#jily flash fic

[florenceafternoon]

━。゜✿ jily fic recommendations ✿ ゜。━

These fics are set in the wizarding world but aren’t necessarily canon complaints.

A while ago I posted about how one of my favourite part of reading canon jily is when they're a bit older and Lily is looking back in retrospect. The part where James shows her how he gets that this war that's looming over them, it's bigger, older, than they are and even though the world feels like it's ending his top priority is that they remember to enjoy the happy moments. To live in those moments.

Jily has always been a hot cup of tea on a cold and rainy day for me. I hope these fics give you a short break from life, even if it's just for a moment.

For reference, anything in italics is taken from the summaries.

These first few fics are all by @gigglesandfreckles-hp. Abi's characterisation of Lily and James as individuals are so special to me. How she writes jily is perfect - I mean the banter, the tension, the overall dynamic between them is just on point!

basic maths

Euphemia cuts Sirius off sharply. “I was simply verifying whether this is indeed the same Lily Evans whose name is written under my dining room table with a heart around it.”

or: Lily meets the parents and James tries not to hyperventilate. over and over and over again.

we suffer in silence

"It's fine, Evans," James interrupts, waving off her apology and offering a reassuring smile. "You've always been an exception to the rule." A hint of warmth spreads through Lily at his words. "You've never liked rules." He chuckles softly, his lips quirking up in a lopsided grin. "Which is why I never had a difficult time liking you."

or: James has had a bad day and Lily gives her best go at cheering him up

I've already made a whole post about how much I love this fic with my favourite quotes and everything, but god please if you read anything today let it be Abi's jily fics because they are legendary.

star light, star bright

It's seventh year, somehow, that clinches the case, claiming the grand prize in the annals of Lily Evans's misfortunes. Because, as it turns out, harbouring feelings for James Potter while also navigating the precarious terrain of friendship with him is a fate crueller than death.

or: James keeps accidentally touching Lily and she's about to lose her mind

amenable parameters

“Truth or dare, Lil?” “Dare,” she replies without hesitation, leaning back into the worn leather booth. “Obviously.” Hestia’s eyes gleam. “Go snog Potter.”

or: lily gets brave and james's patience is rewarded

here lies

James can't hold his drink, or his affections

the start of (something) new

“Oh, really?” Petunia crosses her arms. “What’s his name then?”

Lily pauses here, but only for a moment as her mind flashes back to the field at Jubilee Gardens. “James,” she says confidently. “James Potter.”

TW: this fic does depict a slightly descriptive panic attack.

Lily you are so valid for looking. For those of you who've seen the AU rec list I just posted, please know that this fic is the reason why I added all those footballer!james fics (well this fic and the euros).

common ground

Lily pauses, suddenly aware of James’s intense gaze. “What? Why are you…” Heat rushes to her cheeks, and she hates it. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Nothing,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s just…it’s a good look on you, Evans.” “What is?” she asks, self-consciously. His grin widens. “Mischief.”

sidewalk chalk, covered in snow

She didn’t mean to get used to any of them.

or: Lily Evans is strictly anti-Marauders…until she isn't. one by one.

waiting for the light to take us in

James removes his glasses again. “Evans…” He searches for something to say and settles on, “You don’t even like flying.”

“I could like flying,” Lily says, shrugging. “I like you.”

He doesn’t take that bait in the way she wants, and her heart sinks just a bit more. Instead, he chews at his lip, considering and considering and considering some more. Lily wants to scream.

A reminder that even though it seems like others may have it harder, you deserve a break too.

Questions and Answers by lizardcookie (on ao3)

The simple question of whether or not they're dating doesn't exactly have a simple answer. Seventh Year Jily.

A Very Sick Dear by Nostalgicdragonfly (on ao3)

It's a very rare disease, but James gets it anyway and he has to endure the pain of having the favorite flower of the person he loves growing in his chest. He's been hiding his struggles. Lily loves roses yet James is the one getting cut by their thorns. But when a new healer arrives and things get out of hand, a lot would depend on whether or not James accepts his only treatment.

or James has hanahaki disease

Thank You For The Music by @thelighthousestale

Lily Evans is homesick during her first year of Hogwarts. Then she hears a familiar tune.

Erasmus Lovegoods’s Guide to Brewing Love Potions also by @ /thelighthousetale

At the start of every school year, the Ministry of Magic distributed leaflets to all students taking potions classes regarding the regulations and legality of highly controlled potions.

Lily Evans thought the Ministry would probably have more success in decreasing illegal potions brewing on the castle grounds if they didn’t give such detailed instructions about the potions in its published propaganda literature.

Of course, every year's most popular leaflet was the one warning about the dangers of brewing love potions.

Or how an accidental explosion in NEWT-level potions finally forced Lily and James to confront their feelings.

falling into place by @charmingwillow

Lily overhears something that maybe she shouldn't have.. things sort of happen from there.

Limbo by Random-Musings (on ff.net)

Lily's sour Hogsmeade weekend takes an unexpected turn.

The next few fics are all from it's about the Gazing collection by @firefeufuego. I recommend this collection to my friend who doesn’t read jily and the first fic alone had her texting me "I get why you love them so much and I also get why you want James Potter"

(get on out of your seat) all eyes on me

As James stops to catch his breath, he also catches Lily’s eye, already fixed on him in the blatant, unblinking way he hasn’t seen since she used to verbally eviscerate him for minutes on end. It hits with the same mortifying heat as it always did then, when he used to stand there watching her yell at him and imagine her mouth doing everything else. He’s ridiculously grateful for whoever throws the ball straight towards his face for saving him from the fate of just standing there, watching her watch him with his dry mouth open for the rest of eternity.

In a movement of pure reflex, he grabs the ball out of the air and starts back towards the end of the pitch before Orie comes out of nowhere and takes his legs out from under him. Winded and disoriented, James sighs at the universe’s rather unsubtle visual metaphor. Is it even worth getting up again when he just keeps falling and falling and falling for her?

(soft spoken in the dead of night) all eyes on you

Lily has watched him do this multiple times before and it’s just tea and it’s just James and there should be nothing special about this particular moment, except that the sight of him, the fact of him, is suddenly earth-shattering.

Something like nostalgia fills her in a flood, only it’s the future she’s longing for, a future she can see with absolute clarity. The features James inherited from his parents are so faithfully recreated on him that it’s easy to imagine him at their age, with a shock of white, still unfairly thick hair framing a face lined by a lifetime of laughter, making her a cup of tea exactly the way she likes it and smiling as she teases him.

Don't be fooled by the summery, this is pure self indulgent smut. I complain a lot about pretentious people but the Austen and Keats reference had me swooning. The myth of Eros and Psyche is probably one of my favorites so…

in the morning when i wake or the morning after

With trembling hands, James brings the smaller piece of parchment closer to his face and starts to read.

To the love of my life,

You idiot. Get back here.I’ll be in your room.

Lily.

Surface Pressure by @eastwindmlk

Lily dealing with the weight of her own expectations in 7th year

no, i could never give you peace by @kay-elle-cee

James blinks. “Are you breaking up with me, Evans?” he jokes softly, resting his hand on hers. It’s a joke, but her body tenses and it immediately puts him on edge. The silence that follows is excruciating.

“I’m not doing anything.” Her nails begin to tap on the mug again—a nervous habit that James spots immediately. “I just think we should have a conversation.”

Trust Kels to serve Order!jily angst and pair it with one of my favourite songs of all time

bury it and rise above by @startanewdream

"James? Do you believe in magic?"

Or Lily is a Witch. James is a Muggle. It's not easier.

When It's You by idreamofjily (on ao3)

James is naturally affectionate and Lily really isn't. But maybe she can make an exception, if the way her stomach drops every time James touches her is any indication.

desiderium by @missgryffin

Sometimes all it takes is champagne and a slow dance, and then there's no going back.

The Vow also by @ /missgryffin

When he was thirteen-going-on-fourteen, James Potter did something truly, unbelievably stupid. Now that he’s seventeen-going-on-eighteen, he has to deal with the consequences.

Accidental Magic also by @ /missgryffin

What else is there to do after confessing feelings in the middle of the night than spend a lazy Saturday in bed?

Are You Experienced? by @annabtg

James Potter decides to ask Lily Evans to a Muggle live music show. This noble mission, however, requires a series of steps he is entirely clueless about: from procuring the tickets to finding the correct outfit, and most importantly, to spending an evening with Lily Evans without making an absolute fool of himself.

