#let's not talk about the fidelius curse

[iamnmbr3]

Things Draco Malfoy has Done in the Muggle World During His Postwar Probation

Attempted to order from a menu by speaking to it

Almost breached the Statute of Secrecy due to mistaking someone using clap-on-clap-off lights for a muggleborn using wandless magic

Got into a heated argument with the actors in a commercial because he thought the people in the tv were talking to him

Refused to walk in front of a car for fear of bumping into the invisible animals that obviously pull it

Panicked and responded "I have no idea what you're talking about" when asked what the "magic word" is

Complained that his telephone is broken because it periodically emits a loud ringing sound for no apparent reason

Run into Harry Potter unexpectedly in a pub, dropped everything he was holding, and automatically caught it with wandless magic without thinking, thus breaching the Statute of Secrecy in front of 47 muggles and the most famous Auror in Britain

Run into Harry Potter again in the same pub, thanked him for getting him out of those misuse of magic charges and apologized (again) for all of the more unpleasant bits of their history

Accidentally on purpose run into Harry Potter yet again in the same pub to find out why he comes to muggle London so often and how he's doing and to let him know that he's not remotely interested in whether the rumors in the Daily Prophet that he's split up with Ginny Weasley are true (they are)

Met Harry Potter in a pub for drinks to chat about old times except not the sad bits at least until they've had a few

Taken his muggle friends out to a pub that he definitely chose at random but which coincidentally Harry Potter also happens to be walking into so they might as well all sit down together

Had to admit that he may have mentioned him a few times when Harry is shocked to discover that all of Draco's muggle friends seemingly know his name despite the fact that he isn't famous in the muggle world

Met Harry and Harry's friends for drinks and somehow actually had a good time and not been vengefully poisoned by Ron Weasley or cursed by Hermione Granger or stabbed by Neville Longbottom or anything else dreadful

Had to explain to several bemused people that when Luna Lovegood says that they used to live together she doesn't mean they were involved romantically

Invited Harry Potter back to his flat and proudly shown him that he now knows how to make a telephone stop ringing (you just lift it up for a moment and then slam it back down and that fixes it) and then told him off for laughing

Visited Harry Potter at his flat, also in muggle London though protected by the Fidelius Charm for extra privacy, met a very small and excitable owl and had a protracted but good natured argument about which of them was actually better at Quidditch (because obviously if Draco had had a Firebolt he would have won every match)

Got his wand back and immediately transfigured everything in his flat just because he can and because it feels so good to use magic again and then cast Rictusempra on Harry because clearly Draco is the superior dueler and also because he likes the sound of Harry's laugh

Kissed Harry Potter.

[bookwormangie]

I recently saw a post on tiktok about Neville as a potentially great chosen one if he had been picked, and I wanted to share my thoughts and rant a little because I don’t have much else to talk about, lol.

I believe ppl are missing a crucial point here. If Voldemort had targeted Neville instead of Harry, things would have played out very differently. Neville most likely wouldn’t have survived at all and wouldn’t have become "the Boy Who Lived."

Firstly, let’s discuss Snape. His role in Harry’s survival is massive. Snape’s love for Lily led him to ask Voldemort to spare her, and he then went to Dumbledore to beg for her protection. The Potters went into hiding, and Dumbledore cast the fidelius charm. Unfortunately, they were eventually betrayed by Peter. Since Snape wouldn’t have done this for the Longbottoms, they wouldn’t have gone into hiding (unless Dumbledore had been tipped off by someone else). This would have made it easier for Voldemort to find them.

Secondly, the protection Harry received from his mother’s sacrifice was unique. Lily’s choice to sacrifice herself for Harry created a magical protection that caused Voldemort’s curse to rebound, leading to his temporary downfall. This was possible because Voldemort gave her the choice to step aside. Alice and Frank, though loving and brave, wouldn’t have had the same opportunity to step aside for Neville. Snape wouldn’t have asked Voldemort to spare them, so Voldemort wouldn’t have given them a chance to step aside. As a result, Neville wouldn’t have received the same sacrificial protection, and Voldemort would have succeeded in killing him.

In short, if Voldemort had targeted Neville, the lack of Snape’s intervention and the absence of the Fidelius Charm and sacrificial protection would likely have led to the Longbottoms' deaths. Neville wouldn’t have become the boy who lived, and the wizarding world’s history would have been completely different.

I personally speculate that if Voldemort had succeeded in killing Neville, he might have then turned his attention to Harry to prevent the prophecy from coming true. Given Voldemort’s nature, he would likely have sought to eliminate any remaining threat. Snape would've intervened (assuming he was aware), potentially resulting in a scenario similar to the one we know. This would mean Harry could still become the chosen one and “the Boy Who Lived,” despite the different circumstances. It’s an intriguing thought—how fate might realign even when the paths change.

This has probably been discussed before, but I just needed to yap a little. It’s been a while since I posted!

[romione-trope-fest]

Speak Now

Title: Speak Now

Author: adenei

Selected Trope: Weasley Weddings

Summary: In the midst of trying to navigate what life looks like following the defeat of Voldemort, and the loss of so many, there’s one thing glaringly missing. The irony of it all is it takes someone else’s wedding to give Ron the kick in the pants he needs to go after what—or rather *who*—he wants.

Word Count: 1988

Rating: G

TW: mentions of character death (all canon)

“Ron, I need to ask you for a favor.” Ron’s hand stops on the doorknob, the floorboards creaking under his feet. 

The thick piece of wood is the only thing separating him from a much needed afternoon nap. Sleep has been evading him. Nightmares torturing his mind as he tosses and turns on the lumpy old mattress that’s been his for as long as he can remember.

He shoots his brother a withering look, letting go of the handle as he turns to face him. “Right now?” 

It’s been two weeks since the Battle of Hogwarts. Two weeks since Fred died. Two weeks since Harry defeated Voldemort. And two weeks since he and Hermione kissed.

Every waking moment has been filled with funerals or meetings, and helping around the Burrow to ease the load on his mum, who’s completely overwhelmed with grief. And if he’s not doing his part to ensure the household is running smoothly, he’s taking a shift with George, making sure he doesn’t do anything rash or stupid as he navigates a world without his twin.

Because of all that, he’s barely seen Hermione, let alone had a chance to sit down with her. Every time they cross paths at the Burrow, he feels like he’s not making enough of an effort to make her a priority, yet how can he when everything else is just as important right now? She always smiles and nods in understanding when he’s pulled here or there, but sometimes he wishes she’d speak up and be selfish, asking him to come with her for once instead.

“Yes, right now.”

Ron sighs, trying to prevent the eye roll that sneaks out anyway. “Can’t you ask—”

“No. Bill is with George, and this really needs to be addressed by the end of the day.”

“Fine,” he groans, opening the door wide enough to welcome Percy inside his room.

He’s so busy ushering Percy inside that he doesn’t notice that there’s someone else already occupying the space—more specifically, his bed.

“Oh! Hi, um, sorry. I was just waiting for—do you need me to go?” Hermione’s brows knit with worry.

Ron could curse Percy all over again for needing him now—especially if he’s missing another opportunity to talk to Hermione. His brother stares at the girl he longs to be his girlfriend, contemplating her presence until he finally decides.

“No, actually, I’d like you to stay. I think that would be best.”

“Percy, what is going—”

The uptight redhead straightens his tie and clears his throat. “I have an appointment at the courthouse in Devon in thirty minutes, and I need someone to come with me.”

Ron’s not sure why, but he suddenly realizes that Percy’s dressed up—in Muggle garb.

“What did you do?” Hermione’s eyes widen as the question slips out of her mouth.

“I—nothing. I’m—er—getting married.”

“What?” He and Hermione both exclaim in tandem.

“But you’re not even seeing someone! Right?”

“I—I know it seems rash and maybe rushed, but it’s not. I’ve been seeing a—a Muggle for about two years now. Her name is Audrey, and I truly love her. She knows about me and our world. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing, dating her amidst the war, but—now that things are, well, over, I don’t want to waste any more time.”

Ron balks at him. “You’re seriously going to get married without the rest of the family knowing?”

“Er, no. They don’t. And that’s the thing. I do want to tell everyone…eventually, but Audrey and I had talked about eloping before things got really bad. We’ve been living in a Fidelius protected home and I had to be so careful not to get caught. Otherwise, I would have tried to make amends sooner too. But—Merlin forbid something were to happen again, I don’t want to miss my chance.”

Percy rarely gets flustered, but when he does, he is very much like Hermione. His train of thought tends to bounce all over the place and he doesn’t always make sense. Ron shakes his head.

“That still didn’t answer the question.”

“I am going to tell them. When the time is right. And we can have a reception or whatever else Mum wants to plan when she’s ready, but right now, I just need it to be me and her. We don’t want the fanfare.”

“So, why are you asking me to come with you?”

“Because we need a witness. Her best friend was supposed to come, but when I got the paperwork this morning to file the marriage license with the Ministry, we realized the witness needs to be magical for our end of things. Lara is still planning on attending, but…please, Ron?”

Ron stares at his brother, who looks at him with pleading, hopeful eyes before his gaze flits to Hermione. She nods gently.

“Fine. But I don’t have—”

“Oh, Merlin, thank you! Here.” Percy pulls his wand out and Accios something from the other room. It’s another muggle suit. “Hermione, you can come too, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you to—”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“No, please, I’d like you there. It would make me feel a little better knowing that some of my family can be there.”

Ron’s heart constricts in his chest. Does Percy really consider Hermione family? Even though they aren’t even together?

“I—I’ll go look in Ginny’s room to see what I can find.” Her cheeks are rosy as she climbs off the bed and slips between them, exiting the room without so much as a backwards glance at either of them.

Percy looks back to Ron. “I’m sorry if I interrupted something.”

“It’s fine. You…didn’t.” 

Not technically, anyway.

“Er, right. Well, I do appreciate this. Truly. Thank you. I promise it won’t be long.” Percy glances down at his watch. “We need to leave in ten minutes. I’ll meet you in the garden and we can Side-Along?”

Ron nods. “Sure.”

As Percy disappears into the hall, shutting the door behind him, Ron has trouble wrapping his head around everything. 

Percy’s getting married. To a girl no other Weasley has ever met before—a muggle. And he and Hermione are the ones being asked to bear witness to it all.

* * *

The ceremony is just as Percy said it would be: brief, quiet, and intimate. For someone who always wanted all the pomp and circumstance of whatever position he held, this is uncharacteristically unassuming and private. And Ron can’t help but feel a little guilty upon seeing how the war—and the estrangement from his family—has changed Percy.

But when the justice of the peace asks them to say their vows, there’s a spark that comes to life in Percy’s eyes when he looks at Audrey, and even though Ron thinks his brother’s rushing things, it’s obvious they share something special. He doesn’t blame Percy for not wanting to wait anymore.

After all, hadn’t he said as much to Hermione in the Room of Requirement? ‘It’s now or never?’ Except it’s turned into ‘it was now, but then we had to wait a few weeks and he’s starting to think it might be never.’

Ron glances at his best friend, whose eyes are glassy with unshed tears as she watches Percy and Audrey share their promises with each other. He’s struck with an overwhelming feeling that he can’t quite place. Relief, maybe? Hope? Maybe it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have the word to describe it. Until it’s obvious.

Love.

It’s against all odds—the fact that they’re here. They made it. Even when one, or perhaps both, probably shouldn’t have. Ron’s been so caught up mourning the loss of everyone who gave their lives to protect their world that he’s forgotten why they died in the first place. Fred, Tonks, Remus…they wouldn’t want everyone to grieve them so much they can’t get on with their lives. What good would all that fighting have been for? 

Maybe Percy has the right idea, marrying Audrey. Perhaps this is part of his journey of healing and moving forward on his own, and eventually he’ll find a way to fuse his life with Audrey to the one he’s working to repair with his family. Ron wonders if he should follow in his brother’s footsteps, and find his way to happiness again.

As Percy and Audrey are pronounced man and wife, Ron knows exactly what he has to do. He offers a genuine smile as they share their first kiss, signs the documentation as their witness, and congratulates them.

“Thank you for being here,” Percy extends his gratitude again as they walk down the steps exiting the courthouse.

“No problem. Just, er, maybe don’t keep this from the rest of the family for too long. I think they could probably use something happy to latch onto.”

Percy’s mouth forms into a thin line as he nods curtly. “I’ll…try not to.” Then, he turns to his new bride. “We’re going to head back to our flat, unless you need help getting home?”

And there’s Pompous Percy, back to play.

Ron rolls his eyes. “I think we’ll manage.”

Percy and Audrey wander off down the road as Ron eyes the park nearby and nods to it. “Care for a walk?”

“Sure,” Hermione agrees.

They meander side by side, and all of the things Ron wants to say storm through to the front of his mind, but he can’t latch onto a single one long enough to start a conversation. After harboring his feelings for years, how is he supposed to finally tell Hermione how he feels?

Their fingers brush as they walk, and Ron brazenly slides his hand into hers the next time the sway of their arms sync up.

“That was unexpected,” Hermione offers.

“It was.”

“But also really sweet.”

“Yeah.”

Hermione slows her pace and turns toward him, forehead crinkled in concern. “Are you alright?”

“I—yeah—”

“I feel like we’ve barely seen each other, let alone spoken since—”

“I know.” The hand that isn’t still holding hers moves to slip around her waist. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, but—I’ve wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

Us. The kiss. The locket. What happened at Malfoy’s. Shell Cottage. Everything that’s ever happened between us since the fucking Yule Ball and what it could possibly mean. All of it.

He supposes any of those could be a good starting point, but that’s not what slips out of his mouth. “I want what they have—Percy and Audrey.”

“Oh?” The singular syllable catches in her throat as she looks at him in surprise.

“With you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He’s not sure how, but Hermione manages to move her body closer to his. “Me too,” she breathes. “I’ve been hoping—”

But Ron doesn’t give her a chance to finish. Dropping her hand, he brings it to her face, tilting her chin up as his lips graze hers. It’s much more gentle, tentative even, than their first kiss, and he relishes every second of the leap they’re taking.

“I never thought…” she starts to say when they finally break apart, but the words drift off and she bites her lip instead. 

He knows exactly what she means though, even without saying it. “I know. But here we are.”

“Here we are,” she agrees.

“Reckon we probably shouldn’t jump to marriage right away though,” Ron jokes. It’s the first time he’s genuinely been able to since—well, before they broke into the Ministry.

The crack brings a smile to Hermione’s lips. Merlin, he’s missed making her smile. “No, probably not. But I don’t see a problem with dating.”

“Neither do I.”

“So, it’s settled then.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Then, a wide grin spreads across his face and happiness bubbles up from his heart. “I finally get to call you my girlfriend.”

She nuzzles her head into his chest. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too.” He kisses the top of her head.

For now.

[argentaur]

Prompt: Horcrux

(cw: talk of death, death)

Remus had once inquired about the topic of soul; surrounded by his father investigating Spirits, and the looming reminder of the wolf inside of him, he’d wondered if it was another sentience, if there lied another soul in his body, or if the wolf was a possession and corruption of his flesh.

And in the darkest nights he’d worry, if the wolf would die with him, if its monstrous eyes would still peer from his cooling corpse awaiting the moon’s calling like an Inferius awaited its master’s order. Or if the lurking predator would steal his body the moment his own feeble, human life was snuffed out, make away with it and live on, a terrible beast let loose on the world. Remus couldn’t stand the idea of his body being appropriated, again, as the wolf already did, every single full moon as far as he remembered. To suffer that fate even in death was a nightmarish outlook.

As such, the topic of permanence and soul, or more precisely the idea of immortality, was one he had a visceral dislike for.

*

Hearing the plans of using the Fidelius charm had filled him with unease. Remus couldn’t help but compare and notice how similar the Fidelius was to a Horcrux in concept. Though the Dark magics required a vile sacrifice, they were both magic that demanded the soul and they both granted a form of protection.

The notable difference being that a Horcrux was granted invulnerability through the Dark magic that created it, but a secret keeper was not. What then would keep the secret keeper safe? Sirius, who’d so easily surrendered himself as a receptacle for the secret.

Remus fretted. He understood at heart that they were at war, and Sirius would never shy away from risk or danger. Though he was tolerant of his own shortened lifespan, he was not yet ready to face his friends’ mortality.

*

It was in the aftermath of Halloween that he’d raged and cursed the Black scion, sometimes hoping that a Dementor would remove his soul for all the good it did to protect the Potters. Then, on the more maudlin days, he’d wondered how much a fight Sirius had given Voldemort, wondered if he wasn’t the traitor he was said to be.

Once upon a time he’d been horrified at the concept of Horcruxes. Remus couldn’t fathom a Dark wizard’s willingness to torment their own soul when he himself couldn’t bear the consistent torment of his flesh on the full moon. And yet, madly, he considered if Voldemort hadn’t found a way to rip the secret out of the soul that held it, considered if such a Dark wizard wouldn’t know the method of splitting the soul to release the secret.

It was a horrible thought, entertaining the idea of Sirius being subjected to the process of soul splitting, but a morbid part of him was comforted with the possibility that if Sirius lost himself to the Dementors of Azkaban, then a piece of him might yet survive, torn and shredded under the violence of the Dark Lord.

*

Now, in front of the Veil, Remus recalled the somber conversations about death he’d shared with Sirius. In a bout of agitation, he’d once confessed to wanting his frayed body accounted for, a sure proof of passing and having the wolf declared dead with certainty. He didn’t particularly care for the ceremony of funerary rites, but he would not have his body discarded carelessly when the wolf might still slumber.

It had made Sirius uncomfortable, but he’d said in return: his parents and theirs, the Blacks, they lived on in the stars. There was intention in naming them after constellations, they were to be remembered. They coveted legacy, significance and prestige. When didn’t a Black die a silent death? Loud in the aftermath, declarations, announcements, for sure, but they would not allow their crumbling bodies to be seen, to be carved into memory in their frail form and oh so human.

Death to a Black was a muted echo, tremor and beat, like a pulse of history, but invisible.

Naturally, he wished anything but that for himself; let him be mourned, let him be grieved, but grant the surviving a proper farewell and let him be let go. Like the growth of a tree, he’d bloom and sprout, then shed and wilt as the soul shed the aged body, and nourish the earth for the next cycle, the next season, for new sprouts to grow.

He would push for the surviving to move forward, not hang over them like the stars at night.

Remus felt wronged in Sirius’ stead, angered by his hollow death. There was no body to bury, and he suspected not even his soul might pass on peacefully. At best it was obliterated by the Veil, at worst he was trapped in yet another prison.

He’d reviled the Horcrux for what it was, a prison of the soul. But at this moment, Remus longed to retain even just a single piece of Sirius.

@wolfstarmicrofic (844 words)

[startanewdream]

traitor

For @sweeethinny, who prompted for "8. You’re upset one night, and I need you to know that I’m here for you, and I’m kissing your forehead to show I’m here for you". She asked for a fight between Harry and James, but since it wasn't working, I made him discuss with Sirius for a subject that is very sensitive for them.

Angst, canon compliant, 2k words, and set right before the Potters casted the Fidelius Charm.

'You are mad, Sirius', James declares, eyes shining with undisguised fury. 'How could you —'

'Do you think I enjoy saying this?', Sirius replies, his voice in a carried whisper, none of them wanting to wake up the baby sleeping on his crib.

'It seems so if you are suggesting it'.

'I am not suggesting, I’m being honest here, James. There is a traitor between us'.

James shivers as it always happens when someone mentions that word. He hates it more than any other.

Traitor.

It's never really said out loud. It's whispered in fear, it's written in the eyes of every member of the Order he has seen lately, as few as they are, mistrust as they consider each other, as they look around and wonder who it might be.

Someone is betraying them.

It's not bad luck that they have been having lately, their numbers reducing slowly but consistently with information that only the Order should know. Someone has been spilling their secrets to the other side, to Voldemort.

They are losing this war because there is a traitor between them and it's becoming more obvious that the traitor is someone James has known most of his life.

But he can't accept it. Not after the last ten years. Not after the Marauders.

'It is not Remus', he insists, dragging Sirius outside Harry's room. 'It can't be'.

'Why not? He has been spending too much time away, he doesn't look like himself —'

'Of course he doesn't! You know what he has been doing'.

'Do I? Do you? Because he hasn't told us'.

‘We know it’s something to do with werewolves — but some things are classified, no one knows everything that’s going on —’

‘That only started recently’, Sirius reminds him, his voice insistent. ‘Before that, he knew about Dorcas and the Prewett and Dearborn —’

‘Same as we did’.

‘Well, considering Voldemort is after your son, I don’t think you are the traitor’, Sirius says sarcastically. ‘Or do you think I might be?’

‘Never’, James says easily, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. ‘But that’s it, Padfoot. I know you. I know Moony. I know Wormtail. I would give my life for any of you in a blink, and I can’t believe —’

‘There is a traitor, James’, Sirius cuts him. ‘And it’s one of the Marauders. It’s not me. It’s not you. It can’t be Peter, he would never have the heart for it. There is only one left’.

‘You are wrong, Sirius. I refuse to believe this is true’.

‘Just admit out loud there is a traitor, James’. Sirius grabs him by the shoulder, and James sees the tears in his grey eyes, all filled with despair and anguish. He knows Sirius hates this almost as he does. ‘Say it’.

‘I can’t’.

Sirius shakes his head. ‘Your family will die because you refuse to admit someone is betraying you? Are you so willing to risk Lily? Your infant son?’

