#uncle harry and uncle draco

[rockingrobin69]

A Quiet Fall(ing into place)

There was some magic to it, Harry thought, chewing on a smile, pushing up on his elbows to look out the window. The display Teddy’s arranged spanned the entire garden: skeletons taller than the trees, copious amounts of cobwebs, pumpkins that would make Hagrid proud. Colourful and radiant and entirely, utterly deranged. Of course; Draco helped him do it.

Draco and Victoire and Rosie. They decided it was unacceptable, all of a sudden, not having proper decorations. A matter of utmost importance. Mostly because Draco was an arse, and too good at getting the kids riled up. And Harry could never really say no to him, to any of them, which led to… this, Halloween-explosion all over the garden. His heart felt too big for his chest. They were all nutters, and he loved them.

He got up with a yawn, a good stretch. Didn’t think he’d actually fall asleep. There was too much excitement in the air, too much noise, before Draco took everybody outside. It was weirdly quiet now. Only the hum of the fire, and meowing from the kitchen. God, that cat. Harry opened the door and within seconds the silly thing was on him, claws digging into his shirt, ouch, into his flesh.

“Quit it,” he murmured. Dizzy with the unexpected nap, with the twinge in his neck. In his throat, in his chest. He didn’t really know how to take it, quiet meaning quiet, like a sigh, like unclenching your jaw. Like dipping into a hot tub or a sip of perfectly-sweet tea. Like rest. Harry’s never really learned how to be comfortable. How to accept having—

“Ow!” the cat jumped off, startled at the sudden riot of sounds as the door opened, letting in the cold air and four flushed faces.

“Uncle Harry, Uncle Harry, did you see?” Teddy ran forward, pulling at Harry’s shirt with sticky hands. “We put the lights on your tree!”

His tree. Instead of crying Harry picked him up with a growl. “You did, did you? My tree? You dared put lights on my tree?”

It was hard to hear the response through Teddy’s squealing, but Rose and Victoire were both shouting, and the cat meowed, and Draco’s eyebrow cocked, smile deep in his face. “Settle down—hey, settle down, you rascals. Anyone who still wants hot cocoa will report themselves to the kitchen in three—two—”

The racket spiked up as three sets of feet dashed through the door, laughing and shoving each other. Draco came to wrap his arms around Harry with an amused sigh.

“Sorry about all this. Did we wake you up?”

Took a moment to be able to speak. “No. You took them to our tree?”

“I did, yes. Thought it could bear a little festivity. What?”

Harry laughed into every kiss. “Nothing. You’re ridiculous.”

“Aww. I love you too.”

There was magic to it, yeah. It smelled like pumpkins and mud and yelling laughter. Like Draco, like fall, like family. Like love.

(Day 16 of @flufftober​! Find all previous ficlets here, or on AO3)    

[souryam]

they're dear to me

[hemmingsleclerc]

A different story┃RAB

Summary: where regulus and james’ sister raise harry together

Regulus Black and Y/N Potter had survived the war. The years since Voldemort's defeat had been filled with joy and sadness. Joy, because they had each other and the opportunity to build a new life together despite what everyone thought about them. Grief over the loss of James and Lily, Sirius' imprisonment in Azkaban, Peter's death and Remus' disappearance, leaving Harry in their care. They had promised to raise him as their own, determined to give him the love and family he deserved.

From the moment Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place, the once dark Black manor was transformed into a warm home. Regulus, no longer the young man who had once followed Voldemort’s ideas, had found a new path in his new role as a father. Y/N, with her strong and characteristic Potter kindness, made sure to brought light to every corner of her new life.

Harry's childhood with Regulus and Y/N was full of moments of love that he would remember throughout his life.

On Harry's first birthday after coming to live with them, Y/N and Regulus were determined to make it special. They decided to bake a cake without magic. The kitchen quickly became a disaster, flour covering every surface and Y/N with frosting in her hair.

"Reg, are you sure you read the recipe correctly?" Y/N asked, laughing as she tried to save a crooked layer of cake.

Regulus, with chocolate on his cheek, smiled shyly. "I'm pretty sure it said four cups of flour. Or maybe it was one…"

Despite the chaos, the cake turned out perfectly imperfect. When they show it to Harry, his eyes lit up with joy. "Happy birthday, Harry," Y/N said, kissing the top of her head.

"Happy Birthday, kid," Regulus added

When Harry received his Hogwarts letter, the house was filled with joy and a touch of bittersweet nostalgia. Regulus sat Harry down, with the letter spread out on the kitchen table. "This is where your parents went, Harry," he said softly, his eyes shining with pride and a hint of sadness.

Y/N, who was busy in the kitchen, stopped to ruffle Harry's hair. "You'll love it there, bunny. Just like your mom and dad did and so does Reggie and I."

The day he was dropped off at platform 9¾, Regulus and Y/N stood side by side, watching Harry board the train. Y/N had tears in her eyes and Regulus, although he tried to be calm, couldn't hide his emotion from him. "Be good, Harry," Regulus shouted. "And remember, we're only an owl away."

As the train pulled away, Y/N squeezed Regulus's hand. "Our little boy is growing up so fast," she whispered.

Years passed and Harry often found himself receiving Howlers from his aunt and uncle. Whether he was fighting with a troll or sneaking out of his common room after bed time, Harry's adventures with Hermione and Ron often left Regulus and Y/N worried.

One morning in the Great Hall, a Howler exploded in front of Harry, Regulus' voice echoing throughout the room. "Harry James Potter-Black! What were you thinking? The Triwizard Tournament? And a dragon? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you have any common sense!" while hours later he received another one but this time from Y/N ''Harry, forgive Reg, he is very stressed and worried about you, we both are, we want you to know that we support you in everything and we know that you didn’t put your name on the cup, we will be there to see you at the tasks, in the meantime take care of yourself darling, we love you'' leaving Harry with a smile on his face.

As Harry grew older, he began to talk more about his friends and the special people in his life. One afternoon in the summer after their fifth year, Harry and Y/N were sitting in the garden, enjoying the warm sunlight. Harry hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Mom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear," Y/N replied, looking up from her book.

"It's about Ginny," Harry began, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. "I think… I think I like her. A lot."

"Ah, young love, so beautiful" he said with a soft smile. "She's a lovely girl, Harry. Be yourself and everything will fall into place with her, after all traditions are never broken."

''tradition?'' Harry asked

“Yeah, some people called it a curse but that sounded awful”

“Potter curse?”

''Every male Potter has his redhead,'' Y/N recited with a closed smile

Later that evening, Regulus joined the conversation. "So, Ginny Weasley, huh?" he teased, nudging Harry with his elbow. "Just remember to treat her right buddy, or you'll have more than just her brothers to answer to."

Harry laughed, feeling a warmth spread through him with his cheeks burning red

Oh I loved how this turned out, I have so many ideas about this I hope u like it 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[olivers-cocoapuffs]

Teddy glances between Ron and Draco before extending his arms towards Ron. Draco’s jaw drops in offence as Ron barks a laugh and takes Teddy out of Harry’s arms, settling back into his seat. Blaise wraps an arm around Ron’s shoulders, watching him and Teddy affectionately.

[incorrect-malfoys]

Bellatrix: Now, Draco, you must grow up to be a decent member of society

Rodolphus: Play lots of sport, eat fruits and celery, and help old people across the street

Bellatrix: Except Lucius' mum

Rodolphus: Yeah, don’t help her

Bellatrix: No. Hinder her

Rodolphus: Hinder her from crossing the street

[randum-famdoms]

JK Rowling’s books are a building. And she stopped after creating shitty, waterlogged, deeply structurally unsound blueprints and half the scaffolding. Then left it to the elements (aka her Twitter), damaging it nearly beyond repair.

And the fandom looked at this, and put on hard hats. And they tore down that scaffolding, and took those blueprints and changed it into something that would work, and they built the most beautiful building you’ve ever seen.

The building JK Rowling designed was deeply flawed, it would never pass inspection, it would collapse under its own weight and lack of structural integrity within seconds of being built. The aesthetic design was tragic and hideous and offensive. But the fans looked at all of that, and said to themselves, “this building is fucked up, it will never be good if left like this, and everything about it is terrible and makes zero sense. But goddamnit, I have trauma and I can fix it because it must be done and no one else will.”

JK Rowling may have designed that original building. She may have had the initial idea. She may have built that unfinished scaffolding. She may have drawn those blueprints.

But this building is no longer JK Rowling’s.

[shrimpalbuspotter]

Listen. Delphi can't help it if angsty teens swarm to her like moth to a flame. She's just extremely big sister coded. She gets it from her Aunt Andy.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 10

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

💙💙💙💙

𝕸𝖞 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖈𝖍 𝖜𝖆𝖘 twisting and turning at dinner. Snape had been. . . well I didn't really know what emotion had played out on his face. He'd kind've frozen, and then of course, I'd said there was nothing we could do about it if it was already hoodwinked and he turned kind've purple. Perhaps it was a medical condition. Shock could do that to people. Or maybe he just cared about me. . . no, I'm sure that wasn't the reason. Shock, definitely shock.

The other students were excited, talking about the possible house champions. I mean, if Cedric did get it and I was the second, well it was a double Hufflepuff win which would be nice. I wondered who the others were and why I had seen only my name coming out of the goblet. It was a bit funny, I'd never really seen a vision where I was involved. I only assumed that was because I saw the visions from my point of view.

The Halloween feast was just as good as yesterdays, but not as many people seemed to have enjoyed it. Maybe because two feasts in a row is not as good as one feast every couple of months. The Bulgarians seemed to enjoy themselves though. A few boys were sitting with Krum and I today. I didn't speak much, mostly listening to everything they had to say. Some of the stuff they talked about was fascinating enough that I momentarily forgot about the Cup.

Ron had asked me to get a signed autograph from Krum but I figured he could get it himself if he really, really wanted it.

When Dumbledore stood up, the Great Hall got silent very quickly. I looked up at the teachers table. Madam Maxime and Karkaroff were both tense. Karkaroff's eyes met mine- or maybe they were looking at the students behind me, I wasn't sure. Ludo looked extremely excited and was winking at various students in the crowd though I noticed he particularly avoided the Gryffindor table. Mr. Crouch had a stoic face on an looked utterly bored. I met Snape's eyes. I held them for a second before looking away. He looked how I felt- sick.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called," and here Dumbledore's eyes briefly flickered over to mine. So Snape had told him- good, "I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions." Dumbledore motioned to a door behind the staff table.

He took out his wand and waved it. All the candles that floated in the air were extinguished and so were the flames in the lanterns on the walls. Only the candles in the pumpkins stayed lit. The Goblet of Fire was almost painful to look at- the blue white flames were extremely bright. My stomach grew even more nervous and I thought that I might just throw up.

I counted down the seconds in my head and when I reached 0, the flames inside the goblet turned red. Sparks began to fly from it and a tongue of flame shot into the air, a piece of parchment fluttered out of it. The whole room gasped but my mouth wouldn't open. I think it was glued shut. Despite being fairly certain my name would come out last- my stomach turned.

"The Champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore read. The Bulgarians cheered and I turned and looked at him and said, "Congratulations." with as big of a smile as I could manage. He smiled back and got up and slouched to the door that Dumbledore had indicated. Everyone could hear Karkaroff shouting, "Bravo Viktor! Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down and everyone's focus was on the Goblet once again. It turned red and shot up another flame and a second piece of parchment- a frilly thing, all folded up like a circular fan- came down and Dumbledore reached up and grabbed it.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" Dumbledore announced. She didn't get as much applause from her own group. In fact, many of the girls burst into tears except those from Ombrelune who stared stoically ahead. Fleur Delacour was a girl who looked like a Veela. Her long silvery hair was nearly as long as mine, all the way down to her butt, which she shook as she walked up the aisle between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

When she went through the door, everyone stopped cheering immediately. The excitement could be tasted in the air and I wished that I could enjoy it. A third parchment slip shot up into the air and Dumbledore shot his hand up to grab it. A pause and then, "The Hogwarts Champion, is Cedric Diggory."

I managed to forget about the fourth slip as I joined in cheering for Cedric with everyone else. I jumped to my feet with the others, screaming. The only slight difference between my screams and the others screams were they were happy, I sounded a bit panicked. Cedric grinned at me as he passed by and headed off toward the chamber behind the teacher's table.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore shouted, trying to keep things normal though his eyes flickered to me once again. I had already sat back down, staring at the table, trying not to be sick. Could I be wrong? I'd been wrong about other things before. . . the polecat, for instance. . . and Hermione's badges. . . but wrong about something this big? I put a hand over my mouth, leaning on my elbow. I was going to be sick. . . I was going to be horribly sick.

"Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute-" And then he stopped talking as the goblet's fire turned red again, sending up another piece of parchment. The whole room gasped.

