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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months

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All the books I reviewed in 2023 (Novels)

Next Tuesday (December 5), I'm at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with my new solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which 350.org's Bill McKibben called "The first great YIMBY novel: perceptive, scientifically sound, and extraordinarily hopeful."

It's that time of year again, when I round up all the books I reviewed for my newsletter in the previous year. I posted 21 reviews last year, covering 31 books (there are two series in there!). I also published three books of my own last year (two novels and one nonfiction). A busy year in books!

Every year, these roundups remind me that I did actually manager to get a lot of reading done, even if the list of extremely good books that I didn't read is much longer than the list of books I did read. I read many of these books while doing physiotherapy for my chronic pain, specifically as audiobooks I listened to on my underwater MP3 player while doing my daily laps at the public pool across the street from my house.

After many years of using generic Chinese waterproof MP3s players – whose quality steadily declined over a decade – I gave up and bought a brand-name player, a Shokz Openswim. So far, I have no complaints. Thanks to reader Abbas Halai for recommending this!

https://shokz.com/products/openswim

I load up this gadget with audiobook MP3s bought from Libro.fm, a fantastic, DRM-free alternative to Audible, which is both a monopolist and a prolific wage-thief with a documented history of stealing from writers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

All right, enough with the process notes, on to the reviews!

NOVELS

I. Temeraire by Naomi Novik

One of the finest pleasures in life is to discover a complete series of novels as an adult, to devour them right through to the end, and to arrive at that ending to discover that, while you'd have happily inhabited the author's world for many more volumes, you are eminently satisfied with the series' conclusion.

I just had this experience and I am still basking in the warm glow of having had such a thoroughly fulfilling imaginary demi-life for half a year. I'm speaking of the nine volumes in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, which reimagines the Napoleonic Wars in a world that humans share with enormous, powerful, intelligent dragons.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/08/temeraire/#but-i-am-napoleon

II. Destroyer of Worlds by Matt Ruff

The Destroyer of Worlds is a spectacular followup to Lovecraft Country that revisits the characters, setting, and supernatural dread of the original. Country was structured as a series of linked novellas, each one picking up where the previous left off, with a different focal characters. Destroyer is a much more traditional braided novel, moving swiftly amongst the characters and periodically jumping back in time to the era of American slavery, retelling the story of the settlement of the Great Dismal swamp by escaped slaves.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/21/the-horror-of-white-magic/#anti-lovecraftian

III. Scholomance by Naomi Novik

The wizards of the world live in constant peril from maleficaria – the magic monsters that prey on those born with magic, especially the children. In a state of nature, only one in ten wizard kids reaches adulthood. So the wizarding world built the Scholomance, a fully automated magical secondary school that exists in the void – a dimension beyond our world. The Scholomance is also an extremely dangerous place – three quarters of the wizard children who attend will die before graduation – but it is much safer than life on the outside.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/29/hobbeswarts/#the-chosen-one

IV. Tsalmoth by Steven Brust

Longrunning Brust hero Vlad Taltos has been convinced to recount the story of how he and Cawti came to fall in love, and how they planned their marriage. This is quite an adventure – it plays out against the backdrop of a gang-war within the Jhereg organization, with Vlad in severe mortal peril that he can only avoid by uncovering an intricate criminal caper of crosses, double-crosses, smuggling and sorcery. But while Vlad is dodging throwing knives and lethal spells (or not!), what's really going on is that he and Cawti are falling deeply, profoundly, irrevocably in love. The romance that plays out among the blades and magic is more magical still, a grand passion that expresses itself through Nick-and-Nora wordplay and Three Musketeers swordplay.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/27/mannerpunk/#ask-anyone

V. Hopeland by Ian McDonald

Seriously what the fuck is this amazing, uncategorizable, unsummarizable, weird, sprawling, hairball of a novel? How the hell do you research – much less write – a novel this ambitious and wide-ranging? Why did I find myself weeping uncontrollably on a train yesterday as I finished it, literally squeezing my chest over my heart as it broke and sang at the same moment? The stars of Hopeland are members of two ancient, secret societies. There's Raisa Hopeland, who belongs to a globe-spanning, mystical "family," that's one part mutual aid, one part dance music subculture, and one part sorcerer (some Hopelanders are electromancers, making strange, powerful magic with Tesla coils). Amon is a composer and DJ who specializes in making music for very small groups of people – preferably just one person – that is so perfect for them that they are transformed by hearing it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/30/electromancy/#the-grace

VI. The World Wasn't Ready For You by Justin Key

These are horror stories, though some of them are science fiction too, and more to the point, they're Black horror stories. In his afterword, Key writes about his early fascination with horror, the catharsis he felt in watching nightmares unspool on screen or off the page. And then, he writes, came the dawning recognition that the Black characters in these stories were always there as cannon-fodder, often nameless, usually picked off early. "Black horror" isn't merely parables about racism. In the deft hands of these writers – and now, Key – the stories are horror in which Blackness is a fact, sometimes a central one, and that fact is ever a complication, limiting how the characters move through space, interact with authority, and relate to one another.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/19/justin-c-key/#clarion-west-2015

VII. The Future by Naomi Alderman

A cracking, multi-point-of-view adventure novel about billionaires prepping for the end of the world. Three billionaires, the lords of thinly veiled analogs to Facebook, Google and Amazon, each getting ready in their own way. Stumbling into their midst comes Lai Zhen, a prepper influencer vlogger with millions of followers.

When Zhen becomes romantically entangled with Martha Einkorn, the top aide and chief-of-prepping for one of these billionaires, she finds herself in possession of an AI chatbot that is devoted to protecting a very small number of people from incipient danger. This chatbot determines that Zhen is being stalked by an assassin at a mall in Singapore, and guides her to safety.

The chatbot is a closely held secret among the tech billionaire cabal. It is designed to monitor world events and predict when The Event is imminent, be it disease, war, or other cataclysmic disaster. With the chatbot's predictive powers and its superhuman guidance, the billionaires, their families, and their closest confidantes will be able to slip away before the shit hits the fan, fly by different private jets to one or another luxury bunker, and wait out the apocalypse. Once the fires raging without have died down to embers, the chatbot's billionaire charges will emerge to assume their places as wise and all-powerful leaders of the next human civilization.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/07/preppers-of-the-red-death/#the-event

VIII. Liberty's Daughter by Naomi Kritzer

There's so much sf about "competent men" running their families with entrepreneurial zeal, clarity of vision and a firm confident hand. But there's precious little fiction about how much being raised by a Heinlein dad would *suuuck*. But it would, and in *Liberty's Daughter*, we get a peek inside the nightmare.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/21/podkaynes-dad-was-a-dick/#age-of-consent

Like I said, this has been a good year in books for me, and it included three books of my own:

I. Red Team Blues (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

Martin Hench is 67 years old, single, and successful in a career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. He lives and roams California in a very comfortable fully-furnished touring bus, The Unsalted Hash, that he bought years ago from a fading rock star. He knows his way around good food and fine drink. He likes intelligent women, and they like him back often enough. Martin is a—contain your excitement—self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He knows computer hardware and software alike, including the ins and outs of high-end databases and the kinds of spreadsheets that are designed to conceal rather than reveal. He’s as comfortable with social media as people a quarter his age, and he’s a world-level expert on the kind of international money-laundering and shell-company chicanery used by Fortune 500 companies, mid-divorce billionaires, and international drug gangs alike. He also knows the Valley like the back of his hand, all the secret histories of charismatic company founders and Sand Hill Road VCs. Because he was there at all the beginnings. Now he’s been roped into a job that’s more dangerous than anything he’s ever agreed to before—and it will take every ounce of his skill to get out alive.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

II. The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation (nonfiction, Verso)

We can – we must – dismantle the tech platforms. We must to seize the means of computation by forcing Silicon Valley to do the thing it fears most: interoperate. Interoperability will tear down the walls between technologies, allowing users to leave platforms, remix their media, and reconfigure their devices without corporate permission. Interoperability is the only route to the rapid and enduring annihilation of the platforms. The Internet Con is the disassembly manual we need to take back our internet.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

III. The Lost Cause (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

For young Americans a generation from now, climate change isn't controversial. It's just an overwhelming fact of life. And so are the great efforts to contain and mitigate it. Entire cities are being moved inland from the rising seas. Vast clean-energy projects are springing up everywhere. Disaster relief, the mitigation of floods and superstorms, has become a skill for which tens of millions of people are trained every year. The effort is global. It employs everyone who wants to work. Even when national politics oscillates back to right-wing leaders, the momentum is too great; these vast programs cannot be stopped in their tracks.

But there are still those Americans, mostly elderly, who cling to their red baseball caps, their grievances, their huge vehicles, their anger. To their "alternative" news sources that reassure them that their resentment is right and pure and that "climate change" is just a giant scam. And they're your grandfather, your uncle, your great-aunt. And they're not going anywhere. And they’re armed to the teeth. The Lost Cause asks: What do we do about people who cling to the belief that their own children are the enemy? When, in fact, they're often the elders that we love?

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

I wrote nine books during lockdown, and there's plenty more to come. The next one is The Bezzle, a followup to Red Team Blues, which comes out in February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

While you're waiting for that one, I hope the reviews above will help you connect with some excellent books. If you want more of my reviews, here's my annual roundup from 2022:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/01/bookishness/#2022-in-review

Here's my book reviews from 2021:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#bibliography

And here's my book reviews from 2020:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#recommended-reading

It's EFF's Power Up Your Donation Week: this week, donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation are matched 1:1, meaning your money goes twice as far. I've worked with EFF for 22 years now and I have always been - and remain - a major donor, because I've seen firsthand how effective, responsible and brilliant this organization is. Please join me in helping EFF continue its work!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/01/bookmaker/#2023-in-review

#pluralistic #books #reviews #science fiction #gift guide #graphic novels #2023 in review #novels

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jimblejamblewritings · 1 year

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riddle means misery | part 1.

Summary: Y/N Riddle. Not much more has to be said. Everyone hates her. She’s evil... she has to be.

Warnings for the Series: 18+, this series is dark. Manipulation, dubcon verging on noncon, abuse of power, violence, ed mentions, death, blood,

Pairing: unknown yet x black!reader

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N I: Hopefully this goes without saying but neither me as the author or my readers condone these acts in real life. We enjoy these scenarios in fiction to explore dark thoughts or for escapism or for whatever reason. If this makes you uncomfortable then please protect yourself and do not read BUT any hate towards my readers who enjoy this story will not be tolerated. Once again, fiction is fiction and we do not condone any of this disgusting behavior in real life!!

A/N II: This is the (hopefully) final, darker version of Sunshine/Princesse de Mort. Hopefully, y’all enjoy and we reached the proper darkness of the fic. Obviously it can only be so dark since this is supposed to have a happy ending but I’m confident we will all be pleased with this.

A/N III: Vote on your guy for the future pairing. A post about the poll can be found in an answered ask posted before this post.

(Series Masterlist)

A little grunt escaped your mouth as you tried to grab your book that was currently floating away. It wasn’t even your book. Standing up from the table, you went to chase after it. You were all but three steps past your table when you tripped over your suddenly untied shoelaces and your hand landed conveniently on some lionfish nettles. Hissing, you sat up to pull the nettles from your now bleeding hand. The book wasn’t even in your sight by the time you picked them all out.

You could hear laughter from far away when you ran outside to catch up to your missing item. So it was a Ravenclaw messing with you this study hall period. You needed the book. You couldn’t afford a replacement. Money wasn’t something that ran abundantly. The little money in your family’s vault was frozen by The Ministry. Not that it mattered to your father. Lord Voldemort didn’t pay for anything. Most of your things, you never liked to think about where they came from and tried to get rid of them once you quickly found a decent replacement.

Everything else came from money you earned helping the house-elves at Hogwarts. You lived at the castle year-round. You had ever since you were eleven. Voldemort didn’t make his presence known— you were escorted to Platform 9 and ¾ by one of his followers with a wand and a letter in hand. Hogwarts was where he grew up. He still saw it as a place to hone magical talents and wanted you to go. He also requested— demanded— that Dumbledore keep you there. His heir wasn’t meant to get herself killed in a war.

You were meant to become the second most powerful wizard, after only your father, and rise up to take his place in the new wizarding world order when the time came. Dumbledore couldn’t have denied you if he wanted to. The moment The Ministry found out, you were practically forced to be there. They couldn’t throw you in prison when you hadn’t done anything but house-arrest at Hogwarts until you were an adult was good enough for the moment.

You crawled under the table to grab your wand before going to chase the book out of the Great Hall. The book kept flapping like a bird, just out of your reach. You thought you might be able to grab it as you headed outside before hitting a body and falling to the ground. A boy grabbed the floating book.

“Here— oh, here you go, Padfoot. Riddle’s little book.”

You pulled yourself up from the ground to see some of your least favorite people. The Marauders were the oddest puzzle to you. Their torment was tame in comparison to everyone else. It felt more like bullying than torture. But, everyone seemed to respect them despite it. If they made you their target for the day then no one else did because they hoped they would be there to see your humiliation. You looked at James as you smoothed out your scarlet and gold tie. He watched your hands, noting one bleeding slightly.

“Still not sure how you tricked the Hat into putting you anywhere but Slytherin.”

“I didn’t tri— can I please just have my book back, James?”

“What book? Wormtail, do you know what book she’s talking about?”

“No clue, Moony?”

“Haven’t seen a book, Padfoot?”

“Are you talking about that book over there?”

You looked behind Sirius to see a small fire. You ran over to try and put it out but it was too late. Sirius must’ve set it on fire the moment James handed it to him. You groaned in exasperation. It was a library book. The librarian already looked at you with so much disgust for even daring to step foot in the library. She’d be livid. You realized, as you still patted at the book, that you’d have to give up some shopping money for it. A hot sensation creeped close to your skin before a sharp bit of pain. You looked down to see the bottom of your skirt on fire, quickly scrambling to put it out. The Marauders laughed and high-fived Peter as they walked away.

You gave the boys a look as they left. Your first stop tomorrow would be to buy the book at Hogsmeade and give it to the librarian. In the meantime you went back to the Great Hall to try and get all your stuff. It was covered in ink that you suspected wasn’t coming off easily. Another night of staying up late to complete homework. You weren’t even sure why you bothered doing your work. It wasn’t like you were on anyone’s nice list. Even Dumbledore, who once had faith in Tom Riddle being a good wizard, didn’t care much for you. But multiple school years later and you still had faith. There was still a chance for everyone to see the real you before you all went out into the world.

The book was the first thing you bought in Hogsmeade. A small meow garnered your attention as you left the bookstore. You looked in the bushes to see a tiny kitten that seemed abandoned. The little thing that you immediately named Finnegan made no protest to you scooping her up. You walked through the village and back towards the castle. You needed to get back before everyone else woke up and went down to the village. When you made it to the front doors of the castle, you could hear four sets of footsteps behind you and sighed as you waited for one of them to say or do something.

“Princess!” That would be James.

He took to taunting you with the Slytherin’s Princess nickname. Peter and Sirius both preferred Little Dark One. Remus liked Ring Leader. You turned to face them, wrapping your cardigan around you.

“Yes, James?”

“Where are you going?”

“I just want to go back to my room. I don’t wa—”

“Potter!”

You closed your eyes at the voice behind you. It was Evan Rosier which meant Severus and Mulciber were definitely with him. The cackle behind you let you know that Bellatrix and Narcissa were with them. They were the Death Eater posse— everyone had no doubt that they would join your father’s side. You tried to stay away as much as possible but they always found you. They made it a mission to be your personal bodyguards and whatever else they thought you needed.

“Bloody hell,” you whispered.

“Rosie!” James sneered. “What do we owe this pleasure?”

“Fuck off, Potter” Evan whipped out his wand.