‘Fuck you, Sirius’, James curses, his voice low and dark now. ‘You know I won’t risk their lives. You know I love them’.

‘Then cast that bloody charm. Hide yourselves. And don’t tell Remus’.

‘How can you say this? How can you turn your back to him so easily?’

‘Now fuck you, James. Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I enjoy seeing you for the first time in months, seeing my godson for the first time, and having to tell you someone that used to be our best friend has changed sides?’

‘It surely seems easy’, he replies coldly. ‘Because I would never say this. I would never doubt any of you’.

‘Then you are a bloody fool! Oh, fuck it, I can’t do this. I can’t stay here and watch you kill yourself because you are just too stubborn!’

‘Then go!’, James yells, out of himself now, and he hears Harry crying in the other room. ‘We will ask someone else to be our Secret Keeper. Someone that will not have a problem sharing it with the people we trust’.

‘God, James! There is a moment to be loyal and there is a moment to be smart —’

‘It is not Remus, Sirius. I know him. There is not one single piece on his body that is evil’.

‘He is a werewolf’, Sirius replies, and now at least James sees the shame on his eyes as he throws back the word that always separated Remus from them and, yet, was what brought them together too. They changed their lives because of Remus’ condition.

‘And how many times did we support him for it? How many times did we assure him, in the boy’s dorm room, that it didn’t matter? That his place was there with us?’

‘We are not in school anymore. Real world is nothing like Hogwarts. That changes people’.

‘I know, I’m not stupid! But the friendship we forged there was true. It is true. I won’t give up on this’.

‘Then you’ll die’, Sirius says, furious once more. ‘And you’ll drag your family together because you are too loyal to believe someone is betraying you’.

And then Sirius passes by him, not looking back, and James has a mind to go after him; but Harry is still crying, so he enters his son’s room, picking him up and trying to soothe him as much as himself.

Harry sleeps eventually, but James’ pain doesn’t lessen. It won’t happen, not until this bloody war is over, and if the future of it depends upon the sleeping baby in his arms, then it’s still far away, because James won’t ever let anything happen to his son. He doesn’t care about a stupid prophecy, Harry is just a baby. He doesn’t get to be responsible for the wizarding world.

It’s James that should fix this. It’s his duty. He is a father, for Merlin’s sake, and even if he still doesn’t know what he is doing, he knows it’s his job to protect Harry from… from one of his friends.

That’s the worst thing he ever thought of.

He sits on the couch in Harry’s bedroom, in the place he watched Lily nurse Harry to sleep a hundred times before, and the tears fall quietly on his face. It’s the fear and the shame, the hate and the pain.

Someone is betraying them. They’ve moved back to Godric’s Hollow and placed his parent’s house under a dozen different protection spells all because their flat is London was attacked; it was guarded too, a new place that only a few knew about, and yet they had escaped by pure luck — five more minutes and they would have get caught in the fire.

And then it was obvious someone had leaked the information; Voldemort was there in person, hoping to kill the prophesied one, a baby that couldn’t even sit back then.

Now there is talk of the most drastic of the protections, the charm that Lily is working on to keep them away from the world, and everyone is telling him the same. Don’t trust your friends.

But he can’t not trust them. He loves them and they love him back. How could not, with everything they shared? James always wanted a bigger family; he had his parents, of course, but James had wanted brothers, someone his age that could share more of the things with him, because he had grown up loved and yet a little lonely. And he had found the companion he craved for in Sirius, Remus and Peter, the three Gryffindors with whom he was so lucky to share a dorm for seven years.

Merlin, he shared secrets with them. They broke the law together; they made the impossible when they were fifteen, all young and stupid and so bright. They trusted each other.

How can one of them ever betray him? How can he be so wrong about them?

Not Sirius, who he trusts more than his shadow, who is his brother in every way but by blood, who had looked for him when he had no family anymore; Sirius that is his best friend ever since they shared a compartment, Sirius who turned away from his family tradition and who joined James in every decision he had ever made.

Not Remus, who is the most humble of them, who they accepted with open arms and who always looked as if he didn’t believe he got to be happy, to be loved. Remus is the kindest, the most compassionate; who once a month turned into something that was not him at all, and still seemed to understand who were those animals that showed up every full moon, recognizing them for the friends they were.

Not Peter, who always needed their protection and their attention, looking as surprised as Remus that he was accepted; Peter who had always wanted to please, the first one to understand when someone had a problem and to offer comfort, who worked twice than any of the Marauders to join them in anything they wanted. Peter, who had been afraid but had not hesitated before joining the Order, because he was brave even if he didn’t believe in it sometimes.

It is not them. They are a group. The Marauders.

Mischief managed.

That kind of thing is not broken easily.

And yet Sirius is doubting and James is being forced to accept that someone is not speaking the truth, that someone actively told Voldemort how to go after each of the members of the Order until the moment they can present Voldemort with the thing he wants most…

His son. Not Harry…

‘James?’, Lily’s voice calls him softly, and a moment later she opens the door, the light from the hall illuminating the dark room.

‘In here’, he whispers, his voice rough, turning his face so she doesn’t see it. He places Harry quietly on his crib, careful not to wake him, and dries his face, watching his son sleeping. ‘I will just stay here a moment, Lily, I will —’

But he stops, because Lily is next to him, her arms around his waist as she lays her head against this shoulder.

‘Come on’, she asks, kissing his shoulder and dragging him outside. She takes him to the kitchen, making him sit at the table. ‘I made you tea’.

‘Thanks’.

She gives him a cup, standing next to him, her hands running through his hair soothingly. It makes him sleepy in a good way. Almost relaxed.

He wishes he could sleep until all of his problems were gone; or not. If that happened, someone else would have fixed them, and James doesn’t want to burden anyone else. It’s his job, as useless as he feels these days.

And yet James feels so tired.

‘I saw Sirius’, she whispers, just a little hesitating. ‘This is not what I was thinking of when I asked him to come see you’.

‘Yeah, talking about a traitor kind of kills the mood’.

‘James…’

‘I can’t do it, Lily. He says it’s Remus, that it can only be him, but it’s Moony. His favourite holiday is Easter because of the chocolate eggs, I mean, how can anyone be evil like that?’

‘I know’.

‘Or Peter, he cried when he held Harry for the first time, how was that the face of a traitor?’

‘I know’.

‘And Sirius — he hates the Dark Arts, it’s everything he stands against, it’s everything he isn’t —’

‘I know, James, I know’. She hugs him, her arms around his head, and he loses himself in the warmth of her body.

‘What do I do, Lily? How can I mistrust any of them?’

‘That I don’t know, love’, she whispers, her voice heavy too. ‘But we will need to. There can be only one Secret Keeper’.

He breaks a little apart to look her in the eyes. Lily looks sad too.

‘It’ll be Sirius’, he says, confident in this at least. Sirius would die before he ever betrayed them, and if James needs to trust someone with everything he holds the most, it will be in him, even as fear threatens to crush him. If anything happens to Sirius…

‘We will start there’, Lily says. ‘One step at a time, like we say to Harry when he is wanting to walk. Don’t lose hope, James. Please’.

He knows why she is asking this. Sometimes, especially when they have been confined together for so long, just the two of them, it feels like the only person they can count on is in each other.

James knows this is not true. They have friends. They have a family.

But for now they are alone in this house that feels more and more like a prison, and James can’t do anything but have hope that things will get better. He has faith for Lily; she has for him. That’s how they keep going even in the darkest moments.

‘Ok’, he promises, and she places a soft kiss on his forehead like he had done thousands of times before, being taller than her. It’s a kiss that speaks of reassurance and that reminds him he is not alone.

Even if one of his best friends, one of the people he loves so much, is betraying them.

‘We will be fine’, she whispers, and though he knows she is lying, he lets himself believe in it.

[up-to-some-good]

Part 5: 5 times I fixed it...

“Mr and Mrs Potter,” Dumbledore started. “I’m afraid I have some bad news regarding the prophecy.”

Lily had had a bad feeling when he had pulled them out of the meeting early to talk. They had heard about the prophecy a month ago, but at that point it was between her baby and Alice’s, both born at the end of July.

“He thinks it’s about Harry,” she said.

She thought of her son. He was with James’s parents at Potter manor while they were at the meeting. He had been asleep when they left for headquarters. It was hard to believe there was a target on his back.

“Indeed,” Dumbledore responded.

James took a sharp breath and pulled Lily’s into his lap, squeezing her fingers. He reached for her whenever he needed comfort; every time he found out about another casualty, he pulled her into his arms. It was a comfort to both of them, but it didn’t work this time.

“What do we do?” James asked quietly.

“I believe you should go into hiding,” Dumbledore said. “Are you aware of the Fidelius charm?”

“Yes,” Lily said. “You conceal the secret of your location in another person. You cannot be found unless that person chooses to divulge the secret, but it cannot be coerced or otherwise forced out.”

“Correct,” the old man said, his eyes twinkling.

For a moment, Lily felt like she was back at Hogwarts, answering her Professors’ questions to win back the house points the man sitting next to her had lost.

“I suggest you use it to hide your family, until all is safe,” Dumbledore said calmly.

“All due respect, Albus,” a voice came from the door. “But that is a terrible idea.”

Professor McGonagall walked into the room and passed each of the Potters a biscuit from the tray downstairs. Dumbledore gave her an indecipherable look.

“We all know there is a spy in the Order,” she continued. “You cannot guarantee the person you choose will not betray you and, even if they do not, they could be found and killed or tortured until they revealed the location.”

“What do you suggest, Professor?” Lily asked.

“Leave the country,” she said simply. “Go somewhere far away, like Australia, where there are no Death Eaters, and return when the war is over. I suggest the Longbottoms go with you as a precaution.”

“How do we stop Voldemort from simply following us? We won’t have back up in Australia if he comes for us,” James questioned.

“A simple diversion will do,” McGonagall responded. “We will place two houses under the Fidelius as if you were living there. They will serve the purpose to hide your true location without putting you at risk.”

“Who will be the secret keeper?” James asked.

“Myself and Alastor,” McGonagall said easily.

“Okay,” James said. “I trust you.”

Two days later, the Potters packed their bags and headed for the airport. They said goodbye to Euphemia and Fleamont the night before at dinner, pretending they would be reunited, but knowing the elder two would not be around much longer. Alice and Frank met them at the airport with Neville and gave them tight hugs. No one in the Order, not even the other marauders, knew where the families were going, just that they would be in hiding for the foreseeable future.

“Ready to go?” Frank asked.

“As much as we can be,” Lily said.

The six passed through the airport and boarded the plane together, disappearing for the next year.

***  

When he arrived at the flat, Sirius poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey and retreated to his bedroom. James and Lily had been gone for a month and things were getting harder. The remaining marauders were always on separate missions, gone for days at a time and not telling each other where they were going.

Remus came back injured and held on to Sirius as tightly as he could when he came back, but they didn’t talk. Sirius loved him as much as he ever had but wondered how much longer he could go without knowing what Remus was doing or telling Remus what he was doing.

Peter did nothing but talk, guessing who the spy was and changing his opinion daily. The day he suggested Remus, Sirius asked him to move out of the apartment. He had to trust Remus and Peter. They were all he had left without the Potters.

A sound from the living room startled him. Someone had apparated into the flat, someone unexpected. Remus always apparated outside the front door, so his boyfriend wasn’t back, and Peter always sent an owl ahead, so it couldn’t be him.

He grabbed his wand and stormed into the living room to find –

Regulus, lying on the floor and drenched. He looked like he was breathing, but the strain of apparating had clearly knocked him out. There was some sort of locket clutched in his hands.

“Merlin,” Sirius said, running to crouch at his brother’s side.

He started casting every healing and warming spell he could think of, grateful for Remus’s lycanthropy for the first time. Regulus was a known Death Eater so Sirius shouldn’t have been helping him. He was his little brother, though, and he couldn’t watch him die on his living room carpet.

Eventually, Regulus started awake, sitting up rapidly and nearly collapsing again from the effort. Sirius caught him before he fell and moved him carefully to the sofa.

“Sirius?” he asked weakly.

“What the hell happened, Reg?” he asked.

Regulus started laughing, leaning his head back on one of the throw pillows. Bewildered, Sirius watched his brother laugh hysterically for a few minutes before he calmed down and looked back at him.

“I should be dead,” he said eventually. “I thought for sure apparating to a place I barely remember from underwater would kill me, if the inferi didn’t first.”

“What are you talking about?”

Regulus didn’t answer. Instead he sat up and threw the locket at Sirius, who caught it easily.

“What do you know about horcruxes, Siri?” he asked tiredly.

Within the next few days, Regulus repeated his story multiple times, to Dumbledore, Remus, Moody, and any other Order member who wanted to hear it. He wanted to join the Order, help with the hunt for horcruxes, but few trusted him.

“I’ll swear an Unbreakable Vow,” he said eventually. “I’ll vow that I won’t betray the Order, that I’ll be loyal.”

Dumbledore agreed and, once the spell was cast, Regulus was welcomed into the Order of the Phoenix.

Everyone’s missions were cancelled, unless absolutely necessary, in lieu of the hunt for horcruxes. Dumbledore guessed at the number and objects and sent them out to look for them. Within a few months, the Order had gathered the cup, locket, diadem, diary and ring after a few daring missions and one small, albeit destructive, heist from Gringotts.

“Now what?” Sirius asked. “How do we get rid of them?”

“There are two known methods,” came the calm answer from Dumbledore. “Basilisk venom or Fiendfyre.”

“So we’re fucked?” Remus asked incredulously. “Unless someone as a pet Basilisk they’d like to share?”

“There’s rumoured to be one at Hogwarts,” Regulus said mildly. “But I don’t know where.”

The Order looked at the objects on the table and collectively sighed. The few months tracking them down meant nothing if they couldn’t destroy them.

“Anyone have a house they’re willing to burn down?” Remus asked the room eventually. “Preferably one with an astounding amount of protective charms so we don’t have to cast them?”

Sirius and Regulus shared a look. Walburga Black had died just a month ago, leaving Grimmauld Place entirely empty. Orion had been an especially paranoid man, so the house had always been protected with every charm he could find. Neither of them wanted the house and they had already set Kreacher free – it was perfect.

“Actually,” Regulus said. “I think we do.”

Watching the house burn was incredible, skulls rising from the smoke as Voldemort’s soul died in the fire. It was almost fun – until the Death Eaters arrived.

A fierce battle started, everyone fighting to get to the centre, where Voldemort himself was fighting Dumbledore. Sirius stood with his back against Remus’s, righting Bellatrix and Rowle simultaneously. Remus was engaged with Yaxley and Malfoy, occasionally shooting a jinx at Goyle, busy fighting Regulus.

Across from them, Peter and Snape were engaged in a duel, neither of them focused on anything around them. Unexpectedly, Peter stunned Snape and moved on. Even more, unexpectedly, he joined Sirius’s duel – on the Death Eaters’ side.

“You little rat, Pettigrew,” he yelled. “How could you?”

“You’re not going to win, Black,” Peter yelled. “Last chance to switch sides!”

“Fuck you,” Sirius sneered.

A second later, everything changed. Dumbledore landed the killing shot and Voldemort crumpled. Bellatrix pointed her wand at a distracted Sirius. He yelled in pain and fell to his knees, but she didn’t let up, keeping her focus on torturing her cousin as if he were personally responsible for her master’s death. Peter cursed Remus before disapparating with the other Death Eaters as Moody began stunning everyone in sight.

Remus collapsed next to Sirius, blood pouring from the cuts on his chest.

“Avada kedavra!”

A green beam of light hit Bellatrix in the chest, she and Sirius collapsed simultaneously, the latter panting and shaking.

“I never liked her,” Regulus said mildly, pocketing his wand.

Sirius and Remus woke up to a sound in the living room a week later. They had left the hospital a day before, both of them still exhausted and still in pain, but alive. They slowly got up and grabbed their wands before padding to the living room, where they were tackled into a group hug by a flash of red hair.

“Lily,” Sirius said breathlessly, hugging her tighter. “You’re back.”

He pulled away and looked up to see James, holding Harry, who was almost a toddler at this point.

“We’re back,” James said quietly.

[engie-ivy]

After the betrayal, after the murder, Remus wonders if he could've known? After all, hasn't it always been clear Sirius Black is mad?

Wolfstar Angst. There are some Fluffy moments in between, but it comes down to Angst.

Never Like This

Don’t cry.

The ceremony is drawing to an end. Soon, all that needs to be said, will have been said. Which seems absurd to Remus. How can all ever be said? There’s so much to say, for most of which words don’t even exist. Still, the final words will soon have been spoken, and they’ll walk to the cemetery of Godric’s Hollow, where members of the Potter family have been buried for generations. Where Lily and James will have their last resting place.

Don’t cry.

Not now, not here, not in front of all these people. Remus can feel their eyes burning on his back. He can just imagine the conversations.

“Is that-?”

“Yeah, that’s him!”

“That scrawny, pale fellow? He’s the Werewolf who fought in The Order?”

“Poor guy, all his friends are dead now. Well, except for the one who’s hopefully wishing he were dead.”

“Hey, weren’t they...?”

“They say they were.”

“And he never realised...?”

“Apparently not.”

“How naive can someone be.”

It’s only in his head, and he can’t actually hear anyone talking, but it seems real to him. He won’t break down in front of all these people. He won’t show that kind of vulnerability.

Don’t cry. Be a man, Lupin. Don’t cry.

Immediately, he can hear Lily’s voice in his head: “Remus John Lupin. Crying is a valid way of expressing your emotion, whether you’re a man or a woman. I will not hear such nonsense out of your mouth!”

Involuntarily, Remus lets out a laugh, and oh, Merlin, that’s probably even worse than crying. Suddenly, the whole situation seems utterly absurd to him. A room full of people staring at the Werewolf Order member whose friends are all killed, waiting for him to fall apart, and here he is, fighting the urge to start laughing. They’ll think he’s gone mad. It’s what they said about Sirius, innit?

He remembers the resentment in Alastor Moody’s eyes.

“There’s not going to be a trial, Lupin. It’s no use. The man has lost every ounce of sanity. You want to know how the Aurors found him? Standing between his victims, the remains of those Muggles he blasted to pieces, gruesome enough to give even the most experienced Auror trouble sleeping, laughing. He was laughing, Lupin. He’s mad. Besides, with everyone knowing he was the Secret Keeper and all the witnesses that saw him murder Pettigrew, we hardly need a trial. We’ll lock him up in Azkaban and that’ll be the last you see of him.”

Even worse was probably the pity in Emmeline Vance’s eyes, when she hugged him tight.

“You couldn’t have known, Remus. You can’t blame yourself, okay? You couldn’t have known!”

Couldn’t he have known? Didn’t he already know Sirius Black was mad? He has said it often enough.

“You’re mad,” Remus said, staring incredulously at Sirius’ grinning face.

He surely hoped the boy was not, as he was to spend the next seven years sharing a dorm with him. But the boy had just informed him that he, in their first week at Hogwarts, had already figured out how to break in into the Slytherin dorms and had managed to sneak into Hogsmeade to purchase a load of Dung Bombs.

Remus knew he didn’t have to count on their other dormmate to be a voice of reason, as James had a similar grin on this face as Sirius. Remus knew he should say no, be the responsible one, that going along with them would only end up getting him in trouble.

But Remus took one look at Sirius’ grinning face, and he already knew he was going to get into a lot of trouble the upcoming years.

“You’re mad,” Remus choked, trying to fight back tears.

Sirius blinked at him, not understanding all the emotion. They had been lying on Remus’ bed, trying to plan a prank to get back at Slytherin for cheating in the latest Quidditch match.

“We can’t do it tomorrow night,” Sirius had said. “James has detention then. And of course not the night after, as it’s the full moon, so you’ll be off doing your Werewolf thing.”

It was just a simple, offhanded comment, like it didn’t make Remus’ entire world come crumbling down. Remus didn’t even have the state of mind to deny it. “Y- you... you know?” He had stammered.

“Oh, right. Yeah,” Sirius had said absentmindedly. “We figured it out a couple of weeks ago.” Then, he had grinned at Remus. “I must say, Moony, that’s your nickname now by the way, I always knew there was a wicked side to you, but this exceeds my expectations! Bloody brilliant, mate.”

So Remus had called Sirius mad, because how could he not mind? How could he not be disgusted with him? How could he not demand Remus to be expelled?

Sirius just shrugged. “I might be a little mad. Does run in the family.”

“You’re mad,” Remus chuckled.

Sirius had just informed him of his most recent crazy idea. He had learned that Werewolves aren’t dangerous to other animals, so he wanted to become an Animagus, to keep Remus company during the full moon, and perhaps prevent him from harming himself. Sirius obviously had no idea how difficult, and potentially dangerous, it is to become an Animagus. There’s a reason why the Ministry is monitoring the process so carefully. It’s quite impossible for a Hogwarts student to pull it off.

“I’m gonna tell James and Pete!” Sirius said enthusiastically, before dashing out of the room.

Remus fondly shook his head and focused back on his book. Typically Sirius. He would be obsessed with some crazy idea for a while, and then move on to the next. Sirius would surely put it out of his head once he finds out how much time and effort it takes to become an Animagus.

“You’re mad,” Remus murmured, barely preventing his voice from breaking.

He was sitting on his knees, his face pressed against the big, black dog sitting in front of him, his hands clutching his soft fur. “I can’t believe you actually did it... I can’t believe you would go through all that effort... For me?”

