#mcgonagall family

[bowtomycoolscissors]

I cannot stop thinking about how Minerva McGonagall could have had cousins from her mom's side (considering her mother Isobel Ross, was a pure-blood. )

I'm getting Maimie McCoy vibes since....well, I have always headcanoned for Minerva to have been born in 1925 ( since it would make sense for her to be in her 70's during Harry's era and plus, the Fantastic Beasts addition makes no sense. )

Some parts of this may be canonical but majority are my own imagination.

Dorothea Ross

> Youngest daughter of Allison Ross (neé Travers) and Alastair Ross (Isobel's youngest brother).

> Pure-blood.

> Born on 26 July, 1927 (Leo).

> Their aunt Isobel was not to be talked about in the household since she had married a muggle ( Robert McGonagall Sr, a Presbyterian minister. ) and had 'half-blood' children which was to be frowned upon by the Ross family.

> For some reason, she already had calculated that her cousins must be much older to her (Atleast Minerva) hence she had always been curious to meet her cousins.

> She was in the same year as Malcolm McGonagall: ( 1938 - 1945 ).

> She was sorted into Ravenclaw along with Malcolm. (Yes, I also believe that Malcolm was sorted into Ravenclaw unlike Minnie.)

During one of their talks in the common room, Malcolm mentioned his mother Isobel and that's how Dottie figured out the connection.

[gods-graveyard]

"No one can tell the Weasley Twins apart" may be true, but with a few key exceptions.

_____________________________________________________________

McGonagall- She's iconic, and also how dare you imply she cannot tell two of her students apart, thats just blasphemy.

Lee Jordan- His best mates (and they told him)

Elisen Nott- Her best mates (and they didn't tell her, she learned out of spite)

Percy Weasley- They're his brothers, he really can't understand why no one else can tell

Oliver Wood- Quidditch, no elaboration.

Marcus Flint- Oliver & Percy told him how, and Quidditch.

Harry Potter- The vibes (Their freckles)

Theo Nott- The vibes (Magical signature)

Luna Lovegood- The vibes (but actually)

This is all based on my fic @yellow_sprouts on ao3 called "Navigating the den of snakes" and with the twins being introduced next chapter I thought I would go ahead and give a lil fun snip (although Theos is a minor spoiler)

[dramaticallycryingblood]

Things I don’t get about the marauders fandom as someone who’s been obsessed with them for literal years

1. How we let so many characters be only children?? like I get that people don’t necessarily want to make OCs but HOW did it get to this? James, Marlene, Peter, Remus, Mary, Barty, Dorcas, Alice, Frank and so many others! Idk maybe it’s just where I’m from but look me in the eyes and tell me you know that many people who don’t have siblings ALSO the ratio is so off and barely any of them have only child energy. It’s just not right.

2. How sooo many of you aren’t multi shippers. Like what do you MEAN you can only see James with Regulus and Regulus with James?? What about bartylus? what about sunrose? what about draksun/sunkiller? what about moonwater? what about jily? what about prongstail? WHAT do you read?? Aren’t you bored??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN you only have ONE ship for each character???? As a multi shipper, I can be convinced of any ship with anything ranging from a real good fic or a pretty edit to an enthusiastic rant from a random person on TikTok and it just makes things interesting. Maybe my adhd brain just needs more ships to focus on or maybe some of you just lack flexibility ( or imagination), but we need to fix this cause there aren’t enough fics with the ships I like 😭😭

3. THE SHIP NAMES. I can’t be the only one who thinks some of these suck right? Like why are we saying jegulus when starchaser and sunseeker are RIGHT THERE?? Same with jily and flowerpot, and bartylus and starkiller. ALSO some names make me wonder if some of you just haven’t grasped the concept of ship names or if I just got it all wrong cause marylily and jegulily are just annoying, why are we keeping the L in Lily? The point is to merge the names together not stick them one beside the other, I just say marily and jeguily because it rolls off the tongue so much more easily

4. The Peter erasure. I just don’t get it, it’s so easy to include him in things, you don’t have to make him a main character, but just mention him every once in awhile. Sometimes I’m reading an important scene in a fic and everyone is mentioned EXCEPT for Peter! It’s so easy, just make him roll his eyes at his friends being idiots or something. And it’s not like you’ll get his personality wrong, ALL THESE CHARACTERS PERSONALITIES WERE MADE UP BY FANS but I understand that some people lack imagination so here’s some things about Peter I like to imagine: he’s a HUGE gossip, like my man sees and hears everything and he takes notes!! He likes to randomly turn into a rat and take a nap in one of the other marauders’ pocket, he does it so much that they had to tell the girls that they had a pet rat cause they were asking too many questions. He’s really perceptive and his friends are all oblivious so it leads to funny scenarios like:

Remus & Sirius after YEARS of pining: we’re dating

Peter: I thought you guys had been together since third year?

Sirius: I’ve literally introduced you to people I was dating?!

Peter, shrugging: look mate I don’t question you lot anymore, you do whatever you want, I don’t care what you’re into, I just don’t wanna know about it

He also pulls people, like he’s really nice and will gossip to anyone who’s in his vicinity so he’s friends with basically everyone and he’s funny and pretty and he’s got charisma so he just charms everyone and when I say everyone, I mean everyone, even the slytherins have a soft spot for him (that’s how he gets accepted among the death eaters during the war actually). In pranks he’s the lookout so he often has to distract the teachers so he asks them random things and spits out half-made up facts about anything so he’s besties with most of the teachers which means he doesn’t get many detentions.