You scurried out of the way as Evan practically threw himself to take your place in an impromptu duel. That was always the scariest part for you. Dueling. You didn’t want to think about what would happen if the school found out you were a squib. It just looked like you refused to perform spells— and none of the teachers ever bothered to make you try. No one really wanted to see you perform magic anyway. You had more magic than most squibs but it still wasn’t enough to get past second, maybe third year of school. It certainly wasn’t enough magic now.

You could still hear footsteps following you. The stride sounded so calm compared to your scurry. A hand grabbed your shoulders and pulled you back, almost slamming you against the wall but stopping just shy of doing so. Remus gave you a smile that would seem so sweet if it was on anyone but him.

“You know they’ll just duel you later, might as well just stay and take it now, Ring Leader.”

“So you can dangle me from the ceiling like you all did to Severus last week?”

“Snivellus came up with that jinx, not everyone else’s fault if it caught on with all of us. I’ll let you down after a few minutes, won’t be nearly as long as Snape was dangling from that tree.”

“I'd rather not have my knickers shown to the entire school, it’s the one thing you haven’t made fun of yet.”

Remus eyed the skirt of your dress, one hand moving to grab the bottom of it. “They have little hearts on them?”

You wormed your way out of his grip and kept going towards Gryffindor tower. Remus laughed.

“So they do have hearts on them!”

You acted like you didn’t hear him as you walked. You silently cursed as the staircase moved, giving the Marauders the opportunity to catch up to you.

“Princess got herself a kitty. Rosie and Snivellus were not nearly as fun to duel,” James started as he boxed you in between the four of them. “Let’s set a date for it, Princess.”

“I’m not Princess, stop calling me that.”

Peter laughed. “I think all the little Slytherins at your beck and call say otherwise.”

“I don’t ask them t—”

“It’s not like you have to,” Sirius cut you off. “Why wouldn’t they follow the head Death Eater?”

“I’m not, how many times do I have to say I’m not a Death Eater?”

“Y/N Riddle. I think that proves everything we need to know.”

You felt a gust of wind and found yourself pushed down, holding out a hand so you wouldn’t squish Finnegan. Peter pushed you back down as they walked past you. If you weren’t in the same House, you would walk in the opposite direction but you had no choice aside from continuing.

Skirting past everyone in the common room, you practically ran towards your room. Finnegan seemed to like your space. It was weird. Your bed was surrounded by enchanted things and runes to stop your roommates from ruining your stuff. But Finnegan didn’t care about all the weird shit, hopping right over one of the cauldrons that was always filled with a bright blue liquid. You scratched between her ears and hung up your cardigan on the little jacket hooks near your bed. Sitting at your desk, you finished a few essays for Defense Against the Dark Arts until it was time for lunch. Your cat came with you when you grabbed your blanket and left your room. The hallways were empty as you walked through them.

It was safe to go outside. Moments like this were your favorite. They made you think of summer when the castle was almost completely empty, even Dumbledore didn’t stay around all the time. It was the most peaceful time of year for you.

The Marauders spotted you as you quietly walked into The Great Hall holding a blanket and your cat. They weren’t going to mess with you, having had their fill earlier. But they did stare as they watched you grab some finger food from the serving tray closest to the door and then make a quick exit. Peter snorted.

“It’s a bit pathetic, isn’t it?”

Remus mumbled an agreement through a mouthful of food. You ate in your room, splitting some with Finnegan. Before any of your roommates could come back, you decided to take a nice shower. Only once did you ever use the bathtub. It took too long and left you too vulnerable and naked no matter how many locking enchantments were put on it. You quickly got ready for bed and stayed up reading a fiction book until you were tired enough to go to bed. The curtains were drawn around your room in hopes to make your roommates forget that you existed.

Sunday was your reprieve. Everyone had to take a break from messing with you at some point. You grabbed your journals and headed to the Dark Forest. It was technically forbidden without teacher supervision but no one ever stopped you. You had two main expertises of magic— Darks Arts and Potions.

Your magic wasn’t strong enough for dueling but it was strong enough for simple charms and spells needed to make potions work. You figured that you were pretty good at Herbology but that was only because you had to be for Potions— same for being decent at Care of Magical Creatures. Your journals held studies for all your work.

You wanted to head into the forest to collect samples of unicorn blood and compare it to various saps from fairy fruits. The goal was to see how much the fruit could mimic unicorn blood. You were expecting the blood sample to be ready in a few days— two unicorns were about to give birth and two were almost dead. If you couldn’t get the blood from the birth, you could collect it from the dead unicorns without hurting them or cursing yourself. The fairy fruits could be collected today. You wanted to sketch them and then mark the saps in the journal. You nearly jumped out your skin when you made it back out the forest.

“Is this the Charms homework from Thursday?” Sirius grabbed your journal.

You scrambled to try and get the book back.

“What’s so good that you get top marks?”

“Hand it over, Padfoot.” Remus stuck out his hand.

Your eyes widened in horror at watching the journal be torn to shreds. It might have been a new journal but it still had three months worth of research in it. Studying for new potions and dark arts didn’t just happen overnight. Quickly, you shoved the other journal into your bag before they could go after it. James twirled his wand in his hands as he stared at you with a tilt of his head.

“You ever consider a haircut?”

You shook your head as you started to run back towards the castle in a zigzag fashion. The Marauders laughed at how ridiculous you looked. Being bored for the day, they decided to follow you. You were headed to the owlery anyway and see if there was a letter. You hadn’t responded to your father after the last two which meant you should respond to this one. As expected, there was the letter. You read it over. It wasn’t very different from the last one.

He hoped you passed your last homework assignment and were studying hard for your OWLs, he’d send you something for Valentine’s Day to keep up with the tradition that your mother started before she wound up in prison and then died, and the marriage list at the bottom was updated. You hated that list more than anything. Arranged marriage and specifically with a man your father chose was absolutely horrid.

You frowned at seeing Lucius Malfoy now at the top. It must be because of the rally he’s planning on having. Your father really liked Lucius. He was pureblood, rich, and just as arrogant. He liked how Lucius didn’t hesitate to hex someone in your first year of schooling if they tried to mess with you. You hated that the eleven year old you did used to cling to Lucius when you didn’t know if you could handle everybody’s bullying. He probably told that story and it got back to your father. You would have to correct that right away in the next letter that Lucius shouldn’t be at the top of his list. You wanted to put that there should be no list. Two names that frustrated you to no end were also back—

“Why the fuck is my name there and Reggie?” Sirius had snatched the letter out of your hand.

You hadn’t even heard them coming because of how loud the owlery could be. Peter pointed at the letter.

He smirked. “You should start dating, Pads, won’t that make dear Daddy happy?”

The other boy scoffed. “Wouldn’t even fuck her with a bag over her head.”

“I want my letter back.”

They laughed when you tried to snatch it back, Sirius quickly pulling it out of your reach.

“Why?”

“Please.”

Sirius whistled and his family owl came flying to him. “Dump it wherever, maybe somewhere in London.”

The owl took the letter in its beak. You could do nothing but watch the owl fly out of your reach and through the window. You purposely shouldered the boys as you walked past— your back quickly slammed into Remus’ chest as you pulled you back. The arm around your throat, pinning you to him, got a little tighter. He pulled your wand out of your back pocket and held it right in front of your face. The wood looked like it was bending a little under his grip.

“Try getting bold again and I’ll break this into pieces. Understood?”

You caught the wand before it landed on the stairs. Quickly, but not too quickly so no one else would notice you, you made your way back to Gryffindor Tower. You penned your father a letter telling him about your new cat and your classes. You only left to return to the owlery when you knew that James started quidditch practice because all of them would most likely be there.

The four boys caught you looking at them on Monday morning. You tried to sit at the end of the table closer to the professors specifically because of Mondays with the Marauders. Normally they messed with you by this time of day. They had made sure of that. Monday morning, every morning since second year was there spot for taunting. Their favorite joke was making every bit of food or drink you tried to put to your mouth disappear. Lily and Marlene scoffed when you squinted your eyes.

“Do you want something, Riddle?” Marlene yelled.

Your head immediately ducked down as snickers started from around the room. You kept eating your breakfast until suddenly your face was slammed into the bowl of porridge. You looked up to see Dorcas putting her wand away. It was clear to you that the students decided your breakfast was over. You didn’t even bother getting something else before leaving even though you were still hungry.

McGonagall didn’t even look at you as she entered the classroom. You were used to being ignored by her. Floating you scroll to her desk with one of the few spells that you could do, you waited for her to grab your homework. McGonagall simply looked at it and didn’t bother picking it up. Her entire demeanor changed when Lily walked in followed by the others. She, and surprisingly the Marauders, set their homework done and McGonagall simply beamed about how lovely it was that they did it early.

You sunk down in your seat. No one sat at your desk. The only time you ever had a desk partner was if Gryffindors were paired with Slytherins and one of the Death Eater posse had the same class period as you.

Your nose scrunched at the smell of burning fabric. In a panic, you were fishing all of your supplies out of your schoolbag. The bag was ruined. It wasn’t just burnt but there was a giant hole in the bottom of it. You knew that you should’ve soaked the bag in the fireproof potion before you used it right away. You had to carry your books to your next class, waiting until your free period to go back to your room and turn a headscarf into a sack to carry everything. The only thing getting you through the day was the idea that in two days it would be Valentine’s Day.

Was it wrong to look forward to getting presents from your dad and the Death Eater posse? Yes, but it was the only nice stuff you ever got. The real question was when would you get the presents. The posse would probably just show up at Gryffindor Tower or escort you to Slytherin but you’d have to go to The Great Hall or the owlery to get the gift from your dad.

In the end, you figured that you’d have better chances in the owlery. The one thing no one would do was push you out the tower so it was infinitely safer. You got the parcel left before anyone else could show up. You went to the library to browse for some books. It was funny. You didn’t even like reading all that much but it was all you could do. Read and research for potions. You had no friends to talk to, no sports to play, no clubs to attend. It sucked because you really wanted to play quidditch but the old captain aimed a bludger at your head. She was graduating and would be here next year but you were too scared to try-out again with James as captain.

The books on the romance shelves called to you as you passed by. They were some of your favorites to read. Romance and found families. Sometimes you wanted to roll your eyes at yourself because it was sort of sadistic to keep reading about what you were never going to get. You grabbed a few and debated what to do next. Safety was found in your bed. But you really hated being cooped up. You weren’t meant to stay inside and cramped up all the time. Finnegan poked her head out of your old tote bag that you patched up until you could buy another school bag.

If your cat wanted to be outside then you would be outside as well. The Black Lake pier seemed nice enough. The wind was a little biting but still nice when you sat down. It blew at your long red skirt that kissed the top of the water. You were in red and pink to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Finnegan was walking up and down the pier, sometimes swatting at a merperson that wanted to look at her, while you went to look at your presents.

Regulus, Bellatrix, and Narcissa all chipped in for fancy chocolates. The Carrows got you a small pad of parchment that was covered in hearts. Others got you cards. You opened the parcel from your dad to see another stuffed bear, some chocolates, and nail polish. There was also a bracelet, earrings, and a necklace. Your mouth dropped open. It was some of the most beautiful jewelry that you ever saw which made you upset.

If it wasn’t jewelry that you bought, you always sold it to the second-hand shop. You couldn’t wear something that was potentially taken off someone he murdered. Your hand paused when you saw the letter. The earrings, bracelet, and necklace were from Lucius. A pout crossed your face. You didn’t want to really have anything from him— especially because you were positive he knew he was top of your father’s marriage list. But at the same time, if Lucius got you the jewelry, then you knew for certain it was bought and not stolen. You never really owned pearls before. You loved pearls but they were always stolen or you sold them for money. The set was too pretty to give away. You’d probably write to Lucius just once to thank him.

You were putting in the earrings when your head practically spun from getting hit with something hard. You felt warm liquid run down your face before the metallic taste hit your tongue. Before your hand was in front of your face you already knew that what you were touching was blood. Sitting in your lap was a bloodied stone. You almost screamed as another rock hit you. On the side shoreline, a group of students were throwing rocks. You scrambled to get up and grab your stuff to leave.

Suddenly, you felt yourself hoisted into the air. Your screams to be put down were cut off by a mouth full of water. Panic ran through you for a moment when you found yourself sinking instead of floating because of the abruptness of landing in the lake. Your lungs burned when you reached the small sandy shore by the pier.

Water and vomit hit the sandy ground. You rolled in the other direction to avoid getting in it. A hand ran over your face. At least the bleeding stopped although you had a headache that you would need to get something for… if Madame Pomfrey actually listened for once. Fingers flitted to your ear. You sat up immediately and crawled back towards the water, pulling out your wand.

“Accio earring! Earring! Accio! Acci…”

You gave up. One of the merpeople must have grabbed the piece of jewelry. Either that or it was too far down for your magic to work. Considering the summoning spell was supposed to be useful no matter how far away an object was, you figured this was probably the limitations due to your squibness. Giving up, you went back to the pier to gather your things and leave. Finnegan, who had been hiding in a bush, followed behind you as you left wet footsteps through the castle. Coming outside fucking sucked.

You continued to read in your room until it was time for the feast. You wouldn’t go but holiday food tended to be the most delicious so you would suffer through all the hearts if that meant you got nice food. The book, chocolates, and nail polish all came with you. Dinner was calm for the first half. No one could do too much with the adults around.

The professors never protected you but even they knew that they had a responsibility to laws which meant you couldn’t be hurt with them watching or they’d have to step in. All bullying was relatively harmless at meal time. You charmed your book to stay upright and flip when you were finished reading a page. It gave you the chance to eat and move on to eating your chocolates and painting your nails. They were all painted pink except for one on each hand that was red. You switched to smaller brushes so you could paint heart details. You gasped when the nail polish bottle was tipped over, panicking when your book started to float away as well. It was impossible to stand up. Only your eyes could move as you watched the book leave. They really petrified you at dinner? You were used to it happening at lunch or breakfast so you could be made late to class. You felt a hand grab your face and turn it to look at them.

James chuckled. “You were wrong, Moony. She likes the hearts on her nails, not her knickers.”

They laughed as you went wide-eyed and felt your face heat up. They walked off but didn’t remove the charm. No one removed the charm. Slowly, students and professors alike exited the hall. You would just have to wait the few hours it took to become unpetrified. Little by little, you felt control of your limbs. A large sigh left your mouth as you practically flew away from the table. You desperately needed to use the bathroom. You didn’t even care that the closest bathroom was Moaning Myrtle’s stomping ground.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

The last word that left your mouth was no before you hit the floor. You heard Dorcas’ voice and felt yourself turned over to see her as well as the rest of the Marauders and their friends. They were sitting on the steps just watching you. Sirius was holding your cat and you weren’t even sure how he got Finnegan from your room.

“That was a very large glass of water, Y/N. And the pumpkin juice and the tea. We have a bet. Me, Lils, Wormtail, and Griff don’t think you’ll last more than two minutes. The others say five. Do us a favor and go quickly. We’ve got some galleons on the line.”

If you could shake your head you would. Peter brought out a timer. You just had to make it past five minutes and you’d be let go. That was easier said than done. Your eyes shut as you heard the scoffing laughter and felt a puddle forming underneath you. Peter tapped the timer.

“Three minutes and twenty seconds, pay up.”

(part 2)...

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alrightsnaps · 2 years

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Jily Fanfiction Recommendations

So, I’ve received more than one ask about giving some Jily fic recommendations... but tumblr is determined to drive me mad and if it didn’t crush after I’d spent hours compiling a list, making me lose everything, it refused to process my post as an answer to an inbox message *sigh*. But I’ve been meaning to make a list of my recommendations for a while so I’m posting it separately here!

Buckle up cause this is going to be a LONG post.

The first half consists of sort of canonverse stories (in that they take place in the magical world of the hp books) but not necessarily canon compliant. The second half consists of varying non magical AUs.