The dog shifted, and suddenly Remus was resting his head on Sirius’ shoulder, while gripping Sirius’ shirt.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus and held him while he sobbed. “You’re worth it, Moony. And we’re never going to let you go through that alone again, okay?”

“You’re mad,” Remus said breathlessly, wide-eyed staring up at Sirius, his lips still tingling from the feel of Sirius’ lips being pressed against them.

They were standing on top of the Astronomy Tower. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, and there was a party going on in the Gryffindor Tower. Remus had gone up to the Astronomy Tower for some air, and Sirius had followed him. Remus had told him he didn’t have to, as surely there was a lot more excitement for him at the party. As usual, pretty girls with sweet smiles had been throwing themselves at Sirius all evening. As a response, Sirius had kissed him.

“Why...” Remus stammered, his heart beating wildly and his stomach fluttering.

Sirius cupped his cheek. “Because it’s you, Moony. It has always been you.”

“You’re... mad,” Remus panted.

He was lying in bed, clothes discarded on the floor, while Sirius insisted on kissing every scar on his body.

“Beautiful,” Sirius murmured against his skin. “You’re so beautiful.”

Remus laughed breathlessly, and took Sirius’ face in his hands, pulling him up to his face to properly kiss him.

“You’re mad,” Remus whispered, shifting his eyes from the star-scattered sky to meet Sirius’ gaze.

“Not the reaction I was hoping for,” the man replied.

Remus lifted their intertwined hands to his lips and kissed the back of Sirius’ hand. “Just making sure you know. And to be clear, I love you too.”

“You’re mad,” Remus smiled, spinning around in Sirius’ arms.

Sirius smiled back at him, brighter than all the fairy lights illuminating the dance floor together. “Madly in love.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Madly drunk I’d say.”

Sirius grinned. “I’m allowed to be a little drunk. My best man duties are done.”

Remus laughed as Sirius dipped him, feeling happy, carefree, and in love, and maybe a little drunk himself.

“You’re mad,” Remus gasped, falling to his knees, trying to control his breathing.

“You can’t do that, Padfoot! You can’t!”

“He tried to hex you from behind!” Sirius argued.

Remus glared at him. “You can’t just bloody jump between me and a Death Eater’s curse! You could’ve...” His chest constricted and he struggled for air. “You could’ve died. You could’ve died because I wasn’t properly watching my back!”

Sirius dropped down on his knees in front of him, and soon came the familiar feeling of Sirius’ arms being wrapped around him, pulling him against his chest. “But I didn’t. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

Remus let out a shaky breath. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll never do that again. I can’t lose you, Pads.”

“I can’t lose you either, Moony,” Sirius whispered. “That’s why I can’t make that promise. I acted on instinct seeing you in danger, and I can’t promise I won’t do it again.”

“You’re mad,” Remus spoke softly, staring down at his cup of tea.

“They’ll come after you. Him, and all his followers.”

“I’ll go into hiding,” Sirius replied.

“But you won’t have a Fidelius Charm to protect you!” Remus snapped, lifting his head.

“We said we’d do anything to keep Harry safe,” Sirius argued. “We all did. I’m the best choice-”

“Exactly!” Remus interrupted. “And everyone knows you are. Isn’t it better with this sort of thing to not go for the most logical choice?”

Sirius avoided Remus’ eyes.

“Look, Sirius,” Remus sighed. “I know you’d never tell, I do. But no one has dived deeper into the Dark Arts as He has, and who knows what methods He has to pry the information from you? Isn’t it better to go with a Secret Keeper no one will suspect?”

Sirius turned his gaze back to Remus, his expression pained. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then closed it again, squeezing his eyes shut. When he eventually spoke, there was a forced calm in his voice. “I know what I’m doing, Remus.” He reached out and took Remus’ hand in his. “Please, you have to trust me in this.”

And Remus had.

If Sirius could do that, if Sirius could hold Remus’ hand, look him in the eyes with that sincere, vulnerable expression on his face, ask him to trust him, and then turn around and destroy everything Remus held dear, then it could’ve all been a lie.

It had all been a lie.

Each lingering gaze, each soft, private smile, each reassuring touch, each slow, loving kiss, each whispered word of ‘I love you’, a lie. And Remus had let himself happily be lied to, blinded by his foolish and naive belief in true love.

Remus really couldn’t have known. Alright, maybe he’d always known Sirius was mad, but not like this. Never like this.

[regulusfate]

This. The bathroom scene. I have so much to say.

Firstly, the contrast between the movies and the books. I completely DO NOT agree with Harry using a spell that he did not know the consequences, he did not know what it would do, that was dangerous and incredibly stupid and reckless.

However, that being said, unlike in the movies Harry made no move to confront, he just sort of stopped, shocked. All’s he was doing was seeing why Draco was hanging out with Moaning Myrtle of all people - cause that’s what you do in your spare time at Hogwarts uh huh , Harry get a new hobby love.

This also had nothing to do with Katie. Whereas the the movies it was shown almost like Harry was looking for some sort of a fight, on Katie’s behalf. That’s might just be my interpretation but it’s felt like that. Both times (book and movie) Draco is the first to attack, in the movie it is more implied that Harry’s confrontation provoked him.

Now to some extent, Draco’s reaction is not unsurprising, and in some sense I do pity him because he is struggling - but I’ll get to that later, and why it doesn’t go a long way. He’s getting defensive and attacking because his nemesis found him crying. I’m not saying however that it was the right course of action.

Now , you’ll see in the second picture that Draco attempted the Cruciatus Curse on Harry.

Literally crucio.

He tried to torture him.

Whether he would have succeeded in successfully casting the curse or not doesn’t matter. It’s the fact he tried. On a fellow student. This is a curse that sent people insane, that Harry has felt multiple times and Draco probably can’t even countenance the pain it causes.

I find a lot of the time, it feels as though they watered down the curse, especially within FanFiction, and the consequences of that are sort of glossed over. Now this may just be me. But this curse is quite literally a form of torture and I can’t emphasis this enough, it’s an unforgivable curse. You may argue that Draco was in a dark place, that he was panicking or whatever else, but that doesn’t justify his actions. It is never okay to try and torture a classmate.

Harry’s reaction - and again, I do not condone this in the slightest - using a spell that he did not know how it would work, was the most stupid thing he’s ever done. And I mean it, that is most definitely, for me, his worst moment I can think of in the books right now. That being said, he used it not to harm to Draco necessarily, you have to remember this is a two-way duel, they have a rivalry, this is the spur of the moment and that goes for both of them.

But Harry is defending himself from being tortured. Now if you look at the other spells he’s uses in this scene - Levicorpus, Leg-Locker - are all ways to apprehend or stop Draco from attacking, these spells are not hexes or curses that are aimed to cause pain. When he uses Sectumsempra to me it seems as some wild last ditch effort to prevent Draco from casting crucio - and for all intents and purposes, it worked.

(Also side note, all of them except Sectumsempra and Crucio were silent , that’s a powerful feat on both their parts.)

Now if you look at what happened afterwards, Malloy is hurt, and very badly.

But if you look at Harry’s reaction, he see’s what the spell did and he’s instantly horrified. He didn’t want that to happen, he didn’t want Draco to get hurt, that wasn’t his intention. And what sets them apart.

You might argue that Draco didn’t want to hurt Harry, he was just acting out of fear. I disagree, though I’m sure some of that was just him panicking, and as I said earlier his actions certainly weren’t the best way to go about it, attacking someone. Anywhere else this would be assault, and Harry was acting in self defence.

You see, at the end of OOTP, Draco confronts Harry. He very bluntly blames Harry for his father being placed in Azkaban. Now this is understandable, that’s his father, whose been taken away from him and Draco is a fifteen year old kid whose never known life without his father, I’d be more surprised if he didn’t blame Harry. Also to add that he quite clearly still blames Harry;

‘And he stamped hard on Harry’s face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted everywhere ..’

“That’s from my father. Now let’s see ..”

Of course there comes a point where you have to accept that someone’s actions are their own, and the consequence of them are not someone else’s fault. Lucius chose to do what he did. So we know at the very least Draco blames Harry for his fathers imprisonment. We also know that Draco just spent half a year finding different ways to kill a man, without caring for the consequences of those around him. Such as Katie being cursed, or Ron being poisoned. He didn’t stop trying no matter who got hurt.

Some of this may be attributed to the fact it was Voldemort who gave him this as punishment for Lucius failing - which again, might be a contributing factor, maybe Draco believes it to be Harry’s fault he’s in this position, but I’m just speculating - and of course he’s scared, I’d be absolutely terrified too. That’s completely understandable.

But at the same time, Draco was quite happy to join the Dark Lord at the beginning of the book. Such as when he’s talking with Blaise and Pansy and Crabbe and Goyle, he’s excited, he’s ready to drop out of Hogwarts for good to become a Death Eater. I never get the impression that Draco disagreed with Voldemort’s views, and again some of this will come down to his nurture, but he has a brain too, and is obviously capable of forming his own opinions, there too comes a point when you have reevaluate that maybe blood supremacy might not be true. Apparently not.

And for all the racist, biogoted, cruel comments he made, bullying people because they have less money, because they have no parents, because are smarter than you?? No, I personally believe Draco definitely had the supremacist ideals.

This is why I also believe that he did want to hurt Harry in the bathroom.

It’s like how Harry wanted to hurt Bellatrix after she killed Sirius, which is why I do have some pity and empathy for Draco, because he’s struggling, he is, and he scared and he doesn’t believe he had a choice.

But also, thinking of it logically and from an outside perspective - because I imagine if I was in that situation I would be terrified too - he does have a choice.

He does.

I can understand why you wouldn’t to some extent, tell someone, but at the same time if you have a death threat thrown at you, what do you do? Realistically, idealistically, you go to someone who can help you. Again, I understand why you wouldn’t, but Draco was at Hogwarts. And instead of spending a year trying to kill Dumbledore, the guy who at the very least suspected what was going on, and by the end of the book knew, why not go to him.

(Yeah, I can think of many reasons, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

Think about it though. Draco could’ve been placed under the Fidelius charm in a safe house and not had to do anything, if Dumbledore himself was secret keeper (and the man died, as far as I’m aware that should change being in hiding? Voldemort still wouldn’t find him) Draco would be one of the most protected people. I’m just suggesting there are many ways Draco did have a choice.

I suppose Draco is a victim of himself in that respect, which is why my empathy for him doesn’t go a long way.

And I mean if you think about it Harry didn’t have a choice. He was chosen by Voldemort, and by Dumbledore to an extent. He was always the saviour - he didn’t want to be , he didn’t, he just wanted a normal life goddamnit - Harry was just as stuck if not more so than Draco in a position he never wanted, for people who spent their time showing no consistent loyalty towards him and a society that left him without a word in the hands of people who abused him.

There is so much more to this than Draco just being a victim, as he very much appears so in the movies.

I’ll leave it there, this went from an actual point into a rant. And remember this is just my view on the matter, everyone has their own opinions of course.

[ad1thi]

Desi! James Potter. Pre-Slash. Prongsfoot: An AU where Lily still dies sacrificing her life, but she dies before James; so her sacrifice protects both James and Harry. 

In the days after Lily’s death; Sirius moves into the house. There’s no discussion, because James doesn’t have the energy to talk to anybody except Harry; but one day it’s just James and Harry, and the next, Sirius has made a groove for himself on the couch.

Sirius isn’t the only person to frequent the Potter Cottage. After almost two years of living in isolation because of the Fidelius Charm, it feels like the cottage is almost overrun with visitors. Remus comes by in the morning, generally with coffee that Sirius greedily steals out of his hands. Molly visits in the afternoon with a casserole of food; and Harry’s taken a shine to Ron, so it’s not uncommon for her to stay past suppertime, because the kids are constantly babbling to each other and crawling across every available surface.

Dumbledore is less frequent, but he dropped by in the initial days - taking down the Fidelius Charm and repairing what he could of the cottage. Sometimes Minerva came with him, other times it was Kingsley. 

Even Hagrid’s made the trip a couple of times, which James suspects is because of some sort of lingering guilt that he feels. He was on watch that night, after all.

Potter Cottage has found itself hosting more guests than it’s ever had to do before, and even though James barely has any energy to be in his own company, nevermind someone else’s; he can’t bring himself to tell them to stop coming. People means noise and bustle, and it means that James won’t be left alone with his thoughts.

Not that being left alone with his thoughts is a distinct possibility, because everybody else comes and goes but Sirius, Sirius stays.

Sirius stays for the nights when James wakes up screaming, Lily’s name leaving him hoarse. James is there for the nights when Harry won’t fall asleep, and someone needs to carry him, sometimes for hours at night. Sirius is there to make sure that his formula is mixed and they’re stocked with diapers and they don’t drown in dust and grime.

Sirius is there every single time that James falls, and James should push him away, because that kind of loyalty is dangerous, that kind of loyalty is what got Lily killed. He should force Sirius to leave, force all of them to leave, take Harry and run away to somewhere where Voldemort can’t touch them, hide away in a place where he can’t hear Lily’s voice as he comes down the stairs, can’t see the shadow of her figure when he enters the bedroom.

He should leave, and protect everyone from him, from the curse of loving him. His parents, Marlene, Lily, hell even Frank lost his life, for not being him. Loving James was a death sentence, and he should leave before it hurts Sirius.

He thinks about it, more than he probably should. Plans out how he would leave, what he would need to pack, where he might go. It’d have to be somewhere with a neutral Wizarding Community, somewhere not touched by Voldemort but wouldn’t be hostile to him and Harry.

India is probably their best bet, because Voldemort’s reach hadn’t extended to the East yet. It’s been years since his father’s family, but James has a hard time imagining that his Atte will turn him away if he goes up on the doorsteps of their ancestral home, a tiny Harry swaddled in his arms.

It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s tangible and real and James could pull it off - but then Sirius smiles at him, and absently runs his fingers through James’ hair and well; it’s common fact that James has always been weak when it comes to Sirius.

So he stays, and so does Sirius, neither of them talking about what they’re doing, the family they’re building - and James lets himself heal.

Fin

/

Atte is kannada for paternal aunt. James’ Atte is his father’s sister. 

[halothenthehorns]

THE HOUSE-ELF LIBERATION FRONT

I was originally going to save the opening for this chapter for the end of the book, but then I was looking at my notes and saw I already had a crap ton for that, and this really is a pressing enough question to get in now. Thanks for all the lovely reviews and support!

HPHPHP

Try as they might, even in the face of the dragon nightmare from the last few chapters, neither Sirius nor Remus had forgotten their intentions to try and have a private conversation regarding what they'd finally had confirmed for them in Moody's first lesson. Something had happened to Harry the night his parents were killed, something involving Lily and her ability to save her son, and the two desperately wanted to try and talk about it out loud in hopes sharing some ideas would make some sense, but without the others around. They loved Lily like a sister and this was going to be hard for them to focus on, neither of them wanted the other three around as it would only be worse.

Neither of them had a clear idea what could even be said, but they'd always come up with their best ideas spit-balling to each other, so Remus decided to get the worst of it over as he blurted, "have you ever heard of anything that Lily could have done to save Harry?"

  Sirius chewed on his answer for a few minutes, denying that he was holding back a yawn, as he said softly back, "nothing comes to mind, and I've been trying to figure it out since I first heard about this. Nothing can block the Killing Curse."

"You don't think it's just something undiscovered," Remus tried to wheedle, "not even a rumor that you can work with?"

Sirius shook his head and insisted, "not a peep, and I can't imagine how that would change in the next year. I wish we'd said something about it to Harry in the Shack," Sirius' face twitched with the most base hatred one can hold at the mention of that place before continuing and ignoring it, "but at this rate it doesn't look like the three of us are going to be in the same room for a while. Merlin knows if we even know then."

Sirius knew quite a few things the others didn't from his Black heritage. As a child, he'd questioned one to many things and if they regarded their ancestry he usually got an answer, though the vile nature of them really have led him on the path he was now. The fact that Dumbledore had suggested the Fidelius Charm for them to hide under meant that this must be the most powerful thing Dumbledore could find to keep them alive, so it clearly wasn't any good magic that had saved Lily. Then again, it had been Dumbledore who said that Harry had been saved by the love of his mother, and even back in the first chapter it had been implied Dumbledore might have some idea of what had happened, but hadn't shared it with Harry.

It was another of those questions where they just couldn't help but wonder what their old headmaster was doing to their lives. Did he know and was keeping it from them, to what end? Did he figure it out after the fact, and decided Harry was too young to know? Not unreasonable, but still information Dumbledore shouldn't even be the one to share, it should be Sirius' decision at least now.

They talked for as long as they could until they couldn't take it any longer. The vision of Lily dead in front of her wailing child was most certainly going to feature in their nightmares tonight as long as they had lingered on the subject, so while neither wanted any rest, sleep took them before either had even made it to the stairs.

James grinned as he came down the stairs the next morning, with the baby in his arms, to see his two friends passed out on the sofas. He'd known from the moment he'd left they were going to stay behind and talk about something, and he knew his friends well enough to guess the topic. The sight wasn't even that unfamiliar, in school they'd often gone down to the common room late at night to pick apart each others brains and fallen asleep down there.

Remus slept like an Inferi, dead until activated, but Sirius was usually a light sleeper so even as James tried to creep past them into the kitchen, Sirius began stirring. James only just got Harry into his highchair when Sirius entered from behind.

The two chatted in sleepy mumbles for a few minutes before Sirius shook himself hard to fully make sure he was awake before he dug in for something he knew he needed to talk about.

"Alright Prongs, out with it," Sirius sighed, hopping up onto the counter and swinging his legs around in an attempt to just look bored, but the tense set of his shoulders made it clear Sirius actually thought he was in trouble.

James frowned, struggling for a moment before plastering a grin on he knew full well Sirius wouldn't buy, but hoping his friend would take the hint and stop asking anyways. "Don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius eyed him for a moment, clearly considering this very thing, as he knew that there weren't many things James wouldn't tell him. If he wasn't talking without some hard prodding, then it was either something about Sirius himself, or James wanted to handle it himself. Sirius had just decided he really would drop it, if James wanted to be silently jealous then Sirius wasn't going to keep at him, when Ron's face flashed across his mind. Sirius had never even met Ron, but he could understand where Ron was coming from in his anger. He was more frustrated the boy hadn't stood by his mate, but Sirius didn't want something to linger in James if he could get it out of him. So instead he pressed, "go ahead and have a yell at me, something. I know my interacting with Harry is bothering you."

James groaned as he leaned on the counter beside him and muttered, "I'm not angry Sirius, not really. What can I even say? Fine, I'll admit it bothers me that you're the one Harry's been looking to for advice, but it's not like I'm there and he's choosing you over me, I'm just not there." The pain that tore out of James' throat even as he got that last part out made Sirius all the happier he and Remus had their conversation last night without Prongs around. He didn't need any other stress on his life right now; and since it hadn't done them much good in the end, it really would have just made things worse for him right now.

Even as the rest of the house stirred James and Sirius managed to keep up a lighter and friendly banter between them now, even having gotten it out in the open had made James feel just slightly better.

The two looked far happier than they did going in as they sat down for the next chapter. Everyone took the spots they had before, James even passing the baby to Remus again while Lily sat next to him.

It was Lily's turn to pick up the book where they'd left off, which she did with only a slight tilt of unease. Harry had just survived the first task, surely nothing too bad was going to happen in the very next chapter.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were heading up to the Owlery in search of Pig,

"Nice to hear the trio of names again," James smiled.

so that Harry could send his letter to Sirius about how he'd gotten past his dragon.

"Best letter I'll have gotten in ages," Sirius smirked, before catching sight of Harry and quickly adding, "not that I'll have any doubts you could do it even without my advice."

Harry was filling Ron in on everything Sirius had shared with him about Karkaroff, and while at first shocked at the news, Ron quickly agreed he was an obvious suspect.

"Didn't miss this though," Remus grumbled testily. He may have forgiven Ron, but his attitude was going to still bother him for a while longer.

Pointing out what they'd heard on the train about Malfoy saying his dad and Karkaroff were old friends, now they knew from where.

"Got a point there," Lily sighed, remembering back to that moment and how they'd hoped they were just being paranoid in thinking the same.

Ron did add though that if it was Karkaroff doing this, he'd be feeling stupid now, Harry had only got a scratch from the first task.

"Hopefully that's the worst you do get," Remus agreed.

They found Pigwidgeon, but Harry began having difficulties tying his letter to the minute owl.

"Got to love the little guys enthusiasm," Sirius grinned, still unrepentant he was the reason Ron had that particular owl.

Ron had to snatch him out of the air to hold him still long enough before releasing him again, Ron still babbling about his confidence now Harry was doing so well he had no doubts Harry could win this tournament,

"I'm more focused with you living through it, then fourth place would seem like a blessing," James huffed.

While Harry agreed, he couldn't quite seem to do so out loud, something of what Ron said lingering with him. He couldn't have really won though, right?

he was being serious.

"No, I am!" Sirius blurted with the proudest smile on his face like he'd just made the end of all jokes.

Lily knew ignoring him wouldn't actually make him stop, but it was still better than retaliating and letting him keep going.

Harry knew Ron was being overtly kind because of his previous attitude,

"Not that it's really helping," Remus grumbled.

but Harry didn't deny either that he smiled in appreciation.

Hermione frowned at Ron though, reminding Harry had a long ways to go before he should start thinking like that

"She's such a buzzkill," James snorted.

seriously.

"I still don't believe she could do any sort of believable impression of me," Sirius sniffed, this time James did reach around and smack him for it.