Dumbledore reached up and grabbed it, looking at me again. I found it difficult to swallow. He opened his mouth to read- what I supposed was my name- and then closed it, frowning. I felt hope come. Was there no name on it? That was the best case scenario. I found I was half-risen from my seat and then he said, "Harry Potter."

I sat back down heavily, stunned. I had been wrong again? My hands trembled and I placed them on the table, trying to take deep breaths to calm myself. What was happening? Were my visions slipping? Why was I seeing things only halfway? What was wrong with me!?

Professor McGonagall had gotten to her feet to speak to Professor Dumbledore. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Harry was saying something to Hermione and Ron. But his words didn't seem to register with them.

"Harry Potter! Harry! Up here, if you please!"

Hermione pushed Harry. Harry got to his feet, walking slowly up between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. He reached Dumbledore who, unsmiling, said, "Through the door, Harry." He looked at me again.

Harry went through the door and then I got up, and sprinted to the top of the stairs. Professor McGonagall made to move as though to stop me but Dumbledore touched her arm and I went past them. People started to murmur and I sprinted down the corridor.

Harry was standing to the side while Cedric, Krum, and Fleur all stood in front of the fireplace, looking at him.

"What is it? Do zey want us back in ze Hall?" Fleur was asking.

"No." I said as Harry just shook his head. Harry looked at me. "Elizabeth, what's happening?" He asked me in a strange voice.

"I don't know." I said, panicking. "I didn't foresee it."

Cedric had turned at the sound of my voice but didn't ask anything as Ludo Bagman came into the room.

"Extraordinary! Absolutely Extraordinary! Gentlemen. . . lady, may I introduce- incredibly though it may seem- the fourth Triwizard champion?" Bagman said, having taken Harry's arm, and led him to the fireplace. Viktor Krum straightened up at these words, his face darkening. Cedric looked from Bagman, to Harry, to me, trying to find something out. Fleur however, tossed her hair and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke? No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!" Ludo said and he sounded positively joyful about it. I thought I might be sick again and Harry looked the same way.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake, 'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well. . . it is amazing. But as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet. . . I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage. . . It's down in the rules, you're obliged. . . Harry will just have to do the best he-"

The door opened again and Harry and I turned to look to see who was coming. It was Dumbledore followed by Mr. Crouch, Karkaroff, Madam Maxime, McGonagall and Snape.

"Madam Maxime!" Fleur said at once. "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

Through my fear, confusion, and shame I snorted in annoyance. Little boy? Would I have been little girl? My stomach did another turn and I sat down and put my head on my knees before I passed out. I really shouldn't have been taking this so hard, but contestants had died in the past. Part of me wondered if I was glad it wasn't me, or if I wished it was me so that it wouldn't be Harry. Strange though- I was so excited for Cedric.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr." She said impatiently.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore." I heard Karkaroff saying. He sounded close by to me. "Two Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions- or have I not read the rules carefully enough?" He gave a short laugh.

"But Harry's not competing under Hogwarts." I managed to say, looking up. "It's impossible for the Goblet to pick two from any one place. Whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet put him down under a different school."

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Karkaroff said, "That as it may be, we were under the impression that the Age Line was to keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore. Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"It's not one's fault but Potters, Karkaroff. Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here-" Snape said softly, his black eyes alight with mischief. I glared at him.

"Thank you Severus." Dumbledore said firmly and it was hard not to grin. Professor Dumbledore looked from me, to Harry and asked very calmly, "Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked.

'No." Harry said.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of fire for you?"

"No." Harry said again.

"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" Madam Maxime announced.

"No he isn't." I snapped.

"I don't know how you would know that." Karkaroff asked, looking at me sharply. "Unless you've been with him every moment of the day?"

I blushed. I certainly wasn't going to tell the foreigners about my vi-

"Oh, but of course!" Bagman said excitedly. He was so excited I was surprised when he didn't clap his hands together with joy. "You would've seen it through your visions if Harry had put his name in the cup."

I closed my eyes. Lovely- now they knew. "Right." I said bitterly. "And I didn't."

Madam Maxime didn't seem to care about my visions, but Karkaroff was giving me a calculated look now. Lovely. I looked over at the other Professors and saw that both Snape and Dumbledore were giving Karkaroff a guarded look now.

"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line." Madam Maxime was saying.

"It is possible, of course." Dumbledore said mildly, looking away from Karkaroff who was still looking at me.

"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake! Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him, I'm sure that should be good enough for everybody else!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, throwing a nasty look at Professor Snape.

"Well he didn't put it in." I muttered, but quietly because no one seemed to be listening to my opinions anyways. I was peering into the future again, trying to see what I'd missed the first time. It was strange. . . the names were coming so easily now. . . there was Harry's name on the slip of paper. . .why had I seen something different before?

"Mr. Crouch. . . Mr. Bagman." Karkaroff said slowly. "You are our-er- objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?"

Bagman was wiping his face with a handkerchief, looking the most excited out of anyone in this room. I licked my lips and stood up. I had a mind to leave but Dumbledore said softly, "Miss Kane. . ." I stood next to Harry instead, glaring at the floor.

Mr. Crouch spoke curtly. "We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

He looked over at me and we kept eye contact while a majority of the rest of the conversation took place.

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front." Bagman said as though that was the end of the discussion.

Had Voldemort already visited his house? Had the visit not happened? I didn't really know any of the details- they were hazy. What was he thinking about, looking at me. Still, neither of us looked away from each other.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students." His stupid smile was gone. "You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes but didn't say anything.

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that. The Goblet of Fire's just gone out- it won't reignite until the start of the next tournament-"

"-In which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing! After all our meeting and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?" Uncle Moody said, having just entered the room.

Staring into Barty Crouch's eyes was like having a silent conversation. It felt like he was trying to tell me something and I wasn't grasping it. But now, at Moody's entrance, we held eyes for another second and then he looked away, stepping back into the shadows again. I looked at where Uncle Moody had just walked in.

"Convenient? I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody." Karkaroff said in fake disdain.

"Don't you? It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo whished to give 'Ogwarts two bites of ze apple!" Madam Maxime cried out.

"I quite agree, Madam Maxime." Karkaroff said, bowing to her. "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards-"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Potter. But. . . funny thing. . . I don't hear him saying a word. . ." Moody growled at Karkaroff.

"Why should 'e complain? 'E 'as ze chance to compete 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money- zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it." Moody said with a growl.

There was silence, a tense one, and then I gasped. Everyone's eyes shot to me and Professor McGonagall said, "Miss Kane, perhaps you should sit down before you pass out."

I did feel horrible, realizing what I'd just realized. "I think I'm going to be sick." I muttered and I ran from the room. I sprinted to the bathroom, the farthest from the Great Hall as I could get, and went inside, locking myself in a stall.

Of course! Hadn't Voldemort said that Bertha Jorkins had given him good information? Being in the ministry meant that she would've known about the Tournament. But how had he gotten here? I supposed it was possible that Pettigrew could have come in rat form. . . but Voldemort didn't trust him enough to leave by himself. . . nor was Voldemort in the position to be alone. Voldemort also had said he needed another servant. Who was it? Karkaroff? He was the only possible explanation. . . maybe Madam Maxime? I highly doubted it.

Thinking of how Voldemort had killed Bertha Jorkins and now Harry might die made me lurch over the toilet and throw up. I'd lost my parents. I couldn't lose Harry too. And with my visions being unreliable, how was I to keep him from dying?

"Miss Kane?" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out through the bathroom some minutes later. "Are you in here?"

"Yeah." I croaked. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to talk to you." She said, sounding sympathetic.

"Sure." I muttered. I waited a few more seconds to make sure I wasn't going to throw up and then got up, flushed, and left the bathroom with her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

I nearly nodded yes and then shook my head. "Harry's in danger. I hope Dumbledore doesn't let him compete."

She didn't answer and I knew she didn't want to be the one to tell me that he had to compete. I knew it already, but still. . .

Dumbledore was waiting in his office with Uncle Moody standing on the right side of the room, leaning on his cane. Snape was on the left side of the room, standing erect, with crossed arms. Professor McGonagall stayed near me, though she left me a little room.

"Are you feeling better Miss Kane?" Dumbledore asked kindly. He was standing behind his desk, looking preoccupied.

"Not really." I said weakly. "But I know I owe an explanation."

"Perhaps you could explain what upset you so greatly?" Dumbledore said, peering over his half-moon glasses.

I nodded and told him about the dream I had over the summer. I included every detail possible from how the room looked, to who was in the room, and every word that was said. I had thought about it so much, I had memorized every detail. About their mentioning the Quidditch World Cup, Wormtail offering to use a different wizard or witch, Voldemort's instance on using Harry, Bertha Jorkins, Voldemort's need for another helper. . . but I paused about them mentioning me.

Dumbledore seemed to notice my hesitancy. "Go on. Every detail is important."

So I reluctantly told him what was said about me. Snape's hands balled up into fists when I got to the part of Voldemort wanting to use me for my visions. McGonagall had her mouth over her hand. Uncle Moody leaned forward on his walking stick, something foreign behind his eyes. And then I finished up with the Muggle man coming into the room and Voldemort killing him.

"Why haven't you told the Ministry about Bertha Jorkins?" Snape asked quickly.

I rubbed my head in frustration. "Because this was a dream." I emphasized. "This wasn't a vision. Besides, Fudge wouldn't believe me last year about Sirius Black, so why would he believe me about Voldemort rising again using Peter Pettigrew- who Fudge believes to be dead? And besides," I added on hotly. "My visions haven't been entirely reliable this year, have they? Who can say if the dream even took place?"

"What was the Muggle man's name?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

I racked my brain for that information. "I don't think it was ever said."

Dumbledore rummaged in his desk for a moment and tossed me a newspaper and said, "Was that him?"

I read the headline: Frank Bryce found Murdered in the Old Riddle House

Riddle house. I snorted. That was hilarious. There was a picture of the man and I recognized him immediately. I tossed the newspaper back to him, "That's him, yes."

Dumbledore nodded, "I thought so."

"You have a lot more faith in my visions than I do." I snapped. Then I sucked in air because I shouldn't be mad at Dumbledore. It wasn't his fault that my visions were wacked.

Dumbledore looked at me in mild surprise, "You've always been right before."

"Exactly!" I said, exasperated. "And I've never slipped up more in my entire life! I'm foreseeing things and they aren't happening! There's something wrong with me and I don't think you should be relying on me until I figure out why I'm all messed up!"

"Your visions don't define you." Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"Maybe not." I vented. "but they're just about the only reason I ever end up here anyways so when I don't have anything to share, I'm pretty useless."

Snape's face was a strange shade of red. I wasn't sure what he was mad about, but I didn't really want to find out.

"I've known you for a long time, before I knew about your visions." Uncle Moody said, leaning on his walking stick. "Even as a kid, your insight's always been good. I trust that."

I blushed slightly, a bit pleased, but kept my face stoic. "Can I go?" I muttered.

"Of course. I'm sure Mr. Diggory is looking for you to celebrate." Dumbledore said, a bit bemused. "Oh, one last thing."

"Yes?" I asked, trying not to sound exasperated.

"Is there something about Barty Crouch that you wish to tell me about?" Dumbledore asked.

I was so glad I didn't blush and I said, "Nothing at all."

Dumbledore nodded once and then said, "You may go."

I left without looking at anyone and hurried from the room. But I couldn't bring myself to go to the Hufflepuff common room. Instead, I hurried to the entrance hall and slipped out through the doors. I walked down to the lake, and walked away from the Durmstrang ship. I didn't like Karkaroff.

I took my shoes off, putting my feet in the water and then sitting down on the gravel and rocks. I stared out at the lake. A bunch of flashes of visions burst into my mind suddenly.

"Get out of my head!" I shouted, pressing my hands to the side of my head. Then, putting my head on my knees, I started to cry.

I couldn't help it- really. I had tried to hold things in for too long. I hadn't want to cry in front of dad so I'd bottled everything up. I hadn't cried for a long time and it was a bit of relief to let go of all my feelings.

I sobbed into my knees, trying to keep quiet. Then I felt arms slip around my shoulders, pulling me into a sort of awkward hug. I wasn't sure who it was until I felt the long hair against my neck. Snape.

I put a hand on his arm, pulling it closer. I was being so stupid, I knew, but I needed this sort of closeness.

"You're not useless you know." Snape said, his chin resting on my head.

I hiccupped. I didn't want to cry in front of him either. I quickly bottled the tears, wiping them off my face with my sleeve. "Sorry." I said.

"I don't want you to apologize." He muttered, "and you don't have to stop crying either."

"I hate when people watch me cry." I muttered.

"Technically, I can't see you anyways." Snape said lightly and I laughed. It was a hoarse laugh, but it was a laugh.

"Thanks." I said, feeling better. "You didn't have to follow me, you know. I'm not running away or anything."

