#my sister wanted to watch merlin after i was done

[yeetthedragon]

I just finished good omens and ????? hello???? what in the hurt no comfort coffee shop au fanfiction was that???

[merlingenrecs]

The truth comes out—and Merlin doesn't end up on the pyre! Perhaps there is anger, a heated conversation or some temporary distrust, but ultimately all goes well. Perhaps we even get a glimpse of what a Golden Age might look like?

Today's gen fic rec theme: Magic Reveal Gone Well!

↓ Find the list of fanfic recs under the cut! ↓

⚬ A Better Man by TheActualAuthor, 3k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/43646655 summary: Arthur’s cursed by a witch to experience his worst fear.

⚬ Almost, but not quite by Marti1297, 2k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/39236688 summary: Finally, Arthur starts to realize strange things happen around him, and he comes to an unexpected conclusion.

⚬ a drop of truth by WinglessCrows, 6k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/15636450 summary: Arthur has a truth serum, Merlin lies more than he tells the truth. Who else would Arthur use it on?

⚬ Allow One To ‘See’ by mollrach13, 30k, unrated https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729350 summary: When the King is attacked in his tent on patrol and falls into an unending sleep everyone is worried. What they don't know is that Arthur is fine. In fact he is standing right here next to them, watching them all fret over his prone body. To stave off the boredom whilst a cure is found Arthur takes to wandering the castle and soon discovered a hidden side of Camelot he never knew about.

⚬ Truths Emerge by s0mmerspr0ssen, 22k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/52211941 summary: When Caerleon attacks Camelot, more than one secret is uncovered. In the face of a hopeless battle, will Arthur make the right choice?

⚬ Crown of Light by s0mmerspr0ssen, 3k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/52211941 summary: About four weeks after he had married Gwen, Arthur awoke with a strange, golden light around his head. Naturally, it freaked Merlin out.

⚬ darkest before dawn by merlinemrys, 1k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/48216928 summary: Arthur: I never knew my mother because of it. My father died because of it. I lost my sister to it. So tell me, Merlin, what has magic ever done for me? Merlin: What haven't I done for you? – In the hours before Mordred's execution for using sorcery to save Arthur, Merlin finally snaps.

⚬ I’d Die For You by Fulgance, 4k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/934552 summary: "You know I'd die for you, yeah?" – "It certainly looks like we're headed that way," Arthur says dryly.

⚬ The Reveal byArgentNoelle, 1k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/6645151 summary: How long, Merlin wondered, had Arthur known? He hadn’t seemed surprised at all.

⚬ How Water by LadyAJ_13, 3k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817572 summary: Leon shuffles, a move so unlike him that Arthur is immediately concerned. “It's about Merlin, sire.” He wonders what he's done now. Something stupid no doubt, insulted a noblewoman or broken something valuable. A day in the stocks might be required to make the aggrieved party happy. But then, that's not unusual enough for his most capable knight to be fiddling with his sword scabbard. “I believe he has magic.”

⚬ Just a Hint of Magic by Drag0nst0rm, 1k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462047 summary: The thing was, most sorcerers didn't know enough spells to actually put up much of a fight. So when Arthur first noticed Merlin had magic, he wasn't too worried about it.

⚬ The Truths He Can’t Deny by N16, 10k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/33923860 summary: Merlin had always known this day would come. An innocent girl. An arrest for sorcery. Except now it's Arthur sitting on the throne in judgment, not Uther. It was always going to happen, but it wasn't supposed to happen like this.

⚬ Treason by N16, 10k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/27763306 summary: Arthur knows four things: Merlin committed treason. Merlin is loyal to him. Merlin wants to tell Arthur the truth. Merlin is scared Arthur will kill him. All he needs to figure out now is what on earth his servant has actually done.

⚬ Greater Love Hath No Man by N16, 8k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/37562236 summary: Once upon a time, Merlin had been so in love with Gwen that he'd confessed to sorcery to save her from the pyre. That moment seemed like a million years and a million lies ago. But that one lie was a loose thread, and now one tug might unravel Merlin's entire tapestry of deceit. Fortunately, Merlin can always count on Gwen.

⚬ A Scar Like a Vision of Grace by nsowlwrites97, VikingSong, 3k, rated T http://archiveofourown.org/works/56321101 summary: “Please,” Arthur tried. “Let him go. If you want the book–”The man holding the sword to Merlin’s neck smirked. “Oh, that? That’s just a bonus. No, king. We’re here for this.” And without another word, he slid the sword across Merlin’s throat.

⚬ The Hand of the Enemy by N16, 45k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/27567688 summary: When Arthur accepts an invitation to a nearby kingdom where magic is free, he hopes to establish an alliance despite their differences. Instead, he and his knights find they’ve been invited under false pretenses, and the queen may succeed in turning friend against friend to accomplish her own aims.

⚬ Who I’ve Been by TheActualAuthor, 3k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/41350509 summary: Arthur glances at him, but doesn’t stop to reprimand, “I told him I didn’t know what he meant. Then he spoke of many things. Said I was a figure of prophecy and legend.” His voice twists around the words, mocking them, “Said I was to rule all Albion. I was about to call him out as some sort of sorcerer’s trick, trying to trap me into oaths or pride, when he began to speak of another. A man I knew well, supposedly, who walked in my inner circle.” The king takes a sharp breath and raps his knuckles on the table, making Merlin jerk his head up, “I have little doubt he meant those who stood with me at the table. When the others come, I am going to eat with them, my men and my favored. And when we are done, I will speak to them of this, and I will know who has been lying to me all this time.”

⚬ Stains Unseen by reelin_writer, 2k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/33212869 summary: During the routine bandit ambush, Gwaine is mortally wounded. Merlin saves him with magic, and instead of exploding at the reveal, Arthur is overcome with guilt. Merlin has been dealing with the trauma of taking a life--alone. Nothing, not even the new powers Merlin has, can keep Arthur from wanting to protect the younger man.

⚬ Behind Me, Beside You by TheActualAuthor, 3k, rated G https://archiveofourown.org/works/37246459 summary: Arthur glares at him, “I have no love for magic, they will not help me.” His eyes narrow, “How do you know the way to their camps? We’ve been searching for their borders for years.” “I have friends among them.” He hedges. The king stares at him a moment, then sits down with a weary air, “So you also have betrayed me.”

⚬ A Moment of Truth by sakarrie, 5k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/35432824 summary: Even though Merlin knows it's finally time to tell Arthur the truth, he can't stop his hands from shaking. He knows being a sorcerer is a death sentence, yet here he is—about to tell the King of Camelot. But Arthur deserves to know, and Merlin can't keep hiding from his best friend.

⚬ Stay by wryter501, 13k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/39378669 summary: A different direction for episode 4.7 "The Secret Sharer". Alator goes to Camelot not to find Emrys for Morgana, but with another plan in mind... Why has Emrys failed so long in his prophetic task of restoring magic to Camelot, in guiding and instructing Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King? Fate seems to have handed Alator the chance to right the course of history gone awry - and he's going to take it. He's going to use Gaius to find Emrys - and then they're going to have a serious conversation. But even the best-laid plans of a canny warrior-sorcerer can be diverted... Alator finds more than he anticipated, plotting ambush in iron mines of Kemeray...

⚬ The Serving of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle, 80k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/20239129 summary: When a new position is made in the royal household to oversee the servants, Arthur didn’t think much of it. It was only days later when he noticed the mysterious injuries appearing on frightened servants that the prince decided to go undercover and to find out what is going on. Meanwhile, Merlin thinks the newest servant is a mess. Or: Arthur learns what it is like to be a servant and learns some interesting thing about his own servant.

⚬ Golden Is The Dawn by TrekScribbles, 9k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/54962341 summary: When Arthur finds out that Merlin is hiding a baby dragon, he devises a plan to get rid of it. But when Merlin is captured by a band of slavers, the dragon might be Arthur's only hope of getting him back.

⚬ Faithful Are The Wounds of a Friend by VikingSong, 5k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/33734425 summary: Arthur catches sight of a scar on Merlin’s back which he can’t explain, so he asks each of the members of the Round Table if they’ve seen it, too. They have...but it wasn’t the same scar.

⚬ Curiouser and Curiouser by VikingSong, 12k, rated T https://archiveofourown.org/works/28588263 summary: Gwen knew Merlin wasn’t in the tavern each time Arthur thought he was...but it was Merlin, so she’d never worried about her friend’s harmless lies of omission. That is, she'd never worried until the day Merlin disappeared to ‘the tavern’ with a freshly-paralyzed fomorroh still lodged in his neck. With the threat of the dormant serpent hanging over their heads, suddenly those lies didn't seem so harmless anymore. Or: Gwen is the primary keeper of the one (1) brain cell in Camelot, which she wields to great effect in missing-scenes-turned-canon-divergence in 4x06, "A Servant of Two Masters."

[chickenlizard13]

Stay Right Here

Pairing: Ominis Gaunt x Reader (gender neutral)

Word Count: 7689

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mature 18+, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Description: Part 3 of All You've Done and Let Me See. You don't have to have read All You've Done, but you do need to have read Let Me See. Anyway, takes place directly after Let Me See.

Someone was pounding at your door. Squinting your eyes open, you peer through the curtains at the pink and purple sky, the sun just starting to rise. The pounding stops abruptly, and you assume whomever it was had left, deciding to try again later. Shoving your face back into the crook of Ominis’s neck, you close your eyes once more. His arms squeeze you unconsciously, groaning a bit in his sleep as he cuddles you closer. 

You’re only given a few moments of tranquil peace before the knocking starts up again, startling you into awareness. Sighing, you relish the feel of Ominis’s bare skin a second more, eventually detangling yourself from him and getting up. Swiping his discarded shirt from the night before, you button it clumsily, unconcerned with being presentable for your visitor. 

Trudging downstairs, you walk slowly toward the front door, griping to yourself under your breath. What could someone possibly need this early? Opening the door, you rub the sleep out of your eyes before looking at the figures before you. Sebastian and Anne stood on your doorstep, grinning like fools, delighted by your disgruntled face. “What are you two doing here?”

Sebastian scoffed, rolling his eyes at you. “What do you mean ‘What are we doing here’? You’re getting married.” 

Your sleep addled brain took a bit to process his words, furrowing your brow in confusion as you observed Anne’s giddy smile. “...Today?”

Anne chuckled. “That’s what Ominis’s letter said. Did he forget to propose?”

Shaking your head, you glance back and forth between them, noting the bag Anne carried. “I thought he was joking.” 

You heard an offended noise come from over your shoulder, Ominis walking up behind you, already dressed and fiddling with his cufflinks. “I would never joke about marrying you.” 

“Not about marrying me, you silly man, about marrying me today. How are you already dressed? You were dead asleep two minutes ago.” 

Finally satisfied with his cufflinks, Ominis places a hand on your waist, kissing your head in greeting. “Well, darling, I used a little something called ma- Is this my shirt?”

Ominis stops talking abruptly, feeling the fabric between his fingers as a light blush dusts his cheeks. “Are you- What else are you wearing?” 

Ominis looks scandalized at your lack of clothing, placing himself in front of you, blocking Anne and Sebastian’s view. “Why would you answer the door like this?!” 

Rolling your eyes, you peek out at your friends. “My love, it’s just Sebastian and Anne, nothing to worry about.” 

Ominis scoffed at you, baffled by your carefree attitude. “Darling, what if it hadn’t been Anne and Sebastian? You’re practically naked!” 

“And who’s fault is that?” Your tone is flat, eyebrows raised in accusation. Ominis sputters at you, ears growing red in embarrassment. 

Anne and Sebastian watched the two of you bicker, glancing at each other knowingly. “Merlin, they’re so in love.”

“It’s a bit disgusting, isn’t it?”

“Do you think this is their version of foreplay?” 

“I don’t particularly want to find out. Anyway! Should we get this show on the road?” Sebastian pushes past the two of you, waltzing right into your house uninvited. Grabbing the bag from Anne, Sebastian places it on your dining room table, calling to his sister over his shoulder. “Anne! Could you please help the lovely bride find something suitable to wear.” 

You huffed in annoyance, crossing your arms dramatically. “I can’t just get married in this?”

All three of your companions objected. A chorus of ‘No’, ‘Hell no’, and ‘Absolutely not’ had you rolling your eyes and trudging back upstairs. “Alright, alright, fine. I’m going.” 

Anne trotted after you, commenting on the large mirror in your room. “Merlin, what could you possibly need that for?”

You blush, quickly grabbing your wand and transfiguring the mirror back into a bureau. “Don’t, uh, don’t worry about it. Help me find something to wear.” 

The two of you combed through your closet, selecting something nice, but not overly dressy. It would just be the four of you, so you didn’t feel the need for formal attire. Once you were ready, you walked into the yard, the sun painting the sky in bright morning hues. Ominis stood staring at the colors, snake around his shoulders. He was facing away from you, but turned in your direction at your approach.

Ominis sucked in a breath, enchanted by the sight of you, bathed in the morning light. He smiled at you sweetly, voice nothing more than a mere whisper. “Hello, my love.” 

You walked up beside him, grinning, taking his hand before turning to Sebastian. “Alright, get on with it.” 

Sebastian shook his head fondly, muttering about your impatience under his breath. You and Ominis stood side by side, reciting your vows, Ominis never taking his eyes off you. Once you’d finished, Ominis squeezed your hand, silently asking you to look at him. Turning your gaze to him, you found a small, adoring smile gracing his lips, those same lips mouthing a quiet ‘I love you’, as your small herd of cats came bounding out of the bushes, rubbing up against both of you. Sebastian made direct eye contact with Anne again, mirroring her amused smile at the ridiculously sweet scene. 

When it came time, Sebastian produced a small box from the bag. Cocking your head, you look at the box curiously, gasping as Sebastian opened it to reveal a beautiful set of rings. You turn your wide eyes to Ominis, unoccupied hand coming up to cover your mouth. His smile widened, squeezing your fingers again as he spoke. “Do you like them?”

“Do I-...My love, when-” 

“You weren’t the only one planning a surprise.” 

Tears pooled in your eyes, the reality of the situation sinking in. You got to marry this wonderful man, fortunate enough to love and be loved by him for the rest of your life. “Sebastian, hurry up so we can put these on. I want to kiss my husband.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but refrained from arguing, clearly recognizing the excitement on both your faces. He concluded the ceremony, Ominis slipping the ring on your finger, kissing it delicately, before allowing you to place his. He didn’t wait for Sebastian’s permission, grabbing the back of your neck as soon as his ring was on, kissing you lovingly, struggling to control his happy grin. 

The four of you celebrated for a few hours, eating breakfast and catching up, Sebastian and Anne bidding you farewell in the early afternoon. As soon as they disappeared, you and Ominis wasted no time running back upstairs, giggling in giddy excitement as you undressed each other. He kissed you like he’d die without you, smile persevering, teasing words slipping out in a playful tone. When you're finished, you lay together in quiet contentment, savoring the cool touch of the new additions on your fingers.

—-------

Both of you had taken the week off work, spending your ‘honeymoon’ lazing about the house or taking short trips to London or Hogsmead, just generally enjoying your time as newlyweds. 

A sharp knock sounded at your door, interrupting the quiet morning filled only with your soft conversation and the steam from your coffee. The both of you stood, walking to the door as Ominis teased you, playfully demanding to know your outfit before opening the door. Rolling your eyes fondly, you tell him he’s being ridiculous, opening the door as he settles behind you, left hand on your hip. 

You don’t recognize the couple standing in front of you, both tall and striking, clearly very wealthy from their state of dress. “Hello? How can we help you?” 

The woman says nothing at first, pointedly staring at Ominis’s hand on your hip, ring clearly visible. Raising an eyebrow, she scoffs, eyes flitting up to look at your husband. “So this is where you’ve been? How…quaint.” 

Ominis’s hand tightened on you instantly, pulling you back against him protectively. The young man beside her smirked condescendingly, eyes roaming the inside of your home, setting you on edge. “Excuse you-“ 

“What do you want, mother.” 

The woman sneered, an evil glint in her eyes. “My, my, still rude as ever I see. No matter, we simply came to…chat.” 

Ominis bared his teeth, pulling you further into him. “We? Who is ‘we’.” 

Her sneer turned to a sly smile, voice purring as she answered. “Marvolo came to visit as well.” 

Ominis placed his other hand on the door, knuckles white as he gripped the wood, preparing to slam it shut. “We aren’t interested in chatting. I believe I made that quite clear when I renounced the Gaunt family and my birthright. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave our property and never return. Good day.” 

Ominis attempts to close the door in his mother’s face, but Marvolo’s foot shoots out, preventing Ominis from getting too far. “Really, Ominis. After we put so much effort into finding you? You’d deny your own family an audience? Such a rude child. Clearly living in this hovel has done you no good these past few years.” 

Ominis grinds his teeth together and you can feel his anxiety rising. His grip on your hip is almost bruising, making sure no space remains between you. “You are not my family. What. Do. You. Want.” 

His mother sighs dramatically, as if she were speaking to a toddler. “Well dear, if you must know, your fiancé has grown weary of waiting for your return, so your brother and I came to fetch you. Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped playing house and came home?” 

Your husband growls dangerously, breathing becoming erratic as his rage builds. “Well mother, I’m delighted to inform you that I’m already married. So your trip here was a wasted one.”

He tries again to close the door, but is once again stopped by Marvolo, his brother’s hand now also pushing the door open. “Marvolo. Get your filthy appendages out of my fucking house.” 

His brother chuckles darkly, a chill creeping up your spine. You itch to run into the kitchen, where your wands lay uselessly, but fear the consequences of leaving Ominis alone with his vile relatives. “This…sham marriage is of no consequence to us. Easily taken care of, annulled or…otherwise.”

Ominis snarls at his brother, arm now wrapping around your middle, shoulders hunched over you protectively. “Threaten my spouse again, and your severed head will decorate our dining room table.” 

Ominis’s mother sighs again, boldly looking at you as she shakes her head. “Boys, really, there’s no need for that. Ominis dear, just let us in so we can have a civilized conversation about this.” 

Your husband’s voice is low and dangerous in your ear as he answers her. “Absolutely not.” 

She sighs in disappointment, but you can see the tick of her mouth, pulling the corner into an almost smile. “How unfortunate. Then I suppose you’ll have to come out.” 

Without warning, Marvolo casts the Cruciatus Curse, hitting you square in the chest. You can barely hear Ominis’s panicked shouts over your own screams, and suddenly you’re being ripped away from him, body hitting the grass as you’re tossed onto the front lawn. Ominis tries desperately to get to you, following the sounds of your agony. Squinting your eyes open, you see Marvolo restraining your husband, who fights wildly in his grip. His mother saunters over, calmly casting Imperio on Ominis, instantly ceasing his struggle, face blank. “Now dear, that’s quite enough. Let’s return home, shall we?”

She turns to you as you lay twitching in the ground, haughty smile denoting her condescension. “You were a fool to believe yourself worthy of a pure blood. I leave you alive only as a courtesy to my son, as he would likely do something drastic if you died. Take this as a warning, should you decide to pay us a visit.” 

With that, she put a controlling hand on his shoulder, apparating back to the Gaunt estate. The last thing you see is Ominis’s neutral expression pointed in your direction, tears streaking from his eyes as he mindlessly allows his family to take him. 

—————

You lay on the ground a few more moments, breathing heavily as the feeling slowly returns to your body. Once you can move your limbs again, you push yourself up quickly. There was no time to waste, even as your body screamed at you to stop, you sprinted into the house. You stumble your way into the kitchen, opening your potions cupboard and downing a couple Wiggenweld potions, pocketing the rest. 

Most of the pain subsided, and you got to work quickly, writing a hasty letter to Sebastian and Anne, explaining the situation and that you were heading straight there. Your hands shook slightly, the letters wobbly as you wrote, a few stray tears falling on the page, blurring the ink. There was no time to start over, so you sealed the letter, presenting it to your owl and begging it to fly as fast as it could. The wise bird took off instantly, disappearing out the window in a heartbeat. 

Making sure to grab both wands from the table, you curse yourself for being so careless, knowing this could have been prevented if you’d just been more prepared. You prayed Ominis was alright, navigating his surroundings would be much more difficult without his wand. 

Sprinting outside, you barely remember to lock the door behind you before you’re taking to the sky, speeding in the direction of the Gaunt estate. 

Ominis informed you of the precise location of his childhood home after moving in, if only so you’d keep your distance from it. He wanted to be sure you knew its location, to avoid stumbling into their wicked talons accidentally on your many ventures. 

Now, you were especially grateful for his forethought, though your current purpose was in direct contrast with his intent. You flew for hours, fear driving you forward, cursing your broom for its slowness. Tears flew out behind you, the harsh winds whipping them away as soon as they formed. Merlin you hoped he was unharmed, and if he wasn’t, the Gaunts would pay dearly for their idiocy. They clearly held no idea exactly who their son married.

Eventually, you spot the estate, a massive house, dripping in grandeur. However, you knew it for the lie it was. Ominis had also confided that his family lay on the brink of destruction, Salazar Slytherin’s wealth having long run out. The betrothal they’d attempted to force him into was solely to absorb his fiancé’s family wealth, and carry on the Gaunt name. 

The family had yet to marry off Marvolo, as his particularly strong penchant for cruelty, ended several engagements prematurely. You weren’t surprised, thoughts circling back to your brief interaction that morning. It stood to reason that the Gaunts now placed all their faith in Ominis to regain their lost riches, knowing they wouldn’t have bothered retrieving him had Marvolo been a viable option.

You land softly, just behind the tree line, keeping an eye out for any hidden persons or traps. All seemed quiet, which you knew was never a good sign. Creeping around the side, you find a low window, unlocking it skillfully and slipping inside. You cast Disillusionment prowling through the halls, looking for signs of Ominis. Eventually, you spot a house elf scrubbing the walls of a long corridor. Sneaking up behind the elf, you snatch the back of his rags, dragging him into a dark corner as you release your invisibility spell. Pointing your wand at his throat, you pull him close to growl dangerously in his face. “Where. Is. My. Husband.” 

The elf shook his head violently in fear, lips moving but no sound coming out. Glancing at his throat, you see a nasty old scar splitting the front of it, registering that the Gaunts had removed the poor thing's ability to speak. A part of you felt terrible for inflicting more terror on the sad creature, but it was quickly swept away by the growing urgency to find Ominis and get out. 

The elf lifted his fingers, snapping them in an attempt to apparate. Ancient magic pulsed at the end of your wand, feeling your desperation and preventing the house elf’s escape. You looked at him now, eyes wide with unshed tears as you pleaded with him. “Please, where are these vile people keeping my sweet Ominis?” 

The elf stopped his struggle, watching you intently for a moment, glancing down the corridor towards the opposite end. You gesture in the same direction with your head, eyes flitting to the side before looking back hopefully. The elf nods slightly, squeezing your wrist in silent confirmation. A shuddering huff escapes your lips, as you haul the elf against you, crushing him in a brief hug. “Thank you.” 

Quickly releasing the house elf, you ignore his shocked stare as you cast Disillusionment tearing down the hall as quietly as possible. You inspect each door you pass, finally stopping before the very last one, a heavy lock securing the handle. If Ominis was in any of these rooms, it’d be this one. 

The lock was complicated, and it took you far longer than you would have liked to unlock it, but you heard the quiet click and hastily pushed the door open. Closing the door quietly behind you, you turn and immediately have to dodge a book being thrown at you. You look up from your crouched position at Ominis, shirt unbuttoned and hair disheveled, like someone had been running their hands through it. Ominis’s chest heaves, sightless eyes wild as they search for the intruder. You try to call for him, but are swiftly dodging a pillow streaking towards you, Ominis throwing anything he could get his hands on. You glance over at the bed briefly, spotting a beautiful woman with dark hair in a nearly sheer slip dress, the thin straps falling off her shoulders, eyes closed and seemingly asleep. 

Your stomach drops, heart breaking at the thought of your husband’s infidelity. Struggling to pull air into your lungs, you barely avoid another book whizzing past your head, Ominis spitting angry words in your direction. “Marvolo! You fucking son of a bitch. Take me back to my spouse now!” 

His chest heaved angrily, pausing his assault a moment, trying to gauge where he thought his brother had gone. Pushing your anguish down, you call to him quietly, though you can’t hide the bitterness in your tone. “Ominis. It’s me.” 

Surprise flits across his face, before it crumples into intense relief, a sob ripping itself from his throat. “My love, you’re ok.” 

He feels his way toward the sound of your voice, reaching out for you blindly. You don’t let him touch you, instead shoving his wand into his hand roughly before turning back toward the door. Voice cold and devoid of all emotion. “Let’s go. If you even still want to.”

Before you can get too far, Ominis catches your wrist firmly, tugging you back towards him a step. Turning your head, you look at his worried face, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Darling, what-”

At that moment, you both hear a quiet sigh coming from the bed, both of your heads whipping toward it, and you watch as the sleeping woman shifts slightly before settling again. Realization dawns on Ominis’s face, neck snapping back to you frantically. His hand squeezes your wrist tightly, preventing you from moving away from him as he speaks in a panic. “My love, it’s not- please, it’s not what you think. I- She- My brother locked me in here with her, and-” 

You can see the fear blatant on his face, his other hand reaching for you, trying desperately to pull you closer. “She-She tried to…have me, but-! I-I didn’t let her. I knocked her unconscious, so-...my love, please.” 

Ominis was hyperventilating, hands shaking violently, his face scared as he begged you to believe him. Your heart swelled in relief, ashamed that you’d even considered his betrayal. Moving into his arms, you wrap yourself around him, holding him the way you’d longed to since he’d been taken. “I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“No- darling, it’s alright. I understand why you’d think…anyway, let’s get out of here. I’d very much like to go home now.” Nodding in agreement, you both sneak out of the room, locking the door behind you to avoid suspicion should someone walk by. Ominis leads you back towards the entrance, glancing around before pulling it open quietly. 

You’d just made it down the steps, hurrying toward the front gates, almost home free, when you felt something wrap around your throat and yank you backwards. Choking, you lose your concentration on Disillusionment, you fall to your knees, gasping for air as the spell retracts back into Marvolo’s wand. Ominis rushes to your side, hands frantic as he asks if you’re alright. 

You look back at the steps of the estate to see Marvolo and his mother, as well as Ominis’s father standing imposingly, framed by the intimidating Gaunt estate. Mrs. Gaunt smiles haughtily, eyes sharp as she sneers down at you. “Going so soon? You didn’t even say goodbye.” 

Peeking out from behind her legs, you see the house elf from earlier, glancing at you in shame as dark bruises formed on his skin. Your heart wept, vowing to return for him at a later date. You stand, facing the three wizards in front of you, planting yourself between Ominis and his family. “We’re going home.”

Mrs. Gaunt laughed wickedly, twirling her wand idly in her hands. “My dear, Ominis is home. If you think that shack of yours is worthy of him, I’m afraid you’re sorely mistaken. Likewise, if you think you’re worthy of him…well, that’s just plain embarrassing.” 

Snarling, you feel Ominis take your hand, the cold metal of his ring grounding you. You look her in the eyes, determination settling behind them. “I said- We’re. Going. Home.”

The smile dropped from his mother’s face, an ugly sneer taking its place, as she pointed her wand at you. “Fine. Have it your way.” 

All hell breaks loose, spells flying violently from all sides. You and Ominis work like a well oiled machine, attacking and defending as needed, slowly backing toward the gate. If you could just get to the treeline, you could apparate home, far away from the Gaunt estate. 

The Gaunts followed, spells violent and unrelenting. A stray bolt flew past you, striking the gate behind you in a loud crack, drawing your attention away from the battle briefly. Ominis’s mother took the opportunity to cast Bombarda, splintering a tree directly behind you. Ominis watches helplessly, the world slowing as the shrapnel streaks toward you with deadly accuracy, his wand picking up its trajectory. He screams your name, arms wrapping around you protectively as he spins your bodies, physically shielding you from the sharp spike. 

You feel his body jolt against yours, a pained grunt pushing past his lips as something large strikes him. Looking up in shock, you push at his chest, trying to pry yourself from his arms. “My love, what-”

His arms tighten around you, refusing to let you pull away from him, voice pleading in your ear. “Don’t look. It’s- I’m alright, my darling, just-just stay here with me.” 

The Gaunts cease their attack, watching the scene before them unfold. Ominis’s breathing becomes labored, and you fight against him harder, panic rising in your throat, choking you. “Ominis please, let me-let me see.”

His knees buckle as he focuses all his strength into the arms holding you, and you both slowly sink to the ground. Tears stream down your face, and you feel wet drops hitting your shoulder, Ominis’s voice steady, a small smile on his face in contrast with the sorrow in his heart. “I’m sorry, my love, I don’t-I don’t think I’ll be able to stay with you much longer.” 

You sob against him, anguish tearing at you, begging him to let you go. “Please. L-Let me go get help-”

“No. It’s ok. Stay right here.” Ominis’s voice was growing weak, chest shuddering with the effort to keep breathing, laboriously pushing as many words out as he could. “My darling…my t-time with you was the-the happiest I’ve ever been…even now, I would-I wouldn’t change a thing.”

His mother strolls up casually, voice amused and eyes excited as she watches you hold her dying son. “What a shame. He would have been so useful.”

