#hphm year 6 spoilers

[ariparri]

After years of not using my Wattpad, which I needed to get back into for some old drafts, I found this old piece I wanted to write when everyone was sharing what happened within Y6! Maybe I should pick it up again I don’t know yet.

[lumosposts]

[pooks]

in my expanded Hogwarts Mystery fics, there is one theme that i particularly love to write about and it's the fond relationship between Cassidy and Percy

by the time Percy comes to Hogwarts, he keeps hearing great stories about Cassidy Mercury who protects the school from the dangerous Cursed Vaults. also she's one of the best students in her age, good friends with his two older brothers and later, she becomes a prefect.

so naturally he looks up to her.

but Cassidy wins his loyalty on one thing and that is because she saved him from Rakepick in Year 5 and 6. you read that right, Cassidy saved his life twice.

at this point, she has become like a big sister figure for him. she doesn't brush him off because he's younger, but she sits down and listens to him. she pays attention to him. she respects his opinions and doesn't make fun of him.

for example, when they first met in Year 5;

Percy: We haven't been properly introduced...I'm Percy Weasley, future Gryffindor Prefect, Head Boy and eventual Minister of Magic. Cassidy: Sounds like you have your entire life planned out. :)

we know that the Weasley siblings would poke fun at Percy for saying that, but Cassidy doesn't and respects his ambitions. she has treated him like an equal since day 1 and that's why she won Percy from the beginning.

in-game, they have gone even on adventures with Percy. like when the twins disappeared in Year 6 and we're looking for them with Percy who is, understandably really worried (caused there is a dangerous Cursed Vault at the works!) and even ventures into the Forbidden Forest with Cassidy.

and in the sidequest where there is a party in the Borrow while the parents are away on business, Percy choses to lie (it's a white lie to spare Charlie and the others from trouble) when their mum asks them if there were any trouble.

Percy: It's true! I even organized your sock drawer! (when Molly asked if it was true everyone did chores and did not do anything suspicious)

also when finding out that dark artefacts were moved to the Ministry, Cassidy goes to find Percy (and Tulip, but she isn't really fond of talking about the Ministry). the minute Cassidy asked for Percy's expertise, this is the first time we see him so openly happy and excited.

Cassidy Mercury (the MC): Tulip, Percy. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Ministry of Magic headquarters. Percy (excitedly): Merlin's bread, where do I begin?!

clearly, Cassidy trusts his judgement and knowledge more than well enough to ask him about his input and Percy becomes to happy about being important enough to be asked for his expertise. that is really heartwarming.

not to mention in that same scene, Percy agrees to help Cassidy break into the fucking Ministry because she helped him finding Fred and George.

and in my stories, Rakepick actively manipulates and endanger Percy because of his Seer abilities (yes, Percy has strong Seer powers in my fanfics, but he's not strong enough for a full prophecy). he has a bigger role in my HM stories since Rakepick is more villainous and she ends up using Percy as a leverage to get to Bill, Charlie and Cassidy.

the section below is spoilers for year 6 in my HPHM fanfiction

[in one of my fanfic stories (during Year 6), Rakepick takes him as hostage to the Forbidden Forest. Percy had, by this point, become used as a tool to "predict" the future of Rakepick and the Cursed Vaults. his Seer power (which Percy has named as "foresight") isn't strong enough for a full prophecy and Rakepick decides to use him as a bait for the Cursed Vaults.

back at the castle when the gang is preparing to infiltrate the meeting Rakepick is having with 'R' in the forest, they find out from Oliver Wood that Percy has gone missing and his "rat" is acting weird as in full panic. Cassidy then realizes that there is a connection between Percy's terrified behavior for the past months and quickly deductes that Rakepick has him.]

Cassidy saved Percy's life twice and she has promised him that no matter what happens to her or in the future, she will always return to save him. so his feelings about Cassidy is nothing but pure love and loyalty, like how a younger brother sees his big sister. with Cassidy in the picture, Percy is no longer the odd one out in his family (where everyone are paired with someone except him).

in my Wizard Archivist series, the theme of their friendship is especially in focus because Cassidy is, since before the HP book events starts, locked in a hellscape world beyond the real Cursed Vault and Percy struggles to re-open that vault to bring her home with risk for his own life. '

conclusion? Percy genuinely loves Cassidy, as if it was his big sister and she has always been there for him, wheather it's saving his life or just listening to him rambling. it's an innocent and pure love. Cassidy, who is the younger sister to Jacob and has no younger siblings, adores him in the same way.

