#if they were together merlin give in to all of his impulses immediately

[engie-ivy]

@wolfstarmicrofic (The summary may sound angsty, but it's actually very fluffy!)

Winning a war takes sacrifices, but if you sacrifice love, what is there even left to win?

7th: Limit

Lily keeps prodding Remus, checking him for injuries, but Remus, like everyone else in the room, is too focused on the confrontation going on in the middle to really notice.

Moody is giving Sirius a glare that would make most wizards and witches cower, but Sirius, while pressing a cloth to the bleeding gash on his forehead, is meeting his glare head on, giving one of his own that is in no way inferior to Moody’s.

“No matter what!” Moody scolds. “You were supposed to keep your cover no matter what! That’s what we agreed upon when you accepted this mission!”

“There’s a limit,” Sirius replies coolly. “And for me that limit is letting Remus get killed.”

“Lupin had his own mission,” Moody replies. “And he knew the risks when he accepted it.”

Remus scoffs. Of course, when you go on a mission for the Order, you know there’s a risk, but Remus doesn’t believe any eighteen-year-old is ever truly prepared to die.

That’s why coming so close to it had been terrifying.

Remus’ task had been to go into the werewolf community and get an idea of what members might oppose You Know Who, and might be willing to pass on information about his orders for Greyback. Unfortunately, one of the werewolves Remus thought he could trust had passed the word on what Remus was doing, and soon, Remus had found himself ambushed, captured, and taken to a Death Eater Headquarter.

A Death Eater Headquarter under the control of the notorious Death Eater Sirius Black, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, one of You Know Who’s most feared and prominent followers despite his young age, due to his pristine blood-line and exceptional magical talent. And, oh yeah, also an undercover spy for the Order of the Phoenix.

It would’ve been smarter if Sirius had waited it out, see if an opportunity would arise to sneak Remus out unseen, but upon hearing them mention torturing Remus for information before killing him, Sirius had immediately attacked. The fool man. Surely, Remus could’ve made it through one torture session.

Luckily, Remus had been able to obtain a wand and join Sirius in the fighting, and together, they made it out alive. Though, needless to say, Sirius’ cover was fully blown.

Moody shakes his head. “Use your brain, Black! You made it to He Who Must Not Be Named’s inner circle. His inner circle! All that planning, all that preparation, all those months of work, all thrown away. Just to think about the information you could’ve collected... Information that might have helped end the war, saved Merlin knows how many lives! How much is Lupin’s life then really worth?”

“To me?” Sirius crosses his arms over his chest and lifts his chin defiantly. “Everything.”

Remus’ annoyance at hearing Moody haggle over the value of his life with Remus standing right there, dissipates, and a warm feeling spreads across his chest. He suddenly has the overwhelming urge to be alone with Sirius, and wishes everyone would just leave them alone. Sirius and he both just saw the other almost die, and before that, they hadn’t seen each other in over a year, when neither of them had known if they would ever see each other again, and many things had been left unsaid.

“If you’re going to be an Auror,” Moody says, although Sirius has said many times he doesn’t want to be an Auror, but Moody doesn’t really seem to care about what Sirius wants, having already decided Sirius and James are going to be his new star recruits. “You must learn to think rationally! You’re too impulsive, too emotional.”

“Alastor!” McGonagall intervenes. “There’s no need for all this. You sent a nineteen-year-old boy into an incredibly dangerous situation that much more experienced wizards would have shied away from, and not only has he provided us with important information over the last months and managed to make it out alive, he also saved the life of a highly valued member of the Order, and all you do is scold him?”

“Minerva,” Moody replies, not showing a hint of regret. “You know as well as I do that we can’t afford mistakes like this.”

“Saving Remus was not a mistake!” Sirius says firmly.

Moody sighs. “I’m not being cold-hearted, I’m just balancing the stakes. Sure, I’m glad Lupin made it back. He’s a very useful resource, highly skilled in his spellwork, not to mention his contacts within the Lycanthrope community. But ending the war is our main priority! We must focus on the higher goal! Why attach so much value to one man’s life?”

“Because I love him!” Sirius’ voice echoes through the room, and Remus can hear gasps from the Order members around, as his own breath catches in his throat.

For a moment, Sirius seems surprised by his own outburst, but then determination appears in his eyes and he turns to Remus. “I love you, Moony. I spent all this time wishing I would’ve had the courage to say it and fearing I would never have the chance again.”

“Oh, Padfoot.” Remus pulls his arm free from Lily’s grip and stumbles forward in his haste to get to the man he loves, and finally, finally, he’s able to fall into Sirius’ arms. “I love you too.”

Minerva looks across the room to where young Mr Lupin and young Mr Black are sitting next to each other on the couch, their faces close together, whispering softly to each other and seeing nothing else but the other.

Alastor steps up besides her, following her gaze. “You know this is what’s going to lose us the war. This weakness.”

“No, Alastor. You’re wrong,” Minerva says, without averting her gaze from the affectionate scene. “This is what’s going to win us the war. This is what gives us something they’ll never have, something worth fighting for.” She watches as Lupin reaches out to brush a strand of hair behind Black’s ear, careful to avoid the cut on his forehead, and letting his fingers linger where they are lightly touching the other boy’s cheek, and she smiles. “Love.”

[hogwartsfirebolt]

timebomb

for @drarrymicrofic prompt "better than fighting" (did I intend for this to be 2.3k no i did not)

The day Harry slept with Malfoy for the first time, was also the day he bruised his knuckles punching his boss in the nose.

The impossible chain of events that led to that stupid, ridiculous, unthinkable conclusion — sleeping with Malfoy, of course, not punching his boss — started two weeks earlier, when Robards slammed a shiny red folder on his desk and said, Sixteen werewolves disappeared yesterday. Find them.

Sixteen werewolves, three families. Including children.

Everyone knew Harry went crazy when children were involved.

In under two days, he found clues that seemed to suggest a high member of the Wizengamot was responsible and launched himself into an apprehension mission without filing for the permit, because he was sure every second that passed, more werewolves were getting kidnapped. He ended up escorting a furious Member Breckenridge to a holding cell.

Robards failed to see his logic, however. It turned out Breckenridge was working with the department in an attempt to catch the actual criminal, and Harry got reprimanded for skipping procedure.

But Harry, tired as hell of having information kept from him for the nth time in his life because, well, Dumbledore, exploded.

He didn’t even feel sorry as he yelled at Robards in front of the entire department for sending him blind into a case that could’ve compromised the wellbeing of so many creatures, including children, and how could he, when Harry could very well have saved them if only he’d known, and — that was about the time he walked up to Robard’s desk and punched him right in the nose.

So, that was the first impossible event in the series of impossible events.

The second was as follows: Harry was put on desk duty for at least six months, Potter, you should thank Merlin I’m not firing you.

This, in Harry’s opinion, should definitely be considered an impossible event. He hadn’t been on desk duty for five years, and had thought himself free of the burden, forever. He’d been wrong.

The consequences to his confinement became rapidly evident, however. For starters, every single person sharing the wide room that served as the headquarters to the Auror force filed a complaint before the clock had struck six that very evening. The Aurors were a notoriously conflictive sort, hardly ever agreed on anything, so the fact that they were all together in their fear was the third impossible event. To be fair, it was terrifying. Harry’s absolute lack of respect for authority coupled with his inability to sit still for even a second made every one of his coworkers fear for their life now they knew they’d be subjected to the rage of the caged tiger for at least six months.

So, all of Harry’s coworkers filed said complaint — all of them, including the incidental employees from other departments that had to pass through Auror quarters for one reason or the other — and stayed within a 10 feet radius of his desk at all times as he fumed so hard he half thought steam would come out of his ears.

The fifth impossible thing was that the only one person who stepped into the office and didn’t immediately run to Robards to make sure they weren’t hallucinating Harry aggressively punching holes through his stationery at the desk he hadn’t occupied in five years, was Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy showed up in the vibrant blue robes that marked his position as a member of the Department of Invoices, Correspondence and Credit, or, as Harry liked to call them, glorified mailmen, and leaned over his desk with a snooty smirk, not appearing surprised to see him.

He’d never been afraid of him, after all.

“If it isn’t the man who made Robards walk into his afternoon meeting with a bloody nose,” he said, apparently fucking oblivious to the very obvious signals Harry’s body was sending him to shut the hell up — the tense fists, the clenched teeth, the jumping muscles of his jaw. Malfoy didn’t see any of it. He continued, “well, what could we have expected, really, you’ve always been rather ... ah, ill-mannered,” and continued, “member Breckenridge had an interesting story at lunch earlier,” and continued, “escapes me how Robards was surprised by your acting on your first impulse, after all …”

And then Harry shut him up. He stood up abruptly, slammed his palms on the desk and leaned into Malfoy’s space, lip curled. He knew, logically, that he was being unreasonable. He also knew he kind of wanted to snarl.

Malfoy blinked, startled.

“What the fuck do you want?” Harry asked. Malfoy kept blinking at him. “Were you here for a reason, or did you come here looking for a fight? Because I will fight you, Malfoy, I -“

“Circe, you’ve got mail,” interrupted Malfoy, waving a neat stack of letters before setting them down by Harry’s hole puncher. “You ought to be kept on a leash, I swear to Merlin.”

Harry was seething by then, however, and decided snarling didn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.

And somehow, after he had delivered a comeback and Malfoy kept pestering him anyway, he found his fingers clenching around the front of Malfoy’s robes, pulling him towards the archive room, through a small door, and apparating him to his house in London. Malfoy’s house. Harry wasn’t very sure how he knew the address well enough to end up there, but he did and he had. This was the sixth impossible thing.

Malfoy spluttered, raged, but his hands pulled Harry close and into the house and it happened.

Harry slept with him. This was the stupid, ridiculous, unthinkable conclusion.

Thinking back on it, he was inclined to say that he’d been out of his mind, but the truth was, he’d had plenty of time to back off, and he hadn’t.

Even more ridiculous, even more unthinkable, was the fact that it … did something to him. After they’d had a go at it in Malfoy’s couch, Harry’s anger had — not disappeared, exactly, but it had been taken over by something bigger, stronger. A raging hunger he’d not experienced in … possibly ever.

And by then he’d been so, so angry for so many years, that he was hesitant to let go of the new feeling. He’d slipped his thumb into Malfoy’s mouth, and they’d had another go at it on his living room floor, and then another in the kitchen, and another in the bedroom, right before passing out, worn out and not angry, for the first time in longer than he’d care to admit.

He felt ashamed of it in the morning, as he was forced to vanish the evidence of their coupling from his chest and thighs, as he apparated home and scrubbed himself down in the shower, as he went to work and kept his head down, sure everyone would take a look at him and know he’d gone and done the unthinkable.

But even the shame was different from the everlasting anger he’d carried.

As he sat at the dreaded desk and curled his lip at the stupid, prying coworkers who stared at him, he found he couldn’t muster up the rage to continue punching holes through all his case reports, and proceeded to be so incredibly embarrassed that his face blushed bright red and he had to pretend to choke on his tea and cough violently so nobody would suspect a thing.

Around the sixth time he did the entire tea-choke-cough thing to fight yet another memory of the night before, the door to the headquarters slammed open and in walked Draco Malfoy, with a swagger to his step and a grin so bright that Harry’s hatred for him was turned up to eleven and intensified past stratospheric levels. Inexplicably, he wanted to run.

“Potter,” Malfoy said, white teeth flashing. Harry thought of a panther, then scowled because no way was intimidating a word he was willing to associate with the little shit standing in front of him, and willed himself to think of a stupid, raging, harmless house cat. Much more fitting. He made a mewling sound similar to theirs, anyway, when he – “Missed me?”

“Why are you talking to me?” Harry asked, digging inside himself for the anger, for something to hurl at Malfoy and run away, escape his maddening smirk, but he came up short.

Malfoy’s grin widened.

“Oh, you know, the usual.” He said, and it indeed was the usual — oblivious as usual, infuriating as usual, then leaned right into Harry’s space, crowding him against his chair and hitting him with his disgusting, revolting, nauseating, fresh minty breath. Then, he showed him a thin envelope. “Your mail.”

Harry snatched it from him. “Good. Now piss off.”

“As you wish. See you later.”

“Not if I can help it.”

He could still hear Malfoy’s laugh, even after he’d left and closed the door, could still feel the disgusting, revolting, nauseating minty breath inside his nostrils, and if he wasn’t careful he could still feel the shape of Malfoy’s mouth around his —

He most definitely was not seeing him later.

Harry told himself this all day. Not seeing him later, he told himself as he stood in front of Robards after he’d summoned him for a ‘meeting’ that was really just a load of bullshit on protocol and procedures and useless things Harry did not give a damn about. Not seeing him later, he told himself as he bought a salad at the café two streets down the ministry and smiled back at the lovely waitress. Not seeing him later, he told himself as he sat at his desk and found himself capable of punching holes after all, but not exactly out of anger.

Not seeing him later, he told himself after his shift was over and he left headquarters.

Not seeing him later, he told himself, as he apparated straight into Malfoy’s living room.

And there he was.

For a second he looked surprised, vulnerable, a flash in his eyes as he took Harry in that spoke of uncertainty. Then, he looked as thought he’d been expecting him.

“You couldn’t help it, then?” He asked, stepping forward and not making any sense whatsoever.

“What are you talking about?” Harry said. It came out low, and not at all the way he’d intended.

“You said you wouldn’t see me if you could help it.” There was triumph somewhere in that sentence, or an attempt at it. There was also a tremble right in the middle, a fracture.

A red, pulsating curl of – of something rose inside Harry’s belly, and he grabbed onto it with desperation, thinking it was there, the anger, safety. But as he took it, owned it and stepped forward to punch Malfoy in the nose as he’d done Robards the day before, he found himself pushing him up against the wall instead, and bringing his face very close to his.

Malfoy’s eyes were a ring of silver overtaken by the wide abyss of his pupils. Awful, disgusting, they made Harry think of ugly murky waters and nasty storm clouds and made him want to retch.

He slid a hand into wispy, blonde, awful, disgusting, revolting hair and pulled him into a rough kiss that was all teeth.

They had a go at it on the living room floor, then another two in the bedroom, before collapsing from exhaustion.

When their wand alarms went off at the same time in the morning, Harry opened his eyes to see Malfoy between his legs. No time for shame.

Afterwards, they padded downstairs, Malfoy two steps ahead of him, wearing nothing. Harry couldn’t look at him, couldn’t look away.

It was different in the morning light.

Malfoy was different, his naked body as he made them sandwiches was different, his eyes resembled something other than murky waters and his hair brushing against his forehead, against the constellations of freckles on his cheekbones was different, and his bare feet, light and silent on the hardwood floors were different, and the curve of his arms and the planes of his chest were different, and his cock hanging between his legs looked different, and Harry — Harry also felt different.

There was the usual racing of his heart, but no trace of anger, the usual heat in his chest and stomach, but not a sign of rage, the usual need to put his hands on the other person, but no want for violence.

He felt his fingers tremble as he poured water into an empty cup.

“Mayo?” Malfoy asked, low, sleepy.

Harry swallowed. “Yeah.”

Malfoy hummed, and Harry stared as he spread mayo onto his bread. At the work of his long, bony fingers. He tried to think they were disgusting, and couldn’t.

“Here,” Malfoy said, handing him the plate when he was done. Harry took it, put it aside.

They had another go at it in the kitchen.

“Isn’t it better?” Malfoy asked, breathless, pushing back against him, hands planted on the counter.

“Better?” Harry said, grunted into his shoulder, into the beauty mark he was getting acquainted with.

“Than … than anger – oh god, please.” He dropped his head back against Harry’s chest, panted, moved faster. “Than fighting.”

Then, he shifted and Harry stopped thinking for a while.

Later, leaning against the wall of the shower as he watched Malfoy wash his hair, he thought about it.

Better than anger.

Better than fighting.

Was it?

He brought a hand up, brushed his fingers against Malfoy’s chest, traced the lines leading down to his hips. Thought about fighting him, arguing. Thought about something else.

They had another go at it under the stream of water, as it turned cold against their feverish skin.

Stupid, unthinkable, ridiculous, perfect, just right conclusion. Harry supposed it was better than fighting.

[siriusmydeer]

hey bestie, how about fluff prompt 10 with ron or harry?😁😁😁

the spiral of weather

ron weasley x reader

summary: you and ron share a rain kiss.

word count: 1.7k

warnings: self doubt, insecurity, swearing, weird teenager awkwardness, swearing, kissing, mentions of being sick

a/n: i hate this, thank u isa for inspo without u i would be crying rn, u can so tell this is rons pov by the amount of times i used the word ‘bloody’

ron he had a problem— not a problem, one might say. instead he had a nagging pronouncement that he couldn’t dismiss no matter how much he desired to do so in that halfwitted mind of his.

he had never felt the emotional wave of burn or passion in his lifetime as a teenager, that was till his eyes were strictly met with yours for the very first time. you’d think an eleven year old could possibly decipher feelings of yearning and endearment but, here we are years later.

books, movies, and even life normally if you were someones best friend the relation between the two parties happened to remain completely platonic. unless you were the cobalt-eyed, red-headed boy who happen to be the youngest son of the weasley family.

then that is in fact, not the case.

across the library you were irritatingly endeavouring cormac mclaggen with charms, attempting to explain how to flick your wand in the correct direction of a cheering charm. he took it upon himself to grab your hand and guide your hands together in the motion of his hand holding your hand, that was grasped on the wand.

classic bloody flirt.

ron was coerced persuaded, by hermione to finally catch up on the arithmancy homework that had been buried beneath his four poster messy bed stuffed in a sweaty quidditch bag. whilst hermione was attempting to explain the newest lesson from the class that ron could not be less bothered with.

his gaze could almost set a ring of fire into cormacs left sleeve on how strict his gaze was. the weather out earlier was ideally sunny, idyllic to hang out with your friends outside and possibly for a swim in the black lake. that was rons plan to pose towards you, maybe harry and hermione as well; but mostly you.

now the sky had ombré shades of washed-out dreary grey and depressing indigo. if the weather channel had existed in wizard culture it definitely would’ve called for overcast and a high percentage of downpour.

but when it came to romance hermione could be a bit numb in the head and decided to whisk him away from you, giving yourself a sweet opportunity for a free day that cormac just swooped right in an took it to his bloody advantage.

he was contemplating— he was contemplating so hard his brain could blow to bits if was possible. i mean he was a wizard after all, what wasn’t possible?

hermione clapped her smooth hands in front of his grimaced face, paying almost no mind to her peers that had glared in her direction from the disruption of noise.

“bloody hell, ‘mione! be anymore subtle would you?” rolling his eyes in the direction of the brunette who offered a ‘hermione scowl’ as ron and harry would say, in response.

