#his horcruxes punching the air right now

[darkmagic-s]

my soul is too well tangled with you

summary: Much to Tom Riddle's surprise, he's not the only one that loves you dearly.

Tom Riddle found the Riddle Manor to be comforting at times like this, where he would be at his desk writing down his plans for the future, with you in the same room doing whatever interested you. You would come up to him, asking him the most random questions, yet Tom never minded. Over and over, he would indulge you with whatever you wanted.

He would find himself staring at you occasionally, his eyes moving away from his parchment to find you and a comforting feeling would wash over him every time.

Tom had always wondered how much he loved you.

He loved you, undoubtedly, but did he love you enough to stay with you forever? Did he love you enough to keep you?

You were intelligent and powerful, and he liked those about you. Those were what drew him to you, after all. Even after both of you left Hogwarts together, you were still the brilliant person he knew. Fortunately, due to that, it would seem like he would be keeping you for a long time.

It was also due to love, that he would be keeping you for a long time as well.

How long? How he wished he knew.

As he continued to stare at you, his mind drifted back to his main question—How much did he love you?

Much to his suprise, he found the answer in his own soul.

When Tom found you admiring his first ever Horcrux, he didn't give much thought into it. If anything, he felt quite proud at how you were still amazed by the idea of a Horcrux. He even considered helping you to make one.

The next following days, he noticed you spending more time with the Diary.

He kept a close eye on you. After all, Horcrux was considered to be the most terrible of all Dark Magic. You were no stranger to Dark Magic, yet a part of him was worried about how it might affect you, how his soul would affect yours.

He had seen you writing in the Diary quite a lot, even chuckling to yourself at times.

For safety precautions, he decided one day, to confiscate the Diary, despite that it was clearly, his.

As expected, you had approached him regarding the Diary.

"You've been obsessed with it, darling," he said smoothly, paying full attention to your reactions as always.

He watched how you frowned slightly. "I'm not obsessed."

Then, you tilted your head. "Well, I am obsessed with bullying the teenage you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You have been bullying my Horcrux?"

"Not exactly," you said, sighing. "I enjoy talking to him—you. Plus, you're busy most of the time."

"You can still come to me," he said softly. "You know I wouldn't mind."

"I do mind," you remarked. "Just give me the Diary."

"No."

"He'll get lonely."

Tom raised both his eyebrows incredulously.

"Whatever!" you huffed. "Ask him, he'll say I'm right."

He watched as you walked away and left the room, no doubt finding new obsession to occupy yourself with.

He contemplated for a moment. It sounded ridiculous, asking the Diary about you. Yet his curiosity got the better of him and he found himself writing in the Diary.

He started with a simple greeting, and almost immediately, a response came.

It's you.

Tom wanted to scoff, because he could feel the disappointment coming from his younger self. He was just writing his response, when a writing came up at the same time. The moment he saw "Where is..." he knew very well what the question was going to be. He had just greeted the Diary, and he could already tell that you were right.

The Diary is with me now, Tom wrote.

Why?

Give it back.

Tom felt a bit offended at that. The Diary was his, not yours. Out of pettiness, he refused to respond anymore and immediately left the room with the Diary in his hand.

You were about to drop the "I told you so!" when you saw him approaching with the Horcrux, but he just wordlessly gave it to you before leaving while muttering something about ungratefulness.

Tom had been deep in his thoughts, as he stared at you from his desk once again. You were on the floor, wearing Slytherin's Locket, which was his latest Horcrux, while being surrounded by books. Of course, one of the books was his Diary.

You were oddly close with his Horcruxes, he noticed. Sometimes, being near him, you would even take his ring off of him just so you could wear it.

Perhaps, he thought, if he should keep you by his side, then he would let you protect and keep his Horcruxes. You definitely would love that.

That was if he should keep you by his side.

He almost sighed at the thought. He did plan this, he really did. He had thought far into the future back in Hogwarts, and he had already envisioned what his future would be like with you. He loved you, and he would gladly keep you by his side.

But were you his strength or his weakness?

Would you be the one to keep him going, or the one that would pull him down?

As he watched you take off the Locket and place it down in front of you, he fell deeper into his own mind.

It seemed that the choice was already made, considering you were here with him, at his home, your home.

Love was never something he was an expert at, and in life, you were the only thing he loved. He wondered if it was genuine, he wondered if it was useful and he wondered if it was—

"Op...en"

—real.

"O...pen."

He blinked. Was that Parseltongue?

"What are you doing?" he questioned immediately, now realising why you had taken off the Locket and placed it carefully in front of you earlier.

"Open."

His eyes widened. The perfection pronunciation.

"Don't—!"

He was too late—the Locket had opened.

A burst of black smoke emerged from the Locket, reaching the ceiling. His papers had flown everywhere but he didn't care. He didn't care that his work became a mess and was flying around the room because he had to get to you.

"I have seen your heart, and it is mine."

That was his own voice, he recognised and it was oddly...

Loving.

The smoke was gradually dissipating, becoming less violent and he noticed a blurry and misty figure coming into view from the smoke. It was him.

The Locket was walking slowly towards you, who were now standing and Tom noticed how you were a bit far from your previous spot on the floor. He wondered briefly if you got hurt somehow when the Locket had opened.

Tom should be getting to you, he should be closing the Horcrux and check up on you but curiousity got the better of him again, because the Locket had his eyes on you with a look that was far from malice.

"I have seen your dreams," continued the Locket. "And I have seen your desires."

He then said your name, so softly that Tom almost couldn't believe that this was a form of Dark Magic.

"My sweet, little love," the Locket purred, as his hand came up to caress your cheek, or at least, he tried to. The Locket didn't seem to mind at all as his blurry hand still hovered near your face.

"My intelligent darling," praise the Locket, giving into your desires. Tom noticed this immediately. You loved validation, you craved for it, and this Locket was giving you exactly that.

His Horcrux was indulging you with your desires.

Why?

His answer came immediately.

"My love," said the Horcrux softly. "My love with a brilliant mind, and a beautiful heart."

He watched as how you were smiling and looking back at his Horcrux so lovingly that he almost felt jealous.

"Close," Tom ordered in Parseltongue, approaching you quickly.

The Locket turned around to gave Tom a cold stare before it was sucked back into the Locket. You had somehow made his own Horcruxes dislike him.

Tom picked up the Horcrux from the floor and looked at you with a raised eyebrow, demanding an explanation — several explanations.

"If this is about the Parseltongue," you started. "The Diary taught me."

"The Diary taught you," he repeated slowly.

"Yes! I was absorbed into the book several times and I asked him to teach me to say that one specific word," you explained, almost sounding proud. "Also, the last time I opened the Locket—"

"You've opened it before," Tom repeated dryly.

"It was outside!" you defended yourself quickly. "I forgot about the smoke!"

Tom inhaled slowly. "Just why were you opening it just now?"

"Well," you started shyly. "You saw how he treated me."

Tom looked at the Locket in his hand, contemplating. "The first time you opened it, it didn't attack you?"

"No," you replied. "He was very sweet."

"Sweet," he chuckled. This was a Horcrux, for Salazar's sake.

"Please don't take it away," you begged sincerely, causing him to look at you again. "I really like this one."

He sighed, before stepping closer and hanging the necklace around your neck. Right where it belongs, he thought.

"I won't," he said softly, while pressing his hand on your chest, where the Locket was. Warm. "It seems that... even my soul is fond of you."

"Even?" you whispered.

"Yes," he said, without missing a beat. "I am fond of you."

"Thank you," you murmured. "You haven't been... I feel like you..."

He frowned at your words. "You were under the impression that I don't love you anymore," he stated.

"Don't say it like that," you said shamefully. "It didn't feel like that, I thought maybe... just not as much as you used to."

"So you resort to my Horcruxes."

"Kind of," you admitted.

"I will let you know now, then," he said firmly, holding your shoulders. "I love you, and I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon. You will stay by my side for eternity."

Yes, he had made up his mind. If his Horcruxes loved you too, then it must meant something. What he felt for you was genuine and he did love you enough, and more. He loved you dearly to keep you with him in his forever.

You beamed up at him for his words. "I love you too."

He inhaled sharply at your response.

How much did he love you?

He loved you enough along with his soul. He loved you enough that his soul was intertwined with you.

"Considering you're so fond of my Horcruxes, how do you feel about becoming one?"

[adamwatchesmovies]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)

Few series end on the same gratifying note as the Harry Potter franchise. Spanning a whopping 8 films (the last book being split into two), it remained remarkably consistent. At worst, the stories were workmanlike translations of J.K. Rowling's books, or a bit too fan-oriented. Now that we're at the end, what a journey it's been. With all of the exposition laid out in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Part 2 can jump right into it and deliver everything we’ve been anticipating.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) continue their search for the horcruxes - magical objects in which Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has hidden pieces of his soul. As the trio scrambles to find the artifacts and a way to destroy them, they realize their quest will bring them back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now governed by Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and the rest of Voldemort’s Death Eaters.

After the persistent dread of Part 1, our heroes can finally enjoy a glimmer of hope. It isn’t going to be easy but finally, we feel ready to tackle the big bad… for the most part. The film, the characters and the audience always remember that our main characters are teenagers. They may have faced - and survived - enormous dangers but it’s always been through a combination of their wits, ingenuity, and a lot of dumb luck. There are no teachers to fall back upon now; it’s just the three of them desperately piecing together the last clues handed to them by their late headmaster. As we reach the finale, everyone we’ve met over the years gets to play a part. Emphasis on everyone. As before, you need to have seen all of the previous chapters, understand the lore, remember who was the teacher of this class X years ago, why this character was important to Ron or Hermione, how we felt about this person when we met them versus now, etc. In a movie with Part 2 in the title, you know this going in.

The film works because we have already invested time and effort into it, because we have spent years watching and revisiting these people and these places while eagerly awaiting the ultimate showdown. All of the characters returning - even if it’s just for a tiny moment - makes you feel like you’re there too. This fight isn’t just about the boy who lived anymore, it’s about all of us.

Let's pause to think about what a monumental task this was for director David Yates. Going in, all of your feelings and expectations are amplified. The second that familiar theme by John Williams comes in, you reach for the tissues. This could be the last time we hear it - ever. Still, it wouldn’t have been worth the wait had the scale been wrong. This is the final battle between a 17-year-old and an irredeemably evil wizard with a snake face but you don’t want it to feel silly, you want it to be epic - and it is. In the action scenes, you’ll have difficulty sitting still. You'll be too busy wringing your hands in nervousness, moving from side-to-side trying to dodge the spells flying throughout the air or punching into the air to show your support for our heroes.

There are a few character’s stories which are not completely resolved - Timothy Spall’s Peter Pettygrew for example. I would've rather seen those ends tied than the epilogue. If I were to fish around for more criticisms you could also say that no, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is not REALLY a film, it’s HALF a film. Does that take away how frightening it gets, or how joyous it make you feel when things are going well for our beloved trio? Does it make the tragedies any less devastating or the battle any less epic? No. The series has grown up since the lighthearted whimsy and innocence of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone all those years ago. It’s built upon itself, expanded its world, gotten us to fall in love with its characters and enchanted audiences. Never more than in this final chapter. (On Blu-ray, November 15, 2019)

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 190: The Final Hiding Place

There was nobody to catch Regulus this time as he tumbled through the air without support. There was one single moment of the world rushing past him in the dying sun to see the solid block of water they were about to impact, the fear that gripped him tight flashing a green light in his eyes before wosh!

It clogged his nose and filled his clothes, impact knocked the scream out of him and smothered his air long before the first bubbles began escaping his lips and the water was everywhere. Pulling him down, grabbing and reaching with too many hands impossible to break, there was no fire, nobody coming to his rescue as his hair distorted the world of murky lake that would be his end.

The horcrux, his last frantic thought, had he still managed to fail this time, was he dragging it to the bottom to be held by an inferius forever...wait...he couldn't breathe...

Air rushed into his face like a physical punch, his hair was wrapped around his throat like a collar still choking him, he coughed and sputtered and was still trying to pull desperately away, "Reg! Stop, fighting!" His hair tightened around him, constricting his windpipe, but the grip was too strong, choking him in a headlock-

"Sirius! You're just making it worse!"

"Swim Peter, I've got him!"

His body gave out on him as his tunnel vision began to narrow, but he was still moving, his useless muscles batting feebly as Sirius's voice finally registered, "almost there Reg, stay lax, I got it."

The rocky shore jabbed unpleasantly against every bruised bit of skin, another pair of hands were trying to grab at him as his fluttering eyes still couldn't see past the dripping murderous water and his own hair, but he knew that voice, "will you let go of him now!"

"He was going to drown you he was fighting back so hard!" Flump, his neck was finally released as he was dropped with a noisy clatter on land. "You're welcome!"

Sirius watched in legitimate concern as Peter rolled Regulus onto his side, but the kid was already coughing up water and rubbing at his throat, so he'd feel bad for the way he'd rescued him later as he sloshed back into the water.

Frank was encouraging Lily and Alice to swim with complete confidence on his part, while the girls were handling themselves well enough on his instructions and instinct to stay afloat. He was already slogging back in waist deep by the time they were stumbling around on the scattered mess of pebbles promising dry land, eyes scanning desperately as he rushed past. "Remus! James!"

Moony had told him to go grab Reg, his little brother was about to drown himself along with Peter he'd been panicking so hard fighting against Wormtail, while Remus had swam confidently to where James had impacted and still not resurfaced. "Prongs! Moony!" He was drawing his wand with half a mind to summon them from the depths and still get there in time! It had gone against his first instinct, but dammit he'd forced himself to go grab the kid and now, now-

Remus kicked himself to the surface not a foot in front of him, gasping and coughing, a bubble head charm on James who was trembling but breathing in his arms. Sirius made an inhuman noise of relief as he grabbed his brother's other arm while Remus kept his hold struggling to get his feet under them both.

"Tell me you didn't do anything stupid back in Gringotts," Remus rasped, but he was smiling of all damn things as they began dragging Prongs's scrawny ass to shore.

"You didn't do anything stupid," Sirius parroted with the most relieved smile on his face imaginable.

"If he hadn't just almost drowned you I would be right now," Remus spat a bit of water out and dropped James unceremoniously, falling to his own knees and still coughing.

"Promises, promises," Sirius smirked as he squatted beside him, rubbing his back and still watching James as he finally began to uncurl from his position, but his wand hand was shaking too bad, he couldn't get the goldfish bowl off his head because his other hand was still stubbornly clutching onto Hufflepuff's cup.

Sirius reached over and pulled it off with a pop. "Quick thinking," Sirius congratulated as he fell back on his own butt.

"Knew I'd panic the second I saw the water," he muttered, eyes shut and still trembling. "Got lucky getting the incantation right on the first try." He used his hands in a desperate claw like motion to continue dragging himself farther to shore then, but he wasn't making much progress with both hands full. His instinct to get away from the water was clearly not abated as it lapped at his shoes. He wished he'd thought of the hover charm first to not make contact at all, but his first instinct had been to fear his air being deprived again.

Sirius got his arms under him and half lugged him as far inland as he could before finally sitting back as well, while Remus flopped down beside them already wringing out his yellow robes in protest.

"You listened to me," Moony said in something close to awe as he pushed his sopping hair out of his face to really look at him. "Glory Padfoot, you actually trusted me to grab him."

"How many times I got to tell you I trust you," he whispered, his heart hammering nearly as hard as it had moments ago as he watched him, hoping, waiting...

Remus smiled, he relaxed and even blew him a kiss, the ruddy sap, but then he summoned the book which came shooting out of the water and taped it to be dry like nothing had happened. Sirius swallowed his disappointment and rubbed his knuckles against James's chest to keep him muttering curses and refusing to look at the dragon on the opposite shore for his own sanity.

Lily came stumbling over then, her eyes on James and looking back at the lake as she softly asked if there was anything she could do.

James heard that though and sat up, as dramatic as the git could be he apparently wasn't going to play up this sob fest as he immediately began bragging to her he'd got the bubble head charm right before her, and that old argument bubbled up between them once more as they spared and laughed.

Frank was holding Alice, the two laughing softly about his many years of his mother's paranoia making him an excellent enough swimmer he could have rescued all seven of them without catching a breath, it was a Birmingham moment right there for only them.

Regulus and Peter were snickering to themselves about crossing something off a list of places, Sirius didn't listen in long enough to follow. He sat on the shore in the dying sun and tried to tell himself he wasn't being a coward for still wanting to break up with him. It wasn't really working.

The last time Remus and James had agreed on something, he had most definitely been the one in the wrong.

Maybe he did have intimacy issues, maybe he was looking for a reason to leave rather than trying to work it out with Remus. Was it unrealistic to expect a compromise in every disagreement they had? Was this even a disagreement and he was still trying to change Moony too?

Breaking up with him would probably even make it worse, if he broke this off with Remus than what was that telling him? He refused to stay for a just in case, when that was the exact opposite of what he wanted Moony to not keep thinking about himself!

What if he did figure that out with someone, it just wasn't him?

The smile that had been on Remus' face when he heard of Teddy had shattered him. The excitement, the joy Harry had not seen in his teacher during the entirety of these books for that one moment was like nothing Sirius could ever hope to give him.

[plan-d-to-i]

I've seen the idea shared a lot that "jiang cheng was holding on to Chenqing bc uwu he miSsed WWX 🥺" so to clarify, in the same way JGY is holding on to Suibian, jc was holding on to Chenqing as a war trophy and in his case more importantly as bait because he was convinced that if WWX were to return he would not go for the sword he stopped using but he'd definitely seek out his flute:

"Xue Yang: Give him the sword in exchange for the flute. It’s long since Wei WuXian stopped using his sword, while Suibian sealed itself and nobody can pull it out. What’s the use of keeping a fucking piece of decoration?”

Jin GuangYao, “You really ask me to do the impossible, Young Master Xue. Do you think I haven’t tried? How could anything be that simple. That Jiang WanYin has already gone mad. He still thinks Wei WuXian hasn’t died. If Wei WuXian returned, he might not search for his sword, but he’d definitely come for Chenqing. And so, he would definitely not give up Chenqing. A few more words of mine, and he might blow up." (Villainous Friends Extra)

jc wants to lure WWX and kill him as he's been hunting him for THIRTEEN YEARS. So in the temple at the end it's not surprising jc has Chenqing on him. Considering how obsessed he has been with tracking down WWX and as Chenqing was his strongest lure why would he have let it out of his sight all these years esp when cultivator's sleeves are magical storage space (it's free storage space!). & because I've also seen this wayyy to often -No it's not like a horcrux- it's not draining him of energy or joy to have it on his person lmfao. He only gives it back to WWX as a last resort, because they're all in mortal peril battling NMJ's corpse and NOTHING else is working. jc has always been happy to use WWX as a weapon. He's not returning it out of the goodness of his heart or because he's a changed man, or as a love letter to WWX lmfao.

In the Guanyin Temple the situation with NMJ's corpse is already immensely precarious. NMJ is attracted to JGY's blood and by extension Jin blood meaning -Jin Ling's.

"Now that Nie MingJue had become a fierce corpse, his resentful energy was of course highest when directed at his enemy, Jin GuangYao. However, fierce corpses didn’t tell people apart through their eyes!

Jin GuangYao was quite close to Jin Ling in terms of bloodline. To creatures of darkness, the blood and breath of both these two humans seemed somewhat familiar, and those in a state of disorientation would find it even more difficult to tell the two apart. Right now, blood poured from Jin GuangYao’s lost arm. With weak breaths, and he was almost half dead, while Jin Ling was still alive and jumping. Nie MingJue’s dead, thoughtless brain naturally held greater interest in him." (107)

Even with everyone pooling their strength to control NMJ's corpse it's not successful:

Lan WangJi commanded Bichen forth to attack straight at Nie MingJue’s chest. As expected, the blade stopped as soon as it landed. As Nie MingJue looked down and saw the glittering sword, he roared and reached for it. Lan WangJi immediately summoned back Bichen, which flew into its sheath with a loud clang. Nie MingJue ended up empty-handed. Right after, with a turn of his left hand, he flipped out the Wangji guqin and placed it on his palm. Without any hesitation, he strummed a stream of notes. Lan XiChen returned Liebing to his lips again as well. With a wave of his hand, Wei WuXian sent out over fifty talismans flying towards Nie MingJue, but before they even got close, they were ignited by his resentful energy and burned to ashes in the air!

Lan Wangji is using Wangji, Lan XiChen is using Liebing, Wei Wuxian's flute is broken so he's either whistling or throwing talismans and Wen Ning still has to intervene and stop NMJ's punch that would've killed jiang cheng (and then probably Jin Ling) w his body.

Finally WWX manages to wrestle it under control after it puts a hole in Wen Ning, when it's once more distracted by NHS and JGY. And if difficult as it's been to control so far if it kills JGY it will be even worse:

After he killed Jin GuangYao, his killing intent would definitely become stronger, and he’d be more difficult to subdue!

