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reikuns-realities · 1 year

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By Any Other Name - Ominis Gaunt x OC

Chapter one - The New Fifth Year

Alice was now in her fifth year at Hogwarts. Many things had changed. She had grown out her hair. It was her first year back since Athena graduated. She had grown into her own magic, though she still needed some extra help. She had made a few more friends in her year. Poppy Sweeting, Wendy Rosewood, Natsai Onai, to name a few. She found out she had a knack for potions, it was the only way she held her own around Garreth.

Speaking of Garreth, some things had stayed the same. He almost never left her side. He had quickly become her best friend. Best duo in the world, those two. She had easily turned Garreth’s potions interests into a side business for both of them to earn a bit of cash. Enchanted paint was not cheap, you know.

Alice was excited, more than she should’ve been, really. Throughout the train journey and carriage ride to Hogwarts, she overheard talk of someone new. A new student. Someone who got their Hogwarts letter late in life. A new fifth year. It wasn’t everyday Hogwarts got itself a new student. A transfer, maybe, but someone new? New to magic? Starting in their fifth year? She was dying to meet them.

The sorting ceremony was long and boring, as it usually was. Alice was happy with the new Gryffindor first years, but her eyes searched for that new fifth year.

“They’re not here yet,” Garreth stated, digging into his roast.

“Maybe they are late,” Natsai Onai offered.

“Haven’t seen Professor Fig yet either,” Alice stated, stretching her torso to try and peek over the heads of her fellow students. “They’ve been studying under him, right? That’s what I’ve heard.”

“That’s right-“

Just as Natty replied, the heavy doors of the Great Hall were pushed open. The gray tufts of Professor Fig’s hair, their magic theory professor, emerged from the doors before retreating back. Slight murmuring was heard outside the doors, as the Great Hall hushed to a disturbing silence. Professor Black, the Headmaster of the school, looked annoyed as all hell as he marched right to the doors, likely to give the magic theory professor a piece of his mind. A piece of Professor Black’s mind wouldn’t be enough to save anyone, Alice was afraid to say. He was never known for being a bright mind.

Soon, Professor Black waltzed right back into the Great Hall, a new face following him up to the front of the hall. The new face. The one everyone was talking about. She had soft features. She stood about 5’3, her face full of small cuts, her brown hair disheveled, a couple twigs in it. She looked like she had just escaped an adventure with nothing but the meat on their bones. The girl’s piercing blue eyes scanned the room in awe.

“Professor Weasley,” Black’s voice sounded bored and uninterested as he led the new fifth year up the stairs to the stool. “We’ve one more to be sorted…”

“Welcome!” Weasley’s soft, welcoming voice seemed to calm the new fifth year. “You’re just in time, have a seat.”

The fifth year did as instructed, awkwardly sitting on the stool. Weasley placed the sorting hat on her head. The hall erupted in whispers, echoing on the walls, desperate to theorize on which house would get the late bloomer.

“Hmmm better be GRYFFINDOR!” The sorting hat declared.

Alice cheered loudly along with her house as Weasley transfigured the fifth year’s robes into the signature shade of red.

“And one more thing, due to the unfortunate injury on the pitch during last spring’s final, this year’s quidditch season has been canceled,” Black uttered, a roar of disappointment erupted from each table.

“That’s rubbish!” Alice shouted. She was Gryffindor’s seeker, after all.

“Enough!” Black ordered. “It’s not as if I’ve banned flying altogether. But, don’t. Tempt me. You are here to focus on your academic futures. I’m sure you all have plenty to do before classes begin tomorrow…”

Black paused, watching as no one made a move.

“I said, I’m sure you all have plenty to do before classes begin tomorrow!”

Alice rolled her eyes as Garreth quickly slid from his seat and gestured for her to do the same. She reluctantly followed, glaring at Black. It seemed as though this year would be quite interesting.

The first shower back at Hogwarts was comforting as usual, something about the water here felt more safe than anything she had experienced back home. She trudged up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. This year, Alice had lucked out and got assigned a dorm that was isolated from the others, the downside was that it was also the highest one.

So.

Many.

Steps.

She pushed the door open, making her way to her own bed.

“Hello.”

Alice screamed, leaping just a tad off the ground. She whipped her head to the bed on the opposite end of the dorm. There sat the new fifth year.

“Sorry, I didn’t think I was getting a roommate this year,” Alice flattened her nightgown. “You weren’t here when I left.”

“No, no,” The brunette waved it off. She stood from the bed and walked over to the slightly shorter girl. “Don’t apologize, I’m Katherine Blake.”

“Alice Morgan,” Alice shook her hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you! You’ve been the talk of the town all day! Everyone was talking about you on the Hogwarts Express.”

Katherine looked a bit upset at the mention of earlier today, but she shook her head.

“I’m no one special, really,” She replied. “I’m just happy to be here and learn a bit of magic.”

“You’ll certainly have a lot of catching up to do,” Alice grinned, pointing to herself. “But stick with me. Not that I could help you much, I just want more friends.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Alice,” Katherine chuckled.

“We better get some rest,” Alice stated, walking back to her own bed. “Big day tomorrow. If you need help finding your classes, just give me a holler. I’m usually around.”

Alice got up rather early in the mornings. The Great Hall would start serving breakfast around 5 am, but Alice rarely ate there. Through the years, Alice had come to find that the little Slytherin trio enjoyed their breakfast in the quad courtyard. Of course, now with Anne’s unfortunate curse, Sebastian and Ominis sat alone that morning. As Alice passed them with her own breakfast, a few breakfast rolls made into little sandwiches, she took notice of their appearances.

Sebastian had his nose in a book. He was one to eat a heavy breakfast. Lots of protein to keep his strength up. He loved a good over easy egg and potatoes to balance out the sausage links on his plate. He was spouting some nonsense about dark magic that Ominis was not too keen on listening to. Ominis was enjoying a rather crisp apple, smiling at the breeze of early fall. Alice fawned at the sight of him.

He was the reason she enjoyed her breakfast in the Quad Courtyard. It had been 4 years since she had met him and their relationship had not progressed since then. She was friendly with Sebastian, everyone was. Sebastian was quite the popular Slytherin. But Ominis never gave Alice the time of day.

Sebastian gave a gentle wave once he noticed Alice staring. Alice appreciated Sebastian’s friendly gesture as opposed to his friend’s cold shoulder. She waved back, though he wasn’t the one she was staring at, she was grateful she could at least call Sebastian Sallow a friend.

She sat on the bench on the opposite side of them. Sebastian had told her once before that he had come to enjoy her presence every morning. He knew that she had feelings for his best friend, but Alice assumed he didn’t care too much about it.

“Alice,” Sebastian spoke, waving her over.

Did she hear that correctly? Was she seeing that correctly? Never in the past few years did Sebastian ever talk to her during these morning hours. Was she going mad?

“C’mon.”

Alice gathered her things and raced over the short distance to their bench. Ominis scoffed at the sound of her irregular strides.

“We don’t need a third opinion, let alone from a Gryffindor.”

“Ominis doesn’t believe the dark arts should be taught in class,” Sebastian started, closing his book. “But I believe the only way to properly defend against the dark arts is learning what you’re up against.”

“Oh, please, Sebastian,” Ominis scoffed once more. “You chose a lion because she would be more inclined to agree with you.”

“Sebastian…” Alice frowned. “Those curses have plagued Ominis his entire life. Seeing that you’re his best friend, I find it hard to believe you’d willingly bring him into a conversation like this. Don’t you think there’s danger in knowing? It takes a toll on you, mentally and emotionally. Ominis is a blatant example of that.”

“You can’t expect-“

“I don’t want to hear it, Sebastian. Alice is right,” Ominis spoke with a small smile. “I’m pleasantly surprised…”

Alice was in shock. Very rarely did Ominis even acknowledge her, let alone say that she was right. In the past 4 years, Ominis had shown very little interest in Alice. In fact he showed what she could only assume was more of a disdain towards her, if she were being honest. Snarky comments, irritated statements, nasty remarks. The whole nine. No interaction lasted more than a sentence or two. Despite what he did to her face, Alice admired the man he was beyond that. She saw his potential for success, his passion for magic, his loyalty to his friends. She admired him from afar for all those years. He was her muse.

And now he had just agreed with her for the first time.

Charms was definitely not Alice’s strong suit. Not a lot of subjects were. She struggled with attention most of all. She would typically doodle during class or zone out completely. Today was no different. She had told herself that this year would be, she would apply herself and get better grades, learn more. Yet here she was, on the very first day, in her very first class, staring at her muse once more. He stood, his foot on the bench, conversing with his best friend about, well Alice couldn’t be bothered to know. She couldn’t hear them from where she sat. Sebastian had a rather large book, resting wide open on his desk, he was rather enthusiastically explaining something from it to Ominis. Ominis, however, did not agree.

Ominis closed Sebastian’s book and tucked it under his arm.

“Hey, wait-“ Sebastian started. “Give it back”

“No. Keep your nose out of this type of magic.”

Alice took this time to observe the class beyond Ominis Gaunt. She noticed that her roommate sat in front of her, next to Natsai Onai.

“Hello, roommate!” Alice cheerfully greeted, leaning over her own desk. Katherine turned around slightly and gave a little wave.

“Do either of you know what we are working on?” Katherine asked Natty and Alice. Natty slid her textbook closer to Katherine in response.

“I don’t know how much help it will be, but I am sure you’ll catch up in no time,” she smiled.

“I don’t really pay much attention in class,” Alice confessed, to which Katherine let out a laugh.

“Perhaps we both need to go through this book.”

“Would you like a drawing?” Alice asked, tearing her newest drawing of Ominis from her roll of parchment. She handed the piece of parchment to Katherine with a contented smile.

“Oh, thank you,” Katherine responded, taken aback by the gesture but took the parchment anyway. She glanced at it for a moment before furrowing her eyebrows. “Isn’t this…”

“You’d be correct,” Natty nodded. “He’s where her focus is most of the day.”

“I do not approve,” Garreth stated, his gaze fixed on Ominis who was rather loudly arguing with Sebastian.

“I wouldn’t say most of the day…” Alice grinned.

“You don’t approve of the drawing?” Katherine questioned, then turned to Alice. “This is a very good drawing. You’re talented, Alice.”

“Thank you,” Alice smiled, touched by the compliment.

“Don’t give others your drawings of Ominis, it’s awkward for them…” Garreth explained, hoping he got through to her. He didn’t.

Just then, Professor Ronen strolled in with a spark of dramatics. He was a rather eccentric fellow and he always seemed to be able to brighten the mood in his classroom. He clapped twice, gaining the attention of the entire class.

“Students! If you could all take your seats, please, we can get started, yes?”

A bit of shuffling was heard as the few who had still yet to take their seats, did so.

“Now, then! I know it’s been a long summer, but does anyone remember what we were working on last year?” Professor Ronen scanned over his silent students, studying their expressions. “Anyone?”

Alice had begun to draw another sketch of Ominis. This one showcased his bored expression as he sat on the other side of the classroom. Garreth swiftly plucked her pencil out of her fingers, putting it behind his ear. She stared at him in disbelief to which he grinned back.

Ever since Garreth had met Alice that fateful day during first year he had been rather protective of her. He had noticed in the beginning how small and reserved she could be. Garreth was nothing of the sort. He was loud and obnoxious. Through the years he had seen that side of Alice bloom within her. He was proud of his impact on his best friend. He loved watching her grow, blossom into a complex and full version of herself. What he didn’t love, however, was her fixation on a certain pale skinned Slytherin.

Garreth knew Ominis. He was acquainted with him, sometimes he would ask for a bit of potions help here and there. Garreth knew Ominis did not share his family’s beliefs on blood status, nor on the dark arts. In many ways he would be the perfect suitor for his little Alice in Wonderland. If he wasn’t such a prick. Garreth didn’t dislike Ominis because of his name, nor because of his disability. Garreth disliked Ominis because of how he treated his Alice. Garreth loved Alice, whether it was a platonic love or romantic, he wasn’t sure. Nevertheless, he kept her safe and loved.

Katherine flipped through the pages of Natty’s textbook as Ronen spoke. Ronen took notice of this, skillfully casting Accio on the book itself.

“Ah- ah, last minute studies will not make up for what should have happened over months.”

“Professor, I’m-“

“I think we could all use a bit of a refresher, shall we?” Ronen projected, motioning for his students to rise from their seats. “Everyone, stand up!”

A couple groans here and there were sounded from disgruntled students as they complied with Ronan’s orders.

“Now, stand across from your partners, we’ll be going over the spell ‘Accio.’ Who remembers what the spell ‘Accio’ does?”

“Accio is used to draw any object to you,” Imelda said with a smug look on her face.

“Correct, Miss Reyes! Follow along with my wand movements,” Ronen proceeded to lead everyone through casting the spell.

The book rested in Garreth’s large palm. Alice narrowed her eyes to it. She took a deep breath, remembering the wand movements.

“Accio!” She shouted, her wand letting out a hot spark. She winced.

“It’s alright, Alice,” Garreth spoke, reassuring her. “You’ll get it, try one more time.”

“Accio!” Alice’s voice boomed again, this time with more strength. Before her eyes, the book flew out of Garreth’s palm and right into her arms. She jumped in excitement, hugging it to her chest. Garreth laughed loudly at her dramatic celebration. “Garreth! I did it!”

After the little victory she had, Alice’s attention once again faded from the task at hand. Sebastian had magically plucked his dark arts book from Ominis’ pale hands. He grasped it firmly with a smirk. Alice found herself drawing closer to the pair as her own book flew out of her arms. Ominis retaliated by utilizing his own magic, effectively performing the spell on the very same book Sebastian so desperately needed.

“Try that again, Sebastian,” He tucked the book into his bag. “I believe you hit the wrong target.”

“You’re no fun, Ominis,” Sebastian stated, with a smirk.

“I’d argue he’s a lot of fun,” Alice nodded, now right next to Sebastian, who took a step back, a bit startled by her proximity to him.

Garreth quickly took hold of her wrist, pulling her back to their original spot.

Ominis heard their footsteps retreating and raised an eyebrow.

“That was Alice, wasn’t it.” He knew the answer but still he felt the need to ask. His best friend confirmed his suspicion with a simple ‘yes.’ Ominis let out a rather neutral hum in response.

“Excellent! All of you!” Ronen exclaimed, clapping his hands. “I’ve always been under the impression that class should have both a practical, and a fun element to it. Why don’t we head outside?”

The class gathered their things and followed their professor out the door.

“He seems like a nice teacher,” Katherine commented as they walked.

“Most of them are,” Natty replied,. “There are a few to be wary of.”

“I think all the teachers are scary,” Alice stated, with a small smile.

“Really?” Katherine asked, a bit puzzled by the statement. “Even our Charms professor?” Alice nodded.

“There’s a sort of darkness there,” Alice shuddered, earning a bit of laughter from her friends.

“Alice is just a baby,” Imelda smirked. “She startles easily, unlike me.”

“You were the one who was afraid of a pet rat last year,” Ominis stated, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “I wouldn’t go boasting quite yet.”

“That- do you know how unsanitary a rat is?” Imelda shrilled. “If it was wild, we could’ve all gotten sick.”

“Bite your tongue, Imelda,” Garreth had come to Alice’s aid, as always. “Or I may just have you test my latest concoction.”

“Concoction?” Katherine turned to Alice as Imelda let out a loud huff.

“Garreth and I happen to be the best potion brewers in the school!” Alice winked at her roommate.

“May I interest you in a shrinking potion?” Garreth dug within his robe’s pockets to fish out a couple he had lying around.

“What would I use a shrinking potion for?”

“To shrink, of course,” Alice stated.

“Potions are incredibly helpful to have on hand,” Natty responded. “You never know when you’ll need one for the most obscure of reasons.”

Alice’s attention wavered again, shifting to the Slytherin duo once more. Sebastian sneakily tried performing Accio on the book. This time it was secure in Ominis’ arms. The book flew to Sebastian, as expected, but it had rather cartoonishly dragged Ominis along with it. Though he could not see, he flashed Sebastian a pointed look that could only be described as disapproving. His gaze was judgemental and exhausted. Alice couldn’t help but smile at the small interaction. They continued to captivate her mind as Ronen stopped around the flying class lawn.

Professor Ronen summoned the summoning court board, beckoning everyone to gather around it. Natty, Katherine, Garreth, and Alice stood close to the front of the summoning court. The first three, conversing as Alice took in their surroundings. Everyone had opted to either sit or stand along the sides of the court. Poppy Sweeting sat on the side, she had brought her parchment and was doodling small mooncalves on it. The man next to her was a sight for sore eyes.

Dante Ripley. Alice never cared much for anyone’s looks other than Ominis’, but even she had to admit he was rather ravishing. He had jet black pin straight hair that liked to fall just past his eyes at times. His skin looked pale whilst indoors but out there, it was sun kissed. His eyes seemed cold and unfeeling but when he smiled, they lit up like sparks of ember. His lips were plump and pink, shaped into a forever pout. Dante was a fifth year Slytherin. He had two siblings, a sixth year Gryffindor brother, Augustine, and a third year Slytherin sister, Kaia. Alice had heard the Ripleys were from Korea. Though she never asked, herself. Alice paid it no mind as she noticed his gaze fixated on the new fifth year.

