#potter family shenanigans

[daddiesdrarryy]

Regulus: James is going to take me to miniature golf tonight

Sirius: Oh! Well, I guess for you, that’s like regular golf

Regulus: Short jokes? Really, Sirius? You’re, like, a quarter of an inch taller than me

Sirius: Yeah, and don’t you forget it

[cherry-pop-elf]

@arrozconlecheeee inspired me to do this, and frankly the whole HPMA discord server. So if you see a sudden arise in this drawing concept in the HPMA tag, blame that amazing artist!

And also thank you for letting me use your drawing for reference on how to do my own 🫂 She’s the best. It was a great excuse to practice anatomy more, and now more like drawing concepts for my persona and OC’s. Any questions? Ask away! Hehehehe

[glisseo-here-we-go]

I know we all love Harry going back in time and raising Tom, but there’s something about Voldemort raising Harry that really just hits

[athenasparrow]

Also 13 and 59!

You pick the best ones. This is just what I needed after my ESSAY on smut lol.

Get to know your fic writer

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

@annabtg passed on a tip from her editor-friend. Take out "feel" anywhere you can. She told me this in the middle of Mystery Microfic May (so there was some editing) and now I'm conscious about it. I feel (ha!) my writing is much better for it. So thank you, Anna!!

59. Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? if not, would you tell anyone?

Yes - my partner and bestie both know the details. My parents and sister know I have a "creative writing" group and that's about it. I only started writing here in January...so it hasn't been very long (and we don't live in same country). I know they would be interested in reading if I disclosed, which is why I have not. They would want to talk about the sex scenes at family dinner and pass the fics around to extended family. My grandpa would want to publish one in his magazine. He'd probably create a Tumblr account and come on and read everyone's. I like having my own bubble, so no, haven't mentioned it yet 😂 It's not really a secret, but I'm enjoying my peace while it lasts!

[i-left-my-room-tidy]

was messing around with tiktok and just got this with the 'the person you love' filter

STFU 😭😭😭 NO NEED TO CALL ME OUT

[evergone]

I'm [Nott] a Bad Person

Theodore Nott x Reader

Warnings: swearing, bullying

Description: The reader and Theo are accused of causing a fight, but they swear they didn't do it.

Professor McGonagall’s office was a little too **Gryffindor-esque for your tastes. The couches, wallpaper, and even the rug on the floor underneath her desk were all some shade of dark red and you had no other way to describe it other than ‘detestably Gryffindor.’ Even so, the fireplace opposite the door warmed the room and gave it that undeniably homey feel you always got when you returned to Hogwarts after the long, hot break between years. She had a few paintings hanging from her walls, but either the subjects were busy elsewhere or she just had a thing for landscapes. One in particular caught your eye, a painting of the Forbidden Forest where you had certainly never been. After all, it was forbidden and you, ever the obedient Slytherin, would never break a rule.

“Do you know why you are here?” The professor asked and your attention slid back to the situation you were in.

“I know why they’re here,” Theo responded from your left, “But Y/n and I are victims.”

“Oh, please, you lot started this whole thing!” Granger squeaked like that little mouse the weasel kid used to have.

“Do you ever shut up, Granger?” Theo retorted.

Your lips tightened as you attempted to stifle a laugh and Theo sent you a quick smirk. McGonagall cleared her throat, again regaining your limited attention span as she tapped impatiently on her brown wooden desk; creating a dum-dum, dum-dum sound under the pads of her fingers like a heartbeat. Furrowed brows and an intense stare told you more than enough about her absolutely foul mood, and you reminded yourself not to play around with her.

“Each of you, tell me the story,” she said, “You first, Mister Potter.”

Theo muttered an ‘of course’ under his breath but you pretended not to hear it. If anyone was to get in trouble you were going to make damn sure it wasn’t you. You had a reputation to uphold; the nicest Slytherin anyone would ever meet. A façade, obviously, you were just as ruthless and cunning as your housemates, but the nice façade was what made you so. It was truly a shame Potter and co. had found you out, but you intended to cover your ass so well that no one else would ever know the truth about you, save for your friends.

“Well, uh…” Potter began to recount his version of the tale.

Apparently (and I say ‘apparently’ because despite his story being almost entirely accurate, you were going to make up a completely different one to get away with this), he had come to you in a free period to ask about how to befriend dragons quickly, knowing as well as most that your family had been breeding dragons since the dawn of dragonology. You were skeptical of him, having never quite interacted with him directly, only through the wild stories Draco or Pansy would tell you or small altercations in the halls that you always pulled Theo away from. Draco could do as he wished but you wouldn’t see yourself or your boyfriend being implicated in his shenanigans.

“I’m not supposed to talk to you,” you had told Potter.

“And why’s that?” He asked.

“All my friends say that you’re — and I’m quoting them here — ‘a mudblood mingling cunt,’” you said, “And though I have no care in the world for blood purity, I do like my friends quite a bit. They wouldn’t hang out with me if I got caught with you.”

You always had a wonderful way of putting things. Your monotonous voice mixed with your incredibly harsh words made for the most readable and expressive conversations. Potter’s little muggle born girlfriend (or girl friend, whichever it was) had almost jumped out of her own socks at your foul language. Personally offended, perhaps? You didn’t mean to hurt her, it just sort of slipped out. Maybe if you were actually a nicer person you’d apologise.

“Just… give me a hand? I know you helped Cedric,” Potter pleaded.

You shrugged, “I really can’t talk to you,” you said, “Though… I am weak to bribery… Maybe if you find me something I want I’ll help you out. Bye.”

And then you pushed through the group to go find your friends who you were bound to find eating in the courtyard instead of studying. Smart kids never studied and neither did dumb kids. When Crabbe and Goyle were there it was easy to tell the difference, but other times, not so much. Allegedly (again, I say this to protect the integrity of the tale you would later tell), you stopped half a step through and turned to show Potter your badge.

“Draco says you really like them,” you laughed, “Get a closer look.”

Desperate for your help and willing to do anything, Potter leaned closer to watch as the red ‘Support Cedric’ turned to the green ‘Potter stinks’ but then a forth colour emerged, a deep purple with no writing. He opened his mouth to ask what that colour meant, but was abruptly cut off when the badge squirted the most revolting smelling purple goo all over him. Again, allegedly, you had cursed it to do that when it saw his face… You would argue that someone must have cursed it prior to giving it to you without your knowing.

“Now you really do stink!” You had smiled sarcastically, “Bye now.”

You then continued on your journey to find your friends, leaving Potter drenched in the most malodorous thing he had ever smelt.

Later that very same day, he had approached you at lunch with a bribe. Oh, how you loved to be bribed. You were like a politician in that sense. He placed two objects in front of you: a book you knew was from the restricted section titled ‘Advanced Curses and How to Master Them,’ and a purse full of coins which, after peeking through the opening at the top, you realised were all gold.

“You know, you shouldn’t bribe people so out in the open, Potter,” You motioned to Theo, Pansy and Draco, all of whom were giving you looks that asked what in the name of Salazar were you doing, “It’s… counterproductive.”

“Merlin’s beard, L/n, just take it and help me,” Potter said.

“Is he bothering you, Y/n?” Theo asked.

You’d glanced between your boyfriend and Potter, wondering what to do in the situation. Potter noticed you’d become flustered at being put on the spot like that, even mentioned it to McGonagall. Truthfully, your head was telling you to say no because you knew as well as anyone how Theo could be when you were uneasy. He was awfully protective. But your heart wanted you to say yes so you could start a little fight and make your friends and Theo proud. You were never quite as provocative as they were when it came to the whole Slytherin-Gryffindor thing and it made you slightly self conscious, to be honest.

You would tell McGonagall that your head won, and Potter had started the fight. Theo was only defending you from the very scary Gryffindor who had decided to attack you just because you didn’t want to help him out earlier. But, in all honesty, your heart had won, or so the story goes.

“Yes, Teddy, he’s been bothering me all day,” you had said.

“How ‘bout you leave, Potter?” Theo asked, but it was hardly a question.

Potter rolled his eyes, “We had a deal, L/n.”

“I don’t think she would’ve agreed to anything with you,” Theo said and (allegedly) shoved Potter from across the table.

It was at that point that all hell broke loose. Potter’s explanation of the situation was riddled with what you would call lies about getting his shit rocked by Theo’s incredible fighting skills. You’d bloodied your boyfriend up afterwards using a little glamour charm you kept handy in case of emergencies. That was yet another way you were like a politician, you were incredible at deceiving people. On the off chance McGonagall noticed the charm, Theo had agreed to take the fall and stage an argument with you where you’d break up with him. The relationship wouldn’t be destroyed, you’d just act strained for a week or so while he did detention.

“Miss L/n, these are a lot of accusations being thrown,” McGonagall said, her eyes staring down at you over her nose, “What say you?”

You let your bottom lip quiver, but you wouldn’t dare cry. That would be too much and she wouldn’t believe you for a second. You may have had a good reputation, but she loved Potter and co. and had a huge bias in their favour. You had to be so convincing that she wouldn’t have a single doubt.

“I just didn’t want to get involved,” you said, “Professor, I’m a Slytherin, there’s a certain… standard that I’m held to. I told Potter that I didn’t want to help him because everyone would be upset with me and he tried to bribe me of his own accord.”

“She’s obviously lying, Professor, please—”

“Miss Granger, Miss L/n didn’t interrupt your telling of events, I suggest you don’t interrupt hers.”

You continued to lie through your teeth like a professional. You’d think McGonagall would know to use a truth serum when dealing with teenagers, but she was too trusting. Photographs of former students were framed on her desk, others who likely lied to her as you were doing. They were mostly Gryffindors, for obvious reasons, but there were Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and the odd Slytherin as well, all of them moving slightly in celebration of their graduations. Potter and co. would likely end up on that desk one day and while you’d hope yourself and your friends would end up on Snape’s, he had never come across as the sentimental type.

“One of you aren’t telling me the truth,” McGonagall said with a sigh once you had finished your recount, “Know that I’m disappointed in you but I cannot be bothered to deal with this today. If I hear about troubles with you lot again I will not hesitate to give you all detention.”

A chorus of ‘yes, Professor’s filled the room before she shooed you all out to go your separate ways. At the door to her office which she had closed behind the four of you, or rather, the two and two of you, Theo turned to the others.

“Don’t start things you can’t finish, Potter,” he said with a snarky tone.

Potter and Granger hardly acknowledged the remark, and you found yourself missing the weasel boy who would have leapt at the opportunity to throw something back. At your core, you liked to consider yourself morally good, but Merlin’s beard, you were a bit of an instigator, perhaps even a bully, weren’t you? You glanced at Theo, who you hadn’t realised had begun a little bit of a rant about blood superiority, and laughed out loud.

“What?” He asked you, his head on the slightest tilt that it was hardly noticeable.

“I think you and the others have turned me into a bad person,” you giggled, biting your lip.

“Y/n/n, that’s so fucking mean,” he said, “You are so rude.”

“I learnt from the best,” you teased as you poked his arm.

Theo shook his head and captured your arm in his so the two of you could walk back to the Slytherin dorms together.

[captainamericasmotercycle]

A james potter x fem!reader request <3

James is in love with Lily. He always has been, right? Ever since the first year of attending Hogwarts he has been chasing after her affection. It’s all anyone thinks of when they think of him. “The boy who chases the unattainable.” Through all of his failed attempts, Reader has stood next to him, supporting him through everything despite the raging love she feels for him.