“be anymore subtle would you?” she mocked. “you look like your about to go over there and snap his neck for godric’s sake! just talk to her, your so oblivious ronald.” she chastised, completely aware of his feelings towards you.

hermione knew? how would she know? who else knew... did you know? was he to obvious? should he have made a move? his brain could’ve been moving atleast a billion miles a minute on his overwhelming questions surrounding your possible reviprocations of feelings.

he looked at the smirking brunette for a moment, extremely bewildered but her bluntness. he raised a scarlet-brow in thought; if he was feeling gryffindor, reckless and impulsive or ron, some-what sensible and hidden.

he was a gryffindor after all.

getting up from his sear, the chair making a a smell reverberate at the sudden friction between the oak-wood floor and the cherry-coloured chair. clacking his shoes against said-oak floor creating a beeline directly to your sat figure with mclaggen.

your brows creased at the noise, diverting your eyes around the library and seeing the towering redhead walking directly over to you. your eyes widened for a moment, your (e/c) irises perfectly clear for viewing.

before you could even stutter out a word he got a grasp on your forearm, rapidly pulling you out of the library and into the somber courtyard. “merlin, christ, ron! give a girl a damn warning first, nearly gave me a heart attack!” your breath extremely rigid at his swift pace when guiding you away from peering eyes of both of your schoolmates.

“do you like mclaggen?” his voice was sputtered, almost like he said the question before he could even muster it as a thought.

if you’re eyes were wide before, now they looked like they were bulging straight from your eye sockets. “are you drunk? high? under the influence? potioned—“

“answer the question!”

“absolutely not, i would rather have offed myself than have feelings for someone else. plus i’m interested in someone else...” you trailed off in sentence, accidentally letting it slip that you in fact fancy someone.

paying no mind to the fact that you basically had confessed your feelings he nodded his head in a forward direction, offering a walk. you shrugged once before keeping in step with him around the courtyard.

“lavender brown, hmm...?” you offered, attempting to create a conversation with him; possibly making it more awkward.

why would he flip if you liked mclaggen? he was... alright looking, played quidditch, and an alright student. i mean there’s no big deal or anything of a sort.

“oh no, i fancy—“ drop.

oh.

oh?

drop.

it was raining.

“we should probably—“

“err, yeah....”

both of you peering up at the gloom sky above, small raindrops quickly pattering down on the both of you. you sped up your pace as well as ron attempting to get shelter in the downpour that was rapidly approaching as the both of you.

the continuous patter on the ground cause a few absent puddles into curvature of the grass surrounding the castle, causing small muddy hollow patch right beneath your left foot.

“oh!—“ you suddenly spoke, grabbing into the nearest surface your hand could grapple at; rons ashen coloured sweater.

his hands caught onto the curvature of your torso, holding you into a dip-position. one of your hands had grasped onto his bicep and the other on the bend of his muscular shoulder.

“well that was... quick?” clearing your throat awkwardly, looking into the sheen-cobalt irises of your best friend.

“i fancy you.” he spoke briskly, nonchalantly telling you how for the past five years he has been irrevocably besotted with you and essentially how he would die without not mowing if you reciprocated those feelings.

that was a bit melodramatic, but you understand the idea.

“you fan— wow that was fast, i didn’t even get a moment to like— think, maybe?”

oh my god, are you an idiot? i mean, who responded like that, like ever? the boy you had single handedly, pined for just admitted that and you say, ‘wow that was fast.’

he madly spun you onto your feet, both of you completely drenched from the recurrent downpour looking upon both teenagers. clothes anxiously sticking to your skin, and attempting to maneuver you hair behind your face.

“ron, why’d you— why would you want someone like me? i mean have you seen yourself, compared to me? ‘m just— ‘m not good enough.” you trailed between sentences, panting like you were out of immense breath but only overwhelmed trying to differentiate your thoughts.

maybe ron had drank to much butter beer, maybe he had an epiphany, but he was truly not taking no for an answer today and did all the work himself. he clasped both of your cheeks in his freckled palms, forcing your eyesight into his stare.

“have you gone absolutely mad? what do you mean, ‘i’m not good enough.’ i mean you’re one of the smartest people i know! and you’re always helping people, you don’t slap me across the face when i’m stupid most— stupid all the time! i mean i’m a bloody git and you still put up with me, i truly don’t know how, but you do! and y’know you make me want to be a better person and all that bloody crap, but y/n, you are worth it! so don’t tell me you’re not.”

the boy huffed in one sentence, trying to prove your worthiness not only to you but what was standing right in-front of you. not only just ron, but the way this would effect your relationship. after all that, even if you rejected him for his sake, the friendship would never be the same. could you take a risk? put it all on the table, for the first time in your life and possibly make something worth it?

you stood there frozen, but your eyes moved erratically to study his face. his pale ivory flesh, slightly down-turned pointy chin, full salmon-coloured lips. the study could go on, how you memorized every micro-detail of the boys face.

normally the scarlet-haired boy would’ve been the one in doubt; over himself, his peers, his schoolmates, his friends, and most-likely his family. but right now he didn’t have one single doubt in his mind, his only thought was wanting you.

you may not have been godric gryffindor himself, but you were impulsive on decisions, even the ones that you were petrified to make. so you kissed the boy, slotting his slightly chapped lips with your smooth strawberry tasting ones.

feeling the new and odd comforting taste of pumpkin juice, and spearmint bleed onto the curvature of your tastebuds. one of his hands taking a grasp at your hip, kissing you with all the vitality he had left. feeling the blearily daze of adrenaline scamper right through his veins, going immediately to his head.

he was completely, and hopelessly in love with you. the amount of intimacy he felt kissing you beneath a brewing storm was unmatched to anything or anyone else.

you pulled away for a moment, seeing how his lips tried to reattach to yours in such a quick paced moment. you snickered for a moment, the dread leaving your system second by second.

wanting to feel the eternal warmth and happiness the boy granted you, were you still a bit unsure, yes. but ron would spend his last dying breath proving himself to you.

“if we stay kissing in the rain, one of us will catch a cold.” your whisper was barely coherent over the boys pants, and the repetitive rain patter that beveled from the sky.

“i’ll take care of you.” he offered with a slanted smile, his vision bleary from admiration.

“‘course you will.”

of course he will.

taglist: @ronbrokemyheart @georgeswh0re @amourtentiaa @famdomhideout @hufflepogue

[itsthewritergal]

Impulsive Decisions - G.W x reader

Y/N was devastated, completely and utterly distraught. Her boyfriend had dumped her for her best friend, she had been fired from her job and evicted from her apartment all in one week. Fred and George had been by her side the entire time, which was why she was currently staying with them at the Burrow. She sat crossed legged on the bed, with Fred flicking through some magazines Ginny and given her.

“What are you two doing?” George asked coming into the room, having closed the shop for the day

“Looking” Fred said quietly as Y/N turned the page

“Looking at what?” George asked

“Tattoos” Y/N grinned happily, George’s eyes widened in shock and his mouth dropped

“What do you mean tattoos?” He asked with a concerned tone

“I’m going to get one” She said her eyes shining mischievously “He hated tattoos” she explained to George, who shook his head in disbelief

“this is a bad idea Y/N” George said firmly “You have to feel these feelings first, don’t act on your impulses” He added

“Heartbreak makeovers are the best medicine” Y/N said holding up the magazine and pointed to those exact words on the cover

“No Y/N” George said crossing his arms

“Why not?” Fred challenged with a smirk

“Yeah George Why not?” Y/N butted in quickly, George raised an eyebrow at the both of them

“You’ll regret it Y/N, you know you will” George said, he knew Y/N better than anyone, once she came to her senses she would hate a tattoo

“I want one” She argued

“Do you actually want one or do you just want to get back at him?” He asked sitting himself down on the bed “You’ve got to let yourself hurt love” He said placing a comforting hand on her back

“But I want to be impulsive” She wined “I want to get a tattoo” she nodded to herself,

——-

“Fred and George have loved having you stay with us” Ginny grinned as they walked down the cobbled street

“I’ve loved staying with you all” Y/N answered honestly with a smile

“George especially” Ginny grinned wiggling her eyebrows at Y/N

“Oh don’t start that!” Y/N giggled “I don’t think I can handle that tod-”

“Y/N” She was cut off by a voice behind them, Y/N turned around to find her best friend and ex hand in hand walking up to them

“Oh god” Y/N said feeling the tears brimming up to her eyes

“How have you been?” Her friend asked eyeing her up and down

“You two look happy” Ginny snapped rudely at Y/N’s friend

“Oh we are!” She grinned back “Just about to get some lunch”

“You’ve got some nerve acting like that” Ginny added with a scowl

“Y/N we were wondering if you wanted to join us, You know it would be great to still be friends. All three of us” She smiled

“I can’t” Y/N whispered turning to Ginny

“Get the hell out of here, don’t even think of speaking to Y/N again” Ginny snapped pulling Y/N away in the direction of the twins shop.

Ginny burst through the door, drawing both Fred and George away from what they were doing, as she paced around angrily muttering to herself.

“Who the hell do they think they are, do they have no morales. Coming around here when they knew we were going to be here” She snapped

“What is going on?” Fred asked slowing her down “Y/N’s ex and her best friend, they just asked if Y/N wanted to go for lunch with them because they still want to be friends” Ginny growled, George turned his attention immediately towards Y/N who stood shaking in the doorway of the shop, tears threatening to fall at any moment. He rushed towards her, pulling her in tightly to his chest.

Y/N sobbed into his chest, pulling him closer to her. He was the only one who she would let comfort her when she felt like this. “It hurts Georgie” She cried quietly

“I know it does my love” He said kissing the top of her head. “Fred close the shop, lets just get home” He said quietly, his arms never leaving her.

—-

It had been a few days since Y/N was at Diagon Ally, Fred was sitting with her at the kitchen table. George had offered to do the shop, since Fred had done the past few days alone so that George could be with Y/N.

“I’ve got an idea” Fred grinned mischievously at Y/N

——

“George just before you come in, I need to talk to you” Ginny said pulling George away from the door to the twins room

“What’s going on?” He asked quickly panic rising in his stomach that something had happened to Y/N

“Just remember how much you love Y/N despite her bad decisions” Ginny said knocking on the door

“Who is it?” Fred asked from the other side

“George is here” Ginny called back

“What’s going on?” George called through the door

“You can’t be mad” Y/N called, her voice wavered slightly

“What do you mean?” he replied confused

“You left me with Fred so technically this is his fault as well” She said,

“Hey!” Fred shouted loudly

“It was your idea!” Y/N argued with him

“You agreed to it!” Fred replied with a chuckle

“I’m coming in” George snapped bursting through the door.

“Hey brother” Fred grinned, Y/N stood out of George’s view, right behind Fred

“What’s going on?” George asked

“Hey Georgie” Y/N said stepping out from behind Fred, her once long blond hair, was now styled into a long bob and  died a dark ginger. She looked up at George, a look of fear flashed across her face, as George stood still, not once moving. “I know you told me not to do anything impulsive, but you left me with Fred and we were just looking and then we went to the salon and then this happened and I love it but if you don’t thats ok, because hair grows right? So”

“Y/N” George cut her off taking a few steps towards her, She looked up at him with a shy smile

“You hate it, don't you?” She said moving away from him as he bore no expression on his face

“Y/N” George said once again, not noticing that both Fred and Ginny were standing watching everything happen, he reached out a hand and tangled his fingers in her hair. Y/N relaxed into his touch.

“Do you hate it?” Y/N asked quietly

“I think this is the best impulsive decision you have ever made” George said with a grin

——

“So what do you honestly think?” Fred asked as him and George sat alone at the kitchen table, both with mugs of tea

“Of what?” George asked lifting his head from the order list in front of him

“Y/N’s new look” Fred grinned

“She looks stunning” George answered honestly, knowing that his twin knew about his feelings towards their best friend “I mean she always looks stunning, but my god” he breathed

“You finally going to tell her then?” Fred asked with a smirk

“She’s heartbroken” George said “It wouldn’t be fair to tell her just yet”

“Tell me what?” Y/N asked making her way down the stairs

“Nothing” George said quickly

“Tell me” she demanded

“Oh it’s just George and his feelings” Fred teased slightly

“Fred!” George snapped cutting him off

“Feelings?” Y/N said hopefully

“Fred can you give us a minute?” He asked quietly, Fred grinned and took himself off upstairs

“Feelings?” Y/N said once more “You don’t have to say anything, I know your vulnerable right now” George started standing up so that he was face to face with Y/N, his fingers finding their way into her hair once more “I’ve always loved you Y/N, I didn’t tell you because I knew you were happy”

“Georgie” Y/N sighed happily “I’ve always loved you, I only dated him because I didn’t think you would ever like me like that”

“really?” George asked

“Really” Y/N grinned up at George,

“So what now?” George asked, he hadn’t thought this far ahead

“Now it’s your turn to make an impulsive decision” She grinned tilting her head up a little

George placed his lips on hers, the kiss was gentle and comforting, George pulled her towards him. Her hands found their way into his hair, as they moved together.

“Merlin I love impulsive decisions” George breathed as he pulled away with a content grin

[stellarcat52]

Timeless Blue Chapter Two

Okay so apparently I’m just gonna add this little bit to every chapter as a little authors note. So chapter two is here, and as I stop caring about what canonically is happening in whatever scene in writing, the more the style will reflect my normal writing style. On that note, does anyone care how much I deviate from the canon? Like change potentially important plot details aside? Cause uh... yeah I don’t have the greatest impulse control and might mix this with another Au I had in mind. Either way, I hope you enjoy.

Krel, Douxie, Claire, and a crystallized Jim free fall through the rift. Thanks to Douxie’s anti-gravity spells, no lasting damage aside from a crack in Jim’s crystalline savior was dealt.

Krel landed behind Douxie and beside Palchuck, barely being missed by Jim falling from the trees above a moment later.

“What happened?” Steve groaned from under Jim.

“Well,” Douxie started, “I just conjured and anti-gravity spell to slow our fall and keep us from dying. You’re welcome.”

“Douxie? Where is the flying castle?”

“Oh fuzz buckets.”

Knights in metal armor surround them, shouting and communicated within their own ranks.

“This means, we’re lost in time.”

“Time?! I know the geezer said the answers were in the past but time travel shouldn’t be technologically possible for any species yet!”

“What manor of sorcery is this?” A mounted knight demands.

Douxie reaches back and grabs Krel’s hand, “Don’t use your serrator, just follow my lead.” He whispers to the Akiridion, the message being conveyed to the other two as well. However, Steve freaking out did not help their case.

Douxie and Krel look up to see the Knight had taken off his helmet. “Sir Lancelot, um...”

“He’s so handsome..” Steve said, earning a questioning look from Krel and Claire before a sword was pointed at them.

“Wait! Aren’t you Merlin’s errand boy?” Lancelot’s sword crept closer to Douxie’s neck. “I hope you can explain why you are associating with a troll.” Lancelot points to Krel with his blade.

“Hey!”

“Apprentice, first of all, and Krel is not a troll.”

“He’s like an angel man.” Steve daydreams, leaning a little too much on Jim’s encasement. The green material shatters, waking him from his life-preserving sleep. “Woah!”

Douxie jumps up and away from Jim, Krel instinctively reaching for his serrator before remembering Douxie’s words.

“The devil-?”

As Lancelot leans back towards Jim, a red and black armored troll arm breaches the air.

“What? How did I-?”

“Jim! Are you okay?”

“Troll! Troll! To arms!”

Jim is met with two very different reactions, a hug from his girlfriend, and multiple swords being pointed at him.

Douxie starts to jump to protect Jim, a blue hand grabs the edge of his shirt too late to stop him. Douxie proceeds to try and convince Lancelot that Jim is a good troll, which is much harder to convince him of than Krel not being a troll at all.

“You will hang before the king for your insolence.”

====

Jim communes with Claire, Douxie, and his very reluctant cage-mate Krel to try and learn what’s going on before the group is brought before the king. Ending with a promise from Douxie that he’d explain everything once everyone was safe.

After a quick reminder to let Douxie handle this, introductions and explanations are due. Thankfully, Steve was more than happy to shut up once Krel reminded him there was no service in the dark ages and that if he said something wrong he wouldn’t be able to say bye to Aja.

“This is Claire of house Nuñez, and Steve of Palchuckia, a village idiot and uh knight in training.” Douxie starts, pointing to each person as he spoke, “and believe it or not, this is Prince Krel from house Tarron of Cantalupia.” Douxie cautiously opened the cage, bringing Krel out and implying Jim should stay there.

“I have not heard of Cantalupia.” Arthur watched every movement Krel made, from every step he took before standing behind Douxie to every subtle nerve driven shift in his weight.

“That’s to be expected. Before now-“ Douxie quickly gets cut off.

“I’ll have this supposed prince explain it to me.” Arthur snapped. “Explain why you are here, Prince Krel of Cantalupia.”

“Alright, well as the errand boy here explained, I am not a troll. I was cursed to appear like this and have been looking for a wizard to remove it. I would like to formerly request permission to stay here alongside my companions.” Krel gestured to Claire, and Steve, who were giving the Akiridion strange wide-eyed glances.

Arthur pointed Excalibur at the sunny patch in the middle of the floor. “Prove you are not a troll first. Step into the sunlight.”

Krel steps forwards, being followed by a pair of not-so-subtle knights every step until he stands in full daylight in front of the king. “I am no troll, or is this not enough to prove to you my story?”

Arthur’s tensions fade, his grip no longer iron on the hilt of Excalibur. “Alright.”

“Now that that is out of the way, I believe this beast deserves an explanation too, errand boy.” Lancelot pulled Jim out of the cage, forcing him to kneel in the shadows where everyone could see him. “He is most definitely not a cursed prince as your friend here seems to be.”

Douxie lets out a hissing breath, clearly not able to explain the troll. Thankfully, Arthur’s immediate rage was not aimed at anyone proven to not be a troll.

“A troll! I thought I made it very clear your kind is not welcome here when I banished you.”

“Don’t you mean betrayed?” Morgana steps out of the shadows, pushing her way into Arthur’s focus. “You gave the woods to enchanted creatures like these, would you break that vow?”

“These beasts care not of my vow. Especially not spies of Gunmar.”

“Stop calling me a beast!” Jim lunged forwards, held back by Lancelot and another knight. “Wait, Gunmar?”

“Uh, your highness,” Douxie coughs, “it’s good to see you again.”

“And who are you?”

“Hisirdoux, Merlin’s apprentice. I assure to you, he,” he gestures to Jim, “is no threat.”

“That is my judgement to make boy.” Arthur thunders.

Morgana lights up her hand, a ball of golden magic wandering as she speaks. “Trolls are born of magic, and you are of blood. How is their nature a crime?”

Krel had seen something like this before, the students standing up for him and Aja when Colonel Kubritz was looking for them in school.

“When they ravage our lands and take our loved ones from us? I made these laws to keep this fragile land together, and they will be abided.” Arthur shouted. “Leave the wood, the penalty is death. Bring this monster to the light.”

As Jim was carried to the light, protesting and claiming he wasn’t a troll, the entire group went to save him. Douxie attempting to reason with Arthur, Krel using his four arms to try and avoid being grabbed as well and prevent Jim from joining him under the sun, Steve starting to rush forwards but being cut off, and Claire protesting as she was grabbed just as quickly.

Everything happened too fast to understand. The shadows crept out of the corners and flooded where the light should be. In the corner of Krel’s eyes, Claire seemed to have blackened sclera until the light was gone, and the future Trollhunter was safe. Arthur, of course, blamed Morgana, who seemed to be the only person who wasn’t from the 21st century to realize it wasn’t her who had done this. Claire defended her boyfriend, claiming his innocence even if he was a troll.