5. The Black brothers, more specifically the way the speak to each other in most fics, like they call each other “brother” so often and as someone who has a brother I’ve never called him that. Is it an anglophone thing? Like do people who speak English at home all do that or are fic writers only children?? (That would explain my first point actually) Or is it more a rich people thin?? Cause I know it’s not a francophone thing that’s for sure (also special mention to people who don’t know anything about French writing Sirius and Regulus as French speakers, I can tell you don’t know what you’re writing about but I eat it up everytime anyway)

6. This is actually just about ao3 but I WANNA BE ABLE TO LEAVE MORE KUDOS!!! I just loooooove fics but I can’t leave kudos at every single chapter and I’m bad at writing comments so I can’t show the author how much I love their work, I hate itttt 😭

7. Why there aren’t more fics about the Black family, and not just Sirius and Regulus, but Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa as well like that would be so interesting and maybe like a deep dive into the Black family ideals and all that (if you have fic recs I’m all ears!!)

8. How jegulily is a pretty popular ship (which I LOVE) yet SO FEW people ship Regulus and Lily outside of it! They are a power couple and I love them and they don’t need James to work!!!

9. Why there isn’t more background Minnie x Poppy cause they are my mothers and I wanna see them moooooreeee

If you read all of this I love you 🥰 have an amazing day/night

[jmscornerlibrary]

Another doodle... part two to the precious Sev and Minerva moment ☕

[callmefirefly]

Some things never change

[teddyniffler]

Do you think the Gaunt family could ever rejoin modern-day Wizarding Society after everything with Voldermort?

Just some background first for those who haven't read the books or have Hogwarts Legacy: The Gaunts were a super ancient wizarding family - Likely older than the Blacks, The Malfoys -  and they were once directly related to the Potters through the Peverell bloodline, but their side of the Peverell bloodline married first the Gaunts, then Slytherin's family married into them.

This is the very family that guarded the Chamber of Secrets for generations, they were the wizarding family Voldermort came from. To the public, the connection between the Gaunts and Voldermort wasnt wildly known, only Dumbledore and later Harry knew it, however the Gaunts themselves were infamous long before that.

Hogwarts Legacy: Ominis is one of the Gaunts. You can often hear people in the game talking about Gormlaith Gaunt, she lived hundreds of years before Ominis was born and was one of the darkest Witches of all time. She burned alive her own sister, Rionach Gaunt just because her and her husband showed kindness to Muggles.

That's why the people in Hogwarts Legacy say she would skin alive her own mother.

Cursed child: Somebody, -- likely Hermione, with Harry's information, -- wrote a book on Voldermort called 'Marvolo: The truth' which revealed Voldermort's connection to the Gaunt family for the whole world to know. The book was aimed to mock Voldermort, to show just who he really was, not some immortal higher being, but the offspring of a Gaunt. The book was in Hermione's office at the MoM. It's roughtly implied the world now knows more about Tom Riddle and the Gaunts. Harry himself in book 6/7 saw the Gaunts, and he didn't think too highly of them. He called Marvolo a disgusting pig. Marvolo is likely Ominis' older brother.

So with all that, imagine the Gaunts are still out there, say Ominis' descendents have finally came out of hiding and a parents wants a normal childhood for their very normal child, so they send them to Hogwarts. Some teachers currently at Hogwarts like Slughorn, Flitwick and McGonagall fought Voldermort, some like Neville were students during the battle. Hagrid was at Hogwarts with Tom and knew him back then.

Now a Gaunt- A known relation of Voldermort- arrives at Hogwarts, snake in toe and they are openly speaking Parceltounge for all to see. They are technically the heir of Slytherin.

In the offical HP game Magic Awakened, it mentions studies have been done on the chamber now its open and they know where it is. I believe its also confirmed on the old Pottermore pages that experts have explored the chamber, so its very likely the world knows a certain Corvinus Gaunt was the one who protected the chamber of secrets and moved it into the girls bathroom. This lead to the death of Myrtle a hundred years later

(Imagine being a female Gaunt and coming face to face with Myrtle in the bathroom, who now knows it was your family that caused her death...she's not going to let any Gaunt forget that in a hurry)

This Gaunt student will be tought by Slughorn who will likely be on high alert, as he remembers Tom Riddle all too well. Professor McGonagall will likely be watching very closely, as would Flitwick. Hagrid likely won't really be too warm towards a Gaunt, although I think Hagrid may understand and warm up faster.

Then you have people like Hannah Abbot (Nurse at the hospital wing and married to Neville) who directly suffered at Voldermort's hands, he killed her entire family and now she's treating a Gaunt for the common cold and wondering just how this child in front of her is related to that monster.

All of this is going to cause an atmosphere at the school. Slytherin House trying to redeem their general image and rep now find themselves with a walking/talking reminder of what their house used to stand for. A Gaunt sleeping under their roof, the embodiment and daily reminder of Voldermort...

I imagine there would be alot of mutterings. From all the gossip Harry had to endure during the books, I can see this Gaunt may not get a quite moment at school, have no friends or feel welcome. I actually headcanon that during the Sorting, they won't be any clapping, just horrified and mistrusted looks.

I once read that Harry Potter himself comes to Hogwarts from time to time to teach DATDAs for a class here and there when he has time off, so imagine Harry coming and... there's a Gaunt in his new class.

Ouch!

Please remember Harry has just written a book outting them, not only as the wizarding family who protected the Chamber, but also the reason the world had Voldermort.