James does something bad while trying to attain the affection of Lily… again. While his attempts work and he gets the girl, he ends up losing his best friend in the process.

Please have it end with a happy ending where they end up togetherrrr!! Thank youu!!

(If you want to of course, if you don’t mo worries. You can also add smut if you want 👀)

Lacy

smart, sexy lacy, i’m losing it lately

pairing: james porter x reader

warnings: cursing, jealously, james being stupid, insecurity, confessions, lowkey toxic!james, rosekiller and dorlene my babies, hurt/comfort, ANGST, twin evan and pandora 💘, james being shit on for being a douche, happy ending

wc: 2.5k

a/n: ok i absolutely love this idea but i’m not sure if i executed it very well, however i did have so much fun doing it :)))

It was no secret that James Potter was in love with Lily Evans. He always has been, it was just a part of Hogwarts life now - a wild shenanigan to gain the affection of the woman he wanted.

It was also no secret that you stood by his side and picked up the pieces for 6 years every time his schemes got shut down by Lily.

You and James had grown up together, your families running in the same social circle. So you were well aware of his antics and escapades. But in these 17 years of being by James’s side as a friend, you wanted more.

You have wanted more since the two of you escaped from one of your family’s parties when you were 12. He led you out to the garden where the two of you stargazed for the remainder of the boring, high-class party.

But you could never let James know the love you had for him. You were his highest confidante and his best friend, you didn’t want that to be ruined. You’d rather keep James as friend than not have him at all.

You love James, however, you hate Lily Evans. You hate everything about her. Her stupid beautiful smile, her perfectly kept hair, her sweet personality, her Outstanding test scores, and of course the undeniable love and admiration from James Potter. She is just perfect, and you hate her for it. Except you can’t really hate her. You hate the envy you’ve curated towards her. She is so admirable it’s annoying as hell.

You sat in the Marauders’ room, helping James plan out his next gesture for Lily. The rest of the Marauders were spread around the room doing various things, reading, drumming, smoking.

You were getting annoyed at him now, you just wanted him to notice you. Of course you were there but you wanted him to see you, not see through you. Tension had been thick between the two of you for weeks.

“Alright so pink flowers or blue flowers? Or both?”

“Is this a baby shower?”

James frowned at your harsh tone, “Okay…”

You held your hand at the bridge of your nose and closed your eyes, “Just get her Calla Lillies or something. Simple flower and her name is Lily,”

“Oh that’s an amazing idea! You’re a genius, what would I do without you?”

You rolled your eyes, probably get yourself killed, you thought.

James noticed your slumped demeanor, and so did Remus as he perked up from behind his book to listen in on your conversation.

“What is wrong with you?”

“I beg your pardon?” you snapped at him.

“What. Is. Wrong. With. You.?” he annunciated every word archly, like you were a small child.

Remus stepped in like a parent, “James don’t talk to her like that,”

“No, I want to know what’s wrong with her attitude,”

“There’s nothing wrong,”

“You know what, fuck you, I don’t even care,” he turned around to put his parchment down.

“Yeah, you never do,” you got up to leave when James grabbed your wrist.

“You’re just fucking mad that no one cares about you like I care about Lily,” this brought the rest of the people in the room to the conversation.

“James!” Peter and Remus shouted at him simultaneously. Peter was always on your side, he had grown up with you, Marlene, and James as kids. And he knows about your crush on James.

“James, what the hell?” Even Sirius was shocked he could say such a thing to you.

Your expression hardened as you tried to hold in tears, you pulled your hand away from him and mustered up as much strength as you could to speak back to him, you looked at him with glassed over eyes, “Fuck you, James, I never want to see you again.”

You ran out of their dorm, Remus and Peter in tow, and into your dorm, slamming the door in their faces.

Falling flat on the bed, face first, screaming into your pillow, you wanted to die. Actually. This was actually the end of your life because there was no coming back from this.

Soft knocks on the door pulled you from your trance. You stood up and opened the door meeting Lily’s soft face, “Are you alright, I could hear you screaming from outside?”

You wanted to throat punch her.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just stressed,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, 100%,”

“Okay. Well Mary, Marlene, and I are going down to the greenhouse if you’d like to join?”

“I think I’m going to stay… and study,”

“Alright, well we’ll see you later then,” Lily left the dorm doorway with a smile and you went back to you bed and flopped down. Does she have to be so perfect?

You were never getting over this.

Back in the Marauders dorm, James was being berated by his friends.

“How could you say that to her?”

“James, you’re so fucking dense,”

“Do you ever think before you speak?”

“You’re an actual idiot, genuinely,”

“You clearly need time to think, so we’ll give you some time alone to reflect on your relationship with her,” Remus and Sirius stormed out, Peter following.

At the doorway he hesitated and turned to James sitting slumped on his bed, “James, have you ever thought you’re not in love with Lily and she’s just a distraction for you?”

A distraction? What? From what? From who?

Peter left shortly after sticking James with the question of a life time. Was he talking about you?

It didn’t matter. He loves Lily. Right?

The next day he expected everything to go back to normal, you would be back by his side and his friends would be alright. Except this wasn’t the case. His friends were still wary of him and you were no where to be found.

At breakfast his friends only talked about school work and he noticed you weren’t at the table with them. He had also noticed that Marlene gave him an upturned look every time he looked in her direction. You must’ve told her what happened.

At lunch he noticed you still weren’t in the Great Hall. He hoped you were eating something, he knew how easy it was for you to accidentally skip meals. He left lunch early to look for you after his friends wouldn’t talk to him and he kept getting dirty looks from the rest of the girls at the Gryffindor table.

He took a couple laps around the school until he remembered that you loved the library and you had to be there! When he got there he beelined for the spot you and him always shared and as he approached he heard hushed voices and giggles.

He peeked around the corner of a bookshelf and saw you sitting way too close to Evan Rosier.

What the fuck were you doing with Rosier? How do you even know Rosier? Why are you talking to him? Since when did you even become friends?

Evan was one of your closest friend’s twin brother, you’d grown up next to Pandora and Evan just as you had with James, Peter, and Marlene.

You were quite well-known in the wizarding world because of your parents' social lives; always throwing lavish parties and social events.

Evan had been a confidante of yours for a couple of years now, especially since the two of you exchanged advice and stories about the guys you’ve been pining over for years.

But what were you doing with him, of course? Debriefing.

James suddenly felt like he was going to throw up everywhere. How dare you fucking bring Evan fucking Rosier to your spot.

He stormed out of the library and into his next class. He couldn’t even focus on transfiguration. Everything he touched just blew up, which was quite the parallel to his social life.

At dinner he noticed that you still weren’t at the table. There was no way you were going to skip all three meals just because you were avoiding him. That’s when he saw you across the Great Hall sitting at the Slytherin table, in between Rosier and Crouch, laughing at something that probably wasn’t even that funny.

His appetite was suddenly gone. Not to mention he was getting looks from almost everyone at the Gryffindor table. Alice Fortescue, Marlene, Mary, and even Lily were all avoiding his pleading gazes.

Emmeline Vance, Dorcas Meadows, and Emma Vanity would occasionally catch his attention with their hard and disgusted stares.

Fuck. How many people had you told about what happened?

Tomorrow will be better. Everyone is just tense today.

Tomorrow was not in fact better. It was quite possible that it was almost worse than before.

James felt alone. If you were still here with him, he would wrap himself in your arms and cry into your shoulder. But you weren’t here because he pushed you away, quite harshly he may add.

In the morning you sat with the Slytherins, at lunch you sat with the Slytherins, and at dinner you sat with the Slytherins. You may as well be one by now.

The next day came and everything was the same, except for the fact that his friends were a little more talkative. But he didn’t have you.

You were gone, Lily wouldn’t even look at him, which at this point he didn’t even care. He just wants you back.

On the third day of losing you, you still weren’t around and it was really affecting James. You’ve never gone this long without something as simple as a check-in.

He thinks by now all of Hogwarts has known what he had said to you and for the past two nights he’s laid awake thinking about it, wishing he could take it back.

You hadn’t really told anyone except Dorcas, Pandora, and Evan. Dorcas told Marlene, Marlene told Mary, Lily, and Alice. Pandora told Barty who told Regulus and Mulciber. Regulus told Emmaline and Emma. And from there it spread like wildfire.

A week passed and you got closer to the Slytherins and he increasingly got worse. He lost the quidditch game to Ravenclaw. He failed his Defense Against the Dark Arts paper. And most of all, he was losing it, snapping at everyone and constantly drunk or high.

His friends cornered him in his dorm one afternoon, “Have you thought maybe you’re like this because you love her?”

“Of course I bloody love her! I fucking messed up,”

Merlin. He’s had so much time to think about you and he realized that Peter was right. Lily was just a distraction from you.

He hated how long it took him to figure out his feelings for you. You were just perfect in his eyes — your hair, your teeth, your eyes, your smile, your kindness, your humor, he wanted every single part of you and he irrevocably fucked it up.

“Talk to her, that’s the best you can do.”

He found you in the library, alone this time. Calling your name hesitantly, you looked up from your book with an arched brow.

“Can we talk?”

”No,” you said archly. James was taken aback, not expecting you to say that. You packed your things and James watched as you left the library. What the fuck just happened?

He stormed back into his dorm where the group had added Marlene to the mix. James came in and slammed the door.

“I take it the talk went well,” Marlene added sarcastically.

“Fuck off, Mckinnon,” Marlene hated that. Standing from her place next to Sirius’s bed she walked towards James aggressively.

“No, fuck you, Potter. Dorcas told me what you said. Dorcas! Not even my own best friend told me what happened, I had to hear it from my girlfriend!”

“Ok,”

“You’re so fucking dense it’s actually painful,”

“Please can you just help me talk to her,”

“Go to our dorm, she’s in there, I’ll stand at the door to keep her in,”

“Thank you, Marlene, I’m so serious, I owe you big for this one,”

“Yeah, okay, just go fix it, you’re getting really horrible to be around.”

James raced to your dorm and knocked on the door, which was the mistake. He knew you weren’t going to answer. He opened the door, seeing you laying on your bed with a book.

“We’re talking. Right now,” you looked up at him and rolled your eyes.

“Please, please hear me out,”

“James-“

“No, please,” you let out a breath and nodded your head at him, curtly, egging him to go on.

“I cannot even express how horrible I feel for shouting at you and saying some horrid things. I want you back more than ever, I love you so much and I am so fucking daft for not seeing it sooner,” your gaze softened but you were still skeptical.

“Listen, what you said isn’t what totally bothered me, it was the way you said it. James, I have stood by your side for years while you pinned over Lily, and when you said that I wished I had someone to love me like that, I was hoping it would be you,”

“And it is me, I love you, so much, and I can’t even comprehend my love for you because it’s absolutely wild,”

“How can I even trust what you’re saying right now? How can I know everything isn’t going to revert back to the way it was?”

He moved closer to your bed, his knees against the mattress, standing above you.

"Because I promise to give you everything in my entire being. I want to give you my all - my heart, my mind, my soul,” he sat beside you, taking your face in his hand, brushing away stray hair with his other hand.

“I want you James, but I can’t trust you anymore,”

“We can build on it,” you want him so bad. You need him so bad.

“Do you promise?”

“I swear on my life.”

You lean in and softly press your lips to his. Your lips move rhythmically against his, as if they were meant to be together.

The kiss was more than electric, it was as if everything in the world went silent and the stars had aligned in your favor. The short time you were together you felt a need and an urgency to be with him.