Also including the gorgeous cover art by @constancezin

by the lake by @possessingtheproperspirit

james finds lily by the lake.

not in need of a knight by @thejilyship

“If they start something, I’m going to finish it.” James said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And if it ends with you in the hospital wing?” “What do you care?” “Do you really think I’d bother to argue with you so much if I didn’t care?” Lily said, breathing sharply through her teeth.

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

firstly I LOVE your writing so so so much!!! so many of my fav jily fics are yours <3

#34 from the prompt list (“sorry, bad habit”) but it’s james fidgeting (messing with his hair clicking a pen idk idc u do u) and lily is annoyed with him with herself for finding it endearing & finally does something about it

from these prompts

It’s not that she never noticed it before.

Context, however, is everything and there is just simply a stark contrast between noticing it because McGonagall consistently points it out with a heavy sigh and a ‘for the last time, Mr. Potter, please wear your uniform with a sense of propriety’ and noticing it because Lily can’t physically make herself look away.

She’s not quite sure when her mind takes that sharp detour, though.

“Merlin, I’m knackered.”

Lily looks up from her book as he falls into the seat across from her. “You’re late.”

James grimaces apologetically. “Flitwick had me helping the firsties with—never mind. Sorry. Let’s get started, yeah?”

He wasn’t her first choice for essay partner, or her second or third for that matter, but he’s competent, which Lily supposes she should be grateful for. Honestly, she’s still trying to wrap her head around the fact that school has been back in session for an entire month and they haven’t gotten in a row even once.

James pulls his bag up onto the small table and begins haphazardly fishing through it for his own textbook and some parchment, then reaches up and gives a sharp tug on the knot of his tie, pulling it away from his neck. Lily’s gaze catches on the motion she must have seen him do a dozen times, but she’s never been close enough to notice the sliver of skin it reveals before and she’s certainly never found herself appreciating it.

She quickly files that away as information to never ever process and shakes her head.

“Yeah, let’s get…” She clears her throat and looks back toward her book. “Started.”

But once she starts noticing it—well. It becomes a bit of a problem.

The moment he walks into the common room, his hand moves to loosen his tie. As soon as he collapses onto the couch of their shared Heads’ Office. While he walks alongside her to Arithmancy. Every single day. Constantly.

“Blimey, the weather’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”

Lily purses her lips to keep from smiling at the childish way James throws his hands up toward the sky the minute they step into the sunshine. It’s been a gruelling day of revising for both of them and she found herself not even able to muster a half-hearted excuse for why they shouldn’t take a break to go for a walk on the grounds.

“There’s just something about October,” he continues, sighing happily.

Lily opens her mouth to agree, but then she catches the flash of his hand—they’re not even fifteen steps away from the castle, but there he goes, the scarlet-and-gold-striped fabric slipping through his fingers as he makes quick work of the knot of his tie.

“Why do you always do that?” she finds herself blurting out.

He glances quickly over at her, his fingers freezing their motion. “Sorry,” he says, wincing, “bad habit.”

Lily just nods in response, not trusting herself to say something normal, and tries not to watch as he tugs the tie completely off and shoves it deep into the front pocket of his trousers.

October passes and Lily feels herself relax, because the Scottish autumn is on her side on this (and only on this, really). Hogwarts students spend the month of November adding more layers to their wardrobe, not removing them.

Lily has never in her life been so passionate about scarves.

“Most prestigious school in the wizarding world and they can’t bloody insulate the halls,” James whinges, blowing hot air into his cupped hands and rubbing them together.

Lily looks sharply away from that and ignores the little flop her stomach does. “That would compromise the ambience, Potter.”

“Of course. How can Hogwarts expect to maintain its honour if at least one student doesn’t die of hypothermia?”

Lily’s laugh is halted as they turn a corner and begin their portion of the patrol colloquially known among the other prefects as The Polar Vortex. This section of the castle seems to always be particularly drafty, and honestly, if Lily wasn’t eager to extend her time with James, she’d likely suggest they just skip it and head back to Gryffindor Tower.

As it is, though, she shivers involuntarily, her teeth clattering loudly together, unbidden.

“Merlin, Evans, here. Take—”

“I’m fine!” she says quickly, because, Jesus bloody Christ, he was reaching for his scarf.

“That hypothermia joke wasn’t a personal challenge, Lil. Take my scarf and—”

“I don’t want it!”

His next step falters and he turns slowly to face her, his face setting into a confused frown. “Why not?”

Lily feels her face begin to flush. “I just—I don’t want to be a…bother.”

James watches her for another moment, then a grin slowly spreads across his face. “Evans,” he says, unlooping the scarf from his neck, and turning to more fully face her, “you always bother me.” He gently drops the scarf around her neck, ignoring her protests as he tugs it snugly around the collar of her jumper.

Lily takes a breath, hating and loving the fact that the scarf smells exactly like him, but otherwise settles into a feeling of relief. That wasn’t so bad. Just because he removed his scarf doesn’t mean—

“Oh my God, are you serious right now?!”

James stops walking again, his fingers freezing in the midst of their mission to unknot his tie. “Er, what?”

Lily covers her face with her hands and tries not to scream. 

“Evans?” He asks, and that pushes her closer to the edge, because she can hear the concern in his voice. “Am I serious about what?”

“Nothing,” she squeaks, shaking her head, even as her hands remain covering her face.

“Ev-ans.”

“No, really, I—”

He gently tugs one of the ends of the scarf—his scarf—causing her to stumble toward him a bit. “What’s wrong?”

She allows her hands to fall and forces himself to look up at him. “Why are you even wearing your tie?” she mumbles.

“What? My…tie?” He frowns, deeply puzzled, then manages a half-shrug. “I dunno. Just forgot to take it off after lessons, I guess. Why?”

“You constantly mess with it,” Lily says. “Non-stop. Loosening it, untying it, taking it off, playing with it.”

“I told you,” he says sheepishly, “it’s a bad habit. I—”

“It’s infuriating!”

His eyebrows lift in surprise. “I’m…sorry?”

“A Lily Evans torture device, really.”

He opens his mouth again, but she beats him to it.

“It’s like, if every person who’s ever hated me attended a…a convention. And they had a chat about all the things that drive me spare, devising a plan to slowly make me go completely mental. This—,” she knows she’s mad and that she’ll hate herself later, but she doesn’t care because she’s been wanting to do this for months,—“this is what they would end up deciding on.” She reaches up and, in one swift motion, tugs on the knot of his tie, watching in immense satisfaction as it separates from the collar of his shirt, hanging limply across the grey fabric of his jumper. 

James stares at her, eyes wide, body completely rigid as she, Jesus, manhandles him like a fiend. 

“Sorry,” she huffs out as she draws her hand back to her own person, but she isn’t even sure she means it. “You just—it really is a terrible habit, Potter. Promise me you’ll work on it.”

He blinks. “I…”

“Good.” Lily nods. “Thank you for the scarf, by the way. We should be good to head back down now, yeah?” She takes off walking down the corridor, before he can verbally question her sanity or she can do something else truly mad like use the leverage of his tie—stupid, bloody tie—to bring his mouth down to hers.

[tealeavesandtrash]

Jily Mirco Fic - @jilymicrofics prompt: Party - 405 words

The music and the chatter is deafening. Banners and confetti hang from the walls and ceilings, decorating the room in a sea of red and gold. The atmosphere is electric - the Quidditch Cup is theirs, the end of term is only days away - the synergy of it all is bubbling and overflowing.

Lily clasps her drink close to her chest, still with half a mind not to spill it as she lets herself sway with the crowd. James is standing on a table at the far side, cheeks flushed from the alcohol and a wild grin as he sings offbeat to the music. He glances over at her, zoning in like he can feel her watching. It’s like a magnet.

She moves without thinking, weaving through the sea of students, bumping shoulders but not caring when her drink sloshes over. When she’s close enough to him, James leans down, almost losing his balance in the process but she’s quick to reach up and steady him. He grins at her, dark eyes sparkling. His glasses sit skewed on his nose and it’s almost endearing. 

“Did you see the game, Evans?” he half yells at her just to be heard over the noise.

“Course I did, everyone did!”

His smile widens even more. “I knew it. We always play better when you’re watching.”

Her brow furrows in confusion but she’s still smiling up at him. Her hands are still on his shoulders, she can feel the firm muscles through his shirt. “You’re my lucky charm, Lily.”

She blinks up at him as the words settle. Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe she misheard him, but her brain is struggling to process  what he said. “I’m what?”