So NMJ has already "smashed three of the cultivators into a scarlet puddle of flesh", punched his way through Wen Ning to get to Jin Ling, he's just punched his way through SuShe and is about to go after JGY once more. Once he Rocky Balboas him we know that he'll be even more powerful, and one of his next targets will most likely be Jin so MXY or Jin Ling. Or most likely one and then the other. Meanwhile nothing is having any effect on NMJ's corpse anymore... when FINALLY jc decides to throw WWX his flute.

Nie MingJue turned around after he pulled his fist back and stared hungrily in his direction.

The harsh, stern expression on his rigid face held a sense of judgement that was no different from before he died. Even his tears had been scared away as Jin GuangYao turned to Lan XiChen for help, his voice trembling, “Brother…”

Lan XiChen turned the direction in which his blade pointed, while Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi sped up their melodies as well. But the effects of the whistle had already been overcome. It would be much harder than before for it to take effect again.

At this point, somebody on the side suddenly called, “Wei WuXian!”

jc NOW returns the flute when he has no other choice and finally NMJ can be subdued.

Lan WangJi nodded. No more words had to be exchanged as the notes of the guqin and the flute sounded in unison. The former was like a frozen river and the latter like flying birds; one suppressed while the other lured. Under the duet, Nie MingJue’s body wavered before it was finally half-forced to move its steps away from Jin GuangYao. (Chapter 108)

Like this is not jc just casually letting go of all his resentments and returning Chenqing to WWX as an act of trust and goodwill. This is jc doing what he's always been comfortable doing- using WWX as a weapon. Naturally, he's not going to ask for it back at the end, when it's already been revealed in front of the others that he has WWX's core and WWX just saved them all. WWX asks as a passing courtesy and then he's gone bc as he's said in the temple jc is in his past.

Wei WuXian took the flute. Remembering that Jiang Cheng was the one who brought it, he turned over there and commented casually, “Thanks.” He waved Chenqing, “I’ll… be keeping this?”

Jiang Cheng glanced at him, “It was yours in the first place.”

After a moment of hesitation, his lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something else. However, Wei WuXian had already turned to Lan WangJi. Seeing this, Jiang Cheng remained silent.

jc gets it. The end.

[fizzingwizard]

OK gang here we go, episode 33!

It was better than last week, which was better than the week before, so... make of that what you will.

Pic of the week!

A look of steely Dan determination.

More below!

Like I said, this episode is an improvement on the last one, by virtue of plot stuff actually happening, a few big happenings, and references to the other kids that suggest they haven’t been completely forgotten about (only mostly). Don’t get excited though - it still leaves much to be desired. I cry endlessly for the animation budget. But let’s get into it...

Taichi and friends are still in pursuit of SkullKnightmon and Hikari. We found our for sure last week that the creature in the little crystal is, indeed, Millenniumon, or rather a fragment of him, and his fragments fell all around the Digital World at the end of the great war or whatever it’s called and they’re the source of the miasma and they absorb energy from the human world etc etc...

So we find this big ass crystal which seems to be the central one, I guess? because it’s the biggest? and several creepy looking acolytes (dun dun DUN it’s VADEMON my FAVORITE DIGIMON) surrounding it and chanting...

Vademon: Find the horcux, kill Harry Potter, find the horcrux, kill Harry Potter,

In other news, there’s a lot of doom and gloom happening with Jou, who, bereft of his underwear, is forced to censor himself with his partners head. Gomamon you don’t deserve this

Jou: I need to get away from these Nanimon before I go prematurely bald too!!

Mimi, meanwhile, is Boxing Champion of the World.

Koushirou is the only one working. He’s on his way to pick up Jou, so I guess that means Yamato will get Mimi? That’ll be fun lol. We saw Yamato for half a second but it was the same frame of him riding Garurumon we’ve seen five times already so why bother capping it.

Koushirou is also keeping an eye on the satellite situation but doesn’t know what to do about it yet. Kabuterimon asks if he shouldn’t take a break about now and Koushirou says “I’m okay, besides, this is the only thing I’m good for” T___T you know this would be heart-breaking if I really believed the writers have ACTUAL PLANS to make good on Koushirou-related character development.... >:[

no this honestly pisses me off so much but I STILL do believe we will get SOMETHING for him and the others and probably not too far in the future... I think... I hope ugh

Back to Team A, they see lots of Digimon coming at them. Taichi’s like “it’s an attack!” but Sora, whose Fight Mode unlike Taichi’s has an actual Off switch, is about to figure out that they are in fact not interested in the kids at all and are running away from something.

Taichi: I can’t believe they didn’t want to kill us. Doesn’t everything in this world want to kill us?

The Digimon are fleeing from a suspicious crater with a familiar stone in the center. SkullKnightmon raises his own crystal fragment into the air and stuff happens.

By stuff I mean black lightning and purple-blue light which is meant to signify Evil which is mega DUMB because blue and purple are the most awesome color combo EVER I mean it throw some turquoise in there too and I will buy it whatever it is a necklace a shawl a codpiece

There are eight crystals that rise from the ground surrounding the central crystal and share energy with it. I thought the number eight might be significant you know for obvious reasons but it doesn’t appear to matter in this episode.

Evil crystals or not, Taichi’s on his way to save Hikari once and for all!

Hikari: Thanks, but no thanks, oniichan.

Taichi: H-Hikari! You don’t understand! You’re too young to go off with a strange man!

Hikari: But oniichan I love him

Taichi: Who do you think I am, Tevye!? You’re not marrying him and that’s final!

Hikari: waaah why don’t you understand me!!

ok back to the story...

Hikari abandons her brother for his muscular studly lover SkullKnightmon.

... >_>

Using Hikari��s powers, SkullKnightmon evolves to Gundamon DarkKnightmon. Meanwhile there’s lots of chanting and stuff about this being SkullKnightmon’s purpose or some such. I still kinda hope we get a redemption arc for SkullKnightmon or that he has something more to do with the story...

Agumon stops Taichi from wigging out and they go to save Hikari together, but before they can they are beset from all angles by henchmen.

Sora: Hey, you take care of Tweedle Dee and I’ll get Tweedle Dum!

Birdramon: *gets punched in the head* I hope you brought enough aspirin...

Then these guys appear. I’ve forgotten their names but evil as they look they literally just stand there till they get blown up and then more appear... I guess that’s a kind of talent

Takeru: Leave the small fry to me!

Pegasusmon: Takeru when I said I wanted a Happy Meal this isn’t what I meant

Hikari begins to be absorbed into a dark pocket dimension of DarkKnightmon’s or something like that. It seems like a very chill experience.

Taichi: I’ll save you! Take my hand!

Hikari: O... nii... chan... Fuck you...

ok so here’s my problem here.

This is meant to be all emotional and stuff right?? Hikari’s been blowing off her brother for an unknown reason (we all figured out what it was but look the main characters don’t know and that’s what counts) and he’s finally managed to catch up with her. His hand is inches away from catching hers and pulling her to safety. She’s got creepy glowing eyes. She mouths “o..nii...chan...” with a creepy smile before being pulled into darkness.

I know it’s for kids so it’s not going to be too scary or anything but there ‘just like... no build up here. The storytelling style is too mathematical. “We go from Plot Point A to Plot Boint B via Battles 1 2 and 3...” There’s nothing happening in between to make us feel Taichi’s desperation, or even to know what Hikari’s feeling in this moment. Is she really okay with this? Is she having second thoughts? It doesn’t make any sense for her not to be scared. I fully expected her to go through with it, but she can be scared and still go through with it... come on...

It’s like that scene from Utena except sapped of any and all emotional impact.

I don’t really remember how Greymon got up there in the first place since he can’t fly but at least we get a scene of him and Taichi plummeting to the earth after failing to save Hikari. The kind of thing that would be dramatic if there were any kind of animation budget at all.

The one thing the show is sure to do is show us Taichi’s expressions, which I guess is something... It’s just so rushed and the accompanying dialogue leaves something to be desired.

Greymon: Don’t give up, Taichi... Taichi... um. what are you doing...

Taichi: stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself

Anyway, Taichi is Big Mad. I thought (hoped, to be honest) that we might get a glimpse of him going wild with dark energy like in the Devimon episode again... Or at least a hint that that was a possibility in the heat of the moment before Agumon snapped him out of it. But nope.

He takes a moment to be upset and then says “There’s no time to worry about what to do” and goes to save Hikari... from inside DarkKnightmon somehow :P

This does not go well.

Meanwhile Hikari is surprisingly okay for someone who was just eaten alive by sentient VantaBlack. She discovers a peculiar light inside... DarkKnightmon’s intestine??? Is that where we are now??? lmao

She recognizes the light as the voice that has been calling her and tries to head towards it, but is blocked by some purple jello.

There’s a kind of cool thing that happens here... We just had a scene where Taichi desperately tries to grab his sister’s hand and yank her out of the clutches of evil, but fails, mostly because she doesn’t do anything to help him since she is weirdly okay with the situation. Now we get a mirror of that moment with Hikari bursting out of the jello with her arm outstretched to grab what is clearly Tailmon’s paw.

Only Tailmon does take Hikari’s hand.

It was really cool to see the brother and sister paralleling each other this much. It shows the ways they’re both courageous and determined and caring.

Meanwhile Taichi finally whips out WarGreymon. Honestly, I feel like this should have been WarGreymon’s intro episode. This would have been a good time for a new evolution, rather than in a fight with a nobody that I’ve already forgotten. Idk. WarGreymon uses Brave Tornado to knock DarkKnightmon’s lances away and burrow into his armor. So, yeah, Hikari’s in his intestines, lmao.

Hikari is being chased by a two-headed monster who is in for the migraine of its (their?) life when the tornado crashes into it.

Hikari: Big brother! You look so cool!

Taichi: Promise me that no matter how many men come into your life, I’ll always be number one.

Hikari: okay that is creepy

WarGreymon explodes DarkKnightmon from the inside out x’D and Taichi gets a redo of his hand-reaching scene. First he berates Hikari for running off on her own and then smiles.

Hikari says she always believed he’d rescue her. Aww.

Sweet sibling love.

Then there’s this really hilarious sound which turns out to be the Vademon hivemind giving a collective cry of distress x’D it’s lmfao amazing. Then they start chanting “Next time next time next time” just in case you thought Millennium was defeated and we can go home now.

Taichi: Sora, do you know where I can buy a leash for this kid? I can’t keep chasing her like this. Aren’t kids today supposed to be glued to their phones and never go outside?

Patamon’s Girlfriend Radar piques at the bundle in Hikari’s arms.

And it is indeed Tailmon, and she’s been waiting for Hikari all this time.

Tailmon: I am Tailmon, a Holy Digimon.

Patamon: oh my god you can’t just call yourself holy ugh you’re so self-centered

D’awww.

They’re both sooooo cute. I’m annoyed they didn’t get a cool ending card like Takeru and Patamon did last week though. But still, this is a sweet moment.

So, there’s not a lot to complain about in this episode, comparatively speaking. I wish we had more dialogue and understood the value of a dramatic pause etc. Also wish Sora and Takeru had more to do than fight the henchmen. Like, if you can just erase an entire part of an episode and it still works fine, you clearly didn’t need that part so why waste time on it.

But at least we do get reactions from Taichi, and at least we got plot development. The Taichi/Hikari parallels were cool. And even though I had other hopes for how this arc would turn out, I’m glad it’s over because maybe we can finally do some other stuff now. Maybe. I want to get back to Koushirou SOOO bad but more than anything I am still gobsmacked by how long it’s been since Yamato’s had anything to do but ride on Garurumon. That is WEIRD. He’s YAMATO.

Next week...

... Looks like it’ll be a light-hearted undersea episode. I’m cool with that. The preview clips had a “Sebastian’s Calypso” vibe that I dig. It’s still about Taichi’s group but I think that’s to do more actual face time with Tailmon and Hikari. I hope we see the others as well and if not maybe the week after. I will be happy if this episode has some personality to it.

[vivithefolle]

Other anon isn’t blaming Ron, it’s just to point out that no, Ron’s not more ingrained with love than Harry

And I’ll get off your blog after I explain what I meant: yes, Harry’s Crucio made Amycus move like a drowning man, it did so while it threw him backwards, how else would he be brought up into the air and thrown into the wall. When Crucio is performed properly, the victim immediately crumbles to the ground and writhes grotesquely trying to escape the pain. That’s a very vivid description, one that “moving like a drowning man” doesn’t match, and neither does the being lifted up and thrown into a wall, aka, a painful stunner

And earlier in the book, Harry can’t even cast Imperius correctly (he straight up says this: he didn’t cast it right). If he can’t even do Imperio correctly, why are you so determined to prove he CAN do Crucio correctly? Either that’s the most powerful his Crucio will ever be, or it was the Horcrux. (And yeah, Harry seems like he was aiming for the painful stunner, so he didn’t even actually want to torture, hence why he can’t even cast it until now, and even now, he didn’t cast it as actually torture, but we got the confirmation that the painful stunner was what he was trying to do so....)

K, I’ll get off your blog now like you told me to

..............................................

Good fucking riddance. People like you make me want to punch something. Preferably their face.

If you can’t accept the reality that your precious Holy Potter is just a normal teenager without any kind of speshulness whatsoever just like you and I miserable cunts Anon, maybe you ought to stop stanning for his sorry little cunt ass. Especially when you’re gonna try to make pitiful excuses just to avoid looking at the fact that HE FUCKING TORTURED SOMEONE, AND FUCKING MEANT IT, YOU CUNTFUCK, AND NO IT WASN’T THE HORCRUX EITHER YOU FUCKING BRAINDEAD LATRINE RESIDUE.

Never. Fucking. Come. Back. If you do, I can’t guarantee that your feefees about Pwecious Hawwy will be spared. Because the lengths Dumbledore went to protect that little piece of shit that would’ve literally done more good dead than alive are truthfully offensive.

[rons-hermiones]

Come Find Me

Come Find Me

by rons-hermiones

Summary: Unplanned, Hermione is forced to spend Christmas at the Burrow due to her grandmother falling very ill. After being ignored by Hermione for weeks, Ron is determined to show her how much she means to him. Just before he gets the chance to tell her, Bellatrix Lestrange shows up with other plans for Hermione. Can Ron get to her before it's too late? (Ron/Hermione Half-Blood Prince AU)

Rating: M for language & dark themes in later chapters.

Chapter Twenty Six

“Malfoy?” Ron repeats, “what about him Harry? What about Hermione?” He pleads. 

“It was her, it was Hermione.” He clarified. 

“But I thought-“ Neville starts. 

“It’s Voldemort, our connection or whatever. Hermione is the one who did it this time. She brought me up, he thought of me, and well.” He explained with a shiver. 

“But I thought he warned her. Said someone would d- someone would get hurt if she did that again.” Ron asked worriedly, not wanting to even think about Hermione and death together. 

Harry reluctantly nods, “I know but she had to tell me something.” 

“What was it?” Neville asked. 

“Malfoy. That was all she said, it was like, it was like she couldn’t speak properly. She sounded so...” he shivered, not willing himself to finish, “but that means I was right Ron, Malfoy, he’s got something to do with all this.” Though Draco wasn’t specifically mentioned, Harry was desperate to push his theory. 

Shockingly, Ron didn’t protest, “Look, Harry, there’s something I’ve been keeping from you.” 

The chosen one eyed him, silently imploring himself to go on. 

“Well, since we’ve been back at school I reckon you might be right.” 

“Why?” Harry asks. 

“That day on the train, during the Prefect’s meeting, Malfoy told Katie Bell that Hermione was ‘taking some time away with her family’,” he air quoted, “at first I thought maybe he just heard us, I dunno, but then I started having these dreams.” 

“The ones that’ve been waking you up?” Neville cut in. 

Ron nodded, “yeah, I mean I know it’s just a dream, but every time it starts with Malfoy telling me he knows something about Hermione. That along with his fathers track record, your suspicions, and now this, well...” 

“We need to check his room.” Harry said, like it was simple. 

“What? Harry, are you mental? How in the hell would we swing that.” Ron cried out. 

“No, listen,” he stands from the floor, causing the other two to rise, “we know where the entrance is from second year. We’ll make sure Malfoy is on rounds. I’ll have the map to see if anyone’s coming. We’ll be under my cloak.” Harry explains. 

“Yeah and what about his roommates? Or the password?” Ron asks. 

“He bunks with who? Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle? Well, there has to be a night Quidditch and rounds meet, yeah? We’ll do it then. Neville, you can stay on the pitch just in case.” Harry looks at him. 

Neville nods. Sure, he hasn’t got the full story on what happened, but he’s willing to help anyway he can. 

“Fine.” Ron agreed, only doing this for Hermione and not to entertain Harry’s theory, “when?” 

“I don’t know whenever it works with the Quidditch schedule and rounds.” 

“Here, I have the schedule. I need to know when the pitch is free to practice flying.” Neville admits sheepishly as he searches his trunk for the parchment, “here it is!” 

He hands it over to Harry as Ron grabs the prefect’s schedule. They hold the two sheets side by side, Neville over their shoulder. 

Ron meets his friend's eyes, “tomorrow.” 

...

The three wake early the next morning to go to the Great Hall. There, they work out their final details of the plan, like they did until late last night. 

Harry’s original thought was pretty solid, so it was all just building off that. 

“Alright, after dinner. Six.” Harry reminds again. 

The pair nod. 

“It’s kind of exciting to be a part of this. Is it always this exhilarating?” Neville whispered. 

A small smile found its way across the pair's face, “no.” They answered simultaneously. 

Surprisingly, the notion of having a third person that wasn’t Hermione didn’t bother Ron that much. Simply because it was Neville. 

It’s not like he was replacing her, he was helping out for her. It was something he admired, he knew she would too. 

As Ron stretched and got ready for class, he didn’t notice McGonagall approaching. 

“Mister Weasley.” She called, making him go stalk still. 

“Good morning Professor.” He tried. 

She ignored it, but didn’t yell at him for yesterday either, “the Headmaster requests your presence. The password is cockroach clusters.” 

He gulps. He thinks he’d rather face McGonagall’s wrath than get a talking to by Dumbledore. 

She looks him in the eyes, “I’m going to assume you had good reason for that stunt in the common room yesterday.” She whispers, looking at his black eye, cut cheek, and fat lip from under her glasses. 

He nods quickly. 

“Hm. Longbottom. Potter. Good day.” She says before walking away. 

The pair looked to the redhead. Harry clapped him on the shoulder. 

“Well mate, good luck. Just be done by six, yeah?” He teased. 

“Not funny Harry.” He groaned. 

“Hey, if what just happened is any indication of anything, it’s that McGonagall trusts you. Dumbledore too, remember what he told you at the Burrow.” Their eyes meet briefly. 

The prospect of Horcruxes has been rattling around his brain for weeks, but they promised to bring it up. 

“You’re right, I’ll just tell the truth.” Ron half agrees, turning to leave. 

“Good luck!” He hears Neville call. 

Slowly Ron dredged his way to Dumbledore’s office. A bit scared for what was to come. He didn’t think the man would tell and scream, no, instead he’d give him some confusing life lesson. One that would have him thinking and analyzing it for weeks. 

He’d rather be screamed at. 

“Cockroach clusters.” He told the statue.

In response it twisted into a coiled staircase. Taking a deep breath, Ron climbed it. Soon, he found himself staring at Dumbledore’s back. 

As he opened his mouth to say hello, he was cut off. 

“Ah Ronald, good morning.” The old man said, turning and giving him a small smile. 

“Good morning sir.” Ron responded nervously. 

“The clouds are out today, but you see there,” he points out his window at a single beam of light, “the sun will surely push its way through by the end of the day. Preserve.” He comments. 

Unsure what to say, Ron simply nods. 

Finally, he turns, “do you know why I’ve called you here?” 

Weasley gulped, “I may have a guess...” 

“News travels fast in this castle. But I don’t have to tell you that, do I?” 

“No sir.” Ron agrees. 

“You’ve been through a great deal Ronald, today, I’d like to give you the benefit of the doubt. Violence is not tolerated at Hogwarts, but I assume you have good reason.” He says knowingly. 

“Yes sir, I believe I do.” He says honestly. 

“I’m interested to hear.” 

“Well, I didn’t witness it myself and I never uh got the chance to ask her, but I have it on good authority.” He pauses, “from Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Harry,” Ron cites, “that Cormac McLaggen was inappropriate to Hermione the night of Professor Slughorn’s Christmas Party. That and he began making out of line comments about her, I just, well, I wanted to feel like I was doing something.” He says the last word almost as a cry. 

Dumbledore sighs, “I know how you feel Ron.” 

He shakes his head before he can help himself, “no you don’t.” 

Dumbledore would laugh had it been any other situation. It’s almost astounding how similar him and Harry are as he is reminded of their conversation after Sirius’ death. 