At first, I thought he wasn't going to answer and then he said, "You should stay away from the Durmstrang ship. Karkaroff..."

"He wants to use my for my visions too?" I asked bitterly. "I figured as much."

"Something like that." Snape muttered.

I noticed that with his chin on my head and his arms around my shoulders, he was hugging me a bit like how dad might've held me as a little girl.

I turned around, burying my head into his shoulder. He rearranged his arms and I felt much better. This was a different type of hold.

I wasn't sure how long it was before I said, "I should go to the common room. Maybe they've stopped celebrating."

"You hate celebrations?" Snape asked, sounding amused.

"No, not usually. Only because I want to go to bed but its' Cedric, you know? And since we're close I have to stay up."

"You could. . ." He started and then stopped and quickly said, "never mind."

"What?" I asked, interested and sat up, looking into his eyes. I was aware that we were very close, though it was dark.

"It's nothing." He said huskily, moving to get up.

"Well now you have to tell me." I said, teasingly, getting up as well.

"I was going to offer my office, the way I did in first year when Quirrell. . ." he drifted off again. "But you're right, I reckon they've stopped celebrating."

My cheeks were burning and I was glad it was so dark out. "I'll take up your offer anyways."

💙💙💙💙

𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 up, I tried to figure out where I was, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Of course, Professor Snape's office. I quickly rolled out of bed, pulling on my robes and shoes. I made the bed quickly and noticed that he was still sleeping on the floor, snoring.

My heart thudded in my chest and I froze. His silky black hair was swept across his face. He looked peaceful. He never looked like that when he was awake. I crept over to where he was and moved the hair out of his face. His hair was so soft. I touched his lips with one finger lightly. His snoring stopped and started up again, giving me a heart attack.

I reckoned he was awake. So, I bent down, brushed my lips against his cheek and whispered in his ear, "Thank you."

Then I stood and walked calmly out of the room. But once I closed the door behind me, I felt giddy and I left the classroom in great spirits.

I met Hermione coming out of the Great Hall. She had a stack of toast in a napkin, butter running through each piece onto the next.

"I'm going to get Harry, want to come?" She asked.

I nodded. I followed her up to the Gryffindor common room. The portrait opened before we even reached it and Harry came out and looked at us for a moment. "Hello, I brought you this... Want to go for a walk?" Hermione asked.

"Good idea." Harry said gratefully and then looked at me as we started walking and said, "Are you feeling better?"

I nodded. "I didn't want to compete in the Triwizard Tournament and when I had a vision my name was going to come out, I just didn't feel good. The pressure in there was just a little too much. Dumbledore's letting you compete?"

Harry nodded. As we were outside now, walking around the lake, eating, Harry told Hermione what had happened and caught me up with the other parts after I left.

"Well, of course I knew you hadn't entered yourself. The look on your face when Dumbledore read out your name! But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody's right, Harry. . . I don't think any student could have done it. . . they'd never be able to fool the Goblet, or get over Dumbledore's-"

"Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Erm. . . yes. . . he was at breakfast." Hermione said after some hesitation.

"Does he still think I entered myself?" Harry asked.

"Well. . . no, I don't think so. . . not really." Hermione said a bit awkwardly.

"He's jealous." I piped up.

"Jealous? Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Look." Hermione said patiently, "it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault, I know you don't ask for it. . . but- well- you know, Ron's got all these brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous- he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many. . ."

"Great, Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it. . . People gawping at my forehead everywhere I go. . ."

"I'm not telling him anything." Hermione said shortly. "Tell him yourself. It's the only way to sort this out."

"I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up! Maybe he'll believe I'm not enjoying myself once I've got my neck broken or-" Harry said loudly.

"That's not funny." I snapped at him.

"That's not funny at all." Hermione agreed anxiously. "Harry, I've been thinking- you know what we've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get back tot he castle?"

"Yeah, give Ron a good kick up the ass?"

"Write to Sirius. You've got to tell him what's happened. He asked you to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. . . It's almost as if he expected something like this to happen. I brought some parchment and a quill out with me-" Hermione looked at me and I nodded.

"I know what the letter says." I said. Or at least, I hoped that it did.

"Come off it." Harry said, looking at us like we were crazy. "He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me in the Triwizard Tournament-"

"He'll find out anyways." I said. "It'll be in the Daily Prophet by tomorrow." (I hoped). "He'd rather hear from you anyways."

I summoned my letters to Sirius and Dad from the castle as we walked up to the Owlery. They came shooting out the door and into my hand. "We'll send Sadie. She can mail my letter to Sirius and yours since you can't use Hedwig. I'll use Hedwig to send a letter to Dad."

Dear Sirius, You told me to keep you posted on what's happening at Hogwarts, so here goes- I don't know if you've heard, but the Triwizard Tournament's happening this year and on Saturday night I got picked as a fourth champion. I don't know who put my name in the Goblet of Fire, because I didn't. The other Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory, from Hufflepuff. Elizabeth's pleased. Elizabeth and Hermione say hello. Hope you're okay, and Buckbeak -Harry

"Finished," He said and I took his letter and gave him the one I had written to dad. "Give that to Hedwig." I repeated as Hedwig flew down from the rafters.

"This is for Professor Lupin." he told Hedwig as he tied the letter to her leg. I worked on Sirius' letters with Sadie.

I petted her wings and let her out. "I ought to go find Cedric and congratulate him." I told the others. I hugged Harry tightly. "You're going to be fine, you know." I said reassuringly. "The other students aren't going to be happy and I'm sorry you'll have to put up with it, but Hermione and I'll be here." I promised.

"Thanks Elizabeth." Harry said with a tight smile.

💙💙💙💙

𝕴 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝕮𝖊𝖉𝖗𝖎𝖈 with some of his buddies in the library. I decided I wouldn't say anything because I didn't particularly like his friends. Cedric spotted me and jumped up and came over quickly. "There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere." he said.

"Congratulations." I said. "I'm really happy you got it."

"Walk with me." Cedric said, jerking his head out the library door. I followed behind him silently, a bit confused. "Are you okay?" He asked in concern as we were by ourselves. "You seemed really distressed about everything."

I sighed, running my hair through my knotted hair. "Yeah, I know. It's just. . ." I hesitated and then said, "When I had my visions, I-er- saw my name coming out of the Cup. And since I hadn't put my name in and I didn't want to compete in the first place, I was feeling horrible. But Harry's name came out and he didn't put his name in and when Professor Moody said maybe someone was trying to kill him well. . . I just got really upset."

"He really didn't put his name in the Goblet?" Cedric asked incredulously.

I nodded, "No one knows how his name was put into the Goblet. It's scary, really."

Cedric nodded, "Who put his name in it then?"

I shook my head, "I don't know. And that worries me. If I didn't seem something important, what else am I missing then?"

Cedric put an arm around my shoulder, "You shouldn't worry so much about those visions you know. They don't define you."

"McGonagall said something like that." I said. "But I still feel useless when I'm blind."

Cedric shook his head. "Get something to eat, alright? I know you didn't come back last night and you probably didn't eat breakfast."

I grinned reluctantly. "Sorry about not coming to the celebration."

Cedric waved his hand, "I don't care, Elizabeth. I just want you to be okay, alright?"

I nodded, "I'll go get something to eat.

Cedric hesitated, and then leaned in and kissed my cheek, "you do that." Then he walked back to the library. With burning cheeks, I headed to the Great Hall.

💙💙💙💙

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖋𝖊𝖜 days were hard on Harry. Only the Gryffindors were being kind to him. Everywhere he went, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins all hating on him. I got very frustrated with the Hufflepuffs who kept persuading me to stop being friends with Harry.

I'd been minding my business too, which made it even more frustrating. Cedric had been in the corner, talking to a huge group of people. Cedric was extremely popular and was usually always seen in a group of girls and boys. I'd been in the opposing corner, working on my homework. I still had a lot to do and I was rushing to get it done on time.

I didn't even realize that the girl was talking to me at first. She'd called "Hey!" And I didn't look up because I was trying to figure out what the Rune translation was. Then she called "Hey future-see-er." And I looked up.

"What?" I asked curtly. I hated being yanked out of homework reveries. When you have the flow, you have the flow. When you're interrupted, your thoughts stop and the essay is just harder to write when you eventually get back to it.

"Don't you like Cedric?" She asked and Cedric looked at her, frowning.

"Of course, I do." I said, trying to figure out why she might be asking about it. Half the girls were jealous about our close relationship.

"Then why are you still friends with Harry?" She asked defiantly.

I narrowed my eyes, "Why should I drop my friendship with him?" I asked harshly.

"Cause he's an attention-seeking git." Someone else said, laughing.

I slammed my books that I was holding down on the table so that I could shove them into my shoulder bag and said, "I can be friends with whoever the hell I want. I can support Cedric and Harry at the same time and if you all weren't such dunderheads, you'd be able to do that too."

Then I swept angrily out of the common room to go study in the Forbidden forest.

And then of course, there were the stupid Slytherins. I was passing through the hallway in the dungeon and saw the Gryffindors and Slytherins were lined up outside the Potions classroom. The Slytherins were howling with laughter and flashed their new badges to POTTER STINKS.

"Oh very funny. Really witty." Hermione said sarcastically.

"Want one, Granger. I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up." Draco said.

Harry and I had our wands out before anyone else could've blinked. I was feeling very angry right now and Draco was the perfect target.

"Harry!" Hermione said, not noticing me. No one seemed to notice I was there, their eyes were all on Draco and Harry. Good, I had a clear shot now.

"Go on, then, Potter. Moody's not here to look after you now- do it, if you've got the guts!" Draco said, his eyes glinting.

"Furnunculus!" Harry yelled.

"Densaugeo!" Malfoy screamed.

"Ebulblio!" I shouted.

Harry's spell hit Goyle in the face, Malfoy's hit Hermione, and mine hit Malfoy. Goyle bellowed as boils sprang up on his face. Hermione's teeth started to grow, and Malfoy was trapped in a transparent bubble. Crabbe lunged at me, knocking me to the ground. I guess he didn't like using his wand.

"And what is all this noise about?" A soft, deadly voice, said down the corridor as Crabbe punched me in the face. I kneed him in the groin, getting him hard, satisfyingly.

Snape grabbed the back of Crabbe's collar, hauling him to his feet. I got up to my feet on my own, blood dripping from my nose.

"Hospital wing." He said, pointing to Goyle, "Hospital wing." He said, pointing to Hermione. They both went off in the same direction. He took out his wand and undid the spell I'd done on Malfoy. "Get to class Kane." Snape said, then bent down and said, "Come back after class."

I headed off to charms wondering what he could possibly want now.

💙💙💙💙

𝕴 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖔𝖓 the office door of the Potions classroom because he wasn't in the classroom. "Come in." He said in an ice cold voice.

I entered hesitantly. Why was he angry with me? Sure, I'd trapped Draco in a bubble and made sure Crabbe wasn't having children anytime soon but still. . . it's not like I'd been in the wrong.

He had his back to me, working at his private desk and said, "Sit." The only thing to sit down on was the bed.

"What do you want?" I muttered, staring at my feet. My nose was still hurting and I closed my eyes and pressed on it. It burned and hurt even more. Maybe it was broken.

His fingers touched my chin and he pulled my head up so he could see my face. "Episkey."

My nose snapped and I yelped in pain and shouted, "What was that for!"

But the pain in my nose was fading. Snape actually smiled and then said, "You could just thank me."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you."

I was briefly aware that his fingers were still on my chin and I reached up and touched his hand. We were still for a moment and then I drew away and said, "Really, thank you." I was blushing bright red, looking down, trying not to smile.

"I-I should- should go." I stumbled over my words and turned and nearly ran into the door and then ran from the room.

I was sure that if I had another meeting like that, I might actually kiss him.

And I wasn't sure how he'd react about that!

💙💙💙💙

𝕴 𝖜𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊 𝖔𝖚𝖙 a letter to dad that night.