And in a flash, James grabs her and hoists her up. Instinctively she wraps her arms around his neck, clinging onto him to stop herself tumbling backwards off the table. Not that she needs to, James’ arm is firmly around the back of her waist, holding her steady. Someone wolf-whistles in the background.

His face is so close to her and she fights the urge to brush the hair out of his face. He’s still grinned ear-to-ear at her, but there’s something softer in his expression, fondness maybe. Her cheeks flush hot when he leans in - close enough so only she can hear and feel his hot breath on her ear when he speaks, “You are my lucky charm, Lily Evans.”

[weird-obsessed-girl]

Harry Potter fic rec Time travel/dimension travel

Organised by word count. This rec list involved time travel and dimension travel, not really alt dimension/au. This will include multiple ships like Drarry, Tomarry, Jegulus and Wolfstar.

masterlist

Ouch you landed on my hand and somehow we are in the past - Gravepizza

Scorpius/Albus, wolfstar, Jily meeting the family | G | 1k

Fucking with the future - plecotusauritus

Wolfstar time turner used for inappropriate things, smut, Remus certified DILF | E | 1.6k

Changelings - TreacleTeacups

Tomarry time travel, kid fic, humour, established relationship, mamma bear harry | T | 1.7k

He Who Knows Too Much (and I, Who Knows Nothing) - coribbit

Tomarry time travel, fix-it, seer harry, obsessive tom | T | 1.9k

Everything and Nothing - XxTheDarkLordxX

Drarry post-hogwarts, time travel, hurt/comfort, angst | T | 4k

A Perfect Night for Trick or Treaters - PhantomGrimalkin

Wolfstar time-loop, first war, 1981, angst | T | 4k

Draco at Nineteen - birdsofshore

Drarry Time Travel, Age Difference, Hogwarts 8th Year, First Time | E | 5k

Our Little Life - tackytiger

Drarry post-hogwarts, time travel, dream sex, falling in love, past lives, idiots in love | M | 7k

The Soldier - woobyo

Wolfstar sirius fix-it, bamf sirius, harry is not a horcrux | M | 9k

Quick as a Flash of Lightning, Unhurried as Eternity - babooshk_art, onbeinganangel

Drarry Post-War, Time Travel, Auror Harry, Domestic Fluff | E | 10k

Fifteen - mysid

Wolfstar time travel fix-it, alternate realities, veil of death/opportunities | T | 11k

Brevem Conspectum - Lauren3210

Drarry Kid fic, Domestic, Fluff and Smut, Short Time Travel | E | 12k

Eudaimonia - duplicity

Tomarry time travel, child abuse, angst, age difference, happy ending, harry kinda helps raise tom | E | 15k

tempor · al | ary - asterismal (asterisms)

Tomarry time travel, established relationship, voldy wins, threesome | E | 16k

Yuletide Discussions - J_L_Hynde

Tomarry time travel, discussion of wizard politics, tom lusting harry, alt reality, auror harry | M | 18k

Relativity. - Ideasofmarch

Tomarry time travel, fix-it, BAMF harry, morally grey harry, slytherin harry | M | 18k

Draco Malfoy and the Mirror of Ecidyrue 

Drarry PTSD, Time Travel, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Character Study | M | 20k

Enoument - Accipitae

Tomarry master of death harry, harry grows up with tom in orphanage, time travel, homophobia, angst | M | 22k

We Shall Not Cease from Exploration - krabapple

Jily, Wolfstar golden trio time travel, Lily working for the order | T | 23k

The Devil’s White Knight - orphan_account

Drarry Time Travel, Alternate Timeline, Everybody Lives, No Voldermort | E | 24k

Just a Matter of Time - gracerene

Drarry Post-War, Time Travel, Unspeakable Draco, Age Difference, First Time | E | 24k

Draco Malfoy and the Letter from the Future - DracoWillHearAboutThis

Drarry time travel, POV draco, harry potter series retold, draco and harry friendship, draco questioning parents beliefs | G | 33k

More Than You Know - moonscone

Wolfstar friends to lovers, oblivious sirius | G | 47k

If we could turn back time - MBlack93

Tomarry master of death harry, magically powerful, time travel, fix-it, sane tom, slytherin harry, bamf harry, knights of walpurgis | E | 54k

Time is of the Essence - Leaslemoon

Jegulus time travel, fix-it, angst with happy ending, slow burn, friends to lovers, sibling bonding, OOC snape, canon divergence | M | 58k

The Guest - BummedOutWriter

Drarry kid fic, time travel, get together, mrpeg, truth serum, 6th year, seer draco | M | 60k

Heir Apparent - MonsieurClavier

Tomarry time travel, sane voldy, voldy adopts harry, pseudo-incest, powerful harry, possessive behaviour, enemies to friends to lovers, humour | E | 61k

The Devil's White Knight - orphan_account

Drarry dimension travel, no voldy, time travel??, enemies to lovers, post-war trauma, everyone is gay | E | 65k

The Lesson of You - thecouchsofa

Drarry accidental chil acquisition, getting together, family feels, kid fic, fluff, time travel, smut | E | 65k

Everything Black - General_Jellyfish

Drarry Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, BAMF Harry Potter | T | 66k

Game On, Your Move - Ailora

Tomarry time travel, crack treated seriously, obsessive tom, sassy harry, time loop, eventual happy ending, enemies to lovers | T | 75k

Tip of Your Tongue - Spork_in_the_Road

Tomarry time travel, fix-it, morally grey harry, dumbledore critical, slow burn, mystery | M | 78k

The White Pawn - Soupy_George

Drarry time travel, romance, adventure, disenchanted draco, relive sixth year | T | 81k

At the end of every road - sassysquatch

Tomarry time travel, obsessive harry and tom, mutual manipulation, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, class issues, politically motivated marriage | M | 84k WIP 1 last chapter

Into the Dark - PhantomGrimalkin

Wolfstar also drarry, time travel, established relationships, first war, slow burn drarry, suicidal thoughts, manipulative dumbledore, canon divergence | T | 89k

Into the Dark - PhantomGrimalkin

Drarry time travel, first war, slow burn, suicidal thoughts, hocrux hunting, established wolfstar | T | 89k

where are you (my lion)? - harrysblueshirt1

Drarry time travel, canon divergence, jily sent to future, fix-it, emotional hurt/comfort, good draco, professor harry | 99k

That'll Be The Day - Waterloo

Drarry time travel, friendship, hogwarts redo, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, pov alternating, wolfstar raise harry | M | 112k WIP

Far From The Tree - aideomai

Drarrys kids time travel to hogwarts, pre-relationship, down and out draco, dom draco | E | 112k

you belong to me (i belong to you) - Child_OTKW

Tomarry time travel, slytherin politics, mind games, auror harry, slytherin harry, master of death harry, PLS READ ALL TAGS | 112k

Turning Leaves - Kbrick

Drarry time travel, pining draco, slytherin harry, angst with happy ending, harry is bad at feelings, drunk sex, auror harry | E | 113k

good night, darling - purplemineralwater

Tomarry time travel, fix-it, master of death harry, slytherin harry, knights of walpurgis, possessive tom, sane tom, hurt/comfort, slow burn | E | 138k

Bewildered - SparrowGrim

Drarry dimension travel, canon divergence, a/b/o, magically powerful harry, top draco, happy ending | E | 148k

When you are ready to go on... but you go back - Sakura521

Drarry time travel, fix-it, harry heir of house black, slow burn, good malfoy family | M | 166k WIP, 1 more chapter

Always Already - aibidil

Drarry time travel, post-hogwarts, department of mysteries, drarry go back to marauders era | E | 171k

Praeclarus Anguis - KaedeRavensdale

Tomarry time travel, slytherin harry, possessive behaviour, tom has met his match | M | 172k

Diablerie - Oceanbreeze7

Tomarry bamf tom, sane tom, time travel, ptsd, book 5, mental health issues, canon divergence | T | 176k

47 Days to Change (a translation) - snow_owl01

Tomarry time travel, slow burn, dubious consent, alt universe | E | 200k

What He Grows To Be - Severus_divides_into_H

Tomarry unhealthy relationships, obsessive and possessive tom, master of death harry, time travel, tom raised by harry, self-harm, psychological torture | M | 266k

What Souls Are Made Of - Emeralds_and_Lilies

Tomarry golden trio accidently time travel, angst, mind games, unhealthy relationships, slow burn | E | 278k

[saintsenara]

what are ur thoughts on all the young dudes man i gotta know

i've never read it, and i can't really see any situation in which i will. not only am i wolfstar-ambivalent, i'm also wizards-knowing-loads-about-muggle-pop-culture-ambivalent - so i'm very much not the target audience.

