#professor snatcher

[tiramegtoons]

“AND EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BREAK ONE!”

“FEELING GUILTY ISNT THE ONLY DAMAGE THAT’S TAKEN…”

Wicked chuckle

[deadinsideart]

Art dump!!!!

These are a little old but still recent!

[epicdivorcemantournament]

SUDDEN REVIVAL ROUND! SIDE A

Only two from each poll will come back into the running, vote wisely!

I couldn't include every character unfortunately, so I chose those with the most/most intense campaigning done for them.

May the best divorcee win!

[cola-vampire]

Some miitopia screenshots I took (first 3 are when I only had the demo. Thank you to my homie for letting me borrow their copy <3)

[superconductivebean]

#280

haven't been on YT for a while. can't say it did me horrible job of missing out on things although just now it suggested, i wasn't there for disturban history's new vids.

or for the wicked case studies.

or for the history of deceases.

or for netstalkings aka In Today's Trending On Internet

eeeeeh i dont really want to delve back unless 4hr long documentary about whatever else victorians did horrifyingly unsafe and dangerous in utmost fascinatingly wicked ways.

[eulalias-haven]

in our wildest dreams.

ㅤ─┈ the hsr characters as your cliché college tropes.

ㅤ─┈ dan heng, jing yuan, & kafka x gender neutral reader. separate.

❪⠀themes : super fluffy & sweet & cliché with a sprinkle of good ‘ol angst❕⠀❫

dan heng. ︎︎⋆ ࣪. ࿔

dan heng, your aloof childhood friend whom you drifted away from. when the two of you were young, dan heng was more friendly and approachable—gentle, as he dressed your wounds from rough housing with the other kids too much. however, a certain incident changed both him and his relationship with you.

you had zero idea why dan heng was much more distant with you; there was even a huge fight between you two, with you desperately trying to seek an answer from your beloved childhood friend. yet the response you sought for couldn’t be found.

the distance between the two of you gradually increased—smiles were hidden from one another, eye contact was avoided, and the physical touch you were once so comfortable with suddenly disappeared. this went on, even after the both of you graduated high school and went on with your separate ways.

separate—until you found out that dan heng is your partner for your lab final project. separate—until dan heng’s gaze finds yours once more, and just like before; all ︎︎those years ago, you feel your heart race. until you realize that dan heng was trying to mend the broken bridge between the two of you, wishing for your smile to be directed towards him once again.

jing yuan. ︎︎⋆ ࣪. ࿔

the untouchable student body president who aces in everything he did. jing yuan was adored and loved by both students and professor’s alike—his plethora of fans were unending, his charm never failing to capture anyone’s heart. until, of course, he met you.

perhaps jing yuan underestimated your way of living; you’re a college student who simply wishes to graduate and find a job, not someone who has the time to fawn over a human being. this is what you tell him—bluntly, before you brush past him, waving at the stunned president; calling out that friendship is still plausible.

it blooms, though. the friendship between the two of you grows into a lovely flower, your bond inseparable. jing yuan found you amusing, and you found him annoying, but in the fondest way possible. jing yuan helped you study, you helped him evade the numerous stalkers. jing yuan helped you in your darkest times, and you held him when the stress took a toll on him, reminding you that despite his achievements and what he presented, jing yuan is still human.

once the two of you graduated—the student body president grinned at you; smile akin to a lion. when asked why, jing yuan will simply laugh, and tell you that now that university is over, he has a chance. a chance for what?

well, a chance to finally make you his, of course. he waited four years for you—and he’s not going to waste any more time, when he could spend his life with you by his side.

kafka. ︎︎⋆ ࣪. ࿔

the life of the party, the famous student who everyone wanted to be friends with. kafka was someone both envied yet loved, who could bring someone into a trance with her honeyed smiles. she was a model student—with high grades and an extensive social circle that extends beyond university itself.

including you; her sheltered “bestfriend”, whose wealthy parents were far too strict and overprotective to the point that it was stifling, especially with someone whose soul was carefree. kafka met you when you were about to throw a heel at a snatcher, who she caught. the moment she handed your bag—designer, brand new, expensive—kafka knew she had to befriend you.

not just because of your wealth; she isn’t some jerk who befriended people because of their social status. (well, for some, that was the case. but not with you; kafka could never lift a finger against you.) but because of that fire within you—that stubborn streak that refused to bow down to your parents, interested her.

she’s the main cause of your escapades that often had your parents grounding you; catching you when you threw yourself off of your balcony, letting your arms wrap around her midsection as the two of you sped through the highway, your cheerful laughter ringing in kafka’s ear, reminding her, once more, that perhaps there is more to life than what it seems.

[hauntedestheart]

Security Measures - Body Swaps

Entry 3 in the Security Measures series- the stories of a boy named Trevor as he attempts to protect his possession-prone boyfriend Andy from snatchers.

I speak from personal experience when I say that if the average person were to be interested in trying to snatch someone else's body, a body swap spell would generally be the most accessible method. For obvious reasons I won't be offering any pointers on how to find any, but they're out there and they can be very tempting.

While every spell I've come across is fairly complicated in terms of setup, the results of a body swap are reliable and pose less risk to the user than other methods of body snatching. It's simple math really- because possession begins with two souls and two bodies and aims to end with one soul and one body, compromises are made along the way which causes it to be messy and temporary. By comparison a swap is very tidy because every soul and body involved is accounted for, which means a well executed swap spell can last indefinitely without too many side effects.

(If you find a spell involving "fern seeds" do NOT use that one because that's the one that got us into this mess to begin with... it's tempting but trust me, it's trouble.)

I never quite know what I'm in for when a swap happens since, unlike ghosts and hoppers, it's impossible to really paint the motivations of ordinary humans with a broad brush. People will swap because they want to get out of their lives, but there are countless reasons someone would want that and thus countless ways they'll behave after they do it.

Maybe they're jealous of Andy and want to steal his life, so they study him and do their best to impersonate him. Maybe they want an escape from their old life and are trying to use his life as a way out, so they take his body and try to run off with it. Maybe they don't really have a plan and just want to be young and hung, consequences be damned! But it's always about them with no consideration to how poor Andy is going to feel about the situation, so no matter what their reasons are they get no sympathy for me.

I don't doubt that every guy would swap with Andy given the chance even if I hadn't accidentally cursed him to be vulnerable to it- he's a gorgeous, 6'2'' stud who spends a quarter of his week in the gym -but the same looks that cause Andy so much trouble are actually a big asset in these situations. Being such a dreamy hunk means every guy wants to be him BUT once they are him, they're usually so excited by the state of their new body that they get distracted by... well... by this point I'm sure you've figured out what their first thoughts are. While they play, it buys us some time to start working things out.

Andy will usually head for me with his new body right after a swap happens (tip: code phrases work!) but I can usually guess what the person who did the swap looked like even before Andy turns up in their body based off of what they're most excited about:

If the snatcher is obsessed with bouncing his pecs, their real body is usually skinny.

If they keep rubbing his abs, they were probably fat.

Younger guys are generally really impressed by his biceps and will spend a lot of time flexing and showing those off.

Older guys are the only ones who pay attention to his hair- although since Andy has afro-textured hair it does catch a lot of men off-guard if they aren't used to that.

If they spend more than fifteen seconds checking out his ass, they're gay, but straight guys are usually more concerned with what they're packing in the front.

The last guy to try swapping with my boyfriend was a classics professor who translated a spell during his research and tried to use it to relieve his youth in the body of one of his students... which, of course, wound up being Andy. The spell transformed them into each other and I can't lie, it was kind of cute to watch Andy whine about being old– he made me promise to never let him get that out of shape.

We found the professor stumbling around drunk off his ass at a frat party trying to grind on any girl that got close (which was gross considering he was actually old enough to be their father) and just generally behaving like a slimy old man hiding behind a handsome young face. I distinctly remember that he was wearing a bedsheet toga, so when he went to do a keg stand it slipped off him and everybody saw Andy's dick hanging out- the real Andy found that pretty mortifying.

(Given how often he's running around in various states of undress, everybody on campus just thinks that Andy is really free with his body... which is correct, but not in the way they think.)

That was actually a fairly easy swap to fix AND we got to blackmail him into changing Andy's grade in the class to an A, so I guess it all worked out. He didn't even get stuck with the hangover!

In general, swaps being easy to do also means they're easy to undo. A spell is specifically targeted so it's often someone we're at least acquainted with AND we get their face in the trade, which means we can retrace their steps and figure out what they did. Every spell has a loophole so while it can be tricky to meet the criteria sometimes, a little bit of savvy always pulls us through. At this point we've reversed so many of them it's just a matter of opening up our glossary and trying stuff until something sticks.

Speaking personally, Andy and I have mixed feelings on swaps: we both appreciate that he gets to be awake and in a body during these but the bodies he gets are usually... less than ideal. Let's just say that the people trying to borrow other people's bodies generally aren't the ones who are happy with their own.

Every single time Andy gets swapped, he asks me if I'd still be able to love him in his new body. I haven't said no yet- but his real body is my favorite, of course.

[youdontgofastenoughforme]

Good Omens timeline (as of season 2), from Before the Beginning until the end of season 2:

- “Before the Beginning” — Aziraphale and Crowley meet for the first time.

- 9:13 a.m, Sunday, October 21, 4004 B.C — The creation of the universe (according to God).

- 4004 B.C, "just after the Beginning" — Eve and Adam eat an apple, and then Crowley and Aziraphale have their first on-screen interaction.

- Somewhere between 3070 and 3030 B.C (when Nefertiti was alive), Egypt — Aziraphale presumably impresses Nerfertiti with his magic skills, “You're talking to the Angel who fooled Nefertiti with a lone caraway seed and three cowrie shells.”

- 3004 B.C, Mesopotamia — Aziraphale and Crowley witness the events of Noah's Ark.

- 2500 B.C, the Land of Uz — Aziraphale and Crowley help Job and his family (A Companion to Owls minisode).

- 33 A.D, Golgotha — Aziraphale and Crowley see Jesus’ crucifixion.

- 41 A.D, Rome — Aziraphale and Crowley have oysters.

- 537 A.D., Kingdom of West Essex — Aziraphale and Crowley are knights in King Arthur’s time, and Crowley first suggests “the Arrangement”.

- Sometime in the 1500s (likely between 1503 and 1506 if wikipedia is to be believed), Leonardo Da Vinci’s Studio, Italy — ‘In which Crowley gets drunk with Leonardo Da Vinci’ and buys a sketch of the Mona Lisa for fifteen florins (cut scene from the script book).

- 1601, the Globe Theatre, London — Aziraphale and Crowley meet Shakespeare (who steals a line from Crowley that he uses in Antony and Cleopatra). Crowley also performs a miracle to make Hamlet popular.

- 1650 — The first (known) time that Aziraphale does the apology dance for Crowley.

- 1656, Lancashire, England — the last true witch in England, Agnes Nutter, is burnt by Witchfinder Major Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultry Pulsifer, who is killed in the process by Agnes’ forward-thinking.

- 1760, Monsieur Rossignol’s Night Classess — Aziraphale learns french the hard way.

- 1793, Paris — Crowley saves Aziraphale from prison during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror (and then they get crepes, as well as Aziraphale doing the apology dance for Crowley).

- 1800, the opening of Aziraphale’s bookshop in Soho — Gabriel and Sandalphon visit Aziraphale to promote him back in heaven. Crowley overhears this, and tricks Gabriel into having Aziraphale stay on earth in order to “thwart him” (cut scene from the script book).

- Sometime before 10th November, 1827, but likely after 1800 — a conman attempts to seduce Aziraphale into helping her “brother” with his debt. Some-point after, Aziraphale tells Crowley of the story over a glass of claret.

- ~A month before 10th November, 1827, Edinburgh, Scotland — Crowley and Aziraphale visit a graveyard with a statue of Gabriel and end up helping a body-snatcher, Crowley also prevents her from committing suicide which results in him being sucked into hell “And that, was the last I was to see of Crowley. For quite some time.” (The Resurrectionists minisode).

- 1859, Aziraphale’s bookshop, Soho — ‘In which Aziraphale almost sells a book’ before receiving a note delivered by a street urchin from Crowley reading ‘the usual place - C’ (cut scene from the script book).

- 1862, St. James Park, London — Crowley requests holy water from Aziraphale for assurance in case anything goes wrong.

- Sometime between 1889 and 1919 (the years Hoffman is alive) but likely around 1876 (the year the book, Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring is published, that Aziraphale has a signed copy of), England — Aziraphale receives magic lessons from Angelo John Lewis, pseudonym Professor Hoffman, ‘“Aha! Professor Hoffmann's modern magic. Ah, there you are. To Mr. Fell, that's me, a wonderful student” (written) Yours, the Hoff’

- 1941, London — Aziraphale gives prophecy books to some nazis for Hitler, in an attempt to arrest them, only they double-cross him as well. Crowley then comes to Aziraphale's rescue and gives him a lift home, stopping at the West End theatre on the way back . However, the nazis come back as zombies for hell to expose Aziraphale and Crowley’s arrangement, but Aziraphale’s magic thwarts them (Nazi Zombie Flesh Eaters minisode). At some point later on, Aziraphale does the apology dance for Crowley.

- 1967, Soho, London —Crowley arranges a heist (after having gone clothes shopping that morning) to steal holy water from a church with Lance Corporal Shadwell and others. Aziraphale thinks it’s too dangerous, so he gets Crowley holy water himself.

- 1970s, London — Crowley changes the design of the M25 to represent the symbol Odegra, which comes back to bite him later on (as most things do).

- ~2008, “Eleven Years Ago" — Hastur and Ligur deliver the Antichrist to Crowley, who gives it to The Chattering Order of St. Beryl. The Antichrist is then swapped with Deirdre and Arthur Young’s child, while their child, Warlock, goes with Thaddeus and Harriet Dowling. Trying to prevent Armageddon, Aziraphale and Crowley agree to help raise Warlock, the boy they assume is the Antichrist.

- ~2013, “Five Years Later - Six Years Before the End of the World”  — Crowley disguises himself as Warlock's nanny, while Aziraphale disguises himself as the Dowlings' gardener.

- ~2019, “Six years later” — the chronological events of season 1 unfold, ending with Aziraphale and Crowley eating at the Ritz.

- Between 2019-2023 — Gabriel and Beelzebub routinely meet in the Resurrectionists pub, where they fall in love.

- ~2023 — the chronological events of season 2 unfold, ending with Aziraphale going up to Heaven and Crowley driving away from the bookshop to destinations unknown (his flat? out of london? out of the uk? out of the world?).

[kkurades]

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ STARRY EYES ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

━━ during the battle of hogwarts blaise had lost sight of you but when he finally found you again he found your dead corpse.

word count: 2637

pairing: fem!gryffindor!lupin!reader x blaise zabini

warning: death, blood, missing limbs, broken skull, war.

“But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!” Pansy Parkinson exclaimed while you watched the scene unfold next to Hermione.

Ginny instinctively moves towards Harry with her wand drawn. Your eyes quickly flickered to your boyfriend, Blaise Zabini who was already staring at you.

Both you and Hermione made a move to join Ginny while you desperately clutched your wand, praying to whoever was listening that you wouldn't have to use it.

The other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws follow your lead and stand protectively around Harry before Filch abruptly marched in, but you couldn't bring yourself to listen to him as you examined Blaise who seemed indifferent about the situation.

“Wait! As it turns out, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune. If you would, I'd like you to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the Hall.”

Your gaze quickly flashed towards Professor McGonagall before looking back to your frowning boyfriend.

“Right away,” Filch suddenly halted before questioning the head of Gryffindor once again, “Er, exactly where is it I'd be leadin' em to, ma'am?”

“The dungeons should do,” while the other students cheered as the Slytherins were taken to the dungeon, you felt an apprehensive feeling crawl over you as you watched Blaise desperately looking at you.

Perhaps he had known that the inevitable was going to happen, and he didn't want you to be in the middle of the battlefield without his protection.

After all, you still were a Gryffindor through and through. And unfortunately, your house was particularly known for its impulsiveness, which was a trait that you shared.

You watched stoically as Blaise disappeared from your sight before moving towards your father and your stepmother.