Dear Dad, The Daily Prophet's probably made a piece about it already, I reckon it'll be horrible too. It's going to paint Harry as such a lonely little boy which he isn't. I reckon he didn't say anything that the paper printed he said. Rubbish really, I don't know why you waste money on it. I'm feeling a bit off, I think that's simply because I don't understand why my visions are all wrong. I didn't tell you this yet but I had seen my name coming out of the Cup. Of course, then it was Harry's name but I don't know how I could've made such a mistake! Anyways, I reckon the first task ought to be dragons. You know, perfectly safe. I have to say I'm really glad my name wasn't shot out of the cup. I don't think I could handle it, considering I don't know how reliable my visions are. Of course then, I do suppose that I'd have a better reckoning than the others since I have an idea. Sorry, I'm complaining a lot. Magic school isn't as fun as I wish it was. I feel that every year, Harry's got some sort of hate coming towards him and I feel that I get some of the hate too, simply for being his friend. Especially this year, good lord. I wished the hat just put me in danger in Gryffindor. It's like I have to decide between Cedric and Harry and I can't because I love them both, you know? Anyways, I'll try to be more positive next time. I'm not really down. I've heard from Sirius a couple times and I know where he's staying so maybe I'll pay a visit. But Snape's always following me around. He thinks I'm in danger from the Durmstrangs. I don't know, maybe he's right. I don't understand his attitude towards me at all! He likes me a lot, I feel, and that in itself is confusing because he really ought to hate me. He hates Gryffindors and he fully well knows that's where I was supposed to end up. And he even likes me more than the Slytherins! Oh well, I hope you're doing alright. I miss you a lot, wish you were teaching this year. I've got Snape teaching me how to make Wolfsbane potion during our private lessons so maybe I'll be able to get my hands on some at some point. Not sure how I'll get it to you yet but I'll figure it out. I love you so much dad. -Elizabeth

I waited for it to dry, making sure no one was reading over my shoulder, and then I rolled it up and went up to the Owlery. Neither Hedwig or Sadie were back yet and with Ron's permission, I used Pig to send the letter to Dad.

⬅️➡️

[hasturlover]

Alright im brainrotting so like james and lily get harry enrolled in kindergarten and he instantly infatuated with little cactus draco who regulus babysat because draco is a menace for babysitter but soft only for his uncle reggie. So it ends up with so so much playdates between harry and draco which sorta like a date (going tot theme park, aquarium, beach, ice rink, etc) for jegulily. Jily cant help think regulus is so pretty charming and gorgeous and mooning over the black heir while kinda hiding their crush from each other because they felt guilty loving another person. While regulus kinda confused because why both potters are so sweet to him?? Is it potter thing, he is confused but he is so happy whenever james hug him or lily peck his cheek before leaving. Meanwhile harry and draco planning for jegulily marriage necause both of them evil little shits

[bestnottoask]

Falling For You?

{Masterlist}

Pairing- Draco Malfoy x Fem Potter Reader 

Request- No

Summary - You’re starting to notice a change in Draco Malfoy’s behavior which is strange because ever since day one he has had it out for you and your twin brother Harry. What will happen when you are hurt badly during a quidditch match causing you to fall from a fatal height?  This takes place in the 5th year. No use of Y/N.

Genre- Angst, Fluff 

Warnings - Blood, Angst, Potential enemies to lovers? multiple Pov, swearing, mentions of nausea, fainting, violence, physical fighting, I think that's it,  

●Ambiguous Ending

A/N - This is my first ever fic, so I hope you enjoy it. Sorry I haven’t posted much life has just gotten a bit out of hand recently, but I have managed to produce this and its finally time to share it! so enjoy. 

Word count - 5.7k 

Growing up without parents and living with your abusive Aunt and Uncle with their Spoilt Brat for a kid wasn’t easy; and you honestly didn’t think you would have survived without your twin brother. For the longest time you too were inseparable. You were each other’s only family left. And that’s why you were crushed with guilt every time you look at those shining grey eyes.  

It was no secret that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were enemies. Most people despised Malfoy due to his cruel demeanor and outdated world views, where he saw himself on some pedestal above everyone else; which he would reticule you from if you dare thought otherwise. Of course you were one of the people who disliked him. How could you not be?  

You’d just wish your heart would listen to your brain when thought of him. He was a cruel person who found fun in making other people’s lives difficult, especially you and your friends. So why did you find your eyes lingering on him for a second too long? Looking around the great hall at dinner just to get a glimpse of him. It wasn’t right, and you knew it. But it didn’t help that he had really grown into his looks and gotten a lot taller over the summer break. And while there is an undouble rivalry between Malfoy and both Potter twins since the first year, you couldn’t help but notice that Malfoy had become slightly more tolerable lately. He would make less snarky and unnecessary comments, start less arguments and not take the arguments that he did start as far as he used to. Was he getting tired of it? Or was he maybe he was finally maturing. Either way, you were grateful for it as you have been seated next to him for potions until the end of the year, courtesy of Snape’s seating plan.  

In fact, you had noticed that ever since you had been seated next to him at the beginning of the year, he was slowly becoming more tolerable, and you were becoming less annoyed by his presence.  

You had explained your thoughts to Hermione stating that maybe he was ‘growing on you’ but she just replied saying that it was more likely that he was just ‘wearing you down’, to which you chuckled along with.  

For a while now, more times than you’d like to admit was spent dwelling on your changing feelings for him. A part of you hoped that he was perhaps changing and that maybe it could lead to something between the two of you. You had to admit he was funny at times and had slipped up and shown you a different side of him before. Only in subtle ways like picking something you’d dropped on the floor and handing it to you without any snarky comment or passing you something you were looking for. If anyone else did this, you wouldn’t think twice about it. But it wasn’t anyone. It was Draco Malfoy.  

You were pulled out of your own thoughts by Ron leaning upwards to look over you and your brothers head to see the Slytherin table  

“Can’t wait to wipe that that stupid smug smirk off of Draco’s face” Ron said through gritted teeth as he began to sit back down still keeping an eye on the Slytherin table behind you where Draco sat in his quidditch uniform talking with his teammates.  

“He’s been extra cocky today about winning this match” Ron grumbled as he turned to the food in front of him.  

“Tell me about it” Harry sarcastically sighed “I had to deal with him and Blaise all of first period” Harry grumbled. You peered over your shoulder to see the loud commotion happening behind you, which mainly consisted of the Slytherin quidditch team chanting about them winning the upcoming match. It didn’t take a genius to tell they were overly confident.  

“No worries, we’ve trained for this,” you said turning back to the table and rolling up your sleeves. As much as you like your quidditch uniform its arm sleeve length got in the way when you were trying to eat.  

“One more hour until we can destroy them!” Ron said with a laugh to which Harry returned with a grin.  

“You both are so competitive” Hermione chimed in as she rolled her eyes before looking back at the book in her hands.  

“It’s almost concerning” you chuckled in agreement.  

“Don’t act like you don’t want to see them lose” Ron replied with a tone making it sound like he was defending himself.  

“I want to see us win” you explained.  

“How’s that any different?” Ron questioned with a mouth full of food and a raised brow.  

“Because she’s finding pleasure in her achievements rather than others loses” Hermione said firmly closing and placing her book on the table, to which Ron replied with another eye roll.  

“Yeah, but it Slytherin” Harry said as if he was to be proving some point, but you and Hermione looked at each other then back towards him as he missed the point all together.  

“So?” you replied.  

“So, I guess it’s alright to be happy when they lose” Harry said with uncertainty in his voice because as he was saying it out loud, he was beginning to hear how he may be in the wrong.  

“Don’t get me wrong I want us to win, but I think you two are a bit too hateful towards Slytherin. I mean sometimes you both say something I’d expect a Slytherin to say about a Gryffindor. Which is definitely not a good look”. You explained, hoping to talk some sense into them so try and defuse the rising tension between the house that always comes before a big quidditch match. Harry and Ron didn’t reply, they just shared a look between them realizing that you may have a point; as they do get quite competitive.  

The conversation quickly changed as Oliver Wood appeared and made the team gather around and talk strategy.  

You wouldn’t call yourself a confident person, but usually before a quidditch you would feel fine. Prepared. You were a strong player, and everyone knew it. However, today you weren’t feeling as prepared as you normally are, and you were unsure as to why. You just had a bad feeling about the match.  

As you walked out onto the field with your team, broom in hand, the icy wind almost imminently pricked at your skin. You looked up and saw that the sky had been painted with all different shades of grey clouds, indicating an upcoming storm.  

Everyone took their positions on the field and as you did you saw some of the Slytherin boys whisper something to each other while looking over at you and some of your teammates. This made you feel even more uneasy, and you tried to shake it off, but it kept dwelling on you that something was going to go wrong.  

The game began and everything went as expected aside from Slytherin taking the lead by a few points but nothing that couldn’t be overturned by the end of the game. It soon started to lightly rain, a sprinkle of water coating the stadium, making it a bit harder to see since the wind was moving the rain into your eyes.  

As the score got closer everyone understandably got more competitive and began to push the boundaries a tad, such as shoving someone a little harder than what is normally allowed during a match, but no student would ever report this to a teacher. It was like an unspoken rule that when the game got close the so could the players.  

You had flown to the side of the field after successfully passing the quaffle over to Oliver while avoiding being knocked off your broom. Oliver had managed to gain Gryffindor points with the quaffle pushing the score so that Gryffindor was now ahead of Slytherin. This did not sit well with the two Slytherins that were on your back trying to prevent you from passing the quaffle over to Oliver just moments ago.  

One of them was Marcus Flint. And although you couldn’t see the glare, he gave you from behind, you could almost feel it. Only a minute or two later something sharp caught the corner of your eye. You looked over to your right, but it had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. You had shrugged it off and continued to play the game but was shortly interrupted by a small, very bright blue flash across the field. You flew up high staring wide-eyed trying to find it again eyes scanning everywhere, hoping someone else had also seen it and that you weren’t going crazy. But you didn’t have much time to ponder as soon the bright light was headed straight towards you once again. You instantly flew away, occasionally checking behind you to see if it was still on your trail. Adrenaline coursed through your body as you flew at full speed before slowing down once you realized that it was no longer behind you.  

Shocked from the surprise of it all, you weren’t paying attention until you heard what sounded like distressed arguing. You saw Fred and Seamus from afar, you squinted trying to figure out what they were doing as it looked like they were either arguing or very worried. You began to make you way over there ignoring your surroundings, heading straight towards them, but before you could make it there someone came out of nowhere and sped past you, nearly knocking you off your broom. It was unlike anyone to race that fast at someone during the match so high off the ground even with the unspoken rule. You continued forward when once again someone flew right in front of you. You suddenly came to a halt and spun your head around to see what was happening behind you. You could feel the cold, icy air prick at your skin and make your nose pink and sore. Your hair was blowing rapidly in the wind, impairing your vision. You looked over and saw Ron from afar clutching his upper left arm with Oliver beside him. As you were about to fly over to them to make sure Ron was alright, when something sped past you, hitting you on the right side of your head.  

It knocked you hard, causing you to face forward again and even jolt a little bit on your broom. You were still able to maintain a steady grip with both hands on her broom; but that was quickly forgotten about when you began to feel a wave of nausea and dizziness. It quickly became a struggle to focus on anything, the world felt like it was spinning and your whole body felt numb aside from a slight tingle.  

But the numbness didn’t last long as soon a strong burning sensation formed above your right eyebrow. Still accompanied by the nausea, after only a few seconds you felt something wet run down the right side of your face. But this wasn’t the cold rain that was pouring all around you. This was warm and running fast.  

You slowly brought your hand up to the source of the pain and brought it back down only to find it covered in a bright red liquid. As if on cue, your hearing began to fade and soon you couldn’t hear anything around you; not your teammates, not the crowd, or even the cold wind that had been floating around all week. The only thing you could hear was your own racing heart. Your breaths were slow and deep as you tried to stay conscious, while your heartbeat was as fast as ever. The rain that was already trickling down you only helped spread blood down your face beginning to cover your quidditch uniform.  

Only a few seconds prior, Hermione had noticed the small flash fly across the field once again, but this time it went towards you, and seemingly hit you before you could see it coming. Hermione jumped out of her seat the second she saw you get hit. She was squinting her eyes and leaning ever so slightly over the banister trying to see what happened. Neville was quickly by her side using his binoculars to try to see what was happening. Hermione glances to her side at Nevilles binoculars and quickly snatches the binoculars from Nevilles grasp and places them before her eyes. Completely ignoring the fact that they were strapped around his neck, and he was now uncomfortably pulled into her personal space. Hermione saw your face slowly turn red, and she imminently dropped the binoculars, allowing Neville to stand up straight once more. “Oh Merlin” she whispered to herself, but loud enough for Neville and Luna who had also joined her side to hear and it, make them both look at her, unsure of what she saw.  

Unaware as to what everyone else was facing, Harry was speeding along the perimeter of the field, not far from the ground with Draco to his Left. Their knees collided and both of their gazes were strongly focused on the small golden snitch flying not far in front of them. The light rain and the air resistant due to their fast speed was causing them both slightly to squint into order to see. They both would push against each other with their shoulders in hopes that the other would fall off course. Their hair flew rapidly behind them as they tilted their heads forward, both trying to increase their speed. However, Draco’s gaze shifted to the stadium when he heard some loud yelling. But it wasn’t the normal yelling that happened during a quidditch match. This sounded like panic. He couldn’t make out what was being said but when he looked above Harry as he saw the Gryffindor podiums crowds’ gazes fixated on something behind and above him; and judging by their expression and stances with their arms pointing at whatever was causing the commotion, it wasn’t good. Draco only heard the yelling because he and Harry were flying right beside the crowd, however, Harry seemed to be too focused on the snitch flying just out of his reach to take interest in the sound. Draco turned his head to his left and after a quick scan of the field and the people on it, he saw what the commotion was about.  