Ron told her to stop being such a sunshine.

"It's good to be agreeing with Ron again," Lily chuckled.

Harry watched Pig soaring away with a heavy roll of parchment, his letter to Sirius had been filled with every bit of detail Harry could offer about his match with the dragon.

"I can imagine that giving me a combination of heart failure and pleasure," Sirius nodded.

"I'm just glad you didn't get a chance to make an appearance," Remus scoffed, "you would have pissed yourself in the stands and drawn attention to yourself."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at him.

Ron caught his attention by saying they should head downstairs for Harry's surprise party.

"Well it's not a surprise now!" James threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Wish the surprise was they hadn't done it," Harry rolled his eyes.

Ron was right, the moment they stepped into the common room they found it decked out for a party. The twins had gathered everything they needed from food to entertainment, plus Dean had used his art skills to put up posters such as Harry's battle with the dragon, and a few of Cedric's head on fire.

The Marauders gave appreciative laughs at that, though Lily and Harry couldn't find it that funny. At least Cedric was okay for it.

Harry finally felt able to laugh along and chat with everyone, Ron and Hermione by his side all night. He hadn't felt so happy in months, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything again for months.

"All bright spots that I will cherish as long as I can," Lily agreed.

Lee had come over to talk to Harry, and had grabbed up his golden egg to investigate it, then asked Harry to open it for all of them to hear what was inside.

"Now that would have to be classified as cheating," Remus raised a surprised brow. "Getting the whole of your house to help you with that."

"I wouldn't put it past anyone else to be doing the same," James waved him off with honest curiosity of what this was going to be.

Hermione tried to say that was against the rules, but Harry quietly reminded her so was her helping him past his dragon, too which she grinned.

"I just love it when Hermione points out the rules when they don't relate to her," Sirius snorted.

After more prompting from the rest of his house, Harry did indeed open the seal on the egg, and it fell open with a wail of noise. The high pitched shrieking was horrid, the only comparable noise was the saw music at Nick's deathday party.

"That sounds like a pain in the ear," Remus winced in sympathy, rubbing at his own ear in just the thought.

"What on earth would be making that noise?" Lily asked as she tried to guess what this had to do with the tournament's second task.

"Banshee," Sirius offered with a frown.

"No, I heard that once," Harry corrected, thinking of Seamus' boggart, "and this wasn't that."

"Hard to really guess since we can't actually hear it," James pointed out with a pout.

Harry had to struggle to get his wits about him before shutting it back, everyone now watching him with a bit of fear. Seamus pointed out it sounded kind of like a banshee, maybe Harry would have to go against one of those next.

"I'd still take that over a dragon," Sirius shivered.

"I don't think that's it though," Lily frowned, "the tournament usually has three separate events, not the same thing like getting past a creature every time."

Neville stuttered that it had sounded like someone being cursed with the Cruciatus.

"You can't fight that," James shivered in disgust at the thought.

"And there's no way that would be in the tournament," Remus agreed.

George told him that was ridiculous, they wouldn't use a curse like that on the champions. Then he offered it had sounded like Percy's singing, maybe Harry would have to go after him in the shower.

"I like his suggestion the best," Harry grinned as they all burst out laughing at that suggestion. For some reason what George had said seemed to linger in Harry's mind. Why would Percy be a stand out at his next task though, he shouldn't even be there.

Fred then offered Hermione a jam tart to change the subject, which Hermione did not take.

"Why?" James asked innocently enough. "Do the twins often spike the food?"

"Rule number one of the Gryffindors," Harry shrugged, "don't take anything the twins offer you without expecting something."

"Now where have I heard that before," Lily rolled her eyes as the Marauders all smiled at that.

Fred grinned at her, promising he hadn't done anything to them, it had been the custards he may have tampered with.

"Which clearly means he's done something to those tarts," Sirius' smile widened.

"Unless he was trying to double cross them," Remus grinned as well. "The twins wouldn't tell what they'd spiked, so of course people would be fooled into thinking the creams are okay, then they'd eat those anyways."

"You boys worry me," Lily told them before James could continue the convoluted idea.

Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out.

Causing all five of them to cackle. That could have been the joke all along of course, just to make someone think they'd eaten anything.

Both twins laughed at his response, before promising it was all a joke. Hermione took the offered food, but then asked how had they gotten all of this? Fred quickly said that it had all come from the kitchens, the house-elves had been begging to give it to them. They'd go fetch him something exotic if he asked for specialties.

Sirius smacked his lips in appreciation. He'd loved testing them to the limits to see what they would bring him, and they'd never let him down.

Hermione asked where the kitchens were.

"I see Hermione's taking your advice," Lily grinned. She really hoped Hermione would meet these house-elves and see how most were treated.

Fred at first went into all the details of it, before cutting himself off as he scrutinized Hermione and asked why she wanted to know.

They'd been so stressed for so many chapters in a row, that perhaps they're continued giggling of anything the twins did was possibly being exaggerated, but no one seemed likely to stop soon either.

Hermione quickly tried to act innocent, but George wagged his finger at her, telling her not to go getting ideas of rebellion into their head.

"That could be some potential mayhem," James smirked.

"Kind of wishing we'd thought of that," Sirius agreed.

"You value your meals to much to try and put the house-elves up to anything," Remus snorted.

Fred agreed they'd all be pissed if she put them off their cooking.

"Unless Dumbledore specifically told them to stop, nothing would actually put them off their cooking," James corrected, shuddering in horror at the very idea.

Neville caused a distraction by sprouting the feathers of a canary.

Which drove any talk of house-elves back out the window and a nice new round of laughter, no one in doubt it had been the twins.

In between his own laughter, Fred managed to apologize and admit it had been those creams he'd hexed. Less than a minute later and Neville had molted, then joined in the laughter.

"Good to see he knows how to laugh it off," Remus said warmly, thinking of previous times something like this had happened and very glad Neville had never once seemed to turn bitter about this.

Several people were murmuring in curiosity at the twins idea, as both boys quickly called to all listening ears that they were selling these Canary Creams for only seven Sickles.

"I can not put into words how excited I am they're still on about this!" Sirius squealed, bouncing in his seat at this new idea of the twins.

"They clearly have a gift for it," Lily agreed.

They went up to bed much later, and as Harry was laying down in his bed he pulled out his miniature Horntail and placed it on his bedside cabinet.

"Wait, so you kept that little dragon!?" Sirius asked in disgust.

"Yes," Harry shrugged, "but he ran away that night. I don't really know where he went either, I always wondered if Crookshank's ate him."*

"I hope so," Sirius muttered, while Remus went a little wide eyed and demanded:

"Did you say a dragon got loose in your common room, and you never reported it, or even looked for it!?"

Harry looked honestly confused as he asked, "Ah, no. Why would I?"

Lily suddenly released a burst of laughter and gasped, "Oh Merlin, I'm just picturing that thing getting out and going to live in the forest or something."

"I hate you right now," Sirius scowled at her. Even if he did know the magic of it would make it vanish after a few months, he didn't even want to picture running across one of those in his Forest.

Harry watched it curl into itself and begin to snooze, thinking as he drifted off himself Hagrid wasn't all wrong, they weren't all bad those dragons.

"Yes, yes they still are," Sirius grumbled mutionisly. He didn't care Harry had got past his, he still wanted nothing to do with the beasts.

December was hitting the castle with icy winds and mounds of snow. The warm fires and thick walls managed to keep the worst of it out inside the school, but Harry pitied those from the Durmstrang ship.

"Oh I'm sure they have it charmed on the inside to be plenty warm," Lily corrected, at least hoping Karkaroff would do this for his students. Even an old Death Eater had to at least pretend to care for his students, right?

"Even if they don't," James rolled his eyes, "don't they come from somewhere even colder? This can't be anything new to them."

Beauxbatons didn't look much better in their caravan, though Hagrid was commonly seen making their stay as comfy as possible. So far he'd kept to the task of providing their horses with their prefered drink of the single-malt whiskey, the fumes of which often drifted across the grounds and made the Care of Magical Creatures class going lightheaded. This was not helpful, as they still needed their wits about them around the skrewts.

"At least their blast ends will keep you warm," Remus muttered as he tried to repress a smirk.

Hagrid began a lesson by pointing out that he wasn't sure if they hibernated,

"Hagrid's extensive knowledge of these things really keeps me warm," James frowned. He liked Hagrid as a person, but that didn't change the fact he really wanted his son to drop both of his extracurricular classes lately.

so he'd prepared some boxes for them to try out, all they had to do was lead them inside. There were only ten of them left, apparently their kill drive had not been walked out of them.

"At least their dropping numbers is encouraging," Sirius chuckled.

The class did not look encouraged to be trying to force the brutes into pillow lined boxes.

"Can never deny Hagrid's enthusiasm though," Lily murmured in an almost affectionate tone.

The task did not go as planned, as the moment the skrewts realized they were being nailed inside mayhem broke loose, and soon the ground was strewn with smoldering blankets.

"Sounds like a disaster zone," Remus raised a brow, still unable to wipe his own smile off his face.

"Sounds like a party," Sirius agreed, both boys half regretting Kettleburn never did get these for their class. At least they'd know the end result of whatever Harry was dealing with.

The majority of the class took off running, Malfoy and his group in the lead as they hid inside Hagrid's cabin, but a few stayed out to help round them back up.

Hagrid was trying to convince his students not to go frightening them as Harry and Ron were forced backwards, throwing sparks at the skrewt advancing on them, the stinger on its back quivering to strike.

"I am genuinely certain the skrewt isn't the one frightened in this situation," James's brows just kept traveling up his forehead, like he was torn between wanting to laugh along with his mates at something involving these fascinating beasts, and the ever perplexing question of Hagrid's sanity regarding them.

They were momentarily distracted by noticing Rita Skeeter leaning against Hagrid's fence.

"I really wish Hogwarts had a stricter visiting policy," Harry snapped. He'd been quiet and only mildly concerned about his well being with the skrewt around, at least he felt safe in the knowledge Hagrid would handle it in the end, but the moment she was mentioned his annoyance went right back up.

Hagrid jumped onto the last skrewt then, pinning it to the ground long enough to loop a leash around it before turning his attention to Skeeter and asking who she was.

She quickly stated her title, and Hagrid frowned at her as he stated Dumbledore had banned her from the school,

"Ha!" Sirius released a bark of righteous laughter. Finally, Dumbledore really was still good for something!

"I think Hogwarts needs security," Lily sniffed, "guards around the school or something to stop her waltzing in the front gate, especially as Dumbledore specifically said she wasn't allowed in."

"Guards on gates yes," James approved, "but inside the castle and on the grounds? Come on Lil's you'll kill all the fun."

'As if Harry needs any more fun,' Lily mentally grumbled, thinking it would solve a few of the problems they'd had, but wasn't going to argue the point for now.

as he dragged the last skrewt to its comrades.

"That should really be telling us how indestructible those things are," Remus shivered, his mind still slightly distracted from Rita by those things. "Hagrid, landing on that with his considerable weight, and it's still able to walk!"

"I really wish Hagrid would tell already where he got those things," Sirius agreed.

Rita pretended not to hear that as she asked what these creatures where, and Hagrid told her with some pride.

Rita was confused, saying she'd never heard of them and asking where they came from.

Hagrid flushed in shock and didn't immediately answer, leading Harry's heart to sink as the question first occurred to him.

"His answer's just all kinds of encouraging," Lily muttered. They'd already guessed sure, but his not answering wasn't improving their mood.

Hermione stepped in by diverting attention to Harry, asking him how interesting he found these creatures.

"Why would she draw attention to you!" James spluttered in outrage. "That's all you need is for her to launch another article soon as she catches sight of you!"

"I can't blame Hermione," Harry sighed, "I'd have done the same thing if I'd thought about it long enough, to divert attention away from Hagrid."

Harry quickly agreed after a prompt stamp to his foot from her.

"That wasn't necessary," Remus snorted, he knew Harry would have agreed without it.

Rita was very pleased at seeing him again, at once launching into questions for him, such as was this his favorite class?

Harry agreed at once, noticing Hagrid beam.

"Still true," Harry grinned unabashedly. DADA may have been one of his best classes, but Hagrid would always be his favorite teacher, no matter err, the interesting things he brought to said class.

Rita asked Hagrid how long he'd been teaching, her eyes lingering on the still fearful students inside Hagrid's place and the remaining ones outside who were all slightly injured from the ordeal.

Hagrid admitted this was only his second year.

"And he's off to a great start," Sirius couldn't help the sarcastic spew. "Nearly sacked his first year, clearly up to something at least minorly illegal this year."

"Got to love Hagrid," Harry agreed without the same tone.

Rita was definitely interested now as she asked Hagrid if they could set up an interview.

"She's insane!" Lily scowled. "Hagrid will know that's a mad idea just from what she's already done to Harry!"

"You'd really think she'd take a hint," Remus agreed.

She wanted to pick his brains for their Wednesday article on zoological creatures for the Prophet, perhaps feature these Bang-Ended Scoots?

"Think I like that better than Hagrid's name for them," James snorted.

Hagrid quickly corrected their proper name, but did indeed agree this sounded like a good idea. Harry got a very bad feeling as they set up a later time to do this, but didn't know how to warn Hagrid with Rita watching.

"Don't know what you're bothering to be subtle about," Sirius rolled his eyes, "I'd shout it in her face what a terrible idea that was."

"I knew the moment I really said anything to her she'd twist it," Harry sighed, "if I had told Hagrid not to in front of her who knew what she'd put in her next article about me."

Considering she'd most likely be doing it anyways, Harry's caution most likely wasn't going to be useful, but they couldn't blame him for trying.

The three of them headed off to the castle uneasily, wondering what Rita was going to say about Hagrid. Hermione was worried Rita would find out Hagrid had imported those skrewts illegally.

"Yeah, I absolutely believe that," James sighed as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

"Hagrid wouldn't admit to that though," Sirius reminded with plenty of confidence.

Ron did remind though that Hagrid had been in trouble before and Dumbledore hadn't done anything against him, worst that could happen was Hagrid would have to get rid of the skrewts.

"Worst?" Remus repeated with a light smirk. "I'd think he'd call that a good thing."

Then Ron corrected he'd meant best.

"Is there an echo in here?" Sirius snickered while Remus rolled his eyes at him.

They all laughed as they headed off to lunch.

Harry found Divination that afternoon very enjoyable again.

"There's something I never thought I'd hear," Lily laughed.

"Don't know what you're talking about," James told her with an almost straight face, "I think she's a lovely one."

"For a laugh," Sirius tacked on before they all started laughing again.

They were still tracking planets, and Trelawny was still trying to insist all the horrible ways they were going to die, but now that Ron was his friend again, they were a snickering mess as Trelawney went into the details of Pluto.

"Well that is the Roman planet of the Greek God Hades, lord of Death," Sirius rolled his eyes, "wouldn't surprise me that's her favorite."

She tried to keep up her mystic tone as she watched Harry reprovingly, stating how some would find it best to take her class without the frivolous attitude.

"And I would think," Lily shot back, "that you would take a bleeding hint, and realize Harry doesn't give a single care of you're bleeding predictions."

"Some people just can't take a hint," James told her with an earnest smile, making Lily give an indulgent grin back.

She trailed off into how just last night she'd been absorbed in her orb, gazing into its powers, and whispered to the class if they could guess what she'd seen.

Ron muttered under his breath a reflection of a glittering bat.

Lily had to actually pause for several minutes the boys were all laughing so hard. A combination of all the pent up stress leading up to the dragon, and this by far being the most lax chapters they'd had since Harry's name had come out of the Goblet was making them all a little punch drunk with giggles.

Harry fought to keep his laughing repressed even as Trelawny dramatically finished with, death! She finished with an obvious look at Harry again, who yawned.

"That was a kind response to what I was thinking," James wheezed out.

"Still didn't get through her thick skull," Sirius snorted.

As they were leaving, Harry was complaining that it may have had more of a hit if she hadn't used the same line over a hundred times now.

"My point exactly," Lily shook her head.

Pointing out if he'd died every time she said so, he'd be a walking miracle.

The good mood was still persistent enough that they all chuckled at Harry's comment, but it didn't quite erase the reminder that he'd actually had some pretty close calls that made them feel Harry wasn't exactly wrong either.

Ron agreed he could be some new kind of ghost.

"Your own original species," Sirius nodded in agreement.

"No thanks," Harry shook himself, he didn't like to think about dead things much.

Ron was at least pleased that they didn't have homework from her, hoping Hermione did as he always loved not having to do any while she did hers.

"Always something to lord over your friends," Remus agreed.

Hermione didn't meet them for dinner though, and though they went to the library to find her, she wasn't there either. They did find Krum, and Ron at first began a whispered debate of whether he should ask for their autograph, but then he caught a group of girls doing the same and lost his enthusiasm for the idea.

"Don't see why," Sirius stated, a wide grin creeping across his features. "I'd think it would actually encourage him to go get that autograph, go back to the girls and show off-"

Remus begged Lily to cut him off before they had to hear anymore.

The two boys had just made it to Gryffindor tower and had opened the portrait to go inside when she caught up to them, at once trying to drag Harry back off and babbling that he had to see something!

James spluttered a bit in shock, unable to stop the worry as he demanded, "now what!?"

"Relax," Harry soothed with his head cocked to the side, he felt nothing bad for this. "Hermione looked excited, not upset."

Lily eyed him for a moment, gauging how truthful that was, but when Harry clearly meant it she did keep going with honest curiosity.

Harry tried to ask what was going on, but she just wanted to show them!

They ran off after her, the Fat Lady calling behind them in annoyance that they shouldn't bother apologizing for leaving her open!

"Has anyone?" Sirius rolled his eyes. She was testy this year.

She'd just stay here wide open until they got back.

"Fairly certain she's not allowed to do that," Remus snorted.

Hermione dragged them all the way back through the castle, down to where the Hufflepuffs came up for their meals.

"Ooh," the Marauders said in understanding, though they remained just as confused as before. Hermione must have found the kitchen, and the house-elves, but that really didn't explain her excitement. Harry hadn't shown any enthusiasm for her S. P. E. W. gig.

Harry still remained as baffled as the others, but when understanding struck and he realized where Hermione was taking him, he also couldn't stop some happiness bubbling up in him as well. Something good was going to come of whatever was going on, he was at least sure of that.

The passage was brightly lit, with all sorts of paintings of food lining the walls.

"I don't know how the Hufflepuffs stand it," Remus said tragically, "having to walk past food so many times a day, how can they not be constantly hungry."

"Glad I don't have to know," James grinned, "though I bet they're on the best terms with the elves out of all the houses."

Harry realized where he was just as Hermione stopped in front of a large painting, asking if this was more spew stuff? Hermione tried to say it wasn't, but something else, but Ron laughed and asked if she'd finally changed the name to House-Elf Liberation Front?

"HELF?" Sirius snorted, "honestly that one's not as bad. Least it would be a little harder to make fun of."

Hermione promised this had nothing to do with that, she just wanted to show Harry something.

Harry was watching them all curiously, but clearly they had no more idea than him what was so exciting Hermione was going on about it.

She turned back to the picture of fruit, tickled a pair, and a handle appears which she quickly wrenched open and pushed Harry inside.

Harry only got a glimpse of the enormous kitchen, with all sorts of cooking supplies and a warm fireplace,

"Ah that brings back the best memories," Sirius' grin kept stretching wider.

"That place was as familiar to us as the Forest by the end of our first year," James agreed.

when something tackled him around the middle, squealing about Harry Potter!

Lily blinked down at the pages in shock as her mind tried to process what elf would be down in the kitchens squealing over Harry, none of them should have even met him.

When she looked up at Harry to see if he had any ideas, she saw him blinking in shock, his mouth flopping uselessly, and though she had a curious idea as the only elf this could be, she still read.

Harry glanced down at the elf hugging the life out of his middle as he gasped out Dobby.

"Wh-what!" Sirius spluttered, his face quickly flipping from shock to outrage the fastest. Despite his pleasure in the justice Dobby had dished out to Malfoy, Sirius still held no love for the critter that had genuinely tried to maim Harry at some point.

"I knew it!" Harry yelped in relief, clearly noticing no such feelings pouring off of his godfather. "I just knew I'd run into Dobby again! What on earth do you think he's doing there?"

"Best guess?" Remus offered indulgently at Harry's clearly laughing features. "Dumbledore might have hired him. Last we heard he was looking for a paying job, Dumbledore would be the first in mind to indulge in such things."

"I think that's brilliant," Lily agreed, ignoring the still flabbergasted James and stone faced Sirius.

Dobby agreed it was indeed him as he released Harry and stepped back so that he could properly see him. Dobby still had the same features as the last time Harry had seen him, but looked much different in the clothes.

"Yeah, like the fact that he's wearing clothes," James chuckled as he shook off his own disbelief.

He'd done an even more odd job of putting together an outfit than most wizards at the World Cup.

"And that's saying something," Lily giggled.

Wearing a tea cozy for a hat, a tie with horseshoes over a bare chest, kids soccer shorts, and one black sock Harry identified as the one he'd given the elf to earn this freedom, plus the other which was orange and pink striped.

Sirius couldn't keep it up any longer, he cracked and started snickering with the rest of all the garments, but Sirius' was still tinged with unease. Last time Harry had been in danger, Dobby hadn't exactly been helpful. This year Harry was actually in more danger than he had back in his second year, and Sirius was kind of terrified what the little elf would do when he found out this time.