There are some stories that I’ve revisited time and time again over the years as well as others that I haven’t read since I was a teenager but remember liking at the time.

At the end of the post I’ve also included some fics and new authors that are on my TBR- I’ve hit a big slump over the pandemic, but I’m still keeping an eye out and there are some new jily writers that have began writing over the past 2-3 years whose work looks amazing and I can’t wait to check out!

Enjoy!

HP UNIVERSE (CANON-COMPLIANT AND AU)

LONG MULTICHAPTERS (90,000+ words)

The Life and Times by Jewels5

She was dramatic. He was dynamic. She was precise. He was impulsive. He was James, and she was Lily, and one day they shared a kiss, but before that they shared many arguments, for he was cocky, and she was sweet, and matters of the heart require time.

Words: 613,762 Status: Abandoned

Pretty much my holy book. Anything I say about TLAT will not be enough to describe this masterpiece that has owned a piece of my soul for years, more so than the hp series itself. The perfect Marauders era story to read even for those who don't ship or particularly care for James and Lily. No other fanfic has managed to make me feel attached to its ensemble the way Jules' story did. While it's abandoned, the way the last two chapters are structured could serve as a nice conclusion of sorts- in any case do NOT let its abandoned status put you off!!

An Unexpected Attraction by thegingerhairedlass

A telling of the Marauders Era and the romance that shaped it all. Lots of teenage angst & romance spanning from the Marauders' seventh year until the end of the First Wizarding War.

Words: 648,698 Status: Complete

My second favourite Marauders era canon compliant long fic and by absolute favourite portrayal of Marlene McKinnon (Jules' Marlene doesn't count, she's a Price and I view her as a whole different character, okay? 😝)

All Right, Evans? by CokeBottleK

Part I of in-progress trilogy [6th year]: The thing about being Lily Evans and James Potter was that you couldn't do anything without everybody else saying something about it.

Followed by Dangerous Crowds by CokeBottleK

Part II [7th year]: "As in all wars, life goes on."

Words: 106,188 Status: Abandoned

The Rise and Fall of the Stag and the Doe by SiriusUntiltheVeryEnd

Moments. They make or break relationships. Lily didn't just happen to fall in love with James. It wasn't an accident, but a long drawn out process that grew out of the relationships of the people around them. And when it came down to it, even Lily and James couldn't fight fate.

Words: 379,212 Status: Complete

Turning Tables by scared of clouds

Lily Evans' and James Potter's relationship has always been a complicated story; it's just about to get a lot more complicated. And so is everything else. They might not know each other well, but they're about to know each other a lot better. Cover art by anxiouspineapples.

Words: 205,589 Status: Complete

Followed by My Kind Of Love by scared of clouds

James and Lily are out of Hogwarts and engaged; add in the Order of the Phoenix, complicated friendships and deranged Death Eaters, and things can only get more difficult from here.

Castle on the Hill by ac0llecti0n0fn0nsense

After graduating Hogwarts, Lily finds herself quietly fighting the First Wizarding War from an Order of the Phoenix safe house in Scotland as a potions mistress. As the war escalates, Lily and James learn about love, fear, and what it means to grow up.

Words: 200,042 Status: In Progress

Sunshine in My Eyes by monroeslittle

Mr. and Mrs. Evans are killed when Lily's only a girl, and she's supposed to go to a home with her sister. Instead, a relative they didn't know they had comes to collect them, and introduces Lily to manners, magic, and a life that's just the slightest bit different from the life she was supposed to live. Or, an AU in which Minerva McGonagall raises Lily.

Words: 93,410 Status: Complete

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Breanie

The story of how James convinced Lily that he wasn't actually the arrogant bullying toe-rag she claimed with help from her new best friend, Sirius Black, who is working to help Lily through difficult times. Can be a standalone, but also works as a prequel to my Beginning Series.

Words: 234,367 Status: Complete

First James/Lily fanfic I ever read back when I first discovered fanfiction is a thing. Aw nostalgia.

Sparks by BirthOfAPhoenix

Lily was certain her final year at Hogwarts would be the best yet. She had amazing friends, top marks, and was a shoo-in for Head Girl. Everything was as it should be. But with a war brewing on the outside and a new relationship heating up on the inside, she could no longer pretend it was business as usual when, all around her, there were sparks.

Words: 154,134 Status: In Progress/Abandoned

Every Other Midnight by Kathryn's NomDePlume

Professor Potter and Head Girl Lily Evans... The Dark Decline

Words: 997,210 Status: In Progress

What About Now? by SiriusUntiltheVeryEnd

She noticed him, of course she noticed him but Lily didn't let her gaze linger. She had always thought James was fit, but she didn't particularly want to. James Potter was trouble and she had enough problems.

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (10,000-70,000 words)

Kiss and Tell by SunshineDaisiesWindmills

The rules were simple. Provoke each other. Scream at each other. Snog each other. Do this as frequently as possible, but don't ever, ever kiss and tell.

Words: 47,861 Status: Complete

Talk Me Down by gxldentrio

James is determined to stay away from short, freckled redheads. Lily, having had enough drama for a lifetime, is equally resolved to avoid dark-haired troublemakers. But he rarely does what he ought, and she is too stubborn for her own good. It should be an interesting year.

Words: 54,647 Status: Complete

October Thirty-First by jamespotterthefirst

Even before they were a couple, they always seemed to spend Halloween together. Series of oneshots.

Words: 17,557 Status: Complete

In Fields of Poppies by SunshineDaisiesWindmills

Her father's war and her grandfather's war were fought with metal and manpower. Hers was done with magic.

Words: 41,527 Status: In Progress/Abandoned

Playing the Hero by MeganRachel09

James Potter never thought he would be found guilty of a prank he didn't actually commit. When he realizes that Lily Evans may secretly be Hogwarts' greatest prankster, however, he finds he doesn't mind taking the fall for her, especially when she turns out to be unexpectedly enthusiastic in her gratitude. His only hope is that it all ends up being worth the punishment.

Words: 46,343 Status: Complete

Sober by LovelyFlowerAK

The first time James and Lily get drunk are very interesting stories. As are the last. And, really, everything in between.

Words: 49,097 Status: Complete

Let's do something you're not supposed to by Oynnej

Lily isn't happy. Although she should be with a seemingly perfect life and perfect boyfriend to boot. But then James Potter comes along and shows her you're not always supposed to do...what you're supposed to do.

Words: 15,628 Status: Complete

Crossing Paths by twilightstargazer

She knew him in Hogwarts; wildly popular, overly confident and a massive flirt. Honestly, she'd never expect to see him again when he left school but now he's back and, oh goodness... he's going to be working side by side with her now, isn't he?

Words: 37,508 Status: Complete

Just Stay Here Tonight by monroeslittle

AU. Lily Evans isn't a witch.

Words: 38,077 Status: Complete

And the Wolves All Cry by monroeslittle

AU. if a certain person doesn't hear a prophecy, does it still come true?

Words: 31,769 Status: Complete

Time Lapse by Apalapucian

three years ago, lily discovered that she could fly. two years ago, james stopped flying.

the first time they meet, he's twenty four, and she literally falls from the sky.

he thinks it's love at first sight. it's not—it rarely ever is—but close.

Words: 32,136 Status: In Progress

Eight Days by B.C Daily

During a week-long exhibition, professional Quidditch player James Potter encounters Lily Evans, Junior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Words: 40,697 Status: In Progress

Firelight Waltz by cgner

"I'd like to assign the two of you a special, undercover mission," Dumbledore says, his wrinkled fingers steepling on his desk. "I require two Order members to pose as a newlywed couple."

Words: 11,411 Status: Complete

Just Keep Your Eyes On Me by crossingwinter *AU- No Voldemort*

You’re not allowed to date your roommate. There’s practically a law against it.

So James moves out.

Words: 50,070 Status: Complete

The Twelve Days of Christmas by pratty-prongs-princesse

With Alice and Frank's impending nuptials on Christmas Day, Lily Evans is back home for the holidays. As maid of honour, she's unexpectedly thrown together with the best man, James Potter, who has seemingly changed since their graduation. This is a Christmas love story about how the two school rivals went from hate to lust to love while planning a wedding.

Words: 68,812 Status: Complete

The Art of Self-Defense by cgner *GILMORE GIRLS AU*

Lily got pregnant at sixteen and left Hogwarts to work at an inn. After seventeen years of single parenting, she now has to manage a persistent James, nosy villagers, and a son who's all too interested in joining the Order.

Words: 22,047 Status: Complete

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (less than 10,000 words)

Snaps by Jewels5

James comes up with a nickname.

Words: 1,680 Status: Complete

Guess where my handle comes from....

The Incident in the Library by greenconverses

Lily Evans has been distracted lately…and it’s all because of James Potter and his stupid, unbuttoned shirt. Hardly any fluff, but plenty of shirtless James for everybody. Seventh year fic.

Words: 3,780 Status: Complete

A Wizard Walks Into A Bar by GhostOfBambi

Contrary to popular belief, it's not always the man who does all the chasing.

Words: 5,558 Status: Complete

Fundamental Laws of Magic by lizardcookie

There are certain rules of magic that Lily Evans would very much have liked not to confront in one day. What began in Defense Against the Dark Arts between two people avoiding the obvious ends in the dungeons, the same two people not the same as they were before.

Words: 4,669 Status: Complete

Yeah, Okay by CokeBottleK

A series of instances in which Lily Evans said yes to James Potter.

Words: 8,214 Status: Complete

Questions and Answers by lizardcookie

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

Words: 5,629 Status: Complete

History of a Friendship by lizardcookie

Seven years of friendship between Severus Snape and Lily Evans.

Words: 4,473 Status: Complete

Just Belong With Me by scared of clouds

Sometimes it's the smallest moments that can cause the biggest changes. Five small moments are all it takes to make the biggest change of all. One shot, seventh year Lily and James. Cover art by anxiouspineapples.

Words: 7,517 Status: Complete

The One With The Forgotten Two of Diamonds by Apalapucian

James and Lily brew Amortentia together—and nothing happens. Lily thinks she's officially gone forever numb, James thinks the dungeons smell like a swamp, and everyone concludes they're both idiots. Everybody's daft in love.

Words: 8,048 Status: Complete

Lovers and Voyeurs by MeganRachel09

Towards the end of their Seventh Year, Snape wants to make amends with Lily, but ends up witnessing a private moment between her and James Potter instead.

Words: 5,604 Status: Complete

To Live Nobly by cgner

It doesn’t feel like he’s living. In a world ruled by the Dark Lord, he’s miserable, but not because of the government. A chance meeting wakes him up, but there’s something familiar about her that he can’t quite put his finger on…

Words: 5,741 Status: Complete

For the Price of a Cup of Coffee by cgner

Something is wrong with Lily's brain. She's not sure what, but nothing good comes out of waking up in a hospital bed with no memory of how you got there. To make matters worse, the messy-haired Healer who shows up doesn't seem to know anything about Healing - he's pretty attractive, though, so that's something.

Words: 5,172 Status: Complete

Good Enough by lizardcookie

They were standing chest to chest, lungs working in tandem and minds blazing. Her wand was still pushed against his heart and he could see gold in her green gaze, but maybe that was his own eyes shining back at him. One move forward and their feet touched now.

"Duel. You and me."

Words: 4,167 Status: Complete

Couples Therapy by GhostOfBambi

Transfiguration Professor. Head of Gryffindor House. Deputy Headmistress. Love Guru. Minerva McGonagall is a woman of many talents.

Words: 4,334 Status: Complete

Two Sides of the Same Coin by GhostOfBambi

There are those who claim that Lily Evans couldn't possibly love James Potter as much as he loves her - including, on occasion, James Potter himself - but they couldn't be more wrong if they claimed that the moon was made of cheese.

Words: 8,126 Status: Complete

i (am in) love (with) you by welcometonerdworld

Five times Lily says she loves James, and one time James says it back. Cover art by viria.

Words: 2,835 Status: Complete

Keep It Sweet, Keep It Slow by Apalapucian

She needs him, needs a lot of things; needs to inspect his head for herself and make sure he didn't crack it open, because he's an idiot. She needs to apologize and berate, needs to trace his jaw with her fingertips, unearth the seasons in his eyes, taste his Quidditch-sky-laden lips.

Words: 3,870 Status: Complete

Fireside by Acacia Carter (xaandria)

Trying to reassure Lily Evans that the world isn't going to fall apart on his watch, James ends up revealing far more than he'd intended - and the emotions that have been bottled up for years are finally realised.

Words: 5,330 Status: Complete

fallen leaves by Apalapucian

they don't tell you about the quiet days.

Words: 1,017 Status: Complete

Easy, Bloody Easy by GhostofBambi

Answer to the prompt: Head Boy James is trying to keep his cool because some Slytherins are causing trouble and he doesn't want to hex them but Lily sails in to the rescue.

Words: 2,546 Status: Complete

Marlene by elanev91

Lily finds out that her best friend was killed in the war. This is the aftermath.

Words: 4,306 Status: Complete

The Early Morning Toast Brigade by GhostOfBambi

In which Lily Evans makes the best of insomnia, with the help of her womanly wiles.

Words: 2,397 Status: Complete

Stay The Night by scared of clouds

The events of a single night can have very unexpected consequences. Two shot, Jily AU. Cover art by Viria.

Words: 6,888 Status: Complete

Eleventh and a Half by Apalapucian

He has never seen her this drunk before, and he's not sure if he's more amused or worried about it.

Words: 1,092 Status: Complete

Of Crossing Lines and Changing Minds by honeylake

In which James asks Lily out... only once.

Words: 6,940 Status: Complete

Perfect Match by Franklet

“Are you coming?” James demanded. Lily raked her eyes over him with marked disinterest and rolled her eyes. “No.”' 7 years at Hogwarts, 7 years of Quidditch, 7 questions asked and only 6 refusals?

Words: 7,342 Status: Complete

The Way I Loved You by Apalapucian

"His name was Terrence Hunter, muggle-born and all kinds of perfect, but Lily couldn't help but note the lack of callouses on his fingers, the way his brown curls crowned his kind face a little too immaculately, the way his eyes were of the wrong hue…how there wasn't a pair of spectacles for her to remove before he leaned in to kiss her."

Words: 9,068 Status: Complete

That Scent by erinsailorditz

Spicy. Warm. All him. That man's cologne was haunting her, though Lily's one night with him was long over. Sweet. Floral. All her. Was that her perfume James just smelt drifting by?

Words: 2,355 Status: Complete

The Potions Missile Crisis by GhostOfBambi

As if Slughorn wasn't bad enough already, now you'll never be able to see him again without spontaneously combusting from shame.

Words: 6,425 Status: Complete

Alarming and Beautiful by stolen-whispers

What she didn’t realize until after she agreed to go out with him was that these things were piling on his shoulders until he was hunched under the weight of the world and it was all he could do not to throw it off and watch it shatter.

Words: 4,831 Status: Complete

Subtle Perspectives by amethysth

Though they've "known" each other for years, it takes Lily Evans and James Potter several moments to truly connect.

Words: 5,166 Status: Complete

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE (NO MAGIC)

LONG MULTICHAPTERS (90,000+ words)

Bloody Shangri-La by firbolging

"The way she babbled on about the place made it seem like some sort of promise land, but James knew full well that is was nothing of the sort. Sowsworth was a wasteland that comprised of seven shops, a pub, and the incredibly bored shadows of lonely people. It was not bloody Shangri-la."

Words: 128,218 Status: Complete

Covet Thy Neighbour by BeeDaily and GhostofBambi

There are lots of ways to introduce oneself to a new neighbour, but breaking into their flat, perhaps, is a road less travelled.

Words: 125,706 Status: In Progress

The Underground by elanev91

James and Lily are doing the fluffy things. Muggle AU, Mass Transit AU (lol not a thing?), Coffee Shop AU.