- for none book readers: The ring Harry had, the one he dropped on purpose in the forrest at the end, that belonged to the Gaunts. It was their personal Hallow, just like how Harry has the cloak. The Gaunts likely want it back.

Marvolo, Morfin and Merope (the Gaunts in book 6) didn't know about the ring being a Hallow, but maybe Ominis did and so does his line. Maybe they know Harry Potter had it last, and now this child is casually trying to catch which rings Harry is wearing on his hand.

That would be an awkward class, not to mention everybody may give this Gaunt a hard time, they would think it funny that Harry Potter is here while there's a Gaunt in the class. After all, most of their parents likely watched Harry killing a certain Gaunt offspring all those years ago.

I imagine being at Hogwarts would not be a pleasant experience for this Gaunt. They could be really nice, a good student, but likely because of their name nobody will want to come near them.

I think the Ministry would be interested in this child. Where/how have they been hiding all this time. What does the family want now? Do they pose a threat to the wizarding world?

If Hogwarts does anything to mark the 2nd of May (Battle of Hogwarts anniversary) I can see there being quite an atmosphere in the Great Hall if there's a Gaunt siting among them. There's children at Hogwarts who were raised by grandparents as their parents were killed by Death Eaters/Voldermort. There's less children still at Hogwarts than they should be because quite a few students died before they could grow into adults. Entire families died and many more became orphans... and there's a Gaunt, a relation to the monster who did all of this among them as they try to remember their uncle who died at 17 to stop Voldermort.

As you may tell, I love thinking about this family, from everything we do know about the Gaunts. I think they've both the victims and the cause of their own suffering. Yes they were considered dark wizards, but not all of them wanted to follow the ways they had been born into, some of them, like Ominis, Noctua, Rionach and then her daughter Isolt all had tried to run from their family. They had tried to escape the House of Gaunt, but some Gaunts, like Corvinus and Marvolo, clearly loved the Dark Arts. They protected the chamber and ensured it stayed hidden, knowing it would lead to death. Marvolo tortured Ominis and enjoyed it.

At the end of the day, one of Voldermort's first victims were the Gaunts. He attacked Morfin Gaunt and used powerful magic to alter his mind, then framed him for murder, leading to Morfin dying. Even Dumbledore himself tried to save Morfin but couldnt in time, as Dumbledore knew he was innocent. No matter how much I love Harry, I do think Harry would have left that out in the book 'Marvolo: The truth' as it likely wasn't the image he wanted for the book. He wanted to humiliate Riddle in death, to show everybody this man was just a man, born from a family that did horrible things.

Anyways, what do you think? Feel free to write down your ideas, do you think a Gaunt could ever be welcome at Hogwarts again or do you think the second the name 'Gaunt' is read out during the Sorting all that is felt is hostility and mistrust towards this student and the invisible family that is hiding somewhere in plain sight among wizarding kind.

[altinaii]

Minerva has a heart attack when she first saw Nymphadora in the old leather jacket of Sirius, which he forgot at Andromeda's house shortly before his imprisonment in Azkaban

[lilyflowerpot]

NEW CHAPTER DROPPED!!

my "what if death eater ideas began to seep into hogwarts via ministry regulations" marauders era fic :P

with jily, wolfstar and dorlene! and black family drama! and wizarding politics! and euphemia potter badass-ery! and everyone's badass-ery!

take a look if it sounds like your cuppa tea <3

[aspionagee]

now that patchwork family is over, I have to ask - the cat toys in severus' quarters, what were they for?

Hi, you would not believe how happy I am that someone asked about this! xD

As I alluded to throughout the fic, Severus and Minerva are quite good friends. Before Harry and Draco started living with him in the dungeons, Minerva used to Floo in and force Severus to sit with her and claim he didn't get enough socialisation. He would then snap at her about her chatter ruining his quiet evenings, so she would turn into a cat to continue keeping Severus company silently.

He then decided it would be a good idea to passive aggressively conjure up cat toys and hand them to Minerva, claiming she must be very bored to be bothering him. Minerva ended up actually quite enjoying the cat toys in her Animagus form (not that she would ever admit to it) and Severus ended up enjoying her company (not that he would ever admit to it) so he kept the cat toys as a little sign that he appreciated Minerva spending time with him.

I had no plausible way of incorporating this in with Harry's pov unfortunately, but I love a Severus - Minerva friendship. I'd come up with that little detail while writing the chapter where Harry first sees Severus' quarters for the first time and kept in the cat toys for my own amusement!

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley showing up for Christmas at Obscurus!Muggle!Aunt!Reader’s house like they haven’t caused enough trauma for both the Reader and Harry: 👨‍👩‍👦🎄🎁

*Yan!platonic!Weasley Family enter the chat*

*Yan!platonic!Mcgonagall enter the chat*

*Reader’s Yan!romantic!pureblood!harem (Narcissa, Lucius, Bellatrix, Sirius) enter the chat*

*Yan!platonic!Andromeda and Ted Tonks (+Nymphadora) enter the chat*

*Reader’s Yan!platonic!Besties Snape, Regulus, and Remus enter the chat*

*Reader’s Yan!platonic!adoptive!kiddos Hermione, Neville, Luna, Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Dean, Seamus, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor enter the chat*

*Yan!platonic!Hagrid (+Madame Maxime) enters the chat*

*Yan!platonic!ghost!Lily and James enter the chat*

Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley: 👀 👀 👀

🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻🏃🏼‍♂️💨💨💨💨

[sayssnape]

snape: okay, I'll be back soon. if albus comes looking for me, tell him i died.

snape: and make sure you really sell it. it’s this funny thing we're doing.

mcgonagall:

snape:

mcgonagall: how is that funny?