“Maybe not, but you’re not the first person I’ve seen struggle with being away from a loved one.” He tells him. 

Again, Weasley shakes his head, “no, this, this hurt is different.” He admits, “I’ve lost people, take Percy for example. Sure I miss him, but with Hermione, it’s a different kind of missing. It’s like, it’s like nothings the same. Like it’s not worth it.” Ron doesn’t know why he feels the need to be so honest. 

“You can’t let this hurt consume you. Your job is to channel that into something else. Something Hermione would’ve liked. Your prefect rounds, your work, Harry. You and I both know she would not approve of her punching Cormac McLaggen, no matter the situation.” 

And he was right, Ron knew he was, but it was so hard. These past twelve hours of confiding in Neville and Harry about Malfoy. About finally coming up with something to help, it felt good. It felt right. 

“You’re right sir.” He agreed. 

“I’m glad we can see eye to eye Ronald. On these dark days, I would like you to remember that the sun always comes out again.” He steps forward and whispers, “I have it on good authority all is being done for your friend. Remember that. Remind Harry of that.” 

Unable to answer, or even protest, he nods. 

Dumbledore was right, finally, him and Harry were doing what they could to help Hermione. 

“Now, I’d hate to keep you from your lessons. Good day Mister Weasley.” The old man smiled, turning back to the window, stroking Fawkes. 

“But sir, aren’t you going to...” Ron started confused. 

“Punish you? Is that what you want?” He questions with a quirked brow. 

“No!” Ron jumps in. 

“Mister McLaggen will be dealt with accordingly. Please don’t make it routine practice to start brawls in my common room.”

“Of course sir. It won’t happen again.” 

“Good.” Dumbledore smiles, “but if anyone asks, you have a week of detention with Professor McGonagall.” The Headmaster winks. 

A smile strikes Ron’s face at his words. ��Thank you so much.”

He shakes his head, “for what?” 

Ron laughs. 

“Good day Mister Weasley. Please remember what I said.” 

In response Ron nodded and bid the old man goodbye before vanishing down the stairs. 

Once reaching the bottom he sighed, now all he had to do was get through classes, then it’d be time to put operation what the fuck does Malfoy know in action. 

...

Thankfully, six o’clock came faster than Ron thought it would. He figured all this anxious waiting around would drive him mad and slow time. But it hadn’t. 

“Alright Neville, whatever you do keep them at Quidditch. Practice is supposed to last an hour, we shouldn’t be longer than that, but just in case. We’ll find you when we’re done.” Harry told him one last time. 

He nodded, “got it.” 

“Malfoy should have started rounds a little bit ago, come on.” Ron prodded. 

“Okay, good luck Neville.” Harry said. 

“Good luck to you guys too. I won’t let you down. I won’t let Hermione down.” He assures in a whisper. 

The pair nods in response. They know he won’t. They’re not planning to either. 

As Neville disappeared down the corridor, Harry soon skimmed the map, finding Draco’s dot wandering by the Charms room. 

“Let’s go, we’ll cut through the courtyard.” Harry said, throwing the cloak over them. They had to huddle to fit, but it worked. 

Soon enough, they successfully reached the dungeons, only seeing Missus Norris once, but she just pranced by, not noticing them. 

“Alright, we’ll just wait until someone says the password.” Harry whispered. 

It took five minutes, but soon enough they saw Millicent Bulstrod’s dot move closer to them. 

“Sacred Twenty-Eight.” She told the stone. 

Ron scowled at the password. 

Soon enough it opened up as she went though. 

“If we hurry we can sneak in with her, come on!” Harry said lowly. 

Thankfully, the noise of the moving stone masked their footsteps as they snuck in behind Millicent, nearly budging into her. 

She didn’t notice though, as she disappeared up a staircase. 

“Other one must be the boys.” Ron pointed out, already moving to the leftward staircase. 

Nodding, Harry dredged on. Luckily, like Gryffindor Tower, each of the dorms with a sign indicating the year, ranging from one to seven. 

Soon, their eyes fell on the one labeled ‘Sixth Years’, it was slightly ajar. Before entering, the pair glanced briefly to the map in Harry’s hands, being extra cautious to ensure they were alone. 

They pushed open the wooden door, cringing as it squeaked on its hinges, they surveyed the area carefully before fully stepping in. Once inside, they threw off the cloak as Harry took the liberty to cast a locking charm, all while Ron caused a ‘muffalito’. 

The room was identical to their own dorms, but all red had been replaced with green and gold swapped with silver. 

“Which do you think is his?” Ron whispered despite silencing the room. 

The chosen one eyes the four poster beds carefully. The one closest to the door is messier than he thought imaginable. The blankets tossed on the ground and the sheets of specks of something on them. 

The next one isn’t as bad, the blankets are ruffled and the pillows are skewed, but the bedside table is reasonably clean. However, the image of a scantily clad witch peeking out from beneath the blanket is very visible. 

The quidditch posters and personal photos tacked onto a board over the third bed can only confirm it belongs to Blaise Zabini. 

And if Ron and Harry were placing bets, there’s  no doing the last one belongs to one Draco Malfoy. His bed is neatly made. Though his space isn’t as personal as Blaise’s, there’s a stack of books and parchment neatly organized on the side table. A ring rests on top of the pile, one they’ve seen Draco bear many times before. 

“I didn’t really fancy Malfoy to be all tidy.” Ron commented. 

“Really?” Harry asked, shocked, objection on his lips about how well Draco dressed being indicated as much. 

Like his friend could sense it, he shook his head, “no just because a bloke can clean up nice, doesn’t make them neat. Fred and George have pretty nice robes, but you’ve seen their room.” He reminded. 

Harry monetarily shivered at the thought. He wouldn’t even be remotely shocked if something was growing under the twins beds. 

As the dark haired boy was monetarily lost in thought, Ron stepped closer to the vantage point and eyed the table carefully. 

“I reckon one things out of place, he’ll know.” He states. 

Harry nods in agreement, “how about you start   in the drawers, I’ll do his trunk.” 

Weasley agreed and began carefully filing through the stacks of parchment. Most of it seemed to be nothing but graded assignments along with the occasional letter from home. 

All were only from his mother. They were short and not at all telling of anything. 

Just simple things like, 

Hope you’re doing well. I miss you son. 

I’ve sent a few galleons for your Hogsmeade visit next week, have fun. Love you. 

I’m going to pick you up from the platform on Saturday. I can’t wait to see you! Mum. 

And if the correspondents weren’t between those with the last name Malfoy, Ron might even think they were sweet. 

Harry had also been having similar luck to Ron. Draco’s trunk was an endless amount of clothes and shoes, really nothing that raised eyebrows. 

He peered over to see Ron skimming through the pages of a book. 

“Anything?” The Boy-Who-Lived asked hopefully. 

He shook his head, “no, just something for that Dark Arts essay on centaurs magical properties I reckon.” 

In response Potter groaned. They’ve been here nearly ten minutes. 

“Okay, how about I check the bed and you check under it?” He suggested next. 

Ron was about to protest to say that he doubts Draco would leave some big bad clue under his pillow, but they figured no stone should be left unturned. 

Complying, Ron ducked down to the floor and he heard Harry ruffling Draco’s sheets. 

A pair of shoes under the bed, along with an old sock. A chocolate frog under his pillow. That was it. 

As Harry began to work on lifting the mattress, they could vaguely hear the crunching of stone echo inside the quiet room. 

Both jumped, Ron hitting his head in the process, before meeting eyes. 

Quickly, Harry grabbed for the map, eyes scanning for Draco’s dot. 

“He’s in the common room!” He stage whispered. 

The ginger jumped and looked to be sure, “complete tosser he is. He’s supposed to be on rounds for another hour, just wait-“ 

“Ron!” It seemed as if he missed Hermione so much he had taken to adapting some of her values as well. 

“You’re right, sorry.” He said before moving to grab the cloak, “come on Harry.” 

As the other boy moved to join him, something caught his eye, “wait.” He said picking up the book on Centaurs. 

“Harry, I already looked like that, let’s go! I hear footsteps.” He said, casting a charm to tidy up Draco’s bed as good as new. 

“It’s not that.” He whispered in response. 

Being that Harry had cut Ron off midway through his investigation on Malfoy’s bedside table, he never got around to the small book hidden underneath the one for class. 

Wizarding Antiques

His mind soon flashes to Draco wandering around Borgin & Burkes months ago. Both Hermione and Ron dismissed it, but this book proves it meant something more. 

“Harry!” Ron stage whispered, having to undo the locking charm so they could leave. However, as he did so, the foot falls only grew louder. 

Mesmerized he ignored Ron, eyeing the cover. Something soon caught his eye. A book Mark sticking out just a little over halfway in the book. 

Eagerly opening it to see whatever Draco has tagged, he stops when he realizes it wasn’t a bookmark. No, it was a photograph. 

Astounded by the sight in front of him, he puts the book down, completely forgetting about his prior task. He’s reminded of why they’re really here. 

Not to confirm what Harry believes to be true, but for Hermione. This picture is telling him as much. Shoving it in his face. 

“Harry, let’s go!” Ron says, tossing the cloak partly over his hunched frame as Draco can be heard conversing with another Slytherin outside the door. 

Harry stands still. He can’t move. He can barely think. 

There’s no way- 

“Harry,” Ron tries again, but soon realizes his friend is completely enthralled in something, “wait, what is it? Did you find something?” Like his friend, he remembers why he’s here. Who he’s here for. 

Ron peeks over his shoulder at the picture. He can’t understand what has Harry in such a state over it. He’s seen it countless times in The Prophet.  

“Hermione.” Is all he can whisper. 

The name of course catches Ron’s attention, but he’s suddenly drawn away by The jerking of the door, making him jump. Thankfully, he’s managed to secure the cloak around Harry and move them closer to the door. However, the picture is still clutched in his hand. 

He holds his breath as Malfoy eyes the room suspiciously. Then it appears something catches his eye. 

He steps forward only centimeters from them. 

Wealsey screws his eyes shut in anticipation. 

It’s over, Merlin it’s all over-

But instead he makes his way over to Goyle’s sneering as he covers up the photo of the nude witch with his pillow. 

Doing his best not to outwardly sigh in relief, Ron takes the distraction to get the hell out, practically dragging Harry with him. 

As they reach the somewhat safe, well, less dangerous area of the Slytherin boys staircase, Ron again takes the time to observe the photo. Harry’s still mesmerized by it, though he can’t see why. And he can’t ask either, at least not until they’re back in Gryffindor tower. 

It’s a picture of Draco sitting in a chair, stoic look on his face. To his left is his mother dressed in elegant black robes, looking regal as ever, hand on her son's shoulder. To his right, his father in the same position. Except, he looks less royal, more worn than anything. 

The pictures on a loop, but they barely move. Just a slight shift in Draco’s father’s feet. A twitch of the youngest Malfoy’s upper lip is somewhat noticeable. 

The only thing that does stand out, is the continuous sparkling of a chandelier glittering above them.

[sincerlypadfoot]

Waisted And Spared (Chapter Five)

~During the wizarding war everyone takes shifts, protecting the order and keeping track, one night after waking up you panic after hearing someone wandering around the house

A/N- I’m hyped to write this chapter, this is one of my best ideas and I so hope so one as thought about this, just enjoy and reblog if you’d like

Word Count- 1551

Send Requests Here

I shot up in my bed, looking around, everything was quiet and I felt calm, I looked down at my chest, looking at my bare chest, no scar no nother.

“Sirius!” I called out, ripping the blanket off of me and running out of the room. “Remus where are you!” I cried out looking around. “Someone, anyone!” I yelled, running from room to room, the calm left and the panic set in.

“Maggie,” I swung around, looking at Regulas Black who stood behind me with a smile.

“Regulas,” I cried out, running at fast as I could and wrapping my arms around the boys. “But your dead,” I whispered not letting him go.

“So are you,” I now let him go looking at him.

“I can’t be, I was fine, I was sitting with Sirius and I just closed my eyes for a second,”

“Maggie, it’s okay,” Regulas said grabbing my hands. “We will figure this out, just like we did in Hogwarts, remember,”

I frowned, letting go of Regulas’ hands and wrapping myself around his body once more.

“Why did you have to die?” I whispered crying.

“Why did you have to die?” He said back making me laugh.

“Yeah why did you have to die,” I heard behind me, I turned around and looked at Tom Riddle who stood behind me.

“Tom?” I asked walking towards him. Before reacting I swung my fist in the air, hitting him square in the jaw.

“Fuck, Jesus Maggot,” Tom mumbled grabbing his jaw.

“What did you do to me, or what did Voldemort do to me, since you’re the same people,” I pushed him against the wall.

“Maggie,” Regulas said putting his hand on my shoulder. 

“I cursed you,” Tom choked out. “Brilliant idea really, if i died, you would be in a coma, only able to wake up if I was to be brought back to life,” he let out a bit of a chuckle, I looked at his sixteen year old self disgusted.

“Why the hell would you do that, I have a family, friends,” I cried out clenching my fists.

“Well you know, wasn’t gonna let them getting away with killing me, plus now, that boy Harry has my soul in him, i’ll be awaken in no time,” Tom slide to the ground with a smile.

“Your insane!” I cried out, turning around and leaning against the wall. “Wake up, wake up, Wake up!” I cried out punching the wall infront of me.

“I’ve been here for years, at least you’ll wake up eventually,” Regulas said grabbing my hand once more.

“Regulas, what if I don’t wake up, Sirius, he needs me,” I looked up at the roof, then walked away from Regulas, swinging the front door open to a brick wall.

“You can’t leave, i’ve already tried,” Regulas said placing his hand on my shoulder. “Calm down okay, we can talk about it, tell me what you’ve done all these years,”

“Yeah Maggot, tell the traitor what you’ve done all these years,” Tom said causing me to turn around, I walked forwards and stopped right infront of him as he placed a grin on his face.

“You don’t speak to me, you created this mess, we’re all dead, because of you!” I cried out pushing him again against the wall. “Why would you do it!” I yelled placing my hand on his chest so he couldn’t move.

“If i were to die, I was going to bring the thing everyone loved the most, you, everyone loved you, especially Sirius and now your gone, in a coma, for them to suffer, until my loyal subject bring me back, which i’m sure they will, they have too!” Tom yelled pushing me forward, Regulas caught me in time before I could fall to the ground completely.

“But if we’re dead,” I whispered turning around, a blonde haired woman faced the room I once came out of, then turned around. “MARLENE!” I cried out running and wrapped my arms around the girl.

“Maggie,” Marlene whispered in my ear, her arms wrapped tightly around me. “Your not supposed to die, you have to protect everyone else like we promise,”

I let Marlene go and looked at her with my eyes blossomed. “Blame him,” I pointed across the room where Tom laid against the wall.

“You, you killed me and my family, what joy have you gotten out of that!” Marlene shouted living my side and taking my rage with her, taking a swing at Tom  and punching him.

I smiled looking at Regulas who was also smiling.

“Bloody hell would you women stop hitting me, do you know who I am,” Tom shouted leaning against the wall.

“A coward,”

“A Git,”

“Stupid,”

“Ugly,”

“Dumb,”

Marlene and I stopped and laughed walking back to each other and hugging each other again. 

“I missed you Marlene, I really did and I wish I could have done something to save you,” I whispered hugging her tightly.

“I can say the same for you, if this elephant didn’t kill you,” Marlene hissed at Tom who was still leaning against the wall.

“I don’t wanna be died,” I whispered letting go of Marlene and leaning against the wall, sliding down and sitting on the floor. “Sirius needs me, they all need me,”

“And once my loyal subjects bring me back to life, you’ll be with your pressure family again,” Tom spit out making me shake my head.

“Yeah well I hope they don’t do that, Sirius and Remus will figure something out, they always will,”

“And if they don’t?” Tom asked grinning.

“They will, they told me they would, and I trust them,”

“And what if I told you,” Regulas paused sitting down beside me. “That you’ve been here for a year already,”

“What do you mean we’ve been here for year?” Both Tom and I shouted at the same time.

“Time moves faster here, Marlene and I discovered it, the clock on the wall, it’s different for everyone, mine says four years, and what does your say?” Regulas asked pointing to our tiny clock on the wall, the tiny clock Remus had gotten Sirius as a birthday gift.

“One, just one,” I whispered closing my eyes, wanting all this to be over, not wanting to be dead, wanting to be in Sirius’ arms and alive again.

I helped myself up and laid in my bed, bringing the cloak with me, I laid in beside me and just looked at it, watching the arrow go by, slowly but surly, the number hit two and my heart ached in pain.

“You are not doing this to yourself,” I heard from my door, Marlene stood there with a frown.

“I’m already dead, what does it matter, i’ll be here, waiting until I see my friends again, watching the time go by,” I whispered looking back at the cloak.

“What would Sirius think of you, right now?” Marlene asked angry.

“Sirius is alive, he isn’t here, I can do whatever I want, it doesn’t matter anymore, I just have to wait, and that’s what i’ll do!” I cried out whipping away my tears.

“Just be lucky that you get to go back, some of us don’t have that advantage,” Marlene said shutting the door causing me to jump, I shook my head, tears left my eyes and I just rolled onto my back, letting my emotions get the best of me.

“I’m sorry,” Tom said walking into my room. “Maybe i’m not, but that's not the point, when we wake up, you’ll join my army, understand,”

“Why would I do that!” I cried out looking up at the roof.

“Because, i’ll kill everyone you ever cared about, and make you watch, and they’ll be stuck here, without you, and you’ll be alive, torched,”

“Not if I kill you first,” I mumbled shaking my head.

“You won’t do that, but do you understand, you will be on my side, or your precious Sirius will die, I know where you live, I know who you are and i’ll kill them all,”

“Get out of here now!” I shot my head up and looked at Regulas who grabbed Tom by the shirt, tossing him out of the room and shutting the door. “You won’t do it, will you?” Regulas asked sitting down on my bed.

“No, no because Sirius told me before I died, that he was moving us to a safe house, for the order, and that’s where we’ll stay, they’ll never know,” I whispered whipping my tears again, watching the cloak turn three.

“It works strangely, but will you tell Sirius something when you wake up?” Regulas asked grabbing my hand. “Tell him to read my diary, everything will be explained,”

“What's in your diary?” I asked sitting up, looking at the clock again, still at three.

“I found something, when I died, he made a horcrux, and I need my brother to know about it, so he can destroy him, tell him I love him please,”

“I will, but what I don’t go back?” I asked looking at Regulas who looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Keep your hope up chickie,” I let out a low laugh at the nickname.

“You haven’t called me in years,” I thought about the last time I heard the nickname.

“When Sirius ditches you at Slughorn's party, I remember,” Regulas grabbed my hand. “That’s the night we become friends, because Sirius was a git that night,”

“I remember,” I smiled then frowned. “He needs me you know, after you died, I was the person who stayed with him, kept him out of trouble, i’m not sure what he’ll do without me,”

[minervahopebeyond]

Blood Daffodils.

Chapter 22: The Battle of Hogwarts (part 1) <<2/2>>

“BOMBARDA!” The brunette yelled and the cupboard next to Vince and Greg exploded in a million pieces before he ducked again to dodge a Diffindo casted towards him. From his hideout he spoke clearly. “You think the Dark Lord will give a fuck about you handing Potter in?”

Vince casted a Bombarda too, just to spite him. His eyes were livid.

“Do you think that Draco will run into your arms for changing sides?” He asked in a very mean joking tone that made him want to strangle him.

“Fumos,” Theo casted before starting to wave his wand around, making all the objects of the piles fall in a sea of lost and found things. “ Potter!” He shouted, it sounded rushed, like he wanted to run the hell away from there and he was just waiting orders.

Harry was the one who ran towards him, avoiding to shout so Vince and Greg wouldn’t hear him near, and pushed Theodore, directing him to the entrance.

Running, trying to get away from that maze that was the Room of Hidden Things, they found Weasley and Granger, well, almost crashed into them.

“Hey!! You found the diadem!” The weasel said the broken cup still in his hand.

He was promptly interrupted by Greg’s voice, screaming bloody murder.

“What did you do?! RUN! RUN, VINCE!”

The heat felt so all consuming. Ever-burning flames rose, burning everything and destroying every single item in their path. And all his friend were running too. The gryffindors almost fled to the door and Draco was following by inertia. It wasn’t until he saw the brooms in a corner that he changed his direction.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING?” He heard the Weasel yell, probably because he was the first to notice.

“DRACO DON’T-“Theodore yelled but he was already hoping on the broom.

“Slytherin code!” He yelled right back at him as if it were an explanation.

Why did they think that it was necessary to have five people on brooms to save two was a mystery. He supposed that Potter just jumped on a broom as soon as he saw Draco being a suicidal arsehole and the rest of them just followed.

That was the whole point of their relationship dinamic, one of them on the verge of dying and the other running towards danger to stop it. If they got out of the Fiendfyre alive, Draco seriously hoped that their children would not grow up to be like them, he would die from stress.