Words: 91,923 Status: Complete

Fighting Fate by scared of clouds *PIRATE AU*

It may have taken him a while to get to this point, but James Potter is happy with his life; as the captain of the pirate ship Fawkes, no-one tells him what to do or where to go. But when he agrees to carry a passenger - for a fee, of course - his life takes a rather interesting and wholly unexpected turn, and the past may be about to catch up with him. Jily AU, cover art by Viria

Words: 128,296 Status: Complete

MULTICHAPTERS AND ONESHOTS (10,000- 70,000 words)

A Game of Thrones by ritaskeetered *MODERN ROYALTY AU*

Lily Evans had never imagined she would meet Prince James, but when she does at St Andrews' annual Christmas Pub Crawl, her whole world is turned upside down. For who thought that a girl like her - with a sister that reads "Hello" magazine like it's the Bible - would end up with a prince like him?

Shelf Awareness by GhostofBambi *BOOKSHOP/COFFEE SHOP AU*

It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there.

Words: 28,416 Status: Complete

Elevator Love Song by BeeDaily

James unexpectedly finds himself trapped in a dodgy apartment elevator with Lily Evans.

Words: 15,995 Status: Complete

The Fight Before Christmas by GhostofBambi

The heartwarming Christmas tale of Lily Evans and James Potter - two plucky kids who hated one other, until the day they really, really didn't.

Words: 29,201 Status: Complete

Key Limes by cgner *CELEBRITY/MODERN ROYALTY AU*

In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the mysteries of Prince James’s gold star system.

Words: 23,481 Status: Complete

Followed by Ending the Stars by cgner

Five times Prince James proposes to Oscar-winner Lily Evans, and one time he doesn’t. Sequel to Key Limes. Words: 9,014 Status: Complete

Filthy Animals by GhostofBambi *BROOKLYN NINE NINE AU*

James Potter is a talented young detective who's used to doing whatever he wants. When his new boss, DCI McGonagall, tires of his troublemaker ways, she hires her brilliant protégée, Lily Evans, to keep him under control. Now, if only Lily could control herself...

Words: 65,524 Status: In Progress

Wherefore Art Thou, James Potter? By GhostofBambi

For never was a story of more woe than this of James Potter, and his sad, pathetic attempts to win the heart of a girl who thinks he's a prize idiot.

Words: 56,927 Status: In Progress

Salmon Fishing in the Olympics by GhostofBambi *FAKE DATING AU*

Modern Era AU: When Lily Evans seeks assistance from James Potter to avoid the attentions of a suitor who just won't take no for an answer, she accidentally lands them both on the front page of every gossip magazine in Britain. She should have thought about that before pretending to be the girlfriend of a famous athlete.

Words: 12,163 Status: Complete

Question Time by cgner *POLITICS AU*

Newly-elected Prime Minister Potter has his work cut out for him. If only a certain red-headed MP weren’t deliberately making life harder for him.

Words: 11,214 Status: Complete

Careless Texter by GhostofBambi

Answer to the prompt, “I left my phone number on the bathroom stall wall and you text me about your day and your frustrations for a month & it’s really nice and cute but I still don’t know who you are,” with some twists and differences.

Words: 33,121 Status: Complete

Catastrophe by GhostofBambi *UNPLANNED PREGNANCY AU*

With a best-laid plan, a naked rear end, one jalapeño and a pair of light-up antlers, Lily Evans's carefully crafted life is hurtled into chaos.twists and differences.

Words: 36,602 Status: In Progress

Say When by jamespotterthefirst *COLLEGE AU*

A version of how Lily Evans and James Potter would have met if they were only two university students in a world where magic and Hogwarts didn't exist.

Words: 33,646 Status: Abandoned

Dead Men Rise Up Sometimes by cgner *PUSHING DAISIES AU*

Lily Evans leads a simple life of making pies and waking the dead. She doesn't wake them for good, mind – only for a minute, until she and Sirius can find out who killed them. Their latest case: James Potter, moneyed heir, messy haired, and recent murder victim. Keeping him alive is a terrible idea. Too bad Lily's always been a bit reckless.

Words: 38,824 Status: Complete

Seven Things by Apalapucian

"James leans in. Lily hears the script crumple in his hands, but she doesn't look to check. His lips touch the corner of hers, a hand coming up to cup her face. He is moving. So. Maddeningly. Slow... She curses in her head, makes up about a hundred thousand excuses for the next second—and then grabs him down by the back of his neck and kisses him fully, desperately, fervidly."

Words: 19,097 Status: Complete

Sofa-king Fit by elanev91

Two new people move in across the hall and Lily gets locked out.

Based on the "oops we have to share a bed" trope.

Words: 10,277 Status: Complete

Stop Flirting with the Talent by elanev91 *THEATRE AU*

Lily Evans is the hot new performer on the West End, James snags her first interview.

Words: 12,512 Status: Complete

Build-a-Daddy by dancinglily *SINGLE PARENT AU*

The college au where Lily is a single mom struggling with finishing school and raising a child, and James discovers he quite likes babysitting.

Words: 28,540 Status: Complete

Georgia Peach by elanev91 *UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR/AMERICAN AU*

Lily Evans, lifelong New Yorker, is headed to the University of North Carolina for a job interview and she can’t find the right god damn building. Lucky for her, southern belle James Potter is there to save the day.

Words: 15,680 Status: Complete

One Wild Ride by twilightstargazer *SINGER/BAND AU*

Breaking News: Lily Evans and James Potter are not so secretly snogging. The internet is losing its shit.

Words: 14,405 Status: Abandoned/In Progreess

Provisionally Yours by snapslikethis *FORCED MARRIAGE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP AU*

Lily Evans discovers she's been married off to James Potter without her knowledge. She and the spoiled count (in whom she appears to have finally met her match) have three days, for better or worse, to decide whether to accept the contract. With her sister adamant to make her life miserable, and a husband who seems equally determined to repel her, what else can possibly go wrong?

Words: 43,618 Status: Complete

Straight On Till Morning by ritaskeetered *ANASTASIA AU*

When Lily Evans leaves the orphanage in Cokeworth, there is much she does not understand. With no memory of the first eleven years of her life, she only knows that she should head to Paris if she ever wants to find out where she belongs. Unsure of where to begin, she meets the Marauders and strikes an unlikely alliance. They will take her with them to Paris if she pretends to be the lost Princess Lilibeth Evangeline. Jily/Anastasia AU.

Words: 17,840 Status: In Progress

Darkest Night by whatcuriousthings *COLLEGE AU*

"It’s a tiny place, warm and welcoming with soft light and softer croissants. A place so small that if you happened to, say, run into the bloke you had been hell-bent on avoiding—well, there would be no avoiding about it."

Words: 11,691 Status: Complete

ONESHOTS (less than 10,000 words)

Textbooks, Time Scarves, and Tea by cgner *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Lily visits the coffee shop because Sev works there, even though he's got a completely obnoxious coworker with admittedly fantastic hair.

Words: 7,389 Status: Complete

Lessons in Lesson Planning by cgner *FAKE DATING AU*

Answer to the prompt: “our asshole mutual friends set us up on a blind date and didn’t tell us it was a blind date, so instead of getting to know each other we spent the entire ‘date’ scheming against them and decided an awesome way to get back at them would be to pretend to date and then have a horrendous breakup but now that we’re two months into this charade we’re not sure what’s real and what’s fake anymore”

Words: 6,585 Status: Complete

Three Swipes, You're Out by twilightstargazer *CELEBRITY AU*

Sports star James Potter tries to pick Lily up on tinder. Lily Evans, a dedicated not sports fan is offended by the idea that someone thinks she wouldn't recognize James Potter's face. She laughs about it with her friends at a bar, until James Potter, who also frequents that bar, comes over to clarify that nope, he's on tinder, and he's definitely hitting on her.

Words: 4,099 Status: Complete

Sing A Reckless Serenade by twilightstargazer *FAKE DATING AU*

After an almost minute of silence, she finally relents, “I need you guys to help me with a work thing.”

A hefty pause. And then-

“What kind of work thing?” James asks, warily.

Lily takes a breath. It seemed like a brilliant idea last night, when she was more than three drinks under, but now in the light of day it just seems… pathetic. Still though, she needs help, and needs it soon, so she finds herself blurting out:

“I need you to fake date me for a week.”

Words: 7,817 Status: Complete

Mother Deer by GhostofBambi *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Euphemia Potter is the unequivocal boss of everyone, including and most especially her son, and if the sweet, bright-eyed redhead who frequents her coffee shop doesn't know that yet, she's about to find out.

Words: 6,712 Status: Complete

Cat in a Fifth Floor Flat by GhostofBambi

Modern Era AU. When Remus Lupin moves out and Lily Evans moves in, James Potter finds himself instantly drawn to his beautiful new neighbour. Little does he know that a mysterious force of nature is secretly pulling the strings.

Words: 5,349 Status: Complete

Supermarket Sweep by GhostofBambi

James Potter can find anything he needs in his local supermarket - bread, milk, the woman of his dreams - they've got it all.

Words: 4,634 Status: Complete

Foam Hearts by Sleepinghookah *COFFEE SHOP AU*

Coffee shop AU. A story in which James and Lily are blind - both in entirely different ways.

Words: 6,655 Status: Complete

Erotic Porridge by elanev91

Euphemia Potter thinks her doctor needs to go on a date with her son. This story is so named because I saw it somewhere, could not stop laughing, and my best friend professor-riddikulus hates it so much that I just had to. This story has nothing, literally nothing, to do with porridge.

Words: 6,351 Status: Complete

The Yeast I Can Do by elanev91

Dr Lily Evans had an absolute shit day at work. Luckily, there's a bakery nearby that offers a course that she hopes will take her mind off of things.

My Spellbound Heart by twilightstargazer

She washes her face and tries to compose herself before heading back out there. Marlene catches her arm and whispers, “You’ve got a soulmate.”

The word sits heavy between them and she says nothing. It’s crazy how in less than ten minutes her life has changed.

Words: 5,265 Status: Complete

Hospital Walls Have Heard More Sincere Prayers than Churches by marauders_groupie

Jily modern AU, based on a prompt - "We broke up but I'm still your emergency contact so when you have a car accident, they call me"

She knew she could never get James back. But she didn't care. All she wanted him to do is to live.

Words: 8,987 Status: Complete

The One That I Want by snapslikethis

She'd come without a date, dressed as Sandra D, and the owner of the bloody house, the host of the party she was attending, perhaps uninvited, the unfairly fit bloke staring down at her, was actually dressed as her fictional boyfriend. Danny bleeding Zuko. He was really, really fit.

Words: 3,688 Status: Complete

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer by dancinglily

Lily works at a country club over the summer and has to remind herself that she can't fool around with guests, even if said guests are charming, bespectacled, messy-haired boys.

or "AU where person A of your OTP works at a summer resort and person B is vacationing at said resort with their family and they both can't stop checking each other out until they finally make out"

Words: 8,826 Status: Complete

Subtle Arrangements by snapslikethis *FLOWERSHOP AU*

Person A owns a flower shop and Person B comes storming in one day, slaps 20 bucks on the counter and says, "How do I passive-aggressively tell someone off in flowers?"

Words: 3,370 Status: Complete

it continues (the beginning doesn't matter) by whitesunlars

She is the last person he expected at his door at that exact moment, despite feeling unsure about the fact that she managed to track down his address, he agrees to go out to coffee with her. A lot could be said about James Potter, but nobody could claim that he had good self-preservation skills.

They meet in a bar. Mistakes happen. They learn to keep going.

Words: 3,200 Status: Complete

Authors I love and recommend if I haven’t made it too obvious already: Jewels5, thegingerhairedlass, BeeDaily, cgner, GhostofBambi, ritaskiteered, jamespotterthefirst, lizardcookie, monroeslittle, CokeBottleK, a_c0llecti0n_0f_n0nsense

Authors whose work I really want to check out but haven't had the chance just yet: clarewithnoi, missgryffin, AlightWithHappiness, thequibblah, theesteemedladydeborough, mppmaraudergirl

STORIES ON THE TOP OF MY TBR LIST

Potter and Evans by AlightWithHappiness

She was dramatic. He was dynamic. She was precise. He was impulsive. He was James, and she was Lily, and it's about time they shared a kiss already.

This is my attempt at TLAT Chapter 37. It's Jules's world, we're all just living in it.

Words: 43,469 Status: In Progress

I've been putting this one off so that I can read it after another devastating TLAT reread but I'm sure I'll be screaming compliments at the author in between sobs when I finally check it out....in any case, bless this person for taking up the challenge!!!

Bond and Free by clarewithnoi

The year is 1977, and a group of Gryffindors are learning that the final two years of Hogwarts are punctuated by battles – big and small, mental and physical, devastating and triumphant.

It is fortunate, then, that they have grown up warriors.

MARAUDERS ERA: 6th/7th year. Canon compliant. Primarily JILY - but other pairings make significant appearances.

Words: 96,978 Status: In Progress

I Want It to Be Us in the End by theesteemedladydebourgh

"You sneak out the window and into my arms

Tell me where we’re going baby" London, 1979 West End actors and former classmates James Potter and Lily Evans enter into a secret love affair.

Words: 22,932 Status: Complete

Love Is Complicated by theesteemedladydebourgh

Three years. Longing. Academic shenanigans in Egypt. Almost-kisses. A snowed-in office on Christmas Eve.

Or, the one time James Potter’s (who is not Indiana Jones, no matter what he thinks) spur of the moment passion quest isn’t for an ancient artifact.

Words: 12,186 Status: Complete

theogony by clarewithnoi

The trip that Lily Evans expects to go on is the annual pre-dissertation jaunt to Athens with the rest of her Classical Civilizations PhD program. The trip she does not expect to go on is to 479 BCE, right on the cusp of one of the most important battles in the Greco-Persian war. Now, she has to navigate antiquity as she tries to find her way back to the 21st Century, God—or gods—help her.

James wants to win this war. No, James needs to win this war. He is a man of honor and duty, and even if it means dying a gruesome, bloody death, he will go down in history as one of Athens's great warriors. He will suffer no distractions; not even beautiful ones who speak strangely and refuse to listen to his orders.

-- OR: The Outlander-Meets-Ancient-Greece Jily AU that literally no one in the history of the entire world has ever asked for.

Words: 76,269 Status: In Progress

Not Quite According to Plan by BeeDaily

For Fleamont's retirement party, Euphemia hires her favourite event planner, Lily Evans, and wrangles her son, James, into assisting in the planning.

Words: 17,171 Status: In Progress

Last Resort by BeeDaily and GhostofBambi

Dinner with a hostile stranger was not on the holiday itinerary for James or Lily, but it beats getting hit with an ice cube.

Words: 8,085 Status: In Progress

Casablanca by BeeDaily

When James takes over Remus's Uber shift, the last person he expects to take on as a passenger is a familiar redhead who is a trifle inebriated.

Words: 5,532 Status: Complete

Thirty, Flirty, and Aubergines by BeeDaily

Bakery owner Lily is quite good at tempering her consumption of sweets…except when the treat comes in the form of one tall, sumptuous, messy-haired patron.

Words: 4,628 Status: Complete

Everything but the Kitchen Sink by GhostofBambi

Consequences ensue when James Potter drunkenly promises to bring his arch-nemesis to his friend's wedding as his date. Oops?

Words: 32,412 Status: In Progress

The Wedding Ring by mppmaraudergirl

What is undeniably worse than attending your sister's wedding looking as desolate and forgotten as a wilted houseplant?

Drunkenly ringing your ex-boyfriend and asking him to be your date.

Words: 91,655 Status: Complete

Come Together by thequibblah

It’s difficult to say when James and Lily took the first steps to love. Perhaps they had always been walking this road, unaware of the person they were walking towards until the mist cleared. They would fall in love eventually — but we would be remiss in ignoring the hiccups along the way.