[jade-eclipse-lithium]

You drink all of these?

Yes.

By yourself?

As you can see.

[snapeingturtle]

Severus: I'm playing a drinking game. It's called everytime I feel depressed about something, I take a drink.

Minerva: That's already a game. It's called alcoholism.

Dumbledore: I remember the first few drinks, and um, after that the night's just bits and pieces

[ginevraweasley-potter]

It has been years since I have engaged in the Marauders fandom. I’m trying to get back more into the “classic” Marauder fanfics such as All The Young Dudes and The Life and Times but they all missed a certain element of “something” for me this go around. Anyways, I’ll try and read through them again to see if I’m being unfair. I do like their premises.

But none has captivated my imagination and interest as CH Darling’s series The Last Enemy (TLE). It’s currently ongoing but I admire the nuanced take on Lily, how she’s not portrayed as this wholly perfect character. She’s got flaws. She’s got ambition. She’s so well written that I am so in love with her. No one’s Lily Evans has captivated me as much as CH Darling’s Lily.

Additionally, the fact that CH Darling started the narrative on the 5th year, meant that the story didn’t shy away from the arrogant toe-rag James Potter and I believe that CH Darling brought justice to Severus Snape’s character. Genuinely, I hate Snape but the multiple perspectives of TLE story - which does include Snape - has provided me with a far better understanding of his character than any internet annotation or analysis has done.

The characterization and growth of both James Potter and Sirius Black was handled well and not unrealistically. They were described as brilliant students and chronic pranksters, which CH Darling highlights and integrates into this series (something that I find is greatly missed by a lot of the earlier fanfics that depicts them as pranksters solely and not academically inclined which I disagree with). I love it! James still holds his prejudices towards Snape and Sirius toes that line between what he has been taught and what he has learned.

Remus and Peter are also given their own spotlight. I love how CH Darling explored the ramifications of Sirius’s betrayal and that it’s not just an “I’m sorry” and it is all better. I suspect that, if the author continues this series until the inevitably tragic ending, they will utilize that event as an important inflection point. I do hope they go on to write till that point because I want my heart to be thoroughly crushed. Peter’s character exploration borders on uncomfortable and resigned pity because dramatic irony understands where his character will go on to be and so you try to read between the lines of his perspective, waiting for that inevitable shift of his character.

What I believe really sets this series apart is the way CH Darling portrays the geopolitical climate of the Wizarding World as Voldemort comes into power. It’s all too familiar with our current state. The author makes the story relatable beyond the romantic themes and intrapersonal relationship dynamics.

I do have my fair share of criticism but for now, I must recommend this series because (while a WIP) it is sure to become one of the Marauder “classics.”

You can follow the author @chdarling and @chdarling-tle

The Last Enemy: The Howling Nights by CH Darling (complete)

It’s 1975 and war is simmering beneath the surface of the Wizarding world...but at Hogwarts, it’s magic as usual as the fifth years prepare for their O.W.L.s amidst politics, pranks, and other poor choices.

Severus Snape wants to prove his worth.

Lily Evans wants a fresh start.

James Potter wants Lily Evans, though no one is more surprised by this than him.

Sirius Black wants to write himself a new story.

Remus Lupin wants to survive the next moon.

Peter Pettigrew just wants to keep up.

But as tensions bubble over, sides will be chosen, friendships destroyed, families parted, and paths forever altered.

The Last Enemy: Dark Marks by CH Darling (on going)

It’s 1976 and the events of the past term at Hogwarts have left their mark on all involved. But it’s a new school year now, with new teachers, new rules, and new regrets. Yet as the war clamoring outside the castle walls grows ever louder, the students inside will learn that some marks are impossible to wash away.

[hp-fanfic-archive]

The Climb by greenTeacup Pairing: Severitus Rating: T Word Count: 21k "…in the event that I, Lily Evans Potter, and my husband, James Potter, become deceased," read Albus, "I do hereby name Severus Snape as sole legal custodian of my son, Harry James Potter, until such a time as he comes of age." He folded his glasses on the table. "Fuck," said Severus, with feeling.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 23

Warnings: Smut- slightly vague, 18+ readers only

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

𝕴 𝖈𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖕𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖔 bed, my hand bleeding. I didn't bother cleaning it up and just fell asleep on the bed.

When I woke up Tuesday morning I found that there was a puddle of dried blood on the floor and the blood had dried on the back of my hand too.

I cleaned up the puddle and then bandaged my hand and went downstairs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just sat down and when I sat down, Harry told me about how Occlumency had gone- poorly.

And then they told me that the weapon that Voldemort was trying to get was in the Ministry of Magic- in the Department of Mysteries to be more exact. And that was what Sturgis Podmore was trying to get into.

I stared at them, extremely annoyed, and then said when they'd finished speaking, "You know I said most of this like at the hospital, right?"

They stared blankly at me and then I saw something in my visions and I said, "Oh no."

"What?" They all asked.

"Where's the Daily Prophet Hermione?" I asked, looking around. At that moment, the owls came flying down, dropping a newspaper on mine and her lap. I quickly smoothed it over and felt my heart sink. "They did escape." I muttered.

Antonin Dolohov, August Rookwood, Bellatrix Lestrange, Travers, Rebastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Mulciber II were the names that popped out at me.