Her eyes stopped as she spotted the Slytherin duo. Ominis had taken a seat on the grass, enjoying an apple. Sebastian was standing, rather fidgety.

“Don’t-“ Garreth tried but to no avail. Alice had already begun her trek to Ominis’ side.

“She really is a fan of his, isn’t she,” Katherine asked, glancing at the remaining group.

“I’ve heard she’s been like this ever since first year,” Natty nodded.

“She’s going to get herself hurt,” Garreth shook his head in disapproval.

She plopped down next to the blonde, she tucked her legs to her chest, smiling softly.

Next to her, Ominis had managed to hold onto the book. He made sure to keep a track on where Sebastian was in relation to him. He heard the soft crunching of grass as a person walked towards him and sat beside him. A faint aroma of a familiar perfume made its way to his nose. Alice.

“I’m going to retrieve it eventually…” Sebastian stated, taking notice of Alice.

“I’ll tell Madam Scribner.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“No more forbidden dark magic books for you.”

“I know how to handle her,” Sebastian said with a smug grin. “We have a sort of back and forth.”

Alice watched as Imelda Reyes walked up to Katherine with a smile on her face.

“You’re the new fifth year? That’s not something I ever expected to be saying,” She confidently held her hand out to Katherine. “I’m Imelda Reyes.”

“Hello, I’m Katherine,” She smiled back, shaking her hand. “I heard you say you were good at flying?”

Imelda laughed in response.

“Good? I’m the best. Took care of all the scoreboards around here. It’s a shame quidditch is down this year,” Imelda smirked, smugly. “I’d have gotten Slytherin more than a few house points.”

“I would’ve liked to have given it a shot, too,” Katherine nodded. “At least there’s always next year. They can’t ban quidditch forever.”

“Have you ever flown before?” Imelda asked, giving her a once over.

“No,” Katherine shrugged. “But it can’t be that hard to learn, can it?”

“Flying is a skill. I might have a natural talent, but for normal people, such as yourself, it’s actually quite difficult to learn.”

“I suppose I should get started as soon as I can, then,” Katherine smiled sweetly. “Maybe I’ll be able to work on some of those scoreboards you’ve been talking about.”

“You wish,” Imelda hummed. “If you do pluck up the courage, feel free to send me an owl. I’d be more than happy to take you down a peg.”

Alice’s eye began to twitch at Imelda’s words. Her gaze narrowed at the Slytherin, as Professor Ronen tried to hone in his students’ attentions.

From beside Alice, Ominis had noticed she had not moved. He was puzzled as to why she stayed.

“Wouldn’t you rather be over with the other lions than sitting here on your own?” Ominis asked his attention fully on the Gryffindor beside him.

Alice wondered if she could slip some veritaserum in Imelda’s pumpkin juice tonight, maybe then she would stop her tall tales and boasting. Sebastian leaned in to Ominis, a soft chuckle falling from his lips.

“Your stalker ignored you.”

Ominis frowned, as he snapped his fingers in front of where he assumed was Alice’s gaze. She blinked, her eyes focusing on the beauty mark ridden hand in front of her. She quickly turned in Ominis’ direction, admiring his face.

“Yes?” She asked, sweetly.

“Why are you here when you are clearly engaged in a separate conversation?”

“I want to be here,” Alice stated, letting her legs slide from her grasp as she switched to a more comfortable position to talk to him.

“Your friends are over there,” Ominis deadpanned.

“I consider Sebastian a friend.”

“That’s right,” Sebastian nodded. “I find her presence tolerable.”

“Tolerable,” Ominis repeated, but Alice’s attention had already shifted back to the group of Gryffindors.

Dante Ripley had introduced himself to Katherine and they seemed to have sparked an engaging conversation with each other. That was until Imelda felt the need to butt in.

“Give me a broom, I could’ve taken care of that dragon,” She stated smugly, lifting her chin with pride.

“Have you run into a dragon before, Imelda?” Katherine asked, her voice genuine.

“They’re around,” Imelda shrugged. “It wouldn’t be that hard for me, I assure you.”

“Imelda Reyes!” Alice stood up abruptly, startling Sebastian in the process. “You’d probably get burnt to a crisp. Be respectful, someone died.”

“You don’t know what it was like,” Katherine tried to explain to Imelda.

“I think you’re the one that needs to be taken down a peg. Maybe 50,” Alice stated, visibly fuming.

“I’d like to see you try, little Gryffindor. You’d lose.”

Alice sat back down with a huff, unaware that she had caught the attention of her muse.

“As much as I enjoy getting on the student drama, back to our assignment, if you’d please,” Ronen continued with his lesson as Ominis turned his head in Alice’s direction.

“You don’t usually get involved in arguments…” He stated, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Sebastian saw his opportunity and opted to steal back his book the muggle way. Ominis, having turned his attention fully on the little Gryffindor, failed to notice his best friend’s actions.

“I don’t like it when someone attacks my friends,” Alice explained with her arms crossed.

By this time, Katherine had been called to play summoner’s court against Natty. She was fairing well, already 20 points ahead of Natsai. Alice, however, was not paying much attention to the competition.

“Little Lions need to stick together, is that right?” Ominis asked, a smirk playing on his pink lips.

“What do you really have against Gryffindors?” Alice snapped, her gaze moved swiftly back to the pale Slytherin. “Sometimes, I think it is you who needs to be taken down a peg as well.”

“That’s enough, Alice,” Sebastian spoke, tucking his book under his arm.

“No,” Ominis replied, the smirk never leaving his lips. “It’s rare that we see sweet Alice Morgan all riled up.”

“You’re insufferable-“

“Oh, I’m insufferable?” Ominis laughed. “Oh, lion, please go on. Explain in great detail just how much you hate me. I’ll wait, I’m quite patient.”

“Ominis Gaunt,” She stood up once more as Katherine won her competition. “If you wanted me to leave, you could’ve just said so.”

She sighed, joining her fellow Gryffindors as they started towards the castle. Ominis silently listened to her retreating feet crunching on the grass. He swallowed, gingerly processing the interaction.

“You rarely acknowledge her, what was that?” Sebastian asked, helping Ominis to his feet.

“I was simply bored,” Ominis replied, now fully aware of what Sebastian had done. He quickly took back the book.

Alice was now planning the rest of her day as they walked back to the charms class. Perhaps she could grab something small from the great hall before her next class.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was always a class Alice enjoyed. She enjoyed most classes, though she was not the brightest student, so she tended to get mediocre grades despite being interested in the topic. DADA was nothing different. Professor Hecate was a brilliant professor. She had previously worked in the Ministry of Magic as an Unspeakable. So needless to say, she knew what she was talking about… or not talking about.

After introductions were made and expectations were set, the professor instructed everyone to get up, out of their seats. They were going to have a couple friendly dueling matches to kickstart the new school year.

The first up was Katherine Blake and Sebastian Sallow.

“I won’t hold back,” Sebastian said, smirking. “A friendly duel is always a pleasant introduction.”

“I’ll certainly give it my all,” Katherine replied, shifting her feet to a more comfortable stance.

“Charms and basic attacks only,” Professor Hecate instructed. “A fair duel. Begin.”

Sebastian started, hitting Katherine with a swift basic attack. She took it like a champ, responding with using the spell she had just learned.

“Accio!” Sebastian was pulled forward by her magic as she did so, taking a couple of her basic attacks. He was able to drop back to his feet, glaring at Katherine who grinned in response.

“Depulso!”

“Protego!” A protective sphere appeared around Katherine, deflecting Sebastian’s spell. She swiftly spun. “Stupify!”

With Sebastian stunned, she was able to hit him with enough basic attacks to push him over the edge, effectively winning the duel. Sebastian chuckled from the ground, a smile of admiration taking over his lightly freckled face.

“Quite the match, new fifth year…”

“Right, Mr Gaunt? Miss Morgan?”

Alice blinked in response as Garreth pushed her towards the dueling stand.

“Me, professor?” Alice asked, a bit taken aback.

“Don’t think I don’t know about your extracurriculars, Miss Morgan,” Hecate smirked, knowingly “Now go on.”

Alice gingerly stepped up on the dueling stand, Ominis on the other end, fiddling with his wand.

“I warn you, lion,” Ominis smirked. “I will not hold back.”

“I don’t expect you to, Ominis.”

“Levioso!” Ominis’ spell hit Alice, her feet lifting off the ground. His face showed determination. He was focused on his spell casting, listening for her movements. He hit her with a couple basic attacks before the spell wore off and she went tumbling down to the ground.

“Expelliarmus!”

“Protego! Stupify!” Ominis was not kidding when he said he wouldn’t hold back. A drop of sweet trickled down his forehead. Alice followed it on its descent down his porcelain cheek.

“Flippendo!” Alice’s spell finally hit Ominis, effectively flipping him. He scrambled back to his feet.

“Expelliarmus!” Ominis shot, Alice’s wand flying from her hand. “Depulso!”

Alice flew off the stand, bumping her head on the bookshelf. She rubbed the area, frowning.

Ominis frowned before replacing it with a small smirk.

“I see…” Hecate quietly said. “How disappointing… class dismissed.”

Garreth helped Alice up to her feet. As Ominis walked towards the pair.

“Lion,” he simply said. Alice looked up at him.

“Why did you hold back.”

“I didn’t…” Alice blinked at him as she exchanged a look with Garreth. He nodded, walking towards the door. He opted to stick around, though, waiting by the door.

“You pity me. I don’t need your pity, Alice.”

“I don’t pity you, Ominis,” She replied, shaking her head at him. “I just want you to feel confident in yourself.”

“Next time, if you want me to feel confident, don’t throw the match.” Ominis scoffed. “Duel me fair.”

“But I’d win,” Alice stated, tapping her foot awkwardly.

“You underestimate me.”

“I rank higher than Sallow, Ominis.”

“I don’t want a place that I didn’t earn. Duel me fair or not at all.”

Alice sighed, walking towards him. She reached up. Instinctively, Ominis flinched slightly. She gently patted his cheek twice.

“Then I’ll see you at Crossed Wands,” Alice whispered to him, before walking to Garreth who laughed at Ominis’ expression.

“Did she just- pat my cheek?”

Sebastian chuckled in response, clapping his best mate’s shoulder.

“That, Ominis, is what the general public calls flirting,” Sebastian began roughly massaging his best friend’s shoulders. “Flirt back. Test the waters. You won’t regret it.”

“Clearly, this book has clouded your judgment,” Ominis pulled out his wand and joined his fellow students out the door, Sebastian following behind him.

Perhaps he’d be able to get in some practice on his dueling in the Undercroft. She did give him an official invitation, after all. A small lopsided smile appeared on his face as he thought about finally witnessing Alice’s power first hand.

Alice marched with Garreth down the short hallway to the pink lady’s painting.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite little potions duo,” She gave a gentle smile.

“Good afternoon, Beatrice,” Alice smiled back, glancing at her through her specs. The painting shook her head in response. “Ah, I’ll get your name eventually.”

“I’m sure you will, password?”

“Grata Domum,” Garreth stated, the painting swung open.

Garreth hurriedly ran into the common room. His afternoon would be spent testing out his latest products on unsuspecting first years. Alice followed shortly after. Alice was hoping there would still be enough daylight to do a bit of painting by the fountain.

She climbed those dreaded steps up to her dorm once again, the second day was still just as bad as the first. She pushed open that door, dropping her books at her desk. A small hoot came from beside her bed. A gray owl stood, perched on her footboard, a little letter tucked in its mouth. Alice walked towards it, giving the small owl some much deserved pets. She plucked the letter from its beak, cracking the Hogwarts seal. That only meant it was from one of her professors.

Miss Morgan,

Miss Blake would like you to escort her to Hogsmeade this evening so that she can pick up materials necessary for her success here at Hogwarts for the year. Please meet her at the North Exit at 5:00 pm. Do not be late.

Deputy Headmistress

Matilda Weasley

I really hope you guys like this fanfic because GODDAMN I’m having so much fun with it. We love Alice in this household.

#By Any Other Name #Ominis Gaunt #Ominis Gaunt smut #Garreth Weasley #reality shifting #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt imagine #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy dr #shifting to hogwarts

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goldenzx · 2 years

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Happy new years! And here’s my first drawing of the year (which just so happens to be a rabbit.) My finalized design for my Rider ocs, Kamen Rider SuCross and Prince Rabbold. a mix between Kamen Rider and the Magical Girl genre.

Info:

Serizawa Kane: A highschool student who becomes the magical boy, Kamen Rider "SuCross". A school delinquent with a suprisingly strict moral compass, his intimidating looks makes it hard for him to make friends, and thus causes him to distance himself from people in an attempt to not bother them. His true personality shines when he becomes SuCross, a helpful and slightly nerdy teen.

Usagi Taro: A prince that came from a magical world, he chose Serizawa Kane to help him fight a threat from his home-dimension by using the "ProtoCast Driver". His power is limited on earth, so he takes a miniature magical girl mascot form when supporting SuCross in battle (much to his disdain). Not only is he a member of many school clubs, but he's also class president. Taro's quite popular in school, and tries to use this popularity to get Serizawa some friends (though so far it's not working).He's quite prideful, but usually puts this aside when in battle. Usagi Taro is Serizawa's only friend. Kamen Rider SuCross: Usagi Taro combines his magical power with Serizawa Kane's ProtoCast Driver to transform Serizawa into Kamen Rider SuCross. SuCross is great at hand-to-hand combat, and with the help of Taro can cast a variety of weird, yet powerful magical attacks. When the enemy is weakened he finishes them with his special attack!, The "Hat TricKick"! (They both can also use the ProtoCast Driver to change forms, though I haven't got any solid ideas yet... tell me if you have any ideas!)

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mahou-furbies · 2 years

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Mahou wrap up 2022 survey results

Here are the results of the recent questionnaire for your Mahou 2022!

Best character:

irma w.i.t.c.h.

Myamu

Lemon Kokoa

sunday spade wild cardz

Luchia Nanami

Mew Lettuce

Cure Whip! (i rewatched KiraKira! So not really 2022? If from 2022 only, I loved Kuroe)

Cure Precious/Yui Nagomi

nanami kiryuu

Fuwa Kokone

Sayaka miki (I watched side story this year so it technically counts even though she’s my favorite magical girl ever)

Yui Nagomi/Cure Precious, Ichigo Momomiya/Mew Ichigo

Best character design:

Cure YumYum

Cure Yum Yum

Cure coral

cure flora

Cure Finale

Kome-Kome

The Hirogaru Sky silhouettes. I just know the full designs are gonna be ballin'

This is a hard one, all of the Primagi designs are tied.

kumi kumi from mgrp white is minecraft

Infinite Iroha (Magia Record)

I just love seeing designs in general

the way utena uses the transformations for symbolism and what not is super cool design by itself goes to cure summer shes great

Mew Lettuce's and Mew Zakuro's 2022 designs

Best work:

Tokyo Mew Mew New

Tokyo Mew Mew New!

care bear stars

Magilumiere

Healer Girl

....does witch hat atelier count as a mg since it's witches or it it too fantasy world to be one? either way it slaps

Ultra Maniac

Delicious Party PreCure has its moments but it's not my fav season or anything. I wish I had time for more anime this year, but unfortunately I've been working overtime.

Can I say Glitter and Guilt? Because there's published webcomic pages now

utena is the best show ive watched in a long time i love picking it apart and even tough its super dark and hard to watch the visuals and everything is amazing i love the movie the most its so surreal and dreamy this is all entirely expected bc i love twin peaks and theyre a very similar niche

I really really liked Madoka side story, but I watched yuki yuna and was really pleasantly surprised by it!

Free comment field for gushing about something that didn’t fit the other topics:

uhh watch lego monkie kid its like a magical girl show but about a boy

Keeping it to series i more or less saw this 2022 but i really wanna praise waccha primagi tho its more of an idol series than magical girl the magic is every present in the show and i love the great myamu sama the ending moved me to tears.

saint tail remaster bless discotek

Obsessed with the Shugo Chara Wonderland merch that released earlier this year.

Was fascinated how some of the dress up collection dresses made a comeback in the DeliPre series. For example when Kokone was shown wearing Rikka's blue gown.

Watching Vampire in the Garden (a non mahou show) has given me ideas for making a magical girl OC with clothes based on Imperial Russia. You can never have too many OCs!

all the merch and new content for the early-mid 2000's shows and manga has got me really excited! like, of course we got the Tokyo Mew Mew reboot, but there's been new merch and art for Shugo Chara, Mermaid Melody has that sequal series being released, and even Saint Tail has gotten some stuff. It makes me hopeful that other manga besides Mew Mew will also get the same love and attention!

power of friendship is the shit and somehow mg shows make it not cheesy but good good

The Mascots and Recipepes in Delicious Party Precure are so cute!! I also liked the addition of Rosemary and BlackPepper/Takumi.

Hmmm I really liked some magical girl webcomics I was reading, like Cloudy Wondrous and Captian Jellyfish

I love Takumi from DeliPaPre, he's such a dork and its very endearing how he tries to be a cool Tuxedo Mask type but sometimes forgets his Cool Guy persona bc "omg its yui" lol

Complaint time!