Words: 738,179 Status: In Progress

tell me where your secrets lie by thequibblah

She’s Lily Evans. Her best friend is Severus Snape. She's Muggle-born. She's a witch. She's a Slytherin.

You already know how this story goes.

Words: 26,009 Status: Complete

Two's a Crowd by thequibblah

The only thing Lily Evans can share with the Earl of Devon is a healthy dose of mutual dislike.

Prompt: "there was only one bed" but make it Regency.

Words: 4,200 Status: Complete

(Didn't I?) (Didn't I?) Didn't I See You Crying? by ritaskeetered

James Potter has fancied Mary Macdonald for as long as he can remember. Everything about her is practically perfect, except for – if he were being honest and he always liked to be – her choice in friends. For Mary’s best friend, Lily Evans, is a right shrew and, much to his dismay, the Head Girl to his Head Boy.

Lily Evans had disliked James Potter with a passion after their first interaction on the Hogwarts Express. A dislike that turned into hate – never mind that she also has an infatuation going, but no one needs to know about that – as soon as he decided to make her life a living hell. Unfortunately for her, he also decided (a few years earlier) that her very best friend in the world was the worthy object of his affections. (Which was fine, really. She wasn't about to cry over it, for Godric's sake. She was a strong and independent young woman, thank you very much. And yes, perhaps she was a little in love, but it was all for nothing, so she had to keep calm and carry on.)

Certainly, their complicated past would result in major disaster if common ground was not soon established. For the love of Merlin, though, why did either of them think it would be a good idea for Lily to help James woo Mary Macdonald?

Words: 55,682 Status: Complete

It Only Takes A Taste (When You Know It's Good) by ritaskeetered

Lily Evans is 28 years old and far too busy saving - according to her friends - the world to enjoy an epic romance. If you were to ask her, she would say that the last thing she needs is a complicating relationship that will distract her from all that she deems important: 1) her organisation for teens and young adults: Exceed Expectations, 2) her friends and family, 3) Mary's Instagram cooking vlog, 4) her favourite novels, 5) her favourite shows and films, 6) actually going to bed before midnight.

Enter Prince James, heir to the British throne and the world's most eligible bachelor. There is no way she will allow him to sweep her off her feet. It's out of the question. It screams trouble. Yet... it only takes a taste, because - as Mary always likes to say - sometimes one bite is more than enough, to know you want more of the thing you just got a taste of...

Words: 62,556 Status: In Progress

(You're So) Golden by ritaskeetered

After the worst possible year and a half, Lily finds herself at her best friend’s wedding, staring at her ex-boyfriend whom she claimed to hate a year earlier but never actually did. A story of grief, heartbreak, regret and finding yourself.

This fic features James as a windsurfer and was originally inspired by the Tokyo Olympics, except for the fact that I managed to turn this into something different altogether.

Words: 20,879 Status: Complete

If We Never Meet Again by thequibblah

"By the time this is all over, you'll have to be a little in love with each other."

Written for Jilytober 2021's Bittersweet challenge: "here, use my sweater to warm up in," sweet to bitter.

Words: 42,623 Status: Complete

Shout Out To My Ex by ritaskeetered

Phoenix Radio is going through a rough period with the arrival of the new and controversial Riddle Radio. Albus Dumbledore, founder of the country’s number one radio station, asks his team to get ready to rebrand. Gone are the days of family friendly radio, a show where two exes talk about where their relationship went wrong and deliver relationship advice live on air, named Shout Out To My Ex, is exactly what Phoenix Radio needs. Who better to co-host this show than Lily Evans and James Potter, two Phoenix Radio employees who absolutely despise each other, or do they?

A Jily Modern AU inspired by Rachel Lynn Solomon’s "The Ex Talk".

Words: 108, 441 Status: Complete

So Just Act Like You Love Me by twilightstargazer

“Petunia knows Sirius, but she doesn’t know you,” she says, and her voice doesn’t wobble even once.

He doesn’t seem to catch it, but Sirius is staring at her with his eyebrows raised, just a little. She ignores it and trudges forward, steeling herself for what's to come.

“Petunia doesn’t know you. She doesn't know that we're just friends or that we argue like nothing else so–”

A flicker of understanding flares to life in his eyes and his jaw almost falls open. “Oh god.”

or, Lily was looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas by herself. Instead she's heading back home for her sister's engagement party with a fake boyfriend in tow.

Words: 13,160 Status: Complete

The Season by missgryffin *BRIDGERTON AU*

James Potter, Duke of Peverell, has returned to London just in time for the season, where Miss Lily Evans is about to make her debut. Only, he’s not looking for a wife, and she’s not particularly interested in a husband. [Bridgerton AU]

Words: 43,361 Status: Complete

A Jily Bridgerton AU and I haven't read it. I know, I should be ashamed of myself!

foreigner's god by clarewithnoi

answer to a Tumblr prompt: "we were lovers in a past life" but the current incarnations are enemies-to-lovers, and they don't remember anything from their past selves.

Words: 17,577 Status: Complete

#jily #lily evans #james potter #jily fanfiction #marauders era #my recommendations #long post

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witchyafterdark · 5 months

Text

The Statute of Secrecy 📜

Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion. I'm sorry if this was answered late but... I just wanted to answer this properly. And perhaps a late birthday post! 🎉 I'd love to hear more thoughts in the comments section or give me more asks!

The anon was pertaining to a previous post of mine, which you can find here.

Once again, this is a very, very long post. ✨ Please take your time!

Thank you so much for sending me this ask. This is my first one ever, and I couldn't be happier! You have no idea how long I've been stewing on this topic but didn't know where to start.

Let's talk about it! I originally just wanted to post my vague take about this topic but I got to thinking 🤔 If we're really going to talk about this, let's delve deep into it, and get all the proper information out. Lots of people are divided about this statute; some in agreeance, some in complete opposition.

Also, I know that I'm no expert in the areas of government that I'm going to mention here. But I think I have a decent handle on the topic at hand, and for once, I'd like to put my degree on International Relations and Politics to good use!

What is the Statute of Secrecy?

According to the wiki, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy (commonly shortened to Statute of Secrecy) was a law in the Wizarding World that was first signed in 1689, then established officially in 1692. The purpose of this law was to safeguard the wizarding community from Muggles, and hide its presence from the world at large. This statute was inveterated by the International Confederation of Wizards — which is the equivalent of the United Nations in the muggle world.

The ultimate reason as to why this law had to be made and laid down in the 17th century was due to the severe Wizard-Muggle relations at that time. Witch trials were at an all-time-high across European nations. It was said that, "...[witches and wizards] that offer to aid their muggle neighbors with the use of magic was tantamount to volunteering to fetch the firewood for one's own funeral pure." This was evident in the many witches and wizards that were imprisoned and sentenced to death on the charge of practicing witchcraft.

On top of that, there had also been a time of widespread persecution of wizarding children by muggles, and both witches and wizards being forced by muggles to perform and teach magic for the latter's benefit; thus, increasing the numbers of persecution that inevitably included those of muggles mistakenly tried and burned as witches. At this point in time, the Wizarding World had to establish interventional measures.

During that period, Great Britain was ruled by King William III alongside his wife, Queen Mary II. There was a time during their reign when the newly-created Ministry of Magic attempted to convene with the muggle British Monarchy via a special Ministry Delegation. The British Wizarding World went as far as begging the muggle monarchy for the protection of wizards under muggle law. Of course, this attempt had failed, which promptly resulted in the collective decision of Wizardkind to voluntarily remove themselves from muggle societies, and went towards the direction of hiding and secrecy.

Now that the historical background of this law has been covered, let's now talk about what would happen if the Statute of Secrecy were to be abolished; which will make the Wizarding World known to all muggles. (Again, these are my personal views and hypotheses, backed by ample amount of research from both sides of the debate).

Of course, in an ideal world, we would all be accepting of each other, holding hands and singing Kumbaya. 😀🤝😀

But given the current status of wars we're facing today, we have to be honest with each other here. The power of love and acceptance is not going to be enough if the muggles themselves cannot even reach an amicable understanding between themselves. And this is without magic to begin with!

So, what will happen if the Wizarding World were to reveal themselves to the muggles?

I. Economic Repercussions

There are so many bases to cover when it comes to the economic impact of what the abolishment of the Statute would entail. If the Wizarding World were to reveal their truth during this time, I can only imagine the economic upheaval both the muggle and wizards will face. Assuming that the Wizarding World would unveil themselves today, year 2023, these are the highly anticipated events that may occur:

1. At least half of the Muggle jobs will be obsolete

The first that comes to mind are people who work blue-collar jobs. I believe they will be hit the hardest in the event that magic will be known.

Why would you need a couple of dozen of construction workers (who work at a slower pace, and costs more) if you have magic to do if for you; which is considerably cheaper, faster, more efficient, and safer for all who are involved? Sure, wizarding engineers do exist as Hogwarts was built both by hand and magic. But for the most part? Utilizing magic to build and construct infrastructure will be far easier and faster than its muggle counterparts. This alone would affect the economy of manual labor of the muggle workforce.

How about housekeepers? Servers? Customer service? Handymans? They are surely the backbone of our society. But with the integration of magic, again, it would be cheaper to hire one witch or wizard to do the job, and it would be faster if magic was involved with stacking grocery goods into shelves, enchanted clothing stores that automatically alter your clothes to your size and shape, and a swish of the Scouring Charm (a charm used for cleaning and washing things) will inevitably cut the muggle labor-force into considerable numbers.

Didn't we see the Leaky Cauldron's tables being cleaned and chairs being put up by one wizard? A restaurant wouldn't need lots of servers if this would be the case. That alone would wreak havoc on muggle economy. (Less workers = less income tax revenue for the muggle government).

We've seen in real life how the recent pandemic messed with our economic recovery simply because the service industry was not wholly available as it used to be during pre-pandemic times. Everything else became impossibly expensive and difficult to obtain.

2. Pharmaceutical Corporations and Insurance Companies

Come on, now. We all know this is a gargantuan beast to tackle.

The first thing that came to mind are the magical creatures and plants that will be harvested to extinction if the muggles knew of their medicinal properties. Poaching will be at an its height (poor Poppy) with both muggles and crooked wizards selling and auctioning these creatures for mass breeding programs. There will be a race to find and get ahold of the rarest magical creatures, such as the Phoenix, Unicorn, and some species of Dragons and Winged Horses.

Wizarding potioneers and apothecaries will be reaping the benefits of this, of course, but they will be swamped with millions (if not, billions) of desperate muggles who are in search of cures for their ailments. Skele-Gro for immediate regrowth of bone-related accidents, Wiggenweld for the immediate treatment of open wounds and post-operative incisions, and the Forgetfulness Potion and Draught of Peace for patients who are suffering PTSD or any other trauma-related symptoms; just to name a few.

But the most dangerous part is that there will be a race for the recreation of the Philosopher's Stone. This is the key to create the Elixir of Life. And this is something both the wizarding world and the muggle world will fight to the death over.

Muggle pharmaceutical corporations will be affected considerably due to the magical competition of potions and healing spells that are far better than some of the muggle medications. However, there are still medicines that are needed and irreplaceable at this time; such as post-operative maintenance medicine, emergency care, anti-psychotic drugs, chemotherapy, anti-seizure aid, and the like.

And as much as we all loathe our respective countries' insurance companies and policies, they are still an important factor in our economic system. These companies will also be affected by the decline of both muggle medicinal and medical procedures.

3. Doctors, Nurses, and Healthcare Professionals

In that same vein, all healthcare professionals and providers will be affected. There will be a demand for more wizarding healers than doctors, and there will be an influx of muggle patients seeking treatment from the Wizarding World. Yes, there will be muggles who will still be wary and untrusting of wizarding procedures. This will be the saving grace of the muggle doctors and nurses — but only for a little while. Once the legitimacy and credibility of wizarding medicine becomes apparent (which it will over time), lots of muggle physicians will be at a loss of employment as more and more wizarding healers will be on demand worldwide.

The bright side to this dilemma is if both wizard and muggle medical professionals learn to cooperate with one another and have an exchange of training information with each other. Wizarding healers can learn how to do first aid; such as CPR, resuscitation, defibrillation, Heimlich maneuver, etc. We also have to give lots and lots of credit to the muggles. We have survived thus far with our own studies and the sheer will to live.

And so, we also have a lot of knowledge to impart to the wizard healers. Surgery would be even more revolutionary with the brainpower of muggle surgeons and wizard healer's magic and potions; perhaps to the point where mortality rates would go even lower than what we currently have. Maybe the muggles would give the wizards an idea of replicating organs instead of relying on donors! These are some of the positives that can happen for sure.

The Wizarding World will finally get to know dentistry! 😂 I honestly can't believe they don't know the existence of dentists all the way to as late as the 1990's.

4. Transportation

Commercial air and sea travel will most definitely be hit by the presence of wizarding means of transport. Imagine: Floo Stations can be built almost entirely anywhere (from major cities to remote islands), Witches and Wizards can be hired to apparate and disapparate (making traveling much faster, given the Wizarding World could figure out a way to bypass splinching), and Portkeys can be made and sold for a price! (There had been an incident where a muggle accidentally touched a Portkey, and was transported in the middle of a Celestina Warbeck concert!)

Surely, the muggle way of transporting goods will still be there simply because there is just too many parcels and packages to deliver. But human transportation will be affected, putting a dent the industry of airlines and seafaring companies. Plus, wizarding travel methods are easier on the planet! They don't use fuel and gas to begin with.

Another thing is broom flight! Yes, it's fun for the most part. But there will need to be an entirely new set of transportation systems and rules to be implemented before it can even be introduced for public consumption. I assume it's cheaper to buy than a car, and so a lot of muggles will be enticed to opt for brooms instead of cars — and they can just hire the aid of wizards to enchant their bags with Extension Charms for their personal belongings.

But ultimately, automobile manufacturers and corporations will, once again, become obsolete. It would push for smaller car companies into bankruptcy, and the larger ones would probably have to sell their now-surplus stock of cars for a drastically cheaper price just to be sold. Can you imagine what this would do to the economy?

5. Muggle-Made Products vs. Magically Modified Products

Funny enough, I added this part last-minute. But I immediately thought about this from seeing a review of Lady Gaga's beauty brand, Haus Labs, and their "Atomic Lip Lacquer." A product review said:

I'm 100% convinced Lady Gaga found some glamour witches and hired them! This product is impossibly good and effective!

This set my idea lightbulbs off because true enough, I had sampled this product before — and it works! It's smudge-proof, transfer-proof, and the color is quite universal on a lot of skin tones. (This is not an advertisement, nor is this post sponsored by Lady Gaga). 😂

But of course, the caveat is that if this truly was enhanced by glamour witches, then there will be a problem. Right now, we know that Haus Labs probably just have really good cosmetic chemists in their lab. But if the world was to know that glamour witches can be hired to amp up certain products, there will be a power and economic impact in the market competition.

Sure, all major companies can hire their own witches and wizards to magically enhance their products. But what about small, family-owned businesses? What about those actually honest companies that pay their workers fair wages? What about small companies who rely on ethically-sourced products from indigenous communities; like woven garments and furniture? What happens to them, then? They will be obliterated by these major corporations who have the money to hire people of magic to modify their products that will ultimately (and unfortunately) overpower smaller businesses.

Even if we are to ethically buy muggle-made products in support of their honest work, it will become much more expensive to procure over time. Much like cultural products made by locals are more expensive than your factory-produced goods, even the masses will have no choice but to buy products that are magically enhanced because they're cheaper and they take less time to manufacture. And most importantly, the magical products are going to be much more effective.

Just like that Atomic Lip Lacquer.

6. Currency, Trade, and Stock Markets

This one's pretty straightforward. With the use of divination, legilimency, seers, and all sorts of other methods of prediction, the odds are in the wizards' favor. Even with muggle technology that aids them in stock market predictions, it wouldn't stand a chance against magical seers and divination. Not only that but it would wreak havoc upon the value of both muggle and Wizarding currency exchange.