She walks back towards her house, humming cheerily, smiling in satisfaction. She makes it all the way to the front steps before she stops, turning to look over her shoulder at you once more, delight coloring her smug words. “I would kill you, but now, I think the pain of watching my son die, knowing your efforts were in vain, would be a more delicious ending to this ludicrous fairytale.” 

Laughing once more, she and the rest of the Gaunts turn to stroll back into their house, the door slamming in finality, echoing through the courtyard. Silence follows, only broken by your heart wrenching sobs, muffled by Ominis’s shoulder. 

Ominis, kisses your temple lightly, arms growing weak around you, body leaning heavily on yours as the seconds drag by. He brings his lips back to your ear, voice barely above a whisper, forcing the words out. “I love you.”

Slumping against you, his body goes slack, and with your body finally freed, you claw desperately at your pockets, fingers fumbling with your Wiggenweld potions. You almost drop them on the ground, but you manage to wrangle Ominis to be lying in your lap, tears blurring your vision as you rip the cork out of the bottle.

You held the bottle to his lips, begging him to drink it, but his jaw remained slack, breathing shallow. Bringing the bottle up, you fill your cheeks with as much liquid as possible, pressing your lips to your husband’s, siphoning the potion into his mouth. 

Once all the liquid slid down his throat, you bring a hand to his face, voice raw as you wail at him to open his eyes. When nothing changes, you drop your head onto his chest, weeping into it as you listen to his fading heartbeat. 

Without warning, Anne and Sebastian appear before you, only taking a second to absorb the situation before springing into action. Sebastian gently pulls you away, cradling you against him, letting you cry into his shoulder as you beg Anne to help your dying husband. 

After Anne’s curse had been lifted, she’d made it her life’s mission to help heal others suffering from similar ailments. She’d been a nurse at St. Mungos for several years now, one of the best, if anyone could help Ominis, it would be her. 

Anne got right to work, wand pulsing with healing magic as she muttered over him. Your hands gripped the fabric of Sebastian’s arms as he held you up, whispering reassurances into your hair, trying his best to quell your hysteria. Once Ominis was stable enough, the Sallow twins looked at each other silently, having a brief eye conversation before apparating you both away from the Gaunt estate. You and Sebastian appear in your house, alone. Looking around frantically, you're about to ask where Ominis and Anne were, but Sebastian answered before you could get the words out. “They went to St. Mungos. He’ll be alright. Trust Anne, ok?”

Face crumpling in anguish, you collapse onto your couch, sobbing into the palms of your hands. Sebastian sits next to you, pulling you against him, rubbing your back and letting you soak his shirt. 

—-------

You’d gotten an owl from Anne early the next morning, tearing the parchment open in your haste to read its contents. You hadn’t slept a wink, the bags heavy under your eyes, blinking to stay awake. Anne wrote that Ominis was stable, but hadn’t woken up yet, inviting you to visit if you were feeling up for it. You didn’t need to be told twice, shaking Sebastian awake from his place on the couch, apologizing as you begged him to take you to the hospital. 

He obliged immediately, also eager to see his best friend. Upon arriving, you grab Anne in a death grip, sobbing your gratitude into her shoulder. She shushes you, playfully reminding you that you and Ominis were her family, and she’d be damned if she let anything happen to either one of you. 

You sat at Ominis’s bedside, stroking his cheek sadly as you gazed at his sleeping form, his heart beat strong and steady. Sebastian stood leaning against the doorway, watching you silently. “You’re going, aren’t you?”

You huff humorlessly, never taking your eyes away from your husband’s face. “Am I that predictable?”

Sebastian chuckles quietly. “Nah, I just happen to know you pretty well. Go, I’ll stay with him. Give them hell.”

Kissing Ominis’s forehead tenderly, you stand, sparing him one last longing glance. You walked toward the door, eyes staring at nothing in particular as you stopped briefly, shoulder touching Sebastian’s. “They’ll wish that’s all I gave them.”

Without another word, you walked silently out the door, exiting the hospital completely before apparating away.

—-------

A storm brewed outside the Gaunt estate, lightning striking the trees around the house as you stalked through the front gates, not even bothering to conceal your presence. Casting Bombarda, you blow the front door right off its hinges, ribbons of ancient magic whipping around you in your fury as you strode into the foyer. Marvolo Gaunt comes running from the second floor, appearing at the top of the grand staircase, a look of alarm painting his features. He shouts, brandishing his wand at you, only able to get the first syllable of a spell out of his mouth before you shatter a vase against his head.

Snarling in rage, you quickly cast Accio, dragging him screaming down the stairs, making sure he slammed into each one. His body crumples at the bottom, groaning in pain as you stalk over, looming above him, eyes glowing dangerously. 

He looks up at you, face bloody from his newly broken nose, and tries to raise his wand at you. The heel of your boot comes slamming down on his hand, snapping his wand, and a few fingers all at once. He wailed again, tears springing to his eyes as he pathetically begged you to stop.

Sneering down at him, you bear your teeth, voice a low hateful hiss as it slips past your lips. “Stop?…You tried to take the love of my life from me…and you want me to stop? Let me tell you something, you worthless little insect, you have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m going to make the Cruciatus Curse look like a walk in the park.” 

Marvolo looked at you in fear, trembling and pleading with you for mercy, but you had no mercy to give. Casting Flipendo, you slammed him down on his back, pointing your wand at his knee cap and shattering the bone beneath the skin, permanently crippling him. He screamed in agony, hyperventilating as hysterical sobs wracked his chest. 

Using your wand, you magically drag his limp body behind you, relishing the pathetic chorus of whimpers as you search for the other two Gaunts. Servants cower away from you, shoving their bodies as far into the dark corners as they could. You paid them no mind, focusing solely on the three Gaunts who’d wronged your sweet husband. 

Ancient Magic billowed around you, shattering every door and window you passed, the tendrils almost sentient as they searched for their targets. 

You found the other two quickly, wood splintering everywhere as their afternoon tea time turned to raging chaos. Mr. and Mrs. Gaunt stood abruptly from their seats, wands at the ready, but they never got the chance to use them. Using your wand, you violently slammed Marvolo’s broken body onto the carpet at their feet, the young man letting out a pained yelp on impact. 

His mother covered her mouth in horrified shock, eyes raking over the damage you’d done to her eldest son. His father was the first to act, raising his wand to attack, spell on the tip of his tongue. You quickly cast Diffindo, slicing straight through the front of his throat, stealing his ability to speak in much the same way he’d done to his house elf. His hand flew to his throat as he began choking on his own blood, but you weren’t finished, using Accio to drag him forward. 

Mrs. Gaunt recovered from her shock, pointing her wand at you in an effort to cast the killing curse, words leaving her lips much too late. As soon as her husband sat on his knees before you, you recklessly cast Depulso in her direction, slamming her spine against a marble pillar and causing the spell to hit the ceiling harmlessly. She slumped on the ground, unconscious for the moment as you turned back to Mr. Gaunt. 

Terror shone clear in his eyes, lips flapping uselessly as no sound passed them. Blood gushed heavily from the tear in his neck, your fingers gripping his hair roughly, ripping out chunks as you yanked his head back. The tip of your wand grew hot, a small fire springing to life at the end of it. The Gaunt patriarch shook his head desperately, eyes darting between your wand and your emotionless face. Ignoring his silent pleas, you brought your wand to the wound on his throat, cauterizing the skin in an ugly scar. His mouth opened in a silent scream, tears of pain streaking from his eyes, hands clawing at your arm uselessly. 

When you finished, you tossed him by the hair onto the ground, stepping over his trembling form as you prowled toward his wife. 

Ominis’s mother lay slumped against the pillar, moaning in pain. You cast Confringo on a nearby chair as you stalked forward, fisting a splintered leg in your hand. Mrs. Gaunt looked up at you weakly, eyes never leaving yours as you stood over her, watching you crouch down to her level. Her breath shuddered out of her, eyes flitting to the bodies of her husband and son, her lips trembling as she attempted to speak. “Wait-”

You don’t wait, instead, you reel back ramming the sharp wood into her side as far as it’ll go, in exactly the same spot she’d struck Ominis. She cried out in pain, hands grasping at the wood in an attempt to pull it out, voice a quiet sob as she tried to speak. “Who-Who the hell are you?”

You ground the stake deeper, pulling another wail from her lips before leaning in to whisper dangerously in her ear. “You really should have done your research before showing up at my house. Of all the foolish mistakes you made, your first error was failing to learn exactly who your son married.” 

Leaning back you look her directly in the eye, letting the truth slip brutally off your tongue, relishing the horrified realization on her face as she processed your words. “I killed Victor Rookwood. I slaughtered Ranrok and his loyalists. I wield magic so powerful it’d make your fucking head spin. The dumbest thing you could have done is piss me off.” 

Getting as close as you can, you make sure she can see the dark malice in your eyes. “You’re beyond lucky my husband is still alive. I would set the fucking world on fire for that man, and if he’d died, today would have gone very differently for you.” 

Standing to your full height, you glare down at her, eyes crazed as ancient magic pulsed off you. “If you ever show up on my property again, you’ll wish I’d killed you instead.” 

Without another word, you stalked back the way you came, making it all the way to the destroyed foyer before noticing slight movement behind one of the large pillars. Whipping your head over, you prepare to spit your ire at the figure, but are met with the wide eyes of the Gaunts unfortunate house elf, peeking out at you from behind the tall column. 

Your shoulders relax, fire dimming a bit as you observe the frightened creature. You walk over slowly, stopping a healthy distance away, the poor thing shrinking back when you get too close. Several emotions tore through you all at once, but you try as best you can to keep your voice as calm and soothing as possible. “You serve the whole Gaunt family, don’t you?” 

The house elf stares at you a moment, nodding shyly.

“I am technically a Gaunt. Would you like to come with me?” You hold your hand out to him in invitation, providing him the option to escape this cruel life of abuse and neglect. He hesitates only a moment, before slowly creeping out from behind the pillar, placing his trust in you as he takes your hand gently.

Smiling at him, you both stride out of the Gaunt estate, apparating back to Ominis. 

—-------

Ominis woke up a few hours later, blinking blearily, eyes heavy from being unconscious for so long. He sits up slightly, hissing at the pain in his side as he fumbles around, searching for his wand, relieved to find it sitting on the bedside table. His wand pulses, giving him a general idea of the layout of the room, but leaves him confused by the unfamiliar surroundings. His wand pulses again, and he spots you over by the window, back to him. Calling your name quietly, he expects you to whirl around and run to his side. Instead, you seemingly hadn’t heard him, figure silent as you stood unmoving from the window. He tries again, voice a little louder than it had been. “My love?” 

You turn to him slowly this time, stubbornly retaining your position by the window. His heart shattered as he finally heard your quiet sniffling and shuddering breaths. Sitting up abruptly, he ignores the pain in his side as he reaches for you, frantic with concern. “My darling, what-”

“Lay back down.” Your words are quiet and commanding, an angry bite behind them. Your arms remained crossed over your chest, refusing to move closer.

Ominis falters a bit, wondering what he’d done to make you so upset with him. He tries again, desperate for you to be next to him, but you’re already ripping into him from across the room. “What possessed you to do something so stupid.” 

Realization crossed his features, his eyebrows furrowing sadly. “I understand you’re upset, but-“

“Upset? Ominis, I’m fucking furious.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but you continue ranting, words spoken in quiet rage. “Don’t you ever take a hit like that for me again. I can’t- Ominis, I can’t handle this a second time.” 

Ominis exhales shakily, he can hear the agony in your voice, and he wants so badly to tell you what you want to hear, but he knows he can’t. He’d be lying to you, and that was something he wasn’t willing to do. “I’m sorry, my darling, I can’t…I can’t promise you that.” 

“Please, Ominis.”

Tears trickle down his face, as he shakes his head. Your pleading hurt him, he very rarely denied you anything, but he would deny you this. “My love, I can’t make that promise. I won’t. I refuse to live a second without you. I’ll throw my body in front of yours every single time. If someone dies between us, it will be me.” 

A violent sob wracks your body, knees buckling slightly, and Ominis snaps. He’d had enough of the distance you kept from him, resolving that if you wouldn’t come to him, he’d go to you. Throwing the blankets off, he gets up and strides over, uncaring of the pain in his side as the need to comfort you consumes him. 

His arms envelope you, crushing you against him, physically showing you he was still there, still with you. Your hands hold a death grip on the back of his shirt, burying yourself in his chest as you wept. “You didn’t even let me try to get help!” 

Ominis squeezes you to him, words watery as he whispers in your ear. “If I was to die, I wanted it to be in your arms, not on the cold ground alone.” 

Wailing loudly, your knees give out, losing the ability to hold your grief any longer. You sank to the floor, Ominis sinking with you, perfectly mirroring your position from when he’d been wounded. You stayed like that for a long time, neither of you noticing Anne and Sebastian standing briefly in the doorway, having come to visit Ominis. 

They watched you hold onto each other for dear life, wiping their own relieved tears. Anne grabbed her brother’s hand, squeezing once before they turned to leave, deciding to come back at a later time. 

Eventually, your tears stopped, and the two of you wound up cradling each other on the hospital bed. Ominis laid on his back, your ear pressed against his chest, right over his heart. The occasional sniffle escaped you, and every time, the arm around your waist would squeeze you and a pair of lips would press themselves firmly against your forehead. 

There was a long period of silence before either of you said anything, your throat raw from crying, but after a while you spoke, no real bite to your words. “I’m still angry with you.” 

Ominis let out an amused huff, kissing your hairline a few times before responding. “I know.” 

Closing your eyes, you drifted off, finally allowing your body to relax now that he was safe and you were back in his arms. 

—————-

Months later, you and Ominis attended one of his work parties, laughing and making polite conversation with his colleagues at the Ministry. You stood tucked under Ominis’s arm, squeezing his waist subtly, silently asking if it was time to leave. Ominis didn’t outwardly react, smiling pleasantly at whatever mundane story was being told, but his hand ran purposefully down your arm in agreement. 

He started to wrap up his conversation, and just as you were about to excuse yourselves, one of his coworkers glanced behind your shoulder, eyes going wide. “Oh! What a surprise! Mr. And Mrs. Gaunt, an honor to have you stop by. Master Marvolo as well! Always a pleasure to have you.” 

You felt Ominis stiffen beside you, arm tightening protectively as he reached for his wand. Turning to face them, you watch your estranged in-laws smile politely at the man in greeting, eyes nervously darting towards you. 

The man, having had one too many glasses of fire whisky, mistook their anxiety for unfamiliarity, proceeding to introduce you cheerily. “My apologies! I didn’t realize you had yet to meet your son’s new spouse. My daughter and her husband also eloped, it seems to be a common trend amongst couples these days.” 

Smiling kindly, his colleague spoke your name, also introducing you as the ‘Hero of Hogwarts’, singing your praises loud enough for everyone to hear. Mrs. Gaunt was the only one who could stand to look at you, her husband looking past you and Marvolo staring at your feet, leaning heavily on a cane. She smiled pleasantly even as her lips wobbled slightly, her eyes watching you hesitantly. “Hello dear, lovely to meet you at last.” 

A wide grin stretched across your face, bearing your teeth, a subtle threat only the Gaunts would understand. “Yes, wonderful to make your acquaintance. I’m sorry to cut this meeting short, but my husband and I were just leaving…enjoy your night.”

All three of them visibly flinch as you take a step forward, you reach down and take Ominis’s hand, intertwining your fingers as you pass them. You throw a glance over your shoulder to see all three of them watching you warily, you flash them a wicked smile in warning, enjoying their terror as the color drains from their faces. Turning back around dismissively, you and Ominis exit the building, apparating home once you’re outside. 

Unlocking the front door, you step over the threshold, only to be yanked back by the hand holding yours. You squeal in surprise as you stumble into Ominis’s chest, his free hand cradling the back of your head as he crashes his lips into yours. 

Ominis kisses you passionately, licking greedily at your bottom lip, demanding that you open up for him. You do, and he moans into your mouth as his tongue caresses yours gently. He takes a step forward, pushing you farther into the house so he can enter and kick the door shut. The hand holding yours releases you in favor of snaking around your waist to haul you closer. 

Giggling, you tear your lips away for a moment to tease him. “My, what’s gotten into you?” 

Chuckling lightly, he places another lingering kiss on your lips before replying. “I suppose witnessing you scare the shit out of my horrible family really does something for me.” 

Laughing in amusement, you let him kiss you a few more times. “My love, how could you possibly tell if they were scared or not?” 

He pulls back slightly, stopping only a breath away, his eyes hooded with lust as he speaks. “I could hear it. I don’t think my mother’s ever been so terrified in her life.” 

You open your mouth to comment, but his lips press themselves urgently against yours once more, his hands traveling down to palm your ass. “Enough about them. Right now, I would really like to take you to bed, and not come out until the morning.” 

“So impatient tonight, Mr. Gaunt.” 

“My love, If you don’t start walking up those stairs this instant, I’ll show you ‘impatient’.” 

“Oh, you promise?”

Ominis groans and grinds his lower body into you, head dropping to rest on your shoulder. 

“You’re going to send me to an early grave, you wicked creature.” 

[morri-draws]

Gwaine x Reader - 'The Threads That Bind Us' - Chapter 3

Story Summary:

You, a humble dressmaker from Camelot’s lower town, are commissioned to make a new gown for Queen Guinevere. Impressed by your skills, she offers you the position of Royal Clothier. During your time in the castle, you catch the eye of one of the knights of King Arthur’s inner circle, Sir Gwaine. What starts as a sweet courtship is turned upside down when misfortune strikes and you must deal with the aftermath, as well as an unwelcome visit from Gwaine’s unpleasant sister.

Rating: Mature

Tags: Female Reader/Gwaine, set between seasons 4 and 5, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

Words: 4,536

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With the finishing touches done, Sir Leon’s gambeson and Sir Gwaine’s cloak are complete. The day still being young, you plan to find the knights at morning training to inform them that their new garments are ready.

Passing through a covered walkway, you step into a grassy clearing, the clash of swords ringing through the air. The knights spar in the centre of the clearing, weapon racks and training dummies positioned around the perimeter.

Spotting Merlin leaning against one of the racks, you step up beside him and watch the sparring as the king shouts instruction from the sidelines. His damp hair tells you that he was involved in the mock-fight just moments ago. Eyes flicking between the helmeted knights, you manage to work out which is Sir Gwaine, by the curled ends of dark hair peeking out from under his helmet.

You nudge Merlin’s arm. “Having fun?”

He turns to you with a playful frown and shakes his head. “No, not really,”

“I just wanted to let Sir Gwaine and Sir Leon know that their new pieces are finished, if they could come to my chambers when convenient?”

“I’ll tell them to stop by after training,”

“Thank you Merlin,” You give him a smile and head back to your chambers.

~

A knock at your door some time later reveals Merlin.

“They are on their way, but I told them to wash first. They were dripping with sweat and stinking,” His nose wrinkles in disgust.

You laugh. “I appreciate that, Merlin. I would prefer if their new clothes aren’t immediately soiled,”

“That’s what I thought,” he grins. “Anyway, I’d better be off to clean Arthur’s sweaty clothes,”

“Sounds lovely,” You grimace. “See you around, Merlin,”

A short while later, Sir Leon arrives.

“Sir Leon, please come inside,”

You fetch his new gambeson as he enters the room. He’s out of his knight’s kit, wearing just a plain tunic and trousers, which make him appear even slimmer than usual. You approach with the gambeson in hand and assist him with putting it on, before preparing to fasten it in front, but Sir Leon has already begun to do so.

“I’m used to getting dressed myself,” He says, cheeks red.

You step back, allowing him to get a feel for the garment. He flexes his body, moving his arms around at different angles.

“This is very nice,” He says. “Extremely comfortable. Thank you,”

You bow your head. “Thank you, sir. I hope it serves you well,”

“Sir Gwaine might be some time. He was still preening when I left the armoury,” Sir Leon smirks.

You laugh. “Alright, I will try to be patient,”

He gives you an amused smile and leaves your chambers.

A while later, Sir Gwaine arrives.

“Finished making yourself presentable?” You ask as you answer the door.

He narrows his eyes. “Did Sir Leon mention something?”

“Mention something about what?” You feign ignorance.

“Never mind,” Gwaine steps inside.

You fetch his new cloak from the worktable and bring it over.

“Here we are, one new cloak, as requested,”

You drape it over his shoulders and align the front, fastening it. You focus intently on the metal buckle, very aware of how close you are to the knight. You can hear his breathing and are sure you can feel his gaze burning into the top of your head.

“There,” You say as you step back. “Give us a twirl,”

“Really? A twirl?”

“It’s important,” You suppress a smile.

Gwaine sighs and turns stiffly on the spot until he’s made a full rotation.

“Lacking grace, but it will do,” You say. “Are you happy with it?”

“I am, thank you,”

“And no more getting dragged behind horses,” You raise a stern finger.

Gwaine laughs. “Speaking of that, Camelot’s annual jousting tournament is approaching. I’ll be competing for the first time,”

“Oh, that’s exciting,” You smile.

“Perhaps, unless I make a complete fool of myself,” Gwaine grimaces. “I’m much more used to swordplay,”

“I’m sure you won’t, you do ever so much training,”

“That I do,” Gwaine laughs. “And it’ll be more so leading up to the tournament, so you may be deprived of my charming company,”

“I’ll bear it as best I can,”

“That being said, I must leave you now. Arthur will have Elyan, Percival and I learn the rules by heart. Theory as well as practice, he says,”

“Then I will wish you good day, and good luck,”

Gwaine gives a small bow and leaves your chambers.

~

With your first jobs as royal clothier now complete, and your chambers tidied, you decide to visit the queen to see if there is any more work for you.

The queen greets you when you knock on her chamber door, welcoming you inside.

“I have completed the knights’ new garments,” You say as you enter. “And I wondered if there might be more work for me,”

“I see that you aren’t one to be idle,” The queen says. “Now you mention it, there is another task you could do,”

She wanders over to the wardrobe and retrieves a red tunic.

“You see this,” She says, bringing it over and holding it up in front of the window. “It is threadbare, yet Arthur insists on still wearing it. They’re all like this. All the tunics he has, he’s had since he was still the prince,”

You inspect the garment and can indeed see the daylight shining through, in between the threads of the fabric’s weave.

“When he wears it, you can see through it. He almost might as well be shirtless,”

You stifle a laugh. Gwen sees and breaks into a smile.

“Excuse my ranting,” She laughs. “Anyway, I would like you to make some new tunics for him,”

“Would you like them to be made of a finer fabric to reflect his station?” You ask.

“Arthur isn’t one to wear fine things or flaunt his wealth. He’s always dressed simply,”

You nod thoughtfully. “Perhaps finely woven linen then? Not too fancy, but still good quality,”

“That sounds perfect for him,”

“Excellent. If you could send him my way when he has a free moment, I can get his measurements and make a start on the new tunics,”

“I will. Thank you, (Y/N),”

You turn to leave.

“Before you go,” Gwen says. “You may have noticed the extra bustle around the castle. We’re getting ready for the annual jousting tournament,”

“Oh yes, Sir Gwaine told me of it,”

“Well, I was wondering if you would be my special guest to the event. You can sit with me in the stands and we can watch the tournament together,”

You smile. “I would be honoured to go with you,”

~

Early the next morning, shortly after you’ve taken the last bite of your breakfast, there’s a knock at your door. You answer to find the king of Camelot.

“Welcome, sire. Please do come in,” You hold the door open so the king may enter, while sinking into a low curtsy.

He’s casually dressed, wearing one of the threadbare red tunics.

“It’s (Y/N), isn’t it?” He asks.

“Yes, sire,”

“Guinevere is very pleased with your work. She looks beautiful in the gown you made for her,”

A warmth floods through you at the king’s high praise.

“Thank you, sire. It fills me with happiness to hear you say so,”

The king smiles. “So, where do you need me?”

“Oh, just over here,” You direct him to the spot beside your worktables.

You grab your tape measure and begin taking measurements, marking them all down in a new page in your journal.

“Will it just be the new tunics today, sire?”

“Yes thank you, (Y/N),”

You take some bolts of fabric off the shelves, in different shades of red.

“Just come in front of the mirror please,”

“I hope you have enjoyed your time in the castle so far?” He says as he steps in front of the mirror. “Let me know if there is anything else you need,”

“I am very happy with my situation,” You reply. “I have generous chambers with ideal lighting and workspace for my trade, and I live amongst good company,”

Taking up one of the bolts of fabric, you unwrap it partially, draping the end over one of the king’s shoulders.

“Does that good company include Sir Gwaine?” He asks.

You spot his playful smile in the mirror, as well as your own reddening cheeks. You turn your gaze away in an attempt to hide that fact.

“It does include him, since everyone I’ve met so far has been kind,”

Glancing quickly back at the mirror, the king’s eyes are studying your reflection.

“He talks about you a lot,” He adds, giving a knowing smile as he spots your face reddening further. “Sir Gwaine is a good man,”

“Yes sire,” You reply weakly, wanting this part of the conversation to be over before your face resembles a beetroot.

You clear your throat and focus your attention back on your work.

“I have a scarlet linen here,” You pull the end of the fabric taut against the king’s chest. “Also if you want something more subdued, I have this one, which is more of a burgundy,”

You swap out the scarlet for the other colour, draping it over his shoulder in the same way.

“I’ll take a tunic in each colour,” The king says. “Do you also have some kind of… dark blue?”

“I should have, sire. I’ll just look at my stocks,”

You rest the bolt of burgundy linen down on the table and return to your shelves, retrieving a bolt of rich blue linen, and one of a more muted shade of blue. You take them to the king and hold them out for him to inspect.

“I have these shades of blue in the same linen as the reds,”

The king looks between them thoughtfully.

“I think that one,” He points to the muted blue. “It always pays to have something to make me look less like the king of Camelot,”

You look at him quizzically. Noticing your confusion, he adds:

“Some missions require me to be… unknown,”

You nod. “I see, sire. So, a tunic in the scarlet, one in burgundy and one in the blue here?”

“Yes that would be perfect, thank you (Y/N),” Arthur heads for the door. “Let me know when they’re finished,”

Next thing you know, he’s gone. You suppose he must be a very busy man.

~

In the time leading up to the tournament, you spend the days working on Arthur’s tunics and the nights reworking one of your old bodices. Since you will be going as the queen’s guest, you want to look your best, so you replace the old outer fabric with a red and gold brocade, the colours to show support for the competing knights of Camelot, or perhaps just one knight in particular.

On the morning of the tournament, you dress in a grey-brown skirt and a white blouse with your reworked red and gold bodice over the top, laced with gold ribbon. You fix your hair into a braided up-do, and since it threatens to be a chilly day, throw a plain shawl over your shoulders before you head out from the castle and begin your walk to the jousting pitch, which is situated just outside the city’s walls.

You make your way through the lower town, the streets bustling and buzzing with citizens excited for the day’s events. You catch bits of conversation here and there, about who will be competing and who has competed in the past, as well as things that have happened at previous tournaments. One such piece of gossip alarms you, and you quicken your pace, weaving through the crowd to get to the pitch as fast as you can.

You know you’ve made it to your destination when your vision is swamped with multi-coloured striped tents. Servants and participants rush about between the tents, appearing from and disappearing into the sea of striped canvas. How will you know where to find Gwaine?

You begin your helpless walk through the sea of colour when you spot a familiar face headed your way.

“Merlin!” You shout above the noise.

He looks up from the plate armour he is carrying and heads your way.

“(Y/N), what are you doing here?” He asks.

“Do you know where I can find Sir Gwaine?”

“He’s in that tent there,” He turns and points behind him, to a tent in a north-eastern direction from where you’re standing.

“Thank you Merlin,”

You rush off immediately and approach the tent, stopping outside the entrance flap for a moment to listen. You hear two voices inside, one which you are certain is Gwaine’s. Pulling the tent flap aside, you step inside. Gwaine looks up with surprise from where a squire is helping him into his kit.

“(Y/N), I wasn’t expecting you,” He says, brows raised. “You realise it is customary to knock before entering?”

“How is one to knock on a tent?”

“Fair point. Well, you should have announced yourself at least. What if I had been in a state of undress?” He teases with a grin.

Given your current state of anxiety, you give no reply but a concerned frown. Gwaine’s expression drops.

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

The squire steps away from Gwaine and busies himself with something else.

“I heard people talking on the way here about past tournaments,” You say. “They said that once, a splinter from one of the lances pierced a knight’s throat and he bled to death,”

“(Y/N),” He steps closer. “If that even did happen, it would have been a long time ago,”

“How do you know that? How do you know it won’t happen again today?”

“Let me show you something,” He leads you to an armour stand. “You see this?” He points to a section at the top of the breastplate, where another metal plate sticks out just under the neckline. “This here is to protect against things like that,”

You inspect the armour and, thinking about how jousting is performed, see that he is right.

“The most injury I might get today is some bruising,” Gwaine says reassuringly.

You hang your head with embarrassment. “I’m sorry for disturbing you,”

“Hey,” He puts a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Don’t be sorry. It’s nice to know someone’s worried about me,” He smiles.

“I really should get going,” You say. “The queen will be waiting for me,”

“The queen?”

“She invited me to attend as her guest,”

“Then I shall look for you in the royal stand,”

You nod and turn to leave.

“(Y/N),”

You turn around.

“You look lovely today. Did you make your outfit yourself?”

“Of course,” You smile and exit the tent.

You find the queen waiting outside the entrance to the stands.