[although i'm not "what's going on in the 1970s"-ambivalent by any means, so there's that.]

but i suspect anyone who reads this blog regularly knew that - and so i also suspect [even though i wouldn't dare to assume this of you and your intentions in asking this, anon] that it might be presumed that i'm going to pop off about several of the phenomena all the young dudes has set into motion...

and sure, the contemporary marauders subfandom is not a space i'm interested in spending any time in - which is why i don't - but i think it's nonetheless worth saying something in defence of it.

all the young dudes deserves more credit than i think it gets in the fandom more widely - especially in those bits of the fandom which are more interested in canon compliance and canon coherence - for being a genuine pop-culture phenomenon. all corners of the fandom have benefitted from this - i guarantee that huge numbers of people who have returned to the harry potter fandom since 2020 have done so because they've read it [or, at the very least, heard of it], and i also guarantee that many of those people have gone on to make a home for themselves in spaces which seem to have very little in common with the marauders subfandom [such as canon-compliant jily or pro-snape spaces]. many of the things it does - especially the integration of muggle pop-culture into its worldbuilding - have clearly influenced how plenty of authors approach their own work, even if that work is otherwise removed from it in vibe. and its aesthetic is all over the non-fic aspects of fandom too - every "canon-compliant" moodboard or edit or playlist i've ever seen would fit well into the atyd universe. i think it doesn't hurt to acknowledge its influence - it doesn't mean that an author can't disagree with its approach.

[or: my view on all the young dudes is very similar to my view on taylor swift. i've never listened to a single one of her albums, i'm not sure i could name more than about five of her songs - and i don't think the five i can name are any good, i sometimes see flashes of the inter-swiftie discourse and it's like reading a text in a language i can only half speak - but i would be a fool to dismiss her broader pop-culture influence, including on musicians i do follow more closely, or the fact that the fandom which surrounds her is both sincerely interesting, not least from an anthropological perspective, and something in which people i like and respect participate.]

i also don't think the divisions between the marauders subfandom and other spaces are as clear-cut as is often made out. and i think that all the young dudes often gets used as a stick with which to beat this point - particularly because people in the marauders subfandom are frequently accused of not having read the books, and elevating atyd's interpretation of characters [especially sirius and remus] and events over the seven-book series.

that the subfandom elevates fanon and headcanon over canon is a legitimate point. but i think we should all get a fucking grip and recognise that this can disinterest us - or even annoy us - and still not be something any of us should think is that deep.

after all, like anyone, i've encountered people in fandom who write unrecognisable versions of characters, are completely resistant to the idea that their interpretation isn't correct, and believe that it's evidence of deep-seated prejudice to pair their faves with different people... and every single one is someone who believes that their approach is meticulously canon-compliant.

or - as the old adage goes - "people who live in glass subfandoms shouldn't throw stones at roadman remus".

[elliemarchetti]

The Queen of the Quills - Jily Edition (Part 5)

Posting on Tumblr too because this fic's sister is already there.

Reading The Queen of the Quills - Blackinnon Edition will not be mandatory to understand the developments of James and Lily's story, but some details could be shared, therefore, for anyone wishing to fully enjoy the experience, I will leave this series' masterlist here.

This was @athenasparrow's gift for @jilymicrofics ' Exchange 2024, but if you like it and are willingly to reblog, it would be super appreciated since stories like this require quite some time and effort🥰

Taglist (if anyone wants to be added, please DM me or comment and I'll gladly add you!): @thaisthedreamer

Plot: James Potter, London's most evasive bachelor, an impertinent libertine, has decided to get married. He has also already chosen his wife, the debutante Lily Evans, a self-confident young woman who has not the slightest intention of being seduced by such a man. A Bridgerton inspired Regency AU.

Words: 4093

Mrs. Potter’s musicale proved to be a decidedly musical affair (not, this author assures you, always the norm for musicales). The guest performer was none other than Maria Rosso, an Italian soprano from the all-witch choir known as Spellbound who made their debut in London two years ago and has returned after a brief stint on the Vienna stage. With thick, sable hair and flashing dark eyes, Miss Rosso proved as lovely in form as she did in voice, and more than one, or it would be better to say more than a dozen, of society’s so-called gentleman found it difficult indeed to remove their eyes from her person, even after the performance had concluded.

The Queen of the Quills, May 17, 1813

Lily felt the exact moment he walked in the room. She tried to tell herself it had nothing to do with a heightened awareness of the excruciatingly handsome wizard, she couldn’t imagine that every woman didn’t notice him immediately, and furthermore, he arrived late – not very, but still enough he had to try to be quiet as he slipped into a chair at the front next to Mrs. Evans – still she noticed him before her own mother and sister did, and it rendered her unable to even breathe. He didn’t look her way, but several candles had been snuffed, leaving the room bathed in a dim, romantic glow, so the shadows must’ve obscured her face and the way she tried to keep her eyes on Miss Rosso throughout the performance, even if the woman couldn’t take hers off of Mr. Potter, and for some reasons, it didn’t improve her disposition. She should’ve rejoiced in the fact, it was just another piece of proof he was every bit the licentious rake she’d always known him to be, but she wasn’t feeling smug, or vindicated, she was just heavily, uncomfortably disappointed, so much so she felt herself slump slightly in her chair.

When the performance was done, she couldn’t help but notice how the soprano, after graciously accepting her applause, brazenly approached her suitor and offered him one of those seductive smiles, the sort Lily would never learn to do even if she had a thousand opera singers trying to teach her. There was no mistaking what she meant with that act, and he must’ve realized too, because he threw her a mysterious look and actually tucked an errant lock of her raven hair behind her ear.

Lily shivered in disgust. For Merlin’s beard, the man didn’t even need to chase women, they practically dropped at his feet and whispered sweet nothing in his ears! Maybe she praised him, or maybe she outwardly offered herself, because he leaned down enough to kiss her neck.

“Lily?” hissed her mother, decidedly irritated. “Stop watching Mr. Potter.”

“I wasn’t… well, all right, I was, but did you see him?” she whispered urgently. “He’s shameless.”

She looked back over at him, still flirting with Maria Rosso, no care in the world about who might see.

“I’m sure his behaviour isn’t any of our business,” replied Elizabeth, lips pursed into a tight line. “He has been kind in delivering the invitations to the musicale himself, but I’m certain he wants nothing to do with you after that fiasco in Hyde Park.”

If the situation had been different, Lily would have argued that it wasn't her fault that his dog had pushed her into the water and he jumped in to save her when she was already swimming toward the shore, but she didn't have the energy to argue right now, so she sagged her shoulders and followed her family as they greeted their lovely hostess. Mrs. Potter had fair hair and light eyes, and she was rather petite to have mothered such a large son, so Lily decided her late husband must’ve been a tall man.

“Mrs. Evans,” she said warmly, “what a delight to see you again. I so enjoyed our meeting at the last ball and I must say I’m very glad you decided to accept my invitation.”

“We wouldn’t dream of spending the evening elsewhere,” her mother rejoined. “And may I present you my daughters? The older one is Petunia, and the younger one is Lily.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, and I would like to introduce you to Mr and Mrs. McKinnon’s daughter, Marlene,” she said, motioning to a young lady at her side. For some reason, Lily was convinced she had already met her, but maybe she was just a classmate she had passed a couple of times in the corridors at Hogwarts. After all, Londoners were used to minding their own business there too, and she had no doubt that someone so beautiful and seemingly delicate was constantly surrounded by flocks of other adoring young women. Anyway, Lily smiled warmly at the girl, who looked to be about the same age as her, even though the similarities between them ended here: her blonde hair were a perfectly styled field of lovely golden wheat and her face was angular, a rather sharp contrast with Lily’s roundness.

 “Is this your first season?” she asked, already friendly.

Both Lily and Petunia nodded.

“How lucky!” she exclaimed. “I attended a few parties last year and may I say they were a bit… boring? Everything was so new the first time, but by the end of spring I already remembered everyone’s name. This way, I thought I could get an excellent match, but as you may see by yourself, I’m still unmarried.”

As Marlene spoke, Mrs. Evans glanced at her son, who kept flirting madly with the Italian opera singer, and frowned.