There was nothing you loved more in the world than James Potter.

[starchaserdreams]

My fics on AO3

Alright, so I deleted my AO3 account a few months ago (thinking I was done with this) and orphaned all of my works. Well, now I deeply regret that. But I have collected as many of them as I could find here for anyone who's interested.

Jegulus/Starchaser

Temptation Eyes (Now Complete!) - My Jegulus Regency AU. Completed, being posted one chapter twice a week. James enters the London season hoping to find a wife. What he finds instead is Regulus Black, and he never looks back. But as implied by the era, it won't be easy for them. Background wolfstar, shown as a different approach to a queer relationship in the regency era.

Get Regulus Out - 82k, Rated M, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Working Through Trauma, No War/Riddle AU, background Wolfstar, background Marylily. James tries to convince Regulus to leave Grimmauld Place as Sirius once did, and save himself from his parents.

How to Spot Signs of Jealousy - 4k, fake/pretend relationship, mutual pining, miscommunication. After Regulus gets fed up with people asking him out because of his family name, he and Barty agree to fake date. For some reason, James Potter seems livid...and Regulus can only guess that it's because he's homophobic. That's got to be it, right?

But Where's Regulus - 1k. James on laughing gas after getting his wisdom teeth taken out and talking about how much he likes Regulus

Waking Up Slowly - 2k. James wakes up in bed with Regulus in the Gryffindor dorm, something Sirius might not take kindly to.

I've Read Your Book - 1k. Two one shots based on the same premise: Writer!James didn't even know Regulus knew about his book, let alone had read it, but Regulus comes up to him and says "I've read your book" aka the most exciting words of all time to start a conversation for a writer.

Little Ball of Fire - 1k. Regulus gets into an argument with Snape. Regulus begins threatening him, so James picks Regulus up and carries/drags him out of the room before anyone gets hurt.

Prongsfoot/Bambibelle

What's in a Name - 5k, Soulmates AU, secret crush. In a world where soulmates exist and can identify each other by the feeling they get when they say each other's names, it's pretty easy to identify who your soulmate is. But for Sirius and James who only call each other by their nicknames, it takes a while to finally know.

The Bachelorette - 15k, mutual pining, Bachelorette AU. Sirius and James are both cast as contestants on the Bachelorette. Although their stated goal was to woo Lily and capture her heart, they don’t quite manage it. They fall for each other instead.

A Real Marriage Under Wizarding Law - 6k, mutual pining, fake/pretend relationship, drunken shenanigans. Sirius and James get a quickie drunken marriage in Knockturn Alley. When they wake up in the morning, they decide not to get it annulled so that they can save Sirius from an arranged marriage.

The Only Transfer Students to Ever Come to Hogwarts - 9k, arranged marriage, hijinx, angst with a happy ending. Sirius is upset to learn that not only does he have to transfer to a new school, but his parents have set up an arranged marriage for him. James assures him that's impossible, but Sirius knows his parents don't make empty threats. (Written for Prongsfoot Bingo)

The Smell of Water - 4k, Amortentia, idiots in love. Sirius and James argue about what they're smelling without realizing that there's Amortentia in the room. When Sirius realizes, he becomes a whole mess about it. (Written for Prongsfoot Bingo)

Wolfstar

Wolfstar Microfics Theme: Love - 8k, a collection of 22 microfics themed around love

6x James Found Out, and 1x Harry Did - 10k. Six ways James could have learned about Sirius and Remus' secret relationship, and one way Harry could have learned about it. *This is specifically ATYD fanfiction, and it's set in that universe.

[comradekatara]

sometimes i feel like the teen in charge of saving the world trope is too overused but i feel like it works so perfectly in atla. the way they utilize it for character/story purposes as well as to teach lessons to their young viewers is so great

yeah like it’s obviously a pretty necessary convention of the genre, that a children’s fantasy adventure narrative requires child protagonists that the primary audience can relate to and identity with. and usually they’re orphans and ontologically special in some way, so as to justify their role in these magical shenanigans, since it’s fundamentally unrealistic for a bunch of tweens to be saving the world. and there’s pretty much always an in-universe explanation as to why it has to be children specifically for all of these various works, either because children stumbled upon a magical teleportation device by chance and now they are tasked to complete The Prophecy (eg, narnia, amphibia, etc), or because they are in some way The Chosen One (eg, harry potter, atla), or because the stakes are so high that they need to risk their safety to go on this quest (eg, a wrinkle in time, also atla).

i think revolutionary girl utena and neon genesis evangelion both do an excellent job of deconstructing this trope from within their respective genres (the works themselves functioning as deconstructions of their assumed narrative functions). like, the reason these kids are the ones tasked with shouldering these unique burdens is actually because they are being exploited by the adults in power. the fact that they are orphans (especially in the case of the eva pilots, but also in utena’s case) makes them especially viable to these modes of exploitation (spoilers: they need to have a dead mom so that they can be piloted, utena needs to be an orphan so that she can idealize the illusory promise of family and something eternal).

so in the case of atla, it’s not as overtly deconstructing these tropes, but the stakes do feel sufficiently heavy and tragic (if you choose to read into the underlying implications). aang should be an old man, if not dead by now, but due to his temporal displacement, he is now forced to carry a weight that is unfathomable to anyone, let alone a child. as he says, “i’m just one kid.” katara is similarly forced to carry a burden due to being the sole remnant of the systematic extermination of her people. sokka, like aang and katara, is also alone in his own way, and must grow up too fast to compensate for the devastation his people have suffered. zuko was disfigured and banished by his abusive father at the age of 13 specifically to emphasize the extent and depth of his cruelty. azula was raised as a weapon by the same man, and her friends taught themselves to be weapons from a young age for similar reasons. suki is a kid who sees other kids her age travel the world and attempt to save it, and is inspired by their courage to leave home and help out in any way she can, only to end up in a maximum security prison. toph isn’t directly affected by the war, but she nonetheless chooses to join the avatar because of her status as a child being denied autonomy by her family. yue is barely sixteen, and thus deemed old enough to marry, and is essentially sold off against her will. jet and his freedom fighters are so young, and yet have no choice but to fight because their families and homes have been destroyed.

the point atla is making is that in war, children are forced to grow up too quickly and become the kinds of people who must make ruthless, impossible decisions. we see katara and toph fight like sisters over meaningless, trivial bullshit, and then episodes later risk their lives to fight the fire nation. we see sokka awkwardly try to woo the girls he has crushes on, only for him to lose them in horrific ways. aang and sokka fight over whether killing is necessarily wrong, sokka already too jaded to understand aang’s point of view. killing is second nature to him by now. he’s barely sixteen. aang is twelve. as a kid, seeing kids your age or older fight evil is awesome. as an adult, seeing children forced to sacrifice everything to resist against the imperialist forces that have destroyed their lives is devastating.

[thebrunettemuse]

pureblood princess

pairing: james potter x fem!reader (slytherin and pureblood)

part: one , two , three

summary: james had never really noticed you, not until you came back to your seventh year pretty and was sat next to him in defense against the dark arts.

a/n: so i’ve decided to make up this complex story in my head and if i don’t write it i think my head might explode. anyways enjoy this heart aching story, this will definitely be a series. not proofread OKAY BYE ENJOY

James Potter had never noticed you, he was too wrapped up in Lily Evans to even look in your direction. But when he got on the train, ready for his seventh and final year at Hogwarts he watched as you entered in through the door. He had always seen you as the pureblood that he found quite annoying, but this moment? The sun hitting your face and brightening it up as you smiled at one of your friends, well— his heart sunk.

He wanted to say hi, but you brushed passed his shoulder to go and find your usual friends in their usual compartment. Yet his eyes lingered, he couldn’t look away.

Throughout the day he found himself searching the crowd of incoming students to find you, just as he did for Lily all these years. All he could think to himself was how he had wasted the past six years pining after a girl who didn’t even look in his direction when you were right there.

“James, who are you looking for?” Sirius asked as they sat in the Great Hall for dinner.

“Hm?” James looked over, being pulled from his thoughts while he looked over the Slytherin table a million times and still couldn’t seem to find you. “Oh— no one.” he shook his head.

“Liar.” Remus smirked, looking down at his food which made James furrow his eyebrows in response.

“Excuse me?” He laughed a bit, trying to cover up the fact this his friends were onto him.

“By this time every year you’re sat next to Lily Evans flirting with the poor girl, so why are you sitting with us and looking at the—” Sirius took a moment to follow his previous line of sight. “the Slytherin table?” he found himself shocked with what he found, his mouth turning into a confused frown.

“I’m not looking at the Slytherin table.” James lied, his eyes rolling before looking back down to pick at his food.

“Right..” Sirius slowly nodded.

“I’m not!” James tried to defend, but it came off more aggressive than he had originally hoped for, his own actions immediately throwing himself under the bus.

“Woah— calm down. We’re just messing with you.” Remus laughed lightly and James stared at him with his lids lowered before he scoffed and shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. He hated mashed potatoes of course, but anything to keep himself from tattling on— well, himself.

The next day he had DADA class first thing in the morning, sitting at his assigned seat towards the back of his class, something he was grateful for because he could do his usual in class shenanigans. But— as soon as he was starting to get used to his new seat, the chair beside him was pulled out, and none other than you had sat down next to him.

He watched in shock as you set your books down and took your seat, slowly looking over at the dark curly haired boy who sat next to you. You looked confused as to why he was looking at you the way he was.

“Do you need something, Potter?” you asked, his last name falling off your tongue with ease and he had wished for nothing more than for you to say his first name.

“Oh— uhh.” he stammered, why was he freezing? He never froze, he was James Potter for Merlin’s sake. The king of flirting, so this was very unusual for him. Say something. Anything.

“Nope, everything’s good.” he breathed out finally, looking away awkwardly. Why did he have to be so awkward? He was ruining his chances with you, which were already very slim considering who you were, who your family was.

Pureblood family, strictly Slytherin. Just like Sirius’ family. You were what some called the pureblood princess, untouchable unless you were raised just as you were. James definitely wasn’t, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Hopefully..

“Good, I was beginning to think you didn’t like me sitting here.” you joked, something you didn’t do very often. In fact you were usually very quiet, really only spoke when you were spoken to. Just as you were taught growing up.

“Oh no, you can sit here— I mean I want you to sit here..” he stuttered again, but looked back up at you again.

“I have to sit here.” you smiled, this playful smile that made his heart skip a beat and he laughed lightly.

“Right yeah, I suppose you do.” he motioned towards the seating chart displayed on the chalkboard in front of the room.

You scoffed, shaking you head before looking down at your DADA book, opening it up and tucking your hair behind your ear to expose a bit more of your face.

The entire class James was trying to find some excuse to talk to you, yet he couldn’t find any reason to. Only small stolen glances in your direction, watching as you paid attention to the professor and wrote little notes with a quill on a blank sheet of paper.

Then class had ended, and just as soon as you came, you left. James sat for a moment, leaning back in his seat and sighing audibly before standing up and walking into the hallway.

“When did you start getting whipped for Y/N?” Remus appeared beside James, which he sighed in relief seeing who it was.

“Merlin, you scared me Moony.” he rolled his eyes.

“Well, are you gonna answer me?” he asked.

“I’m not whipped for Y/L/N.” he stared forward, not wanting to look at Remus because he knew his face would betray him once again, just as it did the night before.

“Right, you can lie all you want but I saw you staring at her that entire class when Lily was sitting right in front of you.” Remus exposed him. “Better not tell Sirius, he’d get pissed if he found out you like a girl like Y/N.” he warned his friend.