Remus kissed the top of your head, while Nymphadora pulled you into a firm hug. You inhaled her vanilla and candy-like scent, which soothed you extensively before pulling away and joining Neville and the rest of the DA.

You were assisting Cho, Nigel, and Katie while Seamus ordered you around in placing magical 'charges' on key pressure points.

Your body stilled when you noticed Scabior and the Snatchers moving towards you and Neville.

“Not good,” you heard Neville mumble before you took his arm and sprinted as fast as you could while Ginny and Seamus were standing at the edge of the wooden bridge.

Even though you knew you should have been more concerned about Scabior and the Snatchers, who were about to catch up to you any instant, you felt the terror seep into your body as you caught a maniacal gleam in Seamus’ eyes.

Fortunately, you were quick enough to reach the duo in time before the bridge ultimately collapsed.

But when you turned around, you noticed that Neville had suddenly disappeared. Ginny gasped beside you as your mouth fell scarcely open and your eyes widened.

The moment seemingly lasted forever before charred fingernails appeared over the final remaining of the bridge.

You let out a sigh of relief before you and Ginny rushed to hoist Neville up onto what's left of the bridge.

“What?” The youngest Weasley asked as Neville glanced at you.

“That was quite exciting,” you let out a groan as Seamus grinned and winked at him.

“Mad. The both of you,” Ginny declared before a thundering rumble almost send Neville tumbling off the bridge again.

Ginny steadies him as you all peer into the distance, noticing that the reason of the small earthquake were giants.

You quickly said your goodbyes before you dashed off to help fight off the death eaters, while Ginny and Neville parted ways with Seamus.

And while you were fighting for your life, Blaise had been stuck in the dungeons with a harsh glare on his face as he stared holes into the grinning Filch.

“Night-tee night,” Blaise felt like he could slaughter the man right then and there, but quietly watched as Pansy cursed him.

“You let us out of here, you filthy squib!” Filch only grinned, shaking the ring of keys in his hand, and turned to walk away.

When he was a fair distance away the chamber began to tremble, but with each step, it got more violent. Suddenly plaster rained down, and a ragged hole opens in the ceiling, followed by multiple others before a massive eye peered inside which made some Slytherins scream.

The giant's fist dropped heavily through the hole, fingers probing the cell clumsily. Filch watched in horror as the cell fell to pieces and the Slytherins spilled forth.

Goyle ruthlessly flung Housemates aside, while Blaise followed in his wake. Ready to start searching for you throughout the whole castle, even if it would take him the entire night.

As they reached the safety of the corridor, a hand — this one of human scale — reaches out of the darkness and grabbed Goyle.

Blaise stifled his groan at the sight of Draco Malfoy before following him, desperately hoping that they would come across someone who could notify him of your whereabouts.

Before Blaise comprehended what was occurring, he was perched atop a fragile tower while fire consumed everything around him.

He had lost his wand earlier on and thought that this would be it before Ron and Harry flew towards him and Draco on brooms.

He quickly took Ron's outstretched hand and mounted the broom while listening to Ron complaining about it under his breath.

Blaise suppressed his eye roll because Ron Weasley did save his life.

While Ron flew them to safety, he couldn't stop himself from asking about you. The words were scorching him, and he desperately ought to know the answer.

“Where's Y/n?” His voice was steady, but if you listened close enough, then you would perhaps have heard his urgency.

Ron quickly glanced at him with a scoff before replying.

“I don't know. I haven't seen her since the start of this.”

But as Ron glimpsed at Blaise's despairing expression, he felt himself blurt something out.

“She went with Ginny and Neville,” he timidly said, which lit Blaise's eyes once again before Ron landed the two of them safely.

Blaise awkwardly thanked Ron before dashing off in the hope to find you.

You had scratches all over your face, your nose was probably broken, and you were convinced that your left pinky was about to fall off.

You tried to shrug it off as you continued fighting off the infinite death eaters.

Much to your solace, you found your dad and stepmom and quickly approached them while fending off the enemy.

But your relief was exceptionally brief when Antonin Dolohov ultimately killed your father.

You heard your heart pounding loudly in your ears as the light left your father's eyes.

You could hear Nymphadora's heartbreaking cry before you charged at Dolohov ruthlessly before you killed the man.

While you were able to kill Antonin Dolohov, you knew that it was partially because he had been diverted and hadn't seen you coming.

You were about to approach your father's body but abruptly halted when you noticed Bellatrix Lestrange standing a little further from you, inclining to kill Nymphadora.

No sound came from your throat as Bellatrix neared your stepmom who was wailing over her dead husband's body, not caring whether she was open for attacks.

You noticed out of the corner of your eye Kingsley Shacklebolt attempting to reach Nymphadora in time, but you knew he was too far away to do anything.

Nymphadora looked up at the sound of Kingsley yelling at her, but she felt like she couldn't move as Bellatrix moved toward her at an extraordinarily rapid pace.

You quickly made your mind up as you ran right towards the merciless death eater, your wand having been discarded somewhere along the way of killing Dolohov.

Your body collided with Bellatrix' as you made an effort to shove her off the edge of the castle.

Unfortunately, she yanked you with her before she quickly apparated to safety.

It felt like everything was going in slow motion as you caught a glimpse of Kingsley and your stepmom leaning over the edge while they screamed your name at the top of their lungs as tears streamed down Nymphadora's cheek as she watched you plunge to your death.

You felt yourself relaxing as you realized that you had saved Nymphadora and that she would have an opportunity to survive this and go home to Teddy.

You quickly accepted your death, as your final thoughts were of Blaise Zabini.

You particularly thought about the feeling of when you woke up next to him in your dorm.

The sunlight bled through the curtains around your bed as you felt Blaise's heartbeat steadily thumping beneath you.

You remembered the adoring look on his face as you kissed him softly while your limbs were tangled together.

Your last thoughts were of Blaise before your body shut down when it collided with the ground.

Nymphadora remembered the determination on your face when she looked up to see you charging at Bellatrix to save her.

She remembered the anguish she felt when her maternal aunt pulled you down with her.

She remembered how she scattered to her feet before taking off towards the edge with Kingsley right next to her as she shrieked your name, desperate to see you one more time.

She remembered the heartbreak she felt when your eyes softened, and you looked peaceful, almost relieved, as you fell to your death while the stars were reflected in your eyes.

Kingsley had to haul her away while Arthur looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.

Minerva McGonagall's face twisted into pure horror when she heard the sound of bones breaking.

She quickly spun around only to see you dead on the floor with your eyes hauntingly staring into her soul as the corner of your lips had been turned upwards.

A gasp left her body as a single tear fell from her eye before hurrying over to you.

She crouched next to you, taking you into her arms but had no option but to leave you there.

The castle still roamed with death eaters, giants, and whatnot, and she couldn't afford to be vulnerable at a time like this, besides she was way too old to be carrying bodies around, so she quickly promised your dead body that she would return as soon as possible.

Only after Voldemort's defeat did McGonagall remember about you again and instantly asked Wood to assist her to pick up your body.

Oliver let out a shallow breath as he halted next to your body. You hadn't been moved because you had fallen into a relatively peaceful area where there wasn't much damage done.

He quickly glanced at the head of the Gryffindor house with a shaken look on his face before seizing your body.

Your head lolled against his shoulders and your arm limply hung from your body as Oliver carried you to the great hall, where most of the bodies were placed.

When he entered the Great Hall, he noticed some people throwing pitiful looks at you in his arms as he brought you to a free spot.

Just as he was about to place you down he heard someone let out a miserable sob before turning to your stepmom who hadn't left Remus his side since the war had ended.

He carefully put you on a blanket as Nymphadora fell down next to your body. He took this as his que to leave, but not before giving one last tragic look at your corpse.

Neville, Ginny, Seamus, Harry, Hermione, and Ron immediately ran towards you when they noticed your body being brought in.

Neville closed his eyes as tears escaped them while he remembered how lively you had looked hours prior.

Hermione leaned into Ron as salty wet tears streamed down her face as she hiccuped slightly while Seamus stared at you with horror and misery.

At a sudden point during the battle did Blaise find Neville and Luna, but when he questioned them about your whereabouts he came out with nothing.

His hopes started to falter after he had practically scoured the whole castle.

After Voldemort's defeat, he had followed the Malfoy's into the great hall and quietly sat there as he observed the doors, hoping for you to come through them.

He had asked all of your friends by now where you were, but none of them knew. Blaise had even looked at all the bodies to ensure that you weren't dead.

Later on, Draco and his mother had already left, but Blaise didn't dare to move his eyes from the gate.

His eyes glanced towards a small commotion that had been around one of the bodies that had just been brought in by Oliver Wood and professor McGonagall.

When he looked closer, he noticed that it were your friends. Even your stepmother was there as she sat on the ground while crying her eyes out.

He quickly came to realize that it couldn't be a coincidence.

'No'

He kept repeating the word as he quickly jumped up and neared the group, but he felt his heart in his throat when he recognized your messy y/h/c hair and your favorite red sweater that you had been wearing earlier that night when he saw you.

His eyes widened as he pushed through your friends, who threw sympathetic looks as he collapsed next to your body.

The war hadn't been kind to you. Your nose was broken and dried blood stained your upper lip. You had multiple scratches and gashes along your body, and blood stained the blanket that you were laying on, indicating that there was a wound on the back of your head.

Your fingers were covered in grime and blood, but he could make out that you missed one finger.

Blaise clutched to your body refusing to let you go as tears fell from his eyes, not caring about the blood that was tainting his clothes.

He sat there for hours, refusing to leave you as the stream of tears seemed endless.

At a certain point, they had placed your father’s body next to you, but he paid him no mind.

Most students had been leaving the Great Hall, but he remained next to you while Nymphadora watched him sadly.

He felt like his life ended the moment he found your body, but his thoughts were cut off by a hand being placed on his shoulder.

His eyes glanced towards the owner, who happened to be Nymphadora. She sat down next to him while trying to keep her tears at bay.

“What happened?” Blaise's voice was quivering and hoarse, his hands trembled, and he was terrified of the answer.

“I- Y/n found me and R-Remus at a certain point during the battle. Remus had just been killed by Antonin Dolohov so she avenged him by killing Dolohov. After her fight with him she-uhm, she lost her wand. While I was grieving over Remus I was oblivious to Bellatrix who was planning to kill me,” Blaise let out a shuddered breath as he knew where this was going to but kept quiet.

“She charged at Bellatrix and pushed her off the castle, but Bellatrix pulled her with her. During their fall, Bellatrix managed to apparatus. Even though Y/n didn’t kill her, she saved my life,” Nymphadora was full-on sobbing now as the memory seemed like an endless loop.

“What-what happened to Bellatrix?” Blaise felt anger fill his body as he spat out the name of the woman who had partially killed his Y/n.

“Molly killed her.”

Blaise nodded but remained quiet as he grieved you with your stepmother silently. But he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to recover from this, from your death.

©cupidsheqrt , 2022.

[themurphyzone]

Son of Darkwing AU: Just Like You Ch 1

Summary: AU where DT17!Drake Mallard is the son of famous actor Jim Starling aka the original Darkwing Duck.

Eight-year old Drake Starling looks up to his father, who happens to be his favorite superhero, Darkwing Duck. To a smaller than average, timid duckling often bullied by his peers, Darkwing is everything he wants to be when he grows up. He's handsome, brave, and confident, but most importantly, he always stands up for what's right no matter what.

If only the rest of the world could see that side of Darkwing too.

AN: I just found the Jim Starling is Drake’s father AU concept too interesting to pass up writing a story on. Plus I just wanted to take a break from my usual fandom and write something different. There will be a short epilogue after this that will be posted in the next day or two.

AO3 Link

“My dad is a superhero! He always says the coolest things and saves the day and beats up the bad guys and gets to kiss Morgana!”  

Drake grinned to his second grade class, proudly displaying his drawing of Darkwing Duck perched dutifully on the St. Canard Clocktower, his keen eyes surveying the fair city below for evildoers, purse-snatchers, and shoppers who had eleven items in the ten items or less lane at the grocery store. 

How many other kids could claim their father regularly braved the rough waves of St. Canard Pier to fight a waterlogged mutt, engaged in intense physical and mental training to build his immunity to the poisons and powders of a professor turned mutant plant, broached terrifying tornadoes and thunderstorms to reach the megalomaniacal Megavolt, and locked away thieving jesters for copyright infringement? 

Well, Drake didn’t know what copyright infringement was, but it was definitely a most dastardly, devious, and despicable act if it caught Darkwing Duck’s attention!

In the front row, a bulldog pup barked out a harsh laugh. 

“Darkwing’s not real, you dork!” Brandon Barker snorted, his elbow thumping the table with a loud thud. “You can’t actually believe these things!” 

His friends snickered behind their hands, and Drake’s wide grin slipped away. He shuffled his feet, cheek feathers growing warm with embarrassment. His hands shook and crinkled his drawing at the edges. 

“O-of course he’s real!” Drake protested. All eyes were on him, and his heart pounded with the fear of losing their support. He spread his purple coat out on each side, imitating Darkwing’s billowing cape against the night wind. “He’s the terror who flaps in the night, the wrench of justice in the inner workings of villainy, t-the engine that, um, I meant he’s the elephant in the living room of slime…no, crime!”  

Brandon Barker’s laughter rang in his ears, loud and mocking and shameless. 

Drake clutched the drawing to his chest, trying not to ruin Darkwing Duck in the center of the paper. 

Only a handful of his classmates applauded his presentation, more out of politeness than anything else. Three girls were whispering and passing notes to each other, Phillip Trotski in the back row was asleep, and everyone who wasn’t friends with Brandon stared blankly at the ticking of the clock as the end of the school day drew closer by the second. 

My Dad is the most amazing duck in the world. Why can’t any of you see that? 

Drake stared at the trash can by Mrs. Crane’s desk, tilting his head so his classmates couldn’t see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t want to give them another reason to laugh at him. 

There were already too many. 

He flinched at the sharp, loud slap of a ruler hitting the desk. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it, Mrs. Crane always did that when she wanted them to pay attention, but it never failed to be a frightening noise. 

“Don’t laugh at your classmates’ presentations, Brandon. Quincy. Issac.” Mrs. Crane scolded, giving each boy a stern look of disapproval. Quincy and Issac sank in their seats, embarrassed to be caught. Brandon only pouted, not looking sorry at all. “Next Monday, you will each spend five minutes in the corner at recess and think about your behavior.” 

“But Mrs. Crane-”  Brandon protested, though Mrs. Crane quickly cut him off. 

“Ten minutes.” 

Brandon’s elbow thumped onto his desk. “Stupid Drakey,” he mumbled. 

Drake covered his face with one hand, shielding himself from Brandon’s scornful glare. 

Mrs. Crane stood up so quickly that her chair flew behind her and slammed against the whiteboard. Her long, thin shadow fell across Brandon, who shot a pleading look at Quincy and Issac, but the other boys inched their desks away from Mrs. Crane’s wrath. 

“Young man,” she said icily, in the tone Darkwing himself would use on a villain if they’d committed an especially heinous crime. “I will be speaking to your parents later. And you will spend the next week indoors, copying the dictionary instead of playing basketball with your friends.” 

Nobody, not even Brandon, dared to speak. The class gathered their books, backpacks, and belongings with less enthusiasm than usual when the final bell rang at three. 

Drake stayed by the teacher’s desk, unwilling to pack up just yet. He knew he’d wind up tripping over a pencil or backpack strap or somebody’s outstretched leg if he tried to return to his desk in the middle row. 

“Drake,” Mrs. Crane said quietly, so that his classmates wouldn’t hear as they were ushered out of the room by a teacher’s aide. “Stay behind for a moment. I won’t keep you long if you’re taking the bus home.” 

Drake gulped. Did she know he’d fallen asleep during reading time?  

“I-I’m not, Mrs. Crane,” Drake stammered. “Dad’s picking me up today.”

He’d never been alone in the classroom with Mrs. Crane before, and seeing that he barely came up to her waist made him nervous. He was the shortest in the class, which only gave his bullies even more reasons to pick on him. 

To his relief, Mrs. Crane pulled her chair around and sat down. She still towered over him, but Drake felt like he could breathe a little easier now. 

“You were supposed to talk about a hero in your life,” she said, peering down her long bill at him. Drake wilted at the disappointment in her voice. “Not one on a silly TV show.” 