Harry asked what Dobby was doing here, and Dobby squealed his excitement that he was working for Dumbledore now, he and Winky!

"And Winky?" James did a double take in surprise.

"I never thought about it," Remus cocked his head to the side, "but what does happen to house-elves when they get sacked. When Harry said he knew he'd see Dobby again I didn't think about it much, but Winky?"

"Honestly, I don't think anyone has a clue," Sirius shrugged absently. "It's so rare to even fire one, what Crouch did really was an extreme."

Harry finally noticed Sirius' disinterest in Dobby, and frowned slightly at him. He'd really been hoping that Sirius had officially gotten over his hatred of Dobby, but clearly he wasn't fond of him either. At least he wasn't spouting death threats again, yet.

They were surprised to hear about Winky as well, so Dobby led them over to see for themselves.

Winky was sitting on a stool in front of the fire, also wearing clothes, but unlike Dobby's odd put together Winky's matched well with a blue skirt and matching blouse.

"So elves do have a sense of clothing," Lily giggled, her fondness for Dobby managing to increase as she realized he just enjoyed standing out.

However, Dobby's were so well cared for they all looked new, Winky's were stained and burned in several places.

"Ooph," Remus winced for the poor thing. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would be going through an elves mind at being separated from a master they'd so clearly loved. Hopefully Winky's state would impress upon Hermione what most elves were really like, freedom did nothing good for them.

Harry greeted her kindly, but she merely burst into tears.

"I feel like that happens frequently," James cringed at the idea of a girl, even a female house-elf, crying.

Hermione tried to comfort the little thing, but Dobby took no notice and kept beaming up at Harry, asking if he'd like some tea, having to speak a little louder over Winky's cries.

"Oh that sounds lovely," Sirius managed to chuckle amidst all the still strained faces at hearing about Winky.

Harry agreed, and almost instantly six elves appeared with a platter of treats and fresh tea.

"Do they just have all that in waiting?" Harry asked in surprise.

"It's prepared in advance, and then kept magically at temperature in case Dumbledore, or any of the staff, ever have a call for it," Remus shrugged.

Ron was impressed at once as he took some, but Hermione just frowned and declined.

Harry asked Dobby how long he'd been here, and Dobby said it was his first week.

"Ah, well at least I feel slightly better," Sirius muttered under his breath. He gained stunned looks from the others as they finally guessed where his mind had been, but Sirius just shrugged and really did relax back. He hadn't been able to help it though, if there was something powerfully magical enough to con the Goblet, he'd put money on a house-elf. Dobby had done some pretty deranged things in his stride to help Harry before. Clearly though, Dobby really hadn't anything to do with this.

The others wanted to call him out on such a strange train of thought to them, but Harry was so relieved to see Sirius didn't look so uptight at the mention of Dobby anymore he pleadingly waved his mother on, who heeded him.

Dobby had come to speak to Dumbledore, because he hadn't been able to find a position anywhere else. It's very difficult for a dismissed elf to find more work.

Winky's volume continued to increase at that reminder.

"I can imagine that being a sore spot for her," Remus winced, kind of wishing Dobby would take this conversation elsewhere as it was clearly upsetting the poor thing.

Dobby kept going with his explaining, saying everyone he'd talked to just shut the door in his face when he said he wanted paying for his work now. The elves that had been helping them started to edge away from Dobby at his saying that, like they thought he was being rude.

"To them it is," James agreed.

Hermione was happy for Dobby though, praising him for being like this. Dobby gave her a happy smile as he agreed, but reminded that all the other wizards had been much ruder about it.

"Ooh that poor thing," Lily frowned.

"What was he charging?" Sirius suddenly started smirking. "I honestly might have taken him up just to piss off me own. Kreacher would go mad if he had competition, well more barking."

The boys laughed along, even Harry not because he found it funny, in fact every time Sirius mentioned Kreature lately he got a nasty twist inside his innards, but just happy to see Sirius had quickly jumped right back to his old joking ways.

Dobby liked his work, but he wanted to wear his clothes, because Dobby liked being free.

"Anyone would love being free after living with the Malfoy's their whole life," Remus shuddered in full agreement.

The Hogwarts house-elves had now started edging away from Dobby, as though he were carrying something contagious.

"Doesn't seem to be gaining him many friends though," Lily frowned in sorrow for the poor thing.

"Like he cares," James scoffed, "most house-elves don't care about friends, Hogwarts is actually unique in having more than two on hand. Like Dobby said, they live for their work, so long as he's getting that he'll be more than happy."

Winky just kept up her crying as Dobby mentioned having gone to visit her and finding out she was free as well, to which the girl threw herself off her stool and began beating the ground in misery.

Lily was fidgeting terribly as she kept going, the worst feeling was that she didn't even know how to help Winky. She had no idea how to go comforting any elf, she'd never heard of one in this state! It was not a comfortable feeling for Lily who had always strived to help as many of those around her.

Hermione dropped to the ground beside her, still trying to comfort her, while Dobby continued with a bright smile of Winky's screeching.

Sirius really couldn't stop the uncontrollable shaking of his shoulders as he imagined this scene, Dobby just ignoring the fact that Winky was having a breakdown and just chatting casually with Harry.

It was then Dobby had the idea of where two elves could find work, Hogwarts of course. Dumbledore had been more than willing to pay Dobby for his work, a Galleon a week and one day a month off.

"Ouch," Remus winced, "didn't expect Dumbledore to cheap him so much."

"I don't think I'll blame him for that," James disagreed with a curious look, "think about this, it's the first time I've ever heard of a house-elf even being paid, maybe what would be considered normal for us would give the little guy a coronary. He'll most likely build up to it, I hope," he concluded, waving Lily on curiously.

Hermione was shocked at such low wages, but Dobby quickly disagreed and said it had been him beating Dumbledore down from his original offer of ten Galleons a week and weekends off. Dobby shivered in fear at the very idea of so much riches.

"There you have it," James's smile turned downright smug at having guessed this.

"Wipe that look off your face, it's not that hard to work out," Sirius snickered with no force.

Dobby liked being paid, but he liked his work more.

Hermione kindly asked if Winky was getting the same,

"Eesh, this isn't going to go well," Remus winced. If Winky was losing her mind over talking about this, he couldn't imagine discussing such other things like paying would help.

but then Winky switched. She stopped crying, but looked to Hermione with outrage. Winky was properly ashamed of being dismissed and would be doing no such thing as pay.

"There's the typical attitude," Sirius nodded, wiping his brow as if relieved the world still worked right.

"I still don't get it," Lily grumbled. "Crouch was horrible to her, what's she got to be so upset about?"

"Their minds don't work like that," James gently reminded. They'd gone over this a bit, so he didn't press his point, and neither did Lily.

Hermione was shocked at her, stating Crouch had been terrible and Winky should be happy, but Winky wouldn't hear it as she pressed her hands over her ears.

Lily still couldn't help but mutter a few bitter 'brainwashed,' comments in between reading that.

Dobby explained for them Winky was having troubles adjusting, she still didn't realize she could say anything she wanted about her old master.

Harry asked in surprise that house-elves couldn't do this.

"You haven't figured that out," James shook his head. "Remember how Dobby acted the last time he almost spoke ill of the Malfoys, and they're the definition of bad wizards."

"I was just confirming for all of them, not just Dobby," Harry defended.

Dobby quickly agreed they weren't allowed to do this at all very seriously.

"Never had a house-elf try to be me," Sirius smiled, ducking on instinct when James made to swing at him again.

It was part of the house-elf law that they were never to speak ill of their masters. Dumbledore hadn't forced this though, he'd told Dobby he could call him a barmy old codger if he liked.

"I think he's been called worse recently," Remus chuckled, "but he's got a point."

Dobby gave a frightened giggle at the very idea before quickly saying he had no want to do so, Dobby loved working for Dumbledore and was happy to keep his secrets.

"Most people would for him," Sirius muttered with a frown starting to edge out his good mood, he didn't want to think what all secrets Dumbledore was hiding.

Harry couldn't stop a smile himself as he reminded that Dobby could say whatever he liked about the Malfoys now.

"This could get fun," James still stayed in an optimistic mood, he didn't want this good chapter to be ruined just because of Dumbledore.

Fear crept into Dobby's eyes as he agreed he could do this, if he wished. Dobby even squared his shoulders and admitted that the Malfoy's were bad Dark wizards.

"Well it's a start," Remus indulged.

"Give it a few more years and he might even call them really bad Dark wizards," Sirius rolled his eyes.

Dobby seemed to realize what he'd said though, and rushed to the nearest wall and began beating himself over the head for it.

"Oh that poor thing!" Lily groaned. Even freed of those Malfoys, poor Dobby was still forced to act like that.

"I'll stop him," Harry said with confidence, he'd had plenty of practice.

Harry had experience with Dobby doing this though, so quickly seized him and didn't let go until Dobby stopped. Dobby thanked Harry, admitting it was still hard to do so, but Harry encouraged he'd get better with practice.

"And I'm sure Harry'll be happy to help," James grinned.

Winky was furious at the pair of them, telling Dobby off for speaking like that about his masters.

"I think not," Remus sniffed. "If we have them enslaved, the least they should be able to do is speak their minds."

"You keep that in mind if you ever meet mine," Sirius rolled his eyes in disgust.

Dobby stated back that they weren't his masters anymore!

Winky glared at him as she called him a bad elf, then bemoaned her poor Mr. Crouch. What would he be doing without her! Her family had always belonged to the Crouch's, her mother and her grandmother, oh what would they say to bad Winky!

"Wonder why they've had all females," Lily asked.

"Some just prefer a gender," Sirius shrugged when he realized he was expected to answer, "I'm sure it doesn't actually have any difference."

Hermione tried to be firm with Winky, telling her it was Crouch's own fault and he was doing just fine without her.

Winky slightly perked up at the information someone had seen Crouch, and Hermione agreed he'd been coming around because of the tournament, he and Bagman.

Winky looked very angry at the mention of Bagman, stating Crouch had told her all about that bad wizard.

"Well that was extreme," Remus cocked his head.

"I don't like him much anymore," James agreed, "but he's irking me. What has Crouch had to say about him?"

"Guess Winky took Crouch's complaints about how he runs his department literally," Lily offered with a shrug.

Harry couldn't help disagreeing with them, he really felt like there was something he was missing about Bagman, something Crouch would know about, and he really hoped Winky would elaborate on this.

Harry tried to ask what she meant, but Winky refused to speak anymore, saying she would keep her master's secrets, then started sobbing again. Dobby didn't seem to notice as he chatted with them some more about what he planned to do with his wages.

"What would house-elves even do with their money?" Sirius suddenly asked as the idea had never occurred to him.

"You ask just as I'm fixing to read," Lily rolled her eyes at him.

Dobby had plans to buy a sweater next. Ron heard this, and seemed to have decided to taking a liking to Dobby,

"He grows on you," James agreed while Sirius still tried to deny that was getting more true the more Dobby showed up.

and offered his Christmas jumper, so long as Dobby didn't mind maroon.

"Well that was sweet," Remus grinned.

"Though sort of agitating," Lily grumbled, his mum probably went through a lot to make those and Ron was always complaining about them and now he was just giving it away. At least it was for a good reason.

Dobby couldn't have been more pleased as Ron agreed they'd have to shrink it a bit, but it would go with his tea cozy.

"There's a sentence you don't get to hear much," Sirius grinned.

They made to leave then, the other elves popping back up and trying to give them more sweets. Hermione refused, but the boys stuffed their pockets.

"Never had a more memorable flashback to my school years," James beamed.

"This ought to become a regular occurrence now," Sirius agreed.

Harry called a goodbye to Dobby, who quickly asked if Dobby could come visit Harry, which Harry agreed at once.

"Aww, I honestly can't wait," Lily beamed, at least there was something good to look forward to.

Ron was laughing as they left about the twins, who'd always made it seem like a task to get stuff from the kitchens, but they all but gave it away.

Hermione wasn't really listening as she said what a good thing it was for the other elves to have Dobby around. They'd see how happy he was and realize they wanted the same.

"I, yeah no I can't picture that one bit," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"They'll treat Winky with more respect than him," James agreed, "and she's in disgrace, but at least she's embracing it."

"In fact hopefully this'll help Hermione more than anyone," Remus added hopefully, "she'll realize Dobby's the odd one of his bunch, maybe look into the ideologies and mindsets of the common house-elf and see how much damage she could do with this running group of hers."

Harry hoped they wouldn't take a long look at Winky instead.

Hermione tried to insist that she'd just cheer up once the shock wore off.

"It's already been how many months?" Sirius raised an odd brow at Hermione, "I think she's fooling herself."

Harry wondered what Winky's, and Crouch's, problem with Bagman could be. Hermione offered it may have something to do with Crouch complaining about how Bagman ran his department.

Ron scoffed he'd rather work for Bagman than Crouch, at least the first had a sense of humor.

"A good point I can't deny," Sirius nodded along. He was an annoying bugger when he came to Harry, but still leagues better than Crouch.

Hermione laughed as she told Ron not to go letting Percy hear him saying that.

Ron agreed Percy wouldn't work for anyone who could take a joke, since he wouldn't recognize one if it danced naked in front of him in Dobby's tea cozy.

Causing one last release of laughter in the room, a very good omen for how this morning was going as Lily passed James the book.

HPHPHPHP

*Was anyone else insanely disappointed when this thing was never mentioned again? I think it would have been adorable, or at least had a few funny moments if it had just popped up once or twice again.

[fanficflaneuse]

One Day - Part 4

A/N: Hello magical tumblr friends, this chapter is long and has a little bit of everything. I hope you like it. Thanks for all of your love and support. It really means the world to me. This doesn’t feature a poem, but rather a very real problem of mine and my writing. I hope you like this!

Disclaimers: One or two curse words. Mentions of making out and stripping - just in passing -  (not smut) 

Details: 

Draco x reader (she/her pronouns) 

Word count: 2563 (I’m sorry, I really don’t know how this happened) 

Summary: One day AU. Post-war. Since The Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and y/n meet one day a year.

Masterlist 

3 May, 2001

(Y/N) and Draco apparated in the kitchen of a beach house in Playa del Carmen, México. Even though their abode was protected by a fidelius charm, they arrived at the break of dawn to avoid any sort of attention. (Y/N) walked through the airy living room and stood just in front of the wall sized window that lead to the beach. She stared in awe at the clear sand and the crystalline waters that stretched to infinity. This was their own private paradise for a week. Draco hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her head.

“It’s impressive, isn’t it?” he asked, absolutely taken by the view.

“It is, Dray,” she answered as she put her hands softly over his.

They had chosen a tropical destination mainly because Draco wanted to prove to her that he could tan. Upon hearing this, Blaise offered them his house in that vibrant Caribbean town. It had belonged to one of his – many – late stepfathers and nobody had used it in years, but it was well kept, modern and safe from noisy muggles and nosy wizards and witches. Blaise thought he was playing cupid by giving them the keys and Draco was both flustered and annoyed as he wiggled his eyebrows at them. (Y/N) had laughed it off, which confused Draco immensely.

He fell on a loop, overthinking for the thousandth time what could her laugh possibly mean. Was it meant to be playful? Did it mean she thought the possibility of them together was outrageous? What if it wasn’t, though? He definitely fancied her. He had fancied her even before holding her in his arms was a possibility. But he had blown up so many things in his life before. Everything he touched turned to dust. He was convinced he wasn’t good enough for her and he loved her too much to lose her friendship. If (Y/N) told him she was willing to start a relationship with him, he wouldn’t know what to do. Had been stuck in this hypothetical dilemma for the longest time and it was frustrating. He was pulled out of his thoughts by (Y/N), who shuffled in his embrace. She turned around so carefully his arms never left her waist. Her hands wrapped around his neck. Her fingers played with the little strands of hair on the nape of his neck.

Draco’s grey hues met (Y/N)’s mesmerizing (eye colour) ones. He smiled softly. She smiled back, but he noticed her features were dampened with concern.

“What’s wrong, Dray?”

He tightened the grip around her and offered her a smirk. “It’s nothing, (Y/N/N). I was just thinking.”

“Alright, then,” she answered, not very convinced, “why don’t we go to the beach?”

...

Draco discarded his turtleneck and trousers. Standing in his boxers in the middle of the room, he held at arm length the swimming trunks Harry had taken him to buy. They were just a looser version of his briefs, made of a dreadful material Draco had never even heard of. What, in Merlin’s name, was polyester? He scrunched his nose in disgust, but quickly scrambled into them as he heard (Y/N) knocking at the door.

They had tacitly agreed to sleep in the same room. She had barricaded herself in the bathroom to put on her own swimming suit. He wondered what she’d wear. At the muggle store he went with Harry, Draco had seen a bunch of items for women. He had gotten flustered, imagining (Y/N) in one of those. And he was getting hot and bothered again. He let himself fall, face down, onto the bed. “I’m ready,” he said, his voice muffled. 

He heard the door opening and her footsteps as she came back into the room. She chuckled lightly as she saw him on his stomach, his face hidden in his hands. (Y/N) did a double take on him before he stood up. His arse looked amazing and his back was incredibly toned. The black trunks made a nice contrast with his incredibly pale skin. She bit her lower lip and looked away, trying to dissipate those thoughts and the tingling in her stomach. As her gaze settled out of the window, at some point in the horizon, Draco decided to move. His eyes rested on (Y/N)’s figure.

Nothing, not even his wildest dreams, would’ve prepared him for the sight of (Y/N) on an emerald green swimming suit. It was the least clothes he had ever seen on her and he just couldn’t tear his eyes away. Salazar, coming here alone with her could either be the best or worst idea ever.

(Y/N) felt his eyes glued on her and blushed profusely. She then faced him. For a minute there neither of them knew what to do. (Y/N) took a deep breath, walked forward and intertwined her fingers with his. Then she practically dragged him out of the house and into the sea.

They spent all day under the sun. They swam, splashed each other and walked by the seashore. They sat under the sun for a while, enjoying the salt on their skins until it turned too hot and overwhelming. Then they moved to the porch, staring at the sea and checking each other out when they thought the other was distracted.

Throughout the day, (Y/N) noticed how Draco would stare at his left forearm for the longest time. At first, she would bring his attention to something else and they would goof around or talk. At lunchtime, though, Draco put on a sweater with sleeves so long they reached his fingertips. It was a horrible sweater, so out of character for Draco, and it looked even more outrageous given the weather that had her bones sweating.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Dray.”

He hung his head, defeated. “I…”

“No need to explain, love. I know it’s hard. But this,” she pushed the left sleeve up and Draco winced, but she continued, “this is part of your story. This is part of what has brought you here. And you have to accept it. Just like every other wonderful little bit of you. You need to live with this and forgive yourself, Dray”

Draco nodded, fighting off tears. (Y/N) took his face in her hands and give him a kiss on both cheeks. He smiled softly and took the sweater off. They cooked lunch together. Draco had been trying to learn how to cook for himself. So far he had managed to master a decent number of recipes and techniques. Cooking and baking reminded him of potions class and he loved it.

After lunch, they sat down on the sofa. There was a lot of space in the living room and yet, (Y/N) sat in between Draco’s legs, her back pressed to his chest, her head on his shoulder…a position much too familiar for them.

“I want to stay like this forever,” he said quietly, bringing her closer to him.

“Me too. I really don’t want to go back,” she answered, closing her eyes.

“We don’t have to,” he offered.

“I do. I have work to do.”

Draco sighed in response. “What is it that you do at the Ministry? What’s so important that you can’t enjoy more than one week of vacations?”

“A copious amount of paperwork,” she groaned. The Ministry was going through a series of reforms that took a lot of time and effort to put in practice. Hermione was ecstatic. (Y/N) knew it was all worth it, but she would be lying if she said her work hadn’t turned monotonous over the last few months.

“That sounds absolutely inspiring,” he said, sarcasm seeping through his every word. (Y/N) chuckled and hit his arm playfully. 

“I thought you wanted to become a writer,” he added as an afterthought. (Y/N) blushed, feeling a bit exposed. She kept writing and Draco knew that. There was something painful about her writing, though. It was much too raw and took her back to pain and suffering. At times, whenever she sat down to write, the whole ordeal would leave her in tears. She couldn’t bring herself to be as consistent as before. She didn’t even want to contemplate the possibility of making a living out of it.

“It’s still an idea…” the vagueness in her voice made Draco regard her seriously. He pushed her just slightly so they could – kind of – face each other. (Y/N) tried to divert her gaze, but he put his hand on her cheek and made her look at him. Draco had expressive eyes. This time they were full of concern.

“(Y/N/N), is this because of money? Because I can –“

(Y/N) shook her head. She wouldn’t even let him finish. “I don’t need your money, Dray. You know that’s not the issue.” She wanted to turn the page, change topics as soon as possible, but Draco was not having any of it. They talked about his issues. He opened up to her and she would always offer words of comfort, support and cuddles. He wanted to do the same for her. He noticed how sometimes she would just close up, isolate herself. She’d try to brush her problems off. But he wouldn’t let her do that, not this time, not again.

“Then what’s the issue, (Y/N)?” he kept his hand on her cheek, knowing very well (Y/N) would try to escape, shrug it off and distract him. He then saw her eyes filling with tears. It was his moment to inch forward and shower her in affection.

“I’ve been involved in dangerous situations since I’m a toddler, Draco. My life at school consisted in avoiding death year after year. I can’t stay put. I need to feel like I’m doing something that’s bigger than myself. I need that rush.”