“Evil is not inherited, it does not corrupt one species more than another. Claire is right to believe a troll, despite how evil you believe them, can be good.” The Extraterrestrial spoke.

“That means nothing Prince. This is my kingdom and I shall not fail it. These beasts are still dangerous, we are still at war."

“If you give into your fear, that is failing.”

“The girl and the prince speak truth. Please listen to them brother.”

Krel gives Douxie a questioning look, not seeing the family resemblance. Douxie shrugs, nodding but understanding where Krel was coming from.

“Fine.” Arthur decided. “I will show the troll mercy. He will live... in the dungeon.”

“Jim!” Claire attempts to follow as he is taken to the dungeon, being stopped and comforted by Douxie.

“As for you, Hisirdoux, shouldn’t you be with Merlin?”

“Well, yes, but you see...” Douxie raked his mind for something to say “I was-“

“I apologize, your highness, but Hisirdoux was busy attempting to help me. I have communicated with him and he intends to help me get back into my original body. If it is impossible, I’ll understand, however. While we are here, if I appear human or not, I do believe my friends and I can help with this war that Hisirdoux has mentioned before.” Krel flares at Douxie as this war had not been mentioned before, who in response glares back as the Akiridion had just interrupted him. “In my country, I am known for my intellect, and I do not wish to take from someone without returning something.”

“So in exchange for me helping him and his curse, he, Claire, and Steve, will help us in the war.” Douxie summarized, not entirely sure if Krel is capable of getting his point through with his sudden usage of fancier tongue.

“Alright. Sir Steve will work with the knights, Prince Krel I believe should work with you, Hisirdoux, and as for mistress Claire?”

“I will take her. I’ve been in need of a new handmaiden.” Krel sees the pleas of help and burning anger in Claire’s eyes as Morgana steps up for her.

“Alright. Now go, I have a kingdom to protect.” Arthur ushered them away.

“Okay Krel what was that?” Steve hissed before the separated, the threat of not seeing Aja again still holding its effect. “Last I checked, you didn’t act like a prince much.”

“Theater practice at school.” Claire starts. “Krel has gotten very good at improv.”

“You are in the play?” Steve was astonished.

“Yes, while you have been too busy complaining about Eli and Aja going to Akiridion-5, I was increasing my knowledge on human culture, of the present and the past, or would it be the future and the present.”

“It doesn’t matter. Krel, you did amazing. I was here during this time and I still wasn’t as fast as you to know what to say!”

“Did you just say you were-are here?” Krel asked.

“Oh fuzz buckets.”

The group separates, although partially unwillingly. Steve goes with Sir Lancelot, Claire with Lady Morgana, and Krel with a very nervous Douxie.

Part one Part three

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 72: The Unforgivable Curses

"Mum's going to kill me," Frank sighed at the newest bout of trouble their landing had caused, in his own home this time. He had no idea what the implications of that for Harry Potter's story was, possibly the lad and Neville would be spending time together? That seemed to be the theme. Regardless, he'd rather read of that than imagine the scolding his mother was going to provide as he helped Alice pull herself free from the precious potted plants. The rest of their home fared no better.

It was a grand three story in a weathered Victorian design, with pastel shingles along the outside not even faded to time he could hear someone outside shambling around on, a sunroom Lily was blinking painfully inside of, and an attic with a portal window of an excellent view of their entire massive lakefront property he could clearly hear someone going through from the living room.

Reddish-brown dirt now littered the beige carpet, the bright afternoon sun shining in that almost looked like blood he quickly magiced back into place of the carefully designed pot, lest inner spells spill water on the floor next at their due time. The furniture had not been spared, his mother's favorite sofa now had a missing leg from his landing on it he was also quick to repair, but the spell wasn't good enough to hide the blue upholstery had recently been tampered with.

He could see the kitchen beyond, bathed in more natural light with Sirius Black prowling about in his now usual moody way. Frank winced as he carelessly pushed the chair aside his Uncle Algie always sat at and made his way to the back door to the lake beyond. Frank could see the exact counter space he'd landed on, and the ceramic bowl he'd shattered and had yet to fix.

"Hey, it's alright love," Alice placed her hand calmly on his shoulder as he winced for the abundance of noise for the others making their way through his house. "I'm sure whatever destruction we're causing is getting fixed when we're zapped back away."

"We've yet to have proof of that," he snapped, "and somehow, my mum's going to know it was me who did this regardless."

She removed her hand and stepped back, and he winced harder as he heard his own sharp tone well after the fact. "Sorry love," he apologized at once, offering his hand out and relieved she took it immediately.

"I can understand his nerves!" The older Black shouted from the kitchen, clearly no shame in eavesdropping. "Last two times we ended up at someone's home, it didn't end well for them!"

Frank went paler, and Alice shot him a nasty look. Those were his supposed friends he was so callously speaking of, but he didn't seem to think twice of it as he pounded restlessly, and uselessly they all knew by now, on the back door to be free as the others made their way down the staircase.

The long, narrow walkway allowed them to only come down one at a time, so he clearly saw none of them yet had the book. Quick to zip past them and see the damage they'd done, he also didn't want to admit aloud how he was also making a run from Sirius Black's words before anyone could see.

Alice began to follow, and he had half a mind to tell her otherwise, until he groaned in pain to see what they'd done and the thought of her comfort was almost all that sustained him.

Several of the photos lining the wall had been knocked down, their portraits shaking their head disapprovingly and joining the others still on the wall. Aunt Enid's glasses were a sparkling, twisted mess in the middle of the hallway, though whether she'd done that or someone mistakenly had was a fair debate.

Poking his head in, his room alone showed no clear signs of disturbance, but that could have been due to the fact there wasn't much to bother. His bed remained made with his pillow at the wrong end so that the sunlight could shine on that spot all day, the window open and the same small little tear in the flywire all that marked him apart from the rest of the house.

His insides sunk even lower as he wondered, was this still his room, or Neville's? Which time were they in exactly? If this was his sons, shouldn't there be some defining marker? One could argue, as the lad would be at school there wouldn't, but surely Frank was overlooking something...

Alice came up beside him and took his hand again, he squeezed it and wondered what she was thinking of all this, if she was dreading this mess starting as much as he was. Was Neville finally going to tell what had happened to his father? Name his mother? The two hadn't really spoken much of it, with no reason as they had no way to get a clear answer and fear of speculation stilling their tongues.

From below though, the clear sounds of Lily's voice spelling it out left little to the imagination.

"The Unforgivable Curses?" Alice hissed, so quietly it seemed she feared the walls hearing. "That must be, unrelated to, why we're here."

He didn't answer her, he couldn't find his tongue to say anything.

As Lily got properly started, her tone as always weary and unsure as she read of Snape's most resent foul deeds, Frank continued his way uneasily through the rest of his home. His mother's room next, which definitely showed signs someone had landed in here. The frills along the edge of her bed were crooked by a quarter of an inch, her stuffed hat had fallen to the floor upside down giving the bird an even more severe look than ever. He waved his wand in a vain hope to fix this, and still somehow knew he was missing something.

Alice stayed protectively by his side, her lips pursed unpleasantly as she watched her boyfriend pad around his own home with the same unease he had back in the Marauder's places. As Moody entered his classroom for the first time and they made their way up to the attic, she had to fight off the impulse to take his hand and pull him back downstairs with the others just for a distraction. She would have thought she'd love visiting his home, maybe even getting to see a more relaxed and casual side of him she'd been missing lately surrounded by others he didn't know well, but it seemed more the opposite was happening as they made their way to the last floor.

The two had been listening very intently this whole time to Moody's speech to the class, but thanks to the chapter title were not surprised at the lesson he declared they were having. It made some amount of sense to them after all, they were seventeen and heard use of these as common as the body count in the news, but that didn't make hearing of it being taught to fourteen year olds better. Nor why they were in Frank's house had yet to clear anything up.

Frank cast his eyes around at all of the tipped over boxes, the window open letting in a stiff breeze, and shifted his weight restlessly as he once again went to raise his wand and put everything right, then stopped quite suddenly.

The lesson was going along in the background, Ron offering up the Imperius curse first, but what had caught Frank's attention was a photo that had tumbled out of one the highest stacked boxes. He'd never gone threw these himself, his mother had expressly forbade it, but now for the first time he regretted listening to her so keenly as he laid eyes on his dad. He only had a few scattered memories of him in his earliest youth, laughing together mostly as his mother fondly scolded the pair. Her scoldings had only grown worse after he died, the Killing Curse he knew, performed by a Death Eater callously in the middle of the street while Frank had been right next to him.

He rubbed his thumb carefully over the photo, his dad and Aunt Enid laughing at some long forgotten joke, a fanged gerbil in his hands. Was this why they'd been placed here? The Unforgivable Curses mocking him back what he'd lost?

Alice knelt beside him to help sort out the photos as Moody finished demonstrating the effects of Imperio on the spider, and he paused at a picture of what must be his Uncle Algie meeting his mum for the first time to look back towards the doorway in surprise of Neville first being mentioned offering up an answer.

"Merlin I hope my mum never shared this with him," he whispered as he gathered them all up now, trying to ignore how tight his throat was. Looking at the array of life around him frozen forever in these photos made him well understand why his mum kept these tucked away up here. What good would it do to see these all the time? He didn't really regret this foray though, now he knew where they were if ever he did want to see them again.

Alice helped him pack it all away again carefully before sitting in the open window sill with him, the two huddled together for warmth and each other's presence as Neville gave such a bad reaction to seeing the physical effects of the Cruciatus Curse being put on the spider. It didn't seem fair that the one time he'd been shown to take initiative and offer up something for class he needed Hermione to step in and tell the teacher to stop traumatizing him.

Lily's voice quavered as she forced out the last curse, and Harry dwelling on it. What Moody was saying, it shouldn't even be possible, and yet Harry had survived, because of her. She only hesitated a moment before glancing up, and eerily looking right at James Potter.

He was leaning almost casually in the kitchen doorway, the other Marauders scattered around closer than they'd allowed themselves last time but still awkwardly avoiding each other. He wasn't looking at them though, but at her as well, his bright hazel eyes looking darker than she ever could have imagined as he pictured this all as well as her. It took little effort to give him green eyes in her mind, to see her own son's gaze looking to her for an answer for all of this. She still had no idea what she'd say to him, to either of them. How she longed for this not to be true, but growing more used to the idea all the time this was inevitable...

Alice managed a wobegon smile for Moody realizing he'd traumatized Neville and coming over to offer him a word of comfort after class like that, she wished half the DADA teachers they had were so aware of the students. She sniffled softly that couldn't have been her, the chapter title had come and gone in explanation and the two were left with more confusion than ever why Neville seemed so alone in the world.

Frank released her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulder instead, still not wanting to cut off the air coming in despite the chill as they next heard of Neville actually happy once more, this teacher stepping in and giving him a positive memory now in encouraging him in a subject he was good at. It wasn't as much as they could ask for, but at least of some comfort he wasn't forgotten by everyone.

The story kept on track with Harry though, of course, and the two managed a watery smile for each other, not bothering to hold back laughter the Potter boy resorted to making up his homework for such a useless class. The two even couldn't help playing along at points and started suggesting their own bad predictions, Alice laughing so hard she nearly toppled backward out the window as Frank suggested Trelawney getting a frog in her throat and not teaching classes for a bit.

He kept a steady hold on her, and the two subsided to listen again as the twins were once more mentioned up to something suspicious, but that passed with hardly more explanation. Then Hermione was back, and finally revealed why she'd been darting off to the library so much.

"SPEW?" Alice giggled. "She really couldn't come up with a better name than that."

"I've heard one never can figure out all the problems with names they chose, it's good to bounce the idea off of others," he shrugged.

Both being purebloods, they had no idea what Hermione's real problem was. Alice even had a house elf at her home, though Frank's line had died out two generations ago, his mum still spoke fondly of the little thing. So far Hermione hadn't been able to hold their attention on the topic, all she'd been saying was how mistreated they apparently were when neither of them had heard any such thing, even what had been done to Winky made perfect sense to them. They listened with only mild curiosity as she wrangled her friends into her new club, minds still on Neville and their own future.

James let out a blasting sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding, finally tearing his gaze away from Lily to look on at Sirius. He looked all too pleased with himself at the news he'd sent Harry about heading back to the country, and James wasn't going to deny in that moment how thankful he felt at the idea as well. He still had a bad feeling about this Tournament being around his kid, he was going to need Sirius.

The two shared yet another look of understanding, but Sirius flinched and looked away first. James dithered on the spot, he wanted to go talk to him along with Remus and Peter, at least clear the air, but then Lily was winding up the last of the chapter, and he knew the boys in that dormitory weren't the only ones in for a restless night.

[miraculous-ladybug-bitches]

You’ll Come Running Back (to me)

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he responds, sitting down next to her. They were sitting on the ledge of the astronomy tower, and she laced her fingers through his.

“I can’t believe we’ll be done with school soon.”

“Me neither,” he says, leaning against her softly. She weaves her fingers through his hair, and he practically purrs.

“Time really flies, huh?”

***

Year One: Great Hall, Sorting

“Adrien Agreste!” the Headmistress calls. He gives Marinette a nervous look before hopping up to the stool where the Sorting Hat was waiting for him.

It pushes for a moment, then: “Hufflepuff!”

This comes as somewhat of a shock, at least to anyone who didn’t know him personally- as the heir of two purebloods who were esteemed tailors, and had their wa y into the Ministry, everyone thought that he would be in Slytherin, just like his ancestors before him. To Marinette, though, it was obvious. Adrien was a kindred soul, much like his own mother, and he was hardworking.

“Alya Cesaire!” is called a few people later. Marinette squeezes her friends’ hand before Alya walks up to the stool, somewhat confidently (though Marinette knee that most of it was pure bravado). The hat barely touches her head.

“Gryffindor!” Alya grins before walking over to the Gryffindor table. Marinette waves, then proceeds to zone out until her name is called.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Marinette walks up to the stool, hoping that she appears calm and relaxed to anyone watching.

‘Hmm,’ the Hat says to her in her head, ‘a kind soul, though brave when faced with challenges. Strong, and a thirst for intelligence, but ambitious and clever. A difficult one, indeed, though my choice is clear.’

“Slytherin!” Marinette smiles and waves to Nino in the hoarde of people. She walks over to the Slytherin table and watches as Nino walks up soon after.

The hat stalls for a few moments- if Marinette had to guess, between Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. And surely, a few moments later:

“Hufflepuff!”

She watches him make his way across the room and sit down next to Adrien.

***

Year Two: Hallway

“Hey! Alya, wait up!” Marinette calls to her. Alya stops, and turns around to see who was calling her. She brightens when she sees Marinette.

“Hey, girl, it’s been a while!” she says as she links their arms together, after Marinette catches up to her.

She smiles. “Yeah. What’ve you been doing? Has your class started doing your Patronuses? The professor said that our class would start next week since we’re so ‘rowdy’ or whatever.”

“Yeah! We started yesterday, and so far I’ve only been able to produce some light, but sometimes I can see the shadow of an animal! I think it’s a fox.”

“Cool!”

“So have you seen the boys recently?” Alya asks. The smile fades from Marinette’s face.

“I saw Adrien last week and we talked for a while, but Nino’s only getting around to approaching me again. I think that he still thinks that because I’m a Slytherin I’ve turned evil? I dunno.”

Alya sighs, “Yeah. I talked to him a little while ago, and he told me that he was uncomfortable with the people you hang out with or something.”

Marinette frowns. “I bet he’s talking about Chloe. She was a brat when we were younger, but she has changed. And besides, who else am I supposed to hang out with from my house and year? It’s not like there’re that many of us.”

Alya laughs. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I tried to hang out with Alix and Kim, but they’re too competitive, so I found a friend a year above me. She’s really nice. And besides, Chloe’s definitely not the worst you could do- like, you could hang out with Lila,” she says, the name hissed like a curse.

“Speaking of, there she is. I should go before she starts saying how she talked to the Minister or some bullshit.”

“Bye!” Alya falls as Marinette practically sprints down the hall.

***

Year Three: Library

“Hi,” Marinette says quietly, walking behind Nino. He practically jumps out of his chair. “How are you?”

“Oh, hi, Mari,” he responds, relaxing slightly. “I’m good.”

“What class are you studying for?” she asks as she sits down across from him, pulling out her own textbook, parchment, quill and ink pot.

“Divination, you?” She finishes setting her stuff up and looks back at him.

“Defense,” she responds, “I kinda suck at it though. Can you help me?”

He nods. They spend hours poring over textbooks together before the librarian tells everyone that the library would be closed soon.

“Hey, Nino?” Marinette asks as they walk together. He faces her. “Yeah?”

“Are you still scared I’ll turn evil?”

He laughs. “Merlin, no. Not anymore, at least. And you have Adrien to thank for that.”

She relaxes, and her grip on her books loosens slightly.

“That’s good. I’m not going to go evil, I promise,” she says, then, joking: “maybe my housemates will drive me insane, though.”

He laughs with her, and once they go their separate ways, Marinette knows that she can finally sleep in peace.

***

Year Four: Slytherin Common Room

“Marinette! Have you seen my boots? The new ones my daddy got from Paris?” Chloe asks as she lays down on the sofa across from her.

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “No. But I did hear Lila saying something about-”

She doesn’t even finish before Chloe gets up again and power walks to the girl’s dorms.

“Lila! Did you take my fucking shoes?” she hears after the stomping ceases.

“No! I didn’t, I swear! I was with Prince Ali all weekend in Paris, I couldn’t have possibly taken your boots!”

Marinette rolls her eyes before turning back to her book. Lila was a liar and everyone knew it. Salazar, Marinette had Floo’d him yesterday. She sure as hell knew that Lila wasn’t with Ali.

“Shut your lying bitch-ass up. Give me my boots back.”

Marinette can just imagine what’s happening in the other room- Chloe has Lila by her shirt, sneering at her, and Lila makes some stupid excuse.

She grins when she hears Lila scream then cry- it was probably bad that she enjoyed it, but Lila needed to be knocked down a peg or two.

A few minutes later, she sees Chloe emerge victoriously with a pair of boots in her hand.

“Bitch said she was in Paris, but she was actually in a muggle town all weekend.”

Marinette looks at her curiously. “How’d you get her to spill?”

“I told her that if she didn’t tell me herself, I would reveal some of the blackmail I have on her or I'd give her Verisiterum.”

Marinette smirks. “You, Chlo, are the true Slytherin heir.”

Chloe flounces her hair. “Why, thank you.”

***

Year Five: Greenhouse, Herbology Class

“Adri, would you pass me that bit of Devil’s Snare?” she asks him.

“Sure,” he says, handing it to her. She reaches for it, but instead of taking it, it takes her hand. It then reaches for Adrien’s, and now both of them are entangled.

“Professor!” Adrien calls. She ignores him, busy with another student. Adrien trues to pull his hand out, but this only serves to make it even more tangled.

“Adrien, stop it! Don’t pull, it’ll only make it worse.”

She can feel his hand through the plant, and smirking, she entertained her fingers with his. He immediately blushes.

“What’s this? Agreste heir gets embarrassed because a girl held his hand? How scandalous,” Marinette says in false mockery. She practically gufffaws when she sees the blush go deeper, to his neck and ears.