“So sorry I’m late,” You say as you rush toward her.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t been waiting long,” She smiles. “Shall we head in?”

You and Gwen climb the stairs to the royal stands, where two ornate chairs stand in the middle for the king and queen, and a smaller chair beside the one on the left has been placed for you. The queen takes her seat in the left of the larger chairs and you sit down beside her. The king’s seat remains empty at first, until he joins about ten minutes later. He smiles and greets you and Gwen as he sits down, peering into the lists below with anticipation.

Once the tournament is opened and announcements are made, the first contestants come onto the field. A knight mounts his horse at the east end of the lists, his heraldry telling that he is a knight of Camelot.

“That’s my brother, Sir Elyan,” Gwen leans over to speak in your ear. “It’s his first time competing,”

“Then I wish him good luck,” You smile. “Though I must admit, I do not know the rules of jousting, so I’m afraid I won’t know when to cheer for him,”

“Honestly, I don’t either,” Gwen grins. “Every time I think I’ve grasped it, there turns out to be a new rule I didn’t know of. Just applaud when the rest of the crowd does, that’s what I do,”

You laugh and turn your attention back to the lists, where Sir Elyan and his opponent are preparing. The king cheers from his seat, shouting encouragement.

“I can tell Arthur wishes he was down there in the thick of it,” Gwen says.

Below, the two knights charge toward one another, lances pointing up, but lowering as they approach. Sir Elyan’s lance taps against his opponent’s shoulder, but does not break. The crowd gives a subdued cheer.

“It’s not worth as many points if the lance does not break,” Gwen explains.

You nod and clap along with the crowd.

The match continues and the next two points are earned by Sir Elyan’s opponent, eliminating Elyan from the remainder of the competition. Next up of the knights of Camelot is Sir Percival, a large knight wearing questionable armour, his arms bared for all to see. He wins the majority of points and gets through to the next round. After Sir Percival’s round, Sir Gwaine is announced. He mounts his horse with the assistance of a squire, who then passes the knight his helmet and lance. Steering his horse into position, he looks to the stands and spots you, bowing his head with a smile. The horn marking the start of the round sounds and Gwaine hastily dons his helmet and urges his horse into a gallop. The two knights proceed and Gwaine’s opponent strikes him in the chest, splinters flying in all directions. Your gut clenches as you frantically look him over, but finding no sign of injury, you release a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding.

“He should have focused!” You say.

“He had more important things on his mind, it seems,” Gwen smirks.

The knights return to their starting positions and begin the next pass. Gwaine doesn’t look to the stands this time, his focus entirely on his opponent. He lowers his lance, his horse’s hooves pounding beneath him. His lance strikes his opponent square in the chest. You shout and applaud enthusiastically. Gwaine turns his horse around and removes his helmet, finding you in the crowd again. He grins and crosses an arm over his chest, bowing, before putting his helmet back on and returning to his starting position. Hooves pound and lances fall, Gwaine striking his opponent again. You stand, cheering and smacking your hands together with glee. When the knights leave the field and you sit down again, Gwen leans over to speak to you.

“Sir Gwaine has beginners’ luck, he is through to the next round,” She smiles. “There is an intermission now. We can stretch our legs and get some refreshments,”

You and Gwen exit the stands and head to a make-shift food market that’s been set up just outside the jousting pitch. Food and drink stalls stand in rows through the grassy clearing, serving the townsfolk and nobles alike, since all are welcome to watch the tournament.  Just as you turn to ask Gwen where she would like to go, a knight approaches.

“Elyan,” Gwen greets him with a smile. “This is my friend, (Y/N),” She introduces you.

“So you are (Y/N)?” He says with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last. I’ve heard so much about you,”

“Only favourable things, I hope?”

“Do not fear, I’ve heard only the best of things,” He smiles mischievously, as if amused at an inside joke.

“You did well in the joust,” Gwen says.

“Is that what you call doing well?” Elyan shakes his head.

“But you are a beginner to the sport,” You say. “To compete for the first time, in front of such a crowd, takes great courage. Even the most skilled jousters, including the king himself, were once in your place. You can only improve from now,”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” Elyan says earnestly. “That is very kind of you,”

Gwen gives you a warm smile.

“Let me get you ladies something to drink, I’ll be right back,” Elyan turns around and heads toward a nearby drinks stand.

“Elyan can be very hard on himself,” Gwen says. “Thank you for your kind words,”

You smile in reply, and Elyan returns a few moments later, a tankard in each hand. He passes you and Gwen one each, filled with warm mead.

“What about for yourself?” Gwen asks.

“There’ll be plenty of time for drinking later with the other knights,” He grins.

You take a sip of your drink, the warm honey sweetness pleasant on your tongue.

“Sir Gwaine did quite well, don’t you think (Y/N)?” Elyan asks.

“Yes, very well. You must be proud of him,” You reply.

“I am, I just hope he doesn’t boast about it too much later,”

“Known to do that, is he?”

“If he’s in the mood,” Elyan shrugs playfully. “I should head back and see how the others are doing. Very nice to meet you, (Y/N),”

He gives a smile to you and Gwen and heads toward the tents.

After your drinks are finished, you return the tankards to the merchant stall and go back to your seats in the jousting stands. You watch all the knights who made it to the second round, including Gwaine, who wins again, making it through to the third round along with Sir Leon who, as Gwen informs you, has been participating in the annual joust for years.

The third round commences and you watch Gwaine’s turn with bated breath, but having made it this far along with other very skilled participants, he loses the round and is disqualified from the remainder of the competition. You applaud him all the same as he leaves the pitch, giving him a small smile and wave when he looks at you in the stands.

You stay by Gwen’s side for the remainder of the tournament, though you are altogether bored with the competition, being that the only competitor you cared to cheer for is no longer in the running. But you still applaud politely for each winner, until at last the tournament is called to a close. The king quits the stands first to go to congratulate the winners, before you and Gwen leave, beginning a leisurely walk back to the castle.

Some way up the path, you spot Gwaine speaking with a woman. His expression and movements suggest some frustration. As you approach, he glances up and spots you, saying something to the woman before they both head your way.

“My lady,” He addresses Gwen. “May I introduce my sister, Erika. Erika, this is Queen Guinevere,”

Erika dips into a low curtsy, her long dark hair swaying with the movement. “An absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady,”

Gwen inclines her head. “A pleasure to meet you, Erika. Welcome to Camelot,”

Erika glances to you, her expression unsure. You notice a likeness between the brother and sister. Erika and Gwaine share the same shape of nose and eye colour. But while her eyes may be the same shade, they do not contain the same softness as Gwaine’s do.

“And this,” Gwaine gestures to you. “Is Lady (Y/N),”

You shoot Gwaine a quizzical look as Erika dips into a much shallower curtsy, and mouth at him: Lady? He replies with a grimace.

“Nice to meet you, Lady (Y/N),” Erika says.

“A pleasure to meet you too, Erika,” You reply. “What brings you to Camelot?”

“Oh, I thought I should see how my dear brother is doing,” She grasps Gwaine’s arm with a smile. “He’s been here, becoming a knight and having all sorts of fun, while his poor sister was left behind, in the same old city with the same old people, bored to death,”

“I hope you will find some amusement during your stay in Camelot, then,” Gwen says.

“Indeed, my lady, it seems a charming sort of place,” Erika says. “On that note, you absolutely must introduce me to your fellow knights, Gwaine,”

She tugs on his arm.

“Good day to you both,” Gwaine says to you and Gwen as Erika steers him away, toward the tents.

You and Gwen say goodbye, before continuing the way you came.

“That was… a bit strange,” Gwen says.

“Indeed. She seems… fun,”

You both laugh.

“Speaking of fun, I’ve learned of a textile market that is famous for its beautiful silks. It is some distance to go, but I was wondering if you might like to make an outing of it and go together?” Gwen asks.

“I would love to go,” You reply.

“We should head out three days from now, if we’re to get there before it’s finished.”

“That works for me,” You smile excitedly.

Once you reach the castle courtyard, you say goodbye to Gwen and head up to your chambers. After making a simple dinner, you decide to get an early night since you feel quite exhausted from the day’s activities.

You take down your hair, about to get ready for bed, when there’s a knock at your door. Curious about who might be visiting at this hour, you exit your bedroom and answer the door to find Gwaine.

He glances at your hair. “I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you,”

“Not at all,” You reply. “Is everything alright?”

He sighs. “I wanted to talk with you earlier, but my sister has been interfering since she got here,”

“Did you know she was coming?”

“No, I didn’t. I was just getting ready to head to the armoury when she suddenly showed up, saying she’d come for a visit,”

You give a sympathetic frown. “Well since you’re here now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Gwaine perks up. “I’ve got a day free, three days from now, and I wanted to ask… if you’d like to go on a picnic with me?” He smiles.

“Oh,” You frown. “I would love to, but I’m afraid I’ve already made plans with the queen,”

“I see…”

“I’m so sorry Gwaine, perhaps another day?”

He puts a hand on his hip, looking down thoughtfully.

“What about tomorrow? Are you free?”

“I can be,” You smile. “I have no firm plans,”

“Excellent. We can go tomorrow then, if that suits?”

“It does, but won’t you have duties to attend to, or training?”

“I’ll work something out, don’t worry,” Gwaine grins. “I’ll come by tomorrow before breakfast. We’ll take a couple horses to a nice spot I know of not too far from the castle,”

“That sounds wonderful,”

“It’s set then! I’ll see you in the morning,” He turns to leave.

“Gwaine,”

He looks back.

“You did very well in the joust today,” You smile. “You should be proud of yourself,”

He grins. “I couldn’t very well make a fool of myself while you were watching, could I?”

You laugh. “I would have cheered for you all the same,”

He looks down sheepishly, but with a smile still on his lips. “Goodnight, (Y/N). Sweet dreams,” He glances up at you through his dark lashes.

“Goodnight, Gwaine. See you tomorrow,”

[pulisicsgirl]

15 questions, 15 friends

thank you for the tag @mountttmase @saltyheartnightmare @chilwellspulisic @carlottawllms @lovelynikol16 !!! this was so fun ily guys 🫶

1. are you named after anyone? sort of??? my mom wanted to name me something that kind of resembled my great-grandmother’s name, Hazel!

2. when was the last time you cried? last night 🥲👍

3. do you have kids? goodness no

4. what sports do you play/have played? i played football for 12 years growing up and then volleyball for my last two years of high school

5. do you use sarcasm? regularly. it’s my native language

6. what is the first thing you notice about people? ummm, maybe their smile?? or their eyes??? i honestly haven’t given it a ton of thought

7. what is your eye color? blue, just like my momma 🥰

8. scary movies or happy endings? happy endings for sure, even though i love a good scary movie

9. any talents? i took some piano lessons growing up, and i work at a coffee shop right now so i can make a mean latte

10. where were you born? Missouri, USA

11. what are your hobbies? reading, writing, i love going to concerts, playing and watching sports

12. do you have any pets? i have two cats back at home, McDreamy (my little sisters named him, okay?) and Shiloh, and my dad has a pet snake named Merlin (and i hide when they get him out to feed him), but i don’t have any pets with me at my college!

13. how tall are you? 5’6” (1.68 m)

14. favorite subject at school? call me crazy, but i always really enjoyed math (except for geometry) and i liked al my science classes (which explains why I’m majoring in STEM)

15. dream job? my dream job is to be an ER or labor and delivery nurse one day, and i’m working on that right now 🥰 outside of that, I’ve always thought being a photographer for a professional sports team would be AMAZING

I don’t know who has already done this/been tagged so I’m tagging @landoslover @neverinadream @thoseboysinblue @lovelynikol16 and @notsoattractivearenti

[notenderhands]

Do you have any headcanons about Artos/Morgause? Even though Morgause is a monster, it stands out to me that she never really thinks about killing her brother nor does she try to inflict physical harm on him unlike Medraut towards Lleu. They don't have the same murderous urges towards each other. In TWP she just mentioned wanting to make him bend and break towards her will by raping his most dearly loved child. If she had won, what do you think would she have done to Artos? Locked him up in a tower like the damsels in distress he kept rescueing without fail? Making him a prisoner just like she had been imprisoned in the nunnery by his father? Turning him into her property and sex slave like how he sold her as a bride to King Lot as if she were a piece of meat? Would she poison him and nurse him back to health again and again? Or perhaps strip him off his royal status, turn him into a commoner like when he was young and make him witness her coronation among the cheering masses? Do you think Artos continued his affair with Morgause even after his marriage to Guinevere? I had the impression he had been barely present during Lleu's childhood and was always somewhere different in his kingdom. I desperately need an explanation for why Artos agreed to have Morgause foster Medraut. Could it have been a twisted present for her? Like "If you are going to have an affair at least do it with someone who resembles me and makes you think of me every time he's inside you" I think they were both terrible people. There has to be a reason why Merlin noped out of it and is missing in twp.

Anon, are you the same person who has sent me all of the other asks or are there really that many TWP fans lurking in the tags? Either way I am kissing you(sg. and/or pl.) on the forehead! Thank you for indulging me!

I do have to say, I plan to touch on Morgause and Artos’s relationship later in Fragile Chains so if you are reading it, be warned that there are some minor spoilers ahead. I did my best to be as oblique as possible while still answering your questions. There isn’t anything plot wise but just some things I had planned to reveal later on in the fic. 😊

I think Morgause does like inflicting pain on people. She doesn’t murder them because where’s the fun in that! With poison you get to watch them be in pain and suffer and help them recover! Thereby endearing them towards you! You can rinse and repeat this until they catch on, if they ever do.

I think that Morgause and Artos’s relationship did not start out as competitive as Lleu and Medraut. Where Medraut and Lleu are pinned against each other from the start, Morgause and Artos got to care for each other.

My headcanon for Morgause and Artos is that they grew up separately. They met when Artos was around 17 and Morgause was only a few years older than him and they genuinely fell in love with one another. Maybe Morgause had some idea but how was she truly suppose to that this random man was her long lost brother? When it is revealed that they are siblings, they don’t stop. Artos is still in love with her and Morgause doesn’t have a problem with it. However, Artos won’t marry her because he can’t marry his half-sister (are they half in this book or full? In some myths, they’re half and in others they’re full). Morgause gets pregnant and thinks Artos will marry her. Instead, he marries Ginerva. She gets pissed because he has no trouble going to her bed but he won’t marry her and he’ll make her child a bastard. But when she gives birth to a son, she starts planning.

I do think that Artos and Morgause did continue seeing each other. They have feelings for each other. Artos can’t deny her anything because he’s still in love with her. I think this is why in TWP he seems pretty blasé about her poisoning Lleu. He seems more annoyed at Medraut for causing a whole scene than he is that his sister is poisoning his heir. Also, she shows up after being banished and Artos is just like well what am I supposed to do about it? And he lets her come back! I think Medraut or Ginerva have to suggest that she can come back but has to be under guard the whole time. Artos doesn’t even think to do that. And she still poisons Lleu! Again!

 I think Morgause asked to raise Medraut and Artos agreed. He couldn’t say no, and I do not think Ginerva was necessarily pleased at having Morgause’s child in her house. I do not think Artos thought she would sa her own son. However, I think Artos knows Morgause well enough to know she would hurt him and shape him into a tool to be used against him.  But he’s too blind to think she would actually do it. She demanded it and he couldn’t deny her.

When you say Morgause won, I am assuming you mean Medraut delivers Lleu to her. I also think that for her to win, Medraut has to be named king not just heir. So with Medraut king, I think she would want to hurt Lleu but I don’t think Medraut would let her. I think he’d give her Artos and keep Lleu for himself. Morgause would keep Artos for herself. I think she would humiliate him and would probably want to harm him. I think she would sa him if he didn’t want to be with her willingly. She would poison him, and then nurse him back to health. I also think she would lie to him about hurting Lleu. She would tell him all these horrible things she did to him which would break him. It would also break him that Medraut had an affair with her and chose her over him (not that he deserves Medraut’s love or loyalty he just thinks he should have it). But I think even if Morgause won and she had Artos, it would be bittersweet. Artos loved her but not enough to give up the crown and be with her, and in the end, she ends up with a broken man, not the one she originally fell in love with. Yeah, she won. Her scheming paid off, but now she has to live the rest of her life with a broken man and a broken son. She’ll get the power and influence she always wanted, but not the person she wanted to share it with.

[legends-of-time]

Amelia’s Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 59: Arthur's Bane Part Two

Masterlist

A/N: Italics = flashbacks.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia gasps awake, the memories of her imprisonment flicker through her mind making her shake, her breath catch. It's worse than when she dreamt of the future because at least then it was not her own trauma but a possible future that didn't always happen.

She's breathing heavily, panicking as she sits up in bed. Images still flashing through her mind. Amelia then feels something nudge her hand and a small whimper. She turns to see it's Aithusa by her bed looking up at her with those wide eyes. She smiles softly at the creature.

"Aithusa... Come. Come here." Aithusa leans her head forward, letting Amelia stroke her cheek. "Don't worry. We're safe. No harm can come to us now. Our troubles are all in the past, I promise."

Aithusa lets out a soft growling noise before resting her head on the bed next to Amelia's legs. Amelia's heart breaks at the fact that this beautiful creature has been so mistreated that she cannot even speak.

"I don't want to betray them Aithusa," Amelia admits quietly, "but Morgana's the only one other than you who understands what I've been through."

——

Amelia follows quietly after Morgana into the Throne room where Ruadan waits for them.

"There is still no sign of the Diamair. We are running out of time." Morgana snaps as she strides inside.

"Have faith, Morgana." Ruadan says quietly.

"Arthur could be on us in days." Morgana worries. Amelia frowns in sympathy and pats her arm comfortingly. Morgana smiles in thanks.

"Or he could be dead."

Amelia shakes her head. "No. He escaped." Merlin would have made sure of it.

"Then, he'll be in Camelot now." Ruadan says.

"Then, you must speak to your spy, discover what Arthur will do next." Morgana snaps as she takes a seat on her thrown.

"My Lady... Sefa has been arrested. She is sentenced to die."

Amelia's stomach drops at those words. Sefa has always been a lovely girl. "Oh, Ruadan, I am so sorry. It's extremely cruel, I didn't think they would—"

"Why would they not, sister?" Morgana interrupts. "They do not care for the hurt they cause others. You should know that better than most."

Amelia looks down, tearfully.

"I will double the patrols on the border. We will be ready for when Arthur returns." Morgana decides.

"But, surely, we can—" Amelia tries to say.

"There is nothing more that can be done for Sefa." Morgana cuts her off. "We must make sure her sacrifice was not in vain."

Amelia softly nods and leaves the room.

Morgana's POV

Morgana watches her sister leave with a scrutinising gaze.

"Are you sure you can keep your sister on our side?" Ruadan questions.

Morgana smirks. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia shifts uncomfortably, trying to get into a more comfortable position which is difficult considering the limited space at the bottom of this pit and the fact that her arms are shackled above her head.

She glances over to see Morgana is also uncomfortably shifting but it's made even more difficult for her as Aithusa is currently using her legs as a pillow.

"I killed him." Amelia suddenly blurts. The guilt, the thoughts of what she had done had been swirling around in her head for so long, that it is a relief to tell someone.

Morgana looks up, frowning in confusion. "Killed who?"

"Uther. I killed Uther." Amelia quietly admits, now feeling less certain in what she's saying but it's too late now.

"Who knows?"

"No one."

There's a pause before Morgana speaks, "Arthur would hate you for it."

Amelia flinches at the prospect. "I know."

"Do not worry, I'll keep your secret."

Amelia doesn't look up, she's too frightened to.

——

Anne's POV

Gaius and Anne sit on either side of Gwen who sits at the head of the table in the Council Chambers when Sefa is brought in by two Guards to plead her case. Anne looks at her sympathetically. The girl is looking worse for wear from her stay in the Cells.

"My Lady." Sefa curtsies.

"Sefa." Gwen greets calmly. "You asked to see me."

"I'm sorry for what I did. It was wrong, I know. It was without thinking. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I wouldn't." Sefa apologises. "I... All I wanted was to help my father and now I am condemned to death."

"You understand the law, Sefa. I cannot change it."

"Please... I know you have a good heart. A reprieve... I'm begging you." Sefa beseeches.

"Men have died."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so..." Sefa chokes tearfully. "I'm so sorry. I did it for my father. It was the only thing he wanted from me. I told him I couldn't, but... I don't know, he... I wanted to make him happy, to please him."

"He used you." Gwen says softly.

"I know. My Lady, I don't want to die."

"There is nothing I can do, Sefa. The sentence stands." Gwen declares. Anne looks at Gwen with alarm and surprise.

"My Lady!"

Gwen nods and the Guards take Sefa away.

As if nothing has happened, Gwen turns to Gaius and calmly asks, "Where is it that I need to sign?"

Anne frowns. "Gwen, maybe you should reconsider the sentence. It is very harsh."

"The law is clear." Gwen replies.

"Sefa was naive and foolish, but she doesn't deserve to die." Gaius argues.

"And she won't. I have no intention of executing her." Gwen says. Anne and Gaius look at her in confusion. "My aim is to catch her father. He is the threat to Camelot, not the girl. I'm hoping her plight will lure him here."

"Why did you not tell us?" Anne questions.

"Her predicament must remain genuine. Ruadan may have more spies here." Gwen argues. "And if he has any inkling of this, he will not come."

"This is a dangerous game, My Lady." Gaius warns her.

"Wars cannot be won without risks. The execution is set."

"But what if Ruadan doesn't appear?" Anne wonders.

"Sefa is his daughter. I have to believe that he will."

——

Anne is with Gwen with the children when the warning bells sound. Euwen lets out a cry of distress. Anne rocks him in her arms, shushing him while Faye clings to Gwen's skirts. Leon enters.

"Is it Ruadan?" Gwen asks.

"Almost certainly."

"Organise the men." Gwen instructs. "And capture him alive."

Leon nods and leaves.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia stares at the note Morgana had handed to her.

'I bring bad tidings. Arthur did not return to Camelot. He makes his way to Ismere. But you must not despair, Morgana and Amelia. Soon you will have the Diamair and Arthur's Bane will be with you. Soon the Pendragons will be no more...'

This could only mean one thing. Ruadan is dead. Amelia had suspected that Ruadan had left to save his daughter after all due to his sudden departure. He died saving his family.

Amelia knows the feeling of needing to protect your family all too well. Morgana had warned her that Emrys was her destiny, and her doom and Amelia will do all she can to stop him.

——

Anne's POV

Ruadan's body lies out on the table in front of them in Gaius' Chambers with the Physician inspecting it. Gaius finds a scroll inside the necklace around Ruadan's neck.

"What is it?" Gwen questions.

"I believe it's a prayer." Gaius replies, rolling the scroll out to analyse it.

"Can you read it?" Anne asks. The Physician doesn't reply. "Gaius?"

"I am no expert in the Druidic runes..."

Anne and Gwen give Gaius disbelieving glances.

Gwen scoffs. "Please, we know you too well."

"It is a call for victory over the enemies of the Old Religion." Gaius admits.

Anne frowns. "But I thought the Druids were a peaceful people."

"For the most part they are." Gaius replies. "But for some, the Great Purge changed that. Some blame Uther for their suffering."

"But he has long been dead."

"Some believe that Arthur is no different from his father. Sorcery is still outlawed... for them, little has changed." Gaius points out.

"So, Ruadan believed it was his sacred duty to fight my husband." Gwen says.

"More than that. There are those who believe that Arthur is destined to die by a Druid's hand." Gaius warns. "Perhaps Ruadan thought he was that man."

"Well, then, he was mistaken."

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia watches from her window as Ragnor brings in the new slaves. Amelia had argued against the use of slaves, her heart saying it's wrong, but Morgana had argued that they needed every man they could get if they were to achieve their goals.

"Let the Ladies Morgana and Amelia see for themselves! I'll get twice that in the Market at Asgorath." Ragnor is saying, shoving the slaves about but Amelia takes very little notice of him. Instead, her gaze is drawn to the young man who's a part of the gang.

She feels a pull towards him. Like he's familiar. As if Amelia knows him. She does not know if it is because of her memories of the show trying to push through or if she's met him before but that is how she feels all the same.

Amelia has had this feeling before...

She quickly leaves her room and enters the Courtyard where she finds Ragnor talking to the man. The young man locks eyes with her immediately causing Ragnor to turn and notice her.

"My Lady." Ragnor greets. "I am grateful for this opportunity... I have brought you eight of the finest..."

Amelia looks at him sharply, shutting him up and moves towards the young man who is nearby. He watches her carefully as she reaches up and gently touches his face. He smiles at her, and she immediately knows who it is.

"Mordred..." Amelia beams.

——

Amelia is so excited to see Mordred again and eagerly pulls him inside out of the cold and the wind. She brings him inside to the Dinning hall where servants are already putting out food for her and Morgana.

Amelia instructs them to put out a third place before turning back to Mordred, who is smiling tentatively at her.

Amelia grins and steps forward, putting her hands on his upper arms. "You have grown so much since I last saw you, though," she makes a tsk noise as she strokes his arms affectionately, "your clothes are a little loose on you. Have you been eating properly? We need to feed you properly so that you can fill out."

The tips of Mordred's ears turn pink. He gently shrugs out of her grip. "I am no longer a child, Amelia. You don't have to mother me."

Amelia puts her hands on her hips. "You will always be that little boy that came bursting into my Chambers that day. And I'll have you know that I am a mother now, so it's instinct to mother."

He dips his head shyly, and Amelia just giggles before wrapping him up in a hug, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"What's this?" Morgana stands in the doorway watching them curiously, but Amelia can see a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Amelia hurriedly steps back causing Mordred to glance at her curiously. "It's Mordred."

Morgana's eyes widen, her face soft as she murmurs, "Mordred?"

Mordred smiles. "Hello Morgana."

——

Morgana and Amelia watch Mordred intently as he eats.

"We feared you were dead." Morgana murmurs softly. "It is dangerous for those of us with magic."

"It's not been easy." Mordred admits.

"For any of us." Morgana picks up an apple and begins pealing sections with her knife, eating them.

"Sorcery frightens people. Even some of those who claim to support it."

Amelia frowns sympathetically. "You've seen a lot."

"I've learnt to. I've had to." Mordred says, his voice is hard. "If I was not to be burnt at the stake or exploited for another man's gain."

It's difficult for Amelia to swallow the strong urge to protect Mordred, keep him protected from the rest of the world.

"Attitudes will change soon. The Old Religion will reign once more." Morgana grins. "There will be nothing to fear once Arthur and his kind are cleansed from the earth." The way Morgana harshly cuts a new piece of apple unnerves Amelia.

"You know we had Arthur in our grasp?" Mordred admits. Morgana pauses in her cutting, staring at Mordred intently. Amelia shifts uncomfortably. "He escaped."

"You let him go?" Her voice is calm. Amelia grips her cup tightly in fear, knowing Morgana's going to blow at any moment.

"He got away."

"How?" Morgana's voice is sharper. "Who let him go?"

"It was an accident."

That's enough for Morgana. "KILL HIM!" She yells, smacking away her plate, which causes a loud crashing sound when it hits the floor. Amelia flinches and cowers. "That's all they had to do! I am a High Priestess!"

"Morgana." Mordred tries to interrupt, glancing at Amelia in concern.

Morgana ignores him. "I have the power of the heavens in my hand and yet he continues to defy me!"

"Calm yourself."

"I want his annihilation, Mordred. I want to put his head on a spike and watch as the crows feast on his eyes." Morgana spits. The warning bells sound, interrupting her. Morgana grins darkly. "Arthur..."

Amelia's heart feels like it's dropped to the centre of the earth.

——

They immediately begin in the Caverns below as that's where all Arthur's men are. Morgana sends Aithusa ahead in the search for Arthur. Amelia watched after the creature in concern as she lumbers away.

Morgana turns to Amelia as they enter, grabbing her arm. "Just remember, I know what you did. You cannot be weak now Amelia."

Amelia swallows thickly. "I'm not." She declares.

Morgana narrows her eyes but nods. "Good."

"Merlin! Merlin?!" Arthur can be heard yelling in the distance.

Morgana smirks. "Showtime." She strides ahead leaving Amelia and Mordred to follow.

"What does she mean?" Mordred questions.

Amelia tries to be blasé as she replies, "Nothing."

She strides ahead, avoiding looking at Mordred as she knows he doesn't believe her, and she'll break if she looks at him.

——

They emerge around the corner to find Arthur standing in an open space in the Caverns.

"How good of you to save me the trouble of finding you." Morgana remarks. Arthur freezes before immediately turning to grab his sword but it isn't there. "Oh, dear how remiss of you. Your bravery is matched only by your stupidity. What on earth did you think you would achieve by coming here?"

Arthur turns to face them. "I'm here to free my men. Save Amelia."

What? Amelia hates how she feels her resolve weaken slightly.

Morgana narrows her eyes. "What makes you think she needs saving?"

Arthur steps forward. "Amelia..."

Amelia flinches stepping back. Mordred places a comforting hand on her back.

"Fleoge." Morgana magically throws a knife at Arthur, stopping him in his tracks. He tries to grab it, but it stabs him in the shoulder causing him to fall to the floor. The knife hovers at Arthur's back. "You have a lot of audacity to come charging in here, saying you're here to save my sister when you're the one who abandoned her." Morgana harshly spits.