Gushing Over Magical Girls should be good. i like the designs but too horny for the age of everyone

Mew Mint's henshin was a major downgrade from the original

The adaptation of Magia Record was such a disappointment! It undid the happy ending of the game and killed of several characters for shock value!

I finally got around to watching all of Day Break Illusion and GOD it started out really cool and interesting, but than it decided to just get BAD bad a bit after the half way mark. Lots of missed potential.

WHY CAN'T WE GET ANY MAHOU MOBILE GAMES IN ENGLISH EVERY TIME I SEE GAME CHARACTERS ON MGOTD I WANT THEM BUT THEY'RE ALWAYS DISCONTINUED OR SOMETHING Also Miraculous Ladybug is a trainwreck

i watched a lot of older and darker mg shows this year and i really dont like the saturation of designs that exist now also there arent newer medium dark shows that ive heard its either for kids or everyone dies i like both but not as the only option

How easily I fall out of a Precure season. Delicious Party I think is the furthest I've ever gotten

yuis lack of a personality in delipre

The 4th cures design and general costume of delipre didnt really live up to the food theme.

Honestly I really hate how delicious party precure is pushing stress eating as a good thing.

Delicious Party Precure seemed to have TOO many themes at the same time and didn't feel as cohesive as other teams to me.

Hmm I tried watching some of the later entries in precure (tropical rouge and delipre) and I simply couldn’t get into any of them :/ I also tried watching flip flappers again and simply couldn’t get through it again -_- it was uncomfortable to watch

Mahou plans and hopes for 2023:

That the new precure series will be aesthetic af

I'm always excited for the next Precure!

im hoping this years precure has an angel theme and there will be more cyber inspired designs in general i find them fun and good for diversity also ive started the sailor moon anime i read the manga when i was a little kid but ive never watched it

To like the new season of precure and for Magilumere to keep going

Super excited for Hirogaru Sky!! And Mew New season 2

I hope the new precure season uses the duo formula again, and a more pastel color palette. Also looking forward to the new Sailor Moon movie!

I hope the next precure season is better than DeliParty, and I also hope for a Primagi season 2! Just more new original stories would be nice.

lesbians

new original series.

I'm really looking forward to Mahou Shoujo Magical Foghters and In/Spectre season 2!! Gonna watch those weekly!

Learn to take things off the backburner

God I wish I could design magical girls

Hopefully I’ll be able to get my current project going (webcomic)

More magical girl stuff in general, and less fighting among fans over ships and the grimdark vs. standard genres

Thanks to everyone who took part!

Raffle winners have been contacted. I’ll wait... let’s say a week in case people are busy doing something else over the holidays than browsing tumblr, and if there’s no response I’ll pick a different winner.

#blog stuff

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blackberry-bloody · 2 years

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OC infodumps? Gotchu gotchu

(Last minute edit: ayo I think this got a bit long)

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One of my favourite boyos is Morgan, 25. He lives in an 19th-20th century fantasy world with magic and wizards and witches and all that fun stuff. He is vain, eccentric, confident but often cocky, and extremely nosy. He has a talking ferret familiar with the attitude of a twice divorced middle aged man, has a magic hat that sucks people into a pocket dimension that looks like M.C. Escher's "Relativity" mixed with the size fluctiations of Alice in Wonderland, and "runs" a tailor's store that he conveniently always leaves in the hands of this responsible and well-mannered child he unintentionally sorta adopted off the streets, and a snappy country girl that ran away to the city to escape her 7 step brothers and her father's new wife.

Morgan was born with an exceptional aptitude of magic. He was once a young happy orphan living in a small close-knit family when he was sought out for his magical potential. He was adopted and placed into an evil boys choir, where he and other gifted boys were exploited for their power. When someone planned to stop their plot, Morgan became the target of a curse that ruined the next choir session, and destroyed what magic ritual had been building up. The evil plot was successfully thwarted, those involved were punished, and the boys were taken to better places. But Morgan now has a fear of singing and places of worship, and a curse that distorts his magic - which can either stop magic from working, or cause a spell to fly out of control.

Morgan was taken into a magic academy to rehabilitate his magic abilities - as was law for those with high magical aptitudes but with little magic control. Morgan couldn't explain to them that this was due to a curse - the curse prevents him from speaking about it - but despite this, Morgan became a skilled young wizard with a great understanding of magic. He became close with many professors at the academy, some of which took on a kind of parental role, and it was in his early years at the academy where he befriended his ferret familiar that would stick by him for decades to come. But instead of staying for longer and perfecting his skills, he chose to leave the academy and continue his life elsewhere.

The curse didn't just distort his magic, but also his perception of his surroundings. It has given him Alice in Wonderland Syndrome which reacts more severely with extended magic use. Sometimes it can be as simple as the walls slowly creeping further and further away as if he is shrinking on the spot, other times he can completely lose track of moments of time, lose his coordination and balance, and even get migraines. With frequent or heavy uses of magic all of these symptoms can crash together into an ugly fruit salad, and his solution is to lock himself in his room all day without a sound to be heard. This curse is his main whump source in the story as he hides its effects from others and chooses to ignore it further with impulsive uses of magic. He also gets severe motion sickness because of it.

After leaving the academy he then buys a place in the middle of the city, a narrow three-storey building not far from the bustling city centre. From his time at the academy he obtained a fascination for fancy hats - as almost every professor and sensior student wore a magic hat - and so that, tied with his interest in fashion, led him into furnishing his new home into a tailors. His store is called The Ugly Duckling.

During his start-up year he confronted an intruder, a scruffy, unkempt child who had broken into his store in the dead of night. But instead of getting angry like his familiar, Morgan offered the kid a cup of tea and an ear, and sent him off with some money and food. He would later return to thank the Morgan, who chose to offer the kid a place in his home. The ferret held a grudge for a long while but, now, admits that in the last few years the kid has grown into a fine little man. To pay Morgan back, the kid acts like a perfect child. He dresses and grooms himself neatly, maintains good posture and manners, and learns anything he can achieve on his own. As he is only a child, he imprints on Morgan. He calls him "sir" and "boss" but deep down he's more like a father - albeit a TERRIBLE father, always going to the store for milk y'know. He later feels similar towards Henrietta (the country girl), and in the present day the ferret is even more fond of the kid than his own master. (Also don't know if it's obvious, but I still haven't decided a name for the kid yet. I've had this WIP going since the start of August last year)

Then there's Henrietta, 20. It had been just her and her father since she was 8. They lived alone together for 9 years until he finally remarried to a woman who brought 5 rowdy sons into her quiet, content life, and 2 twin boys the following year. She had spent 3 years with this family until, one day, she couldn't do it anymore. She wanted to tell her father without the attention from the others, without a note inevitably being seen by the prying eyes of her stepmother. She felt guilty leaving without a word but figured he was happy now, with plenty of company. So she hops on a paddle steamer, then boards a train, and after a day or two she arrives in the big city. Her friend, who had left for university the year before, puts her up for a while until she can find her own place. Luckily, it doesn't take long, when a woman with a black bob and a sleek midnight blue dress offers her a spare bedroom and a job at her store. When she arrives, the woman happens to transform into a young male wizard. I'm sure you can guess.

Morgan has a tendency to use his magic for stupid little reasons, such as his appearance. He's always changing his hair colour and length, his eye colour, and sometimes his physique - most commonly into a woman's. He'll use magic to recolour clothing, adjust the length of a dress, and even to turn his loyal familiar into an inconspicuous neck scarf. But with all this petty magic use, the AIWS from his curse is almost always in effect. He hides the curse well from the other two characters, with his ferret familiar the only one privy to his deepest secrets.

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This is the favourite of my like 200+ WIPs. I want to dump this and some others on my blog but I just haven't found the right time and effort ig? I just need to start yeeting posts out there lol

Anyway, hope you enjoyed 😊

Sorry for not responding sooner!

Yooooooo! This sounds like fun! And such interesting characters and world building!!!!! I absolutely hope you do write this/post this at some point!

Thank you so much for sharing!

#jay jabbers #ask answered #and for anyone wondering #i unfortunately deleted the post asking for people to send me about ocs #literally seconds before I saw I had this in my inbox #so I can't link the post in reference

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lifeiszestyy · 3 months

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*6/24/2024 dream

*i was visiting my cousins in california--this was one of those dreams where everyone is younger than their current age. i was wearing a conical hat on top of a normal baseball hat, and both of them flew off my head. i think my family and i were in san francisco, by the water, so i was afraid of my hats being lost, but they were rescued by my oc, sapphira, who appeared as a teenager (i was also a teenager). after giving me my hats back, in a very ooc move, we started dancing out of happiness (she would never do that, she's very proper.) but i was very happy to see her. i don't usually dream about my ocs. usually i create ocs out of characters from my dreams.

*6/25/2024 ream

*i may have been a wanted wizard in a faux medieval setting. i wandered into a stone tunnel and didn't realize a pretty girl (pale, long brown hair in messy braids, beautiful smile) was crouched in a sunny area staring at me. when i saw her, i was nervous because we were too close to the secret hideout i lived in with other wanted criminals, but she asked me to go out on the town with her.

*after a while, she took me to the beach to talk one-on-one, but before i could kiss her, we were interrupted by the scene of an anxious, evil politician (noble?) trying to escape town by boat. the girl i was with was a guard, and she realized it was her job to help this man, so she left my side to go help him get on the boat. but i knew he was evil, so i... snapped my fingers and used magic to freeze him to death. i tried Really Hard to pretend to be in shock, but the moment the girl looked at me, i fuckinnnnn booked it

*scrambling up the hill, stumbling, i run into the tunnel and through a secret door that revealed a sci fi looking lounge where i raised an alarm and told everyone we had to leave. i waited for everyone else to get into the emergency chute (it was so slow, there was so much food), and by the time i got into the chute, the place was being invaded. i got to flip off some guards though (i was sad about the girl)

*and then the dream shifted to a narrative mode. the screen panned out to show an island floating like a ship on the ocean. the narration stated that this particular island's nature was dying (moana-style), and that it was important to immigrate to the nearby island in which nature still thrived (the camera panned to show a greener island, a large medieval european-esque city appearing like some kind of 3d map). But then the camera pans out farther to show the real danger--this isn't a normal world, it's a series of waterfalls floating in space, and it's only a matter of time when these islands will float off the edge into another pool of water. but--the narration states that if the populace is ""Good"", then the islands will be carried gently into the next pool of water by angels in the form of winged meatballs holding the islands up by ropes.

*and in the time i, the dreamer, was trying to understand what this meant, i heard my mother In Real Life slam the fucking garage door right next to my bedroom at 3:30AM, waking me tf fuck up and then proceed to clink and clank in the kitchen really loudly

#zest bloggin #zesty dreams

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marleybone-dreaming · 2 years

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So I finally remembered to share these!! Sorry about all the smudges and dark spots, I don't like to do digital art very much, especially not for something that's not a main special interest atm (current super hyperfixation is on speech synthesis characters like Microsoft Samverse and Chipspeech)

These are the design pages for two of my characters - Genevieve Ironforge, my wizard (I have a death wiz named Marissa Nightshade whom I'll also eventually do a page for), and Genevieve's fiancé Bentley W.P. Kensington. (Probably no relation to whomever Kensington Park was named for.)

Genevieve actually has two versions- the version I use for original stories and the version tied to the Wizard101 universe. They're quite similar except that the original stories Genevieve has ties to my other OCs rather than to the Wizard101 characters, and her backstory in my universe isn't quite as hectic and exciting. Plus Bentley is only a Wizard101 OC so he's not in the picture in my original stories.

Genevieve

Her first outfit is a slight variation of what I've got her wearing in the game. The second outfit is one I made up based off of an outfit I own IRL.

She's 25 years old and originally from the US, but was born to Irish parents so she has an Irish accent.

She's always been a tinkerer and loved making inventions ever since she was in her early teens. When she was 17, she accidentally got sent from Earth to the Spiral by one of these inventions malfunctioning and causing basically a glitch in space-time.

She started working odd jobs around the Spiral trying to get money so she could rebuild the machine and attempt to recreate what she did that sent her there in the first place to get back home, including a city guard, assistant to Mr. Lincoln, a seamstress in Mooshu, a brief stint as a mercenary- she quickly realized this wasn't for her, as her physical combat skills just weren't that good- and finally a post worker in Marleybone. Living in Marleybone was a dream come true to Genevieve, who'd spent much of her teen years poring over Sherlock Holmes books and Jules Verne novels and longing to, just for a little while, experience what it was like to walk the cobblestone streets under the gas lamps' hazy glow alongside beautiful ladies in long dresses and dapper men in top hats.

Most of the Marleybonians seemed fascinated by this human girl- she wasn't there with Ravenwood, furthering her magical studies, and she was considerably older than most of the human teens who'd come from there. Likewise, Genevieve had been amazed by meeting these anthro animals upon first landing in the Spiral in Wizard City, but they were everywhere in Marleybone. She felt a bit like a fish out of water, being one of the only "people" who had skin instead of fur, but she still liked being there all the same.

It was at this job that she met Arthur Wethersfield, who had come back to Marleybone briefly to visit family. They talked for a long time and he told her about magic, which she found very interesting. She asked if even she could learn it, to which he said she absolutely could but that he wasn't totally sure if Ravenwood would accept her due to her age. He asked about her upon his return to Wizard City, where Headmaster Ambrose said that unfortunately she was out of the age range for enrollment, but that according to what he'd told him she seemed like Storm magic would be a great fit for her and that Halston Balestrom might be willing to tutor her privately. When Professor Wethersfield asked, Professor Balestrom said he'd be happy to teach Genevieve Divination, and that it's better to start late than never.

The next thing Genevieve knew, she was staying in an apartment on Triton Avenue in Wizard City, and every weekend she'd go up to the Storm school to receive her private lessons with Professor Balestrom. When she wasn't doing her Storm lessons, she was working at the Storm Mill, doing maintenance on the machines.

Genevieve, as it turned out, was a natural at Divination. She worked hard to master her spells and even asked Professor Balestrom for advice with rebuilding the machine that sent her to the Spiral in the first place once she'd been taking lessons from him for a while.

She still chatted with Professor Wethersfield, though he wasn't tutoring her, and sometimes they'd meet up at his house for tea. During one of their conversations, he mentioned that he knew someone back in Marleybone who was looking for a Storm wizard to help him out with golem designing and building and offered to mention her name to him. She said she'd love to do it.

The friend in Marleybone agreed to bring her in and see what she was capable of, and before long she was back in Marleybone, helping build and design robots.

She then had an epiphany: Here in Marleybone, she was living her dream out. She was studying science, building robots, and fully living in the 19th century- things that would have been obscenely difficult and, in the case of the latter, even impossible back home in present day America. So even though she missed her family a lot, she dropped the quest to go back to Earth- and instead put it on the back burner, to maybe figure out how to visit later on.

And her dream got even sweeter when she was told to pick up a few scientific journals from a bookstore in Regent's Square and met the most dashing gentleman. It was strange, feeling... attracted to one of these anthro dogs. She knew what furries were back on Earth, but hadn't fancied herself as one until she lay eyes on Bentley. Soon enough the two were courting and practically inseparable. After they'd dated for a few years he proposed to her- to which she, of course, said yes. Now she especially wants to visit Earth again, so she can introduce her fiancé to her parents! She and Bentley are both worried about what her parents would think about her marrying a man of a race/species that doesn't even exist on Earth, but there's only one way to find out what they'd say.

Bentley

First I'll transcribe what his page says in case you can't read my bad handwriting.

Name: Bentley W.P. Kensington. Age: 28. Species + breed: (Anthro) dog, poodle. Build: Tall and curvy. Resides in: Apartment in Chelsea Court. Occupation: Bookstore owner and violin player (at balls and for theater performances). Positive attributes: Generous, patient, observant, tolerant, kind, meticulous, neat. Negative attributes: Self-doubting, high-maintenance, jumpy and paranoid, extremely conflict averse, nitpicky.

For the most part, Bentley had a very average life. Being the only pup his parents had, his fairly well-to-do paternal grandparents absolutely spoiled him, none more so than his grandfather. The man made sure he never went without, and helped his parents send him to grade school. Though he couldn't afford to put him through university, he did get Bentley the music classes he'd longed to take. With a lot of hard work, he became adept at the violin. Though now at 18 he didn't really know what he was going to do now that he'd gone to school and knew music.

He spent a year just living in his grandfather's house, making money by having rich people hire him to play music at their parties. But one day his grandfather unexpectedly became ill and passed away. His father had already died in an industrial accident the year before, and having lost both of them took a heavy toll on the young man. But Bentley's grandfather had left him, in his will, the bookstore that had made the family so much money.

After a period of mourning, he got to work managing his grandfather's bookstore- and it turned out, he actually loved it! He didn't like all the record keeping very much, but he certainly liked stocking the books and finding as many interesting titles to sell as he could, and restoring old ones that people brought in to sell. Things went on like this for a few years- and when Kensington Books became the sole seller in Marleybone for a long-awaited series from a best-selling author, business exploded. For a year there would be lines outside his store almost daily!