"Oh Merlin." Hermione said. Ron was looking over at my newspaper and Harry was looking at Hermione's.

"They're blaming Sirius for it." I said, scanning the article which mentioned that the new nine. . . no, ten. . . escapees must've learned it from the 'master' Sirius Black.

"Of course they are." Hermione said. "What other option does Fudge have? 'Sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort'- stop whimpering Ron- 'and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out too'. I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?"

It still gave me a shock when she said his name. "No one else looks as worried though, do they?" Harry asked.

I looked around and saw what he meant. They were all talking about Quidditch and homework and a Hogsmeade visit on Valentine's Day. "The teachers table is another story though." I said, nodding up at the teachers' table.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were in deep conversation, the newspaper in front of them. Professor Sprout had her newspaper propped up on a ketchup bottle and was so interested in the newspaper that she didn't realize her eggs were falling into her lap. I couldn't see Flitwick's reaction because he'd disappeared behind his newspaper. Severus had the newspaper flat on the table, a finger on his lips, and a hand on his fork, moving his food around on his plate aimlessly. I wondered if his reaction was for show. Surely he had known they would break out, right? Maybe he was reading a different article? Umbridge kept looking at Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Oh my-" Hermione said and I looked away from the teacher's table.

"What now?" Harry asked.

"It's. . . horrible." Hermione said, glancing at me.

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER

St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a potted-plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death. Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr. Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been sus- pended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokeswizard for the hospital said in a statement, "St. Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr. Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident." "We have strict guidelines on the decorations per- mitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr. Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout en- couraged Mr. Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare, which, when touched by the convalescent Mr. Bode, throttled him instantly. "St. Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward."

"What do they mean they're unable to account for presence of the plant?" I asked furiously. "Mad-Eye, Bill, and I all told her to get rid of the damn plant!"

"But who expects Devil's Snare to turn up in a hospital disguised as a potted plant? It's not our fault, whoever sent it to the bloke is to blame! They must be a real prat, why didn't they check what they were buying?" Ron asked sharply.

"Oh come on, Ron!" Hermione said, a bit annoyed, a bit shaky. "This- this was murder. Elizabeth said he worked in the Department of Mysteries. It was a clever murder, as well. . . if the plant was sent anonymously and the Death Eaters. . . they were obviously there that day." She closed the newspaper, deep in thought and then she leapt to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, startled.

"To send a letter. It. . . well, I don't know whether. . . but it's worth trying. . . and I'm the only one who can. . ." Hermione said, deep in thought and ran out of the Great Hall.

"I hate it when she does that." Ron said. I got up too. "Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"My house table." I said, glancing up at the teachers table. Dumbledore and I met eyes for a second and then I turned, hurrying to the Hufflepuff table.

"Elizabeth!" Susan said joyfully. "How was your Christmas?"

"Horrible." I snapped unceremoniously, "Look at this."

I laid the newspaper down on the table and after staring at it for two seconds, Susan knocked over her drink in order to snatch up the newspaper and stare at it more closely. In a flash, Ernie, Justin, Zacharias, Hannah, and Rose were all there.

"What is it?" Zacharias asked as Heidi and Malcolm came over. They all stood behind Susan, looking at the newspaper. Other Hufflepuffs were looking at us curiously and some of them even stood up to see what the newspaper said or turned to others who had gotten the paper but hadn't opened it.

"They went to join You-Know-Who!" Ernie said viciously.

I nodded. "We should up the D.A. meetings." I said. "We need to learn to defend ourselves more than ever."

They all agreed and I said I would talk with Harry. Susan was extremely distraught as she had an uncle, aunt, and cousins that had been killed by one of the ten Death Eaters who had escaped. She wasn't the only one either.

Neville's parents, obviously, had been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. A new changed seemed to come over him in the following weeks, working even harder at D.A. I was so busy, that I barely got to see Severus for more than a few seconds.

Everyone had started talking about the Death Eaters breaking out of Azkaban and what was more: They were starting to believe Dumbledore and Harry rather than the Daily Prophet. The teachers could be found standing in small clumps of two and three- even Severus, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"They obviously can't talk freely in the staffroom anymore." Hermione said in a low voice as we passed McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout in the hallway. "Not with Umbridge there."

"Reckon they know anything new?" Ron asked, glancing back over his shoulder.

"If they do, we're not going to heart about it, are we? Not after Decree. . . what number are we on now?" Harry asked angrily.

"We're on Decree twenty-seven but the one you're referring to is decree twenty-six." I repeated immediately.

Decree Twenty- six was: Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.

Decree Twenty-seven read: Private lessons are no longer allowed for students unless it is a group study.

I'd canceled all my private lessons with McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout. I wasn't going to risk their jobs for learning. Of course, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout now had me coming in to grade stuff for them and learn along the way- especially if I was grading older students stuff. (I had a key to help correct answers).

However, Decree Twenty-six was a joke amongst students. Lee had pointed out that Umbridge was breaking her own law when she told Fred and George not to play exploding snap in her classroom. "Exploding Snap's got nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor! That's not information relating to your subject."

I saw Lee with the words, 'I must not talk back to my superiors' written on the back of his hand and gave him essence of Murtlap so that he could, hopefully, not have those words scarred on the back of his hands.

Hagrid was on probation though. Of course, I wasn't as surprised as Ron had been, because I'd foreseen it. Umbridge was in every Divination and Care of Magical Creatures class which meant I had a lot of free periods when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. I supposed Umbridge was trying to figure out which teacher she was going to sack first.