in a way, Cassidy became a substitiute when Bill and Charlie were too busy with their lives and a source of unconditional love for Percy.

and the kicker is when Cassidy came to save him the first time, she had just smiled and told him that everything would be alright because she was there now.

thanks for coming to my TED talk about Percy and his inofficial "big sis" role model Cassidy Mercury

[jackies-ear69]

Name: Leo Torres

Birthday: 6th November 1972

Gender: Male, he/him

Sexuality: Bi

Ethnicity: Dominican/Indian

Quidditch Position: Seeker

Closest friends: Rowan, Charlie, Jackie (friends MC), Ben

Romances: Chiara(4th year to 5th year) Tonks(6th year to present)

(HPHM SPOILERS)

Bio: Leo was born in Ireland, with an older brother by 10 years, Jacob Torres. Like his brother, Leo was incredibly skilled with magic at even a young age, and a legilimens. Death Eaters heard about this, and decided to take him and raise him to be on their side, as he could be a powerful weapon. So at the age of 5, he was taken by Death Eaters, and stayed with them for little under a year until he was rescued by the order. While with the death eaters, he was looked after by Narcissa Malfoy, and his brothers close friend Regulus Black. Leo’s mother had hidden the realities of the war from him, so he had no idea what side he was on. Although his time there was less than pleasant, he had fond memories of Narcissa, she tried to protect him the best she could. After Leo’s second year of Hogwarts, he occasionally visited the Malfoys, babysitting Draco. After Leo had been rescued, his parents had a falling out and divorced. Not long after they moved to England, to be closer to his mothers family. Jacob disappeared when Leo was 6 years old, and Leo met Tonks and Charlie not long after.

Once Leo started Hogwarts, he was sorted into Slytherin alongside his new friend Rowan. Leo spent his whole first year trying to be himself and detach himself from people’s perception of his brother. Although that didn’t work, and once second year began, he started searching for cursed vaults as his brother had done. Dumbledore never truly tried to stop him or any of his friends, and by fourth year, Leo realised he was being used.

Finding Jacob didn’t go the way Leo had hoped. He was glad to see his brother again, but being stuck in a cursed portrait for 7 years was not good for Jacobs mental health. He had slowly gone mad in there, and it would take him a long time to readjust to society.

Rowan’s death hit Leo the worst, as he blamed himself. If he’d just joined R immediately, they wouldn’t have targeted his friends. This feeling became worse once he discovered his father was the leader of R. Leo considered joining R, momentarily, to protect his friends. But he thought himself a coward for even considering it for a second. Him and the circle of Khanna tried to defeat R, but they were unsuccessful. Although R did go into hiding once the ministry almost found them.

After school, Leo and Tonks became Aurors together, and moved in together not long after they graduated. After the Second Wizarding War began, Leo and Tonks joined the order. Unfortunately, after the mass breakout of Azkaban, Leo was sent in as spy on the death eaters. Narcissa knew he was a spy instantly, as he would never join the death eaters. She helped him, the best she could, although Leo was unable to go home to Tonks. He moved back into his childhood home, only seeing Tonks when he checked in with the order. In 1997, Leo and Tonks got married in secret, and by 1998, they had their first son, Teddy. At the Battle of Hogwarts, Leo was able to fight for the Order, and the death eaters trusting him was his advantage.

After the war, Leo tried to reconnect with his brother, as both their parents died during the war. Jacob was still struggling, but he was grateful for a connection with his brother.

[the-al-chemist]

On Reflection - Author’s Notes

The Circle of Khanna may be officially on a week’s hiatus because of @kathrynalicemc’s Lineage Challenge, but Chapter 14 seemed like a good place to take a breath. Not only does this chapter mark the 2/3 point, but it also is the start of a bit of a shift in tone for the story. It is also one of my favourite chapters of Year 6, has gone through a lot of changes since the start of my writing, and had a lot of thought put into it, to the point that there is even concept art!

So, without further ado, welcome to the director’s cut that no one asked for or even wanted! Cut below for spoilers for The Hexley Saga Y6C14: Reflection, and mentions of grief and trauma.

I am not a natural angst writer. The first piece of angsty/dark writing I included for the Saga was Y3C4: The Problem with Penny, and I hated it. But, in the process of writing the scene in which Penny tells Artemis about the night she witnessed the death of her cousin Scarlett, I came up with the idea for a similar scene following the death of Rowan. Originally, the plan was for this scene to echo the first one, but instead of Artemis fetching Penny back from the Room of Requirement, it would be the other way around.