With all this money, he bought fancy clothes and poured lots into keeping the bookstore looking absolutely beautiful. From planting flowering ivy to grow up the bricks, to importing expensive Wysterian furniture for patrons to sit and read in, and even adding a cafe that sold tea, coffee and pastries- he wanted to make his store look unlike any other in Marleybone! He'd always taken pride in his appearance and surroundings, but now he could take it to another level. The inheritance from his grandfather had helped tremendously in beautifying the bookstore as well, of course.

He didn't stop playing the violin now that he had a steady job, however- it was still his passion, and he would still play at rich people's parties. But now these rich people recommended him to theatre directors and the organizers of the annual Policemen's Ball, so they soon approached him and asked him to play for them! Bentley was ecstatic, and agreed to do it.

Balancing his passion for music with running the bookstore was difficult, but he managed to do it.

His life would be turned upside down, though, when a white-haired human lady came in and asked for a few copies of scientific journals.

It was love at first sight, and both of them knew the other one felt the same from the look in their eyes.

They began discussing literature, comparing Earth literature to Spiral literature, and soon made plans to meet up for tea.

These meetings happened more and more, until Bentley had Genevieve at his house every day. It was finally time, they decided, to officially start courting and become a couple.

Though they seemed quite an unlikely couple- not just because of Bentley being an anthro dog and Genevieve being a human, but because of him being so artistic and shy, and her being so logical and fearless... but they were practically made for each other. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented so well, and it was absolutely no surprise to any of their friends when Bentley proposed to her after they'd been in a relationship for about 3 years.

Most other Marleybonians were shocked by the knowledge that a dog would be in a relationship with a human. They faced some prejudice, but for the most part everyone was fairly accepting of their relationship. A couple of humans had settled down in Marleybone, and so it seemed just a matter of time until one of them fell in love with a Marleybonian. It was mostly others being confused by how he could have been attracted to a human- though the Marleybonians were very polite to Genevieve (with exceptions, as sadly everywhere has bullies, even Marleybone) they didn't really consider humans in general to be an attractive species, lacking fur, tails or snouts and having weird wrinkly ears on the sides of their heads instead of smooth ears at the top.

Phew that was a lot of typing, it's really late now and I need to go to bed but hopefully that's everything

#really long post #original character #w101 #wizard101 #wizzy fandom #marleybone #wizard101 marleybone #genevieve ironforge #bentley wp kensington #oc backstory #oc lore

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mlp-ask-blog-doodle · 3 years

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mlp redesigns are popular on tiktok again and since my kid went back to school i had some free time and decided to fix and alter some things that i would have liked to see in the show Some redesigns are so wild it's basically a new OC in place of the old character. I rly did like the designs and back stories for g4, a lot of it makes sense. This was basically an au? Minor differences

Twilight: I know why they didn’t give her this style and instead gave it to her mom, since they lost the rights to the original twilight, but her hair she got was so dumb. i dont like most of the hair in the show tbh, so she gets her curly hair back. and just changing one color made her entire pallet less dark. it also bothered me that alicorns were now some mythical special magic thing? that completely omitted an earth pony from ever achieving? nah, born an alicorn and still has to learn friendship. Lets be real, her magical girl transformation to alicorn did nothing; shes the same character whos still bumbling along figuring out how to be a friend. she could have been an alicorn the entire time and it wouldnt have changed anything. Fluttershy: i loved that they made her an omage to Posey, but they also then gave her parents that look nothing like her... theres a happy middle ground somewhere. its also weird that she was a pegasus with an earth pony skill set and sucked at flying? shes a unicorn now, make Posey her mom.

Rarity: I want her to look somewhat related to her family? she doesnt have to look completely different to have her talent. so i made her look a little more like Sweetybelle, and i liked the idea of her having the single pink streak in her hair and treating it like a grey streak and having her style around it. I also hated how many episodes were dedicated to how useless of a unicorn she was because of her talent? absolutely hated that and people still say it evne though she proved that wasnt the case over and over. so now shes just an earth pony. I dont think she needed he magic basically ever.

Rainbowdash: I thought about making her pink instead of blue to reference FireFly who shes based off of, but honestly no, i love her design, i just hate that she still has long hair when it creates drag and her goal is to be the fastest so she can be a wonder bolt? doesnt make sense. Normalize short haired girls. Also they really easily could have made her a trans girl and it wouldnt have been a stretch at all. The pegasus thing made sense for the show, but i find it really odd that the ONLY time disabilities are mentioned in this gen was in movies that were considered non-canon to the time line. so disabled and unbothered by it. AppleJack: Same qualm with the hair being long when it works against their skill set and jobs. Give her the G1 bob back, her and spike are the only ones they kept rights to and still gave her dumb hair to make her more girly. Also, they made a big deal about her being related to appleoosa ponies but didnt make her look like it, so i gave her the appaloosa butt and freckles. Also her g1 butt bow to tie up her tail. that i feel like could be kept long (to swat flies) and make sense and she could just wrap it in a bun for work. I know her hat was important, i just forgot to draw it.

PinkiePie: I wish they had kept her a pegasus, it would have made sense. and again with the family not even remotely matching her, i wish they had added in grandma surprise and had an episode about how the rock family is the odd ball out in her family tree not just her. Also she absolutely would over accessorize, you know she would jingle when she walked! ill die on this hill. also i thin, she would use hoof polish like Rarity

#mlp #slight redesign #redesign #art

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just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi · 3 years

Text

Pickett

*bangs spoon on pot* NEW OC NEW OC i can't be tamed

CW: Magical whumpee, branding/scarification, burning, scalding metal, Whumper as caretaker, ... nice? whumper, implied nudity for a second, restraints.

(Pickett can transform into a marten but will never be whumped as an animal.)

The magician smiled as he walked through the market, taking in the sights of the bustling coastside Town. There were stands and carts, open shops and peddlers selling their wares. He could see the docks from the stone streets, could smell the foul salt in the air.

This was the last stop before the wild, before the world opened to those brave - or stupid - enough to explore it. It was a place of last chances, of hastily made decisions and half-thought through plans. Just like all the others, he was there to make his name.

One such salesman waved him over, encouraging him to spend his coins for the compasses and maps that could guide him to riches and fame. He waved him off, continuing on his walk. A girl offered him a handheld loaf of fresh bread, but he waved that off as well. The little creature sitting on his shoulder lifted it’s head to see, slowly following the girl with it’s blue eyes as the Magician kept walking. He smiled and scratched under its chin, more than happy to stop at another stand and buy the little furry thing some fruit as a treat.

The moment the door was closed and bolted behind them, the creature jumped down from its perch around the man’s shoulders to the floor. He turned to busy himself with his organization, putting away his hat and bag with a dim blue light glowing behind him. When Errold turned, he threw the boy that had appeared in a wam brown robe.

Pickett wrapped it around himself quickly, hissing in a breath. His wrists - his wrists ached fiercely. Everything hurt, a dull pain that settled along his spine and across his hips. He had spent too long in his animal form, too long with bones and muscle and sinew out of alignment. He leaned side to side, trying to stretch out as quietly as he could. Something popped and his breathing hitched.

“Pickett? Are you okay?”

“Oh! No, I’m-I’m-I’m okay,” he said quickly, smiling up at Errold. He didn’t want him to know, didn’t want him to catch on. If he did, he might try and fix it and he, he couldn’t handle that right now.

Errold looked down at him, brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

Pickett nodded a little too quickly, and winced. Errold raised a brow.

“I’m, it’s- I’m a little sore,” he finally admitted, pulling the robe closed tighter. He looked up apologetically to see the magician’s concerned face. “But I’m okay! It was just a long time.”

Errold hummed, walking over to the dreaded bookcase. “Not all that long, Pic. Let me see what I can do.”

“No!” Pickett tried to stand, to reach out a hand to stop the man, but his legs couldn’t hold him up and he fell forward. He hit his nose on the way down, and even though it didn’t hurt much, there was still blood on his hand when he drew it away. The Magician tutted and went down to his knees.

“Look at you, making a mess of yourself,” he muttered, examining the boy’s face. For some reason, Pickett shivered under his gaze.

“What, what, what if I, what if I just walked-” the man sighed loudly, interrupting him. Pickett cowered further into himself, avoiding eye contact. He knew he wasn’t supposed to ask, but what danger could they really be in here?

“Pic, you know better than to ask that. Again,” Errold muttered, picking up the boy and depositing him onto the low table. “You know why, you must still remember how dangerous it is out there for people like us. They’d lock me up, take you away from me.” He paused, lifting his chin gently until they finally met eyes.

“You don’t want that, now do you?”

Pickett blinked up at him and took a deep breath before he shook his head. No, no he didn’t want that. Errold laid a hand on his chest and pushed him back flat against the wood. As the man walked around, back to his book and supplies, Pickett’s heart was slowly starting to race. While he was distracted by his own fear, a hand slipped under the boy’s shirt near his stomach.

Errold cried out, jerking his hand back and shaking it to get rid of the spark of pain. Pickett sat up on his elbows, eyes wide. The older man glared at him, hand smoking faintly.

“Wait, wait wait wait, I can explain! I can!” Pickett tried, crawling backwards off the table. Errold didn’t bother to respond, striding forward and pinning him down. The boy squirmed and wiggled, but was no match in his exhausted state. Soon enough there were long strips of linen securing his wrists and ankles to the table legs, two more going over his collar bone and hips.

Gruffly and annoyed, Errold wrenched up his shirt to examine the intricate lines of gold that covered his body. Pickett tried to interrupt, to distract him, but was shushed harshly. With a sigh, the man ran his fingers along one line that had been scratched and inched and the gold picked out of the scar. He gave Pickett a disappointed side-eye.

“Pickett-”

“I’m sorry!” Pickett cried out, eyes glossy but no tears spilling out yet. “I’m sorry! I am! But, but it itched and, and Errold please it felt better when I took the rune out. I can control it this time, I really can. I know I can!”

Errold leaned down and cupped the boy’s face in both hands. Poor thing was shaking, scared of what was going to happen. He hated to see him this way, hated that this was really the best way to apply the runes.

“I know, I know Pic - and I’m sorry, Sweetheart. But you can’t just claw them out. They’re there for a reason, and you need to respect that. I know you don’t want to, but I have to put them back. Shh, don’t cry, Shh I know, I know it hurts. But you need them, Pickett.”

He brushed his hand down the boy’s dark hair, looking into light eyes as the tears spilled over and down his cheeks. Poor thing. Pickett shut his eyes and laid back against the wood, trying hard to stifle his crying. Errold was right, he was always right. But it would be okay, he could do it. He had survived the other hours upon hours it took to bind the rest of his body, he could make it through re-placing a few lines on his side.

And whatever other ones Errold would add.

When the muzzle was placed against his mouth, he didn’t buck or try to fight it. Honestly, it was almost welcome. The process hurt, and others would be disturbed by his cries of pain. Errold pet his hair back one last time with an affectionate look before he lifted the boy’s shirt all the way and went to light the small fire.

The rods of gold were long and thin, small as a delicate sprig from a rosebush. They were expensive and shined even in the leather pouch Errold kept them in. It had to be a good quality gold, one that was pure enough to handle the weight of the magic. As harmless as they were in this form, Pickett still shivered when he heard them clink together.

Errold used a bit of dusty chalk to paint the correct lines across his skin as he waited for the fire to build. This part never hurt, but the sensation of it still made his heart race. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to wait.

The magician could see how hard the boy was trying for him, and he smiled sadly. Poor thing, but it really did try and be good for him. He would of course care for it afterwards, making sure he was as comfortable as possible. Donning thick gloves, Errold picked up a rod of gold and placed it in a specially crafted pipe. He’d had to make all these tools himself, designing them to work for what he needed. This pipe would not only help him melt the gold, but also apply it in even lines.

When it was ready, he returned to the boy bound to the table. He laid a hand on Pickett’s stomach in sympathy, then began his work.

Pickett cried out the first moment the molten liquid touched his skin, back arching and struggling in his restraints. It was beyond painful, beyond words he knew to describe it. It was burning through him, searing away paths and lines to cool in his skin. He sobbed into the muzzle, tears streaming down both sides of his temple. Every line, every dash burrowed farther into his skin. The pain built and built, with no regard to how much he could withstand. It didn’t care. It had no stake in how hard his heart pounding in his chest or how his lungs heaved for air. He just had to get through it, had to survive it.

He curled his hands into fists until he could feel the bite of his nails.

Errold hushed him softly, focused on following his chalk outline. His heart ached lightly, but only lightly. Pickett knew better than to dig the runes out. Any pain from the re-working of that was his own fault. Errold was doing this for his own good, he understood that. Pickett needed these, and Errold needed them.

It was mutually beneficial, he told himself.

Right as he was on the cusp of passing out, Errold pulled the pipe away to show he was finished. The new lines of gold over the boy’s dark skin were practically still glowing red, not yet having cooled down enough to shine their signature color. The magician didn’t dare touch them, just laid a damp cloth over the area.

Pickett whined loudly at the feeling, still heaving for breath. He could barely tell if his eyes were open at this point, just feeling like the world was distant from him. A hand touched his face to remove the muzzle but he couldn’t muster the strength to respond.

“Shh, shh Pic, you’re alright. Here,” Errold started, lifting him bodily from the table. Pickett whimpered, totally unaware that he had been untied. He was gently placed in his hammock, gratefully on his unhurt side, and left there as the magician tidied the rest of the room. The boy got his eyes open a few times, but the world was still blurry. He huffed through his nose and rubbed his face against the fabric, itching at the tear tracks across his face.

“Alright then,” Errold’s voice came and Pickett raised his head up. The man gathered him back out of the hammock and laid him on the bed. With just the back of his hand to the boy’s forehead he could tell he was already getting the fever, so he laid a damp cloth across it. The other wounds were still too tender to apply anything too strong, so he just used a general salve.

Pickett remained mostly quiet through the rest of the bandaging, simply letting it happen. He was a little more aware, however, when the magician wrapped his unharmed hands in bandages as well.

“To keep you from messing with them, Pickett,” Errold chided at the boy’s confused sound. Picket hadn’t done it much, but it would have to be something he would have to keep an eye on now. Perhaps he would pick up some mitts somewhere.

By the time he was done, Pickett’s fever was raging and he had to replace the cloth. He then returned him to the hammock to rest while he turned to his real work.

A request for a spirit guide had just come in, and it was an offer Errold had no desire to resist.

Tagging @yet-another-heathen cause this idea actually came from a convo with them!

#whump #magical whump #branding tw #burning tw #whumper as caretaker #painful transformation tw #pickett #errold #whump fic #magical whumpee #hehehe

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wiypt-writes · 4 years

Text

Riding On

Ch 11- It Was The Leprechauns…

Summary: Frank and Fliss bring Alex home and settle into their ‘new’ normal. Meanwhile the Circle of Truth, with honorary members Steve and Bill take Frank out to wet the baby’s head…although it isn’t so much wet as drowned! Drunk Frank anyone??

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Ok, so I had a bit of fun with this one. Very Frank heavy but…yeah, who cares, he’s my weakness!! DBDILF for the win.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 10

And the plastic must keep spinning around forever, and the memories will flood and keep us together

As Frank slowed the truck to a stop Fliss smiled and looked out of the window.

"Glad to be home?" Frank asked, turning to look at her and she reached through the gap in the front seats, gently placing her hand on Alex's tummy where he was fastened into the baby seat.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking at Frank before giving him a soft kiss. "Yeah I am."

Frank grinned again before he moved to get out of the car, opening the back door for Fliss, offering her his hand as she slowly slid out. He then made his way to the front passenger side and leaned in to unclip the car seat. As he did so his t-shirt rode up a little at the back and Fliss cocked her head to the side at the flash of his boxer shorts which were visible where his jeans had dropped slightly on his hips.

"Are you wearing Spongebob underwear?" She asked and he gave a chuckle as he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"They're cool." His eyebrow rising over the top of his aviators.

"Whatever you say, Sailor."

"You bought em, Cowgirl." He chuckled, pulling back out of the car, the handle of the baby seat clutched safely in his hand.

"Actually it was Mary." She smiled as he shut the car door. “They were her Father’s Day Specials if I recall correctly.”

“Yeah they were.” He smiled, and at that moment the door to the house opened and the girl herself shot out, Thor running past her straight up to Fliss whereas Mary made her way to Frank, hugging him tightly.

"Hey boy." Fliss smiled, ruffling his head. Alex chose that moment to make a little simpering noise and Thor turned his head to look at him, his ears pricking forward. Fliss closed her hand round his collar as Frank held the baby carrier still. The two of them watched as Thor gently pushed his nose into the car seat sniffing the curious new object and when Alex moved he jerked back, head cocking to one side before his tail began to wag furiously and he gave an excited little wine.

"He likes him!" Mary grinned.

"That right? He meet with your approval, Thor?" Frank asked and Thor pushed his nose back, this time concentrating on sniffing the baby.

"Okay enough, good boy." Fliss yanked him back, giving him another pat. "Let's get inside."

Frank took her hand in his and the two of them headed up the steps to the porch, Mary skipping ahead of them up to where Evelyn was waiting. Frank looked at his mother and stopped, pushing his aviators up.

“You look like shit.” He smirked.

“She’s hungover.” Mary grinned.

“It was a heavy night.” Evelyn replied in justification as Frank grinned at Fliss.

“Party went well then?” Fliss quipped and Evelyn groaned.