Arthur tries to pull himself up by his arms, using the rocks. "Amelia, please..."

No, she has to stay strong.

"Why should I?" Amelia retorts tearfully. "I waited for you, for all of you. I hoped you would come but you weren't there. Morgana was."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just come home, we'll—"

"Funny that you think you're in a position to bargain with my dagger at your back." Morgana cuts off, grinning spitefully.

Arthur eventually pulls himself up, now able to stand and turns to his sister. "What happened to you, Morgana? As a child, you were so kind, so compassionate..."

Morgana's gaze hardens. "I grew up." Her eyes flash and Arthur is stabbed in the stomach, falling to the ground again but on his back. Morgana grins. "You are right to cower before my hand. I am more powerful than you can imagine."

"And yet with all that, you choose to do nothing but hate." Arthur weakly retorts.

Morgana grins spitefully. "Uther taught me well. Goodbye, Arthur Pendragon."

A yell interrupts them. "Arthur!" Merlin comes charging in. Amelia panics at the sight of him. She can't let him get anywhere near Morgana. She just reacts and with a swipe of her arm, Merlin is thrown in the air and hits the Cavern wall, knocking the wind out of him. That should keep him at bay for now.

"No!" Arthur cries as his friend is flung but is unable to do anything so he turns to Morgana. "Morgana... Please..."

Amelia sees Mordred walking closer in the corner of her eye but focuses on what's in front of her. Her chest is tight as she watches.

Morgana simply knocks Arthur out with a flash of her eyes. "Don't speak, dear brother. It's too late. Hine fordo..."

Amelia lets out a startled gasp as she feels a dagger penetrate her side. Morgana cuts herself, turning around and staring at them in horror. Amelia feels the dagger be pulled out and arms wrap around her as she drops to the floor.

She looks up to see it is Mordred. "Mordred?" She gasps weakly. She hears the hurt that laces her voice. Her left hand clutches her right side.

Amelia looks to Morgana, who's glaring daggers at Mordred. A look of horror comes over Mordred's face and he takes several steps back from her. Morgana reaches out to close her fist on empty air, clenching her fingers as though choking him. The boy pales and drops his weapon to grasp uselessly at his throat.

Even though Mordred had just stabbed her, Amelia can't let this happen and, with the last of her strength, she throws her arm out. Morgana is thrown backwards through the air and smashes against the rock wall of the Cavern. She crumples in a heap on the floor.

Amelia glances at Mordred to see he is now able to breathe properly before everything goes black.

——

Anne's POV

When they all return, Anne is happily reunited with her husband and the Knights that had been saved, but she's caught off guard when Arthur re-introduces her to Mordred and before she knows it, Mordred is being knighted.

As Anne watches the ceremony, she feels conflicted. She feels proud watching Mordred achieve this. She's still got fond memories of him as a child despite everything and he did save Arthur, yet Merlin's words run through her head. Mordred is destined to kill Arthur still; Merlin had seen it in a vision.

"It's been a big day. You must be tired." Anne says as they get into bed, Faye has been settled down and Euwen sleeps peacefully in the cot in their Chambers. Anne had wanted, as she had with Faye, to keep him close in the initial months before he moves to join his sister in the Nursery. Merlin sits silent and pensive as she settles in next to him. "What is it? Is it what you saw in that Cave?"

"I saw Mordred kill Arthur." Merlin murmurs brokenly. "Kilgharrah said Arthur would meet his end at the hands of a Druid."

"He also said that Amelia's path hasn't been determined." Anne points out. "Gaius thinks you should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Remember when Kilgharrah warned us that the ancient prophecies spoke of an alliance of Amelia, Mordred and Morgana united in evil?" Merlin asks.

Anne winces and quickly shakes her head. "We don't know if that's going to come to pass or not."

"You do." He insists. "You just won't see it because you love Amelia. You might not see it, but we might have lost her already."

Anne feels tears well up in her eyes. "You can't– you can't mean that."

Merlin looks at her sorrowfully. "You didn't see her Anne; Morgana has this hold over her. It won't be easy to break." He warns her.

"Then we must try!" Anne cries.

Merlin shakes his head. "I feel that the die is cast... and that, for good or ill, Albion's great trial has begun."

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia grunts as she pulls herself along, Ella bundled in her arms as Morgana and Aithusa trudge behind her through the snow.

When they had woken in the Cavern, Morgana had thankfully been confused about who had thrown her to which Amelia quickly suggested that it could have been Emrys. She should feel bad for increasing the paranoia in her sister, the fact that her mortal enemy had been so close by, but Amelia is thankful her ire is not directed at her.

Ella lets out a whimper causing Amelia to shake away her thoughts and tighten her arms around her daughter as they trudge along to their destination.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[dr4cking]

Filthy.

draco malfoy x reader | smut | oneshot.

masterlist | taglist

summary : you always had a crush on your best friend’s brother until one night changed everything.

(reblog and comment would be very much appreciated! <3)

You zipped your suitcase getting excited about to spend your break at your best friend’s manor. Doing a sleepover with Athena Malfoy had become a thing for you. You wouldn’t be surprised if someday Narcissa would call you her daughter, you were that close with the youngest heir.

But what Athena didn’t know won’t hurt her, you’ve known as the best of keeping secrets, especially.. to yourself. It was your best friend’s brother. He was two years older than you, it started on a harmless crush you had since you became friends with his sister, but now seeing him around when you were in her house would be a bonus for you.

How can you not, though? Not when he looks like that. Everything you’ve craved in a man.

“Merlin. Get yourself together, Y/n.” Mumbling to yourself, you shut your door quite harshly before apparating to the Malfoy Manor.

“Y/n!! Finally. I missed you so much!” You quickly pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I missed you too, babe. I can’t wait to spend so much time with you here” You matched her energy as Athena guides you in to the manor.

“Me too, I have so much plans for us since my parents won’t be home for this break! Now let’s go to my room”

Athena already running upstairs as you went to gathered your belongings, you were about to lift up your suitcase and turned around until you hit something hard.

“Careful Y/n.”

Shit. That voice. When did he even get here?

Draco had his arm wrapped around your waist to prevent you from falling and his other hand taking over your suitcase so it wouldn’t fell with you.

“S-sorry..” You muttered, face heated in embarassment. You went to grab your suitcase but he stopped you.

“‘s alright, love. Let me help you.” What did he just call you? Your heart started to speeds up.

“Thanks, Draco.”

He doesn’t answer, letting you lead the way upstairs as he followed you behind. You just can only hope your hair doesn’t look ugly from behind or your back-

“Relax, Y/n. Don’t stress it out.” Unknown to you, he was smirking watching the power he has over you, your nervous shaking figure were obvious to him.

You didn’t reply, not wanting to embarrass yourself more.

“-Yeah that was it. He said he wants to hang out on this saturday.. y’know to get to know each other .” Athena blushed, she was blabbering out about her plans with the guy she just met weeks ago.

“Oh really?! That’s amazing! Oh my god it’s going well I’m so happy for you!” You clapped your hands in excitement.

“-But does that mean you gonna ditch me for a guy and leave me alone in this big big manor of yours?!”

“Oh c’mon don’t be so dramatic! But enough about me. What about you, Y/n? Got your eyes on someone?” The unexpected question got you stopped right there,

“N-no! Not yet, I mean. I’m not really looking, though.” You mentally slapped yourself for lying to your best friend.

“Don’t worry I’ll ask Leo if he got any friends who’s single” She laughs as you slapped her left arm.

“Don’t you dare!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” You joined her laughter.

You stepped out of the shower, Athena is using her bathroom to herself and you being you, didn’t have a patience to wait for her to finish so you took the other’s instead.

You dried your drenched body, putting on your undergarments before approaching the sink to brush your teeth. After a minute you were done, you went to grab your bathrobe but before you could do that, the door bursted open.

Shit. You thought you locked the door-

“Oh- I’m so sorry Y/n. I didn’t know you’re in there” The person muttered a quick apology before shutting the door.

Draco Malfoy sure had the worst time ever, he just saw you in the bathroom with nothing but the lack of fabric covering your body. Great. Your face burned in embarassment when you remember you did catch him take a glimpse of you before shutting the door, his face was red.

The following days, you’ve been avoiding a certain person, him. You don’t know how to face him without being awkward especially after the incident. But you didn’t miss the burning feeling that made your stomach twisted when you know he was staring at you, you pretended to not acknowledge it.

Until one night that would changes everything.

You were in the kitchen, preparing some snacks for you and Athena as you two would be binge watching your favorite show. You were working in peace until you heard footsteps getting closer to your presence. Him.

“What are you making?” His voice echoed in the quiet room.

“Oh n-nothing. Just grabbing some snacks.” Draco gets behind you, standing dangerously close to you.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Asked him. His hand brushing your hair aside and you could feel his hot breath against the back of your neck.

“I’m not-“

“Quit your lying. I know what it is.”

You stilled feeling his body pressed closely against your back.

“You know, Y/n.. You thought you were best at keeping secrets, huh? Well I hate to break it to you but, no you weren’t.” His hand slides down to your arm making you shiver.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” You chuckle nervously.

“You don’t? How about I show you?”

“-I must admit you’re brave, Y/n. Knowing your risk.. Crushing on your best friend’s older brother.” Your breath stuck in your throat, face started to burning.

“W-what? I don’t-“

““You’ve been a bad girl, haven’t you? Lying in front of your best friend’s face like that.” Draco noticed the shakiness on your fingers.

“I still d-don’t know what you’re talking about-“

“Hmm sure, darling. But you sure did know you wear those kind of clothes for me.” He refers to that incident.

“You weren’t supposed to see that!” You reply shortly, still not wanting to face him.

“Let’s say I’m glad I did,”

“-Because I’ve been thinking of ripping those sinful fabrics off of your perfect body. And ravished you just the way you wanted me to.”

“Draco- t-that’s not true you’re talking nonsense- this is- wrong..” You’re unknowingly rubbing your thighs together at his words.

“Is it? I’m not the one who’s been eye fucking her friend’s brother.”

You kept your mouth shut.

“Shh.. It’s okay, love. It’s kind of flattering.” His hands rubbed up your arms to calm your nerves.

“Please don’t tell her Draco- She’d think I’m disgusting-“

“You know that’s not true, you’re far from that. But if you don’t want her to know, you better stay quiet then. Lets keep it a secret like you always do.” What was he suggesting?

“Can I touch you?”

Your breath hitched in surprise, slowly nodding at his request.

“Need a verbal consent.” He whispered into your ear.

“Y-yes..”

Draco grabbed your face, turning you aside so you can finally look into his lustful gaze. Then he kissed you, capturing your lips for a hungry kiss before beginning to planted soft hot kisses on your jaw down to exposed skin of your neck. His hands were roaming your body.

He let his hand wandering down to the part you needed him to touch the most. He looked at you for a permission and you quickly muttering “please” to him.

“Jesus. You’re fucking dripping.” His fingers ran through your throbbing core, collecting the wetness on them.

“Draco please-“

“Shh, remember. Quiet, doll.” His thumb rubbing your clit as his other fingers tracing down to your entrance.

“Oh- oh my god-“ You gripped onto the kitchen counter as you feel Draco pushing a finger inside you.

“Shit, you’re tight.” His finger going deeper, stretching you out.

“Draco-“

“Shush, Y/n. D’ya want Athena to come here and see what a slut her best friend is?” He shushes you.

“P-please..” You whine quietly.

Draco adds another finger into you making your back arched against his body. He scissors his fingers to stretch you out wider and pumping them up inside you.

“T-there p-please!”

“Yeah? Here?” He curled his fingers hitting the perfect spot.

“Oh! Fuck.. Yes!” Your toes curling, your head thrown back on his shoulders. He groaned watching your face enough to make his erection felt more painful.

“Cum f’me, Y/n.” And with that you came with a loud moan but Draco was quick to cover you up with his lips. Your body trembling against him as you rode out your high on his fingers.

You turned to face him and watched how Draco brings his fingers into his mouth, keeping the eye contact with you as he savored the taste of you with a low hum. Your face heated as he pulled them out with a “pop”.

“Taste so good, love.“ He mumbled before letting you taste yourself by his kiss.

You melted, the kiss getting rougher and you grasped onto his shirt to pulled him closer to you. He grinds his body against you.

“Y/n! Where are you?” Athena’s voice ringing reminding you of what were you doing. You broke the kiss, panicking.

“I’m coming! Got a lot of food to bring upstairs” You shout back, quickly grabbing your forgotten snacks.

“Draco- I’m so sorry.. B-but thank you” You tried to run upstairs ignoring the uncomfortable feeling between your legs.

Draco watches you gone from his sight with a sly smirk plastered on his face. You knew you owe him one but you still have the longer time to make it up to him.

Saturday.

Athena was pacing around her room. Checking herself out on the mirror every ten seconds. You rolled your eyes at her.

“Athena don’t worry too much, I swear on Merlin’s beard you look fucking gorgeous right now.” She turns to you.

“Really? Is it too much? Or is it too plain?”

“No it’s perfect. Everything’s fine and look good on you, that dress suits you a lot. Look you’re glowing!” You replied with all honesty in your soul.

“Okay? Do you think he would want to fuck me after the date?”

“Athena Lucius Malfoy! You just met him-”

“Okay okay. I’m ready now”

—

“Don’t worry Y/n I’ll come back home. What kind of friend I would be to ditch her best friend just for a guy?” You scoffed jokingly.

“Shut up and go get the man of your dream”

“Ew Y/n! Anyways Draco, I trust you to take care of this little baby over here and I hope you two won’t burn the manor” Draco rolled his eyes at his sister. But Athena was right, he would for sure take care of her friend.

“Bye Y/n”

And with that you close the door. The silence suddenly took a turn to filled up the manor. God, it’s only been a minute- You hurriedly make your way to Athena’s room and make it not obvious.

“Where do you think you’re going, pretty girl?” You gasped as Draco gently pulls your hair from behind and turning your head to face him.

“I-”

“Now we got all the time to ourselves. You do remember you owe me a favor, don’t you? Or do I need to remind you?” His face getting closer to you as he speaks.

“No- I mean y-yes. I remember.” He smirks at the shakiness in your voice.

“Good. My room now.”

—

And here you are. Kneeling in front of your best friend’s brother, your mouth full of his cock as tears ran down your face, saliva dripping to the floor as he fucked your throat brutally.

“Fuck. I love your mouth. Not only it’s so pretty but also so useful for my cock.” His eyes never left your face as he keeps shoving his cock down your throat.

“My little cocksucker, you look prettier like this, doll.” You moaned to answer him causing him to hiss at his double pleasure.

“You love being treated like this, hm? Bet you’ve been imagining this for a long time.” Draco pulls out, slapping your right cheek with his wet cock as he let you rest your jaw.

“Please Draco.. want to taste you down my throat..” His other hand caressing your other cheek, along with wiping your tears.

You gagged as he shoved his cock back into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat right away. You gripped onto his thighs to steady yourself.

“Dirty whore, look at you getting all messy just for me.” You hollowed your cheeks and try to meet his thrusts.

“Yes fuck fuck fuck. I’m gonna fucking cum.” With that he pulled your head to buried himself deep in your mouth as he stopped and came into your mouth.

The sounds he made enough to make your own slick dripping down to the floor. You swallowed every drop of him and keeping your eyes at his face. The look of his face could make you come right away-

“You did so good, love. Didn’t know my girl had it in herself.” You blushed as he help you up to your feet.

Draco picks you up by your thighs, wrapping them around his waist. You distract him with a hungry kiss as he walked the both of you to his bed. He even lays you down without breaking the kiss.

“Who got you this soaked, doll?” He chuckles seeing your glistening cunt. Running his fingers there just to open up your lips and see how your hole clenching around nothing trying to show him just how needy you are right now.

Fuck, it was enough to make his cock hard again. Your legs spread wide and your -his- cunt full out in display just for him.

“You Draco, only you! Please take me I need you inside so bad, it hurts-” You cried out your answer to him. Even him forgot his own question, too busy admiring his pussy.

“My greedy slut. I’ll fuck you so hard until you’re begging me to stop.” He turned you around, getting you all fours for him before lining his cock on your entrance, giving you what you wanted.

“Please.. Oh- Draco-” You buried your head into the sheets as you feel him starting to pushing into you.

“Such a fucking tight pussy. Gonna feel so good around me” He grunted before gripping your hips tightly as he slammed his hips, your ass pressed up against him.

Your loud moan echoing in his room as he has bottomed out inside you, he could feel you pulsating so hard around him unsure of how to accept his cock in your tight walls.

“Move please..” Draco got the hints and started to pick up his pace.

He keeps it steady at first. Until he feel you slowly accommodating his size. He grabbed your hips to pull you down on his cock to meet his thrusts. Skins slapping, groans and moans are clearly the only sinful sounds filling his room now.

“Fuck. You feel so good Y/n. Gripping me so tight like a vice.” You gripped tighter onto his sheets as his pace getting harder.

And in a second you were lost in your own pleasure. Your mind only can think of how good this feels. How his cock dragged against your walls and hitting every spots inside you so delicately. You can feel every ridges and veins of his cock, and you can feel the familiar feeling starts to build up in your stomach.

“Can feel you clenching ‘round me. Y’gonna cum, doll?” He put one hand behind your neck, burying your head deeper in his sheets, his pace remains deep and hard.

But you can’t even hear him, you were too lost. Even the stings of his spankings only brought you closer to your high.

“Poor little thing can’t even speak right now, hm? You’re lucky I’m letting you cum.” And you were totally gone when Draco rubbed your bud making the coil snapped through your body, you can’t even hear how loud you were being as you came undone.

Draco feels his blood rushing to his cock. Watching you fell apart on his cock, if it wasn’t for him holding you still you would’ve fell and maybe passed out. Not giving you a chance to recovering from your high, he flipped you over on your back and re-entered you.

“Draco-” Hearing his name came out of your name like that brings him closer to his high, his thrusts are getting sloppier.

You shook your head at him and tried to run away from his touch when he asked for one more time by circling your sensitive clit.

“One more time for me Y/n. Give me, you can do it.” You whine letting him ripped your second high off of you.

“Oh fuck! That’s it- M’good girl. You feel too good Y/n I can’t help it- I’m gonna cum so much inside you” He cried out onto your neck.

Then he stilled, burying himself deep inside you. Draco let his body fell on top of you, as a loud deep groan of your name escaped his lips.

It was intense, it was so much, you could feel him emptying all he has inside you. Ropes of his thick cum filling you up so nicely, you could feel him painting your walls. And he still keeps going, you grasped onto his hair whimpering at feeling so full.

“Draco..”

“I know.” He replies breathlessly.

And he’s finally done, his cum planted deep inside you. Both of you panting heavily and bodies shaking against each other. Draco recollected his mind before getting up slowly and gently pulling out of you.

“Holy fuck, Y/n.” He chuckled as he watches the amount of cum spilling out of you and dripping to the sheets once the block was gone.

“You’re unbelievable Draco. You really tire me out.” He laughs kissing the top of your head.

“I’m sorry.. Let me clean you up first then you can sleep, okay?” You nodded at him, you’re not so sure if you can even get up. All your body part is so sore.

But one thing for sure, at this moment, Athena does not even crossed your mind nor Draco’s.

taglist : @wolfstar-lb @onyourgoddamnleft @justhurtnocomfort @turn-to-page-394-please @elysian-i @littlemissnoname13 @youreso-golden @acciorxses @dlmmdl @mvdbldd @f4iryluvy @starstruckgranger @lieswithoutfairytales @yiamalfoy @black-repunzel99 @acciodignity @riddleswh0r3crux @ameliasbitvh @shespeaksinsongs @rylynn-blog @miraclesoflove @i-love-scott-mccall @slythermuf @myshamalfoy @maybesandohnos @teenwolfbitches28 @desiredmalfoy @ferretboysupremacy @coolbeans32 @arianagreyy @sksliz @cupids-crystals @raajali3 @kayleiggh @amalfoyandariddle @madi0987 @mrs-dracofelton @itzzzzcookie @marcela6malfoy @drayslove @padf00ts-l0ver @spencervera @wrongilbert @mischieftom @valentines-massacre13 @devilslxver @nic0lodean @miss-celestial-being @heathericious @dracoslittlesunflower @weaselbrownie @fullcheeseengineer @hhishho @alexthealexthealex @iloveweasleyx @seriouslyinlove @arzfia

[believinghurts]

Their Daughter

Chapter 5

Author’s note: I use Grammarly to fix my mistakes, but there could still be some so sorry for that. Also, I am getting back into writing and am hoping to have a few more works out soon! Please reblog, like, or comment feedback is appreciated.

Word Count: 4,400

Warnings: None? Sirius being a d*ck? Maybe language, but I don’t think so.

Regulus wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he stroked his niece's hair. He was mad at his brother for basically throwing away the only good thing that had ever come from the Black family. Sirius was too blinded by the past to see what was right in front of him. As children, Sirius often told Regulus that he was their family's favorite and that it bothered him, but if he knew what it was like to be less loved then how can he love Harry more than Ali? He understood that Harry was Sirius's Godson, but couldn’t he love Ali and Harry equally? If Sirius made the effort maybe Ali and the other children could even be friends. His heart ached from the emotional battle that Ali was going through right now. Even if Sirius didn’t see it, he and Remus did. Ali’s light was dimmer than before and when she was lighting up again after finding out Sirius never came for her, Sirius just had to go and snuffed it out.

Carefully sliding out from under Ali and placing a pillow under her head Regulus left the room. He shut the door behind him casting a locking spell so she wouldn’t be bothered. He needed to speak with Remus first before doing anything. They needed to decide what to do about Ali. As much as Regulus wanted to spend time with her before she went back to school he didn’t want her to be this upset anymore. He walked into the study to find Remus and Nymphadora sitting near the fireplace.

“How is she?” Nymphadora blurted the question as soon as she saw her cousin. Remus had owled her after Ali had gone to her room. The older sister in her wanted to go up to Sirius and give him a piece of her mind, but she knew that it wouldn’t do any good.

“She’s asleep for now. All the fighting has exhausted her. I honestly don’t know what to do. I want her here, this is her home, but if Sirius doesn’t stop acting like the brut that he is it is going to hurt her more. Speaking of Sirius, where is he? It’s quiet.” Regulus flopped down on the chair across from Remus and Nymphadora raking a hand through his hair. His worry for Ali was causing him a headache. On one hand, he wanted to send Ali to stay at the Malfoy Manor for the remainder of summer, but on the other, he wanted to hold her close and have her stay in her home where she belonged.

“Sirius left with Harry after you went upstairs. He hasn’t been home since. The Weasleys stepped out to Diagon Alley to get the kids stuff for school.” Remus replied. He was secretly thankful that the house was mainly empty. This way at least Ali could come down if she felt like it without the chance of someone bothering her. Remus was having the same thoughts as Regulus about keeping Ali at home virus's sending her to the Manor. He just wanted his niece to be happy. The hope that he had of Sirius and Ali having the father/daughter relationship was gone. If only Remus could get Sirius to open his eyes to the pain he was causing to the girl, but Sirius was nothing if not stubborn.

“I think I am going to write to Cissa and see if she can keep Ali for the rest of summer. If that’s what it takes for her to be happy then so be it. We can see her off at the -“

“I don’t want to leave,” Ali’s voice interrupted. “I want to stay here with you. Please don’t make me leave. I can handle it, I promise.”

Ali knew that she and Regulus were going to have to talk about the fact that she called him dad, but that was a private conversation. Right now she needed to convince the adults in the room that she didn’t need to leave. She could take Sirius. Yes the words that he had said hurt her and the actions he did tonight furthered that hurt in her heart, but she was done. She didn’t owe him anything, and it was clear she knew that he didn’t want to be her father. She had meant what she said to Regulus. He was her father in all the ways that counted. He loved her unconditionally, was always there for her, and protected her.

She went and sat on the couch in between Nymphadora and Remus who wrapped an arm around her pulling her close to his chest. “It might be best if you went and stayed for the rest of the summer at the Manor, Al. This isn’t good for you mentally. We all can see how drained you are.”

“No, this is my home. I can handle it. I have you all plus the older Weasleys and Fleur. You'll protect me and if I need to get away for a little bit I’ll owl Blaise or Draco to go to Diagon Alley or something. I want to spend time with you. Times are hard right now and you never know when you are going to lose someone and I would like to have as much time with each of you just in case.”

Regulus leaned forward taking Ali’s hand in his, “Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to happen to us. I love you more than you could ever imagine and if you want to stay here you can.” Ali smiles brightly at that before Regulus cut her off, “but you have to tell me, Remus, or Severus, if anything happens. And you have to come out of your room. I am not having you locking yourself away again. Got it?”

Ali pounced on Regulus, hugging his neck tight. She was excited to spend some more time with her family. She had meant what she said about never knowing when something was going to happen. Wizards had been disappearing all over London and she was genuinely scared something was going to happen to her loved ones. She was going to make it a point to take plenty of photos and make enough memories to last a lifetime the next couple of weeks.

Regulus held his niece tight, fighting back the tears when she whispered, “Thanks, Dad,” into his ear. He had been called a lot of things in his life, but this was one title he was going to wear proudly.

Remus’s voice interrupted the moment, “wait for a second, why are you going to owl Blaise? We have an agreement, young lady, no boys till you're thirty!”

Ali’s giggle was music to those in the room with her, and for the first time that summer they all saw Ali smile at home the brightest she had since everyone arrived.

————

The rest of the day was eventful which was something that everyone was thankful for. Nymphadora left shortly after spending some time with Ali since she had something to attend to with Moody, so that left Regulus, Ali, and Remus to watch the Star Wars movies in Ali’s room. Kreacher brought them snacks while they made a fort on the floor. Ali was incredibly content laying on the mounds of pillows in between her Uncles. When she was younger they would have movie nights like this once a month until she started Hogwarts. Even then she and her friends carried on the tradition in the boy's dorm since Draco was often present at the ones hosted at home. She wished that she could have Draco over now, but knew that if she brought him here then everyone in the house would throw a fit about it, maybe it was something to bring up to Regulus later.

Molly called them all down for dinner shortly after the second film ended. Leaving the mess on the floor the trio made their way downstairs with Ali trailing behind her Uncles. She could feel her nerves spike the closer she got to the dining room. She thought about excusing herself stating she wasn’t hungry, but the loud growl in her stomach gave her hunger away. Everyone had already sat down beside Harry and Sirius when they got into the room. Regulus pulled the seat out next to him for his niece. Fleur shot her a smile when she sat down by her uncle with Charlie on her other side. At least she was sitting near someone who didn’t hate her.

Chatter and the sounds of forks on plates filled the room as everyone got their fill of Molly’s meatballs and onion sauce. Everyone broke off into separate conversations. Remus, Regulus, and Arthur talking about the Ministry, the younger Weasleys, and Hermione talking about Quidditch, Bill and Fleur about their upcoming wedding, and Charlie and Ali talking about his work in Romania. “What are you planning on doing after you leave Hogwarts?”

Ali shot a glance over at Remus who was doing a terrible job of disguising his eavesdropping on the duo. “I am thinking about becoming a professor. I like creatures obviously so I was thinking something along those lines, but I also like Herbology. So maybe that. I just know I want to teach.”

Charlie shot her a grin. “Have you thought about where? I know Hogwarts has Sprout for Herbology and Hagrid was doing Care of Magical Creatures, but you still have three more years of school so maybe they’ll need someone by the time you're done.”

Ali shrugged her shoulders. In all honesty, she wanted to leave England and travel for a bit but knew that if she brought it up now it would be a fight or something so she bit her tongue. “Maybe.”

The noise came to a halt when the door slammed open in the living room. Everyone hopped to their feet, wands at the ready. It felt like hours had passed before the intruder walked through the door. “Sirius! Harry! Merlin, you scared us all.”

“Sorry, it’s raining hard and we were in a rush to get back home.” Sirius shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. Everyone retook their seats beside Milly who served Harry and Sirius. Ali tried her hardest to keep from looking at the latest duo that entered, not wanting to cause any more trouble or to give Sirius a reason to lash out at her.

Dinner passed rather quickly, conversations flowed in their small groups. Charlie had gone with Fleur and Bill on a scouting mission shortly after eating, while Fred and George worked on new products for their shop. Ali was in her head thinking about asking to go to meet Pansy in the coming days to look at a new book shop. Pansy wasn’t much of a reader but was always looking for an excuse to get out of her house. She was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up Molly was smiling softly at her while handing her a letter in a dark blue envelope. She instantly knew who the letter was from since only one person used that kind of envelope when writing her.

“This came for you, dear, when you were with your uncles. I didn't want to bother you then I almost forgot just now.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” Ali smiled at the kind woman. Despite her feelings towards most of the Weasley children, their parents were quite nice.

Molly patted her cheek before walking off. Ali started to rip the top off when she got Regulus’s eye and he winked at her. He knew who the letter was from having met the boy a few times already. Her cheeks flushed and continued to do so while reading it.

Dear Supernova,

I hope you are surviving the dreadfulness that is upon you right now with all the people in your house. Yes, Draco told me what was going on yesterday when I finally threatened to out his crush if he didn’t explain why we hadn’t been seeing you a lot this summer. I have to say I am quite hurt that you didn’t tell me yourself. Best friends I thought. Just joking, but seriously you could have told me about him and I wouldn't have said a word to anyone.