Draco’s shoulder sunk and his eyes were wide fixated on the image in the distance. He wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real. He saw you on your broom way up in the air. But you weren’t flying around. Instead, you sat up on your broom with only one hand gripping the broomstick. Your opposing hand was held to the side of your head, the palm painted red. His stomach dropped when he saw her face. Blood was pouring down the right side of it, covering the dazed expression. You were looking slightly over your right shoulder, towards the Gryffindor podium and crowd, which he was under. That’s probably why he heard them yelling. They got the best view of what had happened and started to panic.  

You felt a light head, and suddenly the overwhelming burning pain didn’t matter anymore. The frequency of your blinks increased significantly, as you tried to stay awake. You could taste the rain as your mouth hung open, desperately trying to take deeper breaths. But soon you realized that it was no good. Black dots began to appear, and you felt yourself falling. The last thing you saw was your broom only a few feet above you.  

Draco eye widened and he was quickly filled to the brim with panic, as he saw your figure in the distance go limp and fall to the side, beginning to make its way to the ground. Within less than a second of your body falling, Draco’s broomstick was pointed your way and just as before he was tilting his head and body forward increasing his speed. His gaze was focused the unconscious body in a bright red and gold Gryffindor uniform; and just like for you before, everything around him was a blur and he could only hear clouded muffles of what he would assume is the crowd being loud as per usual; not that he gave any thought to it, he didn’t care, in fact it seemed as if for the first time in his life he didn’t care about anything else; he was only focused on getting to you on time.  

Harry noticed Draco’s absence when he went to make a quick glance between him and the golden snitch. But as Harry noticed he was no longer next to him he was quick to notice a Slytherin uniform blowing in the wind flying away from him. Harry slowed his chase after the snitch and took notice of what Draco was chasing after. Rather than who he was chasing after, Panic swept through the boy as he was quick to follow Draco’s path, but Draco was significantly ahead of him.  

Flying through the rain at such a speed made the rain drops feel as if ice was pinching at Draco’s pale skin, but nether the less Draco was able to catch Potter’s limp body before you went crashing onto the ground. He held a tight grip, but the impact of catching you and trying to hold you on his broomstick made him lose control of his broom and he began to make his way to the ground. He was able to pull his broom upwards right before he collided with the ground, softening the fall for both students. Once you both hit the ground, Draco was thrown over you and landed roughly 5 meters in front of her. You were laying half on your stomach and half on your right side on the soft, wet grass. Your hair which you had freshly washed this morning, was scattered over your face, absorbing blood from the small pool that was forming under your rested head. Draco on the other hand found himself fully on his stomach with his head facing to his left, with his left shoulder taking most of the impact. Both uniforms were muddy and blowing slightly in the wind as they lay there on the wet grass.  

It didn’t take long for both teams to make their way to the scene, Oliver arriving first with Ron by his side clutching his upper left arm. They both kneeled by your side; Oliver gently pulling you onto your back, revealing what was once clear skin framing a soft smile, but was now a blood-covered face decorated with scratches. Oliver and Ron are both taken back by the sight, eyes scanning over the injury on your head. But before Oliver could even think of what to do next the whole Gryffindor quidditch team had made their way over and began crowding around them. Harry arrives at the scene and stumbles off his broom running and forcefully pushing his way through his teammates, only coming to a small stop when he finally sees his blooded-up sister on the floor; half her face covered in blood with her hair stuck in it, and the parts of her face that somehow weren’t bloody, were pale and lifeless. Before anyone could say anything to him, he was on his knees next to her, with tear-filled eyes and his hands clasping over her forehead in an attempt to try and stop the bleeding. He tried to reach for his wand to use a healing spell but cursed under his breath as he moved his hand back to your head after feeling his empty pocket. A reminder of the rule stating that no personal magical objects can be found or used by any player during a match.  

Draco was woken by his teammates pulling him up to his knees after he was briefly knocked out from the impact with the ground, and he was very winded; but he didn’t even assess or take note of the damage done to himself before he began carefully making his way up to the small crowd of both Gryffindor and Slytherin quidditch players, trying to peek through. By the time he made it through the crowd, he only got a glimpse before he spun his head around at the sound of an angry professor storming over to the scene.  

“Move aside!” Professor Snape called out while waving his arms out to push anyone out of his way. He was followed by Professor McGonigal who had her hands holding up her robes so she could hurry over. Behind her were Hermione, Luna, Nevile and a hand full of other people with worried expressions written all over their faces. Everyone stepped aside to let the professors in. Harry looked up at them with tear-soaked eyes, his hands were on his twin sister’s face; one on her cut and the other on her jawline, holding her face. For a second Harry could have sworn he saw Professor Snape’s eyes widen with concern. Within a second Snape was by Harrys side, he pulled out his wand and softly murmured a healing spell causing the slash on her forehead to slowly heal over. Professor McGonigal began questioning the students around her about what had caused this incident, but her tone made the questions sound like accusations. Relief filled Harrys body and he let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. His sobs calmed down and he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked over and it was Hermione who gave him a reassuring smile; telling him it would be alright. Draco also felt a gush of relief wash over him, and unfortunately for him, it didn’t go unnoticed. Hermione gave him a questioning look as she saw the relief on his face when he saw that her dear friend way going to be alright. Draco noticed Hermione’s stare when he made eye contact with her. Panic boiled within him at being caught and his cheeks blushed a little from embarrassment and he immediately looked away and avoided her gaze, staring at the grass below him acting as if he didn’t care.  

Harry returned his gaze to his sister who was being picked up by Snape. Snape was now standing up holding your still unconscious body in his arms.  

“I suggest you follow me to the infirmary Wesley” Snape suggested, referring to the fact Ron was clutching his upper left arm with a little bit of blood seeping out of it.  

“You got hit?! Are you alright Ron?” Hermione explained, turning to see the state he was in.  

“Better than her” Ron shrugged referring to you as he made his way over to Snape with the intent to join his trip to the infirmary.  

“Malfoy?” Snape said in his usual cold tone.  

“Huh?” Draco said, looking up a little surprised as he was in his head and not paying attention. Snape noticed that the boy was oblivious, and he let out a small disappointing sigh before replying.  

“Care to join us at the infirmary?” It almost sounded like a statement rather than a question because of Snapes usual cold tone. Draco looked down at his dirtied uniform and bruised hands. He will admit that his arm and back did hurt from the landing and he was sure he had a fair share of bruises underneath his uniform, and as much as he would like to follow, he knew that if he did he would want to check up on you, and that would draw a lot of unwanted attention and suspicion to the relationship between you and him, and after saving you there was enough speculation coming his way, he didn’t need anymore.  

“Uh- no I think I’m alright” He shrugged. Without any further questioning Snape turned around and began walking back to the castle accompanied by Ron. Harry stumbled to his feet and quickly began to follow Snape but was stopped by Professor McGonigal placing her arm in front of him.  

“I think you should stay; I need to have a word with you and everyone else here to figure out what happened today”, and with that Harry sighed, he wanted to protest and go with his sister, but he knew that she was in good hands; and he too wanted to know what causes her sister to bleed all over the Quidditch field.  

Professor McGonigal took the Gryffindor team to the side of the field to question them first, leaving the Slytherin team plus Hermione, Luna and Neville alone, while the crowd was told to go back to the great hall.  

There was only small chatter between the students before a few Slytherin students began chuckling. “Surely this means we win right? I mean we managed to get two of the Gryffindor players out of commission.” Marcus Flint chuckled rather loudly to his friends.  

Hermione shot them a quick glare, but they were seemingly unfazed by it. She knew they had something to do with what happened today. Draco, who had been standing around in silence avoiding any questions from his teammates while holding his still sore arm, shot a firm glare towards the Marcus Flint, having also caught on that he was up to something.  

“What?” Marcus mockingly questioned when he noticed Draco’s cold glare.  

“What did you do?” Draco asked coldly as he began walking over to the boy.  

“What does it look like, I won us the game mate!” Marcus chuckled while looking around at his friends who were also seemingly enjoying this.  

“You cheated!” Hermione exclaimed, “I saw a small flash of blue light move around the field”.  

“And what does that prove?” Marcus replied, with his horrific smile hung high.  

“You used a spell; you’ve got your wand with you” Hermione pointed out gesturing to his wand that couldn’t quite fit properly into his pocket.  

“Yeah, and what are you going to do about its Granger” Marcus stated as he began walking into Hermione’s personal space, towering over her in an attempt to make her feel threatened.  

“You put two people in the infirmary!” Nevile chimed in trying to see if Marcus had any remorse for his actions.  

“Congrats the boy can count” Marcus laughed while waving his hand in the air mockingly which was followed by laughter from his surrounding friends. “It’s not like anyone is going to miss those two” Marcus scoffed as he turned back to his friend.  

Draco glanced at the red stained grass then back up to Marcus who was chuckling alone with his friends like nothing had even happened. The boy was showing no remorse, so he wasn’t going to either. Hermione saw something change in Draco’s eyes, they suddenly went dark and before she could say anything he was clenching his fists and angrily walking up to Marcus. The second Marcus turned to acknowledge Draco’s precents, Draco swung his fist violently and fast at the boy’s left cheek, causing him to stumble to the ground. The pain in Draco shoulder was long gone, covered by his anger for the boy in front of him.  

“The fuck is your problem!” Marcus exclaimed as he stood up and swung back at the blonde boy. Cries were heard from the people around them as Draco took the punch given to him, but almost immediately returned it and managed to push Marcus back to the ground. Marcus brought Draco down with him and they continued to swing at each other, grabbing each other’s collars and pushing the other down. It wasn’t until Draco managed to pin Marcus beneath him and was mercilessly slamming his fists into the boy’s face before he was pulled back. Arms wrapped around him as he tried to push against them.  

“Stop! He’s not worth it” Oliver wood exclaimed as he was holding Draco back along with Fred Weasley.  

“You Piece of shit!” Marcus spat at Draco with blood coming out of his mouth, while trying to reach him; struggling against Blaise and Goyel grip.  

“ENOUGH!” Professor McGonigal exclaimed as she glared at the two boys, making them stop struggling to free themselves.  

“The Two of you, my office NOW!” McGonigal glared at the boys as they slowly stumbled to their feet with hung their heads low as they walked by her side to her office. An angry glare was exchanged between the boys ever so often as they made their way back to the castle.  

“What on earth has gotten into everyone today!?” Oliver exclaimed looking around at all the stunned students.  

“Malfoy beating the living shit out of Flint, now that's something” Seamus answered, not hiding his amusement  

“Yeah, but why?” Oliver continued  

“Because he cheated during the match, He was the reason your team got hurt” Hermione Chimed in.  

“What?!, That bastard!” Harry spat.  

“Why would Malfoy be so upset about Slytherin cheating? Wouldn’t put it past him to do it himself” Fred replied.  

“Merlin knows” Seamus sighed.  

“So are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room” George asked, causing everyone to send him questioning looks.  

“Which one” Seamus chuckled.  

“The fact that ‘The prince of Slytherin ‘abandoned chasing the golden snitch to catch and most likely save the life of the one and only ‘princess of Gryffindor’”. George explained. To which Fred replied with a small chuckle “well when you say it like that”.  

“Does seem a bit curious don’t you think” Luna gently stated.  

Harry shared a confused look with Hermione, both acknowledging that they needed to talk privately.  

“Whatever, I’ll discuss this later with McGonigal; we should pack-up and clear out of here before this rain becomes a storm” Oliver said he began making his way off the court, still pissed about how the match went down. Everyone soon followed him.  

Everyone had been told to go about their day as usual, but nothing about what had happened earlier was usual. Hermione had gone to speak to professor McGonigal about her suspicions involving Marcus Flint and his cheating. To which McGonigal was able to confirm when assessing the recent spells used through his wand. Quidditch matches had been suspended for the month due to foul play and to say everyone was upset was an understatement. Harry had spent most of the day by your side, with Ron as company. A few hours later you had woken to a killer headache and harry was quick to inform Hermione so she could come and see you, which of course she did and used the time to fill you in on what had happened.  

You were jaw-dropped shocked when Hermione informed you that the Draco Malfoy had flown over to you on a whim to catch you. Not only that but he had beaten up Flint because he was the one who was cheating and hurt you and Ron. None of this made any sense but for a moment it made your heart flutter with the idea that he actually cared. To some degree at least. But to be fair he must care quite a bit to have been the first person to rush over to help you. If you weren’t in so much pain, you would be eager to get out of the infirmary just so you could see him in potions but unfortunately that didn’t look like it was happening anytime soon.  

Hermione excused herself from your presence and began to make her way to the detention classroom which she had heard Draco had been placed in, leaving a trail of small clicks behind her as her shoes tapped the store floor. The room felt cold and isolating, only accompanied by the sound of rain against the rather large windows.  