“Mari! Stop it,” he whines pitifully.

She calculates his expression. “Hmm, let me think: no.”

He whines, “Mari.”

“No,” she grins wickedly, and she starts to tickle his hand; an odd weakness that she never knew she’d need.

He pushes down his laughter, which only succeeds in turning him more red.

“Professor!” he calls again, his voice breathy and choked with laughter. She doesn’t stop, and their professor doesn’t seem to her him.

“Professor!” He practically shouts, and she finally looks at them as the class goes quiet.

“Uh, we’re stuck. Could you help us?” he asks awkwardly, blush intensifying even more under the scrutiny of their classmates.

“I’ll be there in a moment, dear,” she says, and the class resumes their chatter.

“How would you feel if I told you that I knew how to get out of it the whole time?”

***

Year Six: Potions Classroom

“Stir three times counterclockwise, then let it simmer for five minutes,” Nino reads from the board. Adrien nods as Marinette drops the ingredients in one by one.

“Nino,” Marinette starts, and he groans.

“Stop right there. I know that voice. You’re going to convince me to do something stupid and despite being you two’s impulse control, we’re going to do it anyways.”

Marinette grins. “You know me so well.”

-

“I knew it. I knew this was a bad idea, why did I agree to this?” Nino laments as he watches Adrien, Alya and Marinette brew the mixture.

“We’re going to get caught and then we’ll have to clean the cauldrons for the rest of term,” he warns, but Adrien keeps stirring.

“Relax a little, will you? It’ll be fine, babe,” Alya says to her boyfriend dismissively.

-

A month later, after finishing the mandrake leaf, the four of them meet at the base of the Forbidden Forest.

“Alright, everybody, let’s go!” Marinette says, and they all transform. Alya goes first, and they all ooh and aah at the beautiful fox that appears in her place.

Then goes Nino, who’s Animagus is a huge tortoise. Adrien snickers behind his hand, and Marinette glares at him.

Adrien goes next, and his form is a tiny black kitten. Marinette reaches down to pet him.

“You’re adorable,” she coos, somewhat condescending.

She transforms last, into a small ladybug, and finds she can fly.

They all transform back. “Well, that was enlightening,” Nino says deadpan.

Adrien laughs. “Yeah, because you turned into a fucking turtle!”

Alya snickers. Nino pouts.

“Aww, it’s okay, babe. If we go out on a run together, I’ll be sure to walk next to you instead of running.”

Marinette guffaws.

***

Year Seven: Astronomy Tower, present day

“Time flies, but it’s on our side,” she tells him, and Marinette leans in.

The stars shine bright, that night.

[ai-katsuu]

Pino and Gretel (1/1)

As requested by @oceanspray5​ a fic about Pino and Gretel which I had a lot of fun writing! This just covers breaking their curse so I didn’t go too much into depth with their main story. Inspired by the art of sleepy-lion-king and based off mine. 

Also if you’re wondering what happened specifically between Hans and Gretel, see this short post/art. 

---

 “I’m glad you two made up,” Arthur sat down next to his friend, “it’s important for family to stick together.” “Thank you. I’m glad she’s back in my life again.” he smiled and looked over to his sister. Gretel was happily chatting with Audrey and Snow near the far end of where they had all camped. After shutting her out for several years and all of the pain she had to endure alone, Hans was happy she was smiling again. 

He couldn’t undo what he did in the past, but he could at least try to fix it by sticking by her side. “And then during her wedding…” Snow spoke while laughing, “Her shoe broke just before she was about to walk down the aisle! Your brother and I had to help Audrey fix it before they could open the doors, and the crowd had to wait for like, twenty minutes!” “Snow, stop!” Audrey playfully pushed her and covered her face. “But uh..yeah it’s true. It was embarrassing, but it’s a funny story to tell at parties.” she chuckled.

Gretel smiled, “Getting married after a year, how could you be so sure of the one person you’ll spend the rest of your life with?” she genuinely asked. Snow and Audrey thought, “I kinda just knew.” Snow started, “When I proposed to Merlin it wasn’t just on a whim, I thought about it long and hard, and Merlin is the one person who truly loves me for who I am, no matter what I look like. He didn’t prefer Red Shoes nor Snow White, just me.” she smiled at the memory.

Gretel nodded, “Audrey?” she turned to her. Audrey thought about it for a while. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing now, Gret,” she looked at her. “Love at first sight doesn’t exist.” Audrey stated flatly. “Real love takes time, love takes work. At the very least you have to know that person well enough. If you don’t, then do you really love them? Or the person you see them to be?” Gretel and Snow looked at her.

Audrey widened her eyes and put her hands up, “Ah! Sorry I didn’t mean to get all philosophical! To answer your question…” she looked sideways, “True, contradictory to what I said, Jack proposed only 6 months after we met, but in those 6 months we’ve been through a lot together. There’s really no ‘right time’ set for all couples, each one is unique. You just know when they’re the one really.” she concluded smiling. 

“And, also the fact that we were the one who broke their curses, sooo…” Snow high-fived Audrey to which Gretel laughed. “Each is unique huh..” she whispered to herself. The sun was starting to set and Gretel told Audrey and Snow she wanted to go for a walk, to which they nodded and continued their own conversation. 

As she walked through the trees with golden leaves, she began to think about the past days. After finding her brother again (only to see that he had become short and green) she managed to reconcile with him. Although it was begrudgingly, they got there somehow. If she was honest she wouldn't have gotten there without the help of his friend who was also under the same curse as him.

Gretel walked by the river and saw a small bridge up ahead. She looked closer and saw someone sitting on the edge of it, moving his hands around a metal contraption. She smiled and quickened her pace, “Pino,” she called out. The inventor whipped his head to his left and grinned immediately. “Gretel, what are you doing out here?” “Just taking a walk, what are you working on?” she crouched down to his level.

“Something I made to help me find buried things,” he said while twisting the screw driver. “I call it-” “A metal detector?” Gretel cocked her head. Pino stared at her for a bit before nodding rapidly, “Yup, yup. Metal detector. Better name, definitely what I was gonna call it.” Gretel giggled to which Pino did the same. He then patted his hand on the space next to him and she sat next to him.

“It’s a good thing you made up with Hans, I’m really happy for you two, good job.” Pino said. Gretel shook her head, “You know we only made up because of you right?” He scrunched his face, “Me?” “I mean, yeah,” she nodded, “I wasn’t willing to forgive him at first, but you came and talked to me every chance you got,” Although she couldn’t see it, Pino raised his eyebrows and averted his gaze as he rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry, did I bother you too much?” 

“On the contrary! Our talks are one of the happiest I’ve had in my life. The advice you would give me about how important siblings are, your stories with Noki and Kio, your love for your brothers really inspired me to make peace with mine. It’s really all thanks to you, Pino. I couldn’t have done it without you.” his mouth slightly opened as he listened to her in awe before he nervously chuckled, “N-not at all, it’s no problem! I’ll always be there to help you when you need it.” 

“Really?” Gretel eyes widened. Pino looked at her again and saw through her lenses, that her eyes were almost quite literally sparkling. ‘Beautiful..’ he thought before speaking, “Of course...over the past few days you’ve become quite an important person to me. I value you too much.” he spoke honestly.

Something lit inside Gretel’s chest when he heard those words, “Thank you, Pino...you’ve become important to me too..” she softly spoke. Pino swore he could die of happiness right ten and there. They two of them were like that for a bit, and he started to feel a bit nervous.

 “So, you want me to show how this works?” He quickly grabbed his work. Gretel nodded; she rested her head on her hand and just smiled as she looked at Pino talking, fumbling with the device. His words weren’t quite reaching her ears as she stared at him in complete admiration. Not just for his genius mind, but for his personality that made her fall for him-

…

Oh…

...She fell for him…?

(Song to be played! highly recommended to listen!)

Gretel's smile fell for a bit as she came to terms with the new information she just told herself. She suddenly felt hot as she felt her neck and forehead. Excitement, nervousness? Whatever it was she made a quick recovery and Pino’s words came to light again. “...and the switch here has been malfunctioning a bit but I think I managed to fix it.” he looked at it seriously before standing up, “We should try it on the sand over there, maybe it will work there,” “Pino?” He turned around still talking “Yeah I know, it might not be accurate as soil but-”

And then he felt something warm on his lips. Instinctively he had closed his eyes, ‘What...did she..?’ and then the warmness overtook his body as he saw the color gold through his eyelids. Gretel slowly opened her eyes and gasped as she stood back up. His body had a golden glow that lasted for a few seconds before it died down. Gretel put a hand over her mouth in shock to what appeared before her. 

Pino’s hat had fallen on the bridge’s surface, and standing before Gretel was a boy with fluffy light blond hair. The boy raised his hands as he looked at them, “Wha..” he breathed out. He touched his arms and then put a hand to his cheek before his face turned to a hopeful smile. “I’m human..?” and then Gretel saw it for the first time. His sapphire blue eyes that had tears on their edges. “Gretel..you..you broke my curse!” he beamed.

“I-I did?” she stuttered out. She had kissed him on impulse but she didn’t think that it would break his curse. Nonetheless the feelings that have been buried in her chest exploded. “You’re human again..!” she slowly smiled. Pino laughed through his tears and ran up to the red haired girl. He lifted her up and spun her around as they both laughed. Once he had put her down, Gretel was once more entranced by his beautiful eyes, she wondered why he insisted on hiding them. 

“You love me?” he asked, smiling. Now that she could actually see his full face she started to see how attractive and charming he actually was. Of course he was..he is part of the F7. “I do…” she softly spoke, averting her gaze as she shyly smiled, “Do you-” “I do.” he quickly held her hands and nodded. His happy smile appeared again as he went in for one more kiss. 

---

“So..how are we gonna tell them?” Pino asked. They were just a few feet from the group, who had lighted a campfire they all sat around. “Um..” Gretel thought for a bit. “Just follow my lead.” and he nodded. She walked up ahead to the group as Pino followed a few steps behind her. Noki laughed as he told a story before he took a double look at the pair ahead of him. He immediately stopped talking and nudged his younger brother, “What-oh..” Kio stared. The pair looked and their eldest brother. The rest had wondered what they were looking at before they followed their gaze.

There was a gasp from someone. Silence. Gretel was about to speak before she froze up from all the eyes. “Er..” 

“Did you guys-?” Merlin asked 

“Yeah,” Pino slowly nodded. 

Jack pointed his finger out to Gretel “And were you the one-” 

“Yup,” she popped the last letter. 

Snow followed, “Since when did you two-” 

“Over the past few weeks,” Pino shrugged. 

“Oh my god, I’m gonna cry, that's so cute,” Audrey gasped as she clung onto Jack’s arm, who was equally in shock. 

“You did it!” Noki and Kio ran up to their brother, who crouched down and gave them a happy hug. “Gretel..!” Hans stood up and hugged his sister. The group cheered and applauded. 

Hans smiled happily as he watched. Arthur went up to him once more, “Well you’re taking this well.” he put her arm around his shoulder. Hans laughed, “What do you mean?” “Well, she was the one who broke his curse.” “And?” Arthur chuckled, “Mate, he kissed your sister.” Hans’ eyes had widened a considerable amount, enough to creep Arthur out to back away from him, as there was still a smile on Hans’ face. 

“You kissed my sister?!” Hans, pushed himself through the group. They stared at him, “Well, of course they kissed, how did you think his curse got broken?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “Hans..” Gretel eyed him with warning. “You, young lady, I thought I said no boyfriend till married!” 

“?!” 

“Hans what the hell does that even mean!?” Gretel crossed her arms as she looked down on him, literally. “Don’t talk back to your brother, and you!” his eyes went to Pino. “Um…” he stepped back a bit. “How dare you advance on her. Sterben dummkopf!” he jumped up and latched himself onto his head, attacking him with whatever means possible.

[fandomsfeelsandfanfics]

The Arrangement, Part XII/// Draco Malfoy x Reader

SUMMARY: Draco comes back to you.

WORD COUNT: 1.4k

SERIES MASTERLIST | PLAYLIST

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It had been exactly a week. Seven very long days that seemed to stretch into eternity. It was a practice of self-control to not call Draco. You’d first gotten the urge to call him just a few minutes after he left your flat. But with a sigh, you realized you both needed space.

That didn’t stop Narcissa from trying to get in touch with you. Apparently, she didn’t like the idea of you two “taking a break”. She invited you to her house to talk multiple times and the longer you ignored her, the invitations seemed more like demands. But you didn’t budge. This was out of her control now.

Your focus was no longer on her or “the arrangement”. Your focus was on Draco actually getting better, with or without you. That’s all you wanted.

As the seventh day away from Draco lurched to an end, you began to think that it might be longer. Two weeks. A month. Longer.

You didn’t like that thought but tried to ignore how unhappy it made you. As long as he needed.

You rolled over in your bed trying to forget about Draco long enough to go to sleep. Then your phone rang.

You almost jumped up in anticipation as you had anytime your phone rang this week. But instead, you took a deep breath, preparing yourself for disappointment. It probably wasn’t Draco. Don’t get your hopes up.

But who was it? Who would be calling this late? It had to be 11 or even later. You reached for your phone, feeling your heartbeat grow stronger despite yourself.

You looked at the contact name through drowsy eyes. Your eyes immediately widened when you saw Draco’s name. You answered the phone as quickly as you could and held it to your ear.

Both of you were silent for a moment then another. You really couldn’t believe he was finally calling and after a week of wanting to call him, you didn’t even know what to say.

Finally, from the other end you heard him say, “Hi.” That made you giggle for some reason. The sound of his laughter filled your ear and Merlin, you missed that.

“Hi, Draco.” There was another beat of silence but it wasn’t awkward. Neither of you were in a rush to break it. Just sitting on the phone with each other was enough.

“Can I come over? I know it’s late but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I think it’s time I see you.”

You instantly forgot how late it was. “Yes,” you said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly but you didn’t care. “Yes,” you repeated, calmer this time.

“Good, I’ll be right over.” The phone went silent and you thought he’d hung up but he was still there. “Bye,” he finally said. And then he was gone again.

You sat your phone down and laid there smiling. You missed him. Then there was a knock on your door. You were up before you could even consider what you were wearing or how your hair looked. You had one thing on your mind.

You threw the door open, barely containing your excitement. “Draco,” you said breathlessly. He wrapped his arms around you as his only reply.

“I have missed you so much.” He couldn’t put it into words really. His hands squeezed your waist. He missed the way you felt and he missed the smell of your hair. He missed everything about you.

Once he felt satisfied with the hug, he let you go. You took him in. Somehow, in a week he looked a lot different. His stubble had grown out but it didn’t quite remind you of how he used to look. It looked natural especially since he was wearing sweatpants, a white shirt, and a cardigan, which was the most dressed down you’d ever seen him. He looked calm.

“I missed you too. Sit down, get comfortable.” You closed the door while he made his way to the couch. When you looked back at him, you saw his eyes roaming over you. Taking in every inch of you that he hadn’t seen in a week. Who knew a week could be so long.

You say across from him on the couch, turning to completely face him. “So, how’ve you been?”

“Dry. Incredibly dry, which is impressive for me. You know, I haven’t had one drink this week?” You we’re shocked but you tried not to let it show. “That sucked because there have been very few weeks of my life where I’ve wanted to drink more than this one. I was alone, like completely alone all the time. I locked myself up in my flat and didn’t talk to anybody. Well, I sent my mom a letter so she didn’t think I’d died or something but other than that nothing. It was just me and my head.

“I was surprised that I didn’t really think about drinking much. I thought about life and my past and my future but mostly I thought about you.” He put his hand in his pocket and started fiddling with something in there.

“And?” You leaned forward curiously.

“And I’m tired of this. Drinking and partying and all this shit, it’s exhausting and it’s ruining my life. It almost ruined the best thing in my life. If you were smart you would’ve went running for the hills when you saw me at my mum’s party.” At the time, that wasn’t really an option. He didn’t know that. “But you didn’t. And you should’ve ran after you cooked me breakfast and I was an arsehole. And you should’ve ran after Paris but every single time you’re patient and understanding with me. So, either you’re really dense or you’re some type of angel.”

You laughed when he said that. You weren’t nearly an angel. Maybe a little stupid but he made you that way. “I’m serious. I don’t know but I know I don’t deserve you. You’ve taught me so much and I’ve grown so much because of you and it’s only been a few months. You helped me mature enough to be able to say that even if you’ve finally came to your sense and decided to never see me again, I’m okay with that. I’m glad for the time we had ‘cause it showed me how beautiful life can be without any extra...boosts to the senses. I’m ready to move on from that.”

You were about to tell him that when it came to him you’d probably never come to your senses, when he continued. “But I hope you haven’t decided to call it quits cause otherwise this is gonna be a little embarrassing.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and he was holding a ring. You were too stunned to do anything. “I was gonna do this our last night in Paris but well...”

“Draco, where’d you get this?” You didn’t know much about diamond rings but it looked beautiful and expensive. There was one big diamond in the center surrounded by smaller diamonds and there were more diamonds lining the gold band.

“When we went shopping and I went to that jewelry store. It was in impulsive buy but it felt right. This feels right.” It was crazy. It was ridiculous. It had only been a few months and there had been so many highs and lows but Draco was right. This felt right.

“Listen, I’ve still got a lot to figure out. I need therapy and time but I’m gonna work on myself. And I know I don’t deserve it but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you give me one more chance?”

You didn’t know if you believed in soulmates. But from the very first second you met Draco to the Yule ball to the war to the arrangement and Paris, you felt connected to him. Like there was something constantly pulling you together. No matter how far you strayed something always brought you back. And every single moment, every single fight, and every single smile brought you here, to him proposing to you in sweatpants on your couch at midnight. For some reason, nothing could’ve been more perfect for the two of you.

“Yes.” You saw the surprise in Draco’s face for a second before it was lost to joy. And then he was hugging you and kissing you. “En français, oui.” He laughed. That’s what you missed most, his laugh.

[dreamlanddoll]

Step by Step

You’re nervous about having to dance for your welcoming ball, Cedric helps you out (you replace Sofia in this AU- making you the new princess).

this idea was given to me by @omgselinabeckendorf !  A wonderful friend of mine who has the cutest ideas :)

“Mr. Cedric... could you maybe... teach me how to dance?”

Your request initially shocked the sorcerer, blinking his eyes rapidly and shaking his head a little to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Realizing that made him look foolish, he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. “And what makes you think I know how to dance?” He attempted to keep his cold demeanor.

You shrugged, pressing your lips together in a smile. “I dunno.. you just seem like the type.”

Cedric’s brows furrowed- what on earth did you mean by that? What were you trying to do? Tease him? He was already getting fed up with this. There was no time for dancing when he had a Kingdom to take over! “Why don’t I just give you a spell to help you dance, yeah? Then you won’t have to waste my- I-I mean.. your time.” he chuckled.

You sighed, getting a little frustrated. You only had a few hours left before the ball! “No! If I use a spell to dance then I’ll never really learn! Plus.. I’d feel like I’m cheating..” you twiddled with your fingers, looking down at your gown hem.

Cedric internally scoffed. Cheating? You’d feel like you’re cheating? At what? Never in his life had he met anyone who was as much of a goody-two shoes as you. It was insufferably adorable. He needed you to leave immediately. Cedric was about to roll his eyes and shoo you out of his lair- but stopped when you looked up at him with big pleading eyes and an ever so slight- never the less effective- pout.