I miss you, Supernova. We’ve only got to see each other once this summer and we both know when school starts you will have a book shoved in front of your face in the first three minutes. Could we get together sometime this week? It has been awful at home and if I have to hear Draco's voice one more time without you there to tell him off for being annoying I may throw myself off the astronomy tower.

Your uncle may not agree, but you could come to stay at mine for a night. Mother agreed to it as long as Regulus does and we have separate rooms. If you can't, maybe I can come to you? I don’t really care what the redheads have to say about me being there so don’t worry about that. We have much to catch up on; like the fact that you got Headgirl and also didn’t write and tell me. I had to find that little tidbit out from Parkinson's. Don’t worry we’ll catch up whether that's soon or on the train.

love,

Zabini

Ali felt a pang of guilt hit her square in the chest. She hadn’t meant to forget to fill Blaise in on her life but it had been so crazy recently she hadn’t got to write anyone much. In all the truth no one knew that she had gotten Headgirl. She had gotten the letter from Flitwich a few days after the Weasley’s arrived and completely forgot. Although she told her Uncles she didn’t want to go anywhere spending some time with Blaise sounded nice. Deciding to just rip the bandaid off she looked up to find Regulus and Remus looking at her with amused smiles on their faces.

“What’s you got there, Ali?” Remus asked, causing her cheeks to flame red. She wasn’t scared to say that she wanted to hang out with a boy. She did it all the time whether it was Blaise, Theo, or Draco; it was more to do with the fact that she was about to ask to spend the night at a boys' house. Even if they were going to be in separate rooms and they had fallen asleep cuddled together weeks prior at the Malfoys, something none of her Uncles knew, it was going to be a little fight to get Remus to agree as he made the ‘no dating till you’re thirty’ rule when she was five and asked for a boyfriend for Christmas.

Looking around she noticed all attention was on her even if the other adults in the room were making it seem like they weren’t listening while the children openly gawked. “Uhm,” she was cut off by Severus stepping into the room. Great, now she had to face all three Uncles. Where were Dora and Cissa when she needed them?

Severus hugged her quickly before taking a place by Regulus. “Who's the letter from Ali?” He asked her letting her know there was no getting out of it and that she was going to have to spill the beans.

“It’s from Blaise,” A look of amusement passed Regulus’s face, making her think that he knew what was in the letter already while Remus looked like he was going to snatch the letter out of her hands and read it himself if she didn’t hurry up.

“And what possibly could it say to have your cheeks looking like the inside of Gryffindor common room?” Regulus teased further.

She coughed trying to get her nerves resealed. “He was saying that we need to catch up before school starts, and invited me to come and stay with him and Mrs. Zabini for a night this week.”

Remus grunted while Regulus smiled. Ali had to hide a giggle as she noticed all the other mouths in the room had dropped to the floor. Ali knew that except for Hermione and Harry the Weasley’s never stayed or had anyone else with them.

“Can I, please? His mother said we would have separate rooms and she will be there as well as the house-elves. We only got to see one another once this summer. He said if I can’t he could come here, but honestly, I think the first option is better. Please?” She pulled out her best puppy eyes and pouty lip. She was not above begging for it but didn’t want to do so with everyone staring at her.

Regulus looked over at Remus. Ali could see the silent conversation going on between them. Regulus’s head inclined slightly toward Ali which she hoped to Merlin was a good thing. Remus looked back at his niece with a look in his eye she couldn’t read. “Rosalynn said you’ll have separate rooms?” Ali nodded her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “And you’ll stay in them?” Once again she nodded, although she knew that they more than likely would be in the family room till late hours in the night. He looked back at Regulus, “you have no problems with her going?”

“No, I already knew about it. Rosalynn wrote about two days ago. If she wants to go, that's fine. You know Rosalynn will look after her as she does Blaise. And the Heavens know that boy would jump in front of the Knight Bus for Ali.” Regulus chuckled at Ali's shocked expression.

“Y-you knew? Why didn’t you say anything?” Ali struggled to get the words out.

“Rosalynn said Blaise wanted to ask you. She was just giving me a heads up, knowing how Remus is with boys and you. You know we talked quite often, Als.” Regulus winked at her.

“You may go,” Remus stated. She was shocked she didn’t have to put up more of a fight.

“WHAT?” Sirius shrieked. He knew that Regulus would let her go to the Death Eaters house, but Remus? He thought he could count on his ‘friend’ to at least say no. “You’re letting her go to the Death Eaters house? AGAIN? Who's also a boy and staying the night? Are you mad?”

Remus looked at Sirius with disdain, “No I am not. She is a good girl and Blaise has been her friend for years. Rosalynn loves her as much as we do and would never let anything happen. And for God's sake quit calling everyone a Death Eater.”

“Outrageous.”

“Sirius, you have no say in what she does. You gave that up last night. Ali is a good girl who makes good choices. Not only that but she also deserves a little something since she got Headgirl this year, don’t you think?” Regulus smirked as he saw the Granger girl's face fall.

“You got Headgirl?” Hermione whispered to Ali with disbelief lacing her voice.

“Yeah, I did. Draco got Headboy I believe, but it may be Theo. I haven’t asked yet.”

“Why do you and Draco get Head of Houses? Why not Hermione and -“ Ali cut her dear Godbrother off.

“And who? You? Ron? Why would any of you get Head of Houses with all the trouble you bring in? Sneaking out, stealing things, picking fights. We do have the highest marks in most classes as well as treat others equally unlike the likes of you.”

If looks could kill Ali would be dead three times over. In all honesty, she kinda felt bad for the younger Weasley boy seeing as all of his older brothers, bar Fred and George had been Headboy. But then she thought about the trouble he and his friends had caused her and her friends as well as others over the years. Harry preached about equality among the houses but she had witnessed many times when younger Slytherins were picked on by Gryiffndors. Hufflepuffs generally didn't have any problems with the other houses so long as everyone was being just. Ravenclaws tended to keep to themselves unless it really involved them. Whereas Slytherins preferred to stand up to those picking on other Slytherins especially the younger ones. Slytherins were always made out to be the bullies when in general if you got to know them people would notice that they are a lot more than what their parents used to be.

Ally had heard the stories of how mean James and Sirius were to those in Slytherin even if they never did anything to them. She believed in harmless fun could be had pulling pranks, but tricking someone into going to a place where a werewolf was was downright cruel. She had no doubts in her mind that James and Sirius were once good people like her Uncle Remus is now, but seeing as Sirius still acts like a child those doubts were becoming known.

“I just think that Slytherins shouldn’t be Head of House when all you will do is favor your own, and treat everyone else like dirt,” Ron stated.

“Ronald Weasley! How dare you say such a thing?!” Molly exclaimed.

“It’s alright Mrs. Weasey. I am used to hearing such things come from them and others in their house,” Ali looked Ron in the eyes, “You seem to forget that I’m a Ravenclaw, not a Slytherin. I do not favor anyone and will not when I start Head Girl duties but know this. I will give you as many detentions as you deserve if you are caught bullying, harassing, belittling, any of the other houses. You may think that Gryiffndors are the bravest of the houses and maybe you are in some ways, but you are cowardly in others. Maybe some Slytherins are as bad as you make them seem, but Harry,” she turned her head slightly to the side, “you seem to forget just which house Peter Pettigrew was in when he was the one who betrayed your parents. And Regulus was in Slytherin but seems to be more loyal to his friends and family than that rat was.”

“It seems that Alianova has given you all something to think about as you're getting ready for bed,” Molly stated looking at all the children present in the room. Her face grew red when she saw that none of them had moved a muscle. “Now.”

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, jumped from their seats and booked it to the stairs scared of Mrs. Weasley’s wrath. At some point, Charlie, Fluer, and Bill came back from scouting. Charlie ruffled Ali’s hair causing her to grin. “Good job, kid. You’ll make a great Head Girl.” Bill and Fleur nodded in agreement. “Nothing happened while we were out. We’ll give a full debrief tomorrow, but we will be heading to bed as well. Good night everyone.”

Molly walked to Ali and pulled her up out of her chair before placing both hands on Ali’s pale cheeks. “Don’t you worry, dear, I will be talking with all of them in the morning. You made a lot of valid points, and I for one am proud that you are Head Girl.”

She kissed her forehead before taking her husband to go to bed after waving her wand to get the kitchen clean once again. Arthur offered Ali a small smile before disappearing behind his wife. Sirius scoffed at the behavior which everyone heard but chose to ignore.

Ali turned to her three Uncles, waiting for the answer about going to her friends, and the scene that just played out in the kitchen.

“I am proud of you as well, Alianova. You have done excellent, and I know it is Remus and Regulus' decision about going to Blaises’, but I see no problem with it. I will stay in the guest room. Come get me if you need me. Good night, Ali.” He hugged her tightly, making Ali tear up slightly at the thought of Servus being proud of her. It also made her giddy at the thought of rubbing it in Draco’s face since Severus is his Godfather and never said such a thing to him.

Remus followed after Servus, wrapping his niece in a bear hug around her shoulders. The height difference amusing Regulus to no end seeing as Ali only came about midway in Remus’s chest. “You may go as long as it’s okay with Reg, and you stay in separate rooms. I am a little mad though that you didn’t tell me yourself about getting Head Girl, but I am still incredibly proud of you. No one deserves this more than you do, not even Harry.” The last part was whispered in her ear. He kissed her forehead, before heading to his room.

With the three Blacks being the only ones left in the room. “I don’t think you should go.” Sirius’s voice was venomous as he thought about his only child, his legacy, spending time with Death Eaters.

“It’s a good thing it doesn’t matter what you think isn’t it?” Regulus smirked at his older brother. He was not going to take this away from his child. “Ali, you may go so long as you stay in your separate rooms whenever the two of you decide to go to sleep because I know from having all your mates over it will be late.” He walked to Ali cradling her freckled face in his hands. “I am so proud to call you my daughter. Even after all that you have been through in your life you have still managed to form your own beliefs and thoughts as well as stand up for them. You deserve Head Girl over anyone else, and hopefully, you get to share it with one of your friends.”

Ali dove into her Uncle's chest. Tears welling up into her eyes at the thought that he really did think of her as his own even if she already knew it. It was nice to hear out loud. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you, dad.” She kissed his cheek before heading to her room to write Blaise.

Sirius felt his anger sore to new heights when he heard Ali call Regulus dad. He had enough courtesy to wait till she was out of earshot before grounding out, “We need to talk, Regulus.”

[mfingenius]

Hey, I’d love a drarry in 4th year where Draco is Harry’s second task and/or they go together to the Yule Ball (a lot of provocation between them!)

Harry's staring; logically, he knows he should hurry, knows he doesn't have time to simply float around, contemplating life, but Malfoy is there, floating motionlessly beside Hermione and Gabrielle Delacour and Harry is confused.

Cho was obviously Cedric's task; that had been clear enough even before Cedric had grabbed her - while Harry had just watched, as confused as he is now - and Hermione has to be Krum's. There's no Durmstrang student, and - as far as Harry knows - Krum only talks to Hermione.

Gabrielle Delacour is Fleur's. She's her sister, it's as simple as that.

Which means that whoever designed this Merlin forsaken task thought Malfoy was 'what he'd sorely miss'.

Where the fuck were they getting their information?

Harry's startled out of his silent shock when Krum pushes by, half transformed into a shark, and frees Hermione.

He gives him an odd look while he swims back up, which is quite an impressive feat with what is possibly the least expressive animal's head as his own.

Right.

Right.

He frees Malfoy with a quick Diffindo, and grabs his wrist so he won't simply go away while he looks around; his time must be almost up - he can almost feel it, the effect of the gillyweed beginning to fade, his lungs beginning to feel unpleasant with water in them - which means Fleur needs to show up to get her sister, soon, but she's just - not.

He looks at Malfoy's face; he looks unexpectedly young and - handsome, almost - like this. There's no denying his aristocratic nose and high cheekbones are appealing - at least to Harry, who doesn't know how Ron could possibly think Malfoy's 'weird-looking' - but Harry doesn't usually have time to appreciate it, since Malfoy immediately ruins it by opening his mouth.

Fleur is still not showing up.

Gabrielle, who looks exactly like Fleur, looks like a kid even to Harry; if he'd been deemed too young to participate in the games, why is everyone in this task as young as he is, or younger?

Surely, he tries to reassure himself, the heads of school wouldn't let them rot here.

Even if the egg said they would, even if it said it 'wouldn't come back'. These are children.

Harry only has to ponder half a moment more before he decides that he doesn't trust adults that much.

A matching Diffindo frees Gabrielle, and he drags her and Malfoy up with merepeople grabbing at his feet, with his lungs filling with water, heart bursting in his chest and vision darkening at the edges because he can't breathe and he can't get out and-

He breaks the surface and hears screaming, and he's coughing up water and maybe blood - or maybe it's not his, but someone is bleeding, because the water around them is turning pink - and he wants to sink right back down, wants to rest.

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle!" Fleur's shrieking is louder than anyone else's, but Harry thinks that's fair; he's never had a sibling, but he can't imagine thinking they were going to die because of a school approved activity.

Everyone else is cheering, he realizes; they're happy for him, for them, they think this is good.

He manages to catch sight of Cedric's, Krum's, and Fleur's faces, and none of them look like they're feeling anything even slightly positive.

"Potter?" He finally looks at Malfoy. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

Harry can't help the laugh that bubbles out of him. What is he doing? What was Malfoy doing, representing the thing Harry would sorely miss? Dumbledore - or the merepeople, or whoever made this decision - could've taken Ron, could've taken any Weasley, hell, they could've taken bloody Mrs. Norris, and Harry thinks they would've been a better choice than Malfoy.

He tightens his grip around Malfoy's and Gabrielle's arms, and begins dragging them towards the other contestants; as soon as they're there, hands are reaching in and pulling them all out, wrapping them in blankets, and Fleur is hugging Gabrielle and crying and Malfoy's teeth are chattering and Harry can still feel water in his lungs and he can't think.

"Merlin, Harry, you're bleeding!" Hermione exclaims.

Harry looks down and realizes she's right; the merepeople got him with their claws.

"Come on," she says, cheeks red from the cold. "We'll get you to the infirmary."

*

Slytherins keep making kissy sounds at him in the hallways, and it gets worse whenever Malfoy is around; he'd think this is Malfoy's doing, except the bastard looks just as embarrassed as Harry - if not more than Harry - when it happens.

They can't quite even look at each other anymore, let alone argue, because if they even say a word to each other, there are three dozen people suddenly watching.

Which is how Harry finds out he would kind of miss Malfoy if he were gone.

In the totally not friendly, even less romantic, entirely normal rival kind of way.

Obviously.

He likes to think Malfoy misses him a little bit too.

Which is, of course, why Harry seeks him out after checking the Marauders' map and making sure there's no one else within a hundred meters of them.

"What the-" Harry has to cover Malfoy's mouth, because if not, it would ruin his plan of quietly shoving Malfoy into the broom shed.

"Shut up, you git," he says, looking around and shutting the door behind him; Malfoy bites his hand, hard, and Harry muffles a yelp, pulling it back.

Malfoy smirks, looking quite pleased with himself, and Harry glares.

"What do you want?" Malfoy asks, looking around and upturning his nose; his features are decidedly less appealing when he's talking; Harry wants to shut him up. "Why'd you bring me here? It's disgusting, Potter."

And yeah, okay, the broom shed isn't quite nice - it has just as many spiders and much more dust than Harry's old cupboard under the stairs - but it's not like they could talk anywhere else.

"I didn't want other people listening," he says.

Malfoy looks at him incredulously. "Listening to what?"

Which makes Harry realize that he didn't really have a plan after this, and yeah, it might've been a bad idea.

What does he want to do? Talk to Malfoy? Apologize? For what? Insult the bastard? Argue? It wouldn't be too hard, considering Malfoy's a pointy, contrarious git, but Harry suddenly doesn't know why he dragged Malfoy in here, either.

He can't let Malfoy know that.

"You never thanked me," he says.

Malfoy's look turns more incredulous, first, and then his eyes narrow furiously, jaw tightening.

"Thanked you for what, Potter?" he asks, crossing his arms. "Making sure every single person in this awful school thinks we're secretly dating? Making sure I can't get down a bloody hallway without some idiotic Gryffindor asking me something beyond inappropriate about you? Making my parents think there's something going on between us so they're threatening to disown me?"

"What?" Harry asks, immediately thrown off. "Your parents would disown you if we were dating?"

Malfoy looks taken aback, like he didn't expect himself to say that, and he looks away. "Forget it. I'm not thanking you."

"Your parents would disown you for dating me?" Harry asks, still stuck on that fact. "Why?"

Malfoy looks troubled, and he shakes his head, looking at the door like he wants to flee; unfortunately for him, Harry's blocking it.

"Are we done here?" he asks. "I'd really rather not spend time in a shed with you."

"Oh, please, you'd love to spend time in a shed with me." Harry rolls his eyes, because he, too, is easy to goad into an argument, as long as it's Malfoy doing the goading.

"Yeah? What part of this do you think I'm loving?" Malfoy asks drily.

Harry doesn't have an answer except for the realization that he himself isn't having the worst time of his life. He isn't even having the worst time he's had today.

"Arguing," he says dumbly.

Malfoy looks at him incredulously again, and then he shakes his head, almost to himself.

"Go to the infirmary, Potter," he says, sliding past him, twisting himself in an almost impressive way so he doesn't touch Harry at all. "Tell Pomfrey to check for head injuries."

"Would you care if I did have a head injury?" Harry asks, already knowing he doesn't have one but not willing to quite reject the idea, because he's enjoying time with Malfoy. He's enjoying arguing with Malfoy.

Malfoy snorts and rolls his eyes. "Sure, Potter. If you end up in the infirmary with a head injury, I'll visit and even bring you flowers, I pinky swear."

He leaves the shed, and leaves Harry blinking after him.

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Commissions

[fandom-imagines]

Little Miss Favourite

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Teacher!Snape X Legal!Granger!Reader 

Warnings: Teacher x student relationship x)

Words: 2.5k 

It would be a lie to say that the Granger sisters weren’t incredibly smart, anyone could see it. Whilst Hermione, the younger sibling, was exceptionally talented with spells, Y/N was talented in the art of potion making; not that she wasn’t talented at other things also.

Due to her consistently high scores in potions, Y/N had caught the attention of her favourite teacher: Severus Snape, despite his annoyance towards the younger Granger. Whilst he found Hermione insufferable, Y/N was more than tolerable in his honest opinion; not that he would ever admit that to anyone, maybe not even himself.

Perhaps it was her confident personality, her boldness or her smarts, Severus would never know. Of course, it wasn’t only him that had his attention focused on her, many people did. Those people included Hermione’s friends. Y/N knew this, how could she not? The way Harry did his best to show off whilst Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron got all embarrassed, it was obvious; at least to her. Even though her personalist screamed confident, she wasn’t mean like other people at Hogwarts, not often at least.  

“Morning Professor,” her words were sweet as she greeted the dark-haired man, early as always.

“Good morning, Miss Granger,” Snapes tone was kinder than usual, but without it being clear. To anyone else, it would seem normal.

“Got a date for the Yule Ball yet, sir?” Whilst her question was genuine and not flirtatious, Severus couldn’t help but wish it was.

“Why would I bother with something as childish as having a date?”

“I shall take that as a no,”

He could hear the stool she usually seated at drag out from beneath the desk before she seated herself on top of it.

“What about you Miss Granger?” Y/N, who had forgotten what she had previously asked him, was confused at his question. “Surely someone like you must have a date,”

A sight blush ran up her cheeks at his words, eyes wide.

“No sir,” she giggled. “Not interested in anyone that’s asked me.”

Her words caught his attention, eyes glancing towards her for a split second before returning to the work he was marking. It was Harry Potters; he could almost roll his eyes.

“Why is that?”

“Immature men that feel like I should go with them because they’re popular? No thank you, give me a mature and unentitled man any day,”

For the second time in five minutes her words caught his attention, suddenly distracted by what she had said rather than being distracted by Potter’s work.

“I see,”

It wasn’t long until the rest of her class began to pile into the dungeon, taking their usual seats as Fred and George came to sit beside her at their typical desk.

“Morning, Y/N/N,” the greeted in perfect synergy, almost as though it had been rehearsed but she knew better than to expect that and simply laughed.

“We heard something,” Fred began.

“Potter is wanting to ask you to be his date to the Yule Ball.” George finished, the twins laughing at Y/N’s shocked face.

“Please say you’re joking,” she pleaded, desperately hoping that it wasn’t true. “He’s so much younger than me!”

“Oh and Hermione is going with Krum,”

“This day just gets worse and worse,”

“Weasleys, detention.” A harsh voice interrupted their conversation as to be expected.

“But sir!” They groaned, once again in unison. “She was talking too!”

“Not as much as you two.”

*

The great hall was quiet, everyone there working on their essays, everyone being the fourth years. Fortunately for her, Y/N was allowed to sit and work alongside the younger students having been given permission by Professor Snape himself.

“Hey Y/N,” Harry’s quiet voice pulled her attention away from the parchment in front of her. “I was just wondering-“ His words were soon cut off by a hand shoving his head into his own parchment.

“Silence,”

“Yes, Professor Snape.”

An amused smirk covered Y/N’s lips as she turned her own attention back to the work in front of her that was soon to be finished.

“Later guys,” she shot the trio one last smile as she walked towards Snape, handing him her essay with a small smile, one he almost wished to return.

“I’m sure this will be as excellent as always, Granger.”

“I sure hope so, sir.”

With one final nod, Severus dismissed her.

*

Music blasted throughout the hall as the Tri-wizard champions begun to dance with their partners. Y/N and her own date, who ended up being George due to both forgetting about the dance until the night before, stood laughing at Ron’s dress robes.

“He looks like our great aunt,” George chuckled, his words making Y/N snort in amusement.

“Poor kid. He looks so embarrassed,” she giggled.

“Well, looks like its our turn to dance. Care to join me, Granger?” George grinned, offering him her hand which she gladly took.

“After you, but can you even dance?”

“Nope,”

“Good, me neither.”

Their dance was horrendous, and they were both glad when the music ended, the pair running off the dance floor in laughter, hands still together.

“That was- “George began, only to have his sentence finished by his dance partner.

“Dreadful?”

“Yeah,”

Their fit of laughter was cut short by another voice joining the conversation. “Nice dancing guys!”

“Shut up, Fred!” This time it was Y/N and George’s turn to speak in unison, something that triggered a smirk to grow on Fred’s lips.

“Alright, alright, calm down you two,”

*

“I almost feel bad for him,” Fred chuckled, catching George and Y/N’s attention as they followed his gaze.

“I would but he gave us detention and not her, talk about favouritism!”

An idea popped into Y/N’s head, as she removed herself from the twins’ arms.

“Where are you going, Y/N/N?” Fred asked. “Wait are you-“

“I feel bad for him, okay!”

The twins burst into laughter as they realised her plan.

“I bet you my entire allowance that she can’t get him to dance,” Fred whispered as they watched Y/N walking towards Snape.

“You’re on,”

*

“Evening, Professor,” Y/N greeted, desperately trying her best to not show her nervousness.

“Good evening, Miss Granger,” He returned her greeting, turning his attention fully to her. “Shouldn’t you be with your date?”

“George? No, we both forgot we needed dates, so we went together. He’ll cope on his own,” The girl giggled, glancing back at said man to see both twins smirking at her. “You look lonely, want to dance?”

“Do I look like the sort of person to dance?”

“Do I?” She joked, enjoying the small smirk that pulled up at his lips. “It’ll be one dance and then I’ll let you go back to enjoying your own company. It’s a teacher and student dance anyway!”

*

“No way…” Fred gasped, watching as Snape and Y/N headed to the dancefloor.

“I knew she could do it! You now owe me your entire allowance,”

“Shit,”

*

“See it wasn’t too bad, was it, Professor?” Y/N giggled, aware of the fact that everyone had been staring at her dancing with Snape.

“You stepped on my foot at least three times,”

“I said I don’t dance!”

She celebrated a silent victory as Snape shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“This is true,”

“Welp, I’ll leave you to enjoy your own company again!” The older Granger grinned, giving him one final nod as she headed by to the twins who were still in shock.

“Shut your mouth, Fred. You’ll catch flies,” Y/N smirked, placing her hand on Fred’s chin to shut up mouth that had been open since she managed to convince Snape to dance.

“Did you bewitch him or something?! How on earth did you manage to get him to dance?” George asked in shock.

“Night guys, thanks for the fun time.” She winked, downing the rest of her drink that she had left before leaving the hall to head to bed.

*

“Miss Granger, you’re late,” Snapes’ words ran throughout the dungeon.

It was strange, how he knew it was her before he had even turned around to face her.

“Sorry Professor, I had a detention.”

“Well now you have another, stay after class.”  

*

“Good luck, Snapes detentions are horrible,” George chuckled, giving Y/N a reassuring pat on the back.

“Yeah, we would know, Miss Favourite,” Fred chimed in with his typical teasing tone.

“Thanks, that makes me feel better. I’ll see you guys later,”

“Good luck.”

The second everyone had left the classroom, Snapes attention was on her.

“So why did you get a detention?” His words were questioning, not malicious. It was almost as though he was genuinely curious.

“I got in a duel,” Y/N shook her head with a slight laugh. “Malfoy was being, well Malfoy. So, yeah.”

A grin covered her lips as Snape shook his head in slight amusement; it was cute in a way.

“Next time don’t get caught, it makes my classes a lot easier,”

“Got ya, Professor,”

“Good, you may leave,”

*

“That was quick, did he have to leave?” Fred, who had been waiting outside for about two minutes, asked.

“Little miss favourite,” were her only words as she shot Fred a wink, just like she had done at the ball a few weeks ago.

“I swear he has a crush on you or something,”

“Yeah, imagine. Professor Severus Snape developing a crush on a student, nice one George. Why are you two even here?”

The twins, who had been caught red-handed, shared an amused look, quickly rushing into action by grasping Y/N’s arms, tugging her along.

“We need someone to test our latest concoction!” They spoke in unison.

“No, no way! Merlin knows what you’ve put in that!”

“Either you help us, or we’ll tell everyone about your little crush on the potions professor,”

“Fine.”

*

“Fred and George Weasley, you come here this instance!” Y/N’s voice shrieked, her words echoing throughout the entire Gryffindor common room.

“Run!” Was all she heard, followed by laughter and footsteps leaving through the portrait.

Y/N rushed after them, hell bent on causing as much annoyance to them as they had to her.

“I will kill you!”

“That’s not very nice now, is it? You love us really,” George teased her once more before darting away.

“George Weasley I am faster than you and you know it!”

It wasn’t a lie, Y/N had been, and always will be, faster than him. No matter how many pranks they had to run away from, the twins would never be able to outrun her.

“What have you done to my hair?!” Y/N demanded to know the second she caught both boys by the collar of their robes. “Please say this comes out, I don’t want my hair to be yellow and green forever, I hate it!”

“Well you see, Y/N/N,” Fred chuckled with a hint of nervousness. “We don’t know, you’re our first consumer!”

“Fred, I am begging you, I look like a lollipop.”

“I’m sure you taste as sweet as one too, Y/N,” a Slytherin by-passer commented, clearly having heard the entire conversation.

“Shut th-“

“Detention and ten points from Slytherin,”

Fred, George and Y/N shared a terrified look as Professor Snape stood behind the trio.

“Trying a new style are we, Granger? It is quite bold,” despite the blunt words, there was an almost undetectable teasing tone laced in his words.

“Not willingly, Professor,”

“Then why did you do it?”

“They blackmailed me!”

“With what?”

The twins smirked at each other, as though they were sent on a mission to ruin her day.

“She has a crush, Professor,” George smirked at the, now multi-coloured haired, girl.

“George Weasley!” In a swift movement, Y/N rushed towards the ginger, only to be stopped by a hand holding her robe. “Professor let me go!”

“Isn’t she cute, Fred?”

“Adorable, George,”

“I hate you both.” Y/N, who had accepted her fate of being held my Snape (which didn’t seem too bad in all honesty), sighed.

“You love us really,”

“You wish, Fredrick.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“If you three have quite finished,” Snape interrupted their quarrel. “I think I know how to remove that colour from your hair, Miss Granger. Follow me.” There was no room for debate as the potions master turned and rushed towards his classroom.

“I’ll kill you,” Y/N mouthed before rushing after him.

*

“Sit,” Snape said, lightly kicking a stool out towards Y/N before walking towards a cupboard that, she assumed, had potions or at least ingredients for them.

“Are you sure this will work, Professor? I really don’t want anyone else to see me like this,”

“You mean you don’t want your crush to see you like this?” He said with a raised eyebrow.

“He already has,” her words were a mere murmur, but it was one Severus had heard.

“The Slytherin?” Snape asked whilst he grabbed a weird looking liquid. “Here drink.”

“Merlin, no. I don’t even know who that was. This tastes disgusting,”

“Do you want the colour gone or not?”

“Sorry,”

Snape let out a small sigh, his arms crossing by habit.

“Potter, perhaps?”

“Are we playing guess the crush or something?”

“Well, we have time. This needs a second dose in around thirty minutes,”

Now it was Y/N’s turn to sigh.

“It’s probably not a good idea to play this game with me,” she joked. “I’m quite competitive,”

“You would have done well in Slytherin,”

“I doubt it,”

“Under me you would have done brilliantly. You are doing brilliantly already.”