The problem was that this scene didn’t allow Artemis what she really needed to start to move on: a way to come to peace with the guilt she felt over Rowan’s death, a chance to say goodbye, and Rowan’s blessing for her to move on. In the HPHM game, there is the Headboy/Headgirl sidequest that allows the MC to do those things. There is no way that Artemis is Headgirl material, nor did I like the idea of Rowan appearing as a ghost or vision, so I had to come up with an alternative.

The idea of using the Mirror of Erised actually came to me before the Mirror of Erised TLSQ was dropped, but I have taken this scene as my compulsory nod to this sidequest. It fitted my idea perfectly - Rowan alive and well and forgiving is exactly what Artemis would see in the Mirror of Erised, the Mirror canonically is kept in the Room of Requirement, and Artemis does require this moment.

There was only one problem with including the mirror: Penny. Because, as much as I adore Penny, she would not be able to focus on Artemis as soon as the Mirror came into play. The scene would shift to what Penny saw in the Mirror of Erised, and that wasn’t what was needed here.

The focus had to stay on Artemis and Rowan’s reflection in the Mirror, and there was only one character who could allow that here, because there was only one character who would be able to stand next to Artemis (just stand there and be with her, even in what is arguably her lowest moment ever) in front of the Mirror of Erised and not realise that this was not just any old mirror. That character was, of course, Charlie.

After deciding to include Charlie instead of Penny, the scene began to take shape in my mind. It gave me a choreography, because Charlie had to have his back towards the Mirror whilst Artemis was shouting at him, and it meant that Artemis could get to a far darker place and still be able to be brought back from the brink. It allowed for her to really let out every bit of rage and the tears, and thereby start to allow herself to heal. I drew the concept art that night, and wrote a very rough draft the scene down immediately after, until I eventually fell asleep at around 3am.

The scene was inspired by three things, all of which are referenced in the concept art:

Chapter 12 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in which Harry discovers the Mirror, and Dumbledore warns him of the dangers of believing in what you see in it.

The song “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac (I’ve been needing to bite my tongue for months after @gaygryffindorgal posted that this song reminds her of Artemis. When I said that the song inspired a chapter of the Saga, this is it!)

The Season 6 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer “Grave”, specifically this scene, also known as “The Yellow Crayon Speech”, in which Xander brings Willow back from the point of complete destruction, just by offering his stoic and unconditional love and friendship.

The scene also references Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (the book Artemis reads to Rowan, chosen partly for because it was previously referenced in Y2C3: The Black Quill, and partly because the specific line I took from the book is very fitting to this moment), and Sally Rooney’s Normal People (specifically the moment in which Marianne asks Connell who his best friend is, and he simply replies “you are”, and then I start ugly crying). It is probably the scene that made me want to keep writing this story when I got to the point of being so emotionally exhausted that I nearly gave up - which happened several times, like I say, I don’t do well with angst - and I’m incredibly proud of it. So I just wanted to tell you all about it.

As always, thank you for reading, and sorry for going on.

Al x

Links:

LANDSLIDE

THE YELLOW CRAYON SPEECH

[galactic-hufflepuff28]

Starlight

!! Major year 6 spoilers and death tw !!

This is a fanfic i wrote for a challenge over on the hphm amino. Figured I'd post it here too 'cause why not lol

Basically the subject, setting, etc. of your story or art piece was completely randomized. The character i got was Merula and the genre i got was angst. Tbh despite never writing an angsty fic before, I'm kinda proud of this (also the Stella mentioned throughout the fic is my MC lol)

Also this is the first fanfic I'm posting online since I'm still very much an amateur at this 😬

~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

The air in the courtyard was calm.

{Alternate title: What if Rakepick had killed Stella instead of Rowan? (Merula's POV)}

It was pleasantly cool outside; the light breeze and sound of the fountain that Merula was sitting at only added to the tranquility.

Rays of starlight cascaded through the swirling clouds in the night sky. Suddenly, Merula felt something softly touch her hand. She looked over and saw the face of her partner, Stella Walker, smiling warmly at her. There was a slight vignette around the edge of Merula's vision, and everything around the two girls had a sort of blur to it. Despite this, Stella's figure was clear as ever. There was a gentle look in her soft, hazel eyes; the kind of gentleness one can only have when gazing at someone they truly love. Her rainbow-colored hair tendrils swayed lightly in the wind, and Merula noticed that Stella was wearing the same heart key necklace that she had given her on Valentine's Day. Merula felt a warmth rising in her chest as she smiled back.