Hermione slowly stepped towards Draco, where he was sitting on the edge of a crooked chair, silently looking down at his hands. Entering his field of view Hermione waited, expecting some form of acknowledgement but Draco held his gaze on the icepack he was holding in his pale and muddy hands.  

Hermione spoke softly, almost as if she was afraid that if she started him, he would disappear. “I heard McGonigal yelling from down the hall” She paused for a moment when he didn’t respond. “How long were you given?”.  

“8 weeks” Draco quietly grumbled after a few seconds.  

“And Marcus?”  

“12.” His tone was empty and careless.  

“Makes sense” Hermione said as she stepped closer to the boy, fiddling with her hands.  

“She woke up” Hermione quietly commented referring to you. She took note of Draco’s reaction. He had moved his eyes up but stopped before they met with hers and brought them back down to his hand; almost as if he didn’t want them to leave his hand in the first place. It was a small reaction, but it was still there.  

Hermione decided to continue figuring he was curious and wasn’t going to respond. “She is doing fine by the way; she’ll be out of the infirmary very soon.” Draco just nodded softly in repose still avoiding her gaze.  

“Draco” Hermione said softly and took a step closer, she waited for him to look at her and once he did, she was almost taken back a bit. She had never seen such a plain soft expression him this boy. His face always contained a scowl and a mischievous smirk. She has to blink herself back to reality and out of her thoughts.  

“You did a good thing today; you probably saved her life. The fall could have taken her out” Hermione tone was so genuine that Draco didn’t know how to respond.  

“So, thank you” Hermione finished softly with a small smile. Draco pressed his lips together in acknowledgement before Hermione turned to walk out the room, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.  

Although Draco hadn’t said much to Hermione, a lot was exchanged, and she knew that she was going to revisit her conversation with you about his change in behavior. Draco was left dreading how mad his father was going to be about his actions, but once he remembered why he did them, his mind shifted, and he didn’t care as much about what his father was going to say, only what he was going to say to you. 

[daddiesdrarryy]

Remus: Ah, you know, Harry, your uncle Pads knows a couple of bands. Maybe he could get you those tickets to the concert you wanted to with Draco?

James: Hey, I said I’d get those tickets for my son, and get them I shall!

Remus: Oh, well, maybe Pads could get you backstage passes?

James: Back stage? I’ll get him on the stage! They’ll even break a bloody guitar over his blasted head!

Harry: Cool!

[wordsarelife]

—timeless

pairing: draco malfoy x fem!reader

summary: draco malfoy wouldn’t have thought to come across you in a dark magic shop or how eager he would be to marry you

notes: i changed it up a bit, i hope that’s alright

warnings: mentions of grooming, loved ones dying || navigation

the dim light of the street lantern was falling into the window of the dark magic shop. the wind hit the bells behind the door when it got opened, making them chime a melodic melody.

“hello?” a voice asked.

you looked up from the paper on the counter and searched for the person that had just come through the door. it wasn’t long until draco malfoy entered your field of vision.

“l/n?” he asked surprised when his eyes fell on you.

“malfoy” you noted. his hair was as light as ever, but he looked a bit healthier since the last time you had seen him, which arguably wasn’t the best. it had been the final fight and you had watched him being walked away by his parents.

“what are you doing here?” he proceeded to ask “i wouldn’t have thought that someone like you would come anywhere near this shop”

you hadn’t been friends at hogwarts. quite the opposite really. you had always belonged to ron, hermione and harry, while draco had made it his mission to torture them.

although you had always been by their side, he had never once said anything about you. probably because even draco malfoy pitied you, like the rest of the school. your parents had been brutally killed by death eaters during your second year in hogwarts. even though you hated to see the pity in people's eyes, you had never noticed it when he looked at you. it was just silence, like he had not a single thought in his head whenever he would look at you, as if looking at you would silence the rest of the world.

you had always looked at bit smaller, a bit more fragile than your classmates. so fragile, not even draco malfoy dared to break you.

“my uncle bought the shop last year” you answered truthfully “and as i’m staying with him..” you trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence hanging in the air.

“aha” malfoy nodded, and having decided that that was enough smalltalk either of you could endure, without growing uncomfortable, his hand went to the bag he was carrying and took something out.

he set the object down on the counter in front of you. it looked like a normal mirror, but it was black and you knew that it wouldn’t do you any good to search for your reflection.

“it’s my fathers” malfoy said after a few seconds of silence, before he cleared his throat “it was my fathers”

“oh” was all you could say.

“i’m trying to sell a few of his belongings.. that are on the darker side” his eyes found yours as he finally looked up “i don’t think anyone would be particularly happy about us still keeping those things”

“yeah, no” you agreed, gently taking the mirror into your hands.

“what does it do?” malfoy asked and you furrowed you eyebrows, surprised that he was asking you.

“nothing good” you said vaguely, watching his eyes darting over the object in your hands “it’s corruption” you concluded “every object of dark magic just corrupts the soul and in comparison, what they can do is just not worth it”

“i know” malfoy nodded quickly, his eyes returning to watch you instead of the mirror.

you wrapped it up in some paper and taped it shut, so no one was dared to look at it.

“that’s why i’m selling it” he said “that’s why i’m selling all of these things my father owned. it will just take me some time to find all of them”

“okay” you nodded, not sure what you could say instead.

“i just have the mirror with me today, i wanted it out of the house as soon as i found it” he added quickly. it seemed like not saying anything was motivation enough for him to talk.

or maybe, what you didn’t know was that he had so much to say, because he couldn’t tell it to anyone else. there were just him and his mother in that dark house and he wouldn’t try to talk to her about any of this. she had been through enough.

to his surprise he found a bit of comfort in your warm eyes, making it almost impossible for him not to tell you everything. and it was weird that you were harry potters best friend of all people. but you were friendly and you were here, so he didn’t care.

maybe he had never really cared that he should not be feeling about you this way.

you took out a book that seemed so old, that it almost fell apart when it hit the counter and turned the pages to find the price range for the dark magical object that was still laying next to you.

malfoy was watching you in complete silence and before he could question if the mood had shifted to become uncomfortable, a happy squeal broke out of your lips.

“i got it!” you smiled, pointing at the top of the page. malfoy tried to bend his head to look at it, before you were finally friendly enough to turn the book in his direction.

“huh” malfoy nodded “it's more than i thought it would be worth”

“that's quite common with these objects” you smiled happily and malfoy mirrored your expression. he was a bit surprised you were smiling at him, but it seemed like you didn’t harbour any hard feelings towards him.

he remembered you clearly, a few months ago at hogwarts, standing on the stairs, your braid ripped apart, lose strands of hair flowing in the wind. your face filled with dirt. there had been blood coming from a cut in your lip.

he wasn’t sure if he had just imagined it, but for a split second, your eyes fell on him. standing on opposite sides, tears brimming and flowing over your cheeks quickly.

maybe you had been the sole reason for him to throw his wand at harry potter. maybe he had done it because it had felt like you had asked him to.

how could he ever ignore the calling of a beautiful girl, standing in the middle of a war, crying for him to do something?

“thank you” he nodded when you passed him the galleons. he walked back to the door, feeling your eyes on him.

“draco” you called and he turned around quickly. he had never heard his first name coming out of your mouth. it sounded so beautiful when you said it. so soft and gentle, almost like it wasn’t a curse. “thank you”

no, he had not only imagined it.

draco smiled at you and nodded. he left the shop without another word.

it only took him about a day to come back. he spent more than just a few hours searching the house for more of his fathers artifacts, storing them away safely, so he could bring in one at a time. he wasn’t sure why, but the possibility of seeing you excited him. making his days bearable.

“draco” you greeted when he entered the shop. he was almost glad that you stuck to calling him by his first name.

“hello” draco nodded, he wasn’t daring enough to use your first name just yet.

“you came back quicker than i had thought”

just because of you, draco thought to himself, just nodding to you, as if that was answer enough.

just like the day before, his visit didn’t take long. with you inspecting the artifact, taking out the book and giving him his galleons before he could even ask you anything.

he made sure to bring more than just one object when he came in the next day.

“how have you been?” he asked as he watched you turn the pages of the book.

you shrugged, not quite sure what to answer “harry, ron and hermione went back to hogwarts, so it’s a bit lonely, but it’s alright”

it astonished him how often you spoke about your friends. you had even done that during your time in hogwarts, a bit like you were always dependent on them.

“why didn’t you?” he wasn’t sure if he was crossing a line.

“huh?” you looked up at him “went back to hogwarts?” you asked and his smile died down when you began to laugh. “no” you shook your head and he recognized the sadness quickly wandering over your face.

“and why—“ before he could finish his question, you had taken out the galleons and held them in his direction.

“here” you interrupted.

he left the shop with an uneasy feeling, scared he might’ve offended you. but everything was back to normal when he came in the next day and the few following after that.

it had been three weeks of him visiting the shop regularly, his mother already wondering what he was doing there so often, when for the first time it wasn’t you behind the counter, but an elderly man.

draco waited patiently at the door, as another costumer was standing at the counter.

“where is y/n, cornelius?” he could hear the man ask. he was well into his thirties, looking a bit too old to have any connection to you, but maybe you were just as friendly with him as you were with anyone else and draco really wanted to know the answer to his question.

“oh” the bearded man, probably cornelius, behind the counter shook his head “she went off to collect a few things that we need”

“that’s a pity” the costumer noted “i had hoped to see her beautiful face one of these days”

draco grimaced at that. he ignored the costumers greeting, before the man left the shop.

“hello” cornelius waved at draco to come forward.

“afternoon” draco greeted.

“draco malfoy, right?” the man asked “y/n told me about you coming in and selling your father’s artifacts”

“that’s right, sir” draco nodded.

“you two went to hogwarts together, didn't you?” cornelius smiled “i’m her uncle, cornelius barnes”

“it’s very nice to meet you, mr barnes” draco shook the man’s hand “is y/n alright?” somehow he could sense that barnes answer to the strange man’s question had been a lie.

“yes” barnes nodded “she’s just in the back. she’s not fond of hector” he pointed to the door.

“ah” draco nodded. he could understand that you’d rather hide away as soon as that man came into the shop, even draco found him uncomfortable.

“he’s been wanting to marry her” barnes continued and draco wondered if it was in the man’s nature to just tell private things to costumers or maybe, draco was the closest thing to a friend y/n had right now, considering the rest of them had went off to hogwarts.

“isn’t he at least ten years older than her?” draco wondered.

“twenty” barnes corrected and draco shivered. “sad enough that she’s actually considering it”

draco’s chin had almost hit the counter at that “what?” he asked outraged “why would she ever marry someone— like that” he finished quickly.

“i’ve been trying to talk her out of it, but she’s always been too selfless for her own good. she didn’t even go back to hogwarts”

“i had figured she didn’t want to”

barnes shook his head “she decided against it. i wish it wasn’t like that, but money is tight and y/n wants to do anything possible to save me” he pointed down to his leg “i’m not as fit as i was a few years ago”

draco nodded understandingly.

“she’s convinced that her marriage to a man like hector could help me” barnes shook his head sadly “i wish she wouldn’t feel as responsible for me and rather find a man she could have an equal relationship with, someone that could bring her comfort after my death, someone she could actually love”

“yeah” draco nodded and mirrored the man’s sad expression. he left the shop a few minutes later, the galleons clinking together in his pocket, which made him even sadder, feeling like he was robbing you and your uncle of your last money.

it took him more than just a few days to return back to the shop, carefully thinking about how he could help you best.

“draco” you smiled when he entered the shop and he could almost read the relief from your face. “it’s alright, uncle cornelius” you patted your uncles shoulder “you can sit down in the back, i will take care of it”

barnes greeted draco, before he limped into the back of the shop.

“he’s really nice” draco said as soon as the door to had closed.

“yeah” you smiled and draco noticed how much you admired the old man “sadly we all can’t stay young for forever”

draco nodded.

you looked at him expectingly “what?” you smiled “no dark magical object?”

“not quite, no” draco shook his head, before he took out the velvet box and set it down on the counter in front of you.

“what’s that?” you asked surprised. he looked at you and nodded when you went to open the box. a beautiful ring was shimmering so much it almost blended you. “a ring?” you wondered “okay, which curse was it hexed with?”

draco shook his head. “it’s my mothers. it’s not cursed..” he thought for a short second, before he added “or magical”

“draco?” you asked and he admired how his name slipped past your lips so effortlessly, so gentle it reminded him of his first visit to the shop and the shiver he had felt every time you had said it since.

“marry me” draco said a bit faster than anticipated.

“what?” you laughed, entirely astonished at his demand.

“your uncle told me about the money problems you had” he quickly explained “i get access to my father’s assets as soon as i’m twenty-five or sooner if i get married before that”

“my uncle told you that?” you repeated faintly.