Draco’s fingers caressed her cheek. She was indecipherable at times. He knew there was much more than what she led on, but he didn’t want to push her.

“Besides, I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts more than what’s necessary,” (Y/N) muttered to herself, avoiding his gaze once again.

Draco was so close he heard clearly. He felt his heart tearing, just like that night, three years ago, when she had whispered to him and only him that she was broken. He made her face him again and, without a second thought, Draco leaned in. They both closed their eyes as their lips touched. It was a ghost of a kiss, tender and soft. It was everything they wished for and so much more; it felt natural and so, so good. 

...

By the time (Y/N) and Draco reached the bedroom, they had left a trail of clothing behind them. They kissed and giggled and caressed each other. Her legs were wrapped around his torso, fingers laced in his blond locks. His own hands made their way through her back, trying to unclasp her bra.

After their kiss, they had cuddled all afternoon. They hadn’t mentioned it again and they were both determined to leave it at that. That was, of course, before they decided to go to a muggle bar and get tipsy with margaritas. When they came back, their drunken laughter filled the whole house. As the alcohol pumped through their veins they both felt bolder and uninhibited. The rush clouded their minds and ridded them of any sort of judgement.  

(Y/N) stole their first drunken kiss. They were sprawled on the floor playing a game of strip wizard chess. Every time one of them lost a piece, they had to take an item of clothing off. As Draco slid his shirt off, (Y/N) crawled to him and kissed him. He growled lowly as his best friend bit his lower lip and they both felt the heat raising in the pit of their stomachs. He wanted her then and there, even more when she was being such a tease. As she laughed and tried to go back to her side, Draco caught her by the waist and pulled her back to him.

Draco tried to place (Y/N) in bed, but he was so woozy he fell with her. After laughing for their clumsiness, they laid on their sides, facing each other. Draco put a strand of hair behind (Y/N)’s ear. She traced his features with her fingertips. As she did so, he closed his eyes, enjoying her caresses as always.

(Y/N) found Draco absolutely beautiful. She was nothing short of in love with him. As that thought downed on her, (Y/N)’s desire stopped burning her. She lost momentum and withdrew her hand. She didn’t want this to be a spurt of the moment, drunken mistake. She wanted to be with Draco. Circe! She wanted to be with Draco. She was in love with him. (Y/N) sat up. How would this realization change their dynamic?  

Draco opened his eyes immediately. The loss of contact had sobered him up. Had she realized he was a tosser who wasn’t worth her affection? Was it because of the mark? He sat up as well, searching for her eyes. The look he gave her was so full of mortification that she enveloped him in a hug.

“Dray…” she said after a few minutes of a deafening silence, “I don’t want this to be a one-night type of thing. I want to…be with you. I’d love to be with you. But it would break my heart if tomorrow we wake up and we realize that’s not what you…”

Draco’s gears were turning in his head. He felt as though he would combust right then and there. He took her face in his hands for the second time that day and looked at her in the eyes.

“(Y/N/N), what we have is way too pure, too good to be true. It’s the best thing I have going on for me, the best friendship I’ve ever had. I don’t want to ruin it as I tend to do with everything. I prefer to be your friend forever than your boyfriend for a couple of months. I want to think of you as my soulmate destined to be my best friend than a girlfriend I’ll end up hurting.”

(Y/N) fought back tears. “But I love –“

“I wouldn’t be able to handle it, love. If we broke up…if I fucked this up…if we didn’t want to see each other again”

They were both crying now. The silence was unbearable. (Y/N) kissed Draco on both cheeks before giving him a peck on the lips. Then she stood up, determined to not share a bed with him anymore.

…

(Y/N) closed her eyes. She decided to sleep on the farthest room she could find. Luckily enough, Blaise’s house was huge, so she had plenty to choose from. She had been trying to fall asleep for about an hour now, but she just couldn’t. The weight of her realization was drowning her. Then there was Draco’s rejection. She didn’t even want to begin addressing that issue.

A knock on the door interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Can I come in?” Draco’s voice was hoarse and a bit unsure.

No response.

“(Y/N), can I come in?” he almost pleaded.

“Yes,” she breathed out.

Draco rushed into the room. In three strides he was looming over her form, eyes imploring for forgiveness. (Y/N) sighed. She lifted up the covers. Draco slithered in the bed and pressed his body to hers. They were soon cuddling again.

“You don’t ruin things, Dray.” 

(Y/N) wanted to add that he would never hurt her, but kept quiet.

“I love you, (Y/N/N).”

“Love you, Dray.”

tags: @fandomscombine @okaydraco @naomi02hook @iliketoast23

[missnight0wl]

Why Rakepick didn’t appear before Y4? HPHM explained

I’m getting tired of the fact that the game delivers no answers and just creates more questions, so... I gathered the possible answers scattered around. Spoilers ahead for the whole story (Y6Ch22).

Let’s explain/fix Hogwarts Mystery, y’all!

But first, let’s establish some things

One of the subplots that really bugs me (and definitely should’ve been addressed after the Portrait Vault) is the fact that Dumbledore was searching for Rakepick since Y1. I know I sound like a broken record with that, but the thing is that it wasn’t some single mention - it’s reoccurring information. First, we had an optional conversation in Y1Ch9:

Then, there was Y2, and in the very first chapter of it, Dumbledore was already gone:

Y2Ch3 when McGonagall and Snape found Ben:

Y2Ch9:

... and the next scene:

Finally, we had the end of Y3:

And already in Dumbledore’s office:

Moreover, this information was reminded once more in “Rita Returns” SQ which originally was placed in Y4:

The writers wanted us to know that it took time for Dumbledore to find Rakepick. And I have to ask: HOW? How does it even make sense? First of all, it’s freaking Albus Dumbledore we’re talking about, one of the greatest wizards of his times - he shouldn’t have much trouble finding anyone. And secondly, how Rakepick from all people was hard to find? I mean, she’s kind of a celebrity - the world’s greatest Curse-Breaker, the Head Curse-Breaker at Gringott’s, drawing a lot of attention with her accomplishments.

She couldn’t have just... disappeared. In fact, because we didn’t get at any point information that she was absent from public life right before coming back to Hogwarts, I assume that she WASN’T simply absent. So, again, how it’s possible that Dumbledore was looking for her for so long? Well, I see two options:

Rakepick was protected by the Fidelius Charm. The cases we’ve seen in the original series were about hiding a location, but perhaps, it’s also possible to hide a person on their own. In that case, Dumbledore could’ve been standing in front of Rakepick and he wouldn’t find her unless the Secret was revealed to him.

Dumbledore wasn’t exactly searching for her, but he was going away to convince her to come back to Hogwarts.

In both cases, we still have the same problem: why she couldn’t/didn’t want to return earlier? According to her story from the Portrait Vault, she wanted to come back - and it should’ve been super easy for her. The news about the Cursed Vaults was well-known after Y2 (Y3Ch1):

Why Rakepick didn’t just come to Hogwarts, saying: “Hey, Albus. You have the Cursed Vaults, I’m a Curse-Breaker, let’s help each other” - especially that HE WANTED HER TO COME. It makes no sense whatsoever, and I don’t understand why we don’t talk about it.

Now, let’s skip to Y4. Two important things happened then: Rakepick arrived and R made the first direct contact with MC. I don’t buy that she was behind Ben’s attack because it’d be plain stupid on R’s part to draw attention to their own member like that. No, I’m fairly certain that Rakepick wasn’t working with R at the time. 

I also assume that Jacob and Rakepick were working together at least since the Forest Vault (in his times). When MC was spying on Rakepick for Snape in Y4Ch12, we witnessed that scene:

She KNOWS the curse was broken. She knows it from Jacob, and she probably helped him with that, whether with the knowledge or perhaps she even was there with him. From Jacob’s notebook, we also know that he was going with her to the Portrait Curse. But there was one more thing in-between: Duncan died. And after that, Jacob got a letter from R:

I assume that “she” in the first sentence is about Patricia, and by “there are no friends”, R not only was drawing Jacob’s attention away from Duncan’s death. They were also saying that he shouldn’t work with Rakepick. I imagine that they were not happy about that, no matter if she was genuinely helping Jacob or she had her own interest in that - she was keeping him from R. It'd go along with the threat R sent to Rakepick (the letter MC found in Y4Ch5):

It was never confirmed when it was written - it could’ve been in Jacob’s time (I wrote more about that letter in this post.)

So, what did Jacob decide in that situation? The boy who was worried that Hogwarts was doomed if he wouldn’t find the Vault of Fear fast enough? The boy who told Alistair Fidgen that he’s upset because people are getting hurt due to the curses? Who was letting R manipulate him to protect his loved ones? He joined his enemy, to protect them once more.

Now, to the proper explanation 

Here’s what I’m thinking. Jacob made a deal with R to continue his job for them IF they wouldn’t hurt MC. We know he was blackmailed like that even before Duncan’s death, but I imagine that after his expulsion, Jacob actually joined their group (as in: he was exclusively focusing on doing tasks for them). R accepted his conditions, but MC couldn’t get any help when it comes to the Cursed Vaults: neither from Jacob OR Rakepick. For some reason, R needed to start over from the Vault of Ice, but they knew that when the curses appear at Hogwarts again, Dumbledore would try to reach to the greatest Curse-Breaker. That’s why Rakepick couldn’t arrive in the first years, and why R wasn’t attacking MC - they were using Ben instead.

Now, why R wouldn’t want to actually use MC at the time? The kid was at school, after all, right where the Cursed Vaults are. I suppose it’s a good moment to point out that I strongly believe that the siblings are connected to the Cursed Vaults “by blood” and that one of them is needed to open the final vault. I also imagine that there might be some additional requirements like you have to go through all of the vaults personally. It is the final vault, so it only makes sense that it’d be extra hard to get to whatever it holds. They could’ve used MC, but it was easier to go quickly through the whole process and use Jacob at the end who was already prepared for that - at least, that was the original plan. At the same time, they didn’t bother much about MC’s search as they thought the kid has no sources and wouldn’t go far alone anyway. Notice that everything we got was from Jacob. We don’t know what he was using previously in his own research as we didn’t really find anything.

However, something happened during MC’s Y3 that broke the deal between Jacob and R. My guess is that it was about the clues left for MC in the Vaults and/or Jacob communicating with us via Legilimency. R found out that Jacob was helping his little sibling (and he wasn’t supposed to do that), they got pissed off, and they restricted his freedom even more. Interestingly, the first Rita Skeeter’s SQ was placed in Y3, and this is what she told us about our brother then:

Being trapped in a portrait IS NOT the same as “being held captive”, and I will die on this hill. Jacob wasn’t in the Portrait Vault at that time. In fact, we learnt from Nearly Headless Nick that there was another case of the Portrait Curse at Hogwarts, 5-10 years ago (from the present time), and the victim was freed - meaning that the curse was broken. Rakepick’s story that Jacob got trapped because the dragon wasn’t defeated and the curse wasn’t broken IS A LIE! Let’s move on for now though...

A little later, in Y3Ch6, MC received the Letter From No One:

I speculate that this letter was from Rakepick for a long time, and it actually fits the current theory pretty well. Patricia found out that Jacob screwed up and that R wouldn’t stop now from going after MC to stop the kid, so she had to step in. Why R didn’t attack in Y3 then? Perhaps it’s because MC already had the book needed to open the Vault of Fear. Maybe they decided that it’s easier to let MC break that one curse instead of getting the book from them and dealing with it on their own.

Let’s fast-forward a bit again. We have Y4 when Rakepick arrived. And what was the very first thing she did? She taught MC Protego:

Like, this was literally their first interaction one on one. Wouldn’t it be more important to question MC about their progress etc.? Why did she bother with this charm? Why it couldn’t wait? Well, because she knew that R might strike any moment now. And they did, in Y4Ch3:

I have two questions about that scene: 

why R wanted to kill MC in Y4? 

why they stressed to stay away from Rakepick?

... and I actually think it’s connected. In Y4, R had Jacob and - as I said before - they were planning to use him for the final vault. Therefore, they not only didn’t need MC but the kid was also some kind of a threat: they ARE able to reach the final vault and open it, especially if Rakepick helps them. And R knew that Rakepick would try to help them as that’s why she returned to Hogwarts.

All right, but then Y5 comes, and it seems that something has changed.

And here, I have two questions again:

why R doesn’t want to kill MC anymore?

why they want to kill one of their friends?

So, going in order. There’s no doubt that in Y4, R wanted to kill MC because they hadn’t listened to their warning, and they kept investigating the Cursed Vaults.

In Y5, they suddenly need MC. Why? Well, now we know that it was about the Legilimency door. But... didn’t they know about it back in Y4? It doesn’t make any sense, I don’t buy it. My guess is that something had happened to Jacob between Y4 and Y5 so R can’t use HIM anymore. Personally, I “like” to think that Jacob is dying. That the Vaults are somehow protecting themselves from a person who can open the final one, so they’re weakening him more and more the further he went. Maybe he’s being affected more by that effect because he’s a first-born (so his connection is stronger), or perhaps he somehow managed to take that on himself purposefully to spare his sibling. Either way, I imagine that R realised that Jacob might simply die before the final vault, so they decided that it’s safer to switch their focus to MC.

So, what’s the deal with killing a friend then? Why Rowan had to die? I mean, when you think about it, it makes absolutely no sense - and I’m not talking only about the fact that Rowan’s arc was butchered from Y5. It doesn’t make sense that R wanted to kill anyone. Because look what we learnt from Duncan:

Yes, it seems that death threats are typical for R, but Jacob knew why they threatened him - or rather: what he had to do to avoid consequences. He had to obey. But MC? They weren’t told if they’re still supposed to stay away from the Vaults (just like they were instructed months ago), they didn’t get any orders to follow. Like... it’s not how threats work. When someone robs you, you’ll hear: “Give me your money or I’ll kill your friend”. MC heard only: “I’ll kill your friend”. And why they insisted on killing someone after the Portrait Vault? Was it purely an ego thing? Do they keep balance in the universe and if one person was sentenced to die, they have to die? Seriously, what do you mean? 

Honestly, the only explanation that comes to my mind is that it’s another requirement for the final vault: that you have to experience some great loss to enter it. I think about it as similar to seeing Thestrals. It does explain why R didn’t bother to give their reasons for killing our friend. They didn’t need to use it as “motivation” for MC to obey them because MC was already motivated with finding their brother. It even fits Jacob’s story, and why R was perfectly fine with Duncan dying: Jacob had to experience some loss anyway.

Back to the main plot though. Y5 is passing, and in Y5Ch19, Rowan is put under the Imperius Curse. I believe that it’s the point when Rakepick decided to join R. When Rowan was used instead of Ben, Rakepick might’ve realised that she’s not able to control the situation as the independent player, that knowing what’s happening inside of R would give her a big advantage. And there was definitely something happening with her between Y5Ch19 and Y5Ch20. She was missing since the moment MC got back from Knockturn Alley.

Then we learnt about her rat's problem and Kettleburn’s advice to get 142 cats, but Rakepick herself returned only after Pettigrew Obliviated us. She was also weirdly absent during our pranks mission for Peeves. She even allowed Fletcher to use MC for duelling a Dark Wizard! It seems like she might’ve been quite busy with something at that time. Could’ve it been about her plan for the Portrait Vault which she had to prepare almost on the spot?

In this place, I want to address the issue of Rakepick working with Merula. Now, if you want to say: “There’s no way they were working together. We saw Rakepick torture Merula, she said the incantation!” - I’m gonna stop you here.

 Y5Ch27:

If MC answers that it’s because Rakepick trusts them, this is her reaction:

Notice that she talks about herself AND Bill – she sees all three of them as a group. She didn’t say anything like: “Rubbish! She should tell me, not you!”. In the very same chapter (Y5Ch27), Rakepick also taught us the Conjunctivitis Curse:

In other words: Merula did question Rakepick.

Y5Ch28:

Merula is absolutely certain that she’s favourite, even though just days ago she was clearly worried that MC might be liked more. Where her confidence suddenly comes from?

Y5Ch29:

But she does. She did it, Patty, just days ago...

Unless you have a better explanation for that sudden change, I’ll stick to the idea of them working together. And no, “the writers just changed their mind between two chapters” is not an explanation, definitely not a better one. Before Y5Ch28, Rakepick didn’t care much about Merula, and Merula DIDN’T see Rakepick as a mother figure. So, why they decided to convenience MC (and the players) that there’s a bond between them? To make the events in the Portrait Vault more meaningful.

You see, the thing with MC and Merula’s relationship is that it’s complicated - and the writers are aware of that. You might consider Merula your MC’s friend, but it’s not universally true for canon MC. In Y5Ch28, we had the option to tell Torvus that we’re not friends and that we’ll never be. Even after the Portrait Vault, MC said that the things WERE STARTING to go well between them. My point is that it’d be more painful for MC if Rakepick chose for a victim someone from their actual/older friends: Bill, Charlie/Penny, or Ben. But that’s why it was important to make MC believe that Merula is so charmed by Rakepick. Because then, the suffering wasn’t about seeing your classmate being tortured - it was about kid’s trust being betrayed by their mentor. MC is portrayed as a good-hearted person, so it would affect them no matter their personal feelings towards Merula. And since they never question anything, they also didn’t question why Merula’s admiration was so exaggerated all of a sudden.

All right, but why torture at all? Like... I’m sorry, but that’s another thing I totally don’t buy: Rakepick is very goal-oriented, she wouldn’t waste time on stupid Cruciatus Curse. Even if you want to believe that she’s a sadist, why the fuck she didn’t immobilize the kids first and then go to torture? Why she let them defend themselves? Well, here’s go another assumption for this theory. Remember the part about experiencing the loss as a requirement for the final vault? Since the Cursed Vaults are ancient creation, I imagine that the sources of knowledge about them are also ancient and/or incomplete. Therefore, my theory is that this particular information was very vague and open to interpretation (like, talking only about “the great loss/suffering”). Of course, R - who’s pure evil - assumed that it’s about someone’s death. However, Rakepick managed to convince them that perhaps seeing someone being tortured would be enough. And here, I can see three possibilities:

There are theories in HP fandom that one can perhaps “block” Crucio through Occlumency. Since the curse doesn’t cause the physical pain directly but it stimulates pain receptors, it’d make sense that one could “cut it off” (at least partially) by closing their mind. And Merula would definitely take the chance to learn Occlumency and become better at it than MC.

It’s canon that you can control the strength of the Cruciatus Curse while casting it, so it’s possible that Rakepick hit Merula with something comparable to Harry’s attempt on Bellatrix - enough to fall over, still bad, but not as bad as the game wants us to believe.

Finally, the last option which is currently my favourite: Rakepick didn’t use Crucio at all. The reason why I like it is because it also explains the situation where Rakepick wanted to teach us the curse in Knockturn Alley: it was supposed to show us (the players) that Rakepick CAN make it look like she’s using the spell without actually using it. Otherwise, the scene was basically pointless. Rakepick didn’t even have a reason to want to teach MC that. And you’re telling me she’s stupid enough to make absolutely clear for MC that using Crucio results in a lifetime in Azkaban right before using Crucio on someone? Please.

Now, I can hear you saying: “But we’ve seen Merula suffer!”, to which I have to ask: why it’s so hard for you to believe that she might be pretending? She KNOWS very well that MC might be manipulated if they feel sorry for someone. And she said more than once that she’ll do anything to get to the Cursed Vaults. Honestly, Merula working with Rakepick is not only a more interesting story but it’d be better for Merula’s character, too. For once, she wouldn’t be a poor victim. She’d finally show that she’s ambitious and cunning as she always claims to be. And her anger and need for revenge in Y6? Well, for one, it can be an act as well, at least to a degree. Because the thing is that even if they were working together, I doubt Rakepick would tell Merula everything. The more Merula realises that she wasn’t let in on the whole plan, the more upset she gets, and the more she doubts if Rakepick didn’t screw her over for real. It works pretty perfectly for everything because it makes Merula’s act more believable. Especially that I’m certain that Merula wasn’t expecting Rowan’s “death”. But before that issue, let’s go back to the Portrait Vault.

So, MC was left behind. Rakepick betrayed them and is on the run. Their brother went after her, possibly risking his life. And I ask again: why Rakepick failed so hard? Why Jacob didn’t answer any of our questions? Because the goal of them both is to lure MC to the final vault. Seriously, like... what Jacob was thinking? I’m not talking about the fact that he left, but that he did it without ANY EXPLANATION. I don’t care how many times he’ll repeat that he doesn’t want MC to get involved. He knows damn well that by not telling them anything, he’ll only make MC want to chase after him. And that’s also the reason why I think that it’s not real Jacob. I explained earlier why it’s a lie that Jacob was trapped in the portrait for years. But now, with my assumption that he got imprisoned for helping his sibling with the clues, I doubt R would trust him to place him as bait. Therefore, they put the imposter in the Vault instead, to give MC hope that their goal is so close, yet they still have to run after him.