He found them climbing one of the mountains of things, for a moment Vince stumbled, Greg caught him by the collar of his shirt, his face all ugly from crying.

He heard Vince tell him to drop him, that otherwise they were going to fall both into the flames.

No.

He could save them both. He could.

He rushed towards them, the heat of the room burning his skin. He wondered if he could catch on fire just for being near it, if his skin could burn alive from just from being near.

“Draco watch it!” Harry’s voice came out desperate but it was right on time because he dodged the table that was probably going to fall on him.

“You catch Greg!” He yelled over his shoulder. “Vince, you hand!”

Vince was still hanging from Greg’s grip, doing an effort to put his feet on a surface so his weight didn’t end up dragging them both down. The boy looked at him, somewhat hesitant that Draco was actually offering his hand rather than all being a catch to get him to fall directly into the flames. He supposed that he realized that he didn’t have much choice than to trust him.

He lowered the broom and pulled from Vince’s hand to swing him towards it. A little stumble, a little balance lost, for a moment Draco thought they would fall together to the fire. They didn’t.

He heard Potter yell at him to fly, and he did. He flew so fast that they were crossing the entire Room in a matter of seconds. He could feel the heat increasing, surrounding them.

They crossed the door and fell to the floor in exhaustion. Everything rang in Draco’s ears. Everything was blurry. They had saved Greg and Vince. They had caught the horcrux...

The horcrux.

“POTTER! Throw the diadem to the fire!”

Harry seemed to blink, it was Granger who snapped him out of it.

“It’s Fiendfyre! Throw it!!”

And he did.

The flames seemed to morph into something that wasn’t an animal, the spirit, the soul of Riddle throwing itself to them, hunting them to avoid the imminent destruction.

The door shut themselves, keeping whatever it was coming for them inside. He could still feel the heat emanating from the walls, even if the door had disappeared.

Something shifted in the air then. The wards. They weren’t going to hold up.

Next thing he knew Theo, Vince and Greg were crying in pain and Potter stumbled and fell to the floor.

Draco crawled next to the green-eyed.

“He is angry...” His voice came out rough and affected.

“We need to move.” He heard Granger say, securing the bag filled with basilisk fangs and gathering the ones that had fell to the floor when they landed.

Vince and Greg stood up and ran away. Draco wasn’t even surprised but he heard Theo mutter something along the lines of ‘so much for the Slytherin code’... The blond didn’t agree with him, though. Vince and Greg could have attempted to take Potter again right there and then. They were all weak, exhausted... And they didn’t. Even when they hadn’t change sides... if that wasn’t the Slytherin code he didn’t know what was.

“What about the house elves?” Weasley asked, frowning, like the thought had just occurred to him.

And he wasn’t the only one, Draco had totally forgotten about them, and for the look in Granger’s face she had too.

“You mean we ought to get them fighting?” Asked Potter with hesitation.

“No. I mean we should tell them to get out. We can’t order them to die for us.”

It was in moments like this that Draco felt proud to call him his best friend, even after all the years they spent fighting and hating each other. Because Weasley was like that, kind, thoughtful and brave.

He heard the clattering of the fangs on the floor and saw Granger throw herself into Weasley’s arms. Her bushy long hair all over the place, her feet not touching the floor because Ron had been quick enough to catch her on air.

And then she kissed him full on the mouth.

Draco could see the the smile on the corner of Weasley’s lips as he held her tight and returned the kiss passionately. He couldn’t help but to smile as he saw them.

“Is this really the moment?” Potter asked with a flat tone.

Draco turn around to see Theo and found him looking at the happy couple with a bored expression, not surprised at all, maybe he thought that Ron and Hermione were already together and this wasn’t their first kiss.

“There is a war going on here!!” Potter yelled again and Draco punched his arm and heard him whined in pain.

“Let them snog, Potter. Took them long enough.” He replied rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, mate” Ron said cheerfully. “It’s now or never, right?”

It didn’t took long until Theo ran out of patience and said that they could all shag each other for all he cared but he was going to find the rest of the DA or the Order, people who were actually doing something right now.

Potter followed, his face reflecting a level of hurt-pride that Draco hadn’t seen before. It was as it he thought that Theo was braver than he was, more adequate to fight this.

It was ridiculous, Harry had been fighting this war since he was born, there was no other person in the world who was more adequate to fight this. Theo was probably just hiding how scared he was by showing off. Potter didn’t need to show off, he was just that brave, that fearless.

Soon enough, Weasley and Granger followed them.

They didn’t need to walk very far to see Fred and Percy Weasley fighting with the Minister of Magic and one of the death eaters that Draco could not recognize.

Everything was wrong about that moment, every single fucking thing. They had learned enough in the training with Sirius and Mr. Potter to know that, he was just surprised that no one was saying a thing about it.

The only thing that was good about the fight was that they were fighting back to back. Good for cover. Not good for killing curses.

But Percy was joking around, being cocky. Fred actually stopped to talk to him.

Draco was already running towards them, ignoring whatever Theo or Harry were screaming at him. The light was approaching, huge thing, coming at them, he could see it all through the huge window.

“GET DOWN!” He yelled, his throat raw from the intensity as he threw himself over the redhead and pulled him away from the wall.

Sirius’ voice ringing in his head.

‘Watch out for everything. It’s not only the killing curses, it’s the hexes, it’s the bloody walls and furniture that could crack your skull open’

And James’.

‘And always fight together, always protect each other.’

The explosion went off and bricks flew around them. Draco covering their heads with his hands. Only thinking that none of them could die from something so stupid as a wall falling on them, not with all the bloody threats around the castle.

No sibling of Weasley was dying on his watch. Not after everything that Ron had done for him.

His eyes were heavy, he had hit his head when he threw himself to the floor, but he could still breath... Not dead. Good.

He turned to see Fred. Shook him with all he had. The redhead complained, no words but it was a sound. Sounds meant he was alive.

“Draco...” He heard as he felt Harry’s hand moving carefully lifting his head.

He forced himself to get up, ignoring the complains of the green-eyed and turned to see Weasley, Fred and Percy looking at him.

“That was the stupidiest thing you’ve ever done, Ferret. I’m counting the sword.” His voice sounded so broken... He only had seen Weasley cry once, right before they went to Bill’s, but he was definitely crying now, so that would be two times he saw it.

Then, Fred spoke:

“Thank you, Malfoy. You have a fifty-percent discount on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.”

He laughed, wholeheartedly and carefree. Theodore and Hermione managed to scare away the attackers, protecting them while they tried to recover from everything.

And he couldn’t help but to feel grateful, grateful that he was fighting with them and not against them, grateful to had saved Sirius last year, grateful to have brought James back, grateful to have become friends with Weasley, grateful that Granger invited him to the horcrux-hunt, grateful to have Theodore covering his back, grateful to have Potter hugging him and kissing the top of his head. Grateful to have saved Fred just then.

The only thought on Draco’s mind was that a lot of good things had happened that day for it to be the worst day in their lives.

[queerofthedagger]

would you be willing to do 9 out of that prompt list post with Jegulus? feel free not to if it’s too hard to do!!

Hi Nonnie, thanks for the prompt, I sure am! 9 was: “There’s only one bed and we sleep as far away from each other as possible but wake up cuddling.”

I have to admit, it took me a bit to come up with a scenario for this, but I think (hope) I managed :)

Of Regrets, Creaking Floorboards and Taking Chances 

Pairing: James/Regulus; Wc:6375; Ao3

Warnings: Not really any, but some Angst and mentioned, minor Character Death (canonical)

Summary: Regulus defected and now has to stay at an Order safe house, with only James for company – which is fine, really, right until there are three more families moving in and they suddenly have to share a bed.

“Hey, I made you a coffee,” James greets him as soon as he enters the kitchen and he smiles a bit, gratefully accepting the mug but otherwise staying silent. It’s barely 7 am and, besides absolutely not being a morning person, he barely got any sleep. Bloody nightmares.

After weeks of being holed up in this house, James knows that well enough and lets him be, and not for the first time does Regulus send silent thanks to whoever is listening that the Order assigned James Potter as his ‘guard.’ Not that they would outright call him that, but Regulus is not naïve enough to think that they trust him.

He wouldn’t either if he’s honest, some days he isn’t even sure if he still trusts himself. He might have defected and told Dumbledore everything he knows about the Horcrux, instead of going to the cave by himself, he might have hated being a Death Eater and the Dark Lord and his parents, but he’s acutely aware of the things he did, in just what he played a part, and his dreams make sure that he won’t ever forget it.

He sighs inwardly, trying to shove the images of mangled bodies and the screams of innocent people behind his mental walls, trying to focus on the bitterness of his coffee, the cool breeze, and rays of sun that are filtering through the open windows on his face, wishing that it would be enough to dispel all the darkness.

A warm hand on his shoulder startles him and James looks at him with worry in his eyes. He swallows, not for the first time feeling like he doesn’t really deserve how kind and friendly James is with him.

Thankfully, he doesn’t ask if he’s alright – he doesn’t want to lie, but he’s also not going to whine about things he mostly has only himself to blame for.

“You want some pancakes?” James asks instead and he nods.

“What are you doing up this early, anyway?” he asks after James turned towards the stove, playing with the spoon in his mug to avoid looking at him too much. He always found him rather attractive, and spending day after day in the same house only led to an overall fondness on top of it – he might have called it a crush, if that didn’t sound bloody stupid to his own ears. He knows he’d never have a chance.

“Sirius is coming over in half an hour,” James says, throwing a grin over his shoulder. “He’s going to bring us two brooms, then we can finally have that Seeker match we talked about.”

He smiles in response, more because James looks ridiculously happy about it than because of the flying, though he does look forward to that as well. There’s not much you can do here apart from roaming the library, but there’s only so much you can read before going mad. Coming from him, that’s saying something.

James started teaching him how to cook – something he didn’t think he would ever learn in this life – which is more fun than he anticipated, but only goes so far as entertainment.

They’re lucky that the wards include the extensive garden of the old house they’re staying in, the only way he ever has the chance to get some fresh air. “Well, then I can finally show you who’s the better Seeker between the two of us,” he grins, picking up the reoccurring debate.

James laughs and shakes his head. “We’ll see. I just hope Sirius remembers to bring a bloody snitch,” he says, putting down two plates onto the wooden table.

He grimaces a bit because Sirius tends to forget stuff like that. Their relationship is still a bit tense but it’s getting better – after all, if it wasn’t for Sirius, he would most likely lie on the bottom of a lake full of Inferi by now.

It was mostly coincidence – he didn’t count on meeting Sirius at the Three Broomsticks, the night he wanted to get wasted one last time, much less on spilling everything after they both had a few too many Firewhiskey’s. And he’s still glad beyond belief that it was Sirius he met, not anybody else.

Naturally, his brother didn’t let him go, taking him home to his flat instead and spending the next three days convincing him to tell Dumbledore about the Horcrux, and letting the Order help him.

It’s not like Regulus regrets it, no matter that besides Sirius and James nobody really trusts him or that he can’t leave the house; he quite likes being alive, even if his plan didn’t exactly bring that across. He’s not convinced yet that he’ll make it out of this war, and there’s a lot of self-loathing and nightmares and dread that just won’t let go of him, but all things considered, he’s probably pretty lucky.

They’re not even finished with breakfast when Sirius arrives, as loud and boisterous as always, and he can’t help but smile and return the brief hug.

“Alright, you two?” Sirius grins, putting two brooms on the table and he’s surprised to note that they’re his and Sirius’ old ones. “I might or might not have visited our dear mother to inquire if she heard anything about you,” Sirius shrugs at his looks, and he winces a bit.

It’s not that he exactly loves his mother, but everyone agreed to keep his defection a secret which means most people simply think he disappeared, and with it already being a few months and the death of their father last year, it’s probably not that easy for her.

He shakes the thought and raises a brow at Sirius. “And she didn’t just kick you out but let you into my old room?”

“Well…” Sirius grins and he groans, thinking that this just has to be a typical Sirius-story. “She’s going mad for real now, I think. First, she thought I was you, then she screamed at me for a good 10 minutes, of course she did,” a shadow flickers through Sirius’ eyes, but it’s gone quickly. “And then she begged me to keep my eyes open for you. I told her I needed some stuff from my room and she let me, so it’s not that interesting, to be honest.”

He sighs but ignores the vague pang of guilt – really, if he wouldn’t be hiding, he would be dead, so it’s not like it makes much of a difference. “Thanks,” he says because he knows how difficult it must have been for Sirius to go back there.

Sirius just shrugs. “I would have given you mine and gotten James’ old one, but he crashed it some time ago, and I didn’t want to buy new ones for some backyard stunts, so…”

He looks at James who is sitting on one of the counters, legs swinging and looking sheepish. “I was drunk, it was dark, and a tree jumped into my way.”

He laughs, wishing he could have seen that.

“Sure it jumped into your way Prongs, that’s exactly what happened,” Sirius snorts, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

“Anyway, did you bring us a few snitches as well?” James asks, obviously intent on changing the subject.

Sirius’ eyes widen and both James and Regulus groan simultaneously, but then Sirius smirks and pulls a crate out of his bag. “Of course I did, but thanks ever so much for believing in me,” he says, a dramatic hand over his heart.

Before they can say anything, he sobers and says, “Before I forget it though, Mad-Eye said he’s coming by later. I didn’t get what exactly is going on but if I’m not mistaken, there might be a few more people moving in, at least for some time.”

Regulus swallows, not knowing what he should think about that. Not only does he enjoy James’ company, but he’s also a bit wary about anybody else. Dumbledore is treating him nicely enough, but Moody is one of the most suspicious of him, and he doesn’t know what to expect from anybody else.

It’s mostly justified, only Dumbledore, Sirius and James know about the Horcrux and to anybody else, it looks like he simply couldn’t take it anymore – which, if he was a spy, would be the story he’d tell as well.

A look at James shows him that he’s frowning slightly. “Do you know why?”

Sirius bites his bottom lip, running a hand through his hair and he sighs, sitting down on one of the chairs. Regulus can suddenly see the exhaustion, the dark shadows under his eyes, his hands trembling ever so slightly and his skin pale in the faint morning light, and he wonders how he missed this until now.

“They got the McKinnon’s, last night,” Sirius whispers after the silence stretched for a while, his eyes swimming with tears.

James’ draws a sharp breath and Regulus can feel his throat tighten, a sudden weight settling in his stomach.

“The whole family. The order is moving everyone into safe houses now, Dumbledore is currently putting them all under the Fidelius, like this one. But we don’t have enough houses for everyone because we’re also moving the Muggle relatives, so they’re putting two to four families per house.” He rubs a hand over his face, and they’re all silent.

“Did… Did they get Marlene, too?” James finally asks, his voice heavy and shoulders slumped.

Sirius only nods and he looks so defeated, so still and broken that Regulus has to take deep, measured breaths against the tears burning in his own eyes. He remembers Marlene, she played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, always full of life and determination.

James slides down from the counter and pulls Sirius into a hug, both of them clinging to each other and crying silently, and Regulus feels like an intruder, feels all that guilt and self-loathing crashing down on him once again.

Rationally, he knows that it’s not his fault, that he couldn’t have done anything, but that knowledge does nothing against the feelings threatening to overwhelm him; he was a part of that, he chose to serve someone who’s killing those friends of his brother, who would kill his brother if he gets the chance, who literally kills anybody who just looks at him the wrong way.

No matter how much his parents pressured him into taking the mark, he never did anything to try going against them.

He tugs at his sleeves, a gesture that is quickly becoming a nervous habit. He always wears long sleeves these days, unable to stand the sight of that bloody skull on his arm, the way he’s branded, and how it serves to remind him every single day of all the wrong choices he made.

He jumps violently when he feels arms pulling him into a hug, and barely bites back the sob when he realises that it’s Sirius’ who is sitting next to him and holding him close. He doesn’t feel like he deserves it, but Sirius doesn’t let go of him and he slowly feels his heartbeat slowing down, his breathing returning to normal, and wonders when he actually started to get so worked up.

“It’s not your fault,” Sirius murmurs into his hair and he wants to believe him, he really does, but it doesn’t work like that. It never does.

When Sirius lets go of him he stares at his hands, twisted in his lap and too embarrassed to look at either of them. It feels wrong, somehow, getting comforted over this when it’s them who lost a friend.

Sirius sighs, his hand lingering on his shoulders before he straightens up. “I have to go, I’m sorry. I’ll try to visit over the next few days, yeah?”

They both nod and Regulus is scared of the silence that will follow as soon as Sirius walks out of the door, but he wouldn’t have needed to. James plops down next to him and throws an arm around his shoulder, like it’s the most normal thing to do. Regulus tries to ignore the warmth that spreads through him at the contact, but he’s not very successful.

“Stop beating yourself up,” James says softly, and when he whips his head around to stare at him, he’s smiling a bit. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I know it’s not… Not really any of my business but I like to think that we’re friends by now and – it’s not your fault, you know? War is horrible, it fucks us all up and you, contrary to many others, did the right thing after realising what you were doing.”

His mouth is dry and he doesn’t know what to say, what to think, but eventually, he says quietly, “That might be true but I still… I still joined him, Merlin, the things – “

He chokes on his words and James pulls him more tightly against his side, propping his chin on Regulus’ head. The armrest of his chair is digging into his side and his back hurts slightly at the angle, but he can’t bring himself to move away.

“I’m not saying that you didn’t make mistakes, but you were sixteen, and you made the right choice in the end, and that says more about you than the rest. Merlin, you planned to sacrifice yourself in silence, that’s one of the bravest, most selfless things I ever heard about,” James says, and his voice is so full of conviction that he can’t help but believe him, at least for now.

They stay like this for a while and Regulus can feel his mind settle slowly.

“Come on, let’s take these brooms out for a bit, yeah? It’ll help to take our minds off everything and I think we can both use that right now,” James says eventually, and he can feel his own excitement rise at the eagerness in James’ eyes.

The October sun is weak and it’s windy, the trees moving in colourful disarray in the overgrown garden, but it’s a beautiful day and perfect for chasing after the Snitch. They just fly for a little while, racing each other and doing tricks to show off before James lets one of the Snitches free.

He’s a bit surprised at how good James is at seeking, but he probably shouldn’t be. After all, he was an exceptional Chaser for Gryffindor and if the rumours are true, he was asked by numerous scouts shortly before leaving Hogwarts.

Regulus faintly remembers him walking around with a Snitch at Hogwarts, and snorts to himself at the memory – Merlin, but James was a bloody idiot in school, it’s kind of impressive how much he changed. Then again, they all did and that he’s not the only one who needed some time is kind of comforting.

Granted, joining the Death Eaters doesn’t really compare, but maybe he’s going to be able to not feel so horrible about himself, someday.

They’re only touching back down when the sun is already hanging low, soft golden light making everything appear slightly ethereal and long shadows stretching over the grass. James looks wind-swept, hair even messier than usual and cheeks flushed, but his eyes are sparkling and he’s grinning brightly, and Regulus thinks that flying might have been the best idea they’ve come up within weeks.

It also helps that he beat him seven to five.

His good mood dims when he’s greeted by Moody’s narrowed eyes as soon as they step into the kitchen. There are no less than 10 people in here, none of them that he knows but all wearing robes. Figures that they wouldn’t put any Muggles in the same house as him, no matter that he couldn’t care less about it by now.

He spares James a grateful look when he stops next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder, wondering absent-mindedly when his presence became something so bloody comforting.

Moody only nods to James, bellowing a few instructions (orders) around, before turning back to them. “Right lads, I know Sirius already told you what’s going on. I don’t have much time, but we have three families, the Dearborn’s, Fenwick’s and Brown’s. I know it’ll be a bit crowded but I’m sure you’ll manage.”

He’s already turning away when he stops once more and throws over his shoulder, “I nearly forgot, we don’t have enough rooms so you will have to share. You don’t mind, right? Great.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer, just leaves them standing in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by people who are levitating luggage around and chattering amongst themselves, while a bunch of children who must all be under 11 are running around.

Regulus’ mind is weirdly blank, his mouth dry. Surely, surely Moody means sharing a room, right? But he knows that all the bedrooms have only one bed, which is most likely the reason they have this problem in the first place, in a house that has 11 rooms.

“Well, that’s unexpected,” James says slowly, and Regulus notices only now that his hand left his shoulder at some point. His voice is strangely controlled and he’s frowning, and Regulus’ heart sinks a bit.

It’s not like he’s all that keen on sharing a bed himself, but it’s more because he doesn’t think it will be particularly helpful with his stupid crush and he’s pretty sure that James’ aversion is caused by very different reasons.

“I can sleep on the couch in the library,” he says, unwilling to put James through something he so obviously doesn’t want. If he’s good at one thing it’s pretending that nothing is wrong, after all.