"You know, you look really cute tonight, Merula!"

Stella's voice was as cheerful as ever.

"Ugh, Stell, you KNOW I hate being called 'cute'."

"It's true, though!"

"Yeah, yeah...Though, I suppose you look pretty adorable as well."

The two girls shared a laugh, then, moving closer to each other, went back to stargazing. There was a peaceful silence between them for several minutes, until Stella eventually spoke.

"...I love you, Merula."

Merula turned her gaze to meet Stella's. Seeing Stella's smile and blush made her heart skip a beat, and she could feel her face getting hot.

"I love you too, Stella."

Merula and Stella remained gazing at each other for another few moments before Stella began leaning in for a kiss. Merula instinctively closed her eyes and leaned in as well, but...

She felt nothing.

Confused, Merula opened her eyes. She was no longer in the courtyard. The Hufflepuff girl who had been sitting beside her was no longer there. Instead, Ben Copper and Rowan Khanna were lying on either side of Merula, who was now also on the ground. She quickly deduced that they had been attacked by something. Enormous, shadowy silhouettes of trees loomed ominously over the group. There was no more starlight; just a vast chasm of darkness. Suddenly, Ben stood up and ran determinedly toward another figure in front of them.

Rakepick.

At this point, Merula knew what was going on. She knew what was about to happen. She had been here before. Here in this forest, facing down the same enemy. She tried to get up as well, but she found that she couldn't. She was stuck in the same exact spot that she was in on that night. She tried desperately to move, practically begging her muscles to let her up. Nothing. She tried to scream. Nothing. She wanted so desperately to be able to change the outcome this time. Then, to Merula's horror, she heard Rakepick utter the same incantation she had on that night.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A flash of green shot from Rakepick's wand. It all happened so fast, yet it felt like hours. Stella burst out from the trees, sprinted over and pushed Ben out of the way of Rakepick's curse, getting hit by it herself and falling to the ground with a sickening thud.

At that moment, it felt as if Merula's heart had stopped as well.

Finding that she was able to move again, Merula shot up and sprinted over to Stella, falling to her knees beside the girl's body. Ben and Rowan joined her not long after. Rakepick was nowhere to be found.

"N-no...Nonononono..."

Merula shakily pulled Stella's body onto her lap; tears were pricking at her eyes. The Hufflepuff's eyes were dull and lifeless, and her mouth was limply hanging open. It all looked so morbidly unnatural. An immense feeling of nausea began to rise within Merula, though she tried her best to suppress it. Rowan was quietly sobbing to herself. Ben had a look of horror on his face and was tightly clasping his hands over his mouth, muttering something to himself almost inaudibly.

"Stella...p-pl-please..."

Merula hugged Stella's body and began sobbing herself. Everything was distorting more and more by the second, and though it was terrifying, Merula didn't care. The only thing she could focus on was Stella.

The girl who had given Merula a chance, despite all of the horrible things she had done.

She was gone now.

Forever.

Merula jolted awake. Her breathing was rushed and heavy. Her eyes darted around to each corner of her dorm room and each of her sleeping roommates. As she realized where she was, Merula's breathing slowly began to steady. She was still shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. She gave herself another few minutes to calm down. The forest, Rakepick, Stella's body...none of it was real. At least, not anymore. Finally, after a while, the thunderous anxiety that had wracked Merula's being had begun to wane. Not completely, but just enough.

A deep sadness dwelled in Merula's heart. It felt as if there was a void in her chest. She lied back down, but knew that sleeping wasn't an option anymore. She had run out of potions for dreamless sleep the night before, and didn't exactly want to risk going back into the nightmare she had just escaped from. Instead, she simply stared up ahead of her, not looking at anything in particular. Eventually, she rolled over on her side and quietly rooted through a drawer on her bedside table. After finding what she was looking for, she grabbed her wand and ducked under the covers.

"Lumos."

The whisper of the incantation and the small motion of her wand was just enough to illuminate the tip of her wand ever so slightly. It was bright enough for Merula to be able to see, but not enough to wake her sleeping roommates. Merula then took in her other hand what she had been looking for in the drawer: a photograph of herself and Stella. She gazed longingly at the photo. The figures within it were moving, of course, and when Stella gave Merula a kiss on the cheek in the photograph, Merula could swear that she felt it right there where she was.

A stream of tears began to fall from Merula's eyes again. After all, a moving photograph was nice, but it was nothing compared to the real person. Stella was gone, though, and no amount of tears, or moving photographs, or anything was going to bring her back. It was then that Merula decided that she was going to finish what Stella had started. She was going to find all of the Cursed Vaults and break the curses, even if it was the last thing she did.