“Your dad brought out his home made coconut rum.” She said, following them into the cool house.

Fliss grimaced. “Yeah, that’s deadly stuff. Me and Steve got wasted on that once, I was hungover for days.”

“It tasted quite nice.” Evelyn sighed. “But it doesn’t feel very nice today.”

Frank gently placed the car seat on the coffee table and turned to look at his mother “I’m not sure whether I should be embarrassed or proud. Maybe both.”

“Piss off, Frank.” She shot back and he let out a bark of a laugh. “I’m going to make a cup of tea, does anyone want one?”

Fliss eagerly accepted as she sat down on the sofa, her hand reaching out to undo the fastenings on the car seat. She couldn’t wait to get Alex in her arms again. Frank perched on the arm next to her, his hand gently rubbing between Fliss’ shoulder blades as she cradled their baby gently, his head resting against her shoulder as he peeked around the room with his little blue eyes.

“How is he?” Mary asked as she approached, dropping onto the seat at the other side of Fliss.

“He’s good.” Fliss smiled, before she looked at Mary “Do you want to hold him again?”

Mary nodded eagerly so Frank stood up and moved round the back of the sofa, propping the cushions up to help Mary sit up right. Fliss placed Alex into her arms and he lay still, apart from his hands which gently fisted up by his face.

Evelyn had a hold next once she had finished her tea and then headed off to the annex for a lay down and to give them a bit of time alone, not wanting to overstep. Mary asked if she could go to the yard so, after slathering her in sunscreen and jamming a cap on her head, Frank wandered out to watch her climb over the fence and head over to Joanne. The girl gave a wave which he acknowledged and then she shouted over to him.

“Hey daddy! How’s mommy?”

“She’s great!” Frank yelled back, beaming as he nodded to Mary. “She gives you any trouble, send her straight home!”

Joanne waved him away and he turned and walked back inside, closing the door behind him.

Fliss was feeding Alex again when he walked back in and once he was done he went down for a nap which the new parents took full advantage of, grabbing some sleep themselves. Frank had stayed with them in the hospital, refusing to leave, and as such both of them had been up three times in the night with their new baby so sleeping whilst he slept seemed like a damned fine idea, even if it was only for forty minutes or so until Frank woke up, his neck cricked from where he’d had it lay against the arm of the sofa, Fliss was snuggled up with her head on his chest, lay secure between him and the back cushions. He stayed as still as he could so as not to wake her, giving a soft huff of laughter at Thor who was led by the basinet, curled up, eyes on Alex. Frank found himself pondering if the dog could possibly know that their baby was what had been in Fliss’ belly and whether he could smell something or not to that effect because he was being extremely protective, the same way he had been over Fliss at the start of her pregnancy. As he watched the dog curiously, Fliss stirred a little and Frank gave her head a soft kiss, but she didn’t wake.

Yet their son did. He gave a little murmur, the beginnings of a cry and Franky quickly and quietly moved, keeping Fliss’ head supported enough as he grabbed a cushion and laid her down so she could continue to rest. He picked Alex up, and as suspected he needed a diaper change. That was one thing Frank had plenty of practice on. A little while later once he was cleaned he gently picked him back up and took him for walk round the ground floor of the house, talking to him softly as he went.

A little while later he heard Fliss calling his name. He wandered back into the family area at the back of the house and she smiled at him.

“You okay, Sweetheart?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just wondered where you were.”

“Been showing him round.” Frank smiled and glanced at Alex whose mouth was resting against his collar bone. “He’s been changed. Hasn’t made a noise since.” He watched as Fliss’ eyes fell on her son and he gently sat down next to her. “Do you want him?”

She hesitated before she gave a little smile. “Of course I do but he’s your son too Frank.”

“Maybe we need a snuggle rota.” He smiled.

Fliss laughed “I get enough momma bear time when he’s feeding, I can’t be too selfish about it. If he’s happy with you then I might grab a shower.”

“Have a bath and then take another nap if you need one.” Frank looked at her. “You had a busy day yesterday.”

“One way of putting it.” She smiled. “You know, I was actually thinking that maybe before he wants feeding again, I could take him to the Yard to meet Joanne and the guys?”

"I forgot to say she asked after you before." Frank smiled, as he gently readjusted Alex slightly “Bet she’d love to see him, and it’ll give you chance to check everything is running smoothly."

"Yeah.” Fliss smiled before she bit her lip and then looked at Frank. “Should I take him in the stroller or the baby sling?"

"What do you wanna take him in?" Frank asked.

"Well, the sling would be nice but it’s whatever is best for him, I mean it is warm and the sun-" "Liss, it’s almost four pm." Frank cut her off "The sun will be cooling off shortly and besides, we got him plenty of sun hats. Pop one on and just keep in the shade as much as you can, he’ll be fine I promise you."

"Okay." She nodded, looking at Alex, still biting her lip.

She was nervous, Frank could tell. And he knew that rather than letting herself get worried and tense about it, it was better to offer her his hand so to speak. She would soon come round once she realised that she could cope perfectly fine.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked gently.

"Please." She looked at him before she glanced at her hands. "I know it's stupid, Frank, but..."

"Hey, no, it’s not, honey. It’s not at all." He assured her and waited for her to look at him and he smiled "Look, I’m nervous about stuff too."

"You've done this before"

“Only from 6 months."

"But you helped Diane..."

"You telling me you never helped out with Charlie and Joel when they were born?" he said calmly. Fliss fell silent and he continued. "It's not a science, no matter what all those so called expert books and manuals say, there’s no magic formula or solution to any of this." He smiled gently. “Just a lot of instinct and love. And common sense." He added.

“That’s us fucked then.” Fliss quipped and he gave a soft chuckle as she shook her head, her hand smoothing over the back of her son’s head. "I know. You're right. I’m sorry."

"There’s nothing to be sorry for." Frank assured her "I like that you’re telling me how you feel and that’s what we gotta do. Be honest with each other and do this together yeah?"

She looked up at him and smiled "Yeah."

He gave her a gentle kiss "I love you.”

“You too.” She smiled, laying her head against his.

“Now, go on, get showered and then let’s go show our boy off."

***** The next few weeks flew by in a flurry of sleepless nights, feedings, dirty diapers and many changed outfits (both Alex’s and theirs following the amount of times he spit up on them) plenty of visitors and juggling a new baby with Mary's return to school. Frank grumbled one night to Fliss that with the amount of visitors they had, their front door should have been a revolving one but she knew that despite his gripes he was secretly low key pleased that his friends couldn't wait to meet Bean and she could practically hear the crowing in his voice when he introduced everyone to him.

Being the parents of a baby was tiring, but thanks to some help and advice from the health visitors and Fliss' mom they worked out a pretty good routine between the pair of them for night feeds, Fliss expressing as much as she could meant that Frank could also feed him, which not only gave her a rest but him time to bond with his son. Not that he felt he needed it, mind. He’d been ready to die for him the minute Fliss had told him she was pregnant.

A fortnight after Alex's birth, Frank returned back to work. Fliss had been reluctant to let him go, begging him to take an extra week but as he pointed out if he did that he would be stuck for leave over Christmas. In the end, because Fliss was flapping about being on her own with a baby for so long, Verity had come round for the first day to keep her company and be on hand. Frank knew that Fliss would get better as time went by and whilst she was still a little nervous- constantly worrying about the little noises or crying he did when she couldn't immediately figure out what it was he wanted- it was best she had someone there.

His theory that she would be fine in time was right, and by the middle of his first week back she was still a little tentative with certain things but happy to be on her own for the afternoons, Verity only coming in the mornings. And when he came back home on the Thursday evening, Fliss was actually over at the yard with Alex in the sling, chatting to Joanne and helping out with the lesson plans. It had made him beyond happy she'd ventured out alone, even if it was only to the end of their drive. The following week, on the Tuesday, she told Frank she was going to tell her mother not to come over the next day and Frank encouraged her to do so, reminding her that her parents and him were only a little drive away if she needed them. But she didn’t, she coped fine, just as he had assured her she would, even if she did message him a few times that morning which he didn’t mind at all.

On the Thursday, almost three weeks to the date she had gone into labour, Fliss was sat in the Garden with a drink and a book. Alex was sleeping in the cool of the kitchen, not far from the door so he was in eyesight at all times. Not that any harm would come to him with Thor on sentry duty, mind. The German shepherd had taken it upon himself to be the little boy's personal guard and was never far away. He lay by the bassinet when Alex slept there, curled down the side of their bed at night as Alex lay in the bedside sleeper and when the infant was being fed or cuddled he would jump up onto the couch if possible to watch or simply sit by the feet of whoever had him, eyes trained on them the whole time. Fliss was convinced Thor thought Alex was some kind of hairless puppy.

She reached the end of her chapter and was just heading inside for a refill of iced tea (her craving for apple juice completely gone and she was back to hating the stuff) when her phone went.

“Yo, Titch…” Her brother spoke and she smiled “How’s that beautiful little Nephew of mine?”

“He’s fine…and so am I thanks for asking.”

“Yeah, well it ain’t all about you.” Steve said and Fliss rolled her eyes “Listen, me and dad are trying to get Frank to come out for a few beers tomorrow wetting the baby’s head to so to speak but he is refusing.”

“He’s tired.” Fliss said, “Alex woke at three and didn’t settle till five. Frank was up at seven for work so he probably just wants to catch up on his sleep.”

“Yeah, well he can sleep on Saturday.” Steve said “He’s been fobbing us now ever since we first asked two weeks ago.”

At that Fliss frowned. “He didn’t mention you’d asked.”

“He didn’t?”

“No.” She paused. Whilst Frank had certainly calmed down in that respect since they had first gotten together, it wasn’t like him to turn down the offer of a night out with the boys, and she could only assume it was down to Alex.

“Well we have and Dad’s desperate to take him out for a few beers. Can you see if you can work your magic?”

“You want me to beg my fiancée to go out drinking, whilst I stay at home with our three week old baby?” Fliss asked.

“Yes.” Steve replied simply

“You’re a dick.” She shook her head, “I’ll mention it to him when he gets back but I’m not promising anything.”

Frank arrived home a little over an hour later, to find Fliss led on one of the sun-loungers in the shade, Alex resting on her chest, her bare legs stretched out in front of her.

“Busy afternoon?” he quipped and she pulled her shades down to glare at him. “That was a joke.”

“We had a very busy day actually.” She looked up at him as he dropped a kiss to her lips, before he did the same to the back of Alex’s head. “We went to the store this morning, then to see Roberta this afternoon, and then came home, I made meatloaf for dinner and then I had a few hours out here whilst he slept. Then he barfed up all over me and now I have sick in my hair.”

Frank let out a laugh and shook his head as she bent her legs so he could perch on the end of the lounger. She shifted a little and cocked her head.

“Where’s Mary, and why are you so clean?”

“Mary has gone up to see Monty and I’m clean because I’ve been in the office and shop all day working on the rotas and a few other pieces of administration for when Alan leaves.” He shrugged “I apologise sincerely for the lack of grease and dirt.”

“So you should.” She grinned “But, seeing as you’re so clean…” she moved and sat up slightly so she could hand Alex over to his daddy who took him tenderly, pressing another kiss to his head.

“Why don’t you grab a shower if you’re bothered about your hair?” he offered and she nodded, standing up.

“Okay.” She smiled “I won’t be long.”

Frank shook his head “Take as much time as you need. Not going anywhere.”

“Hmm, yeah, I heard.”

Frank looked at her “What?”

“Steve called before. Said that Dad’s been trying to get you to go out for a drink but you’re refusing.”

Frank let out a groan. “They've been on at me for the last week or so, as have the Circle Of Truth boys. Say I need to go wet the baby’s head so to speak.”

“You should” Fliss looked at him. “It’s tradition.”

Frank pulled a face.

“Are you seriously turning down a night out?” Fliss asked.

“No, just temporarily putting it on hiatus”

Fliss snorted “Loser.”

“I don’t see you clamouring to go out.” He looked at her.

“Well, actually, I was thinking of going to Lunch with Bonnie on Sunday.” Fliss shrugged “She said Rio’s are launching a new menu so…”

“You should go.” Frank encouraged her, smiling softly.

“I will if you go out on Friday.” She shot back. Frank rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Why are you so keen to get rid of me for a night?”

“I’m not.” Fliss shrugged “Just think it’s nice that they all want to celebrate with you.” She paused and looked down at her hands before she took a breath and looked back up a Frank. “You’re not refusing to go because you don’t think I can cope are you? Because-“

“No, no baby of course not.” He shook his head sincerely “That’s not it at all, I just, well I wasn’t that bothered.”

“Okay, as long as that’s it.” She nodded, accepting his answer.

Frank watched her for a second, mulling things over. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go and see everyone, but he just enjoyed being at home. It was strange in a way. When he had moved down here with Mary, pretty much right from the off when he met Roberta he’d taken his Friday nights and Saturday mornings as his own, and he’d needed them or he would have probably gone insane. But now, it was different. And he knew it was because Fliss was here too. Someone to spend the evenings with when Mary was in bed. That said, he also knew it was important for them to have their own time as well, and if he was honest, the idea of wetting his own baby’s head was kind of appealing.

“You know what?” He smiled as he looked down at Alex. “I think I will go. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds. And we did it for both of Jake’s so..”

Fliss smiled and stood up, giving him a soft kiss. “Good, you can call Steve and give him the good news.”

Frank watched her head inside before he looked down at Alex who was fisting his tiny hands around his open button down. Smiling, he shifted slightly, holding him up with one strong arm as he grabbed his phone in the other. First he sent Steve a quick message calling him a sly bastard and then fired one off to the Circle Of Truth chat saying they were on for drinks. Steve replied first with a simply middle finger emoji along with the words “see you tomorrow.”

“Your Uncle is a pain in the ass.” He grumbled to Alex before he smiled, stood up and headed inside to grab a beer.

*****

“Right does everyone have a drink?” Bill looked around the group. Steve, Frank, Simon, Greg and Jake all raised their bottles. “Ok then, in honour of my beautiful daughter giving birth to my third amazing grandson, Alexander Francis William. Congratulations, Frankie boy!”

Frank smiled and raised his beer as the group all let out various cheers and calls, before taking a large drink from his bottle.

“Still can’t believe you stuck the name Francis in there.” Jake looked at Frank who raised his middle finger in response.

“Get fucked, and I didn’t. Fliss did.”

“Clearly delirious with the pain.” Simon nodded and Frank rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah laugh it up.” He took a drink from his bottle, shrugging.

They stood chatting for an hour or so before Simon decided it was time for shots. There were groans and half-assed protests, Greg complaining loudly that a Head Wetting night was supposed to be civilised. At that Frank almost choked on his beer and turned to his best friend, shaking his head.

“Greg, the last Baby’s Head wetting we went to for Jake’s Annie, you were kicked out of the burrito place for spilling drinks all over the table and trying to wipe up the mess with tortillas.”

The group laughed and Greg shrugged. “Well at last I’ve never hid in the bushes and called four Ubers to play hide and seek.” He pointed at Frank who snorted.

“That was…yeah…it was a very heavy night.”

“No shit.” Jake mumbled “I woke up in the morning looking for my phone. Couldn’t find it anywhere but there was like a random piece of toast on the nightstand. Then I heard Lisa shouting. My phone was in the microwave covered with melted cheese.”

Steve snorted at that and hastily turned away as his beer came out of his nose, causing Frank to laugh even harder as Bill chuckled and shook his head.

“I was staying at my mom’s that night.” Simon mused as the laughter died down. “I was in between apartments remember? I woke up in the dog’s bed downstairs. Apparently she had come down from bed when I came in and I told her I felt sorry for Barney sleeping in the kitchen alone and I climbed into his basket with him. She just left me there.”

“You lot are worse than my gang, and that’s saying something.” Steve grinned.

“Bull shit.” Frank pointed at him. “Fliss told me loads of stuff you used to get up to.”

“Yeah, come on Ringo, you must have some stupid drunk tales.” Jake turned to Steve who grinned.

“Oh I got plenty as Frankie boy said, thing is a hell of a lot of them involve Fliss.” He shrugged and the boys laughed, Frank snorting.

“I think my personal favourite was the time you set fire to the kitchen curtains.” Bill mused, and Steve grinned.

“Yeah we were high then though, Dad, not drunk.”

“High?” Simon looked at Steve before he glanced at Frank who shrugged “Damned Frank, your girl’s a little bit of a rebel on the sly ain’t she?”

“You have no idea.” Frank smirked, raising his eyebrow.

“Dude, that’s my sister.” Steve nudged him and Frank shrugged, taking another swig of his beer.

“She was though.” Bill smiled fondly “You and her were always up to mischief. As soon as she was old enough to go drinking she was hanging around with your lot.”

“That was because she fancied Lee.” Steve snorted.

The group all sniggered and Frank laughed “Is that the guy she dated for a year or so?”

“Yes, much to my disgust.” Steve narrowed his eyes.

“Was his disgust too when you punched him.” Bill grinned and Steve sighed.

“He was shagging my little sister.” He shook his head. “Just…no.”

The group all snorted and Frank groaned “Ok, I don’t want to know anymore…”

“You have no room to be all coy about it!” Simon looked at him “Your antics in here before you got with Fliss…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Frank sighed “Can we change the subject?”