James looks surprised by his offer but quickly shakes his head. “Bullshit, that thing is terribly small, and I don’t even know if we don’t have to put one of the children on that. Pity that transfiguration doesn’t really last. Anyway, let’s take my room, I think the bed is bigger than yours.”

He sighs but knows better than to protest. He learned over the last weeks that the only person more stubborn than James is Sirius, so there’s not much sense in trying to convince him otherwise.

The rest of the day is uncomfortable and weird. He feels like James is avoiding him but at the same time thinks he’s being ridiculous – they’re busy with settling everyone in and James is cooking dinner, so it’s not like they have much time together.

It’s an abrupt change to the quietness of the last weeks. They rarely got any visitors, and now the house is full of people, children running through the corridors and adults trying to get as comfortable as is possible with the restricted space they have.

A few of them eye him with mistrust; he knows they’re trying to hide it but it’s obvious in the way their gazes linger, and how they stop talking as soon as he enters a room. It bothers him less than it probably should though – on the one hand, it’s not a new experience, whenever he talks to someone that isn’t James or Sirius, it’s a constant companion these days. On the other hand, there are so many people out there that would kill him in a heartbeat if they learned he’s still alive, that these things seem ridiculously harmless, in comparison.

It’s a surreal experience, being holed up in this house while there’s a war raging on, something he now only takes part in through the news they hear second-hand, the knowledge that he can’t do anything about it because it would put not only himself into danger.

And it’s not like he wants to keep fighting, really, he learned quickly that he’s not made for this, no matter which side he’s on. Of course, there’s no doubt that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are gruesome and cruel, void of any conscience or mercy, but he knows that fighting against them still involves violence and killing. There’s no innocence in war, and his gut churns as soon as he thinks too much about it.

That doesn’t change how… useless he feels here, from time to time. He did offer Dumbledore to work as a spy, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad when the old Headmaster refused, stating that it would be too dangerous if Voldemort found out that he knows about the Horcrux. While he’s not too bad at Occlumency, he’s not good enough to withstand an attack from the Dark Lord.

James still goes on missions occasionally, when the Order is stretched thin or even to not go mad here, and despite his general aversion to keep fighting, he envies him a bit for the freedom to do so. When he does, Sirius stays here or if they’re really in the need for people, they leave someone older or injured. Really, he wonders if they actually think that he doesn’t know he’s being guarded.

He does understand the need though, he’s just glad that they left him with James and not, Merlin help him, Moody.

He sighs, for what feels like the millionth time today. He would like to simply avoid everyone, but seeing that they will all live here together indefinitely, he doesn’t think it would be smart to be perceived as unwilling to even try. So he grits his teeth and helps in the kitchen, ignoring the way James keeps a careful distance between them and doesn’t talk and joke with him as usual.

Dinner is a bit tense, but the children remain blissfully unaware of it all, mostly excited about the change of scenery. He wonders how much time it’s going to take until they go mad with the restricted space, seeing that there’s not much more to do for children here than for them.

Thankfully, everybody is tired and goes to bed soon after cleaning the kitchen, he doesn’t know how much longer he could take the terse atmosphere and unspoken words. He’s already nervous as it is, and it’s not much better, being alone with James, which is a strange feeling after getting along well for so many weeks, but it’s preferable to the badly disguised glares.

“I think I’m going to bed as well,” James says after they sat in silence for a while, each with a cup of tea in front of them and aimlessly thumbing through the Prophet. “You…” he can hear him swallow and bites his tongue to keep from telling him again that he’d rather sleep on the sofa if the idea of sharing a bed is so repulsive to him. “You’re coming, too? It’s just – “

“Yeah, alright,” he sighs, knowing that James probably doesn’t want to be woken up later, on top of everything. It’s not like he’s not tired, and he’d rather avoid stumbling through a room he doesn’t know.

They walk up the stairs in silence and he quickly grabs some sweatpants and a soft jumper before disappearing into the bathroom. Nearly all his clothes are from Sirius, seeing that he never got the chance to pick up any of his own stuff, and it’s a bit too big for him but he rather likes the comfortable washed out jeans and shirts, the cosy sweats and how the long sleeves of the jumpers reach over his hands.

“It’s going to be alright,” he tries to convince himself, throwing a quick look into the mirror and grimacing at how long his hair is getting. It’s not like it matters much though and, ignoring his racing heart, he walks back into James’ room. Their room – Salazar that sounds so weird.

James is already in bed, curled up near the wall and only a candle flickering softly on the nightstand, the flame dancing in the wind that whistles through the open window.

He lies as close to the edge as possible and blows out the candle, and he’s so tense he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to sleep like this, too aware of James’ breathing and every small move he makes.

The barest amount of moonlight shines through the window, just enough to make out blurring shades of furniture and how the curtains sway and he focuses on that and the little sounds the house is making.

It doesn’t take long until James’ breathing becomes steady and he sighs, carefully rolling onto his back. The ceiling isn’t any more interesting than the rest of the room and his mind keeps straying to memories of the day – of the carefree expression James wore while flying and the stark contrast to later, when he was so closed off that Regulus felt like they didn’t know each other at all.

He knows that it’s stupid, brooding over it like this, but no matter how hard he tries, it always comes back up, the feeling of disappointment settling heavy in his chest and making it impossible to fall asleep.

He must have managed it at some point and when he wakes up, it takes his still sluggish brain a long time to understand why he’s so comfortable. He’s pressed against something warm, there’s an arm around his shoulders and he can feel a steady heartbeat underneath his fingertips.

His eyes fly open at the last thought and he only just keeps himself from jerking away at the realisation that he curled against James at some point during the night. Slowly lifting his head, he sighs in relief when he sees that James is still fast asleep, and the carefully slips out from under his arm and out of bed.

The last thing he needs is making this even more awkward than it already is.

It’s still dark outside, only a few birds chirping and the house silent. He could have easily slept some more, but he can’t stay here right now and lights his wand to gather clothes for the day.

He silently makes his way down into the kitchen, glad that he took the time to map out all the small oddities of the house weeks ago; he knows which floorboards creak and which doors to open slowly, which steps to skip and to not lean onto the banister. It’s something he learned early at Grimmauld Place, to move without making a sound, without pulling any attention to himself, and he throws up a Silencing Charm in the kitchen before turning on the kettle for coffee.

As soon as he has a steaming mug ready, he makes his way back up, getting a book out of the library and disappearing into the attic. There’s a small window there with a ledge just big enough for him to curl up on comfortably, his coffee between his feet and the book balanced on his knees.

He can see across the garden and the grounds from here, the forest just slowly becoming distinguishable in the breaking dawn, and he settles himself to stay here for a while. No matter his resolutions to make an effort with everyone, he just knows that he needs some time before he can look at James without making a fool of himself. He can’t be sure that James didn’t notice his cuddling at some point, and he’d rather forget about it as soon as possible.

Sure, eventually he’s probably going to find him here, Regulus found the spot within the first week and ever since used it when he needed some space and time for himself, but James knows about it and most likely won’t let him brood for the whole day.

Or maybe he will, he thinks, remembering the awkwardness of yesterday evening. Leaning his head back he closes his eyes, listening to the sounds of the house slowly waking up and, not for the first time, wishes that he could just disappear. South America always sounded interesting.

Just being less important would be nice, too. Belonging to an inconsequential family, one whose name doesn’t mean anything and whose parents aren’t so mad that they sell their sons out to a genocidal maniac. He could have stayed out of the bloody war, instead of sitting in a dusty attic and worrying over a boy he’ll never have a chance with and a bunch of people that hate his guts.

He snorts softly at himself, wondering what his 14-year old self would think if he could hear that and then shakes his head. Self-pity won’t get him anywhere and he shoves all of it away, into a neat, little, black box in the back of his mind, and then opens the book, his lightened wand behind his ear.

James does find him eventually, when the sun is already past its highest point and he’s more than halfway through his book, and he doesn’t know how long he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his ankles crossed, but when he finally notices him he’s smiling slightly and Regulus takes it as a good sign that the lacking distance between them last night went unnoticed.

“Aren’t you hungry?” James asks with a pointed look at his long-empty mug and he grins sheepishly, carefully disentangling his wand from his hair.

He gets up and stretches, his knees cracking slightly after the lack of movement for hours and he only now notices that he really has to eat something.

“What were you reading that got you so absorbed?” James asks when they’re walking down the stairs, which manages to get a smile out of him. It didn’t take long for James to notice just how much of a bookworm he is and he often asks about his current book.

“The Plague from Albert Camus. He was a Muggle philosopher and it’s a novel, talking about human nature in an extreme crisis. Kind of fitting, come to think of it,” he says, stroking a finger over the cracked spine.

When he looks up, James is watching him but quickly looks away. “I saved you some soup, the others are outside with the kids. Are you going to help me prepare dinner?”

“Thanks,” he murmurs, gratefully taking the bowl and cancelling the Stasis Charm. “Sure, what did you plan?”

They spend the next hour preparing food and while he still catches James watching him with a weird expression a few times and both of them more than once stumble over their words, they’re mostly back to normal.

He nearly thinks that he’ll be able to get through all this without going mad, until they sit down for dinner around the enlarged table, the kids chattering about their day.

The girl sitting next to him, he thinks her name is Sophie, nudges him towards the end and he turns his head to look at her, acutely aware of all the adults watching them closely. “Jamie said you were reading the whole day,” she states, and he doesn’t miss the way James sighs at the nickname across from him, causing him to grin.

“That’s right,” he says, looking down at her curiously.

Her blue eyes light up and she sits up straighter. “I’m learning to read too but I’m not very good yet. Can you read us a story after dinner?”

The table falls silent and he swallows, but she looks so hopeful and excited that there’s no way in hell he’s going to say no. “Well, if your parents are alright with that I sure can,” he says – at least it won’t be him who disappoints her, right? It’s not like her parents can’t read, anyway.

She turns her pleading eyes on them and they exchange a glance but, to his surprise, they nod, and that’s how Regulus finds himself with five excited children, four of the adults and James sitting around him in front of the fire in the library.

He chooses a Muggle children book – there’s still some Slytherin left in him and he’s not above taking an opportunity if it’s practically thrown into his lap – and spends the next hour reading about a little prince who’s asking people to draw things, interpret his own drawings and visiting planets while talking about the difficulty of dealing with adults and being alone.

It’s an endearing story and when the adults carry off their kids to bed, they even spare him a smile – small steps, and all that.

He’s not looking forward to going to bed himself, but he’s tired and the warmth and sounds of the fire are making his eyes droop, so when James asks him if he wants to go to sleep he agrees, ignoring how much he wishes that he’d mean it a bit differently.

Once again they lie down as far away from each other as possible and it doesn’t take him long to fall asleep tonight, despite his worries, but when he wakes up he can instantly tell that it happened again.

They’re both lying on their sides, facing each other, one arm of James under his head and the other around his middle. He can hear his heartbeat, feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, and he smells like soap and a bit like cinnamon.

But no matter how unfairly good it feels, being enveloped in James like this, warm and comfortable and safe, he needs to leave before he wakes up, and carefully tries to move away. It hits him that he didn’t have a nightmare the last two nights, at least not one he can remember, but it only adds to the sense of urgency to get away – it might be a nice change, but he really doesn’t need to start relying on anybody, even more than he already does.

“Don’t,” James murmurs into his hair, arms tightening around him and he instantly freezes, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

James sighs and pulls away, just enough to look at him. “Sorry, do you want to – it’s just…” his voice is still heavy with sleep and he looks so soft like this, hair standing into every direction, all warm, hazel eyes and small smiles and Regulus has to bite his tongue to remind himself that he can’t just lean forward the few inches, can’t just kiss him no matter how much he wants to.

James’ thumb is drawing circles into his lower back and he closes his eyes, desperately trying to sort out his tangled thoughts, to make sense of any of this because it just doesn’t add up, there’s no rational explanation why James is doing this when just two days ago he was so obviously appalled by the idea of sharing a bed with him.

“You know,” James says softly, his hand moving away from its spot and tentatively pushing a few strands of hair behind Regulus’ ear who opens his eyes against his best intentions, startling at the uncertainty on James’ face. “Did you know that I – that I asked to be the one to stay with you?”

He shakes his head, not knowing what to say; it’s not like he never wondered why but he suspected that it has been Sirius’ doing, or simply because of reasons he doesn’t know about. It still doesn’t make sense, James doesn’t strike him as a person who’s happy with staying out of the action, who’s content with keeping watch over a renegade in an old safe-house that has too many creaking floorboards and only a library and a kitchen for company.

Granted, he’s still going on missions from time to time with somebody else staying here, but that’s rather beside the point and he has no idea why his mind comes up with useless stuff, now of all times.

“But why?” he asks, searching James’ face and frowning when he takes a deep breath before meeting his eyes again.

“Because I wanted to spend time with you, because I – I don’t know, I always liked you, I think and well, I didn’t exactly expect to…” he swallows and clears his throat, the hand on Regulus shoulder tightening ever so slightly. “I didn’t expect to end up like this, but I really, really like you.”

He has no idea what to say, his mind whirring and heart threatening to beat out of his chest, but his eyes are involuntarily drawn to the way James is biting his bottom lip, and he knows he should say something but James is leaning forward, slowly, watching him closely and fingers ghosting over his cheek.

“Also, I would really like to kiss you right now,” James whispers, their noses already touching and he doesn’t think he could speak even if he wanted to, so he just nods and closes the remaining distance between them, still not completely convinced that this is not just a dream.

James’ lips are soft and warm, and Regulus melts into him, his hands clenching into James’ shirt who only pulls him closer, one hand running through his hair and the other steady on his back, and he thinks he’s never been kissed like this, so carefully, like it actually means something.

He puts one arm around James’ waist, rolling onto his back and pulling him on top of him because he needs to feel more of him, needs something solid and real because he fears that he’s just going to shatter under this tenderness any moment now.

It’s nearly too much, the way his chest feels close to bursting open, his emotions so high-strung that he thinks he could cry if he let himself and he just tries to focus on James’ tongue brushing against his lips, on his fingers ghosting over his jaw and his throat and the warm, soft skin under his own fingertips.

It all becomes a bit less overwhelming after a while and he simply sinks into the feeling, the brimming energy receding to warmth and pure joy, even if it’s still intense and exhilarating, a bit like pulling out of a dive that cut it just a bit too close, and when they eventually break apart, he manages to smile softly, drawing his thumb over James’ jaw and says, “Just if that wasn’t clear, I really, really like you too.”

James smiles brightly and kisses him again, and he thinks that there might be a lot to look forward to, after all.

*

I hoped you liked it! (And I now need someone to draw me Regulus in an oversized jumper. Please?)

I still have two prompts left, both for Jegulus, but you can still send me some, for this ship or Sirius/James or Tom/Harry. Either from this list, or something else you’d llike. 

[fedonciadale]

The Phoenix Potion - chapter 41 - Battle of Hogwarts (May 2, 1998)

So, this is the last canon-bent flash back chapter, if not the last flash back....

Draco tries to survive the battle.... Also on AO3.

Draco broke one of the vials over Gregory, and one over himself, and then he took Gregory’s wand. He carried the bulky form of his classmate to the side of the corridor. If Gregory were lucky, he would only wake up when this was all over, or at least the battle that raged in Hogwarts.

He felt dazed. Potter again. Almost getting himself killed, and by Crabbe of all people. Draco shuddered. Horcruxes. Even the word sounded evil. He wondered what it was. Something that prevented the death of the Dark Lord if he had understood correctly. ‘Just the snake’. Draco certainly would not grieve, if that ghastly snake got killed.

Fiendfyre. He looked at his left badly burnt arm. The pain was almost enough to mask the pain of the Dark Lord’s call. Draco waved the borrowed wand over his arm to do a healing spell. It cooled the burned places, but the burned skin still stood out in an irritated red.

He wondered if it would be enough of an excuse to ignore the Dark Lord’s calling. Maybe it was for the best, that he could not heal his arm completely. Gregory’s wand did not respond well. His mother’s wand, given willingly, had been much better.

Such a shame that Potter had his wand. Severus had told him he should try to get his wand back, or was it the other way round? Draco did not remember, either because he had been feverish or because he had stored that away. To demand his wand back might not have been the best of approaches to Potter, but it had been the first thing to come to his mind that would not make Crabbe suspicious. Crabbe. Dead. He shuddered.

With a wand that barely worked, he would have to lie low, just as Hermione had suggested. He would try a disillusionment charm and maybe he could indeed save some lives from the side lines. He was pondering possible actions, when he almost ran into a death eater who was alone on the corridor.

At first, he froze in place, but then he remembered that he was supposedly on their side. He grovelled and showed his mark, hoping that would be enough. In that moment he did not even remember that he had doused himself with Phoenix Potion. The death eater snarled and seemed not convinced. Draco never learned what his intent was. His opponent was hit by a stunning spell, that came out of nowhere and then he himself got punched out of thin air.

His mind reeled, but he managed to stay conscious. He looked around but saw nobody. He quickly cast a disillusionment charm. It was far from perfect, but he might be able to escape notice. He made his way to the classroom, where he had begun to brew the next batch of Phoenix Potion. He barely managed to enter with Gregory’s wand. He concentrated so hard on getting through the wards, that he was completely taken aback, when he heard the Dark Lord’s voice announcing a truce of two hours, challenging Potter to turn himself in. Draco shook his head. Even Potter would not be that stupid.

Briefly he wondered if he should have had doused Potter with the potion. He doubted Potter would have accepted it with the same trust as Hermione. Draco chuckled briefly when he tried to picture Potter’s indignant face. He probably would have thought that Draco had attacked him.

Draco looked with a sceptical eye at the new batch of the potion. He would have to try. He called Prudy with his ring.

It turned out to be of no use. The new batch of potion was not ready, and Prudy reacted to the tickling spell. He had told Severus, that he would need a fortnight, and his estimation had been right.

“What shall I do now,” he asked Prudy. “In two hours, the battle will start again…. At least I managed to get the vials from the Room of Hidden Things.”

When he had planned with Severus, he had not thought that Potter would render all his plans useless. Severus had been driven out and because Potter was here, Voldemort was bent on battle. And if he won, he probably would not want to drink Draco’s potion.

Draco wrote down the last two steps that were left to finish the potion. Then he grabbed the book with his notes. It would be best to hide it. He told Prudy to stay and hurried to the library which was empty. A book was best hidden among other books. He took a cover from a book on house elves, duplicated it, changed its colour and applied it to his notes. Nobody would ever read this. And he had written code as well. He had to do the spells three times in a row to have any effect and groaned in frustration. He waved Gregory’s wand to distribute the dust. It would not do, if someone would notice that the books had been disturbed.

He went to the classroom again and took out the memory of where he had put the book. It was a strain. He did not dare reopen the vial that held his other memories, because he was not sure, if he could even cast a proper scutum with Gregory’s wand. Therefore, he took a glass of his makeshift potions lab and put the memory there. The memory looked greyish and not silver and Draco wondered if he had done something wrong. Was it the wand that did not obey him? Or maybe he had stored away memories too often? All his choices seemed bad in a way. He was between a rock and a hard place, had been for more than a year.

His gaze fell on his family ring and his breath was knocked right out of his lungs. The ring had turned pitch black. Severus Snape, his only ally was dead.

***

Draco had sat on the floor for what felt like hours, his head on his knees, Prudy his only companion. The little elf had laid her hand on Draco’s shoulder, but there was little comfort. Draco’s thoughts were whirling, he was looking for a solution. Could he persuade the Dark Lord to try the potion? If he came to Hogwarts as a victor as would certainly be the case?

When he finally stood up, he looked out of the window. His heart dropped in anguish, when he saw a group of black clad people who could only be death eaters advance to the castle. Draco thought he recognised the Dark Lord, the snake by his side. Somehow that big oaf, Hagrid slowly made his way towards the castle. On his arms was a bundle that looked like a child in his arms. But the enormous height of the half-giant probably meant that it was not a child, but a man. Draco felt the last and tiny shred of hope leaving his body.

“All is lost,” he whispered to Prudy. He tore at his hair, desperation took hold of him. The Dark Lord’s new world was about to rise, and it was a world that was not worth living in, not for muggleborns, not for purebloods, not for any decent human being. He might as well go out and die now. If he died, there was a slim chance that the Dark Lord would not suspect his treason, that his mother might be spared. All the Phoenix Potion in the world would not save Hermione though. It was only a matter of time until she was as dead as Potter.

Draco saw splashes on the floor and touched his cheeks in wonder. He had not realised that he cried.

“Prudy,” he called out. She was his only friend now, if a servant even could be a friend. He took one of the Phoenix Potion vials.

“Here, Prudy,” he shoved the vial into her hands. “Protect yourself.”

He took of the green and silver tie that was part of his school uniform. The elf stared at him with wide eyes, that reminded Draco of deep wood ponds filled with clear water.

“Stay low, Prudy, I have one last order for you. Survive, just survive.” He put the tie around Prudy’s neck.