“I’m not, so you have nothing to worry about.” James defended his actions, but he knew he had been caught.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Remus teased.

The rest of the day he couldn’t stop thinking about you, the face you make when your focused and how you smiled at him at the beginning of class. He tossed and turned in his sleep thinking about it, groaning as he shoved his pillow over his face in frustration. It was like his crush on Lily but a million times worse and he couldn’t understand why. Why was he suddenly so head over heels for the pureblood princess?

The following weeks seemed to go by rather slowly and he tried to blame it on him just being ready to finish school, but in reality you were stuck in this special little place in the back of his mind. He saw you in the library every Thursday, his day to study and catch up on homework before the weekend.

You had barely spoken to him too, randomly asking for a quill when you forgot one, him asking for a piece of parchment paper when he had ran out. Helping answer questions for each other when the two of you got a bit confused, but that was it.

Lily even spoke to him more than you did, and yet every time him and the red head would talk he didn’t get the same feeling the previous years when the girl gave him attention, he had secretly wished it was you talking to him.

But after almost a month of little words exchanged, something had changed, he had stood up for you.

It was in DADA, the class was learning about the Imperius when a Ravenclaw students decided to make a very mean joke towards you.

“Alright students, today we will be learning about the curse that controls the mind. It is called the Imperius curse, it is very dangerous and it is very important you know how to protect yourself from it.” the professor explained.

“Protect ourselves from it, or from people like Y/N’s family?” the witty Ravenclaw girl spoke up. James looked up from his book towards the girl, then towards you. Usually when someone made a sly comment like that you would fire something mean back, but your face told a different story.

Tears filled your eyes and you looked at the girl who had a smirk on her face. “Now that’s quite enough, Miss. Golding.” the professor warned.

“That was a real bitch move, Grace.” James said towards the girl, which caused you to look at him in shock. Was James Potter really standing up to the Ravenclaw to defend you? He had ignored your every move for years and yet here he was actually being nice. Shocking, to say the least.

“That’s detention for you, Mr. Potter.” the professor sighed.

“That’s not fair, Grace said something first.” James defended his actions.

“Okay, detention for you too, Miss. Golding.” the Ravenclaw sighed.

James looked over at you and shot a small smile on your direction, you smiled back.

After class you found James in the library studying and approached the table he sat at by himself. “Hey, uh—” you started awkwardly. “Thanks for defending me in class earlier, you really didn’t have to do that.” you smiled.

“Of course.” he said softly, a small smile on his face as well.

“Sorry you got detention.” you pressed your lips into a line. You really did feel bad, and felt like it wasn’t deserved that he got detention for standing up for another student when they couldn’t.

“It’s okay, it was worth it.” he shrugged and leaned in a bit closer. “Between you and me Grace is a pain in the ass.” he joked, earning a breathy laugh from you.

“Yeah, she is.” you nodded. “Do you usually study alone?” you asked. James froze yet again.

“Uh— yeah. Usually.” he looked down.

“Do you care if I sit?” you questioned, motioning to the chair on the side of the table next to him.

“What? Oh, no. Not at all.” he motioned towards it. “Please.” he came off as desperate, mentally face palming.

“Okay.” you laughed again, sitting down and setting your books in front of you. The two of you spent an hour sitting side by side in silence, and every once in a while he peaked over his book to take a look at you. He couldn’t help it, you really were those one of a kind girls.

“James!” he heard his name get called, looking over to see who the feminine voice was. Lily Evans, of course it was. How come when he finally was moving on she seemed to appear more often?

“Lily.” he nodded towards her as she approached him. “Can I study with you?” she asked, her eyes darting over at you and then back at James. You stared up at her for a moment.

“Oh, look at the time! I best get going before my friends start wondering where I am.” you said, gathering your things and shoving them into you arms. “See you around, Potter.” you smiled in his direction before walking off.

“See— see you.” he muttered to himself, finding himself watching as you left.

“James?” Lily called, snapping him out of his gaze.

“Yeah? Oh, yes! You can sit, study— yeah.” he nodded before looking down at his book. But he didn’t steal glances at Lily, in fact he stayed glued to his DADA boom instead.

Every Thursday after that the two of you sat in the library and studied for an hour, and every single time Lily would come in and ask to study, and every single time you would leave when she did.

You knew Lily Evans didn’t like you that much, not very many people did. It was hard to like someone who came from the background you did, you understood that. What you couldn’t understand is why James Potter was suddenly being so nice to you? It was like a switch in his brain flipped over the summer, his usual cold demeanor towards you turned into a warm and welcoming one.

So one day as you sat reading next to James, he finally spoke to you, causing you to look up from the notes you were writing. “What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.

“What?” you asked shocked.

“What are you doing this weekend?” he repeated and you stared for a moment completely dumbfounded. You set down your quill.

“I’m not sure.” you shrugged, because you weren’t sure. You usually sat in the Slytherin common room with your friends and talked about your week with each other, talked about your families or sat in silence. It was boring.

“Wanna go for a walk around the Black Lake?” he asked casually.

“Why? You’re not going to push me in or anything, right?” you joked and he laughed.

“No, I’m not going to push you in.” he smiled.

“So— why then?” you repeated.

“Sirius and Remus are going on a date, Peter is hanging out with Marlene, and I like to go on walks with my friends on the weekends.” he shrugged.

“Oh so we’re friends now?” you teased.

“Of course! We sit with each other every Thursday and next to each other everyday in class.” he explained further.

“I will go if you answer one question for me.” you decided.

“Shoot.” he leaned back in his chair.

“What happened?” you asked, he furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of what exactly you were asking. “I mean, something must’ve happened over the summer. Before you used to hate me, and tease me.” you explained.

“So what happened? Why are you defending me now and hanging out with me?” you looked at him. James thought for a moment.

“I don’t know, I guess I changed my mind— about you.” he looked at you, his face relaxed as he searched for any reaction on your face.

“Changed your mind what about me exactly?” you dived deeper.

“I already answered your question, are you in or not?” he asked.

“James.” you warned, earning a sigh from him. He really didn’t want to have to ever explain this to you.

“You, your family, they stand for everything I’m against.” he replied honestly. “But at the beginning of the year when you walked onto that train, I don’t know how to explain it but, you changed. You looked really well, happy. Very unlike your family.”

“Classic me, came back to seventh year all pretty.” you joked, looking away, but his words stung. All these years he saw you just as everyone else did. Your unforgiving last name revealing who you were supposed to be.

“Not just pretty, Y/N, you looked happy.” he reiterated. You looked back up at him. “Besides, you’ve always been pretty. I was too sucked up in the rumors to notice it.” he looked at you deeply, like he was the first person in this entire school to see you.

“What about Lily Evans, is she too busy?” you questioned.

“I don’t know.” he shrugged, he was being honest. He hadn’t asked Lily what she was doing. “I asked you what you were doing, not Evans.” he smiled.

“Okay, I’ll go to the lake this weekend. But I swear if you push me in—” you started to get defensive but James only laughed.

“I’m not gonna push you in. What, are you afraid of water?” he teased.

“I can’t swim, and I’m not just saying that to sound cute. Like I would literally die if I fell in the water.” you replied honestly.

“Then I would save you.”

[sheeple]

Miracles don't exist | 8: Friends? Friends

Genre(s): Riddle!reader / Slytherin!reader / kinda slowburn / little happy moments Fandom(s): Harry Potter Pairing(s): Theodore Nott x Reader / Harry Potter x Riddle!reader Summary: Being the Dark Lord's daughter and raised under the strict supervision of the Malfoy's is no easy life. Especially if you start crushing on your father's arch-nemesis, Harry Potter. And that while being engaged to one of his follower’s sons. Warning(s): None this chapter [Masterlist] [Mini masterlist] [Playlist]

Sirius fusses over you, making sure your scarf is correctly tied and your mittens are in your pockets. "Rember, steer clear of Knockturn Alley. And if you don't trust something, just run in the opposite direction."

You laugh, pushing his hands away. "I'll be fine, Sirius. Don't worry. I promise to bring something delicious when I return."

Your cousin nods, anxiously chewing on the inside of his cheek. You grab Lupin's arm and gone you are.

"Remember, six o'clock at the Leaky Cauldron. Not a minute later." Lupin gives you a stern look before he disappears.

You let out a deep breath. Staying with Sirius is fun. He's kind and really interested in who you are and what you do at Hogwarts. He is also very happy to tell about the shenanigans he and his friends got up to during their school days.

But he can be quite a lot sometimes. Understandably, he wants some company after being imprisoned for so long.

You browse the shop windows, searching for Christmas presents you can give to your friends when you are back home. The thought makes you laugh. Friends. Yeah, you have Harry. And Draco is your cousin, so you have to count him. But who else? Gjol? Theodore?

No. Theodore is not your friend, no matter how much it hurt to think he's only friendly to you because he is forced by his family. All to get in good graces with your father.

Sugarplum's is where you go first, getting some tasty treats for Sirius. The inside of the shop smells sweet, like chocolate and sugar and you welcome it with a smile. 

Going row after row, you grab all sorts of cakes and candies. As you wait for the cashier to wrap up a box of chocolates, you spot a familiar face coming into the shop with his friends. You groan and turn around, praying to whoever is in the heavens above that he won't notice you.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," Theodore smirks, leaning against the counter.

You sigh and turn to him. "Hello, Theodore. How is your Christmas break?"

He pushes himself off the counter so he towers over you, closing the distance. "A lot better now I've seen your pretty face." 

You feel your face heat up and turn away from him, biting on your bottom lips. Come on, you're better than this. He has grown a lot more flirty after the Yule ball.

The chocolates are finally wrapped up and put into a bag, so you take it and turn around and walk out of the shop. You hope Theodore gets the memo, but he's as stubborn as he always is.

"I was very sad to hear you're not at the Malfoy's Christmas party this year." He stuffs his hands in the pockets of his coat as he catches up to you.

You try to sigh irritated, but something inside of you just can't. "Shouldn't you be with your friends?" You not with your head towards the sweet shop.

Theodore shrugs, "they'll manage. Besides, I'm hanging out with you." He bumps his shoulder against you and you laugh. He gasps dramatically. "Was that a laugh? A genuine laugh from (Y/n) Black?"

You hush him. People around you are giving both of you weary looks at the mention of your last name. For as far as they know is Sirius Black still a mass murderer.

"At least don't shout if you're coming", you say while playfully rolling your eyes.

Theodore beams as he happily walks next to you, a triumphant look on his face. "So... where to next?"

You look around and decide on the bookstore. Theodore follows you through the crowd. He doesn't leave your side when you're in Flourish and Blotts. He looks over your shoulder to the book covers you study and even grabs a couple of books he deems interesting.

"What would you like for Christmas?", you ask him suddenly.

Theodore is a bit perplexed. He would have never guessed that you would do something for him, let alone buy him a Christmas present.

"Well...", he begins with a grin, wetting his bottom lip, "you could go on date with me."

You groan, pushing past him and continuing up a pair of creaky wooden stairs to reach a different section in the bookstore. This level is much quieter with almost nobody lingering around. 

"Theo, you don't have to pretend because of the whole arranged marriage deal."

A sigh leaves Theodore's lips as he corners you against one of the bookshelves, one hand placed next to your head. "How many times do I have to tell you that it has nothing to do with that? I just want to get to know you better, darling."

Your cheeks heat up as you look up into his eyes. "Darling?", you ask.