In the meantime, Y6 is passing, but R decides that they don’t want to risk it that MC might be able to open the final vault - they want to kill someone, just in case, to be sure. That’s when Rowan’s “death” happens. And look... it HAS TO be fake. If you believe it’s real, that’s cool. But then, I have one question for you: please, try to put your emotions aside, and explain it to me. Because that’s how I see it:

We know that Rowan was following us from the castle, right? Hell, we saw them behind us in the Great Hall right before we left to the Forest. Rowan had to be very close to the group all that time. When we arrived at the Forest Grove, we spent some time there searching for the signs of R’s presence. Again, Rowan would have to catch up to us by the time Dementors showed up. Everyone was surprised by their appearance, so I imagine that they had to be staying in hiding. I assume it’s supposed to be covered by Penny/Charlie telling us that Rowan promised to not interfere unless a life would be on the line. But here’s a thing: it was a matter of life and death pretty much from a moment Rakepick appeared. She allegedly wanted to kill MC, and it was one of the first things she told us. Even if Rowan didn’t hear that, from their point of view, Rakepick is a wanted criminal who already tried to kill their friends. Rowan is also smart and protective, they would try to use their advantage where nobody knew about their presence and attack Patricia from behind, for example. If you tell me that they arrived just after Rakepick said incantation yet in time to jump in front of Ben... I simply don’t believe it. As I said, there was plenty of time for Rowan to catch up even before a duel began, so they would react earlier. If you accept bad writing as an explanation for that - you do you. But as I said at the beginning, it’s an attempt at explaining AND fixing the plot, so that’s what I’m doing: I’m fixing it without changing anything. Rowan’s entrance was set up, and I don’t know how they’ll explain it, but Rowan is alive. The whole point of it is that MC has to process that “death” to be able to open the final vault.

To sump up

Jacob and Rakepick were working together around the time of his expulsion, in defiance of R.

Eventually, Jacob agreed to join R to protect his family, and possibly Rakepick. I mean, his feelings aside, he wrote in his notebook that she saved his life, so he might’ve felt obligated - and we know that R threatened Rakepick at some point. Jacob made a deal with R that he’ll work for them if they won’t hurt his family. R agreed, but MC couldn’t get any help from him OR Rakepick.

Jacob broke the deal by leaving us the clues. He lost any remains of freedom he had had.

In Y4, R wanted to stop MC’s search by killing them. Rakepick finally could return to Hogwarts to protect and help MC without breaking Jacob’s deal (because it was already broken).

Before Y5, R realised that Jacob had become useless for them for some reason. They switched their interest to MC since one of the siblings is needed to open the final vault.

Rakepick joined R around Y5Ch20 to gain better insight into their actions.

She staged the torture scene with Merula to not have to kill any of the kids (as R believes it’s needed to open the final vault).

R wasn’t satisfied with that solution, so eventually, they ordered Rakepick to kill MC’s friend anyway. Rakepick staged the situation in the Forbidden Forest with Rowan.

So yeah. Bada bing bada boom, we can go home. Do I think that they actually will bother to explain all of that? Absolutely no. Do I think it can be explained more simply without leaving unanswered questions? Also no. The sad thing is that this analysis/theory doesn’t even cover all of the holes still existing in the story. But... Go ahead, Jam City. Prove me wrong. Give me something better - and by “better”, I also mean “making sense”.

And if you like my overthinking, you might consider buying me a Ko-fi - link on my blog! Because, you know, it’s not like Jam City is going to pay me, even if they’ll somehow find it and use it to remind themselves their own story (God knows they need it...). That being said, all other kinds of feedback are also very welcomed!

[thelucyverse]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

I end up in the middle of an informal Order meeting- just a dinner, I suppose, but it looks like a meeting to me as I have only seen these people at Order meetings in the past years.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asks, in a mixture of confusion, anger (at the world in general and because he can't visit his best friend all the time, being his secret keeper) and happiness (because I was a distraction from anger and frustration?).

"I- something happened. V- /the Dark Lord/," I catch myself, being around them almost made me forget the danger of that name, "he had some of his followers under a kind of mind control- I broke it, and there was chaos, and a few death eaters died- you can put Malfoy and Greyback on that list, one of the Carrows too I think, and Nott and Avery were in pretty bad shape last I've seen- and-" "Malfoy him or Malfoy her?" Sirius asks. I want to raise an eyebrow, say 'I didn't know you cared', but then I catch the way he is looking in the direction of the kitchen. Oh. Andromeda. I hadn't realised she was around. "Just him" I quickly explain. "Actually, that's another thing- I didn't exactly come here alone..."

There is definitely a lot of shouting involved, and I am just about ready to run outside, grab Bella and get away from here, when Andromeda stomps out of the kitchen and past everyone to open the door. Suddenly, it's very silent in the living room.

"Narcissa." Andromeda says, her voice cold but her resolve to stay that way definitely wavering. "And- Bella, you too? Regulus??"

"What?!" Sirius pushes her out of the way to see his younger brother. "Reg?! What the fuck?! Wait, you were under mind control??"

"Uh, no, actually" Regulus winces, scratches his head, taking an involuntary step back. "Really just didn't know how to get out, at this point... Did try to do some shit, but someone had gotten there before me, and then I kinda didn't have the energy to try again..." Sirius groans and shakes his head at him. "Fucking Slytherins..." "He took down Carrow" Bella interrupts. There's definitely some pride for her cousin in her voice. "You what?"

Interrupting before this gets more chaotic than necessary, I explain: "Actually, out of the three, only Bella was under the mind control. There were others, I have a few suspicions but nothing confirmed. Narcissa was magically bound to her husband in some way, but- well, he's dead now." no need going into the fact that I broke the connection beforehand. People know of your power- people want you to use it. Bad enough I can't pretend like I didn't do the rest- but, if I play it right, maybe it'll just look like it was another Dark Mark related thing instead of soul magic. As long as Bella and Narcissa play along... I curse myself for talking so openly earlier. Heat of the moment...

"And- what? We're supposed to believe that they are just immediately reformed?" Andromeda snaps, pulling me from my thoughts. "In case you have forgotten all about it, my dear sisters never stood up for me when I was cast out, and I'm fairly certain they weren't under any mind control then!" I pinch my neck. "Andromeda" I say, holding up a hand to silence her as well as her sisters. "They would have just been cast out too if they had tried to help you, what did you expect? They're Slytherins, some healthy egoism is in their blood! And-" I take a deep breath- "yes, they grew up around blood supremacy ideology and probably never questioned it much, but tell me- if you hadn't fallen in love with Ted, if you hadn't had any /reason/ to question it yourself, would you have acted any different than them?" Andromeda is silent, and I sigh. "Yes, they aren't perfect people, but they are ready to act against the Dark Lord, and isn't that all we need to know right now? You don't need to get on, but we can't afford to be picky with our allies at the moment."

Andromeda nods, stares at her sisters for a long moment and turns around to disappear in the house. In that moment, however, Regulus cries out and lands on his knees, hand pressing against his arm. I curse. "Fuck!" I should have thought of that, I should have /anticipated/ that and done something about it! Of course, the second maze of dark marks hadn't been broken, and Regulus hadn't been part of the first...

Bending down to get a better look at it, I am appalled: this isn't just a second round of the same thing, but a new, terrifying curse instead. This isn't just meant to curse pain and summon people, this is-

Breaking away from the magic with a gasp, I sit back and disarm him, then grasp Regulus' face, force him to look into my eyes. "The Dark Lord can control you through that" I hiss. "And it isn't- it isn't like the others, and I don't have /time/, he's going to act, he might try to take over your body- the only way to get rid of it I can think of is to get rid of the arm. Regulus?" He stares at me, shell-shocked and still obviously in pain. Then he presses out: "Do it."

I turn around to the others, looking for help. "Does anyone- he'll need medical attention at least-" "I'm getting Pomfrey!" Dädalus Diggle squeaks out and disapparates. I wince. Pomfrey means Dumbledore. Well, best get it all over with. I turn around to Regulus- only to find him staring back with unseeing eyes. Fuck. He turns on the spot, trying to apparate- and falls on his face. Thank Fuck has I thought to disarm him. It's easy to tie him up now, and he doesn't seem to be properly possessed by anything that could talk- Voldemort probably just sent out a generic 'come home' signal.

"What's happening to him?" Sirius shouts behind us, alarmed. "The fuck did she just say was happening" Bella hisses at him, and I smile at her protectiveness of me. Whatever else happens, I think we can figure out the thing between us.

The /cracks/ of apparition around us alert us of the arrival of newcomers, and we all immediately raise our wands in defence- it's Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, McGonnagall and Pomfrey (do they hang out for tea together, or what?), but I don't lower my defence immediately. "How many stories does the house behind us have?" I hiss. "Two" Dumbledore answers calmly. "It is really just us. Now, what is going on her?" "Constant vigilance!" Mad-Eye booms "She has it right! All of you, lowering your wands like little-" "Alastor!" McGonnagall interrupts him indignantly. In that moment, Dädalus arrives, carrying an assortment of medical equipment and potions bottles. Pomfrey steps forward to take some of them of him. "I was told there would be a patient?"

"Not yet" I say, nodding to Regulus. "But could we maybe move inside first?" that leads to another discussion ultimately abandoned for the moment when Regulus starts to twitch and I can see the curse slowly flickering past his elbow...

Mad-Eye is the one to do the actual amputating, and while I don't understand that choice, I believe in Pomfrey's judgement, and I'm glad it doesn't have to be me. Somehow, blood and open wounds in a medical environment are just more bile-inducing than in battle. Plus, it means I can be there for Bella when the continues discussion amongst the people not involved in the amputating turns back to what to do and where to go. We can't exactly keep standing just outside of the Fidelius property forever.

"Oh, for god's sake!" I finally hiss- for a moment then, I am afraid because I used a muggle idiom, but then I remember where I am. I turn to Dumbledore. "Let's use your pensive. You can tell when a memory has been tampered with, can't you? Let's go." Mad-Eye comes with us, and the five of us apparate to the Hogwarts gates. It is the first time I actually see the castle. It is, somehow, both more and less impressive than expected. Narcissa is the first Dumbledore asks for her memories. They are a jumbled mess of colours and shock and /fear/, neatly highlighting the scene where she /has/ to check on Lucius when he is unconscious, not revealing much about my actions apart from the fact that I used an imperius on Malfoy. Dumbledore raises an eyebrow at that, but he doesn't comment, and Mad-Eye just snorts: "Had it commin'!" Bellatrix' memory is first even more jumbled than Narcissa's, darkness of hatred clouding thoughts and judgement, only to go over in sharp, clear pain when her soul is healing herself. She doesn't show the scene of me telling them about soul-magic, either. Then I show my recap- how Bellatrix first changed after going to a meeting with Voldemort, how others had similar changes or behaviors, how Bellatrix collapsed under some outside influence- then back to how Narcissa never seemed to like her husband, how I cut the connection to him, and finally how, through Lucius' eyes under the imperius, I broke the connect of the Dark Mark to Voldemort. Dumbledore and Mad-Eye seem to buy that as the full story. After each taking a magicians' oath not to knowingly and actively aid Voldemort in any way (I demanded the phrasing instead of a vow not to act against the Order. That had too much room for complications), they were given the Secret of Tine Cottage, and we went back to Headquarters.

Just as Regulus is sitting down on the chair next to sirius, one cursed arm lighter and a grim expression on his face, Snape stumbles in- and it is that stumbling that saved him, because instantly, Mad-Eye, McGonnagal and I all have our wands pointed at him. The others would have probably just kept them pointing in threat, but I immediately disarm and stun him. "What-" squeaks Dädalus. I shake my head, walk over, kick away his wand and cast a diagnostic. I shiver. I might not like the man that much, but he doesn't deserve this. "It's the same as Regulus" I say slowly. "Only I don't think it's on his arm... The tattoo on his arm is empty, it must have been one of the ones I destroyed... This one is on his chest, over his heart." McGonnagal gasps in shock. I had heard that she and Snape are something like friends, now, or at least good colleagues, despite her having been his teacher not too long ago. I feel sorry for her.

"What can we do?" Regulus asks, staring at the pale form of Snape on the ground. I realise that he must have just found out that Snape isn't on Voldemort's side. "Right now, we have to make sure he can't move or talk, no matter what the Dark Lord wants him to do. Madam Pomfrey?" She sets to work putting Snape into a magically induced coma. I am thinking hard now. "Dumbledore- can you be sure that your Fidelius holds when Riddle possibly saw every last thought in Snape's head?" "The Fidelius is a charm of-" "I don't need a lesson, I need an answer!" I hiss. Some of the others are clearly distraught by the way I am talking to their leader, as if they don't remember that it was the same way before I went undercover. "...rest assured, it will hold." Dumbledore answers. "Now, my dear, I believe we have to have a discussion long overdue- while I am gratified to hear that Tom is weakened, your rash actions have put many at risk, including Severus here. And of course, the use of the Imperius curse-"

I explode, barely hearing how Mad-Eye grumbles about the unforgivable curses being legal for aurors at wartime. "Oh /shut up!/" I shout. "Shut up with your holier than thou attitude, and don't you dare talk down to me again calling me your 'dear'! I had acted immediately because it was already happening, you saw the damn memory, you saw how Bella collapsed, but I suppose I should have just left her to die 'for the greater good'! And don't pretend to even care about Severus, you wouldn't even have let him join the Order if we hadn't talked you into it, after all you already had your spy! And don't think I didn't notice how you didn't even care to mention Regulus- he's sitting here and missing an arm! And the goddamn imperius curse was fucking necessary to break the curse in the marks, plus it's not like I could have let Lucius go otherwise, anyway, yes maybe there would have been a better way but not in that moment when I didn't have any time! And /don't you dare pretend you have never done something questionable!/ I know your history maybe better than anyone else in this room apart from yourself, or /including/ if you've deluded yourself well enough! So be damn. Fucking. Careful what you say to me." panting, I sit down, and feel Bellatrix grabbing my shoulder in support. Mad-Eye slides over a glass of whiskey. There's a glint in his eyes as if he's glad to see Dumbledore taken down a notch- funny, I would have thought he was an Albus Dumbledore fanclub fanatic. But I detect no poison in the alcohol, so I down it. Needed that right now.

Dumbledore is silent. Everyone is, really. I sigh. While I'm glad the old man is shutting up for a moment, we still have a war to plan.

"How many of the- /items/ regarding Riddle's downfall have already been collected, and how many more do you think there are?" McGonnagall says. 'Items', really? What, does she think we're all going to turn into vicious crazed murderers to split our own soul if we find out what Horcruxes are? "You got three, right?" I ask. I got Hufflepuff's cup from Bella- uh, you probably don't remember that anymore, you asked to be obliviated afterwards-" "I remember leaving it in Gringotts like he asked, despite my- doubts-..." Bella murmurs. I can't help it, I grin proudly. "You got back into the bank immediately after, got the cup and asked to be obliviated of anything after you first left the bank. Terribly clever, that!" "Wait, was that while she was under the mind control thingy?" Sirius asks, and Regulus leans forward too, probably personally interested. I grimace. "The control she was under wasn't as- explicit- as the one you experienced. It wasn't like she was possessed, she was still herself for the most part, just- more open to murder and serving the Dark Lord unconditionally, basically... And she was already fighting it." then I remember something: "Oh! Wow, how the heck I managed to forget about this I don't even know" I exclaim, then mutter: "it's oozing evil so you'd think I'd've noticed, but I guess there's been too much of that today..." I pull Tom Riddle's diary out if my coat pocket, only touching it with my sleeve. "Number five! Got it from Lucius Malfoy's study. And- I don't actually think there are currently any others? If V- /He/ gets a familiar, we should make sure to kill that too, in case he's twisted enough to try something on a living thing, but otherwise..." silence falls in the room. Then, excited chattering from just about everyone. Despite myself, I have to grin, too, and reach up to squeeze Bella's hand that's still on my shoulder. The war is coming to a close.

Remus Lupin- the only spy we have left- arrives to report that the werewolves are in disarray, and while them not having a leader isn't an ideal state re: not killing anyone on the full moon, it's still definitely better than being lead by Greyback, who would have them kill on purpose. Also, not many of them are going to follow Voldemort- apparently, the Deatheater liaisons just stopped showing up. That's something. Are other Deatheaters just disappearing, too? Fleeing or dead? I wonder. And I propose an idea: to lure out Voldemort and all his followers for one big final battle to get rid of them all with a bang. Because while getting rid of the Dark Lord himself is the main goal, I'm afraid many if the Deathesters aren't quite as worshipful of him as they might have been in the distant future- they still see an organization that he happens to be the leader of, not a philosophy that stands and falls with him. If we take him out, what says another won't take over? "We know he has less people in his ranks than before, possibly less than he knows, probably less than the followers he still does have know- he wouldn't tell them that their position is weakened. If we can lure his army somewhere into the open- a field, or even Hogwarts grounds as long as the school is still closed- we can disappear in his army, dressed as Deatheaters ourselves, and take them out from within before it can even come to an attack" I suggest.

That leads to another great discussion, but in the end my idea is accepted. Which leads the question: how do we lure him out, what do we use as bait? "I have the full prophecy of which he only knows half." Dumbledore tells us. "What prophecy?" "Prophecy, what prophecy?" oh, how nice to see that his people are always fully informed of what's going on. Not. An explanation (and a lot of sneering about wanting the prophecy to come true from my side to Dumbledore, which leads to Sirius and Remus getting mad at him too in defense of their godson) later, Narcissa asks: "But how do we get the Dark Lord to go after it?" before immediately blushing, looking down and wanting to disappear. It's the first time she has said anything in this meeting. "We could use Snape" Bella chimes in. I grin. "That's a grand idea- he knows Snape's a spy and undoubtedly also who he is with, he's going go keep trying to look through his eyes... If, the next time Pomfrey would have to renew the coma spells, we just chain him to the bed instead and let him wake, we can have people visit him- several, to make it more believable, with most just there to talk to Snape and try to talk him out of his mind control- but me, or one of you two- or Regulus, too- we could go in to speak to Voldemort through him, to taunt him, to make it seem like we think we've already won because of what the prophecy said..."

Getting Voldemort to bite is disgustingly easy. We put Snape in a hospital bed in Hogwarts to make sure Voldy will come to the right location, then Dumbledore comes to talk to Severus about fighting the evil within while completely ignoring all that Tom has to say to the topic- next is Lily, who has a pretty good fake cry, pretending that she wants her best friend back while of course the true reason is for old Morty to see her at Hogwarts- if the prophecy isn't enough, the prospect of getting to the Potters /and/ the prophecy might do. And then, entry Bella, laughing mean and half-crazed about what she has heard about the prophecy the Dark Lord was so in love with, and that he would never get to rule ever again because he was stupid enough to believe half-knowledge was enough, and that little attacks by his followers were getting him anywhere, how good for us it was that he holed up his own power in a cave to rot. Yeah, Voldy-Snape snarled pretty impressively when she left the room, I'm kind of sorry for the state of Snape's teeth from all that grinding them.

Meanwhile, we have copied Death Eater masks and cloaks while also managing go get in contact with a few of the others I had suspected to be under 'mind control'. Arleen Singer, Corban Yaxley, Sabina Frey... Sabina has scars on her face she hadn't had when I had last seen her, and a part of me feels guilty for not making sure that she got out of Malfoy Manor safely- on the other hand, I'm just glad the scars aren't on mine of Bellatrix' faces.

On the day of the battle, everything feels rather anticlimactic. We had all preparations ready days before, having hurried not knowing when Voldemort would come, and even though he comes in the dead of night, many are already awake and the rest do wake when the first alarm is triggered. We move, silent and disillusioned until we reach our location, into the rows of death eaters and the rest of the Dark Lord's followers. We had decided to go in pairs, to pre-decided locations far enough apart that the stunning spell-bombs we have won't reach the other pairs. There was much discussion about what to do about Voldemort, now that he is most likely mortal, too, and in the end Mad-Eye ended the discussion by stating that as an Auror, he has a kill order on that man, and he won't do anything less. Dumbledore isn't happy about it, but he doesn't need to be. Squeezing Bella's hand under our Death-eater robes, I wait for the signal. It's pretty obvious when it happens- green light where Voldemort stood in the middle of his army, two flashes- one for the snake, one for the man. Then green sparks, the all clear.

Voldemort has fallen.

The Dark Lord is no more.

There will be time for relief later, now I have to move: I activate the ring of the spell-bomb in my hand, aiming away from us, while Bella does the same. As soon as the chaos starts, we scream as if surprised and run forward- past the line that ends the area that is going to trap the Deatheaters. Once we are past it, we pretend to be caught as if by invisible strings- as if this is the dangerous area, and not the one the Deatheaters are already on. The few others who weren't hit stumble back, afraid, and the two who do move forward past the line are caught by actual spells when they don't pretend to be caught to indicate that they belong to us.

Counting the figures with their hands in the air in the position as arranged, I smile when I see that we all made it back out alright. Raising my hand and shooting green sparks in the air, the rest of our team raise the anti-apparition, anti-magic in general wards on the area the Death eaters are on, plus physical shields not only surrounding the area but also in partages, in case one of them goes on a rampage he won't be able to get to everyone of them now. Deatheater or not, those people should get a trial now that the war is over. McGonnagall sends a patronus to the ministry, and Mad-Eye goes to collect more Aurors.

I don't stay to find out what happens next. My part is done here.

In the Great Hall in Hogwarts, breakfast is layed out. I sigh as we enter, leaning into Bellatrix, finally able to relax somewhat. Bella smiles, then slowly walks over towards the Slytherin table, stroking her hand over the old wood. What memories is she thinking on? "What would your house be?" she asks me instead. "I know you were never sorted." I frown. I had never given this much thought. During the war, I had done many things one could call stupidly brave, but I hadn't done them out of chivalry or to prove that I wasn't afraid. Many actions were, of course, means to an end, calculating in Slytherin ways... And I had had to be clever, and I valued intelligence. But then again... "The sorting hat usually decides what house you are at eleven" I muse. "Had I been sorted at that age, I would have undoubtedly been a Slytherin, angry at my fate, at the world, ready to do just about anything to anyone to get what I wanted. Then throughout my life, however... I did things that fit in all four houses. Maybe not Gryffindor, at the very least less. But at the moment, what I would choose, or what the hat might choose for me based on my values? Hufflepuff. Kindness, loyalty, we need more of that in this fucked up world."