But Darkwing wasn’t silly. And it wasn’t for little kids either. 

“...but my dad is Darkwing Duck,” Drake said meekly, picking at a loose thread on his coat. Nobody seemed to understand that. “He’s a hero.” 

His dad always threw the bad guys in jail and saved St. Canard. He was cool, confident, and never gave up even when all hope was lost. What part of that wasn’t heroic? 

“Your…father…plays a hero,” Mrs. Crane corrected, shaking her head like the word ‘father’ disgusted her.  “Being a hero in real life is completely different.” 

Drake tilted his head. Wasn’t Dad a hero all the time? There really wasn’t much of a difference. 

“How?” he asked, more confused than ever. 

Mrs. Crane only took their spelling quizzes from the basket on her desk and laid them out. “I’m afraid you’ll have to find that answer for yourself,” she replied. She uncapped her red pen and began to mark the paper. “Run along now.” 

The conversation was over. Drake shuffled to the back of the classroom and retrieved his Darkwing Duck backpack. It was large on him, covering his back like a turtle’s shell. Sure, he had to stoop a bit while he wore it, but he didn’t mind. 

He slid his Darkwing drawing, homework folder, the Mystifying Mystery of the Missing Mare library book he’d checked out earlier that day, and his pencil case into the backpack. 

Packing up in peace was nice. 

For once, nobody tried to steal his pencils or knock the library books off his desk. 

“Drake?” Mrs. Crane called as he opened the classroom door, ready to leave now that he had everything.

Startled, Drake turned around so quickly that he almost fell beakfirst onto the floor. 

“You’re getting much better at speaking in front of your classmates,” Mrs. Crane said. A rare smile tugged at the corner of her beak. “Good job.” 

While Darkwing Duck would’ve made a triumphant speech, Drake could only stammer out a thank you and hurry out the door. 

Mrs. Crane’s words followed him down the hallway, only confusing him more with every step he took. 

Playing a hero? Being a hero? Dad is a hero! Why doesn’t anyone believe me when I tell them? 

He got weird looks whenever he told people that his dad was the one and only Darkwing Duck. 

Kids laughed at him. The grown-ups would just give him odd, pitying looks. Even the adults at Golden Goose Studios changed the subject when he tried to describe Dad’s awesome rapidfire karate chops that took down Megajack, a villainous fusion of Megavolt and Quackerjack. 

But nobody ever believed him. 

He sucked in a breath as he joined the other kids outside. It was always crowded out here after school. Several teachers kept a watchful eye on everyone as they played on the stone steps and grassy hills surrounding the building. Two long lines of cars waited in the parking lot, parents shouting for their kids from open windows so they could get out as fast as possible.  

Drake perched on his tiptoes, staying at the very top of the staircase so Dad could see him. It was lonely up here, but he needed to stay separate from the crowd so he wouldn’t be lost. 

Okay, don’t lose focus! Drake Starling must be ever-vi…what was that word Darkwing always used again? Vigilicious? I think that was it! Drake Starling must be ever-vigilicious when searching the streets below for his transport! 

He didn’t see Dad’s car anywhere. 

Drake fiddled with the straps of his backpack as one classmate after another left with their parents. Dad’s filming sessions tended to run long, so Drake tended to be one of the last kids to be picked up if it was his turn. 

He understood why Dad couldn’t make it on time, even though he sometimes worried that he’d have to sleep on the school stairs overnight, like the people who camped out in tents and sleeping bags downtown. 

Suddenly, there was a loud, screeching honk from a silver van, and the kids along the sidewalk leapt back in shock. The van window rolled down, revealing a large, furious boar with a pair of sharp tusks that poked out from his bottom lip. 

“Watch where you’re going, you weirdo!” the boar roared, shaking his fist at a purple-clad duck with a large fedora and long, flowing cape who’d crossed in front of his van. 

“Dad!” Drake exclaimed, heart leaping with excitement. He’d finished early for once! And he’d even come as Darkwing Duck!

None of his other classmates could say Darkwing Duck picked them up from school!

“The crosswalk light was green! How ‘bout you watch where you’re going, porky?” Dad snapped, storming up to the window of the angry boar. He jabbed a finger at the boar’s snout, a fist clenched at his side. “Don’t you know who I am?”

“I’m up here, Dad!” Drake shouted, waving his arms and jumping as high as possible so Dad could see him above everyone else. “Over here! Look this wa-aaaaayyyyy!” 

He leaned too far over the step, screaming as his beak painfully collided with stone. He tasted gravel in his mouth, knees stinging as they smacked against each bumpy step all the way to the bottom of the staircase. 

With his unexpected freefall at an end, Drake laid beneath his heavy backpack, unable to stand on his own. Grit clung to his knees and elbows, and his peers’ legs and feet crowded around him. 

Dozens of eyes bored into him. Shocked whispers and gasps rippled through his onlookers. 

Then came Brandon Barker’s howl of laughter, loud and mocking and cruel. 

Drake wanted to pull his head and limbs inside his backpack like a turtle and never come out again. 

This wasn’t the sort of attention he wanted. 

He’d have to figure out how to eat and drink and watch his favorite shows under here-

“EVERYONE BACK OFF MY KID IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!” 

Drake gasped at that heroic, commanding voice that always forced a crowd to stop and listen no matter what they were doing. And it wasn’t just any other heroic, commanding voice either! 

“Dad!” Drake exclaimed. He sprung up, the scrapes on his knees not bothering him in the slightest as he pounced upon his dad’s waist. “You’re early!” 

“Agh-hey!” Dad made a choking noise, his body stiff as a board in Drake’s hug before he managed to pry him off. “Watch the suit, kid. It’s freshly ironed. Can’t have you or anyone else wrinkling it.” 

Drake inhaled a light, fresh scent from the awe-inspiring Darkwing outfit. “Your suit smells funny! Um, I mean funny in a nice way! It’s not bad or anything! I like it!” he exclaimed, quickly backpedaling when Dad raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, that makes one of us,” Dad sighed, his long beak crinkling in distaste. “My clueless costume designers refuse to understand that Darkwing Duck does not require carnation scented freshener while fighting the cantankerous criminals of St. Canard. Besides, it clogs his beak.”

He sneezed loudly, a shower of droplets hitting an unfortunate young cardinal in the face. 

“Ewww, gross!” the cardinal stuck his tongue out in disgust. He wiped the droplets onto his shirt and stumbled away. 

Everyone else backed up and gave them a wide berth. 

Dad rolled his eyes. “Kids these days,” he grumbled. “Can’t even handle the slightest inconvenience.” 

Drake grinned, unable to stop bouncing on his toes. “Or see how cool your costume is?” 

“Heh. That too,” Dad let out a short, hacking laugh, ruffling the feathery tuft on Drake’s head. A strong arm wrapped around Drake’s shoulders and led him away from the school. “Let’s get outta this dump, sport. I parked the Ratcatcher by the soccer field. Less crowded over there. Don’t want any of these uncultured yokels ruining the paint job.” 

If this was a dream, then he never wanted to wake up again. He was finally getting to ride in the ultimate criminal-catching contraption of all time! Auntie never allowed Dad to take him for a ride no matter how much Drake begged, even within studio grounds. She always said it was too dangerous, as if she didn’t remember who she was talking to. But Dad always listened to her, even though he complained about it all the time. 

“You finally convinced Auntie to let me ride in the Ratcatcher with you?” Drake asked eagerly. “She told me I wasn’t big enough last time I asked her! I don’t think she knows I grew a whole two inches last summer!” 

He puffed out his chest proudly and lifted his beak in the triumphant pose Darkwing Duck would strike at the end of an episode. 

“Oh, I convinced her alright!” Dad proclaimed. “I’ve honed my persuasion techniques to a highly advanced art form. No actress or criminal alive stands a chance against good old-fashioned Darkwing charm!” 

He pumped his fist into the air, and Drake copied his action with a cheer, only to leap out of his feathers when a car honked loudly. 

“GET OFF THE ROAD, FREAK!” a bulldog woman roared, leaning out the open window of her minivan and fixing them with a furious glare. 

With a firm shove, Drake was swept behind his father protectively. Drake stumbled, clinging to Dad’s cape to avoid her ire. He saw Dad’s deep frown, his defensive stance, his powerful fists balled, and Drake knew that if he was going to be anything like Darkwing Duck someday, he couldn’t just hide behind Dad’s cape whenever he was scared. 

He had to try and be the bravest duckling ever. 

Tightly gripping the cape between his fingers, Drake carefully peered out from behind his dad. 

You can do this, Drake. All you have to do is get dange- 

Then Drake locked eyes with Brandon Barker, who gave him a toothy smirk and pounded his fist into the palm of his hand. Drake yelped and hid himself from view, already dreading the day Brandon would follow through on his threat. 

“Yeah! Get off the road, freaks!” Brandon taunted, his upper body hanging out the window, jowls flapping in the breeze. 

“Sit, Brandon!” the female bulldog snapped, and a strange, panicked expression crossed the bully’s face before he obeyed. “I’m already dealing with one costumed clown. I don’t have the patience for another.”

“Clown?” Dad shouted, feathers puffing out in outrage. “Broken any mirrors lately with your horrendous makeup job, you bi-” 

A passing duck covered her daughter’s ears and hurried her to the sidewalk, glaring at Dad the entire time. 

“-iiiiiiiig jerk. That’s what I was gonna say!” Dad called to the other parent, who quickly bundled her child into a nearby car. 

“Buncha braindead morons. Don’t have the decency to recognize a Starling when they see one,” Dad muttered. He grabbed Drake’s shoulder, roughly guiding him towards the soccer field. 

The car sped off, a cloud of smoke and dust left in its wake. 

Freak. 

Why couldn’t anyone else see Dad as a hero? He was brave and tough and smart, a master of twenty-five kinds of martial arts, and always knew exactly what to say and do when a villain threatened St. Canard. 

Drake couldn’t defend himself or Dad without being ignored, teased, or getting odd looks from teachers. Even his uncles stumbled over their words when they spoke about Dad. 

An engine roared to life. 

“Hey, sport,” Dad called. He was perched atop the Ratcatcher, hands already on the handlebars, looking even cooler in real life than his promotional photos.

Drake blinked, not realizing they’d made it to the Ratcatcher at all. He’d only seen the motorcycle from the sidelines or on a television screen before, and it was much bigger than he expected. He took a step back, not wanting to be engulfed in its shadow. 

Dad gave him a confident grin, gesturing to the sidecar where he’d normally give tied up criminals a ride to prison. 

“You’re speechless. I understand completely,” he said, patting the sleek hood of the Ratcatcher fondly. “But you’re not going anywhere if you insist on standing by with your beak open.”

His words washed over Drake, and despite his worries, Drake knew his dad was right. If he wanted to achieve his dream of riding in the Ratcatcher, then he’d have to climb in first. 

With a burst of confidence, Drake jumped into the sidecar. For a moment, he struggled to clear the metal wall completely, but he took a deep breath and pushed against it. He yelped, falling onto the seat with his feet above his head. 

Maybe I should’ve taken my backpack off first, Drake thought, unable to move from his awkward position. 

“A little help, Dad?” he asked meekly. 

Sighing, Dad let the engine idle before he grabbed the handle of Drake’s backpack and pulled him upright. Though it was rough, Drake bit back a yelp, not wanting to disappoint his hero.

But the uneasy feeling only became worse when he didn’t see anything he could use to protect his head. 

“Shouldn’t I have a helmet? What if something happens?” Drake asked, hiking his backpack over his head just in case. He thought of a commercial he’d seen the day before, where a kid hadn’t worn his helmet while riding his bike and had to be taken to the hospital with a nasty cut to his forehead. The image made his stomach churn. 

“You worry too much, kid. Nothing’s gonna happen,” Dad assured him. 

o-o-o-o

Drake played with the Quackerjack toy he’d gotten from his Hungry Hungry Hippo Meal, trying to avoid the stern glare of the police officer, a tall, broad-chested bald eagle who could probably rip through steel with the talons on his feet alone. Dark shades covered his eyes. His navy uniform displayed the letters SCPD on his sleeve, surrounded by stars. 

“James Starling,” the eagle drawled. “It’s been a while.” 

“Hello, Sammy,” Dad mimicked the eagle’s accent, one leg crossed over the other as he ate his bacon cheeseburger. “Still can’t get my name right, I see. It’s just Jim. Always has been, and that’s the name I plan to use for my star on the Walk of Fame.” 

The eagle took his dark shades off and flicked them shut with a sharp snap, clipping them to the front of his uniform. 

“That’s Officer Skye to you,” he said coldly. The temperature inside Hamburger Hippo seemed to drop several degrees. 

Drake shivered, and he fed a waffle fry to Quackerjack to avoid the annoyed looks Dad and Officer Skye gave each other. 

Even villains need to eat so they have enough energy to carry out their evil plan….

“Ran out of donuts to chase, Sammy?” Dad scoffed. “Or is there another reason you wanted to interrupt our father-son bonding time? I don’t appreciate being tailed to the parking lot of this joint.” 

Officer Skye reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notepad and pen. “Hope your idea of bonding time doesn’t include jail, Starling.” 

“...jail?” Drake whispered, staring in horror at Officer Skye, who continued writing in his notepad. The eagle wouldn’t look him in the eye. 

Why? Only villains go to jail, and Dad’s not a villain! 

Then Drake spotted a pair of handcuffs peeking out from Officer Skye’s belt, and he quickly latched onto Dad’s arm so he couldn’t be arrested. 

Dad made an odd, strangled gasp as he struggled to free his arm. 

“What the-hey, let go of my arm, kiddo! You’re getting ketchup all over my blazer!” 

But Drake only clung to his arm tighter than before. “Y-you can’t take my dad to jail, officer! It was…um, probably a frame job!” 

Both grown-ups stared at him, and Drake shrank away at the attention. 

“A frame job,” Officer Skye repeated in disbelief. 

Dad only shrugged. 

“You know, like the first episode of Darkwing Duck!” Drake explained. Why didn’t the grown-ups understand? “A bunch of thieves framed Darkwing for robbing a train and he had to break himself out of jail! Then he proved the thieves were behind the whole plot and the police commissioner apologized to Darkwing for jailing him!” 

A hand closed Drake’s bill and held it shut. 

“Kids,” Dad chuckled to Officer Skye, whose beak was twisted into a frown. “Always saying the most interesting things when they should probably be quiet.” 

His voice dipped low, his tone a warning, like a snake waiting to strike. Drake let go of his father’s blazer, spooked by the strange sound.

“I see you’ve done nothing to correct your son’s impression of the justice system, Starling,” Officer Skye drawled. “Is he at all aware that law enforcement does not require the help of reckless, gloryhounding vigilantes to arrest criminals, unlike your ridiculous show?” 

“RIDICULOUS?” Dad shrieked, feathers ruffling in outrage. He leapt upwards, standing on his chair and glaring at Officer Skye. His posture was rigid, hands clenched into fists. “DARKWING DUCK IS THE PEAK OF TELEVISION, YOU NUT!” 

The entire restaurant fell silent, their attention on Dad and Officer Skye. Drake shrank away from their scrutiny, curling up in his chair and trying to appear even smaller than he already was. A mother stood up and dragged her two children away by their arms. By the soda machine, a goose hadn’t noticed his drink was overflowing. 

The stillness was only broken by a surprised duckling, whose brown hair was tied back with a large pink bow. 

Molly Clearwater, Drake realized, and he prayed Molly wouldn’t recognize him. She never stops talking! Everyone at school’s gonna find out….

“Dad! Dad! That’s Drake from school!” she shouted, dashing Drake’s hopes immediately. “Why’s he with that purple weirdo? Why’s the policeman so mad at them? How come-oomph!” 

Molly’s dad quickly clamped his hand around her bill. 

Drake wanted to sink into the ground and never come out again. Their whispers and stares cut through him, and he couldn’t ignore them no matter how much he tried. 

Even Officer Skye was watching him. 

Am I going to jail too? 

Would he have to learn how to sleep on an uncomfortable piece of wood? Or be forced to wear nothing but black and white stripes forever? 

Slowly, Drake peered up at the officer, whose expression seemed…different. 

Softer. Less harsh. 

Then Officer Skye turned to his notepad and wrote something down. He ripped the top sheet and slapped it onto Dad’s bill. 