He felt a heat creep up into his pale cheeks and he sighed, dropping his shoulders and throwing his head back. “Fine. I will give you one dance lesson but that’s it!” He said, holding his index finger in the air to emphasize that you get one try, and only one. Or.. so he thought for now. Using his wand, with one simple flick he was able to conjure a classical waltzing tune that filled his workshop. You looked around in awe for a second before thanking him as Cedric took your hand in his and put the other one on your waist. He didn’t really give it much mind at first but once he held you- he immediately felt his heart beat at a concerning rapid pace. He gulped, trying to scramble around his mind to recall what his ballroom dancing class at Hexley Hall had taught him... though, it was hard for Cedric to concentrate with your hand resting on his shoulder. “A-all right, now when dancing, you must allow the man to lead.”

You looked at him, puzzled- and honestly a little annoyed. Ready to hear some old, traditional, misogynistic bull, you raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”

Cedric opened his mouth to answer, but nothing but a slight chocking on his words came out. He puzzled as well. “I’m.. not sure. No matter though, just follow me for now.”

You looked to the side- fair- you thought. You didn’t even know what you were doing after all. You saw that Cedric had put a foot backwards, so you followed suit with the opposite foot. Getting used to following him, he began leading you in a simple box-step, telling you to count the steps in your head- 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3. You weren’t quite ready for the next one however, despite Cedric saying, “And now we separate and I twirl you, are you ready?”

You nodded, faking confidence with a look on your face that said “yeah I’m ready!! I can do this!!” And as he guided you into a twirl, your arm raised over your head and you spun a few times- making your dress flare out beautifully as the ruffles swished and swirled underneath your over-skirt. Cedric internally swooned at how graceful you looked. He was quite impressed actually. You faced back to him and smiled- excitement bubbling inside you from landing the twirl perfectly. You were about to walk back to him with an elegant stride, but you felt your ankle block your other foot from progressing- causing you to gasp and stumble forward. In a panic, Cedric lunched forward to steady you using the little strength he had- but it was just enough for you. The music, though softly, continued to play.

“Are you alright?” He asked with genuine concern, which you weren’t really used to hearing from him out of the few weeks you’ve known the tower-dwelling wizard.

You looked up at him with breathy laughter escaping your lips. “Yeah.. um...” you stood up with his assistance and soothed out the crinkles in your bodice. “I guess my lesson’s over then?” You shrugged, recalling he said you got to have one and only one try.

Cedric hummed, he did say that you only get one try. Scratching the back of his neck and eyeing his main door- he started to feel a little bad. Offering his hand to you, he attempted to hide his smile. “Nonsense, my dear. You aren’t going to get good at this unless you practice! And as my father always said- slow and steady does the trick.”

You blushed, surprised by his sudden gumption. But of course you weren’t going to pass up his offer. Taking his hand you stepped in closer to him. “Thank you, Mr. Cedric.”

Cedric tried not to stare at you too much as you both danced around his workshop- but good heavens, you were gorgeous. Cedric couldn’t help it if his eyes lingered on your soft lips, or your sparkling eyes, or your h/c hair that was cascading down your shoulders for too long. Not that he had feelings for you. Of course not! He just... had eyes, and he wasn’t stupid- well- that may have been up for debate. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted from his main goal- your amulet, and then the Kingdom. Yes. Back on track, that was all that mattered. Not your radiant smile, or kind heart, or outgoing personality...

But here he was, going out of his way to teach you how to dance. He loathed giving into his kindly impulses, but not wanting to upset the person with the one thing that was the key to his success, he offered you kindly smiles every once in a while when you two made eye-contact.

You meanwhile, were looking nervously at your moving feet- making sure you were getting the steps right to not make a fool of yourself again. In all honesty a little nervous in making Cedric think you were some silly, clumsy, wide-eyed child. You weren’t a child, at least that’s what you wanted to prove to people- you were 25. A young, confident woman with the ability to break men’s hearts. Yes, that sounded more like it.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this...” you slowly trailed your eyes back up to him, a small smile gracing your lips.

Cedric returned your glance, too nervous to respond- but happy you were catching on so quickly. The song as he recalled was nearing an end, and he greatly contemplated if he’d be so bold as to dip you or not... loosing himself in his panicked thoughts, he felt your weight begin to shift in his arms.

Confused, he let out a small hum before noticing you were practically letting yourself fall, his eyes widened- and before he could react you stumbled to the ground- taking Cedric along with you- the both of you letting out two different kinds of screams.

A hard thud followed, along with a groan coming from him as he rubbed his head and flipped himself over on his back. Trying not to sound too annoyed, he grimaced. “What in Merlin’s name did you do that for?”

You sat up quickly, holding onto your arm, looking at him a bit flushed and embarrassed you reverted into your tensed up shoulders. “I-I thought.. you were supposed to dip me at the end! You know, like in the books?” You blushed, tucking some hair behind your ear.

Cedric blinked at you, but then scoffed and shook his head when he realized what you meant. “Those are romance books my dear- you can’t believe everything you read!”

You bit your lip, feeling bad for frustrating him. “Um.. sorry.” you looked down, your lashes covering your irises. Oh god, you didn’t think you’ve ever been so embarrassed in your whole life. “You must think I’m pretty silly, huh?” you laughed, trying to maybe, just a little, lighten the mood.

Cedric sighed, letting his hand fall to the floor. The last thing he wanted to do right now was upset you, seeing as you were already in pain enough. “No no no, it’s alright.” He waved his hand, dismissing the upset as you stood back up. After you dusted off your skirts you offered your hand to him, which he took- feeling a strange wave of feelings go through him as he did- you stood him back up. Sighing, he looked at you, thinking for a moment and pressing his lips together, dare he even ask? Well, you already tried to yourself, so he supposed why not. “Why don’t we take it from the top and try that again, hm?”

“Huh?” you looked at him with wide, glimmering eyes. You then looked down at his hand, which was out for you to place your hand in. You did so, smiling from relief as the enchanted music started up again.

Going through the motions again, his hand on your waist yours on his shoulder, a minute of twirls and box-steps later, you had one final round before the song came to an end. Carefully now, you slowly lowered yourself back- but not too much this time to avoid anything over the top. Cedric let you relax in his arm, trying to feign a little extra strength for you as he leaned over you slightly, the song coming to a stop.

Admittedly he was a tad entranced by you right now- the look you were giving him.. he wasn’t sure you were aware of it but if you were he seriously needed an explanation. Because no princess has ever given him so much as a second glance let along the gaze you were currently bestowing upon him. He suddenly felt weak in his knees, not from the action of holding you like this but the feeling of it, Cedric felt his mind wander to the possibility of him holding you like this again in the future.. perhaps- if it was even possible- where you two were together...

“Mr. Cedric, are you okay?”

Your voice snapped him out of his thoughts- just then did he notice his whole face was as hot as a stove. He blinked a couple of times, his mouth dropped open as he tried to speak but the only sounds emitting were “um”s and “uh”s.

You giggled, you had to admit that Cedric was quite adorable when he was flustered. You hated to be like this, but you wondered if there was anything else you could do to get a rise out of him without being too forward... you tried to see by slowly running your fingers up his shoulder and into the hair scruff of his neck.

Cedric felt his whole body tense up once you did this- what were you trying to do? Kill him?! You were doing exactly that by the looks of it as you leaned up closer to him, saying in a hushed voice- “Thanks for the dance lesson~” you patted his cheek the hand that was previously buried in his hair and you stood back up.

“Uh.. I..” he felt the cheek you touched, rubbing his thumb along his jaw.

You were nearly out the door before he knew it, waving and giving him a goodbye wink you said, “See you at the ball tonight, Mr. Cedric!” With that, the door shut, leaving the poor sorcerer in his workshop utterly baffled and weak.

“Y-you’re w-welcome.” he said to the empty space before him. Regaining his senses he groaned- frustratingly tugging on his bangs in his clenched up fists and then throwing his hands his sides. It was then Wormwood had flown off his perch and onto Cedric’s shoulder to comfort him. He looked at his bird with a tiredness in his eyes. “If I don’t get her amulet soon, I’m going to loose it.” The sooner he stole your amulet and took over the Kingdom, the sooner he could avoid any potentially growing... ugh, feelings, for you.

[hall-of-merlin2]

Magic, Monsters and Merthur - 1x03 - (Merthur)

I see what the people want, I give the people what they want.

Loads, loads, and holy fuck how much character content can there be in one episode???!!!

A lot.

A whole frickin lot.

<_><_><_>

“Dad? her’es your sandwich.”

“Mmm, what’s in it?”

“It’s smoked pigeon, but I’d say there’s more smoke than pigeon.”

***

“And I’ve done you some watercress soup tonight.”

“Don’t tell me... With more water in it than cress?”

03:02

This is just… This is so frickin’ adorable. They’re both cuties, and I will declare now that “cutie” is the highest praise a character can get.

A new list is born, except we’re not comparing Cuties, we’re just all getting mushy over them.

<_><_><_>

03:45

AWH!

This is such obvious flirting! Even more obvious than Arthur and Merlin, I daresay, but then it went nowhere because someone suddenly realized that Gwen needed to end up with Arthur. I wish whoever it was that they didn’t.

(JUST LOOK AT THEIR SMILES THEY’RE SO FRICKING ADORABLE)

<_><_><_>

04:10

Okay, so I’m not the biggest Morgwen shipper, but…

Come on! This really is sweet!

(And can you blame Morgana for falling for Gwen? Just look at that Cutie’s smile!)

<_><_><_>

04:40

And on the flipside we have Arthur “I’ll come all the way out to this tower that’s directly opposite everything else just to give you a message by myself and not let another servant or guard do it for me” Pendragon.

Both Pendragons really are completely gone for their servants.

<_><_><_>

04:48

I like Gaius’ face though.

He looks like he’s one second away from shaking his head and looking at Merlin in that look that’s just so exasperated at Merlin taking everyone’s hearts on his first week.

<_><_><_>

05:02

Gaius: Has a point.

Merlin: :O

Merlin: >:(

<_><_><_>

05:08

YA’LL WANNA TALK ABOUT SOMEONE ICONIC-

<_><_><_>

“But not all magic is bad. I know it isn’t!”

“It’s neither good nor bad. It’s how you use it.”

07:50

The first version of the “Evil lies in the hearts of men” line.

So, once again, YA’LL WANNA TALK ABOUT SOMEONE ICONIC-

<_><_><_>

08:40

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

-aaaaaaaaa, nah. It’s just Arthur getting back at Merlin for “Being late”.

What a different episode THAT would have been…

<_><_><_>

09:38

Arthur uses a snappy tone.

(Almost an accusation.)

But Gaius is having none of it.

And Arthur immediately SITS THE FUCK DOWN.

God, imagine how Arthur would have turned out if Gaius wasn’t there to “occasionally” remind Arthur that he will not be taking his shit and he can get off that pedestal now.

YA’LL WANNA TALK ABOUT SOMEONE ICONIC-

Okay okay I’m gonna stop.

Gaius has earned the Cutie award.

Welcome to the big leagues!

<_><_><_>

Are you mad? Merlin, your life’s destined for more important things.

But what if I don’t practice, then how will I get to be this… Great Warlock?!

There will come a time when your skills will be recognized.

*Frustrated noises* When?! How long do I have to wait?!

Patience is a virtue, Merlin.

Oh sitting by and doing nothing, that’s a virtue?

*Raises ladle* Your time. Will come.

I point this out a few episodes later, but this is the real difference between Gaius and Kilgharrah.

Both of their goals are to get Merlin to fulfill “his destiny”. Kilgharrah may know more of what his “destiny” actually is, but Gaius has no clue. He truly has no reason to believe that Merlin is “one side of a coin” or that Arthur is important in his “destiny”, he just sees how powerful Merlin is.

He also sees just how eager Merlin is to use his magic. How he understands the more complex concepts of magic and knows how to use it, and has quite the moral compass, that Merlin is actually prepared for “his destiny” or “doing good”, but he also sees what a hothead Merlin is, how quickly he jumps from one thought to another, how little he thinks at all once he gets something into his head. Gaius knows that whatever Merlin’s “destiny” is, he could probably handle it with what he’s already taught him, but he also knows that this thing is not “it”. And realizing that Merlin still has to wait, knowing how disinterested he actually is in that, he tries to get Merlin to power through this time. He tries to instill this “hope” into him, that he will be great, that he will be free, that he will be fine and that he just has to endure, and not kill everybody along the way.

The intent is good. And I think Merlin realizes this later, but at this stage, Merlin is still not used to sitting still. I don’t think he ever is, he’s just become more clever about it.

Also… Please enjoy yet another perfectly timed screencap.

He look happy.

<_><_><_>

What’s different about this victim?

Uh… She’s a woman!

…

Sometimes I do wonder if your magical talents were given to the right person.

12:10

Gaius is so fuckin done XD

Ahhh okay. Gaius gets the Snarky Cutie award. This will be competed for, let’s see who holds it the longest.

<_><_><_>

So what’s the thing they do share?

Uh… Water.

*Encouraging pen pointing*

Water. You think the disease is spread through water!

Merlin. You’re a prodigy.

12:45

Yeah… Gaius is keeping this award for a long time.

<_><_><_>

17:19

Oh… Oh my poor Merlin… My poor boy is reminded that he has no father to hug :(

Is that one of the reasons he acted so impulsively? Besides the obvious one, that he loves Gwen – but did Merlin cure Gwen’s father because he didn’t want Gwen to live without one, like he has?

Oh… Oh…

Oh my sweet precious sunshine, my heart just shattered.

MERLIN RECEIVES THE SELFLESS CUTIE AWARD. I DON’T THINK ANYONE WILL TAKE IT OFF HIM.

<_><_><_>

18:55

EPISODE 3 MAGIC REVEAL – THE DUO OF MERLIN AND GWEN, FUCKING SHIT UP SINCE MERLIN DECIDED TO COME TO CAMELOT.

WE DESERVED THIS.

“I’m psychic.”

*laughing* “No you’re not.”

“It’s true!”

“Alright, what am I thinking?”

“That I’m not psychic.”

*laughter* “You’re strange...

“I don’t mean that in a nasty way!

“You’re just... Funny.

“I like that.”

MY FUCKIN HEART.

THEY ARE BOTH SO ADORABLE!!!

THIS IS SO BLATANTLY OBVIOUS!

CUTIES OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER. THE ADORABLE CUTIES. THE MOST ADORABLE CUTIES TO EVER EXIST.

OH REALLY.

*loud screeching in the distance*

*sound of glass shattering*

NO THAT WAS MY HEART WHY DID YOU TAKE IT!

I MEAN CONGRATS YOU NOW HAVE IT! ARE YOU HAPPY?

I AM!

CUTIES!

<_><_><_>

“It’s too late. They think Gwen’s a sorceress, they think she caused the disease.”

“But she didn’t!”

22:25

By any means fucking necessary.

<_><_><_>

“I have seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken.

“If she was a sorceress, why would she do this?!

“Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning, when she could make these things happen with the snap of her fingers?

“Like an idle king.”

“You have no right!…”

“But you have the right to cast a judgment-!”

“I have a responsibility to take care of this kingdom!”

…

“I take no pleasure in this.” (AS FUCKING IF)

“But you are sentencing the wrong person!”

“She’s right, Father. You hear the word ‘magic’ and you no longer listen.”

“You saw it for yourself, she used enchantments.”

“Yes!… Maybe. But to save her dying father! That doesn’t make her guilty of creating a plague.

“One’s the act of kindness, of love, the other of evil – I don’t believe evil’s in this girl’s heart.”

“I have witnessed what witchcraft can do. I’ve suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance.

If there is the slightest doubt about this girl she must die or the whole kingdom may perish.”

“I understand that…”

“One day you may become king… Then you will understand – such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom.”

“I know witchcraft is an evil, Father, so is injustice!”

24:25

God, Morgana and Arthur uniting against Uther for Gwen and Uther just ignoring what they’re saying and repeating the same “mAgIC iS eViL hUr DuR” bullshit.

Uther should have died sooner.

Like… this episode.

Morgana should have just snapped.

<_><_><_>

27:25

Gwen the martyr.

I can already imagine it. People at the execution whispering among themselves “She’s a witch?” “No way! She’s so kind!” “Rumors say she’s not.” “She’s not! It’s just the King again.” “But if she’s innocent, why?” “He’ll burn a frog if he thought it would help.” “That’s dumb. She doesn’t deserve to die!” “No, she does not.”

I can imagine everyone looking away, quietly letting their anger build up, but unable or not courageous enough to save her. I can imagine the people whispering to themselves when the guards are out of earshot, about how “The king is out of control”, “Her death stopped nothing!” and more. How that anger they thought they buried flares up. How it seeps through the cracks they left. How it makes them draw a knife, and plunge it into a guard’s neck. How if they felt guilty, everyone who called them a hero say that was one of Them who stood by and watched it. How that anger forms a community, how it brings people together. How the first time the chopping block is being assembled after Gwen’s death, people start talking. Who’s dying, for what reason…

How can they stop it?

A direct assault? A stealthy escape? An infiltration into the guard ranks? Maybe torches? Make bombs?

Anyone here know magic?

Oh, you do! That’s great.

Let’s kill the king.

As amazing as this sounds, Gwen would have had to die. One of the Adorable Cutie Award holders.

I will not condone that.

<_><_><_>

28:40

Do you think Arthur’s so convinced Merlin can’t have done it because of what happened with Valiant, Merlin exposing a sorcerer, therefore his own kin if this were true? Or because, as Morgana said about Gwen

“Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning, when she could make these things happen with the snap of her fingers?”

Or because Arthur likes him just a little bit?

I think we all know what we want to believe.

<_><_><_>

“He’s in love.”

“...What?”

“With Gwen!”

“I am- not!”

“Yes you are.”

“No way-”

29:03

Oh boys…

<_><_><_>

“...Arthur’s not going to find it. He thinks he is… so sharp. But even when I told him I was a wizard – he still couldn’t see it.”

30:14

I don’t think Arthur noticing or not has anything to do with his intelligence, Merlin, just whether or not he’d like to see you burn :)

Also, Gaius.

“Sometimes it’s pretty hard to spot.”

“Maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat.”

“I don’t think you’d find one big enough.”

That Award crown is staying firmly planted on his head.

<_><_><_>

32:16

Nope.

<_><_><_>

“We need to destroy [the afanc], then the plague will stop and Uther... may see sense.”

“And that’s why you need Arthur.”

“He’s our best chance.”

“But he won’t want to disobey the king.”

“Leave that to me.”

36:07

Morgana receives the Scheming Cutie Award! My girl knows what buttons to push to get men to listen to her and I think that’s very sexy of her.

<_><_><_>

36:35

Okay, both of these Cuties receive the True Sibling Cutie Awards. I don’t think there is anyone who can take their crown from them, unless…

The True part only means how accurately sibling dynamics are portrayed. Which opens up place for at least some competition!

Hahah! No one gets to have their Award forever.

(But everyone has permanent Cutie status.)

<_><_><_>

37:33

!!!

TRUST!!!

!!!