Part 5

[remedialpotions]

Hey, don't know if you're still doing the things you said prompts but if so 11. things you said when you were drunk? :)

A/N: Thanks for the prompt! I’m posting this today for Ron’s birthday even though it’s not birthday-related... hope you like it!

Word Count: 1,898

Warning: Discussion of injuries.

***

when you were drunk

Ron was just so used to bad news at this point. Already prone to anxiety, his nerves had essentially fried over the past year, and now he simply expected that what could go wrong, would. His family was in hiding. Voldemort had the Elder Wand. Bellatrix had taken Hermione, not him - and though they’d escaped, they had lost Dobby in the process. Bill and Fleur could no longer go to work at Gringotts, couldn’t even leave the bounds of the Fidelius Charm, and with so many houseguests, it was just a matter of time before Shell Cottage ran out of food. The world was ending, and - Harry’s absurd plan notwithstanding - there was so little hope in sight. Most mornings, Ron awoke in a sleeping bag on his brother’s sitting room floor, amazed to still have air in his lungs.

So when Lupin had burst through the door to the cottage on the twenty-eighth of April, Ron’s stomach had sunk like a stone. Someone was dead, surely, or kidnapped. Or perhaps Hogwarts was on fire, or Voldemort had found them and was on his way. Members of the Order didn’t usually come charging through doors unannounced with good news.

Except… it had been good news. Tonks had had the baby, and she was fine. And the baby was fine. And Lupin was happy. He’d appointed Harry as godfather as though that fight at Grimmauld Place had never happened. As bottles of wine emerged from cupboards, uncorking themselves and patiently waiting to fill goblets, Ron had simply watched the scene unfold from his seat at the kitchen table, relief gushing through him with such strength that his limbs felt weak.

It was Hermione who handed him a glass, their fingers brushing as he accepted it.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling up at her. Her eyes met his, and God, it was all he wanted, to touch her, to reach out and pull her into his arms, to kiss her and not care about anything else.

But that, too, seemed like another thing that would go horribly wrong upon attempt, so he contented himself with a stolen glance at her as she settled into the chair beside him. He was surely still allowed to admire her, wasn’t he, and be grateful that she was still alive, that her muscles were regaining strength with every passing day and that her mind was as razor-sharp as it had always been. At least he had that left. At least he had her at all.

As Lupin, his audience rapt, told the story of little Teddy’s birth - evidently, Tonks’ hair had been constantly changing color the entire time during her delivery - Hermione extended her legs in front of her, under the table. Her toes brushed against the side of Ron’s ankle, but she didn’t jerk back, and neither did he, and soon she had set the arches of her feet on the tops of his, as though he were some sort of footrest. As though this was a perfectly normal thing for them to be doing. As though they were some sort of couple or something.

Ron took a gulp of red wine and tried to fix his attention back onto Lupin - he really was happy for him - but he was only aware of Hermione. Whenever he was with her, everything else seemed to recede into the background, irrelevant when compared with her.

He let himself look over at her again. A pretty flush had crept into her cheeks, and a tendril of hair was curling at her temple; Ron had the near-irresistible urge to brush it behind her ear.

“Hey,” Ron whispered, not wanting to interrupt the very detailed description of Teddy Lupin’s first set of tiny wizarding robes. Hermione turned toward him; her lips were tinged with purple. “How much wine have you had?”

She shrugged, a little spark of mischief in her eyes, then picked up the bottle sitting on the table and upended it into Ron’s glass. The last little splash remaining into the bottle went into her own glass.

“You’re twice my size,” she whispered back. “You can handle it.”

Actually, he wasn’t sure if he could. He hadn’t eaten much at dinner, thanks to his unending worry over the food supply at Shell Cottage, and the wine had gone right to his head.

But he thought, for once in his life, that he wouldn’t argue with her.

“I don’t know about twice your size.” All right, so maybe he’d argue a little. “C’mere, let’s compare.”

He pressed his palm flat against the table, and she immediately aligned her hand on his. This was already better than expected; he thought they’d compare side-by-side, and her skin was pleasantly warm and smooth against his.

“See?” She pressed the tips of her fingers down onto his, just below the first knuckle, and involuntarily Ron hissed. “What? What did I-“

“No, nothing,” he said quickly, but Hermione, unconvinced, took his hand between both of hers to study it. “Seriously, it’s fine-“

“It’s not fine.” She ran the pad of her thumb gently down the length of his middle finger. The abrasions on his knuckles had finally scabbed over, though here and there were bits that remained raw and angry, even weeks later. “Are these scrapes still bothering you?”

“No, no, it’s fine-“

“I wonder if there’s any dittany left-“

“Dittany isn’t going to help,” said Ron before he could stop himself. The wine was definitely kicking in.

“Then what-“

“Oh, no, no, thank you,” came Lupin’s voice from the end of the table, and Ron saw him politely declining another goblet of wine. “No, I must be getting back, they’ll start to worry-“

And the matter of Ron’s aching hands was dropped, at least for the time being, in favor of seeing Lupin off and helping tidy up the kitchen after the festivities. With Harry roped into a conversation with Bill - and one that didn’t sound terribly fun, from the sound of their voices - Ron and Hermione retreated to the safety of the sitting room, where a fire crackled in the hearth. Emboldened by the wine, and grateful that they were actually alone, Ron found himself sitting much more closely beside Hermione on the sofa than he would have done with anyone else.

“Let me see your hands again,” she demanded, angling toward him so that her knee rested atop his thigh.

“See?” He held his hands up, palms out. “There they are. All in one piece.”

He actually doubted that last bit, but the wine didn’t have him that far gone yet.

“Mmhmm,” she said skeptically. “Then make a fist right now.”

Looking her directly in the eye in an attempt at defiance, Ron slowly curled the fingers of his right hand toward his palm, only to find that they stopped halfway there, too stiff and swollen to move.

“Ron!” Hermione’s face bore a mixture of half-indignance, half-horror. “What happened?!”

He hadn’t considered it before, but he supposed she wouldn’t know. There had been so much going on in the immediate aftermath of Malfoy Manor, and Ron had been so focused on Hermione’s recovery, that he had hardly given a thought to his own injuries. And looking back, he thought he should have known better than to pound on concrete walls and try wandless Apparition, but he’d lost control of himself. For once in his life, he hadn’t had a strategy. He hadn’t been able to see three, four, five, ten moves in advance. All he’d seen was the girl he loved being dragged away by the hair, and himself, powerless to stop it.

“They’re just sore, is all,” he replied, tipping more wine into his mouth.

“Sore from what, exactly?”

“Well - it’s not easy planning a bank robbery, is it?” At Hermione’s glare, he relented. “It’s just from - from the Malfoys’.”

“Oh.” Hermione cast her eyes down at the point where their legs overlapped. “I suppose we’ve never really talked about what-“ She swallowed. “What they did when they took you.”

“It’s my fault,” Ron blurted out, regret and guilt bubbling up inside him like acid. “What happened, it’s all my fault.”

Because he hadn’t done enough, hadn’t been enough. Because instead of actually using his head and figuring out a way to save Hermione, he’d lost it entirely, pounding on cement walls as if that made any sense, as if he could use the force of his rage to burst through and get to her. Because he had dropped his wand when Bellatrix told him to, instead of fighting.

Because he’d left.

“No, it isn’t.” Hermione reached for him, her hand hovering millimeters above his, before reconsidering and resting her hand on his arm. Her fingertips brushed over the ligature marks on his wrists, relics from the brief time during which he was bound to Harry in that cellar. “None of it was your fault - if I remember correctly, and I know that I do, Harry was the one who triggered the Taboo, that’s how it all started.”

“But I failed you.” He could barely get the words out. “I should have done more, I - I should have made her take me instead-“

“She was never going to take you,” said Hermione, her voice quiet yet matter-of-fact. “It was always going to be me, because of who I am. What I am.”

“It should have been me.”

Ron didn’t have to look up to know that shock and confusion was registering on Hermione’s face.

“It should have been no one-“

“It should have been me. Out all of us, it should have - I mean, I’m the one who-“

“Don’t.” The force in her voice was enough to make his head snap up. “Don’t you dare say you deserved it. No one deserves to be tortured.”

At his core, he agreed with her: there was not a soul alive, save maybe Voldemort or Bellatrix Lestrange, who deserved an Unforgivable Curse cast upon them. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it would have been a form of penance, almost, to the friends that he had so deeply wronged all those months ago. He didn’t want to be the one who always got the easier end of the deal, and he definitely didn’t want to be the one using up all of the healing potions when Hermione had been through so much more.

“I know that,” he relented finally. “Doesn’t mean I don’t still blame myself.”

She gave his forearm a light squeeze. “I forgave you a long time ago, you know. Harry and I both did. I wish you would just forgive yourself.”

Ron felt his head swim, but not from the wine still in his bloodstream. He hadn’t considered that she might fully forgive him, that his worst transgression wouldn’t always be a stain on their friendship. That maybe not all was lost.

“I s’pose I could give it a go,” he said, corners of his lips twitching.

“And while you’re doing that, we’re going to do something about those hands of yours,” said Hermione decisively as she stood. “I’m going to get the Skele-Gro.”

“Skele - my bones aren’t missing-“

“It has healing properties too.” Shaking her head in exasperation, she strode out of the room, though not before tossing him a smile over her shoulder.

The good things, he thought, were even better when he didn’t expect them.

[january3693]

7 of wands reversed for sirius black?

Seven of Wands - Sirius Black

Reversed: Exhaustion, giving up, being overwhelmed

The glowing red numbers on the Muggle electrical clock read 3:27 AM when Sirius gave up the pretense of sleep. Muttering curses, he kicked off the duvet and grabbed for the pack of cigarettes on his bedside cabinet.

They hadn’t even cast the Fidelius Charm yet, but Sirius swore he could already feel the weight of it in his chest, heavy as iron yet fragile as glass. By this time tomorrow, he would literally be holding the lives of his best friend’s family in his hands.

He lit a cigarette with his wand and took a deep drag. Remus hated it when he smoked in the flat, but Remus wasn’t there to complain.

And that was part of the problem, wasn’t it? Another thread in the noose threatening to strangle Sirius. Remus was never there anymore. Tonight of all nights, Sirius wanted the man he loved here to hold him and tell him it would all be all right. Instead, all he had to share the bed with were his fears and doubts.

Sirius didn’t know where Remus was. He never knew anymore. Even when Remus was wrapped in his arms it still felt like he was somewhere far away. They didn’t even fight anymore. They just…haunted each other.

Remus hadn’t been back to the flat they supposedly shared for almost two weeks. For all Sirius knew he could be lying dead at the feet of a Death Eater…or worse, because there was a traitor in their midst.

They all knew it, had known it since summer when Order members had started dying faster than lacewing flies. Someone within the Order itself was selling mission details, names, safe house locations, and even home addresses to Voldemort and his supporters.

People were whispering and starting to point fingers, and quite a few of them had started pointing at Remus.

Sirius had punched Benjy Fenwick square in the mouth for saying out loud back in July, right after they’d found the McKinnon family murdered.

“Where’s your boyfriend, Black?” Fenwick had snapped, standing in the rubble of the McKinnons’ house. He’d been close to Maggie McKinnon—painfully close. “Off on one of those missions no one knows anything about? What’s the werewolf doing behind all of our backs?”

Sirius knocked out two of Fenwick’s teeth and broke three of his own fingers before James and Peter had pulled him off the other man. They’d both shouted and snarled, Fenwick spitting blood and Sirius hurling obscenities until his friends hauled him away.

Benjy Fenwick was dead too now. It had been a brutal end, even by the Order’s jaded standards.

Little bits and pieces, Moody had said. That was all they’d found of him…little pieces only just distinct enough to identify him by. Sirius had never liked the bastard very much, but still.

Fenwick, the McKinnons, Dorcas Meadowes, Caradoc Dearborn, Edgar Bones and his family, the Prewett brothers…all gone. All murdered at the hands of Death Eaters or Voldemort himself, because one of their own was betraying them.

Somewhere after Fenwick’s death, lying alone in the bed he was supposed to be sharing with Remus, Sirius had started to let the doubt sink in.

He hated himself for it, but once he’d cracked opened the doors he’d found it impossible to close them again. The questions Benjy Fenwick had yelled at him were now echoing eternally through Sirius’s head. He loved Remus, would do anything for him, would die for him, but were those very feelings blinding him to what everyone else seemed to see?

He couldn’t afford to live with that doubt, not if he was going to be Lily and James’s Secret-Keeper.

Dumbledore was pressuring Sirius to go into hiding once the spell was cast. He’d dithered on the point, claiming he needed to talk to Remus about it, that he couldn’t just vanish on the man he loved, not even if Remus had been doing exactly that—over and over again—to him for more than a year. James and Lily were running out of time though. The Fidelius Charm needed to be cast soon, and Remus was nowhere to be found.

There was a little voice in his head whispering that even if Remus was there Sirius shouldn’t tell him about the Fidelius Charm. What if Fenwick or all the others had been right? Maybe he should just go, disappear without telling Remus why he was leaving or where he was going. Maybe...maybe it was time to give up…

[callumturncr]

A Different Path [Sirius Black AU] - Part 4

Summary: Post-graduation AU in which the reader, Lily and The Marauders have just joined the Order of the Phoenix. As tensions are at its highest in the First Wizarding War, the reader, who likes Sirius Black more than she would like to admit, is framed for the murder of Marlene McKinnon.

Parts:  1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8

Author’s Note: Starting from next week, updates will be on Saturday/Sunday instead of Wednesday because my school starts Monday, sorry! I hope you guys enjoy this part. Please feel free to message me if you want to be added on the tag list!

Gif is not mine. Words: 1.5k

Almost three years had passed and Y/N still hadn’t gotten used to the blasting cold that surrounded Azkaban prison.

It was the bone chilling kind that made you numb with prolonged exposure and the striped prisoner uniforms did nothing to shield against it. The monotony of solitary confinement and the Dementors that lurked along the corridors weren’t much comfort either. This had inevitably taken its toll on Y/N, both mentally and physically but like with the cold, she could do nothing to make herself feel better. Any positive thought, no matter how tiny would surely be fed upon by the Dementors.

Her cell was small with a port-hole like window that sat high up one wall. Small, white markings stood out on the other one – little lines made with a shard of rock to count the days she’d spent as prisoner – facing the door. It swung open right as she thought of it and Y/N flinched, waiting for the cloaked figure to swoop inside. But it wasn’t a Dementor.

Alastor Moody stood at the doorway, but this recognition only dawned on Y/N after a good few minutes. His face was covered with numerous scars and a chunk of his nose was missing, but the most shocking was his fake eye that was currently swiveling around the length of the room. Spotting her huddled against a dark corner, he moved inside.

“Y/L/N.”

Not sure if she was dreaming or not, Y/N stared at him in awe. He walked a few steps forward to see her a bit more clearly before crouching.

“Still got your wits about you?”

Recovering from her shock, she merely nodded in reply. There were so many questions that she had for him but she didn’t ask any, not trusting her voice. Instead, she sat up straighter and hid her shaking hands.

“Dementors give you much trouble?”

It was very unlike Moody to make small talk but Y/N thought that he had probably never found himself in this situation before. She shrugged.

“Why have you come?” Her voice was ragged from disuse.

“Annual visit with the Ministry,” he answered. “Crouch thought it would be good to see what became of the convicted Death Eaters in here.” As soon as he’d said it, he cursed under his breath. He hadn’t meant to sound as if Y/N was included in that category but the insinuation stung all the same.

“Why have you come to see me?” Once, the mere thought of questioning Alastor Moody would’ve made Y/N shudder but the Dementors were so draining, that she found herself past caring if she offended him or not.

“Dumbledore told me to check this floor.” He offered no more explanation. The magical eye had stopped scanning the room and was now fixed on her, bright and unblinking.

“You’ve missed a fair amount,” Moody said after a while. She looked on curiously but had half a mind to stop him. As much as she wanted to hear about the world beyond the tiny one that had become hers, thinking about her friends was painful. “Evans and Potter are married now. Have a son. Made Black the Godfather, he was best man at their wedding too.”

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. Despite her markings on the wall, the days spent in her cell had all blurred together at some point but now, she truly realized how long it had been. Lily and James had a son. Something faintly resembling a smile broke out on her face and she found herself once again speechless. Moody inclined his head and spoke softer.

“Black goes to visit your friend’s grave regularly. Took her loss quite hard. Didn’t show at meetings for some time.”

At the specific mention of Sirius, Y/N looked towards the floor. Sirius’ words to her that day had stung most of all. The look of hatred on his face haunted her when she was awake, when she was asleep, in her dreams. As did the moment of Marlene’s death – Y/N had relived that night more times than she could count, each time envisioning something different she could’ve done to prevent it. Shaking her head fiercely, she expelled the image of Marlene’s dead body from her mind.

She didn’t want to hear about Sirius either.

“Where did they bury her?”

“Godric’s Hollow. She’s with her family.”

Y/N cocked her head to the side in confusion, heart thudding in her chest.

“Voldemort went after the whole McKinnon family after Marlene. Wiped out all of them,” he was still speaking softly, like his words might shatter her if he said them too loudly. She bit her lip, roughly wiping at her eyes. An entire family gone just like that. While she’d been holed up in Azkaban, Voldemort had only grown stronger and stronger and the McKinnons had taken the brunt of his power.

“You asked why I’m here,” Moody continued. “The Potters are about to be next.”

Surely she’d heard him wrong.

“Wh– what?”

“There is a prophecy that a boy born at the end of July possesses the power to defeat the Dark Lord,” he stopped seeing the incredulous look on her face but continued on before she could stop him. “Lily gave birth at the end of July, last year.”

She stared at him, dumbstruck. “How can a child–”

“That’s not the point. Voldemort reportedly knows about this prophecy. This boy it referred to can either be Lily’s son or Alice Longbottom’s. You remember Alice?”

Y/N nodded. “She was an Auror. Her husband as well.”

“Professor Flitwick told Dumbledore that a Fidelius charm could be performed to keep James, Lily and the boy safe. Something about hiding them in a living soul. The person whose soul is chosen is referred to as the Secret Keeper.” Moody paused and let out a sigh before dealing the final blow.

“The Potters have chosen Peter Pettigrew to be that Secret Keeper.”

Y/N’s blood ran cold. His words made no sense at all.

“No,” she began, “Why him? Why not Sirius? James’ best friend is Sirius.”

“Actually, Black was the one who convinced them to choose Peter instead.”

The thought of Sirius secretly being Death Eater too played itself out in her head but she shook it away. Sirius would never, not in a million years, betray the Potters. Not James, who had given him a home and a family and his trust.

But hadn’t she thought the same about Peter once?

“Then why not Remus? Don’t tell me they’re still at odds.”

“They are not. Once Crouch sentenced you, Black believed he had it wrong from the beginning. Remus was not the spy to be wary of…” Moody trailed off. Y/N steeled her gaze.

“He thinks it was me all along,” she finished for him. Something bitter rose within her; it had taken her imprisonment for them to make up.

“He believes he and Lupin would be too predictable as choices for Secret Keeper. Voldemort would never think it would be Pettigrew,” Moody said grimly. “But Sirius doesn’t know what you know does he, Y/N?”

She gaped at him as her mind worked to decipher what he meant. At last, she understood why Moody was here.

He believed her. Believed that Peter had been the one to kill Marlene, the one betraying the Order’s secrets. Believed that given the chance, he would betray this secret too. Moody stood up as the realization crossed her face.

“Sirius will not change his mind. It’s Peter’s word against mine,” she couldn’t help the bitterness in her voice.

“Unfortunately that is true. So we show him.”

His wand was in his hand and he hobbled closer to her.

“He will not take your word for it either. Legilimency won’t work,” Y/N said.

“Right again. Legilimency will not convince anyone, which is why I need the exact memory,” Moody’s eye had spun again so he could watch the door in case anyone came in. His real eye was focused on her as she pieced it together.

Dumbledore told me to check this floor.

“The Pensieve,” she breathed. Y/N closed her eyes as he brought his wand to her temple. A thin wisp of silver floated out and directed by his wand, placed itself in a small vial. He made his way back just as several muffled voices rounded the corner, Dumbledore’s deep rumble among them. Opening the door, Moody spoke loudly as if he had only just come to her cell.

“The Ministry of Magic has agreed to your trial,” he began. Y/N blinked in surprise and his sheepish look told her that he’d nearly forgotten to say this. “You will stand before the Minister and the Wizengamot in two months and tell them exactly what happened that night.”

The voices were drawing nearer. Moody gave her one final nod and pocketed the vial, about to close the door when Y/N called out.

“What’s his name?” she asked. “Lily’s son?”

The door had almost shut but she heard his answer.

“Harry Potter.”

Tag List: @knowledgeisthebomb @siriusement @kendratheweird  @emi-loser  @i-think-i-am-adorable @avengersassemblee @movokepwc @blackloveangel13 @misunderstood-sinner @vvytran @all-throughthe-night @ashkuuuu @thepuffyeyedpuff @annino112