He went out of the classroom then, not caring about renewing the wards. He felt like he was on his way to his death. It felt like the day when he had made his walk to the Astronomy tower, only this time, he was even more certain that he would die. There was no point in living in a world, where Voldemort had won.

He did not dawdle. He knew what awaited him and just wanted it to be over. He had been living on borrowed time anyway. He wondered if a twist of fate would allow him so see Hermione one more time. Better if she was already dead, a quick death, hopefully a clean death. He regretted now that he had used the potion on her. It would only prolong the inevitable.

When he reached the Great Hall, people were still fighting. Why did they take the trouble? Didn’t they know it was all over?

It took him a few moments to register that Potter was alive. When the realisation hit him, his pace quickened. He took the bag he had still slung around his back and began throwing the potion around. He might save some lives. The vials shattered easily, and the tell-tale mist rose when they hit persons. Draco did not take the time to distinguish between friend and foe. He tried to find Hermione and at one point he thought he saw her bushy hair, but the battle roared around him and when he looked again, she was gone.

Longbottom of all people was wielding the sword of Gryffindor and looked like a fucking hero, rallying fighters behind him. The sword glittered in his hands and when he came to face the snake, he roared and cut her head off as if he were slicing through butter.

At one point he thought he saw his mother. She did not even pretend that she fought. Draco was sure she looked for him. He thought she looked up, when he called for her, but the tide of the battle swept them apart.

Draco narrowly avoided a deadly spell, that grazed him at his leg. He came face to face with his aunt whose eyes were opened wide. She looked crazier than ever and Draco ducked away, hoping his disillusion somehow held. His leg felt momentarily numb. The constant exposure to spells must have worn down the effect of the Phoenix Potion.

Potter and Voldemort duelled, and Potter taunted the Dark Lord. Potter had found out that Severus had been a double agent. So, at least his death had not been in vain.

And then Potter told Voldemort that his wand was better than the Elderwand the Dark Lord held.

Draco stood dumbfounded, when Potter explained that he held his wand, he called it out, loud and clear. “Draco Malfoy’s wand defeated the Elderwand. And I hold it now.”

The duelling was over before Draco had understood what Potter had said, and Voldemort fell.

He fell.

He fell, and finally, finally he was dead.

Draco thought he would fall himself, of relief, of exhaustion, he could not have said.

But someone pulled at him. Someone had looked through the disillusion. “Traitor,” he heard them say. “You helped Potter. You gave him your wand.”

Draco could not help himself. He laughed. He had finally been found out as a traitor but nor for something he had willingly done. Voldemort was dead, but he held a weak wand, had run out of Phoenix Potion. This was the moment he would die.

Suddenly he felt a tiny hand in his and felt the tug at his navel that meant that he had been apparated away. He heard Goyle’s wand clatter on the ground of the hall, he felt the two last vials of Phoenix Potion slip from his fingers, the moment he was pulled away.

He stood on green grass, Prudy’s hand in his, but two men had taken hold of him as well. They raised their wands.

“Avada….”, they began… Prudy threw something on his head, that enveloped him in a sudden icy feeling that let him think that he was thrown into a place where even the memory of the sun would dissipate. He thought his head would split and everything went black.

[schrijverr]

Professor Elric?

After The Promised Day Edward is sent on a miliary mission to Hogwarts where he will teach Alchemy to his students. He is told not to interfere with their business, but he has a hard time not getting involved with this weird Voldy prick.

On AO3.

Ships: none here

Warnings: someone gets shot, you can guess who lol

Chapter 9 out of 10

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

It was a trap, of course it had been a trap, Hermione thought as they were running from the Death Eaters through the halls with prophecies. She had warned Harry, but he just had to run to safe Sirius, his godfather and only family member he had left, okay, so maybe he had a good reason, but still.

She felt herself get captured and she tried to fight it of, but it wasn’t working. Mister Elric hadn’t taught them how to fight while in the air and captured from behind. She came by in the room with the veil thing in the middle. Everyone was captured and Lucius Malfoy was demanding the prophecy.

Then light filled the room and people appeared, it was the Order! They had come, it wasn’t hopeless. There was a fight and it all kind of happened in a blur, but she was pleased to say that Death Eaters indeed didn’t know what to do with a punch in the face. It seemed to be going okay until she heard Bellatrix Lestrange yell a curse.

She saw where it was going and acted on instinct. She drew an array she had learned in Alchemy and imagined a wall raising and protecting Sirius.

It all happened in slow motion, there was lightning that illumined the room, stone started to crawl up and Sirius turned around to see a red light coming at him, his eyes widened and he let himself fall to the ground. The red light chipped the upper part of the newly formed stone wall, but no one got hurt.

It stayed quiet for a second, then the fighting resumed, Hermione got swept away, but she thought she saw Harry angrily chasing after Bellatrix while yelling something about trying to hurt Sirius, while the man in question got swept away in a duel. She didn’t have time to over-think it, because of all the spells and curses that were flying around.

~

Edward was still trying to find the fight by throwing every door open when the fight found him. A strange and probably crazy lady appeared with an angry Harry right behind her. He’s yelling at her about trying to kill his only family and Edward quickly hid behind a fire place, surprise is the best tactic.

He watched for a second and saw how the crazy lady was trying to convince Harry to hurt her, he took that as his cue to appear behind her. Harry saw him, but he didn’t say a thing when Edward motioned for him to be quiet and shook his head. The crazy lady grinned and someone else appeared, he was very ugly and strange, he reminded Edward of a snake and he wondered if the guy was a chimera.

He vaguely heard Harry say Voldemort, but he wasn’t really paying attention, because the crazy lady was getting away. She hadn’t seen him yet, so he took her by surprise as he hit her over the head with his metal hand. She was out cold in a second.

Meanwhile Harry was hurting, so Edward did what he thought was the logical next step and jumped into the fray. He did that by swiping Voldies legs from under him, making the guy eat dirt. This broke his bond with Harry and the teen fell to the ground, it also made Voldemort focus on him. Good, Edward thought, get your ugly eyes on me, because I’m the danger now.

~

Harry blinked a few times. He didn’t know what just happened, but he was hurting and now he wasn’t anymore. He saw bright flashes of light and heard loud crashes, so he made himself turn his head towards the source.

Mister Elric was fighting Voldemort. He had always been short, kind of scary, but not that impressive and kind of a dork with a big coat. Now, however, that was all gone and Harry realized why he was also Colonel Elric. He looked like a badass.

He was making walls appear and disappear as he blocked and dodged Voldemorts curses. He kept moving and was never a good target. Harry could see the Dark Lord struggling to keep up with the Alchemist, who made grabs at him for time to time with his fist or gigantic stone hands.

But Harry could also see that though Voldemort wasn’t winning, he wasn’t losing either. Hermione had told him that Alchemy was a straining activity and that you had to build muscle to use it. Mister Elric was ripped, sure, but he was starting to sweat and he was running out of breath. Voldemort had the luxury of mostly standing in one place, Mister Elric hadn’t.

Harry was looking for a way to help when Dumbledore appeared, he had never been more grateful for Dumbledore than in that moment. Mister Elric must have seen him as well, because he grinned and yelled: “Hey, snakeface, looks like your old friend is here.”

Then he jumped away and let Dumbledore take over the fighting while he ran to Harry.

~

Edward ran over to Harry, he dropped down and asked: “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Harry shook his head and Edward let out a relieved sigh, he then looked back to the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort. Dumbledore was winning, but Edward saw that Voldemort could get away the moment Dumbledore made a mistake and that was getting more likely by the second. He gave Harry a serious look and said: “Are you willing to do something completely crazy that might end this?”

Harry swallowed and looked back on Voldemort choking on water. He thought about the fantasy of being just a normal kid and made up his mind as he nodded. Edward gave him a grin and pulled out a gun from the back of his belt. Harry paled a bit, but Edward didn’t seem to notice. He said: “Dumbledore is good, but it’s magic, Voldemort knows how to deal with it, he will run the moment he can, do you understand?”

Harry nodded again, he didn’t really but he got the gist.

“Good,” Edward said, “I need you to prevent that. Go hang around his waist, pin his arms to his sides, make sure he can’t run and he doesn’t have to room to do magic. But don’t, under any circumstance, go higher than his waist. I’m going to shoot him, but I can’t do that if I might hit you, okay?”

“Okay, let’s go.” Harry answered with a determined face.

Edward gave the signal and they were off. Edward was providing cover for Harry while Dumbledore created a great distraction. When Harry was close, he jumped and landed on Voldemort. They tumbled to  the ground. A fight arose and both parties were trying to pin the other down. Edward saw this wasn’t going anywhere, so he sprinted to the duo and yelled: “Harry get down, close your eyes!”

So of course Harry didn’t. He let himself get flipped under Voldemort and pushed the man up and away from him as he closed his eyes. Voldemort was trying to choke him, but Harry was doing the same. Voldemorts head was a perfect target.

Edward stopped, knelt and aimed, then he pulled the trigger as he hoped that Hawkeyes lessons had paid off. A loud bang echoed trough the hall and Voldemort turned his face to the sound, just in time to see the bullet.

Right as it went through Voldemorts face people started appearing around them, all shocked at Voldemort and the blood surrounding him. Edward didn’t pay them any attention, he just made his way over to Harry.

He rolled the body of him and helped him to an upright position. There was blood on his face and bruises started to appear on his neck, but he was otherwise completely fine, except for maybe emotional trauma. He looked at Edward and asked him with a small voice: “Is it over? Is he gone?”

Edward smiled and said: “Yeah, it’s over. Unless he has some sneaky shit he’s hiding.” he turned to Dumbledore, “You wouldn’t know anything, would you.”

The man had the nerve to look him straight in the eye as he told them about the prophecy and the probable existence of Horcruxes. Edward mentally screamed and rubbed his temples, then in the most ‘I-am-pretending-to-be-relaxed-but-I-am-mentally-murdering-you’ voice he said: “So, your plan was to send a child after a known mass-murderer. In the hope he would, what, hm, kill him? How stupid, because of some sort of shit prophecy? You were willing to fuck up a child who had done nothing but exist. I can’t believe you! Anyway, he’s dead, so it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“But it must be by Harrys hand.” Dumbledore argued.

“Yeah, it happened by his hand. He was holding him in the air, while I shot him. It was by his hand, prophecies don’t always mean what you think, don’t try to pretend you know better.” Edward scoffed.

One plump man broke up their conversation by asking: “Is that really him? Was he really back?”

“Yes, Minister, I am afraid he was.” Dumbledore replied.

“But he’s gone now, you just need to send your best men after these Horcruxes and after those Death Eaters that are still out there, but otherwise, he’s gone.” Edward elaborated.

“Goodness gracious,” the plump man said, “I must thank you, …?”

“Elric, Colonel Edward Elric or the Fullmetal Alchemist. I don’t really care. I was send here by Amestris.” Edward told him, “You are the Minister, right?”

“Ah, yes, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.” the man said, “Thank you Colonel Elric for you help here today.”

“It really wasn’t a problem and you can’t forget Harry and his friends, they helped more than I did.” Edward said.

“Still, how can I thank you.” the Minister asked.

An evil grin swept over Edwards features as he answered: “You can punish, Umbridge. I don’t know where she is, but she is evil and a child abuser. Lock her up somewhere and never let her near kids again, please.”

“A child abuser? How outrageous.” Fudge cried.

“Harry, show this nice man your hand.” Edward said and Harry complied, Fudge gasped when he saw the wound and Edward asked: “How’s that for outrageous?”

After that he let Dumbledore take Harry away from the scene as he went to find his students and their friends. He wanted them to avoid the media party that was happening outside, they didn’t need that.

[blankdblank]

Anaticula Pt 63

On the wake of exams came Draco’s birthday celebration you helped him sneak home for the mini party with his parents an your uncles and father to see him into adulthood. It almost was time as there really was no excuse to put off the plan any more since the vanishing cabinet had its first seven successful runs. Now the only issue was how to get Dumbledore to go along with the plans when he still refused to talk to you. So a plan had to be made and Minerva would lure him into a meeting. And if worst came to it and he still avoided you Peeves and the Bloody Baron had agreed to assist in trapping him in diluting some argument of theirs until you could steal just a moment of his time even if you crumbled it up and threw it at him in passing.

Soon June would be over and you were running out of time. The big day came and nerves seemed to split through the school on the early Saturday morning while you and the other Professors saw no sign of Dumbledore even after several notes and tries to uncover where he had gone. Sundown was when it was planned and there was no turning back.

.

In his office Harry found Dumbledore after sending off a note that he had sent for him. “Oh, Harry. You need a shave, my friend. You know, at times, I forget how much you've grown. At times, I still see the small boy from the cupboard. Forgive my mawkishness, Harry. I'm an old man.”

“You still look the same to me, sir. But-,”

“Just like your mother, you're unfailingly kind. A trait people never fail to undervalue, I'm afraid.”

“Sir, Jaqi has been looking for you. It’s important.”

“That can wait. The place to which we journey tonight is extremely dangerous. I promised you could accompany me, and I stand by that promise. But there is one condition. You must obey every command I give you, without question.”

“Yes, sir. But, couldn’t we get Jaqi? It won’t take-,”

“You do understand what I'm saying? Should I tell you to hide, you hide. Should I tell you to run, you run. Should I tell you to abandon me and save yourself, you must do so. Your word, Harry.”

“My word. But-,”

“No! We must go now, while the tide is with us.” His arm was offered and Harry wet his lips and reluctantly grabbed his arm and joined him in apparating off while floors below you were in your office confirming with Minerva to issue the curfew early.

The joint names in the office vanished and you punched the table, “Fuck!”

Standing up you squeaked clutching your hand and Minerva hurried around the table to cradle your hands saying, “You punched my Quill stand.”

Again you squeaked and Snape took a moment to stop chuckling to himself to aid you in popping your dislocated finger back into place on the hand he coated with numbing and creams and wrapped in bandages. “Where the fuck did they go?”

Peeves popped into your office and cleared his throat saying, “As the Baron requested I have been sleuthing again, I overheard Dumbledore mentioning something about the tide being in their favor.”

Softly you repeated, “Tide?” Then your head fell back in a groan, “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”

Snape looked to you asking, “Tide? You know where he is?”

“I have a hunch.” After a huff you said, “K?”

At your side he appeared and you crouched saying, “I would like to apologize for this, however, I need you to go to the cave where Regulus found Slytherin’s locket.” His lips parted and you shook your head, “Dumbledore may be taking Harry there. Signal me when they get to how Regulus was, you remember?” And he nodded, your hand pressed to his shoulder bolstering his courage, “I am so sorry. Signal me when he gets thirsty and I’ll call them here.”

“Of course Mistress. No harm shall come to young Harry on my watch.” And he popped off.

As you stood Minerva asked, “When he gets thirsty?”

“There’s a potion you have to drink to get to the locket, it makes you thirsty, and you have to keep drinking it through the pain it inflicts on you. When you touch the lake Inferi come to kill you.” Parting her lips, “It almost killed Regulus. Dumbledore is going to nearly kill my cousin for a decoy.”

Overhead as she strolled to the hall Minerva’s voice echoed through the speakers, “A strict curfew is being enforced, all students return to your dormitories at once, all Professors ensure that your quadrants are cleared.”

On your left Draco entered the room with Barty beside him, “Professor,” he nodded his head to Minerva in passing her and she patted his shoulder in a consoling way.

Snape, “We will give you a cushion to get Harry and Albus back again. I am certain Bellatrix won’t mind a few questions.”

You nodded, “I’ll let you know when they’re back.”

Exiting the halls they left to head for the cabinet while you clapped summoning your draconic spell book and traced the only allowed pathway the visitors would be allowed to take, from the Room of Requirement to Dumbledore’s office and then out the front exit spreading impenetrable barriers around each hall and room around it. The shimmering barriers vanishing made Barty smirk widely at you saying, “Have I told you how spectacular you are today?”

An exasperated chuckle left you and you closed the book sending it off home again, peering up at him you couldn’t talk as he leaned in to steal a quick peck on your lips making you shake your head keeping from tugging him closer for another and say in his knowing chuckle, “We need to find that ghoul.” Turning back to Minerva’s class peering into each hall along the way until you found it lurking around an empty classroom banging books together in some grunt filled song. Up to Dumbledore’s office he was led and Minerva ensured all Professors were keeping guard over the dorms they had been assigned while you stood watch over the enchanted map in Dumbledore’s office.

Up on your right however Phineas stated, “He will see reason you know.” Peering up at him he continued at your locked gaze on him, “It’s all fear. We all face it. Some worse than others. You have not led him astray.”

“How could I possibly lead him astray when he won’t even answer my letters let alone stay in a room with me?”

Phineas huffed, “I was not aware of that. I will speak with him, encouraging him to stop running from your aid.”

All at once K popped back saying, “They have the fake locket, Mistress.” A snap of your fingers later the pair appeared in the office and a blast of yellow from your hand coated Albus, who was writhing in pain on his knees latching onto Harry’s leg.

Harry wide eyed said frantically, “I don’t know what’s wrong, he drank-,”

With a huff you said, “I know what he drank.” Gripping Albus’ hair you tilted his head back summoning a stream of water from the swirling ball of water in front of your palm into his open mouth he drank until sated when you ceased it. Looking at the calming Professor who you helped to his feet you asked, “Are you quite done killing yourself to confirm I am not lying to you?!”

With a huff he snatched the locket from Harry’s shirt pocket saying, “We got the locket horcrux!”

With a nod you spoke ‘open’ in Parseltongue and he scrambled to catch the note and you said, “Read it.” Opening the note his lips parted in reading it and he looked from it to you in shock, “This mission of yours is going to kill my cousin. From now on leave him out of your plans if you have anymore foolish ideas. Now, if you will kindly behave, it’s time to kill you.”

Harry’s lips parted only to see you snatch his bleeding hand you held over the mouth of the Ghoul, who lapped up the blood and morphed into Albus. Cradling his cut hand in your release of it you raised your hand calling his wand to your palm you aimed at him shrinking him into a salt and pepper Scottish Terrier with a bowtie collar on. You magically nudged up to a dog bed you summoned before looking to the Ghoul Dumbledore and said, “The moon is lovely tonight Professor.”

With a nod he grinned and turned to inspect it closer on the balcony, “Why yes, yes it is.”

In a look at Harry you said, “I’m going to have to turn you into a cat again.”

With a nod Harry pocketed the locket you had held hovering in the air and the note with it for him to read later and drew in a deep breath as your warning ball of light was sent off to Draco that everything was in line. Barty entered the room when you opened the door to see Harry, in cat form strolling over to lay next to the real Dumbledore on his massive cushion hearing his huffs and mutterings. Both uncertain of what was coming.

.

“That one is the Big Bear, Mum’s favorite when she was little. Aunt Lilly had these big posters of them from a trip to the museum trip their primary school took them on. Even Petunia loved to stare at them twinkling when they bewitched them to cover their walls.”

The opening door turned your heads and with your hands behind your back hiding the Elder wand in your grip you stepped back with Barty’s arm draping around your middle seeing Bellatrix’s gaze shifting over you both in her usual sneer. Behind her Rudolphus stood beside Snape and Draco.

Ghoul Albus looked Draco over in his approach, “Good evening, Draco. What brings you here on this fine spring evening?”

“I heard you talking.”

“Yes, we were discussing the stars. Even when alone, I often talk aloud to myself. I find it extraordinarily useful. Have you been whispering to yourself, Draco?” The teen’s eyes narrowed then flinched to you only to see you lean more into Barty’s chest in the tightening of his grip well out of the way from the opening behind the fake Headmaster. “Draco...you are no assassin.”

Hastily Draco blurted out, “How do you know what I am? I've done things that would shock you.”

“A cursed necklace, poisoned mead? Forgive me, Draco. I cannot help feeling these actions are so weak...that you had no connection to them. You have far darker alleys open to you if you were in fact willing to harm. Why even a slip of a vial from your cousin’s venom collection could have fared better.”

“He trusts me. I was chosen.”

Albus, “Then I shall make it easy for you.” His hand reached into his pocket where his wand would be to draw an ordinary twig charmed to look like the Elder wand.

Draco, “Expelliarmus!” The fake wand flew off to the far wall on his left.

Albus, “Very good. Very good. You're not alone.” His eyes searching over the shadows hearing snickers.

Draco, “There are others.”

“How?”

“The vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. I've been mending it.” Harry’s eyes popped open and his claws flexed only to feel a charm from you holding the pair on the cushion.

Albus, “Let me guess. It has a sister. A twin.”

“In a secure location. They form a passage.”

Lowly the fake Professor mumbled to himself, “Ingenious.” Then he wet his lips and said a bit louder, “Draco... years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please let me help you.”

Draco, “I don't want your help! Why would I need your help when you’re too afraid to see what’s in front of your own face! Who’s really on your side!” The words meant more for the hiding Professor laying his head down in shame as they sank in.