"Yeah", he smirks, "if you are calling me Theo, I am calling you Darling."

You want to sputter out that it was an accident, but a cough makes the both of you turn around. A witch stands next to you, her face beet red. "May I please..?" The motions for the shelf behind you and Theodore quickly takes a step away and grabs your hand to pull you with him. 

"Sorry", you say sheepishly and take your hand out of his. You both exit the bookstore, he with his cheeks flared up and you with heat creeping up your neck.

"Why are you so against the idea of me wanting to date you?" 

You turn your head abruptly towards Theodore, eyes big. "What makes you say that?" Were you that obvious?

You pull Theodore towards an empty alley and lean against the wall. You run a hand over your face. "It's not that I'm against it. It's the fact that our free will is taken away from us, again. There is, for me at least, this pressure to be perfect. The perfect daughter, the perfect Slytherin, the perfect heir.

"But you don't know how it is growing up with who my mother is. She may be locked up. But everybody I got close to ended up scared of me, abandoning me, or dead. Dead, Theodore! I don't want- I can't do that to you."

Theodore knits his eyebrows together, a frown forming on his forehead. He reaches out but stops just before his knuckles graze your cheek. "What about friends?", he asks in a whisper. 

"What about them?" You've chewed and nibbled at your bottom lip so that it started to bleed, the metallic taste hitting your tongue.

Theodore huffs in a mix of humour and frustration. "You and me, Black. At least give me that." A sly smirk grows on his face as he watches the corners of your mouth twitch. He's got you.

"Fine", you say in faux irritation, "friends."

He holds out his hand for you to shake. And when you do, he takes hold of your hand and tucks you under his arm. "So where to next friend?"

You laugh, shaking your head. "I was thinking of going to a muggle bookstore."

Theodore gasps dramatically, "a muggle bookstore? How very not perfect heir-like of you, (Y/n)."

A smile grows on your face as you and Theodore step through the portal to get back to muggle London. You know, if this is what a friendship is with Theodore, it might not be as bad.

Theodore lets you drag him all over muggle London, store after store. And before you knew it you had to run back to the Leaky Cauldron, bursting just in time through the doors.

Your eyes scan around the pub and don't spot Lupin. Thank Merlin. 

Theodore drops next to you on a bench all out of breath. "Why", huff, "did we", huff, "need to be here", huff, "again?", huff.

Catching your breath yourself, you wheeze out, "I agreed to meet my ride back here at six o'clock. Looks like he's not here yet."

"Where are you even staying if not with the Malfoy's?"

You still for a moment. You can't tell him the truth. Or at least, not all of it. "I'm staying with a cousin", is your simple answer.

At that moment the door opens and in steps Lupin. He spots you immediately and nods towards you, a silent way of saying 'wrap up your conversation and let's go.'

"I'll see you back at Hogwarts, yeah?" You stand up and grab the shopping bags you accumulated. "Have a nice Christmas, Theo."

You wave and walk out of the pub, grab Lupin's arm and gone you are.

Once your feet hit the ground of the entrance and the dizzyness has ebbed away, you gasp out. 12 Grimmault Place is decorated from top to bottom in Christmas regalia. it's all a bit dusty and wonky, but the house still looks absolutely stunning. There is even a Christmas tree in the front room next to the fireplace.

Sirius anxiously stands at the end of the hall, hands wringing together. "I thought I- you've─"

Lupin steps forwards when his friend stumbles over his words. "Sirius thought you deserved a nice Christmas. Or at least a Christmas tree."

You can't help yourself and go to hug Sirius. You've known this man for a couple of days, but you already know he is the kindest person on this earth.

"Thank you, Sirius. It's amazing."

Sirius wraps his arms around and you return the hug. "No problem, kid. Merry Christmas."

Taglist (bold means I couldn’t tag you): @the0doreslover @lqndkxlmqma @st4rrry @choppedpartymuffinwinner @dianaswanda @literallyobessed @lestat-whore​ @vanishingcherry

[xanthippe74]

Masterlist of my “12 Days of Fandom” recs, inspired by this post. As always, please check the tags and author's notes before reading. Enjoy!

🔸 Terminal Lucidity by @romaine2424 (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated G, 3K) This bittersweet fic has Harry putting his abilities as Master of Death to good use by comforting those close to death themselves. We see him at work here, adeptly easing the way for someone dear to him with compassion and care. I found this story incredibly moving and a beautiful portrait of family ties in the face of an impending loss. Featuring older, established Drarry and the Black-Malfoy family.

🔹 Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses (Drarry, rated E, 46K) Gorgeously and vividly written, this university rowing AU drew me in right from the get-go, despite the fact that Muggle AUs are not my typical cuppa. The enemies-to-lovers tension is perfectly paced as Harry and Draco fight for the same spot on the Oxford team. Citrusses did a fantastic job translating their backgrounds and personalities (as well as those of other familiar characters from the books) into this world. Class divisions and the pressure of a highly-public sporting event stand in very effectively for Harry’s canon experiences. All in all, the story has the poignancy and drama of a lush coming of age film, and I can’t recommend it highly enough!

🔸 The Pile by @b-vul (Drarry, not rated, about 1.5K) This hilarious ficlet was born out of littlewinnow’s tumblr post about Veela!Harry performing an intricate mating dance to impress Draco. Delightfully, it’s from Harry’s POV as he blindly “trusts his instincts” to guide him into increasingly bizarre actions. And the evolution of Draco’s reaction is pure comedy gold. I’ve come back to reread this one a couple of times, and it never fails to have me in stitches. (The tumblr thread also contains adorable art by regretfulcorrine!)

🔹 Shine on, You Crazy Diamond by @lagerloutfic (Drarry, HD Mpreg Fest, rated E, 42K) This is one of those fics that you can’t stop reading once you start (something I confirmed this morning when I went to skim through it for this rec and wound up spending a few happy hours devouring the entire thing again). It’s laugh-out-loud funny and deliciously smutty, with a full cast of delightful side characters and just the right amount of feelings. The story begins with the discovery of Draco’s surprise pregnancy, then switches to a long flashback of Harry’s gay awakening and his fast sexual/slow emotional burn relationship with Draco. The entire fic has a joyful feel—banter-filled pub nights, chaotic family dinners, audacious curse breaking—culminating in the baby’s arrival, which left me in happy tears and wishing for another 40K of this fabulous story. Featuring confident Harry, supportive friends & family, hot Charlie, and some shamelessly kinky Unspeakables.

🔸 Silhouettes by @sweet-s0rr0w (Draco/Ron/Harry, Dronarry Fest, rated E, 16K) Draco/Ron/Harry is not a ship I’d ventured into before I read this fic, but I’m so glad I did! Sweet’s writing always hits the right spot in my brain, and her alternating POVs and spot-on characterizations of all three boys are delightful. I especially loved Ron’s sexy self-assurance here. The unique magical theory around sentient houses is fascinating and ultimately poignant, once Draco gets to the root cause of the Burrow’s behavior. Sweet-sorrow surely lived up to her username with this one, weaving grief with humor and a heartwarming resolution.

🔹 Harry Potter Gets a Job (A 106-Page Comic) by dustmouth (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated M) Dustmouth’s comics never miss, I swear! In this one, we find Harry overcoming his distrust of Draco with the help of the Weasleys, especially Ron (who is definitely up to something himself). All of my favorite Dustmouth elements are here: the expressive characters, Draco’s wild wardrobe choices, and punchy dialogue galore. Also featuring drunken shenanigans at the Burrow, adorable Teddy, and some first-class Slytherin-ing by Draco to win his man (and find Harry that job). What a treat!

🔸 the earth from a distance by spqr (Drarry, rated E, 15K) A whirlwind time-travel fic with breezy humor, bedsharing, and spqr’s unmatched smut with feelings… What more could you ask for in a fic? Oh, yeah: fantastic worldbuilding for Hogwarts in 1599, brilliantly clever Draco, and a dash of enemies to lovers. I can never get enough of this author!

🔹 A Year In The Life by @ladderofyears (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated M, 19K) I swear, the author conjured a little bit of magic to write this story. It’s told entirely with 50-word microfics, one journal entry for each day of 2006 (an impressive feat, by itself!), and yet it reads just as smoothly as any traditional fic. Draco’s voice is perfect here, full of wit and subtle emotion, as his and Harry’s developing romance takes a sharp turn with an unexpected pregnancy.  Draco’s anticipation, worry, and joy are mixed with deftly-chosen details of his daily life, all captured with Emma’s trademark tenderness and warmth. This fic is a perfect comfort read for family feels and gentle romance.

🔸 try to fix you by @maesterchill (Harry/Ron/Hermione, HP Snooze Fest, rated M, 2K) A beautifully and tenderly written hurt/comfort fic set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron is the glue that holds the trio together here, caring for Harry and Hermione with gentle devotion. There’s no dialogue needed to tell this story, just Ron’s perceptive POV that captures the grief and love that compel him. I have a soft spot for this triad forming immediately after the war, as a way of holding onto each other and holding themselves together. Maester’s fic makes their transition from friends to lovers feel like the first step towards healing.

🔹 The Scent of Soft Rains by @dodgerkedavra (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated E, 20K) When Harry is left housebound and isolated by a traumatic injury, magical prosthetist Draco gets called into help. But Harry’s struggles go far beyond the physical ones. This recovery fic combines magical and non-magical therapeutic treatments in a way I can’t remember reading before. The hurt/comfort is just as it should be—both heart-wrenching and soothing—but there are enough surprising revelations to keep the story from feeling predictable. Draco is wonderfully unflinching and patient, and the ending left me crying happy tears. With lovely, restrained prose and vivid magical imagery, this one’s an absolute stunner.

🔸 Connecting Lines, Connecting Crimes by @sleepstxtic (Drarry, H/D Career Fair, rated M, 15K) With its intriguing careers, fascinating magical theory, and well-researched worldbuilding, this story captured my attention immediately, and the mystery at the heart of it kept me engrossed. This was one of the more thought-provoking fics I’ve had the pleasure of reading, exploring the intersection of magic, the environment, and colonialism. Harry’s first-person POV is lovely, and it feels like we’re learning to love India and the people he meets along with him. The getting-back-together romance is gentle but satisfying, propelled by pent-up yearning that’s palpable. There’s so much to enjoy here, all in only 15K words!

🔹 Waking Up Slow by @sweet-s0rr0w and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (Drarry, H/D Wireless Fest, rated E, 22K) The first word that comes to mind while reading this fic is charming. First there’s the novel setting: a Christmas shop in the tourist destination of Cheddar Gorge, in the middle of a July heatwave. Next, there’s the shop itself, so imaginatively described and full to the brim with clever Muggle and magical details. Then there are the delightful OCs, Draco’s seemingly unhinged enthusiasm for all things Christmas (including ridiculous jumpers), and Harry’s complete disregard for professional behavior. But underneath the playful banter and humor, there’s also a layer of poignancy to tug at the heartstrings, especially when we find out the backstories behind Harry’s and Draco’s unlikely careers. And to top it all off, like the glowing star on the tree, are Joy’s exuberant, colorful illustrations. This is a Christmas-y fic I’d reread any time of the year.

Thanks to all these brilliant creators for sharing their work with us!

Happy New Year!

[dracoxmalereader]

Express

Draco x Male Reader

Context: Hufflepuff!Reader, takes place in at least the 2010's, I was thinking mid 2010's but it could also be early 2010's. Draco and Reader have a son, I put S/N as his name because I didn't know whether to keep Scorpius as his name or not.