A bright red blush ran up Y/N’s cheeks at his use of words.

“You should be careful what you say, Professor. Someone might interpret your words wrong,”

“That someone being you?”

“Perhaps,”

“I see.”

An awkward silence filled the air, something that was uncommon between the pair.

“I’m sorry, that was a bit straight-forward,”

“Yeah, it was.”

“Sorry,”

“Don’t be,”

Whilst his reply was short, the words caught her attention, her head spinning to face him.

“Don’t be?”

“I said what I said.” Came his simple response.

“I don’t understand,”

“Maybe little miss favourite should do some thinking,”

“Oh…” She whispered. “Oh! Here I am thinking I’m just a teacher’s pet,”

He smiled slightly. “Not quite, Miss Granger,”

Footsteps echoed throughout the dungeon as he walked towards Y/N, his fingers lightly pushing against her chin to bring her to face him, her cheeks as red as flames.

“So, I’m your little miss favourite?”

“Clearly,”

[hello-everyfandom]

“I just got you this because I saw it and thought of you!”

Warnings: Light swearing

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Words: 3.9k

Summary: Your love language is Gift Giving

(This is apart of my series “Love Languages”, please check it out!)

“Close your eyes.”

“Should I be worried?” George asked quite warily. 

“Will you just-” you huffed, “Please?”

“At least let me know what I’ve done wrong before you jinx my tongue to the top of my mouth.” George jokingly pleaded.

“If you know what’s best for you,” you lowered your voice to match his joke, “you’ll close your eyes.”

“Alright, but I’m trusting you,” George placed a grin on his lips, the dimple of his left cheek becoming more and more prominent. 

“Now, hold out your hands,” you said feeling more and more excited.George hesitantly put his hands out in front of him and jokingly flinched when you touched him. His comedic flinch made you laugh as you scanned him over to ensure his eyes were shut. Satisfied with George’s compliance, you slowly reached into your bag to pull out a wrapped gift. When it was safely in his hands, George’s fingers crinkled around the wrapping paper. He opened his eyes and saw you looking excitedly from the gift in his hands and to his confused face. 

Instantly, George began to sweat. Had he forgotten an anniversary? Or a birthday? Or some other holiday? 

He cursed in his mind, fuck fuck fuck fuck.

“Go on then!” you smiled, “open it!”

George looked uncertain as he slowly unwrapped the gift revealing a small box. He lifted the box to see a small shaped coin. “It’s... uh.” He asked, picking it up and fiddling it with his fingers.

“It’s a coin!” you giggled at his confused reaction, “I bought it when I was in Russia over the summer to visit my cousin at Durmstrang.

“Oh! It! It is a coin! I love it!” George moved to pull you in a hug before you chuckled and pushed him away.

“It’s not just a coin. It’s a coin that has been enchanted.” You pointed to the head on the coin, “When you flip it, it’ll tell you whether or not someone is near you. See?” You took it out of his hand and flipped it in your hand, immediately it flipped to Heads. “For pranking, yeah?”

George looked at the coin in wonder and then again at your adoring face. “I... I love it.” He put a hand on your cheek and leaned to press a loving kiss to your lips. “But, I...”

“What is it?” you asked, holding his hand to your cheek.

“I’m so sorry, love. I think I... I think I forgot our anniversary or birthday or... I don’t. I���m so unbelievably sorry!” George spewed out.

“What!” you exclaimed in surprise, “No! No, no. Our anniversary isn’t until October!” you began to laugh, “I just got you this because I saw it and thought of you!”

George let out a breath of relief before feeling tense once again, “But, I didn’t get you anything...”

You pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand, “I don’t expect you to! It was just something for my love, that’s all.” you looked up to see George’s concern written within his brows, “Really! I just got it for you because I thought it would be nice.”

George shook his worry and began to smile, “I love you, you know that?”

“Oh, I know. I’m the most glorious girlfriend in the entirety of the world.”

“And so humble as well.” George grinned before giving you another long kiss. 

George grew up with seven siblings. While he grew up with hand-me-downs and knitted clothing from his mother, you grew up on the richer side of the Wizarding World. He wasn’t used to receiving expensive gifts and frankly felt a little uncomfortable and insecure. All the gifts you had given him must have cost a fortune, something he would never truly acquire. And although he loved his family and his upbringing, he cannot help but feel shameful at the fact that he cannot shower you in gifts as you did to him. 

It began with a new quill, then some pranking supplies, and soon the smaller gifts like the flowers you collected for him and the ties you bought turned into new robes and wand adjustments from Olivander’s. He accepted them graciously and sometimes even refused gifts as they seemed to be too expensive. With your assurance, he took them with a smile on his face but his head hanging low. 

With your anniversary coming up, George could feel the hole in his pocket becoming larger and larger and the money he had saved up had gone to ensure the twins’ ability to start their own joke shop. 

“I have no idea what to get her,” George flopped down on the couch. 

Ginny, who was sat to his left, looked up from her book.“What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrow at her miserable older brother and looked to his twin who sat on his right.

“I mean,” George groaned and placed a hand over his eyes, “What do you get the most perfect girl in the world? What do you get her that she doesn’t already have?”

Fred began to laugh, “It’s happened, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, I think it has,” Ginny chimed in.

“What the bloody hell are you two talking about?”

“Georgie, can’t you see?” Ginny grinned teasingly, “You’re whipped.”

“Like Mum’s Christmas cream, you’re entirely whipped,” Fred added.

George sat up instantly and looked at his siblings with annoyance, “Well, we already knew that!”

Fred and Ginny joined together in laughter, noting how George’s vein is popping out of his forehead. 

“Will you two stop your bloody, dumb, shitty teasing and just-” George groaned again and flopped back on the couch, “Help me?” He asked almost pathetically.

“How much did you want to spend?” Ginny asked, quieting her laughing.

“I don’t know! I just know that I don’t have enough.” George moaned.

“A necklace for the lady, perhaps?” Fred suggested making George shake his head.

“She’s already got enough necklaces and jewelry to fill an entire block on Diagonalley.”

“New quill?” Ginny added,

“No, she’s got her school supplies shipped from some store in America.”

Ginny and Fred began to suggest more and more things to which George either did not like because they were not “you” or because you already had them.

“Oh for fucks sake,” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “What the hell can you buy?”

Fred thought for a moment, putting his fingers to his lip as he usually did deep in thought. “What if you don’t buy her a gift?”

“And what? Don’t get her anything at all?” George said sarcastically, “Good plan, you bellend.”

Fred reached over the arm of his chair and gave his twin a good wallop on the shoulder, “No, you dickhead. Don’t buy her anything.”

Ginny caught onto Fred’s idea and nodded, “That’s actually not a bad idea, Georgie, don’t buy her anything.”

“Hello??” George yelled, “Are you two not thinking right?”

“George, stop being a smart arse,” Ginny berated, “Get her something homemade instead.”

George opened one of his eyes to look at his sister who stared back at him in annoyance. “Oh.”

“Yes, oh,” Ginny mocked, “Make her something.”

George groaned again making Ginny and Fred roll their eyes. “But I can’t make anything but dung bombs.”

“Then, you’re out of luck,” Ginny stood up, dusting off her pants. 

Before she could leave, George bolted up and grabbed her wrist. “Gin!” He yelled, “You know how to knit, yeah?”

“Uhm,” she looked to Fred for assistance, “I guess, Mum tried to teach me once, but I-”

“Brilliant!” George grinned, feeling his frustration seep away, “Then you’ll teach me!”

“Georgie,” Ginny rolled her eyes, “I don’t really even know how to knit myself, nevertheless be able to teach you.”

“But, you’ll help?” He asked, putting his puppy dog face on.

Ginny looked at her older brother, her weakness, and let out a sigh, “Fine, whatever.” George shouted in victory, “But, you have to also write Mum and ask her because she knows more than I do. And... you have to tell Y/N that the idea was mine.”

George reached up and kissed his sister’s cheek making her scream in disgust, “Yes, done and done! You are the best sibling in the entirety of the world.”

George turned sharply and sprinted up the stairs to write a letter to his Mum.

“What the hell am I then?” Fred crossed his arms, “Toasted squid?” 

The following days were spent with Ginny and George trying, and rather unsuccessfully, to knit a sweater for you. Fred watched in the background making witty and snide comments. Molly had written back with such haste that Pigwidgeon was nearly on his last breath before arriving at Hogwarts. She sent many words of encouragement and told him that he was the absolute “sweetest” which was in large contrast to Ginny’s frustrated and rather harsh criticism.

“No! You’re supposed to go over not, George! Have you even been listening this entire time?”

“Of course I have,” George said defensively, “It’s just confusing, that’s all.”

“Why can’t we just use magic?” Ginny whined.

“Because then it wouldn’t be homemade, hence the word, home, little sister.” George frowned, “What does it matter anyway? She won’t like it.” 

“Georgie,” Fred pushed off of the wall he was leaning on, “Stop being such a worry-wart.” He patted a hand on his shoulder, “Y/N is the sweetest girl, just because she’s richer than Merlin knows and can afford whatever she wants and doesn’t have to care about-”

“Alright, get on with it, Fred,” George warned.

“She’ll love it no matter what.” Fred finished, sending his twin a much needed reassuring smile.

“I hope so,” George sighed and picked up the needles once again. “Now, what the hell do I do again?”

By the time your anniversary approached, you were nearly bouncing with joy. You had gotten George the perfect present, something he’d never ever expect. Thankfully, your anniversary landed on a Sunday so you woke up and rushed to get ready in the morning. George waited, anxiously, on the stairs for you until you emerged. 

Dressed in jeans and a nice blouse, George was nearly breathless upon seeing you. He gulped as you walked down, seeing the gold necklace your parents had gifted you for your last birthday and pearl earrings they’d given you after getting amazing marks on your exams. 

“Hi,” you said softly, locking your fingers with his.

“Hi, darling,” he said back, pressing a kiss on your cheek. 

“Happy anniversary.”

“Happy anniversary,” you sighed contently and began to walk to the portrait.

“Now, what shall we do on our momentous day of love?” George asked, swinging your joined hands. 

You pulled your bag up closer on your shoulder and smiled back.“I think,” you paused, “we should go on a walk. A long, romantic walk.”

“Then a walk we shall take!” George led the way, pulling you through the corridors making you giggle. 

It was a delightful day spent with kisses and fond memories. You snapped a few photos of your boyfriend with the old camera you had bought.

“Now, I’ll never understand,” George raised his eyebrow, “Why you have a camera older than time itself rather than one of those new, fancy-schmancy cameras.”

You looked admiringly at the photo your camera just printed. As it developed, you could see the two of you, cheeks pressed together, you with a shy smile and George with his tongue sticking out. Another photo you had taken moments before was a snapshot of George’s lips pressed to your cheek and you could just make out the blushing on your face.

“Well,” you looked back up at your boyfriend, “I just happen to love old, worn things I suppose. Why do you think I’m with you?” you added, teasingly.

“Oi,” he defended, “ ‘m only a few months older than you, love. And I’m not worn, I’m newer than a baby’s bottom. You’re the only girl ‘ve been with.” 

“Only? As in there will be more?” you asked, a taunting tone on your tongue. George looked at you, as lovingly and as gentle as he ever could, and thought nothing more of the life you two would have. Happy, content, any other words that describe a healthy and romantic relationship. His thoughts began to waver at the idea of how he’d only be able to afford a small flat, that is if the joke shop even took off in the first place. He thought of all the expensive things he could never afford and how you may resent him. As you looked at him, you thought of the happy children you’d have and the copious amounts of dogs and cats you’d care for. George swallowed harshly.

“Only.” He repeated. You blushed once again and leaned to kiss him. The feeling of your touch on his made George fall quicker, deeper, and madly in love. 

After dinner in the Great Hall, in which George absolutely refused for anyone to sit next to or in front of you in order to make it more “private,” the two of you were laid, cuddled on your bed. George could feel the anxiety and panic set in when he realized soon he’d be giving the girl of his dreams a disappointing gift. 

You hummed, sweet with content, and put your chin on his chest. “I’ve never been happier.”

“I’m so glad,” George ran his fingers through your hair, pushing the stray ones behind your ear. “But,” you said as you sat up, “I do believe anniversaries come with a certain type of exchange.”

“Oh?” George asked, sitting up as well. His fingers felt knotted and his throat was closing up. He had sneaked his gift in, awfully wrapped in some colorful parchment, and placed it under your bed.Be confident, George pleaded and tried his best to act cooly. 

“I’ll go first, may I please, please go first!” you begged. 

George bit his tongue, much preferring he’d go first in order to deal with the disappointment before anything and also give you a chance to dump his impoverished arse.

“Of course, darling,” he nodded making you squeal in delight. George breathed deeply and closed his eyes, holding his hands out as he usually did when you gave him gifts. In his hands, he could feel a box wrapped with a bow.

“Alright, go on!” you nodded eagerly. George let out a shaky breath before carefully removing the bow and lifting the lid. To his delight, he picked up a pair of wool socks that were embroidered with small hearts on the sides. “It’s-”

“Socks!” you finished for him, “Because you get cold feet, remember? Now, when you are playing Quidditch or cold at night, you can wear them and think of me!” George broke out in a grin and thanked the heavens for his girlfriend and all the luck in the world that it took for him to find her. “I love them.” 

“Really?” you asked, pointing at the hearts, “I did those myself!” 

“They look wonderful, I absolutely adore them.” He leaned and kissed you. 

The kiss was long as George put a hand on your neck to pull you closer. His lips moving against yours made butterflies take flight and your bones become weaker. As he pulled away, you rested your forehead on his trying to catch your breath.

“My turn?” George asked making you nod. George pulled out his crappily wrapped gift, that Ginny told him off for, and put it in the bed. 

“Oh! Wrapped it yourself, I see?” you teased. George nodded proudly, becoming more and more confident in his gift. 

As you lifted your fingers to rip the paper off, you paused and faced him with another sly smile.

“Alright! Okay, I was going to save it till the end of the night, but I simply cannot wait.” George’s eyes widened as you jolted off of the bed. “You didn’t think I only got you socks, did you?” you asked, moving towards the trunk at the end of your bed.

“No, wait, Dear, the socks are lovely, I don’t need another-”

“I know, I know, but I couldn’t help it!” you sent him a wink, “Now, this one is the actual gift.”

“Actual gift?” George stuttered.Pulling out a large object, larger than your entire frame, George clenched his jaw. You struggled a bit to put it on the bed but managed and sat down in front of him.

“Happy Anniversary, my love.” your voice made him wince a bit.

You watched in utter excitement as George began to slowly unwrap his gift. Removing all the paper, George nearly fainted seeing his gift. A new broom, one of the best in the world, something he’d never ever be able to buy for himself. A broom, costing more than Merlin knows galleons. 

“So!” you bounced, “Do you like it? I saw at your other games, that bludger took out part of the tail end of your broom and I could not live with myself if you had an accident due to a faulty broom! I went and got it myself,” you said proudly. 

“And! It’s the fastest, rarest, and nicest type of wood, with a partially enchanted seat to help you stay upright!”

George’s hands shook, holding the broom.

“I-”

“Speechless? That was my entire goal!” you raised your fist in victory. 

“Y/N-”

“I know! And, not to mention, now you can wear your socks during the game! Two gifts in one!”

“Y/N-”

“I debated on getting you new gloves, but they wouldn’t be shipped in till middle of November and-”

“Y/N,” George said softly but firmly making you look at him with concern. You had never seen this facial expression on George as his eyes were nearly welled with tears and his lip was red from his biting.

“What’s wrong?” you asked frantically, “is it the wrong size? I gave the shopkeeper your height and everything-”

“No,” George said, putting the broom to lean on the wall next to your bed. “I can’t take this.”

“What do you mean? Love, I got it for you!” you laughed, waving your hand.

“No, Y/N, I seriously cannot take this.” You frowned, 

George’s voice was shaky making your heart drop. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s too expensive-”

“Nonsense, I saved up for it!”

“Baby,” George said, small and timid, “I cannot accept any more expensive gifts from you.” 

“What do you mean?” you questioned, leaning forwards to grab one of his hands, “the price doesn’t matter to me, I literally could not care,”

“But I care.” George protested. 

You nearly began to cry as you saw a tear dripped down George’s cheek. You sat up so you were sitting on your knees and gingerly placed your hands on his cheeks.

“My love, what’s wrong? Won’t you tell me?” you whispered, rubbing soft strokes with your thumbs. 

“I...” George struggled to find the words to describe how awful he felt, “I cannot take your gifts. And... and I’ll never be able to give you these types of gifts.”

Your eyes widened in surprise before you began to furiously shake your head, “George Weasley, what in the world are you talking about?”

“I’ll never be able to give you expensive things like necklaces or pearls or nice perfumes or nice suppers at fancy restaurants. I’ll never be able to give you the gifts you deserve. You deserve to be treated like a princess or a queen or anything and I cannot give you that, I can’t.” George let out.

You thought of his words in utter disbelief. Never once did you ever think of George’s economic standing and neither did you care. 

“But you do treat me like a princess,” you encouraged, making George moan with more tears, “You do. You tuck me in when I’m all tired from classes and make me cuppa’s in the morning. You massage my shoulders when I’m stressed and you hold my hand when you know I’m anxious.” You pushed his head up so your eyes met, “I mean that, from the bottom of my heart. I don’t care if you cannot give me expensive gifts or fancy dinners or anything, I care that you love me and want me to be by your side.”

“But, you give me all these-”

“I do it because I love giving you gifts! I love seeing you smile. And not all my gifts are expensive, sometimes I give you flowers I’ve seen or biscuits from the Great Hall. My darling, you do not need to worry if I feel as though you cannot provide for me, because you provide more than enough for me. I don’t care about money or gifts or anything like that.” you assured. 

George went silent and you began to pepper his cheeks, nose, and forehead with kisses until he cracked and started to smile. 

“I’ve just got the best girlfriend ever, haven’t I?” George asked, pulling you onto his lap. 

You curled into his chest and nodded.

“Oh, absolutely.”

It was quiet between you two again until you chimed up, “Well... may I have my gift now?”

“Uhhh, it’s uhh,” George stuttered. “It’s not amazing.”

“Don’t care!” you grinned and picked up his gift. “I’m so excited, I could nearly pee myself.”

George jokingly shoved you, “Oi, blimey well don’t do that. Not while you’re sitting on me at least.” 

You shoved him back before opening his gift. George held his breath as you unraveled the present and saw his gift. Your heart nearly stopped. You picked up the sweater, moving the parchment aside, and placed it on your lap. The sweater was yellow and made with soft wool. On the front, there was a badly made daisy, the flowers you always got for him during the Spring. Touching the fabric softly, tracing over each petal you stared at.

“I know it isn’t much but-” Before George could finish his apology, you took him by surprise and wrapped your arms around his neck tightly. Pressing kisses on the crook of his neck, he could feel your smile.

“I absolutely love it.”

“Really?”

“With all my heart, I’ve never been given something handmade nor something so sweet.”

“I made it... myself.”You picked up the sweater and laughed, “I can tell. How long did it take you?”

George paused, thinking and smiling sheepishly, “A few weeks maybe.”

“And you made it all by yourself? No magic?”

“No magic,” George confirmed, “But, Ginny did help me... she and Fred helped me come up with the idea.”

You shifted in George’s lap, moving so you could toss off the blouse you were wearing and shrugging the sweater on. It was warm and smelled of honey and pine and the string he had used made you feel as if you were wrapped in a hug of his. 

“George... I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” 

George blushed a deep red as you kissed first his cheek and then his lips.

“You’re welcome, Darling. I’m just glad I’ve finally given you a good enough gift.”

“Well,” you kissed the skin of his neck, “I’ll wear it every day. But...”

“But?” George asked, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

“But, I think right now, I’d like it off,” you suggested, lowering your eyes at him.

“Off?” George asked confusedly before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh! Oh, off!”

“You’re so smart, aren’t you?” you snorted before pulling George in for another kiss.  

[comfortwriting]

A Triwizard Baby Part 4 - F.W

Masterlist, Requesting Rules, Writing Prompt Masterlist

Fred Weasley x Fem Reader

Part 4 of my ‘Triwizard Baby’ mini-series, please read Parts 1, 2, and 3 if you haven’t already. Want to be tagged? Let me know!

Warnings: Swearing, Mention vomiting, and food/eating.

"Girls" you sighed, watching them finally stop jumping on their beds and dropping their pillows "There's something I need to tell you."

You and Angelina shared a glance, she knew and so did you - you were finally ready, to tell the truth. Hiding this - hiding the truth about you and Fred had caused you enough pain, and the longer you decided to hide this, the worse the pain would get.

"What is it?" Katie asked, already concerned, no longer giggly or excitable.

Staring and picking at your fingernails, you finally looked each of your friends in the eyes, your heart thumping in your chest with each breath.

"I'm ready to tell you" you sighed again "who the father is."

They all stayed silent except Matt's little sister, "who is it?" she asked quietly.

"Fred," you blurted out, unable to hide his name for much longer "Fred Weasley is the father."

"I've told you" Fred hissed "don't bloody speak to me!" he stormed in front of George, stamping his feet, furious his backstabbing brother would dare to even speak to him.

Fred was exhausted from sleeping in the room of requirement alone and no one to talk to, he was pissed off with his brother, frustrated that you weren't his and that everyone around him avoided him as if he had a curse. For the first time in his life, he left as if he had run out of luck.

George grabbed him by the arm "Freddie, please-"

"No!" Fred shoved George's grip off him "You're jealous, you always have been."

George opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get a word in.

"You always have been, every girl I've been with, you've chased after when I'm done with them. You can't stand the fact I fucked her, and you've rubbed it in my face that you've knocked her up!" Fred's voice cracked "And I told you, I loved her!"

"Fred, I-"

"Do me a favour, Georgie, don't speak a word to me at the baby shower, unless you want a crib smashed against your stupid head!"

"Keep those eyes closed!" Angelina grinned, her hands covering your eyes as she walked you through the rented restaurant covered in banners, balloons, a buffet table and presents.

"I am!" you smirked, feeling slightly nervous, smelling the mouth-watering fruit juices and pies.

"Okay," Angelina smiled, removing her hands "open in three, two, one!"

Opening your eyes you looked across the huge room, your friends were all huddled together with party poppers, yelling "Surprise!" and pulling the string, confetti shooting across the room, Fred sat alone across the room, trying his hardest to show support and be happy for you, but his heartbreak was breaking through his persona better than he thought.

You were bombarded with presents for you and the baby: the new crib, clothes, socks, bottles, nappies, monitors, teddy bears, and blankets - you unwrapped everything which brought the biggest smile to your face and tears of happiness to your eyes.

Everyone made bets on whether you would have a girl or a boy, what time and day they would be born on, and how long the labour would be. Even you had to admit, you were having a good time and for the first time in a while, the smile on your face was genuine, not forced.

After hours of present opening, games, bets, and food, you and the girls cleaned up the confetti, empty plates and scrunched up wrapping paper. Fred slowly approached you and tapped you on the shoulder, turning around to look at him, your heart pained.

Tell him, everyone knows but him, just tell him!

"Freddie-"

"Y/N, can I have a moment?" he murmured.

The girls looked at the two of you standing in the middle of the room, they exchanged looks and nodded, leaving to give you both some privacy.

"I wanted to give this to you in private," Fred said softly, handing you a large faux dragon scale photo album "I ran out of time to wrap it, was up all night finishing it."

You stared down at the photo album and opened it, your heartbreaking with each turn of the page. Pictures of you and Fred throughout the years, followed by his little notes of when and where the picture was taken until you flicked to the empty pages, you stared up at him.

Tell him, now is a perfect time-

"Fred, please-"

"The blank pages are to fill with pictures of us and the baby," he said softly "that's if the father won't mind."

George entered the room again, not knowing his brother was still there.

"Y/N, I was thinking-" he stopped in his tracks, looking at his brother's face dropping.

"Congratulations, again." Fred walked away, pushing past his brother and out the door.

"They are Braxton Hicks, my dear." Madame Pomfrey waved her hand, helping you to your feet in the hospital wing.

Your hand rested on your bump "I'm sorry, what?"

After your little moment with Fred, your womb contracted and relaxed, disturbing your baby, causing it to lash out and kick against your tummy in discomfort from the contractions. You were frightened and sure you were going into labour and George rushed you to the hospital wing.

"Is she going to be okay?" George asked nervously.

"False labour pains" she replied "and if you go to the tournament tonight you'll be experiencing more of them!" she stressed.

"I can assure you I won't be doing backflips," you grumbled, "surely it will be safer for me if I sit down."

Madame Pomfrey held her nose up in the air, feeling slightly defeated "I can't stop you from going, but as long as you're sitting down and surrounded by a responsible group of friends, I don't see why you can't go."

"I'll take good care of her, I swear."

"Your brother couldn't!" Madame Pomfrey hissed "she's in this mess because of him, and I better not see you two back in here until that baby is ready!"

The loud band played along as everyone got seated high up in the stands, the girls on your left, and George on your right, you held onto his hand, still on edge from the sudden Braxton Hicks. You rested your head against his shoulder, Fred stared at the back of your head, his hands bunched into fists, regretting his decision to sit towards the back.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, Fleur had failed, Krum evidently had too - now - it was between Cedric and Harry, the champion being a Hogwarts student was certain, but still, undecided whether that champion would belong to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, like many others in the stands, your fingers and toes were crossed for Harry taking the win.

Out of nowhere, Cedric came stumbling out of the maze, covered in dirt, sweat, and blood, his shirt sticking to him and his hair ruffled, scratches across his delicate face. He crouched down, clearly out of breath, but so startled and shaken up that he was shaking and green in the face.

The crowd jumped to their feet, cheering for Harry and Gryffindor, holding their red banners and waving their flags in the air whilst Syltherin scowled and hid their faces in their hands.

"We need to go and see if he's alright!" Angelina panicked hearing Cho shriek, the girls got on their feet and hurried down the stairs, running out to Cedric who was now on his hands and knees on the grass, throwing up.

"Well, are you coming!?" Angelina asked George, holding out her hand.

George looked at you, he didn't want to leave you on your own and you knew it.

"Go," you reassured him "I'll be okay."

You watched Cedric gain the courage to speak, you tried to lip read but he was too far away for you to even make out a single word, but whatever he had said panicked the cheering girls and proud lads because now they were muttering, whispering and all appeared to be frightened and anxious, no longer in the mood to celebrate Harry's win.

Katie who didn't leave you behind shot a scowl at Fred who continued to stare at you, she moved closer to you whilst Angelina and George hurried back, horror across their faces.

"What's happened?" you panicked.

"It's Harry" George frowned "The cup, it was a portkey and he's gone, Cedric said-"

Angelina nudged George with her elbow, glaring at him and shaking her head "not now, George."

"No, what is it?" you demanded.

Just as George announced the news that the dark lord had returned, you felt major discomfort and a dull ache in your back and lower abdomen, along with the pressure that increased in your pelvic, you gripped onto your bump and winced.

"George!" you panicked "It's happening!"

The father of your baby watched as you went into labour, Katie and Angelina helped you to your feet as George hurried over to Madame Pomfrey, everyone around you started to panic and gave you all the room you needed to evacuate safely back into the hospital wing - the one place you didn't want to end up twice in one day.

Leaving you behind, George stared up at Fred who was sat as still as a statute, if you weren't going to tell him, George had to, he wouldn't allow his brother to miss the birth of his child.

George stumbled over to his brother and shook him angrily "I don't want to bloody argue but listen to me!"

"George, I told you-"

"You're the dad, alright!" George yelled, "She's having your baby, you need to get to the hospital wing now!"

"What are you on about?" Fred argued, not believing the word "are you seriously-"

"Think back to the party when you played truth or dare! Think for Merlin's sake!"

Fred shut his mouth and suddenly, his world began to spin so fast his heart could've stopped.

“I want you.” you breathed, pulling away from the kiss “I want you to fuck me like you do everyone else.”

“I want you too” Fred replied, taking your hand and fleeing from the party.

“Are you ready, Y/N?” Fred asked, pulling away from your breasts.

“Yes,” you breathed out, slurring slightly “I’m ready Freddie.”

The memories suddenly flashed before his eyes, the sight of your naked body beneath his, the two of you climaxing, Fred pulling out and falling into your arms, only to wake up the next morning in an empty bed that smelled of your hair and perfume. It reminded Fred that he had forgotten to put a condom on, George wasn't lying, he is the father of your child.

Fred's eye widened and he bolted from his brother, shoving everyone aside and sprinting for his life to the hospital wing, no one and nothing could stop him now.

The doors of the hospital wing swung open, laying in your bed, tears rolled down your face as the contractions worsened, Madame Pomfrey urging you to keep pushing. Fred pulls out a chair and sits beside you, holding your hand, comforting you, kissing your forehead and encouraging you.

You opened your mouth to speak: you wanted to say sorry, to tell him you loved him, you wanted to explain everything all at once, but you were unable to - the pain increasing, causing you to scream out, tears rolling down your face.

"Almost there Y/N, you're crowning!" Madame Pomfrey announced.

Fred planted another kiss on your sweaty forehead "keep pushing sweetheart," he said softly "you're doing so bloody well!"

Within a few moments, the sound of your babies cries rang out through the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey placed the baby in your arms, encouraging you to sit back and relax - but you couldn't you still had the urge to push.