Bellatrix strolled forward smirking, “Well, look what we have here.” Resting her chin on his shoulder, “Well done, Draco.”

Albus, “Good evening, Bellatrix. I think introductions are in order, don't you?”

Bellatrix, “Love to, Albus, but I'm afraid we're all on a bit of a tight schedule. Do it.” She smirked pulling back.

Rudolphus smirked stating, “He doesn't have the stomach, just like his father.” Rudolphus’ finger reached out to stroke Draco’s arm teasingly making him flinch it away from him making him step forward saying, “Let me finish him in my own way.”

Snape stated drawing attention away from you in your silver eyed gaze at Fawkes, who nodded in return at your plan he agreed to, “No! The Dark Lord was clear, the boy is to do it.” His hand patted Draco’s back nudging him back into his mark and raise his wand, “This is your moment. Do it.”

Barty stated, “Go on, Draco.”

Bellatrix shouted, “Now!”

Fake Albus muttered, “Severus. Please."

Fawkes at once took flight screeching as he grabbed Draco mid faked swish of his wand and aparated off to your classroom where Minerva let out a relieved chuckle and gave him an eager hug relaxing him in her hold far from the scene taking place far above.

A flash of green from Snape’s wand before Bella or Rudolphus could and the Ghoul went flying down to the cobbled path below while the fleeing pair of Death Eaters fled through the school smashing all items you had doubled in the means of allowing them some feigned display of destruction. Muffled crashes and booms had the students both above and below hiding from the windows they ensured to be shuttered and they huddled together in the common rooms waiting to be told it was safe again.

Down you went to the courtyard with cat Harry and dog Dumbledore behind you, a wave of your hand had Harry shifted back again to steady at Barty’s side. The double of Hagrid’s hut now burned to cinders just like in your dream from the night before, while the man owning it slunk from his hiding place to join your growing group. Another had under the light of the green Dark Mark in the sky lit up on the glass coffin you were constructing around Dumbledore’s body.

In a stolen glance from one of the windows the Puffs were first to see there was a body and they rushed out coming to find you all. Steadily all students were out in the night air peering at the rising glass coffin settling on the wheeled golden cart that sealed shut with the lid that Fawkes flew out of the castle to peer at in landing on your shoulder. Softly your hand glowed and you raised it pointing upwards with Minerva next to you with her wand raised with its glowing tip stirring a ripple of students after until the glowing mark was blown away revealing the stars again.

Minerva firmly spoke, “All students to the Great Hall now.”

In lowering your hand a swipe of it had the coffin rolling off you inhaled sharply seeing the depressed students all peering between you and Minerva on their way to the Great Hall. Silently they took their seats and you were among the last to enter with Dumbledore in dog form trotting beside your feet stirring the students to climb higher on their benches to get a glimpse at him. A sudden shift of your hand and it folded around the Elder Wand in your back pocket while gasps and whispers grew at the formerly protected Professor, with powers unblocked, shifting back to his natural form.

Trotting up the steps he stole a glance of you and Barty moving to stand in front of your usual spots at the table by Snape on his right while he stood at the podium. “All of this, is quite unusual. Though I must regrettably inform you, that until Voldemort is destroyed, I must remain publicly deceased.” Whispers and gasps continued and he said, “It is regrettable, but for things to progress Hogwarts must seem weakened. I must go into hiding, though, not out of sight.”

In his own sudden thought he added, “From this day forward you will see my other form, a Scottish Terrior, the class mascot if you will, a stray allowed to remain on grounds as a sort of joint pet. I will remain within these walls. Watching over you all to aid whenever possible. Professor McGonagall will be my successor of course, and when this news breaks, no doubt your families will attempt to keep you from returning next year. If you choose to return or if not, we will do all in our power to ensure you are safe.”

A muggle born boy called out, “What about our families?!”

His brother nodded, “Ya! What about ‘em?!”

Albus turned to you and you felt the eyes of the room follow suit making you state plainly, “Any student, muggle born or pureblood alike shall be granted housing should they feel unsafe,” at the boys’ opening their mouths again you raised your hand, “Your families included. Like this body we will bury the day after tomorrow doubles can be made and minds warped to erase those in hiding. There are still two weeks before we go home, write home, for any but you to know Dumbledore is dead. If your families are scared, if you need a place to hide let us know, we will make arrangements and by July we will enact those plans.”

A girl from Gryffindor asked, “How did the, double, die?”

Albus, “Murder.” Lips parted.

Another girl from Ravenclaw asked, “How did the Death Eaters get in?”

Albus, “That is not important,” in the chatter afterwards he added silencing them, “There is a greater plan in play. Kindly head back to your dormitories and write home to your families.” Slowly each student got up and began to file out chattering about what had happened while a trio of Slytherin girls drew you from Barty’s side to theirs in their continued gaze at you.

Lowly when you reached them the tallest whispered in concern, “What am I supposed to do? I can’t go home after this?! Now he’s gone no telling what we’ll be made to do!” The girl on her right said, “Our parent’s can’t-,”

Cutting them off you said, “We have a place for you to stay. Write home, say you will be staying with me.” They nodded and you said, “Anyone else saying the same you tell them write me a note, you do the same, I’ll make a full tally of who all I’m taking watch over and in July you’re coming with me. I told you before, everyone has a choice. Now go write home and don’t worry everything will be taken care of by summer break.” They nodded and thanked you hurrying off to join their house as you turned to join the Professors spotting Harry and Draco joining the others to try and sleep themselves.

Looking up to Albus you asked, “Your plan now?”

Exhaling softly he stated, “I clearly owe you an apology. Several. However past planning my funeral I shall leave my part in any plans to you deem me fit for.”

*

“I did nothing.” Harry stated slightly stunned that he watched you lead that fake Dumbledore into that trap so calmly, clearly having benefited from those acting roles. In Ron’s glance at the locket he passed it over, “It's fake.”

Hermione, “Open it.”

Harry wet his lips after unfolding the note he had pocketed with the locket,

‘To the Dark Lord.

I know I will be dead long before you read this...but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match...you will be mortal once more.’

Ron, “Who wrote it?”

Harry, “I think it was Regulus, years back before Jaqi joined him in searching. Which means it was all a waste. All of it. I almost died for nothing.”

Hermione, “Not for nothing, for him to finally trust Jaqi again.”

Ron bumped his shoulder, “The dads’ll be proud. You keeping to the plan, not interfering.”

“I'm not coming back, Hermione. I've got to finish whatever Dumbledore started. And I don't know where that'll lead me...”

Hermione, “I've always admired your courage, Harry. But sometimes, you can be really thick.”

Ron, “You don't really think you're going to be able...to even figure out what to do by yourself, do you?”

Hermione, “You need us, Harry.”

Watching Idris and Fawkes with the giant Phoenix and his hatchlings soaring in the night sky he stated, “I never realized how beautiful this place was. And we’re almost leaving it for good.”

Hermione’s head met his shoulder, and Ron said, “You can only wonder what the triplets had found and missed before Jaqi got asked along to teach. No telling how even they managed to find that cabinet in that mess of a room.”

Harry, “Wonder who put it there.”

Ron, “Maybe it was like Dad said, they used it to escape, maybe that’s how they planned on evacuating back then.”

Hermione, “Can’t be very big.”

Harry, “So it was just, someone…Maybe that was Riddle’s door, maybe when he tried to work here he thought he could come and go as he pleased since the Headmaster’s the only one who can aparate on the grounds.”

Ron, “Riddle must have worked there, at Borgin’s. Dad said it was reserved for years back when Riddle was young. Maybe he did come and go. Looked for things to hide Horcruxes in maybe?”

Hermione, “No wonder Jaqi found them so quickly then. If he hid them in the school.”

Harry, “She was so calm, through it all-,”

Ron’s shoulder bumped his, “You know Jaqi just like we do. She’s an iceberg, no telling what’s going on below the surface. She’s had to face worse than we have since our first year.”

Unable to help it Hermione yawned and the trio slumped together in front of the fire, unwilling to head off separately to sleep in their dorms.

*

Mandrake roots, not the screaming plants themselves but their roots. A simple and efficient yet highly illegal way to create a double of yourself while also being impossibly dangerous. Like ghouls all it takes is a few drops of blood and then your body will drop as the double forms up. Though that is only where the differences begin. Your body drops because as the mandrake is shifting to become you your consciousness is pulled into the shell. This bond can only be severed by you and also leaves you in a sticky situation, while your new double can be blasted and blasted unaffected by various dark curses your body, the real one, is very much vulnerable, so if someone were to destroy it your soul would be trapped in some ageless limbo for all eternity.

Highly, highly illegal, but root by root you doubled the Muggle population while moving their real bodies to one of the colonies on your island specifically for the Muggle born families with heavy enchantments on each home just in case. Each day they would relax in the resort like place and then ‘sleep’ in the designated way to rest their real bodies while their doubles in their old homes went to work and went about their usual routines as to not draw up suspicions. Street by street and soon nearly a full city had been doubled as you realized they had all moved there to be in a like minded community for their children.

You had already broken the law, so why stop now. RoR club took a turn, all students were mandated to attend and with special help from Moody you stood across from him in front of the students saying, “Today, I am going to be teaching you a special spell I created to both defend and attack. In effect it rebounds the unthinkable curses, at least two of them back into the castor.” With the incantations clearly stated and repeated by the students they watched as Moody cast a Imperius curse at you and you rebounded it and made him curtsy.

With the twins here to help you instruct each of them you would cast the curses and the teens with Moody’s guidance until each of them could easily use the rubber spell and send you flying back to the ground or into a joking action to stir up laughs. The other effect of having so many attacks not unnoticed by you was that after a while they stopped effecting you as much, and by the last you had barely flinched at all. But still each day the classes would delve into more serious protection charms and defenses one could lay around houses or family members on jewelry or clothing to repel certain people or to make them unseen by any foe.

.

Still the summer came and the day when you would divide the students into groups the help send them either off to the safe islands or back homes to see their families. Once again you had left early and beat the returning students to your store fully stocked with more recordings of this latest Quidditch season. One by one fans trickled in to see four of the winning team and out again to head home as the time ticked on and Diagon Alley reached its usual emptying time slots. Soon you would have to ready yourself for the nerve wracking task of going back to the manor, but thankfully it wouldn’t be today.

.

Screams filled your home and jolted you from bed only to find Ginny in the empty ballroom hurling glass balls she’d charmed not to break at a mattress stood on its end between muttered sentences no doubt from the crumbled letter at her feet. In the doorway you, Draco, Neville, Percy and the twins stood watching her until she turned and huffed. “I thought I muffled he room, sorry.”

Draco pointed at the ball on he floor, “I take it that’s from Harry?”

She growled out another huff and floated the ball higher and it flattened itself out, “It would be safer for us to remain apart. I wish things were different however it’s not safe for you to be in a relationship with me!”

Lowering your head your hand rubbed over your face and you grumbled, “What an idiot..”

Raising your head you caught her gaze and she said, “When you go to Dudley’s party you give him a whack for me!”

You nodded. “Will do.”

In another huff she said, “Sorry I woke you. I’ll muffle the room. Just need a few more throws and I will write the most scathing reply it’ll turn his hair pink!”

Holding back your chortle you turned the head back to your rooms after telling her your doors are open if she needs you. Clearly Harry was being stupid, and clearly Ginny had all the ammo she needed to make him realize this fact.

.

Around the table at Privet drive after you had whacked Harry in the back of the head you glanced at Dudley who flashed you a grin saying, “Thanks for the concert tickets, how’d you even get them? Been sold out for months.”

With a grin you replied, “I know one of their roadies.” Parting his lips, “Went to school together.”

Vernon, “Hogwarts? They worked at Hogwarts and work as a roadie?”

With a chuckle you said, “There is a great deal of monotony in our world too. Though he’s saving up cash while his own band is on hiatus for their pregnant drummer.” Making them nod in understanding.

Dudley sighed, “Wish I knew how to play an instrument.”

With a smirk you replied, “Never too late to learn.”

He shrugged, “Might pick up a lesson in University. Got into X.”

With brows raised in Vernon and Petunia’s glance your way you asked, “That’s, a good school? Like top tier?”

Dudley’s cheeks turned pink a bit and he mumbled looking away, “Well, not the top. Twelfth overall.”

“Well done, Dudley.” His eyes met yours seeing your grin easing his out again, “I’m not up to date on Muggle schools, but well done. I am certain you will be marvelous.”

Dudley, “Mainly got in cuz Dad went there.”

Your hand waved in front of you, “Legacies are nothing to scoff at. Families aside I’m certain if they thought you wouldn’t fit or do well they wouldn’t have accepted you.”

Vernon, “Exactly.”

Petunia, “Are you continuing to teach next year?”

“I believe so, unless Dumbledore changes his mind again.”

Harry chortled, “Not likely him being technically dead and all.”

Petunia looked at you and you shook your head, “He’s gone underground, not dead.”

Petunia gravely asked, “Has it come to that? Again?”

“Afraid so, ya.”

Dudley, “Are there going to be more bridge attacks?”

“We’re going to try to keep that from happening again.”

Petunia, “Should we move?”

With a grin you shook your head, “Trust me, when it comes to that I’ll come get you, pack it all up and keep you safe.”

*

“Have that scrubbed!” Through each room the teens tasked to join Riddle’s ranks by their families were ushered into the task of scrubbing the Manor while Riddle worked himself into a frenzy for your visit the following day. A sighting of Barty both infuriated him and lit up his darkened gaze, “Crouch, how is our Queen faring today?” He wasn’t certain where he had first heard the title but once he had it was insisted upon that each Death Eater referring to you used the title.

“Bit tired. Got roped into another family event on her Mum’s side.”

Riddle nodded then turned his head with brow ridges furrowed in a snarling path to the teen moving a tall decorative vase you had complimented once allowing Bellatrix to stroll up to Barty with a wide grin as her hands settled on her greatly rounded stomach. “Barty, I see, again, our Queen has neglected to pay her respects to our Dark Lord.”

Barty flashed her a smirk, “Jaqi is otherwise detained and will be here next week. Did you do something with your hair?” The second question asked in his move past her to head for the sitting room where Narcissa usually sat.

Huffing in a waddle after him she stated, “I happen to be pregnant!”

In a glance back Barty smirked, “So no to the hair then?”

“This happens to be our Dark Lord’s child!” She said in his entering the sitting room.

“Well you certainly haven’t been showing Rudolphus any affection, so who else could it belong to?” Plopping down in the chair beside Narcissa’s he flashed her another smirk.

Bellatrix huffed and said, “Rudolphus understands our Dark Lord needs as many pure blood women of notable lines to breed him an army. Part of why our, Queen, should be here showing her allegiance, properly, on her knees.”

Inhaling sharply Barty spoke before he could think about it he blurted out, “Well that’d be difficult being as she’s due in a matter of weeks with our own.” That made Bellatrix shift on her feet with her smirk dropping as Riddle entered the room and drew closer to the group.

“Jaqi is with child?” Riddle asked in a move to sit down.

Barty exhaled in a pointed glare at Bellatrix ignoring Narcissa’s confused gaze his way she was reigning back as he said, “She wished, to tell you herself, next week at the dinner.”

Riddle, “Is she managing well? She has not written to me of this.” His eyes narrowed. 

“Apparently there was some faulty supply of ingredients for the home tests she had been taking through the season, and with the regimens she’s been able to keep quite slender, but she has picked up some weight lately and we noticed the supply blunder and, positive. We were going to get married before the baby but she wanted to wait, something about her great grandparents and a traditional dress.”

Riddle, “Of course, of course. If she is unwell to travel here next week surely she can rest until after the birth.”

Barty shook his head, “She’s calmed down to the summer schedule. Taking it all in stride, Regulus is fawning over her when we’re apart.”

Riddle nodded, “Of course, of course. Yes, he saw to her upbringing, no doubt she would ask for his assistance.” His eyes scanning over the floor in thought muttering, “She must be protected and seen to always.” Making Bellatrix scowl deeper.

Pt 64

[aproblematicpanda]

Harry Potter? For the in-depth fandom ask

Hi thank you! ♥ I will use the books for my answers, since I didn’t really like most of the movies. I apologize if I mix up some of the characters, I’ve only read the books in my native language so I will have to google for some of the names in English. :’D

Top 5 favorite characters: Minerva McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Fred & George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley. Other characters you like: The golden trio obviously, Molly, Dobby, Draco Malfoy, ... There are not a lot of characters I dislike. Least favourite characters: Umbridge, for obvious reasons. Otps: Hermione and Ron. Notps: I don’t think I have any? I’m not very invested in shipping when it comes to the HP fandom, I pretty much keep an open mind to everything? Except incest but I’ve never seen anyone ship anything like that, so. Favourite friendships: Harry, Ron and Hermione, obviously, and I also really liked Fren, George and Lee, and Lavender and Parvati. Favourite family: The Weasleys Favourite episodes: / Favourite book:  Prisoner of Azkaban is probably my favorite book. Favourite quotes:  "If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." "But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." "Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth, 'It unscrews the other way.’" "There is no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor." And probably more. The books have so many amazing scenes, funny, inspirational, sad, hopeful, ... It was really hard to pick just a few. Best musical moment: / Moment that made you fangirl the hardest: Ehh... I mean, obviously I was rooting for Harry and the ending was a satisfying one, just like every other time Harry beat Voldemort, but the moment that made me fangirl the hardest would probably be Hermione punching Draco in the face. xD When it really disappointed you: The only truly disappointing thing about the book is how House-Elves are treated. Other than that, the only time I’m disappoint is literally every time JK Rowling decides it’s a good idea to open her mouth. Saddest moment: The moment Harry breaks down in Dumbledore’s chambers after Sirius dies gives me chills every. damn. time I reread the book. Most well done character death: Oh god, this is so hard because most of the deaths really hit me hard Favourite guest star: / Favourite cast member: / Character you wish was still alive: Honestly? Probably Hedwig. Maybe Fred. One thing you hope really happens: That JK Rowling’s Twitter account is banned so she doesn’t have a damn platform anymore. Most shocking twist:  When did you start reading: I think the first three books were already out when I started to read them. My classmates kept telling me to do it and I was in that annoying phase where I refused to dive into anything that was this massively popular - but I’m glad I eventually caved because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have grown up in this fandom and that means I would’ve had an entirely different experience. Now I can still say I grew up with the books and I’m glad I did. Best animal/creature: I’m a gigantic sucker for unicorns and I’m not sorry about it. xD Favourite location: I mean, Hogwarts is amazing, the descriptions of the castle never get old. Trope you wish they would stop using: Ehh... I honestly don’t know? One thing this book does better than others: I love how this show has such an inspired, dedicated, creative fanbase. The amount of HP related art, fanfiction, headcanons, ... out there is mindblowing. I’ve never quite seen that happen in any other fandom and it’s part of why I love this one as much as I do. Like how people can take a character that’s mentioned maybe a couple of times in the books and they create so much content for them to the point where I’ve actively had to stop myself from writing an answer to this questions because the answer isn’t canon, that’s admirable. Funniest moments: Fred and George wrecking havoc on Umbridge and finally leaving the castle after they get caught is without a doubt the funniest scene I can think of. Couple you would like to see: Like I said, I was never really into shipping anyone with anyone. I enjoy quite a lot of fanon ships I see on Tumblr, though. Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: / Favourite outfit: Every outfit I can think of is influenced by the movies so I don’t really have an answer to this. I would’ve loved to see Hermione’s dress to the Yule Ball, though, and the Patil sisters’. Oh, and Fleur’s wedding dress. Favourite item: The Marauder’s map. Do you own anything related to this show: No. What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in: I’m a Slytherin. Most boring plotline: I can’t think of anything. The passage that bores me the most is the one where the Minister of Magic meets the Muggle Prime Minister but that’s not a plotline. I guess everything is just so well thought of, everything that’s in the books in there for a reason and I wouldn’t cut anything out of it. Most laughably bad moment: As much as I dislike JK Rowling, she wrote seven brilliant books. I can’t think of a bad moment. There are plot holes, sure, and things that really fucking bug me, but no laughably bad moments. At least, not any that I can think of right now. The fact that she gave Cho Chang two last names as a name is a bad moment, though - but it’s not laughably. It’s just more proof that JK Rowling is a terrible person. Best flashback/flashfoward if any: The memories Snape shows to Harry, and the ones they both get to see of each other during their Occlumency lessons. Most layered character: I love the character development Ron goes through. Most one dimensional character: Ehh. There were a lot of important characters so it makes sense that not all of them got the layers they deserved. Right now nobody who’s relevant to the plot comes to mind as an answer? Scariest moment: Well, when Harry and Dumbledore came back from finding the fake Horcrux, that had me scared. Not for their lives (because it was obvious that Harry would live and Dumbledore would die) but because it felt like all of Dumbledore’s plans would be ruined so that’d probably be the scariest moment for me? Grossest moment: Ehh... I would probably throw up if I had witnessed Nagini sliding out of Bathilda’s dead body so I’m gonna go with that one, that must’ve been horrifying for Harry, especially because he spares Hermione the details. Best looking male: Well the books name Cedric Diggory as the most attractive one, so... Let’s go with that one then?  Best looking female: Fleur and Ginny Who you’re crushing on (if any): I would probably be all over Ginny if I had gone to Hogwarts. Favourite cast moment: / Favourite transportation: A Thestral! Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): I really love the descriptions of Hogwarts. Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: Oh god, so. many. Off the top of my head, here we go. 1. The carriages that bring the students back to the train station are mentioned specifically at the end of the fourth book and yet Harry can’t see the Thestrals until the beginning of the fifth book. 2. In what world are the Weasleys poor? Hermione specifically mentions in the seventh book that you can increase the quantity of food and Harry gets more wine for Slughorn and Hagrid with a spell in the sixth book, so no wizard or witch would have to spend any money on food, ever. And like with clothes and books and everything, why buy multiple ones? Just buy one and then duplicate it like when Hermione did it with the medallion? 3. Harry randomly remembering the phone number to get into the Ministry of Magic after almost an entire year, having heard them once: please. I started rereading the fifth book like two months ago for the gazillionth time and I already don’t remember them anymore. 4. Supposedly there’s a curse on the position as the DADA professor ever since Voldemort asked for the job, so there’s a new teacher every year, but Professor Quirrel is introduced in a way that makes it seem as if he has been teaching there for quite a while and other students (like Fred and George) treat him as such - seems to me like the curse was only activated with Harry coming to Hogwarts but that’s not what’s canon. 5. Voldemort conveniently waiting for the end of the school year each year to make his move. 6. The school year somehow always starts on a Monday and the Hogwarts express always leaves on September 1 which would mean that September 1 was a Sunday for seven years in a row. 7. Why, WHY, would they use feathers and parchment? What the hell is wrong with pen and paper? Or things like torches, when electricity has been a thing since forever? And the same goes for using owls to send letters, or the memos that are used in the Ministry of Magic: just text or e-mail, dudes. One sloppy ‘this doesn’t work here because there’s too much magic in the air’ just doesn’t cut it for me, especially because Harry does wear a watch, for instance. I probably have more but this is all I can come up with right now. xD Best promo: My childhood best friend bugging me about the books until I finally caved and started to read them. xD At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Literally the first chapter.