Since their community is considerably smaller than the rest of the world's, their economy is pretty stable. The system of currency isn't really expounded in great detail in the books, aside from what we know that there are 29 Knuts for 1 Sickle, and there are 17 Sickles for 1 Galleon.

Interestingly, there have been systems from forums and websites that have shown the actual money exchange rates between the Wizarding and the muggle currency:

(This one, however, is no longer the actual rates because we all know that rates change daily. There used to be a website for daily conversion rates but it's currently inaccessible or have been taken down. Do try to see if this website's working by the time I published this post).

I am not an economist, and I suck at economics, but judging from how a Galleon is worth more than the Euro, the US dollar, and British pound, Wizarding currency is more powerful than muggle currencies. If the Statute would be taken down, the Galleon would now have to enter the International Stock Exchange! But the worst part is that the British Galleon is not the only Wizarding currency there is. In France, they operate with the Bezant (which was established around 1927), and in the US, they have the Dragot and the Sprink (from at least the 18th century).

Yes, Gringotts Bank do accept muggle currency for Galleons in the case that muggleborns needed to have them exchanged. But the goblins do find the way to put muggle money back into circulation. So, in reality, muggle money is worthless in the Wizarding World. Not only that, but assuming that Galleons are made from gold, that in itself will cause a lot of confusion as to how it would be converted, and which method of conversion would yield higher returns. The bottom line is that the Wizarding currency would suffer from the process of joining the muggle market.

—

🔹 Now these are the things that I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there are tons of other things to consider. We're barely scratching the surface of the economic repercussions. Sure, there are advantages in the long run. But will the muggles and wizards even get to the long run with other factors to consider?

II. Religious Opposition

(Note: I am NOT pertaining to the derogation of any specific religion on this section of the post. Anything mentioned here is alluded to in a generic way or historical context. I am not siding nor criticizing any particular group or religious organization by refering to "real life" events; I am merely making historical references that align with the canonical events in the Harry Potter universe).

—

One of the other factors that I just mentioned is the religious opposition the Wizarding World will inevitably face. The contrasting beliefs and practices of the Wizarding World against the muggle religious organizations is the prime reason why the International Statute of Secrecy had to be made to begin with.

There are extensive historical references, records, and studies about the subject of the European Witch Hunts and Trials that go way back to the 1400's. There was a book — which is famous, even today — that is considered as the "handbook" of identifying, capturing, torturing, and executing a witch in captivity. This is called the Malleus Maleficarum, also known as the 'Hammer of Witches.'

It is because of this book that tens of thousands of people, 80% of them were women, have been put to death. Inevitably, this became the ultimate cause why the Wizarding World have decided to completely go into hiding. The differences in the acceptance of religious beliefs and practices were the driving force why the Statute of Secrecy had been passed and enforced.

Given that today's religious climate is arguably better than how it used to be during those days, there is a bigger and better chance that the youth will have a far greater sense of open-mindedness about the existence of witches and wizards. A lot of Millennials, Generation Z, and the oldest of Generation Alpha are scientifically considered smarter and the most educated generations in all of modern history. We are, as a collective whole, the most progressive and accepting when it comes to considering things that are unknown or are yet to be discovered. Most of us won't react with violence or have the need to gather our pitchforks against the Wizarding World.

However, the same couldn't be said for religious orders. Witchcraft and wizardry are real punishable violations under scriptures, and the history of this practice is one of dark times. If the Wizarding World is to be revealed to the masses, alongside the demonstrations of magic for everyone to witness, religious organizations will most likely take action against the Wizarding population. It would not be a surprise if religious extremists host groups of people willing to revive witch hunts and take matters into their own hands, citing holy scriptures and rights against the perceived enemy. (Keyword: Extremists; not the religious organizations as a whole).

Taking note of the political upheaval in today's warring nations (and to completely acknowledge the severity of what's going on these days without disrespecting real-life situations), muggles alone have taken part in religious crusades after another. Dominant empires of the past have conquered and colonized solitary societies who are living in peace solely in the name of their respective religions. We see this even today. It is not far-fetched to think that some (not all) factions within religious organizations will take up arms against the Wizarding World. It is easier to find a common enemy to attack and fight against. It is easier to wave white flags toward your usual enemy, and join forces to defeat the new threat.

On the other hand, we see a new wave of several revivals of pagan faiths by today's youth. More and more people participate in different forms of divination (such as tarot and astrology; here's my shameless plug: @tarotwitchy), some practice the Goetic rituals and methods of communicating with deities and spirits, others prefer to continue with their ancestors' lost pagan traditions according to their ethnic roots.

So, that is a good thing... right? Unfortunately for the youth, majority of world religious leaders are the elderly; who have grown accustomed to conservative and very traditional practices and systems. And while there's technically nothing wrong with that, I personally do not see them willing to put aside their beliefs in order to allow the Wizarding World to be acquainted and assimilated in the muggle world. Pagan and indigenous spiritual people (and those who have folk religions in their cultural heritage) have a higher chance of tolerance towards the new comers. Again, I could be wrong, and I'm very open for discussion. But the judging from the current situation of the world, muggles cannot even set aside their differences to realize that we're all human with the right to live. What more when it comes to a completely new "species" of humans that will most definitely be perceived as a threat?

III. Cultural Nuances

There are obvious cultural nuances when it comes to the acceptance of the practice of witchcraft around the world; as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be so popular in today's new age of spiritual resurgence if these nuances haven't been a part of ethnic cultures in the first place. Some countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Carribean, and in Central and South America, witchcraft is basically a part of "folk culture," wherein the practice is deeply embedded into the traditional heritage of the people. Some cultures do not necessarily look upon witchcraft and wizardry as evil practices but something to respect (or at the very least, steer clear from out of ambivalence).

I can only speak for my own culture, but here in my country, located in Southeast Asia, we are part of a handful of countries that practice "folk Catholicism." This is when the influence of colonial religions have meshed alongside the natives' pagan traditions and practices. The assimilation of the two groups make for quite an interesting culture! Here, as much as 86% of the population are Catholic. But in spite of the clear-cut religious law that witchcraft and wizardry are not to be tolerated, the indigenous roots of folk practices can never be forgotten nor erased. For example, whenever the Church has done all they could do to help someone under spiritual attack, most people would turn to the ancient pagan practices for cures and solutions.

And I know we aren't the only country that does this. The Haitians and Romanians also have these practices deeply embedded in their culture. (I don't claim to expertly know about these countries, and I understand that not all citizens of those two nations practice witchcraft and wizardry). Mesoamerican culture entails the assimilation of the Catholic faith and its indigenous beliefs as well! (This was a really interesting and enlightening read for me to have researched, and people should read about it, too).

Therefore, I think majority of the muggle population around the world would have a lukewarm reception of the revelation of magic, in general. Of course, there will be fear. There will be wary people who might even spurn the existence entirely. But with how the younger generations have been extremely curious and eager to participate in these practices with an open mind, I wouldn't be surprised if the culture of the Wizarding World will be assimilated into the mainstream in just under a decade. That is, idealistically speaking, if the younger generation would really push for the human rights of the wizards as well. None of this would matter if wizards won't be given the same human rights and freedom as the next muggle. Only then would the wizards be granted the lawful freedom of practicing their own culture (besides other lawful implications and regulations).

Nevertheless, as good as that sounded on paper, greediness and envy does not have an age bracket. Both young and old will be tempted to take advantage of magic simply because it is power, in its natural form. You can see this phenomenon happening in high school students' social experiments; wherein one group of students are being given good school materials, better grades, more attention from teachers than the other group. The less "privileged" group of students began to complain and raise their concerns, and some even gave up entirely. But at the end, since their concerns were left unheard, they plotted against the other group to covet what those students have for themselves.

Of course, these feelings can somehow be justified on the perspective of the muggles. Why should the wizards have all the power? Now that they revealed themselves, they should also share their magic! These muggle concerns, in turn, will alarm and scare the Wizarding World even more. Given their respective histories, they didn't have a good parting to begin with. And this is why, on the grounds of Cultural Nuances, it would really depend on the heritage of the country or region; and how they received and perceived witchcraft and wizardry throughout their histories.

IV. Sociopolitical Upheaval and Power Vacuums

[Note: I have seen and read different takes on this issue, and I must say, there are some who see this issue in an entirely new light that I haven't considered before. Alongside my own personal research and beliefs, I will try to put all of the information together in a cohesive way. Again, all of these are the amalgamation of my own opinions and of others'. This post is for entertainment purposes only, and I am in no way pertaining or pointing fingers to a specific governmental body of any nation in real life. If there are countries mentioned in this segment, it's only because of comparison, and I'm correlating the given information that coincides with the Harry Potter universe]. 🙂

—

A little interesting fact: It was common knowledge that the Malfoys used to be staunch and vocal protesters against the Statute. Why? Well, during the time before the Statute, they enjoyed being part of high-society muggle circles that ensured the steady rise of their wealth from collecting muggle artifacts, currency, and assets. They also used to align themselves with the muggle monarchy, providing discreet (and shady) services to King William the First. The Crown rewarded these services by giving them annexed land from local landowners in Wiltshire — that's why they have a huge manor! But when the new law was passed, the Malfoys became adamant in their denials of interactions with upperclass and royalty muggles.

Now, the discovery of the existence of the Wizarding World can most certainly go in so many different directions. I'm about 99.99% sure that at least half of the world's governments would not take kindly to this shocking revelation. Personally, these are the things I think would happen from the moment witches and wizards made themselves known to the masses, to name a few:

1. Governments would be on high alert

The first thing that I can imagine happening is that the muggle world will be in a state of frenzy. The simple fact that the Wizarding World has managed to hide under the muggles' noses this entire time could make the majority believe that they are not safe at all. If the wizards have lasted this long without the muggles knowing their existence, what else could they be hiding, right? Not only would the public masses become paranoid and fearful of their surroundings, their respective governments will issue a high-alert status all over their nations.

Remember, the wizards are considered the aliens and new outsiders in this scenario. We've seen time and time again in different movies (Transformers, The Fourth Kind, Signs, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Arrival, Edge of Tomorrow, and The 5th Wave) that humans in general will employ all strategies to contain and annihilate the foreign species. And so, this is most likely the first thing muggle governments would do. It wouldn't be far-fetched if these world leaders might also go as far as to call for martial laws to their countries for total control over all citizens. But of course, this would just be a façade for what would actually happen; which is the unlawful and literal witch hunt for the wizarding population that may have been living in muggle communities.

Looking back at when the existence of aliens have been "confirmed" by the US government, most people didn't even bat an eyelash or react with frenzied panic. Given that it's because these disclosed aliens don't pose a perceived threat, most of the youth didn't really react with hostility or fear. If anything, they treated the whole thing with a tired lightheartedness. People knew all along that aliens existed. While some muggles might have an interest for learning magic, the government would treat magic as an ultimate threat against their security, AND they would covet it at the same time. Which brings us to the next point. ⬇️

2. Political upheaval, and the struggles for positions of power in the government

Personally, I don't see fair play happening at all. The first thing that I thought of is assassinations. Dark witches and wizards for hire will do the bidding of high-ranking muggle officials "under the table." That is if the Wizarding World will even allow themselves to be henchmen for long. Can you imagine: the only reason why wizards would "work" for muggles is to truly get to know the entire system from top to bottom, then dismantling everything themselves? National security would be compromised, muggle protective and intelligence agencies will be on red alert, targeting all of the Wizarding World (even the good ones). It will all just be a disaster.

{I wanted to get into the entire Warfare and Security Issues but this post has gotten so long already. So, if anyone is interested in seeing that, I can insert that in another post. Maybe a presentation?}

Solution?

1. Develop a whole 'International Muggle Affairs and Intelligence Agency' for all Ministries of Magic.

As far as I know, the British Ministry of Magic only has TWO offices that cater to handling muggle affairs — not even official departments! One is the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office (the same one where Arthur Weasley is working for), and the other is Muggle Liaisons Office (which is more like catastrophe-handlers office at this point. They're in charge of fixing the collateral damages wizards have caused to the muggle world than anything).

But what they need the most is a wizard equivalent of a CIA or FBI. They need to be on top of all muggle affairs in each region and continent. There is a Japanese Ministry of Magic (since they also have Mahoutokoro School). They should work with other neighboring Asian wizarding bodies to stay on top of political, social, economic, and technological developments of the muggle world. The British Ministry of Magic should also get off their high-horses and collaborate with neighboring European wizarding officials to maintain the latest knowledge of muggle happenings.

The only reason why the Wizarding World was unscathed during the World Wars of the muggles was because they were sequestered and protected with spells around their secret territories. But I don't think that would suffice any longer against muggle technology and nuclear weapons. Drones are everywhere, the countryside are getting more and more urbanized, and the wizards communities are getting smaller and smaller. If I were them, I wouldn't wait until the very last minute to get to understand the importance of muggle powers and knowledge. I'd get on top of it now.

2. Secret Muggle Integration Project

On top of that, I truly believe there needs to be a Ministry project that hire muggleborns to report back the situation of the muggle world to their respective wizarding ministries. They know it best, as they were born and most likely raised in those communities. They need to collect gadgets, latest hand-held weaponry, books, clothing, and other materials for the Muggle Artifacts Office to study very carefully.

The Wizarding World needs to adapt to the changing times. The muggles are already looking to the stars and neighboring solar systems for new life and possible habitation for the next generation of humanity, whilst the wizards are stuck with their narrow-minded ways. Quill and parchment, really? This isn't to scoff at traditional ways. But we all know that they are severely stuck in the middle ages. They have become complacent and comfortable with the tried and tested magical methods.

Muggles have bled and learned the hard ways of life. That's why they soared to new knowledgeable heights. Muggles weren't handed things the easy way. People died from illnesses and catastrophes and accidents; and that's when we learned to advance ourselves as a collective whole. Wizards need to understand this, and assimilate this kind of thinking in their lives if they hope to catch up with the muggle status quo, or they'll be sorry they didn't once the muggles discover them in due time.

I understand the historical bad-blood between the two factions. The primary reason why wizards cloistered themselves away from the muggles were because they were being persecuted in the first place. And it would be very insensitive to force their communities to accept the muggle ways.

That's why in my honest opinion, they shouldn't lift the Statute of Secrecy.

They should only study and be up to date with everything else that's going on in the world while maintaining anonymity and secrecy.

—————

I hope this truly provided a complete picture and breakdown of what would happen in this scenario, and I apologize that I do not agree with your position. I still hope you enjoyed this, anon! Thank you for being my very first ask.

#witchy speaks #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #garreth weasley #ominis gaunt x mc #ominis gaunt x reader #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow x reader #hogwarts legacy mc #hogwarts legacy headcanon #hogwarts legacy headcanons #harry potter #hphl

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dungeonmemester · 7 months

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I'm begging people to stop spreading that post spoiling the end of Wizards (1977). That scene hits So Much Harder and is So Much Funnier when you have the rest of the movie in front of it and don't know it's coming. I get it har har it's an almost 50 year old movie who cares about spoilers but you can literally watch the whole thing on the Interne Archive right now. This movie was contemporary with the first Star Wars, and both those films have wildly different things to say about technology re: World War II.

#i am the only one who cares about this #ignore me #wizards (1977)#i'm the op #i dont claim that its a good movie #just that its a fun and interesting watch

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serenergen · 1 month

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How To Become Minister

By Serenergen (10/?), ~79k words, Explicit.

Summary:

Post-war wizarding Britain is struggling and the population is dwindling. It’s 2009 and Hermione Granger is on the fast track to becoming the youngest Minister for Magic. But power in magical Britain is precarious. In a second, Hermione's world comes crashing down. A marriage law is invoked. Hermione must pioneer it or risk everything she holds dear.