Merlin said what sounded like something made up, like he always does, but Arthur still goes in because he believes him!

(Yes yes Morgana’s influence may be there, like ‘Oh so you’re chickening out?’, but I THINK ONLY IN MERTHUR.

And I do that because it’s very scarce in this particular ep.)

<_><_><_>

38:01

I love this and all, but I can already think of a better way for Morgana to tell Arthur to stop being sexist.

Just pull out a fuckin sword.

Like… literally. Just from her dress. A knife maybe, but one that doesn’t look like it’s for a kid, a serious dagger that she could stab you with 50 times before you collapse from blood loss.

That’s a… Compliment to her swiftness, not… Not a comment on the dullness of the knife.

Morgana with a sword please!!!

<_><_><_>

43:19

Ah, the cop-out. The writers have committed a robbery.

(I do have to say that it is a masterful manipulation of our feelings. The first and then second episode was all about Merlin dealing with having magic and where to use it, trying to figure out his purpose and whatnot, and very strict repeats of “Do not let anyone else know, you will die”. There’s a reason Uther’s introduction is him killing an innocent sorcerer, and why Morgana is so angry at him about it. It’s establishing that Merlin revealing his magic to someone is a big deal, and it kind of is, so when we get cop-outs like these, we are dissatisfied, because Merlin revealing his magic is a positive thing, and we didn’t get this positive thing, so we are sad. And because this was hinted at, and we were already thinking of how it would look like, and we still do with the fics and stuff, we start to crave Merlin revealing his magic to those people that it was hinted at. To finally get that positive thing – that positive emotion.

This is probably more relevant when Lancelot comes by, since him being so casual about Merlin’s magic is yet more manipulation – it was only a possibility that Merlin revealing his magic is a positive, now it’s confirmed, and Lancelot becomes one of our favorite characters because of this positive thing attributed to him.

I can’t say it’s evil manipulation though, since first impressions do matter and every writer has this dilemma of how to introduce a character to associate some sort of emotion you want to invoke in people when they see them. Introductions are important, and we love or hate characters based on them, at least until learning more about them and then strengthening/changing our opinions of them. That’s why consistency is important, cause if it’s too far from the first impression, it feels odd and takes you out of the story and once you’re out of the story you start looking for more things to take you out and then you just start to hate that thing, and if someone has changed/strengthened their opinion because of one interaction, and then after that interaction the character doesn’t act like how that someone now perceives them, it also breaks the immersion and makes you question whether the writer knows what they’re doing.

I don’t… I don’t know why I’m writing this. I guess… writing theory? Stuff I noticed while writing/analyzing stuff so I could write better? Uh… Anyway.)

THE CHAOS OF THE TRIO OF GWEN MERLIN AND MORGANA WOULD HAVE BEEN GOLDEN. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO DESTROY CAMELOT, OR UPROOT THE MONARCHY AND ESTABLISH A DEMOCRACY!

…

It would have been FUN.

(And I’m not gonna get into how the ‘fun’ factor of a show/movie/book contributes to its re-readability and overall positive opinion more than the ‘angst’ or ‘drama’ or ‘depressive’ factors do. That’s… Meh. It’s also something I noticed while writing/analyzing stuff so I could write better. I could get into it, but I just want to finish this episode and go to sleep.)

<_><_><_>

“I hope you didn’t come to her attention.”

“Doubt it.

*Glare*

“Well no one else seems to appreciate my skills! I just want someone to see me for who I am.”

43:52

Case in point…

It really hammers home this idea in the first few episodes. And it makes it incredibly easy to understand Merlin’s motivations in the later episodes.

He just wants to be himself.

<_><_><_>

The Cutie Awards!

(First Holders of an Award Receive an Extra 2 Points Towards Their Score)

(Also everyone can have every single award at a time, it depends on what they do in the episode. At the end of a season, the one who has the most points in one award will be the winner of that award. If everyone gets to be an Adorable Cutie in one ep, it’ll even out the odds ;))

Gaius – The Snarky Cutie (3)

Guinevere – The Adorable Cutie (3)

Tom – The Adorable Cutie (3)

Arthur – The True Sibling Cutie (3)

Morgana – The Scheming Cutie (3), The True Sibling Cutie (3)

Merlin – The Selfless Cutie(3), The Adorable Cutie(3)

<_><_><_>

The episode starts with Nimueh summoning her little afanc beast in an egg with a ton of her own marks on it just so everyone knows who did it. Not very smart. It ends with Gaius reiterating the same “you’re an idiot” thing to Merlin, when the real idiot is in fact Morgana, who didn’t hear that Merlin nearly shouted a whole spell in a compact cave with echo. Camelot is the home of the once and future dumbasses.

<_><_><_>

The Magic

The Monsters

[ask-gayharrypottercharacters]

NSFW Cho x Ginny please.

“You coming to the DA gathering tonight?” Ginny asked the other girl when Luna and Ron were too busy arguing over whether ghouls were pretty creatures or not. 

“I don’t think so, no. I have to study for the divination exam.” Cho smiled gently.

“And here I thought Ravenclaws were natural at divination!” The ginger girl mocked.

“Oddly enough, I am in my own head too much to make it work, apparently.” Ginny raised her eyebrows in protest. “No, really! Trelawney’s words exactly.”

“Too much in your own head? What that’s supposed to even mean?” Ginny started laughing at the absurdity. Divination was all about what was happening in your head, wasn’t it?

Cho brought her hands to her temple, folding her eyes without blinking. “You have to stop your brain from working. Don’t resist the physicality of this world flowing through you!” Cho imitated her teacher.

Ginny burst out laughter. It was a really poor imitation. As mad as Trelawney was though, she had a point. 

“She told something similar to Hermione. In a less diplomatic way though… She made me try to teach her how to read tea leaves for weeks on end after that!”

 Cho smiled a little. “Did it work?”

Ginny shook her head in defeat. “I’m not a good teacher.”

“Or maybe she is not as good a student as we think she is.” Ginny had never heard such a soft voice. It was nice, she thought to herself.

Cho was a quiet girl. She wasn’t used to that. She was used to shouting and running and scratching. But Cho, she was gentle and calm.

“You coming?” Ron asked his sister who had been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t noticed the two Ravenclaw girls walking away.

“Cho!” Ginny shouted after them. The girl turned, slightly blushing at the attention it gave them. Ginny didn’t care. “Want me to try to teach you divination tonight?”

Cho frowned before smiling and nodding.

“Thought we had a DA meeting tonight?” Ron questioned while eating a whole chocolate frog in one go.

Ginny gave him a disgusted look before answering. “Tell Harry I’m sick and can’t come tonight!”

“You want me to lie to my best friend?” Ron struggled to get out with all that chocolate in his mouth.

“Yeah!” Ginny started running away from him. “Am your sister, surely I come first!” She waved and winked at him before she was out of reach.

“What’s with girls in this bloody school?”

“Alright, don’t tell me the question you asked but what do you see in these tarot cards?” The Magician, the Fool and the Devil were laid out on the table separating the two girls. 

Cho scratched her head, focusing on the answer she was going to give.

“Don’t think too much. Let your instinct lead you to the answer.” Ginny took Cho’s hand in hers to try distracting her.

“Well, the Fool means impulse and courage and the Magician means skillfulness.” Cho tried, hesitantly.

“Yes, yes. That’s right but I’m not interrogating you on what each card means. What is the answer? What do you see in the cards?” Ginny squeezed her hand.

Cho immediately applied the instructions and looked at the cards. “I don’t know.”

“Alright, this is not working.” Ginny stood up without ever letting the girl’s hand go.

“I’m sorry…” Cho said softly.

“It’s okay.” Ginny lifted her arm, a clue for the brunette to stand up as well. 

With her free hand, she pointed to a spot on her own collarbone, just above her bralette. “What do you see?”

“Freckles.” Ginny nodded for her to continue. “They are organised in two ovals.”

The ginger girl chuckled a bit. “Cho, close your eyes.” She did it right away. It was nice being so trusted. She took one of her fingers and brought it to the spot in question, softly tracing the ovals over and over again. “What do you feel? What do you see now?”

Cho, with her eyes still closed, smiled. She could feel her skin changing when she started getting goose bumps from her touch. 

And suddenly Cho could see the ovals differently. “I see lips. Like the traces of a lipstick mark that a girl would have left on your skin.”

When she opened her eyes, Ginny was giggling. “That’s a lot better!”

Cho side glanced the cards on the table before closing her eyes again. “I think…”

“Yes, what do you see?” Ginny encouraged her, the girl’s hand still on her skin.

“I think they tell me to stop restricting myself. They dare me to be adventurous.” She continued while setting her eyes on her fingers on the girl’s freckles.

Her voice was still incredibly soft but her tone was determined. The student had learnt the lesson.

Cho let her fingers slide down along with the bralette’s strap, until a full breast was uncovered.

She delicately kissed the freckles before brushing her lips to the girl’s hardening nipple. 

Ginny gasped when she felt Cho’s hot breath on the sensitive spot. She grabbed her dark hair and tightened her grip when the Ravenclaw girl let her tongue roam around her skin.

It soon became unbearable for Ginny, staying still when frustration built in her stomach as arousal built somewhere lower.

She carried Cho by the waist before sitting her on the table. The other girl wiped the cards off while bringing their tongues together. 

Cho’s lips were just as soft as Ginny had imagined. Just as demanding as she had dreamed.

Ginny licked the girl’s neck while she was continuing the torture on her breasts with now to firm hands.

The Gryffindor girl brought her bolder hands inside the girl’s skirt. “Are you sure?”

Cho left her breasts cold only to slide her panties down her legs herself. She bit her lips when Ginny’s eyes darkened with arousal.

Soon enough, ginger hair disappeared under the fabric of her skirt. Cho grabbed the edges of the table when the other girl’s tongue started its work.

“Merlin, Ginny!” She even said out loud when she got close to orgasm. “Please don’t stop!”

Ginny smiled against her warm flesh when Cho’s body started trembling of it own accord. Suddenly, her arms couldn’t hold her up any longer and her back hit the table. She let out a loud scream but it wasn’t from the pain of her fall. 

Ginny wiped her mouth while the other girl was catching her breath.

“What was the question you asked?” Ginny broke the comfortable silence.

Cho frowned before remembering what this had all been about. “I asked how I should tell you I liked you.” She smiled, as gently as ever, and Ginny’s heart melted.

“Well…that was one adventurous way, alright!” They both laughed.

[weasleyi-blog1]

Merlin’s beard, what is ( CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’ WEASLEY ) doing out at this hour? For a ( HALFBLOOD ) who is ( 24 ) years old, ( HE ) really ought to know better. You know, I hear that they’re aligned with ( THE ORDER ), but that could be just a rumor. I do know that ( HE ) is ( CIS MALE ) and a ( GRYFFINDOR ) alumni though. They’re very ( PERCEPTIVE ) and ( ADVENTUROUS ) but also quite ( FICKLE ) and ( PRIDEFUL ), which could be why they remind of ( A DEVILISH GRIN, RUNNING HEADFIRST INTO DANGER, BURNS THAT NEVER QUITE HEAL AND AN UNWAVERING LOVE FOR WHAT WAS MEANT TO KILL YOU. ). Some people say they’re the spitting image of ( MICHAEL B JORDAN / adopted ), but I’ve never heard of them.

BACK TO BASICS.

name: charles elliot weasley. occupation: dragonologist. nicknames: charlie.

+ practical, perceptive, adventurous, experimental. - fickle, prideful, impulsive, indecisive.

age: 24. date of birth: december 12, 1972. zodiac: Sagittarius. hometown: devon, england. current location: lives in a small apartment in london but travels to romania and sweden as well as other dragon sanctuary and bases frequently. gender: cis male. pronouns: he/him. orientation: very bisexual. spoken languages: english, romanian, bulgarian, french, german. moral alignment: neutral good. element: fire. house: gryffindor.

CHARACTER INSPO.

Hagrid ( imagine seeing a dragon and instinctively just wanting to take care of it, seeing the best in people, so warm, so soft ), Finnick Odair ( effortlessly charming, more than what meets the eye, so loyal, playing at a multitude of endgames all at once ),  Scott Lang ( cheeky jokes when you least expect them, man of honor, would definitively hack a corporation and give back to the wronged workers if the opportunity presented itself ), Steve Rogers ( strong instinct to protect, strong morals, brave, empathetic ), Newt Scamander ( never truly met a monster he couldn’t love, also he is 100% Charlie’s idol, a little bit awkward, would lay down his life to protect magical beings, can’t follow orders for shit  ).

BACKGROUND / CHILDHOOD.

Charlie was born to Olivia Selwyn ( nee Novak ) and Benjamin Selwyn on the 12th of December, 1972. Olivia was a muggle born and thus, despite his good name, Benjamin Selwyn was labelled as being sympathetic to the muggle cause. Things would only get worse, as both Benjamin and Olivia were quite vocal about their views, and their support for muggles and muggleborns alike. Benjamin was labelled a blood traitor, and cast out of the community he had grown up in. It was a common tale, at the time ---- Benjamin was certainly not alone in his fate, nor would he be the first or last to die for what he believed in.

Olivia worked as a librarian, and was a Ravenclaw down to the bone. Benjamin worked at the ministry, in the department next door to Arthur Weasley’s office. He was a Gryffindor.

So, Olivia and Benjamin had a son. He was a beautiful baby boy, angelic yet always energetic. They named him Charles, and wished for him to have courage, and be kind. For three months, they would get to cherish him, but reality would soon catch up to them. It came in the form of four death eaters, who entered the Selwyn home and murdered both Olivia and Benjamin in cold blood. The Selwyn son, however, they spared. Though halfblood, he was not yet completely ruined.

The Selwyns were close friends with the Weasleys, and upon their death, they decided to take in Charlie, and raise him as their own. Charlie was practically already part of the family - Benjamin Selwyn and Arthur Weasley had grown up together, been close friends for years. Arthur was already his godfather ---- so taking him in made sense.

So Charlie Selwyn became Charlie Weasley, and part of the family. He grew up at The Burrow, became just as much of a son as the rest of them. He wore the same knitted sweaters, smiled in family photos, followed his father to work ( with the same big, awe-struck eyes ) and played in their garden. Charlie was as much a Weasley as anyone else, and would not let anyone forget it.

He never knew his birth parents, and has no memories of them. 

The type of kid to constantly bring home animals and strays. Some were dangerous, other weren’t. Has probably taken home a fire crab on at least one occasion. His mom was probably not too happy about that one.

Loves all of his siblings !!!! So much !!!!! 

Sort of a gullible kid that never met a stranger. His mom had to keep a close eye on him because he would 10/10 wander off, always trusting that everything would be fine. Why wouldn’t it be?

Second oldest Weasley !!!!! Takes his older brother role semi-seriously. He’s the kind of brother that will 1000% take you into the Forbidden Forest if you ask and break curfew with you and sneak around with you but at the same time, always keep you safe, and set you straight if you’re being enough of a dumbass to warrant it.

HOGWARTS YEARS.

Hogwarts was generally a very good time for Charlie. He was immediately sorted into Gryffindor, which was... a relief, tbh. Bill was in Gryffindor, and the knowledge that he’d be in the same house as his brother was comforting. The Weasley boys would stick together. Through thick and thin.

As the second oldest, one might expect that Charlie felt a need to prove himself, show that he was just as good as his brother. Charlie felt little of that pressure. Instead, he was easy going and carefree, and mostly lived by the motto that what was going to happen, might as well happen. No point in worrying about it.

He was also not particularly worried about setting a good example for his brothers. Which could potentially have been disastrous, if it wasn’t for the fact that Charlie naturally gravitated towards doing good. He was an overachiever, enjoyed pleasing his mother and the teachers at the school. Charlie was the type of kid that usually did his homework on time, but even when he didn’t - he had built up enough of a trust with his professors, that they were more often than not lenient on him.

Still, Charlie shares some of that streak of mischief that some of his younger brothers have ( not naming any names here but we all know who they are .... ). He has been known to be impossible to keep away from the Forbidden Forest, in particular. Already in his first year, Charlie would sneak off, wander deep into the woods, and eventually get lost. That year, Charlie made friends with the centaurs. He also made friends ( with varying degrees of success ) with a vast abundance of magical creatures and animals in the forest, and his interest for wildlife grew.

Admittedly, he didn’t always know that it was dragons that would be his main interest. For a while, any magical creature would have done just as well, and Charlie was interested in following in Newt Scamander’s foot steps ( lbr Charlie is his biggest fan ), and do research, learn, and discover. He had always loved dragons, considered them gentle giants, but it was the rumors of the Gringotts dragon ( which he would also manage to have confirmed, eventually ) that swayed him into a path of working with only them, rather than magical beasts in general. Charlie is of the opinion that dragons should be treated humanely and with respect.

During his fifth year at the school, Charlie was made prefect, and it was a position that he excelled at, as well. He was the type of prefect to put kindness first, always spoke to the first years in a soft voice, made sure to explain everything carefully, rather than just order them around. 

By his sixth year, Charlie was made Quidditch Captain, too. 

By his seventh year, Charlie knew the Forbidden Forest like the back of his hand. He was also quite well acquainted with the Great Lake, and was in the habit of making up new spells to fix whatever problems he had at the time, however dangerous that could be.

His favorite class at the school should be easy enough to guess, and Charlie spent the most time preparing for his Care for Magical Creatures classes. During those hours, Charlie lit up, came alive.

AFTER HOGWARTS.

So Charlie graduated with top marks, and went on to study dragonology in Romania. Once the war started, he returned to England briefly, and joined the Order. Charlie has always had a strong sense of right and wrong, and was highly motivated to fight for his family. He is all too aware what danger they are in, what people think of them. Charlie would rather die than see something happen to his parents, the people who have done everything for him, taken him in. He also has very strong protective instincts of his brothers and sister. Joining the war was a no brainer, for Charlie.

But the best thing he could do for The Order, was to use his ties and connections that he had garnered during his years abroad. So he moved back and forth from England, traveled to different countries in Europe, gathered supporters of their cause, all the while also keeping a careful eye on the magical creatures population, being very aware of the kind of danger they were in, too. Charlie has come to understand that magical creatures often become casualties of the wars of wizards. He doesn’t like that, and he wants to protect them.

Charlie has an impressive amount of burn scars, which he has chosen to not have removed. Both because he genuinely thinks they look kinda cool and he’s proud of them, but also because they remind him the sort of respect he needs to have for the creatures in his care. Charlie is not an idiot ( in this instance ) and knows that a dragon would hardly hesitate to kill him on the spot, if given the right circumstances and opportunity.

Charlie currently lives in a small apartment in London, but he rarely stays there. He is always on the move ---- traveling to other countries, to wildlife reserves, to the ministry. 

He has admittedly become a little bit of a workaholic, but only because he loves his job so much? He feels the most alive when he’s out in the field, when he’s outside, when he’s surrounded by only nature and wildlife. 

PERSONALITY.

Charlie is so so warm, caring and kind. But he is also a little bit unreliable, and has been known to not always show up when he’s needed. He’s easily distracted, and if he gets drawn into work or Order business, he can disappear for weeks on end without any word from him.