"I need to push again, "you cried, gritting your teeth "I'm not done!"

Madame Pomfrey's mouth dropped, causing her to take the baby from your arms and handing the newborn to Fred.

"What's going on?" Fred panicked, gripping onto his child, already feeling the protectiveness kick in.

"There's another baby..."

"She's having twins?!"

Fred held the elder newborn in his arms whilst the younger and smaller newborn rested in yours, both of them just like their father; a full head of ginger hair.

"They're yours." you croaked, your. throat sore from all the screaming and crying.

Fred smiled, tears forming in his eyes as he rocked the baby in his arms "I know, they look just like me... their hairs..."

"I'm so sorry, Freddie, I didn't tell you because... because I didn't know what to do, you're my best friend and I've had feelings for you since the beginning and I felt as if you didn't feel the same, I thought that me forcing a child upon you would... would ruin what we had."

"Of course I feel the same," Fred replied "I just didn't know if you did."

The two of you went silent for a moment, the twins sleeping -  they were exhausted from being brought into the world earlier than expected.

"Do you still feel the same?" you asked Fred, staring into his pride-filled brown eyes.

He nodded "Yeah, do you?"

Everything you had ever wanted finally arrived, the children you were carrying - so eager and excited to meet, and the man of your dreams, finally on the same page as you - who had been in love with you for all this time.

You looked down at the baby in your arms and then back up at Fred, "I do too."

"Shall we have a fresh start?" Fred smiled "As parents and that."

You broke out into a light laugh and smiled "I'd like that, Freddie. I'd like that a lot."

There was another silence, it felt as if the world was sleeping.

"So, when can we make another one?" Fred winked.

"When we graduate from Hogwarts!-"

"Next year?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't let me finish! We need to graduate, get stable jobs and have a house with enough room!"

"So next year then?" Fred smirked, still cradling the baby.

Your furrowed your brows, unsure whether or not he was bluffing.

"Okay then, since you're all confident, let's make a bet." You smirked back.

"If I win, we make another baby, if you win... we get married," Fred said softly as the baby opened his eyes and let out a cry.

"Alright," you agreed, taking your baby from Fred, trying to breastfeed "but what is your obsession with making another one?" you asked, "we've just had twins!"

Mr and Mrs Weasley were slowly approaching the hospital wing, George following not far behind.

"Yeah, which I've only just found out are mine!"

The hospital wing doors opened, Molly and Arthur standing in the doorway, staring at you, their son, and their grandchildren.

taglist: Taglist: @amourtentiaa @horrorxweasley @alwaysnforeverfangirl@reeophidian @inglourious-imagines @sebby-staan @onlyfreds@pandaxnienke @xmalfoyweasleyx @manuosorioh@cosmiccomicloverqueen @the-romanian-is-bae @fhhsposts@cavalinhox @purple-vodka-99 @simpforweasleys2@dracoismybabey @statellitespidey @xuminghaosworld @michael-loves-chickens @simpforweasleys2 @freddie-weaselbee @itsnottlilly

[archies-litterbox]

You know... tonight I'm thinking about how I and much of the rest of the fandom had alot of positive feelings about Wizards, even though it had its share of imperfections, in comparison to ROTT, which had such an overwhelmingly negative response.

And I think it's because much of the criticism of Wizards was centered around what we didn't get to see, while criticism of ROTT is largely centered around what we did see (and what we shouldn't have seen).

Two of the most popular criticisms I saw of wizards when it first came out were:

1.) The story was so tightly condensed that there was alot that didn't get to be explored.

2.) Zoe didn't get to have a larger role.

And I think both of these criticisms share one uniting sentiment: we wanted more. The audience loved what we did see, and we wanted to see more of it. We wanted more of Douxie's time in the spotlight/more of Camelot explored/more of The Pink-Haired Girl And What She Means to Douxie. It's INTERESTING and WE LIKE IT.

Since the show only had ten episodes, there was alot that had to be squeezed down/removed to fit in the time allowed, but Wizards spent the time it did have giving us amazing characters, compelling dynamics, and interesting lore expansion that the audience was ENTHRALLED by, to the point where much of the criticism of the installment comes down to: the audience was so intrigued/fascinated by this content that the fact that there isn't more sucks.

Now... cut to Rise of the Titans.

With its runtime of nearly two hours, it theoretically had the chance to do more of what Wizards, as great as it was, couldn't fit in: more of Douxie in the spotlight, expansion on his other relationships (like Zoe & ADP), compelling lore expansion, and smart utilization of characters & completion of character arcs for a satisfying ending.

And... it didn't deliver.

Firstly, let's get one of the big ones out of the way: it used a good ~10 minutes (?) of its runtime, which it could have used for doing something like 1.) a scene of characters who didn't get to interact much in the trilogy 2.) showing us why douxie and nari stopped running/them running at all 3.) my personal favorite, a scene of human jim coming home to his mom - and used it to give one of its side characters with the best character development I saw in the series... one of the grossest "comic relief" subplots I've seen in a long time. I would have rather Steve not been in the movie at all (like perhaps he heard arcadia was in danger and went to make sure his step-dad was okay) than seen that.

...Moving on.

What Douxie was able to do in the movie was good: he was VERY enjoyable to watch on-screen, and his big brother/baby sister dynamic with Nari was simply too precious.

But, like Wizards... it wasn't enough.

After finally getting his chance in the spotlight in the last installment, Douxie was sidelined and kept losing the people he loved left and right for what seemed to be for the mere sake of making him suffer (Nari dying as she killed Skrael/Archie getting stuck in the Hong Kong Trollmarket) when he'd already had to grieve Merlin in Wizards. He also doesn't use his most iconic item from Wizards: his spellcaster guitar. Sometimes, honestly, it seems like all he was there to do was 1.) suffer 2.) do spells (guitarlessly) to help people out and 3.) scream "NARI!"

(But Colin's voice acting DE👏LI👏VERED! Everyone's did, really. There were honestly alot of other aspects to the movie like voicework/animation/music that were really good and it sucks to see it dragged down by all the staggering missteps in writing.)

And arguably the worst aspect of that? His sidelining wasn't even unique to him; to me, every protagonist from the subsequent series' post-trollhunters seemed to be sidelined for the sake of Jim's spotlight.

Which wouldn't have been a problem... if it was used for any other confliction/crisis than him doubting being the trollhunter without the amulet, a question that was already answered in Trollhunters.

Aside from the fact that Jim felt strangely out of character, the whole ~confliction~ he had over being an amulet-less Trollhunter was redundant and felt unnecessary (I sort of wanted Merlin's ghost to show up and thwack him and say "WHAT DID I SAY!? WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?" and dip back out). In my opinion, a better confliction to explore would have been his connection to his humanity, which he'd just gotten back, or coping with what he'd done as a beast under the order's control. But instead, it badly recycled an old aspect of his arc that was already discussed in Unbecoming.

Besides Jim being what I never thought he'd be, an irritating and honestly sort-of unlikable protagonist, other characters were greatly underutilized as well.

...Especially Nomura.

First of all, they made the ridiculous decision to send two trolls with Douxie to Brazil in the daytime, knowing trolls TURN TO STONE IN THE SUN. But THEN, just for the sake of showing how deep Nari is under control, she pulls Nomura into the sunlight and shatters her when she gets petrified. It happens out of nowhere for complete & utter shock value.

To me, it seems like they brought in Nomura for the sake of having Nomura, and then they didn't know what to do with Nomura, so they killed Nomura.

And honestly, not knowing what to do with the characters and deciding to just nerf/kill them was this movie's whole thing.

But it's okay, because we have... the COP-OUT-ENDING-O-MATIC 3000! 🥳🎉

Oh, wait, sorry... the kronosfere.

[underwhelming party favor noise]

There's really no need to repeat myself on what it did - if you watched R*TT, my condolences you know what I'm talking about, and if you've read this far along, you're probably ticked about it too.

So, because of this little ball of SHAME AND BAD THINGS combined with Jim's edge-brood OOC-ness, not only did the movie give us underwhelming/unsatisfying/devastating-and-not-in-a-good-storytelling-way plotline and giving us so much that was... bad, it took away everything that was good - everything we loved. It was the second worst thing introduced in the story (the first is the entire garbage heap that is 7 kisses = MPreg (even though akiridions are projections from CORES)), and to be completely honest I WISH skrael and bellroc broke Nari and Douxie's spell before nari could say "kronosfere will make right"

(...AND the ninth configuration thing too tbh)

So... while Wizards spent the short time it had giving us something amazing, Rise of the Titans, instead of continuing to deliver on what Wizards couldn't fit in, squandered the potential it had as a finale and used its time to give us gross subplots/frustrating once decisions/underutilization, as well as to take everything else down with it at the very end with the Green Shame Orb.

And... yeah. Technically, it's not exactly two months post-ROTT anymore, because it's like 2 am on the 22nd, but I thought about this a lot felt compelled to share.

[everafterfics]

Revelations [Merlin x Reader]

So I actually wrote this like 3 or 4 years ago so its fairly old. 

For a bit of context the reader has a magical fire opal amulet that brings good luck. Using its power drains the user of energy whether or not they actually have magic. The reader does happen to also be a witch so she has magic. I borrowed this concept from my own Merlin OC and decided to use it here.

Synopsis: Merlin and Arthur return from their quest to find a dragonlord. Merlin seems particularly down after his journey. If only you knew what was wrong with him

Warnings: None

The dragons fire raged across Camelot, people fleeing to the safety of the citadel while the brave knights fought to protect the kingdom. I rushed around the castle, assisting Gaius as he helped those who were hurt. While I was nothing more than a servant for him, I did have some base knowledge in herbology that helped out from time to time. The real reason I serve Gaius is to thank him for helping me when I first came to Camelot, however it does come with the perk of seeing Merlin everyday. When I first arrived I didn’t want to believe that I could fall for him but as time passed it became harder to resist him, what with his adorable smile and kind heart. And because of these feelings I was finding it hard to focus on my work; Merlin had gone with Arthur out to defend Camelot and I could not help but worry that he might get hurt or worse. Eventually the fighting ceases and the great dragon retreats, giving time for the knights of Camelot to regroup.

Since the great dragon began attacking I have been staying with Gaius on a spare bed, which was usually used for his patients, instead of in the lower town with my sister and our family. Merlin came in late and Gaius made sure he was not injured. I had laid down at Gaius’ suggestion but could not sleep, too worried about all that has been happening. When he finally entered the physicians chambers alongside Gaius I felt relief and was able to nod off.

Daylight was safe from the dragon as he seemed to only attack at nightfall, I was asked to go retrieve some herbs that might be needed for the injured. When I was on my way back to Gaius’ chambers I heard muffled yelling between Gaius and Merlin, leaving me to feel worried.

“I had the right to know!” I heard Merlin shout as I reached to push open the door. When I entered Merlin was heading to his room. I did not bother to ask what was happening, I set down my basket of herbs and informed Gaius of what I could and could not find. After a long silence Gaius spoke to me.

“Merlin and Arthur are going to be leaving on a quest to find a dragon lord. I would like you to pack up some emergency supplies for them” he instructed.

“A dragon lord?” I questioned. The term sounded familiar but I still didn’t know what it was.

“Yes, the dragon lord will be able to help rid Camelot of the great dragon”

“Oh.” I said solemnly. I didn’t approve of hurting animals, even creatures of magic, but I understood why it had to be done. “What is a dragon lord Gaius?” I asked after a brief silence.

“Simply put dragon lords are those who can speak to and control dragons. Uther had most of them rounded up and killed long ago, but there was one that survived” he explained.

Merlin opened his chamber doors and hastily exited, heading towards Arthur’s chambers to prepare for their quest. I looked at Gaius questioningly, but decided it was for the best not to ask and instead began to prepare the supplies for the journey.

When Arthur and Merlin were about to depart I watched from the steps of the palace as Gaius spoke with merlin. I couldn’t keep myself from saying anything to Merlin, I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again should his journey go wrong or something happen to me here. I ran to his side, causing him to be caught off guard.

“Oh Y/N! I’m sorry you had to hear Gaius and I fighting earlier”

“It’s alright Merlin. I came to wish you luck on your quest” I said, toying with the amulet that hung around my neck. It gave off a faint glow as I held it in my hands.

“Well thank you Y/N” He said before mounting his horse.

I felt a bit weak and Gaius moved to help keep me standing. He then leaned up to Merlin and whispered to him, though I could not hear what he said. Finally it was time for the two to ride off on their journey, and Gaius helped me inside.

“You should not have used the amulet for something like this. You know Merlin can handle himself.” The physician scolded as we entered his chambers.

“I know... but I was just so worried about him, and everything that’s been going on.” I said as I sat down at the table. Using my amulet always took a bit out of me. Gaius had once explained that when I use it to bring good luck it takes some of my magic and leaves me weak, but a short rest would surely fix that problem.

The old man put a hand on my shoulder in comfort, “I know my dear. I’m just being hard on you because you know the penalty for using magic in Camelot.”

“I understand Gaius.”

He patted my back reassuringly “Why don’t you get some rest.”

I nodded and tried to stand, Gaius helped me catch my balance and to my confusion led me towards Merlin’s chambers. “You should sleep in a real bed, not my extra cot. And after all, Merlin isn’t here to use it anyway” he joked and I laid down. Deep down the physician knew how I felt about his apprentice, and though his excuses were valid, he really knew that it would be of comfort to you to be in Merlins room.

I drifted off to sleep quite easily, the worrying thoughts that plagued my mind no longer there. When I awoke it was close to nightfall and I greeted Gaius as he was preparing dinner.

“You look much better now that you’ve rested” he commented

“I feel a lot better.” I said taking a seat at the table. The leaving an awkward silence before I finally spoke up.

“What were you and Merlin arguing about earlier?” I quickly said.

Gaius stopped and looked at me. “I should say that it isn’t much your business, however you should probably know. You remember our conversation about dragon lords earlier?” he said, taking a seat across from me.

“Yes.”

“We were speaking of the last dragon lord. His name is Balinor, and there are certain things about him that were kept secret from Merlin, things that Merlin felt he had the right to know about.” I gave a very puzzled look. Gaius was being very cryptic about the topic, and his answer only left me with more questions. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you more than that. If Merlin felt wronged by not knowing than he would rightfully be angry with me for telling you.�� Gaius pushed back from the table and went back to cooking. While I felt a bit sad to not know, I did understand why he was keeping the secret from me. I’m sure that in time I will find out anyway.

That night the great dragon came again and more of Camelot was left in ruin. We did the best we could to help those in need but everyone was beginning to lose hope of any salvation, the only thing to cling to was the idea that Arthur may come back with a dragon lord to help.

Before long a knight signaled the return of the prince. I waited outside of the physicans chambers for Merlin, but they both sped past towards the council room. I immediately noticed Merlin’s look, he looked broken, like his entire world had fallen apart. I knew that this was more than just returning without the dragon lord to help. Waiting inside Gaius’ chambers, I impatiently tapped my fingers on the table. The anxiety was killing me. Finally they returned to the physicians quarters and my heart began to race.

Merlin’s eyes were puffy and red, like he’d been crying for the entire trip back to Camelot. Gaius came in slowly behind him, looking as though he was mourning an old friend.

I pushed up from the table, the room was a deafening silence.

Merlin turned away from me so I couldn’t see his face. I tried to work up the courage  to comfort him, but it felt so hard to find the words to say.

“Merlin... I-is everything ok?” I managed to ask.

“Im fine” he said blandly, attempting to hide his feelings.

I moved closer to him and hesitantly laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head back towards me and I could now see that he was on the verge of tears. “Everything’s not ok, is it?” I asked again.

He couldn’t manage to speak, the tears welled up in his eyes and began to pour out. Merlin pulled away from me and hurried to his room. I looked towards Gaius for answers but he only looked towards the bedroom door before solemnly walking away.

I stood in place wondering what I should do. I wanted to comfort Merlin, but I didn’t want to push him to tell me what was wrong. Finally I made a decision. I went up to his door and knocked. I didn’t hear any answer but spoke anyway. “Merlin, I know something is wrong... and you don’t have to tell me what it is, but if you need to talk I am here.” I wait a moment before turning to walk away.

“He was my father.” Merlin murmured to himself, hardly audible through the door.

Taking his response as an invitation to enter, I opened the door and slipped inside of his room. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you.”

Merlin lifted his head and looked at me.

“He was my father, I just found him and now he’s gone.”

My eyes widen in shock. I walked towards Merlin and took a seat beside him on the bed. “I’m so sorry. I can’t image what your going through”

“You don’t have to. Its enough to have someone to talk to.” he mutters back. I could think of nothing more to say that would help, instead I wrapped my arms around the warlock in a comforting hug. His body stiffened for a moment before relaxing.

Gaius entered Merlin’s chambers, and upon seeing the scene in front of him, cleared his throat. I let go to Merlin immediately, my face instantly heated up. “May I speak with Merlin?” the physician asked

I quickly nodded and stood up, leaving the room. I knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but this time I wanted to know what was going on. the two men spoke once more of dragon lords. Apparently Merlin now had the same powers that his father possessed. Merlin’s magic was no secret to me, but I had decided to keep my knowledge of it a secret. I wanted Merlin to trust me enough to tell me about it himself, of course I could say the same about my own magical abilities.

When I heard footsteps towards the door I ran as fast as I could and sat at the table. I did my best to pretend that I was waiting there all along. Gaius came towards me and spoke softly so Merlin wouldn’t hear from his room. “You can’t fool me Y/N, I know you were listening.” I opened my mouth to retaliate but Gaius put his hand up to shush me. “I also know that you are aware of Merlin’s magical abilities. I think it’s time that you tell him you know, don’t you?” He promptly walked out of his chambers to prepare for any injuries that might occur when the knights face the great dragon.

I must have paced Gaius’ chambers a thousand times trying to work up the courage to face Merlin again. However, there was something inside of me that just wouldn’t let me tell him. When all hope seemed lost I left to help with the preparations for the battle ahead, just before Merlin went to prepare alongside Arthur.

As Gaius and I watched the knights ride out for battle I reached for my amulet, my heart thumping so loudly in my chest that I was sure everyone could hear it. The physician took my hand and looked at me. “There’s no need to use that, I’m sure they will be triumphant.”

I nodded and Gaius released his grip. When the knights disappeared from view we retreated back to the castle to wait. The night was long and it felt like the knights would never return. Not knowing whether their return would be in triumph or defeat was the hardest part.

Finally first sights of the parties return led everyone to rejoice. Gwen ran to embrace Arthur as Gaius and I made our way to Merlin. Without thinking I instinctively hugged the young warlock.

“I’m so glad your safe.” I cried. I then realized how long I’d been holding on to Merlin and released him, my face completely red. He was fairly red himself, not knowing how to react.

“I-um-” I nervously ran my fingers through my hair, “I- I knew you could do it, Merlin”

“Well-I…Wait… What do you mean I could do it?” What started out as being embarrassed turned to a questioning look from Merlin.

I stood silent and wide-eyed for a few minutes, not sure how to answer without telling Merlin that I know his secret. There was nothing else I could do though. “I mean… a dragon is no match for a dragon lord.” I looked away and twirled my hair around my finger nervously.

When Merlin was silent for awhile I looked back at him. His face was in shock of what I had said. He leaned closer to me, “How did you know about that?”

“I…heard you and Gaius earlier. But I’ve known about your magic for awhile now” I couldn’t look Merlin in the eyes, afraid of what he might say.

“You didn’t tell anyone?” He said sternly.

“I would never!” When I whipped my head back towards him our eyes met. “I also have magic” I whispered. I could see Merlins eyes grow wide with surprise, but also joy from knowing that there was someone to share his secret with. He looked as if he was about to starting talking a mile a minute but stopped when he realized we were in quite a public area. He looked at Gaius and together we all went back to the physicians chambers.

[legends-of-time]

Amelia’s Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 44: The Coming of Arthur Part Two

Masterlist

A/N: I think this is my longest chapter yet.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia silently makes her way down the hall of the Dungeons, slipping bread to Sir Leon and as many of the other Knights as she can without alerting the Guards who are watching her from down the hall. Amelia has been miserable in the week since Morgana's coronation. She is just trying to be strong, to keep at least some sense of control of Morgause and Morgana until they find their chance to stop them.

It is hard though, the Knights are fierce and defiant, refusing Morgause and Morgana at every turn, refusing to pledge their allegiance to them when the women demand it. Amelia had hoped that they would realise that she does not want this to happen, and it seems they do by the way they greet her with a smile and whisper thanks when she tries to sneak them more food though it's not much and Amelia can see they're still very hungry.

She tries to keep her sisters from outright killing them for their defiance though, spouting something about how if the Knights of Camelot kneel to Morgana's reign, then so will the people who still remain hesitant. She can tell though that her sisters are growing restless.

——

Guards drag a dazed and weakened Sir Leon into the Council Chambers before throwing him at Morgana's feet. All the Immortal army now wear a uniform just like Camelot's had done but it is black with an image of the Rowan oak in red. The same imagery is everywhere Amelia looks, reminding her of the change in leadership.

Morgana grins from where she is seated on the throne, wearing the crown on her head. Morgause smirks from where she stands to Morgana's right while Amelia stands on her left watching anxiously with Anne and Gwen standing slightly further back.

"Tell me, Sir Leon, how have you enjoyed the first week of my reign?" Morgana asks. Sir Leon remains silent. Morgana's face hardens. "Speak up. Are you and your fellow Knights ready to honour and serve me?"

"I would rather die." Leon declares.

"That can be arranged." Morgause remarks happily.

"My loyalty is to the King and Prince Arthur. There is nothing you can do to change that."

"We shall see." Morgana nods and two Guards drag Sir Leon out of the room.

——

Despite Amelia's protests, the Camelot Knights are standing in a line in the Square with the people gathered around them. The Immortal Soldiers are lined up in front of them.

Morgana addresses them from the Castle Balcony. "I will give you one more chance to pledge your allegiance to me."

The Soldiers threaten the Camelot Knights with their crossbows. Sir Leon and Morgana stare at each other. He smiles.

"Long live the King!"

"Long live the King!" The other Knights echo.

"Perhaps this will help you change your mind." Morgana gives a signal. Soldiers turn towards the crowd and they use their crossbows. People scream and start running to escape the arrows. Amelia gasps and covers her mouth so she doesn't scream in horror. How can her sister do this? What has she become?

——

Amelia watches in dismay from a window as the Soldiers are collecting corpses from the Square. She doesn't like this person that's impersonating her sister. Amelia is more determined than ever that she needs to defeat her sisters.

Amelia retreats to her Chambers with a bucket of water that she places on top of her dining table and waves her hand over it, channelling her magic.

Amelia peers into the water and her spirits are lifted by the sight of Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, Gwaine and Elyan in a Cave. This confirms that they are all still alive. What is needed now is to get to them.

There's a knock on her door and Amelia immediately stops scrying and puts the bucket on the floor and calls, "Come in!"

Anne and Gwen walk in with some bedding and a tea tray. Amelia sighs in relief that it's these two. Soon after Morgause and Morgana had taken over Camelot, Amelia and Anne had quickly recruited Gwen into their little band of rebels and the three of them have been biding their time to strike.

"My Lady." Anne greets while Gwen simply smiles. Amelia can see their cheerfulness is slightly dimmed and Amelia can't blame them. This morning's massacre was awful.

"Gwen, Anne." Amelia greets back. "Are you ready?"

Gwen places the tray on the table and sets it out while Anne makes quick work changing Amelia's sheets. Whenever the three of them meet up, the two maids always came up with an excuse of why they are there to not raise Morgana and Morgause's suspicions of a coup.

Gwen nods. "Yes, I'm planning to ask Morgana today."

Before they can say anymore, the door suddenly opens and Morgana strolls in. She smiles as she looks at the tea on the table. "Tea?"

"I felt you deserved a cup." Amelia says calmly, trying not to show any of her anxiety as she takes a seat. She gestures to one of the other dining chairs. "Please have a set, Your Majesty."

Morgana grins as she sits across from her. "I don't think I will ever get over hearing the words 'Your Majesty' being spoken to me."

"Nor should you." Amelia declares. "You deserve this, Morgana. It is your birth right."

Morgana sighs. "If only everyone saw that."

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Anne asks. Amelia thinks Anne does quite a good job at covering up how she's feeling about all this.

"I'm beginning to see the challenges that I face. Being Queen is not so simple." Morgana frowns.

"You're doing well, Your Majesty." Gwen reassures her as she serves them tea.

Morgana scoffs. "You think? The Knights do not share your view."

"It is because they don't know you." Amelia reasons, placing her hand in Morgana's in a reassuring gesture.

Morgana smiles softly, breaking Amelia's heart as she sees the old Morgana sometimes when she smiles like that.

"Thank you, Amelia." Morgana murmurs. "But I need their allegiance. Without that, the people will not yield to me."

Gwen looks to Amelia unsure and Amelia nods in encouragement. "My mother was a maid in Sir Leon's household. We grew up together. I could talk to him, try to make him see sense?" The maid suggests.

Morgana's expression is unreadable. "You would do that for me?"

"Uther killed my father."

"We have all suffered because of him." Amelia remarks, unbeknownst to Anne and Gwen, she really does mean it. "Well sister? I think it's a great plan. Worth a shot."

Morgana nods thoughtfully. "I will arrange it."

"Thank you, Tour Majesty." Gwen bows to Morgana and leaves the room. Amelia wants to see if Morgana is truly fooled and nods to Anne, who understands the signal and leaves.

Morgana watches her leave closely before turning to Amelia. "Morgause believes Anne and Gwen are betraying us."

Amelia tries to hide her fear and panic by presenting it as a shock. "You can't be serious?! What makes her think this?"

"The two always seem to be conspiring with each other and we both know of Gwen's feelings for Arthur."

At least neither of Amelia's sisters had made the connection that Amelia herself has been a part of the conspiring as well. This isn't good but Amelia can work with this. As long as Morgana and Morgause don't get to the hideout, they can use this as it'll make it easier for them to get out of Camelot. Small mercies.

Amelia nods. "Yes, I have noticed it but I didn't dare think of such a betrayal. What does our sister suggest we do?"

"Gwen's talk with Sir Leon will provide a perfect opportunity." Morgana smirks. "And make sure Anne is with her, we need to be certain."

——

Amelia does as her sister asks but also warns Anne about the spying just in case she or Gwen say something incriminating about Amelia but not to reveal it to Gwen. Anne had wondered whether they should go through with the plan but Amelia insists this is their best chance.

The door of Sir Leon's Cell opens and Gwen and Anne come in. Hidden next to the Cell just above, Morgana, Amelia and Morgause watch and listen.

Leon stands in surprise. "Guinevere! Anne!"

Anne hands him a small amount of food. "It's all we could get; I know you haven't been eating."

"I don't understand. What are you doing here?" He starts eating greedily. Amelia watches sadly, despite her best efforts, she knows that the Knights are still hungry and this just proves it.

"Morgana sent us... to talk to you, to make you see sense." Gwen explains. Leon spits out the food. "Listen to us."

"I'd rather starve. Guard!"

"We're going to help you escape." Gwen hurriedly murmurs to him causing him to pause. She turns to what Amelia can only assume is a Guard after hearing footsteps. "It's alright. Get me some water." Nothing happens and Gwen raises her voice. "The Queen has instructed us to get the prisoner food and water." Footsteps retreat.

"You know what will happen to you if you're caught." Leon murmurs to her. Amelia's eyes flicker to Morgana and Morgause. Too late.

"We have to find Arthur and Merlin." Anne persists.

"I've a good idea where they'll be hiding."

"Then we need to get you out of here."

"How? It's impossible, surely?"

"We're trusted members of the Court." Gwen argues. "Morgause has the keys to the Cells in her Chambers."

"No, Gwen, Anne..."

"It is as we suspected. They've betrayed us. I will have them executed at dawn." Morgana declares.

Amelia looks at her sister in alarm. "We cannot be too hasty, sister!"

Morgana frowns. "What do you mean?"

"What if we let them escape? Let her go to her beloved Arthur, she will lead us straight to him." Amelia argues. This will hopefully make Anne, Gwen and Leon's escape easier and all Amelia has to do is to stop the pursuit without any suspicions.

Morgause nods. "She's right, sister. Then we can be rid of the Prince once and for all."

Morgana smirks and nods in agreement.

——

Morgana and Amelia enter the former's Chambers to enact the next part of their 'plan'. Gwen is lighting candles as they enter. The maid gives them a small smile.

"Did you speak to Sir Leon?" Morgana questions 'innocently'.

"Yes."

"And will he do as you asked?" Amelia asks. She sends her a questioning look as if to ask if the actual plan is in place even though she knows herself, but if Gwen knew then she wouldn't go through with it.

Gwen smiles and nods at her. "It might take some time, but I think he will come 'round."

"Gwen!" Morgana grins big and wide before walking over to where drinks are laid out nearby. "This deserves a celebration."

Amelia can only see her back but knows that Morgana is pouring some of the tracking potion into one of the glasses.

"Your Majesty." Gwen looks uncomfortable. Amelia reaches over and squeezes her hand.

Morgana comes back with three glasses causing Amelia to let go of Gwen, handing them out then raises a toast. "To friendship and loyalty."

Amelia swallows thickly as she echoes Morgana's words along with Gwen. She just wants out of this nightmare.