Send me a show/fandom and I’ll answer

[tmarauder101]

Thunder Rumbling, Castles Crumbling (We Move On)

Thunder Rumbling, Castles Crumbling (We Move On)

Inspired by the song Wide Awake by Katy Perry

Beta read by @Mello_Slytheirn on wattpad!

For: @xx-thedarklord-xx You said you liked songfics, right? I did my best :) Hope you like!

I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake

Draco’s at Madam Malkin's talking to a boy he’s never seen before.

Perhaps if he had gone with his gut and just been himself he wouldn’t have royally messed things up.

Oh well, it’s not like it’ll make much of a difference.

Yeah, I was in the dark

I was falling hard

With an open heart

The boy was Potter.

Harry Potter!

Draco’s longtime hero! The one he always secretly hoped would become his best friend, and they could run away together! Go on adventures, and show his father that he didn’t have to be the ‘perfect heir’.

“I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks”

Years of hiding books about the tales of The-Boy-Who-Lived, cutting up old newspapers and hugging a little bear that he designed to look just like the chosen one while listening to Dobby tell his own tales underneath his bed. All hoping that his imaginary friend would become his real friend in just a few years.

But in that moment, with those 10 little words, all of Draco’s fantasies became just that.

A fantasy.

If only he hadn’t been so hasty, he could have talked to Harry- Potter, he’s Potter to you now -by himself, instead of with a crowd. So he could have taken down the mask he had to wear, and shown Ha-Potter that he was worth it.

But now,

Slytherin!

     Gryffindor! 

Malfoy’s don’t cry...

He has to be his enemy, or risk being forgotten.

I'm wide awake

How did I read the stars so wrong?

Every word spoken, every taunt made, every insult another crack to his broken heart.

But he can’t lose this.

For years Harry Potter had been his driving force. When it was time for grueling Heir lessons, he held on to the fantasy of Harry Potter becoming his friend and taking him on adventures and swinging in and saving him. Harry Potter was his way of rebellion and hope. Was the only reason he put up with those boring balls, lessons, and sometimes even pain.

He would have lost all will years ago.

He can’t afford to lose this. To lose him.

Tears wet his pillow,

I’m so sorry

I'm wide awake

And now it's clear to me

That everything you see

Ain't always what it seems

He’s fifteen, hiding behind a wall, listening to his father’s cries as he pleads with..

With...

“It seems we have a visitor. Come in, young Malfoy…”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Draco schools his expression to a blank mask.

Don’t let them see, can’t let them know.

The face of the dark lord is a nightmare that will never end.

“You shall make a perfect Death Eater.”

I’ll never bow down to you

I'm wide awake

Yeah, I was dreaming for so long

I wish I knew then

What I know now

You can’t say no!

I don’t want to do this...

You don’t have a choice!

I wish I did…

But you don’t, because no one will help someone like you.

get it off, Get It Off, GET IT OFF ME

A snake on my forearm, taunting me and forever branding me.

There’s no way out...

Wouldn't dive in

Wouldn't bow down

“Dobby?” He whispers through his tears.

“Young master Draco, what have they done to you!?”

It hurts so bad, I just want it all to stop.

“Please…”

A pop rings out throughout the room.

Gravity Hurts

You made it so sweet

Number 12 Grimmauld place.

A black head of Hair, and emerald green eyes.

Glares softening to looks of love.

He finally has a choice.

Till I woke up on

On the concrete

They found out.

A prisoner in his own home, and a personal punching bag for all to use.

Harry.

It’s his mantra.

Harry, Harry, Harry

Falling from cloud nine

Crashing from the high

A wand pressed into his hand, and words shouted in his ears.

Everything is numb, he’s hyperfocused on emerald eyes that are filled with worry and determination.

A knife sailing through the air, and the pop of apparition.

Blood so much Blood.

When will it end?

I'm letting go tonight

I'm falling from cloud nine

Healing, then Horcruxes.

Stealing and running.

Hiding and worrying

Finally, they head back.

It’s a blur to Draco, but one thing he is certain of.

Waking up with Harry is something he never wants to stop doing.

Thunder rumbling

Castles crumbling

I am trying to hold on

Spells light up the air, and so many drop.

It seems as though that day is one that was just simply grey.

When Harry doesn’t come back, Draco breaks

God knows that I tried

Seeing the bright side

But I'm not blind anymore

Voldemort calls for those to rejoin his side.

No one moves.

Draco stands in the front, eyes fixed on Harry.

I'm wide awake

I'm wide awake

“The only traitor here is you.” Draco’s voice is filled with venom.

And just as the ‘Dark Lord’ raises his wand, a curse at the tip of his lips, Draco throws the sorting hat and Longbottom and the snake is killed.

Harry jumps up, and the final battle commences.

Falling from cloud nine

Crashing from the high

I'm letting go tonight

Voldemort is gone.

Dead as a doorknob.

“Harry…”

“Draco, I-”

Before Harry can finish, Draco sees a light heading right towards his love and doesn’t stop for a moment. 

He sees a purple light flashing before him and all goes black.

I'm falling from cloud nine

I'm wide awake

It’s been a year since the death of Voldemort, but Draco isn’t too keen on leaving the bed.

Emerald eyes are watching him as he wakes. 

“Morning Love,”

“Good morning Harry.”

They were still healing, and far from perfect, but life moved on.

And so did they. 

I’m wide awake

[writtenfan]

~Hunting Horcrux’s ~

                               “To keep you safe..”

Severus x Reader Imagine

Request:  If it's alright, can you do a Snape x reader where Dumbledore sends them horcrux hunting (this would happen before Harry Potter Half-blood prince and Deathly hallows). They agree and Snape unfortunately can't do anything because Dumbledore says the reader will be fine. The reader comes back with a horxcrux, yet looking injured. Snape tends to their wounds and scolds them for agreeing to such a thing, but being thankful they're back. (Just basically fluff and angst :))

((Thanks for the praise earlier anon! Excuse the wait...I’m trying to catch back up on the requests and your first! Enjoy!))

“Understand that this isn’t an easy task…but I wouldn’t ask for your help if I didn’t believe you could take it (y/n)…do you think you’re up for the task?”

You nod your head, “yes, I am..”

“Excellent… you’ll be accompanying my friend Kingsley Shacklebolt, he’s an  Auror and will make sure you're as safe as possible while you grab something I suspect to be related to Voldemort himself…”

“You mean a Horcrux. Correct?”

“Yes…a Horcrux…”

“I told you where you’ll be headed earlier… you’ll meet him in Hogsmeade and go from there…understand?”

“Yes, Headmaster...understood...”

“You may call me Albus...” he chuckles “I feel that my name is perfectly fine for you to say”.

“Yes… of course Albus, sir…it’ll take getting used to, but I’ll try...”

“No worries, that’s the least of what you should worry about…”

He reaches out and places his soft hand on your shoulder, looking at you with remorseful eyes. “I can’t mention how grateful I am that you wanted to help us, and so very persistently I might add. Y/n…the more people we have aiding our efforts to keep the world safe…the better…I’m just sad that we have to worry about such a threat in the first place…”

You smile meekly, “It’s all right headmaster, Albus…I’ll help any way I can…starting with this...”

“I think not!”

You both turn your focus to the door behind you,

Standing beside the closed doorframe in the shadows stepped forth stern piercing eyes that made your heart ache with regret. His arms folded against his chest his black robe sweeping behind him as he stepped into the candlelit light in the middle of Dumbledore’s office.

“Severus…you weren’t supposed to hear this…” Dumbledore sighed sadly, taking his hand off your shoulder and moving towards the silent fuming challenge of the man before him, holding his hands behind his back.

“I can’t let you do this, Albus!” He roared, as he loomed over the old man.

“You can’t do this to me. Especially after what you failed to do for me the first time!” his lips quaked along with the rest of his body, he threw down his fists clenching them so tight you could see his veins pulsing.

“Severus, I-”

He snapped his eyes to you, “SILENCE!” you snapped your lips shut, furrowing your eyes angrily as he focused back on the distraught somber eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

“Did you even THINK, to ask me before including (her/him) on all of this? Did it even cross your senile mind?!”

“…Severus, (y/n) came wanting to help against our situation, I did not seek-”

“-No, no you didn’t!” he hissed through his teeth. 

“You could have simply said you didn’t need them. But no. You choose the only person I love to put into danger…well no. Not this time Albus, I’m not letting you jeopardize their safety by putting them right in the line of fire. I’m not letting them get hurt, or killed for the sake of your stupid quest for pendants and charms…”

“You understand that it's not that simple Severus…” Dumbledore whispers as he stands his ground against the rage-filled form of the man you loved. His face is so red with anger you didn’t think he’d let Dumbledore leave the room…

“I don’t care.” His hand reached for his wand.

“Severus!” you shout making him jolt his hands back to his sides. You point a finger at him “You have no say in this!” you growl walking up to his shaking figure.

“This is my choice, Severus… this isn’t just your battle. It's mine. I will not let you constantly put yourself in danger to pretend you’re a bloody Death-eater just to slow down the eventual return of that sodding monster.

You tremble as you force yourself to spit out the truth of what is coming, and you grind your teeth in anguish as the reason for doing this rushes inside you at full force… 

“This…”  you gesture to a phantom place behind you. 

“This will put a stop to all that…. If I find the Horcrux… I’ll be one step closer to having you be safe”.

Severus stirs at your words and stops towering over Albus, his eyes filled with wise distraught.

“y/n…” your name escapes Albus’s lips, though you interrupt him sharply.

“…Not having to worry about you…or anyone else ever again! That’s what I want, and I’ll do so, by doing this!”

Severus bounds to you, his cape snaps in the air behind him, his hair fluttering against his face, he grabs you by the shoulders with firm hands and shakes you.

“THE ONLY THING YOU’D BE DOING IS MAKING YOURSELF A TARGET”.

“Dumbledore has many other little pawns to use for this task.” He slits his eyes at Dumbledore who continues his silence and pained gaze then turns back towards you and opens his mouth in a snarl, “me, included….”

His chest heaved rapidly as his voice lowers close to a whisper “Don’t you understand what will happen if, and may I repeat, If…. you get this Horcrux... “

“If you even manage to survive any horrible curse The Dark Lord uses to protect it, the eyes of every Death-Eater will be on you…They’ll know you…they’ll figure out who you are and come for you in revenge. Don’t you understand!?”

Sweat rolls down the side of his neck as he digs his fingers painfully against the back of your shoulders, you grab onto his wrists pulling him off you, which makes him stagger in confusion.

“That won’t happen Severus.” Pipes the stern soft voice of the headmaster besides you.

He reaches a hand toward him, but Severus snaps back, in disgust.

“(she/he), won’t get any unwanted attention, there will be more Auror’s there than just her, like Kingsley…this event is under prying eyes, not a single soul will know of this venture besides those involved and you. (She/He) will be fine”.

“Fine!?” 

His whole body continues to shake in anger, his eyes switching between you and Albus spatially. “Your words mean nothing Albus” he growls turning back towards Dumbledore making him take a step back.

“absolutely, nothi-“

His eyes snapped shut. 

It was sudden, all the anger on his face melted in an instant and his body grew still. You rushed to him as he dropped, and you held onto him tightly as you guided him towards the floor gently.

Your lips quiver “What happened?” you dart your eyes to Dumbledore pleadingly, and he seems just as shocked as you. You look down at the limp man in your arms. “Severus... Severus!”

You notice a figure standing in the now open doorway of Dumbledore’s office and pointed to where Severus once stood.

“That will give you some time”. It grumbles, stumbling towards you and Dumbledore who doesn’t seem phased by this occurrence. “I knew he would make more of a fuss than I wanted…” You snap your hand to your wand and point it at the man. Who raises his free hand defensively?

“Woah, oh, hold it. Don’t worry dear, just a bewitched sleeping spell. He’s perfectly fine.” He gruffly says as he leans on his banged-up wooden cane. You lower your wand and study the peculiar man, who wipes his nose, nonchalantly as one of his eyes fake and strapped onto his face, darts around wildly.

He lets out a chortle, “That man needs this rest anyhow. With all, he deals with.

“Now, come-on”. He straightens up and gestures for you to follow as he turns towards the door. “Kingsley’s waiting…”

“This is…Mad-eye Moody…another Auror..” Dumbledore sighs, looking at you as you cradle Severus’s head on your lap watching your fingers moving his black long hair from his face.

“Even though I think this was very unwise of him to do…”  

Mad-eye rolls his…eye and leans against the doorframe

“This may be your chance if you really want to take it... (y/n)”

“I’m having second thoughts on having you do so…but it’s all up to you (y/n)…are you willing to continue?” 

He gestures to the sleeping figure in your arms. “Despite…Severus’s wishes?”

You look down at Severus’s slumbering face and run your fingers on the sides of his cheek and lean forward to kiss him on his forehead, before pointing your wand to him,

“Wingardium Leviosa…”

He rises gently off you and you position him on the couch in the office's corner.

“…for his sake…yes. Let’s go. Let’s hurry.” you let out a sigh and walk towards Mad-Eye pointing at him a stern look on your face. 

“Then you wake him right back up understand?”

“Yes, ahem...of course…” he grumbles as he follows you out the door.

                                                 2 days later

Dumbledore woke him. You could hear his shouting from the ground level. Mad-Eye was punched physically and then with magic, apparently.   They also blew up a statue, you learned.

You’re in the infirmary now, being cared for by a nurse who works for St/ Mungo’s but is also a part of the Order of the Phoenix. Your injuries were many but not drastic, they only demanded attention for a day or two to keep in check.

You feel too guilty to see Snape; you don’t want to talk to him in fear he’ll be mad at you for going, anyway. You knew he would. Being at Hogwarts, where he was, made it worse, but again you had missed him terribly. You had gotten the Horcrux. You were back, and you were safe perhaps that would quell him.

“Sit back love… let me apply this ointment real smooth-like.” Spoke the voice of your nurse who placed a smooth translucent pink paste on your wounds that chilled them like ice. The nurse gave you a smile as he raised his hand to your forehead. “You’re looking well”. You smile in response, “Thanks for the help…” He grins and returns to a small desk on the other side of the room.

“Let me in.” you hear a gruff tired voice from the other side of the door.  

The doors flew opened and Severus ran into the middle of the room, in front of your bed looking around ceaselessly. When he spotted your meek eyes, he ran to you and wrapped his arms around you pressing you against his chest, running his hand in against your hair.

“(y/n…y/n…)..your safe…you’re…” he stuttered “I’m so glad to see that your safe…tha- that you’re…”A few tears roll down your cheek as you hold on to him tightly getting off the bed so you could hold him tighter.

“I’m sorry Severus! I’m so sorry…but I did it…I did it for you…it’s here, its soon to be gone…I’m sorry…I’m-“

“shh-shhh-shhh…” he shushed as he kissed your forehead with cold trembling lips.

“I don’t care. I don’t care about the Horcrux…”

He pries you off him suddenly holding you by the sides of your arms firmly.

“DON’T DO THIS AGAIN. I don’t care about anything- everything else doesn’t matter if you leave me…nothing matters understand?! You can’t do this again! I won’t let it. I won’t let it!”

You nod your head tears flowing down your face “Yes- yes. I won’t- I promise. I won’t. I won’t…”

He pulls you against his chest again his breath stuttering as he breathed out.

“We have enough people (y/n), risking their lives every day… I don’t want you apart from that. Because even the thought is my death…I can’t lose you. Understand?! So, don’t you ever, do this to me again. Don’t you ever. Do this…again…” his eyes are wet, and you kiss them and continue to kiss his face crying.

                                                A week later…

“Did you put the solution on your arm?”

“Yes, Severus. I did.”

“Good, sit down and let me see.”

“You don’t have to do this every time Severus.”

“Hush….Let me see.”

You raise your arm weakly and he takes it in his hand and rubs his fingers softly against your skin, inspecting dull dark marks on your skin, leftover. You point to a wine bottle sitting on the counter, “Is that from Mad-eye?” He growls in response and pretends as if he didn’t hear.

“So yes…” you chuckle, as you read the note on the bottle aloud

“…should have left you sleeping almost took out my other eye.”

Severus slit his eyes and looked up at you, as you were fighting back a smile.

“Ok….ok…sorry..” you reply softly as a chuckle escaped your lips. “…he shouldn’t have done that…made you sleep an’ all..”

He lets your arm drop and you wince with a smile on your face. You watch Severus walk over to the counter and whisk the bottle as elegantly as you’ve seen a man pick up anything, but you were used to this…it made you smile.

“What a weak apology and such a waste of mediocre wine…. I wouldn’t want to drink a single thing that deranged ogre laid a hand on.” he slams the bottle back on the table and it clanks loudly.

“Hey.”

Severus turns towards you with a solemn expression. “What?” You beckon him to come closer with your finger. He rolls his eyes but comes to you. What is it?” he sneers. You smile. He raises an eyebrow, ready for any foolishness to come. Although you say nothing and continue to stare lovingly into his eyes. He crossed his arms as grunts. “Say it.”

He mutters a slight grin appearing on the corner of his lips. “Kiss me.” You say leaning your forearms against his chest, pressing up against him.

He stares at you for a while, then licks his lips.

“…Kiss you?”

You bounce lightly on the tips of your toes and force your smile to simmer down. You lean off him and try your best to give him the most seductive eyes you could.

“Yes…kiss me…”

He looks away as if trying to not get roped into your (e/c) eyes and sighs.

“You want me….” He grins and looks back at you “…to kiss you?...”

He’s playing with you now. His voice was soft and rumbly, its seductive charm made you yearn even more for him to press his lips against yours.

He licked his lips again.

“You want me to kiss…those soft….” He pauses.

“Little.”

He slides his hands over your waist and pulls you gently towards him…

“…lips of yours, do you?” His voice ends in a dull mumble…

You chuckle nervously; he was making this tension tear into you on purpose.

Oh, he knew how to make you suffer.

“Should I?” he asks arrogantly.

You furrow your eyes, and he grins even more.

Then...he leans forward...

“I think… I will…”

He presses his lips against yours and you feel the soft warmth. The way he kisses you is so…polite, he doesn’t press too hard yet instead seems to play with you, gently rising you’re your lips periodically only to kiss you once more, he holds his hands against you’re the nape of your neck as he guides you to spin in a slow circle with him. He pulls back slightly, and you try to follow him, but he leaves your lips as he stares lovingly into your eyes, 

“My sweetheart…my heart…my love...my everything…”

He continues to call you pet names as you both spin in a leisurely circle as if dancing to a song.