Lily felt something very uneasy in her stomach: according to recent issues of The Queen of the Quills, Mrs. Evans was on a mission to get her son married off, and while he didn’t seem the sort of man to bend to his mother’s will, or anyone’s, for the matter, she had a feeling the woman would be able to exert quite a bit of pressure is she so chose. Maybe that was why he was so intent on courting her.

After a few more moments of polite chatter, the Evans left Mrs. Potter to greet the rest of her guests and were soon accosted by Mrs. Bones, who, as the mother of three daughters, two still unmarried, always had a lot to say to Elizabeth – she had long declared herself on a first-name basis with the Evans – although that day her gaze was firmly focused on Lily, who immediately began to assess possible escape routes.

“What a surprise to see you there!” boomed the stout woman, leaving her interlocutor puzzled. “Gossip said you were ill.”

“Don’t worry, it was nothing that serious,” Lily retorted, with a weak smile. How Amelia had managed to become a pleasant person to have around with a family like hers Lily just couldn't explain.

“From what I heard, you contracted it in a rather serious way,” Mrs. Bones added, brows rising a good half inch. It was evident she knew, maybe she was even at the scene, but there was really no need to talk about it at the Potter’s.

“A way of little consequence, as you can see,” Lily countered firmly, although she was finding it difficult not to growl at the meddlesome woman.

Mrs. Bones opened her mouth, a sharp intake of breath telling she was preparing to launch into a lengthy monologue on the topic of the importance of good deportment, or good manners, or good breeding, but her youngest promptly interrupted her, offering to fetch lemonade for everyone.

“Lily, would you be so kind as to help me?” she asked, turning to the one she set out to save. “Unfortunately, I still don’t have enough hands to carry all those glasses.”

Lily tried not to appear too eager to accept, but everyone must’ve noticed their urgency to flee from how quickly they walked away, dodging those present with skill.

“Thank you,” she murmured to her saviour once they reached the lemonade stand and grabbed four glasses, for everyone except Petunia, who said she wasn’t thirsty.

“I know how my mother can be, I’m usually her favourite victim, so since I could avoid you what would’ve sounded like a lecture from an almost stranger, I took advantage of it. I’m sure somehow she would’ve found the opportunity to insert me into the conversation just to define me an impertinent social failure,” replied the other, and although a part of Lily wanted to pity her for that cruel fate – no mother should behave like that with her daughter – another part told her not to do so, because the girl needed an ally, not yet another young lady looking at her like a hopeless cause.

“Can we go back for a glass for ourselves?” asked Amelia as soon as they reunited with their families, and her mother nodded in a matter that told Lily everyone must know her youngest wasn’t her favourite.

“Why don’t we go out for a bit of fresh air? Since we’re together, we don’t need a chaperone,” suggested the redhead, who wanted a little more space to investigate on what the wizarding society really thought of Mr. Potter. Was he a hypocrite? A scoundrel? Or even a liar? Had he by chance deluded women and then abandoned them without any prospect? Did he have bastards? She didn't know why she cared so much, after all he probably believed her a menace to society, or he wouldn’t have acted as he was doing with Miss Rosso, still she needed to know if it was the norm or just a game to get back at her. So she asked, rather forward, as she and her friend sank into a cushioned bench about ten yards from the music room. They remained there for several minutes, more than pleased with the comfortable intimacy of their gossip, until they heard one particular voice rise slightly above the low rumble of the crowd, followed by decidedly musical laughter. After a shared look of realization, they hitched up their skirts by a few inches to save themselves from tripping and ducked into the doorway next to the bench, hoping Mr. Potter and his paramour would walk on by, and they could scoot back into the music room and laugh about their little adventure. As their eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, they realized they were in some sort of office, with walls lined with books, although not enough to be a library, the place dominated by a massive oak desk with papers laid on top of it in neat piles. Clearly the place was lived, not just for show, and as curiosity got the better of them, they wandered toward the desk, Lily running her fingers along the wooden rim. The air still smelled faintly of ink, and maybe the slightest hint of pipe smoke. All in all, she decided, it was a lovely room, comfortable and practical, a place a person could spend hours in lost in lazy contemplation, but just as she was about to lean back against the desk, savouring the quiet solitude exuding from the place, she heard and awful sound. The doorknob clicked, and with a frantic gasp, Amelia disappeared, leaving her with no other option than dive under the desk, squeezing herself into the empty cube of space and thanking the heavens that it was completely solid rather than the short that rested on four spindly legs. Barely breathing, she listened, cursing herself for not taking Apparition class seriously.

“I had heard this would be the year we would finally see the notorious Mr. Potter fall into the parson’s mousetrap,” came a lilting feminine voice. Lily bit her lip, recognizing the Italian accent.

“And where did you hear that?” came James’ unmistakable voice, followed by another awful click of the doorknob that made Lily shut her eyes in agony. She was trapped in the office with a pair of lovers. Life simply couldn’t get any worse than this, unless she was discovered, though it didn’t make her feel much better about her present predicament.

“It’s all over town,” Maria replied. “Everyone is saying you have decided to settle down and choose a bride.”

There was a silence, but Lily could swear she could hear him shrug: “It’s probably past time.”

“You are breaking my heart, did you know?” she asked, making Lily nearly gag.

“Now, my sweet signorina, we both know that your heart is impervious to any of my machinations,” Mr. Potter murmured, and Lily pictured him as close as they were before, his lips nearly on her skin, because next came a rustling sound, which she took to be Maria pulling coyly away to state she wasn’t inclined for a dalliance.

“I don’t look for marriage, of course, that would be most foolish, but when I next choose a protector, it shall be for, shall we say, the long term,” she added, low and husky.

“I fail to see the problem.”

“Your future wife may not.”

“The only reason to give up one’s mistress is if one happens to love one’s wife,” Mr. Potter chuckled. “And as I don’t intend to choose a wife with whom I might fall in love, I see no reason to deny myself the pleasure of a lovely woman like you.”

Lily tried to imagine the reaction of the couple if she jumped out of her hiding place, screaming like a madwoman, asking what made him think she was the right match if that was his plan from the start. It nearly made her laugh, and at the same time she wanted to cry, because there was no way she could make the entrance she wished to make when she was squatting like a frog with her hands wrapped around her ankles. A few unintelligible sounds distracted her from her fantasies, and she dearly prayed they weren’t a prelude to something considerably more intimate. After a moment, though, Mr. Potter’s voice emerged clearly, asking to the singer if she cared for something to drink. Maria murmured her assent, and James’ forceful stride echoed along the floor, growing closer and closer, until he came into view, his athletic frame displayed to surprising benefit from her vantage point on the floor. If he just kept his face to the window as he poured, she might escape detection, but if he turned so much as halfway she would be as good as dead, for she had no doubt he would kill her. Frankly, she was surprised he hadn’t tried last week at the Serpentine.

“Is everything all right?” Maria called out, when Mr. Potter clinked the tumblers slightly together as he set them down before pouring two fingers of amber liquid into each glass.

“Perfect,” he answered, although he sounded vaguely distracted, like a dog sniffing the air around in search of his prey. Maybe that was why Lily froze and stopped breathing completely, eyes wide and unblinking, as he started to hum slightly to himself and his body slowly began to turn.

Keep walking, she screamed in her head, keep walking to your lover and don’t look back.

But it didn't go that way, and she watched with complete and utter horror as his eyes scanned her starting from her shoes and pinned her where she was.

__________________

James knew quite well why he’d brought Maria Rosso back to his study. Surely no warm-blooded man could be immune to the charm of her lush body and her intoxicating voice, and he knew from experience that her touch was equally potent, but even as he took in that silky sable hair and those full, pouting lips, even as his muscles tightened at the memory of other full, pouting parts of her body, he knew he was using her. He felt no guilt in that regard – she was using him as well, and she would at least be compensated for it, whereas he would be out several jewels, a quarterly allowance, and the rent on a fashionable townhouse in a fashionable part of town – no, if he felt uneasy and frustrated, if he felt like he wanted to put his damned fist though a brick wall, it was because he was using Maria to banish the nightmare that Lily Evans was from his mind. He never wanted to wake up hard and tortured again, knowing she was the cause, he just wanted to drown himself in another woman until the very memory of his recurring dream dissolved and faded into nothingness, because Merlin knew he was never going to act on that particular erotic fantasy because he shouldn’t like her like that. The though of making love to her, and not just bedding her, made him break out in a cold sweat, even as it swirled a ripple of desire right through his gut. Bloody hell, the woman must’ve bewitched him, there could be no other explanation for the dream, and besides, even now he could swear he could smell her. It was that maddening combination of lilies and soap, that beguiling scent that had washed over him while they were in Hyde Park.