“yeah, but it’s not a problem”

you looked up at him with big eyes. “you can’t just barge in here and ask me to marry you.. you can’t just come in here and save me.. that’s not how that works, draco” you shook your head and his heart sank.

“why not?” he wondered “i’d be ready to do that for you. you need money and i have it”

“draco” you touched his hand softly “i don’t want to get married out of convenience” you explained.

“but you're thinking about marrying hector?” he raised his voice.

“he really told you everything, huh?” you muttered, looking back at the door to the private area of the shop.

“y/n!” draco called and your eyes focused back on him.

“that’s different” you tried to escape his eyes.

“how is that any different? at least i’m not twenty years old than you!” draco argued “so you’d rather get married to that disgusting—“

“yes!” you interrupted and your voice was now matching the loudness of his. “you can’t just decide to marry me because it’d be the right thing to do!”

“but it is” he shook his head “i’m trying to help you. marrying me would benefit you”

“but i don’t want to get married to you like that” the sentence had left your mouth faster than you had been able to stop it, immediately making you close it and look down. right at the velvet box and the ring that was still sitting in the middle of you.

“what?” draco asked surprised.

you sighed “i don’t care about marrying hector out of convenience, but i would care if it was you”

the smile broke out quickly on draco’s face. “you would want to marry me?” he asked “but only for the right reasons?”

“i wasn’t talking about a marriage just yet” you raised your finger and corrected him “but i wouldn’t want to destroy that option just because i could profit from it. and if i would get married to you, it surely wouldn’t be because of your money”

draco almost recognized something in your eyes. something that you saw in him that no one ever did. and even though he had never seen it before, it felt familiar and safe. “do you think you could ever love me?” he asked unsurely. maybe he was just interpreting this conversation wrong.

“i think i have loved you longer than what was probably healthy for me” you whispered, leaning on the table and resting your chin on top of your hand. “do you think you could ever love me?” you repeated his question.

his smile grew impossibly bigger. “i don’t think i could even stop if i wanted to”

he was ready to jump over the counter, to hold you close and kiss you, to make all the bad years disappear.

but before he could do anything of that sort, you smiled and closed the box containing the ring, pushing it in his direction.

“so marriage is off the table?” he asked faintly.

“not completely” you smiled “but how about you take me on a date first?” you suggested.

“okay” he smiled, then he looked around the room. there was still your problem, the one that had provoked him to ask for your hand in marriage in the first place. “i think i know someone who would buy a few of these artifacts, for more than just their market price”

“you do?” you wondered and he nodded. it was like a weight had been lifted off you shoulders. or maybe for the first time in a long time, someone else knew what to do.

you went around the corner and hugged him. he held your head in his hands, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear before he finally kissed you. soft and gentle, making a shiver run down your spine.

after all, everything became better than you had hoped it to be. you returned to hogwarts, just having missed two months of classes that you had caught up to quicker than you had been able to worry about it.

draco had started finishing his education from afar, while helping your uncle to sell most of the magic items and finally deciding on new things to sell, completely updating the place until it was filled with costumers coming in all the time.

it took a few more years, but soon enough draco proposed to you again. and in the summer of the year 2002, y/n l/n married draco malfoy for only the right reasons.

[hemmingsleclerc]

Anything for my girl┃Regulus Black

summary: regulus goes to support his girlfriend at her quidditch match using the colors of her house, red and gold

warnings: just fluff, I love reggie being yn's number one fan, grumpy!bf, sunshine!gf kinda- hope u like ittt

The stands of the Quidditch pitch were filled with excitement as students filed in to watch the long-awaited Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match. Among the sea of ​​red and gold, a single figure stood out, dressed in the colors of Gryffindor and with his face painted, a tall, pale boy with hair as black as night was the focus of attention of all the students of the red house.

Regulus Black, the infamous ''prince'' of Slytherin, had taken his seat among the Gryffindors. He was wearing a red scarf, his face painted with gold on his cheeks and a grim expression. Next to him, Lily and Remus exchanged bewildered glances, trying to understand the strange sight before them.

"Is that—?" Lily began, eyes wide.

"Sirius' younger brother, regulus," Remus confirmed, shaking his head in disbelief. "What's he doing here?"

Regulus, noticing their stares, merely grunted. "I'm here to support Y/N. Got a problem with that?"

Lily and Remus exchanged another glance, this time with amusement. "No problem at all," Lily said, her lips twitching into a smile. "Just… surprised."

Regulus's attitude softened slightly at the mention of Y/n. She was the only one who could melt his icy exterior and very few knew it .He scanned the pitch, his eyes locking onto Y/n Potter, Gryffindor's star Chaser and his beloved girlfriend. She was a whirlwind of energy and warmth, the complete opposite of his brooding self, and he adored her for it.

The match began with a flurry of brooms and flying bludgers. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were neck and neck, the crowd's cheers rising in waves (mostly in Gryffindor's favor). Regulus's eyes never left Y/n, following her every move with intense focus.

"Come on, Y/n!" he suddenly shouted, standing up and swinging his arms around, surprising Lily and Remus. His usual serene and calm demeanor had completely disappeared, replaced by unbridled shouts of support, not caring about the curious glances towards him.

Lily and Remus couldn't help but join in, shouting encouragement for James as well.

As the game reached its most intense point, Y/n darted through the opposing team's defense, eyes trained on the goalposts. The crowd held their breath as she lined up the perfect shot and…success! The Quaffle burst through the hoops, sealing Gryffindor's victory.

The stands erupted in a frenzy of shouts and applause. Regulus, unable to contain his excitement, jumped up from his seat and screamed at the top of his lungs as he applauded. "Yes! That's my girl!" The sheer passion in his voice made heads turn and a wave of surprise ran through the crowd.

Y/n, still on her broom, examined the stands and saw Regulus and could not contain her excitement when she saw him dressed in the colors of her house, he looked really cute, with his tousled curls, red nose that matched the paint on his cheeks and his scarf. Her eyes lit up and without a moment's hesitation, rushed towards him. The crowd gasped as she flew straight towards the Gryffindor section and landed gracefully in front of him.

"Reggie!" she exclaimed, breathless with a huge smile and the adrenaline at its peak.

Before he could respond, she pulled him into a fierce kiss. The entire stadium seemed to fall silent for a heartbeat before exploding into a mix of cheers, gasps, and laughter.

Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged amused glances from their positions in the staff box before he extended his hand towards her to claim his reward as Minnie handed him 25 galleons with a smile.

Lily and Remus stood there, smiling widely. "Well, that was unexpected," Remus said, laughing with an awkward smile.

As Y/n and Regulus broke apart, she rested her forehead against his, still smiling. "Thank you for coming," she whispered.

Regulus, his usual grumpiness melting away in her presence, replied softly, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The two shared an intimate and loving moment, oblivious to the surprised faces that surrounded them. For once, Regulus didn't care about the glances or whispers because for him only her mattered.

meanwhile:

James, who had been busy being congratulated by his team, saw the scene and shouted in shock: "WHAT?"

From the entrance to the stands, Sirius , arriving late and trying to find his friends, heard the commotion. He turned to see Y/n kissing his brother and froze, eyes wide. "WHAT THE FUCK?"

James looked at Y/n and Regulus with a mix of grudging disbelief. "Unbelievable," he murmured, shaking his head. "That's my sister! Since when have they been a couple? Why didn't she tell me? Did you know anything about this Pads??"

Sirius finally found Lily and Remus walking towards them, still looking flabbergasted. "Since when little potter and MY own brother have a thing?! Seriously, what the hell did I just witness?"

Lily patted his shoulder, barely containing her laughter. "Love happened, Sirius. Love happened, some day you'll know about that."

And instinctively he looked at Remus who was talking a few steps away from him with Y/n and his brother. ''Yes, maybe I know a little about that''

[its-rach-writes]

Like Father Like Son - Chapter One

Pairing: Harry Potter x Reader

Summary: In the midst of a brewing war, a Golden Retriever Gryffindor falls for a Black Cat Slytherin. Hadn't this all happened before?

Warnings: angst, fluff, swearing, mentions of character death,

A/N: Soooo, I'm back in work after having 10 days of annual leave :'( I will be posting every other day instead of every day! Hope you guys enjoy this and please let me know what you think! xxx

Chapter One

It wasn’t like you hated Harry Potter, because you really didn’t but you just didn’t get what all the fuss was about. Your dad had always taught you to be kind to people despite their blood status or Hogwarts house. When you arrived at Hogwarts, you tried to keep an open mind but Potter was simply infuriating.

He didn’t deserve to just be put on the Gryffindor Quidditch team in first year, after spending 5 minutes on a broom. And, you definitely wouldn’t admit that he was a pretty good player. Your infuriation only increased in second year when he emerged bloody and dirty from the Chamber of Secrets. If that had been anyone else, they would have been expelled, Potter didn’t even get points taken from him, in fact he was awarded a special service to the school!

In third year, you had to watch your Uncle love Potter more than he loved you, as they bonded over Potter’s mum and dad. The boy had stumbled his way through the Triwizard Tournament, getting favouritism at every turn, somehow beating students who were intellectually better than him. The tournament had come to a sticky end when he reappeared from the maze, clutching Cedric’s dead body and babbling about Voldemort being back.

In fifth year, oh in fifth year, for the first time in your life, you were grateful for Potter. Grateful that your Uncle wasn’t alone as he quietly slipped through the veil.

The woods were silent as you and your dad foraged in the clearing for potion ingredients. You were a perfectionist so you would be damned if you lost marks because your ingredients were old and shit. Besides, the silence seemed to work wonders for your dad.

“I’m worried for you, dad.”

He scoffed as he put some ingredients into your basket, “why in the world would you be worried for me?”

You bit your lip as the worry swirled in your stomach, “the Defence Against the Dark Arts position is cursed,” you tried not to think about what had befallen the previous Professors. Snape had left the school the year before and your dad had explained to you that the old potions master was coming back so he’d been asked to fill the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts.

“I don’t want what happened to Uncle Sirius happen to you.”

“Oh, my little star,” he pulled you into a hug, completely encasing you in his arms, “nothing is going to happen to me.”

“Love you, dad.”

“I love you too,” he kissed your forehead, “try to be nice to Harry Potter, this year yeah?”

You grumbled into his chest, “I’m not horrible to him or anything but he just infuriates me so much!”

Regulus snorted with a laugh, “yeah, I know the feeling.”

You cursed beneath your breath as the wheel of your suitcase got stuck. Again. It brought you to a grinding halt.

“Hey, Y/N!” you heard Potter before you saw him as he bent down to unstick the wheel. He was always so kind to you, despite your infuriation with him.

“Thanks Potter,” you went to turn away, but you saw how sad his eyes were, despite his smile, “I appreciate that Sirius wasn’t alone.”

Potter nodded as he pushed his glasses up his nose, “how are you doing with that by the way?”

You shrugged, “didn’t really know him.”

Potter scratched the back of his neck and it wasn’t hard to miss the guilt that spread across his face. You could see Granger and Weasley lingering behind him, “see you later, Potter,” you weren’t in the mood to bond over dead loved ones.

Draco waved at you as you pulled open the compartment door and sat between Blaise and Theo, “saw you talking to Potty,” he commented making you laugh.

“Don’t call him that. And, is this the part where you order me not to talk to him?”

Draco scowled at you, “I don’t care who you talk to, Y/N. Just leave me out of it.”

“Deal,” you grinned.

You spent the first hour sharing food with your friends, listening to Enzo’s stories about his summer in Italy. No one asked about your summer, to outsiders it might have looked like they were being rude but you knew they didn’t want to cause you unnecessary pain. You loved them for that.

Pansy looked up from where she was painting her nails, “isn’t your dad teaching Defence this year?” when you nodded, she smirked, “your dad’s hot.”

“What?!” you squawked.

“Come on! We’ve all seen the photograph of you and him that you put on your bedside. He’s sexy.”

“I agree,” Blaise spoke up, grinning at you, “Regulus Black is a dilf.”

You gagged dramatically, “both of you can keep your filthy mitts off my dad!”

The teasing continued until an eagle owl flew in through the open window looking bedraggled from the earlier rain. It landed on your lap and you took the note from its beak. Sparing a glance at the others, you broke the seal and read the letter, getting worried with every word.

“Mattheo’s not coming back this year,” you said as you passed the letter to Theo.

“Did you see him at yours over the summer?” Blaise asked. Voldemort had been taking up residence in the Malfoy Manor.

Draco shrugged, “when he wasn’t shut up in the guest room,” he glanced at you, “I’m surprised I didn’t see you over the summer.”

“My dad fell out of favour just before I was born,” ever since you were little you’d lived in a cute little house in a valley, by a lake.

But when Voldemort had returned a couple of years prior Regulus had moved you back to his mother’s house. It was unplottable on a map and had various enchantments to deter intruders though your dad still had to use Polyjuice Potion each time he left the house. Maybe Dumbledore has figured that he’d be safer at Hogwarts.