All for Stella; the light of her life.

Her starlight.

[immagrosscandy]

warning: y6ch18 spoilers

it doesn't

[lins-fandom-hub]

"Clara Lin, the Hero of Hogwarts?"

"It's better than being 'Jacob Lin's little sister' forever."

"There's no escape from that! You'll always be my little sister. That's never going to change...even if everything else has."

[vastly-fixated-devotee-667]

god i hope they don’t kill anyone else in hogwarts mystery; it’s been a year and i’m still destroyed by rowan’s death i literally don’t know what i’ll do if they kill off like ben or someone omg

[hphm-etched-engraved-everlasting]

31. Clara

The sun’s warm orange light bathed the Hogsmeade train station in its late afternoon glow, a glow that would have warmed my heart had it not been for the reason I took this trip. As Rowan and I stepped onto the platform, watching all the other students and Hogsmeade patrons walking by, I felt fear grip at my chest once more, clawing at my innards with a touch of ice. This was where I told Tonks earlier of the threat carried by R, where she proclaimed I must have become a hit witch in such a short span of time. The mere reminder of it made me clench my fists in the pockets of my jacket--this should be the point where my friends should stop caring so much about me. I couldn’t blame them if they couldn’t stay committed to helping me up till the last step. 

I figured Rowan had all the more reason to be suspicious of what I was up to, especially with all that was happening recently. When I arrived at the greenhouses earlier that afternoon to pick rose thorns and rose petals, I found her tutoring Barnaby in Herbology despite it being her weakest subject. Her confusion over my request did not go unnoticed, and especially when we were in the kitchens to get peppermint with Jae she had raised so many questions about what I was doing to the point where she ended up wanting to come with me to the train station to see the trade of pearl dust and powdered moonstone through. Despite Jae’s warnings that her curiosity could put her into danger, I allowed her to come with me, given that we have had so little time to spend together recently.

“Where’s the train?” I asked her upon seeing the empty station, no trains in sight at the platform. “Jae said it was scheduled to arrive now.”

Rowan didn’t answer me immediately. Her eyes were fixed on the large clock hanging above the door of the station master’s office, where the hour hand and the minute hand were frozen at ten past ten.

“Have you ever noticed that the clock here is always stuck at ten past ten?” Rowan remarked softly, tilting her head in intrigue.

“I know! It’s as if Hogsmeade Station is frozen in time,” I responded thoughtfully, following her sight up to the clock as well.

“Yeah. Not ideal for a train station where time is of the essence,” Rowan agreed.

“Exactly! I need to get Powdered Moonstone and Pearl Dust from a witch on that train right away,” I told her with a shake of my head. “Penny and I can’t start brewing a Love Potion without it. And then I’ve got to trade that potion for the Invisibility Cloak I need to sneak into the Ministry of Magic--”

At this plan, Rowan’s eyes widened, her jaw dropped in surprise. “So that’s what you want an Invisibility Cloak for? What kind of dodgy business have you got yourself into now?”

Was this concern or suspicion? I immediately jumped onto the defensive, stepping back a little and resisting every urge to fold my arms.

“Why do you want to know?” I inquired, raising an eyebrow. “Are you planning on telling on me to the professors?”

“What--no. Of course not.” Rowan’s eyes softened at my movements, and she tilted her head, almost in a matter like anyone would look at a homeless kitten ducked under the bench. “I’ve always done my best to keep your secrets. I just worry about you.”

It was hard to hear that she still cared so much--especially considering how much I had abandoned her in my haste to slow R down in their search for the final Cursed Vault. My mind flew back to all the times she accompanied me on several adventures, from the Cursed Ice Corridor and the hall behind the Vanished Stairs to the Cursed Vault in the Forbidden Forest, guarded by an Acromantula who was all too eager to feast on our flesh. Had it not been for Rowan’s quick thinking of a Basilisk looming behind the spiders, we wouldn’t have been standing here today. Despite all the letters I sent her over the summer, I figured that words etched on parchment didn’t compare in the slightest to the person who actually wrote them. Memories were meant to be made together. Nothing would come out of something you couldn’t see right in front of you--especially a best friend one hasn’t seen in so long.

“I’m sorry, Rowan,” I eventually apologized. “I know how badly you want to be Head Girl so I assumed you’d insist on following rules.”

Rowan smiled a little and put a hand on my shoulder. “I do like to do the right thing. But right now the right thing is supporting you. You’ve been through a lot.”