Usually very optimistic and happy go lucky. Charlie was born in the middle of a war, and certainly has had his fair share of reasons to worry. Despite this, Charlie tends to take everything about as seriously as he needs to, which usually isn’t very seriously at all. Charlie has smiled death in the face enough time to not be wary of it, anymore. He is of the strong opinion that whatever is going to happen, is going to happen anyways. Him worrying will not affect the inevitable outcome.

Charlie is a little bit quiet, but not exactly shy either. He just doesn’t always find a reason to talk. Also it’s a bit of a habit. When working in the field, it’s usually too loud for them to hear each other anyways, so Charlie has just stopped trying. He also quite likes the silence, finds it comforting.

Bit of a romantic, tbh. Believes in ideals - like love at first sight, a happily ever after, soulmates. But never actually has time for love, either?

Has never met an obstacle that he didn’t want to climb and it’s a bit of a problem.... Although not particularly reckless, Charlie is known for not thinking twice about putting himself in danger.

Also probably a little bit arrogant, or to put it nicer, very confident. 

Has the sort of ‘wink at you before he disappears into the masses’ sort of aesthetic.

Very experimental too? Likes to experiment with spells and potions and experimental approaches on how to best deal with various situations that arise in his line of work. This has almost cost him both an arm and a leg at some point...

VERY proud of who he is and what he comes from. Though he shrugs off most things, he WILL throw hands at anyone who dares insult his siblings or his parents.

Has never backed down from a fight, ever !!!!! 

OTHER STUFF.

Charlie knows that he is adopted, but he rarely thinks of it, these days. It was more of an issue during his Hogwarts days, when other kids would prod and pry. Because of that, Charlie fully embraced his Weasley-ness, swore to himself that he’d be the biggest blood traitor the world had ever seen. He loves his family, what they stand for, everything that they are. Charlie is proud to wear sweaters knitted by his mother ( he still does, catch him wearing a Christmas sweater in July ) and tries to be the best son he can be. As much as he can, anyways.

Thinks that he owes a lot to Hogwarts, and has on a few occasions guest lectured there about dragons.

Shares part of his father’s fascination with muggles and muggle objects !!! Especially motorcycles and telephones are of Great Interest to Charlie. He thinks muggles to be a bit peculiar, but interesting.

Still plays Quidditch on occasion, but not with a specific team. It’s usually just a game with the lads after a long day’s work in the conservatory. 

[eirene29]

A Time For Wolves (1)

GRIMMAULD PLACE

A03 link  FFN link

"Is this going to be our new house?" the girl whispered as if afraid someone would hear.

"It's just for a little while, love."  answered the weary man with a tired smile.

The little girl looked at the strange house in front of her.

Suddenly she flinched and took a step closer to the man. A white face appeared at the window on the second floor. The scene from the first 20 minutes of a horror movie she had secretly watched before turning off the telly last night popped into her mind.

The face disappeared swiftly as a ghost and a shrill scream was heard coming from the house. That made the girl squeeze the man's hand more tightly. However, the man chuckled and looked at the front door as if expecting it to fly open at any moment.

Indeed a few seconds after the door was opened with a force that made it bang loudly on the wall. The girl shut her eyes in fear of the ghost appearing at the doorstep.

"They are here!!"

"Moony! What took you so long?"

Both the boy and the man at the door were dressed only in their underpants and their state of dishevelment made them look as if they had been rolling in the grass just a second ago.

The girl dropped the quill as she gazed unseeingly at her white face reflected on the glass. She smiled at the reflection of the little boy of her memories entering her room with a cheerful stride.

"What you doing, Rhea?"

“Just thinking”

He pulled a face at her as if she just told him something unpleasant. She had to admit she wasn’t the adventurous, impulsive type, actually she thought of herself as a boring quiet girl. Not exactly what her father expected her to be, she supposed a little sadly.

However the boy's expression shifted to his teasing smile; she knew every expression of his face so well that she could anticipate immediately what he would say next.

"For Merlin's sake, girl! Can't you live a little?!" he yelled in the mocking tone he used to imitate his father.

They looked into each other eyes for a second before erupting in a laugh.

"Oh come on, you know I hate when he says that," she said, avoiding looking in Leo's eyes.

It wasn't a lie. She loved her uncle a lot, as much as she loved her father, but sometimes he could make her feel small and inadequate. Unfortunately for her, Leo also knew her mood swings very well.

"Oh, you know Dad is just joking," he said half-heartedly, giving a weak chuckle.

They both knew that was a lie. Uncle Sirius could be especially tactless. She reckoned he still was the same teenager he was in the fabulous tales their parents frequently told them. They sat beside each other on the window bench in companionable silence, shoulders touching and small smiles on their lips.

A familiar head of sandy hair popped at the door.

“Here you are, then” he whispered, an affectionate smile spreading at the sight of the two of them.

Leo shot up from his seat beside her “Is Harry finally here?” he almost yelled. An excited puppy-like expression on his face.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’ll have to bear with us for a few more days.” Remus said ironically, hands deep in his pockets and eyes dancing merrily.

Leo didn’t bother hiding his pout while Remus watched him leaving the room, shoulders sagging a bit more than usual.

“He is going to come this time, right Dad ?” she asked her father worriedly.

Remus looked surprised for a second and sighed while taking a seat on the window bench.

“I guess you didn’t believe me at Christmas, you’re too smart for your own good sometimes.”

He said kindly caressing her fine long sandy hair, so similar to his own. Rhea took the gesture as a cue to snuggle closer to her father; Remus instinctively reacted, putting his arms around his daughter protectively. They both closed their eyes revelling in the warm hug.

“You know, you do look uncannily alike when you make that expression.” said a playful voice.

Both of them turned away from the hug to look at Sirius, leaning on the door frame, still wearing his coat.

“I trust Harry will be here soon, Padfoot?”

“Oh yes Moony, I made sure of that.”

The two exchanged a weird look, communicating through their eyes a message they only knew.

It kind of irked her, being treated like she was still a small child. Surely she was old enough to handle whatever grown-up secret Dad and Uncle Sirius shared. Especially when Harry was involved, she was pretty sure of that. She couldn’t have noticed in the first few years she had met Harry, but since they started Hogwarts, she started to realize that Harry didn’t have the most fantastic home life back on Privet Drive. Now that she was older, some of the conversations she could remember between Dad, Sirius and Harry’s relatives sounded less and less normal, and a bit more like threats to her teenage ears.

Leo was the first to notice the change in his father every time Sirius brought Harry home for summer, he could feel his father change of mood even though he wasn’t more than 6 or 7 years old. Leo was always the most perceptive, always the first to catch a change in the atmosphere; he fancied himself having a sort of sixth sense.  

This summer Rhea, Leo and Harry were definitely going to find out, they had a month to figure it out; she couldn’t wait for Harry’s arrival at Grimmauld Place, as was usual during the last month of summer vacation before school.

“I’m going to prepare Harry’s room!” Rhea announced cheerfully exiting her bedroom and grabbing extra bedding for Harry’s bedroom down the corridor.

“Let that wretched elf do the work!” called Sirius’ voice.

“I’m going to do it myself!” she yelled.

She didn’t really like calling Kreacher. She never did so herself, actually. She found the door unlocked, Leo was sitting on the edge of the opened window, black hair ruffled by the wind, seemingly scouting the street below.

“Good, since you’re here; let’s clean together!”

Leo ignored her, “Why do you think it’s so difficult to bring Harry here every summer ?”

“Wow you really are thinking about it, didn’t know you were capable of it,” she said; lightly teasing.

“Ha-ha-ha;” he laughed dully, “for real though, Harry doesn’t speak much about those relatives of his, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. So what? he said he doesn’t like them very much” she crossed her arms, nonchalantly sitting on the bed.

“But-“ he paused; furrowing his eyebrows “-what if they’re doing something bad?”

“Bad?” she raised her eyebrow high while looking at him dubiously.

“Yeah, you know like keeping him hostage, or making him do chores. ” he said, horrified at the thought.

Rhea harrumphed at his theatrics.

“I reckon that’s normal, you’re the one who’s lazy.”

“Hey, I don’t know what’s normal for Muggles;  something is going on though, my Doggy-Senses tell me so!” he shrugged, ignoring her jab.

“Your...what? Did you raid my Dad’s comics collection again?!”

“Well, Spiderman is kinda cool and you know Sirius is a dog, so Doggy-Senses makes sense.”

“Yeah sure,” she agreed sarcastically. “Now let’s clean this-“

“Kreacher!”

“DON’T!!”

A popped resonated in the room, signalling the decrepit old elf had apparated at the Black heir’s request. Rhea closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the onslaught that was coming.

And it sure did.

“Master Black-” he bowed- “you! you filthy little thing is still here, polluting the air we all breath. Little filthy half-breed-“ the elf was spitting hatefully, but Sirius interrupted him running into the room ordering and kicking the elf out.

Rhea felt her cheeks burn, rage taking the place of dread and shame.

“I-I-I didn't think, Rhea, D-dad-“

“You never think! That’s the thing!!” she felt the rage spill into her words as she yelled them.  She run away to her room almost bumping into her Dad.

“What’s going on, love- Ah,” Remus grimaced as the door closed violently in his face, making the window panes tremble.

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes.

“You better apologise later, son.” said Sirius gravely.

Leo could only stare at the wooden floor in shame and horror, face burning.

“I’ll talk to her first.” Remus exclaimed quietly after a minute of silence.

Uncle Remus should have gotten furious with Leo, but he wasn’t really the type that got angry easily; he always tried to understand the situation first and react objectively. Leo almost wished he had yelled at him and maybe punished him, he totally deserved it. He didn’t know how he could excuse his own stupidity; he would have to beg on his knees. He wasn’t going to blame Rhea if she decided to never spare him a look ever again. With these gloomy thoughts, he made his way to his own room at the end of the corridor, closing the door softly.

Sometimes, Sirius thought that the ancestral home of the Noble House of Black was cursed. Admittedly, it wasn’t the first time he thought about burning the whole place down, house-elf and all. The only thing that Sirius could do now was sigh and try to remember why he hadn’t killed that vile creature yet. He sighed again. This was going to be yet another long day at Grimmauld Place.

[inkstainedfanfics]

Years Pass, Feelings Don’t (Part 3)

No archive warnings applied.

2688 words.

Summary: Newt and you had always been friends, until Leta’s presence drove a wedge between you two. Years later, fate had set you in each other’s path again in New York, but it is still a long way to a happy ending. 

Part 1 / Part 2

NOTE: This is a submission, not written by me but by an author that wishes to remain anonymous

 ~

The way Newt remembered Leta, she had always been a star, one of the brightest ones, shining blue-white so dazzlingly one couldn’t look at her for too long.

It was always amazing when he was around her. She was smart, pretty, and always had the funniest stories to tell. She would never be anything more than his friend, this he had always known. But when she smiled at him, it was like this was all he would ever need.

Then she would go to chat with her Ravenclaw friends; or they would go to their separate tables during dinner; or he would head off to the DADA classes that she wasn’t taking. The joy and contentment Newt felt in her company so abundantly before faded immediately. It was then Newt remembered that Leta could never love him the way he loved her, and how much it actually hurt. 

This was when he would look for you, in the Hufflepuff common room, in the library, or near the Black Lake on sunnier days. Your presence had always been warm and constant. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west every day, so would he always find you in one of your usual spots. Sometimes you two would start on the work that Leta had asked Newt to ‘help with’, other times you just talked.

But never about Leta - Newt found out very early on, that you didn’t like that. You would look away, and your grip on your quill would be a little too tight; the handwriting on the parchment a little too shaky.

Merlin, how stupid he was for not realising how you felt about him then! All the signs were there, and he noticed not one of them. What an insensitive fool he was. And what a kind and patient fool you were, for sticking with him and loving him anyway, through the years in Hogwarts and after.

Newt looked at the face in the photo, now looking sideways, as though she was listening to a conversation. It was a reflexive impulse, snatching the photo away from you the way he did. He knew he had made a mistake immediately. The Leta in the face was that of an old friend that he was very fond of a long time ago. An image of a girl from years past, who would be so different now, she would be little more than a stranger with a familiar face.

‘What we see of stars right now are just what they looked like a long time ago,’ a muggle scholar once told him, as they stood on the deck of the ship that would take them to New York. It was a cloudless night, and the sky was dotted with stars like the smallest, most exquisitely cut diamonds.

Leta was a star: beautiful, but remote, and nothing but a faint memory from long ago. This was all she had been, all she could ever be. Too many years and too many mistakes later, he finally knew that.

Everything went to hell the day after he turned himself in for Leta’s mishap. You stopped talking to him, and Leta started to associate with other Slytherins, those of the purest blood that her parents would approve. Her close shave with expulsion scared her into becoming a perfect student, and she shunned him like many others.

As for himself, he withdrew from people, so that it would feel more like he was the one abandoning them rather than the other way round. Years later, he had become so used to his solitude and sadness that he begun to believe that it was normal. That the days had always been a little dark (even when they weren’t). That everyone, deep down, had always felt the way he did: a little displaced, a little sad, a little lonely.

Until you came into his life, and you brought the Sun back.

He only wished he had realised this earlier before you left, your face smeared with tears and your heart broken by him, perhaps too many times for you to ever turn back.

~~~

Your argument with Newt was fairly civil overall, but the beasts were intelligent creatures, and were all upset by it. It took Newt half an hour to sooth them, and a further ten minutes for him to think about what he could say to you to make it right again, for you to believe in him enough to give your relationship one more chance.

He quietly raised his gangly form out of the battered suitcase. The only light came from the sitting room, where Queenie were stirring something in a pot, and Tina was drying the dishes with a charmed towel. He looked at your bedroom. The door was closed.

A floorboard creaked under his feet. The Goldstein sisters turned to him. Tina looked angry, and Queenie looked sad. It was obvious that they knew what happened. Newt would have been more distraught with how his two friends were looking at him now, but there was something more important at hand. He walked to your door and knocked, his speech for you still not fully ready, but he couldn’t waste another moment. He had already wasted too many of them.

There was no answer, not even a sound.

‘Oh, Newt, she left,’ Queenie said, kindly enough but still withholding the affectionate endearment, ‘honey’,  that she used with almost everyone. Newt turned to look at her. He wondered if she was telling the truth.

‘I won’t lie. I know, despite what happened, that you love her. He loves her,’ Queenie spoke the last sentence to Tina, who had turned to her with indignant disbelief on her face.

Newt opened the door anyway. It unlocked readily, showing a clean, bare room with no sign of previous inhabitation at all, saved for the gifts that he had given you since you became a couple, which were lying forlornly on the bed. The fact that you couldn’t bear to keep even these small reminders of him made it hurt even more.

‘Do you know where she has gone?’ He turned to Tina and Queenie, who had taken to arguing in heated whispers between themselves, no doubt about him. Tina crossed her arms and Queenie looked hesitant.

‘I love her, truly, and I would give everything I had to undo what I had done. Except I can’t, and all I could do is to see her again and explain everything, and to tell her that I love her…’ he trailed off awkwardly. Nothing he could say felt adequate enough to convince them that he deserved another chance.

‘She left because she didn’t want to see you again. Why, then, would I push you towards her, if this is obviously the opposite of what she wants?’ Tina asked directly, not bothering to tiptoe around the issue.

‘She is my friend, and I have to protect her. When she wondered if she should talk to you again, I encouraged her. I wish I hadn’t,’ Tina turned and left abruptly, kissing Queenie on the cheek before mumbling some excuse about retiring for bed.

Newt turned to Queenie, his only hope of finding out your whereabouts. Her expression was softer, but she wasn’t forthcoming either.

‘I know how you feel about her, and how much you want to make it right, but seeing you would be too much for her right now,’ Queenie said gently. ‘It was so easy to read her. She was hurting so, it was impossible to shut her mind out,’ she smiled, the smile of a weary legilimens for whom the world was always just a little too loud.

~~~

Out of every way Newt had imagined meeting you again after what happened, seeing you standing in the shed, inspecting the little glass bottles scattered all over the desks as he was writing in his notebook wasn’t one of them. It was as though that incident with Leta’s photo never happened, and you were still together, drunk on happiness the way every new couple was.

But you still looked sad, and the easiness that you two shared before had evaporated.

Newt stood up quickly, his wooden chair clattering to the floor. Ignoring it, he walked two long strides to the kettle, words shooting out quickly and without pause, as though if he kept on talking, he would be able to keep you here for just a bit longer.

‘Would you like tea? I’ve got earl grey and English breakfast, though I may have accidentally put some powdered tree bark in one of them but… Please sit. The stairs, or anywhere you fancy. The floor should be clean enough to sit, too, though of course, how silly I was. You can just sit in my chair,’ he picked up the fallen chair and gestured to it awkwardly like an inexperienced host.

‘I don’t need tea, and I don’t need to sit, thank you,’ your tone was courteous, and Newt would have preferred if you had yelled at him with the volume of a howler. ‘I won’t stay. I am just here to say goodbye.’

Newt shook his head and cut you off. ‘No, please. Before you say anything else, listen to me. I love you, and Leta is nothing but an old friend that I have since grown apart from. I am sorry for the way I reacted that day,’ he paused, ‘sometimes, I think I had carried Leta in my heart for so long that I have forgotten how to let her go, but I did, because of you. Look at me,’ he took your wrists and you looked into his eyes, grey-green and sincere, ‘and know that I mean it when I say I love you, and that I will never hurt you again.’

You were quiet, then…

‘I believe you,’ you said at last and watched as Newt’s lips dissolved into a wide genuine smile that lit up his eyes and made them crinkle in that wonderful way that you loved. Momentarily distracted, a small object dislodged from your palm and fell onto the floor. Newt picked it up for you.

‘A key,’ he looked puzzlingly at the object, too antique-looking to be from anywhere in the cosmopolitan New York.

‘A portkey,’ you corrected him. ‘This is actually what I am here to tell you about,’ you extended your hand, and Newt wordlessly return the portkey to you, too surprised to do anything else. ‘I am going to Texas in fifteen minutes.’

‘You are leaving New York?’ You nodded.

‘Two months ago, my manager offered me a chance to join a year-long expedition to the America wilderness to catalogue the magical flora found in various states. We were still… together then, and I didn’t want to leave New York, so I turned it down.

‘Then just yesterday, I got an urgent letter from my company. One of the wizards who were supposed to go dropped out suddenly, and I was their best choice to replace him. They asked me again if I would do it,’ you smiled wanly at Newt, ‘this time I said yes.’

Newt stammered a bit and rubbed his neck, looking around his cluttered shed. ‘Well, I wasn’t planning to visit Texas any time soon, but really I have always wanted to go on a trip to see the rest of America, and I suppose I can work on my manuscript anywhere. Fifteen minutes is quite a short time to pack, but…’

‘Newt,’ you cut off his rambling. ‘I am going alone. I… I don’t want you to come,’ Newt stilled.

‘Oh, I see. I am sorry to assume. I just thought…’ You couldn’t help but feel sorry for him as he leaned against his desk, looking downcast.

‘I still love you Newt. I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to. God knows I have tried,’ you said as you absent-mindedly watered his potted plants. Newt always forgot to take care of them, and it was because of you that they survived at all. They would be in such a state with you gone, you thought sadly.