——

Anne's POV

Gwen and Anne set to work stealing the key, duplicating it and delivering it to Leon. Anne feels nervous the entire time, knowing that Morgause and Morgana are already onto them but Amelia reassures her this is their best chance to save Camelot and had promised that her sisters won't find them. Anne was reluctant but agreed, she trusts Amelia and really misses Merlin.

That night when the warning bells sound, Gwen and Anne wait in the former's house already dressed to travel with their bags for Leon's arrival. The Knight soon barges inside.

"We haven't got time to waste." Gwen tells him as she hurriedly shuts the door. She hands him a dress.

He looks at the dress in disbelief. "You...you can't be serious."

Anne looks at him in disbelief and irritation. "Does any of that silly notion stuff matter right now?! You need to be in disguise or the Guards will recognise you! Now put it on!"

"Augh." Leon grumbles before beginning to change. Gwen and Anne turn their backs.

——

Amelia's POV

Amelia is with her sisters when the bells sound. They leap up and hurry to a window with different reasons as to why they are so eager to see what has happened.

"Sounds like the wait is over," Morgana says as they move to the window and watch the three runaways escaping from Camelot. Amelia internally sighs in relief. At least one part of the plan is going well. It's her turn now.

"Beo þu leohte bewunden!" Morgause chants. A glimmering path appears, showing the trail of the runaways. "The potion does its work."

Morgana glares after the figures. "Off you go. Hurry along to your beloved Prince."

"I must go after them soon. I'll take a band of Soldiers with me." Morgause tells them. "Then we will have Arthur at our mercy."

An idea comes to Amelia. "No wait. What if I do it?"

Morgause and Morgana look at her in concern and Amelia really wishes they wouldn't look at her like that. It almost makes her feel bad for lying.

"Are you sure, sister?" Morgause asks.

Amelia nods. "I want to prove myself."

Morgana gives her a warm smile. "You already have, sister."

It's not her she's proving herself to. "Thank you, sister. But I still want to help and Morgause is needed here to help you secure the Knight's allegiances."

Morgause nods her consent and instructs Amelia on what she needs to do.

——

Amelia follows after Gwen, Anne and Leon with Immortal Soldiers following her. She stops and looks around before casting the spell Morgause taught her.

"Scin scire!" The glimmering trail appears through the woods. "That way." Amelia murmurs to herself.

She glances back at the Soldiers waiting diligently behind her. It won't do having them follow her to the hideout.

"Ic þé wiþdrífe!" She cries. The Soldiers fly backwards and land on the ground unmoving. Amelia sighs with relief before running away hurriedly, following the trail, as she doesn't know when they are going to wake up.

She reaches the Cave and skids to a stop as Elyan appears and assumes a defensive position, his sword raised at her.

"Elyan, please, I mean no harm. I just need to speak to Arthur." Amelia pleads.

Elyan frowns distrustfully at her then Arthur, Gaius, Merlin, Gwaine, Leon, Anne and Gwen emerge from the Cave. As soon as they see her, Arthur and Gwaine glare and also point their swords at her.

Amelia looks at them in alarm. "Arthur, Gwaine, Elyan. Please lower your swords. I don't mean any harm."

"I think not, you traitor." Arthur growls, stepping closer to her with the sword.

She looks pleadingly at the others, she can see she has Gwen, Anne, Merlin and Gaius' support but Leon is impassive. She doesn't blame Elyan for not trusting her but when she sees Gwaine's mistrustful look, it really hurts.

"Gwaine?" She pleads. He doesn't change.

"Arthur," Merlin begins, stepping forward, "she's right. She's not with Morgana and Morgause."

"How can I be sure? And how do you know?" Arthur demands to know. His glare hurts.

"He's right Sire." Leon then argues. "She's been helping me and the Knights during Morgana's reign. She's risked her own sisters' anger to help Anne, Gwen and I to escape."

Arthur still looks mistrustful when he looks at her but he's not as hostile as he frowns at her in confusion. "You're not with them?"

Amelia shakes her head vigorously. "No. I've been against their plans for Camelot from the start. I've only been pretending to be on their side to find out their plans in order to foil them." She blinks back her tears. "Arthur, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you."

Arthur is quiet for a second. "Then why didn't you?"

"Would you have believed me?" Amelia asks. "More importantly, would Uther have believed me? Morgana is his daughter, not me. He would always pick her over me. And there would go my advantage about knowing their plans."

"How can I believe you?"

Amelia swallows, she has to word what she says next carefully. "You know me, Arthur. You grew up with me, you've known me all your life. I'm loyal to you, Arthur, and Camelot."

Gwen steps forward and puts her hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur, I believe her. She's been working with Anne and I during the past week so that we could save Camelot."

Arthur nods at her and turns back to Amelia. "I'm going to find it hard to trust now. You will need to prove yourself."

Amelia sighs. "I will I promise Arthur. But we don't have time. I had Morgana's men following me, but I evaded them before they could ambush you. We need to go."

"She's right Arthur." Merlin argues. "Trust her or not, we have to go. Those Soldiers will find us soon if they haven't already."

Arthur nods.

"They're going to follow us. How are we going to stop them?" Elyan wonders.

Footsteps then can be heard above them in the ditch they all stand in. Everyone panics and those with swords, including Amelia as she knows she can't rely on her magic with Arthur and others around, point them in that direction. Two men emerge. Amelia definitely knows she doesn't know who one is, a giant man. But the other looks familiar to Amelia but she can't place him, her memories are fuzzy.

"Lancelot!" Gwen gasps in surprise. Lancelot?! How could Amelia have forgotten him?

"We need to hurry." Lancelot says to them.

He gives a nod to the man next to him. The man nods back and walks to a pile of large rocks on a ledge not far from them.

"Look out!" He says as he begins pushing at the rocks. Everyone ducks and Amelia gapes in amazement as one huge rock falls and blocks the way, followed by dozens.

——

A little later, they rest in the forest. Amelia hesitantly follows Arthur as he walks over to Lancelot and the unknown man.

"I suppose I must thank you." Arthur comments in a way of greeting.

Lancelot introduces a giant, who looks rather shy. "This is Percival. It was his strength that brought them down."

"Your Highness." Percival bows.

"Arthur." The Prince corrects, offering him a hand to shake.

Percival smiles in surprise but returned the handshake. "Arthur it is."

He looks at Amelia, she smiles kindly at him. He blushes and looks away from her. Interesting. She can't help but smile at the sight of such a large man being shy around her of all people. She admits he's quite cute.

"And this is Amelia." Lancelot introduces happily but Amelia can see him frown in concern about how tense Arthur then becomes at the mention of her name.

"It's lovely to meet you." Amelia says kindly, trying to ignore Arthur and not show how much it hurts. She offers her hand and Percival shyly shakes it.

"What were you doing here?" Arthur questions.

"Er... it was me." Merlin says, hurrying over to them. "I sent for him."

"Well, we owe you our lives. Thank you." Arthur says. Arthur and Lancelot shake hands. Gwen and Lancelot exchange glances and Amelia winces at that. Someone's heart is definitely going to get broken.

——

Now they need a new hideout so they all move out to a new location. They are mostly walking in single file or pairs. Amelia lingers at the back as she knows Arthur, who's leading, isn't exactly comfortable with her right now.

They reach a large fallen tree on their journey so they all take their turn to climb over. Amelia is about to take her turn when a large hand appears in her eye-line. She looks up and sees that it's Percival who's giving a soft small smile.

"Oh, thank you." She murmurs as she takes it and he helps her over the tree and they join the others as they continue walking. "You must know now why Arthur, Gwaine and Elyan don't trust me right now despite the other's words yet you aren't acting standoffish with me. Why?"

"You haven't done anything except help us." The gentle giant replies softly.

"Thank you. May I ask, how did you come to know Lancelot?" Amelia questions.

"I met Lancelot not too long after the Immortal army had raided my Village and killed my family." Percival explains sadly.

Amelia furrows her eyebrows. Must've been the work of Morgause when she gained control of the army from Cenred. "I'm so sorry."

He gives her a thankful smile. "As a result of the attack, I knew I must fight against everything to do with Morgana and Morgause."

Amelia smiles hesitantly. "Not everything I hope."

"No, not everything." They share a soft smile before he quickly clears his throat and looks away. "When Lancelot received a message from Merlin requesting his aid in Arthur's bid to retake the Kingdom from Morgana, I decided to accompany him to Camelot."

"Thank you, we need all the help we can get." She suddenly accidentally slips, but thankfully she's saved from face planting the floor by Percival quickly grabbing her arm and settling her right.

"My Knight in shining armour." Amelia comments teasingly. They share a chuckle.

——

They reach some ruins of an old Castle. They enter a vaulted room. It is dark, the furniture is covered with spider webs. They all follow Arthur, holding torches.

"Are you sure we'll be safe in here?" Gaius asks.

"This Castle belonged to the ancient Kings. It'll do for a while." Arthur reassures.

"Can't be worse than that Cave." Elyan grumbles.

"Search the place, see what you can find." Arthur tells them. They scatter and start searching.

Those still giving mistrustful looks to her are Arthur, Gwaine and Elyan. Thankfully the others know the truth, or like Percival, has only just joined all this and hasn't exactly formed an opinion. Arthur is understandable, but it hurts Amelia to see that even Gwaine is looking at her like she has betrayed them. They are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Anne and Merlin can tell that something is bothering her because they look from where Amelia is watching Gwaine over to her from their spot in front of the fire that they are making.

"Ignore him, Amelia." Anne tells her.

Amelia huffs. "How can I?"

"He knows you, he cares about you, Amelia. As does Elyan and Arthur. They'll come round." Merlin tries to reassure her.

"What if they don't? What if they're never going to trust me again?" Amelia laments.

"They will. You'll prove it to them." Anne declares determinedly.

Amelia shakes her head. "I lied to them all. I didn't say anything to them about Morgana. I hurt them by not saying anything. I could've stopped all this. I'm just as bad as them."

"Hey." Merlin says. He grabs her shoulders and turns her so she's facing him and Anne. They've given up on the fire by this point. "You are nothing like them, okay? You're here, with us, where you belong. Nothing is going to change that."

Amelia nods slightly. "Yeah, okay."

"Now say it like you mean it, with that smile of yours." Anne says, nudging her at the word 'smile'.

Amelia finally offers them a smile. "This is where I belong, and nothing is going to change that."

Merlin huffs. "That's the best we're going to get, isn't it?"

Amelia nods. "Yes."

Gwaine returns, holding an armful of weapons as he dumps them on one of the small tables. "They must've been left by bandits." He deduces.

Amelia looks over at Arthur, who looks under a sheet at a table that Gaius sits at, and her heart is starting to hammer as she realises what the table is. Amelia may have lost her knowledge of the show, but she still does remember some things of the King Arthur legend, most famously... Arthur rips the sheet off, revealing a large round table that is surrounded by chairs.

"Here!" Arthur calls out, and the others all raise their heads to look at him. "Come and join me." Arthur looks around the room at them and his gaze finally stops on Amelia. He nods his head at the table, and she feels a little hope bubble in her as she realises this is an invitation to sit at the round table with them.

They all take a seat around the table. Arthur stands, between Merlin and Gwen.

"This table belonged to the ancient Kings of Camelot." Arthur speaks. "A round table afforded no one man more importance than any other. They believed in equality in all things. So, it seems fitting that we revive this tradition now. Without each of you, we would not be here..."

Amelia and Anne exchange glances and smile.

"My father has languished in prison for too long. Tomorrow, I make my bid to rescue him. Are there any around this table who will join me?"

Lancelot is the first one to stand. "You taught me the values of being a Knight, the code by which a man should live his life. To fight with honour for justice, freedom, and all that's good. I believe in the world that you will build."

Elyan takes his turn. "Even though I was a commoner, a nobody, you were willing to lay down your life for me, Arthur. It is now my turn to repay you."

Arthur is looking more and more moved.

Leon stands. "I have fought alongside you many times. There is no one that I would rather die for."

"I think we've no chance." Gwaine remarks then smirks as he stands. "But I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Percival stands and simply declares, "Your enemies are my enemies."

"If you need an old man." Gaius says once he stands.

Arthur is barely holding back his tears. Amelia doesn't blame him. Maybe they all really have a chance.

Anne stands. "I'll join, if only to keep an eye on Merlin." Everyone chuckles at that and Merlin fondly rolls his eyes.

Amelia takes a breath and stands up; she gives them a small smile. "I know some of you don't trust me now, but I swear that I will prove it to you. There's no other group of people I would rather fight with. I hope you will accept me."

She looks over to Arthur hesitantly and he thankfully gives her a nod with his own small smile.

"You know the answer." Gwen simply says. Arthur gives her a nod of gratitude.

There's silence and a certain manservant seems to be not making any sign that he's moving any time soon.

"Merlin?" Arthur prompts.

Merlin ponders for a moment before remarking, "No, don't really fancy it."

"You don't have a choice, Merlin."

"OK." He stands and he and Arthur share a grin. Amelia huffs to herself amusedly. Typical Merlin.

"I want to thank you all for staying loyal to me in Camelot's hour of need." Arthur says. "I'll do something that my father won't approve of."

Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan kneel in front of Arthur. Each man Arthur knights then declares their new title.

"Arise, Sir Lancelot, Knight of Camelot. Arise, Sir Gwaine, Knight of Camelot. Arise, Sir Percival, Knight of Camelot. Arise, Sir Elyan, Knight of Camelot."

Amelia feels full to the brim with joy at the scene. One by one the new Knights stand up.

Arthur addresses them. "Tomorrow, when you fight, you can stand proud knowing you are members of the most noble army the world has ever known."

——

Later, they all lay on the floor, trying to get some sleep. Amelia is struggling to. She can hear Merlin and Lancelot whispering to each other and tries to ignore it until she hears Lancelot say something that piques her interest.

"What are you planning? And don't even think about lying; I know you too well."

"It's too difficult to explain." Merlin says evasively.

"You can tell me."

"Morgana and Morgause have the Cup of Life. If I can find it and empty it of the blood within, then the army will be destroyed, and they will be powerless." Merlin explains.

Amelia's eyes widen, of course, that makes sense. The pact they had made with Morgause had actually made them quite easy to defeat just the part of getting to it will be difficult.

"Aren't you forgetting something? It's guarded by an immortal army." Lancelot points out.

"Aren't you forgetting something? I have magic." Merlin retorts.

"It doesn't make you immortal."

"No." Merlin admits.

"You know, Merlin, you're the one Arthur should knight. You're the bravest of us all and he doesn't even know it."

"He can't. Not yet." Merlin argues. "That's why I need to find a way to get to the Cup without Arthur knowing."

"Leave that to me." Lancelot reassures him.

——

The following day, they are all gathered in a circle, going over the plan. Amelia had spent the rest of the night coming up with a plan for what she'll do. She needs to go with Merlin and Lancelot.

"There is a tunnel under the northern ramparts that brings us only a few paces from the entrance to the Dungeons." Arthur reveals. "It will be well guarded. So, if we're going to break everyone out, we must remain unobserved. We cannot let them raise the alarm."

"We need to take out the warning bell. That way the warriors have no means of communication." Lancelot suggests, and one glance from him to Merlin is all Amelia needs to realise that this is his idea to get Merlin to the Cup.

"Good idea." Arthur nods.

"I'll need someone with me who knows the Castle." Lancelot says.

"I'll go." Merlin immediately volunteers.

"I'll go, too." Amelia offers, and they all look over at her. Merlin in particular surprise. Amelia can tell some are all still just a tiny bit suspicious, and she still doesn't blame them, but that doesn't stop Amelia from rolling her eyes at them. "I think it'd be a lot easier to get around the Castle if they're with one of the members of the royal family, don't you?"

Arthur sees the sense Amelia is making and nods. "Alright."

——

Merlin immediately grabs her when they all split up.

"You know, don't you?" His question comes out as a statement.

"Know what?" Amelia casually asks. "That you and Lancelot are actually sneaking off to empty the Cup." He reluctantly nods. "Yeah, you both need to work on your whispering skills."

"It's dangerous." Merlin says. "What will Morgana and Morgause once they find out about your betrayal?"

"I have to risk it, Merlin."

Merlin opens his mouth to reply but pauses. Amelia looks up to see Gaius and Anne coming near them.

"You both need to be careful."

Merlin shrugs carelessly. "We've got the easy bit. The warning bell is nothing compared to the Cells."

"I overheard you, Merlin." Gaius says.

"And I smelt the lie a mile off." Anne says pointedly. "Are you both sure? If Morgause catches you, she'll kill you."

"We have no choice." Merlin persists.

"I can't let them win." Amelia declares.

Gaius smiles slightly. "I remember the bumbling idiot that came charging into my Chamber and the little girl terrified of her nightmares all those years ago. Who would believe."

They all hug. Despite the warmth of her friends, Amelia feels anxious.

They separate with Gaius going one way and Anne and Merlin the other. Amelia moves to follow Gaius but someone stops her by blocking her path. She looks to see it's Gwaine. She is hesitant about what he's going to say as he hasn't been exactly warm to her since she found them at the Cave.

"Amelia, I-I wanted to speak with you." Gwaine awkwardly stumbles.

Amelia is surprised to see him without his usual confidence but doesn't let that deter her and steels herself for the verbal abuse.

"What Gwaine?" She asks sharply.

"Be safe, yeah?"

Amelia looks at him in surprise. She wasn't expecting that. "What? I thought you hated me? You've been avoiding me ever since I joined you all!"

Gwaine looks apologetic. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Oh, there's a first." Amelia remarks more sharply than she'd intended.

He rolls his eyes. "Amelia, I'm being serious."

Amelia raises an eyebrow. "Sorry, but in my defence, you were the one being standoffish with me."

"I can give you a kiss as an apology?" Gwaine asks with a glimmer of his usual roguish smile.

Amelia huffs a laugh. "No, Gwaine."

"Is there still hope?" Gwaine asks quietly.

Amelia is surprised but smiles slightly. "We'll have to see."

There's a squeal and Amelia and Gwaine turn to see an excited Anne running towards them with a sheepish Merlin following.

Amelia stumbles in surprise when Anne launches herself at her, letting out a chuckle. "What's this?"

Anne pulls back with a grin. "Merlin proposed! We're getting married!"

Amelia looks at her wide eyed before looking at Merlin, who gives her a nod of confirmation, then joins in with Anne in giddy happiness. Amelia faintly hears Gwaine give his own congratulations to Merlin.

Now more than ever Amelia knows they need to do this.

——

They approach the walls of the Castle through the bushes. Anne had stayed behind as Gwen had and it would be suspicious if Anne came along as her magic is a secret to most of the group.

Soldiers are keeping watch on the ramparts near the entrance Arthur spoke of. They wait for the Soldiers to turn before taking their chance and slipping into the Dungeons.

"Good luck!" Arthur murmurs to Amelia, Merlin and Lancelot.

The group splits. Lancelot and Merlin go upstairs. Amelia moves to follow them but someone grabs her arm. She looks to see who. Percival.

"Be careful." He tells her.

Amelia gives him a small soft smile. He's sweet. "Don't worry, I will."

Amelia, Merlin and Lancelot sneak into the corridors, trying to avoid the Guards as Amelia leads them to where the cup is located. Suddenly, Amelia feels its power causing her to stop. She realises Merlin has done the same when he lets out an overwhelmed gasp.

"You feel it too?" Amelia rhetorically asks him but he nods anyway.

"What is it?" Lancelot asks.

"It's the Cup, we can sense it's power." Amelia explains. "Now we really do need to get moving."

Suddenly, a Guard arrives in front of them. Lancelot leaps forward and starts fighting but does not manage to defeat him. Merlin enters the fight. He hits the Guard with his sword and he explodes. Lancelot and Amelia look at him stunned.

"Is that what I think it is?" Amelia murmurs. She hadn't seen that sword in years. Merlin nods.

"What is it?" Lancelot asks, still in shock.

"It was forged in a Dragon's breath." Merlin smugly explains.

——

Amelia, Merlin and Lancelot peek around a corner. The Council Chambers are being guarded by four Soldiers. Not very inconspicuous.

"What do we do now?" Lancelot asks.

"There's only one thing we can do." Amelia murmurs. She grips her sword. "Let's do this."

They emerge from their hiding spot and immediately engage with the Soldiers. Amelia and Lancelot battle with them the best they can before shoving them back to Merlin and he uses the sword to kill them.

They finally manage to get inside the Council Chambers and lock the door. They slump against the door to catch their breaths but the time of relief is cut short, as Amelia realises that there are facing more Guards in the room, guarding the Cup. Guards draw their swords.

Amelia, Lancelot and Merlin look at each other, they have to go on fighting.

They pull themselves up and engage in another fight. Again, Amelia and Lancelot fight them with their swords and fists the best they can before pushing them in Merlin's direction.

Amelia spins around when she hears a gasp of pain and sees a Soldier wounding Lancelot.

"Lancelot!" She cries before hurriedly engaging with a Soldier that runs up to her.

She turns back to him but he shakes his head, yelling, "Keep going!"

Amelia jumps back into the fray. Then the warning bell rings out. She winces at that; Arthur isn't going to be pleased. Amelia can see Lancelot is getting too weak to fight and takes over fighting the Guard he was battling. Amelia finally pushes the Guard to Merlin to kill him.

Realising that was the last Soldier, Amelia turns to Merlin. "Merlin! The Cup!"

Merlin runs forward to reach the Cup, but the door opens, Morgause enters the room and casts a spell that throws Merlin against a wall. Merlin is knocked down. Amelia's eyes widen with fright and steps behind a pillar so her sister can't see her.

"I have a feeling I won't be seeing you again." She remarks casually. She raises her hand and Amelia is about to step out, terrified of what Morgause will do to Merlin when a voice stops her.

"No, you won't," Gaius says, emerging from behind a pillar. Morgause raises her hand again but in Gaius' direction. Amelia takes this opportunity to emerge.

"No," Amelia says. Morgause's eyes widen at the sight of her. "You really won't." Channelling all the magic that she can pull out, Amelia sticks her hand towards her sister and chants a spell, "Oferswing!"

Morgause flies back and lands on the floor. Amelia brings her hand back and takes deep, short breaths. That magic she'd used has taken her breath from her.

Morgause stands up, in clear shock. But, before she can do anything, Merlin blasts her. She is sent flying, hitting the pillar with a sickening crack. She lands on the floor unconscious.

Amelia stares at her sister's body in shock. She feels ringing in her ears, which causes her to barely hear what is going on around her. She faintly hears Gaius yelling for Merlin to get the cup and Merlin doing so, but all Amelia can see is Morgause's unconscious body as she slowly kneels on the floor. Amelia reaches towards Morgause's head and pets it in a daze. Despite who Morgause is, she's still Amelia's sister, she can still feel that familial pull and the guilt for causing this despite knowing Morgause isn't dead. She would be able to feel it if she is.

Suddenly, there are arms around her, pulling her away. Amelia looks up to see that it's Merlin gazing at her sorrowfully.

"It's done." He murmurs. She nods numbly.

"No! No!" Amelia looks up to see Morgana running into the room and flinging herself onto the floor, embracing Morgause. "Sister." She kneels near her, sobbing, caressing her sister's face.

Amelia swallows thickly before speaking quietly, "I'm sorry...I-I didn't..."

Morgana looks up and sees Amelia standing with Merlin, something dawns on her face, and she gives them a hardened glare.

"You, you! How could you do this?!" Morgana spits furiously.

"I-I didn't mean to!" Amelia stumbles, tears forming in her eyes, begging her sister to understand.

"You've betrayed us!" Morgana glares hatefully at her, drawing Morgause's unconscious body closer to her.

Amelia shakes her head rapidly. "N-no, no! You were trying to hurt people I care about! I had to stop you both!" It hurts to see Morgana glaring at her with such hatred.

"It's over, Morgana." Merlin says, stepping forward, drawing Morgana's attention from Amelia.

"No, you're wrong. This has just begun!" Morgana growls at him before looking back down at Morgause, sobbing. Amelia's heart breaks at the sight of it.

"No..." and with a large sniffle, Morgana screams, "NO!" And with that "NO!", the entire Castle's structure begins breaking down around them.

Morgana continues to scream and roar. Windows explode and the ceiling starts crumbling. Stones are falling everywhere. Amelia, Merlin, Gaius, and Lancelot flee the place, the latter having to be dragged out.

Amelia stops at the doorway, turning to look back at the crumbling room, trying to find her sisters, but Merlin pulls her away. She knows her sisters will escape and wonders when she'll see them next.

——

As night fell, everyone is in the Throne room as it had been turned into a temporary Infirmary as lots of people had either been injured in the fight to reclaim Camelot or were hurt under Morgana and Morgause's tyranny.

After her confrontation with her sisters, Amelia needs something to distract herself. She throws herself into helping Merlin, Anne and Gaius with the injured.

After a few hours, the chaos calms down and Amelia finds herself with nothing to do and that is when the exhaustion hits her, physically and mentally. She steps outside the room and slumps against a wall, sliding down it till she's sitting on the floor. Amelia draws her knees up to herself and once she's in a ball, she starts sobbing.

"Are you well?" A voice asks. Amelia's head springs up to see Percival standing over her with a look of concern.

She sniffs and wipes away her tears, which don't work as they keep coming. Amelia gives up and sighs. "No, not really. That's what happens when you betray your family."

Percival frowns and sits next to her. If Amelia wasn't so upset, she would've laughed at how comical it looks to see a man of over six feet try and fit himself into a small space.

"You didn't betray your sisters." Percival argues. "They betrayed you first by trying to harm Camelot and those you care about."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better." Amelia murmurs. "I can't help but feel like I'm as bad as them. The things I did, how I felt. There were times I felt such darkness in me I—"

Percival cuts her off. "But you stuck by your goodness and saved everyone despite that."

Amelia smiles softly at him. "Thank you. You've been so kind to me ever since we met. I wonder if I deserve it." She looks down at the floor. Suddenly, she feels Percival's hand grasping hers. Amelia looks up at him in shock, a blush on her cheeks.

"There's a light in you that I can see. Hope, determination. I know you're not your sisters." Percival declares.

Amelia stares at him with wide eyes. They stare at each other for who knows how long. Amelia then, before she can think about it, leans forward and presses her lips to Percival's for a brief but sweet kiss. She panics and pulls back.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't've. I—"

Percival's hand, which isn't holding hers, on her cheek stops her in her tracks. He gives her a small warm smile before pulling her back in.

——

Amelia's eyes slowly drift open, and she changes her position so that her back is flat on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Anne is getting married today.

Amelia squeals in excitement and darts into the Antechamber to her Chambers where Anne has been staying the night. Anne and Merlin would be having their own rooms soon. Amelia had insisted that while the two of them had Anne's house, Merlin and Anne should have their own room in the Castle as well. Arthur had relinquished.

Amelia finds Anne only just waking up in her bed. Her maidservant startles when Amelia lets out another squeal. "You're getting married today!"

Anne blinks at her confused before it dawns on her and she begins laughing as she pushes her blanket off and gets out of bed. "Yes, yes I am."

Amelia lunges forward and begins pulling Anne into her Chambers by the arm. "Come on, come on! We need to get you dressed."

"I can get dressed myself, Amelia." Anne argues fondly.

"But this is your wedding day! You always help me get dressed, now I should help you!" Amelia persists. She had thrown herself all the way into the wedding planning as she had not wanted to dwell on what happened between her and her sisters.

Anne gives up and lets Amelia help her into her dress. Amelia smiles happily to herself as she watches Anne look at herself in the mirror. It is a white and golden dress that goes all the way down to the floor, and the sleeves were long but airy. Anne's feet are covered by white slippers. She looks beautiful.

Anne looks behind her shoulder at Amelia, who has just finished setting her hair. Despite not being her forte, Amelia had worked hard on perfecting the hairstyle Anne would wear on her wedding day. She has done quite well if she may say so herself.

"Thank you, Amelia. Really."

Amelia simply shrugs and offers Anne a smile. "This is the most important day of your life. I had to make it special."

The wedding is absolutely amazing. All thanks to Amelia's, as well as Gwen's, decorating making the whole thing immaculate. The wedding happens in one of the smaller rooms as Anne had baulked at the mere suggestion it be in the Throne room. Despite being one of the smaller rooms, it is still large enough to fit in all the guests. Arthur, Amelia, Gwen, Gaius, the Knights and many of the servants in attendance as both Anne and Merlin have become greatly respected and admired by them in the times the two have served in the Castle.

Geoffrey of Monmouth officiates the ceremony due to Arthur's orders. Amelia can see that her cousin needs something else to put his mind to as he has been dragged into meeting after meeting and ceremonial events since his father hasn't recovered after Morgana's treatment and has not left his room. Amelia has been supporting him the best she can by taking on some of the duties. She has been pulling Gwen along with her under the guise of extra wedding planning and moral support but really Amelia has wanted to give Gwen some Queenly duties training.

Merlin looks the best Amelia has ever seen him. He is wearing ceremonial clothes, a gift from Amelia. She had insisted that he will not be getting married in rags but it probably doesn't matter to Anne. Merlin could be wearing a paper bag and Anne would have still thought that he is the most handsome man on this Earth.

Geoffrey soon announces that they are married and that they may kiss. The two share a kiss as everyone claps and cheers around them. When Merlin and Anne pull back, they pay them all no attention. Amelia can't blame them as this is their moment, and nobody else's but theirs.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

Merlin will return