“That’s putting it lightly, Rowan. Perhaps all that’s happened with Rakepick and my brother has put my guard up,” I remarked in a low voice.

“Do you think what happened in the last Cursed Vault changed you?” Rowan finally asked.

Changed was definitely an understatement. From the experiences in the last Cursed Vault, I felt like I had been forced through a transformation--though maybe not as drastically as some others who were with me.

“Yes, of course, I’ve been changed by what happened,” I eventually responded slowly. “For better or worse…”

“Or perhaps it’s for better and worse?” Rowan clarified.

“How do you mean?”

“I mean, perhaps what happened has made you suspicious for the worst, but braver for the better.” Rowan shrugged offhandedly, her gaze growing distant. “I think sometimes the worst moments can bring out the best in ourselves.”

“And I think...we’re the only ones who haven’t given up on this train arriving,” I added, eyes flitting to the tracks where I had anticipated the train to come roaring in. Alas, the tracks were still empty.

Rowan nodded, her glance flitting for a moment again to the clock above our heads. “The train station is rather empty for ten past ten,” she remarked.

“Except that it’s not still ten past ten. Not really.”

Anyone who was anyone would know of the phrase, time was of the essence. I just wanted nothing more than to grab the ingredients off the tracks if I had to and hightail back to the castle to procure my end of the Invisibility Cloak deal. It seemed Rowan knew better than to question me again, because then she said, “At least the train delay gives us some time to catch up.”

“Yeah.” I nodded and turned to her. “What would you like to talk about?”

“How have you been? What’s new with you?”

“Rowan, I feel like the whole school knows what’s new with me.”

“Heh.” Rowan shook her head and shrugged again. “I was being polite.”

“So then what’s new with you?” I asked her in turn, tilting my own head in intrigue.

“Studying, of course,” Rowan replied automatically, a proud smile on her face. “Tutoring. But you knew that…”

“But what friends do you spend time with? I’ve been so busy with finding Rakepick, Jacob, and the final Cursed Vault.” I stared down at my hands, a shaky exhale rattling through my body. “And I had to find time for my sister, too.”

“Well, my only friends were really your friends, so…”

“That’s not true, is it?”

Rowan fell silent, her grin faltering. She cast a glance at her shoes and shuffled them over the ground, a clear sign of embarrassment.

“It can’t be that we have nothing to talk about anymore,” I interjected in the awkward silence.

“It’s not unusual to grow out of old friendships when you find new ones. And you’re always making new friends,” Rowan pointed out.

It couldn’t be true, could it? My friends were her friends and being friends with everyone was what brought us all together. It wasn’t like I had anyone exclusive that she didn’t know about, and I thought she was okay with it.

“Well, you are too. You have…” 

“I have a lot of wonderful books.”

I recalled every time I entered the dormitory to see Rowan snoring loudly with a large pile of books surrounding her, stacked over the mattress and spilling over the floor. Her glasses were askew over her face as well, the lens slightly smudged. At least I knew she was being honest--the many books she read every night, from school textbooks to miscellaneous ones on trees and wands and cats, never failed to amaze me. But something else nagged at me--did that mean she too had outgrown our friendship? I never forgot the day we coined the term “tree twins” because of her love of trees and the literal translation of my last name--and we bonded over it, too. She couldn’t have forgotten it, could she?

“But I haven’t outgrown our friendship, Rowan,” I told her cautiously. “Unless you’ve outgrown me?”

“Never!” Rowan claimed, a huge grin on her face. “You’re still the only one I can be my weird self around with. And you can always be your weird self with me, too.”

“Thank goodness. Wait, who are you calling weird, Rowan?” I quipped, a small smirk over my face as a wash of relief doused me from head to toe.

“Now we’re talking more like the ‘us’ I remember…”

Us. Of course we would never drift away from each other the further along we went in life. And for one brilliant moment, it seemed to just be us, two best friends talking at the train station like there was no tomorrow, two best friends bound together by the trees that grew around us. All my worries about the Dark Artefacts and Rakepick and protecting my siblings seemed to be at bay as we chatted over everything that happened since our first year, reminisced over the adventures we once had and all the changes that came our way. 

“Did you ever cast the Tickling Charm I taught you in that very first duel you had with Merula?” Rowan finally asked me.

It felt like so long ago, the very first duel I had with Merula back in first year. Merula had been picking on Ben in front of other students in the courtyard, and I had to interfere to stop her bullying. Her proclaimed superiority over her peers was what started this never-ending rivalry between us. I shook my head at Rowan’s question--though she taught me the Tickling Charm in preparation for the duel, I never ended up using it.