Summary: It's officially time for you and Draco to send off S/N to Hogwarts. Much shenanigans ensue.

Requested by: @thatgayboysblog (I don't know why it won't let me tag TT)

Word Count: 609

“S/N, do you have everything? Let me check your backpack!” You fussed, turning your kid in circles by the shoulders for the third time, even as he stood two feet from the door into the Hogwarts Express.

The platform was packed, people rushing up and down along the train to get their kids on board in time. Voices filled the air, echoing off the walls.

Draco’s hands came to settle on your own shoulders, rubbing his thumbs into the tense muscles between them. “Let up a little, he’ll be okay.”

You turned away from your son and looked to Draco, brows furrowed and face pulled tight with worry. He blinked at you, and his expression was one of reassurance. 

“He will be fine.” Draco insisted.

You sighed, loosening up. You turned back to S/N and pulled him into a tight hug. “If anything happens, you write us immediately, okay?” You pulled away and kissed his forehead, smoothing his blonde hair back. 

“I will, Dad! You know I will.” S/N smiled as wide as he could, jagged teeth just like Draco’s shining almost as bright as his eyes. He jumped up and down in excitement, and looked between you and his other father for clearance to take the step onto the train. 

Draco bent down beside you and S/N and pressed his hand to the kid’s head, smoothing back his hair just like you had. 

“Don’t get into any trouble, okay?” He let seriousness etch into his face and pointed at S/N. “Or else.”

S/N looked scared for a moment, staring up at his father in uncertainty before Draco broke his stern character and chuckled, pulling S/N into a hug himself.

His smile was bright when Draco let him go, and he hopped up onto the train, stopping to turn back to you and Draco. Worry pulled at the kid’s mouth and his smile faded ever so slightly. 

“You’ll do great!” You shouted to him, Draco pulling you backwards so other parents could shimmy their kids where they needed to go.

Out of the corner of your eye you could see your husband’s pale hands shooting thumbs ups at your son. You were overcome with fondness for the both of them. S/N grinned, nodded, and continued on into the train; you followed his blonde head through the windows as he settled down in a cubby with what looked to be one of the Weasley kids and Potter’s son. 

He waved at you through the window and you waved back as the train huffed to life and chugged along until you could no longer see into the windows. You turned to Draco. His face was tucked into one hand, his other holding his phone and scrolling through the dozens of pictures you’d taken of S/N.

You pulled at his arm, and he let his hand fall. A helping of tears had streamed down his face, and his cheeks reddened. He sniffled. “I have to send these to my mother, she’ll be overjoyed.” He took a shaky breath and smiled at you. 

You giggled back at him, taking one of his hands into your own and pulling him away from the track, starting along the way back. He clicked on his phone and you presumed he was sending the pictures to Narcissa. Overcome with love for your family, you still couldn’t help but joke. “You think he’ll make Hufflepuff?” 

He finishes his clicking as you tug him along and he looks up at you with all the affection in the world. A wet puff of air escapes his nose. “Just like his dad.”

There are some usernames that just straight up refuse to let me tag them TT This includes the person that requested this and one person on my taglist that I feel bad about every time I post and can't tag them. I go to type it and tumblr just decides the blog doesn't exist. The day I learn how to tag the untaggable will be a glorious, glorious day.

Also sorry I didn't post anything yesterday like I said I would my computer just refused to re-install bluetooth and instead of fixing it I just accidentally uninstalled wifi also. Woops. It's all sorted now, though, so in the words of many an instagram reel: We're so back.

Tags: @nowayisthistakenyet @gayaristocrat @dracoshusband @skrunklespoingo @esperfraud @joongbin @midwestemosblog

[thecouchsofa]

Trick or Treat!! ☆

Very rough, unedited snippet from a WiP that hasn't been touched in a few months, but I'm hoping to pick up again after the fest fic that I'm currently working on!

Context: Malfoy jokingly declares his feelings for Harry in front of a few portraits of his ancestors and gets locked into courting him or he'll be disowned. Embarrassment, meddling, ill-advised betting, and shenanigans follow.

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

By the end of the day, Dean and Seamus had somehow acquired an extensive list of possible courting gifts and were running a betting pool on which ones Malfoy would choose.

“There’s no way the papers won’t be getting wind of this,” Hermione cried, a deep frown etched onto her face. “Honestly, you’d think everyone would have some tact.”

“Do you think you could ask him to send you a family heirloom next?” Ron asked. “I put ten Galleons on it.”

“Ron,” Hermione cried.

“It’s fine,” Harry sighed.

“And I seriously doubt Malfoy will give Harry some kind of priceless heirloom. He gets to keep all the gifts if he rejects the proposal at the end.”

“Do I really?” Harry asked.

“Apparently,” Hermione replied. “Everything seems to be a little different depending on the family, though. Perhaps the Malfoys prefer to have the gifts be temporary?”

“Harry, do you have any idea what you’re getting next?” Ginny asked, flopping down on the couch next to her brother. “Lavender talked me into putting a few Galleons on sweets, but I seriously doubt it’ll be that.”

“If I get some then I’ll share them with you,” Harry replied.

“Oh, brill,” Ginny said with a smile.

“You’ve all gone mad,” Hermione cried.

Harry couldn’t help but agree with her. Surely it was more likely at this point that he’d fallen off his broom and hit his head one day, and he was in some sort of odd Stasis fantasy?

“Guess I may as well put a bloody bet in,” Harry sighed, heaving himself out of the armchair. “If this is a fever dream then I’m guaranteed to win, right?”

“Oh, you’ll win all right,” Seamus called from across the room. “Blaise Zabini’s going around saying Malfoy has a huge cock.”

“He’s quite dreamy, isn’t he?” Parvati said. “You’re a bit lucky, Harry.”

“Merlin,” Harry muttered. “Should I put a few Galleons on his cock being the next gift then, Seamus?”

“If you want. It’s not on the list, but we could add it.”

“Put me down for ‘wood’ then,” Harry muttered, tossing a few Galleons into Dean’s waiting hand.

“Thank you for your business, Mr. Potter,” Dean said cheekily. “Or should we start calling you Mr. Malfoy?”

The common room dissolved into more laughter than Harry thought the joke warranted, personally.

“You’re all bloody mental,” Harry muttered, his cheeks heating.

Hermione placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You can always say no at the end,” she said.

[romione-trope-fest]

The One Where Everybody Finds Out

Title: The One Where Everybody Finds Out

Author: alltoowellread

Selected Trope: Fake NOT Dating

Summary: A non-Voldy AU where Hermione & Ron get together in 4th year and then keep it a secret…until they don’t.

Inspired by the Friends episodes The One With All The Resolutions and The One Where Everybody Finds Out.

Word Count: 4,943

Rating: General Audiences

TW: implications of underage shenanigans

Notes: Italics at the beginning indicate lines taken directly from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although I did not put them in italics, there are also quite a few lines taken directly from two episodes of Friends (The One With All The Resolutions and The One Where Everybody Finds Out.)

****

Harry climbed into the common room and found Ron and Hermione having a blazing row. Standing ten feet apart, they were bellowing at each other, each scarlet in the face.

“Well, if you don’t like it, you know what the solution is, don’t you?” yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger.

“Oh yeah?” Ron yelled back. “What’s that?”

“Next time there’s a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!”

Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water. Then, as Hermione turned on her heel to storm up the girls’ staircase, Ron raced across the room and grabbed her arm before she could take another step. Hermione turned to him, face tense as if she expected Ron to continue their row with another biting remark. But Ron’s face was determined rather than angry now. And Hermione’s expression quickly turned to shock as he leaned down and kissed her.

Harry immediately sank back into the portrait hole. It was clear that neither of them had noticed him entering and he very much wanted to keep it that way now that they were…well, snogging. Ron and Hermione were snogging. Hermione had very quickly gotten over her shock and returned Ron’s kiss fervently, so that Harry’s two best friends were now without a doubt groping at each other and kissing as if their life depended on it.

Harry turned on his heel and decided to go anywhere that wasn’t the common room. Even the Slytherin common room would be preferred.

Harry very much hoped that his friends would realize where they were quite quickly so that they would move somewhere a bit more private. Harry thought it was lucky that it was he who had caught them, as any other member of the Weasley family or even another Gryffindor student would have called them out immediately. As it was, Harry was much more inclined to ignore what he saw until Ron and Hermione decided to bring it up to him themselves.

Which they did…never.

Not over Christmas break.

Not for the remaining part of the school year.

Not even when they all came together again at the Burrow after a short time apart in the summer.

For the first few months, Harry wondered if Ron and Hermione had actually decided to ignore the kiss altogether. Besides a few weeks of awkward moments between the two of them when they were with other people, they didn’t give any indication that anything had happened at all. They even went back to their usual bickering fairly quickly after the night of the Yule Ball. No one else seemed to notice anything different about the two of them, and Harry expected he wouldn’t have either if he hadn’t seen them kissing with his own two eyes.

However, once Harry started paying closer attention, he realized that they often made up excuses for doing one thing or another that gave them ample time to be alone together without anyone else catching on. Hermione would go to the library to study instead of coming down to the Great Hall for dinner (nothing strange about that), and then Ron would suddenly remember something he had left in the dormitory (and it would take quite a long time for him to find whatever it was). Harry found it rather amusing, and since he didn’t particularly want the dynamics of their friendship to change if they didn’t have to, he decided not to push the subject.

***

Ron and Hermione’s luck ran out towards the end of the summer. Grimmauld Place, where they spent most of the holidays, was much larger than the Burrow and thus made it much easier to sneak off to various rooms under the guise of “cleaning”. Except one day the “cleaning” occupied both of them so much that they didn’t notice when a certain red-headed young woman walked past the very cupboard where they had decided to “clean”.

Ginny was so shocked that she was momentarily speechless. She decided to do the same thing that Harry had done upon catching his two best friends. She turned on her heel and walked right back where she came from.

Harry, who had been sent by Mrs. Weasley to find Ron and Hermione, ran right into Ginny as soon as she turned the corner. There were a few seconds of apologies and steadying each other, and then Harry noticed the look of shock that was still on Ginny’s face.

“Are you alright, Gin?” Harry asked. He looked furtively behind her down the hallway. “Is there some sort of boggart nearby or something that we’ve missed?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Ginny said quickly. “I just…uh…might have seen something.”

“Seen something?” Harry repeated, still looking worried. Then, remembering what he’d experienced months ago, he quickly realized where Ron and Hermioned might have gotten to and what that might have entailed. 

Ginny, noticing the “ah-ha” moment that she recognized so well from Harry, immediately went from shocked to suspicious. She narrowed her eyes and said, “Do you know something?”

Harry still wasn’t sure if what he suspected had happened, had actually happened. Since he still wanted things to stay the way they were, he wasn’t willing to give anything away yet. He asked, “Do you know something?”

“I might know something,” said Ginny, crossing her arms.

“I might know something, too.”

“What’s the thing you know?” Ginny glared.

“Oh no,” Harry shook his head. “I can’t tell you until you tell me what you know.”

“Well, I don’t want to tell you what I know.” Ginny was now no longer shocked nor suspicious, but rather annoyed that she may have been out of the loop on a very interesting piece of information.

“Well then I can’t tell you what I know,” Harry insisted.

“Okay, fine,” Ginny huffed. 

Neither of them moved for a few moments, since they were equally stubborn and didn’t want to be the first one to break. Harry, however, had had a much longer time to process what they both now knew, and curiosity eventually got the better of Ginny.