One way or another, she would be Minister. She just didn't expect to be doing it with Draco Malfoy at her side.

If no one would let her be Minister, she was going to take it. And Draco Malfoy was going to help her do it.

Start at the beginning (prologue)

Continue reading (NEW chapter 9: Scapegoat II)

#dramione fanfic #dramione #ao3 fanfic #draco x hermione #draco malfoy #hermione granger #hp fanfic #read on ao3

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the-ballad-of-johnny-goldfiddle · 2 months

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The current members of The Bane Train and Superheroes that I think match them!

@sparrow-eats-kats - Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) - The Woman of Tomorrow is an absolute powerhouse within the DC Universe that can stand toe to toe with her notoriously powerful cousin, Superman. Sparrow and Supergirl both have life-altering events centering around their childhood being ripped away from them. These events required them to grow up very fast and without much guidance in a brand new world. They both also have to navigate the world somewhat within the shadow and influence of their very powerful family members.

@fiasco-of-freyglen - Human Torch (Johnny Storm) - The hottest-head on the Fantastic 4 by looks, personality, and also sheer temperature, The Human Torch is a near perfect match for our favorite rebellious sorcerer. The match is so good that is almost self-explanatory. But there's more than just aesthetics here, Storm grew up destitute on the streets on NYC after his mom was killed in a car accident and his father kicked him out on the street.

Johnny Goldfiddle - Gambit (Remy LeBeau) - A smooth talking, gambling, hot-head with a southern draw who throws explosive playing cards, wears a weird head accessory, and grew up in a gang of thieves to soon become the leader because the patriarch of the thieve's guild retired. I didn't realize how close these two's backstories were until making this post. The only things separating the two characters at this point is a silver quarterstaff.

@varina-has-a-gun - Wonder Woman (Princess Diana of Themyscira/Diana Prince) - Born from clay in the image of a literal Greek god, Diana has been winning feats of strength and agility since she was born among a lineage of warrior women on the mystical nation of Paradise Island. She had to fight EVERY SINGLE ONE of them to gain the famous lasso and uniform best associated with Wonder Woman. Both are from an alternate world to the mortal plane (Feywild/Themyscira), the two fight and move each step with the force that could move a mountain. They embrace strength wherever they can find it and are foundational in the crossing boundaries to gain new relationships. They both speak with authority and great composure. When Wonder Woman talks about politics, war, battle strategy, or even just breakfast, people most definitely listen. Same thing with Varina.

@bath-creek-lake - Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) - A air-force pilot given superpowers from an alien superhero's machine explosion made Carol Danvers one of the most powerful Marvel heroes the universe has ever seen. She is a bastion of perseverance and has shot up on the list of morally upright good characters in the Marvel Universe on the level of Spider-Man and Captain America. On teams where Captain Marvel is prominent, she will become the sort-of moral compass to help the team accomplish their goal. She's so steadfast in her morals that she was the opposition to Tony Stark in Civil War II. Lake and Carol both emulate and radiate that every step forward is a step in the right direction.

@lionel-the-librarian - Doctor Strange (Dr. Stephen Strange) - The Sorcerer Supreme (even though by D&D standards he is most definitely a wizard) and Protector of The Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Strange is the most formidable magic user on Earth 616. Like Lionel, he's nosy and witty but makes it worthwhile with his seemingly endless depths of arcane knowledge. They both also have some experience with handling live human organs.

#dungeons and dragons #ardowin: hell on earth

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ma1dita · 4 months

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'en route' - i. imaginary friend

pictures are not mine, 3rd is a photo concept by @geloyconcepcion on ig

read along here (will update) : part ii, part iii, part iv

song of the chapter: revolution 0 by boygenius

en route playlist: here

words: 3.9k

summary: pt ¼ of ‘en route’. You and James are kindred spirits. Fighting in the First Wizarding War just seems to be your only escape.

warnings: no use of y/n, religious iconography sprinkled here and there, depictions of loss/war, angst, unhappy(?) marriage, fake marriage, twin flames vibe, they’re just kids they should be at the club bro

a/n: setting the scene is always so hard LOL. i love writing morally grey characters, please feel free to comment if you want to be added onto the taglist, or scream at me <3 thanks for the patience, you won’t have to wait as long for the next part lol

(posted 12/28/23, might come back to edit)

—

END OF MARCH 1980

There’s not a lot of things you like to remember about the year 1980. The memories blur together, highly repressed in a busy corner of your mind, and if someone held you at wandpoint to ask about what happened, you’re not sure where to begin. You don’t talk about it much anymore, but if you did, it wouldn’t be sufficient to put it in a few simple words.

And maybe if you did, the remembering wouldn’t hurt as much. With little physical things to hang onto, however—holding onto this hurt reminds you it was real.

From what you can remember anyway, it all started on his birthday.

You felt eyes on you as soon as you stormed into the room. In this congregation of people trying to save the world, it was easy to feel unseen in your struggles to keep moving forward. A pair of kaleidoscope eyes meet yours for a small moment, and that’s when you knew it was risky. It’s easy to hide in a crowd of Aurors enjoying the reprieve from the reality of the world outside of headquarters’ protected doors, fading into the background.

But he saw you, and that was terrifying–to be perceived.

Frank Longbottom pours you a pint, and you nod your head in thanks, taking a long sip before settling down into a chair at the bar. The same pair of eyes see through you, past your hunched frame, down to the core of your grief. Something about it resonates with him deeply, and the boys notice his attention is away from the conversation they’re having in the living room.

“She's pretty, yeah? French, I think. Never says more than a few words to anyone though, I tried. All business,” Sirius mumbles to his best friend over a glass of firewhiskey.

James looks up at Sirius from his position in the armchair, his head tilted to one side in curiosity at the way you fold into yourself.

"Yeah, I guess," James replies reluctantly. "I've never properly spoken to her, but I can tell she's very... mellow."

“Heard she lost people. The war hasn't been kind to her like it has to a lot of us. Don't know if she'll budge, Prongs. Some pages are best left unturned,” Remus says, shuffling a deck of cards between his scarred fingers. Sirius grunts in response, not caring for the conversation as he takes another sip of his drink.

James knows now what he recognizes within you. Grief has been looming over him too, latched onto his spine, weighing him down as the responsibilities grow by the day. His eyes flicker to his wife’s baby bump as she stands near the window laughing at something Marlene and Peter were acting out. Lily falling pregnant was his sign to get his shit together, because if he didn’t, who would?

Like a shadow, you shy away from the light and laughter that fills the room. But there was no escape once he started walking in your direction. There was no grandiose introduction, no heart-stopping, earth-shattering moment. Both consumed by grief unseen by most, two people sat at the bar in silent reverence of each other’s breathing, daring the other to say something.

“Didn’t know I was crashing your birthday Potter. Seems I don't have a gift,” you say suddenly, words rushing out as your eyes trace his profile.

A beat passes.

His head bobs up and for a second you think you’ve said the wrong thing until you realize he’s smiling. He looks up grinning like the devil, eyes meeting yours with a smile you could only describe as radiant. It stirs something deep within you, and you watch your hands reach toward your butterbeer to avoid his searing gaze.

“Terrible time to have a party anyway. I think it’s more for them than it is for me.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you scoff lightly, and his head jerks towards you as you continue, “You’re a bit too happy for my liking.”

“Oh?” His body turns to follow, knees bumping against yours under the bartop.

“How come you know so much about me then? You don’t give any of us a chance with you.”

James says this jokingly, but a part of it rings true like a punch in the gut. You were so impressionable, left soft and malleable by the grief that became you that you found it quite infuriating that someone like him could be so happy in the middle of a war like this one.

A noise of acknowledgement leaves your throat and he watches your fingers clench around the glass. Too much? Change the subject.

“What’s the ‘T’ necklace you have on?”

The chain swings against your chest as you adjust yourself on the barstool, becoming aware of the weight of it.

“What?”

“What does it mean? Must be important to you, whoever this fellow is. See you wear it every day,” he says adamantly, before backtracking and realizing how stalkerish that sounds.

“Potter, have you never met a Christian?” Your eyes dart between him and his hands on the bartop, more glaringly, the platinum wedding band on his left hand. Surely, anything should be more interesting than conversing with a stranger at his own party.

“A who? Who’s Christian? Are you?”

The beginning of a smile breaks onto your face like daybreak. It’s refreshing, he thinks. He doesn’t think he’s made someone smile like that in a while.

“You idi–,” you exhale, “It’s not… Muggles don’t have magic like us, so they have belief systems. Higher power they believe in. Weren’t you Head Boy at Hogwarts, how did you pass Muggle Studies?”

“Elective. Do you believe in that stuff? God and what not?”

Your calf brushes his pant leg accidentally. Why can’t you stop fidgeting? He makes you nervous, all these questions, and then you blurt your response out in rapid succession that he’s almost unable to catch it.

“No. Maybe. My parents did, and God was important to them, so I wear this necklace because of it. They’re important to me. I used to before I found out I was a witch. Used to pray that God would save me, make me something other than mundane—well, here I am now. Not quite sure if he heard me.”

It hits you that the last time you’ve been able to speak about your parents like this was at their funeral two months back. Right before you joined the Order, and sitting here in front of James suddenly feels stifling. You roll your jacket sleeves up, hyperaware that he’s watching your every move.

He keeps his tone light, but the smile on his face is kind as he mutters, “You think some bloke up top is calling all the shots for everyone?” James says this without judgment and your breath quivers.

“I don’t know, but I think things happen for a reason. I’m still trying to find out what that exactly is.”

His pinky nudges yours on the sticky bartop, and his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose as he tilts his head in thought.

“Did. Is the believing past tense?”

You’re not sure what’s changed in the past few minutes that’s made you comfortable in his presence, but you crack a joke before you think too hard.

“My parents are. Past tense.”

Laughter spills out of you like the bubbles on your refilled pint glass, and James scrunches his face, holding back until his shoulders are shaking from the effort.

“Merlin….yeah. Mine too.”

Oh.

You look at him through your eyelashes, silence filling the space between you two as the rest of the party goes on in the background. James clinks his glass with yours, and there’s a silent understanding that bridges between you, connecting you together.

—

END OF APRIL 1980

“You know if we’re gonna be friends, you should probably call me James.”

The two of you were left sitting in the den to deliberate on the mission you were being sent at the end of this week. Three whole months with James Potter could be a nightmare. But it could also be quite fun, you think, watching him flick through the mission files with a quirk in his lip that can only signal mischief. Signing away your life wouldn’t be so bad if you had him to keep you company. You’d never tell him that though.

“Will we be? You don’t seem that excited.”

“Excited to be shipped away from everyone we know is definitely a statement, love.”

“I’m not eager if that’s what you’re insinuating. Just feel obligated, especially if it helps the cause. That’s why you’re here, right?” Right. In a war like this one, ordinary people like you and him pay the highest price. But nothing seemed ordinary about you, like a complex puzzle he was constantly wracking his brain to figure out. There are aspects of your personality that come to light the more he talks to you over these past few weeks, almost luring him in so he can unveil the secrets you hold. Why do you put yourself on the front lines like this, mission after mission? Who do you have in your life that makes you want to fight against the odds? What do you think of to keep you going? Why can’t he stop thinking about you?

He blinks, before looking at you, “S’not that I don’t want to go with you, and do my duty, I just…”

“You love it. I can see it in your eyes, you were trouble at school, weren’t you?” James’ smile gets wider, thinking back to the last few years, before everything went to shit. Back when it was easier, just him and his three friends, and his biggest worry was getting Lily Evans to look at him.

“Just a lot to worry about. People to take care of.” His mind falls back to his wife sitting at home, probably wondering why he isn’t back from the Order meeting, getting more agitated by the minute. He thinks of the nursery he still needs to set up, and the legal affairs he’s left behind after his parents’ death. He thinks of checking in on his boys, who barely know how to take care of themselves if they don’t come over for dinner, and finally, he exhales.

“You?“

It’s an honest question, and by asking it, he extends himself to you, an insight into the burdens he carries with him daily. The difficulty and complexity of having a large capacity to love is carrying the weight until you cannot.

“Just me and my rucksack. Gives me something to do.” You give him a tight-lipped smile, busying yourself with packing the supplies Dumbledore gave you two earlier. Vials of Polyjuice Potion, two golden wedding bands, magically enhanced IDs— it was like playing pretend. That’s all this has to be. Easy enough.

James looks at you and understands a bit more. You need this job. And if he’s being honest, so does he.

“I still wonder what would happen if it doesn’t work out, don’t get me wrong. But then I think, what if it does? What if no one else has to die?” A noise of agreement rises from his throat as he straightens his posture on the couch.

War shouldn’t be an escape, much less a distraction to two people grieving. There are countless muggles and wizards alike losing their lives to a genocide of people undeserving of a fate dictated by a person who plays god. But when you’re fighting for your life before you can even legally drink in some countries, there are two things left to consider when making a decision: to choose something difficult or to choose wrong.

And neither of you have ever found anything easy. Not in this life at least.

He sighs. James really needs to get home.

“Well…We will be friends by the end of this. I’m sure. Already gonna be married to you anyways,” he jokes.

“Don’t get used to it, what a pity that would be for your ego,” you gripe, but a trace of amusement is present on your lips as you watch him stand up to leave.

“We’ll see about that, love.”

He apparates home. Onto the next difficult thing.

When James told Lily that he’d be on a mission for the latter half of her pregnancy, she didn’t take it well. But to be honest, with everything going on, James couldn’t help but feel exasperated. How bad is his marriage that he’d rather risk his life instead of tending to his family’s needs? James sits at the dining table listening to her yell, and he feels extra heavy today, wondering how he feels so ancient at 20 years old.

Years ago he dreamed of this, a wife, kids, a pretty townhouse. But this isn’t what he quite imagined. He looks at his wife as she paces around the room, hand on her bump, red hair spreading little fires as she goes. She’s his everything. Truly. He spent years trying to even find that spark in her, dedicated his life to her, and gave up everything to take care of her—but she struggled a lot these past few months. Her pregnancy brought on incendiary words falling upon him like lashes as she blamed him for moving too quickly. Blamed him for the fact they’ve felt like strangers in this little house. But with his parents both sick, getting married seemed like the next right thing.

An owl flits to his kitchen window once Lily storms out again, leaving nothing but ashes of her disappointment in her wake. Ashes, ashes… James wonders where his spark has gone. He hates to disappoint.

Just wanted to owl and check in. I found myself thinking about you and wanted to make sure you’re okay, with everything changing so quickly. Hope you and your wife figure it out, I’ll be on the 11 AM Knight Bus tomorrow outside Diagon Alley regardless. See you.

He thinks of you, so brave and filled with a spark he used to recognize within himself. This isn’t wrong, he reasons, just difficult. But he won’t admit that taking his wedding band off before settling onto the couch was easier than he thought it would be. He feels lighter. As he takes off his glasses and stares at the ceiling of his living room that night, James wonders how much longer he can ignore his problems by not looking at them properly. How much longer does he have to carry the weight? When will someone help him carry the load?

For now, he tries to sleep. One step at a time, James. Like always. There’s a mission he has to start tomorrow. And he doesn’t want to disappoint you.

—

You’re not surprised when he turns up to your meeting point the next morning, not addressing him when you stick your wand hand out to summon the bus. He bites back a smile, knowing you were right and thinking you see right through him. Now look who’s the eager one.

After paying eleven sickles each, you lead him to a window seat, ignoring the babbles of other passengers as you look out the window.

“You ever think about all these people, with their little lives and everything they have to do?” you pipe up, head against the glass. James scoffs, “I always think about other people. Sometimes I wonder if anyone thinks of me like that. If anyone worries as you do over strangers.”

“I thought we were friends,” you say coyly, still not looking at him, and his heart skips a beat. Probably nerves. “You think Dumbledore cares that he’s sending off two teenagers to fight a war and save the wizarding world?”