At that point he felt someone shove him in the back and he stumbled forward, banging into Steve, spilling his beer slightly. There was a bit of a commotion as the rest of the group all rallied behind him and Frank spun round.

“Really, really sorry…” A dark haired man with a strong Irish accent was apologising to the group “I tripped and…”

“Fine, just watch where you’re going yeah?” Steve looked at him as Frank brushed his shirt down.

“He just said he was sorry.” The man to his left, a smaller red head shot back “It was an accident.”

“Yeah and I was just telling him to be more careful.” Steve frowned.

“Or what?”

Bill sighed and turned round “Look, we don’t want any trouble. Apology accepted so…”

The two men eyed up the group before they turned away and headed for the bar.

“Right…” Simon clapped his hands together, breaking the tension slightly “Shots and then who’s up for a game of pool?”

“Do we have to? I’m crap.” Steve shook his head and Frank looked at him.

“Yeah, I heard that before from a Gallagher.” He snorted. Steve and Bill frowned and he explained to them both. “On our first date Fliss hustled me big time, right at that table actually...”

Steve snorted “She used to do that to all of my mates. Nine times outta Ten we’d come home with more money than we started with.” He paused and looked down at his feet, before watched Bill as he turned to Simon who was heading to the bar, following him over, making insistences that he was paying again as it was his Grandson’s party so to speak. He looked back at Frank and smiled. “Dad’s right, she was fun. We had some good times, thick as thieves before she met that cunt and left for Boston.”

“Yeah she told me a bit about how close you were.” Frank smiled “But you still are now. It’s nice.”

“Got you to thank for that.” Steve looked at him “She’s back to her old self, better dare I say it.”

Frank smiled shyly, the way he always did when he was accredited with Fliss’ ‘turn-around’. “I don’t know if I can take full credit for it, I mean…”

“You gave her another chance.” Steve cut him off “A chance of happiness with a guy that’s decent and treats her right.” He shrugged “Just the way we all see it anyway.”

Frank’s mind flickered back to the moments after Alex had been born when Fliss had rather tearily declared pretty much the same to his face. He shrugged and smiled softly “Yeah, well, I was a mess until I met her to so I guess you could say we helped each other out.”

At that point a shot of tequila was shoved into his hand along with a wedge of lime and Simon held up the salt shaker.

“Drink, bitches!” he grinned, and Frank let out a soft groan. This was going to get messy.

****

A couple of shots and several more rounds of beer later, the group were all starting to feel the effects of the alcohol, so when Bill ordered them all a bourbon, none of them really raised much of a protest. They stood by the pool table, the game of killer taking a lot longer than it would have had they were sober and Simon slung his arm over Frank’s shoulder.

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked and Frank looked at him, squinting a little.

“Well it depends.” Frank replied “On what it is. Like if you killed someone I might be obliged to tell the police.”

“What about if he was an ass hole and deserved to die?”

Frank paused, before he took a mouthful of his bourbon “Okay, well maybe not in that instance.”

Simon nodded “Good to know, but no..it’s…” he looked around and then grinned “Imma ask Bonnie to marry me.”

“No way man!” Frank beamed, “That’s awesome. Congratulations.”

“She aint said yes yet.”

“Well why wouldn’t she?”

Simon shrugged “I know, I’m a catch.”

Frank laughed. “No, I’m pleased for you pal.”

“Thanks.” Simon smiled “You know, I still don’t think it’s fair you’ve seen her naked and I aint seen Fliss…”

Before Frank could reply and call him an asshole Steve jumped in “I’m sorry what?”

Frank groaned. “Nothing, Simon was…”

“Frank slept with my girl.” Simon said bluntly, “Before Fliss…” he added hastily as Steve’s frown deepened.

Steve looked at Frank. “You were with Bonnie?”

“Not really, it…” Frank groaned “It was one night, we were drunk, look, can we not do this?”

“Does Fliss know?” Steve looked at Frank, a smirk on his face.

“Yes she does, she saw us. It nearly ended up in me and her not getting together in the first place so I really don’t wanna think about it.”

“Apparently in the middle of giving Bonnie one he said Fliss’ name.” Simon grinned and Frank let out a loud groan as Steve choked on his drink.

“I fahkin’ hate you.” Frank glared at Simon who was now laughing into his glass.

“Oh my God, Frank!” Steve smacked him on the back. “The more time I spend with you the more I love you pal.”

“Thanks…I think…”

“Hey, you guys ever gonna finish this game or what?”

They all turned to look at the Irish guys who had bumped into them before.

“I dunno, maybe.” Jake stood up, leaning on his cue, “Why?”

“Coz we’ve been waiting for hours.”

“Well then you can just wait longer.” Steve shot back, and the group sniggered.

“Fucking Yanks.” The guy mumbled as he turned around and Steve narrowed his eyes.

“Who you calling a Yank you stupid Irish prick, I’m from Liverpool.”

“Ok, ok…let’s…” Bill spoke loudly, hiccupping a little as he put his arm out to stop Steve who had been walking towards the man that had spoken “Just calm down alright. Soon as we’re done you can have the pool table.”

“Yeah so of you go, back to the other Leprechauns.” Steve waved him away.

“Steven.” Bill warned him, shaking his head. Steve looked at his dad before he shrugged and turned back to Frank who was stood there, grinning.

“You know what Steeby?” Frank drained his glass “The more I hang with you, the more I love you too.”

It was an hour or so later when they all stumbled out of the bar and after hugs and backslaps they headed to their various waiting Ubers. As they passed a large blue truck, Bill paused before he unsteadily dropped to his feet.

“What are you doing?” Frank swayed a little, before he turned to Steve “What is he doing?”

Steve stumbled a little and shrugged “Dad, what…are you letting the air out of the tyre?”

“Yup” Bill stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans before he pushed one through his short, grey hair. “It belongs to those little Irish wankers in the bar, saw one of them get out of it before.”

Frank looked at his future father in law, before he looked at Steve who was smirking ear to ear.

“I told you when you were a kid.” Bill pointed at Steve as the three of them staggered to the waiting car. “Easy, easy catchy monkey.”

*****

"Heyyy." Frank beamed as he stood in the doorway. Fliss looked up and smiled as he walked a little unsteadily towards her. "Hi, beautiful!”

"Hi, handsome." She smiled back as he leaned down over her. He smelt of beer and bourbon as he placed a soft kiss to her lips and she grinned. “So I see you had good time?"

"Well." Frank perched on the arm next to her and glanced down at Alex, his finger smoothing his hungrily working cheek. “We certainly wet his head so to speak."

He hiccupped slightly and Fliss looked up at him, smiling. “Yeah, it appears that way"

"Your dad's fault." Frank slid off the arm of the sofa onto the seat next to her, sprawling out slightly, his long legs stretching out in front of him. "He kept buying it. I mean one minute my glass was empty and the next it was full again."

"Sure he twisted your arm."

"He did, honest Lissy." Frank nodded, supressing a burp. "I kept saying no more, I need to get home to my girls and my boy but Bill, he is bad.”

Fliss looked at Frank who was watching Alex feed before his eyes flickered up to hers and he grinned. "Your boobs look great."

She snorted. "Sorry but for the time being they belong to your son."

"Lucky bastard"

"Well I hate to point it out to you but that's actually what they're designed for."

"Hmmm" Frank closed his eyes.

"Frankie, you need to go to bed." Fliss nudged him gently. “Or you’ll end up crashing on here.”

"In a minute.” He agreed before his eyes flicked open "Ah fahk."

"What?" Fliss asked as Alex pulled away having had his fill. She adjusted herself then him so he was over her shoulder as Frank stood up.

"My jacket."

"Baby, you didn't take one."

"Yes I did." He insisted.

"Frankie, I promise you, you didn't."

He looked at her, before be clicked his fingers and pointed "it was the leprechauns."

“The leprechauns?”

Frank nodded “Yes, the Irish guys. They must have taken my jacket.”

Fliss looked at him, before she shook her head “Okay, course they did. You should speak to him tomorrow and get it back.”

“I intend to.”

“You do that.”

“I will.” He nodded firmly before he turned and headed out of the room, banging onto the frame as he went.

Fliss laughed quietly at him, before she reached for her phone and text her mum asking her if she was awake.

“I wasn’t until your dad and brother turned up 20 minutes ago. They're in a right state.”

“So is Frank, keeps talking about leprechauns stealing his jacket...but he didn’t even take one with him.”

“Your Dad was grumbling about Irish Tourists and then started laughing about a flat tyre or something. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

“God knows, they’re going to be so hungover tomorrow.”

“I’ve left your dad asleep on the kitchen floor after he lay down there hugging a plate of left-overs from dinner. Steve at least managed to make it to his room.”

Fliss exchanged a few more amusing messages with her mother before she gave a yawn and glanced down at Alex. He was nodding off again so she stood up, turned off the lights and headed upstairs.

Frank was face down on the bed in his shirt and boxers. Fliss shook her head, smiling as she placed Alex down in the bedside sleeper, tucking him in before she moved round the bed towards Frank.

“Frankie.” She gently nudged him. “Sailor.”

Frank mumbled something into his pillow but didn’t move.

“Okay, come on.” She nudged him again, this time a little harder. “Take your shirt off and get in bed.”

Frank let out a dirty chuckle as he pushed himself up, pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Then he reached up, grabbed Fliss and pulled her down onto the bed, laughing as she let out a little squeak of surprise. He leaned over her, smiling down before he gave her a soft kiss.

“I love you. And I can’t wait to marry you. In fact...I think we should set a date. Properly and book it. We did say this time next year.”

Fliss smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, her hand making its way down to his neck where she gently scratched his skin with her nails. He closed his eyes, making a soft noise of satisfaction in his throat.

“Sounds good to me.” She smiled. He opened one eye and grinned.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “But we can talk about it in the morning? Bean’s gonna be up again in a few hours and I need some beauty sleep.”

“Nah you don’t” he shook his head “You’re gorgeous.”

Fliss chuckled. “Smooth.”

“I try.” Frank gave her another kiss before he pulled away. “Hey, before we go to sleep, can you do me a favour?”

“What?”

“Can I see your boobs? Just see em, I promise, no touchy.” He held his hand up, giving her his best puppy dog eyes, even if they were slightly glazed from the alcohol.

Fliss arched an eyebrow at him before she sat up, and pulled the shirt she was wearing up to flash her chest at him. Frank gave a moan and she laughed before she dropped her top down to cover herself up.

“You’re killing me, sweetheart.” He mumbled, pushing his face into the crook of her neck. He placed a soft kiss just under her ear, trailing his lips down her neck to her jaw line.

“Frank…” Fliss sighed, her eyes closing as his lips met hers, his kiss strong and passionate. She let herself go with it for a moment, enjoying the feeling. She loved kissing him, it was pretty much her favourite thing to do, and it helped he was so damned good at it. Eventually she pulled away and pressed her forehead to his. “Baby I can’t not yet…”

“I know, I know.” He sighed, “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to push you, you know that right?”

“Course I do.” She smiled, reaching up and cupping his face. “It’s ok.”

“But just so you know, as soon as I can, I’m gonna fuck you senseless.” He mumbled, giving her another soft kiss.

“Wow, romantic. The first time we can do it after I give birth to your kid you’re gonna fuck me senseless.”

“Yeah but, I’ll make you feel gooood.” He drew out the word and she grinned.

“You always do, Sailor.”

He smiled, his lips once more pecking hers before he pushed himself up and started pulling the bed covers down. He settled sideways on the bed, leaning over her slightly to glance at Alex who was sleeping before Fliss turned off the light and settled next to him as his arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her close.

**** Chapter 12

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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phantom-curve · 4 years

Text

find the strength, find the melody pt. 6

okay so I wasn’t originally going to include the entire scene in Lessa’s office but, once again, my words ran away from me. now you get this beast of a chapter. it’s the longest one yet, coming in at a whopping 4,383 words so think of it as an apology for letting my other fic take over for a sec and also taking like a million years to post this.

I started working on Luke’s POV because I am nothing if not a fan of jumping the gun, and his writing style is so different and living in his head is such an adorable journey of Julie Molina obsession. really excited for you to see some of the stuff that’s been going on for our sweet lil soft boy. also, if you notice the dialogue style changing a little bit in this/future chapters it’s so I can have the same scenes without a ton of repeated dialogue in Luke’s POV.

writer’s block anecdote of the day: I keep flipping Luke and Alex’s name in Luke’s POV because one of the main OCs in my novel is actually named Alex and has been since I started working on this novel a literal decade ago. oh and there is also an OC named Owen. someday I’ll learn to give my characters unique names, but not today!

taglist: @blue-hat-girl, @lwhoscribbles, @bluefyoto94, @5sosmukefan, @moonlightxnder, @leahthewonder, @kat-maybe-not, @lukewearingbeanies, @imastrugglingartist

Once they were close enough to risk running into other students, Julie dropped Luke’s hand. She made a point of ignoring the frown he gave her, using her now free hand to reach up and adjust her hat. Only, her hat wasn’t there. Her hands landed on loose, untamed curls instead and she immediately turned to Luke with a small amount of panic already building in her chest. He gave her a funny look, and then seemed to notice her hair and somehow understood completely. His hands reached up to lower hers. He let his grasp linger for just a moment before letting go, leaving her hands to dangle limply at her sides. Only his gaze held her in place.

“I never really liked that hat. Your hair is too pretty to cover up like that.”

He said it like a fact. The sky is blue, the sun is hot, your hair is too pretty to cover up. Julie felt a swell of emotions rise again, threatening to overwhelm her. But then he was off towards the front of the school throwing a very casual, “You coming?” over his shoulder at her. She raced to catch up, emotions beaten back for the time being.

They joined the surge of bodies filtering through the front doors. Alex and Reggie stood off to the side inside the entryway of the school. It was impossible to miss the tall blonde in his light pink sweatshirt standing next to the shorter boy in leather. Luke didn’t hesitate to weave his way over to them, but Julie hung back. She wasn’t really sure what was going on between them, wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable enough to just tag along behind him. She caught sight of Flynn’s hot pink beanie bouncing in the distance and let out a sigh of relief. She could separate from Luke here, talk to Flynn, get some perspective on this whole situation.

Luke glanced back at her then. She saw the question in his eyes, felt her heart race when he gave a little side nod like he was inviting her to join him. She swallowed and gave him a half-hearted smile before jerking her thumb over her shoulder in Flynn’s direction. He frowned, but she was already turning away. She pretended she didn’t hear him call her name, slipping into the crowd of students, letting it swallow her up so she could disappear from his sight. Eyes locked on Flynn’s back she moved farther away from the Sunset Curve boys. Flynn only jumped a little when Julie snuck up behind her.

“Jesus, Jules! You scared the shit out of me!”

Her best friend’s familiar voice washed over her like a comforting blanket. All at once, Julie was word vomiting the entire night.

“Flynn, oh my God. He had Mom’s song and he saved it for like, a whole year, and then he gave it to me yesterday, and holy shit I forgot how beautiful it is. And you’re not gonna believe this but I played, like I actually played the piano and sang, and it was like homecoming, it was like the biggest rush, like my mom was right there in the studio with me. And then, oh my god, now you’re really not gonna believe this, but oh my god, then Luke freaking Patterson showed up out of nowhere and he uh might have stayed on the pull-out couch, and then he uhm he made me breakfast this morning? And we walked here together?? He was like...doing this thing where his eyes were going all starry and soft and he was saying really sweet things and it was...a lot and I really don’t know what’s going on with that but uhm I’m kinda freaking out. Also, hey good morning, how are you?”

If Flynn’s mouth opened any wider Julie thought she might unhinge her jaw. In a sea of bustling students, it felt like they were in a bubble all their own. She anxiously fiddled with the bracelets on her wrists as she watched the gears turn behind her best friend’s eyes. After a full two minutes of silence, Flynn’s hand flew out to latch onto Julie’s bicep. Without a word she dragged her down the hallway and into an empty practice room. Flynn released her grip, Julie rubbing at her arm, jeez Flynn was strong!, while the other girl closed the door and flipped on the light that indicated the room was in use. She whirled around, her eyes drilling into Julie’s.

“You’re gonna start at the beginning of that whole mess of truth bombs and spill every last detail about exactly what happened with Luke ‘freaking’ Patterson. Right now. Starting with the bit about your mom’s song.”

Julie took a deep breath and slowly walked Flynn through the events of the last few days, from the moment she had run into Luke after her meeting with Ms. Harrison to when she ran away from him this morning as he was calling her name. Distantly, she was aware of the bell ringing, but it was only homeroom anyway. What did that matter when she was having an existential crisis? Flynn’s mouth only hung open a little bit by the time she was finished telling the story again. Julie felt her shoulders slump. What an emotional rollercoaster. Flynn was quiet for a long moment. Then, she smirked at Julie with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Hmph. Looks like my girl’s got a crush, and his name is Luke. I cannot believe you’ve been holding out on me like this!”

She was teasing, her tone light with a little bit of a mocking sing-song quality to it. But Julie could hear the undercurrent of worry running through her words. She had become quite adept at detecting that particular vocal quality in the last year. She sighed.

“Whatever. Can we focus on the more important revelation that I played the piano and sang again?”