“All right,” Ginny spoke up, “how about I turn around and I walk back down this hallway and I will see that thing that I think that I know is actually the thing that I think that I know!”

Harry gasped. “You know!”

Ginny pointed at Harry. “And you know!”

“Yeah, I know!”

“Ron and Hermione?! Oh, this is unbelievable!” Ginny paused, her brow crinkling a bit. “Except not really. Hermione’s had a crush on Ron since second year and I’m sure Ron has had one on Hermione for at least as long. It’s more unbelievable that they both finally got over themselves and finally did something about it.” Ginny paused again, then glared at Harry. “How long have you known?”

“Too long,” Harry replied.

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“Of course not. I didn’t want to bring it up if they weren’t going to.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered what sounded like, “Typical.” Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she smiled slowly. “I’m going to give him so much hell about this.”

“Listen, I don’t think we should say anything about this to anybody. It would be too weird.”

“It would be too funny,” Ginny countered. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, since you don’t have siblings.”

“How would you feel if Ron got involved in your love life?” Harry countered.

Ginny had the decency to stop to think about it for a few moments. Then she sighed and said, “Fine. You’re right. But they’re lucky it was me who caught them, not Fred and George. They would have no mercy.”

***

Unfortunately, Fred & George were indeed the next ones to find out.

In fact, they found out in the presence of Ginny, who for Hermione’s sake (definitely not Ron’s) had actually become rather fierce about keeping their secret the longer it went on. Plus, she appreciated that it had become a little inside joke between her and Harry.

The three Weasleys were in a deserted part of the castle fine-tuning their Portable Swamp item. Normally the twins kept all of the products they were testing under wraps, but since Ginny had been the one to joke about a portable swamp they had decided to include her in on its creation. Plus, George admitted that she “had good ideas sometimes I guess”. As they were casting not-quite-allowed charms in a large hallway, they had made sure to put up wards that made it impossible for someone to see or hear them unless they were right on top of them, which didn’t seem likely given that this wasn’t a very well-known part of the castle. Plus, the three of them kept an eye on the Marauders’ Map that Harry had let them borrow.

Fred noticed the two dots on the map first. His first thought when seeing that it was Ron and Hermione was that they were on their prefect rounds. “Shit!” He exclaimed.

“What?” George and Ginny said together, glancing at the map simultaneously.

George had the same thought as his twin and said, “Let’s hope the wards work. Looks like they’re coming down the opposite stairway. That’s pretty far away. With any luck, they won’t come any closer.”

Ginny, knowing the real reason why Ron and Hermione found themselves in such a secluded area, was less worried about being caught than catching. “Why don’t we just finish up and leave before they get too close?”

“It’ll be fine,” Fred insisted. “We’ll just keep quiet.”

Ginny was at a loss as to what to do next. She decided there was only so much she could do to help Hermione (again, definitely not Ron), and if the two of them were careless enough to be caught by the twins then it was not her fault. Ginny decided to keep her eyes firmly planted on the map. George did the same. Fred was the one to turn around to keep Ron and Hermione in sight in case a quick departure was necessary.

Ginny was not surprised when a few minutes later Fred shouted out, “Oh! Ohh! Ahh!!!”

George was surprised, and turned around quickly. “What?!”

“Ahhh!!” Fred continued. Then explained, pointing in the direction of the couple, “Ron and Hermione! Ron and Hermione!”

“Oh Merlin!” George cried, finally seeing what Fred was on about.

“RON AND HERMIONE!” Fred said again.

“OH MERLIN!” George repeated.

“OH!” Fred said as he turned away, finally deciding he had seen enough. “MY EYES! MY EYES!”

Ginny had had quite enough of their outburst and said, “Fred! George! It’s okay! It’s okay!”

“NO!” Fred shook his head violently.

George couldn’t seem to look away and also shouted, “THEY’RE DOING IT!”

“I know!” Ginny said, grasping George by the shoulder and turning him away. She took care not to look in the general direction of Ron and Hermione so as not to see anything she didn’t want to.

Fred gaped at her. “You know?!”

“Yes, I know!” Ginny admitted. “And Harry knows! But they haven’t told anyone yet and we don’t want to get caught so you two have to stop screaming!”

The twins’ survival instinct kicked in and they did stop screaming. They also quickly got rid of the portions of the Portable Swamp they had been working on and left the area as quickly and quietly as they could. By the time they cornered Harry in the Gryffindor Common Room, they were as outraged as Ginny had been about being left out of this secret.

“Fred and George just found out about Ron and Hermione,” Ginny sighed in explanation as she flopped onto the seat next to Harry, who was looking at Fred and George warily.

At that, Harry looked sharply at Ginny. “You mean how they’re friends and nothing more?”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “No. Harry, they know. We were in that part of the castle with the Camelot painting and we saw them from across the landing.”

“Actually,” George said, closing his eyes with a look of disgust. “We saw them doing it up against the Camelot painting.”

Fred chimed in, “So they don’t know that either of you know?”

Harry rubbed his face. “No, but you know what? It doesn’t matter who knows what. Now, enough of us know that we can just tell them that we know. Then all the lying and the secrets would finally be over.”

“Or,” George said with a mischievous glint in his eye, “we could not tell them we know and have a little fun of our own.”

Ginny immediately perked up, forgetting that she had decided to be a good friend and keep Hermione’s secret. Now that her brothers knew what was going on, she had returned to her initial desire of giving Ron hell. “What do you mean?”

Fred nodded thoughtfully. “Well, you know…every time Hermione says that she’s going to the library we’ll just say we need to go too.”

“Ohhh, I would enjoy that!” Ginny grinned.

“No no no.” Harry was now running his hands through his hair in exasperation. “You know what would even be more fun? Telling them.”

“No, I definitely want to do Fred and George’s thing,” Ginny said. “I warned you they would be merciless if they found out.”

“We’ll come back to the fact that you kept this from us little sis,” George glared at her.

“Definitely,” Fred said. “But for now we’ll focus on how we’re going to mess with them.”

Harry, seeing he was outnumbered, simply said, “Ugh.”

Before discussion could continue, Ron and Hermione came in through the portrait hall. Fred, never one to let something as pesky as planning interfere with a good opportunity, stood up and walked casually over to the two of them. Over his shoulder he whispered, “Watch and learn.”

“Hey!” Fred grinned at Hermione once he reached her side. He put an arm around her shoulders and gave a squeeze, ignoring Ron completely. 

“Erm,” Hermione responded tentatively, clearly surprised. The small flush on her cheeks could have been from Fred’s attentions, or from her previous illicit activities with Ron. “Hello.”

“These robes look great on you,” Fred winked at her.

“Really?” Hermione squeaked out. She was definitely blushing because of Fred. Ron’s ears were also bright red now, and he was scowling.

Fred pulled away from Hermione slightly so that he could run his hand down her arm. “Yeah, the material feels so soft.” He leaned in and whispered (but loud enough for Ron to hear), “I bet what’s underneath is even softer.”

Hermione gaped at Fred. Ron looked like he was going to murder him.

“Well, bye then.” Fred thought they were both now sufficiently bothered and he could go back to scheming with George, Ginny and the unwilling Harry. But he couldn’t help himself from giving Hermione a quick peck on the cheek as he left.

Both Ron and Hermione were too shell-shocked to look at anything in the Common Room but each other. If they had, they would have seen three red-headed figures shaking, trying to conceal laughter, and one black-haired figure shaking his head in disbelief.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Ron hissed.

“That was rather inappropriate,” Hermione agreed. Then, she started to look as if she were trying to solve a complicated Arithmancy Rune.

Ron merely looked like he wanted to throttle anyone who came in his general direction. “I don’t know what Fred is on about but…”

He trailed off at the same time that Hermione’s eyes widened. They seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time. She said, “Oh Merlin.”

Ron added, “He knows about us!”

Hermione nodded grimly. “He knows and he’s just trying to freak us out.”

“That’s the only explanation for it.”

Hermione huffed, rather offended. “Yes Ron, because how could he possibly be attracted to me?”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Ron shot back. “Calm down.”

“Oh, because telling me to calm down always does the trick.”

Ron grinned, leaning in a little closer. “No, but it definitely makes me want to–.”

Hermione, laughing now, pushed him away and cut him off. “Fred thinks he’s so slick messing with us.”

Ron was back to being annoyed. He looked over at Fred, noticing who he was sitting with. Besides Harry, the group was too busy talking over each other and waving their hands around to notice that the subjects of their scheming were staring right at them. Harry didn’t notice because his face was planted firmly between his hands, clearly miserable.

Thoughtfully, Ron said, “But…they don’t know that we know that they know.”

Hermione was, of course, the cleverest witch of her age; but even she had to take a few moments to work that out. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Ron explained, “you should go over there and flirt back.”

“Absolutely not!” Hermione shrieked. 

Ron, being just as much of a Weasley prankster as his siblings, was already scheming himself. “Yes, it’s perfect. He can dish it out but I doubt he could take it himself.”

Hermione (who like Harry didn’t have any brothers or sister, never mind Weasley siblings) was much more inclined to just admit to the relationship rather than play games. However, she was also annoyed to have been the object of such games and decided she should at least try to return the (uncomfortable) favor.

“What did you have in mind?” Hermione asked. “I didn’t exactly flirt with you, if you remember. I can’t exactly go over there and shout at him to admit his feelings for me.”

After a few minutes of back and forth between the two of them, Hermione walked over in the direction of Harry, Ginny, and the twins. Ron managed to find a part of the common room where he would have the ability to see everything that happened without being seen himself.

“Hello again Fred.”

Harry, Ginny, and the twins looked up at Hermione quickly, stopping their conversation immediately.

“Hullo,” Fred said neutrally, forgetting that he should be charming her. George elbowed him, and he immediately turned suave. “I mean, hello Hermione.”

“Sorry for being so…odd earlier,” Hermione said. Her voice wasn’t very steady, so she cleared her throat. “I mean, you just caught me by surprise. But now that I’ve had some time to get over the initial shock, I wanted to let you know that I’m…intrigued.“

It was Fred’s turn to get squeaky. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “Maybe sometime I can show you how soft my…robes…are.”

Although Hermione started off confident, she almost choked on the word robes. She then rushed off to the girls’ dormitory, clearly unable to keep up the charade any longer. Ron, knowing he was unable to join her because of the spell on the girls’ stairway, merely rolled his eyes at his girlfriend’s questionable acting skills and went up to the boys’ dormitory.

Ginny recovered from her shock first. “I cannot believe she would do that to Ron–.”

Harry shook his head. “She definitely wouldn’t do that to Ron. And she could barely get out that pickup line out. They know you know.”

“Well that didn’t last long,” George sighed.

“I cannot believe those two,” Ginny fumed.

“They thought they could mess with us!” Fred said.

“But now they don’t know that we know they know we know!” George exclaimed.

“What?” Harry sputtered. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

Fred, along with the other two Weasleys, ignored him. “If she wants a date? She’s going to get a date.”

Harry had no say in the matter as another plan started to take shape.

***

Fred commenced the first part of their plan the next morning in the Great Hall. He had managed to convince Harry to delay Ron from coming down to breakfast before Hermione. Ginny had pushed Hermione to go on down with her before the two boys, telling her that she didn’t want to be late for class. Both Fred and George were pleased to see Hermione finishing her breakfast alone when they walked in, as Ginny had just gotten up to leave when she spotted her brothers. She gave them a wink as she passed them.