I had gone to Hagrid multiple times before classes so that I could know ahead of time what he was teaching. This also helped me tell him what questions students could possibly ask and what the correct questions were.

It wasn't that Hagrid didn't know the answers to questions, it was that he often answered things wrong with Umbridge talking loudly and also marking things down on her clipboard often. Half the time I didn't even think she was actually writing anything but instead, just throwing him off balance. But despite my efforts, Hagrid still seemed to get mixed up during classes.

Harry was holding twice as many D.A. meetings than before. Rose and Grace were starting to work on the harder second-year, easier third-year charms. I was also teaching them on extra days on the charms that Harry was teaching the older kids. While they weren't able to do them, they were able to block some things I shot their way.

As the youngest students, they were working the hardest, eager to catch up to what we were doing. Rose and I were so close, closer than I'd ever been with a Hufflepuff besides Cedric that we both admitted that we were like big and little sister to each other. I would've died for her as much as I would've died for Dad or Harry or Severus.

As I've said before, Neville was working harder than anyone else. It was to everyone's greatest surprise that when Harry taught us the shield charm, Hermione and I were the only ones who mastered it before Neville.

Harry had confided in me that he was doing horribly in Occlumency and so, on top of everything else I was doing- prefect duties, tutoring Rose and Grace, grading things for the four Professors, interning under Madam Pomfrey, DA meetings, and Quidditch practices- I was now trying to help Harry master Occlumency. It got to the point that I was using my time-turner again- and not just for classes.

Finally, a week before the Hogsmeade date, I found a night to visit Severus. Harry had only just left his private lesson and Severus was spooning memories back into his head from his pensieve.

I closed the door behind me and locked it as Severus put the pensieve back into a hiding spot in the wall. He was wearing only his shirt and his slacks. He'd already kicked off his shoes and socks. His long hair was hanging in his face.

"About time." he said softly, crossing the room and kissing me. My heart was pounding in my chest. Could I dare to do what I wanted?

I put my fingers lightly on his face, barely breathing. We made our way to where I was headed- the bed. My heart began to beat faster and as his hand was on my chest he whispered, "Your heart's going crazy."

My mouth seemed very dry all of a sudden and my throat was tight. I was so nervous. "Severus. . . do you. . . do you want me?"

His eyes became curious and cautious at the same time, and very carefully he said, "Of course I do. I asked you to marry me, didn't I?"

I blushed. He didn't understand. My fingers trembled at his shirt front. Then I clenched my fists together and bent down and kissed him, moving my hands away from the buttons. It was no good, I couldn't do it.

His hands drew up and slid my robe off my shoulders and I let it slide to the floor. I continued to kiss him as his fingers moved deftly, loosening my tie, and letting that fall to the floor as well. His fingers touched the buttons on the front of my shirt and I moved my lips to his throat. His fingers worked faster as I bit him gently, practically forcing the buttons apart.

It gave me the courage to undo the buttons on his shirt. I was sitting on top of him, sitting up, undoing the buttons on his shirt. My fingers were much clumsier than his, but he waited patiently, kissing my neck until I had finished and his shirt fell to the floor on top of mine.

His fingers went behind my back, undoing the clasp on my bra and that fell to the floor too. I couldn't look at him though and so, blushing, I looked down at his abs, tracing them with my fingers. His fingers traced over my breasts, tracing lightly across the soft skin and I breathed out. In such a sudden movement, I never would've predicted it, he'd rolled over on top of me, pressing me down into the bed.

Things were going exactly as I'd hoped and we were both naked within a few moments notice. My eyes closed, I didn't even notice where his mouth was until I felt it on my clit. I let out a moan almost against my will. I had never felt something more pleasurable in my entire life and I was sure it would just increase. And then his tongue was traveling up my stomach, making me shiver, and he kissed me between my breasts. I opened my eyes and met Severus' which were bright with excitement.

There was a bit of hesitation on his end and then, he slid into me. We both gasped at the same time. And then, time stopped existing. There was no more world. It was just the two of us in this room and that was it.

I had never felt so great in my entire life as he thrusted himself over and over into me. I'd never felt anything like it, and it was the best thing on the planet. I could not get enough. My lips forever searched his and when we broke apart, our lips were always somewhere else on the other's skin. Mine were always at his throat, leaving dark purple bruises of love. His were either at my throat or at my breasts- a whole new sensation in itself.

And there were other sensations, lower in me, things that seemed to build up and release before settling down, only to reach that point again.

It was nearly an hour before we stopped, both of us, curling up with the other, our arms around each other in a way that we'd never held each other before. There was a new closeness to us, our naked bodies tangled together. I was safe here. I was safe in his arms with the sheets wrapped around us, his hair on my cheek. My hair was splayed out on the pillow, out of the way.

We were both breathing deeply, both of us extremely satisfied and we both fell asleep, completely and totally content.

I could barely believe what had happened last night when I woke up, and I might've thought it to be a dream if I wasn't so sore- and completely naked.

I winced, touching my legs and stomach. There was a soreness in my hips that I had never felt before.

"Did I hurt you?" Severus asked in concern as I stood up, wincing again.

"No, that was. . . that was lovely." I said, blushing and looking away. "Just sore for some reason, that's all."

He chuckled, holding my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. It took us nearly twenty minutes to finally get dressed and leave the office. I couldn't remember what day it was or my name or where I was.

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𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕 more completely in the Great Hall. I'd checked myself in the bathroom and covered up any marks that would've led to interesting questions with make up. I finally remembered that today was Monday. I was so glad that I didn't have Umbridge that I was humming.