Flynn, best friend that she was, gracefully allowed the subject change.

“Jules, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! How did you feel? Alive again?”

Julie laughed, the sound feeling easy and light as it left her chest.

“Yeah, actually, that’s exactly how I felt. It was...honestly, it felt magical. It really did feel like my mom was there with me. There was this sense of peace that just felt...”

She shivered, remembering the sensation of ghostly arms around her shoulders.

“I can’t really describe it. But it was like something just clicked, and I realized that the best way to remember my mom and honor her is through music. The music we made together and the music I’ll make in the future. Rose Molina’s musical legacy will live on in me, and that feels pretty special.”

She couldn’t keep the smile from her face or the happiness from her voice. Peace really had been found out in that studio last night. Julie felt more ready than ever to move out of the darkness she’d kept wrapped around her like a shield for the last year.

“That’s beautiful.”

Flynn pulled Julie into her arms, the two girls sharing a long hug. The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom, before either girl could say anything more. They left the practice room together, splitting up when they reached their respective classroom doors. Julie swallowed thickly as she settled herself in the back of her Calc class. This was one of the classes she shared with Luke, although she had conveniently forgotten that fact until the moment she sat down at her desk. He appeared in the doorway within seconds, giving her no chance to properly prepare herself. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he started to make a beeline for the desk next to hers before their teacher caught him.

“Patterson! You know the deal.”

Not even Luke’s best pout could win over Ms. May. She simply raised a brow and pointed at the seat he had been assigned at the front of the classroom. Julie let out a small sigh of relief. It was hard not to smile at Luke’s dramatics as he slumped over and slowly shuffled his way to his desk. He dropped into his seat with a loud huff, glancing over his shoulder at Julie with forlorn expression. She rolled her eyes, smothering her smirk behind her hand. The bell rang again, and he turned his attention to the front of the room as Ms. May called the class to order.

He didn’t stop sneaking looks back at her the entire class period though. It made her want to squirm in her seat every time she dared peek at him and caught him watching her in return. He would always give her one of those soft, sweet smiles and then turn back to his work. It was unsettling, especially when she thought of how he hadn’t paid much attention to her in this particular class before today. Although, now that she really thought about it, maybe he had. Julie had basically been living in a fog of grief for the last year. The school could have caught on fire and she probably wouldn’t have noticed it until her clothes were burning.

She was almost grateful when one of the front desk aides appeared in the door to their classroom. Kayla made direct eye contact with her before knocking on the door frame to get Ms. May’s attention.

“Julie Molina is needed in the office.”

A tense silence fell over the classroom. Every single student remembered the last time Julie had been called down to the office in the middle of a class. Even Ms. May’s eyes flickered with pity for a moment before she gave Julie a gentle smile and nod. Julie stood slowly, forcing herself to keep her breath even as she gathered her books and papers into her backpack. 22 pairs of eyes watched her slowly make her way to the front of the room. One pair burned hotter than the others. Julie met Luke’s eyes for the smallest fraction of a second. Just long enough to see the concern rise up in them. Then she was out the door, walking the uncomfortably familiar path to the front office.

“It’s Lessa. And I think your dad.”

Kayla’s quiet voice startled her. She looked to her left, surprised to find the other girl keeping pace with her. Julie had thought she would walk ahead or peel off to deliver other messages. Instead, she got a small but genuine smile.

“Look, I know things are weird because of the Carrie thing, but I just didn’t want you to freak out too much. Frankly, I think Lessa’s kinda a bitch to pull you out of class like that. She’s an idiot if she doesn’t remember...well anyway. It’s something school related, not like a family thing.”

Kayla briefly squeezed her bicep, almost like she wished she could give Julie a hug. Then she was off down a separate hallway, waving the stack of messages in her hand at Julie as a goodbye. Julie watched her go for a second, feeling off balance and surprisingly emotional. Kayla was a Dirty Candy girl. In the battle lines that had been drawn between Julie and Carrie, Kayla’s position was as obvious as Flynn’s. For all intents and purposes, she shouldn’t be looking out for Julie, and yet, she was anyway. Julie wondered how many small protective moments she had missed from her classmates in the last year. Maybe she hadn’t been quite as alone as she had always felt. She took a deep breath and finished the walk to the front office, a little more ready to face what was on the other side.

Knowing it was school related and that her dad had been called down sent a shiver of apprehension down her spine for a different reason. It had to be something about the music program. Not for the first time, Julie regretted keeping it from her dad for this long. She was out of time now. At least she could thank the universe for small favors. If it had been her Tía in this meeting, Julie’s life would be over. Her dad was more understanding. They would be able to get through this. Julie forced herself to square her shoulders and enter the office with more confidence than she felt. Her mom’s words echoed in her mind you can do it. It was all the strength she needed.

At least until the door to Principal Lessa’s office was closing behind her, and she was face-to-face with her heartbroken father.

“Julie. Take a seat, please.”

Lessa’s voice lacked its usual bite. She just sounded tired. Julie felt that down to her bones. She slipped into the seat next to her dad without a word.

“I’m going to get right to the point. Two of us,” her eyes narrowed slightly on Julie who shifted in her seat in response, “knew this meeting was coming. The other one of us has now been informed as to why it was called.”

The weight of her father’s stare was crushing her. Julie didn’t have to look to see the disappointment there. It was rolling off of him in tsunami sized waves. Lessa continued talking despite the uncomfortable tension growing in the air.

“Now. We have several options. As you both know, Los Feliz is at its core an arts academy. We ask that our students participate in at least one of the arts programs. Participate being the key word there. Julie, it’s clear that participation in our music department isn’t something you’re able to do right now. While we were able to offer you a grace period, we have other students applying for the position you aren’t using. It’s only fair to allow them the chance to participate if you won’t.”

Julie was not going to cry. Not here in front of Principal Lessa and her dad, trapped on school grounds where everyone would see her when she left. She bit the inside of her cheek as hard as she could, letting Lessa’s soft but firm voice wash over her without absorbing anything she was saying. She caught bits and pieces: Lessa offering her a spot in the less desirable subset of illustration in the fine arts department with a chance to reapply for the music department the following semester, her dad requesting information about the new program as well as copies of her transcripts in case they decided to move schools, Lessa’s voice softening as she apologized, her dad’s growing even softer as he thanked her for everything the school had done so far. Then the meeting was wrapping up, and her dad was shaking Lessa’s hand, and Julie was focusing on her backpack so she could get the hell out of there. She barely caught the sad smile Lessa gave her as she said, “Good luck, Julie” in that same goodbye tone Ms. Harrison had used on Monday. Julie had never been so desperate for her old hat to hide behind as she was in that moment.

She shuffled along behind her dad. It was obvious the school day was over for Julie. He was quiet as they made their way out of the office and into the empty hallway. Class had been dismissed while they were with Lessa. Julie was thankful there weren’t any other students around to witness her downfall. Her dad almost made it out of the building before rounding on her. Almost.

“I cannot believe you tried to hide this from me! I thought I raised you better than that, mija. You’re lucky your Aunt had a work meeting she couldn’t miss. Why didn’t you come to me?”

It was the overwhelming disappointment in her dad’s tone that did Julie in. She had never been able to stomach letting her parents down. If Ray’s voice was any indication, she may have reached the rock bottom of let downs.

“I’m sorry.”

She was. She truly was. She didn’t know why she had kept it from her dad except that if she had told him then she would have had to admit it was real. She hadn’t wanted to face that reality just yet.

“I just don’t understand, Julie. You still like music, right? Is it the school? We can find a different music program. You don’t have to stay here just because your mom loved it so much.”

Julie opened her mouth to argue that actually that was exactly why she had to stay here, but a different voice cut her off. An annoyingly familiar voice that had her heart racing and her palms sweating.

“Julie!”

She nearly groaned aloud. Never before in her life had Julie wished to disappear as much as she did right now. Just open a hole in the floor and jump right into it. The absolute last thing she needed right now was Lucas freaking Patterson getting in the middle of this dressing down. Hell, she didn’t even want him witnessing it let alone trying to get involved. She clenched her jaw, ignored her dad’s pointedly raised eyebrow, and turned on her heel to meet the teenage boy that suddenly seemed to be haunting her every step.

“Luke. Hi.”

She kept her voice flat, the go away clear in her tone. His steps faltered for a second, but she could tell by the way his shoulders bounced that he wasn’t going to be so easily deterred. She had run away from him this morning and been saved multiple times in Calc. He wasn’t going to let her avoid him anymore. He approached her and her dad with all the cool confidence a 17-year-old boy in a band could muster. Her mouth almost fell open when he bypassed her completely to stick his hand out towards Ray.

“Luke Patterson. You must be Mr. Molina. It’s very nice to meet you, sir.”

His smile was genuine and charming, his lyrical voice all too polite. Julie wanted to scream as she watched her dad fall for it. Could she not have one single embarrassing moment to herself anymore? Was she doomed to play out the moments she came off looking the worst in front of this cute boy for the rest of her life? Her dad’s eyes lit up as he shook Luke’s hand. Julie wished she could bash her head against something.

“Patterson? Mitch and Emily’s boy?”

“Yes, sir.”

Only Julie caught the way his smile tightened and his shoulders raised defensively at the mention of his parents.

“Wow, you’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you! Good people, your parents.”

Julie rolled her eyes at the dad-ness of it all.

“I forgot you were in the music program with Julie...”

She couldn’t help but cringe as her dad’s words trailed off. That statement had been enough to remind him why he was here in the first place. He turned away from Luke to give her another heartbroken look. She hung her head to escape the censure behind his eyes.

“I am. Actually, that’s why I was trying to find Julie! She was late for rehearsal.”

Julie whipped her head up to glare at the boy still bobbing in front of them. He was trying to cover for her not knowing Lessa had blown that opportunity sky high not even 5 minutes ago. It was sweet in a misguided way, but it was also a painful reminder of all the things Luke had that she didn’t.

“He knows I got kicked out. You don’t have to lie for me.”

Her voice was sharp, and she was fully prepared for the kicked puppy look she was sure he would give her, but instead his smile only grew. His bouncing became impossibly springier, like gravity just didn’t apply to him. And then he winked, actually winked, at her.

“Awh, c’mon, Jules!”

His whine was just the right amount of playful, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Her heart did a weird flip in her chest.

“I know it was supposed to be a surprise, but the poor man is clearly suffering! We should let him in on our little secret.”

Julie’s glare intensified as she ignored the way the words our little secret hit the softest part of her heart. What the hell was he playing at? He winked again, something that should be outlawed given the way it made her stomach drop and knees weaken. Then he held up his hands in a half-hearted I give up gesture.

“Okay, okay. You don’t have to tell him about the plan to get you back into the music program if you don’t want to.”

If this were a cartoon, Julie was sure her eyes would have popped out of her skull completely at those words. As it were, she settled on doing everything she could to keep her jaw from dropping. She had absolutely no clue what he was going on about, but he clearly had some sort of agenda. There was a script to this encounter, she just hadn’t been given her lines. She saw her father shift out of the corner of her eye, arms raising to fold across his chest as he took in the scene unfolding between the two teenagers. Luke was still talking, apparently deciding to capitalize on Julie’s stunned silence.

“I just think it would be helpful if he knew about it. Then we wouldn’t have to sneak around so much. I know you wanted to have it be a big reveal, but we can still surprise your aunt!”

Her dad turned to her with a raised brow, confusion and the smallest seeds of hope growing behind his gaze.

“¿Mija?”

Julie wanted to punch a locker and also vomit. What the actual hell was Luke Patterson doing? She had no frame of reference for whatever game he was playing. No way of knowing if it was serious or some sort of prank. She looked away from her dad to meet Luke’s eyes. He gave her a small, pleading smile, silently begging her to trust him. His eyes became impossibly gentle and she saw that same boy from the studio last night and the kitchen this morning peeking out at her. Ultimately, it was that intimate reminder of his softer side that made her cave.

“It’s nothing, Papí. Just some hair-brained scheme Luke came up with.”

She raised her brow in a challenge, communicating with that one twitch that she wanted to see his endgame here. His face lit up like the 4th of July. She was sure if they had been alone he would have let out a victory whoop. He rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets, biceps flexing in his best cool kid impersonation.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Molina. We’re getting just as much out of this as you are.”

She didn’t have time to snap back that she wasn’t sure she was getting anything out of whatever ‘this’ was before he was plowing ahead.

“See, my band and I lost our fourth member earlier this year, and we have our Junior Showcase coming up, but man, it’s been a serious struggle to find our sound without Bobby, and we really gotta nail this Showcase. It’s like the one where managers scout out who they really wanna pay attention to as a senior, so we gotta be the best.”

Julie saw where he was going with this before he actually got there, but it was too late to stop him. That was what she got for playing along with his stupid game in the first place.

“And see, I finally figured out that what we really need is someone like Julie to elevate us to that level. Your daughter is a freaking wrecking ball of talent, Mr. Molina. It took a lot of begging, but she finally agreed to play with us. There’s no way Lessa won’t put her back in the music program after we play together.”

His grin was a mile wide, pride shining from his pores. He was 100% sure of this plan, she could see it in the way he looked at her. Absolute blind faith in her. It was as flattering as it was terrifying.

“I see.”

Her dad’s voice was shockingly contemplative. Like he was actually considering supporting this crazy idea. He looked at Luke thoughtfully.

“Do Principal Lessa and Ms. Harrison know about this plan?”

Luke’s hand raised for one quick nervous scratch at the back of his neck. He gave her dad his most charming smile.

“Sometimes you’ve gotta go into ambush mode. Swing that wrecking ball of talent and smash some rules, eh?”

If it were any other parent, that line would have probably been the worst possible thing to say. But this was Ray Molina, whose first date with Rose had involved a small amount of breaking and entering as well as a large amount of running from cop cars and stealing kisses while hiding in alleyways. Rose had never met a rule worth following, and it was part of the reason Ray had fallen in love with her in the first place. Luke had sealed the deal without even really trying. Julie was doomed.

“I like it.”

Ray’s smile was almost as large as Luke’s. It was scary how similar they looked right now, enthusiasm shining in their eyes with an intensity that was borderline maniacal. There would be no getting out of this now.

“Why don’t you boys come over to the house after school? You can practice in our studio.”

Julie didn’t even get a chance to open her mouth before Luke was agreeing. She watched him shake her dad’s hand once again, some weird kind of bonding look passing between the two of them. Her dad wrapped a tight arm around her shoulder, and then turned them both towards the front doors again. Julie cast one final look at Luke over her shoulder, heart skipping a beat as he bit his lip and gave her yet another wink.

“See ya later, boss!”

Had her dad not been holding her up, Julie would have melted right into a puddle of mush. Yup, she was totally and completely doomed.

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years

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Written In The Stars CXI (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

Words: 4,734

Series’ Masterlist

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Chapter Nine: More Bad News.

Mel had to stay in her bedroom because of the dreadful headache she was suffering.

The back of her hand was burning, and she could see the skin actually starting to get a mark.

She wanted to see Ron's try out but she didn't want to fall unconscious in front of everyone. The girl rolled over on her bed, holding her hand and trying to ground herself, but her mind was fixed on Harry and his awful temper. It was true that he didn't deserve the punishment, but she didn't deserve to feel it either!

She went back to the common room, her head feeling heavy. Ron immediately walked up to her and handed her a butterbeer, he was beaming.

"I got in!" Ron did something he'd never done before and hugged her. "I'm on the team!"

"Blimey, Ronnie!" She grinned. "A Prefect and Gryffindor's keeper? You'll be getting dates in no time!"

"Lady!" Fred spoke up. "You knew about this?"

"I helped him train!" She said. "He's good isn't he?"

"He's all right," George shrugged.

"Let's hope his massive nose doesn't get it the way..." Fred smirked.

"Oh, shut up," Mel rolled her eyes.

"Come and make me," He taunted.

Luckily for her, Harry walked in right at that moment, and Ron dragged her with him to meet the boy.

"Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!"

"What? Oh — brilliant!"

"Have a butterbeer. I can't believe it — where's Hermione gone?"

"She's there," said Fred.

Hermione was sleeping soundly on one of the chairs.

"Well, she said she was pleased when I told her..." said Ron.

"Let her sleep..." said George, and in no time a bunch of first years surrounded him and his twin.

"Come here, Ron, and see if Oliver's old robes fit you," said Katie Bell. "We can take off his name and put yours on instead..."

Angelina walked up to Harry and her.

"Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier, Potter. It's stressful, this managing lark, you know, I'm starting to think I was a bit hard on Wood sometimes... Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous," She made a vague movement towards Ron. "I think with a bit of training he'll be all right, though. He comes from a family of good Quidditch players. I'm banking on him turning out to have a bit more talent than he showed today, to be honest. Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies, she admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charm Club she'd put Charms first. Anyway, we're having a practice session at two o'clock tomorrow, so just make sure you're there this time. And do me a favour and help Ron as much as you can, okay?"

Harry nodded and then he turned, his gaze fixed on her.

"You're... you're bleeding."

"Huh?" Mel frowned.

Harry reached for her hand and Mel stepped back.

"I'm fine," She grumbled, walking to where Hermione was sleeping.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" Harry insisted.

"It never stopped," Mel scoffed. "Turning your back on me did nothing."