“Be sexy,” Ginny whispered.

Fred snorted. “Please.” Then, “All right, I’m going in.”

Fred sat next to Hermione, who stopped with her spoon of porridge halfway to her mouth. She looked at Fred warily as he said, “So Hermione. I’d love to hang out tonight…in private.”

“R-really?” Hermione stammered.

“Oh absolutely.” Fred brushed her shoulder with his own gently. “Shall we say, around seven? Room of Requirement?”

“Umm…” Hermione managed to say.

By this time, Ron and Harry were walking into the Great Hall. Ron, seeing Fred sitting next to Hermione and her deer-in-headlights expression, narrowed his eyes. He and Hermione locked gazes and Ron nodded, then motioned with his hand as if to say Go on.

Hermione still wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue this charade. But she also very much wanted Fred to stop giving her his come hither look, so she simply nodded and said “Okay” in the hopes that would get him to go away.

“Good. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on your…” he paused, raising his eyebrows meaningfully, then continued, “robes.”

And with another strategic brush of his shoulders, Fred rose from the table and strode out of the Great Hall. Ron and Harry had finally reached Hermione by this time. While Ron plopped himself next to Hermione, Harry decided that he would rather take his breakfast to go. He grabbed a handful of toast, mumbled something about having to finish some homework before class, and left quickly.

Neither Hermione nor Ron were disappointed by Harry’s exit, as it gave them time to catch up on what had just happened. As soon as Hermione had finished giving Ron a word-by-word account of what had just occurred, Ron said, “All right, this will be great. You just make him think you wanna fool around with him. It’ll totally stop him in his tracks.”

“What?!” Hermione hissed, blushing furiously. “Listen, how far are we going to take this? Specifically, how far am I going to have to go with Fred?”

“Relax,” Ron assured her. “He’s gonna give in way before you do.”

“How do you know?!”

Ron did not know. After all, Fred had a history of taking jokes very, very far. But Ron was more focused on winning this sibling rivalry than thinking logically. So he merely said, “Trust me. Just meet him tonight. I’ll be there too. It’ll be fine.”

As it turned out, the Room of Requirement became exactly what it needed for both teams. Most likely because both Fred and Hermione wanted a place that was private, but that also allowed the extra parties involved to listen in on the action. Hermione and Ron arrived first, so the room became a living room with a hidden room for Ron to stay in. Then, when Fred, George, Ginny and Harry arrived, the room created a hallway for this group to stand in.

Harry wasn’t going to join them at first, but Ginny had told him that “The sooner Fred breaks Hermione the sooner this is all over and out in the open,” so he had acquiesced to helping them.

When all of the onlookers were situated in their respective places, Fred knocked on the door that had appeared when he arrived at the Room of Requirement. Hermione answered it, trying not to look uncomfortable with the entire situation.

“Fred.”

Fred leaned against the doorframe and said, “Hermione.”

“Come in,” Hermione opened the door further and moved aside. 

Fred was much better at this ruse, and strutted through the room as if he had no qualms about what was about to happen. Hermione both admired this and also was terrified by it.

Fred may have seemed unbothered, but he was starting to worry about just how far he would have to go to win this. While he didn’t find Hermione unattractive, he thought of her as a sister and was frankly a little disturbed about doing more with her than the innocent brushes of arms and shoulders he had already done. Plus, she was dating his brother now, and he did have a rule about messing around with anyone a family member or friend was interested in: don’t. 

Suddenly, a bottle of Firewhiskey and two cups appeared on the counter of the room. Fred, noticing them first, was relieved and said, “Ah, perfect. Would you like some firewhiskey?”

Hermione wasn’t much of a drinker, but she decided this was the perfect time to start. She nodded, and Fred poured a knuckle’s worth of the drink into both of the cups. He handed her one, and they clinked their glasses together.

“Cheers,” Fred said.

They both downed their drinks in one gulp instead of sipping at it. Hermione spent another few moments coughing since she wasn’t used to the burn of the alcohol. Fred poured himself another glass and finished it just as quickly.

Sufficiently liquored up for the moment, Fred said, “So. Here we are. Nervous?”

“Me? No,” Hermione said, sounding nervous. “You?”

“Nope,” Fred said. “I want this to happen.”

Hermione nodded gravely and said, “So do I,” even though she clearly did not look like she wanted it happen. 

Neither of them moved. Both of them jumped when music started playing in the room. Fred, feeling spurred on by the room, held out is hand and asked, “Want to dance?”

“Er, sure,” Hermione said.

She tentatively took Fred’s hand. He pulled her a little closer, and she stiffened. Fred, not wanting to pull her any closer either, merely put his other hand at her hip. They swayed like that for a few moments, the space between them as wide as if another person were in the middle.

Unable to take it any longer, Hermione pushed away. She said, “I have to…use the restroom.”

“Oh,” Fred said, secretly relieved that they were no longer dancing. “Okay. I’ll…uh…pour us more firewhiskey.”

Hermione was already opening the bathroom door before he could finish. Ron, who had heard everything, said, “We’ve almost got him, I can feel it.”

“This is getting out of hand,” Hermione insisted.

“We’re so close, Hermione,” Ron said. “Get back out there and seduce him until he cracks!”

At the same time, Fred was telling his crew, “She’s not backing down!”

“It’s Hermione,” Ginny said. “You can take her.”

“Maybe you should take off your shirt,” George suggested.

“Oooh yes, good idea,” Ginny nodded. “She gets embarrassed so easily, especially when there’s naked flesh.”

Harry, hoping this would have been over by now, said nothing.

Fred pulled his shirt off, handed it to George, and went back inside. He was closing the door again right as Hermione came out of the bathroom again. When she noticed that he now had no shirt on, she stopped and looked anywhere but him.

A few seconds later, she noticed that he was at the door and said hopefully, “Oh, you’re going?”

Fred whipped around quickly, which made Hermione start looking around again in order not to look directly at his bare chest. He said, “No, no. I’m not leaving. Just, uh, getting more comfortable.” He paused. “This is my chest.”

Hermione swallowed hard. “Yes, I - I noticed. It’s very…nice.” She was not, in fact, looking at his chest enough to determine if it was nice or not.

Fred had decided enough was enough, and that he needed to finish this off once and for all. He blurted out, “I’m gonna kiss you now.”

Hermione, now looking down at her shoes, seemed rooted to the spot as Fred came closer. Fred took his time crossing the room, pausing at each step. It was as if he was waiting for Hermione to break each time he moved one foot forward. She never did.

Finally, Fred’s feet were right next to hers, which she noticed because she was still looking determinedly down.

At this point, if Hermione had looked up, she would have seen the crease that had finally made its way on Fred’s forehead. He was not looking forward to this, but Ron had never gained the upper hand on him before and Fred wasn’t going to let him start now.

Fred decided to give Hermione a warning, at least, and said, “Here it comes. Our first kiss.”

Fred leaned forward, but as soon as he did Hermione jumped back as if he had burned her. She shouted, “Okay! You win! I can’t kiss you!”

Fred, looking triumphant, shouted, “And why not?!”

“Because I’m in love with Ron!”

At first, Hermione looked surprised by her own admission. Ron opened the bathroom door, looking just as shocked. They seemed to only have eyes for each other. Eventually a lopsided grin appeared on Ron’s face at the same time that Hermione started beaming.

As George, Ginny, and Harry opened the door behind Fred, Hermione repeated confidently, “Love him! That’s right, I love Ron!”

She ran to Ron and flung her arms around his neck. She told him, more quietly than her previous declarations, “I love you, Ron.”

Ron wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. He was grinning broadly from ear to ear. “I love you too, Hermione.”

Then he kissed her long and hard, not giving a damn who knew about their relationship. To Harry’s immense relief, neither Ron nor Hermione cared any longer about keeping this a secret. 

[nodirectionhome-ao3]

WIP Tag

Thanks for the tag @kay-elle-cee, @alittlebitofeverything23, and @isahorcrux !!! This is such a fun one. :)

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends

Titles

Kindly Stopped for Me: Chapter 33. Lily lives AU, where Lily falls into a coma on Halloween 1981 and wakes up at the end of GoF. Lots of angst and family feels.

The Joker and The Queen: Chapter 3. A Jily fake-dating fic. Shenanigans abound. An "Idiots in Love" kind of story.

James Lives AU (Title TBA): Outline & Chapter 1. Basically a James version of Kindly Stopped for Me. James survives Halloween 1981 in a way that I will not spoil for you, and wakes up later on when Harry is a teenager.

Forever is the Sweetest Con: Short multi-chapter. Jily as con artists who fall in love while trying to con each other.

Fragile Little Flame: A post-war Hinny fic! Most likely a one-shot, but we'll see what happens.

(I’m not including the KSFM Missing Moments that I’m working on in this, since I don’t post them on AO3, but just know that I haven’t forgotten them!!!)

Upcoming Scenes, Events, Details

I've been making some minor changes to my outline for KSFM, so the exact numbers may change, but looking at it from a birds-eye view—Chapters 35 and 39 are two of the angstiest chapters in the entire fic😅 So...in preparation for that...I'm giving you all a slight break from the heaviness of this fic with chapters 33 and 34. I'm hoping it won't feel like a crazy tone switch after the previous two chapters, but I'm excited! Chapter 33 is a bit of a transition chapter (setting up some important things!) so maybe won't be the most exciting thing to read. But it will include Lily watching Harry in a Gryffindor Quidditch match for the first time and the gang celebrating Sirius’s 36th birthday!🎂🎂🎂 So hopefully you all will enjoy that!! And then Chapter 34 will be a Harry POV and will feature some good old-fashioned teenage romance drama😅

Chapter 3 of The Joker and The Queen has taken soooo long to write because it's something I sort of have to be in the right mindset for. (I still don't have a full outline for it because I posted the first chapter impulsively before I really thought about the plot very much lol) But I'm hoping it will be worth the wait!! The chapter will feature Lily meeting Fleamont and Euphemia (and possibly some Potter extended family members too) for the first time. I've never written James's parents before, so I'm excited!

Oh man, oh man. What can I say about the James lives au?? I'm currently drafting multiple vague outline ideas as I work through the timeline that I want it to take place in. But, despite what I've said previously, I'm finding myself starting to lean towards setting it in the OotP universe after all. (but no promises yet!) I'm staying kind of vague about the plot of this since it's still very much under consideration, but I'll just say that Peter's betrayal and its ramifications will be a major focus. The betrayal will happen slightly differently than it does in canon (as some of you have already guessed!), and I expect it to be devastating😈

Forever is the Sweetest Con is a fic that has been percolating in my brain for a WHILE now. I haven't officially outlined it yet, but I already made the banner so it's officially happening! It will be canon divergent, and I'm excited to explore the cat-and-mouse dynamic that I envision when I think about this one.

Fragile Little Flame is a fic inspired by Taylor Swift's "I Know Places" and is also one that I already have a banner and title for, but no outline. It'll be a post-war Hinny fic (I've been wanting to return to writing them!) and will take place in the 19 years between the end of DH and the epilogue. I haven't really thought about the plot in detail yet, but it probably won't be epilogue-compliant. Harry will (probably) be a Quidditch player rather than an Auror, and the fic will explore Harry and Ginny recovering from the war and rebuilding their relationship amongst the chaos of both grief and fame.

Apologies if you've already been tagged! But here's a no-pressure tag to: @suzyq31 @nena-96 @uncertainwallflower @turanga4 @takearisk-ao3 @annasghosts @practicecourts