All in all, I was just in a good mood. I wanted to go back tonight. I wanted to do it again and again and again. I wanted to run from Hogwarts with Severus and buy a beach house in Australia and the two of us live happily ever after away from this mess. Voldemort would- ideally- leave us alone to be happy.

Of course, it was just a daydream. I couldn't go back tonight, I had way to much homework. Neither of us were running away either. I couldn't leave everyone here to face Voldemort on their own. Severus wasn't going to abandon his duties here either.

So, I contented myself to simply daydreaming throughout my classes. People kept asking what I was so happy about and I just kept saying that I was glad it was February.

While I didn't get to spend an adequate amount of time with Severus over the next week, I made sure to clear my schedule and finish all my homework so that we could spend the night together on Valentine's day. . . if he wanted to of course.

I'd never before doubted about whether or not he would want to see me. I'd always shown up and we'd kissed. Sometimes I slept over and sometimes I didn't. But things seemed so different now. We were engaged, we'd had sex, would things be different between us? Would he expect to have sex every time I stayed over. I didn't mind that as much but would he get tired of it? Of me? I was so distracted during Potions lessons that for the first time ever, that I didn't finish the potion. Everyone seemed a bit surprised by that- but Severus didn't.

In fact, when everyone had left, I found that he was positively grinning at the fact that I hadn't finished my potion.

"What?" I asked, blood rushing to my cheeks. "Why are you smiling?"

"You're so easy to read." He said smugly.

I stared at him for a second and then threw my crystal phial at him. "You went into my mind!" I exclaimed, completely and totally embarrassed. He caught the phial in his hand and put it down on the desk as he approached me.

"Only a bit." He said, still smug. "And to answer all your lovely questions. . ." He pressed me up against the wall. "Of course I'm not going to get tired of you. . ." he pressed his lips to mine. I would've liked him to flip me onto the table right then and there but I knew that I was going to have to leave if I wanted to get to Hogsmeade.

"So I'll. . . I'll come back tonight?" I asked, looking at him hesitantly as he released me.

"Of course you will." He said, running his hand through my hair. "Because I want you to. And you do as I say, like a good girl." He kissed me again.

"Yes sir." I said breathlessly as he kissed me again, and I had a hard time finding my way out of the room.

I wouldn't have even gone to Hogsmeade if I hadn't known about Hermione and Rita Skeeter's story. I went up into the Hufflepuff dorm room. I had Severus' wedding ring on my left finger, under the disillusionment charm and I put the dragon ring that dad had given me on the opposite hand so that the attraction would be drawn there if anyone looked at my hands. Then I put my locket on over the top of my clothes so that if it did burn, I wouldn't feel it.

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and grabbed the bag dad had given me for Christmas this year, filling it with my art books, art tools, and a few other things like my Chocolate Frog collecting binder.

I then headed out to Hogsmeade, excited about later tonight. I hung out with Susan, Justin, Zacharias, Ernie, Heidi, and Hannah for the first half. We sat in Three Broomsticks.

"Don't you think its weird that all these Death Eaters escaped and there isn't a single dementor about?" Ernie asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah!" Susan said. "and yet when Sirius Black escaped, there were so many around."

"Why do you think that is Elizabeth?" Justin asked, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

I looked at them thoughtfully and then said, "Well. . . for one thing. . . I believe that it means the Dementors are no longer under the Ministry's control. Of course, Sirius was innocent so you know, that's just how it works."

"He was innocent?" Hannah asked curiously.

"How do you know that?" Zacharias asked with a snort.

Carefully, making it sound like I'd foreseen the story, I told them about Sirius and Peter Pettigrew and basically the entire story. Of course, I didn't tell them about how we'd helped him escape. I also kept silent about knowing him.

"Wow." Susan said, stunned. "I can't believe. . . I mean I'd heard about Peter Pettigrew of course- that Sirius Black had killed him. . . I can't believe. . . wow."

Ernie snorted, "Typical Ministry. Waste dementors on an innocent man and don't send any after those that are legitimately evil."

"I feel bad for Sirius." Hannah said thoughtfully. "Imagine not having anyone believe that your innocent. I can't believe the Minister didn't believe your story."

I shrugged. "Yeah well he also didn't believe me when I said that You-Know-Who was back so. . ."

"Did Dumbledore know about Sirius?" Zacharias asked.

I nodded. "He believed me and of course, he questioned Sirius when he was captured two years ago and Sirius told him the story. That's how I got a few of the extra details of course."

Ernie just shook his head.

I watched Rita Skeeter walk into the Three Broomsticks and I said, "Hey, do you guys trust me?"

"Of course." They all said immediately, even Zacharias- slightly surprising.

"Then I recommend that you guys take out subscriptions for The Quibbler. I have to go. I'll see you guys soon." I moved out of the table and approached the table where Hermione and Luna were sitting with Rita Skeeter.

"Oh, hello Elizabeth." Hermione said brightly.

"Hello Hermione." I said, "Hey Luna." I sat down with them. I could see the Hufflepuffs looking at us curiously. They were whispering amongst themselves though they soon turned back to talk with each other. I wondered what they were talking about and I wished I had an Extendable Ear on me.

Instead, I contented myself by pulling out my art pad and started drawing Rita Skeeter as she looked now. Her unkempt hair, her chipped nails, the jewels missing from her glasses, etc. She looked horribly and I was incredibly gleeful. The drawing was revenge on her from the many horrible articles that she'd written last year.