Dad sputtered in surprise, the chair wobbling when he nearly lost his footing. He ripped the paper off the edge of his bill, crumpling it under his fist. 

“And just what is this supposed to be?” Dad spat. He waved the paper in Officer Skye’s face. 

“A speeding ticket and a list of citations,” Officer Skye replied, and Dad’s bill dropped to the ground in shock. “You were twenty miles above the speed limit, in addition to you and your child not wearing a helmet, lack of a front license plate, and disturbing the peace.” 

Dad’s eyes widened as he hurriedly read the paper. He mumbled under his breath in disbelief before scowling at Officer Skye. 

“What, you boys in blue don’t have any muggings to stop or medal ceremonies to attend?” he scoffed. “This is extortion! I won’t be swindled out of my hard-earned cash! Expect a call from my lawyer in the near future!” 

Officer Skye stepped forward, his hooked beak pushing against Dad’s long bill. “There is one reason and one reason alone why I’m not placing you in cuffs right now. So I suggest you start acting like the role model you portray yourself to be. See you in court, Starling.” 

Before Dad could respond, Officer Skye walked out of the restaurant. Within a minute, his police car peeled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner. 

Slowly, everyone returned to their meals and conversations, chatter filling in the silence once again. The grownups gave annoyed glances at Dad, while others gave Drake a strange, pitying look. 

Drake wished they’d pay attention to their food instead. 

Behind the counter, several workers watched the scene unfold until an older dog broke up the group. They quickly returned to taking orders and making food, though they snuck glances at Dad when they weren’t busy. The dog marched up to Dad, pointing to a nametag that had ‘manager’ printed in bold letters. 

“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the premises,” he said in a tone that left no room for argument. 

Dad huffed in frustration, stuffing the paper into his pocket. “Fine,” he growled, hopping down from the chair and shoving past the dog. “Come on, sport. Let’s get outta this dump.” 

Drake hurried to his father, clutching his Quackerjack toy close to his heart. Dad’s strides were long and powerful, forcing Drake to move faster so he wouldn’t be left behind. 

“Hey, Dad…you’re not really going to jail, are you?” Drake whispered once they were safely out in the parking lot. His skin pricked, and he was scared that if he turned around, he’d see everyone in the restaurant judging them. 

The policeman hadn’t handcuffed Dad…yet. Was he just waiting for the right time? Maybe the police were right around the corner, waiting for a reason to take him. 

“Oh, quit worrying already. Heroes don’t go to jail, Drake,” Dad snapped, jamming the key into the Ratcatcher’s ignition. “Good guys like me don’t belong behind bars. Now get in before some other power-tripping cop shows up.” 

Drake climbed into the sidecar, managing to do it without help this time. He turned to Dad, ready to share his exciting news, but he didn’t look his way. Dad’s entire mood had been soured. 

Neither of them spoke on the ride home.  

o-o-o-o-o

Auntie and Uncle Tino were waiting for them in the garage of Lot 9, where the Ratcatcher was parked when it wasn’t in use. They were still dressed in their villain costumes from filming earlier that day, a floor-length scarlet gown for Auntie while Uncle Tino was in earthy green and brown tones to match the not-technically-a-villain plant-duck mutant he played. 

Drake waved to them as Dad pulled into the garage, only stopping when Auntie crossed her arms and frowned. He couldn’t see her feet, but he could hear one tapping impatiently against the ground. He avoided her stern gaze. 

In his excitement to ride the Ratcatcher, he’d forgotten that he wasn’t supposed to be riding in the prop at all, even if Dad allowed it. 

“Morgana! What a pleasure to see you again!” Dad exclaimed rather loudly, turning off the Ratcatcher with a click of his keys. “Have I ever told you how that shade of scarlet brings out your eyes?” 

Auntie scowled at him. “Save it, Jim!” she snapped, and Dad winced at her tone. “That sort of flattery may work on my character, but it gets you nowhere with me! Especially when you take your son for a joyride in a dangerous contraption when he still needs a booster seat to ride in a normal car!” 

“Dangerous? Morgana, he’s the son of Darkwing Duck! He has to get dangerous sometime! Can’t live his life hiding in the comfort of his own room, you know!” Dad protested. 

Hiding in my bedroom for the rest of my life doesn’t sound so bad…at least I’ll have my toys. 

Drake wasn’t keen on going back to school where he’d have to see Brandon Barker, Molly Clearwater, and his classmates who’d just make fun of him. 

“For the last time, my name is Katherine! Why is it so hard to remember your coworkers’ names when we aren’t filming?” Auntie shouted. 

“For your information, I have an excellent memory. I’ve never forgotten a line, action, or name in my career!” Dad scowled, tossing his keys at Uncle Tino, who jumped when it hit him in the chest and fell to the ground. “Hey Bushroot, hang those up for me, will ya?” 

Uncle Tino sighed and picked up the keys, his purple Bushroot wig falling off his head as he stood up. Unlike Auntie, he never argued with Dad unless the cameras were on. He hung the keys on a hook by the door, clearly not happy about being ordered around but not protesting about it either. 

Drake climbed out of the sidecar, his feet dangling in the air as he hung onto the frame by his fingertips. Taking a deep breath, he let go of the sidecar, yelping when he made a less-than-graceful landing and fell onto his bottom. 

“Drake!” Auntie was at his side instantly. She couldn’t bend all the way down, the material of her dress too stiff for that, but she offered him a hand. “Are you alright, sweetie?” 

Drake took her hand, smiling as she pulled him to his feet. Her touch was always soft, though nobody who only saw her on their TV screens would know that. 

“Bruised, but triumphant!” Drake proclaimed so he wouldn’t worry her, quickly rubbing his sore bottom when she wasn’t looking. It still ached, but she didn’t need to know. 

Darkwing Duck always got back up, no matter what misfortune he encountered. So Drake would too. 

“That’s the spirit, kid,” Dad grinned, ruffling the feathers on Drake’s head. 

Drake held himself high at his praise, his heart soaring far beyond the clouds. Auntie gave him a disapproving look, though Drake couldn’t stop his preening. 

“Don’t encourage him,” Auntie said with a click of her tongue. “He doesn’t need to learn your habit of taking unnecessary risks.” 

Dad rolled his eyes. “He’s tougher than he looks. You don’t need to coddle him every time he gets a paper cut.” 

“I’m showing concern, something that you apparently lack-” 

“He’s seven. He can handle himself just-” 

“This is exactly why some parents don’t let kids watch your show! You perform all these dangerous stunts for impressionable kids, including your own son!” 

“Not my fault some people have poor taste…” 

“Only thing in poor taste is your ego and unrepentant attitude!” 

Drake pressed his hands against his head as Auntie and Dad raised their voices. He didn’t like it when they argued, which happened a lot. He wished they’d just get along. 

A hand rested on his shoulder. Drake turned and smiled at Uncle Tino, whose feathers were still caked with green, plant-like makeup from his Bushroot scenes. 

“How was school, Drake?” Uncle Tino asked. His voice was often quiet, a lot quieter than anyone else Drake had ever met, but Drake found it soothing to talk to him whenever everyone else became too loud. “Your presentation go well?” 

Drake’s smile faded as he scuffed the ground with his foot. “Um…I tried to use those public speaking tips you and Uncle Bud gave me, but Brandon still laughed.” 

Uncle Tino gave him a sympathetic look. He understood how mean some kids in school could be, and Drake appreciated that. 

“I kept talking though!” Drake said quickly, not wanting Uncle Tino to think he’d given up. “And I didn’t cry in front of everyone this time! Mrs. Crane said I got a little off-topic, but I also did better!” 

Uncle Tino smiled. “If you got a compliment from your teacher, your presentation must’ve been really something. Makes me wish I could’ve been there instead of filming this greenhouse scene. All that pollen floating around isn’t good for anyone’s beak. Achoo!” 

Even his sneeze was quieter than most. 

“I really need to take my allergy pills…” he muttered, picking up the wig he’d dropped earlier. “Think I’m gonna head to the break room now.” 

“Break room? Is Uncle Mike there? Can I go with you?” Drake asked, pulling out his Quackerjack toy. “Dad took me to Hamburger Hippo and I got Quackerjack with my meal! I think he’ll find it funny!” 

Dad didn’t notice the disapproving look that Uncle Tino gave him. 

“Uncle Tino?” Drake asked, confused by his lack of response. “Uncle Mike’s gonna find it funny, right?” 

“Huh?” Uncle Tino said, shaken out of his daze. “Oh, he’ll get a kick out of this for sure. And the rest of us will just have to put up with his bragging.” 

That didn’t make any sense. Uncle Mike had the most toys modeled after him out of the Fearsome Four, but nobody else besides Dad minded all that much. Drake wondered if Uncle Tino was just a little jealous. 

“So why are you looking at Dad all weird then?” he asked. 

Uncle Tino sighed. “Because both of you eat at Hamburger Hippo too much. All that grease isn’t healthy for you.” 

“We don’t eat at Hamburger Hippo too much!” Drake protested. “We only ate there today, yesterday, Monday, and last week when Uncle Dan blew up the fridge…do you think we’re still allowed back after Dad argued with the policeman? One of the workers told us to leave and everyone was staring.” 

Silence fell in the garage. Dad groaned and ran a hand down his face. Too late, Drake realized that maybe he should’ve kept his long beak shut. 

“You. Did. What?” Auntie demanded as she towered over Dad, glaring at him while she waited for an explanation. 

Dad tugged at his collar with a nervous laugh. “Uh…well, you see, it’s a funny story actually-”

Uncle Tino grabbed Drake’s hand, ushering him out of the garage as Auntie’s furious voice shook the walls.  

o-o-o-o-o

“Ha! Minijack’s got my colors and bells in all the right places! And you thought this little promotional gig with Hamburger Hippo would fail!” Uncle Mike proclaimed as he paraded around the break room, the little Quackerjack toy held proudly in his hands. 

He’d been beside himself with joy ever since Drake showed him the little model of Quackerjack. Together, they’d lovingly nicknamed him Minijack. 

The bells on his jester hat jangled loudly, and Drake saw a nerve pop in Uncle Dan’s forehead when a long blue and red tendril on the enormous hat smacked him in the face, causing him to drop his screwdriver. 

“Nuts and bolts, Michael! Would you cut that out?” Uncle Dan snapped, huddled protectively over the coffee machine he was trying to fix. “I’m trying to create Instacoffee here!” 

“Ooooh, neato! What’s Instacoffee?” Uncle Mike asked in an exaggerated falsetto voice. Though he only wore a colorful polka-dotted shirt and comically oversized jester hat instead of his full Quackerjack costume, he produced Mr. Banana Brain from somewhere within his shirt and passed Minijack back to Drake. 

Uncle Dan lifted his hands in the air in a grandiose display. “Behold, the latest technological revolution in coffeemaking-” 

“Does it make banana smoothies too?” 

“-no longer shall our minds wait for precious caffeine like sleep-deprived zombies…” 

“Eek! Zombies? They’re going to eat my brain! Ahhhhhh!” Mr. Banana Brain flailed his floppy arms, slapping Uncle Dan in the shoulder several times. 

Uncle Dan growled, shoving his long nose into Mr. Banana Brain’s toothy grin. 

“I’d like to make it through my spiel without interruption, if you don’t mind! Why don’t you try being a proper banana for once and split?” he snapped. 

Mr. Banana Brain gasped, one hand held over his chest in dramatic fashion. 

“Dem’s fightin’ words, you overloaded weasel!” Uncle Mike shouted, giving Mr. Banana Brain a G.I Jay figurine to hold in his fist, its laser weapon extended. 

“Weasel? I’m a rat, clownface!” 

With a bellow, Uncle Dan grabbed Mr. Banana Brain and tried to yank him away from Uncle Mike. They fell to the floor, rolling underneath the table and causing the plates to clatter as they collided with the leg. 

Uncle Dan splayed his fingers like he was zapping Uncle Mike with several supercharged lightning bolts, while Uncle Mike hit him in the face with Mr. Banana Brain. 

It was nice of them to improv a silly scene, but Drake didn’t feel any better. Nor did he feel like joining in with Minijack all that much. He didn’t have the energy to make up a character and voice for Minijack as he did with his other toys either. 

Was Auntie still mad? He wished he hadn’t gotten Dad in trouble with her, or that they could learn to get along somehow. It worried him when they argued. Couldn’t they see he loved both of them?  

The clock on the wall chimed softly, the little hand pointing to seven. The studio would be emptying out soon. Most of the actors would be heading back to their trailers, or going home. 

If Dad’s going to jail, is someone gonna stay with me? They won’t leave me alone, right?

He didn’t want to be left behind. 

There was a soft knock on the door, startling Drake out of his thoughts. He heard voices on the other side, speaking in hushed, worried whispers. 

“-have to break the news gently, Bud…” 

“Tino, I don’t see the point in sugarcoating this. All of you avoid explaining hard topics to him. It’s not healthy.” 

Uncle Bud’s tone dripped with disapproval. Drake’s heart sank. 

“Darkwing Duck is his hero. It’s not our place to-”  

“Darkwing Duck is only a character played by the very real Jim Starling, whose son thinks the world of him, even if he is a poor excuse of a role model.” 

The door opened. 

Drake fidgeted in his chair as Uncle Tino and Uncle Bud walked in. Uncle Tino gave Drake a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring, but only made him more nervous. By contrast, Uncle Bud was calmer, simply sitting down in the chair next to Drake. 

Uncle Dan and Uncle Mike continued to wrestle on the floor, screaming electricity and toy based puns at each other when they tripped Uncle Tino, who fell on top of them with a yelp and brought their roughhousing to an abrupt end. 

“Alright, that’s enough, both of you,” Uncle Bud said, fixing both of them with a look that said calm down or else. “Let me talk to Drake without you acting like clowns.” 

Uncle Mike pointed to his jester hat. “That’s kinda my whole gimmick, buddy.” 

“Just trying to make the kid laugh a bit. Looked like he could use one,” Uncle Dan said, crawling out from underneath Uncle Tino’s arm. 

Uncle Tino said something that nobody could make out since he was lying facedown, beak smushed to the floor. 

With a resigned sigh, Uncle Bud turned to Drake. He was the oldest of the Fearsome Four, and unlike the others, he didn’t really act like his villainous persona, the Liquidator,  off-camera. 

But it was probably hard to talk like he was narrating a commercial all the time, so Drake couldn’t blame him there. 

Uncle Bud gave him that ‘I’m going to talk about your dad and it’s probably gonna hurt your feelings' look. Drake had seen plenty of grownups give him that same pitying glance. 

It always hurt worse when it was the cast of Darkwing Duck, the ones who worked with, ate with, and practically lived with him and Dad. 

They were family, weren’t they? But they didn’t like Dad much. 

Nobody did. 

Maybe they thought he was too young to really notice. Maybe they thought he needed to be protected from the truth. But Drake knew. He could see it in their eyes, hear it in their strange ‘not in front of the kid’ voices. 

“Dad’s going to jail, isn’t he?” Drake whispered. 

Nobody spoke, and nobody except Uncle Bud would look him in the eye. Even Uncle Mike didn’t try to lighten the mood with a joke. 

Uncle Bud leaned over, resting his hand on Drake’s shoulder. It didn’t make him feel better. 

“We don’t know for sure yet,” he admitted. “From my understanding, the officer let your dad off easy. Instead of going to jail, he just has to pay some money to the city. Unfortunately, your dad has made his intention of not paying the fine, driving to the police station, and stuffing his speeding ticket down someone’s beak very clear.” 

Uncle Mike crossed his arms. “I say let him try it. If he gets arrested, that’s his own fault.” 

Drake stared at him, wide-eyed from his harsh words. Nobody else seemed to find his remark funny either.  

Uncle Dan elbowed Uncle Mike in the ribs, who squawked in surprise. 

“...so why won’t he give them money if that’ll keep him out of jail?” Drake asked quietly. 

Nobody answered his question. His uncles only looked at each other in uncertainty. Uncle Bud shook his head, resigned that he didn’t have an answer for Drake. 

“Afraid none of us know what thoughts go through his head,” he sighed. 

“Except for smooching the vanity mirror in his mind,” Uncle Dan snickered, before Uncle Mike drove his elbow into his stomach. He immediately doubled over in pain. 

“Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Uncle Mike smirked in satisfaction.

“Neither of you are helping,” Uncle Tino sighed. 

Drake closed his eyes, avoiding his uncles’ pitying glances. He was tired of every grownup looking at him like that. 

I wish somebody would just…understand for once. Dad is a hero, even if nobody else gets it. 

The phone began to ring, and Drake opened his eyes, alarmed by the sudden noise. 

“I’ll get it,” Uncle Tino said. He walked over to the counter and picked up the phone. “Hel-ahhh!” 

He shrieked and dropped the phone like he’d been burned.

“-no, you stay put, and don’t you dare walk out that door, Jim!” 

Auntie’s voice crackled over the speaker, static blurring her words together. Dad responded, loud and aggressive, though he sounded like he was too far from the phone for anyone to make out what he was saying. 

Uncle Bud quickly stood up, grabbing the dropped phone while Uncle Tino rubbed the side of his head with a pained expression. 

“What’s going on over there, Katherine?” he asked gruffly. 

Drake couldn’t fully hear Auntie’s reply, but her tone was a mix of annoyance and anger. Uncle Bud listened to her rant without speaking, pinching the fur between his eyes. 

“I’m getting too old to play peacemaker between you and Jim,” he said, before pausing to listen to whatever was going on at the other end of the line. “I can’t influence his behavior any better than you can…fine, fine, I’ll try to talk him down, but I can’t promise that he’ll listen to me. Alright. I’ll try to intercept him in the parking lot.” 

He hung up, leaning against the counter for a moment before turning around. Drake didn’t know what to make of the expression on his face. Like he already knew that Dad wouldn’t listen to him no matter what he said.

“He’s leaving for the police station now,” he said quietly. “Katherine couldn’t stop him, so she asked me for help. I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee anything.” 

Drake looked away. He felt Uncle Tino’s hand on his shoulder, but it didn’t provide much comfort.

Nobody was confident in their ability to stop his dad. They were all convinced he’d be thrown in jail the moment he set foot in the police station, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

Drake wasn’t angry at them. They did their best. 

At least they tried. 

If the grown-ups aren’t able to do anything, then what can I do? I can’t even face my classmates without being scared. 

He glanced at the heroic pose Darkwing Duck struck on the front of his backpack. Darkwing was always brave, always certain, always fighting for what was right even when he got beaten down time and time again. 

He could be electrocuted, smashed by anvils, tied to an anchor and dropped into the sea, or poisoned with only twenty-four hours to live, but Darkwing Duck would never, ever give up even if everyone already had. Even if the world told him he can’t save the day. 

Even if he was just a small duckling who was still scared of thunder. 

What if…I can do something? I’m just a kid, but….

He reached into his backpack and pulled out his homework folder. 

“Uncle Bud?” Drake called, holding his folder tightly to his chest as he hurried to the older dog’s side. Uncle Bud paused as he opened the door, turning to Drake with his eyebrows raised in surprise. 

Deep breath, Drake, he inhaled quickly, his heart beating so fast that it made him dizzy. Now say it. I’m going with you, and you can’t stop me. 

But the words that came out of his beak were a jumbled, incoherent mess. Everyone stared, and Drake tried not to cower at their attention. 

“One more time, Drake. Just slow down and breathe,” Uncle Bud advised him. If he was annoyed that Drake was delaying him, he hid it well. 

So Drake took a deep breath once more. 

Just say it. You can tell them. 

“I…I have something important to tell Dad. Please, can I go with you?” he asked. His voice wasn’t as strong or as convincing as he would’ve liked. 

Uncle Bud didn’t respond right away. He didn’t seem like he was going to say no, but he probably didn’t want to say yes either. Drake’s fingers nervously dug into his folder. 

“...I think you should take him with you, Bud,” Uncle Tino was the first to speak up. 

Drake hadn’t expected anyone to speak in his favor, and he gave him a grateful smile. But Uncle Tino’s response was met with an angry shout from Uncle Mike. 

“Are you insane?” he snapped. “Bringing the kid’s not gonna soften Jim! He’s already made up his mind. I say let him reap the consequences.” 

Uncle Dan crossed his arms. “Agreed. You don’t know what he’ll say. He’ll just hurt Drake’s feelings and drive off.” 

They weren’t wrong. Dad might not listen to him either. 

But Darkwing Duck was not the sort of avian who played it safe. He was always ready to take risks on headfirst, even if the situation wasn’t in his favor. 

I’m going to be like Darkwing. I have to take a chance. 

“I still want to talk to him,” Drake declared. 

“This is something he wants to do for himself,” Uncle Tino explained to Uncle Mike and Uncle Dan, who still shook their heads in disapproval. “We shouldn’t get in the way.” 

Drake glanced up at Uncle Bud, who gestured to the open door. 

“Then let’s go,” he said, allowing Drake to take the lead. 

It’s okay, Dad. I won’t let you go to jail. 

o-o-o-o

“Damn it, where did I put those stupid keys?” Dad grumbled, fumbling around in the pockets of his blazer. He tossed an old gum wrapper and several pennies to the ground, kicking them under his car in annoyance. 

He’d taken off his hat, mask, and cape, leaving him only in his turtleneck and unbuttoned blazer. The feathers on top of his head were messy from being under his hat, his cheek feathers sticking out in every direction. 

As Uncle Bud and Drake approached the handicapped space where Dad’s car was parked, Drake’s rush of bravery wore off. 

Dad’s scowl was set deep in his beak, and it only grew deeper when he spotted them. 

Drake hung back several steps behind Uncle Bud. He didn’t want to appear smaller than he already was, but Dad’s anger could be scary at times. 

“Mind your language, Jim,” Uncle Bud said gruffly. “The only things Drake should be repeating from you are Darkwing’s catchphrases.” 

Dad scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, did Morgana tell you to bring my kid along to guilt trip me into staying? That’s low, even for the likes of you, Liquidator.” 

“Drake came of his own accord,” Uncle Bud replied. He didn’t raise his voice like the others tended to do. His tone was calm and even, and Drake understood why Auntie had asked him to speak to Dad before anyone else. “He said he has something very important to tell you.” 

He gently nudged Drake forward. Dad’s eyes flicked towards him, and Drake gulped, fighting the urge to run away. 

Be like Darkwing. 

Dad tapped his foot impatiently. Drake knew he needed to hurry and say his piece before Dad drove away. 

“I-I…um, a-are you handicapped, Dad?” 

Unable to make eye contact anymore, Drake’s gaze fell upon the blue handicapped sign, and the question slipped out before he could stop it. 

“How could I be Darkwing Duck if I were crippled?” Dad snapped, and Drake regretted opening his mouth. He reached into his pocket, finally pulling out his keys. “Is that your ‘very important thing’, Drake? Because I have places to be.” 

Drake hugged the folder to his chest, Dad’s words echoing inside his mind. There was a chance he’d be ignored, or that his beak would open and he wouldn’t say what he wanted the other person to hear.

It was okay. Darkwing didn’t always succeed in his first attempt to catch a villain.  

But it stung. Not even Dad wanted to hear him out. 

Dad threw open the car door, and it slammed against the car’s exterior with a resounding bang. He climbed inside, but before he could shut it, Uncle Bud grabbed the handle and held the door out of reach so that Dad would have to lean out to close it. 

“I’m giving that officer a piece of my mind for publicly humiliating me,” Dad growled. “So get out of my way, Liquidator.” 

Uncle Bud narrowed his eyes, not even flinching when Dad honked the horn to try and scare him off. 

“I’m not stopping you,” he said. “I’m only keeping you here long enough so your son can accomplish what he came here for.”  

He turned and gave Drake an encouraging nod. 

With shaking fingers, Drake reached into his folder and pulled out the drawing of Darkwing Duck. 

It wasn’t a perfect likeness. The beak was colored a shade lighter than it should’ve been, a golden button on the blazer was missing, and one leg was longer than the other. 

But if Dad was going to jail, then Drake hoped he’d be able to brighten his cell wall with the drawing. Jail cells always looked so cold and colorless on TV. 

“You can have this. I drew it in class,” Drake said timidly, thrusting his art into Dad’s hands. He stared down at the drawing with a raised eyebrow. Though Drake wasn’t sure if Dad liked or disliked it, he knew he had to keep going. “Even if you’re going to jail like everyone says…you’ll still be my hero, Dad.” 

Dad looked up with a startled expression. His beak fell open in shock, and though he tried to speak, he could only manage a shocked, wordless mumble.

It was strange to see him so speechless. 

Drake and Uncle Bud stepped back from the car. Though Uncle Bud no longer held onto the handle, Dad didn’t rush to close the door. He carefully brushed away a few stray crayon rubbings and tugged at the collar of his turtleneck nervously. 

One foot slid out of the car. 

Dad’s getting out! He’s not going to the police station after all! 

Drake bounced on his toes with excitement, only stopping when Uncle Bud gripped his shoulder. 

Then Dad shut the door, backing up the car so fast that he hit the curb on the opposite end of the lot. 

And he was gone, leaving only tire markings burned into the road. 

Tears formed in the corners of Drake’s eyes, but he wouldn’t let them fall. Darkwing Duck never cried. So Drake wouldn’t either. He clung to Uncle Bud’s leg, trying to dry his tears on the fabric of his pants. 

“I’m sorry,” Uncle Bud said quietly. His face was solemn as he rested a hand on Drake’s head. “I was convinced he’d listen for once too.” 

“It’s okay…” Drake whispered. He did his best not to sniffle.

“Katherine offered to take you for the night. If anything happens, she’ll be the first one they’ll call.” 

Then Uncle Bud took Drake’s hand, leading him away from the parking lot. 

But Drake could only stare at the empty space where Dad’s car used to be. 

o-o-o-o

It was ten, an hour past his bedtime when he stayed at Auntie’s house. An instrumental of the Darkwing Duck theme played on the television, marking the episode’s end. Auntie let him watch four episodes back to back, and he felt her worried glances burn into him when he didn’t try to imitate the superhero’s moves or quote his witty puns and intro speeches. 

He only sat motionless on the couch, eyes glued to the screen as the intro to a strange cartoon he’d never seen before played. 

The screen went black, the sound of static briefly filling the air. Startled, Drake’s attention snapped to Auntie. He hadn’t heard her enter the room.  

“You’re too young for this show, Drake,” she said, glancing at the TV with distaste. “And your extra hour is up. It’s time for bed.” 

“But I’m not sleepy!” Drake protested. His beak parted in a wide yawn, and he clapped a hand over it. Auntie gave him a knowing look, and Drake sank against the couch cushions, caught in his own lie. “And Dad’s not back either…are you sure you haven’t heard anything?” 

The phone only rang once tonight. Drake had been so excited to hear the ring that he’d ignored Darkwing’s climactic battle with Megavolt in the thunderstorm, but he was only met with disappointment when the caller was just trying to sell insurance, whatever that was. 

Auntie lifted the skirt of her nightgown and sat on the couch, a resigned sigh escaping her. She pushed her loose hair away from her face, a far cry from the elegant beehive she wore as Morgana. 

“I promise I’ll tell you if anything comes up,” she said. She placed a heart shaped cushion against her leg and patted it with a sad smile. Slowly, Drake crawled over to her and fell against the cushion. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Unfortunately, your father could be doing any number of things right now even if he isn’t sitting in the middle of a cell.” 

Her beak pursed together, like she was disgusted by what Dad could possibly be doing at ten at night. 

“Like protecting St. Canard from bad guys in real life?” Drake asked. 

He could understand why Dad would be out so late then. It was a full moon tonight, and criminals always crawled out of the shadows by the hundreds to commit all sorts of heinous acts in the silver moonlight. 

Dad hadn’t tried to call them. It was probably for the best, if he was surrounded by villains and didn’t want to run the risk of an unsavory character learning about his secret identity and using his loved ones against him. 

But Auntie only sighed, a faraway look in her eyes. 

“I don’t think Jim would act that…reckless,” Auntie said. Upon hearing the pause in her words, Drake tilted his head up at her. She let out a resigned sigh. “Maybe he would be that reckless.”

Sometimes Auntie and Dad would get along. They’d eat and drink together in between takes. But most of the time, they argued with raised voices and wild, frantic gestures, and everyone would be caught in their anger.

Drake could never decide if they were friends or enemies. He wasn’t sure if anyone else knew either. And depending on the episode, Darkwing could be dodging magic bolts from Morgana or kissing her on the rooftop. 

He always covered his eyes during the kissing scenes. They were kinda gross. 

“Auntie, do you like Dad?” Drake asked. Auntie stiffened, her nails digging into the fabric of the cushion. Drake hastily backtracked at the offended look she gave him. “I mean, as a hero?” 

“A hero,” Auntie repeated in disbelief. She must’ve thought Drake was asking something entirely different. 

Or maybe she didn’t think Dad was a hero either. Nobody did. 

“Darkwing Duck’s not real, you dork!” 

“You were supposed to talk about a hero in your life. Not one on a silly TV show.”

“Is he at all aware that law enforcement does not require the help of reckless, gloryhounding vigilantes to arrest criminals, unlike your ridiculous show?” 

“Darkwing Duck is only a character played by the very real Jim Starling, whose son thinks the world of him, even if he is a poor excuse of a role model.” 

Drake pushed himself onto his knees as he waited for Auntie’s answer. 

“He’s certainly passionate about his job,” she admitted. “I can’t deny that.” 

Darkwing Duck was committed to his mission against evil. Nothing could sway him off the path of justice and righteousness! 

Except for maybe Morgana, but she sometimes used love spells so that didn’t count.

But there was more to Darkwing than just punching bad guys. It seemed that was the only thing people saw when they thought of the Masked Mallard. 

“That’s not the answer you were hoping for, was it?” Auntie asked. 

“Well, you’re right about Darkwing being passionate, but….” Drake trailed off as he thought about why he admired Darkwing. 

It wasn’t just his cool fashion sense, or his awesome Quack Fu moves. Nor was it about the witty one-liners or boasts about his skills. 

As cool as Darkwing was, he didn’t always capture the villain on the first try. He’d often meet someone with powers he didn’t know how to combat, and he’d have to develop a fighting style to overcome them. Or someone would deliberately plant a false lead, and Darkwing would have to separate the lies from the truth. 

He could be tied to a cinderblock in the ocean, crushed, or have his memories erased. The villains could gang up on him and stomp on his back until his spine broke, but Darkwing would never give in. No matter how much physical pain he had, he would fight until the battle was won. 

“He always gets back up too, even if it looks hopeless,” Drake said. “Even if nobody else is on his side. Even if…I’m the only one in the whole world who sees that.” 

He drew his knees up to his chest. Sometimes, it felt like he and Dad were the only ones who truly understood Darkwing Duck. 

It was lonely. 

“The world is a big place, Drake,” Auntie said after a few minutes of silence. “You might not know them at the moment, but I believe that somewhere out there, you’ll find someone who shares those feelings too.” 

Despite his turmoil, Drake managed to smile back. 

And someday, I just might find them. So I’ve got to hang on a bit longer.

Then Drake noticed the stack of tarot cards she’d laid out on the coffee table. The top one displayed the image of a jester and his juggling balls.  

“Did your cards tell you that?” he asked. 

“No, but my crystal ball did,” Auntie replied. “Oh, what’s this? I see something else reflected in it…” 

She pulled a decorative crystal ball from her coffee table into her lap, waving her hands around the glass. Drake peered at himself on the reflective surface. He couldn’t help but laugh when his lower bill appeared much longer than the top half. The crystal ball lit up, casting a bright light into the shadows of the living room.

“What do you see?” Drake asked eagerly. 

“I see…a set of pillows, blankets, a teddy bear with a purple mask, all lying on top of a twin-sized mattress, underneath a ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars….” Auntie narrated dramatically. “Yes, yes, it’s all very clear now…” 

“What?” Drake tried to see all the things she was describing, but he couldn’t make out any images in the light. 

He thought he could at least make out the teddy bear, but the light suddenly shut off before he knew for sure. 

“The crystal ball predicts that you’ll be in bed in the near future!” Auntie declared with a final flourish of her arms.

Drake pouted, and although he was willing to give up a week’s worth of dessert to stay up a little longer, he decided it wasn’t worth arguing about. Auntie had promised to wake him up if something happened, so he decided to trust her word. 