“Is everything all right?” Maria called out.

“Perfect,” James said, voice sounding tight to his own ears. He began to hum, something he’d always done to relax, and he turned, even started to take a step forward, because after all Miss Rosso was waiting for him, but the damned scent followed him and his foot hesitated in midair, his step forward proved to be a small one instead of his usual long stride, and he kept turning, his nose instinctively twisting his eyes toward where he knew there couldn’t be lilies until he saw her under his desk, crouching like a frog. It was a wonder he didn’t drop the whiskey as their eyes met, and he saw hers widen with panic and fright.

Good, he thought savagely. What the hell was she doing here? Wasn’t making a scene after he doused himself in the filthy water of the Serpentine to rescue her enough for her bloodthirsty spirit? Did she need to spy on him as well?

“Maria,” he said smoothly, moving forward toward the desk until he was nearly stepping on Lily’s hand. “I have suddenly remembered an urgent matter of business that must be dealt with immediately.”

“This very night?” she asked, quite dubious.

“I’m afraid so. Allow me to walk you to the door,” he said, and although the singer’s eyes were curious, she still took his arm and forgave him for his rudeness for not taking her back to the music room.

“I am a grown woman, I believe I can manage the short distance,” she laughed, a low, sultry sound that should’ve seduced him. “And furthermore, I suspect there isn’t a woman alive who could deny you forgiveness with that smile.”

“You are of a rare kind, Maria Rosso,” he replied, hoping she couldn’t feel how far his head was from this conversation. Not too much physically, since Lily was just a few steps away, but metaphorically…

“But not, apparently, rare enough,” she murmured before floating out, finally giving James the possibility to shut the door with a decisive click, turn the key and pocked it. At the sound, Lily crawled out of her hiding place, leaning on the edge of the desk for support, apparently unable to start the much-needed explanation she had to give about her presence.

“Well?” he asked, breaking the bubble of silence.

“It was an accident!” she exclaimed. “I was sitting in the hall and I heard you coming. I was just trying to avoid you and your lover, to spare the embarrassment to everyone...”

“So you decided to invade my private office?” he asked, suspicious.

“I didn’t know it was your office. I…” she started, but was unable to finish her sentence, probably intimidated by his deliberate proximity. He could swear he was hearing the frantic beating of her heart coming from beneath the bodice.

“I think perhaps you did know this was my office,” he murmured, letting his forefinger trail down the side of her cheek. “Perhaps you didn’t seek to avoid me at all, on the contrary, you desired something else, something more… insane?”

Lily swallowed convulsively, long past the point of trying to maintain her composure.

“What do you say to that?” he asked, his finger sliding along her jawline.

Her lips parted, but she couldn’t have uttered a word if her life had depended on it. He wore no gloves, he removed them during his interrupted tryst with Maria, and the touch of his skin against her was so powerful it seemed to control her body, for she breathed when he paused, stopped when he moved. He had no doubt their hearts were beating in time as his breath kissed her lips, and he smiled, victorious, when she deleted the little distance still separating them. It was evident she was an innocent who wouldn’t know what it was like to have a man so near the heat of his body seeped through her clothes, who wouldn’t recognize the first prickles of desire, nor would she understand that slow, swirling heat in the core of her being, but it was there, he could see it in her face with only one look of his experienced eyes.

James told himself that if she hadn’t kissed him, he would’ve stopped right there, left her bothered and breathless, but he knew he was lying, he knew the moment there had been barely an inch between their faces back in her house and he resisted the pull to give in to her beguiling scent only because the footman might’ve saw them. But right now, there was no chaperone, they were in the privacy of his study, her mother was probably immersed in conversation and the prickles of desire he’d meant to spark within her suddenly ignited him, sending a warm claw of need to the very tips of his toes. Although her kiss had been chaste, and rather desperate, the fingers he’d been trailing along her cheek to torture her suddenly became a hand that cupped the back of her head, and his lips took hers in an explosion of desire, making her gasp against his mouth, something he took advantage of to slide his tongue between them. She was pliant in his arms, so James pressed his suit further by allowing one of his hands to slide down her back and cup the gentle curve of her derriere.

It was madness, he knew he should stop and he damned well shouldn’t have started, but his body was racing with need and he felt so good he had no intention of letting her go. It was like when he was younger, with no care in the world, and his father was still alive, ready to rule the family and gift him with the chance to mess up without consequences a little more, and at the same time he found she possessed something that suited him like no woman ever had before. Something about her was just right, maybe her smell, or maybe the way she felt in his arms, and he knew that if he stripped off all of her clothes and took her there on the carpet on the floor of his study, she would fit underneath him, around him, just right. A low, triumphant growl emerged from James’ mouth as he moved it to her slender neck and further down, in the expanse of skin usually hidden by the bodice he moved slightly, enough to not expose her right away but still more than decency allowed. With ragged and fast breath, he pinned her to his desk, crazed, frantic, leaving small red marks wherever he sucked, regardless of the consequences.

“Do you still hate me?” he asked, and when she slightly shook her head, he cupped one of her breasts, covering it entirely with his hand. Just as he was plotting the best course back to her lips, he heard the perfectly awful sound of Sirius’ voice outside the door.

“James!” he shouted. “I know you’re here and your mother does too. She needs your assistance and asked me to tell you to stop fucking Miss Rosso.”

Miss Evans, blissfully unaware of how close she’d come to having been pleasured utterly senseless, threw a horrified look to the door.

“One of these days,” James muttered, “I’m going to have to kill him.”

[atlasdoe]

i don't usually make posts like this but...

THE MARAUDERS SERIES BY PENGIWEN (AKA THE BEST CANNON COMPLIANT MARAUDERS FIC) IS NOW ON AO3

i could talk about this fic for hours it is my favourite thing ever. It's like if The Marauders were produced by the CW but in the best way ever.

It has literally everything you want in a marauders fic and I am telling the truth when i say that. I need everyone to read this fic

The main ships are Jily and Wolfstar

REGULUS STANS YOU WILL LOVE THIS

REGULUS HATERS YOU WILL ALSO PROBABLY LOVE THIS

Also if you love time travel you will also love this fic

Literally ask me anything you need to about this fic and I will answer it. I am about to become the most annoying person ever. Drop me an ask an out anything and i will answer it

The whole fic is about the marauders from their first year to the end of the war (and with flash fowards of seeing the events of the main series from certain characters pov)

pretty much everyone gets a pov at some point it's brilliant

there's literally so much to this fic and now that it's on ao3 you have no excuse. READ IT PLS I BEG

[theesteemedladydebourgh]

well, i started this for the great, wonderful @clare-with-no-i​’s birthday last year (and also as a combination of two prompt’s from @efkgirldetective​‘s summer of jily 2022!) and it is officially almost a year late...

let’s see if i can finish this extremely self-indulgent, illustrator-James, author-Lily who clings to self-control like a barnacle, high-powered best friends, co-worker duo buys a house in the countryside and then slowly implode from repressed feelings and heartbreak over the course of several years (also berry picking! and swimming in the ocean! and a cat named Eclair!) fic over the next week! (w caution set aside for unforeseen calamity ofc, but i’m optimistic)

little snippet below!

Spring

It’s an odd story, how Lily buys a house with her illustrator.

A hand brushes along the back of her head, warm and soft.

She jolts, then glances back. Feels the hand fall away.

James is standing there, chest still a bit sunburned from the beach. His fingers still hover slightly, before settling back at his side.

She stares up at him for a second, a silent question. Her instinct is to tense, to turn to stone, to demand recompense. She wouldn’t let just anyone touch her.

“Your clip was crooked,” he murmurs after a second.

Lily swallows. Sweat presses against the nape of her neck, but somehow not as warm as his touch was. She can still feel the salt and sand clinging to her toes, pressed against the warm stone of the garden path.

“I like it,” he adds, then shrugs. As if he’s guilty of something, but can’t be bothered to apologize for it.

Her eyes fall to his chest, stained pink.

“I don’t,” she remembers to say after far too long has passed. Her fingers curl around the armrest of the hot metal chair.

James tilts his head, then shrugs again. He steps backwards, towards the house. His shirt is untucked, sunburned chest slipping through like a violent sunset. “Then wear your hair down.”

Her laugh is crackly, dry, warm in her throat. The thought flashes through her head, lightning fast: So you can run your fingers through it?

It doesn’t make it past her lips.