"You... you were supposed to be safe..."

She looked at him, his voice came out so utterly defeated that she had to take a moment to answer.

"You really thought it'd work?" Mel asked, this time softer. "What am I supposed to say? That I'm sorry? 'Hey, at least you tried!'– I told you..." Her shoulders fell, she had no energy to be angry. "Harry, I told you... What d'you want me to say?"

He stared at her, speechless and disappointed.

"Oh, guys, it's you..." Hermione stirred up in her place. "Good about Ron, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." She responded without breaking eye contact with Harry. "Yeah... I'm really happy for him."

"I'm just so — so — so tired. I was up until one o'clock making more hats. They're disappearing like mad!"

"You and those hats," Mel sighed, finally looking down at her friend.

"Listen," The boy sat in front of them. "Dumbledore said we should stick together, right? All right– I'll tell you what happened– I was just up in Umbridge's office and she touched my arm– and it... it stung! It reminded me of... you know..."

Hermione started slowly.

"You're worried that You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?"

"Well, it's a possibility, isn't it?"

"I mean... the Order believes it's very likely Voldemort has a few spies there..." Mel admitted.

"I suppose so," said Hermione. "But I don't think he can be possessing her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he's properly alive again now, isn't he, he's got his own body, he wouldn't need to share someone else's. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose... But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you and didn't Dumbledore say it had to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time? I mean, maybe this hasn't got anything to do with Umbridge at all, maybe it's just coincidence it happened while you were with her?"

"She's evil," said Harry glancing at Mel's hand. "Twisted."

"She's horrible, yes, but... Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt."

"I'm not bothering him with this. Like you just said, it's not a big deal. It's been hurting on and off all summer — it was just a bit worse tonight, that's all —"

"Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore would want to be bothered by this —"

"Yeah, that's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it, my scar?"

"Don't say that, it's not true!"

"Mel, do you think he'll care?" He asked her, and in his voice, she could tell he was asking for real advice.

"I reckon he'll say it's normal now that Voldemort's alive," She sighed after a bit of pondering. "Doesn't mean he doesn't care about you, though. As I said, he asked me to help you."

"I think I'll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks —"

"Harry, you can't put something like that in a letter! Don't you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can't guarantee owls aren't being intercepted anymore!"

"All right, all right, I won't tell him, then!" said Harry getting up. "I'm going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?"

"Oh no! if you're going that means I can go without being rude too, I'm absolutely exhausted and I want to make some more hats tomorrow. Listen, you can help me if you like, it's quite fun, I'm getting better, I can do patterns and bobbles and all sorts of things now."

"Er... no, I don't think I will, thanks. Er — not tomorrow. I've got loads of homework to do... why don't you ask Mel? I still have the hat she gave me, she was getting quite good..."

"Nope, sorry," Mel got up and made her way over to the twins and Ron. "Too busy, got loads to do..."

She felt something warming up on her pocket and pulled it out. She smiled down at the watch on her hand, a message glowing on it.

'Sunday, 5 pm'

"Anything interesting?"

"No, just some guff about the bass player in the Weird Sisters getting married... Wait a moment– Oh no... Sirius!"

Mel dropped her fork.

"What now?"

"What's happened?" Harry took the paper so violently it ripped in half.

"'The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer... blah blah blah... is currently hiding in London!"

"Lucius Malfoy, I'll bet anything," said Harry. "He did recognize Sirius on the platform..."

"What? You didn't say —"

"Oh no– if they saw him in the platform that means they saw him with my mother!" Mel realized in horror.

"...'Ministry warns Wizarding community that Black is very dangerous... killed thirteen people... broke out of Azkaban...' the usual rubbish– Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all. Dumbledore did warn him not to."

"Poor Snuffles, he'll go crazy..."

"Hey! Look at this!" Harry gave a start.

"I've got all the robes I want," said Ron, glancing to what Harry was showing him.

"No, look... this little piece here..."

TRESPASS AT MINISTRY

Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch- wizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.

"Sturgis Podmore? but he's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the Ord —"

"Ron, shh!"

"Six months in Azkaban! Just for trying to get through a door!" Harry exclaimed.

"Don't be silly, it wasn't just for trying to get through a door — what on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o'clock in the morning?"

"D'you reckon he was doing something for the Order?"

"Wait a moment... Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember? Yeah, he was supposed to be part of our guard going to King's Cross, remember? And Moody was all annoyed because he didn't turn up, so that doesn't seem like he was supposed to be on a job for them, does it?"

"Well, maybe they didn't expect him to get caught."

"It could be a frame-up!" Ron exclaimed. "No — listen! The Ministry suspects he's one of Dumbledore's lot so — I dunno — they lured him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they've just made something up to get him!"

"Do you know, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were true," Hermione shook her head. "Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on Self-Fertilizing Shrubs first, and if we're lucky we'll be able to start McGonagall's Inanimatus Conjurus before lunch..."

"We've got Quidditch Ron and I," Harry hurried to say.

"You can come with me, 'Mione," Mel told her. "I'm going to meet Erick in the library, anyway..."

But as soon as she said it she wanted to take it back. The idea didn't feel as appealing as going alone. She decided to bail on it and find another day to meet him in private.

"Hang on– it just came to me– I... I have to do something," She got up, picking up her bag. "Apologize to Erick for me, won't you? Tell him I'll meet him next week..."

"Oh," Hermione's smiled faltered a bit. "All right, I have a few questions about charms, maybe he knows..."

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as she joined them.

"Don't ask, keep walking," She said. "I don't feel like studying, that's all."

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're getting tired of your study sessions..."

"I would never," Mel frowned. "I know what you're trying to suggest, but you're wrong. Now shut up and keep going."

Harry nodded silently, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Wish I had your dedication," Ron told her. "The schoolwork isn't killing you. I mean, we can do it tonight and we've got tomorrow. Hermione's the one that gets too worked up about work, that's her problem... D'you think she meant it when she said we weren't copying from her?"

"Yeah, I do. Still, this is important too, we've got to practice if we want to stay on the Quidditch team..."

"Yeah, that's right– And we have got plenty of time to do it all..."

"And you've got me– not that I'm going to give you the answers just like that, but you know, I'm clever and all..." Mel shrugged.

"Well..." Harry looked at her when they reached the dressing room. "See you in a minute..."

Mel nodded shortly before walking to the stands. What was happening to her? She didn't know how to act around anyone anymore. Didn't feel like herself, always bottling up every emotion...

She spotted Malfoy and his team waiting to see the newest Gryffindor addition. Ron had a very thin ego and they couldn't afford to lose him on the very first day.

"What's that Weasley's riding?" Malfoy called as the Gryffindor lot walked out of the dressing room. "Why would anyone put a Flying Charm on a mouldy old log like that?"

"Don't get involved..." Mel mumbled under her breath.

"Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle anyway?" Pansy Parkinson yelled. "Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?"

The Slytherins hadn't noticed her since she was a few seats behind them, and she didn't want them to, they were bound to tease her and she needed to stay out of trouble.

On his third attempt, Ron caught the Quaffle; perhaps out of relief he passed it on so enthusiastically that it soared straight through Katie's outstretched hands and hit her hard in the face.

"Sorry!" Ron groaned, zooming forward to see whether he had done any damage.

"Get back in position, she's fine!" barked Angelina. "But as you're passing to a teammate, do try not to knock her off her broom, won't you? We've got Bludgers for that!"

Katie's nose was bleeding. Down below the Slytherins were stamping their feet and jeering. Fred and George converged on Katie.

"Okay, maybe..." Mel started, "maybe I'll get involved just a little..."

The lot was now singing 'Gryffindor are losers, Gryffindor are losers,' and many things happened at once: First, directly from her palm, a bunch of red sparks burst and surrounded the Slytherins with an explosion. They covered their faces and jumped out of their seats, trying to put them down. Mel gasped and covered her mouth in shock, she hadn't intended to do that, but there was nothing she could do now.

Back in the Quidditch field, Katie was bleeding profusely, and Angelina stopped the practice to take her to the infirmary. Pansy turned around and spotted Mel, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You!"

She smiled as innocently as possible. "What's wrong?"

Pansy pulled out her wand and Mel stood up, her smile fading.

"Do it– See what happens, dear prefect, once the teachers find out you attacked an unarmed student."

"You attacked first," She snarled, the rest of her classmates had scattered away, though the firecrackers followed them around.

"Did I?" Mel leaned closer and jumped over the seats that kept them apart, one row after the other. When she was finally in front of her, she added, "Prove it."

No one knew she could do wandless magic. Not to mention that when Pansy asked her to empty her pockets –'prefect orders,' she'd sneered– there was nothing but a pocket watch.

Far from feeling ashamed, a wave of power hit her. No one had to know, and as long as she kept a low profile and a sweet attitude, she could make Pansy and Malfoy's lives an actual hell.

The twins approached the next day when they found out she was the only one near enough the Slytherins to set them on fire. Nothing bad happened to them, but it sure scared them off, and they weren't planning on going back to the training sessions any time soon.

Mel liked the twins' praising and she spent the rest of the day with them, leaving Ron and Harry to do their homework alone.

As a consequence of this, many students approached her. Now that she wasn't around Harry so much they seemed to think she had more common sense than expected. Not that she was talking rubbish about Harry, but she was definitely more likeable when she wasn't attacking others in order to defend him. That without mentioning she was far less loud and dramatic than years prior.

She went back to the common room that night with a bunch of new friends, even better, friends from different houses. Ron didn't like that, he was upset because she hadn't been there to help him as she'd promised. His anger only got worse when he received a letter from his older brother.

"Well," Harry said jokingly once they finished reading it, "if you want to — er — what is it? Oh yeah — 'sever ties' with me, I swear I won't get violent."

"Give it back," He snatched the letter. "He is —the world's biggest git." Ron ripped the letter into small pieces and threw them in the fire. "Come on, we've got to get this finished sometime before dawn..."

"I wonder what rubbish is the Daily Prophet writing now," Mel said absently.

"Oh, give them here," Hermione said abruptly, taking the boy's homework.

"What?"

"Give them to me, I'll look through them and correct them."

"Are you serious? Ah, Hermione, you're a lifesaver, what can I — ?"

"What you can say is, 'We promise we'll never leave our homework this late again,'– Where are you going, Mel? You promised you'd help them too. Sit down."

Mel groaned, but she took Harry's paper and started to review it.

"Thanks a million, girls," said Harry, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, shut up," Mel grumbled. "Don't interrupt me or I'll mess it up."

"Hermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met, and if I'm ever rude to you again —"

"— I'll know you're back to normal," said Hermione.

"Harry, you really have to pay attention to the things you... Harry?" Mel looked at the boy, who was now crouching next to the fireplace.

"Er — Harry?" said Ron. "Why are you down there?"

"Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire."

"What?" Mel dropped to her knees as well, pushing the essay aside.

"Sirius's head? You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too — Sirius!" Hermione squealed.

"I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else had disappeared," The man grinned. "I've been checking every hour."

"You've been popping into the fire every hour?" Harry laughed.

"Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear yet."

"But what if you'd been seen?" said Hermione in horror.

"Well, I think a girl — first year by the look of her — might've got a glimpse of me earlier, but don't worry, I was gone the moment she looked back at me and I'll bet she just thought I was an oddly shaped log or something."

"But Sirius, this is taking an awful risk —"

"You sound like Molly– This was the only way I could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to a code — and codes are breakable."

"You impulsive piece of– You... you..." Mel stammered.

"All that you're wishing to call me, Emily has called me twice already this week," He shook his head. "It's fine, I swear, I just wanted to reply to Harry's letter."

"You didn't say you'd written to Sirius!" said Hermione.

"I forgot! Don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?"

"No, it was very good," said the man with a proud smile. "Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed — your scar. Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think it's anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?"

"Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion, so maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention."

"Well, now he's back it's bound to hurt more often."

"So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?"

"I doubt it. I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater —"

"She's foul enough to be one..."

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. I know she's a nasty piece of work, though — you should hear Remus talk about her."

"Does Lupin know her?"

"No, but she drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him to get a job."

"She called him a half-breed during class! I had to bite my tongue to not yell at her!" Mel scolded.

"What's she got against werewolves?" said Hermione.

"Scared of them, I expect. Apparently, she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose —"

"Sirius!" Hermione said reproachfully. "Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher I'm sure he'd respond, after all, you are the only member of his family he's got left, and Professor Dumbledore said —"

"So what are Umbridge's lessons like? Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"

"No, she's not letting us use magic at all!"

"All we do is read the stupid textbook," said Ron.

"Ah, well, that figures. Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Trained in combat? What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," said Sirius, "or rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing — forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic. Mel leading the group, of course."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with. Certainly, Mel's good enough to lead the class but to lead an army? That's crazy!"

"So we're being prevented from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?" said Hermione in outrage.

"Yep. Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge."

Mel remembered her talk with Dumbledore. In a way, he was training her as if she was going to lead an army, but the mere idea was crazy! He'd said it himself, Mel wasn't supposed to take his place, he just wanted her to be better.

"D'you know if there's going to be anything about Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet tomorrow? Only Ron's brother Percy reckons there will be —"

"I don't know, I haven't seen anyone from the Order all weekend, they're all busy. It's just been Kreacher, Emily and me here..."

"So you haven't had any news about Hagrid, either?"

"Ah... well, he was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him– But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you four get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine."

"But if he was supposed to be back by now..." said Hermione.

"Madame Maxime was with him, we've been in touch with her and she says they got separated on the journey home — but there's nothing to suggest he's hurt or — well, nothing to suggest he's not perfectly okay. Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid, it'll just draw even more attention to the fact that he's not back, and I know Dumbledore doesn't want that. Hagrid's tough, he'll be okay. When's your next Hogsmeade weekend anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn't we? I thought I could —"

"NO!" They said altogether.

"Sirius, didn't you see the Daily Prophet?" said Hermione anxiously.

"Oh that," Sirius, grinned, "they're always guessing where I am, they haven't really got a clue —"

"Yeah, but we think this time they have," said Harry. "Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius — you know, Lucius Malfoy — so don't come up here, whatever you do, if Malfoy recognizes you again —"

"All right, all right, I've got the point! Just an idea, thought you might like to get together —"

"I would, I just don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!" said Harry.

"...You're less like your father than I thought," he said coldly. "The risk would've been what made it fun for James."

"That's not fair, Sirius, now you're in danger—" Mel started, but he ignored her.

"Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Emily -or maybe Kreacher, dunno- coming down the stairs. I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?"

"Oh, get out," Mel huffed.

Sirius vanished with a pop, and Mel carefully turned to Harry.

"Don't listen to him, Glas–" She stopped before they nickname could fully leave her mouth. "Harry. He's just throwing a tantrum."

Harry let out a heavy sigh, stood up and grabbed his essay.

"Thanks for the help. I... I appreciate it."

He went to bed after that.

'MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"'

Mel visibly deflated on her seat, wondering if this was just another nightmare.

"So now we know how we ended up with Umbridge! Fudge passed this 'Educational Decree' and forced her on us! And now he's given her the power to inspect other teachers! I can't believe this. It's outrageous..." Hermione started.

"I know it is," growled Harry.

"Oh, I can't wait to see McGonagall inspected," Ron said happily. "Umbridge won't know what's hit her."

"I..." Mel shook her head. "I don't even know what to say..."

"That must be a first," said Hermione, "we'd better get going if she's inspecting Binns's class we don't want to be late..."

Umbridge did not inspect any of their morning classes, and Mel was surprised to see an E on her potions essay, graded as if it were her actual O.W.L. examination, which did nothing but to boost her ego even more than her little trick with the fireworks. Hermione was still talking about it with their friends during lunch.

"So top grade's O for 'Outstanding,'" she was saying, "and then there's A —"

"No, E– E for 'Exceeds Expectations.' And I've always thought Fred and I should've got E in everything because we exceeded expectations just by turning up for the exams."

"So after E, it's A for 'Acceptable,' and that's the last pass grade, isn't it?"

"Yep," said Fred.

"Then you get P for 'Poor' and D for 'Dreadful.' "

"And then T," George reminded Ron.

"T?" asked Hermione. "Even lower than a D? What on earth does that stand for?"

" 'Troll,' " said George.

"You lot had an inspected lesson yet?" Fred asked once everyone stopped laughing.

"No," said Hermione with interest, "have you?"

"Just now, before lunch," said George. "Charms."

"What was it like?"

"Not that bad. Umbridge just lurked in the corner making notes on a clipboard. You know what Flitwick's like, he treated her like a guest, didn't seem to bother him at all. She didn't say much. Asked Alicia a couple of questions about what the classes are normally like, Alicia told her they were really good, that was it."

"I can't see old Flitwick getting marked down," said George, "he usually gets everyone through their exams all right."

"Who've you got this afternoon?" Fred asked.

"Trelawney —"

"A T if ever I saw one —"

"— and Umbridge herself."

"Well, be a good boy and keep your temper with Umbridge today. Angelina'll do her nut if you miss any more Quidditch practices."

"Don't worry about that," Harry gave her a sort of sour look. "Mel will take care of that."

The girl barely looked up from her plate to glare at him, that particular morning she didn't feel like fighting, not after the way Sirius had talked to him.

Next Chapter —>

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