The light from the crystal ball vanished. Drake knew about the off switch on the bottom, but he had fun pretending it was really magic. 

“G’night,” Drake murmured, his beak opening in a wide yawn. 

He climbed off the couch, his feet scrabbling at the air briefly before he touched solid ground. His landing wasn’t graceful either, and he yelped when the sharp edge of the coffee table jabbed the back of his knee.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have Darkwing Duck’s perfect night vision. 

“Are you okay?” Auntie asked in concern. 

Drake quickly shook off the pain. “Of course! A coffee table can’t stop me!” he proclaimed. But he forgot to look where he was going, and as he stepped out into the hallway, he tripped over an umbrella stand and landed flat on his face. “Ow… your umbrella stand may have won this fight, but-” 

The doorbell rang before he could finish his sentence. Startled by the sudden noise, Drake shot to his feet and crashed into the umbrella stand again, falling onto his back. His elbow hit the floor, throbbing with pain.   

Auntie knelt in concern. “Drake, are you-” 

A series of loud, earsplitting knocks interrupted her before she could finish. 

Drake flinched and stared at the door, wide-eyed with sudden fear. 

“Auntie? A-are we being robbed?” he whispered. 

Because of St. Canard’s never-ending swarm of criminals, safety was drilled into every kid’s mind the moment they could walk. 

Don’t talk to strangers, use the buddy system, say no to drugs, lock all doors and windows at night….

“I-I’ll knock them out for you, Auntie…” But Drake couldn’t keep the stammer out of his voice. 

He wanted to sound cool, confident, brave. Darkwing Duck wouldn’t cower in fear from a common robber. He’d open the door and swiftly knock them out with a karate chop to the head before they could blink. 

But Auntie shook her head firmly. 

“This is real life, Drake,” Auntie said, keeping her voice low. She picked up her fallen umbrella. “Not the time to play Darkwing Duck. If you put yourself in unnecessary danger, I will ground you until you’re old enough to pay your own bills. Understand?” 

Drake nodded quickly. He knew better than to argue with Auntie. 

There was a brief moment of silence before the knocking began anew, like whoever was on the other side had to take a break from banging on the door.

“I’ll handle our unwanted guest,” Auntie said, brandishing her umbrella. “In the meantime, I want you to hide, and if you can, run to the neighbor’s house and call the police.” 

She helped Drake to his feet, gently pushing him behind the wall to hide him from view.  

What if they overpower her? 

Stricken with fear, Drake leaned against the wall and waited with bated breath as Auntie slowly unlocked the door, umbrella held at the ready. He felt bad for disobeying, but what if she needed him to jump in? 

What if Auntie got hurt and could no longer defend herself? He couldn’t just leave her alone! 

Auntie’s hand was on the doorknob. She paused, took a deep breath, and threw the door open. 

“About time you opened up, Morgana! I’ve been waiting forev-” 

Auntie shrieked, her war cry echoing off the walls, and smashed her umbrella against the intruder’s head. With a startled yelp, the would-be robber collapsed onto his knees. 

“Owww….” he groaned. He swayed back and forth, barely catching himself in time before his head hit the brick porch. 

Auntie flicked the light switch beside the door. The lantern mounted to the outside wall flared to life, illuminating several fluttering moths. 

Drake gasped, his hands flying to his beak to stifle the noise so Auntie wouldn’t turn around and find out he’d disobeyed her. 

This was no robber! 

Dad came back! He didn’t get thrown in jail after all!

“Is that how you greet everyone who knocks on your door?” Dad snapped, a purple bruise blossoming underneath the ivory feathers of his head. 

Auntie threw down her umbrella, and it landed on the floor with a sharp clatter. “Knocking? You were trying to break my door like a madman!” she yelled. “What was I supposed to think?”

“Let me see…how about ‘oh my goodness, I’m so sorry for hitting you over the head with an umbrella, Jim! Why don’t you come inside so I can make that up to you?’” Dad did his best impression of Auntie’s voice. 

“I don’t sound anything like that!” Auntie shouted, her hand braced on the doorknob. She was barely holding herself back from slamming the door in his face. “And what makes you think I’ll trust you in my house after the mess you made last time?” 

There was a pause as Dad and Auntie stared each other down, the only sound coming from the crickets chirping outside. 

Then Dad stood up, but his posture seemed…different. Less confident and dramatic. 

More…confused than anything. 

It took Auntie by surprise too. 

“Wait, Morg-I mean, Katherine,” he stammered, and if Drake wasn’t watching their conversation right now, he might’ve believed Dad was a completely different duck, or replaced with an imposter. “Is Drake here? I’ve been to Liquidator’s and Bushroot’s place, and I didn’t even bother with Quackerjack, doubt that clown can keep a kid alive for more than five seconds…but Liquidator said he was with you. Anyway, I…I need to see him.” 

He trailed off for a moment, then mumbled a very forced please. 

Auntie just stared at him. 

“Why?” she asked. 

The happiness that Drake felt upon seeing Dad vanished. He didn’t have handcuffs or a ball and chain on his ankle, but Drake wondered if the police were impatiently waiting on the street as they allowed Dad to say goodbye before they locked him up for a long time. 

“He’s my son, Katherine! I don’t have to explain my reasons to you!” Dad scowled, covering his long bill when Auntie put a hand on her hip in displeasure. He sighed, shoving his clenched fist into his pocket and looking away in embarrassment. “Look, I didn’t go to the police station. Changed my mind last minute. Figured zebra stripes weren’t really my style. Besides… something more important came up.” 

He reached into the folds of his blazer and brought out a picture frame. 

A drawing of Darkwing Duck laid within the glass. 

Drake’s eyes widened. 

My drawing…he framed it? 

“So is he still awake?” Dad asked. “Figured I owe him an explana-” 

Unable to keep himself hidden anymore, Drake rushed past Auntie and launched himself into Dad’s chest. Dad yelped as he lost his balance and fell onto his bottom a second time, taking Drake with him. 

“Ow…watch the ribs, kid! Still got some bruises from my last stunt,” Dad coughed, his voice strained. Drake quickly removed his hands and sat up. The picture frame laid face down on the bricks. Dad quickly flipped it over and let out a sigh of relief when the glass remained intact. 

Auntie sighed, but Drake could see a tiny, fond smile on her beak. He turned back to Dad, who was rubbing his chest to relieve the lingering pain. 

“Hey, Dad?” Drake said, his voice tiny. “I knew you wouldn’t go to jail.” 

Dad let out a raspy laugh, using Drake’s shoulder as leverage to haul himself back to his feet. 

“Ha! The great Darkwing Duck, a common jailbird?” Dad chuckled. “They were all wrong about that. Buying a frame for your interpretation of my heroic self was a much better use of my time. Glad you never doubted me once, sport. At least I raised you with sense.” 

He shot a smug look at Auntie, who smacked the umbrella against the palm of her hand like she was struggling not to bean him over the head again. 

“Does this mean you’re actually planning to pay for your speeding ticket like a good, law-abiding citizen?” she asked.   

Dad rolled his eyes and flicked his hand dismissively. “Eh, I’ll take it up with my lawyer. We’ll just contest it in court later.” 

Auntie glared at him. 

“What?” Dad protested with a frown. “That’s a perfectly legal course of action! I don’t have to be a vigilante against the system all the time.” 

Drake had no idea what any of that meant, but if that wasn’t breaking the law, then it was good enough for him. He smiled and threw his arms around Dad’s waist, making sure to avoid his bruises. 

“When I’m bigger, I’m gonna be a hero just like you!” he declared. 

Dad blinked down at him, his beak falling open in shock. Then he ruffled the feathery tuft on Drake’s head. “Heh…that’s probably gonna take a while, but I’ll root for ya, kiddo.” 

“That’ll be the day….” Auntie murmured. 

Dad stuck his tongue out at her. Drake only tightened his hug, never wanting to let go. 

I don’t care what everyone else says. Dad is always gonna be my hero. That’s never gonna change. 

End AN: In this AU, Drake was conceived as a one-night stand between Starling and some random girl who let Starling keep the egg. The bio mom isn’t a factor here basically in the same way Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s bio father isn’t important in the show. Starling really only kept the egg to avoid bad publicity, but he does come to care about Drake, even though he’s a menace to everyone else. 

Starling can’t remember his coworkers’ actual names and calls them by the characters they play. 

Drake gets shuffled around between the cast members of Darkwing Duck, depending on who's available to take him. Jim Starling is a busy guy, and I really don’t trust him to keep a child alive to adulthood on his own. While Drake does consider them all family, sometimes he wishes he didn’t have to keep track of who's picking him from school, or whose house he left his belongings at.  

My HC is that Darkwing Duck (the in-universe show) was criticized for Starling’s stunts being too imitable and dangerous for kids, and that some parents won’t allow their kids to watch the show at all because of Starling’s egocentric behavior.  

I like to think Starling’s car is either an Aston Martin (Martin being a type of bird, and the model famously associated with the James Bond series) or the Duckverse equivalent of a BMW because he has the personality of a BMW driver. 

Morgana (at least, the actress OC of her) originally wasn’t planned for this story, but her arguments and weird relationship with Starling made me extend her presence cause she was funny to write for. While she and Starling would portray a Batman-Catwoman-esque relationship on the show, but in reality they can’t stand each other and only grudgingly, surface-level try to be civil in front of Drake. 

Anyway, I probably spent a lot more time on this fic than I needed to but I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Also, stay tuned for the epilogue after this! 

[tiramegtoons]

“CONTRACTS!! AHA-HAA!”

“NOW- DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW WHAT CONTRACTS ARE?”

“GO ON, TAKE A SHOT.”

“THERE ARE NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWERS. AT LEAST NOT METAPHORICALLY.”

“HMMM... PERHAPS OUR NEW FRIEND OVER HERE CAN TELL US!” @medys-space

[f-o-and-selfship-club]

NEW F/O List!!!

💜 - comfort character

❤️ - childhood crush(character I simped in my childhood)

💮 - villain f/o(villain I simp on)

🍁 - parental f/o(in familial category)

🍒 - sister f/o(in sibling category)

🎗 - brother f/o(in sibling category)

🍇 - daughter f/o(in child category)

🍊 - son f/o(in child category)

Romantic f/os💖

Scarecrow (DC💜💮/BTAS💜💮/TNBA💜💮/Nolanverse💜💮/Arkhamverse💜💮/Fear State💜💮/Brave and The Bold💜💮/Injustice 2💜💮/Happy Halloween Scooby Doo💜💮/Tomorrowverse💜💮/Harley Quinn Series💜💮)

Mad Hatter (DC💜💮/BTAS💜💮)

Joker (DC💜💮/BTAS💜💮/The Batman Series💜💮)

Ragdoll (DC💜💮/The Batman Series💜💮)

Riddler (DC💜💮/The Batman Series💜💮)

Penguin (DC💜💮/The Batman Series💜💮)

Question (DC)💜

Harley Quinn (DC💜/Harley Quinn Series💜/Injustice 2/MultiVersus💜)

Luigi (Mario)💜❤️

Bowser (Mario)💜💮

Season 1 ENA💜 and Dream BBQ ENA💜

NOS-4-A2 (Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command)💜💮

Zurg (Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command)💜💮

Ty Parsec (Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command)💜

Bezel (Chikn Nuggit)💜

Dabi (MHA)💜💮

Tenya Ida (MHA)💜

Tomura Shigaraki (MHA)💜💮

Hawks (MHA)💜

Toga Himiko (MHA)💜💮

Eijirou Kirishima (MHA)💜

Doc Ock (Spectacular Spider Man)💜💮

Electro (Spectacular Spider Man)💜💮

Shocker (Spectacular Spider Man)💜💮

Eddie Brock/Venom (Venom Movie)💜💮

Meta Knight (Kirby)💜❤️

Sammy Lawrence (BATIM)💜💮

Zavok (Sonic)💜💮

Zazz (Sonic)💜💮

Wes Weasley (Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog)💜❤️

Spawn (Image Comics)💜

Dr Facilier (Princess and The Frog)💜💮

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)💜💮

Jafar (Aladdin)💜💮

Claude Frollo (Hunchback Of Notre Dame(Disney)💜💮

Snatcher (Hat In Time)💜💮

Dr Nefarious (Ratchet and Clank)💜💮

Bender (Futurama)💜

Father (Kids Next Door)💜💮

Scar (Alien Vs Predator)💜

Right Hand Man (Henry Stickmin)💜

Chris McLean (Total Drama)💜💮

Izzy (Total Drama)💜💮

Narrator (Stanley Parable)💜

Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot)💜💮

Matt (Eddsworld)💜

Blitzø (Helluva Boss)💜

Paimon (Helluva Boss)💜💮

Kronk (Emperor's New Groove)💜

Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)💜

Zestial (Hazbin Hotel)💜

Tabi (FNF)💜

Garcello (FNF)💜

Freddy Krueger (Nightmare On Elm Street)💜💮

Dr Strangeglove (Moshi Monsters)💜💮

Dr Krankcase (Skylanders)💜

Captain Hook (Disney's Peter Pan)💜💮

Wally Darling (Welcome Home)💜

Peppino (Pizza Tower)💜

Vigilante (Pizza Tower)💜

Drakken (Kim Possible)💜

Strangled Red (Poképasta)💜

Sniper (Team Fortress 2)💜

Korekiyo Shinguji (Danganronpa)💜

MX (Mario.EXE)💜

SCP-049 (SCP)💜

Katz (Courage The Cowardly Dog)💜💮

Freaky Fred (Courage The Cowardly Dog)💜

Computer (Courage The Cowardly Dog)💜

HIM (Powerpuff Girls)💜💮

Espresso Cookie (CRK)💜

Clover Cookie (CRK)💜

Bob Velseb (Spooky Month)💜💮

Agent Trout (We Bare Bears Movie)💜💮

Mordecai Heller (Lackadaisy)💜💮

Jack Horner (Puss In Boots)💜

Zenitsu (Demon Slayer)💜

Silver Spoon (Inanimate Insanity)💜

Black Hat (Villainous)💜💮

Walker (Danny Phantom)💜💮

Skulker (Danny Phantom)💜💮

Fred (Scooby Doo)💜❤️

Caine (The Amazing Digital Circus)💜

Devil (The Cuphead Show)💜

Jack O Lantern (Grim Adventures Of Billy and Mandy)💜

General Skarr (Evil Con Carne)💜

Simon Belmont (Captain N The Game Master)💜❤️

Emperor Belos (Owl House)💜💮

Sub Zero (Mortal Kombat)💜

Stocking (Panty and Stocking)💜

Kiyoshi (Hanazuki)💜❤️

Jack Sparrow (Pirates Of The Caribbean)💜

Nikku (FNF)💜

Six (BFB)💜

Lesley (DHMIS)💜💮

Sasha Waybright (Amphibia)💜

Astral (Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal)💜❤️

Vulture (Spectacular Spider Man)💜💮

Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony)💜❤️

Discord (My Little Pony)💜❤️

Mr Scatterbrain (Mr Men Show)💜❤️

Ales Mansay (Rayman)💜❤️💮

Mr Nonsense (Mr Men)💜❤️

DangerGrid Of Doom (Skatoony)💜❤️💮

Mr Puzzles (SMG4)💜💮

Chris (FNF)💜

Taki (Friday Night Fever)💜💮

Professor Venomous (OK K.O)💜💮

Asmodeus (Helluva Boss)💜

Mario.EXE (Mario.EXE/Mario's Madness)💜💮

Ned Flanders (Simpsons)💜❤️

Nikusa (FNF)💜

Esmeralda (Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame)💜

Velvette (Hazbin Hotel)💜

Pleakley (Lilo and Stitch)💜❤️

Killer Moth (DC)❤��

Man Ray (SpongeBob)❤️

Platonic f/os⚘️

Kuromi (Sanrio)💜

Cinnamoroll (Sanrio)💜

Chococat (Sanrio)💜

Moony (ENA)💜

Ellie Rose (Henry Stickmin)💜

Charles Calvin (Henry Stickmin)💜

Reginald Copperbottom (Henry Stickmin)💜

Demencia (Villainous)💜

Benrey (Half Life)💜

Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid)💜

Kasane Teto (Vocaloid)💜

Kagamine Rin (Vocaloid)💜

Hex (FNF)💜

Annie (FNF)💜

Pom Pom (FNF)💜

Cassette Girl (FNF)💜

Boyfriend💜 and Girlfriend💜 (FNF)

