about it would be as hurtful, or as embarrassing as it was.

“There we go!” Ranpo giggled. He seemed almost excited, much to Poe’s frustration. “See? It’s so much easier to talk when you’re being honest.”

“You knew I was innocent all along?”

“Maybe.” Ranpo shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t look like someone who just killed a child; didn’t sound like it either when you got here.”

“Why do you ask me all those questions if you already knew?”

“So I could move on to the questions I don’t know the answers to, of course.” Ranpo let go of the bandages and took a moment to admire his work. “What is the name of that someone who wanted to put you out of the game?”

“I don’t know his name-” When Poe saw Ranpo open his mouth, he quickly added. “But I’ve seen his face.”

“That’s not good enough though!”

“I know, I’m- I think it was someone from the council?”

“For goodness’s sake, Poe, of course he was from the council; but the council consists of thirty people - thirty old men who all manage to look alike - or did you not know?!”

“This isn’t the time. I’m- I don’t want to think about it.”

Ranpo threw his head back and laughed, shoulders shaking and mouth wide open. “You don’t want to think about it? I’m really sorry to tell you this, but that rat that got you here is the person you’ll be thinking of every single second you spend in this cell; not your mother, not your father, not your lover, only him.”

“How are you so sure?”

“I think I have more experience than you when it comes to what it feels like to live in the dungeons of the palace.”

“How long have you been here anyway?” Poe asked.

“About three years.”

“How long will you stay here?”

“Try and guess.” Ranpo rested his chin in his hand, tilting his head to the side. “When will I be allowed to leave this hellhole?”

Poe was silent for a long time. He wanted to say a random number of years, he really did, but the way Ranpo was looking at him - like he trusted that he’d get it right no matter what - made him change his mind.

“Never?”

“Bingo!” He clapped. “Just like you. That’s why I said you’d want to help me with that very important thing.”

“What-”

“Ah, ah, ah- let me finish! You and I are going to escape together!” The grin Ranpo wore at that moment seemed to almost be reaching his ears. “Doesn’t it sound like fun?”

“Fun?! Are- are you out of your mind?!” Poe moved away from him, and squeaked when his back touched the wall. Ranpo shook his head.

“You’re a bigger coward than I’d thought… but it shouldn’t be that big of a problem- come on, cheer up! I’m the miracle you’ve been wishing for and I’m going to help you - you believe in miracles, right? you seem like you do - but in order to do that you have to trust me, okay?”

“I just got here! Even if I agreed, I don’t even know-”

“Okay, now you’re acting like an idiot. We’re not going to escape today, so you can stop acting like you’re going to piss yourself. We’re going to wait for the perfect moment.”

“And you expect me to trust that you know when that perfect moment is?” Poe heaved a sigh and drew small, invisible circles at the corner of his head.

“Exactly! I knew you’d eventually get it! You’re better than the previous prisoner, you’re just so easy to convince!” Ranpo stood up and took the towel and the water in his hands. “The guards change every day, so don’t try to befriend them. If anyone asks about the bandages, they were right there when you came here, okay? You don’t leave your cell, ever, so there’s no way you’ll meet any of the other prisoners, so you should be fine. I’ll visit again tomorrow to see how you and your leg are doing, so be prepared!”

“W-wait- you’re leaving already?!” Poe tried to lift his body up from the bed with his hands.

“Stay where you are and rest! I know I’m a good company, but I need to be on my cell when the guards come to see if we’re all still alive tonight, so yes. I'm leaving.”

They didn’t say anything else, because the door at the end of the hallway opened with a screech, and Ranpo was gone.

The stone was back in its place, and Poe spent all night thinking about whether it was all a dream, all a trick of his wild imagination. When in the morning, Ranpo visited him again, Poe felt something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

It was a mixture of safe and threatened, and even though he had never felt that way before, the feeling wasn’t unwelcome.

Maybe he’d met Ranpo for the better. Maybe escaping wasn’t such a crazy idea after all, if he was to attempt it with Ranpo by his side.

#ranpoe week 2019 #ranpoe fic #ranpoe #these dorks #alternate universe #au #my writing

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