‘When I saw that old photograph of Leta Lestrange, it was like I was in Hogwarts again, standing in the middle of the corridor as I watched you and Leta running off to god knows where, leaving me all alone, going too fast for me to catch up,’ you said.

‘I have grown up, got a job that I am proud of, and the person I love tells me every day in words and deeds that he reciprocates my feelings. And yet, the moment I see Leta’s face, it was like none of that happened and I turned back into that insecure girl, worrying over how long I would have you here before someone took you away again.

I keep losing myself when I am with you. Do you know how scary it is? This is why I cannot stay. And you cannot come,’ you finished, your voice soft but resolute.

‘I am sorry,’ Newt said quietly, and you shook your head.

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ and it really wasn’t. Not Newt’s, nor Leta’s.

There were five minutes left.

You began to walk up the staircase, recalling memories, both good and bad that were made in Newt’s magical suitcase. It made you sad that you would never see it again.

‘Will you ever come back?’ Newt asked from behind, looking up at you.

Your first instinct was ‘no’, but your heart, still too much in love, stopped you from saying a word this permanent.

‘I don’t know,’ an unhelpful answer, but it was all you could give. ‘Please don’t say that you will wait for me. I am not worth it, Newt.’

‘This is not for you to decide, neither is what I will do with my time.’

You sighed, ‘it may take forever.’

‘Then on forever and one day, you can be sure of a very warm welcome when you come to New York again,’ it was a cliché line, but it was awfully sweet, and it made you want to cry again.

Having crawled out of the case, you looked back at Newt once more. He waved, his eyes were teary, but he was smiling. You shut the case, not daring to wave back, in case it gave him false hope.

~~~

After that, you didn’t see Newt for two years, your trip extended for multiple times, always finding more specimens to investigate and various obstacles that impeded said investigation. He never contacted you either, knowing that space was what you needed, for which you were very grateful.

Healing took a long time. Some days, you thought that you would never be able to let go of your sadness and your insecurities, your mind swimming alternatively in painful memories and ruminations about the future. You knew that Newt meant it when he said he loved you and would never let you go, but you still wondered about what-ifs incessantly.

But time crawled past, slow but unstoppable. And when the expedition was finally over and a worker from the MACUSA travelling department asked you for your destination, you knew just where you wanted your portkey to take you.

Two years and one day later, you stood in front of the Goldstein flat, a suitcase in your right hand and a coat on your left, just like how it was when you arrived for the first time.

You smelled something baking, and heard faint chatter, which ceased like a suddenly paused record when you knocked. Someone walked to the door, the floorboards creaked under the familiar footsteps.

The door opened, and standing with his back to the warm golden light from the flat, was Newt. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and when he saw you, he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the corners, just the way you liked, and your heart skipped a beat.

‘Hi,’ you said, smiling also. And with the way Newt looked at you, you knew that your eyes crinkled, too.

~the end~

A/N: Firstly, I would like to apologise for the long wait. I had finished my first draft for the whole story before I published my first chapter on here, but editing chapter three proved to be very difficult, so did rewriting it completely, which was what I ended up doing in the end. I knew how Newt reacted and what on earth he was actually thinking and how the story would end (very happily), but the challenge was putting all that into words, with a flow that makes sense. This, I hope I achieved.

Secondly, YPFD is the second longest fic I ever wrote, and the first that I published in multiple-chapter format. It is not easy finishing a MC fic, and I don’t think I would have, if it weren’t for the kind comments that I receive on here, from M, and the readers, anon or not. I am also grateful for all the likes and reblogs, and even people who just read my story. Why write if there is no audience?

Thank you again, and I hope you guys like the ending. Again, feedback would be great, and who knows? Maybe I will see you all again soon. :) 

Vi

asdjha;kfg I adore this!! The Reader's maturity in regards to the break-up and Newt's heartbroken acceptance of her needs really got me. He's so sweet and understanding. And I love how articulate the Reader was about her feelings and needs. That's really refreshing to read. Also, I was super excited about how awesome Tina was tbh. When she was telling Newt off for breaking Reader's heart, I was kind of sort of cheering her on in my head lol.  AND THE ENDING. GAH. My heart. I literally had to stop and take a breath. It's the perfect end imo. Just at the shared smile and the familiarity with the crinkled eyes??? I'm a goner. This was such a good story and I hope I get to read more of your writing, Vi! You're a really strong storyteller. Thank you so much for sending this in!!

- M

[illuminating-dragons]

Open Wound (6/?): The Great Wolfstar Breakup of 1974

Summary:  Set immediately after the last chapter. Harry gets the details of Sirius' and Remus' brief romance.

Read it on AO3

Professor Lupin blinked a couple of times at Sirius. “Have you actually gone mad?”

            “You don’t have to tell the story, Professor,” Harry said quickly.

            “He’s right, Moony. But I think this is a good one for him to hear.”

            Professor Lupin sighed. “Very well.” He looked at Harry. First off, if you’re going to hear this story, you can call me Remus. You’ve more than earned the right.”  

            “Alright, er, Remus.” Harry fidgeted. “I’m not sure I understood. You two dated?”

            “We did. For about four months.” Remus looked at Sirius. “Do you want to start? Seems like it was your idea.”

            “It was your idea back then,” Sirius answered with a smile.

            “Bloody hell. All right.” Remus cleared his throat. “So it was October of our third year. James was off at Quidditch Practice, and Peter was studying in the library…”

            “I’m telling you, if we could get into the Restricted Section, this would be so much easier!”

            Remus glared at Sirius over his book. “Sirius, I’m trying to read.”

            “I know, that’s why I’m distracting you. That book’s rubbish. I didn’t think you liked that sort of magic anyways.”

            Remus didn’t like Arithmancy textbooks, as a rule. He’d dropped the class after the first session, when the teacher insisted that ‘anyone who hadn’t learnt maths was going to fail’. But he had to grab something, and James’ textbook was the closest one.

            He needed something between him and Sirius, otherwise he would talk too much, and talking too much wasn’t a good idea right now.

            He couldn’t tell Sirius. He just couldn’t.

            “I thought I might try it again next year,” Remus muttered. “And we can’t go to the Restricted Section, Sirius, there’s too much risk there. If you get caught—”

            “We’ll get detention,” Sirius interrupted. “What else is new? It’s worth it if we can find a lead. None of us had any luck about Animagi in our home libraries, and ordering from Flourish and Blots is just going to get us caught.”

            “Maybe,” Remus allowed. “You know you don’t have to do this.”

            “We want to, mate. Don’t be stupid.” Sirius pushed his ever-lengthening hair out of his eyes. “Actually, Rem, I need to talk to you about something.”

            “What?” Remus asked, staring at the numbers, hoping they would give him some insight.

            “You’ve been avoiding me lately.”

            That made Remus look up.

            Sirius usually lounged on his bed like a Roman emperor (he always threw a pillow at Remus when he pointed that out). But since the last time Remus looked up, he’d sat up, hands in his lap, looking very worried.

            “You’re always reading when we talk now,” Sirius said. “And you’re not in detention with me ever now, just with James. And you’re not laughing at any of my jokes. Did I do something to make you cross? Whatever it was, I’m sorry, Rem. But I can’t make it better if I don’t know what it is. I want to make it better.”

            Remus could have lied. He could have made anything up, but it was too late. He was already talking.

            “You didn’t make me mad, I promise. I’m just…I don’t know what to say to you right now.”

            “Well that’s comforting.”

            Remus took a deep breath. “Sirius, I…I think I have a crush on you.”

            “You do?”

            “I know it’s not really normal to have crushes on boys,” Remus said. “But I really think you’re brilliant, and you have nice eyes.”

            Sirius considered him, those lovely eyes narrowed in thought. “Isn’t it normal to have crushes on boys? I have crushes on both.”

            “I don’t…I don’t think so?” Remus offered. His heart was starting to pound. Sirius wasn’t really addressing what he’d said. Was that his way of letting him down gently? “I’ve never heard the other boys talk about boys, only girls.”

            “Oh. Interesting.”

            “So…Sirius…”

            “Right! The first part.” Sirius bounded up. “I think I have a crush on you too, Remus.”

            “Really?” Remus felt his heart leap, and for once it wasn’t in fear. “Are you sure?”

            “Yeah. You’re nice looking, and I think it would be nice to kiss you. I don’t feel like that about Peter or James.”

            “Okay.” Remus’ mind went blank. He honestly hadn’t thought he would get this far. “Well, what do—what do we do now?”

            “Let’s go on a date!” Sirius rummaged around his bedclothes. “Hogsmeade is this weekend, remember?”

            And it wasn’t full moon. Remus swallowed though, because he saw a problem. “But we promised James and Peter we’d go all together, since it’s our first one.”

            “Well, we can start the day out with them, and then go off on our own. What do you think?”

            “I think that sounds really nice,” Remus replied. “I—I’d love to go on a date with you, Sirius.”

            Sirius stopped rummaging with a cry of triumph. “Found it!” He held out a watch Remus had seen him wear before. It was a Muggle one, with an obnoxiously pink band.

            “You can wear this, if you want.” Sirius suddenly looked shy. “Since we’re going together. I think this will be fun.”

            Remus held out his wrist, and Sirius strapped the watch on. The two of them sat together for a moment, then suddenly, impulsively, Remus kissed Sirius. “I think so too.”

             “Did you have a good time?” Harry asked. It was hard to imagine the men in front of him as young boys in love, especially Remus wearing a pink watch.

            “We had a splendid time,” Remus answered, smiling fondly at Sirius. “We spent the morning as the four of us, bought up half of Zonko’s and had lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Then Sirius and I went for a walk together.”

            “We held hands and bought candy together from Honeydukes,” Sirius added. “It was very much a thirteen year old’s date. I didn’t really know what else to do.”

            “That sounds like it would be fun.” Harry wondered if he would ever take a girl, or anyone, to Hogsmeade like that.

            “It was,” Sirius said with a grin. “At least until James started being a prat.”

            “To be fair I actually think Lily encouraged him,” Remus added. “One of the few times they worked together then.”

            “Did they not get along?” Harry asked, startled. From everything he’d heard about his parents, it sounded like love at first sight.

            “Not really when they were younger.” Sirius leaned closer. “Between you, me, and Moony, they were often a lot like Hermione and Ron. But this time, Lily and James started following us and singing stupid love songs.”

            “What did you do?” Harry asked, seeing a mischievous light in Sirius’ eyes.

            “Ran like mad then,” Remus answered. “But on their first date?”

            “Did you hold an entire parade?” Harry asked. He was being sarcastic, but Sirius threw his head back and laughed.

            “See, there’s that Marauder gene. That’s exactly what we did.”

            “Lily cursed us out for a solid twenty minutes,” Remus smiled. “James knew he deserved it though.”

            “So what happened next?” Harry asked eagerly.

            “Well, we were boyfriends until it was time for the Christmas holidays.” Sirius’ smile wavered. “I had to spend it with my dear cousins, and Remus went home, but we wrote letters.”

            “And then we came back,” Remus said, “and things were different.”

            “Different how?”

            “Well…”

             Remus’ heart wouldn’t stop pounding as he raced to the Hospital Wing. James was hot on his heels, and Peter brought up the rear.

            They burst in together, and Remus cried out. Sirius was covered with large, angry sores, and his eyes were closed. Master Henly stood over the bed, with the newly Madam Pomfrey at his side.

            “What’s happened to Sirius?” Remus asked. He hated how shaky his voice sounded. All the Prefect had said was that he was in the Hospital Wing.

            “He was serving detention with me,” Professor Sprout said miserably. She was younger than Madam Pomfrey, brand new at her job. “Everything was fine, and then—I told him to move something but he tripped and before I could stop it the Poison Nettles fell on him.”

            “He’ll be alright, Pomona,” Madam Pomfrey soothed her.

            “The damage is superficial,” Master Henly added. “Mr. Black is already responding to treatment. He should be fine by tomorrow.” He looked at the three of them. “There’s no need to stay, boys. He’s sound asleep, and will be until the morning.”

            “We want to stay with him anyways,” James said stubbornly. “He’s our friend.”

            Remus nodded in agreement. Sirius was his best friend, and—

            Wait. What?

            He barely heard the Healer give in, was numb as James Transfigured the bed next to Sirius’ larger. He didn’t speak when Peter prodded him into position, close enough to Sirius to take his undamaged hand.

            Sirius wasn’t his friend, for fuck’s sake. They were boyfriends, and maybe in love, and they were dating and why the hell had he thought friend?

            You could, of course, call the person you were dating your best friend, Remus told himself. Mum called Dad her best friend (though of course Mum and Dad had no friends—they’d made that choice long ago, to make it easier to hide Remus’ condition). And Sirius and he had been mates for so long, that was all.

            Or maybe…maybe the wolf had taken away his ability to love? Maybe all he could ever have was friends? Not that it would be a hardship, but what if he’d been lying to Sirius this whole time? Or worse, what if he just gave up on a future? That would break Sirius’ heart.

            And Remus would lose him.

            He clutched Sirius’ hand. He could pretend, maybe? He cared for Sirius, and kissing was all well and good, but was that fair? Sirius deserved someone who could love him properly. Best for him to move on faster, and leave Remus behind where he belonged, with a false heart.

            “Merlin, Remus, tell me you don’t still think like that.” Sirius shook his head. “I convinced you the next day, didn’t I?”

            Remus smiled, and it was a real smile, a break from the melancholy look he’d had since they sat down. “Of course I do, Sirius. I understand.”

            Harry was silent, fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt.

            “Harry?”

            Harry swallowed hard. “I’m sorry you felt like that. It sounds terrible.”          

            Remus reached across the table before Sirius could, and gripped Harry’s arm. “Tell us what’s wrong.”

            “I don’t—I don’t ever want to make someone feel that way,” Harry got out. “And I don’t want to feel that way. How—do you know how to avoid it?”

            “Oh lad, it doesn’t work that way.” Remus sighed. “I know you’ve gone through more pain than you should have had to bear. I know you don’t want more. But it is impossible to avoid that kind of hurt. People change, times change. If I can give you any advice at all, it’s to try and avoid blaming anyone. Sometimes feelings just don’t stay the same, and there will always be hurt when that happens. It’s not your fault if it happens to you, and it’s not the other person’s fault if it happens to them. All you can do is respect the bonds you have, and treat each other with kindness.”

            “And that’s the worst case scenario,” Sirius added. “With Remus and I—well, it was mutual, in the end. I didn’t get the existential crisis, though.” He bumped Remus’ arm. “I’m so sorry you did, Moony.”

            “So what did happen?” Harry asked.

             Sirius stirred, confused by his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was the greenhouse and Professor Sprout’s cry of terror. Now he was in the…ah, the Hospital Wing.

            Remus was lying in the next bed, holding his hand. He didn’t look injured, and Sirius grinned as he saw James and Peter lying behind him. The Marauders in sickness and in health.

            As nice as it was to be holding Remus’ hand, Sirius had to talk to him. He’d realized during his detention that maybe they were better as friends—sometimes the romance felt forced. As a matter of fact, this was how he’d felt all along, but it was fun to date and it was worth a shot. It was fun.

            Remus jerked awake, and Sirius winced as the grip on his hand tightened.

            “Sirius?” Remus asked in a hushed voice. “Are you okay?”

            “Yeah. What happened?”

            “You got Poison Nettles on you. But you’re going to be fine. Are you sore at all?”

            Sirius tested his free hand and wiggled his feet. “Not at all, actually. Suppose I can get up—”

            “Wait.” Remus was biting his lip, and Sirius could see how frightened he was.

            “Come here, Rem.”

            But instead of hugging him Remus shook his head. “I can’t.”

            “Why not?”

            “Sirius, I don’t—I don’t know what—” Remus stopped.

            “Come here,” Sirius repeated. “I’ve got something to tell you as well.”

            Remus laid down beside him at last, shaking like mad. Sirius hated to tell him when he felt like this, but it really was for the best. Everything would be fine.       

            “Remus—”

            “I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore!” Remus blurted out. He looked horrified, but the words kept coming. “You’re my friend, Sirius, but I can’t—you deserve so much better—”

            Sirius was partly relieved and partly horrified. “You’re wonderful, Remus. Don’t be stupid.”

            “But I don’t have a crush on you anymore!” Remus gasped.

            “Neither do I,” Sirius said honestly.

            Remus went still. “You don’t?”

            “No. I’m not sure when things changed, but things were different over Christmas. I wanted to wait and see you again, make sure I was right, but…yeah. I don’t feel the same ‘crush’ bit.” Remus was still quiet, and Sirius hurried on. “You’re still my mate, and I hope it doesn’t feel awkward, but—”

            “I thought you would hate me,” Remus whispered.

            “I could never hate you!” Sirius rolled his eyes. “You’re my best mate, Remus.”

            “No, James is.”

            That made Sirius flinch. “What do you mean?”

            “You’re my best friend, Sirius,” Remus said earnestly. “I love James and Peter, but you’re…special. And I reckon I got confused because—because it feels different with you. And I do like kissing you, but that’s not what’s important to me about you. It never has been.”

            Sirius was thirteen, and he didn’t understand much about how love worked, but he knew that Remus was wrong.

            “James is really important to me,” he answered. “But he’s—he’s like my brother. So is Peter; it just feel different. You’re my best friend, Remus. And you’ll always be that.”

            Remus stared at him. “Really?”

            “Of course! I think that’s why I wanted to kiss you, because kissing James or Pete would be like incest.”

            That made Remus laugh. “So we’re not boyfriends anymore?”

            “Nah, I think this is better. Don’t you?”

            “Yeah. It was really fun!”

            “We’ve got to remember to get James and Lily back when they get together,” Sirius said thoughtfully.

            “Do you really think they will?”

            “Oh yes. James has got to stop being a prat first, though.”    

             “And that’s really where it ended,” Sirius finished.

            Harry looked between them. “So Remus, are you bisexual?”

            Remus shrugged. “I’m not sure, honestly. I haven’t had a lot of romantic encounters, but some have been with men. So I suppose I am.”

            “The point of telling you that story, Harry, is to let you know that things change in your life, and it’s not a bad thing.” Sirius grinned at Remus. “Moony and I would have driven each other mad as a couple eventually; we’re better as mates. Some things don’t have to be a mess of heartache; they can be some confusion and then acceptance. And being best friends forever, no matter what.”

            Harry grinned. “So I suppose it was just puppy love?”

            Sirius sighed, and Remus laughed until he cried.  

             Now this is the part where an omniscient (well, trying to be omniscient) author needs to put her oar in, because that wasn’t the full story. Remus and Sirius only told Harry about the parts they knew. They didn’t know, for instance, that James and Peter overheard that entire conversation, pretending to be asleep to let them talk. James made sure no one at the school ever said a damn thing about Remus and Sirius breaking up, but Severus Snape would use it later when Sirius broke out to taunt Remus about his ‘severe lack of judgement’. Peter didn’t say anything, but preyed on that history when he turned on them, because he told Remus that Sirius trusted him and never told him about the switch, while he fed Sirius lies about how maybe Remus would turn because Sirius ‘rejected’ him, and after all they’d gotten their relationship wrong once before...

            And only Remus knew that in his R.J. Lupin case, there was a small box with a pink watch. It didn’t work anymore, and he’d thought about breaking it more than once, but it was still there.

            When Sirius died, Remus buried it beside the Shrieking Shack.