Carol (FNF)💜

Ash (FNF)💜

Selever (FNF)💜

Ruv (FNF)💜

Solazar (FNF)💜

Rascal (FNF)💜

Tankman (Tankmen)💜

Tord (Eddsworld)💜

Eduardo (Eddsworld)💜

Matilda (Ellsworld)💜

Zanta Claws (Eddsworld)💜

Elvira Mistress Of The Dark💜

Rayman (Rayman)💜❤️

Rayman (Animated Series💜❤️/Captain Laserhawk💜)

Globox (Rayman)💜

Grand Minimus (Rayman)💜❤️

Tessa (Skylanders)💜

Mags (Skylanders)💜

Eye Brawl (Skylanders)💜

Flynn (Skylanders)💜❤️

Hugo (Skylanders)💜

Bambi (Bambi)💜

Faline (Bambi)💜

SpongeBob SquarePants💜

Patrick Star (SpongeBob)💜

Sandy Cheeks (SpongeBob)💜

Plankton (SpongeBob)💜

Karen Plankton (SpongeBob)💜

Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer)💜

Poppet (Moshi Monsters)💜

Luvli (Moshi Monsters)💜❤️

Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas)💜

Charlie Morningstar (Hazbin Hotel)💜

Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)💜

Vortex (Helluva Boss)💜

Queen Bee-Zlebub (Helluva Boss)💜

Bunny💜 and Kitty💜 (Courage The Cowardly Dog)

Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)💜

Red Action (OK K.O)💜

Puss In Boots💜

Frost Queen Cookie (CRK)💜

Strawberry Crepe Cookie (CRK)💜

Cherry Blossom Cookie (CRK)💜

Squid Ink Cookie (CRK)💜

Daizy (Wow Wow Wubbzy)💜

Widget (Wow Wow Wubbzy)💜

Rocko (Rocko's Modern Life)💜

Filburt (Rocko's Modern Life)💜

Gordi (Unicorn Wars)💜

Maria (Unicorn Wars)💜

Luca💜

Giulia (Luca)💜

Lord X (EXE)💜

Majin Sonic💜

Curse Of X (EXE)💜

Bubble (BFDI)💜

4 (BFB)💜

Cofi (Chikn Nuggit)💜

Rabbid Rosalina (Mario + Rabbids)💜

Iris (Pokémon)💜

Freckles (Lackadaisy)💜

Gia (Madagascar)💜

Alex (Madagascar)💜

Melman (Madagascar)💜

Corporal (Penguins of Madagascar)💜

Soft Mouse (FNF: Soft)💜

Charlie (Smiling Friends)💜

Pim (Smiling Friends)💜

Gretchen (Camp Lazlo)💜

Edward (Camp Lazlo)💜

Mario💜

Yoshi (Mario)💜

Peach (Mario)💜

Daisy (Mario)💜

Rosalina (Mario)💜

Toad (Mario)💜

Boo (Mario)💜

King Boo (Mario)💜

Wario (Mario)💜

Sonic The Hedgehog (Sonic)💜

Amy Rose (Sonic)💜

Vector (Sonic)💜

Chip (Sonic)💜

Orbot (Sonic)💜

Sonic (Sonic Movie)💜

Knuckles (Sonic Movie)💜

Tom Wachowski (Sonic Movie)💜

Maddie Wachowski (Sonic Movie)💜

Po💜 and Laa-Laa💜 (Teletubbies)

Fleegle (Banana Splits)💜

Alice (DC/BTAS)💜

Donutella💜

Rango💜

Beans (Rango)💜

Mao Mao (Mao Mao: HOPH)💜

Badgerclops (Mao Mao: HOPH)💜

Nazz (Ed, Edd N Eddy)💜

Oggy (Oggy & The Cockroaches)💜❤️

Fizzarolli (Helluva Boss)💜

Hunter (Owl House)

Pomni (Amazing Digital Circus)💜

Jax (Amazing Digital Circus)💜

Gus (Owl House)

Coco (Crash Bandicoot)

Familial f/os💙

Bandit (Bluey)💜🍁

Chilli (Bluey)💜🍁

Radley (Bluey)💜🍁

Frisky (Bluey)💜🍁

Calypso (Bluey)💜🍁

Brandy (Bluey)💜🍁

Eda Clawthorne (Owl House)💜🍁

Raine Whispers (Owl House)💜🍁

Lilith Clawthorne (Owl House)💜🍁

Millie (Helluva Boss)💜🍁

Moxxie (Helluva Boss)💜🍁

Stolas (Helluva Boss)💜🍁

Rosie (Hazbin Hotel)💜🍁

Lucifer Morningstar (Hazbin Hotel)💜🍁

Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas)💜🍁

Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas)💜🍁

Moominpappa (Moomin)💜🍁

Moominmamma (Moomin)💜🍁

Mama White (Sanrio)💜🍁

Papa White (Sanrio)💜🍁

Hugo💜🍁 Victor💜🍁 and Laverne💜🍁 (Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame)

King Andrias (Amphibia)💜🍁

Olivia (Amphibia)💜🍁

Lila (Spooky Month)💜🍁

Jaune (Spooky Month)💜🍁

John (Spooky Month)💜🍁

Wallace (Wallace and Gromit)💜🍁

Lady Tottington (Wallace and Gromit)💜🍁

Wendolene Ramsbottom (Wallace and Gromit)💜🍁

Muriel Bagge (Courage The Cowardly Dog)💜🍁

Yor Forger (Spy X Family)💜🍁

Loid Forger (Spy X Family)💜🍁

Sarvente (FNF)💜🍁

Alicia (Pokémon)💜🍁

Alice (Pokémon)💜🍁

Count Bleck (Mario)💜🍁

Tippi (Mario)💜🍁

Vanilla (Sonic)💜🍁

Optimus Prime (Transformers)💜🍁

Ventriloquist and Scarface (DC/BTAS)💜🍁

Catwoman (DC/The Batman 2004)💜🍁

Connor (Detroit: Become Human)💜🍁

Hank Anderson (Detroit: Become Human)💜🍁

Jason Voorhess (Friday The 13th)💜🍁

Pamela Voorhees (Friday The 13th)💜🍁

Ragatha💜🍁 Kinger🍁 (The Amazing Digital Circus)

Dr Eggman (Sonic)💜🍁

Smee (Peter Pan)💜🍁

Dr Springheel (FNF)💜🍁

Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)🍁

Carmilla Carmine (Hazbin Hotel)🍁

Sibling f/os🦋

Moomintroll (Moomin)💜🎗

Snorkmaiden (Moomin)💜🍒

Snork (Moomin)💜🎗

Octavia (Helluva Boss)💜🍒

Bluey💜🍒

Bingo (Bluey)💜🍒

Rusty (Bluey)💜🎗

Slushi (Chikn Nuggit)💜🍒

Sprig Plantar (Amphibia)💜🎗

Marcy Wu (Amphibia)💜🍒

Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)💜🍒

Wendy (Gravity Falls)💜🍒

Melony (SMG4)💜🍒

Meilin Lee💜🍒 and Abby Park💜🍒 (Turning Red)

Jenny Wakeman (My Life As A Teenage Robot)💜🍒

Soft BF (FNF: Soft)💜🎗

Madelyn Dinkley (Scooby Doo)💜🍒

Streber (Spooky Month)💜🎗

Tails (Sonic)💜🎗

Rasazy (FNF)💜🍒

Mindy (SpongeBob)💜🍒

Nezuko (Demon Slayer)💜🍒

Shaggy (Scooby Doo)💜🎗

Darrell💜🎗 and Shannon💜🍒 (OK K.O)

Dee Dee (Dexter's Laboratory)💜🍒

Edd/Double D (Ed Edd n Eddy)💜🎗

Collector (Owl House)💜

Olivia (Oggy & The Cockroaches)💜🍒

Hilda💜🍒

Patsy (Camp Lazlo)💜🍒

Noisette (Pizza Tower)🍒

Charlotte La Bouff (Princess and The Frog)💜🍒

Tiana (Princess and The Frog)💜🍒

Oswald The Lucky Rabbit (Disney)💜🍒

Loona (Helluva Boss)💜🍒

Odette🍒 and Clara🍒 (Hazbin Hotel)

Child f/os🍰

Child Blitzø💜🍊 and Child Stolas💜🍊 (Helluva Boss)

Child Octavia (Helluva Boss)💜🍇

Child Fizzarolli (Helluva Boss)💜🍊

Oliver (Helluva Boss)💜🍊

Pom Pom (Bluey)💜🍇

Lila (Bluey)💜🍇

Cyan Fitzgerald (Todd McFarlane's Spawn Series)💜🍇

Ashley (Warioware)💜🍇

Penny (Warioware)💜🍇

Kat💜🍇 & Ana💜🍇 (Warioware)

9-Volt (Warioware)💜🍊

Julianna Scott (Sanrio)💜🍇

Nifty (Hazbin Hotel)💜🍇

Eri (MHA)💜🍇

Kota Izumi (MHA)💜🍊

Maggie Simpson (Simpsons)💜🍇

Nugget (Super Meat Boy)💜🍇

Anya Forger (Spy X Family)💜🍇

Bubbles (Powerpuff Girls)💜🍇

Adorabat (Mao Mao: HOPH)💜🍇

Skid (Spooky Month)💜🍊

Pump (Spooky Month)💜🍊

Robert (Spooky Month)💜🍊

Hat Kid (Hat In Time)💜🍇

Sam (Trick R Treat)💜

Cream (Sonic)💜🍇

Kirby💜🍊

Orbulon (Warioware)💜❤️🍊

SCP-053 (SCP)💜🍇

Baby Doll (DC💜🍇/BTAS💜🍇)

Cub (Happy Tree Friends)💜🍊

Lazlo (Camp Lazlo)💜🍊

Cubot (Sonic)💜🍊

Dogday💜🍊 and Hoppy Hopscotch💜🍇 (Smiling Critters/Poppy Playtime)

Hello Kitty (Sanrio)💜🍇

My Melody (Sanrio)💜🍇

X (BFB)💜

Snorky (Banana Splits)💜🍊

Lumas (Mario)💜

Baby Mario💜🍊 and Baby Luigi💜🍊 (Mario)

Onion Cookie (CRK)💜🍇

Three Diablos (Puss In Boots)💜

QT (FNF)💜🍇

My Sweet Piano (Sanrio)💜🍇

Fink (O.K KO)💜🍇

Pinocchio (Disney's Pinocchio)💜🍊

Toaster (Brave Little Toaster)💜🍊

Gangle (Amazing Digital Circus)💜🍇

Egg Boiz (Hazbin Hotel)

Pet F/Os🐈

Gidget💜 Daisy💜 and Chloe💜 (Secret Life Of Pets)

Fat Nuggets💜 and Keekee💜 (Hazbin Hotel)

King (Owl House)💜

Thumper (Bambi)💜

SCP-999 (SCP)💜

SCP-131 (SCP)💜

Artemis (Sailor Moon)💜

Diana (Sailor Moon)💜

Luna (Sailor Moon)💜

Zero (Nightmare Before Christmas)💜

Perrito (Puss In Boots)💜

Kitty Softpaws (Puss In Boots)💜

Gary (SpongeBob)💜

Ringo (Eddsworld)💜

Pipsqueak (The Lorax)💜

Shirousa💜 and Kurousa💜 (Sugarbunnies)

Strawberryusa💜 and Blueberryusa💜 (Sugarbunnies)

Momousa (Sugarbunnies)💜

Vanilla (Sugarbunnies)💜

Aousa (Sugarbunnies)💜

Pandausa (Sugarbunnies)💜

Balletusa💜 and Primausa💜 (Sugarbunnies)

Pusheen The Cat💜

Cheezborger (Chikn Nuggit)💜

Chikn Nuggit (Chikn Nuggit)💜

Muffin and Socks (Bluey)💜

505 (Villainous)💜

Feathers McGraw (Wallace and Gromit)💜

Gromit (Wallace and Gromit)💜

Jeffrey The Land Shark (Marvel/It's Jeff Comics)💜

Polterpup (Luigi's Mansion)💜

Jess (Postman Pat)💜

Garfield (Garfield)💜❤️

Odie (Garfield)💜

Penguins of Madagascar(Skipper💜 Kowalski💜 Rico💜 and Private💜)

Bond (Spy X Family)💜

Le Quack (Courage The Cowardly Dog)💜

Courage The Cowardly Dog💜

Pikachu💜 and Pichu💜 (Pokémon)

Jigglypuff (Pokémon)💜

Hypno (Pokémon)💜

Hypno (Poképasta)💜

Eevee💜 and Sylveon💜 (Pokémon)

Darkrai (Pokèmon)💜

Piplup💜

Wynaut💜

Manaphy💜

Togepi💜

Pawmi💜

Mudkip💜 and Torchic💜 (Pokémon)

Chikorita (Pokémon)💜

Jirachi (Pokémon)💜

Emolga (Pokémon)💜

Axew (Pokémon)💜

Cosmog (Pokémon)💜

Mew (Pokémon)💜

Celebi (Pokémon)💜

Zorua (Pokémon)💜

Minccino💜 and Cinccino💜 (Pokémon)

Ralts💜

Latios💜 and Latias💜 (Pokémon)

Riolu💜 and Lucario💜 (Pokémon)

Buneary (Pokémon)💜

Dwebble (Pokémon)💜

Altaria💜 and Swablu💜 (Pokémon)

Quaxly (Pokémon)💜

Gengar💜 and Misdreavus💜 (Pokémon)

Audino (Pokémon)💜

Shinto (FNF: Lullaby)💜

Scooby Doo (Scooby Doo)💜

Chao (Sonic)💜

Rilakkuma💜

Zippy (TUFF Puppy)💜

Pugsley (Dead End: Paranormal Park)💜

Diancie (Pokémon)💜

Jiji (Kiki's Delivery Service)💜

Mog💜❤️ and Owl💜 (Meg and Mog)

Pr0ships, c0mships, bigots, z00, anti-self shippers, NSFW, necr0 and p#do DNI!!!

[deadinsideart]

Art Dump!! I made fake screenshots from the fanfic and I will make more because it's fun to imagine it being animated. I always wanted to draw them doing that hug scene..

And I used the idea's doodle I did some time ago and forgot how the actual goon outfits looked even when staring directly at a reference image. So, let's just assume Snatcher modded it to fit how he'd have it ig????

And Professor Wormton! I laughed so hard when I did the googly eyes!

Below is Snatcher in a different shade of purple bc I color picked it wrong but still love it and a sprite for the potion Snatcher gave Layton.

I wanted it to look like a flair in AHiT and I think I nailed it pretty well.

[grangertrash]

God Tier Death Eater!Hermione Fanfiction Masterlist

Devil Doesn't Bargain by starbucksofancientgreece Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy Words: 141,713 Chapters: 46 "Rule number one: never assume you are safe." During the hunt for horcruxes, a group of snatchers discovers the Golden Trio. In the squabble, the three friends are separated, and while Harry and Ron apparate away to safety, Hermione is taken to face the consequences at Malfoy Manor. This is a dark AU where Hermione finds herself in a tough situation--swear fealty to the Dark Lord, or die. As much as she'd like to claim otherwise, Hermione is nothing if not self-preserving. When she makes the choice, it is an easy one.

Last Year by Canimal Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger x Antonin Dolohov, Hermione Granger x Augustus Rookwood Words: 714,320 Chapters: 367 There's nowhere to hide when a victorious Voldemort sends his best tracker to find Hermione. Draco won't give up until he finds her again. A story of the unraveling of the lies we tell ourselves.

False-Hearted by its_banannaz & Literalily Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy Words: 76,459 Chapters: 42 Hermione Granger has the potential to be more, MUCH more. And now, she's ready to climb her way to the top, no matter what it takes. Sick of her insincere "friends" and their lack of recognition, Hermione makes a decision that alters the outcome of the war. If no one will put Hermione Granger first, she'll simply have to do it herself. There is no good or bad, not anymore. It's about what gets her where she deserves to be. After reaching a boiling point, she does something that no one ever expected - she becomes a Death Eater. But not just any Death Eater - Voldemort's apprentice. Playing both sides, Hermione Granger now holds more power than anyone realizes. Is it so wrong to be false-hearted when you're finally putting yourself first?