Suddenly Hermione was saying, "Harry! Harry, over here!"

I looked up and put away the art pad as Harry made his way over. It must've been raining because his hair was soaking wet and looking totally wild. He pushed it out of his eyes. "You're early!" Hermione said, moving over so that he could sit down. "I thought you were with Cho, I wasn't expecting you for another hour at least!"

"Cho? A girl?" Rita asked, turning in her chair to look at Harry.

"It's none of your business if Harry's been with a hundred girls so you can put that away right now." Hermione said coolly. Rita Skeeter's mouth puckered and she put the Quick-Quotes Quill back in her crocodile skinned purse.

"What are you up to?" Harry asked, looking between Luna, Hermione, Rita, and I.

"Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived. I suppose I'm allowed to talk to him, am I?" Rita asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yes, I suppose you are." Hermione said coolly.

"Pretty girl, is she, Harry?" Rita immediately asked.

"One more word about Harry's love life and the deal's off and that's a promise." Hermione said irritably.

"What deal? You haven't mentioned a deal yet, Miss Prissy, you just told me to turn up. Oh, one of these days..." Rita said, shuddering.

"Yes, yes, one of these days you'll write more horrible stories about Harry and me. Find someone who cares, why don't you?" Hermione said.

"They've run plenty of horrible stories about Harry this year without my help. How has that made you feel, Harry? Betrayed? Distraught? Misunderstood?" Rita said, seeming almost happy about it.

"He feels angry, of course." Hermione answered for Harry. "Because he's told the Minister of Magic the truth and the Minister's too much of an idiot to believe him."

"So you actually stick to it, do you, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back? You stand by all this garbage Dumbledore's been telling everybody about You-Know-Who returning and you being the sole witness-?" Rita asked.

"I wasn't the sole witness. There were a dozen-odd Death Eaters there as well. Want their names?" Harry snarled.

"I'd love them." Rita breathed, gazing at Harry in almost a loving way. "A great bold headline: 'Potter Accuses. . .' A subheading: 'Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among us'. And then beneath a big photograph of you: 'Disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know-Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing respectable and prominent members of the Wizarding community of being Death Eaters. . ." Her quill was already in her hand and then her smiled dropped and said contemptuously. "But of course, little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?"

"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect does want." Hermione said so sweetly I was vividly reminded of Professor Umbitch- Umbridge. Harry and Rita looked at her in amazement.

"You want me to report what he says about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Rita asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes, I do. the true story. All the facts. Exactly as Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now- oh get a grip on yourself." Hermione said, throwing Rita a napkin as she had slopped her drink down her front. "And Elizabeth might even tell you about the attacks she had this Christmas."

I shot her a look. I hadn't bargained on that but at the same time. . . Severus had told me that I'd broken Notts knee. . . and I could definitely throw in Malfoy considering I'd recognized his voice. . .

"The Prophet wouldn't print it. In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional. Now, if you let me write the story from that angle-"

"We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles! We've had plenty of those already, thank you! I want him given the opportunity to tell the truth!" Hermione said angrily.

"There's no market for a story like that." Rita said coldly.

"You mean the Prophet won't print it because Fudge won't let them." Hermione said in an irritable voice.

"All right, Fudge, is leaning on the Prophet, but it comes to the same thing." Rita said after a moment, leaning forward so that she could speak quietly. "They won't print a story that shows Harry in a good light. Nobody wants to read it. It's against the public mood. This last Azkaban breakout has got people quite worried enough. People just don't want to believe You-Know-Whos' back."

"It's even more dangerous for people to be ignorant of this." I said softly. "It makes them easier to control."

"My dad thinks it's an awful paper." Luna said out of nowhere. "He publishes important stories that he thinks the public needs to know. He doesn't care about making money."

"I'm guessing your father runs some stupid little village newsletter? 'Twenty-five Ways to Mingle with Muggles' and the dates of the next Bring-and-Fly sale?"

"No, he's the editor of The Quibbler."

Rita snorted so loudly that neighboring tables looked over at her. "The Quibbler! You think people will take him seriously if he's published in The Quibbler?"

"Some people won't. But the Daily Prophet's version of the Azkaban breakout had some gaping holes in it. I think a lot of people will be wondering whether there isn't a better explanation of what happened, and if there's an alternative story available, even if it is published in a- in a- well, an unusual magazine- I think they might be rather keen to read it."

"All right, let's say for a moment I'll do it. What kind of fee am I going to get?" Rita asked sharply.

"I don't think Daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine. They do it because it's an honor, and of course, to see their names in print." Luna said dreamily.

"I'm supposed to do this for free?" Rita asked, looking absolutely horrified. I kept my mouth shut. I was going to pay her, but no one knew that yet. I wasn't even giving her the gold until after the story came out.

"Well, yes. Otherwise, as you very well know, I will inform the authorities that you are an unregistered Animagus. Of course, the Prophet might give you rather a lot for an insider's account of life in Azkaban. . ." Hermione said calmly.

My stomach turned considering I was an unregistered Animagus. I wondered if maybe I should've turned into a smaller animal so that I could've hidden better.

"I don't suppose I've got any choice, have I?" Rita asked her, voice shaking slightly. I knew from dad's experiences that being unemployed was rather hard. That was the only reason I was going to pay her.

"Daddy will be pleased." Luna said brightly and a muscle twitched in Rita's cheek.

"Okay, Harry? Ready to tell the public the truth?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose." Harry said.

"Fire away, then, Rita." Hermione said. 

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