“No, but perhaps someone needs to cast it on Merula now to make sure she’s still able to laugh,” I responded. “These days, I can’t even think of the last time I saw Merula have a laugh...”

“You haven’t been laughing much either, Clara. I miss your laugh,” Rowan murmured, noticing the frown that was settling over my face.

“Perhaps I’ll crack a smile...if that train with my Powdered Moonstone and Pearl Dust ever arrives.” I turned around to check the clock on the platform. “What time is it now, anyway?”

“Rictusempra!”

In the split second my back was turned, Rowan had cast the Tickling Charm over me. I saw the silver light swirling around me, sparkling and shimmering in the late afternoon light, but that was all my eyes could register as I suddenly doubled over in laughter, wheezing every time I needed more air.

“Rowan--HA HA--Khanna!” I squealed. “This isn’t funny! HAHA!”

Rowan just grinned at the sight of me laughing, a chuckle of her own slipping out. “I needed to make sure you were still able to have a laugh, Clara.”

“Is that...HA-HA...right?” I cried, withdrawing my wand. “Rictusempra! Hahaha!”

And now it was Rowan’s turn to clutch at her stomach, collapsing to the ground in a fit of endless giggles. Anyone at this point could be staring at us like we have become maniacs, but in that moment we couldn’t care less. We were children again, eleven years old and as carefree as could be. I reached over and grasped her hand, pulling her up as we continued to laugh without a care in the world.

“Clara! HA-HA!” Rowan chuckled, wiping the tears away with her sleeve. “Now we’ll..HA-HA...both be...HA-HA...laughing until...HA-HA...it literally hurts!”

If there was any more capacity for me to wheeze even harder, I would have done so at Rowan’s statement. “All...your...HA-HA...fault!”

After some time, when the pain started to register in my stomach from all the laughing and my throat felt dry, we cast the counter-spell on each other, slowly regaining our breath though still breathless from the enchanted laughter.

“It’s ten past ten,” Rowan managed to respond, a big smile on her face.

“What?” 

“You’d asked me, ‘what time is it anyway?’ Here, it’s always ten past ten.”

That took me a while to register, but it slowly came back to me, and I nodded just as I heard a distant whistle sound in the distance. 

“Please let that be the train whistle I hear…” I murmured, squinting into the distance. Indeed, a train seemed to be coming along like a bullet from afar.

“Can’t we stay frozen in time a little longer?” Rowan asked, another laugh escaping into the sunset. 

The train eventually arrived at the station, quelling any thought of staying behind any longer in a different time, a different era. As it rolled to a stop, I saw all the passengers disembark from the doors that slid open, some of them holding heavy crates in their arms and others carrying bulky packages wrapped tightly with brown paper and tied haphazardly with string.

“Lin?” one of the passengers asked, turning to me.

“Yes. I take it Jae Kim has informed you about me?” I asked as I approached the trader who held a case full of rare ingredients, Rowan hot on my heels.

The passenger nodded and opened the case. “Yes, ma’am. Said yeh needed a pinch o’ this, a dash o’ that--so here we are. Powdered Moonstone and Pearl Dust, just enough to make few doses of whatever potion yeh need.”

I quickly fished out the gold and paid up for the trade, taking the case and closing it carefully--one of the clasps was broken from wear--and waved as he took off. Then I turned to Rowan. “Want to help me take this back to the castle?”

“Sure. And after that, I’ll head back to the dorm and rest a bit,” Rowan said. “My sides still hurt from all the laughing.”

I couldn’t blame her for that--my sides also hurt from wheezing and laughing non-stop. Together, we took the case and carried it back to the castle, hearts still as light as a feather floating in the breeze.

The wait may have felt like forever, but forever didn’t feel as long with a true friend close by. And I was more than willing now to protect her with everything I had.

[benc0pper]

going through my screenshots and—

[imscaredofsoup]

mc: oh, i guess this spell was useful in the first wizarding war

someone: what? why first wizarding war? there was only one wizarding war

mc: aw shit-

[avidrawsthings]

How bad was Bens injury that he was left permablind on his left eye?

BAM

I think this is the first time I’ve drawn my version of his Year 6 look. Can ya’ll tell it’s still Ben? Lol I know I want the scars to be lightning shaped but I’m not too certain about this specific look yet.