When a Lioness Fights by kayly silverstorm Hermione Granger x Severus Snape Words: 416k+ Chapters: 80 Hermione Granger, master spy, and Severus Snape, spymaster to the Order. An unlikely partnership, forged to defeat the Dark Lord on his own ground. But to do so, they must confront their own darkness within. Spying, torture, angst and love. AU after fifth

The Last Marauder by Resa Aureus Hermione Granger x Remus Lupin Words: 238k+ Chapters: 78 In the wake of the war, Dumbledore's portrait gives Hermione a task that could change the course of history if she succeeds, but unravel time itself if she fails.

Mon Couteau Aiguise (My Sharp Knife) by gillianeliza Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy Words: 169,542 Chapters: 99 “And you understand, I assume, the implications of wearing a piece of jewelry such as the one you have around your wrist?” Professor Snape asked. Hermione looked down at the bracelet in question, remembering the warm and joyful sensation of it first being clasped around her. The words Draco had spoken – will you have me? Will you accept me? “I do, sir,” she answered in her best impersonation of confidence. “But Miss Granger… I must ask – do you understand the cost?” Her brows pulled together. “The cost, sir?” “The Dark Lord will return, girl... When he returns, Lucius – and I for that matter – must resume our places at his side.” Hermione still said nothing, which she could tell surprised her potions professor greatly, so he continued. “What do you think will happen to Draco when his father once again becomes a follower of the Dark Lord?” The sticky dread clawed its way up her throat, as if choking her. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she thought of the implications. “So I ask you again, Miss Granger, do you understand the cost?” This work is a dark, Death Eater Hermione AU that begins during third year. Eventual canon divergence.

The Green Girl by Colubrina Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy Words: 150k+ Chapters: 22 Hermione is sorted into Slytherin; how will things play out differently when the brains of the Golden Trio has different friends? AU. Darkish

Send me your favorite and I'll add it!

[cola-vampire]

I got these done faster than I thought I would, but here's more memes!!

[mastermindmiko]

Potions Partners (Part 19)

Pairing: Draco Malfoy + Fem!reader

word count: 2994

warnings: snatchers, swear words, not sleeping well, fighting, kissing, torture, eluding to sexual assault (but nothing happens)

Hey! If you think this didn't completely suck, feel free to check out my masterlist.

Part 20 and FYI requests are open

an: can you believe that only 2 chapters are left? I can't. I loved writing this, and I grew so attached to everyone and the story.

She was alright. That’s all he could think about. She was getting better grades, she spent her time laughing with her friends, and she even made up with her brother. He knew all that because he saw her during meals. He only went so he could watch her. Never once did she ever look in his direction. 

To distract himself from that fact, he spent his entire time mending the cabinet. He had made it to the final shelf of the restricted section. He became more anxious as he finished every book but with no avail. He could only visit the restricted section at night, so the dark circles under his eyes were becoming darker and darker. 

He knew that if she was still with him, she could’ve urged him to sleep. She would have interrogated him to find out about the cause of his lack of sleep. She would’ve held his hand as he confessed. She would’ve kissed him after and did everything in her power to help him. The scenario was all he thought about during divination. 

He didn’t notice the way the bell rang and all the students left the classroom. His eyes followed her as she stood up from between Weasley and Potter. Professor Trelawany tapped his shoulder and she said in an ominous voice, “You shouldn’t worry about her. You’re fated. It’s in the prophecy.” 

He only nods as an answer and lifts his bag and quickly leaves the classroom. Professor Trelawney was truly a nut job, but he stopped in the middle of the stairs to think about what she’d said. He turned around, climbing back up and asked, “Excuse me, what do you mean, Professor?” 

“A few years ago, I made a prophecy that she would end up with the enemy. Either the Dark Lord is very charming or you’re the one for her.” she giggled and spun around in an odd way. That made him a few steps away. He nodded gratefully and he left the classroom. They were fated.  

The thought brought a smile to his face, and it settled a pain in his heart. It didn’t matter if they weren’t together right now because they would end up together. He runs down the stairs and he rushes to find her before she reaches her next class. He reaches the end of the staircase and he hears her laughs coming from the end of the hallway. 

“Y/N!” He calls for her and he runs to her with a smile. Potter and Weasley turned around before she did, and they both glared at him. He ignored their looks and he said, “Can I talk to you?” 

“No.” Harry replies and Draco sneers at him, “I wasn’t talking to you.” He looks at her and his gaze softens immediately. He waits patiently for her answer, and she shifts on her feet awkwardly. She bites her lip then whispers, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“No, you’ll want to hear this!” he says, excitedly. She licks her lips, and the bell rings, saving her from answering. She points behind her and she says, “I have class, I’ve got to go.” 

He nods and he watches her turn around and walk away with Weasley and Potter. His chest sinks as he remembers that she’s got a free period right now. People look at him and whisper which has been going on for the past month and a half since his outburst in her herbology class. He sighs and turns to walk in the opposite direction, heading to the room of requirement. 

***

“Treacherous little bleeder, is there no one we can trust?” Ron says, as soon as they’re done apparating from the Lovegood home. Harry and Hermione are panting. Y/N hangs on to Ron’s arm to stabilise herself. She’s the one with the least apparating experience. She says to him, “They kidnapped Luna because she supported us, he was just desperate.” 

“I’ll do the enchantments.” Ron sighs, and he turns around. Hermione sets her large bag on the ground, heavily and brushes the dust from her clothes. Y/N sets a hand on Ron’s shoulder and goes to help him. She brings out her wand before she sees three large men. 

Ron grasps her arm and pulls her back. One of the men looks at her with a vicious grin, looking her up and down. Ron’s grip on her arm tightens, noticing that. Harry notices and looks at the three men, suspiciously. 

Another man is leaning against a tree. He’s playing with his tie between his fingers. She assumes he’s the leader. He looks at Hermione and says, “Hello beautiful.” 

He takes a few steps towards her and she mirrors them backwards. In a second, they all start running away from the men. The leader rolls his eyes, but stays still. He orders, “Well, don’t hang around. Snatch them!” 

All the men start running after them, but Harry, Ron, Hermione and Y/N were much quicker. Behind Y/N, there was a man nearing Hermione, so she cast a spell, sending the man flying backwards. That was all it took for all the men to start firing spells. 

None of the spells hit them, the men had horrible aim. Instead, the spells hit the trees, the debris hit Y/N on her back, causing her to let out a small scream. They all continued running, as fast as they could. The snatchers were starting to fire more violent spells. 

One of the men fires a binding spell. Ron pushes Y/N out of the way, and he falls to the ground with a tight red rope gripping his ankles together. Y/N sinks to the ground beside him and casts a shielding spell around them, as Ron uses his wand to try to break the spell. 

Hermione and Harry continue running and she pays them no mind as she focuses on shielding them from four snatchers aiming at them. Ron used several spells on his ankles but none of them worked. He used his wand to point at her and turned her hair blue and he made her face look fatter, and her nose slightly bigger. The leader of the snatchers shot a violent spell that broke the field around them. 

The men leaded down and two of them held Ron while the biggest one of them held her. They dragged them both to where Ron and Hermione were. Hermione looked intact despite the tight grip the man had on her arm while Harry’s face looked weird. Hermione must’ve cast a spell on him. 

The leader walked to her and grabbed her face. He pulls her face closer to his and her face twists in disgust. She spit on his face and he looked at her with a wicked grin. He raised his hand and a slap landed on her face. Her cheeks turned red and her head started to throb at the action. He says, “You need to learn to behave yourself.” 

“You’ll regret that.” Harry shouts at him after he sees the man hit his sister. He struggles against one of the men’s grip. The leader looks at him, and walks to him with pursed lips. He grabs his sleeves and tugs them down. He looks at Harry and says, “What happened to you, ugly?” 

“What’s your name?” the leader asks, and Y/N hopes that her idiot brother isn’t dumb enough to say his actual name. Harry resists the man’s grip, but when it proves to be useless, he stops and says, “Dudley.” 

The leader snapped his fingers at one of his men, the man wasn’t restraining any of them and he brought out a paper. He scanned it and then shook his head. The leader clicked his tongue then said, “We’ll bring them to the manor.” 

They apparate to a large black dark manor. They walk towards a gate, Harry’s walking the first one with the leader holding his jacket. She’s the last one walking with Ron beside her. They are near the gate and she can see Bellatrix Lestrange waiting for them behind it. Y/N fists her arms angrily at the sight of her. 

The leader presses Harry’s face against the gate and she can see harry groan in pain. Bellatrix looks at the leader unconvinced, but then he lifts Harry’s bangs up and there is a faint look of Harry’s scar. Bellatrix opens the gates and they get pushed inside the manor. 

They’re near the door when Bellatrix opens the door and Lucius Malfoy greets them. A shudder runs down her back, realising who’s manor this is. Bellatrix whispers something in Malfoy’s ears and he walks up the stairs. 

They’re pushed inside the manor and they’re met with Narcissa Malfoy. Bellatrix grabs Harry from the snatchers grasp and throws him on the ground. She goes to hold him up by his hair, pulling him. Harry lets out a pained noise and Y/N scrunches her face at the unpleasant noise. 

The rest of the snatchers hold Ron, Hermione and Y/N behind Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. Draco walks down from the stairs and the first thing he sees is them. He looks at Ron and Hermione with a neutral expression. He moves to look at her and his eyes widen before he hides his surprised expression quickly. 

“Tell me Draco, is this him? Is this Harry Potter?” Bellatrix says as she pulls Harry by his hair tighter. Draco looks at him and he looks back at Y/N for a second before snapping his eyes back to Harry in front of him. This was surely Harry Potter, but instead he says, “I can’t be sure.” 

Lucius walks to Draco and grasps his neck tightly. He whispers in his ear something that she doesn’t hear, but she could see Draco’s body become even more tense. The leader seems to have heard because he walks to Lucius with his hand on his hip saying, “Now, I hope we won’t be forgetting who actually caught him.” 

“Do you dare talk to me like that in my own house!” Lucius shouts at him and Narcissa walks to him, whispering soft words in his ears. She pulls him back to where they were standing. Bellatrix looks back and looks at Y/N. Bellatrix drops Harry to the ground and says to Draco, “What about that one? Is it the girl Potter?” 

She feels her blood run cold, and Draco turns around to face her. She can’t recognise the look on his face, but Bellatrix rushes behind him and pushes Draco closer to her. Her body turns to stone as he comes closer to her for the first time in ten months. Bellatrix presses, “Well…” 

Draco hesitates in saying anything, and Lucius starts to become anxious beside Narcissa. Lucius moves to Draco and he shouts, “You’ve fucked her for a year, you can remember her face!” 

The shouts along with the words bring her face in a scrunch and makes her flinch. She could see Harry resisting the urge to punch someone. In a second, Draco’s face turns into a vile sneer. The same one he used to give them a long time ago. Draco grins at Lucius, folding his arms over his chest, “I wasn’t really looking at her face, father.” 

The men all laugh at Draco’s words and she feels her face flush. He scans her body from top to bottom and he licks his lips. Draco bites his lips then says, “But, no it’s not her.” 

In a second, Bellatrix walks to one of the men who was holding the sword of Gryffindor. They continued talking but Y/N couldn’t hear what they were saying as she continued to look at Draco who was looking at her like she was his next meal. 

Bellatrix screams at the snatchers till they leave. She goes to Hermione and grabs her collar. She pushes Ron and Harry to Peter Pettigrew and he takes them down to the dungeons. Ron struggles against Pettigrew’s grip. Bellatrix points to Y/N and says, “Bring her to me, we’re going to have a girls chat.” 

Bellatrix brings out her dagger and drags it across Hermione's jaw. Y/N’s blood runs cold, and Draco’s eyes widen. He shouts, “No!” 

Lucius, Narcissa and Bellatrix all look at him in confusion. Harry and Ron see him from the back of the room while still struggling. Draco straightens his clothes and puts on that same evil grin that he had on before. He smirks, “I’ll take her. I want to have my way with her upstairs.” 

Bellatrix dismissed him with a wave of her hand and focused her attention on Hermione. Draco grabbed her shoulder roughly and started taking her upstairs. She could hear Harry shouting at him from below. Narcissa gave her a weird look as she passed her. 

As soon as they were out of sight, Draco rushed with her to his room. He closed the door behind them and placed, silencing and locking spells behind them. Her body tensed and she lifted her wand. He turned around and was met by the sight of her wand pointed at his face.

“Are you alright?” he asks, his face turning into the same kind expression that she fell in love with. He placed his finger on her wand, sure that she wouldn’t hurt him, and pushed it aside. He took his own wand out of his belt loop and waved it over her face. She returned to her original appearance. Draco smiles, “There you are, my love.” 

“Why did you bring me here?” she says, sternly ignoring the flutter in her chest at the name. Draco ignores her question and heads to his cupboard. He takes out a glass and turns around to ask her, “Would you like some water?” 

“You have to let me go.” She says, and she can tell that he rolled his eyes. He’s still the same as he was almost a year ago. He takes out a box and he asks, “Food, maybe?” 

“Why aren’t you hurting me?” She says, and he pauses his movements of taking out food and filling a glass of water. She can see his chest heave from his back. He turned around with a frown and he said in a small voice, “You thought I would hurt you.” 

She feels guilty, noticing his expression and she fiddles with her fingers. Twisting the ring on her finger. She avoids his gaze and stutters, trying to explain, “I-I wasn’t sure, you recognised me.” 

“Please!” he scoffed, and then he continued, “I would recognise you even if I was blind.” The words make her heart flutter. He continues to place the food on a plate and he places the plate and the glass of water on a tray. “Besides, you’re still wearing my ring.” 

She notices what he’s talking about when he looks at her fidgeting hands. She stops the nervous movements and she brings her hands to her sides. He leaves the tray on the desk. He holds her hand and sits her on his bed, then he hands her the tray. She hands him back the tray, “I’m not hungry.” 

He reluctantly puts the tray back on his desk. He sits back down beside her and the silence between them is uncomfortable, but she truly has no idea what to say. He turns to look at her with a cheeky smirk, “So when are you going to drop the act?” 

“Drop…the act?” she repeats in confusion, looking at his unwavering cocky grin. Draco moves closer to her, and her body betrays her by not moving away from him. Draco says, “You know, that we’re meant to be and shit. It would be much easier if we get back together now-” 

“Draco, we’re in the middle of a war!” she says, sternly looking at him in disbelief, but his smile widens and turns into a less arrogant one. He continues to stare at her and she raises an eyebrow, “what?” 

“I’ve missed this- you scolding me…and you.” Draco confesses and it takes her everything in her to not forgive him right then and there. She doesn’t reply and looks in front of her. She stares at his bookshelf, trying to see if she could recognise any of them. She waits a second before saying, “Harry told me you couldn’t do it.” 

“What?” Draco asks before he could register her words. She turns to look to face him, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. She clears her throat before saying, “That you couldn’t kill Dumbledore.” 

His mouth forms an O in understanding and his expression turns sour. They don’t say anything for a while. Shefaces the door, and tries to listen to see if anything is going on outside but she hears nothing. Draco grabs her chin and turns her to face him. Draco hesitates, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I- I still love you.” 

He meets her eyes for what feels like the first time in forever. She sees the hope in his eyes, and it cracks her heart. She feels that love she feels for him bubbles from the bottom of her stomach, and she knows she’s going to regret what she does next. She says, “Don’t think too much of this.” 

She kisses him. He reciprocates it in a second, hands flying to her face and pulling her closer to him. She grasps his torso tightly and kisses him harder. He falls to his back and she climbs on top of him. He bites her bottom lip, and pulls it a bit, urging her to open her mouth. 

POP! 

They part at the sound and she sees Dobby standing there with a surprised expression. Dobby has Harry’s wand in his hand, and he stutters before saying firmly, “Sorry to interrupt, Miss Potter, but Dobby has come to rescue Miss Potter.” 

Dobby doesn’t give her a second to think before he reaches to grab her hand and apparates. 

Taglist:

@love-me-satoru @angelofasgard16 @urbansaint @callsignwidow