[klarolinexluv]

Should I add some flash backs into my fic, Don’t Blame Me?

Because I’m kinda unmotivated to write it atm and I don’t know what to do??? Like I feel like the flashbacks would make sense after chapter 7 but…

Anyway… should I do like a whole chapter of just jegulus being together… and the jily “gossip” sessions… the break up… jily get-together… ???

Like would anyone be interested in that or just I just stick to the present day?

[charmsandtealeaves]

Okay so I literally squeezed in reading these before bed lol. It's been a long week. But by cramming this weekend I've left myself open to some more free time during the coming weeks.... October is a whole other ball game though.

Read This Week:

Mistle-Wow by @livelaughlovetoread

Complete (6.4k), Hogwarts!jily, Rated T

Lily and James Potters’ love was fiery, filled with passion, tragedy, and love. It was not a fast ignition of a flame that proceeded to burn bright. No, it was a flame that was lit on the Hogwarts Express before anyone had joined the compartment. It burned brighter as their years progressed, and it was lit ablaze in their seventh year. It burned until the day they died. This story is an excerpt from what I am planning to be a much larger fic. It is the first bit of writing I am sharing publicly, so we might call it a test balloon. I am posting this as part of Jily Week as it got me started writing this fic down. This story takes place before #ThePrank and the downfall of Lily and Snape’s relationship. It’s OWLs year and Lily Evans is just trying to enjoy her breakfast, but when a boy with messy black hair is driving her a little mad, but not for the usual reasons.

Auburn by @sophie-hatter-jenkins

Complete (647w), Hogwarts!jily, Rated G

A flash of red catches James Potter’s eye for the very first time.

Braid by @ohmygodshesinsane

Complete (2.5k), Hogwarts!jily, Rated T

Sick and tired of revision, Lily gladly takes a distraction in the name of giving James Potter a helping hand.

[practicecourts]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love! ❤️

Hi @joyseuphoria , I started this then forgot about it… and well, some time went by... but … I did write quite a bit in the meantime so… Head Over Handlebars For You (M, Muggle AU, Jily 33 chapters, complete) I can't believe this fic went over 100 and now even 150 kudos! Thanks for the love! A very fun thing is this fic really made me appreciate comments, someone said they were in Amsterdam while reading this, other comments made me rethink my whole story idea! and all of you returning commenters (special shout out to @blondelunaaa @blitheringmcgonagall & @annabtg for being there from the getgo, when I started with this fic almost 2 years ago! Your encouragement was everything! I'm proud of how this story turned out! Definitely a personal fave!

Under the Gallows (Jily Medieval AU, Intended to be 2 chapters, but I have plans to expand this story, although i'm unsure when) Thank you for all the screaming in my inbox!

Writing my Regency jily micros! They were great fun to write, I looked up regency sayings (yes look at me, doing proper fic research!) and I'm quite proud of how they turned out.

So my fics seem to have a way to escape the one-shots or short flash fics I intend them to be... and as much as I'd love to write fic all day, that is just not possible. I'm proud of Imagine Dragons where the prompt was Jealousy. Not sure why I was making such a fuss but I really wanted that to be different then being jealous of some other Love Interest... Even if this one is definitely an example of how the finished fic is a stabbed Butterfly compared to the idea in the mind ;-)

I adore Sirius Black (well, my version of him haha) and therefore I love it when I get to write some BlackEvans moments (he ended up having a lot to say in HOHFY;-) but these 'canon moments' are also personal favourites one time Sirius Black finds Lily Evans, and one time Lily Potter finds Sirius Black. Sunrise, Sunset.

thanks again joy! This was fun!

[franollie]

ok so back in december i posted some old marauders art i found in my digital sketchbook, and i said something along the lines of i want to make a post on the marauders fandom and how it’s changing fandom as a whole. and then i forgot about it. BUT BEHOLD! Fran’s study on transformative fandom through the marauders fandom! strap in because this is gonna be a long one:

I want to preface this by saying i have a lot of nostalgia for harry potter—more specifically the marauders—but i obviously do not support jkr and her transphobia.

reminder that I am critiquing the marauders fandom as a whole. as a w h o l e as in the collective fandom. not you specifically. okay?

now, if i remember correctly, the marauders fandom started because people shipped wolfstar and wanted to explore their dynamic in hogwarts. simple as that.

then, it came out that jkr was making blatantly transphobic comments. at this point in time, i had moved away from the harry potter fandom as a whole because i saw something shinier to hyperfixate on (hello sailor moon), so i’m foggy on the details in terms of the marauders fanbase at the time. but from what i understand people started pointing out the racism in the series as well.

flash forward to 2020–the marauders renaissance on tiktok. suddenly the marauders fandom was no longer just wondering what the 4 marauders + lily would have been doing in school. it had expanded to involve a diverse array of characters with agreed upon backstories. And it was really fun to dive back into the fandom. for many, it was reclaiming a series that held a lot of nostalgia to a lot of people from a bigoted woman.

however, i think with the rise in popularity of the marauders fandom—an entirely transformative fandom—fandom as a whole made a switch from creating fanworks out of love and respect for a piece of media to caring about the fan content first and foremost over the media itself. that’s not me saying that the marauders fandom is to blame for everything wrong with modern fandom—the lack of community, the complete disregard of canon characterization, lack of media literacy, etc.—but i do think the marauders fandom gave all these issues the little nudge they needed to take a deep rooted place in how fandom works.

when fandom becomes canon, it’s easy to ignore genuine problems within the fandom as “oh well its not really canon”. But thats really only true to a certain extent. Most people within the marauders fandom consider ATYD as the canon they follow when ATYD is in fact fan fiction. additionally, i’ve met people in the marauders fandom who haven’t read ATYD.

the marauders fandom is quite literally whatever you want it to be, and that’s fun but it’s not fandom in the traditional sense.

remember those new characters i mentioned earlier? well a large majority of them are women including many women of color. however, these women are almost entirely used as props for the boys’ stories and are entirely one dimensional. (lily is snarky and smart, mary is fun loving, marlene is a party animal, dorcas is cold-hearted softie, pandora is ditzy, but most importantly they’re all ✨girl bosses✨). that’s not to say these girls dont have potential for interesting stories or that no one writes them as three dimensional characters. but the fandom at large uses them as props for their favorite mlm ship. jegulus having more fics than jily (the only canon ship in this fandom) alone proves this point.

“but what about marylily/pandalily?” also great ships that i love, but they only really exist to get lily out of the way for james to be with regulus. thus, they are inherently supporting the internalized misogyny of the marauders fandom. i’m not disregarding people who do genuinely ship marylily and pandalily, but that is where the ships stemmed from.

first and foremost fandom is about loving the source material so much you’re inspired to engage with others who enjoy the source material. you can’t really enjoy fandom if you don’t know the characters or world you’re working with; kind of a “you have to know the rules before you break them” type of situation.

i could talk more on the internalized misogyny within the marauders fandom or how we can use the marauders fandom as a study on fandom in the modern age. instead, i’ll leave on this note: as i said before, fandom is about loving the source material so much you want to engage with others who enjoy the source material, and at the end of the day the source material for the marauders fandom is harry potter. and i don’t have much love left for a series that is transphobic or a fandom that doesn’t treat its women with the same care as it’s men.

to reiterate: i not implying that everyone who enjoys marauders materials supports jkr, in fact i’d go as far to say most marauders fans are actively against jkr. however, i feel uncomfortable in a space that fundamentally cannot exist without harry potter.

i have a lot of ideas for marauders stuff and i still enjoy these characters (namely dorlene and jily) but me including my versions of these characters doesn’t really solve the problem. atp can the problems even be solved? idk this got away from me, and i still have more thoughts.

so yeah! peace love and trans rights 🫶 probs won’t post much marauders stuff—not that i really did before but some of you follow me for marauders content for some reason???

[wearingaberetinparis]

Coming Soon: Crossed in Love

Inspired by your enthusiasm for my Jily Regency Micro Fic, I present to you the (unedited, so bear with me) opening to Crossed in Love, my next Jily Regency AU. I wanted to share this with you in thanks for your support and kindness.

Read more below the cut!