The rest of the journey was sobering as you all constructed a reply back to your friend, hoping he was alright. As the train reached the platform, Pansy outstretched her hand to Draco who stayed seated while the rest of you got up. He told the rest of you to go in ahead and he’d catch up.

You turned to Pansy as you got onto the platform, “you know, you can do a lot better than him right?” she’d had a crush on Draco for years.

“Trust me, I know that now. But, he really is the safest option right now.”

Draco quickly caught up to you while you were waiting to go into The Great Hall, he shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed you in. As you got to the Slytherin table, Pansy pouted as she looked up at the teacher’s table.

“I can’t see your gorgeous dad because Theodore is in the way!”

“I’m not encouraging your sick crush,” Theo laughed as he turned to wink at you.

“Thanks, Theo,” you giggled.

Soon enough, Dumbledore introduced the new Professors, Horace Slughorn and your dad, “there he is,” Pansy hissed in your ear over all the applause, you could hear the smirk in her voice.

Halfway through dinner, Potter walked in holding a bloody rag to his face as he sat down with his friends.

You turned to Draco, “what the fuck did you do?”

“What makes you think I did something?”

“You’re the only person who would,” you scoffed as you watched the boy mop at his face with an already bloodied rag. You grabbed a wad of tissues from your bag and walked over, “Potter, here,” you all but pushed the tissues into his hands.

“Y/N, thanks!” he grinned, even though it split his lip open, blood immediately running down his chin.

“Don’t get it twisted, didn’t want to watch you make a scene,” you spun on your heel and walked back across the hall, missing the way that Potter watched you with a dazed expression.

------------

Taglist: @hiireadstuff

[wolfpants]

some fics I have been enjoying recently - wolf's reading list: june favourites 📚

As June draws to a close, I'm thrilled to say that both my reading and writing have picked up significantly after nearly a year of poor focus and general scatterbrained chaos. Hurrah! It's been a joy to ease back into the fandom, especially with so many wonderful fics to explore. Here are some I've devoured over the past month or so!

9 to 5 📆

E, HP, Drarry, 2.5k | @oknowkiss

Draco Malfoy hates Mondays.

“The Ministry will be breached. You’ll be caught in the crossfire.” Potter smiles crookedly. “Wrong place, wrong time. Funnily enough.” Draco swallows. “Hilarious.” “I’m keeping you here. For now.” Potter says. “Alive.”

-

Crush 🌶️

E, HP, Drarry, 8.2k | @citrusses

Harry Potter has a secret admirer. Harry's pretty sure that if this person figures out what an idiot he's capable of making of himself, they'll lose interest. So he turns to Draco Malfoy, reformed nemesis and stylish lawyer, for guidance.

“Malfoy,” Harry says. “Kiss me.” Malfoy winces. “Stop calling me that.” “Oh,” Harry says. “Sorry. Kiss me… Daddy?” “You absolute, clinically hopeless, fucking moron.”

-

Find New Ways 🫧

M, HP, Drarry, 3.6k | @skeptiquewrites

First comes marriage.

"We're married.” Draco trailed fingertips in the water, watching the little eddies in their wake. Harry's fingers curved around his ribcage. “We are.” The feeling in Draco's chest was too weighty for words, but he tried. “You’ll make a good husband.” The question of whether Draco would was outstanding.

-

Know Your Enemy 🗡️

E, HOTD, Daemon/Aemond, 2.4k | memequeen1127

Daemon follows Aemond after he storms out of the feast.

It is quite enjoyable, Aemond showing how unaffected he is by his nephew’s attempts to hurt him. He feels a thrill from emulating his uncle’s easy power. It’s the best outlet for his desire he’s found today. If Aemond can’t fuck him, then at least he can be him.

-

like some small animal that only comes out at night 🚾

E, HP, Drarry, 943 | @maesterchill

Unspeakable Malfoy and Auror Potter hook up in the bathroom at a Ministry charity event.

“Meet me in the gents,” Potter instructs, his whisper barely audible over the bustle around us, but so authoritative and unambiguous that it’s all I can do not break into a run.

-

Twenty-Two Cards 🃏

(Series) E, HP, Drarry, 108k | peu_a_peu

Aurors Potter and Malfoy crack the case. (plus more!)

"Only one bed," Harry observed. "Guess you're on the floor, then," Malfoy said, throwing his cloak on it. "You're not even going to offer to share?" "Fuck off," Malfoy said, and then proceeded to use all the hot water for his shower. Harry resigned himself.

-

your braids like a pattern 🌳

E, HP, Drarry, 31.1k | @hoko-onchi-writes

Harry runs a camp. Malfoy is the new counsellor, and he's driving Harry to the brink of insanity.

“Why do you keep bothering me? Coming back and talking to me? I’ve been nothing but an arsehole to you. And you—you keep coming back.” Harry doesn’t mention that Malfoy is eye-fucking him on a regular basis because he doesn’t need to open that Pandora’s box. Not right now. “Oh, you are an arsehole. But I’m mercilessly fucked up, and I find it so endearing.”

-

That's all folks! I'll try and make this a regular thing at the end of every month. What should I read next? Recs always welcome! 💖

[metalomagnetic]

Missing scene from 'It runs in the blood'

It takes place after Arcturus' death, but before Helix is born.

This was not supposed to ever be published, but people on discord convinced me, so forgive me if it's a bit rough! Just a fun little scene with the kids.

***

“Father?” Orion comes barreling into the office, and the rest trail after him.

“Knock, first,” Sirius reminds him.

“Yes, Draco. Knock.” Lucius fixes Draco with a stern look.

“Alright,” both boys agree, but judging by their tone, they don’t take it seriously.

“I tried to stop them,” Harry offers, but his grin suggests otherwise.

“Father,” Orion goes on. “When you die, I’ll get all the gold and the houses, right?”

Lucius chokes on his firewhiskey.

Sirius blinks. “Where is this coming from?”

“Daddy!” Marvolo looks so upset. “Orion says I’ll be poor! That I won’t get anything, because I’m just the spare.”

Lucius is trying hard not to laugh beside Sirius.

“What is going on?”

“I’m picking a husband,” Elara explains. “And I want to marry the rich one.”

“That’s me, not Marvolo,” Orion shouts. “Tell her, Father!”

Sirius opens his mouth, closes it again, then glares at Lucius, who starts laughing. 

“That’s why Malfoys stop at one son,” he whispers.

“You didn’t even want to play with her,” Sirius reminds his sons. Just an hour earlier, they were all having tantrums that they don’t want to pay with the girls.

“Well, no, but if we are forced to play, then I’ll be the husband, obviously,” Orion says. “It’s the most important position in the game, so I’ll have it.”

“No, stupid, the bride is the most important,” Elara tells him, rolling her eyes. “It’s my big day, I’m the most important.”

"Why don’t you go ask Astrid, yeah? She’ll sort you out,” Sirius says, trying to shoo them away.

“She doesn't know about gold,” Orion dismisses the idea. “So, tell her I’m the richest one.”

“I’m the richest one,” Draco intervenes. “When Father dies, I’ll be richer than Orion.”

“That’s lovely, Draco,” Lucius says.

Draco shrugs. “And,” he adds, looking at Elara. “I’m also the oldest. And the tallest. You should marry me.”

“Just you wait, Draco! I’ll grow up taller!” Orion hisses, enraged. 

“I’m already rich,” Harry points out. “I don’t have to wait for anyone to die. I already own my vault, right, Sirius?”

“That’s right,” Sirius agrees. 

“Father, why does Harry already have a vault?” Draco whines. “That’s not fair!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Orion snaps. “I’ll be Head of house Black, that trumps everything.”

All the boys start fighting.

“I am the Head of House Black,” Sirius says, loudly. “I’m the tallest, the oldest, and the richest-”

“Actually,” Lucius says. “I’m the oldest and the richest.”

Elara glances between them. “Are you?”

“I am,” Lucius assures her, with a smile.

“Hmm.” She tilts her head, but then she shrugs. “You’re not a Black, though.”

Lucius rolls his eyes, mutters something about incest.

“So,” she adds, turning to Sirius. “You’re right, Uncle. You’re the best choice- I’ll marry you.”

“NO! ME!” Orion stomps his foot on the ground.

“I’m flattered,” Sirius says, “but I’m already married, sweetheart.”

Elara waves it away. “It’s only pretend wedding. For the day. I’m only doing it so my new husband can buy me a wedding gift. And I bet you can buy more stuff than Orion and the rest. It’s settled. I’ll marry you. Come, we’ll have the ceremony and then you can give me the gifts.”

“Wait, wait!” Lucius says. “You need to negotiate first. Make sure you get a good deal.”

“Oh,” Elara falls pensive. “But I don’t know how to do that- contracts. And Daddy is at work-”

“I’ll help you,” Lucius offers.

“Fine. Uncle Sirius, I want one Abraxan pony, three dresses, and a baby dragon. Oh and two dolls! One of those new ones we saw in Rome, that can talk!”

“How about ten dolls, and six dresses, but you drop the dragon and the pony?” Sirius suggests, lifting her into his arms.

“Alright,” she agrees.

“And that is why you should never get married without your father’s approval,” Lucius says. “Sirius is ripping you off.”

“Regina,” Orion yells, when they all reach the living room. “Regina, I’ll marry you. Father stole Elara.”

“I don’t want to get married,” Regina says. “It’s Elara’s wedding, not mine!”

“You’ll get dolls out of it,” Orion says, impatient. “Here.” He takes off his necklace and gives it to Regina. “I’m sure it’s expensive, at least it would buy you a doll.”

“Fine, then,” Regina agrees, tossing her red hair over her shoulder.

“Found a husband,” Elara announces from Sirius’ arms. “Don’t worry, Astrid, I’ll give him back after he gives me the gifts.”

“I thought the plan was to get one of the boys,” Evy says with a laugh.

“Someone,” Sirius glares at Narcissa, “taught her she has to pick the richest.”

“You picked badly, in that case,” Narcissa says, shamelessly. “Lucius is the richest, Elara.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

“Sirius, language!”

“Apparently, I am worth nothing because I’m not a Black,” Lucius says, sitting beside his wife.

“Then you should have picked Draco,” Narcissa admonishes, when Sirius hands Elara over, so she can have her dress charmed. “He’s part Black and he will be very rich, indeed.”

“I’ll marry Draco next year,” Elara decides, trying to twist her hair around her finger.

Orion makes an infuriating sound.

“What?” Elara glares at him. “You picked Regina!”

“Alright,” Sirius says, loudly, when another fight is about to start. “Who is going to be my best man? Harry?”

“Yes, please!”

“Marvolo, you are mine,” Orion orders.

“No way! You told me you’ll disown me and I’ll have to live under a bridge when you’ll be Head of House.”

“You told him that?” Sirius smacks Orion over the head. “You are going to get it, boy!”

“Not now, Sirius,” Regina begs. “I want to get my dolls, so after the wedding, please.”

Eventually, after Elara gets her play wedding and she makes Sirius dance with her, and then all the boys, too, everyone calms down, though Orion is still snappy with Marvolo for a while. Harry intervenes between them often, trying to placate them both.

“You best be nice and quiet,” he tells the baby, a hand over Astrid's stomach. The baby kicks. “Please, be good. I can’t take another crazy one.”

When Regulus finally returns from the Ministry, all the children have calmed down, and Evy already took her little demons back to their home.

“I got married,” Elara says, running to Regulus. “My gifts are coming tomorrow.”

“Who did you marry?” Regulus asks, letting her climb on his lap.

“Uncle Sirius. He could buy me more dolls than the others.”

Regulus snorts. “You should have consulted me first. I’d have gotten something better than dolls.”

Elara giggles. “It’s fine, next year I’ll marry Draco. You can do the contract thing and get me more stuff, then.”

Eventually, everyone but Regulus retires to bed, and Sirius enjoys the first minutes of silence in what had been a long day, even if he can hear the faint fight Orion is having with Marvolo upstairs.

“Your daughter is a menace,” he informs Regulus.“I pity the poor soul who’ll end up with her.”

Regulus frowns. “Orion can handle her.”

Sirius blinks at him. “What?”

“Well, they are getting married, aren’t they?" Regulus looks surprised that Sirius is surprised. “It’s what grandfather wanted. Everyone knows it. I thought it was settled.”

“Merlin’s cock!” Sirius stands. “You’re all fucking crazy. Stop it with the incest already! And grandfather changed his mind before he died!”

“You’re spending too much time with Lucius; you sound like him!”

“They’re not getting married, don’t be an idiot!”

“Why not?”

“Why not? For- Regulus, they’re kids!”

“Well, not now, obviously. Eventually. Where are you going?”

“Somewhere where I can find sane people!” Sirius snarls at him. “So, a muggle bar!”