While the attack at the forest didn’t result in anyone dying thanks to Ricardo’s timely arrival, it still left scars both mental and physical. Ben wonders if this was meant to be his punishment for his recklessness and belief that he was no longer afraid to die. He fully believed he wouldn’t be escaping that encounter in the forest alive, and felt angry about it until Ricardo had to snap him out of it.

[dat-silvers-girl]

SPOILERS for Year 6 Chapter 18 and later

OKAY I JUST REALIZED THIS BUT HEAR ME OUT-

Tagging my fellow Rowan lovers/friends because I think you may like this?

@weasley-adoptee @wandsandrings @adellovesrowan @carewyncromwell @carmilla-the-bird

So we know that Jam City apparently “had to” kill Rowan off in Year 6 Chapter 18 because we know in canon she’s not the youngest Professor at Hogwarts.

BULLSHIT!!!!!

That “canon” problem could have EASILY been avoided by making it so Rowan DID become the youngest Professor, but AT ANOTHER SCHOOL!

Imagine this: Rowan is gravely injured by a considerably less lethal curse (than Avada Kedavra at least). Her parents now are terrified of literal attempted murder, and decide to switch her school for her last 2 years of education.

Rowan could be left with scars like the ones @immagrosscandy once made? And once she has recovered in the Hospital Wing, we visit her, and she gives MC the news.

NO ONE IS HAPPY ABOUT THIS. ROWAN DON’T WANNA LEAVE. MC DON’T WANT HER TO LEAVE. BUT MC KNOWS THEY’LL BE SAFE SOMEWHERE ELSE. THERE IS CRYING. THERE IS GONNA BE A TEARFUL GOODBYE. THERE WILL BE THE PROMISE THAT WE WILL ALWAYS BE BEST FRIENDS! THERE WILL BE THE PROMISE OF WRITING TO EACH OTHER AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!

And you know where Rowan goes? The Brazilian Wizarding School, Castleobruxo! Maybe let’s assume she has some family there. And that’s when Alanza comes in! (Alternatively, Ilvermorny is also an option, but I’m just saying.)

And because we had to let go of Rowan because of Rakepick’s antics, the Circle of Khanna could still be made in her honor. And once we’ve thoroughly kicked Rakepick’s ass, write to Rowan about it, and she replies “I’d normally pummel her with my extensive vocabulary of profanities, but I’m not going to write them down. I hope you gave her a couple punches from me.”

BONUS: The Head Kid TLSQ

MC writes to Rowan that Dumbledore offered us the position. Rowan writes back saying she’s proud of us, and also writes some stuff in Portugese (with translations), while excitedly telling us that she’s picking up the language and getting better, and how amazing Castleobruxo is. MC misses her extremely so we can’t share her enthusiasm very much even when we try. The whole “Dream Rowan” conversation could happen, instead, when Rowan sends MC a letter encouraging them to take it up.

In the end, MC sends her another letter saying we got the position and the badge, and we go the extra mile of even sending her the badge so she can see it. Rowan is already doing excited SQUEEEEEEEEEE at breakfast because she’s so proud of her bestie… and she sees that MC sent her two badges- one with MC’s name, and one with ‘Rowan Khanna’ on it. In the letter, MC has written, “Thank you for encouraging me, Rowan, but I will always feel like this position should have been yours. I may be the Head Girl now, but I choose to stand in your place. In the meantime, I requested Dumbledore get a badge for you too. You’re still my Head Girl, and that will never change. I hope you find it as shiny as I do.”

And Rowan fucking cries, like “That’s my best freind, right there!” Feeling a little bad that MC misses her so much, she sends MC her badge back with a letter and a surprise.

“Thanks for getting a badge for me, MC! I love it! Now you take yours and put it on, and remember that we now have matching badges! I miss you too, and I know you do as well, so I decided to send you a gift- the very thing that began our friendship in the first place. You’re my best friend, and I’m trusting you with this. Take care of it, yeah? Love you!”

Lo and behold, Rowan has sent MC the item from the beginning of the game- The scarf, hat, or sweater. AND WE. FUCKIN. TREASURE IT. LIKE WE DO ANYWAY.

As for the future, she tells us that she wants to continue studying at Castleobruxo and become a professor there. And MC and friends will be supportive!

Bottom line is, A LOT OF LETTERS.

TAKE THAT JAM CITY SHITHEADS! I FIXED YOUR PLOT LIKE I ALWAYS DO!

[shinyrockalaska]

It's been a year since year 6 chapter 18 has been released

Can't believe it still hurt that much...

Ahhh

Don't mind me, still drawing lyrics comics about it

[lumosposts]