Lily entered the backdoor of her sister’s Little Whinging home, smiling at the cook and snatching an apple from the fruit basket on the middle of the table there before running up the stairs and – book in one hand, apple in the other – sneaking back unseen, or so she dearly hoped. She had just made it three steps up to the first floor when a throat was cleared behind her. She froze and closed her eyes for a moment before turning around – ever so slowly – and finding her sister there, evidently displeased.   “Is that mud on the hem of your skirts?” She looked down at the material that dangled from her waist down until just over her feet, noted the stains at the bottom and then lifted her head to eye her sister once again. “I think so, yes,” she answered. Petunia’s cheeks coloured, her eyes flashed. “What do you have to say for yourself?” she hissed, taking a few steps towards her. “You disappear in the early hours of the morning –” “I wished to see the sun rise,” she simply answered, pressing the book in her hand to her chest in an attempt to hide the title – Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – which was certain to scandalise her sister further. “Surely, that is no crime –” Her sister’s nostrils flared and Lily was certain that – if she’d had a fan in hand – she would have whipped it out furiously. “No crime, but highly improper –” she pursed her lips for a moment. “You have a visitor.” “A visitor?” Lily asked, a frown marring her forehead. “This early in the day?” Petunia Dursley née Evans climbed up a few of the stairs’ steps and came to a halt beside her, scrutinizing her appearance. “I suppose he won’t mind your wildness,” she narrowed her eyes. “Heaven knows he has always worshipped the ground you walk on and has yet to find a fault within you.” Her blood ran cold, her eyes widened. “No,” she very nearly whispered in ultimate dread as Petunia grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the stairs, “please tell me it’s not him –” “You will not ruin this for us, Lily,” her sister interjected. “Think of Mr Dursley and myself, we want to see you settled –” “I will leave for Gryffindor House in a fortnight, you know I’ve been employed –” “Blasphemy!” her sister’s grip on her wrist tightened. “You are going to listen to what he has to say and you will consequently accept his offer with grace –” She jutted her chin forward. “I will do no such thing,” she answered crossly. “You know that I’ve never wished to marry and that conviction shall not be altered. Only the deepest of love may persuade me to think of matrimony –” Her sister scoffed hatefully. “You have always had these grand romantic notions, while practicality serves us women so much better –” “I am being practical,” she contested. “I found myself employment, educating young girls –” “You’re signing yourself up for spinsterhood more like!” Her sister’s blue eyes were narrowed into slits. “Can’t you imagine the shame? A single woman for a sister –?”

[bookeatingbean]

Tell us about Illicit Affairs! ❤️❤️

MWAHAHAHA thank you so much for asking about this because I am absolutely DESPERATE to talk about.

This is my non magical AU fic for the Jily bittersweet challenge(I'm embarrassingly late on it 😬) my prompt was "I didn't know you could dance."

It is loosely based on the taylor swift song and it's from Lily's perspective, though I might write a companion fic for it that ends later<3

This is genuinely one of my favourite fics I've ever written<3<3 Hopefully I'll finish it soon lol. Here's two of snippets that don't give too much away and are very jily focused

She didn’t really know how to respond. Still, she was disappointed when the bartender interrupted, handing her the requested gin and tonic. “ I’ve got it,” he said, grabbing her drink. “James-” she protested, and he held up his hands in a what can I do gesture. “Consider it payment for all those years you spent preventing my premature death.” He flashed that smile of his that had all the girls falling over him in highschool. She'd been too busy chasing Connor to pay attention to it back then. She laughed, in spite of herself, and there was a moment where he grazed the small of her back and time turned liquid around them. Though still fit, he was less lean than he’d been in highschool. His forearms were brushed in dark hair, his frame more filled out. A mole dotted his neck, just above his collar. A minute scar marred his upper lip, and she desperately wished to know where it was from.

<3<3

“I don’t want this confession, James.” She’d said, indignant, the subway tiles behind him a hundred little mirrors in which she saw nothing. He’d scoffed something unintelligible she’d spend hours wishing she’d heard, reaching out a hand to stop her leaving. “Well, that’s too bad Lily. It’s the one you’re getting.” She looked him in the eyes, seeing the years go by in those hazel stars. She saw mornings, afternoons, sunsets, sunrises, all of them warm, all of them safe, all of them new. In that moment she realized she’d stay, she’d listen, and she would only go back to her apartment for the dog.

[saintsenara]

What do you think about Pansy/Harry and Sirius/Petunia? 🌞

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

pansy parkinson/harry potter

pansy/harry is definitely very much a ship that i don't entirely get the appeal of - which means that i am of course delighted to receive propaganda/fic recs from the representative of hansy nation - largely because harry is canonically very much not feeling it. saying - repeatedly - that someone looks like a pug is not cute, and his other flashes of deciding to have something to say about pansy's character are basically to imply that he thinks she's a bitch, is a gossip [a quality he loathes], has no fashion sense, and is dumb.

pansy, for her part, doesn't pay a great deal of attention to harry except when it gives her an opportunity to try and get hermione's attention - so, while she might back the school rumour-mill which thinks harry and hermione are an item [her and voldemort's locket... what a combo] and be jealous of hermione for muscling in on her man, i think it's much more fun [and plausible] that she's having a little "oh fuck, do i like women" crisis about the inimitable miss granger.

although i will always stan her for heckling cho chang on her date specifically so she can call harry mid. legend behaviour.

sirius black/petunia dursley

now this, in contrast, is some delicious food.

i am on the record that unrequited prongsfoot is canon, and i'm also on the record that - since unrequited prongsfoot is canon - the most enjoyable way to read sirius and lily's relationship is that he regards her as the person who took the love of his life away from him.

petunia thinks much the same of james - that he and his apparent contempt for her simple muggle life is the final blow to her relationship with lily, rendering it irreparable - and, therefore, while she and sirius would approach their resentment of jily in very different ways [i can never be convinced by the idea that sirius would be rude or hostile to lily - he's more a noble, suffering-in-silence, sacrificing-himself-so-james-can-be-happy kind of lad; petunia is straightforwardly unpleasant], they would also have the hook of existing outside of jily's relationship looking in and wanting it to be different which provides a lovely spark of potential.

i genuinely ship it. i reckon she'd love a spin on the bike.

[maybebabyplease]

4 & jily pretty please?? or 14 & wolfstar omg what a cute idea...

hiiii my anonymous friend! here's a very sappy little wolfstar flash for you :) below the cut!

14. The moon is / predictably exquisite, as is the view of the moon through the word. ([The predictability of these rooms], Ben Lerner)

(poetry flash fic game)

Remus hates to see the moon shining through his bedroom window at night, so Sirius takes the room with the south-facing window. At night he looks westward, watching it rise in the sky and hang right where he can see it from his bed. He doesn’t put curtains up, so on clear nights right before and right after the full, the moon casts a blue glow across his pillow. He sleeps better in the light.

Sirius thought he’d spend more time with Remus once they moved in together. Just the two of them, against the world, or at least against early adulthood. But Remus works in the mornings and afternoons at the university, and Sirius works the second shift that usually bleeds into the third shift at St. Mungos. Most often they’re communicating through food left under warming charms and notes on the cupboard and forgotten cups of tea. Sirius can’t help himself, and at night he pokes his head into Remus’ room just to make sure Remus is sleeping all right. He’s shocked, the first time, to find Remus passed out next to his book with his curtains drawn tightly shut and a red glow coming from the ceiling. When he asks Remus about it later, Remus admits to changing out the light bulbs in his bedroom for red Muggle darkroom lights. 

“I can’t sleep if it’s too blue,” he says, hunching his shoulders in. He busies himself with the dishes, washing them by hand even though he could easily use a charm. He does this when he’s anxious. 

Nodding his head, Sirius pretends like he understands, and gets a dish towel to help Remus dry. He thinks about the conversation all week, though, and on his next day off he goes to Muggle stores and fumbles around until he finds red light bulbs and dark window covers.

It takes another year for Remus to see Sirius’ bedroom, at least in the way Sirius wants him to see it. Remus breaks off their kiss, only their fifth (Sirius has kept count), and tries to redirect towards his own bedroom.

“I want you in mine,” says Sirius. “Trust me.”

Remus looks back at his room, nervous, but Sirius squeezes his hand and leads him forward. Remus follows, but he stands in the doorway staring at the stripe of light coming in through the window. Sirius has prepared for this: he closes his curtains and turns on his red lamp. The room glows like the sun, warm and soft, and Sirius watches the shadows that hide in the angles of Remus’ face.

“Just like I have,” says Remus, his voice soft. “You really…how long have you had it like this?” He moves towards the bed, laying his hand on the pillow.

Sirius doesn’t really want to say, but he can’t lie for shit, and it’s Remus. “Since I saw yours,” he says, and he cringes inside, because it sounds like I love you. Maybe it is.