“I’m an adult, thank you very much.”

“We’re kids, James,” You look at him, and he blinks at the sound of his given name falling from your lips that he almost loses the next part of your sentence, “we’re kids working towards a bigger picture of world peace. Isn’t that fucking insane that this what our lives amount to?”

He couldn’t agree more, but his forehead creases at your tone.

“Why do you act like your best years are behind you? There’s a lot to live for still,” he murmurs knowingly.

He pats your thigh and the only thing you notice is the tan of his hand against his missing wedding band. Soon it will be replaced by one that binds him to you, temporarily, but it’s jarring all the same. You shake off the uneasy feeling that rises in your stomach.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

James is doing that thing again, the whole savior complex bit that you notice is one and the same with his trying hard to be carefree personality. But you’re coming to learn that James cares. A lot.

—

“Apartment 11B?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Two swigs of Polyjuice Potion did the job once you stepped off the bus and walked through town to the place you’ll inhabit for a fourth of the year, and quickly, you both become unrecognizable to even each other. A blonde eyebrow looks at you under James’ glasses at your hesitation, so you clear your throat.

“For Mr. and Mrs. Fawley. We just got married, you see. Newlywed jitters.” His voice is lighter and more posh as his hand reaches out to rest on your shoulder.

“Hmm, yes. Harry—er…Henrietta and Draco–” the receptionist squints at her paper, and you sigh at how pretentious the names sound together. Not in this life. You ought to wring Alice’s neck. That girl loves to make stories, and the more frilly your personas she created, the more difficult it’ll be to upkeep.

“No need, Etta and Drake are fine, love,” you say with a more confident grin, leaning against your faux husband.

The keys slide across the countertop, and you walk to the elevator, hand in hand until you’re out of sight. As you approach the door, James crouches a bit and puts his hands on his knees.

“What are you doing?”

“Jump up. Gotta carry you over the threshold.”

“Shut up, Drake,” reminding yourself to use his false name in case someone’s watching, but he looks at you with a shit-eating grin.

“Exactly. Just in case. Come on, just indulge me.” You shake your head in disbelief but hop onto his back all the same. Not exactly traditional, but it stirs up a feeling in you that you haven’t felt before. He carries you through the doorway and spins you once, twice, three times before you squeal and he giggles, placing you gently onto the sofa. It’s a cozy apartment with enough space for the two of you, cream walls, and a small kitchen with an island overlooking the entertaining space. The hallway leads to what you presume is the only bedroom, and there’s a nervous energy that sifts through the air as you both place protective charms everywhere, to ward off prying eyes and ears. How intimate. James falls back onto the sofa with a huff, sitting next to you, and both of you are unsure of what to say.

“I can take the sofa,” he says into the silence, and you turn to look at him incredulously.

‘For three months? James, I can't ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

“You’re gonna be hunched over by the end of the week. What if we rotate?”

There’s no disagreement, feeling the springs in the cushion beneath your bottoms already. James perks up, leaning over to grab something from his bag, and by the time he leans back up, he looks like himself again, the small dose of Polyjuice wearing off. You can feel your hair go back to its original shade and texture, and he smiles wider when he sees your face.

“Look what I got. Remus gave it to me back at Hogwarts but I never really used up all the film. Thought we could take some pictures and look back on this one day.” It’s sweet, how he loves his friends like they’re an extension of himself. You reckon you don't have anyone like that, smiling at him fumbling with the tiny camera in his hands.

“It’ll take a while to develop. Gotta keep it safe if we’re making it out of this,” you say, taking it from him and throwing yourself back onto the backrest leaning against him to point and shoot one of yourselves in this moment, disheveled and domestic. The flash goes off and he looks like a deer in headlights, making you cackle.

“You miss them?” He’s not sure who you’re referring to, so he rattles on anyway. He loves talking about the people he loves.

“The boys…Just miss being kids at Hogwarts, y’know? The end of the world back then was not getting enough O’s on NEWTs. You?”

“Mhm. None of them are in Britain though. They came for my parents’ funeral, and they always say they’ll visit but…That’s my fault too, I guess.” You tuck your leg underneath you, turning to face him, and he’s cuddled up against a throw pillow.

“Your parents were awesome. Didn’t know them well besides your dad being in the Order and stuff, but they were really brave. Your mom hugged me at my parents’ burial and I think that was the first time I let myself cry after they died. That’s one of the few things I remember from that day.”

A breath of air escapes your lungs at his anecdote. It’s been a few months since they passed but you’ll never stop missing them.

“I don’t remember a lot from theirs either. It’s all kind of been a blur since. I think I remember you and Sirius smoking in the back and him offering me a cigarette.” He laughs silently at the memory of his best friend.

“No one ever talks about how much there is to do after your parents die,” he says, and you roar with agreement.

“Yes! I’m still battling out their assets in court! It’s difficult to live life alone, thinking they’ve set you up for the future, but feeling like a rug’s been pulled out from underneath you. I just wish…They left this world together, y’know? And that’s great, but sometimes I feel selfish wondering what will happen to me.”

James nods slowly, taking your words in. He’s never had anyone to talk about this with, people pitying him instead, or acting like it didn’t matter, but it’s been almost a year and he can’t go to bed without thinking about how his parents died a week apart because even in death, they couldn’t be away for long. James wonders if you’ve noticed that he hasn’t talked about missing his wife, and the selfishness you mentioned prods at him. He smiles grimly, and takes the ring box from your bag, asking for your hand.

“Hey. You’re never gonna be alone again, alright? Not if it’s up to me.”

You roll your eyes as he flips the cover open, revealing the two gold bands, yours with a sizable diamond in the center.

“Do you think I’d give you that much power over me, James? This is all fake.”

“Fake marriage, but a true promise. I think you might, eventually.”

He slides the ring onto your left ring finger, sealing it with a gentle kiss on the back of your hand.

—

“The first time you caught my eye it was not love at first sight. Instead, a quiet curiosity was planted in my chest and I knew it was only a matter of time before you sunk beneath my bones and nurtured this deep-seated familiarity into a love so fierce that I would question if I had ever been in love before.” - Lyra Wren

general taglist: @jsjcue

en route taglist: @xcinnamonmalfoyx @babyclea @idkman5335 @timhalamet @ttulipwritezz @lilylovesu @thatonedogwithablog @lovemerigt

#made by ma1dita ♥︎#james potter x reader angst #james potter x reader #marauders x reader #marauders era #mischiefmoons er

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whinlatter · 1 year

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authors note | fic: beasts | chapters one and two (AO3)

i'm going to be sharing little author's notes with each chapter of my new fic beasts, with short reflections on writing, headcanons, acknowledgements and recs for fics/metas and other media that i love and that helped me think through or shape the chapter in some way (writers are debtors!) very aware these author's notes are extremely indulgent (oops), but i find them helpful to think about projects’ shape and influences and moving parts, and also cannot get enough of reading other people's reflections on their writing, so hope you'll humour me with these (or just keep scrolling if not!)

in this author's note, i talk a bit about the scope of the project as a whole, the kind of story (and love story) this is, as well as talk a little about bringing these first two chapters (I: fledgling and II: gamebird) into being. there’s also a little sneak peek of chapter 3 featuring a certain DADA teacher 👀🌙✨

spoilers for chapters one and two below the cut!

notes on beasts:

these are chapters one and two of a multichapter post-war story called beasts, which follows ginny’s seventh and final year back at hogwarts after the second wizarding war.

beasts is a coming-of-age story. it's a fic that has ginny looking back on her childhood and adolescence, coming to terms with the war and her place in it, thinking about the prospect of a rebuilt post-war wizarding world. it is also - of course - a love story.

most of all, though, beasts is about a young person’s relationship with the magical world. who is a beast, who is a being: these are questions that define degrees of inclusion in the life of the wizarding world. this is a story about the littlest weasley - child of magic, animal-lover - growing up among wild things, the savages and the monsters, and learning to find her place among them. it's about grieving and growing up in a world that distinguishes beings from beasts. it asks what it means to see those distinctions (and to doubt them).

this fic will contain multiple timelines: the present (ginny back at hogwarts in 1998-99), as well as memories and flashbacks to her childhood and school years (1981-1998, philosopher's stone thru deathly hallows). this is canon-compliant work, with some amount of speculation in imagining the characters in the immediate postwar moment. harry and ron are about to start training to be aurors in london: ginny and hermione have gone back to hogwarts for their seventh year.

the project as a whole is going to be full of wild things and war, but also softness and conversation and care, flashbacks and memories (and, soon, lots and lots of letters). we're going slow & steady, but i'm very excited to be sharing it at last, and really hope you enjoy it.

TW: depictions of torture and violence against minors | canon character death | discussion of PTSD | mention of sexual harassment

notes on chapters one and two:

acknowledgements: a lil conversation with @btelling helped me better figure out why i want to use non-linear devices to tell this story, and her tips on non-linear storytelling and flagging were a big help, so huge cheers to her for that.

on chapter titles: fledgling, n. a young bird that has just fledged; fledged (of a young bird): having wing feathers that are large enough for flight; able to fly. gamebird, n. a bird shot for sport or food.

on the boating ceremony: chapter one opens at the close, with ginny and hermione's graduation ceremony. i know the boating ceremony, where the graduates sail back across the lake, is not technically canon, but rather comes from an old jkr post-series interview about hogwarts graduation ceremony practices. jkr seemed to think it was poetic. i reckon ginny weasley would think it was absolute bullshit. so, you know, had to nick it

on hannah and luna: hannah abbott, in this story, is now in ginny’s year, as she had to repeat a year after her mother’s death (she’d missed too much of her sixth year). luna is also very much a part of this story, but absent at the graduation ceremony for reasons that will be revealed in later chapters (if you saw a mention of her in an earlier draft of chapter 1... keep that to yourself)

on hermione: hermione is head girl for ~ reasons ~ that will be discussed in a later chapter. any guesses for head boy?

on fantastic beasts: i've used two excerpts from fantastic beasts here - the intro on magizoology, and the entry on the basilisk. the full book can be found online here.

on harry and ginny: this is a love story. but, as (i hope!) you can see from these chapters, this is also a story about ginny herself. what i wanted was to start this fic less with the question of 'how do harry and ginny get back together' than 'how do any of these characters put themselves back together'. it's a question that inevitably asks questions about relationships, but it also allows them be part of a bigger, broader thing, about finding a durable, stable happiness. so we start here, with harry and ginny, together, a summer behind them, but together in a tentative, fragile, new sort-of way. harry and ginny will have lots to figure out over the course of this story. ron and hermione are also together and will, of course, have their own place in all of this. this is canon/epilogue compliant, so we're working with all canon (and canonish hehe) relationships here babyyy

on ginny's first trip to hagrid's hut: i put a little excerpt of the canon scene from chamber of secrets at the top of chapter 2, where hagrid mentions ginny has been poking around hagrid’s hut. i know there's some dispute about whether ginny was already possessed by tom at this point, so trying to get at the roosters, or whether she was genuinely wandering around the grounds, maybe hoping to bump into harry. i tried to go for a half-way point here – i think she's discussed the chicken sheds with tom, but she’s not yet started attacking the roosters. so, for that scene at least, she is very much in control of her own faculties during her first proper conversation with hagrid.

on the troll: there are tiny references to my other fic orchards in chapter 2 (ron’s letter and the drawing of the troll) – if you want to read this piece, an earlier hbp harry/ginny summer fic, you can find it on ao3 here!

on gideon’s prewett’s watch: the mirror to harry’s coming-of-age present from the weasleys, this was ginny’s seventeenth birthday present. we’ll be seeing this watch again…

reading list for chapters one and two:

on ginny's childhood and adolescence:

stumble on a secret power by pinkdementors (AO3) All stories have a beginning. This is one of them: the diary, the girl, the quill dipped in ink. Don’t trust a magical object if you can’t see where it keeps its brain, Arthur would admonish months later, but Ginny had grown up in a house crammed with unknown magic, had no memory of a life separate from talking mirrors and singing teapots and the tinny complaints of Great-Uncle Alfie’s chess set. She was just turned eleven years old, and she wanted a friend. Was this to be her crime?

lost by dirgewithoutmusic (AO3) Or were they something else entirely, this trio who was not golden? They were the unchosen three: the discarded Horcrux and the last Weasley; the brave, broken backup Boy Who Lived; the loony girl who lost her shoes and had more friends in thestrals than in her common room.

on ginny, tom and the diary:

the train station by dirgewithoutmusic (AO3) At eleven years old, Ginny Weasley almost died on the cold Chamber floor.

ginny weasley and the chamber of secrets by @its-nanse (AO3) Chamber of Secrets from Ginny's perspective, as a graphic novel.

slipped (and said something like your name) by @pebblysand (AO3) Through all of it, Harry stands at the back of the room. He stares straight ahead, quiet, hands shoved deep inside the pockets of the Gryffindor jumper that someone’s lent him. Very few of his things are truly his, these days. The morning after they got back, Ginny watched him from her bedroom window, up at four o’clock in the morning. He walked out of the house like he didn’t want to be in it and burnt all the clothes that Hermione had packed months ago in her tiny, beaded bag. ‘It all smells like damp,’ he said. Like blood, like fear and like the war. this meta by @stuckwith-harry on gender, tropes of victorian horror, and harry and ginny's contrasting relationship with riddle (tumblr) this re-read meta for chamber of secrets by @ashesandhackles (tumblr)

on charlie weasley:

Career Advice by edenfalling (AO3) Bill Weasley didn't pay much attention to goblins until his fifth year at Hogwarts.

unreachable by malapropism (AO3) "Eventually, Charlie found the words for what he’d always known, and learned that there were others with stories like his. It was easier, in a sense, once he had a word to explain something that seemed inexplicable to so many... But he’d never really gone searching for language, or for community, and he always just thought of himself as simply not interested. Not interested in relationships, or sex, or the kind of love that people fall into."

on time gaps & non-linear storytelling:

Maps to the Stars’ Homes by lizbee (AO3) Following the war, Harry buys a plane ticket and leaves, but the memories keep following him.

for the hope of it all by @missgryffin (AO3) James Potter’s given up on ever having a chance with Lily Evans. Lily Evans is trying not to be in love with James Potter, whom she’s fallen for too late. And Sirius Black’s not scheming at all when he enlists his friends’ help to spend a week fixing up a remote beach cottage that he bought with his inheritance money—and fails to mention the shortage of beds.

actually have been revisiting lots of films for this project to try and think about how to play with timelines (my taste is reallll basic ok), including:

songs from the playlist particularly for this chapter:

smoke signals (reprise) – phoebe bridgers | an arc of doves (remastered 2004) – brian eno, harold budd | wallowa lake monster – sufjan stevens | a window to the past – john williams

...and a sneak peek of chapter 3 👀🐺🛖

She’s getting cold feet with every step she and Lupin take towards the gamekeeper's hut. ‘He won’t bite, you know.’ ‘No, I know, but –’ ‘And, as I recall, what Hagrid’s baking lacks in quality, it more than makes up for in quantity.’ ‘No, you don’t understand –’ ‘What don’t I understand?’ ‘I’m the one,’ she whispers, a little frantic, ‘who got him sent to Azkaban!’ Lupin halts on the path. He turns to look at her sharply. ‘I’m afraid I don’t agree with you there,' he says. 'It seems to me the only person who got Hagrid sent to Azkaban is Lord Voldemort.’ Lupin frowns. ‘And perhaps Cornelius Fudge, who has an unfortunate tendency to cast aside anyone he deems lesser than him in the service of his own ambition.’ He’s a madman, she thinks. Professor Lupin looks like a gust of wind might finish him off — and yet here he is, slagging off the Minister for Magic, and throwing Tom’s darkest name around on a Tuesday morning, like it’s nothing.

🦉 thoughts & questions? ask me anything!

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